Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 96 A Young Man Should Be the Blade of the Holy Dynasty! Return to the City for the Trial!
Li Shouyi, the prefect of Changzhou, stood on the city wall, his wide sleeves fluttering in the wind, his knuckles trembling slightly with excitement.

"A War Poem Summoning the Gods—"

The echo of Prefect Li Shouyi's voice still reverberated between the crenellations of the city wall.

The black iron battle bow in Jiang Xingzhou's hand suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light.

The literary style is like an inverted Milky Way.

Brilliant starlight burst forth from the bow, tearing a dazzling golden line through the twilight.

Before the bowstring was drawn, the wind and thunder arrived first; the banners on the city wall fluttered without wind, as if echoing this extraordinary phenomenon.

In an instant,
The inscription "The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone Arrow" engraved on the bow suddenly came to life, with each character flowing like a dragon or snake, and the ink marks, sharp as gold hooks and iron strokes, even broke free from the bow body.

Those battle-ready incantations intertwined and swirled in the void.

It transforms into the phantom of a majestic Confucian temple, with upturned eaves and layered brackets, as if it has traveled through a thousand years to descend upon this place.

Within the illusory image of the Confucian Temple,

Incense sticks cascaded down like a waterfall.
Amidst the swirling purple mist, a towering, majestic archer-riding general emerges.

The divine general was clad in golden armor, his jade belt moved without wind, and the carved bow in his hand shone with the brilliance of the sun, moon, and stars.

He glared down at the tortoise demon general below the city, his gaze sharp as lightning, seemingly capable of piercing through the depths of hell.

But in the instant he looked back at the city, a tenderness that transcended a thousand years welled up in his eyes—a longing for the warmth of human life and a watchful gaze upon his homeland.

"Jiang Xingzhou's poem 'The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone-Edged Arrow' has miraculously caused the Flying General to manifest his divine power!!"

On the city wall, Zhou Shanzhang and Hu Ming, both scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, looked at each other with dismay.

Their eyes reflected each other's horrified faces, and even more so, the proud archer-riding god figure standing in the void.

The bamboo slips of the Spring and Autumn Annals that Hu Ming was holding tightly suddenly trembled violently.

The characters that read "The most important matters of the state are sacrifice and war" suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light, and the righteous spirit flowing between the bamboo slips echoed the phantom image of the Confucian Temple.

"Poetry can communicate with the divine, and literature can convey the Way. I never imagined that I would witness the divine manifestation described in the classics of sages and saints today!"

He gazed at the illusory image of the god general who looked down upon the heavens and earth, and murmured.

"Summon the gods to war!"

"Poetry brings fame!"

"The gods have manifested!"

“It’s a big deal!”

The people on the city wall were shaken and gasped in unison.

This is the highest realm of war poetry, an extremely rare and mysterious war poem that summons the gods!
Ordinary war poems merely borrow the power of heaven and earth, perhaps summoning wind and thunder, or gathering weapons.
However, the "Summoning Gods and War Poems" uses poetry as a guide to communicate with the power of ancient heroes, allowing them to transcend time and space and descend to the human world—a manifestation of divine power!
Such war poems not only require the poems themselves to contain extremely strong fighting spirit, but also require the writer to possess extraordinary talent in order to evoke a resonance with the gods in the unseen realm.

And at this moment——

The poem "The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone Arrow" actually summoned the divine image of General Li Guang!

"This poem is already extraordinary!"

"This arrow was no ordinary arrow!"

"This is an arrow borrowed from the gods!"

"With this arrow, demons and monsters flee in terror! No wonder that turtle demon, with its formidable defense, was still pierced and killed by a single arrow!"

The people on the city wall held their breath and stared intently at the phantom image of the archer-cavalry general.

"Summoning gods is extremely difficult!"

Throughout history, the deities enshrined in Confucian temples have no physical form and are maintained solely by incense offerings.

Each time they manifest and possess someone, it consumes the divine power they have accumulated over hundreds of years!

If a deity is willing to spare a hundred years of incense offerings to manifest its divine power, it must be because there is a sufficiently substantial offering—this offering is a battle poem for summoning the deity of a level [Da Fu] or higher!

Ordinary battle poems, even those at the "out-of-county" level, can only borrow the power of heaven and earth, but cannot truly incite the gods to descend to earth.

Only at the highest level can a poem or article serve as a medium to persuade the spirits of the Confucian Temple to willingly expend their divine power, cross boundaries, and manifest themselves to offer assistance!
"The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone Arrow" has already reached the level of a [Dafu]!

"Summoning the divine spirits of the previous dynasty to manifest their power."

Hu Mingyuan's voice was hoarse and deep, filled with undisguised shock, "This is a hundred times more difficult than awakening the gods of this dynasty!"

Summoning the gods of this dynasty is already no easy feat.

The spirits of heroes enshrined in the imperial ancestral temples, receiving incense offerings from the entire nation, still have the opportunity to manifest their divine power.

But the gods of the previous dynasty?
With the change of dynasties, many deities from previous dynasties were often removed from the official worship of the court and only kept in local temples, resulting in a sharp decline in incense offerings!
If there is insufficient incense offerings, the gods will find it difficult to maintain their existence and will be unwilling to easily expend their divine power to manifest their divine power!
unless
The poems and essays he composed truly touched the deepest obsessions of the gods!

