Battle Through the Heavens: Emperor Yan, please restrain yourself; your elder brother is truly hones

Erlongguan is just a city with tall gates and walls, but it doesn't actually cover a very large area. Most of the buildings there are shops, temporary inns, and some related industries.

The man found a beggar by the street and inquired about the whereabouts of the "Black Armor Guards." He learned that after Zhang Yuan and his party entered the city, they went straight to the Imperial Post Station, leaving the Silver Horned Black Rhinoceros in the care of the post station staff.

After casually tossing down a few silver coins, the man wandered through the streets and eventually found the post station. He discovered that the Black Armor Guards were indeed all there. After finishing his dinner, he returned to his room to rest.

He checked into the nearest inn and continued to keep watch in the shadows, spending the entire night doing so.

The next morning, Zhang Yuan and his black-armored guards retrieved their horses from the post station attendants and then arrived at the south gate of the city, preparing to leave.

Before the city gates even opened, several large merchant caravans had already gathered at the entrance, with the words "Qingyun Meng" and "Wanshuge" written on their carriages.

In the Wanshu Pavilion procession, a veiled woman who was about to board a carriage noticed Zhang Yuan. Her eyes flickered, and she whispered a few words to a middle-aged man who looked like a steward.

The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly, then turned to walk towards Zhang Yuan and the others.

At this moment, a handsome man stepped out from behind the carriage next to the woman's carriage and said loudly, "Qing Yanjing, I do not allow outsiders to join our team."

Qingyan Jing?

Zhang Yuan was taken aback and, somewhat reflexively, turned to look in the direction where the woman was.

Isn't this Mu Chen's mother?

Based on the timeline, they might not even have been born yet, just like Dong Ge!?

Chapter 27 A Woman's Invitation! The Conflict Has Already Begun

The woman was wearing a light blue long dress that covered her ankles and most of her neck.

The veil on her face was very beautiful, and it had the effect of blocking people's vision, making it impossible to see her true appearance clearly.

From head to toe, only her hands and eyes were exposed, and her eyebrows and eyes revealed a hint of gentleness.

But even the long dress couldn't hide her exquisite figure; among all the women Zhang Yuan had ever seen, only Consort Ya could compare.

Although the veil concealed her face to the extreme, one could tell from her eyebrows and eyes that she was a stunning beauty.

"It must be someone with the same name."

Zhang Yuan thought to himself that he was being a bit paranoid, and looked away without daring to look any longer.

Luck is a real thing. Xiao Yan and Lin Dong are the chosen ones of luck in a declining and a newly emerging world, respectively, while Mu Chen was born in the Great Thousand World.

A woman like Qing Yanjing can be said to have a special mission. Born into one of the five ancient clans of the Great Thousand Worlds, how could she be in the Dou Qi Continent, a dilapidated plane that doesn't even have a passage to the upper realm?

If she were just an ordinary beautiful woman, there would be too many of them in this vast world, not worth his second glance.

However, he still diverted some of his attention to the distance, simply because the other person was talking about him.

"Why not?" Qing Yanjing stared into the young man's eyes and said calmly, "Meng Xing, you don't mean to say that the Black Armor Guards transferred from the southern border are unreliable, do you?"

These days, she has been trying to get a few more reliable caravans to join her to avoid being targeted by the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist as much as possible, but the young man in front of her has ruined it all with various excuses.

She had finally encountered a group of Imperial Black Armor Guards who were also setting off. There was no need to worry about their stance, and in terms of strength, they were all among the best in their realm. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to cooperate.

"The Black Armor Guards are certainly reliable, but what use are these few dozen men?" Meng Xing said with undisguised contempt. "Judging from the age of the leader, he's probably just a squad leader with the strength of a Battle Master, or at most a captain. He definitely doesn't have the strength of a Great Battle Master. If we cross the Illusionary Mist Mountain with them, won't our three guard teams be acting as babysitters?"

"Nonsense." Qing Yanjing said coldly, "Our two families and Qingyun Escort Agency together have three Grand Masters and six Masters, which is exactly equal to the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist. This team of Black Armor Guards has at least one Master and dozens of high-level fighters. They are a force that can affect the balance. Why do they need our protection?"

"Master Qin, what do you think?"

As Qing Yanjing spoke, she turned to look at a middle-aged man next door who was shirtless and had an extremely strong physique. He was Qin Hai, the person in charge of the escort mission for Qingyun Escort Agency, a three-star Grand Master.

"We can ask," Qin Hai nodded in agreement.

The biggest fear when escorting goods is having people of unknown origin mixed in with the team, which is why he supported Meng Xing a few days ago and disagreed with Qing Yanjing's move to find more people.

However, if it is the Black Armor Guards, who are renowned throughout the empire, then it is a different story.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan gave him an unfathomable feeling, which aroused a terrible suspicion in him, and he wanted to befriend him.

Meng Xing's face turned ashen, but he didn't say anything more.

He is the young master of the Meng family, but not the person in charge of the Meng family on this trip. He can oppose Qing Yanjing, but he would never go head-to-head with a Grand Master.

Qing Yanjing smiled slightly and nodded to the steward, who then went straight to Zhang Yuan and the others, cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, young general."

"You are a courteous elder," Zhang Yuan replied, clasping his hands in greeting.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "It seems that the young general is also going to Qingyun Town. Would you like to travel with us so that we can look out for each other?"

"Thank you for the invitation, elder." Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Under normal circumstances, I would naturally be willing, but this time I have military duties to attend to and must arrive at Qingyun Town within three days, so I cannot travel with you all."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man showed a regretful expression, clasped his hands in farewell, and took his leave.

"Miss." The middle-aged man returned to the group and reported the situation.

