Bai Siling gradually grew more confused. They should have sensed that their plan was ineffective, but they showed no signs of changing course.
Wang Chong looked to the north and indifferently said, “Pills can restore Stellar Energy, but they can’t restore mental strength or physical strength.”
The Army-Shattering War God truly had meticulous plans, exploiting every single detail. But just as the Eastern Palace had its plans, so did he.
“Siling, uncle, stay here. I’ll be out for a bit.”
Wang Chong quickly began to work his way through the crowd to the other side.
“Senior, Wang Chong is moving!”
Goguryeon Eagle King Kim U-Seok had been watching Wang Chong’s movements. Wang Chong was far more important in this competition than Zhao Fengchen, and the Eastern Palace was on high alert when it came to him.
“Go!”
The Ghost King raised his finger and gestured, not even turning his eyes.
……
“Hold! While the Imperial Army competition is in progress, no one is allowed to approach!”
When Wang Chong was still twenty-some meters from Zhao Fengchen, there was a flash of light, and two Golden Guards emerged to bar his path, fiercely glaring at him.
The sudden turmoil drew the attention of the surrounding crowd, as well as Zhao Fengchen.
Although he was brimming with Stellar Energy, if one looked carefully, one could see fatigue in his eyes. Wang Chong’s judgment had been correct. The Eastern Palace’s implementation of the rotation strategy had successfully consumed his physical and mental strength.
“Your Highness, His Highness the First Prince has ordered that no one is to disrupt the competition while it is ongoing.” There was a sinister voice from the crowd, and then Meng Tu, who had apparently been waiting for some time, walked forward. “Your Highness is not thinking of defying this decree, yes?”
Meng Tu coldly smiled. Two Golden Guards could not stop Wang Chong, so he had also been dispatched.
“Ha!”
Wang Chong merely smiled and ignored Meng Tu. His right foot had been stepping forward, but at this moment, it withdrew and softly hit the ground.
Bang!
As he put his foot down, an invisible Stellar Energy reached out from the sole of his foot and traveled through the ground, rumbling into Zhao Fengchen’s body.
“Not good!”
Meng Tu grimaced, and while he had been a step behind, he had still realized what was going on.
He put his foot down, instinctively sending a stream of Stellar Energy to stop Wang Chong, but this action only brought down humiliation upon himself. A split-second after he put his foot down, a repellant energy rose from the ground.
“Ah!”
Meng Tu cried out as he was knocked away.
Meng Tu put all his strength into steadying himself and dropped back to the ground. When he saw the cold smile on Wang Chong’s lips, he instantly scowled.
It was clear that Wang Chong had never taken him as an opponent.
A moment later, Meng Tu realized something, and his heart shivered as he looked at Zhao Fengchen. Zhao Fengchen was still standing there, but Meng Tu could sense a new energy running through his body.
“Not good!”
Zhao Fengchen had been physically and mentally fatigued after fighting six Vice Marshals in a row, but now, with this new energy supporting him, his eyes were swept clean of exhaustion. His mental and physical energy were beginning to rapidly swell.
“How could this be?!”
It was not Meng Tu, but the distant Eastern Palace advisors who exclaimed in alarm.
Everyone knew that a martial artist could endlessly increase their strength through cultivation, until even mass destruction of the landscape became an easy feat, but a martial artist’s physical and mental strength did not experience this same limitless increase.
Even the strongest martial artist would have limits to their mental fortitude and physical strength.
Moreover, the mental and physical strength consumed by a martial artist could not be restored through pills as Stellar Energy could.
This was why the Eastern Palace advisors had not attempted to change their plans after seeing that Zhao Fengchen had been provided Stellar-Energy-restoring pills.
But how could someone’s Stellar Energy restore another person’s mental and physical energy?!
None of the Eastern Palace advisors understood why this was.
“Senior Ghost King, you are extremely knowledgeable. Do you know what this martial art is?” asked a man in the armor of a Golden Guard, standing next to the First Prince.
But no ordinary Golden Guard could be standing so close to the First Prince. Under the helmet, one would find a man wanted by the Imperial Court, Asura.
The First Prince had him wear the armor of a Golden Guard, so no one except the members of the Eastern Palace knew who he really was.
Asura’s question caused everyone else to look to Hou Junji.
Hou Junji remained motionless, apparently not even hearing the question.
Asura became embarrassed, but he did not dare to say any more. The Ghost King’s intellect and schemes were unfathomable, and perhaps Wang Chong’s actions had been completely within his expectations.
This kid…
But Asura failed to notice the surprise and graveness deep within Hou Junji’s eyes as he stared at the distant Wang Chong.
Asura would have never imagined that Hou Junji had not answered not because he was feigning profundity, but because he simply didn’t know the answer.
As an important subject of Taizong’s reign, one of the twenty-four in Lingyan Pavilion, and a top-class commander, Hou Junji had read many books and was himself a top-class expert. He knew almost every art in the world, and with Emperor Taizong’s permission, he had studied all possible martial arts in the realm.
