Suppressing the North and Displaying Might: Chapter 116: The Siege (Part 5)

With the acquisition of the Azure Dragon Martial Essence, Li Qiutong’s power surged instantly to a new level.

At this moment, rings of red and green Martial Essence intertwined around him. The original condensed forms of the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird had already dissipated.

“Pure Yang Martial Essence, condense.”

Immediately, the verdant Azure Dragon Essence and the fiery Vermilion Bird Essence slowly merged. A scorching white light flared intensely, its terrifying heat causing even Guan Yu to feel somewhat overwhelmed.

“Sacred Yang Supreme Dragon, condense.”

The pure Yang light intertwined, and a vivid, majestic white divine dragon gradually materialized beside Li Qiutong.

Leaping nimbly, Li Qiutong stood atop the white dragon. With a fierce roar from the dragon, it surged upward, carrying Li Qiutong straight into the sky.

Only after Li Qiutong had departed did Guan Yu regain his composure, staring in astonishment at the blazing light.

“This power is terrifying. Even I feel a wave of apprehension.”

The Azure Dragon within the sword explained, “Naturally. The Pure Yang power is that of the Sacred Yang Supreme Dragon, a heavenly divine beast, and has long been among the strongest forces in the world.”

“Sacred Yang Supreme Dragon? Stronger than you?”

“The Sacred Yang Supreme Dragon is a celestial divine beast; I am merely one of the Four Directional Divine Beasts, a rank below it. However, the original Yin-Yang Divine Dragon perished in battle three centuries ago. What Li Qiutong now wields is actually the new generation of Yin-Yang Divine Beasts.”

At this moment, Li Qiutong shone like the sun—dazzling and mighty.

“Is that General Li?” a soldier below asked in surprise.

“It truly is him. Who would have thought that the Four Symbols Martial Essences could be fused,” Zhu Long said, sensing that the Martial Essence still pouring forth was the power now drawn from himself and the army behind him.

That scorching light was so overwhelming, that crushing force so alluring—they could feel their own power residing within Li Qiutong’s body. At this moment, none of them, once so ordinary, could have imagined that their faint strength could ever become so formidable.

The guards atop the high walls saw only a blinding flash suddenly racing upward from below. Without time to think, they immediately readied the God-slaying Crossbows and fired at the white light.

But this time, the invincible God-slaying Crossbows finally met a worthy opponent. Li Qiutong saw the bolt hurtling straight toward him but neither dodged nor flinched, charging headlong instead.

Under the gaze and hopes of everyone below, Li Qiutong, riding the white dragon, collided at lightning speed with the sharply pointed bolt. Yet the next moment, all eyes widened in disbelief.

What had been expected as a fierce clash never came to pass. Li Qiutong paid no heed to the bolt; as they closed in, the previously formidable arrow dissolved into liquid under the Pure Yang power, then evaporated entirely, leaving his ascent unaffected.

“How is this possible? The white light still rises. Quickly, fire more God-slaying Crossbows—fire as many as you can.”

In the next instant, five fully charged bolts shot out simultaneously, encircling Li Qiutong. But such force was far too weak for him now.

Li Qiutong lightly swept his battle staff upward; the blazing Pure Yang Martial Essence once again vaporized all the bolts in place. In this instant, he finally soared to the very top of the high wall.

His eyes burned with white flames, silently gazing down at the panicked guards.

Bathed in pure white radiance, clutching a battle staff ablaze with white flames, Li Qiutong stood calmly atop the Sacred Yang Supreme Dragon’s head like a war god. The searing heat began melting the years-old snow atop the city walls.

“Surrender, and you shall not be killed,” he said coldly. Hearing this, the guards all knelt, mere ordinary soldiers lacking the courage to meet Li Qiutong’s gaze; none were martial masters.

Yet at that moment, a sharp silver aura surged toward Li Qiutong, its power so intense even he shuddered.

Li Qiutong turned and swung his Yin-Yang Dragon Pattern staff with all his might against the divine essence blade. The divine essence shattered along with the blade’s edge.

“Who goes there?”

Before Li Qiutong’s voice had faded, a white shadow descended from the sky, its massive body landing lightly atop the wall.

Under the astonished gazes around, the colossal white beast slowly lowered its head—a formidable, majestic tiger’s head.

“Young one, are you truly the heir of Wuji?” came a deep voice from the steaming maw.

“Are you the White Tiger Divine Beast?” Li Qiutong asked boldly, showing no weakness.

The White Tiger nodded. “Indeed, I am he.”

“Big Brother, we have arrived,” a familiar voice came from the tiger’s back. In the next moment, Deng Zhanxuan and Bilu appeared atop the White Tiger, waving to Li Qiutong.

Relieved to see his third brother safe—he had worried about them—Li Qiutong finally exhaled.

“Don’t stand on my head and shout like mad,” the White Tiger grumbled, shaking its head and flinging the two off.

Thankfully, Li Qiutong quickly took to the air and caught them.

