Chapter 35: Xiaoshi Town

  The sky was already bright, and Tang An and his party had been traveling within the borders of Yangzhou for a whole night. This night, Tang An, Mu Hongyu, and Xiao Xie were not tired, but the eight hundred tiger and leopard riders behind them, even with their iron-like bodies, were somewhat fatigued at this moment.

  Tang Anzhao glanced back, slightly furrowing his brow. In the dark of night, in the wilderness, it was extremely easy to fall into an ambush, and once ambushed, it was hard to discern the number of enemies, making it easy for their own troops to become disorganized. Therefore, on a dark night, it was best not to linger in one place for too long. Especially now, they were still deep within the territory of the Quan Tian Sect.

  Tang An believed that the Jun Tian Sect would not openly kill them, but secretly, it was hard to say. After all, although the Jun Tian Sect did not openly rebel, their actions were already no different from rebellion. The southeastern Jun Tian Sect and the southwestern Shu Mountain Sword Sect, two lords who did not obey the king's orders, this was already a well-known fact throughout the land.

  It's just that the fig leaf of righteousness on the surface, no one dares to lift it up, and that is to bear the crime of opening up a chaotic world as an enemy of all under heaven. This is something that no one can afford to take on. Once the chaos begins, lives will be lost, and not only will it be easy to lose the hearts of people in other places, but even the original advantages may also be lost. Without a foolproof plan and without a good opportunity, the Tianxian Sect would not have rebelled. Now that the world is at peace, the Great Yan has just won against its old enemy Rongdi, it's exactly the time when momentum is strongest, of course, it's not a good opportunity to rebel.

  "Ah, there's a town up ahead!" Xiaoxie had been sulking all day, but now her eyes lit up as she saw a small town.

  Tang An also looked up and saw a small castle in front of him.

  The city is not large, but it is built with heavy stones, like a fortress. This small city is called Xiaoshi Town and is the gateway to Lin'an City. After passing through Xiaoshi Town, it's only about 100 miles ahead to reach Lin'an.

  Tang An glanced at Xiaoshi Town and then looked back at the eight hundred Tiger and Leopard Riders behind him.

  These knights are indeed the first-rate elite warriors who emerged from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The days of rushing on the road have not made them show any dissatisfaction. Although their faces have a tired look, their eyes and momentum have not weakened at all.

  But humans can bear it, while the horses cannot. The Western horses they rode on had already foamed at the corners of their mouths and were drenched in sweat; if they didn't stop to feed them some fodder and give them a drink, these fine horses would easily collapse from exhaustion. Warhorses are different from ordinary horses and are extremely difficult to train. As cavalrymen, the Tiger Leopard Troops naturally had an extraordinary relationship with their warhorses - it wasn't excessive to say that they were as close as brothers.

  Tang An glanced at the town ahead, pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and said: "Enter the city, rest for an hour before leaving"

  …………

  "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, please come in."

  Seeing a large group of black-clad and black-armored fierce knights outside, the civilians in Shixiao Town did not show any fear. On the contrary, the shopkeepers came out to invite customers, while the onlookers were excitedly pointing and whispering: "Look, that's the number one strongest army under heaven, the Tiger and Leopard Army, led by that young man who is now the number one swordsman under heaven, Tianjian Tang An. I heard he has come to Lin'an this time to take his parents back home to enjoy their old age."

  Another person heard and continued: "Not bad. Although Tang An is a ruthless killer, he is indeed a filial son. I've heard that at the age of six, he left home alone to go to Mount Shu to learn from his master. But before the age of six, he was weak and sickly, always taking medicine. Who knows how hard he studied and practiced in those ten years on Mount Shu to achieve such unparalleled skills? I've also practiced martial arts before, and it's not something that ordinary people can endure."

  "Hmm" but at this time, a cold hum suddenly appeared.

  When he heard someone not giving him face, the man immediately turned his head to see who was being so impolite. But as soon as he saw the person's attire, his facial expression took a 180-degree turn, and with a smile, he bowed and said: "Oh, it's Sixth Brother! I just said that practicing martial arts is tough, but our Sixth Brother is a natural-born genius, and now he has already entered the White Tiger Hall of the Quan Tian Divine Sect. His future prospects are boundless! From now on, you must take care of your little brother more often."

  Sixth Brother heard the flattering words, his face softened a bit, but said: "His martial arts are not from Mount Shu. Don't you know that he was expelled from the sect after only three months in Mount Shu and was wanted by Mount Shu for ten years?"

  "Oh?" The others exclaimed in surprise. "If he didn't cultivate at Mount Shu, could it be that he joined another prestigious sect afterwards?"

  Having been expelled by a major sect, it would be reasonable to assume that other major sects wouldn't accept him either. However, there are always exceptions, and someone with Tang An's natural talent is an exception. According to their way of thinking, if other sects didn't accept him, that would be strange. This world places great importance on talented individuals.

  Sixth brother shook his head and said, "Not either."

  Others were also puzzled and asked: "Not really? Then where did his kung fu come from?"

  He coldly laughed and said in a chilly tone, "This was killed out of existence."

  Others who heard this immediately held their breath and stopped speaking. At this moment, they looked at Tang An, only to feel a chill in their hearts, their pores shrinking, even on a hot day, they felt cold all over their bodies.

  Killing people is what created this martial art, how many people must be killed?

  …………

  As soon as he stepped into the inn, Tang An's eyes scanned the room and immediately noticed three tables of guests sitting on one side.

  There were only a dozen or so people at these three tables. In the instant Tang An entered, their eyes all swept over him, then they pretended to be nonchalant and continued drinking and eating.

