Longevity: Starting From Getting Down The Mountain And Marrying A Wife

Bang~

Zhong Yan and his four companions had just stepped through the gate when a figure shot towards them like a shooting star, smashing into the round stone pillar that two of them were hugging. The impact created a spreading spiderweb pattern, causing the walls and floors to tremble, with dust falling softly.

Zhong Yan: "......"

Li Shangwen: "......"

Zhong Xiaozhong: "......"

Xia He: "......"

Tang Xiaoshu: "......"

They were supposed to be full of fighting spirit and confidence, but this was just their first encounter.

Ma Zhida turned his head to look, his mouth twitching involuntarily. A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face as he twisted his neck and chuckled, "You've got some strength!"

It had to be said that the Xue Mansion was huge. Just in the front courtyard alone, there were hundreds of square meters occupied by a circular well in the center, with artificial mountains, potted plants, flowers and grasses, and water pools. The area covered by the front corridor alone was more than ten acres.

In the spacious courtyard, bodies were scattered everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

There were still about forty to fifty people standing.

At this moment, when they saw Zhong Yan walking in, they all stopped their movements simultaneously, and faint sounds of fighting could be heard from various places in the inner courtyard.

Xue Shanhua, dressed in a white brocade robe, had disheveled hair and was covered in blood, but his eyes were extremely sharp.

His gaze swept over Zhong Yan and then looked up at Huo Donglai, who was floating in the air on his sword. Finally, he looked at Ma Zhida and said calmly, "You're not good enough."

"Who can't talk big!" Ma Zhida sneered, retracting his leg and leveraging it against a beam. He gripped his sword and charged straight at Xue Shanhua, instantly engaging in a fierce battle.

Like a horn, the warriors around, who had become bloodthirsty, clashed once again.

Blades and swords flashed, sparks flew, and blood splattered.

Zhong Yan looked towards Guo Qingxue, who was surrounded and protected by seven or eight warriors. Apart from the blood-stained long sword in her hand, she appeared clean and tidy.

"Zhong thief! You..." Guo Qingxue spoke sternly.

Zhong Yan stood with his sword, interrupting her, "Madam Xue, you have disappointed me. Clean up and let them go."

Then, he tilted his head slightly, and Li Shangwen and the others dispersed, starting to finish off the fallen warriors who were still alive.

Guo Qingxue's gaze flickered as she exchanged glances with the people around her.

After a moment, Xue Hongyi stepped forward, holding his sword in his fist, and said, "Master Zhong, let my master leave first. We promise that no one in the Xue Mansion will be spared!"

Zhong Yan moved aside and calmly said, "The city gates are sealed. Figure it out yourselves."

Guo Qingxue was somewhat skeptical as she looked up at Huo Donglai in the sky, hesitating.

Xue Hongyi hurriedly said, "Master, go, hurry!"

Others chimed in, "Yes, Master (Madam), don't worry about us!"

Looking at the sincere and eager faces, Guo Qingxue deeply regretted it at this moment. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wished she could stay and fight to the death with them. Many of them were disciples she had watched grow up and personally taught.

But when she thought of the child in her belly, she bit her lip and held back her tears as she looked at each of them one by one, saying, "...Take care!"

Then she decisively turned around, her feet lightly touching the ground. With a few leaps, she left through the gate and disappeared into the night.

As for what to say to Zhong Yan about showing mercy to his subordinates, how could she not know it was impossible? She only hoped that she could really escape and settle down her brothers' families.

"Kill!"

Xue Hongyi roared, and the group of people scattered and rushed towards the inner courtyard to kill.

As for Guo Qingxue, who hadn't escaped far from the Xue residence, she jumped in mid-air, her head thrown up high, and rolled into the grass by the roadside.

A short sword flew back into Yang Yanqing's hand.

Even if Xue Shanhutu was spared, Zhong Yan would not spare Guo Qingxue.

Inside the Xue residence.

