Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 95: The Empty Drum Flies to the Sky, the King Speaks

"It's a very high status indeed."

Zheng Hui stroked his beard, seeming to sense Chu Tianshu's eagerness to try, and couldn't help but say, "I know that you guys are always more direct in doing things."

"As long as we have determined who is the enemy, we will not care about his identity and will act decisively. But this person is not so easy to kill."

"He is the best master in Nanzhao, the uncle of Duan Rusu, and the former head of the Qingping officials, Duan Zhong!!"

Dao Baishu said sternly: "So it's him!"

Chu Tianshu had also heard Dao Baishu talk about this person.

During the Tianbao period, this man was only a young man, but he was already a general in the army. He was extremely powerful and led troops to attack the Tang army, with outstanding military achievements.

At that time, there were some knights-errant in the Tang Dynasty who repeatedly attempted to assassinate the former king of Nanzhao.

Although the former king of Nanzhao was also quite powerful, he still encountered danger several times and was rescued by this man.

Therefore, the former king of Nanzhao specially gave him the name Zhong and appointed him as the Qingping official.

At that time, the power of the other five of the six Qingping officials was far from comparable to Duan Zhong.

After Nanzhao and Tubo formed an alliance, Tubo sent people to give the former king of Nanzhao a title of honor, called "Zanpu Zhong", which means that the king of Nanzhao was like the younger brother of the king of Tubo.

Another decree brought by the Tibetans called Duan Zhong "King of Righteousness", which meant he was the nephew of the Tibetan king.

When the previous king of Nanzhao passed away, Duan Zhong went to the Tubo royal city on behalf of Nanzhao to pray for Nanzhao.

The Tubo leader tried to persuade Duan Zhong to stay in Tubo for three years, where he lived in the most revered temple in Tubo. He exchanged Buddhist and martial arts ideas with local priests and monks, inspected military camps, and gave advice on military strategies.

But during this period, the new king of Nanzhao, Yi Mouxun, personally led an army to invade Tang territory, and joined forces with the Tubo border army. As a result, they were defeated by the Tang army and were scattered to pieces.

By the time Duan Zhong returned to his country, Yi Mouxun had already asked for peace with the Tang Dynasty and personally ordered the expulsion of all Tibetan garrisons in Nanzhao.

After that great defeat, the Tibetans became suspicious of Nanzhao, but the Nanzhao people had become extremely tolerant of the Tibetan garrison's bullying over the years and their inability to defeat the Tang Dynasty.

The expulsion of the Tibetan garrison caused a stir among the government and the public, and Yi Mouxun, who had suffered a great defeat, gained extremely high popularity.

After Duan Zhong came back, he did not express any objection and just watched the Tibetan garrison being expelled.

This is all Chu Tianshu heard from Dao Baishu.

Zheng Hui added a paragraph.

Both Tubo and Nanzhao worshipped Buddhism. In recent years, every March Festival, there would still be groups of Tubo monks who came to visit Duan Zhong in the name of exchanging Buddhist teachings. They would often stay in the Nanzhao royal city for more than a month before leaving.

Nanzhao King Yi Mouxun was also well aware of these things.

"Duan Zhong's inclinations are already opposed to me and the monarch, but he still has a strong influence in the army and is very difficult to kill."

Zheng Hui sighed, "If I were easy to kill, I wouldn't have waited until today."

Chu Tianshu pondered, "Is it simply because he's difficult to kill? Perhaps the king is still wavering. After offending Tubo seven points, he still wants to maintain a three-point bond?"

Zheng Hui smiled slightly and did not deny it.

"If the choice is between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty, the monarch might still be hesitant. However, if Duan Zhong's rumor plot gets out of hand and the monarch doesn't stop it, the nation's power will be shaken. If the monarch forcibly stops it, he will inevitably be labeled as biased towards the Tang people."

Zheng Hui was in high spirits and had a far-sighted gaze.

"His intentions this time already seem suspicious of usurping the throne. I can help the monarch make up his mind."

Chu Tianshu asked again: "So, is there any specific demonstration of Duan Zhong's strength?"

"Specific performance?"

Ge Hong said in Baopuzi that we should be specific and discuss the details of etiquette.

The so-called specific expression probably means more detailed and clear expression.

