The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 445 Ambush, Strike (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
After returning home and having dinner, Zhao Ti went to his room to read.

Mr. Zhao has finished repairing the roof, which no longer lets in light or air. There is only some dampness from the undried mud plaster, which does not affect living conditions.

When the moon was up, Zhao Ti saw that the lights in the main room had gone out. He took out the strange sword blank from under the bed, covered his face with a black veil, opened the window, and quietly jumped outside.

He hid in the shadows without making a sound, leaped over the courtyard wall, landed on the road, and then darted away towards the grove of trees by the Yujiang River.

After a short while, they reached the edge of the forest. They could hear the rushing of the river and the night wind blowing through the trees. Some kind of beast was making strange noises, creating a somewhat frightening atmosphere.

Zhao Ti stood there for a moment, observing his surroundings, before walking into the woods.

The woods were dark, the leaves rustled, and there was a cacophony of subtle noises—rats scurrying, insects crawling, night owls flapping their wings—which made him frown.

There were too many noises to make out what they were. Because this forest was close to the river, even though it was in the city, there were many creatures in it, including water birds and rabbits.

Zhao Ti walked slowly along the tree, not very fast. After a while, he finally arrived at the place where the old man surnamed Zhu was buried. He took a look in the dim light and his expression changed slightly.

Something's not right. I had deliberately covered the ground with grass and dead leaves, and even left shape marks. But in the past few days, there has been no rain or anything like that, and most of the marks have disappeared, vaguely revealing that it has been dug up.

Had someone discovered it? Zhao Ti immediately felt a sense of vigilance. If someone had moved around here, it must have been for the old man surnamed Zhu. Judging from the marks on the ground, the body must have been discovered and dug up.

Was it really that fast? Or does the Yang family have some special investigative ability that allows them to quickly track down even the servants in their household?

This is not a good thing. Once the body is found, the cause of death will definitely be determined. Even after months or years, it may still be difficult to tell, let alone after only two or three days.

Zhao Ti's mind raced. He realized there was no other way at the moment. It was too late to mend the fence after the sheep were lost. He could only hide his identity and not reveal his martial arts skills. Even if the other party knew that it was the Four Illuminations Divine Skill that killed him, they would have no way to investigate.

Just as he made up his mind to leave, he suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked into the depths of the forest. Then his gaze swept over other directions, and a hint of coldness appeared on his face.

Just then, a voice came from the woods, growing louder as it approached: "You actually dare to come back? Let me see who you are, daring to kill members of my Yang family!"

Then they heard noises from all directions, and footsteps hurried from afar, all rushing towards this place.

Were they ambushed? Zhao Ti reached up and touched the veil on his face. The Yang family discovered the body of the old man surnamed Zhu and bet that he might return to this place, so they kept watch day and night, waiting for him to come to them.

That must be it. I never expected that the other side would be right. I did come back and ordered them to surround the forest.

Zhao Ti's lips curled up slightly. Now that he had mastered the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, his inner strength was incredibly powerful and inexhaustible. Few in the world could rival him. He was least afraid of group attacks and group battles, and his greatest strength was fighting against many with few. This was a good opportunity to test his skills.

He was on high alert, listening intently to the sounds around him. There were dozens of people coming from several directions, all likely members of the Yang family.

The fastest of them was the one who had spoken earlier; he was incredibly fast, arriving in front of them in an instant.

Zhao Ti looked him over and saw that he was a man dressed in white, handsome, tall and elegant, with a long sword on his back and a gloomy and indifferent face.

Oh... he must be a master from the Yang family, right? Zhao Ti thought to himself. This person has very high internal strength, and his qi doesn't leak out at all. His cultivation is quite extraordinary.

Moreover, this person was carrying a sword, which clearly indicated that he was skilled in swordsmanship. Although Yang Jian had not given him the Yang family's sword techniques, and he did not know what kind of miraculous sword moves he had, they must be extraordinary. As one of the eight great families in the world, and possessing a top-level technique like the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, how could he not have top-level swordsmanship?

Good, good, the more skilled the better, the more they can hone their martial arts skills. If they are all good-for-nothings, then it's not very interesting.

At this moment, Zhao Ti was both skilled and daring. He leaned against a large tree and watched as figures appeared on all sides.

These people included both old and young, and most of them were menacing, surrounded by powerful energy. Some carried weapons, while others were empty-handed.

Zhao Ti's eyes swept across everyone in an instant, trying to see if Yang Jian was there, but the other party was not in the crowd.

He pondered for a moment, deciding that it was best not to use the Peach Blossom Sword Technique if possible. Even if Yang Jian wasn't around, it wouldn't be good to use it, since the characteristics of this sword technique were too obvious. If it was used, and someone described it to Yang Jian, the other party would know that he was the one wielding the sword.