It describes what the gods of the previous dynasty were proud of throughout their lives, which resonated greatly with them and made them even more glorious.

Only in this way can these nearly dormant heroic spirits be willing to burn their remaining divine power and descend across realms!
And at this moment...

The poem "The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone Arrow" actually made General Li Guang, the famous general of the Han Dynasty, draw his bow again, transcending a thousand years!
"This arrow represents Li Guang's unfulfilled ambition and lifelong obsession!"

"This arrow is a re-enactment of his legendary life, '[At dawn he searched for the white feather, only to find it embedded in the stone]'!"

The arrow has been released!
A divine manifestation, traversing a thousand years of time and space in an instant!
"Zheng——!"

The purple arrow trembled like a dragon's roar, and at its tip, the final battlefield from thousands of years ago appeared—

Amidst broken halberds and shattered armor, the Flying General stood alone amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the tattered Han banners fluttering behind him.

One hundred thousand demon soldiers surged in like a tide, but his quiver was empty, with only one white-feathered arrow remaining!

At this moment, the phantom of the god clad in tattered armor slowly raised his bow—the arrow was aimed at the great demon court that he had failed to conquer back then!

"So that's how the poem is!"

Prefect Li Shouyi suddenly understood the true meaning of the poem. He was so shocked that he knelt down heavily, tears streaming down his face.

"Li Guang's last battle was thwarted by the Demon Court's grand formation, resulting in his failure!"

His voice was choked with emotion, yet every word was uttered with heartbreaking sorrow.

"This poem"

"It fully expresses the greatest regret of General Fei's life!"

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

[The forest is dark, the grass rustles in the wind, the general draws his bow at night.]

At dawn I searched for the white feather, but it was lost among the stone's edges.
Has it written down all the regrets?

Hu Yuanjun of Changzhou Prefecture, still bewildered, repeatedly sang the song "Stone Arrow" in a low voice.

At first glance, it seems quite plain.

In a straightforward narrative, the author uses a small incident that General Fei was most proud of in his life to fully express his bravery and fearlessness!

In the "Biography of General Li" in the Records of the Grand Historian, a line of gilded characters recorded this small incident: "[Guang went hunting and saw a stone in the grass. He thought it was a tiger demon and shot it, hitting the stone with his arrowhead."

Read it again.

But it was like a thunderclap.
"Do not!

This isn't praise, it's resentment!

Suddenly, Hu Yuanjun burst into tears, "This 'Song of the Frontier'..."
That peerless divine arrow, which should have pierced the throat of the Demon King of the Demon Court, ultimately sank into the cold stone ridge—failing to slay the Demon Saint's head, destroy the Barbarian Demon King's court, and establish a peerless military achievement on the battlefield of the Great Han Holy Dynasty!
Within this legendary tale of bravery lies the deepest regret in the Flying General's heart!

This poem subtly reflects the Flying General's lifelong regret, his unforgettable pain and remorse! No wonder it moved the gods to manifest!

Upon hearing this, all the scholars on the city wall were deeply shaken.

Only then did they understand why a song called "The Ballad of the Frontier" could awaken the spirits of heroes who had been silent for thousands of years!

—Because the line in the poem, "At dawn I searched for the white feather, only to find it embedded in the stone's edge," describes more than just the legend of Li Guang shooting an arrow that left no trace.
It also alludes to his final battle, which ended in failure, like a stone sinking into the sea!
"So that's how it is—!"

Hu Yuanjun slammed his hand on the battlement, leaving a deep palm print on the bluestone.

He was completely unaware.
He simply looked up and laughed loudly, the sound of which made the copper bells on the eaves of the city tower jingle.

Recite the poem three times!
Such a simple poem evokes an image in my mind: incense smoke rises from the night sky, and an old general with a white beard is seen repeatedly wiping the arrowheads under the moon. The image of that valiant cavalryman leaping on horseback and shooting arrows vaguely forms the phantom of a fully drawn giant bow!

This scene was etched in Hu Yuanjun's mind and could never be forgotten.

Brother Zhou!
Jiang Xingzhou's poem is truly unforgettable!
It will surely spread throughout the surrounding prefectures within three days!
This prompted countless people to spontaneously go to the Confucian Temple to worship the Flying General. From then on, when people paid homage to the Flying General, they would loudly recite this text.

Such a young man, born in your Jiangzhou Prefecture! If he were in Changzhou Prefecture, I would definitely take him as my last disciple and teach him with utmost care!

Hu Ming wiped away his tears, sighing with a mixture of admiration and envy.

"Haha! This is the time of our destiny!"

Zhou Shanzhang held a Qingfeng Jinshi sword, his beard and hair bristling, his official robe embroidered with mountains and rivers. He looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "I have already recognized him as my nephew. What do you want to do about it?"
Besides, with his talent, what can you and I teach him?

His first teacher was the venerable Pei Jingyi, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy!

"Master Pei's disciple?"
No wonder. With our talents as scholars who have passed the imperial examinations, it's impossible for us to teach him!

Hu Ming suddenly shook his head and smiled bitterly.

The stars of literature are not meant to be taught by ordinary people like them.

That's all they can do.
It's just to give them a ride!
Gu Zhimian stood below the city wall, deeply shaken.

