Chapter 425: The Scripture Depository Plan!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"It's you…!"
When Dusong Mangpoje saw the elegant white-clothed figure with the feather fan and bound-up head covering, his expression turned cold, and only one thought remained in his mind.
Dusong Mangpoje knew who this person was. In the capital of the Great Tang, this person was undoubtedly the leader of the Confucian School, a title which he fully deserved.
Even in the capital of the Great Tang, this person was an influential figure of the highest distinction1.
Although he was not a Great General who led armies, in terms of influence, he was on par with or even above Geshu Han and the other Great Generals of the Central Plains.
Dusong Mangpoje had not imagined that the Great Tang would invite this character out for the sake of killing him.
"Haha, it is I!"
The man's face seemed to be carved from jade, and though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were so deep that they seemed to be fifty or sixty, the rest of his face was that of a thirty- or forty-year-old.
Hanging on his belt were a longsword and a little bell. The bell drifted in the wind, crisply ringing as it bumped against the silver sheath.
He looked like a refined and weak man, but in Dusong Mangpoje's eyes, he was the mightiest of foes.
"The Emperor of the Great Tang truly thinks highly of me!" Dusong Mangpoje gravely said as he looked at this visitor.
"Haha, Great General has shown such good faith, disregarding the vast distance to visit the capital. No matter what, we must entertain you well. Ten years ago, Great General also wore plain clothes and stealthily entered. This lowly Li came as fast he could but was not in time to receive you. This time, I must have a chat and a drink with General."
As the middle-aged man spoke, he slowly walked forward, and the sharp sword intent released by the leaves and blades of grass grew ever more formidable.
This feeling like a dagger at one's back made all the Tibetan horsemen, including the First Prince, sit up in unease with their hairs bristling in fear.
Tibetans were not afraid of bloody charges on the battlefield, but the situation before them had clearly exceeded the normal carnage of the battlefield.
"You're after me, so can you let them go?"
Dusong Mangpoje knew that no matter what, it was hard for today's events to turn out well for him. He could only hope that he could use himself to take the attention off these other people and allow them to escape.
"Heheh, I personally do not care. However, whether they can escape with their lives will still depend on themselves. After all, I didn't come alone!"
The white-clothed middle-aged man's voice contained a deeper meaning, yet his eyes did not even glance at the First Prince and the other Tibetans behind Dusong Mangpoje. It was like these elite Tibetan horsemen really were just little fish that had been inadvertently caught in his net.
For a moment, all the Tibetan horsemen felt a sense of humiliation, but for some reason, they also felt relieved.
This person was far too powerful, so powerful that none of them could gather the will to resist. The gap between the two sides was simply incalculable.
"I understand. Why haven't all of you left yet!"
Rumble!
The rest of the horsemen understood and quickly scattered. Even the First Prince fled in panic. Ten-some people took ten-some different directions, running off like stray dogs. In a few moments, they had disappeared into the dense forest.
And just as Dusong Mangpoje had said in his last order, of these ten-some people, not one chose to take the wide and flat main road.
Dusong Mangpoje did not move. Not until the First Prince and the others had left and were far away did he finally turn around to face the leader of the Great Tang's Confucian School.
"Come!" Dusong Mangpoje shouted.
Since he couldn't avoid this and matters had already reached this stage, he might as well fight.
"Haha, as General wishes…"
In front of the forest, the dangerous and frightening white-clothed man faintly smiled, and then, under the watchful gaze of Dusong Mangpoje, he extended a silver-booted foot.
Boom!
After a moment, there was a massive explosion as a massive pillar of light spiraled into the air, accompanied by the roars of dragons. The dazzling light transformed night into day.
And as the boundless destructive energy in this pillar of light was unleashed, all the trees in a radius of ten-some li were instantly rendered into ash…
This was a heaven-shaking battle!
……
Wang Chong only heard the news two days later.
An Ü-Tsang diplomatic mission returning from the Great Tang to Ü-Tsang had passed through Longxi and entered the borderlands when they were suddenly attacked by the Turks. Other than the Ü-Tsang First Prince and a small number of the Tibetan warriors, no one else had escaped.
The Great Tang Empire had expressed its deepest apologies for this incident. It had even stated that though the First Prince's party had not been attacked in the Great Tang's borders, in the future, the Great Tang would redouble its efforts in exterminating the Turks roaming along its borders.
As for the person Wang Chong was most concerned about, the Ü-Tsang Great General Dusong Mangpoje, not a single person in the Great Tang discussed him, neither in the court nor amongst the common people. It was like this Ü-Tsang Great General had never appeared.
And this was also apparently the truth!
Dusong Mangpoje's name was nowhere to be found in the list of people on the diplomatic mission from the Ü-Tsang Empire. Replacing him was some obscure Tibetan soldier!
Since he had never come, there was nothing to discuss.
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When Wang Chong heard this news from Old Eagle, he roared with laughter. To play this sort of trick, the Imperial Court also seemed to have some very capable people.
This was why it was said that politics was always the dirtiest game, no matter where it was.
