Li Qingshan passed by the two white tigers with a clash.
The white tigers did not slow down, now targeting Han Qiongzhi. There were not living creatures, so they had no concept of enemies. Once they were activated, they would rip apart everything in front of them.
Han Qiongzhi prepared a technique. She did not even look at the incoming tigers. Just as the fierce gale had ruffled her hair and the claws had arrived before her, they came to a screeching halt.
Li Qingshan extended both hands, grabbing the two tigers by the tail. The white tigers growled and swung their claws around, but they were unable to advance another inch forward. They turned around and lunged at Li Qingshan instead.
With an explosive bellow, Li Qingshan began to spin like a spinning top, pulling the tails until they were taut. He actually tossed the two white jade tigers that weighed as much as a thousand tonnes into the air, over a hundred meters away. With a rumble, they formed two deep craters.
“What strength!” “No wonder he’s bold enough to propose marriage to the Han family!”
This move of his startled all the members of the Han family above the archway. They all took action in a hurry, unleashing a flurry of arrows.
Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! The sound of released bows were enough to pierce rock.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The arrows formed a dark cloud.
“Bird of Flames!” Han Qiongzhi called out.
Li Qingshan’s vision dimmed before lighting up again. A bird of fire took off into the air, unfurling its thirty-meter-long wings of flames and smashing through the dark cloud. It rushed up the archway and erupted with fire with a great boom, forcing back the archers and throwing the army into disarray.
“That’s your home, for heaven’s sake.” Li Qingshan glanced back.
“Hmph, I’d rather go without a home like this!”
Under the gloomy archway, almost a hundred armoured soldiers stood in formation with dagger-axes, radiating with murderousness.
“They’re here! On guard!”
An eighth layer Qi Practitioner, an old man with a downwards slanting mustache, bellowed out thunderously. The dagger-axes drooped down, pointing straight ahead.
Two figures, Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi, walked in slowly, just like lovers on a stroll. They even muttered among themselves.
“Is he really just the gatekeeper?” Li Qingshan gazed at the battle formation in slight amazement. By gatekeeper, it referred to the person who watched the entrance of the estate. He had never seen such a mighty gatekeeper before with such a high cultivation.
“We normally call it the gatekeeping army. There are a total of eight divisions, guarding the eight gates. The commander is the hundred-man commander of the gate.” Han Qiongzhi explained with a smile.
“Young miss, this has nothing to do with you, so please back away, just in case you become injured. Kid, if you have the balls, come at us alone. What kind of man are you supposed to be, relying on a woman? I’ll teach you what delusional dreaming means!”
The hundred-man commander called out and waved his dagger-axe around, cutting through the air swiftly. His mustache danced around on top of his lip as he radiated with vigour. He did not seem senile at all.
“Hundred-man commander, this has always been a matter that involves both of us. What would be the point if I got in alone?” Normally, Han Qiongzhi would have to refer to him as grandfather, but now that they confronted each other today like enemies, there was no room for personal feelings. She only referred to him by his military rank.
“What’s wrong?” Han Qiongzhi suddenly discovered that Li Qingshan was staring at her with shining eyes, even touching her face.
“Nothing. I just find you extremely pretty today!”
“You’re still talking nonsense at a time like this.” Han Qiongzhi reddened slightly. She was just about to go up to receive the enemy, but Li Qingshan grabbed her shoulder.
“Leave here to me. Recover some strength instead. I’d like to show this hundred-man commander what a visiting son-in-law is unstoppable means!”
Han Qiongzhi burst out laughing. This guy still joked around at a time like this. “Go easy on him.”
“Alright!” “No!” Li Qingshan and the hundred-man commander answered at the same time. They exchanged glances, one smiling and one furious.
“Kill!” The hundred-man commander pointed with his dagger-axe, and the army of one hundred behind him erupted with a bellow at the same time. “Kill!” Their feet jingled against the ground as their weapons stood as densely as a forest, shining threateningly. All one hundred of them charged forward with the bearing of an army of thousands towards Li Qingshan.
