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After leaving the Goguryeon’s gathering point, Wang Chong didn’t return to the Wang Clan immediately. Instead, he headed for King Song’s Residence. Wang Chong was probably the only one throughout Great Tang Empire who could open the gates of a kin of the royal family at such an ungodly hour.
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“Is everything you said true?” King Song asked grimly in the main hall. Having just been woken from the midst of his sleep, he had a dark robe draped over himself. Similarly, the only one who wouldn’t be criticized for waking him up so abruptly could only be Wang Chong.
“Yes, there is no doubt about it.” Wang Chong recounted the entire matter. Of course, he also added some additional information inside. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly convince King Song.
With a grim expression, King Song remained silent for a long while. There was indeed a precedent of Goguryeons assassinating Great Tang officials. While they didn’t have concrete evidence, all clues were pointing toward them.
If what Wang Chong was saying was true, then this was indeed huge.
Chapter 239: Little Yinyang Art, Assassination!
Chapter 239: Little Yinyang Art, Assassination!
Regardless of which dynasty it was, the assassination of an influential official was a huge affair.
If the Goguryeons really were to succeed, it would be a huge blow to Great Tang and the royal court’s dignity. More importantly, if the royal court couldn’t prove that the Goguryeons were behind it, they would be unable to do anything about it.
Great Tang was a nation governed by laws; one couldn’t simply slaughter the Goguryeons on baseless rumors. That would lead to a chain effect that could potentially cause greater damage.
“Wang Chong, this is a huge matter. If our officials were to be killed, and we couldn’t even find the evidence to apprehend the culprits, the prestige we have built up would be destroyed. This mustn’t be allowed. If you have their whereabouts, I can mobilize the regional guards or even dispatch Quill and Regal battalions to clear those Goguryeons. However, I’ll need you to confirm the timing and location. Otherwise, we will just alarm them and lose our initiative.” King Song instructed gravely. He immediately understood how grave this matter was and why Wang Chong would look for him.
The Bureau of Military Personnel and Bureau of Punishments were within the scope of the Goguryeons’ operation. These two bureaus were under his command.
If a massacre of the officials of the two bureaus were to happen, he would surely be held responsible by the Sage Emperor and punished for his negligence.
Considering the severe consequences of the matter, he would have to deal with it carefully.
“You can leave that to me, I have an idea on how I can uncover their tracks. But before that, I need Your Highness’s assistance on a matter.” Wang Chong said. Following which, he revealed the details about the gathering point where the Condor Sniper was stationed.
The strength of a Condor Sniper was incredible. If they were to attack the base without sufficient preparation, there would surely be huge losses. A well-positioned Condor Sniper could threaten dozens or even hundreds of experts of the same cultivation in a group fight, assuming that the latter didn’t have sufficient protective tools.
The best way to deal with master archers was to mobilize master archers.
Wang Chong’s men were not sufficient to deal with master archers yet, so it would be best for him to engage the assistance of the experts of King Song Residence.
“I understand!” After a moment of contemplation, King Song nodded his head. “Leave this matter to me. Wait for me by the side hall for a moment, I’ll make arrangements now.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Retreating from the main hall, Wang Chong soon liaised with the expert King Song arranged for the operation by the side hall.
He was a muscular man with a height of two meters. He was wrapped in a thick armor, like a steel can.
Hung behind him was a conspicuous, large golden bow that stretched 1.6 meters in length. The bowstring used for drawing an arrow was almost as thick as one’s thumb.
His entire body was cloaked in steel, except for a pair of sharp eyes.
Wang Chong felt an incredibly dangerous aura from him. Even from a distance of six to seven zhang away, Wang Chong could feel his goosebumps rising up.
(~20m)
He’s a true expert!, flashed the thought across Wang Chong’s mind. To be able to induce such a reaction from him with just his gaze, the other party was surely an expert amongst experts.
