Chapter 111: True Transmission, Eighty Thousand Li

"The Zhao family?"

Li Yuan looked up at the sky; four crescent moons hung high, the night was quite clear, obviously no rain to fall.

"What are you looking at?"

Sha Sha Pingying instinctively stepped back; this action of looking up at the sky, how was it so much like...

"Nothing, the moonlight is very good today."

Li Yuan recalled the sights from that day on the high platform, his heart stirred slightly, and he asked: "Is Master going to move against the Zhao family? Didn't he go to Pinggou County?"

"Pack up first, we'll talk on the way."

Sha Sha Pingying was very tight-lipped.

Li Yuan was curious in his heart, but still returned to his room to pack, mainly changing clothes, and pretending to swap a long-handled mace weapon from inside the room.

"Junior Brother Li still uses ordinary sharp weapons? That's right, Old Han left in a hurry, didn't have time to take you to the Divine Weapon Pavilion to choose a weapon..."

Glancing at the long-handled melon mace in Li Yuan's hand, Sha Sha Pingying was slightly stunned, then Yu Yu Xuanji didn't care anymore.

Of course, he wouldn't ask, 'Doesn't the weapon forge have superior sharp blades?'

He lightly tapped his foot, already flipping onto the roof.

Li Yuan then took out a rag to cover his face before flipping to follow; among the root bones he had altered were two movement techniques, quite fast and agile; with a few steps, he caught up to Sha Sha Pingying.

Hush~

In the night, the two slipped through the shadows, one after the other.

Sha Sha Pingying was very familiar with the Fucheng patrol routes, often bypassing them in advance; traveling several li without alerting the patrols.

"Among the six great families of Fucheng, the Zhao family's power isn't great, but they have many disciples who entered the Sect, both Inner and Outer, and even a Vice Commander in the Divine Guard Army is one of their clansmen."

In the night wind, Sha Sha Pingying spoke in a low voice: "Actually, Old Han has been eyeing the Zhao family for a long time..."

His voice wasn't loud, yet Li Yuan could hear it clearly; this was obviously another Wu Gong he didn't understand.

At this moment, his body tempering was just complete, plus the Nine Forms of his root bone; he reckoned he could easily kill Cao Yan in a direct fight, but his martial arts foundation was far inferior to Sha Sha Pingying and other Sect elites.

He had no way to control his voice so precisely.

"Moving against the Zhao family, I fear it won't be easy?"

Li Yuan thought for a moment; that day on the high platform, there were quite a few elders leaning towards the Zhao family, including the most senior Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong.

"Where does Old Han care about that? Of course, those who needed to be transferred, he transferred them all this time."

"Before, not acting was just because he didn't want to truly tear the face off Old Qiu."

Sha Sha Pingying shook his head slightly, speaking in a low voice:

"Old Han came from a farming family, lost his parents in childhood, raised entirely by his older brother; life was very hard until Elder Qiu passed by and took him into the Sect, changing his fate..."

Sha Sha Pingying stopped speaking at the right moment; Li Yuan, however, understood somewhat.

Farming children from hard-off families mostly never make it to the county town in their whole lives; moreover, lacking clothes and food, malnourished, the Nine Forms might not even manifest outwardly.

'No wonder Old Han was quite yielding to Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong; he was the talent scout...

Fine horses are common, but the talent scout is not; Li Yuan, of course, understood this principle.

"Old Han led the team away from Zhe Long Prefecture, this is known to all; naturally, whatever happens tonight has nothing to do with him..."

In the night, the two spoke one after another; mostly Sha Sha Pingying was explaining, and Li Yuan roughly understood the cause and effect.

Among the six great families of Fucheng, each has close ties with the Divine Weapon Valley; even Han Han Chuijun had to wait for an opportunity.

Whoosh!

The wind sound paused slightly; Sha Sha Pingying stopped his steps; far away, the large mansion at the end of the long street was already visible.

Li Yuan's peripheral vision swept the surroundings; the night wind blew, and in the shadows, it seemed someone was lurking, silent as iron and stone.

"Old Han is truly decisive in killing; says he'll act, then acts..."

