Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Greatest Foe of My Life

After establishing their authority in the city, Yu Lang and the men of the Lang Banner found their tasks much easier. The process of taking over proceeded in an orderly fashion, and reports of victory came from outside faster than expected—a day ahead, in fact. In just six days, Tang forces had conquered all nine cities.

Li Shao arrived at Hongji City with fifty thousand troops. At night, the Tibetan national preceptor Kuduozha personally led a raid on the camp, but Li Mi, anticipating the move, ambushed him with hidden soldiers. Realizing Li Mi was a master of the Boundless Realm, Kuduozha panicked and used the Blood Escape technique to flee death.

The Tibetan and Tang armies clashed fiercely, locked in a desperate struggle. Taking advantage, Huangfu Weiming led his troops out of the city in a pincer attack. The Tibetan forces scattered and were no match for the Tang; over ten thousand heads were taken, and the battle ended in a resounding victory for the Tang.

According to the war report, Kuduozha led eight thousand battered soldiers fleeing east, as the Tang had blocked their retreat to the west.

“When we searched General Tengbar’s mansion, we found some rather interesting things,” Xue Wenyang said, as two soldiers carried in a redwood chest.

Xue Wenyang opened the box and pulled out a stack of letters, laying them before Yu Lang.

Yu Lang had been diligently studying the Tibetan language and script these days, making swift progress. He took the opportunity to test his skills on these letters, and after reading them all, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Who would have thought that the burly Tengbar and Kuduozha were not only master and disciple, but lovers as well? Their letters were filled with saccharine confessions, utterly shameless.

“Sweet little meatball,” Xue Wenyang teased, glancing ambiguously at Yu Lang, and the two laughed uproariously again.

Suddenly, Yu Lang’s smile froze. “Wasn’t the latest secret report saying Kuduozha is leading his troops east?”

Xue Wenyang immediately caught on, his expression shifting drastically. “Kuduozha is coming to avenge Tengbar and take back the city!”

Yu Lang gathered his inner energy and shouted, his voice echoing throughout the city: “All forces, prepare for battle! Tibetan Preceptor Kuduozha is about to attack!”

Li Dahu, drenched in sweat, pushed open the door. “No need to panic. I read those letters first and have already begun fortifying the city. But we have fewer than fifteen hundred soldiers fit to fight, and must defend four gates. Kuduozha has eight thousand men. Fight or retreat, Yu Lang, you decide.”

“The situation may not be as dire as it seems. Kuduozha’s eight thousand remnants have been hounded along the way; many have died, deserted, or slipped away in the chaos. By the time they reach Lanye City, they may not even have five thousand left. Even so, they’ll be exhausted and their morale at rock bottom. Lanye City is easy to defend, hard to attack. As long as we respond properly, we can keep them outside the walls.” Yu Lang spoke slowly.

Nan Jiyun and Li Guangbi’s reinforcements should already be on the road.

Li Dahu said, “But what about Kuduozha himself—a Boundless Realm master? If he uses his cultivation to scale the walls, what do we do? Sacrifice hundreds of soldiers to wear him down, or do we, two Void-Breaking Realm fighters, challenge a Boundless Realm master and pull off a miracle?”

Li Dahu’s last words were tinged with self-mockery—clearly, he had little faith. But Yu Lang was determined to defend Lanye City and face Kuduozha head-on, refusing to abandon the city and flee.

—

Yu Lang found himself riding a tiger, unable to dismount. Li Mi’s words—“Don’t let me look down on you”—echoed endlessly in his mind. He even suspected Li Mi had deliberately blocked the Tibetans’ westward retreat to force Kuduozha toward Lanye City.

In a sense, this was a challenge from Li Mi. Yu Lang refused to surrender so easily. Either he would kill the Tibetan Preceptor and ascend to the Boundless Realm, or die by his hand. There was no retreat. The price of failure was the lives of all the city’s soldiers. Yu Lang secretly devised a plan: since he couldn’t afford to lose, he’d use a move that guaranteed neither victory nor defeat to drive the enemy off.

“Tiger Bro, can you still simulate inner energy?”