Zheng Hui's mind shifted, and he understood. He pondered, "Duan Zhong is good at attacking strong positions, and his combat power is far superior to mine. His agility isn't his strong point, but his agility is still not inferior to mine."

"Doctor Chu, if you want to give it a try, why not have a small competition with me first?"

Zheng Hui took out a copper coin and said, "When this copper coin starts to fall from the highest point, let's grab it together and see who gets it to the ground first."

Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "Okay."

Upon hearing this, everyone stepped back a little to make room for a larger open space for them.

Zheng Hui threw the copper coin up.

A large gap was specially made in the floor of the second floor of this restaurant.

The copper plate passed directly through the gap and reached the highest point of the entire restaurant.

Everyone looked up and saw that the copper coin was rising more and more slowly.

Slowly flip over and start falling.

Chu Tianshu's pupils lit up slightly, and his feet suddenly shook.

An axe-like footprint appeared on the ground, and his figure shot up at an angle, almost with a little afterimage, and his feet had already stepped on the railing of the second floor.

The entire railing on the second floor was deformed and noticeably bent.

Chu Tianshu's figure bounced and approached the roof in an instant.

The coin had just turned a full circle at this time.

In the eyes of everyone, just as the copper coin was about to fall, Chu Tianshu's hand had already appeared next to the copper coin.

But another figure suddenly entered everyone's sight.

Zheng Hui's figure was like a flag flower, a rocket, and a crane soaring into the sky.

Without any turning or gaining any leverage, he flew straight to the top of the restaurant and grabbed the copper coin first.

despair!
When the thumb and index finger pinched the copper coin, the speed was so fast that a slight vibration was heard from the edge of the copper coin.

Zheng Hui retracted his hand as soon as he grabbed it, and his body rotated and moved sideways.

He had no leverage in mid-air, and this sideways movement allowed him to move about seven feet.

That kind of posture and figure really seemed as if there was not a single heavy bone or a trace of cumbersome flesh and blood in his body.

His entire body was like a cloud that expanded and contracted at will, naturally coming with the wind and turning with the wind.

Chu Tianshu failed to grab it, and suddenly gripped the long sword in his right hand.

A transparent flame suddenly lit up on the sword, and a ball of fire shot out backwards.

Chu Tianshu's whole body was pushed forward, and he rushed towards Zheng Hui with the sound of breaking wind.

Zheng Hui was startled and suddenly raised his right hand above his head.

A transparent circular spot half a foot in size appeared in the air.

The edges of the round spot seemed to be fixed by an invisible force, and the middle was as strong and tough as cowhide.

Zheng Hui pushed with his right hand, causing the middle part of the round spot to bulge high, generating a catapulting force that accelerated his fall.

When Chu Tianshu grabbed it, he only tore off a piece of his right sleeve.
Zheng Hui fell to the ground at high speed, and a large circle appeared near the ground.

The seven-foot-sized air membrane is about three feet above the ground.

As soon as Zheng Hui touched the air film, his speed dropped sharply. Although he finally broke the air film and caused it to break apart, his feet only shook for a moment when they touched the ground before he stabilized his body.

The pools of blood from the corpses on the ground were swaying slightly in the air current.

Chu Tianshu immediately fell to the ground, his knees slightly bent, and the bricks under his feet shattered with a dull sound.

"It seems that I lose this time."

Chu Tianshu let out a breath, not showing much frustration, and looked at Zheng Hui's feet.

"I saw you fly by suddenly before, and when you turned, there was a faint layer of air under your feet."

"Is this the power of your soldier soul?"

Zheng Hui nodded and said, "My soldier soul is called Konggu Feitian."

A flash of reminiscence flashed in his eyes.

When he was still a county magistrate in the Tang Dynasty, he was considered to be quick to seize opportunities and quickly led everyone to escape, but he still could not escape the pursuit of the Nanzhao troops and was captured and taken back to Nanzhao.

For him, it seemed that he had become successful because of this, but how could it be possible that those fellow villagers did not die during the forced relocation?

If they get bumped into something, or catch a cold from the heavy night dew, they will probably not survive for more than a few days.

When he learned the Blood-Refined Military Technique, he had originally wanted to have a spirit of bravery and cultivate a warrior spirit that was astonishingly sharp and murderous on the battlefield.

But when he actually raised it, he discovered that the soldier spirit reflected the most unresolved desire in his heart, which was... to run faster.

