Time rewinds slightly, as Li Yanfeng sprints towards the eastern side of the chaotic battlefield. He can feel a massive surge of sound rising from behind.

Not only have the experts from the Great Light Religion arrived, but Peng Tiangang has also finally organized a large-scale counterattack.

The two relentlessly pursuing him are now caught in wave after wave of fighting. Before long, he will be able to turn back and deal with them.

He Wen is determined to instigate a great calamity across Jiangnan, so the situation in Jiangning no longer affects the overall situation. However, with the appearance of the Black Flag, everything that happens here today will bring great prestige to the participants from various small and medium-sized forces.

As long as he enters the vortex today and achieves something, he will be able to use this reputation to rise further in Tongshan. Afterwards, by relying on Liu Guangshi and Dai Mengwei on one side, and connecting with Xu Zhaonan through his identity as a Dharma Protector of the Great Light Religion on the other, he can become a bridge between the two sides in this chaotic world, potentially transforming from a pawn into a player.

Of course, during this trip to Jiangning, there have been several battles, and some strange things he has not yet fully understood, such as why the assassin who killed Gu Anhe would also try to assassinate him... But as the battle with the Black Flag begins, these minor matters are temporarily insignificant.

He contemplates the timing of his counterattack.

Then, what appears before him is a simple, utterly straightforward –

—Fist.

…

The black figure that appeared abruptly several feet away just a moment ago is now right in front of him. The footsteps of this figure are silent, and all the sounds in the air seem to be swallowed by the sudden expansion of the black figure.

Every hair on Li Yanfeng's body stands on end.

At this moment, he is also rushing forward rapidly. Almost reflexively, his body shrinks suddenly, and the shape-shifting movements of the Little Monkey Fist seem to conjure five or six figures simultaneously, ready to dart in different directions, accompanied by his subconscious shriek.

For thousands of years, the martial arts passed down in the Green Forest have mostly imitated the essence of animal or object power. In this moment of life and death, the monkey-like stance that erupts from Li Yanfeng has reached a state of perfection.

The fist from the opposite side slams over.

All the monkey-like stances on Li Yanfeng's body converge at a single point, and then his whole body explodes forward. His body was originally tall, but now, with the contraction of the Little Monkey Fist stance, his body seems to have transformed into a madly darting little monkey. In this instant, the little monkey explodes, seemingly transforming into a heaven-reaching demon ape. This contraction and release happen in the blink of an eye, and the strength of his entire body has been unleashed to the limit.

This is the strongest secret technique of the White Ape Tongbei, the Cloud-Scraping Strike.

The terrifying posture of the demon ape only unfolds for an instant.

With a bang, Li Yanfeng's body flies backward, smashing into a dilapidated artificial hill behind him. As stones fly, his body rolls backwards, stirring up dust and dirt.

Not far away, the little monk Ping An witnesses everything.

The series of movements that Li Yanfeng performed instinctively, from contraction to expansion, had fully grasped the essence of the monkey form. For martial arts practitioners, the agility of the Little Monkey Fist stance and the overwhelming power of the White Ape Tongbei would be astonishing to experts. However, the oncoming fist was so powerful that Li Yanfeng's fist stance, just as it was unfolding, was brutally shattered at its peak.

As a result, that extremely fierce "Cloud-Scraping Strike" looked like a child opening his arms and making a scary face the moment someone opens the door.

And then getting punched away.

In that instant, the little monk felt like he was seeing his master's full-strength attack without holding back.

Li Yanfeng rolls on the ground, not yet stopping, when the approaching black figure in a cloak passes by him, speaking with a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Why so early?"

This sentence is directed at the Huaxia Army soldier who was chasing Li Yanfeng with him. The Huaxia Army uncle who uses the iron palm is seen smashing a henchman of Tiansha to the ground and says, "It's Young Hero Long...who acted early."

"Long..."

The figure in the black cloak hesitates for a moment, seemingly puzzled, but then reacts. He disappears from the spot, leaving behind only a faint sound like a chuckle in the air.

Who is this person…

The little monk is still confused, but then he sees more figures in black cloaks whistling in from the east. They surge and spread, tearing open the direction jointly built by the Great Light Religion, "King of Wheels," and "King Yama" factions. What rolls in is a boiling sea of ​​blades.

The little monk turns and runs. In front of him, he knows that his master has already made a move, and he wants to warn him, to tell his master, "The experts of the Huaxia Army have arrived." But the distance is too far, and it is already a little late.

…

At this moment.

The experts under "King Yama" have already spread past the Huaxia Army's front lines, engulfing dozens of Huaxia Army soldiers on the front lines in a sea of people.

Lin Zongwu, who is turning from the rear and about to launch a charge into the core of the Huaxia Army's ranks, suddenly crashes into a mountain.

