Chapter 866: The Iron Rod Stands Firm
More than a dozen warships of the Great Zhou navy appeared on the upper and lower reaches of the Gorge River, carrying many soldiers from the Divine Crossbow Battalion.
The sound of air tearing rang out as numerous court experts disembarked and pursued toward Fengyang County Town.
Several azure-robed Daoists, their robes fluttering, swept out from the forest on the opposite bank, lightly touched down on the navy ships, and landed by the riverbank.
These azure-robed Daoists wore cold expressions, their cultivation levels unfathomably deep, carrying Daoist swords. They hailed from the Changchun Temple in Luoyang.
Worn leather boots trod on stone steps still wet with morning dew.
The tea merchants and pedestrians on either side of the steps instinctively stepped back as they watched the approaching figure, whether out of fear or shame.
Xiao Zhang didn't spare them a single glance, nor did he pay any attention to the court experts closing in. He gripped his iron spear, his face expressionless, and continued upward.
From some unknown street corner came a few startled cries, which quickly faded. Amid the slightly chaotic crowd, crossbow bolts gleaming with faint, eerie light could be glimpsed.
The azure-robed Daoists, like cranes, drifted lightly onto the stone steps, landing behind Xiao Zhang. Their expressions were solemn, ready to strike at any moment.
The road from the riverbank to the Seven Treasure Stockade in Fengyang County Town was entirely paved with stone steps. Some idle person had counted them—over seven thousand in total.
For an ordinary person, it would take a very long time to climb them all.
But for someone like Xiao Zhang, even severely wounded, it still wouldn't take long.
After a moment, he reached the middle section of the steps, where a small grassy garden stood by the roadside.
Dozens of townspeople stood on the grass beneath the winter trees, watching him with complex emotions—some fearful, some uneasy.
Suddenly, an extremely faint sword light, barely noticeable, pierced through a vegetable basket carried by one of the townspeople and stabbed toward Xiao Zhang.
It was an angle no one would have expected—a very treacherous strike.
But Xiao Zhang seemed to have anticipated it. With a low grunt, his iron spear shot into the air, carrying a violent gust of wind, and struck the sword light with precision.
With a sharp crack, the sword light shattered into countless fragments. The assassin hidden among the crowd stumbled back with a miserable cry, crashing heavily into a winter tree.
Leaves drifted down onto the assassin, then were stained red by the blood spurting from his mouth.
The assassin's face was filled with terror. He tried to stand and flee, but he no longer had the strength.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Zhang only glanced at the assassin once, then ignored him and continued upward along the stone steps.
Chen Changsheng and the others had already left the teahouse and were standing at the back of the crowd.
Watching this scene, Tang Thirty-Six praised, "Impressive skill."
Back during the night of the Tian Shu Ling upheaval and the days that followed, Xiao Zhang had always been a troublesome enemy of the National Religion. But ever since he saved Wang Po by the Luo River, the situation had changed. At least in Tang Thirty-Six's view, this powerhouse, who should now be at the top of the Carefree List, was a powerful ally they needed to win over—and emotionally, he leaned toward him.
Hearing Tang Thirty-Six's praise, Hu Thirty-Two said nothing, but Zhe Xiu shook his head, clearly holding a different opinion.
"He's too badly injured," Chen Changsheng said with concern. "Even worse than we thought."
Only then did Tang Thirty-Six understand.
Given Xiao Zhang's violent fighting style, if he still retained sixty or seventy percent of his battle power, even if that assassin came from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, he would have been broken and killed in one blow.
Even if the opponent somehow survived, Xiao Zhang's style would have demanded a second strike to ensure he was dead beyond a doubt.
But now, that assassin was still alive.
This could only mean that Xiao Zhang's injuries were unimaginably severe—so severe that he was unwilling to waste even the strength needed for another spear thrust.
And indeed.
Several court experts took advantage of the crowd's slight disorder to launch an attack on Xiao Zhang.
Xiao Zhang successfully repelled them, but his body swayed, as if he might collapse at any moment.
"Fresh wounds, but mostly old ones."
Like Xiao Zhang, Zhe Xiu regarded battle as life itself. His judgment was sharp, and he clearly saw Xiao Zhang's problem.
After being relentlessly hunted by the court for three years, fighting without rest, even if Xiao Zhang's body were forged from iron, it would feel the strain.
Once he grew tired, his reaction speed would inevitably slow, making him more vulnerable to injury.
Once he started getting injured, he would suffer even worse wounds, until his true essence was depleted, his exhaustion overwhelming, and his battle power gone.
He was a peak Star Condensation powerhouse on the Carefree List, nearly unmatched below the Divine realm, like a lone giant beast roaming the wilderness. But after being chased for so many days by court experts like carrion-eating vultures, fighting across such a distance, even he would eventually have his day of collapse.
Xiao Zhang finally reached the highest point of Fengyang County Town.
He stood before the Seven Treasure Stockade, looking down at the Gorge River below, his eyes narrowing.
The morning sun had already crossed the peaks. The light was fierce, shining on the river and mountains, dazzling and harsh.
He could see clearly that the court experts and the soldiers of the Divine Crossbow Battalion had surrounded the entire town of Fengyang.
Though his mind wasn't clouded, he was irritated—like being plagued by a swarm of flies that wouldn't go away.
A man like Xiao Zhang might think of himself as a lone giant beast of the wilderness, but he would never admit that the court experts who had hunted him for years were vultures. In his eyes, they were nothing but annoying mosquitoes and flies, buzzing in his ears day and night, keeping him from sleeping—that's why he was so tired.
Yes, he was just tired.
He felt he only wanted to sleep. Why else would his eyelids feel so heavy? Why else would his lips be numb? Why else would he let these people catch up?
The drowsiness grew stronger, his eyelids heavier, until even he couldn't tell if he was squinting or had already closed his eyes.
The morning sun shone on Fengyang Town, and on his face.
He swayed twice, then began to fall toward the ground.
But he didn't tumble down the stone steps.
With a dull thud, the butt of his iron spear slammed deep into the ground. At this most dangerous moment, it propped up his exhausted body.
Seeing this, some of the townspeople who had never forgotten the benefits Xiao Zhang had brought to Fengyang couldn't bear to watch and turned away. Others, however, stepped forward.
The first to step forward was a tea merchant from Fengyang County Town, along with more than a dozen clerks from his tea shop.
"Protect Master Xiao!"
The tea merchant shouted through gritted teeth, leading his clerks to the stone steps of the Seven Treasure Stockade. They stood in front of Xiao Zhang, drawing the knives and swords they usually carried for protection during tea trading. Most of them, however, picked up the carrying poles they used to haul goods, aiming them at the approaching court experts.
As a tea merchant, he often ran into trouble during trade, and in Fengyang, conflicts between rivals were common. This merchant was fierce by nature, and his clerks were equally tough, earning them some renown in town. But how could they possibly hold off the court experts and the Divine Crossbow Battalion?
Yet, more tea merchants and townspeople quickly joined them.
The stone steps of the Seven Treasure Stockade soon filled with people.