“According to Ji Qian, the vessel can’t be broken before the Fate is extracted. In other words, if the ‘vessel’ breaks, would the Fate return to Da Feng?
“If I tell Lord Wei about these things, how will he treat me?”
As he lay on the bed after blowing out the candle, Xu Qi An suddenly had this doubt.
He could edit the information, only telling Lord Wei about the existence of the First-Generation Supervisor and the remnants of the Da Feng royal family, without revealing information about the Fate.
But the problem was, he didn’t know what level Wei Yuan was at, just as he couldn’t see through what level the Supervisor was at.
If he told Wei Yuan this information, and Wei Yuan combined it with the information and knowledge he possessed, deducing the inside story of the Fate…
Oh, so Da Feng’s national power is weakening, the people are suffering, and the court is riddled with problems, all because the Fate was lost, and the Fate is on Xu Qi An.
As an ambitious statesman dedicated to sweeping away long-standing ills, would Wei Yuan sacrifice personal relationships for the greater good of the country and people or choose to cover up and turn a blind eye?
This isn’t me being overly anxious. Based on Wei Yuan’s demonstrated skills and his reputation, if I’m at level eighteen, he might be at level ninety-nine… Xu Qi An sat up, pondering in the darkness.
Suddenly, he had the feeling that the whole world was out to get him.
The First and Current Generation couldn’t be trusted. If Wei Yuan, the strong leg he had been clinging to, knew about the Fate, he might also turn against him.
“What should I do?”
In the darkness of night, Xu Qi An murmured to himself.
“If I had the combat power of the third rank or even the second rank, I could walk sideways, jump out of the chessboard, and become a chess player. But I’m just a sixth-rank martial artist.
“The First-Generation Supervisor is like a sword hanging over my head. Even if it won’t fall shortly, I sense it won’t be too long. I’m afraid I can’t become a peak martial artist in the short term.
“In that case, the best response is to set a tiger to catch a wolf, using the enemy’s enemy to deal with the enemy. But neither the First nor the Current Generation are good…”
After a very long time, Xu Qi An’s soft laughter broke the silence of the room: “I’ve thought of a way.
“First, protect the Lotus Seeds and quickly advance to the fifth rank… Then return to the capital and play a game of truth or dare with Lord Wei…”
…
At dawn, as the first rays of morning light fell, black-robed spies transported more than twenty cannons, slowly moving along the main road at the foot of the Yue Clan Manor.
Tianji and Tianzu stood by the roadside, hands behind their backs, watching side by side as their subordinates arranged the cannons in a line.
The spies were methodically preparing for the firing, unafraid of enemies from the manor attacking or sabotaging, because not far from this cannon team were the Lotus Taoists of the Earth Sect and their disciples.
There were also the top experts of the Martial Arts Alliance led by Cao Qingyang. Although the relationship between the two sides was not cordial, they had a common goal. If the Yue Clan Manor tried to sabotage the cannons through sneak attacks, the Martial Arts Alliance people would certainly intervene to stop them.
“You were too impulsive yesterday. You shouldn’t have used His Majesty’s gold token to threaten the Martial Arts Alliance,” Tianzu said calmly.
Her voice was cool, with the magnetism of a mature woman.
“It was just to test the Martial Arts Alliance’s attitude. Although Cao Qingyang is stubborn, the Martial Arts Alliance is still on the opposite side of the Yue Clan Manor,” Tianji snorted coldly.
The attitude of the Ink Pavilion and Divine Fist Gang last night had made him extremely vigilant. If a large number of dissenting voices appeared within the Martial Arts Alliance, then this behemoth of Sword Province, even if it didn’t defect to the Yue Clan Manor, would greatly reduce its combat effectiveness.
So, he had to sound out the Martial Arts Alliance. Of course, calling them to account was also true. If Cao Qingyang had succumbed to the court’s authority, then he would have bet correctly.
On the contrary, although he had taken some risks, his assessment wasn’t wrong – Cao Qingyang didn’t kill him.
As the Alliance Leader, no matter how arrogant or rebellious, he was different from a lone jianghu ruffian and had to consider more factors.
