Today, no one can stop me from making my name known throughout the world. On the walls of Tianshui City, Suo Han Yi told himself over and over again.
At this moment, on the majestic main city of Tianshui, dense armies stood packed together.
Although this city was not as huge as the royal capital Zhi Du, it still had a circumference of twenty li, city walls four or five metres high, and a population of over a hundred thousand inside the city.
Because this place had once been the frontline against the barbarian tribes.
However, in recent decades the southern barbarian tribes had been constantly suppressed and beaten by the Nu Lang Kingdom, fleeing south of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Therefore the barbarians in the southwest also did not dare to cross the Barbarian Desolate Canyon, and Tianshui City had enjoyed decades of peace.
Suo Han Yi stood on the city wall, his eyes like eagles, staring at a spot several li outside the city.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Thirty thousand rebel troops swept towards Tianshui City like a tidal wave.
When an army exceeded ten thousand it seemed endless, and thirty thousand rebel troops spread across the ground with no visible end, truly like a surging tide.
This moment had finally arrived. The rebellion that had been brewing for nearly a year had finally come!
The root of this rebellion lay in what happened eight years ago, when Count Suo Long was suddenly seriously injured and had to leave Tianshui City for Zhi Du to seek treatment.
The entire Tianshui City had been without a master for a full eight years.
Of course, there was another reason. The future master of Tianshui City, Suo Lun, was far too incompetent and useless. Therefore these high ranking lords had completely lost their reverence for their lord.
The rebel army numbered thirty thousand, while the defending forces of the main Tianshui City were only ten thousand.
But Suo Han Yi did not care at all. He did not even take these thirty thousand rebel troops seriously.
It could be said that since he reached adulthood, in all battles, whether personal or military, he had never lost.
Facing the vast and mighty thirty thousand rebel troops, he felt no fear at all. Instead he was filled with excitement.
This was a war he had long awaited. After today he would let the undefeated reputation of Suo Han Yi spread throughout the entire Nu Lang Kingdom.
He wanted everyone to see, especially Suo Ning Bing, that he, Suo Han Yi, was the pillar supporting Tianshui City and the only saviour of the Suo clan.
Bang bang bang bang…
The thirty thousand rebel troops advanced with neat steps and an unstoppable momentum towards Tianshui City.
People with insufficient mental fortitude would collapse and find it hard to breathe just from seeing this scene.
Suddenly Suo Han Yi tightened his right hand. It was his wife, Yang Hong Yi.
Yes, both their names contained the character Yi. Because both names had been given by Suo Long.
Yang Hong Yi was the daughter of a Suo clan retainer. In one battle her father Yang Lie had died protecting his lord Suo Long. Therefore Suo Long had always raised Yang Hong Yi as his own and devoted himself to training her.
To a large extent Yang Hong Yi was like Suo Han Yi, an adopted daughter of Suo Long. It was just that she had her own father and a rather prominent family, so she still kept the surname Yang.
Suo Han Yi, Suo Ning Bing, Yang Hong Yi and Suo Lun had grown up together.
From childhood what Suo Lun feared most was not Suo Han Yi nor Suo Ning Bing. Because Suo Han Yi was too arrogant and merely looked down on him without paying him any attention. Suo Ning Bing was too gentle. Only this Yang Hong Yi was extremely fierce. When dealing with Suo Lun she never held back. She scolded when she should scold and hit when she should hit.
Like Suo Han Yi, Yang Hong Yi also had a strong sense of identification with the Suo clan and a strong sense of ownership, so she subconsciously treated Suo Lun as her own younger brother.
She had a fierce and powerful personality and high martial skills. Once she started beating Suo Lun he could not resist at all. Over time Suo Lun came to fear this adopted elder sister like a tiger.
The reason Yang Hong Yi became Suo Han Yi’s wife was firstly because at that time Suo Han Yi had asked Suo Long for Suo Ning Bing’s hand in marriage, but Suo Ning Bing already had a betrothal, so Suo Long wanted to immediately dispel this idea from his adopted son. Moreover, from a young age Yang Hong Yi had greatly admired her elder brother Suo Han Yi.
Therefore Suo Long made the decision to marry Yang Hong Yi to Suo Han Yi.
In his view, and in the view of the entire Tianshui City, these two were a perfect match made in heaven.