According to Yang Jian, this sword technique was obtained from an ancient site and is an ancient sword art. Its sword path and techniques are different from those of the swordsmanship of the present world. It is estimated that at this moment, only the two of them in the world know it, and there is no third person who knows it.

The Four Illuminations Divine Skill is different. Although it is nominally limited to the Yang family, there must be many people in the royal family who know it. Although the Yang family says that only elite disciples can learn it, there can't be only three or five so-called elite disciples. It is estimated that there are more.

In this way, even if he used the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, the other party would not be able to figure out his origins or guess who he was. If they really started investigating from within the family one by one, it would be a huge project. Moreover, it was hard to say whether the royal family would cooperate. In other words, if the royal family was unwilling to deal with this matter, then the Yang family's self-investigation would be useless, since they could not investigate the royal family at the same time.

At this moment, the white-clad man carrying a sword in front of him was also looking him up and down. Seeing that although he was masked, he seemed to be extremely young, and a little doubt arose in his heart.

They were already shocked to find the body of the old man surnamed Zhu using the family's secret method. The man had actually died from the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, and the traces were very obvious. Although Zhao Ti didn't feel much about it, the Yang family members knew it almost immediately and could tell that the Four Illuminations skill was extremely profound. But seeing Zhao Ti now made them even more surprised.

They assumed that the person who came late at night must be a murderer using the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, but at this moment, not only did the man in white have doubts, but everyone else also had doubts.

Because Zhao Ti seemed too young to them. Although his face was covered and his features were not visible, judging from the color of his hair, the exposed eyebrows and eyes, the youthful look in his eyes, the skin on his hands, etc., he was at most in his twenties. How could someone in his twenties have such profound skills?
The old man surnamed Zhu died from the Four Illuminations Palm Wind. To be able to use the Four Illuminations Palm Wind, one must have reached the intermediate level of skill. Moreover, the injuries on the old man's body were even more severe, indicating that the murderer had entered the intermediate level of skill much earlier than a day or two, and may have been immersed in it for quite some time.

From this perspective, it is absolutely impossible for a young person who is at most in their twenties to have achieved this, so the murderer must be someone else.

All the Yang family members around them focused their attention on Zhao Ti, harboring suspicions and finding it hard to believe that he was the murderer of the old man surnamed Zhu. But even if he wasn't the murderer, he must be connected to him; otherwise, why would he appear here in the dead of night, masked? Their eyes were filled with a fierce intensity, a mixture of doubt and murderous intent.

The man in white stared intently at Zhao Ti and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Who killed members of my Yang family?"

Zhao Ti was different now than when he fought the Sima family girl. Back then, he didn't dare to speak for fear that the other party would remember him and investigate his background. Now, however, he deliberately practiced a falsetto voice, making his voice rough and unrecognizable.

He mimicked the mannerisms of chivalrous heroes from folk tales, saying with considerable disdain, "Even if I killed him, what can you do about it?"

"You killed him?" Upon hearing this, the man in white's eyes flashed with cold light: "What ability do you have to kill my old servant? He clearly died from the Four Illuminations Divine Skill. How could you, at such a young age, know this divine skill? Quickly confess who stole the skill, so that you can at least have a whole corpse!"

"Hahaha!" Zhao Ti continued to mimic the martial arts language from the storybook, laughing loudly: "The Yang family really has no eye for talent. Not only do they harbor scum of the greenwood and bandits, but they can't even recognize me standing right in front of them, telling me to find someone else to take the blame. Such a ridiculous thing is outrageous. If it gets out, won't the world laugh their heads off?"

"You, you brat, who are you to dare to speak so arrogantly?" At this moment, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a fierce expression shouted loudly from the side.

"Who am I?" Zhao Ti said, "I'm not afraid to tell you, I am known in the martial arts world as the one who suppresses three mountains and commands five peaks, who can ride the waves without fear of ghosts, who can suppress the martial arts world with a single sword, and who is the holy hand Kunlun Little White Dragon!"

"Nonsense, utter nonsense!" A gaunt old man with white hair spoke up: "Where in the martial world is there such a person? If you don't tell the truth, we'll catch you and torture you until you wish you were dead!"

The man in white looked at Zhao Ti and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Whom my Yang family takes in is none of your business. Since you say that you killed someone, how come you know my Yang family's secret technique? Where did you get the Four Illuminations Divine Skill from?"

"Where did I get my Four Illuminations Divine Skill?" Zhao Ti's eyes gleamed. This was an opportunity to confuse right and wrong about its origin. He laughed again, "Where did it come from? It's naturally a family heirloom. How could such a divine skill be obtained so easily from outside?"

"A family heirloom?" The man in white's eyes narrowed, and his face immediately darkened.

"You..." Upon hearing this, the Yang family members all changed color. A fat old man with a red face said angrily, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Where did he get his family's divine skills? The real killer was someone else. He's just covering for the other party!"