He looked up at the figure standing atop the city wall, hands clasped behind his back—

Jiang Xingzhou held a large bow in his hand, his robes fluttering in the night wind, the moonlight gilding him with a silver edge, making him seem like a banished immortal descending to earth.

"Brother Jiang's appearance is truly divine!"

Gu Zhi noticed that the sword at his waist was humming excitedly in its sheath.

He suddenly realized that some of his classmates were born to be admired like stars.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Lu Ming was amazed, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, he took the wine flask from his waist, raised it high, and took three big gulps!

"Brother Jiang's poem is absolutely brilliant! We should drink three large cups of wine in celebration!"

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who could believe it—"

"A mere twenty characters, yet the poem is so powerful, it seems divine intervention could evoke such might from heaven and earth!"

It was truly a fortunate thing for him to witness the power of this divine war poem firsthand.

Some poems can only be truly appreciated when you witness the arrow piercing the sky and hear the earth shattering with your own ears—only then can you understand their unstoppable power!

If you only see it in a copy, you can't fully appreciate the shock of this moment!

This is the true "war poem"!
It's not just empty talk and romantic notions, but a powerful and decisive statement, every word carrying immense weight and every sentence like thunderclap!
"[The general drew his bow at night... and it embedded itself in the stone!]"

Cao An was already completely infatuated.

He shook his head, as if in a dream, unconsciously repeating lines of poetry.

"Today I have come across a poem, 'The Ballad of the Frontier - The Stone-Edged Arrow,' and witnessed the Flying General's arrow piercing the sky—"

"I have no regrets even if I die!"

The night is like ink,

On the majestic city gate tower of Wuxi County, banners flutter in the wind.

From Jiangzhou Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture to Hangzhou Prefecture, the blue and white robes of thousands of students and scholars from more than ten prefectures and counties fluttered like snow in the north wind, resembling the surging tide of the Qiantang River or the rising waves of the sea of ​​clouds.

The students looked up, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

Tang Yanqing, who ranked first among the candidates in the Suzhou Prefecture examination, opened his jade-ribbed fan with a "click" and inscribed a poem titled "Stone-Edged Arrow" on its surface.

After he finished writing, he just stared intently at the figure standing atop the city wall.

"I had long heard that a student from Jiangyin County had achieved the highest score in the imperial examinations, and had already written two essays that were published in the county and two that were published in the prefecture."

I initially thought it was just hype.

Seeing you today, I know what you said was true.

Tang Yanqing felt a bitter taste in her throat.

When the grand examination for the Jinling Prefecture in Jiangnan arrives, this person will surely be his greatest rival in the examination for the title of Juren and Jieyuan!
"What a fine first-place candidate in the imperial examination from Jiangyin!"

A scholar from Hangzhou suddenly burst into laughter, but his laughter was tinged with sobs and sorrow. "Today, seeing Jiang Lang, I realize how mediocre we have been after ten years of hard study! What have we written in these past ten years!"

"boom!"

The arrows killed the turtle demon on the spot.

The accompanying literary energy was like a tidal wave crashing against the shore, sweeping away the demonic mist within a hundred feet and revealing the mount of the Demon King Ao Li!

The purple-lightning, white-feathered arrow that pierced through the turtle demon general was embedded in the throne, its tail still buzzing and vibrating.

at this time,

In Changzhou Prefecture, the bell of the Confucian Temple rang.

"Dong dong dong dong!"

Waves of sound swept over us.

The bell tolled in Wuxi County.

On the city walls of Wuxi, tens of thousands of armored soldiers suddenly found that their spears were getting hot, and the two characters [Loyalty] and [Courage] inscribed on the spear tips emitted a foot-long streak of crimson light.

The powerful shockwave from the bell reverberated back and forth.

That eerie mist stretching for dozens of miles
The army of countless demon soldiers and generals was thrown into disarray by the sound of the bell at the Changzhou Confucian Temple, their banners fluttering wildly, their formations disoriented and tilting to the left and right.

The demon king Ao Li's expression changed drastically, and he finally showed fear.

It was in the East Sea and had never heard the bells of the human Confucian temple before. Unexpectedly, the sound of the city bells actually disrupted its demon army's formation.

"hateful!"

"Damn human student!"

"Roar--!"

Ao Li roared to the sky, his golden vertical pupils twisted with rage, and blood tears rolled down his cheeks like lava.

It stared intently at the figure on the city wall—

On the city gate tower of Wuxi County,

Jiang Xingzhou, dressed in a blue robe, stood holding a bow, his brows furrowed with indifference and disdain, a lingering trace of arrow's aura clinging to his robes, as he gazed at him with the bow in hand.

It was this young man named Jiang Xingzhou who astounded the world with a poem and killed the turtle demon general with an arrow!
"How dare a mere student like yourself..."

Ao Li's voice was like ice that had stood for millennia, yet anyone could hear the suppressed tremor within it.

Its gaze swept across the ground—

The turtle demon's corpse collapsed like a mountain, and the purple lightning arrow was still hissing!
Even more terrifying was that the morale of the entire Taihu Lake demon army was shattered by this single arrow.
Falling apart!

The demon soldiers trembled, looking around with fear in their eyes.

They don't understand any profound poetic principles; they only know—

That young boy shot and killed their strongest turtle demon general with a single arrow!
If another arrow is fired, who will be able to stop it?

