In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Although Zhang Xiaoshan felt guilty towards Princess Taiping, he had no regrets.

This weakened the strength of the Wu Tang Dynasty considerably. In particular, with the death of the Bad Commander, the Wu Tang's ability to resist the Later Zhou Empire was bound to be greatly reduced.

For Zhang Xiaoshan, a protracted war of attrition is not as effective as a decisive push.

The faster the Later Zhou Empire destroyed the Wu Tang Empire, the less loss would occur to the Nine Provinces.

After all, when war breaks out and chaos reigns, it is the common people who suffer.

"What do you mean?"

"The Zhang family is preparing to return to Jiangnan, but not to the Jiangnan of the Song Dynasty, but to the Jiangnan of the Later Zhou Empire!"

"Jiangnan of the Later Zhou Empire?"

Even Princess Taiping was startled upon hearing this, but given the current situation, the Song Dynasty could not hold out for much longer.

"It's not just the Song Dynasty; the Later Zhou Empire will likely set its sights on the Wu Tang next!"

As an imperial princess, I believe you should be able to discern that the reason the empire has summoned the Song Clan, the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Yan is to deploy military defenses.

However, I am more optimistic about the Later Zhou Empire.

Although the Wu Tang Empire was as powerful as the Later Zhou Dynasty, it had too many internal conflicts. Even though the struggle between the Li and Wu families was resolved this time, there were still other disputes.

This time, it was a trigger!

Princess Taiping remained silent upon hearing this, even though she already knew these things.

The most obvious example of the internal struggles within the empire was Emperor Wu's ascension to the throne, where the political factions within the court clearly distinguished themselves in terms of respect and awe.

Moreover, there are powerful clans, powerful figures from other ethnic groups, and even the Demonic Sect within the organization...

"...Is there really no way to solve this?"

"The reason I don't want to help the Wu Tang Empire is that the Mandate of Heaven is with Zhou!"

The longer this drags on, the more your Tang Dynasty may enjoy temporary prosperity, but the people will be left destitute, and the land will descend into a dark age. This is not what I want to see.

So I won't be able to protect you much from now on, Ghost Street will be the key for you to make a living.

Moreover, with your strength, you can easily establish yourself in Ghost Street and perform acts of righteousness.

However, I will leave you the Dragon Vein as a means of self-defense, along with four sword techniques that can forge the Sword Prison. But I do not wish for these things to fall into Princess Taiping's hands!

"Dragon Veins!"

Upon hearing that Zhang Xiaoshan was willing to leave the dragon vein to her, even Princess Taiping looked at Zhang Xiaoshan in disbelief.

She had clearly seen the power of the dragon vein just now; it was an unparalleled divine weapon.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaoshan was willing to leave it for her to use for self-defense.

"Are you really giving this to me for self-defense?"

Looking at the spine in his hand, although it was somewhat terrifying, the material was now like white jade, white and crystal clear, reflecting five colors under the candlelight!

Moreover, when Princess Taiping held it in her hand, she could feel a terrifying power emanating from it, ready to kill.

"Alright, I've given you everything. Do you think I'd lie to you?"

However, this thing cannot appear on Princess Taiping's body; if it were to be revealed, it would surely be the Queen Mother of the West.

As for your martial arts skills, it's best to keep them hidden in normal times.

In this way, no one will doubt your identity as the Queen Mother of the West, and once the Wu Tang dynasty falls, this place can serve as your refuge.

Chapter 543 History Repeats Itself: The Zhang Family's Departure

As the sun rose and the clouds shone brightly, ten large Fujian-style boats slowly sailed past Mangshan Mountain.

Although the Zhang family fled in a sorry state, no one believed that Zhang Xiaoshan's actions constituted a fight to escape the capital.

Even if Emperor Wu wanted to stop them, he would intercept and kill them on the way.

With so many experts on the ship, even the numerous experts in the capital city were helpless, let alone the 100,000 troops on the shore, who would only be sending them to their deaths.

