Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 95: Summoning the Gods - A Battle Poem! Dafu! "The Ballad of the Frontier - The Stone-Edged Arrow"! (Seeking monthly votes)

"Humph!"

Ao Li let out a cold snort like a thunderclap, his eyes flashed with a cold light, and his dragon might surged forth, causing the entire Crystal Palace to tremble.

"I want to see just how Zhou Shanzhang has three heads and six arms, daring to bully my Taihu Demon Court!"
"My children—follow me!"

He suddenly stood up, his black dragon robe fluttering without wind, and with a wave of his hand, a divine weapon, the [Water-Splitting Mountain-Cleaving Halberd], appeared in his palm, its blade gleaming coldly as it tore through the void.

"it is good!"

The White-browed Marquis's tiger-like eyes were wide open, and his demonic aura surged like waves. His wild laughter shook the golden lamps in the hall.

"Today, I, your lord, will follow my brother to storm the city walls, raze Wuxi County to the ground, and let those blind fools witness the might of the East Sea demon race!"

He suddenly stood up, and the gilded tiger-head saber at his waist was drawn with a clang, its gleaming light chilling the entire room.

"Raze Wuxi to the ground!"

"Capture Headmaster Zhou alive!"

In an instant,
The entire Crystal Palace was boiling like a raging sea!

The Imperial Fish Demon General slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his scales clanging loudly.

The demon generals roared in unison, and thousands of demon soldiers surged out of the palace gates like a tidal wave, their weapons forming a forest and their demonic aura soaring to the sky!
"The mighty king!"

The guests present, the various demon generals, hundreds of demon soldiers, the demons from all over the country who came to offer their congratulations, and the tens of thousands of demon soldiers from the Taihu Demon Court all shouted and poured out of the Crystal Palace.

Lady Qingyao and some timid, observing demons followed silently behind, feeling the atmosphere becoming increasingly eerie.

Ao Li clearly said he was going to see if Zhou Yuanjun really had three heads and six arms. How dare he bully his demon general?

But the White-browed Marquis shouted, "We'll raze Wuxi County to the ground!"
The demon soldiers and generals shouted, "Capture Chief Zhou alive!"

Isn't this putting Ao Li, the fourteenth son of the Dragon King of the East Sea, on the fire?
In an instant,

The winds and clouds changed color, and countless demons soared into the sky. Dark, ominous demonic clouds followed Ao Li, the fourteenth son of the Dragon King of the East Sea, as they swept towards Wuxi County on the shore of Taihu Lake!

The torrential rain in Wuxi County has just stopped.

A few rays of sunlight pierced through the leaden-gray clouds.
The muddy streets were still flooded, reflecting the dilapidated houses.

Thousands of students rolled up their sleeves and bent down to pick up debris from the rubble, helping the people of Wuxi to prop up the collapsed door beams.

"Be careful, this wall is still shaking! Let's just tear it down and rebuild it!"

"Grandma, your rice jar is buried under here—where are you going to get some rice?"

The cacophony of voices gradually coalesced into a vibrant scene.

Wisps of smoke rose from the repaired stoves, mingling with the scent of earth after the rain, weaving a picture of rebirth after disaster over the city of Wuxi.

"Enter the city!"

"Repair the fortifications immediately!"

Prefect Li Shouyi of Changzhou personally led his troops to rush to the aid of Wuxi County.

Ten thousand soldiers, clad in iron armor, surged into the county town like a black tide.

At this moment, the city walls were filled with soldiers sweating profusely—some carrying huge logs to reinforce the parapets, some moving stones to build arrow emplacements, and craftsmen hammering away at the mechanisms of heavy crossbows.

"Quickly! Add three more barricades towards Taihu Lake!"

Li Shouyi stood on the city tower with his hand on his sword, his black official robe fluttering in the wind.

Looking around,

A thousand battle flags on the city wall were as red as blood, reflecting the chilling blades.

The soldiers, clad in iron armor, reflected a cold light, forming a metallic mountain range under the setting sun.

Dozens of ballistae were poised to fire, their menacing arrows pointing in unison at the vast expanse of Taihu Lake.

"Quickly, get into the city!"

Hu Ming, the academy director of Changzhou Prefectural Academy, dressed in a blue robe, rode into the city first.

Behind them, a thousand students from Changzhou Academy, carrying books on their backs and swords at their waists, marched in a grand procession through the city gates of Wuxi County.