Huo Donglai flew on his sword, wielding his long sword to harvest the lives of one warrior after another.

Zhong Yan watched the battle between Xue Shanhutu and Ma Zhida, feeling quite shocked in his heart.

Xue Shanhutu's tiger fist condensed True Qi into the shape of a fierce tiger, occasionally emitting tiger roars. With every punch, the powerful wind broke through the air, hitting the walls, pillars, and sculptures, causing flying debris and creating a strong visual impact.

Even though he had consumed a lot of True Qi, Ma Zhida was forced to retreat step by step.

From the square to the corridor, entering the houses and crashing through walls and fences, the two of them were surrounded by True Qi, like humanoid weapons, pushing everything aside.

"Powerful!"

Zhong Yan couldn't help but admire. If he were to be approached by Xue Shanhutu, he would be crushed with a single blow.

After half an hour.

Ma Zhida achieved his first victory, delivering a long leg to Xue Shanhutu's chest, causing him to fly and fall to the ground.

Just as Xue Shanhutu was about to be slammed onto a stone slab, he used his palm to strike the ground, his body spinning and rushing towards Zhong Yan with a punch.

In the blink of an eye, he was already there.

Zhong Yan remained calm, a golden light appearing on his body. He had focused all his attention on the battle and activated a second-level protective talisman at the first moment.

Bang!

His feet scraped the ground, leaving two friction marks. Zhong Yan was pushed back more than three zhang before he stopped, his blood and qi churning inside his body.

"I won't play with you anymore!"

Ma Zhida shook his hand and threw a large knife. As it spun, another long sword suddenly appeared in mid-air and slashed towards Xue Shanhutu's back.

Xue Shanhuzuo moved left and right, barely avoiding it. Surprised, he raised his eyebrows, and Ma Zhida had already arrived nearby, his palm striking his face. The big knife and flying sword followed closely, as if they had eyes, constantly hacking and slashing.

The situation quickly turned for the worse, revealing the formidable combat power of the immortal martial cultivators.

After more than twenty rounds, Xue Shanhuzuo was pierced through the heart from behind by a knife and died.

Zhong Yan smiled and approached, "How is it?"

Ma Zhida let out a long breath, showing admiration, "This guy is indeed powerful, with a vigorous and powerful True Qi. Without using Immortal Law, I estimate that it would take three of me to kill him."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "He is not even fifty years old yet and is still at the peak of martial arts. Given time, he has a good chance of breaking through to the Grandmaster realm."

Zhong Yan nodded in agreement, "What a pity."

The two walked towards the inside, leaving a trail of bodies scattered around, blood permeating the air.

After two sticks of incense.

Huo Donglai descended from the sky, nodded to indicate that the remaining surviving warriors had been dealt with.

Before long, Li Shangwen and Xia He arrived at the main hall with two women.

Xia He's pretty face turned pale, "Husband, the women, maidservants, and unarmed servants are all hiding in the twelfth side hall in the backyard. There are more than two hundred of them."

Li Shangwen pointed at the two women and said, "Uncle, this one is Xue Shanhuzuo's concubine. She knows the location of his secret chamber. This one is Guo Qingxue's personal maidservant and also knows many secrets of her mistress."

"Send a signal and thoroughly interrogate them. Kill the trusted family members, and dismiss the unrelated maidservants and servants."

"Yes, Uncle!"

Li Shangwen took out a small bamboo tube, pulled it open, and a lychee-sized ball of light exploded in the sky like fireworks.

At the same time, the warriors from the Li family's martial arts hall, who were prepared outside the Xue residence, led by Li Yangshi himself, rushed into the Xue residence to clean up the bodies and search for valuables.

Ma Zhida laughed, "Find Xue Shanhuzuo's martial arts techniques and transcribe a copy for me."

"Of course."

After a quarter of an hour.

Zhong Yan left some people behind and, along with Huo Donglai and Ma Zhida, left the Xue residence, throwing Xue Shanhuzuo's head onto the street.