This incident made him feel quite ashamed, and it took him many years to gradually accept it.

There was no way. He really couldn't imagine himself killing everyone and making rivers of blood. Even if he went back to the past, he could only think of taking everyone and running faster.

Step on the drum in the air and fly into the sky.

The path through the dangerous ravine is as easy as walking on flat ground.

Over the past few decades, Zheng Hui's military spirit has become more and more refined.

The initial air film can only be attached to the ground or the soles of shoes, which makes it easier to save energy when running.

And now, even if he is in mid-air and cannot touch any physical object, he can generate seven such air films.

"You have this kind of military spirit, yet you're only just on par with Duan Zhong in terms of physical skills, which he's not good at. It seems he's truly a formidable figure."

"Both in terms of strength and status, they are both very good."

Chu Tianshu's tone was filled with excitement that everyone could hear, and his eyes were bright.

Madam Wen Jing was about to say something, but she saw Chu Tianshu's smile fade and his expression became calm.

He raised his left hand, letting the sleeve fall to his elbow, and shook the long sword in his right hand, which coiled around his left forearm like a snake.

The hilt of the sword is also curved, pressing just against the wrist.

The mental power stored inside the Sanqi Divine Sword is all compressed.

In terms of purity and quality, this kind of mental power is better.

However, in terms of controllability.

Chu Tianshu's control over these compressed mental powers is not as smooth as his control over his original mental powers.

In short, if he used his original telekinesis, he could control the telekinesis to transform between a hundred flow rates.

As for these compressed mental powers, he can only use either a very low flow rate or a very strong flow rate.

Just now, when he was in mid-air, he dared to move sideways by jetting telekinesis, but he did not dare to use it to accelerate his fall to the ground.

It was because he was not sure whether he would have enough time to rely on his telekinesis to create a buffer as he accelerated towards the ground.

If you can cultivate a soldier's soul, perhaps you can use these mental powers as easily as using your own arms.

By then, it won't just be the weapons that are stronger, it won't just be the flames on the hands that are stronger, but it will be possible to amplify the entire body.

Chu Tianshu had a clear direction in mind, and certainly would not be frustrated by the small failure just now.

"But since we can't kill Duan Zhong yet, even if we kill the Yuwen family, those who spread the rumors will still take action, right?"

Chu Tianshu asked, "How is Lord Zheng going to resolve this rumor?"

"We can't kill Duan Zhong, so Duan Zhong is behind the rumor. This matter can only be speculation."

Zheng Hui stroked his beard and looked at Yuwen Tongxun with a wise smile.

"But this is already a weighted guess, so I can ask the king to make some equally weighted guesses."

Zheng Hui said this, but left the audience in suspense and turned to the crowd.

"You have hindered Duan Zhong's good fortune. If you were weaker, it would be fine, but Doctor Chu and Captain Cheng are both very strong and in their prime."

"If Duan Zhong comes to kill himself and eliminate the hidden danger, it will be very troublesome. Why don't you all stay in my house for the time being?"

"Add my guards and even myself to show Duan Zhong that he can't succeed."

Lady Wenjing sighed softly.

Unexpectedly, she, who runs a restaurant, could be involved in such a big thing.

So this is what it feels like to be hit by an unexpected disaster.

I'm afraid her restaurant won't be able to reopen for a long time.

After everyone followed Zheng Hui into the mansion, Zheng Hui wrote a secret letter and sent it to the palace that day.

It was only the next morning that Chu Tianshu and the others knew what "the king's speculation" meant.

The king of Nanzhao sent someone to post the imperial edict.

It does not clarify the issue of "whether the Tang people robbed the Nanzhao people of their wealth", nor does it mention the Huaixi Jiedushi at all.

The higher-ups directly blamed the recent assassinations of prominent figures near the royal city on the Tibetan spies.

The notices posted together with the imperial edict described the investigation process of each murder case in great detail.

The Tibetan spies are so bad, they did all this.

He truly deserves to be the king. Faced with rumors, he did not try to clarify them, but instead used his supreme skill to fight rumors with rumors.

Yi Mouxun was filled with rage and personally listed the twelve major crimes committed by the Tibetan troops stationed in Nanzhao.

These things are not entirely rumors.

As soon as the rumors started to gain momentum, they collided with the monarch, who had already taken a firm stance, and personally started a wave of voices.

(End of this chapter)