The Villain's Counterattack

"Uncle Master, are you sure you can defeat Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao and achieve the Grand Master status before Martial Master Bi Xuan arrives?" Deep in the palace, Li Yuan personally received Uncle Master Chao Gongcuo, a veteran Grand Master of the Nanhai School and also a powerful man of the older generation, who was stationed in the Nanhai by the Great Sui Dynasty to balance the power of the Song clan.

However, compared with the grandmaster-level combat power of Tiandao Song Que, although Chao Gongcuo is strong, he is somewhat inferior. If Song Que does not appear, he can still show off his power for a while, but once Tiandao appears, he will be nothing.

As the leader of the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan not only adopted his subordinates' strategies to make friends with foreign races, conquer Xiliang, and accept wealthy families from the Central Plains, but also did a lot of work in secret, especially recruiting martial arts masters, and even activated the hidden players that the Li family had buried for decades or even hundreds of years, including the Nanhai School.

Li Yuan could never have imagined that the world would become like this in just a few years. Before, the entire Sui Dynasty had only one grand master, who was Ning Daoqi, a Taoist monk who was not used by the court and was held hostage by Buddhism. But now, in the entire Central Plains, there are nearly two dozen grand masters in the open.

The appearance of the Five Hermit Elders changed a lot. Although they had never openly stood on either side, most people with a discerning eye could see that their relationship with Liaodong had become closer. Later, the Evil King Shi Zhixuan, the Queen of Yin Zhu Yuyan, and the Duke of Chu Yang Xuangan successively became grand masters, completely breaking the monopoly of the Buddhist thug Ning Daoqi and greatly changing the situation among the heroes in the Central Plains.

Li Tang, who was supported by Cihang Jingzhai, the leader of the righteous path, gradually lost his advantage under such circumstances and fell into a disadvantage. In recent times, Li Yuan could not even contact Cihang Jingzhai and could only obtain some support indirectly through Shi Feixuan. Ning Sanren even had a tendency to break away from the control of Buddhism, making Li Tang even weaker.

Li Yuan vaguely realized that behind Liaodong were the five hermit elders, and under the Luoyang Sui royal family were Chu Gong Yang Xuangan. Although the evil king Shi Zhixuan and the Yin Queen Zhu Yuyan were not on good terms, they had a common enemy, the righteous Buddhist sect. Li Tang was at a huge disadvantage facing these two parties.

Unlike the immature Li Shimin, Li Yuan knew better that power should be in his own hands. If he relied solely on Cihang Jingzhai, the Li Tang Dynasty would become the second Sui Dynasty. So when the Buddhist disciple Yinzhao was summoned to develop a society in Chang'an to spread Buddhism, Li Yuan did not think about the risks and rejections, but how to take the position of Grand Master for himself.

This "self" is not Li Yuan himself, but Li Tang.

However, looking at the entire Li Tang force, there was no great master who could become a grandmaster in a short period of time. In the end, Li Yuan had no choice but to call back the most likely close person, Chao Gongcuo.

"If I said I was absolutely certain, you wouldn't believe me. Even I wouldn't dare to make such a boast." Chao Gongcuo, though arrogant, wasn't completely clueless. "This boy was able to defeat Zhao Deyan. His strength must be at least at the peak of the Grandmaster level. He has been preaching the Dharma and discussing the Dao for days without a single defeat. His momentum is unstoppable, growing stronger with each battle. Although I, your uncle, have been famous for decades and have reached the peak of Grandmaster level for many years, my internal strength is definitely superior to his, but in a real fight, I wouldn't necessarily be much stronger than the Turkic State Master."

"If we come and challenge him directly, the result will definitely not be better than that of Zhao Deyan, and may even be worse." Chao Gongcuo's eyes flashed with greed and said coldly: "The timing, place, and means chosen by Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao are all superb. Li Tang is the most suitable place. It would be ten times or even a hundred times more difficult to succeed in other places. However, success and failure all depend on Chang'an. With the help of my nephew, the position of Grandmaster is guaranteed to be mine!"

Li Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this. He had studied it carefully before. It was really helpless for the Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao to choose Chang'an. If he chose the Central Plains, not to mention the five hermit elders and the wanderer Ning Daoqi, even the evil king and the queen would not be able to let him succeed. Even Chu Gong Yang Xuangan would most likely take action. After all, they had entanglements and hatreds with Buddhism.