“Paying respect to gongzi, King Song has assigned me to you. I’ll follow whatever commands you have of me,” a level voice devoid of any emotions sounded from behind the steel armor. For a moment, it seemed as though what was standing before Wang Chong was an emotionless robot.
The kin of the royal family do indeed possess some hidden power within their residences, especially top-notch experts,Wang Chong thought.
He had learned in his previous life that the royal family and their kin had powerful experts under their command, and these powerful experts were usually hidden from sight. The appearance of this formidable master archer reflected a lot of that.
Wang Chong had visited King Song at such late timing, and yet, the latter was able to assign this expert to him a short moment after parting at the main hall.
“How many arrows can you shoot in a second?” Wang Chong asked the muscular man, who was almost a head taller than him.
“104!” the man replied decisively without any hesitation, his reply leaving Wang Chong gasping in shock. That was almost twofold greater than an average master archer.
“The maximum distance?” Wang Chong asked.
“Seventeen li!” Yet another shocking answer.
(~8.5km)
“What about the sharp range of your vision in the dark?”Wang Chong asked. Sharp range was a concept used in archery. By sharp, it meant that one would be able to see the lines on the wings of a fly, and the veins on top of a leaf. Only with this could one’s vision be considered to be “sharp”. It should be noted that this was much harsher than identifying an apple on a tree from a distance of several li away.
This was one of the most examinable aspects of archery.
Finally, Wang Chong’s question left the man hesitating a short moment.
“267 zhang!” the man replied a moment later.
267 zhang, that was equivalent to 800 meters!
To be able to see the indiscernible marks of a fly’s wing from a distance of 800 meters away, how astounding must one’s eyesight be?
With this kind of eyesight and superior archery skills, he would be nearly invincible in the dark!
Delight immediately gushed through Wang Chong.
“Follow me!” Wang Chong left King Song Residence with the archer.
There was still a little more than a month before King Sosurim would move, so Wang Chong did have sufficient time to prepare and retaliate. Taking into account the master archer from King Song Residence, as well as Miyasame Ayaka and the experts from the Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan, Wang Chong began shaping his plan calmly.
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Night set in, and the Goguryeon gathering point was as quiet as always. So far, the Goguryeons were still completely oblivious.
Shua!
At around the third mark of the Zi hour, a silhouette suddenly flipped across the wall. The three protruding blades beneath his clothes were exceptionally eye-catching.
(~2345 hours)
This was the most obvious mark of a Goguryeon warrior.
A night breeze blew. The Goguryeon that had just left the courtyard of the residence scanned his surroundings warily, and only when he confirmed that nothing was wrong did he quickly leave the premises.
A moment later, when he was out of the area of the residence, he suddenly saw a young man ahead of him walking anxiously toward him.
Stunned, a sliver of doubt flashed across his eyes. He found t
he situation particularly suspicious, but his rational mind told him that he hadn’t revealed anything that would give away his identity. It should be impossible that the young man was here for him. Thus, he continued to walk forward casually.
Everything seemed no different from an insignificant coincidental meeting, but just as the both of them were about to walk by one another, something abruptly happened——
Klang!
The sound of a sword being drawn echoed in the air, and killing intent suddenly burst into the air. A cold gust of wind suddenly shrouded the Goguryeon warrior in a huge torrent.
“Shit!” The Goguryeon expert’s face immediately twisted in alarm. He subconsciously tried to draw his sword, but his excessive confidence in his skills and his carelessness would seal his doom. Chi, a sharp sword qi pierced through his chest, even cutting through the massive tree behind him.
It was just an instant, and the Goguryeon warrior was already severely wounded.
“Bastard!” Alarmed and furious, the Goguryeon warrior swiftly drew two black sabers, and at the same time, Origin Energy burst from his body. The Origin Energy gathered to form white ripples around him, surging outward ceaselessly with a buzzing sound reminiscent of a metallic reverberation.
Under the surge of the ripples, even the air seemed to crackle.
