Edict of Peace 24
Chapter 24: The Number One Divine General in the World!
Li Guanyi remembered the name.
Just as Xue Changqing proudly showed off his archery skills to his grandfather, mentioning his intention to cultivate the *Thirteen Styles of the Divine Bow*, the old man had also mentioned the *Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow* (Cloud-Breaking Heaven-Shaking Bow), the divine weapon that had been sealed away for one hundred and thirty years?
Li Guanyi felt the still-forming White Tiger Law Physique on the bronze tripod struggling to roar.
It seemed to desperately yearn to fly out and touch the bow.
The old man noticed Li Guanyi’s gaze and smiled knowingly, “Mr. Li has noticed the *Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow*? It’s understandable. Every guest who comes to Listening Wind Pavilion is captivated by this bow.”
“However, Mr. Li probably doesn’t know the legends surrounding this bow, does he?”
Li Guanyi shook his head.
The old man put down his tea set, reached out to touch the bow, and said, “Five hundred years ago, it was with this bow that my ancestor forced back three hundred thousand troops with just three arrows. Legend says our ancestor was the White Tiger Star Monarch descended from the heavens, coming to the mortal world to pacify the chaos.”
“In his youth, he lived in poverty, making a living as a herdsman for a wealthy household. He encountered a tiger as large as a mountain, and he fought and killed the beautiful but dangerous beast. Later, he used the divine wood from beneath Kunwu Mountain to make this bow, the tiger’s spirit becoming the bowstring.”
“This divine weapon, when placed on the rack, often resonates on windless nights. The sound of the bowstring is like the roar of a tiger.”
“Legend has it that the last of my ancestor’s three arrows flew over a hundred li (approximately 33 kilometers), killing the enemy general within their royal tent. When that arrow was shot, the clouds in the sky were torn apart, and the heavens and earth trembled with thunderous roars, hence the name *Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow*.”
Over a hundred li?!
Li Guanyi’s eyelids twitched.
What kind of terrifying power was this?
The *Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow*’s name wasn’t an exaggeration or boast; it was literally descriptive?
Yu Qianfeng shattering a mountain peak with one punch was already terrifying, but if someone could shoot an arrow a hundred li, then Yu Qianfeng’s methods wouldn’t seem so impressive.
Xue Shuangtao also heard this from her grandfather for the first time. Upon hearing “a hundred li,” the girl’s expression clearly froze, unable to imagine such terrifying power.
The old man laughed, “You must not believe it. I didn’t believe it either. Martial artists can shatter mountain peaks with one punch, shoot arrows that pierce rock walls – these are commonplace.”
“But legends like my ancestor’s? I thought it was my elders stretching the truth, making up stories to embellish their own reputations.”
“Who hasn’t been young and arrogant? I had my share of youthful recklessness.”
“I didn’t believe in heaven, didn’t believe my parents, defied authority, and only believed in myself.”
“At eighteen, I took a bow and three arrows and traveled the world.”
“Back then, the Wei River in Ying Country hadn’t yet been stained with the blood of the powerful. I crossed the Changlian Mountain range, riding a Tangut long-haired ox. The sky was high and the clouds were far away, nomadic girls sang songs, my skin was sunburnt, and my face itched and hurt.”
“After drinking their pungent sour milk, I lay on the ox’s back and fell asleep, my face covered with oxhide, thinking of the water spinach and mandarin fish from home, regretting my reckless journey.”
“Until I heard their cheers.”
“I shielded my eyes with my hand and saw, on their sacred mountain, a huge cavity, as if the earth had been pierced by a dragon, smashing the middle of the sacred mountain. Sunlight poured down from the cavity, unbelievably beautiful.”
“They called it *Aru’en Ulharjiwabodesadawa*.”
“It means, ‘the arrow of the Central Plains Bodhisattva that pierced the sacred mountain’.”
“It was the mark left by my ancestor.”
“And the target of his arrow was actually much farther beyond the back of this sacred mountain.”
“My elders lied to me.”
The old man’s hand caressed the bow, his voice trying to remain calm, but unable to suppress the underlying ripples:
“The last of my ancestor’s three arrows didn’t travel a hundred li, but three hundred and eighty li (approximately 126 kilometers), killing the then-Khan of the grasslands in his golden tent. Blood stained the tent, the eighteen tribes gathered for the grassland assembly scattered, thus resolving the crisis for the empire.”
Three hundred and eighty li?!
Li Guanyi’s eyes widened.
The old man said, “Even after that arrow, my ancestor was severely weakened and took a long time to recover, and one of his five arrows was completely destroyed, but it was still a feat that left later generations in awe.”
“That’s when I believed that my Xue family ancestor, ranked number one on the Divine General List five hundred years ago, was truly worthy of the title, and that the Xue family’s *Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow*, the top bow among divine weapons, was also true.”
“I was like a madman, practicing archery three thousand times a day for three full months. My hands were chafed by the bowstring, the wounds crusted over, then chafed again, until I finally shot an arrow into the same cavity my ancestor had shot into, my spirit complete.”
“Then I returned, became the head of the family, and remained so until now.”
Li Guanyi and Xue Shuangtao imagined that magnificent scene.
