A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Cheng Yaojin and his two companions followed the hoofprints on the road, only to find a fork in the road ahead, with numerous hoofprints at both forks.

Cheng Yaojin was puzzled. Which of these two roads was it?

The three of them looked at each other, none of them knowing the way.

Cheng Yaojin randomly chose a path and spurred his horse to chase after it. Wang Bodang and the other man quickly followed. After walking for a while, they spotted a troop in the distance, but the flags of this troop did not seem to belong to their Wagang.

Cheng Yaojin slowed his pace and followed, only to discover that this army was actually Wang Shichong's.

According to intelligence, Wang Shichong should still be in Luoyang, so how did he end up in Jiangdu?

Cheng Yaojin sensed something fishy was going on, so he followed them.

Not far from Jiangdu City, Wang Shichong's army was stationed there. He personally led a small elite force, avoiding the sight of the main force, and opened a secret passage in a clump of grass, then crawled into the passage.

Cheng Yaojin narrowed his eyes. "Let's go, we'll follow them!"

"Wang Shichong was a great general of the Sui Dynasty. This secret passage might lead directly to the palace. Let's follow it and take a look."

Wang Bodang and Xie Yingdeng were both incredibly bold; without saying a word, they followed Cheng Yaojin inside.

Cheng Yaojin and his two companions followed Wang Shichong and his men for several kilometers before finally seeing the exit in front of them.

Instead of rushing out recklessly, they listened carefully to the sounds outside the exit.

The sounds of fierce fighting came from the exit of the secret passage. Cheng Yaojin recognized the voices of Yuwen Huaji and Wang Shichong. He had met Yuwen Huaji and Wang Shichong when he was still in Luoyang.

From the voices, he could tell that Wang Shichong had clearly gained the upper hand, and he also learned from Yuwen Huaji that Yang Guang had been forced to his death by him.

This made Cheng Yaojin feel somewhat regretful. If it weren't for the world's number one martial arts tournament held by Yang Guang, he wouldn't have been able to recognize Qin Qiong, let alone become famous throughout the world.

Ever since the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament, Lao Cheng has been able to eat and drink for free wherever he goes, with a group of people lining up to treat him to meals. This feeling is simply too good to be true!

From this perspective, Yang Guang was kind to them.

Moreover, the fact that a great emperor like Yang Guang died at the hands of the villain Yuwen Huaji made him feel that it was not worth it.

But isn't the Imperial Seal of the State precisely what they came here for?

Cheng Yaojin's eyes lit up. He was indeed a man of good fortune, even the Imperial Seal of the State was brought to his doorstep.

He gave a signal to Wang Bodang and the other two. After they arrived at the exit, Wang Shichong killed Yuwen Huaji and suffered heavy losses himself, then raised his Xuanhua axe.

Just as Xiao Meiniang revealed the location of the Imperial Seal of the State and smashed the jade pillow to retrieve it, Cheng Yaojin suddenly burst out of the narrow passage, snatched the Imperial Seal of the State from Wang Shichong's hands, and held the Xuanhua Axe to Wang Shichong's neck.

Wang Bodang and his companion also jumped out of the secret passage with bows and arrows in hand, intimidating Wang Shichong's heavily damaged personal guards.

"Brothers, let's go!"

Cheng Yaojin, holding the Imperial Seal of the State in one hand and using an axe to hold Wang Shichong at bay with the other, shouted, "Tell your men not to follow!"

Wang Shichong quickly signaled to his guards not to follow, and put on a smiling face for Cheng Yaojin.

Using Wang Shichong as a hostage, Cheng Yaojin and his two companions successfully broke through the encirclement and escaped through the secret passage.

After escaping through the secret passage, the three of them rode at full speed back to the fork in the road and headed in another direction.

At the gates of Jiangdu, Yuwen Chengdu challenged the generals under Dou Jiande and Li Mi one after another. Even Qin Qiong and others had to join forces to barely hold off Yuwen Chengdu, who was already determined to die.

It was this battle that made everyone realize the true value of being fifth in the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament and champion in the Hundred Nations Warriors Tournament.

It makes one wonder, who exactly are those four people who are even stronger than Yuwen Chengdu? And what kind of astonishing martial prowess do they possess?

Unfortunately, since that martial arts tournament, no local lords have ever thought of recruiting these four people. However, they sent people to search the four people's hometowns thoroughly, but they still couldn't find any trace of them.

If it weren't for the many people at the martial arts tournament witnessing it firsthand, some might even doubt whether these four people actually existed.

Some astute individuals also suspect that these four individuals are all related to the Wei family, and are very likely descendants of the Wei family who have inherited the bloodline and divine power of the Loyal King.

Li Mi and Dou Jiande's armies sent out generals one after another, but they were unable to defeat Yuwen Chengdu. In the end, they had no choice but to send a large army to directly attack the city and overwhelm Yuwen Chengdu with soldiers.

In the end, Yuwen Chengdu killed hundreds of people, his body covered in wounds and bleeding profusely.

Before his death, Yuwen Chengdu looked back towards the direction of the Jiangdu City Palace, holding his weapon in his hand, knelt on the ground, and died from exhaustion.

Yuwen Chengdu's bravery greatly impressed Dou Jiande and Li Mi. After Yuwen Chengdu's death, they ordered his body to be collected and buried with Emperor Yang Guang in the future.

After Yuwen Chengdu's death, their path into the city was no longer blocked, and they quickly stormed into the city and headed straight for the palace.

At this time, they were still unaware that Yang Guang was dead, and were still vying to be the first to storm into the palace, capture Yang Guang alive, and seize the Imperial Seal of the State.

Li Mi also deliberately placed the Wagang generals in the rear guard, letting them enter the city last.

Just as Qin Qiong was leading his army to follow into the city, Cheng Yaojin finally arrived.

He rode his horse and, together with Wang Bodang, rushed directly to Qin Qiong's side, pulled Qin Qiong aside, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Qin Qiong's eyes widened suddenly as he stared at Cheng Yaojin in disbelief.

Cheng Yaojin nodded seriously at him, and Qin Qiong suppressed his inner shock.

"withdraw!"

Without saying a word, Qin Qiong ordered a retreat.

Many soldiers were puzzled, but military orders were absolute, so they followed Qin Qiong in the retreat.

On the way back, Xu Maogong and others found Qin Qiong and asked him why they were withdrawing their troops.

Qin Qiong told Xu Maogong and a few other trusted brothers that Yang Guang was dead and that Cheng Yaojin had seized the Imperial Seal of the State.

Xu Maogong and the others laughed heartily, exclaiming that Cheng Yaojin was a lucky general, and had no more doubts about the matter of retreating their troops.

"We will not be able to keep our acquisition of the Imperial Seal a secret for long. I'm afraid the armies of Li Mi, Dou Jiande, and Wang Shichong will catch up with us soon."

"We must return to Shanzhou immediately, present the imperial seal to the Duke of Tang, and then rely on the strategic passes to hold off their army."

After discussing the matter, the generals and soldiers immediately set off through the night, marching at top speed to return to Shanzhou City.

After rushing back to Shanzhou City, they left behind troops, led by Shan Xiongxin and others, to build defenses and buy enough time for Li Mi and his forces to attack.

Wei Zheng, Qin Qiong, and others took the Imperial Seal of the State and headed straight for Hedong.