The gains were decent, but the cost was equally great. As a fourth-rank expert and one of the spy leaders, being humiliated and beaten by Cao Qingyang, without sufficient depth of character, it would take some time to get out of the psychological shadow.
Tianji said in a low voice, “We only need to provide fire support, to open a gap for the Earth Sect. The subsequent struggle for the Lotus Seeds is not our main objective. Killing Xu Qi An is, understand?”
Tianzu made an “mm” sound and smiled, “Last night he used the Heaven and Earth Slash and Confucian magic. He can’t possibly recover in just a few hours. If we don’t kill him now, when will we?”
As Duke Huai’s spies, now loyal to the emperor, they knew Xu Qi An like the back of their hand. After analyzing the scene afterward, evaluating, and considering the shattered talisman on that mysterious young man’s body.
And the sudden teleportation in front of everyone, using a sword talisman to kill two fourth-rank escorts.
They initially determined that Xu Qi An had used the “Heaven and Earth Slash” and Confucian magic, and according to the data, these two techniques came at a huge cost.
…
The Martial Arts Alliance, Earth Sect, and Duke Huai’s spies gathered together. Behind them were hundreds of jianghu observers.
Some were pure independent cultivators, some were from small sects hoping to fish in troubled waters.
After yesterday’s small-town raid, the enthusiasm of these jianghu people had been greatly dampened. On one hand, they were wary of the Yue Clan Manor’s strength and had faced reality.
On the other hand, Xu Qi An’s identity began to ferment, his influence gradually deepening, making people increasingly wary and unwilling to be his enemy.
“We’ve waited for this day for a long time, but unfortunately, this isn’t our stage,” Liu Hu, leaning on a copper staff, sighed in the crowd.
“Maybe there’s still a chance to fish in troubled waters,” a companion said hopefully.
“I calculated the combat power of both sides yesterday. Based on the strength the Yue Clan Manor has shown openly, it’s vastly inferior to the Martial Arts Alliance, Earth Sect, and that batch of court experts.”
“It’s more than vastly inferior. Don’t forget, the Earth Sect leader hasn’t appeared yet. That’s a second-rank expert. If he comes, he’ll sweep the field.”
“In that case, we won’t even have a chance to fish in troubled waters.”
“Hey, do you think if Xu Silver Constable brings out his Buddhist combat power, would he have a chance to hard counter the Earth Sect leader?”
“Wasn’t it said that in the Buddhist battle, the Supervisor was secretly assisting?”
“Just chatting casually. I’m talking about Xu Silver Constable’s imposing manner during the Buddhist battle. Of course, I know it was the Supervisor secretly assisting.”
Young Master Liu, carrying his sword, walked towards the women of the Ten Thousand Flowers House, his face showing worry. He said, “Rongrong, I heard my master say that the Yue Clan Manor is just putting up stubborn resistance. The chances of keeping the Lotus Seeds are not high.”
Rongrong turned her head to look at this peer with whom she had a good relationship but found his gaze discreetly appraising the charming figure of the House Master.
“I don’t care whether the Yue Clan Manor can protect the Lotus Seeds or not,” Rongrong said softly.
In Rongrong’s view, Young Master Liu’s gaze was already extremely restrained. This was unavoidable, after all, the House Master was such a stunning beauty, too eye-catching. If a man didn’t steal a glance, that would be the problem.
“Our thoughts are the same,” Young Master Liu smiled.
This was also the thinking of most people, including the fairies of the Ten Thousand Flowers House present. What did it matter to them whether the Yue Clan Manor could keep the Lotus Seeds?
As long as Xu Silver Constable didn’t come to any mishap, it would be fine.
They admired Xu Silver Constable’s righteousness but didn’t want to see him fall here. This didn’t conflict with their desire to compete for the Lotus Seeds.
…
Inside the Yue Clan Manor.
The disciples of the Heaven and Earth Society gathered, gripping their talismans, on high alert.
It was supposed to be a mobilization meeting, but the White Lotus Taoist discovered that facing the imminent battle, the disciples’ nervousness and fear were more severe than imagined.
