The sneer at the corner of his mouth instantly froze.
The katana master guarding him at his side, also greatly shocked, pushed Tao Qingxian in another direction without thinking, "The bandits are fierce, my lord, hurry! Go to our province and request the Sword Saint Tsukahara and Shangquan Sword Saint to come and deal with this fiend!"
After speaking, he pressed his hand on his katana, turned, and leaped down the hill. His feet, clad in wooden geta, stepped on the trunk of a large tree and used it to jump into the dense canopy, disappearing from sight...
The moment he moved, several figures lurking nearby followed his lead, rushing into the dense foliage.
Tao Qingxian’s face darkened momentarily before settling on a cruel and fierce expression. He drew his katana and directed the many generals beside him, "Form a formation, set up the cannons! If Gangping cannot prevail, I will level this forest!"
However, just as his words fell, a strong figure in hemp clothing flew powerlessly skyward, his torn-open chest raining blood and entrails like a torrential downpour.
Tao Qingxian’s gaze instantly hardened, and disregarding everything, he roared, "Fire the cannons!"
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Dozens of cannons exploded in response, hurling projectiles toward the forest below.
But just as the cannonballs were about to strike the forest, a massive golden Sword Qi burst through the dense canopy, slicing the projectiles like a net capturing birds.
Seeing this, Tao Qingxian did not hesitate to turn and sprint towards his battle horse.
However, just as he was scrambling onto his horse, he heard a piercing shriek from behind and, startled, he looked up to see a horse and rider each flying in different directions, simultaneously rushing up the hill.
"Monkey gigi..."
Dozens of loyal, fully armored samurai hysterically shouted as they charged toward the horse and rider.
Yang Ge landed on Erhei’s back, seeing shadows everywhere in front of him but unable to discern who they were. He simply swung his Cold Moon Blade wildly in front, splashing out dozens of intertwined Sword Qi slashes, each tens of meters long, as if True Qi cost him nothing.
The net-like Sword Qi fell upon them, and in an instant, the screaming samurai were reduced to scattered limbs and pieces, their flesh strewn across the hill like a giant blooming blood lotus!
When he looked again, he saw at the edge of his vision a group of Dongying soldiers in vine armor scattering like birds and beasts.
This made him scratch his head in confusion... for such a crucial location, wasn’t there a single significant enemy leader?
A miss indeed, he should have chosen the right hill!
Feeling frustrated, he looked across to the opposite hillside, where Yang Tiansheng, Li Jincheng, and Xiang Wudi were lined up, pushing forward against a sparse rain of arrows, mowing down the enemy as if they were opening an unmatched path...
Their unstoppable bravery ignited his competitive spirit. While it seemed like even a mosquito’s leg could be useful, he spurred Erhei to chase after the scattering vine-armored Dongying soldiers.
As Erhei galloped, his massive split hooves inadvertently crushed a guilded Aguda helmet, rolling out a heroic head still glaring in death.
Tao Qingxian, the distinguished daimyo of Chikuzen and overlord of the western provinces, thus silently and obscurely lost his life, his royal ambitions turning to dust!
Such is the gambler, who has everything when he wins, and nothing when he loses.
Meanwhile...
As Yang Ge surveyed the opposite hillside, the trio there was also observing his side.
They saw a swath of bright red blood had dyed the hilltop, shimmering under the brilliant autumn sun like a piece of fine red satin covering the hill.
Having already crushed the opposing Dongying soldiers’ counterattack and defense, Yang Ge, swinging the Cold Moon Blade, was chasing the scattering soldiers like a shepherd herding sheep into a gulley...
Yang Tiansheng sighed in frustration, "Fuck," and then complained, "That guy is becoming less and less human!"
Li Jincheng, whirling his shining silver spear and skilfully killing one enemy after another, kept count in his mind, then found time to reply, "Only now you realize? I knew he was beyond human when he slaughtered everyone from the Eastern Factory!"
Feeling a profound sense of loss, Yang Tiansheng said, "Previously, although he wasn’t quite human either, at least I could still understand his martial skills, but now... I can’t grasp it at all. Doesn’t that guy have any martial bottleneck?"
