Li Guanyi sat cross-legged, listening to General Xue's praise, but there wasn't the slightest ripple in his expression. He hadn't spent that long with the man—barely a month.
That might sound short.
But if you consider that he had spent that month being utterly trampled—mentally, strategically, and physically—by the greatest general under heaven, then it becomes a completely different story.
The stimulation had been overwhelming.
Li Guanyi felt numb.
He'd heard from the old man about the coming upheaval in Guanyi City and felt no fear.
He learned from General Xue that he had reached the threshold of breaking through—and felt no excitement.
It was as if his heart had become a still pond, without a single ripple.
He let out a sigh.
That damn old man ruined me!
The boy raised his brows. "So? What else do I need?"
General Xue's lips curled upward. "You need a small push—a little more tempering—and then you'll be able to break through. As for more training battles, there's no need. The ones remaining, like that Daoist or the living Buddha, weren't skilled in combat before their breakthrough."
"With your abilities, if you meet a pre-breakthrough Daoist or Buddhist prodigy—"
"Within thirty paces, you can take them down in seven moves."
His tone was casual, but the words were staggering.
Li Guanyi thought for a moment and asked, "Why would it take seven moves?"
General Xue smiled. "Because Daoists are great at running before they break through, and monks can take a beating."
"Hard to kill."
"If you're armed with a long spear, in armor, with a crossbow, even a dozen pre-breakthrough monks wouldn't last a stick of incense's time against you. But once they break through, their paths diverge from martial cultivators—they delve into other mysteries. Once that happens, distance fighting becomes their strength, and the martial cultivator falls behind. You can't afford to neglect your archery."
"And now, I have a gift for you—a true treasure..."
"The Daoists have their Dao Heart. The Buddhists have Buddha Nature. Confucians seek Heaven's Mandate."
"We of the Military Path—we have something too."
"Want to see it?"
General Xue's smile beamed.
Li Guanyi gave him a wary look. "Even if I say no, you'll still force it on me, right?"
The general's smile turned even more radiant. "Correct."
Boom!!!
A flash streaked across Li Guanyi's vision—then a terrifying force came crashing down.
He instinctively raised his weapon.
The shock blasted his palms.
His heavy blade shattered. The broken shards fell like frost, cutting across his cheek. Li Guanyi's pupils shrank, his heart pounded, and his combat instincts kicked in. He tucked his body into a roll, using the force to spring back just in time to avoid the collapsing ground.
As he landed, he grabbed the spear embedded in the dirt. Its shaft bent into a dramatic arc, helping him absorb the impact. In one smooth motion, he pulled it out and took a stance—Tiger-Taming Form.
But the next second—
Crack!
His spear was instantly shattered by an arrow.
Then—a stabbing pain in his throat.
Deathly fear clenched his heart.
Li Guanyi dropped to one knee, panting heavily, but he never looked away from the dust cloud in front of him.
There was the sound of a tiger's roar—or perhaps the ringing of a weapon.
A battle halberd burst through the dust, jet-black and sharp like a spear and axe fused.
The halberd twisted slightly and swept to the side, clearing the smoke.
General Xue stood there, one hand holding a bow, the other a halberd adorned with a snarling tiger's head at its base. When it moved through the air, the tiger's mouth let out an eerie roar—almost as if it were alive.
The halberd's blade scraped the ground. General Xue said coolly:
"What the Military Path requires... is the will to draw your blade. The courage to face any foe and still fight."
"Under heaven, there is no enemy we cannot fight!"
"Under heaven, there is no goal we cannot achieve!"
"Before you step into the next realm, I will forge within you the heart that dares to draw its blade against every king beneath heaven!"
Li Guanyi braced himself, heart pounding.
And his response to this so-called "greatest general under heaven"?
He raised his hand—and flipped him off.
General Xue's smile deepened. "It seems you already have that heart."
"Then your opponent is—"
He dragged the halberd, cutting a trail in the earth. Dust rose behind him, but instead of dispersing, it twisted and gathered, forming the shape of a ferocious white tiger with bared fangs.
Roar!
Even though Li Guanyi had already surpassed the level of the heroes from five hundred years ago, this pressure was still suffocating. He gritted his teeth, drew his bow, and let fly a spiraling arrow—only to see it effortlessly swatted away.
Each of General Xue's steps was the same length, unchanging, as if measured.
Then, he casually raised the halberd—
Sweep!
Li Guanyi felt his whole body nearly fall apart.
A blur swept across his eyes.
The war bow slashed down like a giant blade. It was as if the sky itself was collapsing. General Xue's form was massive, his face hidden in shadow. The tiger behind him howled skyward.
Only his eyes were visible—cold, detached, looking down from the mountaintop.
"Number One Under Heaven!"
———
When Li Guanyi finally left the training realm, his forehead throbbed. General Xue had suppressed his cultivation to match the pre-breakthrough level, but the pressure had still been monstrous.
Number One Under Heaven...
They had fought for two hours.
In the end, Li Guanyi only managed to land a single blow.
But with that strike, all his fear, all the weight that had pressed on him—shattered.
His chest heaved. It was exhilarating!
The illusion of "Number One Under Heaven" was broken.
From then on, it was just two wild beasts clashing.
And then—nothing.
What remained was the terrifying realization: even suppressing his cultivation, this man was still a monster.
———
Dawn had just broken.
Li Guanyi rode a horse slowly toward Guanyi City. The horse belonged to the Xue family. He'd never ridden one before, and this one had a fiery temperament. But it seemed to sense the aura of dragon and tiger within Li Guanyi, and became unusually obedient, following every command.
Submissive and docile.
His aunt had been settled in a private courtyard in the Xue residence, so naturally, Li Guanyi returned there.
