The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

This chapter can be omitted.

Upon seeing this, the general gritted his teeth and angrily uttered each word: "Across the Nine Provinces."

Indeed, the newcomer is the leader of the Left Feathered Forest Army: General Heng Jiuzhou, while this general in plain clothes is the leader of the Right Feathered Forest Army: General Zong Wanli, General Zong Wanli.

Heng Jiuzhou lowered his body, and Lu Xiaosan landed steadily on the ground with a "whoosh".

He clapped his hands and laughed, "Thanks, fellow villager!"

Heng Jiuzhou, carrying a weapon, smiled and nodded.

Lu Xiao swaggered into the Qiaoxiang Pavilion. Because Heng Jiuzhou was backing him up, even Zong Wanli dared not make a move.

Heng Jiuzhou then swung his hands and shrugged his shoulders, and the three men flew to three different places: two of them groaned and fell to the roadside, where they remained motionless.

The last one fared the worst; it fell into the Luo River with a "plop." The next day, when its body was retrieved, it would be fed to the dogs and then buried along with the excrement.

Heng Jiuzhou took a deep breath and spat the spear into Zong Wanli's hand with a "poof". At that moment, the surrounding fallen leaves all flew up ten feet high.

Heng Jiuzhou, holding the halberd handle, said with a grin:

"Brother, why are you so aggressive towards those three kids as soon as I arrive? Isn't that a bit beneath your dignity?"

Zong Wanli coldly said, "Do you know that you just ruined Prince Xue's plans? The person you saved is the one Prince Xue wanted to kill."

"Oh dear, what business is it of yours, brothers, to meddle in matters of the court?"

“But we’ve already intervened.”

Heng Jiuzhou scratched his head and chuckled, "Hehe, I'm just helping out because we're from the same hometown. It doesn't count as me meddling in court affairs."

"But the fellow villager you're protecting, Prince Xue wants him to die today!" With that, Zong Wanli charged towards Qiaoxiang Pavilion with his spear.

Just as he reached the door, a golden halberd flew swiftly to the door, stopped abruptly after traveling thousands of miles, and lifted the halberd into the air. Just as he was about to go in again, a hot wind blew over his head. When he looked up, he saw that the halberd was already above him.

The moonlight shone down, and the golden armor of the general shone across the land. He gripped the end of the halberd with one hand and shouted, "Ya ah—!" The ten-foot-long halberd drew a vertical circle in the air and crashed down with the force of splitting Mount Hua, stretching for thousands of miles.

The spear, which stretched for thousands of miles, was swung horizontally, drawing a horizontal circle in the air. With a loud "bang!", the two weapons collided, and it seemed as if the entire city of Luoyang was shaken.

Zong Wanli shuddered, fell backward into the air, and simultaneously thrust his spear several times at Heng Jiuzhou above him.

As Zong Wanli thrust forward, the speed increased, the spear shadows scattered, and in the end, it seemed as if thousands of lightning bolts were piercing towards the entire land.

"What a magnificent 'Ten Thousand Thunders Falling into Dust'!" The so-called "falling into dust" means that although the spear is as powerful as thunder, it can still pierce even the smallest enemy, leaving no gap untouched.

Heng Jiuzhou cheered inwardly, but he still dared not be careless. He used all his strength to spin the halberd in his hand. The golden halberd quickly became like a golden dragon about to take off, blocking a golden circle in front of Heng Jiuzhou and successfully catching the thunderbolt that fell from the sky.

Zong Wanli thrust forward, but before he knew it, the spear shaft had already pierced the ground. He immediately stopped and stood upright on the ground, thrusting several times at Heng Jiuzhou who was falling into the air. Heng Jiuzhou blocked the right bullet and neutralized it in succession.

The two leaped and landed, and in the blink of an eye, they had exchanged a hundred blows.

The two fought from the air to the ground. Heng Jiuzhou brandished his halberd and roared loudly. He fought with all his might with every strike, and he would not allow anyone to survive wherever he went.

Zong Wanli dared not confront him directly, and could only follow his momentum by striking and dodging.

However, Heng Jiuzhou's speed was also extremely fast. Whenever Zong Wanli had an opening and hadn't even attacked, Heng Jiuzhou's next strike would already be upon him. His spear was like a snake, and he could only survive in the gaps between the overwhelming attacks of the golden halberd.

At this moment, thunder roared across the nine provinces, like a golden lion about to devour everything, dancing and darting east and west across thousands of miles.

Although Heng Jiuzhou has the upper hand, his fighting style is extremely physically demanding, and he will inevitably fall behind later on. As long as Zong Wanli, the black serpent, finds the right opportunity, he can deliver a fatal blow.

The golden circle gradually shrank, and the shadowy figure became faster and more agile. Before they knew it, the two had been fighting for hundreds of rounds in front of the Fragrant Pavilion, gradually reaching a stalemate.