However, Wang Chong had made inquiries in many areas and used the resources of his own clan to finally obtain some information on Dusong Mangpoje.
Dusong Mangpoje had managed to successfully escape, but with heavy injuries!
Given his injuries, this powerful Great General would not be seen on the borders of the Great Tang and Ü-Tsang for a very long time!
"Alas, even like this, he still managed to escape!"
In Deflecting Blade Manor, Wang Chong sat on the floor, slapping the letter onto the table with an expression of regret.
After having his identity exposed, Dusong Mangpoje had still managed to get away with only severe injuries. This was far too different from what Wang Chong had anticipated.
If this Ü-Tsang Great General had died in the Great Tang, he might have been able to receive some Destiny Energy as a reward for changing fate.
But Wang Chong also knew that Dusong Mangpoje was a character on the same level as Geshu Han, Fumeng Lingcha, Gao Xianzhi, and Zhang Shougui.
It was not too difficult for these characters to be heavily wounded, but killing them was a completely different matter.
After all, the strength of an Imperial Great General could not be underestimated. Moreover, if they put everything into escaping, stopping them was no trifling task.
However, regardless of the result, now that Ü-Tsang lacked this powerful force, the western borders of the empire would be much calmer.
The pressure on Geshu Han would also be greatly lightened.
In this aspect, he had unintentionally greatly assisted Geshu Han.
"Forget it. Heavily injuring him is already a pretty good result. It seems like truly killing him can only be done on the actual battlefield!"
As he turned over these thoughts in his mind, Wang Chong quickly calmed down. Dabbing his brush in ink, he continued to write in the book on the table.
'Bright Wheel Scripture…'
After writing this title on the first page, Wang Chong quickly began to recall the details of this scripture, and his memories swiftly became a scripture written out on the paper.
He was transcribing the techniques in his memories!
In truth, there were already a few techniques in Deflecting Blade Manor that had been transcribed by Wang Chong, but these were far from enough. What Wang Chong wanted to do was create in Deflecting Blade Manor a 'Scripture Depository' that was Deflecting Blade Manor's alone.
Only this way would Deflecting Blade Manor be complete, would it be able to provide him all the advantage it could. Moreover, in the future, when he wasn't there, it would still be able to attract talented individuals and provide the empire a steady stream of gifted individuals.
The insight, experience, and fighting power that he could provide coupled with the massive supply of students provided by the Kunwu Training Camp meant that the people who joined Deflecting Blade Manor were not only able to learn strategy and cultivate in the spirit vein. They could also learn a large number of techniques that could not be easily learned outside.
And since Deflecting Blade Manor spanned across all three training camps, the network that it was slowly nurturing would allow the talents of Deflecting Blade Manor to be quickly placed in the jobs that they could excel in.
Only by putting all his resources at work could Wang Chong begin to alter the slow decline of the Great Tang and shake up the system of the Central Plains.
One person's strength was far too weak. Only when many people pooled their strength could they change an era, change the fate of an empire.
Though Deflecting Blade Manor was small, this was the fulcrum Wang Chong would use to gather the strength of others and alter this era.
Once he finished writing the 'Bright Wheel Scripture', which could calm the mind and drive out heart demons, Wang Chong put it aside and called over Old Eagle.
"Take these scriptures to the underground Scripture Cave!"
The Scripture Depository was still under construction, and Deflecting Blade Manor did not have the ability to protect the scriptures, so Wang Chong had chosen to temporarily store the scriptures in a cave under Deflecting Blade Manor.
"But Young Master…"
The ever-obedient Old Eagle unexpectedly stood there, not carrying out Wang Chong's order.
"That person is in the Scripture Cave. Isn't it a little inconvenient?"
"Haha, that makes it even better. With him there, the Scripture Cave will be safe and sound. How can that be bad?"
Wang Chong raised his head and smiled.
Wang Chong knew who Old Eagle was speaking of. There was only one person who dared to force their way into Deflecting Blade Manor, utterly ignoring his orders while making others too afraid to provoke him: the future Invincible Great General, the currently obscure Li Siye.
A few days ago, when Li Siye had come to find Wang Chong, he had inadvertently found the cave. At the start, Li Siye had disdained to even look at those scriptures.
How impressive could the scriptures some wet-behind-the-ears brat had written for his own amusement be? But after he flipped through a few books, Li Siye's mood flipped too.
Li Siye had essentially cooped himself up in that cave.
He was a brave subject devoted to his country, but he was also a martial arts maniac. Wang Chong knew this, so he simply lifted the ban. Not only did he allow Li Siye to read all the books in the cave, he even prepared three meals a day for him, allowing him to put all his focus into the books.
In reality, Li Siye was basically working as a part-time guard for Wang Chong's scriptures.
With this person here, Wang Chong temporarily did not have to worry about anything happening to the Scripture Cave.
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1. The specific term here for 'highest distinction' is 泰山北斗, or 'Mount Tai and the North Star'. It serves as a respectul epithet for a person.