Strength

"Hmm?"

"Bold!"

"Presumptuous!"

Such words made Yuwen Huaji's brows knot tightly, while Yuwen Chengdu and the other Yuwen Clan experts were both shocked and enraged.

It was not enough that this man had taken the Longevity Art—he even wanted to seize the Yuwen Clan's inherited secret art, the Ice Profound Force. He was truly outrageously bold!

What did he have to rely on? Where did such confidence come from?

Yuwen Huaji frowned deeply, casting a cold gaze over the people of Bao'an Hall before finally saying, "I have long heard that Mister Qingyang is devoted to the Martial Dao and has collected the martial arts of renowned masters across the land. Seeing you today, the rumors were indeed not false. Only..."

His tone shifted, carrying a chilling coldness. "I wonder whether your martial cultivation can compare to your attainments in Medical Arts?"

The map had been fully unrolled and the dagger revealed; battle could erupt at any moment!

Xu Yang smiled and stood with his hands behind his back. "Come at me together!"

"Hmm!?"

Yuwen Huaji's eyes narrowed, his heart filled with uncertainty. Yet he did not shrink back. He gave a clear shout. "Then Yuwen Huaji shall seek your guidance."

With that, he circulated his True Gang inner qi and launched himself from his horse, driving a thunderous fist at Xu Yang.

"Whoosh!!!"

As the punch flew out, a freezing howl of wind arose, and the temperature around them rapidly plunged into bitter cold.

It was the Ice Profound Force!

This inherited secret art of the Yuwen Clan possessed the power of extreme cold. Without deep cultivation, one could never withstand it.

It was now May, at the turn from spring to summer. The blazing sun hung overhead, and the air already carried a bit of summer heat. Yet the instant Yuwen Huaji unleashed the Ice Profound Force, the surroundings became incomparably frigid, several degrees below zero. Those without powerful inner qi to protect themselves all began shivering violently.

And this was only the effect of Profound Ice Extreme Cold.

Ice Profound Force—beyond Profound Ice Extreme Cold, it also had the word "force."

Facing the attack head-on, Xu Yang bore the brunt of it. He felt a frigid force pressing toward his face, seemingly present yet absent, absent yet present. It stirred the surrounding air, squeezing in from above, below, left, and right, leaving one unsure how to defend.

This was the wondrous use of the "force" within the Ice Profound Force. Its control over Profound Ice Extreme Cold had reached a miraculous level, even allowing it to initially merge with heaven and earth—or rather, with the surrounding environment—and borrow the power of heaven and earth to strike an opponent.

Were it used in the Arctic, amid extreme cold, the effects of weather, terrain, and the environment could increase the Ice Profound Force's power severalfold.

With this, Yuwen Huaji moved through court and roamed the martial world, with few rivals under heaven. He was a first-rate figure in the martial world. Even Shi Long, the Mountain Pusher and Yangzhou's foremost expert, famous for decades, had been defeated by him and met his end in Jiangnan.

This showed his strength!

Yet...

Before Bao'an Hall, Xu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, still as immovable as a mountain.

Not only did he not move, but neither did the disciples and many followers behind him. They allowed the howling wind and Ice Profound Force to wash over them.

"This...!"

The sight made everyone's pupils constrict. Before they could speak, the Ice Profound Force descended. The force that had just seemed present yet absent instantly solidified, freezing specks of ice crystals into existence in midair as it attacked from all directions.

Yet what they saw was...

"Whoosh!"

Xu Yang did not move. The void twisted, and solid True Gang qi emerged, Yin Yang moving in parallel and forming the image of Taiji.

The Taiji Diagram turned, encompassing all phenomena and transforming three thousand kinds of qi. The Ice Profound Force instantly dissolved, along with every ice crystal and trace of bitter cold in the surroundings.

Martial Scripture Fighting Scroll—Qi Transforms Three Thousand!

A Battle Scroll supreme art built upon the principles of Nine Yin Nine Yang and Primordial Chaos Taiji, using the Northern Darkness Method as its technique to absorb and dissolve power. They complemented one another, achieving Mastery Through Comprehension, granting it the ability to absorb power, disperse force, and transform three thousand kinds of qi.

Though the Ice Profound Force was a secret art of the Yuwen Clan, a supreme martial art capable of Spirit Condensation Dao Integration, its intricacies beneath that realm fell far short of the Martial Scripture.