This is the first time since he entered the battlefield that his charging footsteps have been stopped. Although the figure who blocked him is temporarily blocked by the outer wall of a house, the experts nearby who are paying attention to this side, and even those who are encouraged by this demon-like figure, immediately notice the collision that occurred on the second floor of the shop.

The fierce fighting that erupts in an instant first brings about a storm-like, muffled roar. Then, the things in the room cause the windows and walls to begin to crack and deform. The floorboards twist violently during the movements and attacks, surging like waves.

Immediately, the floor collapses, and the two plunge into the ground floor in the midst of fierce attacks. Lin Zongwu's roar reverberates out.

Most of the members participating in this battle are famous figures in the martial arts world. Therefore, they can generally discern the skill of many people on the battlefield.

From the moment he attacked, Lin Zongwu revealed a supernatural power never seen before in the world. In his charge, many experts, elders, and even those who are often touted as grandmasters in the field would probably not dare to confront him head-on. There are many experts in the Huaxia Army, and even if they are fierce and reckless, they would still be able to parry a few moves if they really stood in front. However, as this raging storm continues for one breath, two breaths, and Lin Zongwu fails to break through his opponent, the sounds of destruction even suppress the ground floor. In the increasingly terrifying sounds of fighting, many people present cannot help but change their expressions. They understand that a grandmaster of the Huaxia Army has arrived.

The fierce attacks clash in the shop, like heavy artillery roaring and thunder rumbling. In the midst of Lin Zongwu's long roar of "Ah—", two figures break through the rear wall of the shop. In a cloud of surging smoke and dust, Lin Zongwu's punch is like a huge grinding disc rotating, and the dust stirred up from his wide sleeves is like a cannon firing, blasting towards the upper body of the person opposite him.

And the person opposite him, wearing a black cloak, counters with almost equally fierce punches. The two figures break through the rear wall of the shop, pass through a narrow back alley, then smash the courtyard wall on the other side into distortion, and then crash back into the wall of the shop.

These two figures shift positions. If Lin Zongwu's body is like a giant Buddha, like a mountain, then the punches and kicks unleashed by the black figure in the cloak are like the roars of thousands of dragons. In the midst of the attacks, he supplements his moves with fierce grappling, tearing, and tripping techniques, dragging Lin Zongwu as he fights, charging left and right. When the distance is short, he grapples, tears, and attacks fiercely with his elbows, using them as fists. As long as the distance widens slightly, the punches in his hands will unfold like a storm, enveloping Lin Zongwu's upper body. This fighting style, which relies on long distances to maximize power, is similar to Li Yanfeng's White Ape Tongbei, but the black-robed man's combination of fists and body is more majestic, and the range of his hunting is wider. In a short moment, his calm and masterful aura seems to overwhelm Lin Zongwu.

Of course, the attacks and collisions of the two figures are fierce and rapid. In a short moment, the storm of figures collides left and right three times in the alley behind the shop, and they exchange countless punches with each other. In the midst of Lin Zongwu's roar, a loud bang is heard, and the attacking pair separates after the most intense blow. Lin Zongwu's figure steps back into the shop, while the figure in the black cloak smashes through the wall of another courtyard, cracking the bluestone bricks on the ground as he steps back. The black cloak sways, and the tall figure does not fall down.

Rolling smoke and dust fill the air, and the walls of the courtyard are collapsing piece by piece. On the opposite side, the shop with an entire wall destroyed is also slowly beginning to collapse.

The battle in front continues, but seeing this intense and crazy scene, some of the experts on the battlefield, belonging to the Great Light Religion and King Yama's side, are silent for several breaths. Everyone looks at the black cloak that has stopped Lin Zongwu, now covered in smoke and dust, and their scalps tingle.

Some people are thinking: Could it be that Mr. Ning has arrived?

Such thoughts do not last. From the collapsing shop, Lin Zongwu laughs: "Haha." His voice is steady as he says, "Chen Fan."

This voice falls heavily into the ears of everyone on the nearby battlefield, and explodes like a thunderclap. But compared to many people's first thought, this name is more comforting.

The Southwest and Jiangnan are thousands of miles apart. In the past, when the Green Forest people spoke of the Heart Demon or Blood Hand Butcher of the Southwest, they seemed relaxed, but if they were truly enemies with the Black Flag, the arrival of that Mr. Ning, who would boldly strike at the peak of Lin Jiaozhu's power and overwhelm the world, was something that everyone believed.

Chen Fan, the deputy commander of the 29th Army of Huaxia in the Miao territory, is the person who personally killed the Jurchen general Yin Shuke on the Tanzhou battlefield. A small number of people in the Green Forest know his background, but most martial artists are not very clear.

