1305 - 1314
Chapter 1305: The Crisis Facing Xiangshan City
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
The city was still covered with flames while the airships that scattered just now had already gathered in the distance and started to fly eastwards once again. An airboat was suspending above the burning city. All the demons had disappeared. The 3 earth human knights who chased after demon knights just now had already returned. When Zhang Tie flew back from afar, he saw many human knights flying towards him.
The bloody head of the earth wing demon knight in Zhang Tie's hand indicated Zhang Tie's military exploit. At the sight of that bloody head, all the human knights watched Zhang Tie with evidently respectful and admirable looks.
If not Zhang Tie's timely arrival, it was hard to say how many people among these human knights could survive.
Zhang Tie's young look shocked those human knights so much and made himself more formidable. They could barely imagine such a young shadow knight in Taixia Country. That was unbelievable! Of course, some shadow knights could recover youth after taking precious medicines. Most of the human knights at present felt that this young man might have taken many precious medicines. They had indeed heard about such precious medicines. However, none of these human knights had ever seen them. Because such precious medicines would always be collected by minor top clans or powerhouses. They were treasures for all the female knights. Nobody would like to auction these precious medicines. Only a couple of human knights felt a bit familiar with Zhang Tie's look. However, they didn't believe that the young man was Zhang Tie.
"Immortal, may I know your name?" One old man of the three earth human knights who fought demons just now asked as he bowed towards Zhang Tie.
Immortal was an honorific appellation for shadow knights in Taixia Country. Not until now did these human knights think that Zhang Tie was a shadow knight.
"I'm Zhang Tie from Huaiyuan Palace in Youzhou Province!"
"Qianji Hermit…" Someone couldn't help but exclaim when he heard Zhang Tie's name.
Qianji Hermit was so famous that everyone at present had heard his name. However, these human knights could not imagine that Zhang Tie would be so powerful and kill demon knights as easily as killing a chick, whether it was a black iron demon knight or an earth demon knight.
Under the "amazed" gazes of these people, Zhang Tie flew over there and gave that bloody head to the middle-aged man who looked anguished with bloody eyes while saying, "Here's the head of the earth demon knight who killed your elder brother. Pitifully, I could not save your elder brother. It's an admirable and heroic deed for your elder brother to fight an earth demon knight to death. Dead people couldn't be resurrected; please restrain your grief…"
Zhang Tie's eldest brother also fought to death on the battlefield, which always made his parents, his second elder brother and him grievous. Therefore, Zhang Tie could understand the anguished feeling of this human knight who lost his elder brother and determined to revenge for this human knight by beheading that earth demon knight.
Watching Zhang Tie giving the head of the earth demon knight to him, the middle-aged human knight dropped off his tears at once as he took the head with quivering hands. Although being in the sky, he still knelt down in front of Zhang Tie as he said, "Zhang Yushan from Qingxi Palace, Wuzhou Province appreciates Qianji Hermit for your righteous deed. Qianji Hermit saved our Qingxi Palace out of danger and venged for my elder brother. As long as one member of Qingxi Palace is left in the world, we would never forget about your great kindness…"
"Hurry, stand up!" Zhang Tie immediately pulled up the middle-aged man.
After feeling the great strength from Qianji Hermit's hand, the middle-aged knight could only stand up. Closely after that, he undid an emerald plate from his waist which was carved with some words and gave it to Zhang Tie, "This is my portable token. Please take it. Later on, if Qianji Hermit needs my help, you could have someone bring this token to Qingxi Palace. Zhang Yushan would definitely shrink from no sacrifice…"
After feeling Zhang Yushan's solemn attitude, Zhang Tie took it solemnly too; otherwise, Zhang Yushan might feel that Zhang Tie despised Qingxi Palace.
Not until Zhang Tie took the token did Zhang Yushan seemingly feel reassured as he said in a bit sorrowful and resolute manner, "As my elder brother has just fought to death, I need to deal with the funeral affairs for him. Additionally, my clan suffered a loss more or less. We've got some airships. The airship troop of Qingxi Palace is waiting for me to command. I have to go now…"
After saying that, Zhang Yushan extended his thanks to Zhang Tie and the other knights who fought together with him just now before flying far away.
Not until then did Zhang Tie understand that those airships that were attacked by wing demons just now were withdrawal forces of Qingxi Palace in Wuzhou Province.
After Zhang Yushan left, Zhang Tie learned what happened from the others through a brief talk.
The burning city beside them was Xiangshan City in the Xiangshan Prefecture of Wuzhou Province, which was a standard Class A major city. Xiangshan City was also one of the transit bases in Wuzhou Province from Xiangshan Prefecture to Helan Prefecture. Yesterday, the withdrawal airship troop of Qingxi Palace was resting and reorganizing in Xiangshan City. Unexpectedly, when they were going to evacuate today, a team of wing demon vanguard raided them. As a result, 1 earth human knight and 3 black iron human knights were severely injured; Xiangshan City and Qingxi Palace which was going to evacuate suffered a great loss. Thankfully, Xu Baoan the Cheji General of Wuzhou Province was patrolling in the nearby by airboat. When he saw the battle qi smokes and tornados in Xiangshan City, he hurriedly came over here and weakened the force of demon knights. However, humans were generally in a disadvantageous position.
When they were having fierce combat with wing demon knights and were on the brink of collapse, Zhang Tie's arrival reversed the battle situation at once.
Besides a human knight of Qingxi Place and a human knight who was responsible for defending Xiangshan City fought to death before Zhang Tie's arrival, Zhang Tie himself killed 2 earth wing demon knights and 2 black iron wing demon knights. Besides, the other human knights killed another 4 black iron wing demon knight in later pursuit. Given the casualties, humans gained a triumph…
After hearing that he was in Xiangshan City, Zhang Tie knew that Gao Tianzhao had flown over 1,200 miles towards the west from the mountainous area of Helan Mountain Range and entered Xiangshan Prefecture after penetrating through Helan Prefecture in Wuzhou Province which neighbored Helan Mountain Range…
He was in the frontline of the holy war…
Chapter 1306: The Overall Situation Facing the Theater of Operations
Translator:WQL
Editor:Aleem
During the 2 months when Zhang Tie entered closed cultivation in Castle of Black Iron, the battle situation facing the western theater of operations became fiercer. The battle smokes and flames lasted thousands of miles. Many provinces had deteriorated to battlefields. Taixia Country and demons had started to exert their greater force of the attack and destructive power like two heavyweight champions through preliminary tentative attack and defense. Even though Taixia Country was not only defending...
Over the past 2 months, the 11 advanced bases and air battle fortresses of Taixia Country had entered Wuzhou Province, Zhuzhou Province and Yinzhou Province in the west of Helan Mountain and the north of Weishui River. They had completely stabilized the tunnel of evacuation in the above three provinces. Additionally, 1 month ago, the 11 advanced bases surged forward over 3,000 miles in one day through coordination and suddenly joined the frontline where demons were attacking humans ferociously. With the coordination of over 100,000 human knights, the 11 advanced bases inflicted heavy losses to the wing demon vanguards. It was said that they had killed at least 3 shadow wing demon knights and thousands of other wing demon knights. The 11 advanced bases even resumed some cities which were occupied by demons' vanguards. As a result, demons' raging offensive was immediately weakened in Wuzhou Province, Zhuzhou Province and Yinzhou Province.
It was the first good news that Taixia Country received since the start of the holy war when Peacewest Military Region was gradually losing its land.
Although the 11 advanced bases' strike didn't completely curb the offense of demons, it was of a special strategical significance. This small victory not only boosted the morale of soldiers and commoners across Taixia Country that had been low since the beginning of this holy war, but also won more than 1 month for the soldiers and commoners to evacuate from the 3 provinces.
After this raid, the 11 advanced bases retreated orderly step by step; at the same time, they set traps to eliminate some small teams of wing demon knights who tried to make tentative attacks on the way back. Behind the 11 advanced bases, Taixia Country as a whole had organized over 10,000 airboats and hundreds of thousands of airships to accelerate the evacuation of soldiers and commoners from Wuzhou Province, Zhuzhou Province and Yinzhou Province. Meanwhile, they strengthened the defenses and cleared the fields, making demons flurried.
After suffering a big loss and some small losses, the demon's vanguard didn't surge forward anymore; instead, they became very meticulous. After evacuating all the commoners from the three provinces, Taixia Country also evacuated the armies from the three provinces orderly, causing a vacuum region as wide as 600 miles between demons and humans. The vacuum region was actually composed of many deserted cities, towns and villages. The demon's army was on the west of this vacuum region while Taixia Country's army was on the east of this vacuum region.
Over the past 1 month, the frontline remained relatively calm. When demons moved forward, Taixia Country's force retreated. Although there were battles and conflicts every day, none of the battles and conflicts involved over 100 knights. Wing demon knights were passing by that vacuum region and penetrating into Taixia Country in small scale; at the same time, many human knight powerhouses were ambushing in the cities, woods or wild of the vacuum region and sniping those wing demon knights who attempted to pass by that vacuum region.
The battle that Zhang Tie experienced in Xiangshan City today was one of the fiercest battles between human knights and demon knights in Wuzhou Province over the past 1 month.
All the commoners had almost evacuated from Wuzhou Province, Zhuzhou Province and Yinzhou Province. Only a minority of people would like to stay apart from those commoners in the regions occupied by demons.
The highest commander in the entire western theater of operations of Taixia Country was Zuoqiu Mingyue, the military minister of Taixia Country who was known as Military God.
Zuoqiu Mingyue had been in the office of military minister of Taixia Country for over 100 years. In the second holy war, Zuoqiu Mingyue who had promoted to heavenly knight had been one of the pillar generals of Taixia Country. At that time, he commanded Taixia troops to fight demons and killed a heavenly demon knight. This time, at the request of the crown prince, Zuoqiu Mingyue came to the western theater of operations from Xuanyuan Hill as one of the top three chancellors of Taixia Country. As was expected, he stabilized the overall battle situation only in a couple of months. Zuoqiu Mingyue's popularity and power were definitely the greatest in the western theater of operations.
It was even said that Zuoqiu Mingyue might have long promoted to sage-level knight over the past 100 years. If Zuoqiu Mingyue was there when Xuanyuan Hill was in chaos last year, Han Zhengfang could never escape away from Xuanyuan Hill.
Due to the arrival of the Military God of Taixia Country, the entire western theater of operations had evidently greater morale than that 2 months ago.
Besides, even the top 7 sects' troops had arrived at the theater of operations and joined the raid together with the 11 advanced bases over 1 month ago.
The above was the changes facing the western theater of operations that Zhang Tie learned in Xiangshan City in the last 2 months.