  These dozen or so people seemed to have nothing in common. However, the fabric of their clothes was clearly identical. It was Shu brocade carp silk.

  Tang An saw this and smiled coldly. "Come to monitor me? Humph, pretending all the way here, where don't you have your eyes and ears? Do I not know anything? I just want to take my parents home, if you don't provoke me, I'll pretend I didn't recognize you. As for whether Jun Tian Sect is rebelling or not, that's the emperor's business, what does it have to do with me?"

  Jun Tian Jiao knew that Tang An had arrived in Yangzhou. For this reason, there were once two factions within the sect with differing opinions. One faction believed that they should give Tang An a hard time and let him know that Jun Tian Jiao was not to be trifled with. The other faction hoped to win Tang An over. After all, the imperial court's power to restrain high-level cultivators like those in the Tian Jing realm was extremely weak. If these high-level cultivators did not want to serve the imperial court, there was nothing the imperial court could do about it. Furthermore, Tang An was not a direct descendant of the imperial family; he had entered the Tian Jing realm through his own innate talent and step-by-step cultivation, rather than being nurtured by the imperial court. He had no sense of belonging to the imperial court either, but merely wanted to use them against Shen Jiao because of an unintentional feud from years ago. Now, if someone were willing to swallow their pride and apologize, it might still be possible to resolve things amicably.

  The two sides argued endlessly, until finally, the crazy Ming Ruo Valley smashed a chair and said: "Don't bother with him. For the sake of my niece, let him take his parents away. However, if he dares to cause trouble in my Yangzhou, you all come together and get rid of him, no matter what Tianjian or Dijian, I'll abolish them all."

  Then, Tang An arrived in Yangzhou. Although all the Tianjiao people knew what he was up to, not a single person came to provoke him. They watched as he passed through the province and entered the territory of Lin'an.

  On this road, there were indeed many people watching Tang An, but this time, Tang An guessed wrong. They were not from the Jun Tian Sect, but rather from the Shu Shan Li Wu Han's side. The leader of these dozen or so people was none other than Li Wu Han's eldest disciple, Ma Liu Feng, a strong cultivator at the Heavenly Boundary level.

  Ma Liufeng was disguised as a big-bearded man at this moment, and he was drinking with a tall and thin man next to him. As they drank, the moment their bowls touched, they exchanged whispers in secret.

  "Master Ma, Tang An is right here in this inn. Why don't we just take care of him here?" the tall and thin man asked, casting a fierce glance at Tang An.

  Ma Liufeng also followed and took a look at Tang An. Tang An was sitting there, seemingly talking to Xiao Xie about something, but in fact his attention had always been on this side.

  "Master hasn't given the order. We can't act rashly. Otherwise, if we mess up Master's plans, the consequences will be more than you and I can handle."

  Perhaps Li Wuhans driving method was too severe, the tall and thin man heard the word "master" and didn't say anything else.

  …………

  Jiutian Teachings

  With a bright and resplendent brocade robe, a golden crown holding up his hair, a purple python belt around his waist, the sun, moon, and stars seemed to be moving on his clothes. He looked like a heavenly god. He stood on the top of the Jade Heaven Pavilion, overlooking the Heavenly City. In front of him, one by one, the purple-robed attendants knelt down, reporting something to him.

  Ming Ruo Gu listened to the report of the purple-robed attendant, his face always floating with a faint smile, giving people an illusion that everything in the world was under his control. At this moment, he was the Zhen Tian Left Envoy that everyone feared, the actual ruler of the Zhen Tian Sect.

  "Will Tang An arrive in Lin'an by noon? This speed is about the same as my estimate. I thought, Tang An has not encountered any trouble on this road. Are our disciples of Jun Tian Sect too timid?" Ming Ruo Gu was asking the purple-robed attendant in front of her, but that attendant had his head lowered and looked tense, not daring to answer.

  If he dares to utter a single word, he will die

  "Disciple, if you're a good-for-nothing, doesn't that make me, Ming Ruo Valley, a good-for-nothing too? If I, Ming Ruo Valley, become a good-for-nothing, wouldn't that also drag down my martially-talented big brother into being a good-for-nothing? The Ming brothers are a pair of stunning geniuses, do we look like a pair of good-for-nothings?"

  "Of course not"

  Ming Ruogu said here, suddenly smiled, but immediately coldly said: "Pass the order down, let the White Tiger Hall, Green Dragon Hall, Iron Eagle Hall, three halls' disciples, in Lin'an County, ambush and kill Tang An and his 800 men"

  "Yes, sir!" The purple-robed attendant responded with a single word and retreated swiftly.

  After the purple-robed attendant left, Ming Ruo Gu looked at the entire city of Tian Du and suddenly burst out laughing: "Emperor, do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You want to test me with 800 people? It's really too few... However, if calculated carefully, these 800 people may not be many, but they are enough to make your Zhao family's empire suffer. I, Ming Ruo Gu, am not interested in this matter. I told you about it thirty years ago, so why have you been constantly sending people to test me over the years? Do you think I look like someone who can be easily bullied? Or do you think my brother is stupid and can be used by you?"

  "Hehe... Unfortunately, you always find the wrong opponent... Actually, Shu Mountain would have been easier, but you came to find us instead... Since you were wrong, you'll have to pay some price. These 800 people will serve as a lesson..."

  …………

  An hour flew by quickly, and Tang An stood up together. Suddenly, the horn of the Tiger and Leopard Army blew, and nearly 800 tigers and leopards mounted their horses almost simultaneously, collectively heading towards Lin'an Prefecture.

  At this time, for some reason, the wind outside had already become very strong.

  Whistling

  Took a long-distance bus back home today. Didn't have time, just one more stop left.