Li Yuan clenched his mace weapon, his heart whistling in shock.

Han Han Chuijun couldn't have known about the turmoil in Pinggou County, but upon learning the news, he decisively left the city and 'coincidentally transferred

quite a few Zhao family disciples.

"When we act later, follow me closely; Old Han asked me to bring you to broaden your horizons, not to have you fight..."

Sha Sha Pingying spoke in a low voice; in his heart, he was truly envious; Old Han had never been this attentive to him.

Saying 'broaden your horizons,' doesn't it just mean letting him share in the merit, and the spoils afterwards?

For a family of the Zhao's scale, sharing even a fraction is a huge sum of silver...

"Senior Brother, rest assured."

Li Yuan nodded repeatedly; he thought the same.

"By the way, which Elder is in command this time?"

"It's me!"

Before Li Yuan's voice finished, he sensed a slight wind rising and dying behind him; turning back, he felt the night grow darker.

Holy crap?

Li Yuan felt his hair stand on end; is this even a human?!

Under the night, from the shadows, a 'monstrous figure' suddenly walked out.

Before today, among the people Li Yuan had seen, the largest were Zou Kui and Qin Xiong, both giants over two meters twenty.

But compared to the person before his eyes, those two were truly small potatoes compared to the big ones.

The giant walking from the shadows was nearly three meters tall; his build was bulky but not bloated, instead appearing fierce; his skin was bronze, like a divine statue cast from copper and iron.

As he approached, his rugged features were visible; a face full of tangled beard grew wildly like straw, eyes like bronze bells.

Especially, this giant was also carrying a huge long-handled mace matching his size.

At a glance, besides wild ferocity, there was only sheer ferocity!

"Eighth Senior Brother."

Li Yuan keenly noticed Sha Sha Pingying trembling, and he himself froze for an instant — the giant was shouldering, unmistakably, one superior-grade famous weapon-tier giant hammer.

【Thunder Drum Hun Gold Hammer (Fifth-Tier)】

【A long-handled, Handle-heavy hammer forged from superior cold iron mixed with green gold; it has been burned in a thousand kinds of fierce fire and quenched in the blood of seventy-two spirit beasts, gradually awakening spiritual nature……】

【Wielding Requirements: Strength of a thousand jun, Body of the Nine-Form Xiong Hu】

【Wielding Effects: Heavy as a thousand jun, Lifting weight as if light, Armor-Breaking Horizontal Training, Swallowing-Ox Aura, Bingtang Combat-Slaughter Hammer Mastery】

A fifth-tier heavy hammer!

Second only to Han Han Chuijun's Wind-Thunder Ruyi Pestle, and it's a long-handled, Handle-heavy hammer!

Li Yuan sucked in a breath of cold air, and also recognized who had come.

Among the twelve true disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley, ranked third, Han Han Chuijun's chief disciple, Bingtang, Ba Ba Wanli!

The giant hammer on his shoulder was ranked fifty-ninth on the Divine Weapon Ranking.

"Eighth Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother……"

……

As Ba Ba Wanli walked out carrying his hammer, disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley emerged from the shadows all along the long street, their expressions reverent.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

Li Yuan's teeth ached a little, and he bowed slightly.

Though both were true disciples, the two men's standing in the hearts of the other Divine Weapon Valley disciples was simply incomparable.

Ba Ba Wanli had been listed among the true disciples more than thirty years earlier; with Han Han Chuijun long absent from the mountain, he was practically the master of Bingtang.

A master of the Great Accomplishment of Body Transformation.

"Mm."

Ba Ba Wanli responded with a single sound, his voice like the wind and sand beyond the frontier.

He walked over slowly; his frame was towering, yet his footsteps were so light and gentle they made no sound.

Li Yuan immediately felt the immense pressure of facing Qin Xiong head-on for the first time, and suddenly somewhat understood what Han Han Chuijun meant by 'Body Transformation is inhuman.'

This Eldest Senior Brother truly was inhuman……

His peripheral vision swept past — the man's five fingers were each as thick as a carrot, over a chi long……

"Everyone's here?"

Ba Ba Wanli swept his gaze over the crowd, pausing briefly on Li Yuan.