The young men in their robes, like a tide, spread out a flowing ink-like line on the muddy street.

"Students from Suzhou Academy have arrived!"

"Students from Songjiang Prefectural Academy have arrived!"

"Students from Hangzhou Academy have come to the rescue!"

Reinforcements from academies in various prefectures and counties of Jiangnan Circuit arrived one after another—students from Suzhou Prefecture carried medicine chests, scholars from Songjiang Prefecture pushed grain carts, and even scholars from Hangzhou Prefecture carried water measuring instruments on their shoulders.

Three or four thousand scholars gathered in Wuxi, their long robes and wide sleeves fluttering like clouds beneath the city walls.

"Make way! These copies of the 'Commentary on the Waterways Classic' are to be delivered to the county government—this is a classic text personally written by a great Confucian scholar, capable of warding off floods!!"

"Handle that box of 'Yu the Great's Water Suppression Formation' carefully; it contains a scroll of runes that has already been written!"

The once empty streets and alleys were suddenly bustling with noise.

The newly opened teahouse was packed with scholars resting and debating the calamities posed by the demons.

Bundles of firewood and rice were piled up under the eaves of the inn.

Even the base of the city walls was filled with students studying "The Book of Demons" and researching the weaknesses of demon soldiers.

This county town, which had just suffered a calamity, suddenly became unusually noisy due to this influx of literary atmosphere.

"Professor Zhou!"

A sudden commotion arose on the city wall, and the soldiers guarding the city involuntarily made way three steps.

Jiangzhou Prefectural Governor Zhou Shanzhang slowly ascended the bluestone steps, carrying a scholar's sword at his waist, his plain white scholar's robe billowing in the wind like crane wings.

Behind him, Jiang Xingzhou and dozens of other instructors and students from Jiangzhou Prefecture filed up the city wall, each carrying a book and a sword, forming a line of blue-robed soldiers between the crenellations.

According to the "Yu Gong" (Tribute of Yu), Taihu Lake was formerly known as Zhenze.

Zhou Shanchang stroked the mottled city wall, his voice as deep as an ancient bell, "Today, let those water demons tremble once more!"

The students burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"If it weren't for Headmaster Zhou leading the crowd to arrive first, the people of Wuxi would probably have already suffered from the demonic calamity!"

Upon receiving news of the demonic disturbance in Wuxi, this prefect immediately mustered the troops of this prefecture. However, the dispatch of the main force was ultimately hampered by cumbersome procedures, causing us to arrive a step late and nearly jeopardizing the important matter!

Li Shouyi gripped Zhou Shanzhang's hands tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

The usually dignified prefect had red eyes, and the hem of his official robe was still stained with mud from his overnight journey.

Zhou Shanzhang smiled calmly, looking at the lingering demonic fog outside the city: "Mutual support is the duty of scholars. Lord Li, you have come to our aid through the night; you have worked hard!"

Today, within the county town of Wuxi, tens of thousands of armored soldiers stand in imposing array, while scholars from various prefectures unfold their scriptures like a forest. Guards on the watchtowers and scholars holding vermilion brushes stand in staggered rows, a fusion of weaponry and calligraphy.

He could finally rest easy.

Suddenly, a soldier in the city cried out in alarm, his trembling finger pointing directly towards Taihu Lake, "My lord, look quickly! A swirling fog is coming from Taihu Lake!"

The once calm lake surface was now filled with turbid waves, and a dark green, eerie mist that blotted out the sky was surging toward Wuxi County with terrifying force.

Scales and claws could be vaguely seen flashing in the mist; wherever they passed, reeds withered, and even water birds turned into white bones and fell into the waves.

"Boom!"

Li Shouyi's sword slammed heavily against the city bricks.

The prefect, whose eyes had been red just moments before, now had a face as cold as iron: "All camps, listen to my command! Archers, take your positions!"

Zhou Yuanjun said in a deep voice, "Release the buff spell!"

"[The Six-Jun Bow!]"

"[A three-foot sword!]"

The young students recited "The Primer of Prosody".

"The poem 'No Robes' from the Book of Songs, Qin Feng – [How can it be said we have no clothes? We share the same robes.]"

"Qin Feng: No Robes" - [The king is raising an army; let us prepare our spears and shields, and fight together against our common enemy!]

"The Book of Songs, Lesser Odes, June: [They are stern and winged, clad in martial attire.]"