The hundred-man commander thought, You’re just at the eighth layer, and you come from the school of Novels or whatever that is. How are you worthy of the young miss. You must have sweet-talked your way to her side and fooled the young miss. Now, you’re even boasting that you’ll go easy on me? You have no idea at all, do you? Are you really treating these experienced soldiers as regular Qi Practitioners? No matter how you look at it, you’re outnumbered one hundred to one, and there’s also another eighth layer Qi Practitioner, me. There’s no way you can win!
Boom!
The sound interrupted the hundred-man commander’s thoughts. In the archway up ahead, soldiers were launched into the air as they cried out, all slamming into the walls of the archway. These flying soldiers drew closer and closer, as if a monster was charging through them towards him.
The Wave Treading Form!
Waves surged under Li Qingshan’s feet, and he charged forward like a loose arrow, slamming through the army.
The Vortex Form!
The water ripples in Li Qingshan’s right hand spun rapidly. He seemed to become a huge drill, driving his way forward.
Whenever he came in contact with soldiers, they would be directly sent flying. The dagger-axes sucked into the vortex would be torn to pieces. Wherever he passed by, everyone would suffer a crushing defeat. He passed through the enemy in an instant and arrived before the hundred-man commander.
“Eat this, uncle!”
The hundred-man commander was stunned. Never did he imagine that his gatekeeping army would be so fragile before him. However, how could he back down? With a bellow, his dagger-axe erupted with light, and the tiles beneath his feet shattered. With his full strength and both hands on the dagger-axe, he stabbed it towards Li Qingshan.
The dagger-axe and the drill head clashed violently. It sounded like an electric saw cutting through metal, but it only lasted for an instant. The dagger-axe was sent flying.
The hundred-man commander retreated in surprise. The flap between his thumb and index finger on both his hands had shattered, and the vortex drill drove into his body with the “unstoppable” might of a visiting son-in-law. His protective true qi crumbled like paper, while his shiny armour was torn to pieces.
I’m done for!
The hundred-man commander sighed deeply inside. He never thought he would actually die here after an entire life spent on the battlefield. He had completely comprehended the terrifying might of this battle skill the moment they clashed. He could not endure it with his body alone.
However, he felt no pain. He lowered his head and discovered that he was already completely naked, but completely unscathed. He raised his head, and all he saw was Li Qingshan standing before him with a grin across his face. He could not help but become stunned.
The entire process seemed quite slow, but it had taken him less than three seconds to go from unleashing the Vortex Form to defeating the hundred-man commander.
Han Qiongzhi was rather surprised too. She had been expecting Li Qingshan’s abilities to be impressive. After all, even Chu Tian, who had a higher cultivation than him as a Qi Practitioner, was not his opponent. He could not be stopped by this gatekeeping army, which was why she had told him to go easy, just in case he injured this old man who had basically watched her grow up.
However, she never expected him to win in such a straightforward fashion, and sure enough, he did not lay a single finger on the hundred-man commander. She was filled with pride. This was the man she had chosen, someone who could always cause surprises. If anyone underestimated him, then they really would be blind.
“I’ve lost. I’ll admit that you’re a little capable, but what comes next won’t be so easy. I’d advise you to back out sooner rather than later. You might end up losing your life accidentally!”
The hundred-man commander said sternly. He did not take Li Qingshan lightly at all anymore. It was not too impressive that Li Qingshan had charged through this Flying Swan formation. After all, he could manage that too if he tried hard enough. However, ripping off his clothes without harming him proved that he was still holding back a lot. His battle skill had reached a state of great meticulous control. If it came to an actual battle to the death, he could probably kill this division of a hundred with a single hand relaxedly. Just where had the young miss found a monster like him? She sure had quite the insight.
“Sir, you better cover yourself!” Han Qiongzhi arrived beside Li Qingshan and pointed below at the hundred-man commander.