Li Jincheng: "Is your information from Ming Sect that outdated? Hasn’t it been said all over the tower that Yang Ge has some special innate physique, practicing martial arts like a horse galloping on a heavenly road, advancing a thousand miles a day, something no ordinary person can match?"
Yang Tiansheng: "You’ve only known Yang Ge for a short time, and you don’t understand that his martial arts skills improving so quickly is not solely because of his extraordinary innate talent..."
As he spoke, he gritted his teeth and exerted all his strength, unleashing a sword technique that sent flames of Sword Qi more than twenty meters into the Samurai soldiers fighting to the death ahead, killing dozens with a single strike. The scorching aftereffects turned another twenty or thirty Samurai soldiers into human torches, who ran chaotically across the hillside. Their pitiful wails finally broke the resolve of these Samurai, and the soldiers who had fought to the death finally collapsed...
The power of this sword strike stunned both Li Jincheng and Xiang Wudi.
Li Jincheng, snapping back to reality, also let out a "holy shit", exclaimed, "Did you take the wrong medicine?"
Surprise flickered in Xiang Wudi’s eyes as he lowered his blood-soaked spear, gently exhaling a breath, and said,, "With that one sword strike alone, Yang, you have already qualified to compete with Yan Bufan for the title of ’Sword Master’!"
"Really?"
Yang Tiansheng looked at Xiang Wudi doubtfully.
Xiang Wudi tightened his grip on the spear in his hand and slowly began to speak,, "I’ve fought Yan Bufan no less than twenty times, so I know him very well... At least before he was listed among the great heroes, his martial arts skills were on par with yours now."
He was not very familiar with Yang Erlang’s martial arts, because the first time he met Yang Erlang, Yang Erlang had already significantly outmatched him, and during their last sparring session at Qiantang River, he still couldn’t decipher Yang Erlang’s full abilities...
However, he could see Yang Tiansheng’s martial arts skills clearly since his own skills far surpassed those of Yang Tiansheng – from a higher viewpoint, everything was in plain sight!
From his estimation, Yang Tiansheng should not have been able to unleash that sword strike just now.
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Yet Yang Tiansheng had done just that!
This rate of rapid improvement could be seen only in Yang Erlang, who was the only one in the vast martial arts world that could consistently surpass Yang Tiansheng.
Yang Tiansheng stared blankly as the Samurai soldiers scattered across the hills, lost in thought for quite some time.
After a long while, he spoke again, "I finally understand why Yang Ge’s martial arts skills have been advancing so rapidly, soaring triumphantly and invincibly!"
Hearing his words, Xiang Wudi also nodded,, "I’m starting to believe that the day he cuts through Dongying will be the day he achieves the status of Grandmaster."
The two exchanged a look and sighed in unison, "Unbelievable!"
Li Jincheng, completely confused, looked left and right, becoming even more perplexed, "What exactly are you guys talking about? Can’t you consider my lesser martial arts skills and explain things clearly?"
The two shook their heads in unison.
Yang Tiansheng: "It’s indescribable."
Xiang Wudi: "It’s unspeakable."
Yang Tiansheng: "It’s only to be comprehended."
Xiang Wudi: "It cannot be conveyed in words."
Li Jincheng’s forehead veins popped as he said, "Then should I just leave?"
They both immediately raised an arm each, one to the left and one to the right, wrapping them around Li Jincheng’s shoulders, "It’s not that we aren’t willing to explain, but the time is not right. Speaking too much could actually become a barrier to your progresses in martial arts!"
"If you trust us, just go ahead according to your own conviction. If there’s a mountain, move it; if there’s a wall, break through it... When it’s time, everything will naturally fall into place!"
Li Jincheng listened to their words, feeling vaguely familiar, as if he had heard something similar before. After thinking hard for a long time, he recalled that his father might have said similar things.
He tentatively said, "Is this what the world of the powerful is like?"
Xiang Wudi lifted his spear, pointing to a figure standing atop a hill in the middle of blossoming red lotuses with an unremarkable appearance, "That is the world of the powerful!"
Yang Tiansheng clapped his hands,, "Enough of that, let’s get back to work. Don’t mess up Yang Ge’s plans."
The three dispersed, following the original plan to herd the remaining fleeing soldiers into the valley.
Before long, Zhou Fu led an army of one thousand followers into the valley...