Chapter 512: Snowy Owl

Chapter 512: The Snowy Owl

The southern Miao dare not cross the border, yet a hero descends from Mount Emei.

Li Shentong had perhaps been holding back for a long time… He was waiting for Zhai Muzhi to stray far from the heart of Bashu!

After all, he couldn’t secretly build a vast underground influence like Maitreya; his manpower was limited. How could he easily seize cities and lands? Even the heroes of Liangshan, after breaking into a city, couldn’t hold it—they had to retreat back to the mountains, turning into mere bandits…

To directly attack Chengdu, or quietly take Zhai Muzhi’s head, might be simple for Li Shentong, but he feared a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

The Snowy Owl was an assassin. When an assassin hides in the dark, that is when their threat is greatest. So Li Shentong had endured, waiting for an opportunity.

But a grand, imposing military formation could break that.

What assassin, amidst thousands of troops and horses, would not have to draw their sword and face the enemy head-on?

What Li Shentong wanted was for him to face him directly. Once the assassin revealed their presence, a man of iron and muscle would have nothing to fear.

Just then, Zhai Muzhi led his forces south, far from the heart of Bashu, to this pure land of Litang. When Li Shentong received the news, he considered it for only a breath. The next moment, all the disciples of the Divine Radiance Sect swept down the mountain, launching a decisive assault.

Zhai Muzhi, who had just thought that since the Miao couldn’t break out, even a slack army would be fine, suddenly found himself bitterly ironic as the mere few thousand of the Divine Radiance Sect charged his formation.

Zhai Muzhi hurried out of his tent with his officers, arriving at the camp gate to see the torrent before them. Their expressions were all grim.

Just the sight of the bronzed-skinned man leading the vanguard of the enemy formation was like a god of death coming to claim souls.

Li Shentong, ranked fifth on the Heavenly List!

His nature was even more terrifying than Yu Xu, ranked fourth… because he was truly impervious to blades and arrows. Ordinary armies meant nothing to him!

“Loose arrows! Loose arrows!”

It must be said that numbers still had some advantage. No matter how lackluster the formation, when tens of thousands of arrows were loosed together, it was a magnificent sight, blotting out the sun and sky.

Yet Li Shentong flew forward, the arrows falling on him like a drizzle tickling an itch, unable even to leave a mark.

In an instant, Li Shentong reached the camp gate and, from a distance, threw a punch.

“Boom!” A dragon-like surge of energy roared forth, shattering the gate into pieces, offering no resistance at all. Even some soldiers standing behind the gate were turned into pulp by that single blast.

It was more absurd than a cannon strike.

All the soldiers and generals turned ashen, already showing signs of wavering and retreat. Who would dare to face this human tyrannosaurus’s fist head-on?

Once morale broke and they started to flee, even with thousands of men, Li Shentong alone could chase down tens of thousands. Without a worthy opponent to hold back such a spearhead, a top-tier martial artist on the Heavenly List was as devastating on the battlefield as a Gundam.

Zhai Muzhi steeled himself and led his officers to surround Li Shentong, shouting harshly, “Li Shentong, are you truly rebelling?”

If they could just hold back this spearhead, their numerical advantage might still allow them to fight.

Li Shentong glanced at them disdainfully. “Punishing tyrants and their minions—how is that rebellion?”

Zhai Muzhi blustered, “Aren’t you afraid the Emperor will come and raze your Divine Radiance Sect to the ground?”

Whenever one founded a sect or had a family legacy, they were no longer unburdened; they had to think of their sect and family. Countless heroes were bound by such ties, bowing their heads and wasting away.

Li Shentong laughed uproariously. “The Divine Radiance Sect, from top to bottom, has no families, no attachments. Even if that tyrant comes, I’ll fight to the death—what is there to regret!”

As his laughter rang out, the two sides closed in. Li Shentong clenched his fist again and struck out with a thunderous blow.

No one knew that during their exchange, a thread of sound transmission quietly entered Li Shentong’s ear: “Sect Leader Li, beware of Zhai Muzhi’s chief secretary, Xie Ruhai. He is suspected to be the Snowy Owl.”

Li Shentong’s expression shifted slightly, and he laughed, “Thanks!”

At the same time, his fist force collided with several weapons.

Just then, a faint, almost imperceptible sharpness silently struck at Li Shentong’s ribs.

But Li Shentong’s punch had never been fully committed; it casually repelled Zhai Muzhi and the others, then transformed into a violent, blazing radiance, viciously slamming into the point of ambush.