Gao Gang bowed slightly, his attitude respectful: "Reporting to Eldest Senior Brother, all sixty-three — mm, sixty-four people, everyone's here!"

The extra person was naturally Li Yuan.

"Body of the Nine-Form Xiong Hu……

"

Li Yuan was still somewhat shocked.

He recalled some information about this Eldest Senior Brother — reportedly he was a native of Fucheng in Zhe Long, born with the Body of the Four-Form Xiong Hu, born with divine strength, thick sinew and bone.

He seemed to have heard Wang Wang Peiyao mention it before, but never imagined it would be so 'thick……

"Mm, everything proceeds according to plan; not a single person may escape, otherwise, as for Master, you can go explain it yourselves……"

Ba Ba Wanli stood leaning on his hammer, his expression cold and fierce; none of the Divine Weapon Valley disciples dared raise their heads.

"The plan is very simple."

Glancing at Li Yuan, Ba Ba Wanli repeated in a deep voice:

"I will charge in through the main gate; you all hold the four sides. Anyone who tries to flee — kill on sight. As for the rest, you need not concern yourselves with them!"

That's all there is to it?

Li Yuan's mouth twitched — this was nothing like Old Han's usual style.

Way too reckless……

"Mm!"

Ba Ba Wanli shouldered his hammer and walked slowly, then seemed to remember something and glanced at Sha Sha Pingying:

"Junior Brother Li is in your hands!"

"Yes!"

Sha Sha Pingying responded solemnly.

"Good!"

Ba Ba Wanli nodded lightly. In the next instant, Li Yuan heard an explosive sound — as if thunder had detonated beneath Ba Ba Wanli's feet.

One stride covered thirty or forty meters; in the blink of an eye he had crossed the long street, his heavy hammer tearing through the air, smashing straight toward the Zhao family's main gate:

"Zhao Zhao Yunsheng, where are you? Come out and face me!"

Boom—!

A thousand jin heavy hammer, brought down at extreme speed, like thunder and lightning. In a single blow, the Zhao family's thick solid-wood main gate, along with nearly half the gatehouse, collapsed with a roar, dust billowing!

"Go!"

Li Yuan still wanted to watch, but Sha Sha Pingying had already grabbed his arm and darted swiftly toward the Zhao family's courtyard wall.

The other Divine Weapon Valley disciples on the long street also set off one after another, heading toward the four courtyard walls of the Zhao family.

"Way too fierce!"

Quickly scrambling up the courtyard wall, Li Yuan's gaze couldn't help but drift toward the Zhao family's main gate.

The force of that hammer was greater than even an ordinary siege hammer, and above all, its speed was extreme.

"Speed, and power!"

From just that one hammer strike, Li Yuan had already guessed the style of this senior senior-brother.

Yi Duo Xing, and mostly in the form of Xiong Hu, though also the great forms of Wind and Thunder…

"Thousand-Jun Qi Art, a thousand jin heavy hammer, and born with divine strength… truly a fierce general, brother."

Li Yuan flipped up to a higher spot and gazed into the distance. In the night, Ba Wan Li moved with his hammer—his speed blindingly fast, his force overwhelming.

In a short time, he had fought from the main gate all the way to the third courtyard. No matter whether Retainer, guard, or Zhao family expert, none could withstand even a single hammer strike.

Truly a crushing, sweeping rout!

……

……

"Don't, don't kill me!"

In a certain courtyard of the Zhao family, Zhao Zhao Yunsheng woke with a start from his sleep, drenched in cold sweat. In his dream, he had dreamed that Li Yuan came to his door many years later to kill him.

"Good thing it was just a dream, just a dream…"

Zhao Zhao Yunsheng let out a long breath. Just as he was about to go back to sleep, he suddenly heard a great shout: 'Zhao Zhao Yunsheng, get out here and face me!'

"Who?!"

Zhao Zhao Yunsheng's expression changed drastically. The moment he pushed open the door, he already heard the screams coming from the front courtyard.

He heard the sounds and tremors of houses collapsing and floors shattering, as if a herd of elephants had gone berserk and charged into the Zhao estate.