Especially now, facing the threat of the Great Zhou Empire, Emperor Wu dared not use the army to fill this huge gap.

Leaving aside the question of whether the Zhang family can be wiped out?

Once the Zhang family completely sides with the Later Zhou Empire, the Wu Tang Empire will face enormous challenges!

After all, the Zhang family's domineering nature and strength are well-known.

As for people in the martial arts world, no one dared to offend the Zhang family. Moreover, Emperor Wu believed that within three days, news of the Zhang family's affairs would surely spread throughout the entire Nine Provinces.

At that time, the Zhang family will reach a transcendent position, and no one will dare to provoke them.

"This old servant greets Your Majesty!"

Inside Hanyuan Hall.

At this moment, Eunuch Wei, Song Que the Heavenly Blade, Prince Li Keyong of Jin, and others came from Mangshan to report to Emperor Wu.

The hall was filled with a dozen or so top-tier masters, half of whom were either at the pinnacle of their skill or unparalleled in their expertise. This demonstrated that the foundation of the Wu Tang Empire was far superior to that of the Song and Ming dynasties.

"The Zhang family has left?"

Emperor Wu's eyes were bloodshot, revealing a terrifying murderous intent.

Everyone naturally understood why Emperor Wu was so furious that day; even if they had known that their relatives had been killed, they would not have been more furious.

However, all of this was trouble brought upon Emperor Wu himself, and the reputation of the Wu clan was truly tarnished.

In their view, the Zhang family's elimination of this cancer before leaving might not be a bad thing. 433

From then on, the empire was no longer divided into the Li family and the Wu family.

"Your Majesty, the Zhang family left Zhang Family Wharf an hour ago."

"Where is the Bad Commander?"

"gone!"

gone?

Emperor Wu looked at Song Que, the Heavenly Blade, Prince Jin, Prince Yan, and others in disbelief.

The powerful leader of the Bad Guys actually left? She naturally understood the weighty implications of this phrase!

"Your Majesty..."

As Eunuch Wei slowly recounted the events, Song Que, Prince Jin, and the others remained silent.

The fact that he didn't speak meant that Eunuch Wei was right.

Prince Jin, Song Que, Prince Yan... weren't they all top-tier experts? Emperor Wu had no intention of doubting Eunuch Wei.

At least Eunuch Wei was eager to save people, and he fought the Mad Lion Iron Battle for three hundred rounds. Although the result was evenly matched, he definitely did his best.

In a short time, the atmosphere inside Hanyuan Hall became terrifyingly oppressive.

The Empress never expected that even the powerful and influential Bad Commander would suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Zhang family.

Dragon vein?

This was the first time the Empress had heard of the existence of 'dragon bones'.

Although she knew about Zhang Xiaoshan's gains in the Kunlun Mountains, she hadn't paid much attention to them before.

After all, most of them were defective products: unsuccessful elixirs of immortality, blood-sucking goddesses, and a piece of the Queen Mother of the West's spine.

Unexpectedly, the spine inside is actually the legendary dragon bone!

Moreover, the three bronze-armored warriors, whose full strength was no less than that of the Bad Commander, made Emperor Wu extremely wary.

The bronze-armored warrior was Zhang Xiaoshan's guardian puppet, and originally possessed strength comparable to a grandmaster.

I never imagined the Zhang family had been hiding their true intentions so well!

Even Zhang Xiaoshan's strength, having broken through the void realm and possessing nameless, terrifying fist techniques, surpasses that of the Bad Marshal.

If it weren't for today's battle, Emperor Wu wouldn't have believed that Zhang Xiaoshan had actually reached the realm of breaking through the void.

As for this obstruction, everyone had their own 'excuse'.

Needless to say, the Prince of Jin was disabled, but he still had to face the evil King Shi Zhixuan who blocked his way.

Tian Dao versus Yin Hou, Fa Ming versus Shi Long, Qi Wang versus Jiang Nan Yue...