After that, Zhang Tie contacted Blackwater Base and reported that he had recovered his wounds and had just joined a battle in Xiangshan City. Additionally, he asked for his next mission.
Zhang Tie was not overconfident due to his surging battle strength. Since he came out of the underground space, he had been bearing his duty on the battlefield in mind——a scout dispatched by Blackwater Base!
Blackwater Base soon replied Zhang Tie, which surprised Zhang Tie a bit. Previously, Zhang Tie thought that Blackwater Base would have him continue to hunt demons in the vacuum region between demons and humans as a scout. However, he had not imagined that Blackwater Base told him to stay a few more cays in Xiangshan City and escorted the airship troops in Xiangshan City to return to Helan Mountain Range 3 days later before returning to Blackwater Base for a rest.
Now that he had received this order, Zhang Tie could only follow it.
After knowing that Zhang Tie was going to stay in Xiangshan City for a few days and escort Taixia troops back from Xiangshan City, some knights in Xiangshan City and Xu Baoan the Cheji General of Wuzhou Province went ecstatic. As they had witnessed Zhang Tie's powerful battle skills. With Zhang Tie's protection, Xiangshan City would never have any trouble in the following days. Additionally, the garrisons of about 1 million members in Xiangshan City wouldn't worry about any raid from wing demon knights any more in the process of evacuation.
Chapter 1307: Damages and Clearance
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
With a cracking sound, being drawn by over 1,000 soldiers and dozens of armored vehicles using steel cables, a 100-m long half-collapsed section of the city wall in the north of Xiangshan City fully collapsed. Before dust fell down, over 10,000 soldiers and hundreds of trucks had swarmed up as they started to fill those bricks and cement into the trucks. Closely after that, those trucks poured them into the moat, filling a part of the moat.
Before these "construction wastes" were poured into the moat, some big steel gates in the north of Xiangshan City had long been demolished and thrown into the moat and were buried by tens of thousands of tons of construction wastes. Many reaches of the moat of Xiangshan City had been cut out and become narrow ditches. The entire Xiangshan City was like a large demolition site——the city gates were demolished, the city walls were destroyed, the steam defense facilities in the city walls were severely damaged.
It was the one million members inside Xiangshan City who did all this…
…
"Come here, after demolishing the walls of that house, tell engineer battalion to carry 2 more trucks of cement over here and completely fill this well. Son of b*tches. Even though this dad is going to leave, I will never leave anything to those lackeys of demons…"
Soon after Zhang Tie turned to a street, he had seen a captain of Taixia Country stepping on the stony rails of an open well whose diameter was about 4-5 m by his leather shoes while opening the button near his collar by a tug as hundreds of soldiers behind him were demolishing a delicate house.
Watching this scene, Zhang Tie shook his head towards those people on his side as he let out a sigh with feeling, "What a pity! We have to abandon this place…"
"This ancient well of Xiangshan City has a history of over 500 years. The ancient-well bean curds made of the water in this ancient well is a delicacy in Xiangshan City. Before I promoted to a black iron knight, I would taste the ancient-well bean curds whenever I came to Xiangshan City. In this block, each family has a workshop for making ancient-well bean curds for many generations. Because ancient-well bean curds in Xiangshan City was well known across Wuzhou Province, the supply was not adequate to the demand. Even though these households could live well by making and selling ancient-well bean curds…"
The old man who fought an earth demon knight a few days ago explained as he shook his head with a sigh.
This old man was called Long Miao. Previously, he was the grand elder of Long Clan of Sande Palace in Xiangshan Prefecture of Wuzhou Province. After demons invaded Taixia Country, he was assigned by the commander of Peacewest Military Region to defend Xiangshan City. There were two black iron knights on the sides of this old man, one was called Fang Hui, the other was called Peng Yulin. The two black iron knights both wore armors. Fang Hui looked fierce; Peng Yulin looked gentle. Fang Hui and Peng Yulin were now the leaders of two corps of Wuzhou Province which were defending Xiangshan City. Another black iron knight who was assigned to defend Xiangshan City had sacrificed a few days ago. Therefore, there were only four knights in Xiangshan City now, namely, Zhang Tie, Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin.
Zhang Tie had stayed in Xiangshan City for 2 days. The two corps would evacuate tomorrow. Zhang Tie was suddenly touched by such a scene as he wanted to look around this city which was going to be deserted. Of course, the other 3 knights just accompanied him. In Xiangshan City, Zhang Tie didn't interfere with any military or administrative affairs. He was only responsible for the demon knights who raided them. Fang Hui and Peng Yulin were responsible for military and administrative affairs. However, all the other 3 knights regarded Zhang Tie as their head faintly according to the rule of the knight's world. Knights' positions would be determined by their battle strength. As Zhang Tie had the greatest battle strength among the 4 knights; of course, he was taken as their boss.
Although they had just acquainted with Zhang Tie for a few days, they had been completely conquered by Zhang Tie's overwhelming battle skills that day. As Qianji Hermit was a famous person, the grand elder of Long Clan of Sande Palace and the two leaders of corps of Wuzhou Province would like to stay with him. Although Zhang Tie was well-known across the world, he didn't put on airs in front of average soldiers in Wuzhou Province and elders of major clans. His words and deeds felt pretty comfortable and satisfied people very much.
"As long as we could kill all the demons and regain Xiangshan City, we would open this ancient well again…" Fang Hui said with full killing intent, "As we've passed 2 holy wars, nothing to be afraid about one more!"
Peng Yulin remained silent. When in the army of Wuzhou Province, Peng Yulin was always arrogant as a corps leader of Wuzhou Army. Additionally, he was also very powerful. Take that battle a few days ago as an instance, he could fight 3 black iron demon knights alone and could kill one black iron demon knight in the end. Everyone in the Wuzhou Army knew that General Peng never admitted that he was weaker than others; even in front of the commander of Peacewest Military Region, he was still very stubborn. He was even called Strongneck General. However, after witnessing Zhang Tie's overwhelming battle skills, Peng Yulin was completely convinced by Zhang Tie.
After seeing the 4 knights approaching him; especially that his corps leader was standing on one side of a person, the military officer who was going to fill the well immediately knew the identity of the new arriver. Closely after that, he ran over here and stood at attention, causing a loud sound "Pah" as he reported, "Corps Leader, I am Captain Gao Fei of No. 6 Division of the 3rd Formation of Copper Furnace Corps of Wuzhou Province…"
"Hmm, go finish your job!" Fang Hui waved his hand, letting this little official officer leave.
"Yes, sir…" As Gao Fei left, he kept throwing a stealthy admirable glance at Zhang Tie. The news that Zhang Tie the Qianji Hermit was responsible for defending Xiangshan City had long been spread over the city these days together with the news that he had killed 2 earth demon knights and 2 black iron demon knights that day. In the eyes of ordinary soldiers, Zhang Tie was a legendary figure who was their super idol.
Zhang Tie walked towards the ancient well which was going to be buried. After that, he touched its stony rails.
The rails were covered with 1 cm deep marks left by slopes, which carried the hopes of so many households in this city for many generations. Those bluestones on the earth beside the ancient well became as smooth as a mirror in the baptism of years.
There were a barrel and some ropes on the rails. Although the nearby households had left here, these items were still placed well.
As this well had a history of over 500 years, the water could be seen 5 m beneath the mouth. Additionally, there was a light mist on the water. The water in the well was as limpid as the mirror.
The most part of the courtyard walls of a mansion had been demolished. When Zhang Tie sighed with feeling and was going to leave, a grey-haired old man in plain clothes walked out of a lane from aside with two barrels on his shoulder by a shoulder pole. The old man came to the well and lifted a barrel of water from the well…
As all the commoners in Xianghan City had been evacuated, Zhang Tie was a bit dumbfounded when he saw such an old man coming here for water.
Given his age, it was a bit difficult for him to lift the second barrel of water.
"Grandpa, let me help you…" Zhang Tie hurriedly came to the side of the old man and helped the old man lift a barrel of water. Zhang Tie then asked, "Grandpa, all the commoners in Xiangshan City have been evacuated, why are you still here?"
The old man revealed a smile, "Just carry those young men away. I grew up here by drinking the water in this ancient well since I was born; my father grew up here; my grandpa grew up here; my grandpa's grandpa also grew up here; even my wife had stayed here. Demons would arrive, so what? Why do I have to leave when the demons arrive? Am I afraid of them? At such an age, what am I afraid of? If I leave here, who will accompany my wife?"
The old man's reply made the 4 knights ashamed.
"But this ancient well is going to be filled!" Zhang Tie said kindly.
"I know, I know. I heard the military officer shouting outside just now. I just want to lift some water from here and make ancient-well bean curds for one more time before this well is filled. My wife favored ancient-well bean curd most when she was alive. As I could make ancient-well bean curd, she got married to me…" The old man said as he revealed a nostalgic look. He then looked at Zhang Tie from his foot to his head before asking, "All the young men who stay in Xiangshan City are Hua heroes; you look so young. Do you also come here to fight demons?"
Zhang Tie nodded as he lifted another barrel of water. As the barrels carried here by the old man were a bit large, 2 barrels of water lifted by the common barrel on the rail could only fill 80% of one of old man's barrels.
"Where's your hometown?" The old man had a free chat with Zhang Tie.
"Youzhou Province!"
"Youzhou Province, within Northeast Military Region. It's indeed far away from here. I've only been to Huanzhou Province and Yinzhou Province since I was born!" The old man suddenly became interested in talking with Zhang Tie as he asked, "Have you killed any demon?"
"Just a few!" Zhang Tie replied modestly as he pulled up the 4th common barrel and poured the water into one barrel of the old man.
"My youngest grandson is as old as you. However, he's not as great as you!" The old man sighed with feeling, "Our northwesterners; especially our Wuzhou people are all hospitable. As you come here from afar to fight demons, if you don't mind, how about tasting my ancient-well bean curds? You might not enjoy it after today…"
"Fine, thanks, grandpa. Where do you live? Let me help you carry water back!" Zhang Tie said as he took the shoulder pole from the old man's hand and lifted the two barrels of water.
"Not far away in front, I will show you the way…" The old man directly walked in front of them towards the lane.
After lifting the barrels, Zhang Tie looked back at Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin, "Let's go there together. It seems that we have the luck to enjoy the ancient-well bean curd today. Otherwise, we could only eat it after this holy war!"
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, Fang Hui hurriedly rushed over here and would like to take Zhang Tie's shoulder pole. At the same time, he said, "Let me do it, let me do it…"
Few black iron knights across Taixia Country could feel at ease and justified having an earth knight carry water for them, not to mention that the earth knight was Zhang Tie the Qianji Hermit.