“I deserve to die for defiling the young miss’s eyes!” The hundred-man commander reddened and covered himself below in a hurry.
My eyes have already been defiled plenty of times recently anyway. There’s nothing surprising anymore. Han Qiongzhi thought. She linked arms with Li Qingshan and said, “Let’s go!”
“How’s your recovery gone?” Li Qingshan asked.
“You were so quick, so how was I supposed to recover?”
“Yeah, how can I be so quick as a man? Don’t worry, ma’am. I’ll try to slow myself down in the future.” Li Qingshan sniggered, earning him a kick from Han Qiongzhi. “I understand what you’re saying! This is my home!”
“I’ve yet to see a home with barbicans!”
With that, the two of them passed under the archway, and Li Qingshan stopped. He saw a large, empty space before him with tall walls standing in the surroundings, with watch towers and battlements rising and falling. It was actually a barbican.
The only path leading out of the barbican was the huge gate cast from black iron.
The sound of a zither lingered about. A learned man with a long beard and a tall hat stroked his zither on a watch tower.
“The zither just sounds so great when uncle Cao plays it.” Han Qiongzhi said as she introduced him to Li Qingshan softly, “This ‘uncle Cao’ is my father’s military advisor. His full name is Cao Gan. Not only is his cultivation at the tenth layer, but he’s also known for his resourcefulness. He’s not one to be trifled with. Looks like my dad really wants to stop you in the barbican.”
Li Qingshan grinned. Men married and women were married off. Was that not how the world worked? Why was this old man Han acting like he was fending off bandits? Surely he was not a deviant of a father who had a daughter complex?
“Qiongzhi, it ends here. Looks like your father doesn’t like the kid beside you, so even if you meet him, it’s pointless. It’s still not too late for you to back off right now,” Cao Gan said as he played the zither.
“I don’t care whether he likes him or not. All that matters is I like him? Is he the one getting married, or am I the one getting married?” Han Qiongzhi became agitated, so she spoke rudely.
“Nicely said!” Li Qingshan rose up on a cloud, charging straight towards Cao Gan. The key to defeating the army was to defeat its leader. So what if he was a tenth layer Qi Practitioner?
The walls could stop regular people, but how were they supposed to stop cultivators? The so-called barbican was just a joke.
Clang! The strings of the zither vibrated.
“Now!” A cold light flashed through the man’s eyes. Many archers appeared on the battlements, all wielding powerful bows and crossbows. The bows were released, and the triggers were pressed.
With a thrum, arrows filled the sky, blotting out the sun.
At the same time, the sounds of mechanisms rang out from the twelve watch towers. They did not possess a single archer at all. Instead, they were each loaded with a black ballista. The ballistae were designed to be like dragons with flashing gems as their eyes. They automatically adjusted their aim and locked onto Li Qingshan in the air with great precision. Their mouths opened up, and they spat out huge, spear-like bolts.
Huge bolts shot out of the magazines and were launched endlessly; it was like a dragon’s breath.
The Mechanical ballistae of the school of Mohism could kill enemies from a thousand meters away. Every single one of them were worth more than high grade spiritual artifacts. The specially-designed Cloud-piercing bolts could penetrate protective techniques and true qi. They were priceless.
Even if regular people could afford one, they could not afford to use one. With the ballistae and bolts combined, they could take down Qi Practitioners like taking lambs to the slaughter.
“Qingshan!” Han Qiongzhi drew her blade and went up to assist him. A volley of arrows rained down on her, and she swung her blade around, cutting through it all. The ground beside her had already become covered in arrows, but all she could do was watch helplessly as Li Qingshan was swallowed by the rain of arrows.
“This isn’t a test. This is murder!”
Li Qingshan muttered to himself and dodged to one side. He caught a Cloud-piercing bolt that brushed past him conveniently and swung it around, sweeping a few arrows out of the air with a clatter. He left no opening at all with that, rushing straight into the sky.
