Hengshan Sect's Strongest Sword Cultivator

At the end of September in the early morning, dewdrops glistened, the mist was like a veil.

"Brother Rong, what has happened?" Pu Kui, as always, greeted Zhao Rong in the escort agency. Noticing his eyes red as if he had eaten iron, he was quite astonished.

"Oh~~I was reading 'Spring and Autumn' last night."

Zhao Rong, with panda eyes, found a noble reason, not mentioning that he blocked his own acupoints causing congestion of blood and Qi.

After several days of exploring the methods of acupoints, he was obsessed and had gained a lot.

"Respect!" Pu Kui saluted solemnly, and seeing his pallid face, whispered, "But you must also take care of your health."

"Elder brother, a gentleman's study has always ended only in death."

Pu Kui disagreed but raised his palm to change the subject, "In four days, the Chief Escort and the friends from the south will arrive."

"Has it been delayed by two days again?"

"There's no helping it; the letter said they waited for two friends from Shaozhou."

Pu Kui nodded northward, "It's all because of those people from the Sanhe Sect."

"It is said that they arrived in Changsha at Benlei Mountain Villa a few days earlier. The villa master, Wen Yizhen, and Shen Tiantao used to roam the green forests together in their early years, sharing a deep friendship, so it's expected that Wen Yizhen will let his son support the Sanhe Sect."

Zhao Rong became curious, "Is this villa master's son very formidable?"

"Among the young generation in Taojiang, he has quite a reputation; two years ago, he single-handedly eliminated the twin thieves that roamed Liling and Ningxiang." Pu Kui spoke seriously, "This man possesses a strong set of horizontal training skills."

'He is known as Thunderbolt Hand Wen Tai!'

Zhao Rong uttered an 'oh.'

The nickname sounded somewhat familiar, but not resounding like thunder, not quite like a top-tier master.

They headed together towards the interior of the escort agency.

Along the way, they talked again about the banquet preparations.

"The event won't be minor; even the tea houses and taverns in the market streets are buzzing with news, knowing that we're hosting a grand feat, waiting for the people of Sanhe Sect to show up." Pu Kui was somewhat excited, "I estimate that after the event, storytellers and tea-drinkers will spread this news."

Hey, our target isn't the Sanhe Sect.

Zhao Rong was somewhat speechless, they had agreed to discuss dealing with the bandits who rob escorts.

But, this is how the world is.

Where martial arts culture prevails, places with fierce folk customs abound.

"Is the news leaked by the chief escorts in the agency?"

"Of course not," Pu Kui shook his head, "With the matter of losing the escorted goods involved, who would want to spread it outward?"

"It must be the work of the Sanhe Sect; their reach has extended to Hengzhou Prefecture," Zhao Rong realized, "Most likely they want to tarnish our agency's reputation, they seem quite confident..."

With malice coming, upon meeting Lu Shi, Zhao Rong asked for some opinions about the Hengshan Sect.

With the issue escalated, would an elder of the Hengshan Sect come to preside?

Lu Shi hesitated, unable to give a definite answer.

Mo Da, a man of few worldly concerns, always elusive, Liu addicted to music, and Jin the gold-eyed crow maxed out in opportunism; apart from these three, the Hengshan Sect had many other experts such as Fang Qianju and other senior disciples.

But in terms of martial prowess, these individuals never ranked alongside the top masters of the Five Mountain Sect, nor did they hold enough clout.

Behind the Sanhe Sect was the backing of the Taishan Sect.

Based on the Five Mountains' familial principle, even if insulting face is required, it can only be directed at the Sanhe Sect, not to embarrass the Taishan Sect.

Compared to the loosely organized Hengshan Sect, the towering Mount Tai was indeed more established and influential.

Zhao Rong noticed that Lu Shi's demeanor had clearly changed from a few days before, likely having sought advice from his school without getting a satisfactory response.

Oh well, the sky won't fall with tall ones to support it.

And it wouldn't fall anyway.

Today, without going to the warehouse for his duty, Lu Shi arranged for him to join Lu Gui to further practice equestrian skills.

With the year-end escort trips, riding horses on the road was an unavoidable basic skill to be familiarized intermittently.

"Brother Rong, you're here!"

In the spacious stables of the south courtyard, Lu Gui noticed Zhao Rong and immediately greeted him, handing off his work to two stable hands.

"Brother Lu."

Lu Gui's horseback riding skills were top-notch within the escort agency; in his early years, he raised horses for a large household in Hebei, was familiar with horse temperaments, and later traveled north and south alone until he met the chief escort Long in Linjiang and joined the Changrui Escort Agency.

"Hiiiee~~!!"

Suddenly, a loud whinny filled the south courtyard.