Zhao Ti glanced at the red-faced old man, then beckoned him with his finger: "Don't believe in my family's secret martial arts? Come and try it and you'll see!"

"Try it then!" the old man roared in fury. "Take you down first, then interrogate the culprit!"

"Fifth Uncle, be careful," the man in white said upon seeing this.

"Don't worry, he's just a young thief, full of boastful talk. I'll easily subdue him and he won't be able to put up any resistance!"

"Fifth Uncle, remember to leave them alive," the man in white said with a smile.

"Even if he's alive, we'll beat him half to death. Let's see if this brat dares to spout nonsense again!" The old man roared and pounced straight at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly behind his veil, and after a moment's thought, reached out and drew the strange sword embryo from his back.

There's no need to use the Four Illuminations Divine Skill for now. Let's practice swordsmanship first. Although the Peach Blossom Sword Technique isn't very good, I still need to practice the swordsmanship I learned from Lin Meng and a few moves from the Sima family girl.

The sword blank was a deep, dark black, with a narrow shape and a sword tip. The bottom was vaguely shaped like a hilt. Although it was not sharpened, the tip could still hurt people. Moreover, Zhao Ti's internal strength was now unparalleled. Unless he encountered something particularly sturdy, whether the sword was sharpened or not would make little difference, whether it was used to pluck flowers or leaves or to injure enemies.

"You little brat, what are you holding?" At this moment, the red-faced old man had already jumped close and immediately shouted angrily when he saw the sword blank in Zhao Ti's hand.

The Yang family members also saw what Zhao Ti was holding and were filled with indignation. They said it could be called a sword blank, but it was also a piece of iron. After all, it had not yet been truly formed into a sword. At this moment, it was almost a life-or-death battle, but to use such a thing to fight the enemy showed how arrogant and conceited they looked down on their opponent.

Zhao Ti lightly flicked the sword embryo and chuckled, "I'm already being kind to you by using a weapon; otherwise, I could have just killed you with a single palm strike, and there wouldn't have been so much excitement."

"You little brat, I think you're courting death!" Upon hearing this, the red-faced old man's face turned slightly purple. He had somehow produced a strange weapon in his hand: a bronze rod over three feet long, with a huge beast claw at the top. It gleamed with a dark, cold light in the night, looking extremely ferocious and terrifying.

Although Zhao Ti had never seen this weapon before, it was mentioned in storybooks and called the Tiger Claw. The claw was not a lump of copper or iron, but was movable and could make grasping motions, making it a kind of unusual weapon.

He couldn't help but laugh loudly: "The stranger the weapon, the faster you die."

"You little brat, you actually dare to show off your verbal skills!" The red-faced old man was furious upon hearing this. His nickname was Tiger Claw. He had diligently honed his skills in this weapon for decades, and in the present world, no one could surpass him. Everyone who saw it would express their admiration and look at the weapon with awe. He never expected that the other party would speak with such disdain and even utter curses.

"I'll beat you to death, you blind little thief!"

"I'm afraid you don't have the ability!" Zhao Ti shook his head slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he was fighting with his opponent.

The red-faced old man possessed profound internal strength, and his tiger claws were heavy and powerful. When he swung them, they created a "whoosh" sound, and the force alone shattered the grass and trees on the ground around him, causing the leaves above to fly up, as if a considerable whirlwind had been stirred up on the spot.

But Zhao Ti's body was as supple as a willow branch, and he didn't feel any leverage in the wind. He delivered his sword strikes with great skill and technique, blocking the old man's frenzied attacks.

The white-clad man behind him frowned, thinking to himself, "Such profound internal strength! How can someone so young possess such formidable internal power? He moves freely and effortlessly within the arena!"
The red-faced old man was already over sixty years old. He had been practicing martial arts since he was a few years old and had over fifty years of cultivation. Although what he had learned was not the best Four Illuminations Divine Skill of the Yang family, it was still a very good skill. If such profound internal energy could not affect the other party, then how deep must the other party's skill be?
The white-clad man's expression changed, especially since the swordsmanship used by his opponent was ordinary and not a particularly ingenious move. But the more ordinary it was, the more profound his internal strength became, demonstrating his ability to turn the mundane into the extraordinary, to return to simplicity, and to achieve great skill through apparent clumsiness.

At this point, some of the other members of the Yang family also realized what was going on, and their faces showed shock as they began to whisper among themselves.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Ti had exchanged dozens of blows with the red-faced old man, figuring out his opponent's martial arts style. He had also become much more proficient in the sword moves he had learned from Lin Meng. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "So that's all you've got. I've been so cautious all this time, but you're just a pretty face with no substance. Now I'm going to use my killing move to defeat you!"

(End of this chapter)