Looking at the two sides locked in fierce combat in the distance, Wei Yuan fell into deep thought.
The timing was right, the location was right, and the fluttering royal banner of the State of Zhao proved the target was right. But what was with these two clashing groups? One side looked like horse bandits and fought like horse bandits, yet they were not horse bandits at all.
Wei Yuan had a sharp eye. What horse bandits would all be uniformly equipped with standard military weapons, especially when riding identical standard military mounts? Armor and gear were somewhat plausible—Wei Yuan himself was currently clad in standard issue—but warhorses were impossible.
For Wei Yuan’s mere three hundred riders, their mounts were a motley mix of all breeds and colors, looking like an irregular rabble at first glance. Yet the warhorses ridden by those bandits were all of the same breed and roughly the same grade. Only a kingdom or a great clan possessed such capability.
What did it mean for a group of fake bandits to beat him to the punch and raid his target? Was this part of the test, or was someone trying to snatch his fortune away?
After a moment's thought, Wei Yuan deemed the latter unlikely. Who could procure thousands of standard, fine military steeds yet still covet the meager scraps offered by royal in-laws? Unless one was as destitute as Wei Yuan, who would bother clinging to the coattails of an imperial consort's kin?
In the court of Western Jin, the leg of an imperial in-law was barely thicker than a strand of leg hair on the scholar purists.
The more Wei Yuan thought about it, the more his head ached. Turning to Cui Yu beside him, he asked, "When your clan conducts some sort of trial or test and you want to prove your strength to the family, what do you usually do?"
Not quite understanding why Wei Yuan was asking this, Cui Yu replied, "Isn't that simple? The best way to prove yourself is to tell all your rivals to come at once, and then beat every single one of them into the dirt."
Wei Yuan understood.
Donning his mask, he hefted his spear and barked, "There aren't many enemies. Try to take them alive later, but if anyone can't see reason, make sure they die miserably! If you run into an expert, remember to drive them toward me. Alright, get ready—charge!"
All three hundred riders were clad in matching black armor and carried long spears. Light shimmered on every one of them as their momentum surged higher and higher, actually coalescing into a military qi that normally required ten thousand elite soldiers to produce!
This time, Wei Yuan did not hold back. He bestowed a thread of karmic luck upon every rider, and three threads to each of the fifty core members. Then, Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains manifested, and Outlaw of Heaven and Earth was activated. Under this dual enhancement, the riders grew a full size larger, turning ferocious as tigers as they charged savagely toward the battlefield!
Three hundred Dao Foundations charging in unison unleashed a momentum that connected heaven and earth, sending a pillar of azure qi soaring straight into the clouds!
Instantly, countless experts on the battlefield felt a shudder in their hearts and looked toward that direction all at once.
Inside the carriage, the young woman’s eyes widened. Staring in disbelief at the pillar of azure qi, she blurted out, "Is that military qi? Three hundred men can produce military qi? Isn't that almost on par with Imperial Father's Imperial Eagle Cavalry?"
The old man kept his eyes half-closed and mumbled, "It's decent, but still a bit shy of the Imperial Eagle Cavalry. Your father's Imperial Eagle Cavalry were chosen from battlefields, men who clawed their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. There are no wet-behind-the-ears greenhorns among them."
The young woman gave an assenting hum, her eyes glued to the scene.
Three hundred riders, yet they charged with the momentum of an army ten thousand strong! Both forces still fighting locked their eyes on the oncoming cavalry and were horrified, subconsciously slowing their blows.
Wei Yuan sat steadily upon his Azure Steed, calm and composed. Pointing a finger forward, a Jade Mountain appeared out of thin air, crashing down heavily toward the center of the battlefield. The thousands of battling soldiers were struck with terror, crying out in panic as they scattered in all directions.
When the Jade Mountain was just a zhang above the ground, it suddenly vanished. Wei Yuan had no real desire to crush these common soldiers to death. Even so, the Jade Mountain's might was immense; the blast of wind generated by its descent flipped several hundred men and horses in the landing area, blowing open a path for the charge.
Without waiting for Wei Yuan's command, the three hundred riders split naturally into ten squads. The first squad of thirty riders, like thirty charging war elephants, crashed through the enemy ranks. All the riders raised their spears simultaneously and hacked downward with ferocity, unleashing spear qi over a dozen zhang long that blasted anyone it touched tumbling away.
Veteran soldiers with any discernment were scared out of their wits—every single one of the thirty vanguard riders was a Dao Foundation cultivator!
Inside the carriage, the old man opened his eyes slightly wider.
The moment the first squad broke through, the second squad of thirty plunged right in, similarly unleashing thirty long beams of spear radiance that mowed down a swath of warriors, making no distinction between factions.
Another thirty Dao Foundations!
The young woman's eyes were wide as saucers, her hands unconsciously balling into fists, afraid to miss the slightest detail.
In the blink of an eye, the third and fourth squads tore through the formation. A combined total of sixty sweeps of spear radiance left over a thousand men sprawled on the ground, unable to rise.
Inside the carriage, the old man coughed and slowly sat up.