Chang'an is different. It is the core capital of Li Tang. As the main support force of Cihang Jingzhai, the Buddhist power here is strong, and the power of the demonic sect is severely compressed. Even high-ranking officials of the Sui Dynasty such as Chu Gong Yang Xuangan cannot act openly in Chang'an before they surrender, let alone challenge the Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao.

It was not convenient for the independent man Ning Daoqi to stand up and suppress the Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao openly. Even if he wanted to take action, he would be restrained by the Four Holy Monks. After all, they were masters of the older generation, and the Four Holy Monks had every reason to take action against him.

If this were the case, Li Yuan wouldn't intervene. He was actually happy to see a Grandmaster who wasn't from Liaodong, Luoyang, or the Demon Sect emerge. Unless Ning Daoqi clearly expressed his support for Li Tang, Li Yuan wouldn't support him. However, if Chao Gongcuo were the one taking advantage of the situation, the situation would be different. He was one of Li Yuan's own, and he would find a way to hold the Four Great Monks back, creating the best opportunity for Chao Gongcuo.

"Master uncle, do you have a plan?" Li Yuan asked anxiously.

Chao Gongcuo nodded gently and said, "Yin Zhao Fozi is surrounded by three thousand top-tier monks and ten master warriors. It's impossible to weaken him. His diet is taken care of by a dedicated person, so outsiders can't get close to him at all. Ordinary methods are almost ineffective."

"Fortunately, Buddhism still has an enemy, and that's the Yin Gui Sect." Chao Gongcuo continued, "Yin Zhao, the Buddhist disciple, wants to use the power of Buddhism to achieve a Grand Master. Yin Gui Saint Maiden Kan Kan, a disciple of Yin Queen Zhu Yuyan, has the same idea. Taking advantage of the gathering of the elite Buddhists in Chang'an, she attacked the Buddhist stronghold in the Central Plains, using Buddhism as a stepping stone to seek a breakthrough."

"This move hits the weak spot of Buddhism. If they want to send reinforcements, they must be a master, or even a master of the Four Great Saints. However, if they do so, the Dharma protectors around the Yin Zhao Buddhist disciples will be severely insufficient. If they do not send reinforcements, it will inevitably greatly undermine the morale of Buddhism and seriously weaken the concentrated Buddha's heart of the Yin Zhao Buddhist disciples."

"My nephew, you don't need to do anything now. You just need to publicize the achievements of the Holy Maiden Kākā at the Yinzhao Buddhist Dharma Assembly." Chao Gongcuo's words made Li Yuan suddenly realize, and he gave a thumbs up, praising that the old man still has the wisdom.

"If this is not enough, at most it can slow down the speed at which the Yin Zhao Buddhist disciple's aura gathers, but it can never break or reduce it. If you want to defeat him, you must become strong yourself. And this brings us to another person, the little phoenix of the Dugu family, Dugu Feng, the disciple of the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai!" Chao Gongcuo's words made Li Yuan slightly stunned.

"Master uncle wants to use Dugu Feng to challenge the young talents in the world? But..." Li Yuan was a little hesitant. His master uncle is already very old. Wouldn't it be a bit...?

Chao Gongcuo gave Li Yuan a sidelong glance and asked, "Is my uncle such a person who doesn't know the importance of things and doesn't follow the rules?"

Li Yuan hurriedly apologized, praising Lian Lian with his mouth, but cursing in his heart, "Aren't you such a person?"

"I heard that one of my nephew's men is called Kedazhi, a rare master fighter from the Turkic region. He joined the Crown Prince's Changlin Army and has never been defeated in challenging the masters of Chang'an. Is that true?"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Master, you mean..."

"The one who defeated Dugu Feng was Kedazhi. And the one I want to fight is the one who defeated Dugu Feng. Kedazhi will seize Dugu Feng's power, and I will seize Kedazhi's power. Then, our momentum will naturally be as high as a rainbow. We can defeat Yin Zhao's disciples in one fell swoop and seize the opportunity to attack the Grandmaster!" Chao Gongcuo's logic is not difficult to understand. However, Li Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "I am not sure, nephew, that Kedazhi can definitely defeat the little phoenix of the Dugu family. Although she is young, her swordsmanship is considered the best among the younger generation. Even Kedazhi..."

Chao Gongcuo waved his hand and said, "It's okay. The Dugu family's little phoenix has been challenging all the way and still has quite some time to reach Chang'an. If Uncle Master can give Na Dazhi some advice these days, it will give him a better chance of winning."