Beneath the Hou Residence had been a massive secret chamber containing twenty thousand secret martial arts manuals, certain to make all martial artists in the world green with envy. In the decades he had been secluded away, he had used his connection with those men to collect even more books, and he had even studied many of the martial arts used by the men in black.
When it came to erudition in the martial arts of the world, few in the world could compare to him!
But Hou Junji had little impression of the art Wang Chong had used.
This isn’t Su Zhengchen’s martial art. Where did he learn it from?
Hou Junji creased his brow.
Wang Chong had naturally used the Supreme and Infinite Origin Immortal Art, a supreme art that had been lost to the Central Plains for several hundred years. The Origin Immortal Art could not only absorb attacks, it could turn them back on their users. Moreover, it had powerful curative properties that could restore someone’s physical and mental energy, an ability that other martial arts lacked.
While Hou Junji had read many martial arts manuals, the Origin Immortal Art had been lost to the Tang Dynasty long ago, so he naturally could not have read about it or seen it before.
While Hou Junji and the Eastern Palace advisors remained confused, Zhao Fengchen quickly returned to his peak condition with Wang Chong’s help.
“Thank you!”
Zhao Fengchen glanced at the nearby Wang Chong and smiled.
Wang Chong simply nodded.
The two of them had reached a tacit understanding long ago.
Gallop! Zhao Fengchen gripped the reins of his horse and rode back into the ranks of his men to wait for the next match.
Wang Chong also turned around and began to head back to his former position. As for Meng Tu, he had been completely forgotten.
He could only stare at Wang Chong’s back while his face alternated between green and white.
“Tell Hou Junji that no matter what tricks he tries, they are all futile,” Wang Chong suddenly said, and with this comment, he vanished.
Chapter 1720 - Duan Zhuyan’s Strength!
Chapter 1720: Duan Zhuyan’s Strength!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“How was it?”
Upon seeing Wang Chong return, Bai Siling and Li Lin both went up to welcome him, concern on their faces. The crowd around the drilling ground was so dense that they had not been able to clearly make out the scene on that side.
“Everything has been handled,” Wang Chong nonchalantly said, glossing over the entire incident, and then quickly turned his focus back to the drilling ground.
Bong!
With the fierce banging of drums, the contest continued.
Now that Zhao Fengchen had fought six matches in a row, the Eastern Palace could no longer do anything to him for this round. As the remaining six Vice Marshals stepped onto the field, they acted just as Wang Chong expected and challenged the Marshals of the other Imperial Army divisions.
But no one challenged the two armored Marshals the Eastern Palace supported.
On the northern end of the drilling ground, the First Prince watched all of this unfurl with his hands behind his back and nodded in satisfaction. Although he hadn’t gotten what he wanted with Zhao Fengchen, the overall event was going as he expected. At the very least, the twelve Vice Marshals he had chosen had not challenged his men.
“Have them prepare for the second round!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
A Golden Guard quickly turned around to convey the order.
“For the last round, I want to challenge Marshal Duan Zhuyan of the Feather Forest Army!”
This sudden, resounding voice from the drilling ground caused the entire place to fall silent. All the members of the Eastern Palace paled in unison and looked over.
“What is going on here?”
The First Prince angrily turned to Meng Tu.
“This… I don’t know either.”
Meng Tu paled, his face even more stunned than the First Prince’s.
“I already went to all twelve Vice Marshals and had them swear fealty to Your Highness!”
Eleven of the twelve Vice Marshals had followed the plan, but the last one had gone astray.
“What’s the name of that Vice Marshal?”
The First Prince had a dark and sinister look on his face.
“He seemed to have been called Wei Xiyuan,” Meng Tu said.
……
“Wang Chong, did you do this?”
On the southern end of the drilling ground, Bai Siling smiled as she looked toward Wang Chong. Although she didn’t know what had happened, after seeing the reaction of the Eastern Palace members, she felt almost by instinct that Wang Chong had done something.
“Heheh, the First Prince was just too certain, believing that all the Tang would swear fealty to him. But he completely forgot that the Sage Emperor’s status is still much higher than his in this empire!” Wang Chong commented, not denying it.
The First Prince had bought the loyalty of eleven Imperial Army Vice Marshals, and six of them had challenged Zhao Fengchen. Wang Chong was naturally capable of persuading one of the Vice Marshals to swear fealty to the Sage Emperor and pretend to join the First Prince.
“Hmph, cunning,” Bai Siling poutingly said, but there was no rebuke in her eyes, only a sense of pride. “The First Prince seems to be furious. He probably didn’t think that you would be able to bribe one of his Vice Marshals so soon after returning to the capital.”
“Heh, I didn’t do it in the last few days. I had this planned out long ago!” Wang Chong casually said as he looked at the drilling ground.
Bai Siling smiled and instinctively wanted to say a few more words of praise, but she quickly realized what exactly Wang Chong had said and stared at him in a daze.
The First Prince had only begun to show his ambition recently, but Wang Chong had apparently bribed this Vice Marshal some time ago. Just how long ago had he predicted that the First Prince would make this move?