Because the Martial Scripture had been created by Xu Yang through integrating and comprehending the martial arts of countless schools from the Great Zhou World. It had also been refined by the collective wisdom of Great Zhou's countless martial artists, innumerable gifted prodigies, great masters, and master craftsmen. After evolving thus for over two hundred years, its profundity was easy to imagine.

Every aspect had been polished and perfected to its utmost limit. It lacked only a subsequent method for Spirit Condensation Dao Integration. Compared to it, although the Ice Profound Force possessed such a method, its intricacies still fell far short. For the power of one family, one clan, could never contend with that of one nation, one world.

Of course, the Ice Profound Force had its own advantage: its method of Spirit Condensation Dao Integration.

But...

When the Martial Path Reaches Divinity and Peak Perfection, the Martial Scripture in Xu Yang's hands likewise possessed Divine Intent.

Its sole advantage had been erased. The final outcome was obvious.

The Ice Profound Force Yuwen Huaji had unleashed with all his strength was transformed into nothingness by the Taiji Diagram in an instant.

"This..."

Though he had been prepared and knew his opponent was unfathomable, no ordinary man, Yuwen Huaji still could not help changing color at this sight.

Taiji Yin Yang, Qi Transforms Three Thousand?

Such a technique...

Yuwen Huaji narrowed his eyes, looking at Xu Yang with uncertainty. "I never imagined that in just a few days, Mister would comprehend the Longevity Art, which none had been able to unravel. Yuwen Huaji admires you, truly admires you!"

His words concealed calculation; this was a probe.

Xu Yang did not care. He said calmly, "It is not the Longevity Art, but it is enough. Courtesy demands reciprocity. How about receiving one palm strike from me?"

Having said that, he paid no heed to Yuwen Huaji's reaction and raised a hand, sending out a palm strike.

"Roar!!!"

The instant his palm struck out, a dragon's cry rang forth, its bellow shaking the eight wilds. A resplendent Dragon Shadow emerged in majestic grandeur, supremely yang and supremely rigid, supremely powerful and supremely vast, blasting toward Yuwen Huaji as though to devour heaven and destroy earth.

Combat Scroll Subduing Dragon!

Back in the Great Zhou World, Xu Yang's last disciple, Chen Cejun, commander of the Heroic Guard, had used this move against enemies as well. But it had never possessed such momentum and might.

That was because Chen Cejun's cultivation had only reached the pinnacle of the True Gang Realm. He had yet to achieve Spirit Condensation Dao Integration and could not imbue this move with Divine Intent. He could only use the qi of his True Gang pinnacle to manifest a Dragon Shadow with form but no spirit. It also represented how the Great Zhou World's martial arts evolution had reached the limit of the True Gang Realm, lacking only the opening of the path toward Spirit Condensation Dao Integration.

Now, wielded by Xu Yang, under the wondrous effects of Martial Path Reaches Divinity, that flaw was finally made whole. Pure Yang power joined with the Dragon Subduing Palm. His strike was like a raging dragon emerging from the sea, its might brought to the utmost, shaking all directions.

"!!!!!!"

Faced with such a terrifying sight, Yuwen Huaji did not even have time to speak. The powerful True Gang essence throughout his body burst forth in response, and he drove the Ice Profound Force to its limit. Layer upon layer of ice crystals froze into being in the void, transforming into a gigantic crystalline ice tiger.

Profound Ice ultimate move—Ice Tiger Devouring Roar!

"Roar!!!"

The Profound Ice tiger let out a thunderous roar and stepped through the air, meeting the heaven-devouring, earth-destroying Dragon Subduing Palm with the force of mountains toppling and seas overturning.

"Boom!!!"

Dragon and tiger collided with a tremendous crash. The crystalline ice tiger exploded into flying fragments, while the Dragon Subduing Palm remained incomparably fierce and rigid. Carrying its remaining force, it blasted onward and smashed heavily into Yuwen Huaji's chest.

"Bang!!!"

Another deafening crash rang out. Clothes and armor scattered, blood splashed down, and Yuwen Huaji, suspended in midair, was blasted a hundred zhang away by the Dragon Shadow, crashing into a wine house. Whether he lived or died was unknown.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"!!!!!!"

After the shock came deathly silence. The air seemed to freeze in an instant.

Only after an unknown time did the Yuwen Clan experts recover in horror.

"Brother!"

"Big Brother!"

"Huaji!"

"Commander!"

"Release the arrows!"

"Kill!"

