Guan Jing saw that Gongsun Zan had come to his senses and was overjoyed. He thought to himself that Taishi Ci was indeed reliable, "Lord, you have finally awakened."
"What happened to me?" Gongsun Zan said somewhat groggily.
Guan Jing informed Gongsun Zan about the previous events. Gongsun Zan struggled to sit up and saluted Taishi Ci, "Thank you for your assistance, Ziyi. Otherwise, I might have already been ensnared."
"General Gongsun, there is no need for courtesy. I came here precisely to protect you. Now that you have awakened, please mount your horse and follow the Zhang River. I believe Xingba’s fleet will soon come to take us back to Youzhou," Taishi Ci said, waving his hand to suggest he didn’t deserve the thanks.
"To speak in such a way, it seems Xuande was well-prepared," Gongsun Zan was taken aback, a trace of doubt crossing his eyes, but Taishi Ci didn’t notice it.
"That would be..." Before Taishi Ci could boast about how unparalleled his own military advisor was in strategic planning, a scout galloped over, "General, speed away! Yann Liang from Hebei is leading troops just a few miles behind us."
"General Gongsun, please mount your horse and follow the Zhang River. I will go and stall the enemy troops," Taishi Ci said with a smile to Gongsun Zan before mounting his horse and galloping toward the direction indicated by the scout. He had long wanted to meet Yann Liang and Wen Chou, the two renowned generals from Hebei.
After Taishi Ci left, Gongsun Zan’s eyes flashed with madness, "Shiqi, let’s go!" Gongsun Zan pointed in a different direction.
Guan Jing was astonished, "Lord, why don’t we follow the river? Gan Xingba’s reinforcements should be on their way here, so why seek trouble unnecessarily?"
"Reinforcements?" Gongsun Zan looked with disdain at Guan Jing, "Whether they are reinforcements or enemy troops remains to be seen. Did you not listen to what Taishi Ci said earlier?"
Guan Jing was startled and looked stiffly at Gongsun Zan. When had the domineering and righteous Gongsun Zan of the world become ?
Guan Jing rode after the already distant figure of Gongsun Zan in a daze. At this moment, their path diverged completely from the one they had been on before. Had they chosen separate ways?
Taishi Ci, taking his men along, prepared for a battle with Yann Liang. Anyway, there weren’t more than a thousand men with Yann Liang. Most likely, it would come down to a duel, and since that’s the case, who was he to be afraid?
Taishi Ci bellowed as he galloped in another direction to make Yann Liang alter the pursuit course, while also looking for a secluded place to deal with Yann Liang, which was, of course, Taishi Ci’s own plan.
"Huh!" Yann Liang reined in his horse. He had good hearing and clearly heard the shouting of Taishi Ci, laughing loudly, he said, "Go, chase in that direction!"
On the other hand, Juo Yi, who had set out early, had ended up north of the Zhang River because of an accident and was still wondering why he couldn’t find Gongsun Zan.
"Huh!" Taishi Ci pulled on his horse’s reins, turned around to face Yann Liang, "Are you Yann Liang from Hebei?"
"I didn’t expect to meet a master before encountering Gongsun Zan!" Yann Liang’s eyes sparked with excitement. Ever since he returned to Hebei, he hadn’t met a true expert, especially Gongsun Zan, who was purely overpowering with his strong troops, "Would you care to surrender?"
"This place by the water and next to the forest seems to have decent Feng Shui," Taishi Ci completely ignored Yann Liang and instead played the role of a Feng Shui master. He had learned many trivial things, of course, none of which were even skin deep. However, they were good enough to put on airs and fool the uneducated, enough to frighten a crowd.
"..." Yann Liang didn’t pick up the conversation. He couldn’t help it; such matters were too profound for him to comprehend.
"How about making this your burial ground?" Taishi Ci’s tone shifted abruptly, and he asked with an icy face.
Yan Liang didn’t understand the previous remark, but he caught the meaning of this one. Immediately, without any need for Taishi Ci’s provocation, he charged forward, "This graveyard should be reserved for you instead!"
Taishi Ci sneered, clutching his Sky Piercer as he lunged towards Yan Liang. In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged over a hundred moves, tearing up the surrounding turf with the force of their Inner Qi.