"Ba Wan Li!!"

Suddenly, a piercing shriek came from the front courtyard. Zhao Zhao Yunsheng shuddered all over, his eyes nearly splitting with fury:

"Father!"

Half a cry out, Zhao Zhao Yunsheng turned and fled, rushing toward the rear courtyard in utter disarray.

"Hold!"

From afar, he saw the inner courtyard's lamps flare to life, and an old man in black robes leap up from the ground, flipping onto the roof.

"Grandfather…"

Zhao Zhao Yunsheng had only just begun to speak when he felt a weight on his shoulder: "Steward Liu—"

"?"

"Young Master, come with me quickly!"

Zhao Zhao Yunsheng didn't even have time to ask what was happening before he was dragged into the rear courtyard. After a bundle was shoved into his arms, he was forcibly pushed into a hidden underground passage.

The passage was dark and damp, lit only by scattered lamps. Zhao Zhao Yunsheng turned around in bewilderment, only to find that quite a number of people had already gathered inside the passage.

"Fifteenth Uncle, Sixth Brother, Twelfth Brother…"

Zhao Zhao Yunsheng hurried to catch up with the fleeing crowd, even more confused in his heart. Though the passage was dark, he still recognized the people inside.

Easy to recognize, because they shared the same name…

……

"Ba Wan Li, you dare kill my clansmen!"

"Beast, beast!"

"Kill, kill him!"

Inside the Zhao family compound, torches swayed and voices rose in waves. Many charged forward with fury splitting their eyes, only to be pounded into mincemeat and smeared flat across the ground.

Apart from that one great roar at the gate, Ba Wan Li never spoke again, simply swinging his long-handled, heavy hammer, sweeping through like a hurricane.

His speed was extreme, his hammer technique long since perfected, and combined with that overwhelming great strength, under a single hammer strike,

any horizontal training or inner armor was utterly shattered—flesh and bone reduced to mud!

"All together, attack!"

An expert brandished a heavy weapon and led a host of guard disciples to charge Ba Wan Li, only to be swallowed within a hammer-shadow the size of a water vat.

Boom!

The courtyard wall collapsed, and an old man with a saber burst forth.

This old man's grasp of timing was superb—it was precisely the moment when Ba Wan Li's old force had just departed and new force had yet to be born.

His strike was vicious beyond compare, a single saber splitting into dozens, thrusting straight at the vital points all over Ba Wan Li's body.

"Yi Xing?"

Feeling the saber-light behind him, Ba Wan Li gave a cold laugh. In the impossible, he suddenly turned, his great hammer crashing down:

"I've been waiting for you, old man!"

……

"Truly, a crushing, sweeping rout!"

Li Yuan found a very high rooftop and looked down on the Zhao family mansion, ablaze in four directions. Listening to the unceasing hammer strikes, even he felt his teeth ache.

Ba Wan Li possessed not only both speed and power, but his hammer technique had also reached the perfected level—great sweeping openings and closings, with considerable form and method.

That old man who had sprung up in secret to launch a sneak attack dodged a few moves before being smashed into mincemeat.

"These Zhao family people don't fear death!"

Sha Sha Pingying leaped up with a staff, smashing the Zhao family expert who was trying to climb over the wall back to the ground, then returned to the rooftop.

The true elites of the Zhao family—many were controlled in the Divine Weapon Valley, many more were drafted away by Han Han Chuijun.

Yet the inner residence still harbored quite a number of death warriors, who now swarmed out fearlessly to kill.

"Where's that old fellow?"

Sha Sha Pingying looked all around but did not see that so-called number one expert of the Zhao family, the family head Zhao Zhao Yunsheng.

"Escaped?"

"Here!"

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened slightly.

From within the great mansion, an old man in a black robe slowly walked out. He stepped on the flesh and blood of clansmen filling the courtyard, his face twitching:

"So that Han Han Chuijun — I still underestimated his viciousness…"

Boom!

A heavy hammer struck the ground, kicking up a great cloud of dust.

"Hm?"

Ba Ba Wanli stood leaning on his hammer, his expression cold yet cautious: "You actually… have already reached Meridian Opening?"