Zhang Tie revealed a smile as he waved his hand, which indicated that he didn't mind it. At the same time, Zhang Tie replied, "Haha, don't care about that, I'm just helping this grandpa. Brother Fang, after today, you could brag that water of the last ancient-well bean curd that you ate in Xiangshan City was carried by me…"
The grand elder of Sande Palace burst out into laughter as he replied, "That's true. The water of the ancient-well bean curd that we will eat today is carried by Qianji Hermit. Who else would believe that we could enjoy such special treatment? Who else in Taixia Country is qualified to enjoy it? In the future, even if I fought demons to death on the battlefield, I would not have any regret…"
"I suggest keeping this ancient well. Even if demons really occupied this place, given the strong suspicion of demons, they would not dare drink the water from this well. Because we have filled all the other wells and destroyed the freshwater system."
Being more considerate than Fang Hui, Peng Yulin had sensed Zhang Tie's commiseration. If they filled the last well, there would be no fresh water across the city. In this situation, after the army evacuated tomorrow, this old man would die before the arrival of the demons' army.
"Keep it then. Younger brother Peng is right. Even though such an ancient well is kept in Xiangshan City, demons dare not drink the water inside it…" Fang Hui thought it through at once. The decision of the two corps leaders was the supreme order in Xiangshan City. Therefore, Fang Hui especially called the military officer Gao Fei to leave 2 people here to prevent this well from being filled before they evacuated.
They soon came to the old man's home in the depth of the lane. The old man was alone. His wife's sacrificial tablet was put in the middle of the main room…
The old man's surname was Zhou. He was an aborigine in Xiangshan City. The residents in Xiangshan City had started to evacuate 4 months ago. The old man swore to not leave Xiangshan City. Therefore, he stayed with a cat. There were enough grains and woods which were enough for him to live a few years. Additionally, the old man even reclaimed a patch of arable land in his courtyard. Therefore, he could meet self-sufficiency.
The old man had a private workshop and a small mill. He had prepared soybeans…
The old man was happy about inviting the 4 knights to his home. After taking out some jujubes and letting them enjoy themselves, the old man started to make bean curds.
…
On the next early morning, over 3,000 large airships arrived at Xiangshan City and landed at the airports in the city and outside the city. Soon after that, they started to evacuate the garrisons in Xiangshan City.
All the city gates of Xiangshan City had been demolished. Some 100-200 m long sections of city walls were destroyed. All the water resources in the city had been destroyed. They had burned everything they could into ruins. As for those which couldn't be burned, they had smashed them, destroyed them or buried them. Additionally, the engineer teams of the two corps had set some traps especially targeting at LV 9 demon fighters inside and outside the city…
Only after a couple of hours, all the garrisons in Xiangshan City had boarded airships and all the airship had flown off.
When he left Xiangshan City, Zhang Tie threw the last glance at the city which had been completely damaged and cleaned. He also saw that old man who was lying and napping on a sling chair on a jujube tree leisurely with a colorful cat in his arms in his own courtyard under the warm spring sunshine.
Zhang Tie didn't know what to say. He only had a strange feeling. In a split second, he felt that his spirit had been sublimed…
'If you're not afraid of it and have something to rely on mentally, what could this world do to you?'
The ancient-well bean curd, the ordinary old man who was lying on the sling chair bathing the sunshine with his wife's sacrificial tablet and didn't even care about the hundreds of millions of demon fighters and hundreds of thousands of demon knights became the last impressions in Zhang Tie's mind about this city…
"Let's go…" Zhang Tie turned around and told the other 3 knights in the sky. Closely after Zhang Tie's words, a golden light had shot here which startled Long Miao and the other two knights very much. Fang Hui even thought that they were raided by a demon powerhouse as he almost launched a counterattack.
Zhang Tie stopped Fang Hui at once as he said, "Brother Fang, don't worry, this is my pet mount…"
Soon after Zhang Tie's words, the thunder hawk had arrived in front of Zhang Tie and started to circle around Zhang Tie jubilantly.
All the other 3 knights were shocked by such a mighty bird.
"Ahh, what kind of bird is it? How could it move even faster than the speed of sound?" Fang Hui and Peng Yulin both widely opened their eyes as they watched the thunder hawk like watching a monster. The two knights had not heard and seen such a nice bird at all.
Only the grand elder of Long Clan of Sande Palace's eyes shone when he caught sight of the thunder hawk as if he had seen a rarity.
"Older brother Long might know it." Zhang Tie said with a smile.
After hearing Zhang Tie's hint, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin moved their eyes onto Long Miao at the same time.
Rubbing his mustache, Long Miao said with uncertainty, "It seems…like the legendary thunder hawk which could gain a rebirth after being struck by thunderbolts. Thunder hawks could fly fast. According to the legend, thunder hawk should at least experience the baptism of thunderbolt once in its whole life. If it succeeded, it would accomplish a round of evolution and mutation. Like how snake sloughs and how knight forms a new chakra. After being struck by a thunderbolt, it would make a spurt of progress in ability. Previously, I saw a thunder hawk which had survived thunderbolts three times in an auction. Finally, it was purchased at the price of over 1 million gold coins. This thunder hawk is many times larger than that one I saw and could move at such an amazing speed. If it becomes so nice after experiencing the baptism of thunderbolts, it must have evolved many times. It could be called an immortal bird. If it was tamed, it would be even more precious than a silver secret item…"
"Haha, Elder brother Long is really experienced and knowledgeable!" Zhang Tie burst out into laughter. Closely after that, he rode on the thunder hawk and rushed into the sky under the admirable looks of the other 3 knights. At the same time, he said, "Besides flying at a high speed, this thunder hawk also has a sharp sight in the sky. It could even discover target from hundreds of miles away. With its help, I promise to clean up all the demon knights who dared harass and raid the airship troop…"
Chapter 1308: Achievements On the Way
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Over 3,000 large airships were 40 miles in length and 12 miles in width. The three large formations from 5,000 m high to 10,000 m high were like an eye-catching large cloud if someone watched it on the earth.
If it was not blocked by clouds, anyone could see such a giant slowly moving in the sky from hundreds of miles away. It was not difficult for demon knights to discover them because demon knights had much greater vision and senses than commoners. Those which could fly always had a good vision, not to mention wing demon knights.
As so many airships were flying in large formations, they couldn't move fast. Additionally, being affected by wind, all the airships could only move over 30 miles per hour. It was as slow as tortoise for knights.
Like how dogs liked chasing after frisbees, when wing demon knights caught sight of so many airships, they couldn't wait to bring down all the airships.
Being easily discovered; a large quantity; a great flight speed. They were the favorite targets of wing demon knights in the sky.
Previously, Zhang Tie thought this mission would be boring and peaceful; however, he soon realized that it was a profitable trip to wait for wing demon knights. He didn't even need to look for wing demon knights; instead, he only needed to escort these airships when the wing demon knights would come for him.
He was more like angling than executing the mission of convoy.
After the airship troops left Xiangshan City for 6 hours, the dark fell; Zhang Tie who was sitting on the back of the thunder hawk and reciting the endless true words of the Great Wilderness Sutra as well as having the thunder hawk fly dozens of miles around the airship troops noticed a wing demon knight.
It was not the thunder hawk who discovered the wing demon knight first but Zhang Tie; because the thunder hawk's sight could never match that of Zhang Tie's lotus-flower eyes. Additionally, that wing demon knight excelled at hiding himself. It was not flying towards the airship troops at a high altitude, but close to the woods.
It was a black iron wing demon knight who might have guessed that the airship troop was escorted by some knight-level powerhouses. However, it didn't know how many human knights were there. Therefore, it just hid somewhere far away from the airship troop and observed them carefully.
'Now that you've come, don't leave then.'
Zhang Tie knew that a black iron wing demon was nothing but sh*t for him; however, it could pose a great threat to ordinary human fighters even ordinary black iron human knights. Now that Zhang Tie had discovered the threat, he would eliminate it for sure.
Watching this wing demon knight approaching them, Zhang Tie directly had the thunder hawk fly over there.
As the thunder hawk moved at the speed which was 2 times the speed of sound, when the black iron wing demon discovered Zhang Tie, it didn't even have time to escape. Therefore, it could only fight Zhang Tie to death. However, no matter what, a black iron wing demon's struggle in front of Zhang Tie was neither meaningful nor challenging at all.
In the wild, the black iron wing demon had been knocked out and teleported into Castle of Black Iron in less than 2 minutes.
Smacking his lips, Zhang Tie flew back as he felt unsatisfied.
…
"What happened?" Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin were sitting on the air sacs of airships. Long Miao was in the middle of the airship troop; the two corps leaders were respectively in the front and at the end of the airship troop. Zhang Tie flew around the airship troop in the periphery. The four knights formed a defense matrix to respond to the possible emergencies. As the thunder hawk moved too fast, not until the 3 people saw the battle qi smoke of the black iron wing demon knight which soon disappeared did they realize that a battle had finished. Therefore, they hurriedly flew over there.
"Nothing, just a black iron wing demon knight. I've already dealt with it!" Zhang Tie told Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin casually.
The 3 people exchanged a glance with each other. After revealing a bitter smile, they returned to their own posts.
…
Starting from this black iron wing demon knight, this airship troop was like a piece of fishy and bloody beef which was thrown into the ocean which constantly attracted sharks. However, Zhang Tie defused all the dangers.
During this process, even Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin didn't know how many wing demon knights had Zhang Tie killed; because starting from the first black iron wing demon knight, Zhang Tie had enlarged his flight radius from 30 miles to 60 miles. Sometimes, Zhang Tie even flew farther away to launch an attack on his own initiative in the excuse that the thunder hawk would like to chase after demons the moment it discovered them in the far in case of troubles. Therefore, wing demon knights would always be discovered by Zhang Tie and his thunder hawk from over 120 miles away.
Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin only remembered that they saw one battle qi tornado and two battle qi smokes from over 120 miles away and over 250 miles away respectively in the last 3 days. Besides, they had not seen any demon knight being less than 60 miles away from their airship troop.
In order to not attract the attention of more human knights, demon knights who had penetrated into the territory of humans would not always release their battle qi tornadoes or battle qi smokes on their own initiative in each battle. When some demon knights found human powerhouses approaching them, they would choose to escape; therefore, Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin estimated that Zhang Tie might have already driven away or killed at least 4 demon knights in the last 3 days, one of them should be an earth wing demon knight.
As for Zhang Tie, the achievements that he made in the last 3 days was enough for him to promote to 9 change earth realm easily; because he actually killed 3 earth wing demon knights in the last 3 days. He swept all the way from Xiangshan Prefecture to Helan Prefecture in the name of escorting the airship troop…
It was also out of Zhang Tie's imagination that he could make such a great achievement only after leaving the underground space for a few days. With one more earth wing demon knight or some more black iron wing demon knight, Zhang Tie was sure that he could promote to a shadow knight at the end of this year.