Ao Li whirled around, his golden eyes blazing with fury: "Jiang Xingzhou! You—"

On the city wall, the young man slowly raised his eyes.

Just one look.

All demons were utterly silent!

"The demon army has already cowered!"
kill--!"

Jiang Xingzhou let out a sharp shout, and frost instantly froze wherever his warbow pointed!

The bowstring trembled, frost flowers exploded, and countless ice crystals poured down like a galaxy, instantly condensing into a three-foot-long ice arrow at his fingertips—

The arrow was aimed directly at the Demon King Ao Li!

In an instant, the entire battlefield fell silent.

Within the demon army formation, countless pairs of scarlet demon eyes suddenly contracted, and fear spread like a plague.

One arrow killed the turtle demon general!
The second arrow was aimed directly at the demon king Ao Li!
Ao Li's golden vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and the demonic mist beneath him surged, showing a faint tendency to retreat!
"boom--!"

The icy arrows shot through the air, freezing the air and spreading frost wherever they passed!
A single arrow chills the heavens, terrifying ten thousand demons!

In an instant,
"kill--!"

The gates of Wuxi suddenly burst open!

The three thousand scholars in blue robes inside the city seemed to hear the command of a general amidst a vast army, and immediately rushed towards the demonic fog outside the city.

Holding swords and bamboo slips, they chanted battle poems, each word like thunder, each line like the wind—

"[The wind rises!]!"

"[Lightning Strike]!"

In an instant, literary energy surged, and wind and thunder roared!

"Now is the time for a man to make his mark and achieve great things!"

Prefect Li of Changzhou Prefecture charged out of the city gate first, his bronze sword clanging like a dragon, and a fierce wind raged wherever the blade pointed.

"kill--!"

He let out a long roar, and behind him, tens of thousands of armored soldiers surged like a raging tide, their battle flags fluttering, their swords flashing like snow, and their arrows raining down!

Tens of thousands of armored soldiers, waving battle flags and wielding swords, spears, halberds, bows, and long arrows, charged out of the city with a whooshing sound.

The mountains and fields were filled with the sounds of battle!
Within the demon army formation,

The Demon King Ao Li's pupils shrank suddenly, and the demonic mist churned violently.

It never imagined—

How dare a mere small county town like Wuxi launch a counterattack against its demon army!
I never imagined that a mere novice could ignite such fighting spirit in the human race with a single arrow!

"Roar--!"

Ao Li roared angrily, his golden eyes blazing with ferocity, and his demonic aura soared into the sky, ready to lead his army into battle!
But the demon army... is already in chaos!
The demon soldiers and generals stared at the overwhelming human army that was charging towards them, their eyes filled with fear.

They were scared!

I fear the boiling fighting spirit that fills the entire city!
What they feared even more was... that young man standing with a bow, who would shoot down their demon king with a single arrow!
The eerie fog stretched for dozens of miles, banners fluttered wildly, and everyone retreated in fear.

The golden chariot of the demon king Ao Li suddenly sank three inches—the nine-headed seahorse demon pulling the chariot was so frightened by Jiang Xingzhou's arrow that his legs went weak and he knelt down.

They were adorned with coral crowns on their heads, and their eyes reflected images that made even demons tremble.

"Edict!"

On the opposite side, a lame old scholar who was at the forefront was shouting excitedly, throwing out a bamboo scroll of the Analects, which suddenly unfolded into a three-zhang-long light screen.

The thirteen characters above, "[The commander of an army may be captured, but the will of a common man cannot be taken away!]", were burning with a dazzling white light, illuminating the dozens of armored soldiers around them.

In an instant,
"kill--!"

The armored soldiers' eyes instantly turned bloodshot, they were filled with superhuman courage, their morale soared tenfold, and there was not a trace of fear or melancholy in their eyes.

"kill--!"

The dozen or so yamen runners from Wuxi County, wielding their fire-and-water clubs, had all the bloodstains from yesterday's beatings of the demon race resurface, solidifying into grotesque wolf-like phantoms on the clubheads. Filled with hatred, they charged towards the demon army.

crazy!

The morale of the human race throughout Wuxi County soared, and they were all engulfed in a frenzied, fearless madness.

"Humph!"

The demon king Ao Li suddenly looked up and saw that the dark clouds in the sky had been torn open with a circular gap by some force.

The bright moonlight poured down through the gaps in the clouds.

A straight path of light was shone outside Wuxi City—connecting precisely to the tip of Jiang Xingzhou's icy arrow and its brow.

"Jiangzhou Prefecture, Jiang Xingzhou! I will remember you!"

"Withdraw—!" Demon King Ao Li turned and left without expression.

His nine-headed golden sea monster mount suddenly reared up with a neigh, its hooves crushing three demon soldiers who couldn't get out of the way in time, and then it turned and galloped towards Taihu Lake.

The White-Eyed Marquis's face was deathly pale. Holding a bronze battle axe, he turned and left without uttering a sound.

It has lost the will to fight.

Thousands of years ago, when it was a young demon, it heard its elders from the tiger demon clan mention this human god general at night.

Li Guang, the Flying General!
That was a divine archer and cavalry general from the Great Han Dynasty. He had made great contributions and was enshrined as a deity of the Great Han Dynasty and worshipped in the Great Han Martial Temple. He killed countless demon soldiers and generals back then.

