Chapter 213: An Arrow Beyond Time (Three in One)
Gu Fangchen was about to enter the golden tent when the guard at the door stopped Yi'er behind him and said:
"Mr. Gu, the Khan has ordered that only you are allowed to enter."
Gu Fangchen raised his eyebrows, feeling that it was not unexpected.
Although his attitude seemed good on the surface, Su Le was a powerful leader who had ruled Qingman for a thousand years. In terms of martial arts alone, he was on par with Ding Xingfeng in his prime. It was naturally impossible for him to treat a traitor from an enemy country with an ambiguous attitude as if nothing had happened.
After all, after Gu Yuye's death, he should have realized that Qingman's previous defeat was all caused by Gu Fangchen.
Although he had Mahamudra's endorsement, Gu Fangchen did come with the head of Emperor Yong'an, so this token of allegiance was quite heavy.
But for Yu Sule, a person like Gu Fangchen is an unstable factor in itself.
At this moment, stopping Yi'er, who came with him, outside the door and letting him go in alone inevitably felt like attending a Hongmen Banquet alone.
Mahamudra must have known Yier's identity at this moment, but it didn't matter.
If the person following him was just an ordinary girl, she could even be used to threaten him...
In fact, there would not be any loss for Gu Fangchen if he went in like this, but that was based on the fact that he really defected and came to Qingman to seek refuge.
But he is not, so he cannot give in at all.
Gu Fangchen stood there, thought for a moment, and suddenly took out "Rising Tide of the Blue Sea" and pulled it towards the golden tent.
The guards at the door and the wolf guards patrolling around changed their expressions instantly and surrounded them immediately!
“Swish, swish, swish!”
The sound of scimitars being drawn from the waist could be heard continuously.
The guard at the door was also surprised and shouted coldly:
"Mr. Gu, what are you going to do?!"
"You are now a great contributor to Qingman and a guest of honor of Datiansa. Don't make mistakes!"
Few people in the Wei Dynasty could understand the Qingman language, but the Qingman had been trying every possible way to infiltrate the Central Plains for many years and to study various intercepted intelligence, so many high-ranking officials were proficient in the Central Plains language.
The guard in front of him spoke the Central Plains dialect very fluently.
At this moment, after Gu Fangchen defected, he still had the head of Emperor Yong'an hanging on his waist and was drawing his bow towards the Golden Tent. It was really hard to figure out his purpose.
Therefore, the people around were stunned for a moment before they all drew their swords in unison.
After all, it's unlikely that someone would use the head of the Wei Emperor as a token of their loyalty and then claim they were just using it to penetrate the enemy camp and carry out an assassination...
What kind of clever trick is this, hurting the enemy by a thousand and yourself by ten thousand?
Furthermore, although Gu Fangchen's deeds were terrifying, his actual cultivation level was only at the fourth level after all.
Even if he stood at the door of the golden tent, at such a close distance, he might not be able to hurt the Khan at all.
This kind of behavior is really puzzling...
Gu Fangchen raised the corners of his mouth when he heard this, narrowed his eyes, and said:
"Can't you see? I heard that the Qingman have a tradition that only the one with the strongest riding and archery skills is qualified to become Khan."
"Suler sat in the Khan's Golden Tent for a thousand years, and countless people who tried to challenge him became food for the Sky Eagle."
"Since I've come here to surrender, I naturally want to adapt to the local customs and give it a try..."
His eyes were cold, and the jade bow in his hand was fully drawn. The mermaid's tears turned into several entangled streams of pearls and jade, like a dream.
The surrounding Qingman people looked at each other with expressions of anger and disdain on their faces. The behavior of the Wei people was so rude, but since there was no order from the Golden Tent, they could not take any action.
Qingman does have such a tradition, but how could it be so direct in the face?
To challenge the Khan, one must naturally follow the rules of their tribe. The competition is about shooting eagles and riding horses. The one who can shoot down the eagle perched in the eyes of the "God" on the holy mountain, and tame or kill the divine horse growing under the feet of the "God", will be the Khan of the Qingman people.