—

Three days later, Kuduozha led three thousand battered troops straight to Lanye City. Seeing the Tang banners atop the walls, he burned with rage. This place held many fond memories of him and his “sweet little meatball,” now usurped by the Tang.

He reckoned with his superior martial prowess and three thousand soldiers, taking the city should not be difficult.

Suddenly, Kuduozha was drawn by a refined melody. The city gates stood wide open; atop the wall, a young man in a pale azure Daoist robe sat calmly playing the zither, a censer wafting incense by his side, flanked by two attendants.

General Marzaha advised, “Preceptor, this is the Han’s ‘empty city stratagem’—mere trickery. Let me take the Daoist’s head!”

“Wait!” Kuduozha narrowed his eyes, suspicion rising. Normally, he would have acted as Marzaha suggested, regardless of the man’s strength—kill first, ask questions later. But days ago, he had suffered at Li Mi’s hands. The wounds from the Blood Escape had not healed, and he dared not underestimate any young Tang master.

The man’s inner energy fluctuations suggested he was also a Boundless Realm cultivator. Though the gates stood open, who knew how many hidden troops lurked within? Logically, the Tang wouldn’t have left many soldiers in a city like this, but Kuduozha felt uneasy, his resolve wavering.

Marzaha pressed, “To avoid traps, Preceptor, why not shoot him from afar—test his true strength?”

Kuduozha agreed, and with a flick of his hand, his precious saber soared through the air, aimed straight at the musician’s face.

Hiding beneath the table, Yu Lang quickly summoned his grindstone blade, pouring all his strength into blocking the blow. He whispered, “Lang Banner, curtain rises!”

Not only did the grindstone blade stand firm, but dozens of flying swords also hovered over the walls. Seen from afar, one would never guess each sword was suspended by silk threads.

Add some special effects—who wouldn’t be intimidated?

Kuduozha was stunned, nearly turning to flee. “This man can control so many flying swords at once, and blocked my attack with ease—he must be a Boundless Realm master! Look, his playing didn’t even pause, and his expression... I’ve seen many faces; only true masters wear such calm.”

If not for skill, then for theatrics—Li Dahu and Li Mi were equally gifted.

—

Marzaha grew increasingly uneasy. “Preceptor, rumor has it there’s a Six-Fingered Zither Demon in the Boundless Realm who kills with music! Could this be him—using his melody to destroy our energy centers? I... I feel worse and worse.”

Kuduozha hesitated no longer. “Full retreat!”

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn by a raging inferno within Lanye City!

It turned out the Tibetan residents, seeing their army’s return, seized hoes and kitchen knives to fight the Tang to the death, setting fires throughout the city as signals for the Tibetan troops. Once innocent in Yu Lang’s eyes, these Tibetans now smashed the heads of Longyou soldiers without a second thought.

To quell the unrest and reassure the panicked troops, the Lang Banner had to step in personally—dozens of flying swords clattered to the ground.

Kuduozha immediately realized he’d been duped, spun his horse, and led his troops into the city.

Beset by internal strife and external threat, for the first time, Yu Lang felt utterly at a loss. Li Dahu and the Lang Banner rushed everywhere, fighting fires and suppressing the rebellion. Fortunately, the city dwellers lacked real fighting power, and the Longyou troops soon regained control. Li Dahu seized the ringleaders and beheaded them on the spot, striking terror into the Tibetans.

Xue Wenyang asked Yu Lang, “If you could go back ten days, would you still risk your life to protect these Tibetan civilians?”

Yu Lang drew his blade, his killing intent sharp. “I would. How I treat others is my choice; how others treat me is theirs.”

“But if they violate my principles, I’ll kill them all without hesitation!”

As the first wave of Tibetan cavalry burst through the gates, countless boulders rained down on their heads. The gates slammed shut. Longyou archers hidden beneath the walls leaned out, bows drawn, unleashing volley after volley of arrows on the Tibetan infantry. Their proximity to the gates meant heavy casualties.

Kuduozha himself flew to the top of the wall, where Yu Lang met him in battle.