The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 511 Dugu Nine Swords VS Yi Swordsmanship

In the tenth year of Daye, the Sui Emperor issued an edict to mobilize troops from all over the country to attack Goguryeo.

In March, Emperor Yang of Sui arrived in Zhuo County. Sui soldiers fled one after another on the road. The Emperor went to Linyu Palace, offered sacrifices to Emperor Huang, and killed the rebels to spit on the drums, but he still could not stop people from fleeing.

Yang Xuyan personally led 3,000 elite troops to welcome the emperor. Along the way, he took in countless fleeing soldiers and laborers, as well as the baggage, food, and equipment they carried. For a time, Liaodong City prospered. Yang Xuangan did not want to meet Yang Guang, so he took the initiative to lead his troops to the new city that was conquered in winter.

Because Yang Xuyan's actions slightly changed history, Goguryeo's previous damage was far beyond what it could be compared to in history, and it had already reached the end of its strength. It was defeated in one blow by the Sui Dynasty's naval and land forces, and they crossed the Yalu River again and sent troops to Pyongyang.

King Go Won of Goguryeo was shocked three times in one day. The first was that the Sui army was at the gates of the city. The second was that the Grand Master Shi Cailin admitted that his body had not fully recovered and it would take another month or two. The third was even worse. He actually found a letter of war in his study, which said that he would take time to visit the King of Goguryeo on a windy and moonlit night.

The King of Goguryeo was frightened and hurriedly invited Fu Cailin. Fu Cailin originally thought that the King of Goguryeo wanted to ask him to assassinate Yang Guang again as before, but he never expected that he saw a letter of war first. The words on it were as sharp as knives, which made his eyes hurt slightly.

Fu Cailin carefully read the contents of the letter and pointed at the signature. "Your Majesty, don't worry. This person's martial arts skills are extremely high, but he is not a Grandmaster. His intention is not to harm Your Majesty, but to challenge me."

As if thinking of something, Fu Cailin smiled faintly. "News has arrived from the Central Plains. The masters of the Yin Gui Sect, who were supposed to accompany the emperor, have been stopped by the Buddhist sect. The army has surrounded Pyongyang, and the tyrant's guards are missing at least half. The purpose of this letter is, firstly, to challenge me, and secondly, to threaten the king's life to prevent me from assassinating the tyrant Yang Guang."

The King of Goguryeo was overjoyed upon hearing this. After careful consideration, he said, "Master, if I gave you 3,000 cavalrymen, would you be confident that you could successfully assassinate the tyrant Emperor Yang Guang?"

"Absolutely impossible!" Fu Cailin shook his head. "That tyrant king himself probably doesn't know that he's protected by a powerful Half-Step Grandmaster, only half as powerful as me. If I'm right, this letter was written by that Half-Step Grandmaster. He's most likely the evil king of the Central Plains Demon Sect, Shi Zhixuan."

"If I don't consider this person, I have a 30% chance of success. If I can recover to my peak condition, I have a 60% to 70% chance of success." Fu Cailin's words made the King of Goguryeo feel disappointed. Fu Cailin said unhappily, "Your Majesty has deified the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster is also human, not a god. Naturally, he cannot be omnipotent. It is not easy to capture the king and assassinate the emperor in the midst of thousands of troops. If that were the case, the world would have been at peace long ago."

"Although my injuries haven't healed yet, they've mostly healed. I can unleash the full might of a Grandmaster in a short period of time, which could mislead that foolish king. If the king doesn't want to fight again, perhaps I can take this opportunity to lower my head and deceive the foolish king. Then, I can write a letter with some strong words, which might have a miraculous effect."

The King of Goguryeo was overjoyed upon hearing this, so he sent an envoy to surrender, imprisoned Hu Sizheng and sent him back. Fu Cailin broke into the Sui army camp at night, left a note with his sword mark saying that the King of Goguryeo had surrendered, and "requested" the Sui army to temporarily suspend the siege.