And the one who does these two things best is still Suler.
The arrow in his hand could fly thousands of miles and shoot into the eagle's eyebrows.
His strong and tall body could catch up with the shadow of time. When he was still a teenager, he ran for three days and three nights, and exhausted the divine horse to death.
If we want to compete, we have to follow their rules, one by one.
Gu Fangchen, on the other hand, drew his bow and arrow right at the door of the golden tent, ready to fight.
For a moment, it made people wonder, are they barbarians, or is this guy more like a barbarian...
The guard twitched his lips and said:
"We Qingman do have such a tradition, but we need to ask Da Tiansa to choose an appropriate time. Why not wait for Master Gu to rest and recuperate before competing with the Khan..."
Gu Fangchen raised the bow in his hand and said lightly:
"That's your rule, and this is my rule."
He glanced at Yi'er who was hiding behind him and holding onto the corner of his clothes, smiled, but his tone was very cold, and said:
"Since you think that according to your rules, you have the final say, then I can also feel that I have the final say by following my own rules."
Gu Fangchen said loudly:
"Suler, let's have a competition to see whose arrow is faster and farther."
"I don't want your tattered golden tent. I just want you to come out and greet me, just like you are greeting the gods of Qingman!"
…
Inside the Golden Tent.
Su Le's eyebrows jumped, and he raised his head, his golden animal eyes looking fixedly outside the tent door.
His daughter Qiqige was a little surprised at first, then she smiled and said:
"Dad, this man is a fool."
"Is there any arrow in this world faster than the 'Heavenly Punishment'?"
Suler's name means "divine punishment".
"Heavenly punishment" is thunder.
On the day he was born, the great Tiansa said that he would be a young and barbarian hero who would unify the four major tribes in the future. He would be as swift and fierce as a "heavenly punishment", like a thunderbolt falling on the grassland, silencing all the horses.
At that time, even the four major tribes were not completely united, and there were a total of seventy-two tribes on the grassland.
At that time, Suler was just a prince of a small tribe.
The prophecy brought him assassinations and countless disasters, but he overcame them one by one. In the end, just as the prophecy said, he sat on the throne of Khan and remained in the Golden Horde for a thousand years.
He was ambitious and set his sights on the vast Central Plains. He once expanded the territory of Qingman to the frontier of Jiangnan and captured the capital of the Central Plains people.
That boundless and magnificent imperial city.
He once sat on the supreme throne.
However, in the end, it turned out that he was not the only hero created by the times. The destiny fell on the sky of Wei, and one genius after another emerged like mushrooms after rain, ruining his dream of becoming the overlord.
Over the years, as he looked at the increasing number of names on that "half of the country", the crawling beast in his heart increasingly revealed its fangs.
In Su Le's heart, he has only one enemy, and that is the Confucian sage Xie Qian who caused him to fail.
Although the head of Emperor Yong'an was important, in his eyes, the Emperor of Wei was foolish and incompetent, and he became even worse as he grew older, and he couldn't even defend his country.
Even if he had countless capable people under his command, he could not prevent the decline of the Wei Dynasty.
Therefore, Emperor Yong'an himself is not a cause for concern.
Both those who designed to frame Gu Fangchen and Gu Fangchen himself are still within the chessboard.
It's worthy of attention, but not enough for him to take an equal attitude.
What's more, Gu Fangchen was accompanied by the "Four-phase Lord of Disaster" from a demon sect.
In Su Le's opinion, it must be the "Four-phase Robber Lord" who saved Gu Fangchen, and the latter was most likely a pawn of the former.
The greatest value of Gu Fangchen is the two powerful auras that fought and disappeared in Xiajing Road. He may be the only person who knows what happened.
Those two auras were at least at the peak of the second grade, but it was unlikely to be the first grade... The first grade was not a cabbage, how could two more suddenly appear?
