knife

Chapter 838 It’s Over

This scheme began when Zhou Zhi led Li Dachui on a journey to the border region.

Through the efforts of two generations and nearly thirty years of painstaking work, little by little, from nothing to something, from small to large, we have finally arrived at where we are today.

Or perhaps at the very beginning, no one could have imagined that their dream would become a reality.

Upon arriving outside the pass, Zhou Zhi had only just entered the ninth rank of the Profound Origin Realm.

Even after achieving the Innate Realm, they only occupied a small castle, and at that time, they still had to do their best to conceal their identities.

Contending for the world was just a fantasy at that time. What Zhou Zhi wanted to do more was to become a martial arts master in the Divine Realm, or to train Li Dachui to become a master in the Divine Realm.

In his view, becoming a master of the Divine Realm might be easier than vying for supremacy.

Once one becomes a master of the Divine Travel Realm, it becomes possible to kill enemies like Kou Zhong, Wei Zhengdao, and Li Anmin, who harmed He Qingqiu.

However, the Divine Realm is simply too fantastical. In the history of this continent, it seems that only Qingfeng and He Qingqiu from a few hundred years ago were truly able to reach this realm.

Zhou Zhi has always been a very clear-headed person. Although he was already a master of the Innate Realm at that time, he did not think that he was smarter than other masters of the Innate Realm in the world. He believed that he could not do what others could not do.

Rather than hoping to become a master of the Divine Realm, it's better to look forward to Li Dachui, who is still an infant.

Therefore, from a young age, he had Li Dachui practice the Qiankun Qi that He Qingqiu brought from the Demonic Sect headquarters.

Although, in his view, the Qi of Heaven and Earth is truly self-contradictory and difficult to explain in many ways, the most likely outcome of practicing the Qi of Heaven and Earth is to kill oneself.

But then he thought about the power of Phoenix Fire and Moonlight Weak Water, and the legends of Qingfeng, the founder of the Demonic Sect. Zhou Zhi gritted his teeth and let Li Dachui practice.

If I can't get revenge, then living is no better than being a salted fish; I might as well die.

If this kid really dies from the cultivation, I'll go back to Chang'an and become an assassin.

An assassin with innate level skills,

Even if we can't kill Kou Zhong and Wei Zhengdao, it would be easy to wipe out all their relatives and friends.

Li Dachui didn't kill himself from training.

Moreover, the political and economic brilliance that Li Dachui displayed as he grew older astounded Zhou Zhi. He couldn't understand why Li Dachui, who was so young, could understand these things, and could only guess that it was probably He Qingqiu's blessing from the shadows.

There are historical records of people being born with knowledge, and those people all became saints or ancestors, each of them a remarkable figure.

Zhou Zhi is the nominal lord of Tai'an City, but the real controller is Li Dachui.

Tai'an City rose rapidly.
Meanwhile, a bandit force emerged outside the Great Wall, a force that even the Protectorate General feared.

Later on, Li Dachui even seized the territory of Helanyuan.

Tai'an City, Helan Plain, and the bandit groups roaming outside the pass constitute Li Dachui's base of operations.

It was from that moment that Zhou Zhi suddenly felt that revenge was no longer a vague idea, but a future that he could look forward to.

No matter how much Zhou Zhi looked to the future, he never imagined that in just over ten years, Li Dachui would have come this far.

By exploiting Linghu Ye's ambition to conquer the world, they cleverly seized control of the area beyond the Great Wall.

Taking advantage of the internal conflicts within the Northern Yuan, he turned the once-powerful Northern Yuan Empire from prosperity to decline, plunging it into endless infighting. Then, seizing the opportunity, he launched a large-scale northern expedition, pacifying this steppe empire that had risen around the same time as the Qin Dynasty.

Then, after heading south and conquering Sichuan, they successfully pushed the rising power of Southern Chu back into the mire. And after capturing Jiang Qian, they had practically brought Southern Chu under their control.

By this time, two of the three kingdoms of Qin, Northern Yuan, and Southern Chu had fallen into Li Dachui's hands, and the most powerful Qin had been eroded and riddled with holes by Li Dachui.

