A great victory

"Sever the Confucian School tradition? Xu Pingfeng, I'll wipe you out right now!"

Xu Qi'an flicked his thumb, and the Zhenguo Sword rang out with a clang. He immediately collapsed all his aura, suppressed all his emotions, and prepared to unleash the Jade Shattering Technique.

"Clang!"

The sword that guards the nation was unleashed, its golden light flashing and disappearing in an instant.

With Xu Qi'an's current physical strength, he can repeatedly exceed his limits and unleash the Jade Shattering Slash, without worrying about running out of energy after each strike.

This is the powerful recovery ability that comes with being a second-rank martial artist.

The next moment, a golden sword light appeared on Ji Xuan's chest. Drawing his sword at Xu Pingfeng was a feint; his real target was Ji Xuan.

Pick the softest persimmon!

At the same time, Sun Xuanji stepped forward, causing a series of circular formations to envelop Ji Xuan. Among them were lightning formations with flashing electric arcs, raging flame formations, and golden spirit formations with piercing white light.

Kou Yangzhou's figure appeared like a ghost behind Ji Xuan, and the Taiping Blade slashed down towards his neck.

Zhao Shou said in a loud voice:

"This sword's power has increased tenfold!"

The Taiping Blade burst forth with intense light.

A deadly trap!

Ji Xuan, a mere third-rank martial artist, was instantly targeted by the extraordinary forces of the Great Feng.

His premonition of the crisis had no effect whatsoever until Xu Qi'an's sword intent struck his chest, at which point he realized that the Jade Shattering Technique was aimed at him.

The martial artist's premonition of danger was of course ineffective, because Xu Qi'an used the Heavenly Gu's Star Shifting Technique to shield the aura of this strike.

Ji Xuan made no move, seemingly accepting his fate with equanimity. Meanwhile, the figures of Gara Tree and Xu Pingfeng, who were not far away, vanished simultaneously and reappeared around Ji Xuan.

Garashu calmly formed a hand seal, and the image of Acala behind him simultaneously formed a hand seal.

The folds in space were instantly smoothed out, without even a wisp of wind.

The sword light that struck Ji Xuan's chest was forcibly extinguished before it could explode. Sun Xuanji's various formations froze, resembling an ink painting.

Behind Ji Xuan, Kou Yangzhou, who was attempting to behead him, seemed to be frozen in place.

With a single Law Technique, he broke through the attacks of all the extraordinary beings; this was the power of a first-rank Bodhisattva.

Even though it lost one of its Vajra forms, the Gara tree is still ranked among the top-grade trees.

After neutralizing the attack with the "Immovable King" Dharma form, Gara Tree turned and swept towards the old scoundrel, swinging his arm, which was thicker than a woman's waist, and slammed it heavily towards Kou Yangzhou.

During this process, circular arrays of clear light appeared on Kou Yangzhou's left and right sides, extending into chains of clear light that bound Kou Yangzhou's hands and feet.

If this punch lands, Kou Yangzhou's body will absolutely be shattered.

It's obvious that a second-rank martial artist's physical body couldn't withstand the attack of a first-rank Bodhisattva.

Xu Pingfeng and Jialuoshu worked together seamlessly, instantly turning the tide of the battle.

The best way to save Kou Yangzhou right now is to use a teleportation scroll to take him away.

They want to force me to change the rules and lift the "teleportation prohibited here" restriction. Zhao Shou's heart stirred, and he instantly understood Xu Pingfeng and Jialuo Tree's thoughts.

In an instant, Zhao Shou had a solution. There was no time for him to communicate with Xu Qi'an and the others telepathically; he chose to trust his companions.

Zhao Shou stepped forward and used his fingers as a brush to draw array patterns in the air.

Two identical formations appeared behind the Bodhisattva Gara Tree, extending four chains of clear light that wrapped around his right arm as he threw a punch.

This is the ability of Confucian School scholar, belonging to the fifth rank.

It can "learn" the enemy's Law Technique and record them on paper. Although weaker than the original, they are not too far off.

Once you reach Zhao Shou's level, you don't need to rely on paper; with a mere thought, you can learn anything for free.

As the Qingguang chains entangled the Garuda tree, the Taiping Blade broke free from Kou Yangzhou's grasp, tearing his robe with a series of hissing sounds, and the tip of the blade, still pressed against the tattered robe, was flung over Kou Yangzhou's head.

This caused the shadow cast by the robe to fall on Kou Yangzhou.