Bai Siling naturally did not know that Wang Chong had long ago known about the Rebellion of the Three Princes that was only just beginning to take form before their eyes.
Moreover, only by making his plans long beforehand could he have actually hidden them from the First Prince and the Eastern Palace.
Neigh!
Meanwhile, there was a fierce neighing as the match on the drilling ground began.
The mysterious Marshal of the Feather Forest Army, clad completely in armor, slowly rode forward with his five hundred men.
An immense energy erupted from his body, flooding across the entire drilling ground.
All was silent as everyone stared at the Feather Forest Army Marshal.
The two mysterious Marshals had yet to step onto the battlefield, and the information on them was extremely sparse. Even their real faces were unknown.
“Let the contest begin!”
The drums thundered, and the match began!
Boom!
As the drums ended, a thunderous rumble came from the eastern side as the last Vice Marshal came forward, his body erupting with fierce fighting intent as he locked his eyes onto Duan Zhuyan.
“Kill!”
As he thrust out his spear, his five hundred cavalry burst forward, their speed immediately reaching its maximum. At a glance, it seemed like an unstoppable wave was surging forth, capable of blasting apart everything that stood in its way.
“Aaaah!”
Such was this power that the great clan scions and nobles on the western end of the drilling ground couldn’t help but cry out in fear and back away. All of them felt as though those Imperial Army soldiers on the other side were not charging at Duan Zhuyan, but at them.
Eight hundred feet, six hundred feet, three hundred feet!
The distance was shrinking, and the Vice Marshal’s aura began to fuse with his men, one war halo after another bolstering their strength to frightening levels.
But Duan Zhuyan merely gave a cold snort and then began his assault.
Bang!
Before anyone could react, Duan Zhuyan led his five hundred men, who shot out like bolts of lightning and clashed with the Vice Marshal’s men like two primordial titans.
Time seemed to stop, a second stretched into infinity. But a moment later, Duan Zhuyan’s five hundred men stabbed into the opposing force like a sharp sword. Cries of alarm and the shrieks of horses resounded as the last force was pierced straight through.
Blood spattered across the drilling ground. While the battle had been extremely short, it had been far more gruesome than many had imagined.
More than two hundred men had been knocked to the ground, in great pain and deprived of any will to fight.
This had been an overwhelmingly one-sided battle!
“So strong!”
On his horse, Zhao Fengchen raised an eyebrow. He had known that this man was very strong, but not to this level.
The Vice Marshal had been no weakling, and in fact had been one of the strongest, but he couldn’t even fight back against Duan Zhuyan.
“This is going to be difficult!” Li Lin sternly said. “Lord Zhao has a real opponent!”
Zhao Fengchen was no weakling, and his Xuanwu Army had been tempered on the field of blood that was the Battle of Talas, their strength unquestionable. But from this battle, he could see that Duan Zhuyan was comparable in strength to Zhao Fengchen, as was his Feather Forest Army to the Xuanwu Army.
And this was only the first round, where his foe had clearly not used his full strength!
“The First Prince has been planning for this competition for some time and is determined to succeed… Moreover, he has the Army-Shattering War God helping him. All of this is to be expected!”
Wang Chong was much calmer than Li Lin, his face devoid of any ripples of emotion.
In normal circumstances, the Imperial Army would not be able to match Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army, but things were different with Hou Junji involved. As one of the major officials in Taizong’s reign, Hou Junji was
a master of training and drilling soldiers.
Bong!
The drums banged as a eunuch entered the drilling ground.
“The last match! Duan Zhuyan wins!
“The next round will begin in fifteen minutes!”
These fifteen minutes soon passed, and the blare of a horn announced that the second round, the advancement stage, was beginning.
The second round was even more fraught with tension than the first.
“Milord, it will be our turn soon!” one of Zhao Fengchen’s deputies said somewhat nervously, stepping up beside him.
In the end, the result of the first round had been basically what everyone had expected. None of the twelve Vice Marshals had been able to remove a Marshal. But in this round, three of the six Marshals would have to be eliminated so that the remaining three could go on to the final round.
The six divisions of the Imperial Army had almost always been on par in strength, and at this level, none of them were weaklings. Moreover, one had to consider that each Marshal had hand-picked the five hundred men that would join them in the contest, so these five hundred were guaranteed to be the best of the best.
At any other time, this would not have been important, but every member of the Xuanwu Army knew that this competition was not merely about the posts of the three Grand Marshals.
“Have our brothers get ready. Just do as we trained and leave the rest to me!” Zhao Fengchen sternly said. He appeared calm on the surface, but as he looked at the other five divisions, he nervously clenched his fists.
Defeat was not an option!
Chapter 1721 - Zhao Fengchen Advances!
Chapter 1721: Zhao Fengchen Advances!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Bongbongbong!
Drums thundered as the six groups of soldiers in clattering armor came forward, and the mood on the drilling ground instantly turned grim and somber.
The six forces took up formation, positioning themselves on the eastern and western sides as they prepared to enter the battlefield.
On the southern end, Wang Chong slowly scanned the six forces. The second round was where the true fight began, but Wang Chong was still not too worried.
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