Li Guanyi had vanished.
After Xue Daoyong and Yue Qianfeng repelled the assassin ranked tenth in the world, they hurried here. Or rather, the assassin had retreated on his own accord; he was not a death warrior. Upon realizing that he could do nothing against these two old men, who were armed with divine weapons and clad in precious armor, he chose to abandon his target without hesitation.
He turned to leave.
Yet, he was still struck by a punch from Yue Qianfeng. Yue Qianfeng swiftly grabbed him, tearing away a portion of his black dragon armor, and then the old man shot him through with an arrow, causing him to spit blood and cough violently as he fled.
Pursuing a desperate foe is unwise, especially since Li Guanyi was still being hunted. After this incident, Yue Qianfeng and Xue Daoyong lost their intent to fight each other. When they arrived, all they saw was a scene of devastation. Yue Qianfeng crouched low, sweeping his hand over the bodies of the assassins, and said:
“…he died under the blade of the Broken Army Eight Blades.”
“Five or six assassins surrounded him, fighting as they fled. Here, his weapons were bound by chains, and his horse was killed. He couldn’t escape. With five people surrounding him, his spear broke, and his bow snapped. The traces here show he was hit by a crossbow bolt—three of them…”
Yue Qianfeng's voice was calm.
His tone grew colder.
He stood up and declared, “Alive, we seek the living; dead, we seek the corpse.”
“Old man, I won’t fight you for now. It’s the Mo family that has gone astray. I’ll go find their lair; you’re the local snake, so search here.”
His divine sense could not detect Li Guanyi’s aura in this place.
The roar of the red dragon soared into the sky, and Yue Qianfeng’s eyes were filled with killing intent as he continued forward to search.
Xue Daoyong took a deep breath, bending down to place his palm over the eyes of his warhorse.
He urged it to close its eyes.
Seeing the bloodstains around, he understood the brutality of the recent battle. Gripping the broken Su Ni bow, he hurried back to the city to gather men, but halfway there, he encountered the Xue family’s guest elders. These guests sighed in relief and hurriedly bowed, saying, “Old Patriarch!”
Xue Daoyong asked, “Why are you here?”
Earlier, after Li Guanyi had left, Xue Shuangtao had also ridden straight to the Xue family.
The young girl, dressed in elaborate skirts, galloped into the Xue family on the main road, then disregarded everything to dismount, rolling onto the ground. The old man was strict with his subordinates; to protect the Xue family, without the Patriarch’s order, no guest elder could mobilize the entire Xue family.
Xue Shuangtao pressed a dagger against her throat, blood already flowing, forcing the guest elders to ignore the Patriarch’s order and rush out.
Xue Shuangtao, along with Changsun Wuchou and several renowned figures, went to the Guan Yi City General’s Mansion to request that the city’s defending general send troops outside. In the brief time of the old man’s battle, all the people in the city had already emerged, sweeping away the wanted fugitives and clashing with the scattered assassins several times.
The arriving guest elders were stained with blood and sighed in relief:
“As long as you are unharmed, that is the best.”
He paused and asked, “Where is Li Guest Elder?”
The old man did not answer, only gripping the broken Su Ni bow. There was sadness in his eyes as he pointed outside and said, “Find him.”
The guest elders did not understand: “What?”
Xue Daoyong’s face twitched as he said:
“Even if I have to spend all the money of the Xue family, I will dig three feet into the ground outside Guan Yi City!”
“Tell everyone in Guan Yi City, whoever can find him, I will give them a street of shops, ten thousand taels of gold, and a lifetime of endless glory and wealth!”
“Alive, we seek the living; dead, we seek the corpse!”
“Get out there and find him!!!”
……………………
Yao Guang transported Li Guanyi back, using the secret methods of the Eastern Land Star Observation School to connect with the powers of the White Tiger Sect from five hundred years ago and the previous generation of Yao Guang, concealing the aura of the water stream. It became like an unyielding stone; not only could the martial artists who were not adept at sensing fail to notice, but even another branch of the Star Observation School would find it hard to perceive this place.
The assassin widened his eyes, seemingly realizing something.
Starlight, white hair?
Yao Guang rummaged through the bag she carried on her back and pulled out a black pouch.
She covered the assassin’s head with it.
Then, holding Li Guanyi, she gazed at the water stream and gently walked out, jumping into the water. Her qi flowed in a manner different from that of martial artists, pushing the water aside, forming streams that surrounded her, speckled with starlight.
In the water, she held the young man’s wrist, swimming together, surrounded by twinkling starlight.
Yao Guang’s silver-white hair swayed gently in the water, her gaze calm and serene, like a water spirit. However, Li Guanyi was asleep and did not witness this scene. Yao Guang brought him to the cave behind the water, first reaching the shore, her clothes remaining dry. Then she turned around, grasped Li Guanyi’s hand, and with a forceful lean back, pulled the young man onto the shore.