On the street, Peng Tiangang, the "Avici Primordial Butcher" blade holder, takes two steps backwards and looks towards the east side of the street. More figures are waving long sabers, hacking and killing from the other side of the view. Compared to the Huaxia Army squads that charged earlier, the long sabers in the hands of these figures in black cloaks appear more bloody and rough. They are stirring up a monstrous bloodbath along the street.

The eastern defense line was originally the area controlled by the Great Light Religion and the King of Wheels faction. This team in black cloaks was originally the main force that the Black Flag had prepared to suppress Lin Jiaozhu.

Only the sound of a fierce shout is heard in the air: "The Overlord Blade of Tiannan is here to demand old debts from the Great Light Religion! All idlers! Get out of my way—"

Experts on this defense line also cannot bear the humiliation and shout back in challenge: "This is the territory of my Equity Party. What ghost blade? Stop being presumptuous!"

An expert on the opposite side also rushes out: "Then die!"

More than twenty years ago, the martial arts world was not yet a term that everyone could understand, and many people had not yet formed such a solid memory of the Green Forest. Now, only a few people vaguely remember that the Overlord Blade of Tiannan, led by Liu Dabiao, was such a domineering existence.

After the imperial court, led by the Ministry of Justice, mobilized resources and dispatched experts to hunt down and kill Liu Dabiao, the Overlord Blade Clan joined the ranks of Fang La and became the main force of the Yongle Uprising, gradually deviating from the scope of ordinary Green Forest. After the failure of the Yongle Uprising, the remaining eight hundred members of the Overlord Blade Clan returned to the Miao territory to recuperate. Later, they participated in the assassination of the emperor in the Jin Palace and the resistance in the Northwest. Most of the old villagers have been split up and joined the Huaxia Army system.

This is the last time the name Overlord Blade appeared in the disputes of the martial arts world.

In the courtyard, the black figure pulls open the cloak and throws it into the air amidst a cloud of dust.

"Fatty, your dead martial sister has been waiting for you for many years."

As the tattered cloak unfolds in the air, below it is the tall and sturdy figure of Chen Fan. He shakes his arms and looks at the opposite side.

"I'll send you to see her."

On the opposite side, the dilapidated shop is collapsing. Dust and stones collapse and fall. In this shrinking darkness, Lin Zongwu reaches out and supports a collapsing pillar, and then calmly pushes it away with one hand, causing an even more violent collapse and stirring up dust.

He is smiling.

"Hahaha, Chen Fan, Chen Fan... Well done."

The huge demon god walks forward.

In a person's life, after many twists and turns, many regrets will remain. In Lin Zongwu's life, he once regarded martial arts as the most important thing in the world, believing that if he became the strongest in the world one day, he would be able to do everything smoothly and accomplish many great things that would be praised by the world.

His talent for martial arts is indeed outstanding. He touched the threshold of a grandmaster early on, but now, looking back at the peak of martial arts, none of the great things he wanted to do has ever been truly smooth.

When he was still in prosperous times, he wanted to use the power of the Great Light Religion to roam the Central Plains, but he was only able to see a few opportunities before being intercepted head-on by Ning Yi in Zhuxian Town;

In a chaotic world, he wanted to turn the tide, leading hundreds of thousands of believers, but they were not the match of a single Jurchen general;

He once wanted to challenge Zhou Tong to become famous, but Zhou Tong went to assassinate Wanyan Zonghan and died in battle;

Politically, he wanted to cooperate with others, but he was eventually troubled by women like Lou Shuwan. Even because his believers were too不堪 in the war against the Jin, he was embarrassed to use his own martial arts to seek trouble with the other party;

In Zhuxian Town, he once forced the treacherous prime minister Qin Si Yuan to death, but in the end, with the various propaganda of the Black Flag Army, this may become the biggest stain and infamy of his life;

He had formed a feud with Ning Liheng over Fang Qifo's matter, and the grudge had deepened since then, but now, he could no longer seek revenge on the other party, only because the Black Flag Army had openly defeated the Jurchen Wanyan Zonghan and Xiyin in the Southwest. If he killed the other party for personal reasons—regardless of whether he succeeded—he would only leave a pile of infamy on himself;

Even coming to Jiangnan, being revered by Xu Zhaonan as the Holy Teacher, was actually nothing more than a loss of power caused by insufficient control of the Great Light Religion…

All in all, in these decades, the many great things he wanted to accomplish were all struck halfway by this person and that person, and none of them were truly done to his heart's content.

After arriving in Jiangning, he lived in the New Tiger Palace, watching the chaos in the city from a perspective that included many compliments, but his heart became more and more calm.

In this life, great things were not accomplished. When he no longer cared so much about power, status, and praise, he could instead savor something in this chaotic torrent.

