The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 568 Zhang Xutuo vs. Wagang

How can a golden unicorn stay in a pond? It will turn into a dragon when it encounters wind and clouds.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling laid a solid foundation with the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter of the Nine Yin Manual. Later, they were favored by Fu Jun'er, the beloved disciple of Master Yi Jian Fu Cailin, and were taught the Jiu Xuan Da Fa. With this as an enlightenment, they successfully opened the "Changsheng Jue" and got started, directly giving rise to innate true qi.

Although they had begun to learn Qi, they were too ignorant to unleash its full power. For the next two months, they began their martial arts training with the sloppy old Taoist priest. While it was just the basics, it was extremely important, and they truly learned many practical techniques. Not only did they learn the basics of the eighteen weapons, but they also learned other techniques such as breath-holding techniques, tendon contraction, snake-like movements, and acupuncture for healing.

At this time, the two of them were already considered second-rate in the martial arts world, and they were the kind of second-rate masters with super endurance. At this time, the sloppy old Taoist left, and Miaoying Zhenren Sun Simiao, who was carrying the "Huangtian Dafa", appeared beside them.

Zhenren Miaoying did not teach them any martial arts, but just kept them by his side, taught them some medical skills and pharmacy, and while regulating their bodies, he told them some methods of understanding the nature of mountains, rivers and the earth. These methods were very mysterious. If the two of them had not been introduced to the "Eternal Life Secret" and had extraordinary qualifications, they would have been confused.

During these three months, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's Qi improved only slightly, but their physical fitness and spiritual realm made great progress. They also learned a very good skill in treating illnesses and healing injuries, and they also developed more applications for the Qi of Longevity.

As Miaoying Zhenren traveled around, they saw tragic scenes of people being worse than dogs in troubled times, and they felt a lot of emotion. After three months, they were driven away by Taoist Sun, who only said that they had graduated and could travel the world on their own.

Although they knew that Miaoying Zhenren was invited by their master to teach on their behalf, it still could not change the help this elder gave to them, especially his teachings on medicine and Taoist scriptures, which benefited them a lot. Before leaving, they kowtowed several times and then stood up after Miaoying Zhenren left.

Kou and Xu were both blessed with good fortune and caused a stir as soon as they entered the martial arts world. This was probably because Yu Wenzhi blamed these two for his previous unsuccessful attempt to hunt down Fu Jun'er, making many people know that they had a close relationship with the Goguryeo female swordsman Fu Junchuo.

Although the "Secret of Immortality" is famous, no one has succeeded in practicing it for thousands of years, so its influence is not that great. However, Yang Gong's Treasure is different. At some point, a rumor began to spread in the world: Whoever obtains one of Yang Gong's Treasure and He's Jade can obtain the world.

And someone unknown behind the scenes revealed that Fu Junchuo had pawned the ancient jade from Yang Gong's treasury. For a time, an uproar was set off in the martial arts world, and Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were hunted down again and again.

Yes, it was not a pursuit but a hunt, and among them, Du Fuwei, who had the world in his sleeves, was the one who was chasing the most closely.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's martial arts skills are far beyond the reach of their contemporaries in the original novel. They are also smart and cunning, so they quickly escaped and accidentally destroyed the conspiracy of the Haisha Gang, which won the favor of Madam Dongming. However, Princess Shan Wanjing of Dongming was quite dissatisfied with her two junior brothers, and felt that their actions had damaged the image of the Xiaoyao Sect, which was totally wrong.

Compared with the news about small thugs like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, it was actually not a big deal. The real big event was the tortuous battle between the Wagang Army and the Sui Army in Xingyang.

The Wagang army was large in number. Although it was hastily formed and the good and bad were mixed, its posture was quite good, with many skilled fighters in command. It fought quite well with Yang Qing, the governor of Xingyang. However, Zhang Xutuo, the governor of Xingyang, broke the deadlock as soon as he showed up. He almost defeated the Wagang army with one wave of attack.

Although Zhai Rang was an extraordinary martial artist, he was no match for the combined forces of Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, and Cheng Zhijie. Not far away was a true master, the undefeated general Zhang Xutuo, so he fled in disgrace, resulting in the crushing defeat of the Wagang army.