Therefore, according to Su Le's idea, there must be two hidden second-grade people who fought each other because of something, and then died together.
As for what happened, we have to ask the only eyewitness, Gu Fangchen.
To put it bluntly, in Su Le's eyes, Gu Fangchen is now a key chess piece, but he is still just a chess piece.
After all, he is still only at the fourth rank.
If he really had the ability, he would not have been framed by Xiao Sheng, forcing him to betray Qing Man and come to him.
Hence the show of force just now.
At this moment, Gu Fangchen's arrogant words were even more nonsense!
Who is Hesul?
The Khan of Qingman, the common leader of the four major tribes!
In this world, there are a lot of people who he looks up to, but there is not a single one whom he can personally greet!
Gu Fangchen actually wanted him to personally step out of the golden tent to greet him, as if welcoming a god?!
Doesn't this mean that he should worship him like a god?
absurd!
Su Le had a blank expression on his face, his eyes were cold, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, murderous intent already arose in his heart.
He originally thought that Gu Fangchen could become his right-hand man as Da Tiansa said, but now it seems that he is just a stupid, arrogant and ignorant guy.
No matter what his purpose was, whether he wanted to improve his status with wild words, or wanted to learn from the Confucianists to make shocking remarks and use them to lure people into a trap.
Today, he can only die here!
If you cannot clearly see your own strength and position, and just keep showing off your uniqueness, you will eventually become a clown.
It’s just a pity... It’s so hard to get a knife like this one handed to me by Da Wei himself.
"Alas, old man, it seems that the prophecies you saw from the starry sky are sometimes wrong."
Sule sighed deeply and turned to look at his Datiansa in disappointment, expecting to see embarrassment on the face of the old man who claimed he could never make mistakes.
But the skinny old man in white linen clothes just picked up the Western glasses hanging around his neck, wiped them, put them on, stared at the tent door with wide eyes, his face full of surprise.
Su Le was stunned and frowned:
"Old man, what are you still doing here pretending? Is this arrogant and ignorant fellow the 'Blue Dragon' in your prophecy?"
The old man wearing a long white linen robe and glasses, who looked like an old scholar, was none other than the Great Bodhisattva of Qingman - Mahamudra.
Maha Wuliang laughed, put down his glasses, and said:
"My Khan, Mahātānsa's predictions are never wrong. I see him becoming more and more like the Azure Dragon that will soon cross the sky."
Qiqige blinked and asked curiously:
"'Canglong'? Doesn't that mean he will obtain the national destiny? He has already obtained it. Hasn't the prophecy been fulfilled yet?"
Mahamudra shook his head:
"The so-called 'Blue Dragon' will change the entire pattern of the starry sky. It's not just this one small thing."
The great Emperor of Wei died and the imperial seal was taken away, but in his mouth, it was a trivial matter.
Suler sneered:
"You mean, he's not just bragging? Wait, I have to stand up to greet him?"
"Old man, I think you've been in seclusion on the top of the snow mountain for too long, and your head is frozen. Why don't you take it off and use it as a wine jug for me?"
The Khan's tone was extremely hostile. If an ordinary person heard him say this, they would probably collapse to the ground in fear or even commit suicide.
But Mahamudra just raised his head, touched his sparse hair, and laughed:
"Khan, prophecies cannot influence your actions. Only you can stand up and walk out of the Golden Tent."
Qiqige widened her eyes, feeling incredible.
Doesn't the teacher mean that he didn't refute Suler's words?
Could it be that Gu Fangchen really has the ability to make her father stand up willingly and go outside the golden tent to greet her?
How is this possible? !
Su Le naturally also understood the implication of Mahamudra's words, and a trace of anger suddenly arose in his heart, which had originally been filled with disdain.
He snorted coldly and continued to sit in his seat.
"Then let him try. Only when you see how high the mountain is, you will know how small you are."
