Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

The soldiers, along with the Tibetan leaders, were all startled by the sudden appearance of the giant crane and, for a moment, failed to notice the gradually rising sound of iron hooves.

A clear cry rang out from the giant crane, and suddenly a figure in green robes tumbled across its back. In a flash, the figure was beneath the giant crane, landing beside a magnificent carriage.

Everyone looked on in astonishment, only to see a young man standing silently. The young man had long, flowing hair and a flowing robe, looking like a celestial being descended to earth! Before anyone could react, the young man flicked his robe and billowed his sleeves! Suddenly, the nearby enormous carriage shattered into pieces!

The walls of the carriage flew off in all directions, knocking soldiers off their horses! The roof also shot skyward! Only the base lay there alone. The horses pulling the carriage, still bored, looked around, completely unaware that the carriage behind them had been dismantled and was now at ease.

A young girl emerged from the carriage. A fleeting glimpse of the fair skin of her neck and wrists was dazzling! The woman, dressed in a blue-green brocade robe, remained seated. Her headdress had been removed, obscuring her features. She sat regally in the center of the carriage, unaware that the walls and roof of the carriage had been completely stripped away!

Everyone watched as the young man leaped forward, about to catch the girl in his arms.

Just then, a loud shout rang out: "You little thief, prepare to die!"

Before Li Xingzhi could turn his head, he felt a gust of wind rushing straight to his back!

"Heh!" He chuckled disdainfully, shifting his body slightly. Without even looking back, he knew where the spear was coming from. With a swift movement of his left arm, he tucked the spear under his armpit!

He turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a long beard reaching his chest and a somewhat weathered look on his face forcefully pulling his gun back. Li Xingzhi held the gun firmly, without moving an inch!

Li Xingzhi knew that this man was Li Daozong, the Minister of Rites and Li Xueyan's father, so he didn't dare to tease him. He simply said, "You should come with me too!" Although Li Daozong had met Li Xingzhi once before, his appearance was not very clear in the darkness, and it had been a long time since then. Therefore, he was even less clear about him.

Li Xingzhi exerted force in his waist and abdomen, and the spear slipped from Li Daozong's hand, shooting forward directly at the group of Tibetans in front of him. A gaunt, short man dressed in a festive manner rolled haphazardly, narrowly dodging the incoming spear. Those behind him were not so lucky; the spear pierced their armor and went straight through their chests! Blood spurted from their chests, spraying everywhere!

Li Xingzhi moved swiftly, trapping Li Daozong with his arm. "Excuse me!" he said. Li Daozong, suddenly feeling weak all over, could only submit to his will, his heart filled with both anxiety and anger.

Just then, the young girl sitting in the carriage heard a commotion of people and horses falling over, and her heart skipped a beat. She lifted her headdress, revealing her stunningly beautiful face. She saw that the carriage had been dismantled into several pieces, and her heart pounded with shock. She then noticed a group of Tang Dynasty soldiers surrounding her as if facing a formidable enemy. She hurriedly looked around, unsure of what had happened, feeling a mixture of anticipation and overwhelming worry and fear.

The young girl turned her head and saw a figure, her eyes glued to him. Slightly distracted, she then saw the young man standing with the middle-aged man beside him, and let out a gasp, about to speak. But then she heard the young man say, “I heard that a princess of our Great Tang is to marry a short barbarian from the west. What a pity! This princess has such delicate skin; it would be a waste for her to marry that short man. It would be better if she came with me.”

Although the people of the Tang Dynasty also had their reservations about this delicate princess marrying a short, barbarian, they all glared angrily at Li Xingzhi's tone!

"You little thief, since you know that our Great Tang Dynasty is in a peace treaty with Tibet, how dare you act so recklessly!? Do you know how many people in this world will be displaced and lose their lives because of your reckless actions today! If you leave now, I will not pursue this matter further out of consideration for our shared Tang heritage!"

Hearing Li Daozong's words, Li Xingzhi was furious and said, "So you're willing to sacrifice such a delicate and beautiful daughter of yours? Humph, you said it yourself, we're all Tang people. It's better for my daughter to be with me than for an outsider!"

"How could my daughter, Li Daozong's daughter, marry a scoundrel like you!" Li Daozong cursed, his face flushed red.