The fifth squad charged in right behind them. The cavalry squads fanned out wider and wider, tearing open an ever-expanding breach. Within moments, the gap spanned more than half the battlefield—it could hardly be called a breach anymore.
Right at that moment, a sudden flash of saber radiance erupted from among the bandits, sweeping away seven beams of spear radiance in a single breath!
A young man with a lazy smile stepped forward, saber in hand, and said, "As expected, an unexpected variable. Good thing I wasn't at ease and came over to take a look. You're quite good, but it's a pity you've run into me—"
Before he could finish, a figure suddenly appeared before him.
It was a young woman wearing a mask, her long hair drifting in the wind, holding an extraordinarily long saber. Though her face was concealed, her exposed neck and hands were as fair and delicate as snow; the face beneath the mask was undoubtedly exquisite.
The young man's smile broadened. "You use a saber too? Perfect, I can teach you a thing or two. My name is Wang Ziyan—"
The young woman had no desire to exchange words with him. With a flick of her hand, a slender, gentle arc of saber radiance swept toward him.
Wang Ziyan laughed loudly. "The saber is the sovereign of weapons! This is how it should be used!"
He gripped his saber with both hands, his momentum surging violently as he delivered a savage chop that seemed capable of cleaving mountains and peaks!
In that split second, even if a mountain or an ocean stood before him, he could slice it clean in two!
When the domineering blade clashed with the slender, delicate arc of saber light, an earth-shattering roar erupted, like two Mountain Folk giants swinging iron hammers with all their might against each other!
Wang Ziyan felt as though he had been struck by the gigantic palm of an ancient powerhouse. His whole body shuddered violently, his arms instantly losing all sensation, and his massive, precious saber went flying high into the sky, rocketing hundreds of zhang upward before suddenly shattering into countless pieces.
Wang Ziyan's mind went completely blank.
The young woman did not press her advantage to follow up the attack. Instead, she paused to think, retrieved a crushed packet of pastries from her chest, tossed it before Wang Ziyan, and asked, "How many days has it been since you ate? Why don't you eat something first before we fight?"
Wang Ziyan could not tell whether his heart was weeping or bleeding. Seeing her raise her long saber again, he cried out in bitter despair, "I surrender!"
The young woman pondered for another moment and said, "I don't know if we take prisoners. Lie down first!"
Before Wang Ziyan could argue, a heavy blow struck his back as the young woman slammed him face-first into the dirt with the flat of her blade. She then brought her foot down on his back, stomping him straight into the earth, and swept a gust of blade wind to kick the loose soil back over him.
That single stomp sent shockwaves through Wang Ziyan's sea of consciousness and rattled his origin soul. Fractures spiderwebbed across every bone in his body, leaving him entirely paralyzed to watch himself get buried alive. Fortunately, with his Dao Foundation intact, being buried for a day or two would not kill him.
By the time the seventh squad burst through the battle lines, a third of the combatants from both original sides were on the ground, while the rest had thrown down their weapons and knelt, unwilling to get back up. A full two hundred Dao Foundations—this was not a fight meant for mortals.
Having swept the central battlefield clear, the three hundred riders regrouped and advanced on the convoy. The general guarding the Zhao state delegation had already ordered his men into formation around the central boat-carriage. He shouted, "We are envoys of Zhao, escorting Princess Ningguo on a diplomatic mission to Western Jin! Who are you to dare abduct a royal princess?"
The rider in the center said flatly, "We are the foremost horse bandits of the Western Regions, the Fifty Heaven-Battling Bandits."
The Zhao general looked at the three hundred masked riders before him. He had never heard of any Heaven-Battling Bandits. Softening his tone, he said, "Princess Ningguo is deeply favored by our King and is the biological younger sister of Consort Yuan of Western Jin. If you withdraw now, I can pretend none of this ever happened. Otherwise, once the immortals of both nations are enraged, the world may be vast, but there will be nowhere for you to hide."
The rider nodded. "That makes sense. So, to ensure no harm comes to the Princess, will you dismount and surrender on your own, or do you insist on making me do it?"
An old man suddenly materialized in front of Wei Yuan, his eyes half-open and half-shut, speaking slowly, "It is good for young people to have drive, but being overly arrogant is not."
Wei Yuan's heart stirred. Knowing the true trial had finally arrived, he asked, "Who are you?"
The old man chuckled. "Who this old man is matters not. You only need to know that the item is in my hands. If you want it, come take it with your own skill."
The young woman with the long saber made to dash forward, but Wei Yuan hauled her back.
Leaping into the air, Wei Yuan landed before the old man and said, "Pardon the offense."
The old man waved his hand with a genial smile. "No matter. Feel free to give it your all."
Wei Yuan gripped his spear. The shaft of the weapon he now held was dark silver, and instead of a spearhead, its tip was fitted with a long, crescent-shaped blade, resembling a battle-axe and yet also looking like a crescent-bladed halberd.
Staring at the old man, Wei Yuan abruptly shifted several zhang sideways.
The old man turned slightly to keep facing Wei Yuan, somewhat puzzled as to what the youth was trying to do.
