The Great Vow, the Investiture of King Ming (Six Thousand Words)

Second Master's skills were useful.

But the stronger those skills grew, the more differently the same technique worked when he used it.

The men who had emerged from the rebel army wore red bellybands that were plainly sinister. They had hidden among the rebels, hoping to use them as cover to get close to the Grain Protection Great General and bind him in one swift move.

They hadn't expected the Grain Protection Great General to be so brazen as to ride out of the city alone. But now that he was close by, they naturally seized the chance to strike. With the red bellybands on their bodies, they were confident they could snatch the Grain Protection Great General away amid a sea of troops.

The moment Superintendent Xu on the city wall saw them, he jumped in fright and hurriedly shouted to Hu Ma, "Quick, save the Grain Protection Great General!"

"These demonic fiends from the Women's Gate are tough to deal with. They belong to the Three-Headed Flood Dragon of Huzhou."

"..."

"Three-Headed Flood Dragon?"

Hu Ma, however, had quietly breathed out that stream of air and paid them no more mind. In the army, it seemed as if a flicker of firelight had mingled with the dust all around. The earth appeared to tremble, yet nothing seemed to have changed.

Superintendent Xu had skills of his own, but he couldn't make head or tail of what Hu Ma had done. Anxiously, he said, "He's a hegemon in his own territory, and a vicious one."

"He'd had his eye on Mingzhou's thriving incense offerings for a long time and was plotting to move in, but the Grain Protection Great General held him off. Who'd have thought he'd be so bold as to use an evil art to infiltrate the