"Ha, do you know what bandits love to do most? Bandits love to rob! Rob money, rob people! Tsk tsk, you, a minister of the Tang Dynasty, plus this princess daughter, you're worth a fortune!" After saying that, he suddenly shook his head and said, "No, no, you can't calculate the money. This princess is going to be my wife, and you'll be my father-in-law! This wife can't be bought, and this father-in-law..." He turned to look at Li Xueyan and said, "For the sake of this little beauty of mine, he's even less likely to be sold!"

At this moment, Li Xueyan was protected by hundreds of elite soldiers. Li Xingzhi, on the other hand, was surrounded by over a thousand Tang soldiers and tens of thousands of Tibetan troops. The soldiers, however, were hesitant to act because Li Daozong was in Li Xingzhi's hands, and could only listen to Li Xingzhi rambling incoherently in front of tens of thousands of people.

The Tibetan soldiers were alright; they didn't understand and didn't think much of it. The Tang soldiers, however, gripped their swords and spears tightly, ready to charge. Several Tibetan leaders, having understood Li Xingzhi's words through the interpreter beside them, turned pale, their previously ruddy cheeks turning ashen. As for Songtsen Gampo, even with his excellent composure, being publicly humiliated like this had him trembling uncontrollably. If Li Daozong hadn't been held by Li Xingzhi, he would have already had the Tibetan soldiers chop the villain in the middle into mincemeat! Although he didn't move his hands, his eyes were bloodshot, practically spitting fire!

Li Xueyan was surrounded by armored soldiers, anxious but unable to voice her thoughts, and could only wait and see. The soldiers, seeing Li Xueyan's expression, assumed she was worried about her father and weren't surprised.

Li Xingzhi had other plans in mind and wasn't in a hurry to leave. He grabbed Li Daozong, looked at the tens of thousands of people around him, and started talking nonsense. The Tibetans were completely baffled, the Tang soldiers were blushing, and Li Daozong was ashen-faced with anger. Li Xueyan found it amusing, but she was more worried than anything else.

"Ha! Look! My men are here!" Li Xingzhi suddenly pointed into the distance and exclaimed dramatically.

At this moment, the surrounding crowd also heard the sound of horses' hooves, and Li Xingzhi's shout made them turn to look. They saw a cavalry of several hundred men appear on the vast wilderness. These men were still some distance away, and they could only make out their outlines. The soldiers saw that these men were riding horses and carrying weapons, and they were not armored, only their horses were covered with leather armor. There were only a few hundred men, so they didn't take them seriously at first.

Just then, Li Xingzhi, along with Li Daozong, flicked their sleeves and pushed off with their feet, shooting out of the encirclement like arrows! The crowd only saw a flash of figures and hadn't even recovered when they suddenly saw a figure next to the princess, and they were greatly shocked!

Li Daozong, being carried under Li Xingzhi's arm, was caught off guard when he heard several whooshing sounds as the air was being torn apart. He felt a sudden weightlessness, almost unable to catch his breath, and coughed several times. When he looked around, he discovered that he had somehow ended up beside his daughter, and he was filled with panic and horror!

"Little beauty. How does this young master compare to that Tibetan dwarf?" Li Xingzhi looked at Li Xueyan and laughed.

Seeing Li Xingzhi openly mocking the noble princess of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang soldiers glared at him with bloodshot eyes, as if they wanted to devour him. Li Daozong's face turned bright red, and he said, "You villain! My daughter, Li Daozong's daughter, would rather die than marry you!"

Li Xueyan was slightly pleased to see Li Xingzhi, but seeing the surrounding situation, she felt a complex mix of emotions. Hearing her father's angry shout, her face turned pale. Her lips moved but she didn't speak. After looking at Li Xingzhi, she said, "Put my father down first."

Upon hearing this, Li Xingzhi felt that it was indeed very disrespectful to carry his future father-in-law around like a chicken, so he let go.

Li Daozong was released by Li Xingzhi, but felt completely powerless and could only barely stand. Escape was out of the question. He thought to himself: "I wonder what kind of sorcery this villain has cast on me."