Life in the world is a matter of drifting with the flow. When one gets old, many things are not something one wants to do, but something that must be done. The Great Light Religion can be thrown to Xu Zhaonan, which is not a bad ending. Fortunately, his disciple Ping An has a very high talent for martial arts and is also of a pure nature, so he should be able to inherit the mantle. Under these circumstances, he can finally attack the people of the Black Flag without any scruples and compete with them.

And at the moment when Chen Fan appeared, he once again felt the boiling blood that he had missed for a long time.

This is the strongest disciple who inherited Fang Qifo's mantle. From childhood, he was also born with divine power. He has been active on the battlefield in recent years, is in his prime, and from him, one can see Fang Qifo at his peak.

His martial sister, Sikong Nan, died at his assassination.

Over the years, he has been unable to go and take revenge.

First, people in the martial arts world grow old in the martial arts world. Chen Fan is a junior, seeking revenge for Fang Qifo, which can be regarded as upright and righteous. If he, as someone of the same generation as Fang Qifo, went to the door for this reason, it would not be proper and would be embarrassing to say.

Second, Chen Fan joined the Black Flag and became a general on the battlefield. Later, he also killed Jurchen generals on the battlefield. Such a person, like Ning Yi, can no longer be liquidated for personal grudges.

But at this moment, he took the initiative to come here in his martial arts identity as a disciple of Fang Qifo and as a member of the Overlord Blade Clan.

Among the courtyards on the opposite side, the shadows of the trees flow. In the shadows of the trees, Chen Fan's figure is as heroic as Fang Qifo, who led Liu Dabiao and others into the main altar of the Moni Religion more than twenty years ago. This is a unique martial arts heroism, something that the fat monk has respected and pursued throughout his life.

This pursuit of invincibility for half of his life, and the grievances with the Fang Qifo lineage, can finally become a circle at this moment.

He felt great joy in his life.

The supporting pillar collapses and disintegrates with the heavy wall. The tattered shop, which is causing a chain reaction, suddenly stirs up a huge cloud of dust. Amidst the dust, the "Demon Buddha" Lin Zongwu steps out. His left arm waves lightly and casually, stopping a falling bluestone brick in mid-air. The bluestone brick shoots out sideways like a cannonball, and everyone in half the battlefield hears his Buddhist chant at this time: "...Amitabha."

This Buddhist chant, thick with joy, seems to ring in everyone's ears nearby.

At the same moment, Chen Fan disappears from the spot.

Straight punch.

The two figures crash into the disintegrating ruins—

…

A little earlier.

Holding the fire gun that he took from a wounded comrade, Ning Ji runs at high speed on the battlefield.

Wang Nantuo and another expert are chasing behind, wanting to kill the person holding the fire gun, but Ning Ji's steps are fast and agile. In the blink of an eye, he passes through houses, climbs over roofs, and leaps over ruins, running towards the most intense direction of the battlefield, always keeping a few steps away from the pursuing experts.

Fire guns are highly efficient in killing, but they are not suitable for single combat. The most ideal situation, of course, is to drag the enemy around and let his comrades solve the two flies, and then he and his comrades will cooperate in a staggered manner. Although the battlefield situation is chaotic at this moment, he is confident that as long as Yuwen Feidu and others see the situation on his side, they will definitely find an opportunity to take action and relieve his siege.

On the other hand, the destruction caused by that "eternal enemy" Lin Zongwu is huge. If he finds an opportunity, he must give him a shot no matter what, so that he knows what it means for "the times to have changed".

Across a few courtyards, fierce fighting and destruction sounds come from a place not far away, extremely violent. When Lin Zongwu shouts "Chen Fan" from his mouth, Ning Ji's eyes widen, and he pounces towards the roof not far away like his life depends on it.

Rushing onto the ridge of the roof, his footsteps scoop up the tiles, and his body sinks, moves forward, kneels on one knee, and raises the gun. The muzzle turns towards the source of Lin Zongwu's voice.

Smoke and dust fill the air, and his gaze sees Lin Zongwu's waving arm as the dust rises.

Chen Fan's figure has suddenly disappeared.

He does not see the fat monk's body, but the side of his head feels like a thousand fine needles are piercing into it, and malice sweeps over him.

Like the life-and-death moment when he and his elder brother and sister challenged Chen Fan in Chengdu last year. Ning Ji has no time to think much and leaps to the side with all his strength.

"...Amitabha."

The bluestone brick flies over with a crash, and countless tiles and wooden chips from the ridge fly up.

The cicada senses before the autumn wind moves.

At this moment, Lin Zongwu's state of mind is smooth and unobstructed.

Holding the fire gun, Ning Ji falls awkwardly from the roof.