A huge, towering sacred mountain with a massive hole shot through it, Tangut people in furs kneeling on the grass, their elbows resting on the ground, palms facing the sky in devout prayer, and the descendant wielding the bow and arrow standing between heaven and earth – what a state of mind that must have been.
Li Guanyi said, “Number one in the world?”
The old man sighed again, “It would seem so. Unfortunately, since then, only two people have been able to draw this bow, and the last one died five years before I was born. This bow hasn’t been drawn for one hundred and thirty years, and no one has heard the thunderous sound of the bowstring.”
“It is said that whoever can pick up and draw this bow will directly receive their ancestor’s inheritance.”
“They will instantly learn their ancestor’s ultimate skills and can rely on the power of the divine weapon to shoot without missing. If using the matching arrows, they can shoot at least fifty li (approximately 16 kilometers), devastating everything within range!”
Li Guanyi remained lost in thought for a long time. He looked at the ancient war bow and said:
“Then why is such a divine weapon left here without fear of being stolen?”
In the bronze tripod, the White Tiger Law Physique struggled violently, roaring with longing, making Li Guanyi feel somewhat disturbed. The almost instinctive desire, the desire to pick up the bow and arrow and shoot, was fiercely suppressed by the young man.
The old man burst into laughter upon hearing this, “Pick it up?”
“There’s a very strict condition to even lift this bow.”
“That is, possessing a White Tiger Law Physique like my ancestor’s.”
“Otherwise, even the strongest man in the world wouldn’t be able to lift this bow!”
“Let alone draw it.”
Li Guanyi paused slightly in his thoughts.
White Tiger Law Physique?
And the White Tiger Law Physique on the bronze tripod was eager to jump out, but because the *Qingtong Ding Cultivation Technique* wasn’t complete, it couldn’t fully take shape, frustratingly turning into a ball and rolling on the wall of the bronze tripod, being hit by the red dragon’s tail like a snowball, tumbling and rolling.
“Waah-ooo!!!”
“Aooo!!”
Thus, on the bronze tripod, dragon and tiger fought.
Roughly.
Li Guanyi said, “Divine General, Law Physique…?”
The old man casually reached out and slapped his palm, a book flew over, and he handed it to Li Guanyi, saying, “Yes.”
“A Law Physique has nothing to do with cultivation level; it’s a characteristic possessed only by truly top-tier heroes.”
“A thousand years ago, there were the Top Three Lists.”
“Namely, the Divine General List, the Divine Weapon List, and the Law Physique List.”
“These three lists weren’t published by anyone; they were formed through the battles and killings of the turbulent world. Divine Generals were unparalleled figures, possessing Law Physiques, wielding divine weapons, traversing battlefields, and overawing the world. They could single-handedly influence the course of history. Therefore, they are called ‘Top’.”
Xue Shuangtao curiously asked, “Top Three Lists? Are there other lists?”
The old man stroked his beard, “Yes, where there are many people, there will be competition. The Top Three Lists are based on the battles and killings between major nations. As for the other lists, they were mostly released by people with ulterior motives to stir up trouble and create discord. While they have some value, they also bring trouble.”
“If a martial artist gets on the Grandmaster List, they will never have peace; if a woman is on the Beauty List, she will be coveted.”
“It’s a mixed blessing, best to avoid it.”
“Are you interested in these Top Three Lists, young master?”
“Yes.”
The old man didn’t hesitate. These Top Three Lists were certainly not something ordinary people could see, yet he still found them for Li Guanyi, throwing them to the boy like a roll of paper, “The tea isn’t ready yet. You can look at this, but you cannot take it away.”
Li Guanyi nodded, opening the book while asking,
“Where does Chen Kingdom’s strongest general rank?”
The old man said, “There was once Taiping Gong, ranked among the top ten, but he died unexpectedly. Now Marshal Yue is the strongest, ranked eleventh…”
Li Guanyi froze. Marshal Yue, the one whom Yu Qianfeng was utterly subservient to, was eleventh?
The old man hesitated before saying, “The Divine General List looks at achievements and doesn’t have much to do with a general’s upper limit. If the nation’s ruler is good at writing poetry or painting landscapes…” The old man stopped, realizing he had said too much, “Young master, you should look at it yourself.”
Li Guanyi understood.
Chen Kingdom’s court was weak, indulging in sensual pleasures and luxury, with music and dancing every day, preferring peace over war. Even if there were a Divine General who could patch up the cracks in the heavens, they would be powerless to turn the tide, only able to sigh in despair.
Chen Kingdom’s Divine Generals all had low rankings.
Li Guanyi opened the Divine General List and quickly scanned it.
He wanted to find a familiar name.
Would there be one?
He looked through it once, his gaze suddenly sharpening, finding the person at the front—
[Yu Qianfeng], thirty-fourth on the Divine General List.
Evaluation—
First in Southern Land infantry combat.
………………
BOOM!!!!
A blade slashed out; the hundred-refined blade shattered into pieces upon impact, the resulting storm sweeping away and obliterating a dozen elite assassins. The rough-looking man frowned, cursing, “Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a divine weapon.”
Snipers were relentless along the way.
His eyesight was excellent; he could already vaguely see the city.
He glanced at the old man still calculating beside him, saying, “Ancestor, Sir.”
“Guan Yi City is near.”
(End of Chapter)
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
0 Comments