The scholars recited the Book of Songs.

Students from all the prefectures flocked to the city walls. Upon hearing this, they unleashed a variety of literary arts to greatly enhance the power of the halberds, crossbows, and armor held by the soldiers on the city walls.

The wind from Taihu Lake, carrying a fishy smell, rushed towards them, making their blue robes flutter in the wind.

The spear burst forth with a three-foot-long azure light, and layers of golden glow enveloped the armor.

The power of a single literary technique can last for several hours.

In the morning light, streaks of calligraphy simultaneously shone, forming a continuous crimson glow over the city walls and ramparts.

"Three hundred scholars from Jiangzhou have set up the 'Yu the Great's Water-Suppressing Formation' to disperse the water vapor within a ten-mile radius of this county!"

Zhou Shanzhang shouted again.

"Yes!"

The city wall was immediately filled with people, and three hundred scholars used cinnabar pens to write the incantation of "Yu the Great's Water Suppression Formation" on the crenellations.

In an instant, the inscription "Yu Wang" shone brightly around the city walls of Wuxi County, dispelling a large amount of water vapor and quickly drying out the air.

The demon race's water magic will be greatly weakened when it gets close to the city wall!
The demonic fog had already approached within ten miles.

Jiang Xingzhou stood on the city wall, gazing at the churning demonic mist in the distance, his heart sinking.

This demon king of Taihu Lake has already become a force to be reckoned with!
It would be difficult to eradicate them!
Amidst a billowing, demonic mist,
Ao Li looked towards Wuxi, its vertical pupils suddenly contracted to slits, and it froze.

I see,

A thousand feet of literary energy rose from the city walls of Wuxi, like a golden rainbow piercing the sun.

Tens of thousands of soldiers, their weapons arrayed like a forest, exuded a palpable aura of killing intent. The words "weapons arrayed," "armor," and "symbols of battle" were actually excerpts from the Book of Songs.

That righteous energy condensed into a semi-transparent phantom of the "Yu the Great" scroll, which slowly unfurled in the clouds.

On the battlements, the cold gleam of iron armor and the interplay of literary arts shone brightly, and the creaking sound of thousands of powerful bows being taut simultaneously caused even the lake surface to ripple.

The banner of Li Shouyi, the prefect of Changzhou, fluttered in the wind atop the city wall.

Ao Li's vertical pupils slowly opened on his forehead, reflecting the figure in green robes and carrying a sword on the city wall—Jiangzhou Yuanjun Zhou Shanchang!

"I remember Wuxi as nothing more than a small county of fishing boats on the shore of Taihu Lake. How come it looks like a large prefecture city to me?"

Ao Li asked the demon generals on either side in surprise, his deep voice filled with undisguised doubt.

Yesterday, when he sent the crab general ashore, it was still a desolate border county, with no more than a thousand soldiers and yamen runners guarding the city. The city walls were mottled like wrinkles, the soldiers leaned against their spears and dozed off, and the grievance drum at the entrance of the county government office was covered with cobwebs.

Only then did he dare to send the crab general to borrow some sacrificial offerings.

But now.
The shrimp soldiers and crab generals on either side looked at each other in bewilderment.

An old turtle demon that had cultivated for a hundred years was so frightened that it shrank back into its shell.

At this moment, banners fluttered in the wind atop Wuxi city walls, and the air was thick with scholarly spirit.

Ten thousand soldiers in iron armor stood in a menacing array, their blades gleaming so coldly that the lake water seemed to reflect their sharp edges.

Furthermore, groups of students in green robes, holding vermilion brushes, moved like dragons along the city wall, swiftly writing incantations, their presence illuminating the surrounding area with crimson glow.

Regarding this scene,
All the demon soldiers and generals were completely bewildered.

"Report, Your Majesty!"

A shrimp soldier missing a claw crawled out timidly.
"Yesterday, when I accompanied Lord Crab General to Wuxi to 'borrow' three hundred boys and girls as offerings for the establishment of the government, there were indeed only a few dozing yamen runners in this county town who did not have such a sight!"

Yesterday's Wuxi county town was just an ordinary county town, lacking much cultural atmosphere and not worth mentioning at all.

But overnight, the military strength and cultural atmosphere of Wuxi County surpassed those of Changzhou Prefecture.

Ao Lilong's pupils constricted as he stared intently at a large black banner atop the Wuxi city gate—embroidered with six large, gold-plated characters: "General Commander of Changzhou Army"!
The Changzhou Prefectural Army camp has already been stationed in Wuxi County.