Expressionless, she supported her knees and took several deep breaths.
Raising her head, she saw the starlight shimmering above. Her physical strength was poor, and upon arriving here, she could only stand behind Li Guanyi, slowly moving him toward the center. General Xue sat cross-legged there, seemingly still smiling.
At the center of the cave, the rocks above split open, and although it was daytime, it seemed possible to glimpse the starlight.
Yao Guang adjusted her simple clothing, removed her hood, and quietly knelt beneath the starlight, her hands together as she lowered her gaze and softly recited the precepts of the Eastern Land Star Observation School. The starlight gathered around her, and beside the composed and elegant General Xue, the starlight coalesced into another woman.
With black hair cascading down, her appearance was simple and serene.
A golden mark appeared on her forehead, identical to Yao Guang’s.
The brilliance of the stars fell here, and the past phantoms of youth sat in the positions of the Four Symbols. This was a true secret realm, prepared by General Xue for the future world. Only when the true White Tiger Sect appeared, accompanied by Yao Guang, could it be fully revealed.
According to the records of the Eastern Land Star Observation School, the light of the stars flowing in the sky must transcend time. The flowing light that left the White Tiger Seven Constellations five hundred years ago, after enduring long years, arrived in the mortal realm, landing here, binding the legacy of five hundred years.
The black-haired woman lowered her gaze, her hands together, softly reciting the ancient language of the star observers.
The hazy starlight gathered.
Within Li Guanyi’s body, the qi finally dispersed, connecting heaven and earth with the human body.
It was still daylight, yet the starlight above shone brightly.
Streams of light fell, landing on the quietly sleeping Li Guanyi. The flowing light that illuminated the cave gathered beneath him, transforming into layers of intricate characters and patterns. Li Guanyi completed his entry into the realm, and his aura burst forth from his body, connecting with heaven and earth.
This heart is untainted, this body has fought a hundred battles.
It is the most superior foundation.
Stars gathered, and the flowing light of the White Tiger Seven Constellations descended.
Beside the young man, the White Tiger Dharma Form revealed itself under the starlight.
Still just a young cub, bathed in starlight, it raised its head and roared. Then, nourished by the power of the stars, it began to change, gradually stretching from its original appearance, akin to a large cat, to a normal White Tiger over seven feet long. Just as it was about to roar, completing this transformation into the realm.
The bronze cauldron gently hummed.
The red dragon and the black turtle were unceremonious, frantically absorbing the aura from the White Tiger.
They forcibly slowed the White Tiger’s transformation.
However, the starlight was boundless, allowing for endless extraction.
As if encountering the capacity that no generation of the White Tiger Sect could rival for three thousand years.
Li Guanyi absorbed four times the star power.
When the red dragon’s scales became real and the patterns on the black turtle’s back became clear, leaving behind another aura, they finally ceased their absorption. The White Tiger finally roared mightily, its fierce roar echoing to the heavens, while the White Tiger Seven Constellations above were drawn by the starlight, becoming four times brighter than before.
To those watching, it appeared as if the White Tiger Seven Constellations had suddenly brightened.
…………
In the desert outside the oasis, a young man rode a camel, carrying a massive bundle on his back, with a jade flute at his waist. The elderly man in front rode a camel and lamented:
“Is that not so?”
The young man smiled and replied, “No, the Turkic prince is a heroic figure, but he is not yet a true hero. What he speaks has grandeur, but that is only because he stands in a high position.”
“Just like climbing high to see far; when a person is wealthy, they can naturally cultivate their qi. But the hero I seek must be one who can still roar while lying low.”
“His friend, on the other hand, has a more heroic demeanor.”
“I’ve heard that when he was born, he tightly grasped a piece of blood that was as hard as stone. People sang that he was a fierce star from the heavens, destined to bring blood and slaughter. His name, translated into the characters of the Central Plains, means ‘the essence of steel’.”
“But he is not the person I am looking for.”
The old man, puzzled, asked, “Not this one, nor that one!”
“What exactly are you looking for?”
The young man took down his horse-head fiddle and casually played a tune, answering, “I am looking for the person destined in fate. I must find him according to the ancient agreement, to assist him in igniting the flames of chaos in this era, to burn this age with fire. Of course, this sounds very mystical, but there are others searching for him as well.”
“They are my fellow practitioners.”
“The ideas of that lineage are too naive, hoping to ease the chaos peacefully. But the smoke of war has already risen. It will not end until those so-called heroes and saints are extinguished.”