A son of a good family during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, he was a General of the Palace Guard and one of the Sixty-Four Generals of the Temple of Martial Arts!
To this day, the Northern Tiger Clan's Demon Court still displays murals of the Flying General.

A demon was pierced through three hills by an arrow and pinned to the cliff face!
When ten thousand demons charged, they were blasted into bloody thorns by a barrage of arrows!
The most terrifying thing is that in every corner of the murals, there is a silhouette of a man drawing a bow and nocking an arrow—they don't even dare to depict his face!
These murals are meant to firmly remember the fear that this human god brought to the northern tiger demons, causing them to flee at the mere sight of him.

The mere mention of its name still sends shivers down the spines of countless northern demons.

Marquis Bai'e never expected that...
Having come from the north, I was surprised to encounter a young scholar in Wuxi, a small town in southern China, who wrote a battle poem to summon the spirits of the Flying General, who then descended to manifest his divine power!
In this small county town, the wind carries the scent of sand and gravel from beyond the Great Wall, and withered wild grasses from the borderlands sprout out of nowhere from the cracks in the city bricks.

The spine of the white-browed marquis creaked and trembled.

With each step it took, an ice flower bloomed beneath its feet—not from condensed demonic power, but from the fear seeping from the depths of its very bones.

Those ice flowers contain countless lingering images of demonic souls, all of whom were great northern demons who were shot down by General Li Guang hundreds of years ago.

This terrified even its demonic core!

"Bang!"

Bai'e Hou's bronze battle axe suddenly slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

The demon general who once slaughtered three counties in the north is now unable to even hold his natal weapon.

"Roar~!"

Finally, the White-browed Marquis let out a howl like a wounded beast, revealing his true form as a ten-zhang-long, piercing-eyed white-browed tiger. But his once majestic tail was tightly tucked between his hind legs as he galloped wildly towards Taihu Lake.

Too shameful!

Its eyes were filled with utter humiliation and resentment!

The demon generals and demon commanders fled in panic.

A vast expanse of eerie mist, stretching for tens of miles, surged and retreated towards Taihu Lake in a frantic, disorganized manner, like a stray dog.

The chaotic sounds of armor clashing echoed continuously from within the thick black fog.

The fleeing demon army trampled each other.

A boar demon with a blue face and tusks accidentally fell and was instantly trampled into a pulp by its kin who surged from behind, its blood splattering onto the reeds on the shore of Taihu Lake.

The demon soldier's essence and blood caused those withered reeds to instantly sprout sharp barbs.

The most disheveled were the clam-woman demon soldiers.

The magnificent pearls they had formed with demonic power crumbled and fell into the mud as they fled. The pearls exploded upon landing, scattering the shells of more than a dozen shrimp people.

"Archers, fire a volley!"

Jiang Xingzhou, holding a war bow, charged and fired, then pulled out a black iron icy arrow from his quiver and shot it out, shouting loudly in the middle of the army formation.

"Whizzing!"

Hundreds of arrows rained down from the human archers.
A black-feathered arrow whistled through the air, the runes wrapped around its shaft igniting crimson flames and ice crystals as it flew.

Within the demonic mist,

The thirty-six shrimp soldiers in the front row had just raised their rusty tridents when arrows pierced the gaps in their bluish-gray shells—"crack!" The shells split open with a series of sounds, like firecrackers exploding on New Year's Eve.

Large numbers of shrimp soldiers fell, their demonic blood splattering onto the shallows of Taihu Lake, corroding the sand and gravel into honeycomb-like holes.

A demon shield engraved with the words "[Lake Patrol Commander]" exploded in the center, and the eight eyes of a crab general behind the shield widened at the same time as he was pierced through the heart by seven arrows.

A crossbow bolt, twelve feet long, pierced through demon armor and shot out with a whoosh!

"Plop~!"

An ancient turtle demon, having cultivated for a hundred years, knelt on the shallows, blood splattering from its shell. The broken demon-armored crossbow bolt had pierced its supposedly invulnerable shell!

It was filled with immense regret!
I shouldn't have joined in this fun, coming all the way from Dongting Lake to Taihu Lake to attend Ao Li's grand ceremony for establishing his government.

"Taihu Lake is our human territory; how can we allow monsters to run rampant here!"

Jiang Xingzhou let out a cold shout, his fingertips frosted over again, and he continued to draw his bow and shoot swiftly.

The place where it was shot
Demon soldiers and demon civilians kept falling down with a series of "plop" sounds.

Blood stained the long dike, and demon corpses littered the fields!

The Wuxi garrison pursued them relentlessly, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

The Taihu demon army was already terrified and routed, fleeing in panic, abandoning their armor and weapons.

"Chase--!"

Jiang Xingzhou stood on the lakeside, his war bow pointed diagonally, his eyes still gleaming with a cold light.

Behind them, three thousand scholars' battle robes were stained with blood, their swords still sharp. Tens of thousands of soldiers were filled with fighting spirit, their blades gleaming in the sunlight!
But see,

On the shores of Taihu Lake, demonic blood soaked the ten-mile stretch of shallow water.

More than a thousand corpses of demon soldiers and generals were left behind along the way.