The planning over the past decade has become like an incredibly tight noose around Linghu Ye's neck, gradually tightening and forcing him to engage in a life-or-death battle with Li Dachui without any certainty of victory.

In Zhou Zhi's view, Linghu Ye's actions were nothing more than a desperate act.

If you lose, you will be wiped out on the spot.

Even if he wins this battle, so what?
It only bought them a brief respite.

With his control over Guanwai, Nan Chu, and Shu, Li Dachui will be able to return to full strength in no time. But how much power does Linghu Ye still have left to expend?

Standing atop the city wall, Zhou Zhi looked down at the endless expanse of armor and horses stretching for miles below, and tears streamed down his face with excitement.

When they left the pass in a sorry state carrying Li Dachui, they never imagined that they would return in such high spirits after only thirty years.

"Lord, why are you crying?" Li Kaixin, who was still so fat that he couldn't see his toes, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Zhi.

"Bullshit, I didn't cry! I just have watery eyes! It's an old problem!" Zhou Zhi spat, took the handkerchief, and vigorously wiped his eyes.

Li Kaixin glanced at the flag fluttering in the wind, then looked at Zhou Zhi's red and swollen eyes, and thought to himself, "Fine, if you say it's tears in the wind, then it's tears in the wind, even if we're in a favorable position right now!"

My eyes are also feeling sore and dry!

The little eunuch who was ignored by everyone back then is now a famous figure, and his reputation will only grow stronger in the future.

Once the young master enters Chang'an and moves into the palace, who else but me will be the Grand Eunuch?

The thunderous sound of war drums rang out, and Li Kaixin turned to look at Xiao Changche, who stood tall and imposing atop the high city wall.

Each time a drumbeat sounded, a command flag would be raised high atop the city tower, and then a corresponding flag would wave in response to the command from the city tower within the large formation below.

The troops moved back and forth along with the flags on the city wall, and the sounds of golden horns and drums continued incessantly.

In this great battle, the overall commander of the Beiting Protectorate is Deputy Protector Xiao Changche, while Li Dachui will lead the most elite core team to directly compete with Linghu Ye.

The Beiting Protectorate has assembled an army of 100,000.

This was built by Xiao Changche based on his assessment last year that Linghu Ye would inevitably launch a decisive battle against the Beiting Protectorate.

Previously, the Beiting Protectorate had a standing army of less than 50,000.

However, for the Beiting Protectorate, which implemented the Fubing system, expanding the army was a very easy thing.

The reason for not regularly maintaining an army of this size is ultimately to save money.

After all, regular troops need to be paid and equipped, while the garrison troops need nothing. They are constantly generating wealth for the Beiting Protectorate, and when needed, they can be recalled with a single order.

The soldiers of Beiting were all from respectable families with property and occupations, and they were all quite skilled in martial arts. During the busy farming season, they would farm, and during their leisure time, they would train on their own at the township, village, town, and county levels.

Their combat effectiveness is not much lower than that of a regular army.

For example, Lü You and Hu Kan, who are currently fighting alongside Xia Zhi and Yang Rong in Shapingba, are all soldiers of the Fubing (府兵), and both of them are commanders of a regiment of the Fubing.

On the left wing of the army was the cavalry led by An Xuan, on the right wing was the cavalry led by Gu Xiaoman, and in the very center was the Tianzi Battalion, personally led by Li Dachui. However, the Tianzi Battalion had now expanded to five thousand men, including the old core of Li Dachui's former Tianzi Battalion and Xiao Changche's personal guard.

Behind the central army was the infantry group led by Zhang Quanyi, while Ma Dacheng, the master of the Turtle School, was responsible for logistical support and city defense on the city walls.

Of the 80,000 troops, more than 50,000 are now assembled outside the city, ready to engage in battle.

On the other side, at least 80,000 of Linghu Ye's 100,000 troops had left their camp.

Linghu Ye stood on his horse.

Today, he is preparing to personally lead the charge.

He hasn't done something like this in decades, has he?
He knew very well that, in terms of the overall situation, he had already lost.