On the city wall, Li Shouyi, the prefect of Changzhou, slowly drew out a bronze sword inscribed with "Imperial Edict to Suppress Demons".

"This is Wuxi, and they've set up a dragon-slaying platform for me!"

Ao Li said in a muffled voice, his dragon whiskers taut.

"White-browed Marquis" Ao Li's dragon tail slowly coiled, creating a dangerous whirlpool on the lake's surface. "You just said you wanted to be the first to storm the city walls?"

"This"

The demon lord, Bai'e Hou, was also stunned, falling silent, his eyes flashing with some unknown calculation. The tiger demon queen, who had just been clamoring to massacre the county, now even had her mane concealing its murderous aura.

If it were to incite its troops to attack the county town at this moment, Ao Li would probably suspect its intentions.

"Who among my men is willing to be the vanguard?"

The surface of Taihu Lake was deathly still.

The demons, who had been baring their fangs and brandishing their claws just moments before, had now completely disappeared, even the sound of their scales rubbing together had vanished.

The blue-faced, tusked boar demon even turned red in the face—its ever-wagging tail was now firmly bitten in its mouth, rendering it speechless for a moment.

Ao Li's vertical pupils slowly swept over the demons. Wherever he passed, the demon clouds there mysteriously shrank by three-tenths, and no demon dared to utter any more arrogant words.

too fast!
The human race in Jiangnan Road reacted too quickly!

In just one night, 10,000 soldiers from Changzhou Prefecture were stationed there, transforming the nearly dilapidated Wuxi county town into an impregnable fortress.

The city housed no fewer than five thousand scholars. The cold, bronze light of Mohist mechanical arts gleamed from the arrow slits in the city walls.

Their strength is in no way inferior to that of the newly established Taihu Demon Court.

Even if they all came out in full force, they wouldn't be able to conquer this Wuxi county town.

"What a magnificent Jiangnan region! Last night the city's defenses were lax, but this morning they are as solid as a rock."

Ao Li gritted his teeth.

"evildoer!
Yesterday, they invaded Taihu Lake, attacked Wuxi County of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and massacred our people!

What should be the punishment?

With a sharp shout from Zhou Shanzhang, the literary atmosphere of the entire city of Wuxi suddenly surged.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the demonic mist, revealing the enormous, full-moon-like pupils of the evil dragon within.

"So you are Lord Zhou of Jiangzhou Prefecture? I have heard of your name!"
Professor Zhou is mistaken!

Since establishing my government and court in Taihu, I have never sent a declaration of war to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"How can borrowing some sacrificial animals and blood as evidence of a massacre?"

Ao Li pressed down with his dragon claw, and the demonic clouds in the sky instantly condensed into a phantom "Book of the Demonic Court of Taihu Lake" with a golden edge and a jade scroll—the unique "Jiaoshou Script" of the East Sea Dragon Palace—and flung it toward the top of Wuxi City.

The dragon's roar carried the sound of metal and stone: "This is the document I issued upon establishing my government in Taihu Lake, and it is given to your Great Zhou Dynasty!"
From tonight onwards, this land of Taihu Lake belongs to me!

Its golden eyes narrowed slightly as it swept over the demons on the lakeside.

It knew this in its heart.

This fourteenth son of the Dragon Kingdom has always been arrogant and domineering. And his demon soldiers and generals, who have followed him to the Demon Court of the East Sea, are also used to being arrogant.

It ordered its generals to borrow some sacrificial offerings, but the crab demon general directly led its demon army to break through Wuxi County, plundering and causing chaos. However, it had only just established its capital in Taihu Lake and was not yet firmly established or ready to clash with the Jiangnan Circuit of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, all the demon guests watched from the sidelines.

The Green-Faced Fox General paused for a moment, while the Royal Fish Demon General held his wine cup to his lips—all the demon generals and guests from various factions were waiting to see his decision.

It could not show weakness, lest it lose face as the Demon King in front of all the demon generals.

"presumptuous!!

Under heaven, all land belongs to the emperor!

Li Shouyi, the prefect of Changzhou, stood up straight, and a purple-gold official seal flew out from his sleeve. "This Taihu Lake has been the water vein of my Great Zhou Dynasty for thousands of years and is under the jurisdiction of my Jiangnan Circuit. When did it become the private property of your Jiao Clan?"