Su Le said lightly:
"Since you want to compete with me, then compete."
"You are the first one who dared to draw the bow before my Golden Tent. This is my reward for your courage. You only have one chance to shoot."
"Then I will draw my bow and crucify you before my golden tent, and it will be your honor!"
His arrows are like divine punishment, and no one can escape.
An eagle thousands of miles away would be pierced through the eyebrows, let alone he wanted to kill a person at such a close distance?
When the Qingman guards outside the tent heard the words coming from the golden tent, they were all shocked and knelt down quickly.
Afterwards, they heard Su Le's request and looked at Gu Fangchen with regret and pity.
Of course, there was also ridicule and misunderstanding.
In their view, it was incredible that this guy could achieve great merit and become a guest of honor of Khan and Da Tiansa as a Wei person.
But he didn't cherish this opportunity at all and ended up killing himself!
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed that the successful killing of Emperor Yong'an had made him lose his mind and develop inappropriate self-confidence.
It is really unreasonable arrogance and ignorance!
Gu Fangchen's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes flickered.
This was his purpose. As long as Suler agreed to this matter in public, then, with his extremely proud character, he would definitely fulfill his promise.
In this way, he completed the first step of using Qingman to advance to the third rank.
It is also the most important step.
A normal third-grade cultivator needs to find his own "Tao" during the process of transcending the tribulation in the Refining Tribulation Realm and the Point Snow Realm, and then intercept and transform it from the heaven and earth.
Gu Fangchen already knew that "Tao" was a parasite, so it was naturally impossible for him to take the initiative to contact "Tao" again.
So he naturally couldn't use normal means to be promoted to the third rank.
But don’t forget, the third-grade Guangsha Realm had another name in the ancient Zhou Dynasty and before, which was the “Incense Realm”!
As long as he can gather enough willpower from all living beings, he will be able to achieve the third level of "Incense Realm" using ancient methods without going through the "Tao".
But the thing called "incense" does not work in the Wei Dynasty.
Because after the country's destiny was officially controlled, the concept of "incense realm" no longer existed among the people.
The "incense" usually offered was also controlled by the court.
For example, there are strict regulations on the scale of "incense" that can be offered to the Galan Monastery and the Tara Cult.
Just like the county magistrates in those places, if they can achieve the third rank, they must report to the court and cannot exceed a certain limit.
The path of "becoming a god through worshipping incense" has been completely cut off in the Wei Dynasty.
But Qingman is different. This ancient and barbaric land still retains a large number of "gods". The Qingman people are never stingy with their faith and can provide a large amount of wishes from all living beings, which are condensed into "incense".
Therefore, Gu Fangchen came to Qingman this time not only to get Mahamudra’s head, but more importantly, to allow himself to be promoted to the third rank through “incense”!
The first step he had to take was to pretend to be the reincarnation of "God".
That’s right, it’s the white bone giant lying across the mountains outside.
——The so-called "god's" remains used by the Qingman people to cast spells are actually just parts knocked off from the white bones.
The most important step is Suler's cooperation.
As long as Suler believed it, the Qingman people under his rule would also have to believe that he was the "God".
However, it is not easy to make this heroic ruler believe that a person from the Great Wei Dynasty is the reincarnation of a "god".
Fortunately, Gu Fangchen already has the best background.
That is Mahamati’s prophecy and support.
The moment Gu Fangchen saw the "Wolf God" appear, he already knew that Mahamudra must have made a corresponding prophecy, which was why he was so bold as to send the "Wolf God" in advance to support.
Whatever the prophecy was, it was bound to be in his favor.
With the prophecy of Qingman Datiansa supporting his position, it doesn’t matter whether he is a member of the Wei Dynasty or not.
After all, no one has stipulated that the "gods" of Qingman cannot be reincarnated as people of Wei!
In this way, everything is ready, except for the east wind.
This east wind will deliver his arrow to Suler, hitting the fate that he cannot see. Only then will he believe that everything has a traceable path.