Wei Yuan hesitated no longer. A ring of light abruptly burst in front of him, and a dazzling jet of water blasted out from within it, arriving before the old man in an instant!
The old man's expression finally changed. His long eyebrows whipped about, and an ancient book appeared in his hand out of nowhere. Its pages fluttered continuously, releasing countless profound dictums and sublime teachings to intercept the water jet.
As a grand dharma idol cultivator, the old man's movements were swift as lightning yet carried an easy elegance, displaying the consummate poise of a grandmaster.
Yet the sacred words and moral maxims flying from the scroll failed to impede the water stream in the slightest. The water slammed directly into the book in an instant; the sage sayings scattered wildly in all directions, and more than half the ancient volume was instantly abraded away!
A sharp light gleamed in the old man's eyes, wiping away all drowsiness. Three classical scrolls manifested above his head, releasing countless words of the sages to form a curtain of light that finally halted the water stream.
Yet the old man immediately discovered that his dharmic power was draining away like water through opened floodgates, half of it vanishing in the blink of an eye! Only then did he realize that the power of this radiant water stream was unimaginably vast, like dozens of Dao Foundation cultivators striking him at once!
In the span of a breath, more than half his dharmic power had been consumed, while the opponent's water stream poured on endlessly with no sign of stopping. The old man could no longer afford to preserve face and moved to dodge.
Suddenly, he remembered: if he dodged, that water blade would strike the carriage behind him! Only now did the old man understand why the rider had taken several sideways steps first.
With no other choice, the old man could only grit his teeth and endure. Fortunately, just as his dharmic power was about to run dry, the water stream finally ceased.
Yet the moment the water vanished, the rider let out a thunderous shout and thrust his spear straight toward his chest!
Rousing what little dharmic power he had left, the old man condensed it into a scroll to block the thrust.
Fierce, domineering, and unstoppable, the spear shattered the ancient book to pieces!
The old man's dharmic power collapsed, leaving him completely defenseless for a fleeting instant. Fortunately, he could tell the rider was also at his wits' end, with hardly any dao power left to squeeze out. And as a dharma idol cultivator, the old man could regenerate his dharmic power in a single breath, re-manifesting the book to shield himself.
Yet in that very split second of an opening, the strange spear in the rider's hands suddenly went bang, spraying out a storm of iron sand that blanketed the old man from head to toe! The old man instantly felt searing agony in his origin soul. His dharma idol felt as if it were being gnawed by tens of thousands of ants; unable to hold out any longer, he tilted backward and collapsed.
Though Wei Yuan's iron sand possessed little raw force, it was specially crafted, every grain soaked in Demonic Soul-Eroding Incense.
With the old man down and the greatest threat removed, Wei Yuan turned his gaze toward Feng Lin and the two thousand troops still standing with him.
True to his reputation as a battle-hardened fierce general, Vice General Feng instantly tossed his saber to the ground. His soldiers were remarkably sharp-witted as well, tossing their weapons down in unison and stepping back to form up their ranks.
Wei Yuan then looked toward the Zhao general. Composed and calm, the general said, "Say no more. Today, there is only death for me!"
Wei Yuan did not argue with him; he merely pointed his spear toward the boat-carriage.
The general's expression shifted several times before he finally gritted his teeth. "As long as you guarantee the Princess's safety, I will surrender!"
"Rest assured, not a soul will touch a single hair on the Princess."
The Zhao general let out a long sigh and threw his spear to the ground.
Looking back at the old man lying on the ground, Wei Yuan suddenly realized a very serious question: what exactly was that item?
Back then, the Marquis of Xiang had sent word merely saying to fetch an item. This old man had claimed the item was in his hands. Both sides had acted with the supreme airs of lofty masters, mastering the art of speaking in half-sentences, and neither had mentioned what that thing actually was.
Still, this was easily resolved. Wei Yuan waved his hand. "Search him!"
The old man still retained a final thread of consciousness. At this, he was both alarmed and furious. Struggling to lift a finger, he pointed at one person and wheezed tremulously, "My body... only she may search! Otherwise... I'll fight you to the death..."
Wei Yuan turned and saw that the old man was pointing at Xu Yi. He immediately understood.
As the sages said: food and beauty are human nature.
The sages truly did not deceive.
In truth, Feng Tingyu was even more beautiful than Xu Yi, but that little martial sister carried too heavy an aura of the Hall of the Bright King. She was fine so long as she remained silent and still, but the moment she spoke, her cover was blown, and the moment she moved, it was even worse—striking anyone looked like a raging dragon swatting at flies.
Since the old man had spoken, Wei Yuan graciously obliged. He said to Xu Yi, "Go ahead."
Hearing those words, the old man finally let out a sigh of relief. The tension in his mind broke, and he fainted dead away. The Demonic Soul-Eroding Incense was far too vicious; even a renowned dharma idol grandmaster could not withstand it once his dharmic power was depleted.
Xu Yi looked somewhat reluctant and asked, "What am I searching for?"
This question stumped Wei Yuan again. But Wei Yuan had a solution: since he didn't know what the item was, he might as well take everything. It was bound to be among his belongings anyway.
And so Wei Yuan said, "Strip him bare."
Chapter 255