"Hahahaha! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this exhilarated! Bring it on!" Yan Liang’s Inner Qi condensed around him, the blood-red energy swirling around his long spear, while a ghostly suit of armor seemingly materialized on his body.
Taishi Ci suddenly burst forth with Inner Qi, then, instead of dispersing it, he absorbed it back, forming a layer of armor on his body, as his Sky Piercer’s blade glinted with lethal sharpness.
[No time to play with this guy. Sure enough, the renown of Yan Liang and Wen Chou isn’t unearned, henghengheng. But I’ve got the Divine Medicine from the grand military strategist as my support!] When Taishi Ci clashed again with Yan Liang, he unleashed a frenzy of chaotic Inner Qi. Eighteen types of weapons appeared around Taishi Ci, attacking wildly towards Yan Liang and Wen Chou, and with his unleashed Ultimate Knowledge, he instantly overpowered them.
[Don’t think you’re the only one who can do that!] As Yan Liang was battered by the storm-like assault and struggled to raise his head, suppressing the fury within him, his eyes turned blood-red. He parried the oncoming Sky Piercer, igniting blood-red flames around himself, and charged directly into the eye of Taishi Ci’s weapon storm!
Somehow, the second the blood-red flames came into contact with Taishi Ci’s manifested Inner Qi weapons, they corroded a significant portion of them.
[What kind of technique is this?!] As he felt a large portion of his manifested weapons burn away, Taishi Ci suddenly felt his Inner Qi begin to wildly spill out. The rate of loss was so astounding that it seemed unfathomable to him.
Seeing buds of blood flames appearing on Yan Liang’s long spear, Taishi Ci no longer hesitated. He recalled the eighteen weapons and focused his Inner Qi into his Sky Piercer, realizing that a war of attrition against Yan Liang seemed unwise.
"Get out of my way!" In an instant, as if possessed by a Celestial God, Taishi Ci’s Sky Piercer locked down Yan Liang’s long spear under his disbelieving gaze. The Inner Qi-fueled blood flames failed to do their job, and Taishi Ci’s Sky Piercer even slashed towards Yan Liang’s chest unimpeded.
Incensed by Taishi Ci’s attack, Yan Liang thrust his long spear towards Taishi Ci’s chest with all his might, as if he were determined to die together with his enemy!
"Damn it!" Taishi Ci cursed silently, veering sharply to the right, his Sky Piercer’s motion unchanged as it cleaved towards Yan Liang. This time, he was ruthless, prepared to grievously wound Yan Liang to take him down.
"Die!" With all he had, Yan Liang stabbed his spear towards Taishi Ci. As the spear pierced through the chest, Yan Liang, under Taishi Ci’s incredulous gaze, released his long spear and stumbled backwards. He narrowly dodged a lethal attack that would have cleaved him in two, but even so, he suffered a huge gash from his left shoulder to right waist, exposing his innards in places.
Blood continuously spilled from the corners of Taishi Ci’s mouth, and Yan Liang wasn’t faring much better. While combatants of the Inner Qi Manifestation Rank have astonishing recovery speeds, with injuries as grave as theirs, it would likely take months to heal without external help.
"Are you even a martial artist?" After his men dragged him back, Taishi Ci, with great effort, pulled out Yan Liang’s long spear and tried desperately to stop the bleeding. Yan Liang was in a similar state; both had lost their capacity to continue fighting and were doing their best to stanch their wounds.
"My lord doesn’t need martial artists; he needs Gongsun Zan’s head. You and people like you are obstructing my lord’s path, so to kill you, I don’t mind!" Yan Liang said arduously, "I’ve lost this time, and I know my men can’t stop you, but wait, my younger brother Wen Chou will certainly capture you! Without medication, let’s see how long you last!"
… Taishi Ci planted Yan Liang’s long spear into the ground, remaining silent before the medics rushed over with a powder. Taishi Ci dumped the entire packet into his mouth and swallowed, his potent Inner Qi rapidly absorbing the nutrients, and a hint of color returned to his previously pallid face from the blood loss.
… Yan Liang watched dumbfounded by the swift effect of the medicine.