Even Zhang Tie was shocked by such a great advancing speed. ' Purgatory Samsara Method is too terrifying in such a holy war. With such a secret method, how could I not promote to a shadow knight rapidly?'
On December 28, the 904th year of the black iron calendar, Zhang Tie returned to Blackwater Base after leaving there for over 4 months as an earth knight scout like flying a kite…
Chapter 1309: The City of Knights
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
"Let's bid farewell to each other. Bon voyage! You might not meet any demon knights in Helan Mountain Range in the following days…" Zhang Tie waved his hand towards Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin.
The large formation of over 3,000 airships had already entered the air territory above Helan Mountain Range. Besides, tens of thousands of airships as long as 60 miles were flying towards the east. What a splendid scene!
After completing replenishment in some large airports within Helan Prefecture, Wuzhou Province, these airships would fly over Helan Mountain Range towards Huanzhou Province without any halt.
Besides so many airships, there were also hundreds of airboats in the sky. The last batch of commoners and soldiers who were evacuated to Helan Prefecture would be further transferred to Huanzhou Province rapidly by airships and airboats.
Airboats had a higher efficiency than airships. It would only take an airboat 2 hours to fly over Helan Mountain Range and make a round trip between Wuzhou Province and Huanzhou Province. Each airboat could transport thousands of people to tens of thousands of people each time. There were over 10,000 airboats in Wuzhou Province, Zhuzhou Province and Yinzhou Province which were responsible for evacuating the last batch of commoners and soldiers over there. With such a terrifying national strength and ability of mobilization, most of the commoners had been evacuated from Wuzhou Province, Zhuzhou Province and Yinzhou Province in only a few months.
Besides so many airships and airboats, many human knights were also flying here and there in the sky within hundreds of miles. There was more than one patrolling team of knights in the sky; therefore, they didn't need to worry about being raided by demon knights here.
Although there was not a platform in the sky, the four people had to part with each other——Zhang Tie would return to Blackwater Base; Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin would continue to convoy the troop of 1 million soldiers to enter Huanzhou Province. After that, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin would be responsible for reorganizing the troop. Some fighters would stay in Huanzhou Province; some would leave there. The grand elder of Long Clan of Sande Palace would converge with his clan members and reinvigorate Sande Palace. Of course, a major clan would suffer a great loss after evacuating from their foundation. However, if they didn't leave there, the entire clan would be exterminated by demons.
"Fine, let's part with each other then. Hopefully, I could have another chance to fight demons together with Qianji Hermit!" Fang Hui said heroically, "After I reorganize the troop, I will apply for coming to the frontline; otherwise, I will resign…"
"Hopefully, I could have a chance to learn about battle skills from Qianji Hermit after I promote to an earth knight. I really admire Hermit's battle skills!" Peng Yulin told Zhang Tie while cupping his hands. Before departure, the arrogant corps leader finally couldn't help but reveal a faint pride.
Zhang Tie had just held his rotating chakra ceremony of earth knight for a few years; Peng Yulin had been in the 9 change black iron realm and might promote to an earth knight in a few years. Therefore, Peng Yulin thought that he could narrow the gap between him and Zhang Tie after promoting to an earth knight.
Of course, when an arrogant person saw another person who was younger and more excellent than him, he would think about catching up with the latter.
After hearing Peng Yulin's words, Zhang Tie just replied with a smile as he nodded. If Peng Yulin knew that Zhang Tie would soon promote to a shadow knight, this young corps leader of Wuzhou Army might have a shadow side to his personality in the future.
It was nothing bad for him to be a bit arrogant corps leader as he was as young as Zhang Tie. Therefore, Zhang Tie felt it was unnecessary to make him disappointed at this moment.
Even Zhang Tie wondered when did a black iron knight become a "young man" whose feelings and self-respect should be considered.
"Grand elder Long, what's your plan?"
"Long Clan of Sande Palace has a city and some properties in Hongzhou Province of Middlepeace Military Region. Our clan will move to Hongzhou Province. As some elders and the clan head of Long Clan are fighting demons in the western theater of operations, I should go to Hongzhou Province for the sake of our properties!" Grand elder Long Miao said.
"If Long Clan is interested in Fiery Oil, Elder Long could come to Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory…"
Grand elder Long threw a deep glance at Zhang Tie as he cupped his hands towards Zhang Tie forcefully and silently——the greatest gratitude couldn't be expressed. As for Long Clan of Sande Palace, the gift of Fiery Oil was a timely assistance for Long Clan. If Long Clan could manage the business of Fiery Oil, they would recover their prosperity in a few years, even more than that. How could such a great kindness be expressed by the word "thanks"? If he said "thanks", it meant that he despised Zhang Tie.
"Take care of yourself!"
"Take care!"
After saying that, Zhang Tie cupped his hands towards Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin; so did the 3 knights to Zhang Tie. Closely after that, Long Miao, Fang Hui and Peng Yulin flew towards the formation of airships in the far. Zhang Tie turned around and flew towards the southeastern part of Helan Prefecture in Wuzhou Province which was the border between Helan Mountain Range and Weishui River as Blackwater Base and all the other 10 advanced bases of Taixia Country were gathering there.
…
Zhang Tie flew along the horizon at average speed as fast as the other earth knights. Only after less than half an hour, Zhang Tie had seen Blackwater Base.
4 months later, Blackwater Base remained unchanged, except that 10 more advanced bases were less than 600 square miles away from Blackwater Base.
All the 11 advanced bases of Taixia Country were gathering here, which looked like huge air castles. Those advanced bases were about 20 miles away from each other, forming a large steel ring in the sky. Additionally, there was a huge metal fortress which was on the same level with Lion Fortress in the middle of the large steel ring.
Numerous knights were flying between advanced bases and the air fortress. A lot of airboats in different sizes were suspending below this large base group and fortress meticulously.
As it was at noon, the sun had just reached its culmination. The 12 giants' shadow covered the ground like that of a city in the sky.
There was no land forces here. Everybody flew here and there. It was like a legendary city of knights.
Zhang Tie was shocked by such a magnificent and epic scene…
After taking deep breath for a few times, Zhang Tie threw a glance at the location of Blackwater Base before flying over there. However, before arriving there, he had heard a slightly surprised sound from his back…
"Zhang Tie…is that you…"
Zhang Tie looked back as he saw Feng Cangwu and some young knights flying towards him…
Chapter 1310: The Real Defiance
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
"Brother Cangwu…" Zhang Tie stopped as he revealed a surprised smile. Zhang Tie had not imagined that he could meet Feng Cangwu here. It was really thrilling for friends and brothers to meet on the battlefield. It felt even better than meeting a fellow-townsman in a foreign country. Before Feng Cangwu responded, Zhang Tie had given a bearhug to him as he fervently and forcefully patted Feng Cangwu's back and said, "I've not imagined that I could meet you here. Does Tianji Sect assign people here too…"
As Zhang Tie grew up in Waii Subcontinent, his deeds and temperaments were always similar to the customs of people in Waii Subcontinent. In Waii Subcontinent, if good brothers met each other somewhere, they couldn't help but give a bearhug to each other to express that they were kind. However, in Taixia Country, people's etiquettes would be more implicit.
"Ahem..ahem…I've not imagined that I could meet…meet you here…" Feng Cangwu who was always distant might have not been hugged by a male on this occasion. Therefore, being hugged by Zhang Tie, he didn't know where to put his arms as he said, "Erm…can you release me first?"
"Hahaha…" Zhang Tie burst out into laughter as he felt much better at once. After patting Feng Cangwu's back for 2 more times, he moved a few steps backward. He then looked at Feng Cangwu from his foot to his head while his smile grew bigger, "8 change black iron realm. Congratulations. You will promote to an earth knight in a few years. When you promote to an earth knight, I will gift you a big red packet…"
"You, feel…" Feng Cangwu looked at Zhang Tie as his heart pounded.
Less than 1 year ago, Feng Cangwu could still sense Zhang Tie's cultivation base to a certain degree when in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory; however, this time, Feng Cangwu felt that Zhang Tie's qi was as profound as the sea. If not being familiar with Zhang Tie, Feng Cangwu couldn't sense the trivial change of Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie reminded Feng Cangwu of those senior fellow apprentices and uncle masters of Feng Cangwu who would soon promote to shadow knights after long-term seclusion that Feng Cangwu saw a few years ago. Zhang Tie slightly felt as flexible as shadow knights…
'No, Zhang Tie is even more powerful than those senior fellow apprentices and uncle masters in Heavens Fortune Sect.' Feng Cangwu's heart palpitated; because he faintly felt the indifferent look of ignoring everything that would be owned by real powerhouses. It was not because of arrogance or disguise; but a unique temperament that a person would have on a certain level. It was a kind of high realm that a person would enter after standing on the top of the mountain peak. Even though Zhang Tie behaved fervently and modestly, his unique temperament would never disappear.
As Feng Cangwu was familiar with Zhang Tie and had seen the world, he could sense the indifferent temperament of Zhang Tie. Commoners could never sense it.
"Well, I was almost ambushed by some b*stards when I went out for a mission 2 months ago. After 2 months' recuperation, the moment I came out, I've received a task to convoy two corps of Wuzhou Provincial Army to evacuate to Huanzhou Province from Xiangshan City. I'm heading for Blackwater Base to report on my mission!"
Even though it was an earth-shaking dangerous experience, Zhang Tie would describe it casually like buying vegetables in a marketplace. As Zhang Tie said it, he blinked his eyes towards Feng Cangwu. Feng Cangwu understood that it was not the proper place for a chat.
However, someone caught the loophole from Zhang Tie's words at once.
"Hehheh, I've not imagined that the famous Qianji Hermit is just so-so in the holy war…" One of the young knights who flew towards here together with Feng Cangwu immediately satirized Zhang Tie with a sneer, "After being ambushed by demons, you recuperated for 2 months; you missed the toughest counterattack under the leadership of Commander Zuoqiu. Finally, you came back after completing an easy mission, haha…"
Feng Cangwu had 5 partners, 4 males and 1 female. All of them were black iron human knights. The 6 people were all very young and had a special qi field. At the sight of the 5 knights, Zhang Tie had guessed that they came from the top 7 clans of Taixia Country.
Zhang Tie threw a glance at that knight who made impertinent remarks. At the 20s, he had thin lips and an oval face, which didn't look bad. Some women might like him. However, this man's eye light contained some jealousy and defiance.
In front of Zhang Tie, who dared say that they were geniuses, even the most excellent and youngest elites among the top 7 sects? Zhang Tie's reputation in the Western Continent and Eastern Continent were much better than these people. It could be said that Zhang Tie made these so-called geniuses too ashamed to show their faces.