Origin Energy Tier 9!
At this cultivation realm, one would be able to emit their internal energy into their surroundings. The white ripples served as the best indicator of this.
One would be capable of striking one’s enemies through the air, and some of the more formidable experts might even be capable of executing something similar to the legendary Hundred Steps Divine Fist.
This Goguryeon warrior was clearly such an expert.
“... To dare to attack me, you are seeking death!” With his sharp eyes, the Goguryeon warrior was able to immediately gauge the cultivation of the young man before him and determine that the latter was weak.
It was only due to catching him off-guard that the latter managed to injure him.
Weng!
But in the next instant, something completely unexpected occurred.
Weng! In just an instant, the white ripples around the Goguryeon warrior disappeared, as though their origin had been sealed.
This sudden change had broken the Goguryeon warrior’s momentum. Not only did was his body affected by the sudden change, the Origin Energy flowing through his body also lost its balance abruptly. It was as if a pair of formless cuffs had sealed the Origin Energy in his body, forcefully suppressing his cultivation down to Origin Energy Tier 8
Chi!
Suddenly, a sword qi harnessing a strong intent of death and destruction pierced through his left chest, and suffering another severe blow, he was knocked into a state of near death.
Puchi! Following which, a bizarrely-shaped crimson sword was suddenly stabbed into the Goguryeon warrior’s heart.
It had only been a few breaths since the start of the fight, and it had already come to an end.
Shock was all that was reflected on the face of the Goguryeon as his hands slumped to his sides and he fell to his knees. Even at his last breath, he still couldn’t understand what had happened. Why did his white ripple disappear all of a sudden? He could clearly sense that his Origin Energy was intact, but somehow, he just couldn’t tap into a portion of it.
“Ahhhh, how comfortable. So this is Little Yinyang Art!”Standing right before the Goguryeon’s corpse, Wang Chong drove his Little Yinyang Art, and a surge of Origin Energy immediately seeped back into his body through the Little Yinyang Sword.
The exhilaration one felt from a growth spurt in one’s Origin Energy was indescribable. The countless pores throughout his body opened in relaxation, and his own Origin Energy swiftly grew.
This was the first time Wang Chong had used the Little Yinyang Sword given to him by the Demonic Emperor Old Man to absorb the Origin Energy of others. The pleasurable sensation he felt couldn’t be put in words.
“... It’s no wonder why the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art is labeled as a demonic art. It is simply too easy to drown in the pleasure one derives from obtaining Origin Energy conveniently, and the moment it happens, it would be too easy for one to form endless thoughts of massacre. This is probably the reason why those who practice this art eventually become demons themselves.”
At this moment, Wang Chong suddenly came to a realization. In just a short moment, his cultivation had progressed by what that would have taken him months of diligence.
This was the first time he was experiencing the immense might of the Little Yinyang Art!
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TL Note: The Hundred Fists Divine Art originates from famous Chinese writer Gu Long’s novel, The Seven Weapons. If I’m not mistaken, it’s a long-range fist attack.
Chapter 240: Steady Rise in Cultivation!
Chapter 240: Steady Rise in Cultivation!
【Congratulations to user for killing eleven soldiers of the Goguryeo Empire!】a mechanical voice sounded in Wang Chong’s head. Along with that voice, a frenzied gust of wind blew, and a huge surge of Origin Energy seeped into Wang Chong’s muscles and bones.
In that instant, Wang Chong clearly felt his cultivation lifting by a notch. The Bane of the Battlefield halo that he harnessed was also enhanced significantly.
Killing a Goguryeon warrior actually induced a rise in both Wang Chong’s Origin Energy and halo. There was no better way to raise his fighting prowess than this.
Curbing his opponent with Sword Qi of Massacre and absorbing his Origin Energy with Little Yinyang Art; not only was he getting rid of his enemies, he was also getting stronger with each person killed...