Qing Yanjing and Qin Hai both showed regret, but Meng Xing smiled and muttered, "He's smart enough. If we meet in Qingyun Town in the future, I can give him a drink."

The Meng family is the number one family in Qingyun Town. His second uncle, Meng Li, is the strongest in the family, a Dou Ling expert who also serves in the army and has good relations with the Mu family, one of the three major families of the empire.

His cousin also served in the Black Armor Guard and could become a commander at any time.

In his view, Zhang Yuan was nothing special.

Qing Yanjing was too lazy to say anything more to this good-for-nothing young master, so she lifted the curtain and prepared to get into the monster carriage.

But she had only taken one step when she suddenly lost her balance, and she heard some chaotic shouts from the Qingyun Escort Agency's team next to her.

"Oops."

"It escaped."

"Damn it, who was in charge of checking the seal last night?"

"Quickly take it down. Be careful, don't hurt it, or you won't be able to bear the consequences."

"."

Swish!

Qing Yanjing gathered his fighting spirit beneath his feet, leaped high into the air, spun 180 degrees, and landed on the ground. He then looked towards the Qingyun Escort Agency's team.

White smoke was rising from the top of a large iron cage, and a purple bird's head, about the size of a lantern, emerged from it, struggling to escape.

People around tried to stop it, but they were all forced back by the blue flames spewed out by the purple bird.

"Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle!" Qing Yanjing's pupils contracted.

The Purple Cloud Eagle is a magical beast. It is a first-tier magical beast at birth and a third-tier magical beast when it grows up. Its mark is that it can control blue flames. If it has the opportunity, it can grow into a fifth-tier magical beast, the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle, which is comparable to a Battle King.

Clearly, this Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle, with a strength of Rank 3, was the one that Qingyun Escort Agency was transporting this time.

The appearance of the Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle frightened the magical beast horse pulling her carriage so much that it knelt down, causing her to be thrown off balance.

"not good!"

Qing Yanjing heard Qin Hai's anxious voice and saw him transform his battle qi into armor, immediately taking action.

But he was a step too slow. The Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle successfully broke free of its cage, flapped its wings, and flew towards the city gate, rising into the air.

“Friend, please lend a helping hand, and Qingyun Escort Agency will surely reward you handsomely.”

While pursuing, Qin Hai used his fighting spirit to amplify his voice and ask Zhang Yuan for help.

"You two make your move." Zhang Yuan remained seated on his horse, motionless.

His personal guard captain Ye Ya and Xiao Boyuan understood each other and simultaneously summoned their battle qi robes. They slapped the ground and rose into the air, each grabbing a chain from the Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle.

The two of them were certainly no match for the Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle in its prime, but if they used the power of the sealing chains on the latter, they could temporarily restrain it.

"Ow!"

Ye Ya and Xiao Boyuan grabbed the chains and immediately channeled their fighting spirit into them.

The Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle's barely recovered strength was suppressed again, and its body lost power, plummeting downwards.

Seeing this, Qin Hai accelerated again, catching the Azure Flame Purple Cloud Eagle at the last moment, while simultaneously injecting battle qi into the sealing chains.

"Push the cage over here!" Qin Hai roared as he turned around.

The people from Qingyun Escort Agency immediately pushed the huge cage in front of Qin Hai, helping him put the Azure Flame Purple Cloud Carving back in, while reinforcing the seal.

After returning the chains, Ye Ya and Xiao Boyuan got back on their horses.

"boom!"

After this brief interlude, the south gate opened precisely on time.

Zhang Yuan flung the reins and charged out of the city on horseback, followed closely by dozens of riders.

"Hey," Qin Hai called out from afar, then gave a helpless smile and said, "Looks like they're really in a hurry."

"If Master Qin wants to express his gratitude, there will be plenty of opportunities when we reach Qingyun Town." Qing Yanjing looked towards the city gate, lost in thought.

"That's the only way." Qin Hai nodded, then said, "Even two of his subordinates have the strength of a Battle Master. I wonder how strong that young leader is."

"Who knows?" Qing Yanjing's beautiful eyes flashed, and she said softly, "It's a pity that such a strong team can't act with us."

After saying that, she boarded the carriage herself, completely ignoring Meng Xing, whose face was ashen.

In a nearby alley, an ordinary-looking man poked his head out and said thankfully, "Luckily they were in a hurry and left first. If they had really accepted the invitation from Wanshuge, the fat sheep would have gotten away with it."

After saying this, the man walked into the street, blended into the crowd, and walked out of the city gate with an air of nonchalance.

All that could be seen was a thick fog, and it was difficult to see anything beyond a ten-foot mark. Yet, the man felt as if he were returning home. He quickly arrived at a secluded cave and led out a horse-like monster covered in scales.

"go!"

The man rode away on horseback, but not on the main road; instead, he took a very secluded path.

Unbeknownst to the man, shortly after he left, a figure in black robes appeared before him on the path.

"Zhang Yuan was right after all."

Chapter 28 Military Strategy! The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

"The Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist have maintained a number of nine for years. They would immediately add more members after the number decreased, but they have never increased in number. There must be some special reason for this."

"I can't figure out the reason for this right now, but I know there are only nine of them. And now, passing through the Illusionary Mist Mountains is not like it was more than ten years ago. There are passes set up at both the north and south entrances and exits. The official road has been cleared countless times. Caravans have figured out the patterns of passing through the mist. People who are not strong will travel in groups."

"Under these circumstances, the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist can no longer rob whomever they want as they used to, especially with the government watching them closely. Therefore, they will definitely focus on intelligence gathering and identify suitable targets in the passes to avoid meaningless robbery and danger."

"And the person who gathered the intelligence must be a confidant of the Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist, or even one of them."