"Who's this idiot?" Zhang Tie asked Feng Cangwu straightforwardly.
"Ahem…ahem…" Feng Cangwu became speechless. He knew Zhang Tie's temperament. If the others didn't offend him, Zhang Tie would not offend them; if the others offended him, they had to be ready for being trampled. Zhang Tie didn't treat everyone modestly, enthusiastically and kindly…
"Zhang Tie, you…" The knight's sarcastic sneer disappeared at once as his face turned red. If it was someone else, the young knight might have long launched a strike; he was not even afraid of ordinary earth knights. However, as Zhang Tie was too prestigious, the young knight really dared not fight Zhang Tie. Additionally, the young knight looked around and found that none of the rest 5 knights would like to stand on his side as all of them just watched aside with a distant look…
Feng Cangwu pretended to cough twice once again as he answered Zhang Tie, "This one is Wen Qingkong, one of the 9 young elites in Taiyi Fantasy Sect…"
"Oh, I see!" Zhang Tie looked as if he had long known that. Even if Zhang Tie didn't say it, his words between lines had made all the other 4 young knights look serious as they suppressed a smile. Feng Cangwu also resisted the impulse to laugh. Not until now did Feng Cangwu sense that Zhang Tie's words were even more destructive than his. Only by opening his mouth, Zhang Tie would be able to kill someone. "I see" sounded even more destructive than stabbing blades into people's body.
Wen Qingkong's face turned purple as he quivered all over. Since he joined Taiyi Fantasy Sect, Wen Qingkong had not imagined that he could meet someone who dared not give him a face in the public.
"Zhang Tie, don't be too excessive. As an earth demon knight, my senior fellow apprentice Liu of Taiyi Fantasy Sect killed 1 earth demon knight and 4 black iron demon knight alone a few days ago. With his military exploits, he could rank top 3 on the List of Earth Knights in the Western Theater of Operations. I also killed a black iron wing demon knight. At that time, everybody was fighting demon knights. Where were you?" Wen Qingkong asked with a twisted, arrogant and vicious look.
"I will report in Blackwater Base. Let's have a drink somewhere after a while…" Zhang Tie told Feng Cangwu before flying towards the Blackwater Base.
Since the beginning, Zhang Tie just treated Wen Qingkong as nothing. He didn't even talk with Wen Qingkong; neither did he turn his face towards Wen Qingkong. That was the real defiance! Zhang Tie told Wen Qingkong with practical actions that Wen Qingkong was not even qualified to talk to him.
Watching Zhang Tie flying away, Wen Qingkong's face turned blue at once. Closely after that, he shook his body in the sky and spurted out a mouth of blood…
Chapter 1311: The Masters and the Apprentices
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Zhang Tie didn't care how the disciple of Taiyi Fantasy Sect spurted out blood out of fury as he couldn't evade it.
'Perhaps since I slapped the face of a grand elder of Taiyi Fantasy Sect in Earth-elements Realm and won an airship from Feng Yexiao, Taiyi Fantasy had been hostile to me. Given Taiyi Fantasy Sect's position in Taixia Country, how could it suffer such a loss from an ordinary knight and lose its face?'
'Later on, through the mediation of Zhang Taixuan, although the conflict between Taiyi Fantasy Sect and I was relieved superficially, the more famous I am, the clearer it would be for Taiyi Fantasy Sect to remember the experience of suffering a loss from me. This point could be identified from the performance of Taiyi Fantasy Sect after I promoted to an earth knight.'
'At that moment, if Taiyi Fantasy Sect really forgave me, they should at least assign an elder to attend my rotating chakra ceremony. However, the fact was that they only assigned some small figures here. Additionally, those representatives of Taiyi Fantasy Sect were not there to congratulate me but to show off and find troubles. However, they were unsuccessful in their plan.'
'Later on, I didn't list Taiyi Fantasy Sect as one of the first batches of partners on Fiery Oil. It remembered that O'Laura told me 2 months ago that some major clans indeed wanted to cooperate with Fiery-Dragon Bounty Territory on Fiery Oil in the name of Taiyi Fantasy Sect. However, these clans' conditions for cooperations were very harsh; additionally, they behaved arrogantly and almost wanted to monopoly the business of Fiery Oil in the provinces where their clans were located in. They even wanted to expand their business to other provinces and prefectures without any restriction. It seemed that Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory became a pure supplier of cheap Fiery Oil and Taiyi Fantasy Sect had given me a big face by cooperating with me. Given their conditions, they must have taken themselves as the boss of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory. Of course, Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory would not accept it. In the eyes of someone in Taiyi Fantasy Sect, the attitude of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory indicated that they despised Taiyi Fantasy Sect.'
'Just now, a black iron knight of Taiyi Fantasy Sect dared satirize me in the public after knowing my identity. What did this mean?'
'At least it means that these knights of Taiyi Fantasy Sect always spoke ill of me when they gathered together. I must have become an unruly one, even opponent and enemy that should be defeated by Taiyi Fantasy Sect as a whole in the eyes of many elders and knights of Taiyi Fantasy Sect…'
'If there's not such an atmosphere and recognition about me in Taiyi Fantasy Sect, how dare a black iron knight to despise an earth knight? Aren't the so-called "nine young elites", his senior fellow apprentices and uncle masters even elders on the back of Wen Qingkong?'
'Why would I spoil and give concession to such a person?'
Zhang Tie then recalled how Sarlon threw some dirty plates in front of him when he was sitting under a small tree in the campus of No. 7 Male Middle School in Blackhot City.
'Many fierce conflicts started from trivial affairs. At that time, Grace and the others felt that they were unrivaled at school; therefore, they thought that I should follow their order and serve them willingly.'
'As for Taiyi Fantasy Sect. When one of the 4 grand elders of Taiyi Fantasy Sect led a team of elites to show off in the Earth-elements Realm and make military exploits; however, they had not imagined that the largest bonus of killing that earth shadow demon knight was grabbed away by me who was an average black iron knight at that moment. As Taiyi Fantasy Sect was almost the most famous sect in the top 7 sects of Taixia Country, how embarrassed Feng Yexiao would feel? Therefore, Feng Yexiao always targeted at me and would like to make me embarrassed by finding my loopholes.'
'However, when my loophole was proved to be not a loophole, Feng Yexiao lost his airboat and his face at the same time. The magnificent brand of Taiyi Fantasy Sect was then shattered by a small figure. From then on, Taiyi Fantasy Sect was destined to become hostile to me. As one's position determined his thought. As the disciples of Taiyi Fantasy Sect, of course, they treat me as their enemy and opponent.'
After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Tie suddenly discovered that the fate of one person or a group of people was usually determined by one person's simple thought.
'If they knew that they would lose their lives by throwing some plates in front of me, Grace would never dare do that to me anymore. They just did it because of a presumptuous yet reasonable thought in their mind…'
'If Feng Yexiao knew that he would lose his face completely, would he bet with me? Feng Yexiao made a bet with me because of a simple thought of jealousy, arrogance and killing intent. Because of such a bit evil thought, Taiyi Fantasy Sect turned hostile to me.'
'However, all this could have been avoided based on the relationship between Huaiyuan Palace and Taiyi Fantasy Sect and the fact that I was a member of Huaiyuan Palace. However, I turned hostile to Taiyi Fantasy. Is this my destiny or the so-called destiny was just a trajectory of some thoughts?'
'Thoughts!'
'The word was shocking and made me meticulous!'
Zhang Tie didn't know the final result between him and Taiyi Fantasy Sect. Zhang Tie didn't feel that he could deal with Taiyi Fantasy Sect alone even now. Zhang Tie stuck to the principle that he would offend people only if he was offended first. 'However, if the conflict between Taiyi Fantasy Sect and I further deteriorates, the relation between Lan Yunxi and I might be much unsteadier.'
'In this case, I couldn't eat humble pie. If I were regarded as good-for-nothing by the disciples of Taiyi Fantasy Sect and humiliated by a black iron knight of Taiyi Fantasy Sect, how could I grab Lan Yunxi's heart? Will Taiyi Fantasy Sect agree with the marriage between Lan Yunxi and I because I was docile to them? I'm afraid that I would face a greater resistance by then. An ugly, short man could marry a beautiful common woman; however, he could never marry a gentlewoman or a princess.'
'F*ck!'
When he thought about the boring thing, Zhang Tie couldn't stand to swear inside. If Zhang Tie knew that he would incur so many troubles and so many obstacles to the marriage between Lan Yunxi and him after killing an earth shadow knight in the Earth-elements Realm, he preferred to leave that earth shadow knight to Feng Yexiao the old guy.
However, regret didn't work.
…
Only after a short while, Blackwater Base had appeared in front of Zhang Tie.
So many knights were accessing the Blackwater Base. Everyone should present their Xuanyuan Order before entering Blackwater Base. These people came from everywhere across Taixia Country, including those from the Northeast Military Region. With so many human knights flying in the sky, it was as same as that in the legendary heyday of humans——In a large city floating in the sky, everyone living in the city could fly as if they were walking on the earth…
Zhang Tie was too young. Although there were so many knights here, nobody else could be as young as him.
The moment Zhang Tie arrived there, those passers-by had moved their eyes on his face.
Some people didn't know Zhang Tie; however, most of the knights from Northeast Military Region had already known Zhang Tie's look.
"Ahh, Qianji Hermit is back…"
"This person is Qianji Hermit!"
"Of course, Zhang Tie is the youngest earth knight in Taixia Country!"
"But I didn't see him in the raid!"
"Qianji Hermit has already served as a scout for over 4 months…"
"Ahh, scout!" Someone repeated with an exclamation.
"Although Qianji Hermit didn't attend the raid, he must be executing another mission!"
"But I've not seen his name on the List of Earth Knights in Xuanyuan Fortress…"
"Perhaps he didn't report his military exploits. You know that earth knights who serve as scouts are never afraid of death…"
Those who knew Zhang Tie couldn't help but become slightly dumbfounded as they whispered something to those who didn't know Zhang Tie on their sides. Some of them even nodded towards Zhang Tie politely. Zhang Tie also nodded towards them with a smile. Soon after Zhang Tie came back, he had already heard the news of List of Earth Knights in Xuanyuan Fortress 2 times. However, Zhang Tie didn't care about it. Compared to the deed of that b*stard of Taiyi Fantasy Sect, the others' responses made Zhang Tie feel much warmer.
The knight at the entrance of Blackwater Base was also from Northeast Military Region. After taking Zhang Tie's Xuanyuan Order respectfully and checking it, he gave the Xuanyuan Order back to Zhang Tie with full of admiration. He even said, "Welcome in, thanks for your hard work, Hermit!"