The shadow instantly expanded, transforming into the form of Xu Qi'an, blocking Kou Yangzhou's path. His sleeves billowed up, and his hands clasped together at his lower abdomen, condensing streams of power from all living beings into a collapsing sphere between his palms.

Bang bang bang bang!

The chains binding the right arm of the Gara tree broke one by one, unable to restrain the terrifyingly powerful First-Rank Bodhisattva. However, its mission was complete, buying Kou Yangzhou a precious respite and giving Xu Qi'an time to provide support.

Xu Qi'an's arm muscles bulged, unleashing the Power Gu - Berserk!

He struggled to push out the sphere formed by the collapse of the power of all living beings, to meet the iron fist of the Garuda tree.

Ding ding ding ding!

With a burst of sword intent, the old scoundrel also severed the chains binding him, placing his hands on Xu Qi'an's back, his aura suddenly surging forth.

Boom!

Like the explosion of a massive missile, the ripple-like air waves spread out, blasting a vacuum zone hundreds of feet in diameter out of the layers of clouds.

Xu Pingfeng, Ji Xuan, Zhao Shou, Sun Xuanji, and Luo Yuheng, the five extraordinary beings, all flew backward.

The first round, with both sides employing a series of unexpected tactics, was truly a battle of titans.

Both Ji Xuan and Kou Yangzhou narrowly escaped death.

"Is restricting teleportation here, preventing us from leaving, to buy time for our comrades in Qingzhou?"

Ji Xuan, his back drenched in cold sweat, flicked his sword and sneered:

"At most a quarter of an hour, the Vajra Divine Art of the Gara Tree Bodhisattva will be restored. Then we'll see how you die. Xu Qi'an, do you think the number of extraordinary experts can make up for the difference in rank? Ridiculous!"

He was telling the truth. Xu Qi'an's sword strike outside Xunzhou City, though powerful, could not compare to the blade delivered by the spirit of the Confucian sage.

If this drags on, and the Vajra form of the Gara Tree Bodhisattva is restored, at least a few of Great Feng's extraordinary beings will die.

This time, he and the Imperial Advisor would not stand idly by to test their cards.

They wouldn't give Xu Qi'an the chance to gather his strength and unleash that sword strike.

Outside Qingzhou City.

Asuluo looked at the radiant Golden Lotus Daoist:

"Master, won't you come with me to Xunzhou to lend a hand?"

Master Jinlian shook her head:

"I will first refine the Black Lotus and restore my cultivation. You can go and help in Xunzhou. The White Emperor has appeared before, but perhaps he is not in the Nine Provinces. However, since he has allied with Xu Pingfeng, he will not stand idly by."

"The best course of action now is to restore my cultivation level and use the number of second-grade cultivators to compensate for the lack of combat power."

Once he has recovered and returned to the second rank, the Great Feng camp will have four second-rank experts.

The White Emperor, a descendant of Gods and Devils, will inevitably return to the Nine Provinces; that will be the true battle of life and death.

Asura nodded, then looked at Chu Yuanzhen and the other three behind Jinlian, and said:

And you?

Li Miaozhen did not hesitate:

"Of course, we're going to Xunzhou."

Chu Yuanzhen and the other two nodded in agreement.

Since we're already here, we certainly can't miss the opportunity to kill the enemy.

Asuro nodded slightly.

I'll head over there to provide support first.

With a loud bang, he sprang into the air, shooting into the sky like a cannonball, instantly turning into a black dot before disappearing into the sea of clouds.

Xu Qi'an said expressionlessly:

"Before that, I'll kill you first!"

Ji Xuan sneered:

"I'll return the favor to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sonic boom resounded, the clouds parted, and a figure, like a shooting star, crashed fiercely into Ji Xuan.

Who is it?! Ji Xuan's expression changed slightly.

Before he could think, he thrust his long sword forward, the scorching aura distorting the air.

Click!

The weapon, imbued with the aura of an extraordinary martial artist, shattered into pieces on the spot. Ji Xuan felt an incomparably domineering force pierce through his wrist from the hilt of the sword, causing his tiger's mouth to split open first, followed by the explosion of his right arm holding the sword.

The figure resembled a domineering siege engine, directly ramming Ji Xuan and sending him flying.

The fire ring suddenly exploded, and Asuluo grabbed Ji Xuan's ankle, pulling him back, preparing to take this third-rank martial artist away in one fell swoop.