The Yuwen Clan experts recovered in horror. Looking at Xu Yang before Bao'an Hall, still calm and composed, they were even more terrified. They hurriedly ordered the archers to fire, while they themselves abandoned their warhorses, which had been cowed by Dragon Might and collapsed limply on the ground, and used lightness skills to rush toward Yuwen Huaji.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Though the soldiers were equally panicked, their ingrained habit of obeying orders still made them release a rain of arrows.

Xu Yang did not care. With a casual wave of his hand, a surge of True Gang qi appeared like a tide, slapping countless arrows back like raging waves. They fell into the military formation, immediately drawing cries of pain.

At the same time, somewhere unknown.

"Wooo!!!"

A long, resonant horn sounded, spreading throughout the entire city of Xuzhou in an instant.

"Move!"

"Kill!"

Amid the horn blast, countless figures suddenly surged out from the empty streets on either side. All were robust armored soldiers, carrying sabers at their waists and bows in their hands.

In an instant, like a tidal surge, ten thousand men appeared. Mysterious Armored Martial Guards charged forth from all sides, while numerous archers climbed onto the buildings, taking the high ground to lock onto the Yuwen Clan troops and Xiaoguo Imperial Guards. Their bowstrings were drawn full like moons, and arrows poured down like rain.

Elsewhere, outside Xuzhou City, Yuwen Clan's Chief Strategist, Yuwen Zhiji, was gazing toward Xuzhou under the company of several aristocratic family heads dressed in brocade and fine robes.

"Xuzhou lies in the heartland of the Central Plains. Since ancient times, it has been a vital gateway under heaven, a place every military power must contend for."

"How could such magnificent rivers and mountains be occupied by lowly commoners?"

"That Xu Qingyang has relied on Wang Bosheng's power, using the tiger's might through the fox, for many years. Today, retribution has finally come for him."

"Brother Yuwen is a pillar of the state. Once he pacifies this rebellion, his name will surely shake the realm..."

The family heads drank and laughed together, brimming with ambition.

Yet Yuwen Zhiji held his wine cup, his heart heavy with worry and waves of unease.

Where did this unease come from?

He could not explain it.

His brother, Yuwen Huaji, was the strongest man in the Yuwen Clan aside from Clan Head Yuwen Shang. Even across the realm, he ranked among the first class. Apart from the Three Grandmasters, the Lingnan Heavenly Saber, the Yin Kui Sect Master, the successor of Cihang, and figures such as those of the Jingnian Zen Sect and the Four Great Holy Monks, he had virtually no rivals.

Added to that were Yuwen Chengdu and the other Yuwen Clan experts, a large force of troops, personal guard imperial troops, and reinforcements from Xuzhou's major aristocratic families. Let alone a mere Bao'an Hall, even Li Zitong, the Rebel King whose fame was currently the greatest and whose power was at its height, would be swept away in a single battle.

But why did he feel such unease in his heart, one that was even growing stronger and stronger...

"Wooo!!!"

Just as Yuwen Zhiji was caught in uncertainty, a long, resonant horn sounded from within Xuzhou City.

"Hmm?"

"Where did that horn come from?"

Yuwen Zhiji's expression changed as he sensed something was wrong.

Just then...

A middle-aged man who had just been drinking and laughing beside him suddenly drew a soft sword from his waist, immediately pinning down his movements.

"You...!!!"

Yuwen Zhiji looked at the man in shock and fury, about to speak, only to see that the other family heads had done the same. One after another, they drew weapons concealed on their persons and watched him coldly.

In an instant, a terrifying conjecture surfaced in his mind, turning Yuwen Zhiji's face deathly pale. He forced himself to remain standing and said, "You... are not the Zhang Family Head!"

"As expected of the Yuwen Clan's Chief Strategist. Your wisdom is truly exceptional."

The middle-aged man smiled faintly. He removed the human-skin mask from his face with one hand, revealing the handsome face of a youth. "Please. Master has been waiting for a long time."

"Master?"

Yuwen Zhiji muttered. The confusion in his heart instantly cleared as he looked at the "family heads" before him. He could not help giving a bitter laugh. "What a Xu Qingyang, what a Bao'an Hall. I never imagined you had developed to such a point. The aristocratic families of Xuzhou must have long since been replaced by you, Substitute the Plum for the Peach, hadn't they?"

After saying this, he ignored the sword threatening his neck and turned to look toward Xuzhou City, where flames of war raged. "No wonder that while the realm is in chaos and the people's livelihoods have withered, Xuzhou has remained so prosperous. It had changed hands long ago. In these short sixteen years... just how much has happened?"

"You..."

Yuwen Zhiji turned back, looking at the youth and his group. "Who exactly are you people!!!"