The Goguryeo envoys appeared openly in the Sui army camp and were escorted westward to meet the Sui Emperor Yang Guang. The Sui emperor was overjoyed and sent envoys to summon Hu'er and Yuwen Shu to lead the army back. Huke Si Zheng was sent to the capital and tortured to death.

The Goguryeo envoys deliberately delayed time, walking at a leisurely pace, buying time for Fu Cailin to recover from his injuries. However, when they met the Sui Emperor, Fu Cailin, who was hiding in the dark, was invited out by two masters and met on a hill thirty to fifty miles away from the Sui army camp.

"Yang Xuyan, Marquis of Liaodong of the Sui Dynasty, greets Master Yijian!" The tall and elegant Yang Xuyan bowed slightly to Fu Cailin. Fu Cailin narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard the words. He knew this young man. Two years ago, he also tried to assassinate the Sui Emperor with the support of thousands of troops, but was stopped by the sword formation set up by this boy and others. The sword formation was formed by seven people and was extremely exquisite. What's more amazing is that it could gather the internal strength of everyone in one place. He never thought that two years later, this boy had become a master.

Back then, four grandmasters and three half-step grandmasters besieged him with the Tiangang Big Dipper Sword Formation. Thinking about it now, it seemed ingenious, but he didn't realize it at the time. Now he thought that the one who performed the best was not the four grandmasters, but the young man in front of him.

"Liaodong belonged to Goguryeo, but I don't recognize you as the Marquis of Liaodong." Fu Cailin stated his position directly and firmly. Yang Xuyan didn't take it as an offense and smiled faintly, "I am the Marquis of Liaodong of the Great Sui Dynasty. My title and official position were bestowed upon me by the Sui Emperor. Although I am superior to the King of Goguryeo, I am not subordinate to him. Why do I need recognition from others? As for the ownership of Liaodong, Master Fu is afraid you will be disappointed. If Goguryeo does not want to be destroyed, it is best not to target Liaodong. Otherwise, I don't mind pacifying Goguryeo."

Upon hearing this, Fu Cailin was furious and sneered, "You are so arrogant, young man! The Sui Emperor couldn't succeed in his three expeditions to Goguryeo. How can you be so sure of destroying Goguryeo?"

Yang Xuyan sneered, "A third expedition to Goguryeo? I'm really giving you face. On the first expedition to Goguryeo, if Master Fu hadn't stabbed General Lai Huer, and if the Baekje navy hadn't rebelled, how could Goguryeo have survived? Even so, after this battle, Goguryeo's national strength would have been weakened by nearly half, or even more."

"As for the second expedition to Goguryeo, was it really Goguryeo's own ability to avoid destruction? If it weren't for the Buddhist sect and the aristocratic families instigating Duke Yang Xuangan of Chu to raise an army, why would Your Majesty have retreated so hastily, giving Goguryeo more breathing space?"

"And if Gao Yuan was confident he could hold on to Goguryeo during this third expedition, would he have sent Hu Sizheng and surrendered? The Master is indeed a formidable threat. If Master Fu hadn't calculated that the Yin Gui Sect was being held back by Buddhism, would he have dared to come here in person?" Yang Xuyan said coldly, "If we, Master and disciple, work together to detain the Master today, and then falsely convey an imperial decree to send him to the front camp as quickly as possible, how many days do you think it would take for Goguryeo to fall?"

Fu Cailin looked at the two masters whose strength was constantly expanding but still holding back, and couldn't help but sigh. "Life is so beautiful, why does it always fade so easily? You are a young man with extraordinary talent, which I have never seen in my life. If it weren't for my homeland, I would not be able to kill you. I recognize the Evil King's extraordinary strength, but I want to kill this boy, and the Evil King must not stop me."

Shi Zhixuan smiled faintly upon hearing this, but said nothing. Yang Xuyan laughed heartily and said, "Master Fu, are you scared? I am Yang Xuyan, eighteen years old, and have only been a Grandmaster for a few months. I would like to use this sword to challenge Master Fu. Please!"