A grating screech sounded, and both sides staggered slightly. The Snowy Owl, having failed in his ambush and taken the full force of the concentrated blow, was clearly worse off, retreating two more steps, his expression dark. “How did Young Master Zhao know it was me?”

It really was Xie Ruhai!

From this remark, Zhao Changhe’s sound transmission had been intercepted. The abilities of those on the Heavenly List indeed surpassed Zhao Changhe’s current understanding.

Zhai Muzhi looked at Zhao Changhe in disbelief. Was he also a rebel? Before this, at Yanmen and in Jiangnan, he had seemed every bit a loyal minister of the state!

Zhao Changhe stood outside the formation, smiling faintly. “Shi Wuding isn’t a social person; his heart is only for the sword. But information from multiple sources tells me that the disciples of the Sword Pavilion are widely socializing in Bashu—how strange that seems. Of course, this wasn’t Shi Wuding’s own arrangement; he didn’t even know he was a sword slave. The Sword Hut, as a front for the Listening Snow Pavilion, is naturally controlled behind the scenes by the Listening Snow Pavilion Master.”

“And what does that have to do with me, an unremarkable chief secretary?”

“Just now, I told Governor Zhai that the Snowy Owl killed Shi Wuding… Governor Zhai showed an expression of ‘that’s impossible,’ though it was fleeting. Fortunately, my eyes are still sharp. Governor Zhai must have dealings with the Listening Snow Pavilion, and very close ones—close enough for real-time communication.”

“How do you deduce real-time communication?”

“Over a month ago, when ‘Wang Daozhong’ went south, Shi Wuding came looking for him as soon as he arrived. He was entrusted by Governor Zhai. Although ‘Wang Daozhong’s’ journey wasn’t fast then, waiting for Li Si’an’s convoy, given the level of Governor Zhai’s forces…” Zhao Changhe gestured around at the troops. “For a messenger to ride ahead faster than Wang Daozhong’s pace, and to accurately find where Shi Wuding was to deliver the message—that level of efficiency and organization is beyond what Governor Zhai’s men could achieve. Even if there were a few elites, they wouldn’t be so anxious over a Wang Daozhong; he wasn’t that important.”

Zhai Muzhi: “…”

“Of course, it could only be the Listening Snow Pavilion communicating, possibly even the Snowy Owl directly transmitting information telepathically—doesn’t that prove Governor Zhai has a real-time communication channel with the Listening Snow Pavilion?”

Xie Ruhai listened with some admiration. “No wonder you’re the famous hero who cracked several major cases for the Demon Suppression Bureau. That mind works well. But even if you guessed that Governor Zhai and the Listening Snow Pavilion communicate in real time, how did you determine that person was me?”

“Having deduced that far, the chief secretary who is always by Governor Zhai’s side was naturally a prime suspect. What truly confirmed it for me was that, facing Sect Leader Li’s charge, Governor Zhai didn’t turn and run but instead led his men to fight back… Where did his confidence come from? Of course, there was only one possibility: he had a trump card hidden by his side. He would draw Sect Leader Li’s attention himself, while a terrifying ambush would strike from beside him. The only one who could satisfy that condition was you.”

As these words were exchanged, the Divine Radiance Sect disciples behind Li Shentong also reached the camp gate. The clamor of battle rose, and the two sides formally clashed.

The Snowy Owl slowly drew his sword, pointing it at Li Shentong, and said calmly, “Sect Leader Li, you feared me and held back all along. Why gamble everything now? Training those thousands of Divine Radiance disciples wasn’t easy. If I tie you down, who knows how many will be buried here.”

Li Shentong laughed uproariously. “Do you think I stood here listening to this story because I feared you? I was just giving Young Master Zhao face, letting him show off in front of everyone.”

Snowy Owl: “…”

Zhao Changhe: “emmmm…”

“Now that a rat from the sewers has appeared in broad daylight, who’s afraid anymore!” Li Shentong’s muscles bulged. “Die!”

Another punch struck out, stirring wind and clouds.

The clash between the fifth and sixth on the Heavenly List unfolded in the wilds of the southwest, by the banks of the Litang River.

Regardless of the outcome, Li Shentong was indeed tied up for the moment. Could the few thousand sons of the Divine Radiance Sect defeat forty thousand?

If Zhai Muzhi led them, perhaps it was uncertain.

But there was also Zhao Changhe.

Zhai Muzhi took a deep breath and turned to look at Zhao Changhe. “Young Master Zhao, what exactly do you mean?”