“Third Brother, are you both alright?”

“We’re fine, Big Brother. By the way, this is Lord White Tiger; he’s here to help us open the city gates,” Deng Zhanxuan introduced.

The White Tiger grumbled again, displeased: “Don’t point at me with your finger.”

“Thank you, Lord White Tiger, but the situation is urgent. We should open the gates first,” Li Qiutong replied.

“Very well. Let me see just how strong the heir of Wuji truly is,” the White Tiger said, then leapt down, leaving the wall.

Li Qiutong turned to the two and asked, “Bilu, how do we open the gates now?”

Bilu approached a fortress atop the wall, then emerged. “I had planned to sneak in and open the gate mechanism while they were unaware, but now that’s no longer necessary.” She looked at Li Qiutong; although the white light around him was controlled to avoid harming her, the immense power still clearly radiated.

An officer looked up, startled: “You—you are Miss Beitang.”

Bilu glanced at him silently, saying nothing, then walked beside Li Qiutong. “We can push open the gates directly now.”

“Very well, you two get on,” Li Qiutong said. Once they were seated, he summoned the white dragon and flew toward the inner city, leaving behind a group of bewildered soldiers unsure of what to do.

“Captain, what should we do?” one asked.

The officer recalled the earlier scene. “Miss Beitang has returned, bringing with her powerful warriors and an army. I believe Zhenbei Pass is about to change hands. We must hurry back to Qin and report to the court.”

“What about Lord Zhang Xiu?”

The officer hesitated, then decided, “That depends on his fate. Let’s take the back path and leave quickly.”

“Understood.”

Li Qiutong, nearing the city walls below, paid no mind to the soldiers’ thoughts.

Beneath the walls, the White Tiger stood alone before the towering city gates.

“You’re too slow. You kept me waiting so long,” the White Tiger complained to the group.

“Apologies, Lord White Tiger,” they replied.

But the White Tiger was impatient: “Enough. Hurry and open the gate.”

Li Qiutong said nothing further, quietly approaching the wall. Under Bilu’s curious gaze, he placed both hands on the wall and exerted force. Pure white Yang Martial Essence surged within him, and the gates began to move slowly under his push.

Seeing this, the White Tiger was stunned. “How old is this kid? How can he wield such vast Pure Yang Martial Essence? I doubt even Wuji himself was this strong.”

Deng Zhanxuan joined Li Qiutong, pushing with all his might.

Bilu quickly shouted, “Li Qiutong, Deng Zhanxuan, stop! This gate is controlled by a mechanism—you don’t need to push it.”

“What?” Li Qiutong was speechless, suddenly realizing how foolish it was to have been so forceful. Both men’s faces flushed with embarrassment.

Finally, Bilu resignedly opened a hidden mechanism within the wall. The once motionless gate began to slowly open. This gate, unopened for decades, finally stirred today.

After a swirl of dust, Li Qiutong could see outside the gap—Guan Yu standing silently with sword in hand, the army still arrayed in battle formation.

Seeing the gate open, the soldiers outside finally exhaled. The legendary, unbroken myth of the Northern Martial Realm had been shattered today, and all present were witnesses to this moment—a tale to boast about for decades.

Shortly after, the gate was fully open. Li Qiutong smiled easily, “Everyone, come in. We have won.”

Outside, Guan Yu silently watched Li Qiutong’s smile. At that moment, he was reminded of his elder brother—Liu Bei—who had always treated his soldiers kindly and often wore such a smile.

Guan Yu looked up to the sky and sighed, “Brother, you chose well. I, Guan Yu, will assist General Li as I did you. May your spirit in heaven bless us to fulfill the ideals you left unachieved.”

“General Guan Yu, what are you thinking? Let’s enter the city quickly,” Zhu Long patted Guan Yu’s shoulder and smiled.

Guan Yu smiled in return. “Very well, let us proceed swiftly.”

As the army slowly marched into Zhenbei Pass, Bilu approached Li Qiutong. “Li Qiutong, we must quickly lead the troops to the inner city and capture Zhang Xiu.”

“So soon? I wanted the army to rest here first, wait for Xing Tian and the others to arrive, then move on the inner city.”

“It’s best to depart now. We can’t let Zhang Xiu escape. We must also resolve the issues with the populace before my father returns. Otherwise, given his character, he may not agree to you taking control of Zhenbei Pass,” Bilu added.

Hearing this, Li Qiutong realized the problem and agreed immediately. “Very well, we’ll depart at once. Take the Eastern Army soldiers; the rest stay here to support the troops outside.”

Upon Li Qiutong’s orders, Zhu Long quickly assembled the forces. Along with Deng Zhanxuan, Bilu, Li Qiutong, and Guan Yu, they prepared to head toward the nearby inner city.

“I, too, will accompany you, heir of Wuji,” the White Tiger approached and said.

“Let us go,” Li Qiutong replied, ready to face the challenges ahead.