"Humans are the masters of the land!"
We dragons are the masters of the water! You do not live in the water, so how can you be the masters of Taihu Lake?
Furthermore, this Taihu Lake is the site of my uncle's old palace from a hundred years ago, which was originally the palace of my dragon clan.

"I am merely reclaiming my former territory; what is wrong with that?"

Ao Li laughed wildly.

"Brother Ao Li, why don't we send a vanguard general to test their strength?"

The White-browed Marquis said in a low voice.

Ao Li's eyes flashed, and he realized that this made sense.

"Enough of this old grievances! The ownership of Taihu Lake is determined not by empty words, but by real ability."

How about this?
I have dispatched one of my turtle demon generals as the vanguard to fight you two or three rounds!

If my demon generals are defeated!

The demon soldiers and generals will no longer step out of Taihu Lake, nor will they invade Wuxi again!

If your side is defeated, do not linger with me!

finished,

With a wave of its hand, it slapped a turtle demon behind it away.

Ao Li pondered whether to use this powerful tortoise demon to test the strength of the Wuxi County garrison.

If the human race is weak, then there's no point in discussing anything else; at worst, it can simply start a war to establish its authority!

If the human race is too strong, it will temporarily retreat to the eight-hundred-mile Taihu Lake to avoid its sharp edge.

Before the turtle demon could react, Ao Li struck him with a palm, sending him hurtling like a meteor towards the Wuxi city wall. He spun around in circles beneath the wall, still completely bewildered.

In an instant,
"call out--!"

A cold glint suddenly appeared on the city wall, and dozens of demon-slaying crossbow bolts, imbued with various spells of ice, wind, and fire, shot towards the turtle demon general.

The tortoise demon let out a strange cry, its neck suddenly retracting into its shell. A layer of earth-yellow light, a foot thick, appeared on its carapace, with yellow characters resembling a Bagua formation.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The arrow struck the tortoise shell, sending sparks flying.

A heavy crossbow made of fine steel, engraved with the character "诛" (to kill), scraped a three-foot-long white mark on the tortoise shell, but still did no harm to the tortoise demon general, who ultimately fell to the ground unwillingly.

All the arrows were blocked!
"Who is on the city wall? Which scholar dares to fight this demon general?"

The turtle demon was overjoyed to see that he had emerged unscathed from a hail of crossbow bolts and arrows. He brandished his pair of bronze maces and shouted.

Seeing the deathly silence on the city wall of Wuxi, the turtle demon swung his bronze mace and smashed it against the wall with a clang, sending a rain of rubble crashing down.

"Haha, my men, look! This earthen city wall of Wuxi is even more brittle than my tortoise shell!"

The turtle demon laughed wildly.

"It seems the humans in Wuxi County are nothing special after all!"

"In my opinion, we should storm Wuxi and teach them a lesson!"

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals struck the shields with swords and halberds, the sound of scales rubbing against each other sweeping like a tidal wave.

"Your Majesty!"

A blue-faced yaksha demon general leaped onto the back of a tortoise, its trident pointing directly at the city wall, and roared madly: "Human arrows are nothing but an itch!"

Why fear other humans? Tonight, we'll overturn this county government office and boil it into soup!

Immediately, within the demonic mist, the demon soldiers and generals cheered and shouted once more, their fighting spirit soaring.

On the city gate tower of Wuxi County.

The faces of the Prefect Li Shouyi, the Jiangzhou Academy Master Zhou Shanchang, the Changzhou Academy Master Hu Ming, and the other Jinshi scholars changed drastically.

"The Eight Trigrams Black Tortoise Shell?"

Prefect Li Shouyi's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice hoarse, "This beast has actually cultivated a fragment of the Luoshu, the Eight Trigrams Defensive Armor. This tortoise shell's defense is terrifying, increasing by more than three to five times!"

"Indeed! This turtle demon's shell defense is too domineering! Even a crossbow bolt weighing a hundred catties and ten feet long, which is enough to kill a demon general, couldn't damage its shell in the slightest?"

"I'm afraid this scholar is no match for the tortoise demon general!"

"I will go and take its life!"

Zhou Shan was furious and was about to step out of the city wall.

But Li Shouyi held his wrist down.

"No!"

Prefect Li stopped Zhou Yuanjun and said urgently, "Yuanjun, that demon king Ao Li is eyeing all of us scholars!"
It would be dishonorable for us scholars to personally kill this turtle demon general.