Just yesterday, he finally received the latest news from Dongdu: Jiang Qian's troops had indeed headed north.

Five thousand elite troops led by his general Li Xiu marched north from Xiangyang through Nanyang and directly into Luoyang.

Meanwhile, Cui Cheng, the military commissioner of the Eastern Capital, surrendered the city.

Li Xiu gained control of Luoyang, the eastern capital, and its surrounding areas without lifting a finger.

This was worse and more shocking than Chang Lei's defeat at Anfu Temple.

The hearts and minds of the people in the entire Central Plains region have completely fallen apart.

Although the news was strictly controlled, Linghu Ye knew very well that the powerful families that made up his army all had their own information channels, and they must know about this news at this moment.

Just by observing their behavior after leaving the camp, the battle-hardened Linghu Ye knew what they were thinking.

Deep down, they certainly want to win.

Because they won, their interests could be guaranteed to the greatest extent.

The fact that his own central army possesses formidable combat power is also the reason why they still outwardly follow him.

Winning this battle and killing Li Dachui will turn the tide of the battle.

These people will also band together around them to fight and strive.

As soon as I show signs of weakness, these people, if not turning against me, will probably collapse on the spot and go back to their own homes.

In this battle, don't count on the left or right flanks, or on the assistance of friendly forces.

Only on your own.

He turned to look at Li Guohua beside him, who smiled and nodded.

When he first entered the pass, Linghu Ye had 50,000 border troops. Over the years, due to retirement, injury, and battle losses, almost half of them have been lost. Now, only less than 10,000 men are left to charge with him.

"Attack!" Linghu Ye held his spear horizontally, pointing forward. Behind him, the iron cavalry that had once suppressed the border and intimidated the Northern Yuan surged forward like a tidal wave.

From the direction of Boling County, Xiao Changche was surprised to see that the enemy's central army was the first to attack. This tactic was completely unexpected.

But she immediately realized the other party's intention.

In essence, Linghu Ye's army was still a disorganized army. When things were going smoothly, such an army would naturally be in high spirits and would fight closely around Linghu Ye to gain more benefits. But once Linghu Ye was in trouble, they would have other ideas. The essence of these people was to sacrifice their friends rather than themselves.

After instantly understanding the opponent's intentions, Xiao Changche immediately changed his previous tactics.

As the command flags waved, An Xuan, Gu Xiaoman, Zhang Quanyi, and others led their core forces rapidly toward the central battlefield, while their deputies led their soldiers to slowly advance on the left and right flanks.

If the enemy doesn't move, we shouldn't move either.
They all simply watched the life-or-death battle on the main battlefield in the middle.

After arranging everything, Xiao Changche took out the mask she hadn't worn in a long time from her bosom and snapped it onto her face. With a wave of her hand, Luo Hua handed her a spear. Grabbing the spear, Xiao Changche let out a long howl and leaped down from the city wall. As she did so, Xiao Hei also dashed out of the city gate like a black lightning bolt, rushing towards the swift figure in the air.

Xiao Changche landed steadily on Xiao Hei's back and headed to the front.

“The enemies on both flanks have no intention of fighting. We only need to defeat Linghu Ye to end the battle!” Xiao Changdao said, reining in his horse and stopping beside Li Dachui.

“You lead the troops to meet the enemy, and I will go and kill Linghu Ye!” Li Dachui said simply, “Linghu Ye’s ten thousand men are tough nuts to crack. If Linghu Ye doesn’t die, these tough nuts will be hard to gnaw on.”

Xiao Changche looked at Li Dachui in astonishment: "He's in the middle of an army, how can he be killed so easily? Only by first eliminating his allies can we possibly kill him!"

Li Dachui looked at Xiao Changche and smiled, "I think I can give it a try now?"

Xiao Changche was stunned for a long time, then suddenly pulled off his mask and stared at Li Dachui, asking, "You broke through to the Divine Travel realm? When did that happen?"

Li Dachui coughed and said, "Last night!"

In an instant, Xiao Changche's face flushed red. He spat out a mouthful of saliva and snapped the mask back onto his face.