��Pleasure…" Zhang Tie nodded with a smile as he took his Xuanyuan Order and entered Blackwater Base.
Soon after entering Blackwater Base, Zhang Tie had felt dizzy as two female knights were exiting Blackwater Base.
Coincidentally, one of the two female knights was Guo Hongyi; the other one looked a bit younger than Guo Hongyi. In a white skirt, she wore a pagoda-shaped bun. She looked very delicate while her beautiful eyes inclined towards her temples, making her pretty aggressive and different. When they walked towards Zhang Tie, all the surrounding male knights hurriedly gave way to them.
What made Zhang Tie feel strange was that Guo Hongyi respected that woman in the white skirt very much as Guo Hongyi always stayed half a step behind her.
Guo Hongyi and that woman saw Zhang Tie too. At the sight of Zhang Tie, Guo Hongyi's eyes shone at once which contained a slight love that could only be sensed by Zhang Tie. However, when that strange woman saw Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie immediately felt that his hair all over was frozen. As a result, Zhang Tie quivered all over once as he swore inside, 'Damn, what an abnormal eye light! It's like how an old virgin who was responsible for punishing criminals and had not seen light for hundreds of years interrogated a liar and rapist who was bound by ropes in a religious judicial office…'
'F*ck, she's a shadow knight.' Zhang Tie's heart raced at once!
"What a coincidence…" Zhang Tie greeted Guo Hongyi after dodging away from the eye light of the shadow female knight in the white skirt.
"Hmm!" Guo Hongyi replied as she lowered her eye light and nodded towards Zhang Tie, being neither passionate nor indifferent.
"Who's this man?" The female knight in the white skirt turned around and asked Guo Hongyi in front of Zhang Tie.
"Master, he's Zhang Tie!" Guo Hongyi answered.
"He's Zhang Tie?" The female knight in the white skirt became slightly stunned. This time, she nodded to Zhang Tie while her eyes turned a bit warmer; however, her eye light was still cold. "Now that he could write the poem "The beloved ones", he's a bit conscientious. However, as he's married to a lot of women, he must be a lecherous and eloquent man. Stay away from him from now on. None of the men are good, not to mention male knights!"
Zhang Tie became stunned. Although he had seen a lot of women, it was his first time to be commented in this way. 'Damn, have I offended her or what? How could such a woman be the master of Guo Hongyi?'
"Hmm!" Guo Hongyi replied briefly while lowering her head. The woman in the white skirt threw a glance at Zhang Tie once again. Closely after that, she passed by Zhang Tie as if she had not seen Zhang Tie.
Zhang Tie wanted to say something; however, he couldn't. Finally, Zhang Tie could only scratch his head helplessly as he saw them off…
…
After Zhang Tie returned to Blackwater Base, he went to report on his mission in the control center.
Zhang Tie didn't see Ye Qingcheng; however, the knight who received him told him that he was on a 2 weeks' leave, during which period, he could make a free arrangement. However, if he was called by Blackwater Base, he had to arrive at the base in half an hour…
After hearing that Ye Qingcheng was on a 2 weeks' leave, Zhang Tie understood that the demons' attack must have been relieved recently…
Chapter 1312: Meeting Bai Suxian and Her Family Members
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Elder Muray and Elder Muyu of Huaiyuan Palace were executing missions in a Class A city in Xing'an Prefecture of Huanzhou Province. In peaceful times, Class A cities in Taixia Country didn't need to be defended by so many knights; however, as it was in the western theater of operations, it was necessary to allocate more knights to defend Class A cities.
Although Huanzhou Province was in the western theater of operations, it was far away from the frontline. Additionally, it was in the east of Helan Mountain Range. Xingan Prefecture was also close to Bingzhou Province in the northeast of Huanzhou Province, also the place where Blackwater Base stayed for the first time. Actually, it was an easy and safe mission for Elder Muray and Elder Muyu. At least Xingan Prefecture could barely be attacked by demon knights before demons officially broke through Helan Mountain Range.
After communicating with Elder Muray and Elder Muyu through a remote-sensing communications finger ring, Zhang Tie knew that the two people were assigned to Xingan Prefecture as garrison knights soon after he became a scout. Due to their duties, they didn't even attend the raid under the leadership of Zuoqiu Mingyue.
Smacking his lips, Zhang Tie felt that this arrangement was very interesting, 'As I've assumed the most dangerous mission as a scout on my own initiative, Elder Muray and Elder Muyu who are my clan members gained a relatively safer and easier mission.'
Zhang Tie felt comfortable about this arrangement. He had to admit that Taixia Country was human-friendly in many aspects. For instance, if there was only one son in a family, he didn't need to serve in the army; when two brothers served in the army at the same time, if one had sacrificed, the other could retire in advance…
After contacting Elder Muray and Elder Muyu, Zhang Tie contacted Bai Suxian and told her that he had come back.
"You're back?"
Soon after Zhang Tie sent the message, he had received the reply of Bai Suxian.
"Yup, I've just come back. I've reported on my mission 1 minute ago. Where're you?"
"I'm on the airboat assigned by Lord Guangnan's Mansion!"
"Airboat? Have Lord Guangnan's Mansion also assigned people to fight here?"
"Of course, the airboat of Lord Guangnan's Mansion had long arrived here 2 months ago. Under the leadership of my 2nd uncle, Lord Guangnan's Mansion assigned one airboat and over 30 knights here. Where're you?"
"I'm going back to my cabin for some rest!"
"Okay, wait a moment, I will come for you!"
…
The Black Dragon Airboat was still connected to Blackwater Bas as the "dorms" of knights from Northeast Military Region. After contacting Bai Suxian, Zhang Tie returned to his Fantasy No. 76 cabin of Black Dragon Airboat.
After opening his cabin, he found that everything in the room remained unchanged after over 4 months. The two master-level tracing feathers were still lying in the cabin, which indicated that nobody had visited here over the past 4 months. As there was a special air purification system in cabins of the airboat, none of the poisonous and harmful smoke, dust or suspended particle matters could enter cabins. After over 4 months, this cabin was still as clean as before.
After escorting the airship troop for 3 days without any rest, the moment he returned to his cabin, Zhang Tie had taken off his clothes and started to take a bath.
Due to limited water resources, it was very luxurious to take a bath on the airboat. Even being an earth knight, Zhang Tie could only enjoy limited water every day. Thankfully, Zhang Tie moved fast. He had finished his bath in less than 5 minutes. The moment he finished his bath, Zhang Tie had heard the knocks. He knew it must be Bai Suxian.
After covering his lower body with a towel, Zhang Tie cleaned his head by another towel as he opened the door of his cabin.
Bai Suxian was indeed standing outside the door while looking beautiful. The moment Zhang Tie opened the door, Bai Suxian had entered as she locked the door by hand. Closely after that, Bai Suxian gave a long kiss to Zhang Tie.
Reunion after a brief separation was as sweet as a honeymoon. After parting with Bai Suxian for over 4 months, Zhang Tie couldn't cover his excitement.
After parting from each other physically, Bai Suxian watched Zhang Tie affectionately as she put one hand onto Zhang Tie's chest and said, "Do you know how much I was worried about you after hearing that you were injured?"
"It's fine, it's not fatal!" Zhang Tie smirked as he started to fumble over Bai Suxian's body.
"What happened?"
"I was ambushed by Gao Tianzhao and some demon b*stards!"
"Ahh, you were ambushed by a shadow knight…" Bai Suxian became shocked as her face blushed. She even forgot that Zhang Tie was fumbling over her body. Now that Zhang Tie could survive the ambush of a shadow knight, he must be fortunate or have a great ability…
"Ahh…stop; have you recovered your injuries…let me see…"
"I've cleaned my body and was waiting for you. You tell me whether I've recovered or not?" Zhang Tie smirked.
"My…2nd uncle knows you're back and wants to see you…now!" Bai Suxian pressed Zhang Tie's hands as she stammered.
After hearing Bai Suxian's words, Zhang Tie stopped his movement at once. Watching Bai Suxian with a bitter look, he said, "I've already taken off my pants, and you're telling me this…"
"Puffft…" Bai Suxian threw a glance at Zhang Tie whose bath towel had fallen onto the ground before saying, "Who told you to be so lascivious?"
Zhang Tie revealed a bitter smile as he took out a set of decent clothes from his portable space-teleportation equipment and put them on. No matter what, he was going to see Bai Suxian's family member. Bai Suxian's 2nd uncle should also be an influential figure in Lord Guangnan's Mansion. If Zhang Tie didn't see him, it would be a bit rude. "By the way, why were you in the airboat of Lord Guangna's Mansion? Did you execute missions these days?"
Bai Suxian let out a sigh as she replied, "Soon after my 2nd uncle came here a few days ago, he had met Ye Qingcheng. On the 2nd day, Ye Qingcheng had assigned me to the airboat of Lord Guangnan's Mansion to follow the order of my 2nd uncle!"
Zhang Tie understood it at once. Of course, the princess of Lord Guangnan's Mansion should stay with the members of Lord Guangnan's Mansion in this case. Privileges existed everywhere. It was already remarkable that Lord Guangna's Mansion didn't assign Bai Suxian away from the frontline.
Bai Suxian then helped Zhang Tie put on his clothes carefully.
"Who led the team of Taiyi Fantasy Sect here?"
"It's Feng Yexiao, one of the top 4 grand elders of Taiyi Fantasy Sect!"
"Do Taiyi Fantasy Sect have some young men called 9 young elites?"
"They are 9 black iron knight elites in Taiyi Fantasy Sect. Above them, there are some earth knight elites called 5 peaks. Feng Yexiao brought here all of his beloved disciples…"
"Is there a disciple among the 9 young elites surnamed Wen?"
"Yup, might be Wen Qingkong. He likes to be in the limelight. You know him?" Bai Suxian threw a glance at Zhang Tie out of curiosity.
"All right!"
Zhang Tie understood it at once. 'No wonder that Wen Qingkong kept biting me like a mad dog the moment he saw me regardless of the basic etiquettes. It turns out that he's a disciple of Feng Yexiao…'
'What a boisterous theater of operations! All the elites have arrived here, old and young!'
Chapter 1313: Six Lords of Taixia Country
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
According to Bai Suxian, except for different temperaments, her 2nd uncle looked very similar to his dad, Lord Guangnan.
Since the founding of Taixia Country, although it had experienced 2 holy wars, there were only 6 lords in Taixia Country. Given the title of nobility, except for Emperor Xuanyuan, the 6 lords could rank top in the officialdom of Taixia Country.
