Besieging the City

"Heh! Junior Brother Jingyuan worries too much."

Gu Han shook his head with a smile and said:

"Though the realms of Patriarchs Jue Ming and Liao Kong are formidable, they are not invincible. Moreover, in a clash of armies, individual strength is nearly negligible. Even if A Yanda can match a thousand men alone, what use is that before an army of a hundred thousand or even millions?

So in my view, King Ming Zhu Hong may not necessarily lose. And even if he does, so what?

As the saying goes, counter soldiers with generals, stem water with earth. We martial artists, when faced with hardships and obstacles, must swim against the current and blast open a path to the heavens with our own fists."

A brilliant light shone in Gu Han's eyes, and an aura of domineering arrogance that looked down upon the world arose from him.

This was not conceit, but confidence.

Though in terms of martial realm, he had just broken through to Blood Tempering and Organ Refining, making him insignificant in this world—countless others surpassed him in realm.

But realm was realm, and strength was strength. Now that he had just entered Blood Tempering and Organ Refining, his powerful physique and blood qi constantly told him that his strength was no less than any invincible master at Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi.

It could be said that in this world, though Gu Han was not truly invincible, he was absolutely among the top three. As long as he did not encounter the Great Barbarian King A Yanda, Gu Han was confident he would lose to no one!

"Haha! Senior Brother, such bold spirit! Your junior is ashamed—far inferior! It seems this breakthrough to Blood Tempering has truly multiplied your strength, far beyond what I imagined!"

Looking at the confident Gu Han, Jingyuan also smiled and praised.

He knew that this senior brother of his had always been a low-key man, far more steady than himself.

Just like back then, when his senior brother had cultivated for three years and already rivaled a Blood Tempering expert, he had endured Wang Lang's provocations without striking back. If not for his own life being in danger, his senior brother would probably have continued to lie low. This showed his temperament.

But now, after emerging from seclusion, his senior brother was acting out of character, speaking such grand words. It seemed his strength had increased beyond what Jingyuan could imagine.

"Could I have been mistaken just now? Is my senior brother's current strength comparable to a Minor Accomplishment of Internal Qi expert?"

Jingyuan made a bold guess in his heart, concluding that Gu Han's strength should be around Minor Accomplishment of Internal Qi. As for rivaling Great Accomplishment, he dared not think it.

Just as Gu Han emerged from seclusion, at the border of Fangnan Prefecture in the Great Yan Kingdom, countless dense ranks of soldiers were slowly advancing toward Starfall City in Fangnan Prefecture.

Starfall City was a city at the border between Fangnan Prefecture and Yunhai Prefecture in Great Yan, named so because a celestial star had fallen there a thousand years ago.

A dozen years ago, it had been an ordinary city. But now, it had long become King Ming Zhu Hong's first and most important line of defense in Fangnan Prefecture. Not only had the city walls been raised threefold, but their thickness had also been reinforced to over three feet, making the city crouch on the ground like an ancient primordial beast.

"Halt!"

A loud shout rang out from the army outside the city.

At the front of the army, a man clad in golden armor—with a flat nose, wide mouth, dark and ugly face, and thick body hair like a wild beast—shouted.

This man was the Barbarian King of the Great Barbarian Kingdom, the unparalleled prodigy who surpassed Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi: A Yanda.

"Tramp, tramp!"

As A Yanda's voice fell, two orderly footstep sounds rang out instantly. The army stopped at once, moving as precisely as the finest machinery.

"Wang Zhongyi, go and taunt them!"

Seated on a blood-red steed, A Yanda held his Halberd, looking extraordinary and majestic. Once the army halted, he ordered a silver-armored general beside him in the Barbarian language.

"Yes, my noble King!"

Wang Zhongyi bowed respectfully, his somewhat aged face full of fawning flattery.

Now, after more than a decade of weathering, his body was no longer as robust as before. Half the hair on his head had turned white, and even his back had become somewhat hunched, giving him the look of a fallen hero.

But when he stepped forward and cursed at King Ming on the city wall, his voice—bolstered by his thick internal qi—was still resonant:

"Zhu Hong, you brat, listen well! Our Barbarian King's divine merits surpass all, and his talent shakes the ages. Not only did he create a miraculous cultivation method back then, making our Great Barbarian army fierce and invincible, victorious in every battle, but he himself has now broken through to Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi, reaching the half-step Legendary Realm—truly unmatched under heaven!

Zhu Hong, if you know what's good for you, stop your stubborn resistance and lay down your arms to surrender! If you do, the Barbarian King might spare your life, considering you a rare talent. Otherwise, when our Barbarian army breaches the city in days to come, we will grind your bones to dust!"

Wang Zhongyi cursed with a fierce voice and stern expression, his voice as steady and powerful as a great bell. Even from hundreds of meters away, it reached the city wall clearly, as if whispered in one's ear.

"Bah! Wang Zhongyi, you traitorous thief! Not only did you, as a son of Yan, fail to defend our land against foreign invasion, but you shamelessly abandoned your ancestors and surrendered to A Yanda after your defeat back then, helping him slaughter countless Yan citizens!

A scoundrel like you, who forgets your roots and clings to life, what face do you have to face the world? What face will you have to meet your ancestors in the underworld after death? You dog-thief, take my arrow!"

As Wang Zhongyi's words fell, a general in gilded armor, around thirty years old, standing beside King Ming Zhu Hong, gritted his teeth and cursed. Then he nocked an arrow, aimed at Wang Zhongyi's face, and shot fiercely.

"Whoosh!"

A piercing sound rang out. The silver-white arrow, forged from pure steel, tore through the air like a cannonball under the support of the gilded-armor general's immensely thick internal qi. It dragged a faint white air current, crossed hundreds of meters in less than half a breath, and struck straight at Wang Zhongyi's face.

"Ha! Break!"

Seeing the fierce arrow coming, Wang Zhongyi dared not be careless. His internal qi erupted, and he raised his long saber in a vertical slash, executing the move "Split the Mountain." The blade edge met the arrowhead like a needle against a thread, each deflecting the other's force.

Finally, with a "clang,"

Wang Zhongyi's long saber rebounded, his body shuddered, directly killing his steed beneath him, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood with a "wah." Only then did he barely manage to knock the arrow to the ground.

"A fine Xu Yuan! Worthy of being one of King Ming's twin invincible generals alongside Chang Jian—truly formidable. Great King, since Zhu Wu refuses to surrender, let us attack directly!"

Wang Zhongyi, blood at his lips, knelt on one knee and spoke in the Barbarian language to the Barbarian King A Yanda, who sat on the blood-red steed.

"Mm. In that case, then—"

"Kill!"

At the front of the army, the Barbarian King A Yanda raised his Halberd at the command, his hair and beard bristling like the fierce Zhang Fei of the Three Kingdoms. His thick blood qi and internal qi surged into the sky, shaking the heavens and earth!