He had just escaped and was about to check if his daughter was unharmed when he saw Li Xueyan staring blankly at the "little thief" beside her with a complicated expression. Her look was definitely not one of hatred for an enemy or anything else. His heart skipped a beat. He wondered: Could it be that the little thief and Xueyan…? The more he thought about it, the more certain it seemed. Otherwise, judging from the man's appearance, he wasn't insane. How could he dare to defy the world and kidnap someone in front of tens of thousands of soldiers?!

Upon reflection, Li Daozong suddenly realized the situation was complicated. He thought to himself: If we capture and kill this petty thief later, Xueyan will be extremely distressed; if we don't kill him, I'm afraid I'll have a hard time explaining to the Tibetans. Then, gritting his teeth, he said: Xueyan has already been wronged once; this time, I might as well risk my reputation to protect this man. And who knows, given his bravery, he might even become a valiant general for our Great Tang.

He had ulterior motives, and because of his guilt towards his daughter, he began to think about how to save the young man.

In his mind, even if this man had three heads and six arms, he would have no chance of escaping from tens of thousands of Tibetan soldiers. As for the few hundred knights, he didn't care about them at all. No matter how powerful they were, they weren't invulnerable to swords and spears. How could they possibly withstand an army of tens of thousands?

The Tang soldiers and Tibetans around them were unaware of Li Daozong's thoughts and were hesitant to act rashly. In their eyes, Li Xingzhi was already a dead man; their only concern was how to rescue Princess Wencheng and Prince Li from his clutches.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Li Xingzhi suddenly felt a sharp light aimed directly at his back. He looked back and saw a sharp arrow, whistling through the air, piercing straight into his heart.

Before the two people around him could react, Li Xingzhi snorted, reached behind him, and grabbed a long arrow perfectly. With a burst of strength, the arrow transformed into a streak of light, returning along its original path. Several muffled "thuds" were heard. Li Daozong was startled and turned his head to look, only to see a sharp arrow pierce through the armor of dozens of Tibetans, shooting them straight through until they finally succumbed to the force and turned into dust.

Li Daozong was suddenly startled, and a hint of affection appeared in his eyes as he looked at Li Xingzhi. "With such abilities, why don't you join the army and make a name for yourself? Instead, you're entangled in matters of the heart and neglecting your career! If you give up now, I will risk my old life to protect you!"

Li Xueyan's heart stirred, and she said softly, "Brother Li, don't do anything foolish. The matter of a marriage alliance is not as simple as you think. I will not go with you."

Li Daozong, standing beside the two, overheard Li Xueyan's words and thought to himself, "Just as I suspected." He was torn between mixed feelings. If he had married his daughter to this man earlier, there wouldn't be this tragic separation today. Although he was slightly displeased with Li Xingzhi's rash actions, his appreciation for talent and the close relationship between Li Xingzhi and Li Xueyan made him treat him like a nephew. He said, "Young Master Li, a marriage alliance isn't as easy as you think. Listen to me, and let's call it quits! I'll recommend you for the army again someday; becoming a marquis or prime minister won't be a problem!" Although he didn't know who Li Xingzhi was, he figured that even as a convict awaiting punishment, joining the army wouldn't be a problem.

The Tibetan generals were utterly astonished by Li Xingzhi's abilities, exclaiming, "How can the Great Tang have such a valiant warrior?!" But upon hearing Li Daozong's words, their killing intent hardened, and they spoke in a low voice to their guards, who then relayed the orders.

Seeing the Tibetans' attitude, Li Xingzhi smiled at Li Daozong and said, "Uncle, you may spare my life, but I'm afraid these Tibetans won't!"

Seeing the murderous intent and chilling glint in the eyes of the Tibetan leaders as they looked at Li Xingzhi, Li Daozong's expression changed.

Seeing the slight change in Li Daozong's expression, Li Xingzhi said, "Uncle said the marriage alliance is of great importance. But, Uncle, what if I slaughter all these tens of thousands of Tibetans here?"

"Arrogant!" Li Daozong's face turned ashen, and he said no more.

The Tibetan leaders looked disdainful upon hearing Li Xingzhi's words. Although they knew Li Xingzhi was exceptionally brave, what difference did it make if he could take on a hundred or a thousand men? Nevertheless, those who had witnessed Li Xingzhi's prowess still retreated more than ten feet, having their personal guards protect them in the center.