After taking care of the horse, he heard a loud laugh: "Hahaha! Guanyi, just in time."
He turned to see Xue Daoyong approaching in a blue scholar's robe, jade hairpin holding his hair up. He looked much more refined than usual. Beside him was Xue Shuangtao, dressed as she had been the first time they met.
He'd grown used to seeing her in riding clothes, bow in hand.
Now, in a gown with her hair pinned, a decorative mark between her brows, and a soft glow in her eyes—she looked slightly unfamiliar. Lightly made up, she was even more beautiful than usual.
Noticing Li Guanyi's gaze, she lifted her skirt slightly, smiled, and offered a polite greeting.
Then she kicked his leg lightly. "What are you staring at?"
Li Guanyi laughed. "Now this is the young lady I know."
Xue Changqing nodded vigorously. "Right? Right? A tigress!"
"Ahhh!"
"Grandpa, she hit me again!"
The young man just stood there smiling.
Xue Daoyong said, "Great scholars have come to Guanyi City recently. There will be a Grand Literary Assembly. All the famous scholars of Jiangzhou—and even the entire Chen Kingdom—will be there. It's the grandest such event in thirty years. We, the Xue family, have invitations. Changqing couldn't wait."
"Guanyi, you're coming with me."
The old man clapped his shoulder, laughing. "Let them see our Xue family also has a qilin son!"
"This is your chance to earn renown across Chen, even under heaven."
Zhangsun Wuchou smiled. "Young Brother Guanyi is skilled in both the pen and the sword—naturally he will shine."
"I shall accompany you as well."
He had received a reply from the second young lady—her letter vibrant with energy. It had only one sentence:
If there is a change in Guanyi City—protect him.
The greatest literary gathering in thirty years?
Li Guanyi thought of the old man Simi's words about literary and martial energy, fate, and timing.
He buried his thoughts and said, "Alright."
Then he changed into a scholar's robe. At his waist was a leather belt. After some hesitation, he brought along his bow, his blade, and two cases of steel arrows with barbed heads, hung on the sides of his horse.
He mounted up—heroic and radiant, full of youthful pride. Even Zhangsun Wuchou couldn't help but praise him.
The Xue family's elder and Zhangsun rode in front.
Li Guanyi was about to catch up when he heard a gentle knock on a nearby carriage.
He reined in. Riding alongside the carriage, the curtain lifted—Xue Shuangtao peeked out and said:
"Stay by my side during the literary assembly."
Li Guanyi raised an eyebrow.
"Otherwise, those noble brats and official heirs from Jiangzhou will swarm me."
Li Guanyi laughed. "You want me as your human shield?"
"That'll cost extra, you know."
Xue Shuangtao leaned against the window, chin on her hands, jewelry jingling as she tilted her head.
She smiled in the morning light.
"Then let's calculate the value of your bow, arrows, horse, blade, and pills—shall we, my honored guest scholar?"
Li Guanyi coughed, turning his head away. "Leave it to me."
The girl couldn't help but laugh.
———
The shops had just opened, dew still clinging to the flagstones. Carriages and people bustled on the main road.
Xue Shuangtao in her finery smiled gently.
Li Guanyi sat tall on his horse, eyes steady. All was peaceful.
Clip-clop.
The literary assembly was held at the royal estate in Guanyi City.
When the Xue family arrived, the road was already packed. Gifts piled on both sides of the gate like walls, each marked with red silk—a form of currency in itself.
Li Guanyi said, "So... scholars are this rich?"
Zhangsun Wuchou replied, "Great scholars."
As the elder dismounted, officials and nobles gathered respectfully. The elder was bold and laughing. Zhangsun Wuchou handled them with practiced grace.
Li Guanyi, bored, looked up. His bronze cauldron's eye technique sensed something off—though without training in the Yin-Yang school's divination, he couldn't see clearly.
He noticed a group of aristocrats already surrounding Shuangtao's carriage.
Of course.
Her family was one of the richest in the world, her aunt the emperor's most beloved concubine, her grandfather a top-tier powerhouse, and her ancestry traced to the legendary general Duke Xue.
Beautiful, skilled in music, archery, and numerology.
A prized target for every noble heir.
Tap, tap, tap.
The knock on the carriage wall came again—this time more forceful, followed by a girl's cough.
Li Guanyi nudged his horse forward.
The noble youths were still introducing themselves. Even Shuangtao's polite rejections weren't enough to deter them.
As they moved closer—
Neigh!
A crimson horse reared, hooves thundering down to block the group, startling them pale.
They cursed and turned to see—
A youth in a dark cloud-patterned robe, sharp-eyed, with a blade at his waist.
His wooden tag marked him as a ninth-rank military official. A low rank—but shocking for someone so young.
Li Guanyi smiled from horseback. "Gentlemen, please step back."
They asked angrily, "Who are you?!"
Li Guanyi didn't answer. He dismounted.
One hand on the reins, he extended the other.
The curtain parted. The girl stepped down, placing her hand lightly on his wrist—not a servant helping a noble lady, but a friend offering steady support.
Silence fell.
The Xue elder, laughing with a thirty-something scholar, pointed toward the confident youth and said:
"That's our qilin son—what do you think, Master Wang Tong?"
———
At the city gate, the Yin-Yang school's Simi raised his head.
The literary energy from this greatest gathering in thirty years surged into the sky.
He murmured, "It's begun."
Ten miles outside the gate, Yue Qianfeng stood, embodying martial energy.
Literary and martial energies—like Yin and Yang—spiraled skyward. They were about to merge.
Li Guanyi paused.
His chest burned.
The bronze cauldron inside him began to hum—loud and resonant.
(End of Chapter)