Zong Wanli thrust forward with his spear, the tip of which pierced the hole in the halberd. The two men simultaneously lowered their weapons, their shoulders colliding.

Heng Jiuzhou forced a smile and said, "Hehe, you're playing so hard, it seems you're determined to win this year's competition, little brother."

"Hmph, we now have two top-tier experts in our team, so you'll lose just like you did three years ago."

"You mean you're a top-tier expert now?"

"not me?"

"Who else could it be if not you?"

"Ning Kong Lou!"

"Hey, Brother Ning, you're only in your early twenties and you've already reached the first-class level. I'm impressed."

Heng Jiuzhou's expression changed, and he patted his chest confidently, saying, "So what if they're top-tier experts? I've never been afraid of anything in the world."

Zong Wanli gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Damn it, why am I telling you all this? Stop it now, or we'll both be in trouble if Prince Xue blames us!"

"Back in the military camp, I even let you have a blanket, and now you're fighting me like this for some Li Ye?!"

"His Majesty has issued a special decree that I must obey his orders completely. What you are doing is making things difficult for me! It is also a great disrespect to the Emperor!"

Zong Wanli continued, "Besides, didn't you also fight me for some nobody... bald kid? How dare you talk about military camaraderie?"

"Hahahaha, I felt a connection with that young man and helped him out of the goodness of my heart. I didn't expect it would cause you any trouble."

"Hmph!" Zong Wanli forcefully withdrew his spear, and the two of them leaped backward simultaneously, stomping their feet against each other in mid-air before separating.

The two exchanged blows, thrusting and smashing, and fought fiercely again under the moonlight.

Seeing that his advantage was gradually waning, Heng Jiuzhou retreated a few steps, gripped the end of the halberd with both hands, and swung it with all his might, maximizing both his attack and range, effectively covering him with a golden ball.

In an instant, the golden lion danced wildly, a strong wind swirled, fallen leaves flew into the air, and all the streetlights went out, plunging the area into darkness.

Zong Wanli knew that this was Heng Jiuzhou's final dance, so he dared not slacken in the slightest. When the golden light of Heng Jiuzhou arrived, he could only flee and attack at the same time.

Zong Wanli hurriedly retreated a few steps, thrust his spear into the ground, and then suddenly lifted up several boulders, smashing them all towards Heng Jiuzhou.

He swept across the nine provinces one by one, and although his power had slightly diminished, the golden circle still left nothing but desolation in its wake.

Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Zong Wanli leaped onto the roof, brandished his spear, and smashed it down, sending tiles flying everywhere. With another swing, the tiles rained down on Heng Jiuzhou.

At the same time, Zong Wanli followed behind the tiles, thrusting his spear straight towards Heng Jiuzhou.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Heng Jiuzhou switched from using both hands to using one hand and vigorously stirred the tile in the direction from which it came. From a distance, it looked as if Heng Jiuzhou was drawing a golden vortex in the air, sending Zong Wanli and his tile flying one by one.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Zong Wanli retreated back to the rooftop, while Heng Jiuzhou, wielding his halberd, gave chase. The two fought from the ground to the rooftop, then from the rooftop into the air, and finally back to the ground.

Heng Jiuzhou swung his halberd slower and slower, while Zong Wanli's spear thrust harder and harder. Before they knew it, the two had exchanged hundreds of blows with all their might, and both were feeling their strength waning.

The two men clashed spears and halberds, and Heng Jiuzhou, panting, said, "Heh heh, brother, want to fight again? I'm ready, huff huff..."

Zong Wanli said, "Hmph, hmph, if we were to kill one of us because of some brat, hmph, then..."

"That's not worth it at all."

"The key issue is that if word gets out, one of the two generals will be dead and the other wounded, hmph..."

Yoko Kyushu's lips curled up. "Then how about we each take a step back?"

Zong Wanli nodded. "Tell me about it."

Heng Jiuzhou put down his weapon and Zong Wanli took a few steps back. After the two had fought fiercely, they finally stopped.

Under the moonlight, Heng Jiuzhou held his halberd to his side. "When I saw that young brother, he was covered in old wounds and his face was twitching from time to time. I knew that his days were numbered..." His voice was tinged with sadness.

Zong Wanli coldly replied, "So what? I wouldn't mind giving him a quick death."

"Oh, you, you, you should just tell Li Ye that the kid is dead, that's all. He doesn't have many days left anyway, and they won't find anything in the end, right?"

"no…"

"why?"

"If Prince Xue finds out, it's because I let this kid live for two more days, and both of us will be in trouble."

"Anyway, he won't live much longer. Keeping him around will only cause trouble. It's better to just kill him."

"You...!" Heng Jiuzhou, wielding his halberd, was about to fight again when he heard a voice from the sky: "My two esteemed brothers, how have you been?"

Ning Konglou, bathed in green light and standing on green clouds, flew towards the two of them through the air.