The White Lotus Taoist stood before the disciples, her tone gentle: “According to the previous deployment, just hold your positions. Don’t be nervous, don’t be afraid, you don’t need to deal with fourth-rank experts.”
The disciples nodded, but their nervousness didn’t diminish.
They were still young, having hardly experienced battles of this scale, no, it could even be called a war.
Seeing this, Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen in turn offered a few words of comfort, but to little effect.
What’s the use of shouting slogans… Xu Qi An, carrying his sword, walked over calmly. He could see the tension on their faces.
He stood before the disciples, leaning on his sword, and said calmly, “For you, this is an opportunity.”
Qiu Chanchan and other disciples immediately looked at him, listening attentively.
“What is the goal of the Heaven and Earth Society? You know better than I do. Who you will face in the future, I don’t need to say, right?” Xu Qi An looked around at everyone.
The disciples nodded.
Of course, they knew, but they weren’t fully prepared, nor did they have enough strength. Now, facing the Earth Sect’s demon cultivators prematurely gave the young disciples a sense of being thrust unprepared into a difficult situation.
“When I first took on the Sangbo case, I felt much like you do now – anxious and unsure, lacking confidence in myself. But in the end, I solved the case. Do you know why?”
As they listened to Xu Silver Constable recount his experience, the tension in the disciples’ hearts eased.
“Because unlike you, I had no way out. At the time, I had been sentenced to waist-slicing for beheading a superior. If I didn’t atone for my crime with meritorious service, it was a dead end for me.”
Qiu Chanchan said in a crisp voice, “Young Master Xu, you did nothing wrong.”
The other disciples hurriedly agreed.
“This isn’t about right or wrong. Please grasp my core meaning,” Xu Qi An glared at the young Taoist girl and said solemnly, “I had no way out, so I could risk everything. Including later in Yun Province when I alone held off the rebel army… It was also because I had no way out. The situation was very critical then, if I didn’t give it my all, the entire army might have been wiped out…”
Xu Qi An spoke eloquently, recounting his experiences. The disciples listened attentively, and as he went on, their emotions were stirred, feeling their blood slowly boiling.
Listening to the glorious deeds of an admired figure produces a certain emotional resonance. This was exactly the resonance Xu Qi An was aiming for.
“Now you have a chance. Fight to the death to defend the Earth Sect’s last dignity. When the sect is restored in the future, each of your names will be in the Earth Sect’s chronicles. Your legends will be immortalized.”
The White Lotus Taoist was surprised to find that the disciples’ emotions had become excited, exhilarated, and fearless.
Indeed, when someone with prestige speaks, everything they say seems right… Hmm, his rhetoric is also very skillful, combining his own experiences to stir the disciples’ emotions… The White Lotus Taoist looked at the young man leaning on his sword and felt inexplicably at ease.
She felt he was a reliable, trustworthy partner who made people feel secure.
…
Both sides waited, countless people eagerly anticipating. Time passed minute by minute, second by second, and slowly, the sun rose to its zenith.
Around noon, deep in the Yue Clan Manor, a beam of rosy light shot into the sky. At the base of this pillar of light, nine colors slowly flickered.
The Lotus Seeds were about to mature…
Tianji waved his hand and shouted, “Fire!”
Dense inscriptions lit up on the steel bodies of the cannons. The next moment, the sound of cannon fire was like thunder, earth-shattering.
The massive recoil made the heavy steel cannon bodies slide backward, kicking up large clods of earth.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
Amidst piercing whistles, cannonballs traced perfect parabolas, crashing thunderously into the energy dome outside the Yue Clan Manor.
It was a hemispherical dome covering the entire manor, semi-transparent and clear in color. The cannonballs exploded in dazzling flashes of light on the dome’s surface, shock waves raging like hurricanes.
Outside the manor, at the focal point of the first layer of defensive formation, Nangong Qianrou’s face flushed red. Each cannonball explosion felt like it was detonating on his body, churning his qi and blood, bringing a sweet taste of blood to his throat.
Divine light flickered on the surface of his body as he continuously input energy to maintain the dome’s stability.
“What kind of formation is this, with such powerful defense? It can withstand such intense cannon fire.”
