Li You
Holding the Red Gauze Sword, Zhao Yifan decapitated yet another enemy. Feeling somewhat exhausted, he looked around at the battlefield, his heart filled with worry. He knew that the real test for him had only just begun.
A few days ago, after the Black Heaven Hall finished organizing the merchants and shops within its territory, it began to expand outwards. Since it was an expansion, it would inevitably affect the interests of some people. No matter the era, interests are always the easiest thing to make people take risks.
Under the threat of force, some shops initially obediently planted the Black Heaven Flag; those that didn't were sure to encounter something bad the next day. As the Black Heaven Hall's influence grew, these problems began to occur more frequently.
For example, shops under the management of the Black Heaven Hall were smashed and burned down, and the culprits disappeared immediately. However, because the Black Heaven Hall's techniques are easy to understand and it has many experts, these small-scale troublemakers were easily caught. After severely punishing a group of people, the number of troublemakers decreased.
However, people began to ambush and kill Black Heaven Hall personnel who were expanding outwards. It seemed that the other side had an inside agent, as they were always able to escape quickly after killing the personnel.
In the end, several hall masters disguised themselves as disciples and went out to capture the attacker. It turned out to be the leader of a medium-sized sect from a neighboring Black Heaven Hall. So the Black Heaven Hall mobilized its main force, seized this pretext, and began a war of annihilation.
However, it seemed they had fallen into an ambush. Zhao Yifan swallowed hard, roared, and charged at an enemy with the Red Gauze Sword. He didn't have much internal energy left, so he didn't even activate the Red Gauze Sword.
In his previous life, Zhao Yifan followed Ding Yuan and was still collecting secret manuals, organizing martial arts, and creating a new Assassin martial art. He didn't know much about the Black Heaven Hall's expansion, so he was unaware of this ambush.
Of course, he also began to curse himself for being stupid. Although he did not know about this battle, looking at the Red Gauze Sword in his hand, Zhao Yifan suddenly remembered that the Red Gauze Sword had become famous during this period, and its most famous battle was when Hu Hansan used it to fight a Celestial Warrior for a long time.
"The rise of the Black Heaven Hall has affected the interests of many people, but because Master is here, no one dares to denounce it to their faces. They can only restrict the Black Heaven Hall by limiting its disciples." Although Zhao Yifan was bloodthirsty, he was still very clear-headed, thanks to the method that Lu Li created for the Lust Hall.
"And among them, the ones whose interests are most affected are not the sects around us, but..." Zhao Yifan mobilized a wisp of internal energy, took a step using the Ghost Shadow Step to dodge an enemy's sneak attack, and killed him with a single sword stroke. "The imperial government."
Although the imperial court seemed useless in this era, it was because its territory was too vast to manage. However, the various regions were still nominally the territory of the imperial court, and the local governments still had some prestige and could collect some taxes.
However, given Lu Li's personality, he wouldn't give the imperial court any face with the rise of the Black Heaven Hall. Therefore, the government had completely lost its prestige within the Black Heaven Hall's sphere of influence and couldn't even maintain nominal rule, which was precisely what the imperial court found most intolerable.
"That's right. Only the imperial court has the authority to gather all the sects, big and small, together. And right now, only the imperial court would send Celestial Warriors to attack us." Celestial Warriors aren't common. Right now, apart from those five freaks, they are truly top-tier experts. And after Lu Li killed one of the South Heaven Sect, apart from the imperial court, it's impossible for other forces that don't have any conflicts with us to send Celestial Warriors.
After thinking it through, Zhao Yifan realized something was wrong. In the original history, it was Hu Hansan who wielded the Red Gauze Sword to block the Heavenly Warriors of the imperial court. Now, the Red Gauze Sword was in his hands. Although he didn't want to admit it, Hu Hansan was indeed stronger than him now.
In any case, Zhao Yifan has no confidence that he can stop a Celestial Martial Artist. After all, he is too young. Whether it is strength, total internal energy, or physical strength, he is no match for Hu Hansan, who is in his prime.
"I hope Master can get here soon." That's all Zhao Yifan could hope for now.
"The little fellow's sword is quite good; I like it very much." A soft, feminine voice came from afar, indicating that the imperial court's Celestial Warrior had finally lost patience and wanted to end the battle quickly.
According to Zhao Yifan's speculation, the Celestial Warrior who came this time should only be one person sent by the imperial court. After all, this period was just beginning the Great Struggle, and Celestial Warriors were not as common as they are in later generations.
The imperial court has had a tough time these past few years, and Zhao Yifan knows that things will get even harder for them in the future. His master in his previous life was known as the number one Assassin in the world because he "assassinated" the entire palace and stole the royal family's treasured secret manuals.
But that's all for the future. Right now, he needs to figure out how to hold on until Lu Li arrives. He had a vague idea in his mind, but he suppressed it. Zhao Yifan picked up the Red Gauze Sword and looked at the Heavenly Warrior from the imperial court.
The man was white-faced and beardless, and looked very refined, but he had a sinister aura about him. He had one hand behind his back and casually held a long sword in the other hand, so he was probably a eunuch.
"What's the name of this red sword?" Li You asked softly, her gentle voice quite pleasant. Combined with the way she held the sword, it even gave off an elegant feeling, making Zhao Yifan feel as if she were a beautiful woman turned thief.
"The Red Gauze Sword," Zhao Yifan said coldly. Buying time was the best option now.
"Hongluo?" Li You raised an eyebrow, as if recalling something, his eyes filled with reminiscence, and nodded, saying, "A good name, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager will surely like it."
"However, it's getting late, so I'll see you on your way," Li You said politely. If you ignored the sinister aura emanating from him and the meaning behind his words, you would definitely think he was a well-read scholar.
Li You looked towards the South Ridge. The oppressive and ominous aura there was truly terrifying, yet it also gave one an urge to go and see for oneself—a thought that would arise in any Celestial Martial Artist.
"Lu Li Black Heaven Hall Palace?" Li You suppressed the impulse in his heart. His life was never his own. He was first and foremost the Empress Dowager's personal eunuch, and only then a martial artist. Therefore, he would never do anything out of control for his own sake.
Li You's figure floated towards Zhao Yifan, an invisible aura bursting forth from his body, the sound of wind rustling through bamboo forest echoed across the entire battlefield, and at the same time, a lament for life was played throughout the world.
Just as his life was never truly his own, so too was this lament. Decades ago, when he went to the capital to take the imperial examination and saw the woman in the red silk dress playing this tune in a bamboo grove, he understood one thing: his life was over.