Ji Xuan's unattached left foot slammed into Asuluo's cheek, feeling as if he had struck a peerless divine weapon.

Click!

Asuro crushed his ankle with force, then decisively retreated.

With a whoosh, the space trembled, the wrinkles were smoothed out, and not a single breeze could get in.

Fortunately, Asuluo retreated quickly, otherwise he would have encountered the same danger as Kouyangzhou.

"You're here!"

Xu Qi'an grinned, his smile more radiant than ever before.

Asura grunted in agreement, stepped into the void, and slowly walked to the Great Feng's extraordinary camp.

Luo Yuheng and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly, the operation in Qingzhou was successfully completed.

On the other side, Ji Xuan's shattered ankle bones regenerated, but blood continued to seep out, as if a terrifying force was constantly eroding the wound and hindering its healing.

Without the help of the Bodhisattva of the Gara Tree, I would be killed by him within ten moves. Ji Xuan felt a chill in his heart.

At the same time, he also realized that Asura's appearance meant that Black Lotus had perished.

Yunzhou has lost a second-rank extraordinary individual.

Xu Pingfeng had already anticipated Hei Lian's inevitable death. Given his cunning and personality, he did not show any emotion at this moment, but his expression darkened.

"Xu Pingfeng, weren't you always the one to anticipate the enemy's moves? Did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Xu Qi'an, however, had no intention of letting him off the hook and seized the opportunity to mock him:

"What kind of bullshit imperial advisor is this? Bah!"

"Asura!" Gara Tree said in a deep voice:

"You dare betray me, betray Buddhist School!"

Asura sneered:

"What, do you really think I've sold my life to Buddhist School? The hatred of my clan's extermination, the revenge for my father's murder—I will settle accounts with Buddhist School one by one."

How did you betray Buddhist School?

"Guess!" Asuro laughed.

The Bodhisattva of the Gara Tree gazed at him deeply, then took a deep breath:

"Very well, I will clean house today!"

His nine-foot-tall figure expanded once more, his Qi and Blood surging through the heavens, causing the entire space to tremble.

"Come on, come on!"

Asuluo, Xu Qi'an, and Kou Yangzhou simultaneously lunged at the Gara tree, the scene seemingly frozen in time!

Xunzhou.

Amidst the craters and blood-stained, scorched walls of the city, Xu Erlang heard the bugle call signaling the retreat of the Yunzhou army.

Large numbers of enemy troops retreated in panic, leaving behind corpses strewn across the ground.

The cannons roared continuously from the city walls, inflicting heavy losses on the retreating enemy.

Xu Erlang withdrew his gaze, looked at the corpses of enemy soldiers and defenders covering the city walls, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Xu Ningyan must have finished fighting."

Chu Yuanzhen walked to his side and helped the swaying Xu Erlang.

Xu Erlang pondered for a moment, then said:

"So far, it seems like the eldest brother has won?"

Li Lingsu, unaware that she was beside the two, chuckled:

"It's hard to say, it might be a draw. On the Yunzhou army's side, there's still one first-rank official who hasn't participated in the battle, so the situation in Great Feng is still not optimistic."

Xu Erlang glanced at him. He wasn't very familiar with Li Lingsu, only knowing that she was his elder brother's follower.

She is also a rare beauty who can rival him in appearance.

Gradually, the artillery fire subsided, and the enemy troops had moved out of range.

The defenders on the city wall stopped firing their cannons and, gripping their weapons, cheered loudly.

The defending troops believed they had won the battle.

The enemy army amassed tens of thousands of troops and besieged the city. Extraordinary experts emerged in force, launching a fierce attack.

Now that they have fled in disarray, it is clear that Xu Yinluo has won a victory on another battlefield.

This is the first major victory since the fall of Qingzhou. The Battle of Xunzhou is destined to be known throughout Yongzhou.

Hearing the cheers of the defending soldiers, Xu Erlang felt somewhat gratified:

"When news of this battle reaches the capital, those who were Qi Ingestion should accept their fate. Emperor Huaiqing's ascension to the throne is an inevitable trend."

Conversely, if Xunzhou falls, Huaiqing's ascension to the throne will become an excuse for some to attack him, and he will become the target of questioning and criticism from the people and the world.

P. S.: The audiobook of "The Nightwatchers" is available on Himalaya FM. The production quality is excellent, and the cast is impressive. I listened to it for several hours yesterday, and it's truly excellent, especially the part that faithfully recreates the original story. Key point: Faithful recreation!!!