The demons opposite, undoubtedly unconvinced, continued to taunt and challenge them to a fight!

"If this turtle demon were to use his vanguard as a vanguard and gain an advantage, the morale of our defending soldiers would surely plummet!"

The scholars looked troubled.

However, among the successful candidates, there are probably not many who can defeat this tortoise demon general.

They were discussing which scholar with the strongest fighting ability should be sent out of the city to confront the turtle demon general.

Wuxi city wall,

At that moment, a soft murmur was heard—

"Here comes the bow!"

Jiang Xingzhou's face was cold and aloof, his blue robe fluttering even without wind. He stepped forward from the city tower of Wuxi.

"Zheng——"

A tremor of a string tore through the stagnant air.

The captain of the bow unit felt a burning sensation in his palm, and the heavy iron bow suddenly leaped into the young scholar's hand, the bowstring vibrating and emitting a clear, long sound like a dragon's roar.

"I am a student from Jiangyin County!"
"You turtle demon downstairs, do you dare take one of my arrows?!"

Jiang Xingzhou took a deep breath, stood at the arrow stalk on the city wall, and slowly drew back the heavy bow.

At the gate tower of Wuxi County, the turtle demon was startled by the sound.

Looking up, I saw a young man dressed in a scholar's robe.

"A student who has completed the preliminary studies?"
Do you know that I am a demon general?
His combat strength is comparable to that of a scholar who has passed the imperial examination!

It clutched its belly, laughed wildly, and trembled, "Are you going to tickle this great demon general?"

Come on, come on!

"This demon will expose its belly, and you can shoot an arrow at it!"

The turtle demon stopped banging on the city wall and simply lay down on the ground.

Its white belly was exposed—although it also had a shell on its abdomen, it was about 90% weaker than the shell on its back.

On the opposite side, amidst a billowing black demonic mist, the demon kings, demon generals, and countless demon soldiers and generals burst into wild laughter upon seeing this.

"Haha, Wuxi County has no one here?! If there's no Juren (successful candidate in the provincial examination), even a Xiucai (successful candidate in the county-level examination) would do! Instead, they're sending a Tongsheng (child student) to compete?!"

Even the demonic mist of Taihu Lake couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Even a mere novice could injure my most defensively powerful turtle demon general."

Then why should I bother attacking Wuxi County?
Why not go back to the East Sea and grow seaweed there!

"The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone-Edged Arrow!"

Jiang Xingzhou ignored their clamor.
His face was cold and indifferent.

He simply murmured, his fingertips stained with ink, and stroked the inscription on the bow, condensing it into a phantom arrow wreathed in purple lightning on the string.

No one on the Wuxi city tower uttered a sound. Prefect Li Shouyi, Zhou Yuanjun, Hu Yuanjun, and almost all the Jinshi, Juren, Xiucai, and Tongsheng all looked toward the boat on the river.

Jiang Yin, who was ranked first among the top students in Jiangzhou Prefecture, was no longer an unknown figure.

His numerous poems and articles written after leaving the county have quietly spread throughout Jiangzhou Prefecture and have even begun to reach other prefectures.

All was silent on the city wall.

Only the purple lightning arrow between Jiang Xingzhou's fingers emitted a faint crackling sound.

The scabbards of the soldiers guarding the city and the jade pendants at the waists of the scholars trembled slightly, as if in response to some invisible rhythm.

"[The forest is dark, the grass is rustling in the wind!]!"

Jiang Xingzhou closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and murmured.

On the city wall,

The five words resounded like thunder, and the entire city of Wuxi and the surrounding area within a hundred miles suddenly fell into darkness.

The torches on the city wall went out with a "hiss," and the soldiers were shocked to find that the blue bricks beneath their feet had turned into decaying leaves, and all they could hear was the rustling of grass.

It was pitch black, as if the world had fallen into a silent, dark forest.

A strong wind was blowing.

Jiang Xingzhou's hair-binding blue silk ribbon snapped, and amidst his flowing black hair, he resembled a god or demon.

As the first gust of wild wind, carrying the scent of humus, swept past the arrow in his hand, the Purple Lightning Phantom Arrow suddenly sprouted chilling bone spikes, and a blood-red feather bloomed from its tail!
"[The general draws his bow at night!]—!"

Jiang Xingzhou closed his eyes and softly recited the second line.

"boom!"