The original plan was for Zhai Rang to act as bait and pretend to retreat, fighting and retreating to lure the Sui army into an ambush, and Li Mi would go around the enemy's rear and attack from both sides. However, Zhai Rang's retreat was too fast and too thorough, and before they reached the designated location, the Wagang army had become somewhat uncontrollable and scattered.

Li Mi acted decisively and rushed towards Zhang Xutuo from both sides. The elite troops he trained personally fought fiercely with the Sui army, and even approached within a hundred meters of Zhang Xutuo's central army. Several figures suddenly rushed out and rushed towards Zhang Xutuo. The latter clenched the long spear in his hand, but finally did not act rashly. Instead, he focused all his attention on commanding the army to fight and strangle this group of elite rebels with the army.

"Archers, get ready, shoot!" Yue Buqun was in a high position, commanding his personal guards to snipe and kill the beheaders who had entered the central army. Dense arrows came like a flood, and shrill screams were heard incessantly. In the battle between the army, ordinary martial arts masters had no advantage at all. If you don't have the innate level strength, it's best not to take risks easily. And innate masters are not safe among thousands of troops. At least you need to be a master to have the power to protect yourself.

Are there any powerful masters in the Wagang Army?

The answer is yes. Two figures, one on the left and one on the right, rushed out from the rain of guns and arrows as fast as lightning and headed straight for Zhang Xutuo. Yue Buqun shouted loudly to block one of them, and sixteen swordsmen rushed forward and blocked the other master from Zhang Xutuo.

When Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin and Cheng Zhijie heard that the central army in the rear was attacked, they did not panic and rush back to provide support. Instead, they increased their pursuit. However, Yang Qing, the prefect of Xingyang in the rear army, was afraid to die and formed a battle array on the spot, not daring to act rashly, thus missing the opportunity to encircle and annihilate Li Mi's elite troops.

The battle lasted from dawn to dusk. Li Mi set fire to the forest, forcing Zhang Xutuo to withdraw his troops and fight again another day.

In this battle, the Sui army suffered 3,000 casualties, the Wagang army suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and even more were defeated and fled. Zhai Rang had completely lost his fighting spirit.

On the second day, the Wagang army set up camp and refused to come out. Zhang Xutuo challenged and insulted the Wagang army, but no one came to fight. At nightfall, they were attacked again and were repelled by Qin Qiong and others who were well prepared. Three or five assassins sneaked into the camp to assassinate Zhang Xutuo, but were repelled by Yue Buqun.

On the third day, Zhang Xutuo launched a massive attack, forcing the Wagang army to retreat ten miles, and the Sui army failed to achieve its full victory.

On the fourth day, news came from the rear that the Wagang army was divided, with Li Mi leading the troops to attack Xingyang, while Zhai Rang, Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji held Zhang Xutuo head-on. Xingyang urgently requested a withdrawal, and Zhang Xutuo led his troops to return to support, with Xingyang prefect Yang Qing continuing to contain and suppress Zhai Rang's troops.

Most of Li Mi's troops were his direct subordinates, and they were disciplined and well-behaved, which was not comparable to the Wagang rebels. Zhang Xutuo was repeatedly blocked by snipers when he returned to Xingyang to provide support, so he divided his troops into three groups. The vanguard general Luo Shixin led the cavalry to open the way, and Zhang Xutuo's army in the center advanced quickly, with Qin Qiong and Cheng Zhijie on the left and right supporting the defense.

You mean the rear army?

The rear army has the smallest number of people, almost negligible. They are the scout team created by Mr. Yue Buqun. Once there is any movement, they will immediately inform the entire army. In addition, they march very fast, so they don't worry about being attacked from behind.

Soon, Zhang Xutuo's army returned to Xingyang City. The imperial flag fluttered in the wind on the top of the city wall, and the soldiers defending the city remained. When Zhang Xutuo arrived, the city gates were wide open. However, as soon as he entered the city, he was immediately greeted by a wave of strong bows and arrows. It turned out that the Zheng family of Xingyang had secretly colluded with Li Mi and tried to kill Zhang Xutuo, the most powerful general of the Sui Dynasty.

Zhang Xutuo was accidentally hit by three arrows and was about to be surrounded. Yue Buqun stepped forward and brought twelve maids to play the song "The Sound of the Blue Sea Tide" together, and killed people in all directions through the city gate. This gave Qin Qiong and others the opportunity to rescue Zhang Xutuo and leave Xingyang City safely.