: Heart-stirring

Seeing his ferocity, the archers all aimed their crossbows at him. Xuanwu shouted, "Fire arrows! Kill him!" A rain of arrows then descended upon Penglai's Shadowless Flute! He frantically tried to deflect the flying eagles with his golden flute, but it was too short. He dodged the arrows while frantically twirling it. Suddenly, two more arrows struck his shoulder, slowing his flute-twirling. He yelled and activated the flute's switch, unleashing countless silver needles. Screams erupted, and more than a dozen archers died from poison! He laughed triumphantly, and, inspired, recited a poem: "A heartbroken sword goes alone, tears staining my clothes with reluctant farewell. Slaying the barbarians to appease the dead, alas, Heaven is not so lenient!" But as soon as he finished reciting, he felt a sharp pain in his back. Turning around, he saw that the villainous Shadowless Sword had pierced his heart with a cold, sharp sword! His smile froze on his face, and his pupils gradually dilated...

"Fifth Brother!" Stinky Feet cried out, but the arrows rained down from the sky, making it impossible to break through. He hurriedly ordered Thousand-Hand Guanyin to unleash hidden weapons, but she angrily retorted, "I was in such a frenzy earlier that I used up all the weapons I had in my purse! Otherwise, I would have released him long ago. Why have I endured this until now? Fifth Brother wouldn't have been killed by that dwarf!" Iron Abacus rushed over, turned on the abacus switch, and five steel balls shot out, all striking the universally hated Shadowless Sword with lightning speed! Unexpectedly, the boy dodged with agility, using his unique lightness technique, flitting about like a butterfly, easily avoiding each one. Iron Abacus felt utterly humiliated, his face flushed red as he stood frozen in place. He stood to the side, fuming and howling, but dared not charge head-on into the rain of arrows, lest he injure himself—a loss that would be far greater than the gain!

Just as the Red Flower Society heroes were at their wits' end, a cheer suddenly erupted from below the city gate. The massive iron gate creaked open, finally breached by rolling logs! Xiang Quan shouted, "Brothers, kill!" leading six renowned boxers and a group of Southern Fist disciples, they surged into the Wulin Gate! Xiang Quan and his men, lacking experience in attacking a city gate for the first time, had been frustrated and impatient for a long time. Now, having stormed through the gate, they felt like tigers released back into the mountains, finally finding an outlet for their pent-up energy. They climbed the stairs and charged up the city wall, where they saw the Green Standard Army archers firing wildly. Enraged, they stealthily moved in and swiftly slit the throats of the Green Standard Army archers! Then, together with the Red Flower Society heroes, they launched a pincer attack on the Green Standard Army, turning the tide of the battle in an instant!

Although Xuanwu was highly skilled in martial arts, he saw that a large number of Green Standard Army soldiers had been decimated by the two forces, and that he was fighting alone with no hope of turning the tide. Just as he was filled with fear and anxiety, he suddenly heard a deafening roar of cannon fire. Several cannonballs bombarded the city wall in succession, causing the ground to shake and smoke to billow. Looking around, he saw that a large gap had been blasted in the city wall, and a large section of the left side of the city wall had collapsed! Not far away, a dark mass of Green Standard Army soldiers had gathered, and three red-coated cannons were spitting fire, taking turns bombarding his side! Xuanwu felt a chill in his heart: "The current emperor is truly ruthless. Is he not caring about our lives at all by bombarding us like this, forcing us to perish together with the remnants of the Red Flower Society?!" Another loud roar sounded, and Xuanwu felt that the entire city gate was about to collapse at any moment! He couldn't care less about the others and quickly somersaulted down the city wall. In his desperate attempt to escape, he disregarded everything else and frantically rushed into the arms of the Green Standard Army.

Unexpectedly, upon meeting Emperor Qianlong, he was met with a severe reprimand: "Why did you return alone? Where are the men I entrusted to you? If you don't capture the members of the Red Flower Society, don't bother coming back! Go back now!" Xuanwu felt so wronged he wanted to cry! He thought to himself, "Although I failed to defend the martial arts gate, I still deserve some credit for my hard work! Your Majesty, you gave me so few troops, and apart from Wuyingjian, they're all useless! Their martial arts skills are mediocre, what fighting power do they have? Besides, the heroes of the Red Flower Society are not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also deeply loyal and willing to sacrifice themselves! How could we possibly win against such a group of martial arts heroes?! Now that we've been completely wiped out, sending me back is a death sentence!" But seeing the emperor's glaring eyes and furious expression, he dared not disobey. He had no choice but to regroup and set off alone.

When he braved the artillery fire, cautiously risking his life, and arrived at the ruins, there was no sign of the remaining members of the Red Flower Society! He couldn't help but sigh to the heavens, "They moved so quickly, where am I supposed to find them?" Then he thought, only a fool would chase after them! Even if I caught up, wouldn't I be digging my own grave and committing suicide? Wait, where did that power-hungry, ruthless swordsman go? Could he have been kidnapped by the Red Flower Society? With his character, if he were kidnapped, he'd be in grave danger! Just as he was secretly rejoicing, a shell suddenly exploded with a deafening roar not far to his left. A huge blast of air instantly knocked him to the ground, and a cloud of mud and sand, like hail, pelted his head, body, and legs. He couldn't catch his breath and passed out…

Although Wuyingjian was a questionable character, he was a top-tier master of the Tianshan Glacier Sword Sect. Seeing that Bishuangban was charging towards him, he brought down the axe, creating a fierce gust of wind that whipped his hair to the sides, revealing his bald head, as if welcoming the axe's arrival! This move was called "Living Head Chop," Bishuangban's signature move, and his trademark. Due to its viciousness and immense power, countless heroes had perished by this ultimate technique! Even with Wuyingjian's profound skill and composure, the earth-shattering force of the axe's strike caused his blood to surge and his head to spin!

In this life-or-death situation, he dared not be careless. He quickly channeled his inner energy, curled into a ball, and rolled over right in front of the man cleaved in two! This was a shameless tactic. Knowing the immense power of the axe, he dared not meet it head-on, but instead used a sneaky method—a rolling stone—to crush the man's legs! If this move succeeded, the man cleaved in two would have his legs crushed on the spot, causing lifelong disability! Unexpectedly, the man cleaved in two was no pushover either. He leaped into the air, his arms swung, and his right hand gripped the axe, bringing it down again! This move was even simpler and easier to understand; it was called "Cleaving in Half!" It seems he had painstakingly created these three unique techniques, always thinking about how to cleave a person in two! Truly ruthless and cruel, he wouldn't rest until he had cleaved the person in two alive!

Seeing his cunning, Wuyingjian sneered and attacked even more viciously—he suddenly stopped rolling and thrust his sword straight at the man's groin! This move not only killed the man in two on the spot, but although he attacked late, he struck first! Because he was closer! The man in two wasn't stupid. He realized that although he was fierce this time, it was not advisable to confront him head-on, to attack against attack! In mid-air, he suddenly performed a somersault, flipping headfirst, and with a loud crash, the axe and the longsword clashed, instantly sending sparks flying! The axe was heavy, and the longsword was light; the blade broke in the middle! Taking advantage of this opportunity, a powerful force sent the man in two back into the air, and he somersaulted, landing lightly on the ground. Seeing that Wuyingjian had just stood up and was bending over to pick up the broken sword—it seemed that he had developed feelings for his personal sword over time, and seeing it broken today, he was saddened and reluctant to part with it, hence this absurd act! Little did he know that danger was creeping closer and closer to him!