Li Dachui laughed loudly, "I'm off!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Dachui disappeared from Xiao Changche's sight, leaving only his chestnut horse, which looked up and neighed uneasily as it sensed its master's sudden absence.

"Innate ability is the control of power, while divine travel is the control of space!"

Li Dachui's voice reached Xiao Changche's ears: "Now I know why Qingfeng was able to take the head of a general from a million-strong army as if he were in an empty field, and I also understand why Qingfeng was able to lift the coffin lid of Li Qing when there were countless innate masters of the Li family gathered!"

When Xiao Changche saw Li Dachui again, he was already in the enemy camp.

It was only because she had good eyesight that she managed to catch a glimpse of Li Dachui.

Linghuye is charging forward.

Facing the wind, amidst the dust kicked up by the countless warhorses charging ahead of him, his ears were filled with all sorts of incoherent shouts and curses.
Suddenly, he seemed to have returned to the days decades ago when he was just a captain or a lieutenant, when he needed to lead everyone in a charge and be the first to charge.

Of course, this is also his habit; he habitually shouts "Follow me!" instead of "Give me a go!"

Later, as his official rank rose higher and higher, he became the most powerful person outside the Great Wall, but he could never find that feeling again.

Of course, now that we're charging, even if I wanted to, my subordinates wouldn't let me be at the front. Just like now, when the guards started charging, they intentionally or unintentionally spurred their horses to block me from the rear.

That purest kind of happiness, whether you want it or not, can never be found again.

He looked up and gazed ahead.

Xiao Changche is still the same Xiao Changche after all!
She was still at the very front of the group.

It was still the sharpest arrowhead of that shot arrow.

Pity,
Linghu Ye sighed. If he had truly been able to recruit this person to his own cause, perhaps everything would have been different.

However, her idea of ​​destroying the Northern Yuan first completely conflicted with her strategic plan, which allowed Li Dachui to take advantage of the situation.

Thinking of this, Linghu Ye's eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. There was an empty chestnut horse on the side of the charging Xiao Changche.

Where is Li Dachui?
The moment the thought crossed Linghu Ye's mind, a strong sense of alarm arose within him. His spear suddenly appeared in front of him, and with a clang, a knife and a person abruptly appeared before him.

If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, that knife would probably have ripped him open.

"General Linghu is indeed a veteran of countless battles!" Li Dachui sheathed his sword and retreated. With a flash of light, one of his guards fell off his horse. Li Dachui then mounted the horse steadily and firmly.

Linghu Ye was shocked, but his hands did not slow down at all. He thrust his spear forward, and before the whistling sound could be heard, the tip of the spear was already in front of Li Dachui.

Then Linghuye saw Li Dachui disappear before his eyes. With a snap, the red tassel on the spear exploded, leaving only an unrider horse in front of him.
A scream came from behind him. Linghu Ye turned around and saw another guard clutching his neck and falling off his horse.

Right before Linghu Ye's eyes, Li Dachui appeared and disappeared like a ghost, and those battle-hardened guards died without even being able to fight back or see where the enemy was.

At the forefront, Li Guohua had already clashed with Xiao Changche. The two were evenly matched, each with their own strength. Their subordinates were also seasoned veterans, almost all of them having crawled out of piles of corpses. As the two sides clashed, countless people fell off their horses in an instant.

"Everyone, forward! Charge! Charge!" Linghuye reined in his horse and shouted.

Those guards who had originally gathered around Linghu Ye hesitated for a moment before choosing to obey his orders.

In their hearts, Linghu Ye's words were law, and they believed that no matter what the problem was, it could not stump Linghu Ye.

Even if the enemy that appeared before them was so strange.

The army roared past.

Only Linghu Ye and Li Dachui remained, standing facing each other.

"Is this what they call spiritual travel?" Linghu Ye asked, somewhat uncertain.

“I think this is it!” Li Dachui said with a smile, raising his knife.

“But I don’t feel any qualitative increase in your true power!” Linghu Ye took a deep breath: “I understand now. If this is divine travel, then it must be the ultimate utilization of space, because the innate is the ultimate utilization of power!”