With this, Wang Chong was slowly realizing what he failed to achieve in his previous life.
“To think that I thought the Little Yinyang Art’s limitation of absorbing only a small portion of Origin Energy from a severely wounded person was a major flaw; from the looks of it now, this ability is already overpowered in its current state!”
As the saying went, “a hundred rumors are incomparable to an actual observation.” The real Little Yinyang Art was very different from what Wang Chong had imagined.
Absorbing the internal energy of a person wasn’t an easy task, and to do so adeptly required great mastery. In comparison, Little Yinyang Art’s ability to absorb the Origin Energy of an incapacitated opponent could already be considered to be extremely formidable.
“Gongzi, you resemble an assassin much more than I do now!” a familiar voice sounded behind him. From a nearby tree, Miyasame Ayaka, dressed in a black stealth suit, slid down from the branches, her movements as light as an agile cat. Then, she slowly walked toward Wang Chong.
She had been observing the entire incident from the tree, and she was prepared to strike whenever things went awry. She didn’t expect Wang Chong to end things so cleanly in such a short period of time, leaving all of the preparations she made useless.
“Hehe, you might not have eaten pork before, but surely you should have seen a pig running about?” Wang Chong chuckled.
“Gongzi?!” Miyasame Ayaka was stunned for a moment before her cheeks flushed red. Wang Chong was clearly teasing her.
“Hahaha…” Wang Chong laughed heartily.
“Alright, let’s go. Also, clear the body so that we don’t alarm the Goguryeons.” Wang Chong ordered. Following which, he walked up, squatted down, and patted the body of the Origin Energy Tier 9 Goguryeon corpse down. Soon, he found something.
It was a two-finger wide wooden box with a faint fragrance to it. Considering how it was hidden on the Goguryeon warrior’s chest, it seemed to be something he viewed as important.
Padah, Wang Chong opened the wooden box, and a golden Goguryeon ginseng came into sight.
“It’s indeed here!”
Seeing the ginseng in the box, Wang Chong chuckled, seemingly expecting this sight. The reason why he assaulted this Goguryeon warrior wasn’t just t
o train his Little Yinyang Art and Bane of the Battlefield halo.
He had another goal in mind—the Goguryeon ginseng.
Goguryeon ginsengs were famous worldwide. Based on the maturity of the ginseng, its color could range from white to golden. Judging from the color of the ginseng in the wooden box, it possessed a maturity of at least two to three hundred years.
The Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan had to go through so much trouble just to produce a Goguryeon ginseng of that maturity each, but these Goguryeon warriors are actually carrying one such ginseng each. While Goguryeo might not be big, it does have a lot of experts, and these Goguryeon ginsengs played a vital role in that!, Wang Chong thought, looking at the ginseng in his hand.
Just a random Origin Energy Tier 9 Goguryeon warrior that he picked out already possessed a ginseng of three-hundred-year maturity, one could easily see how wealthy Goguryeo was in this resource.
With ginsengs of such maturity, the Goguryeon Empire could mass produce experts like growing cabbages in the field.
Shutting the lid of the wooden box, Wang Chong kept it before leaving the scene.
And not too long after he left, the battlefield was cleaned up, and the corpse, the bloodstain, and even the marks from the previous battle had disappeared without a trace.
For the next few days, Wang Chong spent his time ambushing Goguryeons who were walking to and from the capital and the gathering point.
Wang Chong swiftly realized that there was a close connection between this gathering point and the Goguryeons in the city’s west. Everyday, someone different would come by.
As long as Wang Chong picked his time properly, he would be able to ambush them without anyone noticing.
But of course, the Goguryeons had no lack of experts as well. Those True Martial realm experts could easily crush Wang Chong, so Wang Chong had to choose his opponents carefully. Basically, he only chose those Origin Energy Tier 9 cultivators and stayed out of the way of all True Martial realm cultivators.
At the very least it would be wiser for him to do so at the moment.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 181