The Yuwen clan, in particular, suffered heavy losses, with most of its elite members wiped out by the Xiao family father and son. Yuwen Shang, the Yuwen family's top expert, was also killed on the spot.

With the addition of two grandmasters, Dongfang Bubai and Lianxing, even the Martial Emperor was extremely gloomy.

The strength displayed by the Zhang family was undoubtedly a warning to others, a way to make an example of them. The Wu Tang family was the tiger, and the Wu family was the chicken.

"Offer a bounty!"

Although it was a fig leaf, Emperor Wu had no choice but to wear it.

Everyone sighed in regret.

After all, the Zhang family being forced to leave not only caused heavy losses to the empire, but also made it a laughing stock!

Just as they had mocked the Song Dynasty before, now everyone would mock them in return.

The sudden poisoning of hundreds of guests at Yingbinlou, followed by the Zhang family's extermination of the Wu family and their subsequent departure, is strikingly similar to what happened back then!

History is repeating itself, only this time it's more serious.

The Zhang family dared to exterminate even the royal Wu clan, demonstrating their determination this time.

Any force that dares to provoke the Zhang family will be met with a swift and decisive response, an eye for an eye.

···

"The Bad Commander is dead?"

In the land of Jingchu, a group of Miao people came down to receive the Zhang family's 'apology'.

A few days ago, the Zhang family suddenly sent a message saying that the situation had changed and that they should come down the mountain to hand over the goods.

Therefore, Chi Xue instructed Chi Yuan to lead a dozen elites from the village, along with an elder, down the mountain to receive salt, cloth, liquor, and other goods, handing them over at the location specified by Zhang Xiaoshan.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving in Jingchu, I heard about the Zhang family's massacre of the Wu clan.

However, what shocked them the most was the news that Zhang Xiaoshan had defeated the Bad Marshal.

Moreover, this time, the Bad Commander's fate was not unknown; he was completely annihilated by Zhang Xiaoshan's divine weapon, dragon vein, and puppet warriors, and was beyond dead.

In particular, the effect of spreading rumors and exaggerating the truth.

In the end, it turned out that Zhang Xiaoshan set a trap and, together with three bronze-armored warriors, surrounded and killed the legendary Bad Commander. Only after being seriously injured did they manage to kill him.

Although there are many versions, the final result is always the same: the Zhang family destroyed the Wu family, slaughtered half of the Li family, killed the Bad Commander, and retired successfully.

Even the group of Miao experts looked at each other in bewilderment!

Moreover, everyone understands that the poisoning of hundreds of people at Yingbinlou must be related to the royal family, otherwise the Zhang family wouldn't have acted so recklessly.

With the scheming leader behind them, the Zhang family's actions are either swift and decisive, or they are absolutely swift and powerful.

"Elder, no wonder the Zhang family wants us to come down the mountain to receive supplies. It turns out that the Zhang family has been unable to move an inch within the territory of the Great Tang!"

Chi Yuan also found the Zhang family's decisive and ruthless style extremely satisfying.

From Jiangnan to Wutang, the Zhang family has always prioritized harmony and prosperity.

If they hadn't been driven to a dead end, why would they have launched a desperate counterattack?

Moreover, this is related to their Miao region. The Bad Commander killed the Witch King and framed the Zhang family; the royal family poisoned hundreds of guests at the Yingbin Tower and framed the Miao region. This is an attempt to provoke the conflict between the three of them.

Unexpectedly, they all ended up reaping what they sowed.

Although Emperor Wu acted discreetly, the Zhang family was not to be trifled with.

Zhang Xiaoshan, in particular, was unwilling to become a puppet in someone else's hands. Having watched too many old martial arts dramas, Zhang Xiaoshan remained calm and would not be easily fooled.

Unless the other party's intelligence is almost supernatural.

Or perhaps it truly touches upon Zhang Xiaoshan's bottom line, causing him to lose his temper...

"Alright, Li Hao, go to the capital and find out the specific details!"

Remember, never reveal your identity. Now, not only the Zhang family, but also the Miao region is a force that Wu Tang dislikes.