The various factions watching were dumbfounded.
Cannons were an important means for the Da Feng court to dominate the Nine Provinces and deter all sides. Their destructive power was unquestionable.
A volley from twenty cannons would cost a fourth-rank martial artist half their life. Yet the defensive formation before them only showed violent tremors.
This meant the formation’s defense was stronger than a fourth-rank martial artist’s physical body.
“This reminds me of the city defense formations of border cities… How can the Yue Clan Manor have such a strong formation?”
“Right, weren’t there sorcerers involved in last night’s battle?” Someone suddenly realized.
No wonder the Yue Clan Manor’s defensive formation was so powerful.
“Fire!” Tianji calmly gave the order for the second round of firing.
As Duke Huai’s spy who had served on the northern border for many years, he could see through the formation’s strengths and weaknesses at a glance. It could withstand at most three rounds of bombardment. And they had brought enough cannonballs this time to level the Yue Clan Manor to the ground if needed.
“Grasping the bright moon to pluck stars, none in the world are like me!”
A deep chanting suddenly rang out, clearly reaching the ears of the crowd amidst the dense cannon fire.
They turned their heads in surprise, looking towards the source of the sound. On the southern hillside stood a white-robed sorcerer, his back to the crowd.
He raised his foot and lightly stamped. The light of formation patterns lit up.
Cannons and crossbows arranged themselves around him, their muzzles and arrow slots turning to aim at the crowd below.
Tianzu’s expression changed as she cried out, “Retreat!”
Bang bang bang…
Boom boom boom…
Fireballs expanded and exploded, instantly shattering twelve cannons into pieces, turning that area into a wasteland. Not only that, the cannons and crossbows also covered the “onlookers”.
But whether intentional or due to poor aim, the cannons only exploded near the crowd, scaring the jianghu folk into scurrying away, trembling, but not taking any lives.
However, nearly half of the twenty-odd spies of Duke Huai were lost in the cannon fire. This was already the result of Tianzu and Tianji detecting the danger early and ordering a retreat.
As Young Master Liu fled in panic, he couldn’t help but look back, puzzlement arising in his heart.
If that sorcerer had launched a sneak attack just now, he could have achieved a perfect enemy-killing effect. Why did he have to recite a poem?
“Too strong, high-rank sorcerers are too powerful…”
“Yes, this is the power that martial artists can never touch.”
After escaping the cannon bombardment, the various sects of the Martial Arts Alliance and independent jianghu practitioners stopped, looking back at the scene with lingering fear.
Then they realized something…
“That high-rank sorcerer has already shown mercy, the cannons deliberately avoided the crowd.”
“Is this a warning to us?”
“Now that those black-robed people’s cannons have been destroyed, but the defensive formation is still there, how do they plan to attack?”
This was indeed a thorny problem. In mid-air, the Red Lotus Taoist Elder, standing on his flying sword, said loudly, “Alliance Leader Cao, how long do you plan to watch? The Lotus Seeds are about to mature, let’s quickly join forces to break the formation.”
“No need for such trouble!”
A purple-robed figure came flying through the air like a meteor, straight towards the energy dome.
The spherical dome suddenly caved in, holding on for less than two seconds before shattering with a boom, dissipating into a clear breeze that stirred up dust.
Nangong Qianrou vomited a mouthful of blood, his beautiful face filled with shock.
“Oh…”
In the distance, Yang Qianhuan let out a surprised “Oh”.
The formation was broken just like that… Seeing this scene, the crowd outside was momentarily bewildered. Since when had Alliance Leader Cao become so powerful?
With just one strike, he broke through a formation that twenty cannons firing together couldn’t tear open.
Third rank?!
Tianji and Tianzu looked at each other in shock. Having served the Northern Marquis closely, they were all too familiar with the aura of a third-rank expert.
Although not as thick and powerful as the Northern Marquis, this aura gave them a strong sense of déjà vu.
“Third rank?”
Red Lotus Taoist Elder was stunned, standing still in mid-air, looking deeply at that purple robe. “Cao Qingyang, when did you advance to the third rank?”
This question was like a huge stone dropped into the crowd, causing an uproar.