The pitch-black, deathly silent sky seemed to have been cracked open.

A crimson sunset cascaded down like a waterfall, turning the entire city of Wuxi into a tragic crimson.

A solitary and lonely phantom of a divine general stands in mid-air, his war bow wrapped with broken hemp rope, his iron armor covered with cracks etched by time, riding a warhorse through the dark forest.

The god will suddenly open his eyes in the sky.
That one glance seemed to carry the weight of a thousand years of history, filled with sorrow and helplessness.

The armor was mottled like withered leaves in autumn, and the war bow hung low like a waning moon about to fall.

He gazed at this small town in Jiangnan, and wherever his eyes fell, the city bricks bore the marks of the frontier winds and sands—the battlefield he had guarded his entire life, yet which no one remembered.

The frost that forms on the bowstring represents countless harsh winters that no one has witnessed.

The rust seeping from the nail crevices was soaked with the bugle call of reinforcements that would never come.

He is a night watchman forgotten by history!

His greatest sorrow was never dying in battle.

They didn't even have the right to die in battle; they were buried by the yellow sand and failed to leave an epic record in the annals of human history.

"The Great Han God, Flying General!"

On the city wall of Wuxi, everyone looked up at the sky in awe at the phantom image of the divine general.

At this moment, Jiang Xingzhou seemed to be possessed by a divine archer, his literary energy surging wildly and rising steadily.

A faint, gilded glow, the kind that only appears when someone passes the imperial examination, was subtly visible between his brows.

Jiang Xingzhou's entire body was radiating golden light from every pore, and the blue silk binding his hair had long since transformed into a roaring black dragon.

Even more terrifying was that the phantom arrow in his hand was drawn to its full extent in sync with the divine general's war bow, and ancient seal script appeared on the arrowhead!
"what--!"

When the turtle demon saw the phantom of a horse-riding archer god appear in the dark sky, it was stunned. Even its century-old cultivation made it tremble. That was definitely not an ordinary incense-burning deity!

It didn't know who it was!
But it sensed the presence of death!
It suddenly let out a shrill roar in terror, instantly flipped itself up from the ground, and fled frantically. Its four feet plowed ten feet of scorched ground, and in an instant it flew a hundred feet away, shooting wildly into a distant cloud of demonic mist.

"[Searching for Baiyu at dawn!]"

Jiang Xingzhou murmured and recited the third line of the poem.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning.

In his hand was a phantom arrow wreathed in purple lightning, already ten feet long, with a gleaming white feather at its tail.

Countless lightning bolts swirled around it!

The world was vast and utterly silent. It was as if only an omnipresent divine arrow was aimed at the tortoise demon general.

"Ouch!"

The turtle demon sensed that its shell was being targeted by arrows, and its four legs became even more frantic as it charged towards a cloud of demonic clouds and mist several miles away.

"[Not in the stone ridge!]"

Jiang Xingzhou's recitation was like a broken string or torn silk.

The poem is complete!

Arrow shot!

Whoosh!
The arrow left a trail of light a thousand feet long in the air, tearing the night sky in two.

"Pfft~!"

The turtle demon shattered its tempered tortoise shell, a yellow defense several feet thick, sending blood mist flying everywhere.

The gilded arrow that hovered in the void transformed into a bloody feather, like a leech that pierced through the entire demon's body, through its demon core, and into its very core.

The arrow's tail blossomed into a crimson flower!
It flew straight out and crashed heavily beneath the demon king Ao Li's mount, gushing blood from its mouth.
The turtle demon, unwilling to die, looked up at the demon king. He was just a hair's breadth away from hiding behind the demon king.

Its wailing stopped abruptly, and it could not utter a single word.

In an instant——

All demons fell silent.

A turbulent, boiling cloud of demonic mist, stretching for dozens of miles, instantly solidified into a mass of blood-red amber.

The demon soldiers, who had been shouting just moments before, maintained their ferocious expressions but could no longer utter a sound, silently putting away their swords, spears, and tridents.

Their faces showed fear!

The demon's legs trembled, its body shook, and the shrimp soldiers were so frightened that they urinated!

"The poem is complete [in Dafu]!"

"Summon the gods for war!"

Li Shouyi, the prefect of Changzhou, trembled. His official robes fluttered without wind, his brows quivered, and his expression was filled with disbelief.
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PS: A big chapter of 7500 words!
Asking for a monthly ticket!
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)