Gu Fangchen took a deep breath, exhaled deeply, and said loudly:
"Suler, you think your arrow is the fastest in the world, you are totally wrong!"
The young barbarian next to him looked at him as if he were a fool.
Could it be that the Khan's arrows were not the fastest in the world?
Are you going to say that your arrow is the fastest? You are such a boaster!
Su Le sneered in his heart and tapped his fingers leisurely, wanting to see what other nonsense this guy could say.
Gu Fangchen remained calm and continued:
"That's because you haven't seen the omnipotent 'God'. The bow in His hand can support the heavens and the earth, and the arrows He shoots can transcend time. No matter when or where, no human shadow can escape the running arrow."
Suler: “…”
Qingman Khan had a blank expression on his face, and his fingers tapping on the armrest paused.
This... is really not bullshit.
Even he could not refute that the fastest arrow in the world must be the arrow of the omnipotent "God".
Even someone as proud as Suler grew up under the protection of the remains of the "God". Looking at those huge white bones, who can say that his arrow can be faster than His?
But what does Gu Fangchen mean by this?
Did you realize that your previous words were too arrogant and offensive, so you suddenly changed the subject and tried to please them?
Doesn't he think it's too late?
Qiqige was also confused. She tilted her head and looked at her teacher, but the latter just smiled at her mysteriously and said nothing.
Gu Fangchen then grinned and said loudly:
"But today, you can see—"
"That arrow that transcends time!"
Everyone was in an uproar, and the Qingman guards nearby didn't care that they were in front of the golden tent at the moment. They all raised their heads with angry and incredible looks.
Is this guy crazy?!
How dare you compare yourself to a "God"?!
How could he have the audacity to blaspheme the omnipotent "God" like this? Could it be that he relied on his fourth-grade cultivation?
What's more, he is a Wei person!
How could the power and blessing of the "God" be bestowed upon a Wei people?!
Gu Fangchen's words completely angered everyone.
If they were not in front of the golden tent at this moment, someone would definitely rush over and spit at him, scolding him for overestimating his own abilities.
Su Le was also extremely angry and laughed. He pointed his finger and looked at Mahamudra:
"Old man, is this the 'Canglong' you mentioned?"
If it weren't for Gu Fangchen's previous battle record, he would have thought that he had recruited a madman!
Although there are also "crazy" people in the Central Plains, there are people who deliberately pretend to be crazy and stupid to achieve certain goals.
But I've never seen anyone so crazy!
Or was it that being framed for the murder of Emperor Yong'an drove this guy insane?
"Boom——"
Under the angry gazes of everyone, Gu Fangchen suddenly let go of the bow in his hand.
The mermaid's tears exploded into dust, and spiritual patterns spread in the air, like rain falling. Those were the patterns of an illusion array.
In the past, Gu Fangchen used these illusion arrays to fool many people.
This time, he will cast this illusion on himself.
Gu Fangchen raised his eyes, and in the rain and fog, he saw the divine horse galloping in front of him.
"Charge—kill—"
On the battlefield, countless soldiers and horses passed by him, and right opposite him was the young Suler.
He rode on a giant wolf, looking at Gu Fangchen and the arrow flying towards him with uncertainty.
“Whoosh—”
The arrow grazed his temple, leaving a scar on his face.
“Snap!”
The arrow shot by Gu Fangchen turned into rain all over the sky, and was then blocked by the defensive formation of the golden tent and stuck in the tent.
The wolf guards burst into laughter.
Amidst the laughter, a pair of hands lifted the golden tent, and a tall figure walked out from it, and the laughter stopped abruptly.
Su Le walked out of the golden tent, stared at Gu Fangchen, raised his hand and touched a scar on his face.
At this moment, the scar felt as hot as if it were burning.
————
(End of Volume 2 [A Knife on Credit])
(Next Volume [Rise of the Azure Dragon])
(End of this chapter)
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