The fleeing demon army abandoned their armor and weapons, and their heavy demon soldiers' halberds, stuck in the mud, quickly rotted away like withered trees.

Several tattered demon flags were stuck diagonally by the water. The words "Overturning rivers and seas, awe-inspiring in all directions" on the demon flags had faded to a pale white and were blown away by the lake wind, turning into ashes and disappearing.

"You escaped pretty quickly!"

Jiang Xingzhou sneered, stepping over the shattered demon armor scattered on the ground, his boots stained with demon blood. The quiver at his waist trembled slightly, the fletching of the ancient black iron arrows faintly gleaming white.

now,

Demon King Ao Li and Bai E Hou led the remaining tens of thousands of demon soldiers and generals to flee into the bottom of Taihu Lake, where they dared not show their faces again.

Lady Qingyao had long sensed that things were not going well. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the demonic fog, she led her demon soldiers and generals away from Taihu Lake and returned to Niuzhu Palace on the Yangtze River.

Hundreds of demon corpses floated to the surface of the water, causing ripples.

Through the murky lake water, one could vaguely see the demon soldiers and generals trembling in the deep water.

"call!"

Taihu Lake was calm and still, its vast expanse of blue water without even a single bubble.

A gentle breeze rustled through the reeds.

The wind rustles the reeds, their snow-white fluffy ears skimming across the lake's surface.

The lake surface, which had been churning with demonic blood just moments before, was now as smooth as a newly polished bronze mirror. Several broken arrow shafts floated on the water, gently bumping against each other by the ripples, producing a clear, bell-like sound.

Jiang Xingzhou bent down and picked up half a demon scale.
But then a soft rustling sound came from the reeds.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an empty shrimp soldier shell stuck between reeds, the flesh and blood inside the shell having been completely destroyed by the fire spell arrows.

Suddenly, several real green shrimp emerged from beneath the reeds and mud, their pincers gripping the lingering eerie bubbles. With a "pop," they burst open, releasing a faint, salty, fishy smell of lake water.

They watched in terror as groups of human soldiers, armed and armored, huddled together in the mud on the lakeshore.

"All troops halt!"

Prefect Li of Changzhou Prefecture led his troops in pursuit to the shore of Taihu Lake. Upon seeing the demon soldiers and generals disappear into the deep water, he immediately ordered them to stop.

The command flag swiftly cut through the lake breeze, and the golden bell at the corner of the flag stopped abruptly.

The ten thousand soldiers stopped in unison, the sound of their iron boots hitting the ground causing ripples to spread across the reeds.

Prefect Li swept his sleeve across the lake, revealing a [Demon Aura Bronze Mirror] within.

But then, the bronze mirror reflected a blurry scene from a thousand feet below:
Ao Li's remaining nine thousand demon soldiers and generals were huddled inside a crystal palace.

The four characters "Taihu Yaoting" on the palace gate plaque have cracked open.

But whenever the bronze mirror's spiritual light tried to delve deeper, black mist would surge out from behind the cracked plaque, blurring the mirror.

"The Jiaolong demon army is most skilled in naval warfare. We are not good swimmers, so we cannot pursue them into the water!"

"We need 30,000 naval troops, as well as hundreds of warships and large ships, to be able to enter Taihu Lake and hunt down this evil army."

"Not bad!"

Zhou Yuanjun, Hu Yuanjun, and the others nodded in agreement, not wanting to risk entering Taihu Lake.

The students from their respective academies are not naval warriors skilled in naval warfare. If they were to enter the water to encircle and suppress the demon soldiers, the casualties would be enormous!
"Our army has achieved its initial victory!"

Prefect Li addressed the crowd, saying, "Today's victory is all thanks to Jiang Xingzhou's poem 'The Ballad of the Frontier - Stone Arrow,' which invokes the divine spirits of General Fei to intimidate the demon race."

We will return to Wuxi County and build a temple to commemorate General Fei, to thank the gods for their protection!

"it is good!"

"nice!"

Thousands of scholars raised their sleeves and shouted, while swords and spears, like a forest, pointed straight at the sky.

They surrounded Jiang Xingzhou and cheered.

The appearance of the Flying General has had a tremendous impact on the morale of the soldiers and civilians throughout the city.

The night was as dark as iron, and the north wind howled.

Li Shouyi, the prefect of Changzhou, sat high on his warhorse, his black armor gleaming in the cold, with tens of thousands of soldiers behind him arrayed like a forest, their swords and halberds menacing.

Following closely behind were Zhou Yuanjun, Fu Yuanjun, Jiang Xingzhou, and thousands of other scholars and students, their ranks surging like waves.

No one spoke; only footsteps pounded through the frost and snow, their muffled echoes like thunder.

On the city walls of Wuxi County, the flames of war still raged, and the banners were half-furled.

Li Shouyi reined in his horse at the foot of the city wall, raised his head to look at the sky, and the lines between his brows were as deep as if they had been carved by a knife.

The night wind swept through the armored soldiers, bringing with it a chilling atmosphere. Even the guards on the city walls held their breath, not daring to make a move.

He shouted, "Choose a site for the Flying General!"

"Bring me arrows!"

In the Wuxi County Treasury, a Han Dynasty whistling arrow, which had been sealed there until now and was considered a treasure of the treasury, suddenly broke out of its box.