“Thus, I must find the most powerful hero and assist him in ending the chaos as swiftly as possible. The person I seek should be the overlord of the chaotic world, his fate soaring to the heavens, a youth amidst ruin, fierce and hard to describe, dominating the metal and the tiger among the five elements and four symbols.”
“The White Tiger Divine Lord.”
“Oh, the White Tiger Divine Lord, is that what you mean by those stars rising in the west?”
The old man understood, pointing to the western sky and smiling, “In our stories, those are the weapons in the hands of the celestial gods, their blades sharp, meant to sweep away the inequalities in this world.”
“In this regard, it is quite similar to the culture of the Central Plains.”
The young man smiled to respond but suddenly paused. Under the dim sky of the vast grassland, seven stars shone unusually bright. The young man, who called himself Broken Army, slowly widened his eyes:
“...the White Tiger Seven Constellations?!”
Behind him, the bundle suddenly let out a fierce shriek. In that instant, it seemed a scent of blood exploded. The camel, which faced the desert storm and sand without flinching, suddenly buckled, kneeling down, blood spewing from its mouth, and it was scared to death.
The old man’s scalp tingled, and his heart nearly stopped beating. “What is this?”
This young man came from the Central Plains.
He was elegant and articulate, seemingly a strategist from the Ying Kingdom. The heroes of the Western Regions welcomed him warmly, and every night different women would emerge from his tent, their gazes affectionate. However, previously, this fellow had fled from the sacred land of the Dangxiang people, now carrying this large bundle on his back.
He turned to run, nearly exhausting the old man as they fled through the night.
They had been chased by the Dangxiang people for three hundred miles.
Only when they reached the territory of the Turkic people did they slow down, taking a detour back to the Central Plains through the desert.
Suddenly, the old man heard a roar like thunder.
He shivered, raising his head to see the world suddenly turn gray.
A massive storm invaded from afar. The old man’s face lost all color; this was a sandstorm, the most dangerous thing in this vast land, the wrath of the celestial gods. The old man’s scalp prickled; he was superstitious and shouted, “What on earth did you bring out from the sacred mountain of the Dangxiang people?!”
With camels around, hiding behind the camel’s back, he could still survive beneath the sandstorm.
But the camel had died from fright!
Could it really be the wrath of a martial god?
The old man knelt on the ground, bowing and praying for forgiveness, but the storm approached so swiftly that he even confessed the incident from when he was seven years old, peeking at the neighbor’s sister bathing, confessing to the celestial gods.
The buzzing sound exploded, and the old man raised his head to see the sandstorm being torn apart.
It seemed to be retreating from here, as if avoiding something, only the dry sand stinging his face. He turned around, stunned.
The enormous bundle was shrieking.
As the sandstorm swept by, the blood-colored fabric wrapping it was completely torn apart, revealing a weapon entirely black, with faint golden patterns, appearing between the sky and the earth, crashing heavily to the ground.
The fierce and imposing tiger head swallowed its mouth, and the edge of the battle spear, even after five hundred years of dust, remained chillingly sharp.
Pointing at the heavens.
The wild wind of the desert blew over the weapon, causing it to emit a roar akin to that of a White Tiger. Even the desert storm parted ways before it, the storm clashing with heaven and earth, swirling in the air, as if a thousand giants from the northern regions were striking the bronze war drum, shaking the heavens and earth, instilling fear in the old man’s heart.
He could not stand firm and knelt on the ground, his heart trembling.
Yet the young man’s eyes ignited with brilliant flames. The old man turned his head to see the young man half-kneeling before the enormous battle spear, starlight falling from the sky, the sandstorm parting before him, everything resembling the epic scenes passed down on the grassland. The first people accepted the guidance of the gods, and the eyes of the Broken Army were fervent and solemn, saying:
“Lord of the Western Dawn, Master of Weapons.”
“Long Sky, the Origin of Overlords.”
Beside him, the legacy of generations roared, yet it was the divine weapon placed on the sacred mountain by General Xue five hundred years ago.
In the quiet room of the Xue family, the Broken Cloud Trembling Bow hummed, the bowstring’s cry could not be contained.
Beside Li Guanyi, the silver-haired girl held his hand, stabilizing his aura. Yao Guang’s gaze fell, her voice calm and peaceful, reciting the ancient honorific name, saying:
“God of the Western Dawn, Lord of Metal.”
“The Four Spirits of Heaven, to rectify the four directions.”
The two divine weapons in Jiangnan and the desert rejoiced as that aura appeared in the world, while the White Tiger Seven Constellations in the sky flowed, surpassing four times the brightness of the past, manifesting the same thing.
Since the divine weapons appeared in the world, for three thousand years.
The strongest White Tiger Sect has emerged.
…………
And in Li Guanyi’s ‘dream’ of entering the realm, he saw different things.
(End of this chapter)