Li Dachui gave a thumbs up: "The commander is indeed a commander. It's just a pity that knowing is one thing, but doing is another. You don't have time to experience the innate realm to the divine realm!"

"how did you do it?"

"Would you believe me if I said I figured it out after sleeping with my wife?" Li Dachui laughed loudly, and with that laugh, he took a step forward and inexplicably disappeared from Linghu Ye's sight.

Linghu Ye suddenly moved away from his horse. Li Dachui's knife flashed in the air, and his warhorse neighed and fell to the ground.

He turned sideways, swung his gun, but the gun blocked the air. His shoulder armor was knocked off by a slash. He retreated again, turned sideways, and the blade flashed past, his helmet disappearing without a trace.

Li Dachui reappeared before Linghu Ye, looking at him and saying, "General, you have no chance. If you admit defeat now, you can still be a country bumpkin! This is my reward for your decades of guarding the border and not letting the Northern Yuan cross the line!"

Linghu Ye said coldly, "Heh, it's all or nothing. How could Linghu Ye let a greenhorn like you humiliate me?"

Linghu Ye slammed the gun into the ground, then tore off a corner of his cloak and tied it over his eyes. Since he couldn't see Li Dachui anyway, he might as well not look at him.

He tossed the spear aside and drew the sword from his waist.

"Come on!" Linghuye roared.

"It's useless!" Li Dachui stepped forward calmly. "Just like how an Innate Realm cultivator can crush a Profound Realm cultivator, a Divine Travel Realm cultivator can easily defeat an Innate Realm cultivator. If you gather a large army to deal with me, you might be able to force me to retreat due to exhaustion. But if you try to deal with me one by one, you're only courting death!"

"Whether it's courting death or not, we have to try!" Linghu Ye said sternly.

On the battlefield, Li Guohua temporarily escaped Xiao Changche's entanglement. Looking around the entire battlefield, on both the left and right flanks, although his own troops clearly had an absolute numerical advantage, they were now being pressed back by the enemy.

It's not that they can't win; it's that they simply weren't putting their hearts into it.

Just by observing that they retreated without losing their composure, one could tell that they were conserving their strength, ready to turn around and run away at any moment!

Then, he saw Linghu Ye and Li Dachui at the very back.

Li Guohua's pupils contracted, and in that instant, he suddenly felt his vision blur.

Linghu Ye roared and raised his sword high with both hands, the blade gleaming and halos of light surrounding him.

Suddenly, countless Li Dachui appeared all around him, even in the sky. These countless Li Dachui, wielding the Minghong Blade, charged towards Linghu Ye.

Li Guohua felt as if a basin of ice had been poured over him from head to toe—no, it had immersed him entirely in ice water.

"No!"

he yelled.

At that moment, he recalled a scene from the Li family's secret collection, where a woman named Qingfeng had killed Duanmu Cuo, a peak-level general of the Qin Dynasty, on the battlefield during the early days of the Qin Dynasty.

That was the decisive battle, and the collapse of the Dayong elite forces stemmed from Duanmu Cuo being killed by the enemy amidst a vast army.

What he saw at this moment was exactly the same as the scene described in the Li family's secret manual!

That's daydreaming!

Li Guohua stared blankly behind him until a sharp pain shot through his chest. He looked down and saw a gleaming spear tip pierce through his armor, entering from his back and exiting from his front. In an instant, the domineering and unparalleled true energy unique to the Heaven-Slaying Technique emanated from the spear and into his body.

Taking this shot might not kill you, but the force of the attack is enough to destroy everything.

Reaching out and grabbing the spearhead, Li Guohua looked up and let out a long roar, before being launched into the air by Xiao Changche's spear.

With a flick of his spear, Li Guohua was flung far away towards the center of the battlefield like a kite. As he flew helplessly through the air, he saw countless Li Dachui figures reunited behind him, while Linghu Ye remained firmly in place, his hands gripping his sword.

However, a thin line of blood was slowly flowing down his throat.

it's over!
Li Guohua fell heavily to the ground.

(There's one more chapter and an epilogue; let me think about it and write them later!)

(End of this chapter)