The many guest cultivators and martial families in the southern district witnessed this, and they were all shocked.

His notorious reputation had deeply ingrained itself in people's minds.

...

City Lord's Mansion.

Qin Ben and Zhang Shun sat in the council hall all night, with soldiers coming in from time to time to report the situation.

"Report to the City Lord, the arsenal has been completely controlled. Only five furnaces were destroyed, and all the bandits have been killed. The casualties are less than a hundred..."

"Report to the City Lord, the Xue Martial Hall has been eradicated by the Ten Thousand People Hall..."

(Note: The translation provided is a literal translation and may not capture the full meaning or nuances of the original text.)

"Reporting to the Lord of the City, the Xue Family, including Xue Shanhuzi, has been almost completely wiped out, with numerous legitimate martial artists being killed..."

"..."

"Reporting to the Lord of the City, the Wanrentang and Caoyun Gang have shown restraint and have not harmed the innocent. The damage is minimal, and it is expected that order will be restored and the city will be reopened by the ninth hour..."

"Report~ Informing the Lord of the City, the main military training ground has stabilized the situation. A total of 2,682 people related to the rebel spies of the Martial Alliance have been killed, and the rest of the deceived and instigated troops are willing to surrender and are temporarily detained. There are still six people on the list who are on the run..."

Upon hearing this news.

Qin Ben secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stood up from his chair. "Very well! Tell General Meng to appease the soldiers. The situation should not escalate further. Send a small team to pursue and kill them!"

"Understood, I will follow the orders!"

Qin Ben walked to the entrance of the hall, looked at the rising sun in the east, and a smile appeared on his lips. "The weather is nice."

Zhang Shun stood shoulder to shoulder with him and pondered for a moment. "There are still quite a few people involved. Once the news reaches the capital, it is likely to cause concern."

Qin Ben didn't care and distorted the truth, forcefully imposing guilt. "What does it matter if the rebel troops are reorganized? Since we have done it, we naturally have to clean it up."

Zhang Shun nodded.

The two of them admired the sunrise for a while, and Qin Ben suddenly asked a random question, "What does the gentleman think?"

Zhang Shun replied, "Great wisdom is like a demon, with endless strategies."

Qin Ben sighed with emotion and said, "Yes, there are not many people I admire. Now I have added one. Although we haven't met, the incident at the restaurant made me willingly lend a hand, even sacrificing the interests of the Caoyun Gang and Wanrentang. And with the gift he gave me, as well as the many experts from the Xue Family, I don't need to help. He solved it himself with a clever plan..."

A glimmer of light flashed in Zhang Shun's eyes. "Using grass as soldiers may seem simple, but it is extremely clever. Without this key, our actions would be too conspicuous and difficult to handle."

"..."

If Zhong Yan were here and heard such high praise, he would probably feel embarrassed and sorry.

In terms of strategy and tactics, he considered himself far inferior to Zhang Shun, who was known as the "genius scholar". Even among the countless beings in the Immortal Martial Continent, he might not even reach the upper-middle level.

His advantage lay in his perspective, being a person of two lifetimes was his greatest asset.

For example, in terms of strategy, there are numerous countries of various sizes in the Immortal Martial Continent, and there are almost wars every day. There are countless strategists like "Zhuge" and "Sima" from his previous life. Although there is no book like "The Art of War" in this world, various well-known tactics often emerge.

Zhong Yan was just standing on the shoulders of giants, using information as a basis and imitating others.

Take the destruction of the Xue Family as an example.

Seizing the opportunity, the favorable geographical position, and the people.

And a fair amount of luck.

According to his initial plan, the first step was to let Yan Sandao go to sea, and the crucial second step was to "negotiate" at the Lord's Mansion, staging a quarrel and reaching a consensus with Qin Ben.

In reality, he had obtained information about Guo Qingxue and Xue Hongyi in the market, ensuring victory.

If not, even if he had confidence in taking down the Xue Family, he would have to go through a bitter battle.

...