Li Shouyi solemnly handed the Han Dynasty whistling arrow to Jiang Xingzhou, saying, "Jiang Xingzhou, you have summoned the gods to manifest their power, so you shall choose a site for the Flying General's Temple!"

"promise!"

Jiang Xingzhou responded in a deep voice, his five fingers snapping shut, and the arrow was already on the bowstring.

The bow was drawn to its fullest extent, the string vibrated like thunder, and a whistling arrow shot into the air, tearing a sharp, cold light through the dark night.

Before the whistling of the arrows had faded, the distant mountains faintly echoed back, as if heaven and earth were responding in unison.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew thousands of feet into the sky.

It landed on an open space in the west of the city, finally landing with a "thud" in the center of the chosen temple site.

The ground where the feathers fell gleamed—it was originally a hard layer of rammed earth, but now it reflected the starry sky of the Han Dynasty border like a body of water, and the entire open space was suddenly covered with the white frost of grass found only in the frontier.

The soil at the temple foundation had a distinctive metallic smell, typical of the border regions, and a handful of it could be sifted to reveal sand-like fragments of arrowheads.

"Erect a temple—!"

The prefect of Changzhou gave an order that resounded throughout the surrounding area.

Several scholars, well-versed in the art of ink painting, unfurled their scrolls, and the "Luban Classic" was spread out in a flurry of activity.

Soon, the temple's layout was vividly depicted—three courtyards with double eaves, and animal-shaped roof ornaments adorning the ridge, clearly in accordance with ancient design.

Upon seeing this, thousands of young men and tens of thousands of soldiers rolled up their sleeves and tied their hair, some carrying beams and others piling bricks and stones.

The rough hemp ropes dug into his palms, and the sound of ramming earth mingled with the recitation of the Book of Songs. In this cold night, a temple dedicated to the Flying General was forcibly built.

"Sacrifice—General Fei!"

Jiang Xingzhou stood at the head of the crowd, leading them in three bows and nine kowtows, the three sticks of green smoke in his hand as straight as swords.

On the altar, the scroll of the war poem "The Ballad of the Frontier" unfurled without wind, each word radiating golden light: "[The forest darkens, the grass rustles in the wind, the general draws his bow at night.]"
In front of the temple, a stone archway suddenly trembled with a "humming" sound.

"We respectfully invite the spirit of the Flying General to enter the temple!"

Li Shouyi, clad in black armor, knelt down with a resounding thud.
Behind them, tens of thousands of armored soldiers simultaneously knelt on one knee, the sound of their armor plates clashing like the clash of swords, as they raised their heads and roared towards the northern frontier.

Five thousand scholars in blue robes bowed in unison, each holding an incense stick.

The incense smoke from over 100,000 people condensed into a phantom image in mid-air.

The Flying General Temple shone with golden light, and an incense burner in front of the temple hummed loudly.

Tens of thousands of incense ash shot into the sky.

The city walls solidified in the air into a blurry border fortress, with the Chinese character "Han" fluttering beneath the ancient, illusory city walls.

A majestic phantom rose from the incense offerings—its iron armor stained with frost, its bow taut like a full moon, it was none other than the spirit of the Flying General who once split a rock with a single arrow!
A phantom of a golden-armored divine general drew his bow and nocked an arrow, striking fiercely at the barbarian cavalry.

The water ripples forming a picture of "the fleeing barbarian cavalry" are a re-enactment of the battlefield where Li Guang decisively defeated the barbarian cavalry at Yanmen Pass.

"May Heaven bless the Great Zhou!"

The three armies roared, their thunderous roar causing the snow piled on the city walls to crumble and fall.

An old soldier struck a shield with the back of his sword, a scholar knocked the ground with his inkstone, and 100,000 people of Wuxi prostrated themselves in worship like a tide.

a long time,

The phantom of the Flying General finally began to dissipate, but before it completely disappeared, its gaze swept across Taihu Lake as if it were a tangible object.

With just that one glance, Ao Li, who was in the Crystal Palace, spat out a mouthful of golden blood, screamed in agony, and turned deathly pale.

In Wuxi County, a grand banquet was held to celebrate the defeat of the Taihu Lake demon army and the construction of a new temple dedicated to the Flying General.

Bottom of Taihu Lake.

Crystal Dragon Palace

"Report——!"

A crab general, missing its left claw, staggered into the hall, its shell riddled with arrows. It gasped and shouted, "Thirty miles east of Taihu Lake, not far from Wuxi County, the human race has built a new temple to the Flying General to suppress my Taihu Lake Demon Court!" Before it finished speaking, its shell suddenly burst open, and it crashed to the ground.

Ao Li was so angry that he vomited blood.

What enraged it most was that the words of the poem "Stone Arrow" kept flashing in the reflected pupils, each word like a nail drilling into its brain.

"Fine, I'll just have to bear it!"

"He was publicly humiliated by a mere student, but with a single poem of summoning spirits, he defeated a demon general."

"Let's be patient for a while, recruit soldiers and expand the demon army before making any further moves."

"Once I command 100,000 demon soldiers and generals, why should I care about the humans in the surrounding prefectures?!"

It has only recently established its government and court, with no more than ten thousand demon soldiers and generals under its command. Its foundation is too shallow, and its strength is still weak.