Bai Suxian knew that Zhang Tie didn't know too much about the history of Taixia Country and the major clans in Taixia Country because Zhang Tie didn't grow up in Taixia Country. Therefore, on the way from Blackwater Base to the airboat of Lord Guangnan's Mansion, Bai Suxian started to supplement knowledge to Zhang Tie in case of embarrassment when Zhang Tie chatted with her 2nd uncle. Bai Suxian's 2nd uncle paid attention to the face of major clan and sect very much.
According to Bai Suxian's introduction, Zhang Tie started to understand the situations of the six lord's clans in Taixia Country generally.
Besides Lord Guangnan, the other 5 lords were respectively Lord Xuanwu, Lord Jingtian, Lord Dingxi, Lord Yian and Lord Xianhai.
The foundation of Lu Clan of Lord Xuanwu was in Jinzhou Province and Pingzhou Province, which were immortal provinces and the most prosperous places in Taixia Country. Lu Clan's wealth and influence were not weak among the six lords' clans. Additionally, Lu Clan of Lord Xuanwu was the largest military supplier in Taixia Country, which had very great power on its back.
The foundation of Sun Clan of Lord Jingtian was in Xiangzhou Province, Yuezhou Province and Dingzhou Province which were in the middle of Taixia Country. The three provinces were full of elites and heroes. Lord Jingtian's Mansion almost monopolized the entire mining industry in the three provinces and had a bounty land of 6,000 miles. Additionally, Lord Jingtian's Mansion had over 100 Class A cities, 300,000 employed guests. Therefore, Lord Jingtian was known as a very hospitable person.
The foundation of Cao Clan of Lord Dingxi was in Shouzhou Province and Xianzhou Province in the west of Taixia Country. Compared to the other lords' clans, Cao Clan of Lord Dingxi had slightly declined. After Cao Yan the Lord Dingxi was awarded as a lord in the first holy war for less than 10 years, he had been missing. After confirming that Cao Yan had been missing for 3 decades, as Cao Yan didn't leave any will, at the request of Cao Clan, Xuanyuan Hill awarded the eldest son of Cao Yan as Lord Dingxi. However, the eldest son of Cao Yan was not as excellent as the other sons of Cao Yan. Therefore, it led to the frustrations and disruptions facing the branch of Lord Dingxi.
Over the past hundreds of years, Cao Clan had experienced many animosities for the title of Lord Dingxi. Outsiders didn't know what happened inside Cao Cao. However, the fact was that all the successors of the title of Lord Dingxi had died suddenly in cultivation after succeeding to the crown for less than 10 years, whether they were clan heads or the direct descendants of Lord Dingxi and the like. Of course, Cao Clan would gradually decline among those lords' clans in Taixia Country. Even so, Cao Clan could still not be matched by common clans. Lord Dingxi's Mansion had over 30 Class A cities and hundreds of other cities.
The foundation of Qin Clan of Lord Yian was in Xuanyuan Hill. It was the only Lord's Clan that built its mansion in Xuanyuan Hill. However, Qin Clan of Lord Yian's influence could reach every corner and nook of the world; besides imperial households of Taixia Country, Qin Clan of Lord Yian was also on the back of Xuanyuan Bank the largest bank of Taixia Country. Actually, Qin Clan was managing Xuanyuan Bank. Besides, Qin Clan of Lord Yian was also favored by Emperor Xuanyuan. It could be said that Qin Clan of Lord Yian was in the lowest profile yet had the greatest potential among the six lord's mansions of Taixia Country.
"However, the most mysterious clan among the six lords of Taixia Country was Lord Xianhai. Nobody knew the name of Lord Xianhai until now!"
"Ahh, why?" Zhang Tie asked Bai Suxian with a surprised look as they were flying at a steady speed. They could already see the airboat of Lord Guangnan in front of them.
The airboat of Lord Guangnan's Mansion was nearby Xuanyuan Fortress. Xuanyuan Fortress was also a city in the sky like Lion Fortress in the Earth-elements Realm being surrounded by 11 air battlefronts. The airboat of Lord Guangnan's Mansion was longer than 1,000 m, which was even larger and more domineering than the Black Dragon Airboat. At the sight of the airboat, people would be able to sense the high social status of Lord Guangnan's Mansion.
"Lord Xianhai is a human lord being awarded in the 2nd holy war. When many knights were dropping their blood to manifest their military exploits in Heavens Fortune Sect, that man in white clothes just stood among the people in an average manner. Nobody knew his military exploits. However, when it was his turn to drop his blood on the tester, the Heavens Fortune List immediately indicated that he could be awarded as a lord; additionally, the word Xianhai appeared on the Heavens Fortune List. Numerous people were shocked at that time. Right then, that person left a sentence, "There're immortal mountains in the overseas. I live in the clouds". After that, that person burst out into laughter three times before flying away even faster than a heavenly knight.
"Nobody knew his name until now?"
"Not exactly. It's said that Lord Xianhai actually comes from Penglai Immortal Island; because Emperor Xuanyuan had awarded him with the 50,000 miles' waters in the east sea after awarding him Lord Xianhai. It's said that Penglai Immortal Island is in that waters…"
"Really?" Zhang Tie became interested in it at once. He had not imagined that there was such a legendary figure in Penglai Immortal Island besides the inheritance of divine dominator.
"Hmm, because nobody knows where is Penglai Immortal Island. People in Penglai Immortal Island always behave mysteriously. I've not heard that any outsiders could find Penglai Immortal Island until now. Many people would go to sea by boat for Penglai Immortal Island each year; however, none of them could find Penglai Immortal Island at all."
Zhang Tie was stunned by Bai Suxian's words. Previously, Zhang Tie was thinking about making a trip to Penglai Immortal Island and learning battle skills and secret methods of divine dominator from them. After being told that nobody could find Penglai Immortal Island at all, Zhang Tie became speechless.
Smacking his lips, Zhang Tie said, "There're too few lords in Taixia Country. I was told that each major sect has sage-level knights. Those old monsters have great battle strength and made a lot of military exploits. Why don't they drop their blood on the tester in Heavens Fortune Sect for a title of the lord?" Zhang Tie asked out of curiosity.
Bai Suxian threw a bitter smile at Zhang Tie before saying, "If you're Emperor Xuanyuan, will you allow the sage-level figures of major sects to drop their blood for a title of the lord? Will you allow them to rule numerous commoners in Taixia Country while being the leader of hundreds of millions of disciples? Even commoners and officials will bow towards them!"
Zhang Tie shook his head as he said, "Of course I won't. Otherwise, Emperor Xuanyuan will not have a good sleep. If someone among them was ambitious to be an emperor, it would cause great trouble across the country! You mean Emperor Xuanyuan forbids the sage-level knights of the top sects dropping their blood for a title of the lord?"
"Emperor Xuanyuan doesn't need to forbid it. The top sects and the imperial household of Taixia Country are all clear about it and are in privity. The disciples of those top sects could drop their blood on the tester for a title of the lord by doing which they could manifest their own battle strength and enhancing the reputation of their own sects. However, the sage-level knights of the top sects could do that; even heavenly knights of these top sects barely did that. If sage-level knights are awarded the title of lord, they would pose threats to Emperor Xuanyuan; if heavenly knights are awarded the title of lord, they would become the chancellors of Emperor Xuanyuan. The top sects don't feel like accepting that; neither is the heavenly knights of those top sects willing to do that. Therefore, nobody among the top sects of Taixia Country could be awarded as the title of lord. According to the regulations of Heavens Fortune Sect, all of its disciples from black iron knights to sage-level knights are forbidden to drop their blood for the title of lord."
Zhang Tie finally understood it. He had not imagined that the top sects could reach such privity with Emperor Xuanyuan on this point. Therefore, Xuanyuan Hill could maintain balance with the top sects.
"Introduce me your Lord Guangnan's Mansion…" Zhang Tie said with a grin.
"You're seeking for death!" Bai Suxian pouted.
Zhang Tie burst out into laughter. Of course, Bai Suxian didn't need to introduce Lord Guangnan's Mansion to Zhang Tie. If a person who was going to be the son-in-law of Lord Guangnan's Mansion didn't know about Lord Guangnan's Mansion, he had no sincerity to marry Bai Suxian at all. Bai Suxian had already told Zhang Tie about Lord Guangnan's Mansion previously. If Zhang Tie asked some dare-to-die fighters who were gifted by Lord Guangnan's Mansion, he would basically know Lord Guangnan's Mansion.
It could be said that each lord's mansion had their own features. Lord Guangnan's Mansion could match the other lords' mansions on both influence and wealth. Bai Clan of Lord Guangnan was based on Yuezhou Province, Hongzhou Province, Kunzhou Province and Zhaozhou Province in the south of Taixia Country. It had over 1,000 cities and over 100 million armored soldiers. Not only that, but Lord Guangnan also had a great influence among the tribes in the hundreds of millions of mountains in the south border of Taixia Country. The entire southern border of Taixia Country was like the backyard garden of Lord Guangnan. Even many barbarians had to follow the order of Lord Guangnan's Mansion. It was said that everyone surnamed Bai in the hundreds of millions of mountains in the south border of Taixia Country could be safe. Lord Guangnan almost ranked top among the six lords of Taixia Country.
When Bai Suxian and Zhang Tie chatted with each other, they had come to the entrance of the airboat of Lord Guangnan's Mansion. Some bearded and strong old men blocked the entrance when they gazed at Zhang Tie who was flying towards them with Bai Suxian as if there was a beautiful flower on Zhang Tie's face.
At the sight of them, Zhang Tie had known that they were all knights; 3 of them were even earth knights.
At the sight of this scene, Bai Suxian immediately acted like a spoiled child as she said, "Uncles, what are you doing?"
"Hehhehheh, 2nd master said young lady was coming back with the son-in-law, of course, we're here to check him for you…"A silly guy whose arm was almost as thick as Zhang Tie's thigh touched his bald head as he smirked, "According to the regulation of southern border, the son-in-law should pass 3 tests set by our old men…"
Chapter 1314: Conquering Bai Suxian's Family Members
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Zhang Tie indeed had heard about some wedding customs in some regions of Taixia Country. In some regions, when a son-in-law proposed marriage in the female's house, the female's family members would find him troubles. Take these knights from Lord Guangnan's Mansion as an instance, although they were blocking Zhang Tie's door, they were never malicious. They might have long heard about Zhang Tie and couldn't help but "test" Zhang Tie's ability out of curiosity.
The knights of Lord Guangnan's Mansion had already treated Zhang Tie as their brother's son-in-law, which made Bai Suxian happy and a bit coy. However, when these guys wanted to make Zhang Tie embarrassed, Bai Suxian became a bit unhappy as she was worried that Zhang Tie would be infuriated. Therefore, she could only throw a glance at Zhang Tie carefully.
If they were ordinary ones, Bai Suxian had long reproached them; however, they were all Lord Guangnan's myrmidons, who saw Bai Suxian growing up since she was young. They were like Bai Suxian's uncles. Bai Suxian really didn't know what to say.