“Since Uncle won’t say, then I will,” Li Xingzhi said with a smile. “If we were to kill all these Tibetan leaders and tens of thousands of Tibetan soldiers here, Tibet would have no heroes to rely on for decades. It would surely fall apart. To our mighty Tang Dynasty, it would be nothing more than a small dog bowing its head!”

Upon hearing Li Xingzhi's words, Li Daozong was startled, but he immediately dismissed the thought.

"If I slaughter all the Tibetans here, how about Uncle marries Xueyan to me?" Li Xingzhi looked at Li Daozong and smiled.

Seeing that Li Xingzhi was ungrateful, Li Daozong's expression turned cold, and he sneered, "If you can do that, I will not only marry my daughter to you, but I will also grant you the title of emperor!"

“I have remembered what you said, Uncle. Please watch, Uncle.” Li Xingzhi pointed to the Li family troops who had already arrived nearby.

Li Xingzhi was inherently cunning. Although he was extremely displeased with this group of Tibetans, he wasn't so ruthless as to slaughter tens of thousands of them. However, seeing the murderous look on those Tibetans' faces and the wolf-like, narrow eyes of the surrounding Tibetans staring intently at him, a wicked thought arose in his heart, which led him to utter those words.

His retainers were all exceptional warriors, each capable of taking on a hundred men. They had been trained for years, using countless rare and precious materials, making them impervious to swords and spears and possessing immense strength. These hundreds of men, moving as one, forming a square formation, each riding a magnificent steed, could easily charge into an army of ten thousand men.

Upon hearing Li Xingzhi's words, Li Daozong looked in the direction he was pointing and saw hundreds of burly men dressed in coarse linen clothes, each carrying a black halberd weighing over a hundred pounds; and riding on their backs were incredibly rare and magnificent steeds. Li Daozong was immediately astonished!

"What a brave warrior! What a fine horse!" he exclaimed. After he finished speaking, the thought that such a divine steed and brave warrior would perish here filled him with pain. His gaze toward Li Xingzhi hardened, and he let out a long sigh.

Whether Tang soldiers or Tibetans, their eyes lit up at the sight of these fine horses, lamenting the waste of such a treasure. Their gazes towards Li Xingzhi were filled with murderous intent, as if they wanted to devour him alive! But when they saw the burly men on horseback wielding massive halberds, they were slightly startled. Although they didn't believe these men posed any real threat to their tens of thousands, they gripped their weapons tightly. The Tibetan leaders even shrank further into the ranks of their soldiers.

Under Li Daozong's pained and unbearable gaze, hundreds of burly men rushed towards him like arrows released from a bow, about to engage the Tang soldiers in close combat. Just as a line of men neatly split into two columns, they swept past the Tang soldiers like a gust of wind!

The Tang soldiers were slightly surprised to see that these burly men did not engage them. At the same time, they all turned to look. Just then, these brave and valiant men wielding halberds were engaged in close combat with the Tibetans.

Under the horrified gazes of the Tang soldiers, these burly men wielding halberds were filled with excitement. With a loud shout, they swung their giant halberds in unison with unparalleled momentum. In the eyes of the crowd, it was like a group of farmers cutting grass, and the Tibetan soldiers fell down row by row!

Those halberds, no one knew what kind of divine weapon they were, shattered into pieces the moment they touched the Tibetan swords. Otherwise, they were caught in the forks of the halberds and forcefully pried open! A chorus of groans and cries filled the air!

The Tang soldiers felt a surge of relief; if those burly men had attacked them directly, they would probably be dead by now.

Seeing the bravery of the burly men, these people looked at them with increasing regret. In their eyes, these men were, after all, flesh and blood; no matter how brave they were, how could a few hundred men possibly charge against the formation of tens of thousands of Tibetan soldiers?

Just then, a large sword suddenly appeared from nowhere, slashing down on the necks of a group of magnificent steeds! The Tang soldiers, hoping more Tibetans would die, secretly cheered for the burly men. But seeing one of the divine horses about to fall, their hearts skipped a beat, and a sense of pity arose. Even the Tibetan leaders felt a pang of regret, pondering how to deal with the fool who had killed the horse! In their eyes, these burly men were already dead and meaningless, while these divine steeds and divine soldiers were simply spoils of war! (To be continued.)

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