"Display weakness when you are strong, and show incapacity when you are capable."
"That was what you said during our first casual conversation."
Li Guanyi’s pupils constricted as General Xue said indifferently, "A general must not act recklessly; you have made a mistake." At the same time, he merely leaned slightly to one side, handing the Battle Halberd from his right hand to his left, and lifted it slightly—the blade of the Battle Halberd stabbing toward Li Guanyi’s armpit.
This was a spot that Mountain Shattering Qi Force could hardly cover.
He did not exert force; Li Guanyi himself would injure himself if he collided.
General Xue added nonchalantly with a smile:
"Attack where the enemy must save, as you have also said."
The terror of the World’s Number One Divine General lay in that he did not stagnate but continued to grow.
Li Guanyi stepped half a step forward, gritted his teeth, and suddenly retracted the Qi Force he had thrust out.
Inner Qi returning to the source!
This was a maneuver sufficient to cause any martial artist entering the realm to suffer internal injuries or become possessed by inner demons.
His Golden Muscle and Jade Bone endured brutally, while the power of the Green Bird Dharma Form mended his meridian injuries, forcibly recovering Li Guanyi’s energy. Only the Four Symbols were revolving; he had naturally switched from the Red Dragon at this moment. Li Guanyi grasped the middle of the Battle Halberd and violently turned, smashing it down in the style of Breaking Army Eight Sabers.
Connecting to the third move.
The "Jade Arm Divine Bow Skills" had already circulated to the limit, his peak being three consecutive bursts.
[Heavenly Wolf Slash!]
The clear and distant cry of the Green Bird reflected in the depths of General Xue’s eyes.
General Xue’s expression also changed.
The power of the Breaking Army Eight Sabers was not comparable to the Wave Rolling or Mountain Shattering.
The Green Bird had no matching cultivation technique, had not formed a cultivation body, and had no Jin Qi.
But the sheer power of the Green Bird alone was already enough. Previously, the energy from the Red Dragon’s Mountain Shattering had not completely dispersed; the Green Bird flew into it, and in a moment of sudden change exceeding Li Guanyi’s judgment, the originally fading Qi Force suddenly burst violently, flaring up far more intensely than before, with the Green Bird soaring out, its wings wrapped in flames.
The Dragon Scale and the Phoenix Tail twined together; both dragon and phoenix coiled in the air.
Dragon Roars and Phoenix Cries, together setting the heavens aflame.
General Xue sighed: "A third Dharma Form, the combined strike of Dharma Forms executed by one person... this world is indeed becoming stranger." As the dragon and phoenix charged at him, General Xue held his Battle Halberd, sighed deeply, and with a sudden jolt, said:
The flames on the dragon scales and phoenix tail vanished.
Sharing the same realm, his Jin Qi had already annihilated the dragon and phoenix, leaving only a stretch of emerald waves.
As the golden flames were extinguished, General Xue laid his Battle Halberd on the ground. The young man in front of him barely steadied himself, lifting his Battle Halberd—the blade pointed directly at General Xue. He gasped for air, his eyes shining brightly, standing straight as he declared:
Within the Imperial Palace of Chen Country.
The next day, Xue Shuangtao received Li Guanyi’s letter and sighed in relief. Thanking Li Guanyi, she mentioned she would visit him later and then, seeing the poem, walked briskly towards her aunt’s residence with a smile on her face.
Lately, Li Guanyi’s reputation at court wasn’t very good. She was annoyed, yet also worried about him.
The young lady pondered whether she might speak in favor of the young man in front of her aunt.
Then requesting her aunt to protect him.
While she didn’t have such power, she believed that, with the young man’s talent, her aunt would surely appreciate his poetry.
As Xue Shuangtao hastened into the palace, she heard bursts of laughter slowing her steps, recognizing the laughter of the Emperor. The eunuch, smiling, said: "Ah, Miss Xue has arrived, the Saint and noble concubine are inside, inviting Miss inside."
Xue Shuangtao initially wanted to leave but thinking about the young man, she bit her lip and entered.
The Emperor held a fondness for the second daughter of the Xue Family, Xue Shuangtao’s aunt, so much so that he sneaked out to meet her even during the grand ceremony’s preparation phase. He now smiled and greeted her. Reassuring herself inwardly, Xue Shuangtao declared, "It’s to offer poetry for my aunt."
The Emperor laughed, "Oh? Haha, Shuangtao has such ability too? Your uncle wants to hear it as well."
Xue Shuangtao said, "It was not composed by me, rather by our... "
"Guest Elder, Li Guanyi," she added.
Upon hearing this name that had been buzzing around his ears lately, the Emperor’s face still held a smile as he gently patted Noble Consort Xue’s hand and casually remarked, "I’ve heard about him, a heroic young man, though quite ruthless. To think he could write poetry, let’s hear it."
The casual mention of being ’ruthless’ was frighteningly severe.
Xue Shuangtao took a deep breath, summoning her courage, and began softly reciting.
Just the first two lines made the Emperor’s nonchalance vanish.
"Clouds envy clothes, flowers envy faces."
"Spring breeze sweeps the threshold, dew gleams deeply."