Zhang Tie smiled at Bai Suxian as he comforted her that he was not that narrow-minded.
"Now that elder brothers would like to be intimate with me, please ask questions. If I could, I would answer you; if I cannot, I will admit that I'm a loser. After all, we're of the same family. It's just a game; never mind it!" Zhang Tie burst out into laughter brightly and clearly.
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, all the knights at the entrance of the airboat exchanged a glance with each other as Zhang Tie left a good impression in their mind. They spoke highly of Zhang Tie inside, "What a Qianji Hermit! His easy-going personality is indeed unusual. No wonder, he could win the favor of the "magic woman" of Lord Guangnan's Mansion.
"Fine, frank guy!" The bald-headed silly guy patted his own thigh forcefully, causing the fat of the half of his body to quiver. He watched Zhang Tie as he said heroically, "When our brother's son-in-law propose marriage in the female's house, he should pass three tests: first, a test on culture; second, a test on battle strength; third, a test on drinking capacity. When you went to Xuanyuan Hill, you detoxicated Old Zhong's poison. Old Zhong was so excited when he mentioned it to us. We are convinced by your culture. You passed the first test. Therefore, you only need to match battle strength and drinking ability with us today…"
"How?" Zhang Tie asked with a smile.
"As we're all knights, if we fought, we might be injured more or less. Let's make it easier, just match strength. Attention! strength, not battle qi. I'm standing here. If you could push me away, you will win…" The bald-headed silly guy continued.
"No, Uncle Meng, you shouldn't bully him in this way…" Bai Suxian hurriedly refused it for Zhang Tie before Zhang Tie expressed his opinion. Widely opening her eyes and pouting her mouth, Bai Suxian watched that silly guy as she added, "Uncle Meng, you're born to have great strength. Additionally, you're cultivating a count-level "Sky-Supporting Sutra". "Sky-Supporting Sutra" could increase people's strength most among all the cultivation methods that could help people promote to knights. Uncle Meng has promoted to an earth knight for over 3 decades; however, Zhang Tie has just promoted to an earth knight for a few years. Furthermore, Uncle Meng awakened the Fantasy-level Ancestral Wuding Bloodline of Meng Clan last year; you could even able to split open a mountain. Nobody else in Lord Guangnan's Mansion could have greater strength than you. Even my dad said that you had the greatest strength in Lord Guangnan's Mansion. If you match Zhang Tie on strength, it's nothing different than bullying him. I don't agree with that. Change one…"
"Erm…" Watching Bai Suxian pouting her mouth, the bald-headed silly guy felt a bit bashful. Touching his bald head, he turned around and looked at the other guys. Watching him turning around his head, Bai Suxian immediately understood it that this opinion on matching strength was worked out by them together. Although Zhang Tie was the son-in-law of Lord Guangnan, these myrmidons of Lord Guangnan's Mansion would like to have Zhang Tie understand their high positions in Lord Guangnan's Mansion; therefore, they chose such a program which they believed that "they would never lose" to frighten Zhang Tie to a certain degree. If Zhang Tie lost the match only in strength, he didn't lose his face too much; because knight' battle strength included more than just strength.
"Well, if uncles bully me, when I return to the Mansion, I will speak ill of you in front of my aunts; especially Uncle Meng. I will tell the aunt that you've fallen in love with another female knight here!"
After hearing that Bai Suxian was going to speak ill of him in front of his wife, the silly bald-headed guy immediately changed his face as he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Little princess, you cannot do that. If your aunt fell for your words, I would have big trouble. She would peel off my skin…"
Zhang Tie burst out into laughter at once as he had not imagined that an earth knight could be so afraid of his wife, "Well, Suxian, it's fine. It's just a match on strength. I don't care even if I lose it. Just have a try…"
"But…"
Bai Suxian still wanted to say something. However, Zhang Tie blinked his eyes to her. Bai Suxian then closed her mouth at once.
After hearing that Zhang Tie agreed to match strength with him, the silly guy hurriedly lowered his body as he put his arms forward horizontally, facing Zhang Tie with his palms. At the same time, he said, "As long as you could push me backward one step, you're the winner. Don't worry. This Old Meng will not hurt you. I will at most use 70% of my full strength. If you couldn't move me for one time, you could try some more times…"
After saying that, the silly guy's muscles bulged like a weird boa. At the same time, his body sounded like beating a drum from inside. As his qi and blood boiled, his body steamed, which indicated that he had exerted his strength to the extreme.
Zhang Tie watched him with interest. To be honest, this earth knight from Lord Guangnan's Mansion was indeed the most powerful earth knight that Zhang Tie had ever seen. However, even so, his strength was still not on the same scale with Zhang Tie. 'Bai Suxian didn't know that "King Roc Sutra" could increase more strength than "Sky-Supporting Sutra" did. Although I'm not born with an unusual strength, my 7 strengths have reached an unimaginable level after I took so many seven-strength fruits. Additionally, source fruits could not only enhance my vital essence but also increase my strength, not to mention so many fruits of redemption from the gratitude of golden uangs that I ate these days…'
"Are you ready?" Zhang Tie walked over there casually. After seeing the firm, the plain metal wall inside airboat 7-8 m behind that silly guy, Zhang Tie became reassured.
"Come on…" The silly guy said while exhaling.
Standing in front of him, Zhang Tie put his palms against the silly guy's palms. After seeing Zhang Tie's arrogant deed, the silly guy and all the other onlookers looked a bit angry at once; however, their indignation soon flashed by. Soon after having a good impression of Zhang Tie, they had felt that Zhang Tie was pretty presumptuous. However, they still doubted that Qianji Hermit wanted to admit defeat in such a manner.
Whereas, the silly guy didn't know that Zhang Tie used 2 hands given his face. Zhang Tie was actually worried about that the hand of this silly guy was shattered because of uneven force.
"Are you ready, one, two, three…" Zhang Tie opened his mouth���
Soon after Zhang Tie's words, with a sound of "bang…", the silly guy had been sent flying into the airboat and hit onto the metal wall before sliding off…
Everybody became stunned, including Bai Suxian, except for Zhang Tie who still maintained his smile.
"Old Meng, even though you're afraid of being beaten by your tigress at home, you don't need to behave in such a poor way. That's too ridiculous. Holy sh*t! This father has known you for 5-6 decades. When did you start to show the white feather in such a manner? When did your deadhead become enlightened…" Another knight couldn't help but exclaim soon after the silly guy picked himself up.
Of course, the others thought Old Meng did that on purpose; there were no other possibilities. Because of the following 2 reasons: first, Zhang Tie had not triggered his battle qi; second, he didn't use too much strength at all. However, Old Meng was sent flying backward. Evidently, Old Meng intended to show his weakness.
The silly guy shook his head as he roared. Closely after that, he tore apart his boa silk robe regardless of the others' irony, exposing his muscled upper body. After that, he rushed towards Zhang Tie once again. This time, he made a pose by bending his legs in a heavier way; meanwhile, his upper body slightly inclined forward as his body steamed and the blood vessels in his hands and neck undulated like boas. After that, he said, "I've not used my full strength, one more time…"
Zhang Tie smiled. Like how he did just now, he put his hands against the palms of this silly guy once again as he said, "Ready? One, two, three…"
Just like before, soon after Zhang Tie finished his words, the silly guy had been sent flying backward and hit on the same metal wall before sliding off, causing another bang.
This time, all the onlookers had seen it clearly. Soon after Zhang Tie finished the word "three", he had pushed forward while straightening up his arms. At the same time, Old Meng was sent flying backward without any resistance like an ox being collided by a train.
This time, a part of the metal wall sunk inside.
After picking himself up, Old Meng shook his head as if he still didn't believe that he could be sent flying backward by Zhang Tie's hands which looked "weak". Therefore, he rushed towards Zhang Tie and made a pose for the 3rd time as he shouted, "One more time…"
At this moment, two other earth knights exchanged a glance with each other before jumping out of the crowd and coming to the back of that silly guy. Closely after that, they both made a pose as they put their arms straightly on the silly guy's shoulders. Being as wide as the gate of a warehouse, the silly guy's shoulders could easily hold 4 palms at the same time.
"One, two, three…"
"Bang…"
Undoubtedly, soon after the word "three", the 3 earth knights had been sent flying backward and hit onto the metal wall behind them.
All the onlookers were dumbfounded by Zhang Tie's superhuman strength. 'How could a person send 3 earth knights flying backward so easily? What a terrifying strength does Zhang Tie have? Given Zhang Tie's look, he's not used his full strength at all.'
"Superhuman strength…real superhuman strength…this Old Meng is conquered…" The silly guy said with full of admiration as he cupped his hands towards Zhang Tie when he picked himself up once again. The other two earth knights also cupped their hands towards Zhang Tie with an admiring look. All the knights at present realized that Zhang Tie had a terrifying, great strength in close combat even though he didn't release his battle qi. He could even tear apart steel by hand. They really wondered how did Zhang Tie practice his strength.
Bai Suxian watched Zhang Tie with a blush in an adoring look. Although Zhang Tie was the winner, it seemed that she was happier than Zhang Tie. Such a pure wrestle on masculinity and strength was convincing to her.
"Hahaha, Qianji Hermit really excels at culture and combat. Suxian's insight is sharp…" A gentle and noble middle-aged man with a long beard walked out of the tunnel from the back of the entrance with his candid smile.
"2nd master!"
"2nd uncle!"
Soon after this middle-aged man appeared, Bai Suxian and the other knights at the entrance hurriedly greeted him. After knowing his identity, Zhang Tie also greeted him politely.
After looking at Zhang Tie from his head to his toe, that person nodded towards Zhang Tie with a smile. Closely after that, he turned around and watched that silly guy and the onlooking knights, "Do you admit defeat now?"
"We admit defeat!" All the myrmidons of Lord Guangnan's Mansion nodded as they replied because Zhang Tie's strength was really great enough to win people's admiration.
"Now that you've admitted defeat, come in; I've had people prepare well the banquet. If you couldn't even match his drinking capability, don't blame me for flogging you with the bamboo!"
"Hahaha, 2nd master really cares about our faces…" The silly guy surnamed Meng smirked as he touched his bald head once again as if he didn't care about the result of the test at all.
"Please…" Bai Suxian's 2nd master made a gesture to invite Zhang Tie in as if he treated the latter as a VIP of Lord Guangnan's Mansion instead of the ordinary elder brother's son-in-law.
"2nd uncle first!" Zhang Tie replied modestly with a smile.
Bai Suxian's 2nd uncle nodded as he burst out into laughter. At the same time, he walked into the airboat together with Zhang Tie arm in arm…