"Open the secret vault!"

The dragon's roar shook the entire palace, causing dust to fall in abundance.

The twelve hawksbill turtle demons worked together to push open a sand-covered door at the bottom of Taihu Lake, revealing a mountain of ancient battlefield relics inside.

Piles of broken spears and halberds, mountains of rusted arrowheads, and even demon armor studded with arrows.

These are weapons that were swallowed by Taihu Lake during naval battles throughout history, and they are now gleaming with an eerie bloody light.

"Pass on the order!"
Outside the palace, a banner was erected to summon demons! Any demon soldiers or demon civilians who pledged allegiance would be accepted!

Ao Li gritted his teeth and said, "Go to the Dragon Palace of the East Sea and borrow three thousand shrimp soldiers, crab generals and demon eggs. Borrow eight hundred sunken ships from the Demon Court of the East Sea. Also, summon all those little demons and generals from Hongze Lake and Dongting Lake to be at my command!"

"When I command an army of 100,000, I will make that Jiang Yin scholar, Jiang Xingzhou, kneel and present his poems!"

The voice has not fallen,

Suddenly, the plaque of Ao Li's palace fell down, shattering half of the coral spirit.

Ao Li was so angry his chest felt like it was about to explode.

"Report——!"

A hoarse, urgent roar pierced the jubilation, and the horse's hooves trampled the incense ash scattered on the ground.

The scout dismounted, his arms wrapped in a silk brocade, soaked with sweat: "An urgent order from the Governor of Jiangnan Circuit!"

The joyous banquet on the city wall suddenly fell silent.

Li Shouyi clenched his five fingers, and the bronze wine vessel twisted and deformed in his palm.

The governor's vermilion seal, gleaming like congealed blood in the firelight—clearly inscribed on it were:

"Ao Li, the fourteenth son of the Dragon King of the East Sea, established his own government and court in Taihu Lake."

After consulting with the imperial court, I have dispatched naval forces and warships from various prefectures to encircle and annihilate them! You are not to start a war without authorization!
The prefectural examination is approaching; students of all prefectural academies must immediately return to their respective prefectures to prepare for the examination!

"Preparing for the prefectural examination?"

Li Shouyi suddenly burst into laughter, "What a fine 'no unauthorized war'!" His face turned furious, and he slammed his fist on the stone table in front of him, shattering the stones.

"Very well! Since it is the governor's order, we shall obey."

Zhou Yuanjun gently placed the teacup on the table, a hint of solemnity in his expression.

The air inside the city gate tower was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, but it couldn't mask the chilling aura in his voice.

"The demon king Ao Li was severely weakened by this battle, and it is unlikely that he will be able to cause trouble again within half a year."

He pondered for a moment and said, "The task of eliminating the remaining rebels will be handled by the governor, who will coordinate the troops from all prefectures and lay a tight net."

He suddenly stood up, his wide sleeves fluttering, and said, "Pass on my order: all students of the prefectures are to immediately prepare to return home. The prefectural examinations are imminent; academic pursuits should be the priority!"

The last sentence was spoken with absolute certainty, resonating powerfully among the beams and pillars of the city tower.

Students from various prefectures in Jiangnan bid farewell, packed their bags, and embarked on their journeys home.

"Brother Jiang, until we meet again!"

Tang Yanqing, a young scholar from Suzhou, flicked his long sleeves, cupped his hands, and laughed heartily, "When we meet again in Jinling Prefecture of Jiangnan, we will surely drink and discuss the Dao!"

Before he finished speaking, a bamboo strip suddenly slipped from his sleeve and transformed into a small green-scaled boat upon landing. The boat's hull shimmered with spiritual patterns, and a waterway map of "Suzhou-Jinling" faintly appeared.

Tang Yanqing leaped into the air, stepping onto the boat. The small boat rose with the wind, carrying him away through the sky.

"treasure!"

Jiang Xingzhou watched him leave, then turned around and joined the students from Jiangzhou Prefecture.

Each person used their own methods, some riding on clouds and mist, others on magical treasures, and in an instant, rosy light flowed as they all flew towards Jiangzhou.

As dusk settled,

The city walls of Wuxi.

As dusk settled, lanterns on the city tower lit up, casting swaying light and shadow on the ancient blue brick walls.

Suddenly, a clear, long cry pierced the sky, and three wild geese flapped their wings and swept across the sunset, scattering firefly-like specks of light between their wings, which were reflected on the mottled city wall.

Prefect Li of Changzhou stood with his hand on his sword, the bronze scabbard at his waist gleaming with a dark luster in the afterglow.

He gazed into the distance and saw students from Jiangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places setting off one after another, some riding flying swords like rainbows, others riding spirit boats soaring through the sky, their figures gradually disappearing amidst the rosy clouds.

"Jiang Xingzhou!"

Prefect Li's gaze deepened as he suddenly recalled a prophecy he had seen while strolling through the Imperial Observatory of the Great Zhou Dynasty after passing the imperial examination—

"A young poet who achieves great literary talent should be the blade of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

As the evening breeze swept across the battlements, a slight smile played on his lips.

This young man is just beginning to show his talent; given time, he will surely become the sharpest sword in this glorious holy dynasty!
-
P.S.: 10,000 words!

I've finally written a 10,000-word chapter!
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)