As the sword was unsheathed with a "clang", Yang Xuyan took a strange posture and waited for Fu Cailin to take the initiative to attack. Fu Cailin said "Huh", and a strange light shot out of his eyes. This boy's posture was quite exquisite. However, as a junior, he actually took a defensive posture as soon as he came up. Isn't it too much of an underestimation of himself, the grandmaster? If he attacked with all his strength, how many moves could he withstand?

The art of swordplay is about using the person to play with the sword, and using the sword to play with the enemy. It emphasizes anticipating the enemy's moves. The prerequisite is to use a keen eye to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent's martial arts, to understand the opponent's foundation, and then make a judgment, to block the opponent's next move before being able to defeat the enemy.

This method is similar to the Dugu Nine Swords, but compared to the Dugu Nine Swords which has rules to follow, the Yi sword technique is more inclined towards sensibility. Its subtlety lies in combining the feelings of the whole heart and soul with the sword. The external feeling is false, while the feeling of the soul is real.

"By the way, Master Fu is one of the three great masters in the world. I dare not underestimate him in the slightest, fearing that I will be pierced through by accident. That's why I wear a set of gold silk soft armor. Please understand, senior, please don't blame me for my mean-spirited mind." Yang Xuyan said, and suddenly thrust out a sword after Fu Cailin made a move. Although it was only a moment, Fu Cailin's face changed drastically, and he blurted out three words: "Yi Sword Technique!"

"The Yi sword technique is your way, Master. This is the sword technique of the Dugu Nine Swords, which is just a technique." Once Yang Xuyan's sword technique was performed, it was continuous. The Dugu Nine Swords had attack but no defense, and each sword hit the vital point directly. Who was Fu Cailin? He used the Yi sword technique to counter each move, and time and again dissolved Yang Xuyan's offensive into nothingness. The more they fought, the more they felt that this boy's sword technique was exquisite, like an antelope hanging on a horn, leaving no trace but hitting the weak points of their own moves directly.

"Wonderful, wonderful, what a great Dugu Nine Swords. I wonder which master created it. Could it be the posthumous work of some predecessor of the Dugu clan?" Fu Cailin asked while he was puzzled. The two of them exchanged more than a hundred moves in a row, and their swords clashed only a few times. Every time they clashed, Yang Xuyan was not crushed. Although he had some shortcomings, he could protect himself in a head-on confrontation.

As a grandmaster, Fu Cailin has an extremely high spiritual realm and his internal strength is also extraordinary. The ninth level of "Nine Profound Techniques" allows him to always remain calm and subtle. He is actually the nemesis of Shi Zhixuan's Immortal Seal and can better perform the Yi sword technique. After a hundred moves, he gradually adapted to Yang Xuyan's Dugu Nine Swords and began to counterattack fiercely.

The duel with Fu Cailin gave Yang Xuyan the feeling of having met his match. His Dugu Nine Swordsmanship had experienced a long-awaited improvement. While it wasn't a breakthrough, it was a rare experience, and he glimpsed a glimpse into the mysteries of Yijian. The Grandmaster's counterattacks were no small feat. Each strike was exquisitely executed, aiming directly at Yang Xuyan's vital points, and the ever-changing flow of false and real strikes left Yang Xuyan somewhat unable to react.

Dugu Nine Swords was unleashed with all his strength. Whenever there was a mistake, he would immediately use his left hand to perform Dou Zhuan Xing Yi to resolve the crisis, and then immediately counterattack. Under the tremendous pressure, Dugu Nine Swords became more and more exquisite.

Fu Cailin quickly realized that this boy was actually using him to practice sword skills in such a life-and-death fight. Even with his cultivation as a grandmaster, he couldn't help but feel angry. He suddenly swung the long sword in his hand, which turned into stars in the sky and he killed him with his powerful internal force.