The Frost Battle Halberd exuded a bone-chilling cold as it pressed down upon the sword.
Zhi Ge Monk extended his hand and directly suppressed both weapons.
Li Guan Yi’s gaze swept over the crowd, noticing their wariness and the hostility in their eyes, and suddenly let out a cold laugh, saying, "Me?"
He directly retorted, in great anger,
"I am a Founding County Knight from the fifth rank down!"
"Me! An imperial relative, clad in a crimson robe!"
"Prime Minister Tantai let you sneak in here as an insider to lead them out, but I have no intention of accompanying you to court death. What now, because I am from the Xue Family, at odds with the Crown Prince’s party, you plan to get me killed too?"
Panic flashed across the man’s face, and then he drew his sword in great anger and said,
"What, what did you say?!"
Li Guan Yi sneered, flicking his garment, and said indifferently,
"I’m the one clad in a crimson robe."
"An imperial relative!"
"What are you supposed to be?"
"Do I need to frame you?"
Since everyone already had prejudices and hostility towards him, he might as well take advantage of this influence of his old friend to guide the situation in his favor. At this point, Li Guan Yi could only do his best; he’d stick to one story first, making the martial artists more cautious, hoping to reduce the number of casualties.
Zhi Ge Monk and the Luzhou Sword Immortal acted, suppressing the man. However, with the continuous booming sounds from outside, if the palace were to collapse and bury everyone, waiting here was also a death sentence. For a while, the crowd started arguing and bickering, a common flaw among Martial World fighters.
Zhi Ge Monk kept Li Guan Yi by his side and said to these Martial World fighters,
"It has come to this, and I fear we are all trapped."
"But you and I, brothers, coming here today, were already prepared to face death unhesitatingly. Staying here means death, but if we break out, there is still a chance of survival; in such a situation, even if we know there are insiders, it is of no use now. The insiders should have realized this already."
"Prime Minister Tantai has already abandoned you, so rather than staying, it’s better to break out with us."
"To find a path to survival."
The monk closed his eyes and then said,
"This humble monk, will personally lead the charge for you all."
Everyone suddenly fell silent, then saw him reach out his hand and grasp the bamboo pole. With a flick of his wrist, he inserted the bamboo pole into rows of scrolls, which, even in a palace for storing forbidden scrolls, would be covered with fine silk to prevent dust.
With a sweep of the pole, the silk was rolled up, and then Zhi Ge Monk held the item with one hand.
As the silk fluttered in the air, it seemed like a Big Banner!
Zhi Ge Monk looked down, then turned to Li Guan Yi and spoke softly.
His voice arose in the heart of this young man.
"This time, I will still be the one to carry the banner."
"To carve out a bloody path for you."
The monk charged forward with what seemed to be a hefty bamboo pole Big Banner, shouldering open the secret passage door and throwing the inside man out. In just a moment, he was pierced by countless arrows, and the opposing side shot fire arrows.
There were already formations and spiritual objects prepared here; flames ignited instantly, sealing off this path to survival. One of the soldiers laughed loudly: "Hahaha, what folly!"
"I am here by the orders of Prime Minister Tantai, having waited for a long time!"
"Come on, fire the arrows!!!"
They released their arrows instantly; the intensity of the fire was terrifying, turning a blue-purple color. The extreme heat caused the ground to begin vitrifying—round after round of arrows flew in, each designed to break armor and qi, targeting the martial artists. Each arrow exploded in a burst of fire upon impact.
After several rounds of explosive arrow bombardment, just when they thought it was surely over—
A green bamboo extended, then dark-colored silken ribbons wildly danced amidst the raging flames.
It resembled the ’Big Banner’!
Then, with a sudden sweep, the flames burst apart. A flanking general cried out in shock and fury, cursed the traitor, and charged forward on horseback, only to be cleaved directly by the green bamboo.
Both man and horse were smashed into the earth!
The skull burst open, blood spraying in all directions!
Too horrific to look at!
And at that moment, breaking his ten-year vow of nonviolence, Zhi Ge Monk was holding the bamboo as if he could feel his own heart beating. He had used too much force, even the armor was smashed, the bamboo shattered, but beneath the bamboo, a serene light shone.
It was a Mixed Gold Xuan Iron Long Stick!
His weapon from past years, now reappearing in the mortal world as he broke his vow of non-killing. Zhi Ge froze, recalling the words his teacher had said when he descended the mountain, and his teacher’s gentle gaze, "What traps you is never the Buddhist Law."
If you do not return, you are no longer my disciple...
Suddenly, Zhi Ge opened his mouth, in equal parts grief and pain, then suddenly burst into laughter, his wrist turning!
The bamboo shattered completely.
The mystical weapon reappeared in the mortal world, with a fierce sweep, the flames were dispelled, the Big Banner arrogantly flying, the monk stepped forward, his eyes filled with rage. In just a few moments, the Colonels were all burst asunder, dying a gruesome death, the bloodied monk appeared like a resurrected Asura, standing in front of the young man and bellowed with laughter:
"Under the command of Taiping Duke, Yan Xuanji!"
"Enter the formation!"
The other generals and commanders, hearing this, were shocked and furious. The main general still on the field turned pale and said, "Release arrows, release arrows, crossbow arrows, everything, shoot, kill them!!!"
"Shoot! At any cost!"
"Shoot him dead for me!"
Then, arrows were nocked, and in an instant, a mass of bowstrings sounded together.
Innumerable arrows flew into the sky, radiating dense Primordial Qi. These were specially crafted arrows meant to target martial artists and Divine Generals of the Military School, especially since Yan Xuanji was only wearing a monk’s robe, making it nearly impossible for him to escape unscathed. He stepped to protect Li Guanyi behind him, his own body facing the oncoming barrage of arrows.
Yan Xuanji, unsure of his own emotions, laughed and sighed:
"Young Master, having entanglements with the Commander, is but a disaster of a thousand deaths."
"I will carve a path for you, then, live on well."
Li Guanyi’s right hand hung low, holding the Frost Battle Halberd. The Divine Weapon Tiger Roar Sky wailed inside the bronze tripod, and as the arrows fell, Li Guanyi saw frost suddenly form on the leaves of the trees.
Li Guanyi was stunned, then the chill dissipated as intense flames rose.
The extreme heat caused the air to expand rapidly, turning into a whirling gale, so the countless arrows were all deflected. Then, as they twirled in the wind, a spark ignited, and the arrows were all set ablaze. The fire was intense because of the relentless fire-laden treasure arrows that slaughtered earlier. Flames gathered, soaring into the sky, lighting up the night.
They took the shape of scale armor, dragon claws, dragon horns, with the sound of Dragon Roar echoing through the night!
A massive Red Dragon Dharma Form coiled above the palace complex, and as the archers craned their heads upward, they saw only the enormous Divine Dragon roaring towards them. The sky turned gold and red as if from a mythological battle, the fervor of battle vanished in an instant, replaced by terror.
The Red Dragon gathered and ascended to the heavens. A rough man clad in armor, holding a Battle Halberd, appeared with the most fearless demeanor.
Ranked thirty-fourth on the Divine General List, Yue Qianfeng!
His Battle Halberd pointed forward, he laughed out loud: "Chen Dingye!!!"
He called the Emperor by his name.
Then his brows raised, he bellowed:
"Come out and meet your death!!!"