Glancing in that direction, a large horse with a white tuft on its head like a full moon threw back its head in a furious neigh. Raising its front legs, it knocked the stable hands to the ground with a push.

The lighter stable hand, frightened by the high hoof, screamed in terror.

"Not good!"

"The Thunder Dragon is acting up again!"

Lu Gui hurried to the side of the stable, snapping his horsewhip against the ground, creating a sharp crack.

The robust horse suddenly exhibited a restless and fierce look, its eyes flashing menacingly. It ignored Lu Gui, thrashing violently and breaking free from the wooden peg it was tied to, causing the other horses inside the stable to look at it, and a chorus of neighing ensued.

"Stop!"

Lu Gui, much braver than the helpers by countless magnitudes, ran too hastily, barely grabbing the tail end of the reins, when suddenly he felt a tremendous force emerge, and the reins slipped from his grasp almost dislocating his arm.

With an "aiyah," he crashed into a barrel next to him, cursing, "Damn it all."

Stars swirling before his eyes, Lu Gui had not yet managed to get up when he suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep across his face, and a figure dashed past him.

"No way! Rong, you can't handle this fierce horse!" He had made a fool of himself, and seeing Zhao Rong rush over caused him to panic, fearing Zhao Rong would be kicked into a dire state by the horse.

However...

What left Lu Gui and the two helpers dumbstruck was,

the young man in a gray escort uniform sprinted out and grabbed hold of the reins.

His expression as calm as still water, one leg forward and the other back like roots grasping the earth, he suddenly pulled back his wrist and yanked the horse before it could bolt, using sheer strength to hold it in its tracks!

"Hiss~~!!"

The Barebone Dragon did not submit, its head raised spiritedly, its mane flying about as if it were a phoenix spreading its wings to fly.

Its head was like a mythical bird's, the mane shimmering in the moonlight, its back square and sturdy!

It lifted its hooves again, attempting to fling the youth beneath it into the air.

But the youth let out a fierce shout, pressed down on the reins again, and astonishingly dragged the Barebone Dragon from midair!

In the moments they were locked in a standstill, Lu Gui felt as though he was seeing a giant bow, with Zhao Rong pulling the string, and the fierce horse as the arrow!

"Boom!"

The man stood firm while the horse flipped over.

Zhao Rong stepped forward, pressing the horse's head against the ground and rubbing it.

Unable to exert its full strength, the fierce horse thrashed its legs haphazardly.

Zhao Rong held its head and continued to rub it.

The horse on the ground opened its eyes, seeming to behold the violent fellow before it with a sense of intelligence.

"Rong, don't hurt the Barebone Dragon!" Lu Gui, a man who loved horses, was distressed seeing Zhao Rong roughing up the stable's treasure.

He snapped out of his daze and hurriedly got up.

Strangely, after a futile struggle, the fierce horse chose to lie flat under Zhao Rong's hands.

It let him rub it, unmoving.

Zhao Rong tried loosening his grip, but it still did not move.

"Bro, the Barebone Dragon is..."

"It's surrendered."

"Surrendered?"

Lu Gui, with a straw stalk in his mouth and a dim look, said, "I've trained it for half a month, feeding and taking good care of it. This fellow has never submitted to me, yet it has submitted to you, a novice in horsemanship."

"Why?" Lu Gui felt a sense of defeat.

He couldn't accept being bested in his field of expertise by a novice, and it made him unwilling.

"Lu, maybe it's because I'm striking as a willow tree," Zhao Rong chuckled, as he casually stroked the horse's mane.

The Barebone Dragon stood up from the ground, no longer as aggressive as before.

Lu Gui asked Zhao Rong to reach out his hand.

He did as told.

Amazingly, the high-pitched horse head moved towards his hand.

This experience felt novel to Zhao Rong.

He hadn't expected that having barely broken through a bottleneck, the first thing he would conquer was this fellow.

"Tsk, tsk, Rong really makes one sit up and take notice."

"That's an overstatement," Zhao Rong said modestly.

"This is a treasure brought by the head of the escort agency, authentic Jade Top Yellow Dry Grass from Xiliang! Tap its leg bones, and you'll hear a sound like striking copper and iron."

"This horse can travel a thousand miles in a day effortlessly."

Its fodder is of the highest quality, and its strength terrifyingly huge; I usually don't dare to pull it forcefully. It suddenly went berserk today, yet you managed to hold it down!"

Lu Gui scrutinized him up and down, jokingly touching his chin:

"Rong, tell me the truth, your last name is Xiang, right?"

The two helpers crowded around and chimed in:

"Godlike strength."

"It's as though the King of Western Chu has been reborn..."

...