Yang Hong Yi was tall and slender, healthy and attractive, with a beautiful appearance and high martial skills. Although not at Suo Han Yi’s level, she was already a high level warrior.
In the entire Nu Lang Kingdom it was very rare for a woman to become a high level warrior.
Do not be afraid. I view these rebel troops as nothing more than chickens and dogs. Today’s battle is the day my name, Suo Han Yi, becomes known throughout the world. Suo Han Yi held his wife’s hand. Although he loved Suo Ning Bing in his heart, he also treated his wife completely as family. After all the two had truly grown up together.
At this moment Yang Hong Yi was also dressed in armour. Hearing her husband’s reassurance, her beautiful eyes immediately showed rays of absolute trust and even admiration.
I wonder how Suo Lun is doing. Today should be his final exam. Yang Hong Yi said.
Suo Han Yi frowned and said coldly, Do you still hold any hope for that wastrel? There is only one person the Suo clan can rely on, and that is me!
Yang Hong Yi slightly furrowed her brows but did not argue with her husband.
My lord, do you want this humble one to lead the cavalry out for a charge? A majestic old general beside him asked.
He was called Yan Nu, once the number one expert of Tianshui City and the second Dragon Warrior. He was also the martial arts teacher of Suo Han Yi, Yang Hong Yi and the others. Now he was the cavalry commander of the Tianshui City guard army.
No need to rush, Master. Suo Han Yi sneered coldly, Our cavalry must serve as the final killer to completely tear the rebel army apart!
Bang, bang, bang…
The rebel troops drew closer and closer.
Five li, three li, two li, one li.
At this time the defending troops on the city wall already showed some nervousness. Looking at the dense rebel troops below, their eyes were also filled with tension.
Seeing this, Suo Han Yi suddenly waved his hand.
Immediately all the nervousness stopped.
He had led this army for a full eight years. His military orders were like mountains, his rewards and punishments were clear, he led from the front, and he loved his soldiers like his own children.
Under his command this army of ten thousand had already become an elite iron army.
And he, Suo Han Yi, was the only soul of this army. This army did not know who Suo Lun was and had even begun to forget the name Suo Long. They only knew one person and only recognised the back of one person, and that was their undefeated commander, Suo Han Yi!
Five hundred metres, four hundred metres, three hundred metres!
The rebel troops stopped, began to form ranks, and the archers prepared to launch the first wave of attack.
Suo Han Yi roared loudly, Soldiers, who is the pillar supporting Tianshui City?
We! The soldiers roared in unison.
Soldiers, whose is Tianshui City? Suo Han Yi asked loudly.
Ours! The soldiers roared.
Are you afraid of these thirty thousand rabble before your eyes? Suo Han Yi roared hoarsely.
Not afraid!
Are you afraid?
Not afraid!
Suo Han Yi shouted violently, Kill them all, kill them all, kill them all!
Today no one can stop our glory. Today we will make our name known throughout the world!
Archers, prepare!
Suo Han Yi suddenly drew his giant sword and thrust it diagonally into the sky.
Whoosh! Immediately three thousand archers bent their bows and nocked arrows in perfect unison, as if three thousand people were one.
Shoot! Suo Han Yi’s giant sword slashed down fiercely.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…
On the city wall a black rain of arrows smashed towards the rebel troops like a violent storm.
…
At the Royal Capital Academy, inside the archery field. The second half of the exam had already begun.
In the second half of the exam the three grades no longer took the test at the same time but one after another.
The first grade had nine examinees, the second grade had six examinees, and the third grade had only Suo Lun.
First to proceed was the moving target archery grand exam for the first grade examinees.
The nine examinees bent their bows and nocked arrows, aiming at the air.
Ding! A sounding arrow rang out.
Immediately, fifty metres away, nine round clay discs flew straight up into the sky, each spaced thirty metres apart.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…
The nine students shot their arrows one after another. Because there was hardly any time to aim, they could only rely on instinctive reaction.
Bang, bang, bang… Five clay discs shattered in the air.
Out of the nine examinees’ arrows a total of five hit, with a hit rate of just over fifty percent.
After the nine people’s first arrow was finished they rested for one minute.
Ding! The sounding arrow rang out again.
Fifty metres away another nine clay discs flew into the sky, still in the same direction and at the same speed as before.
This time, out of the nine students, five still hit.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
The sounding arrows rang out continuously for a total of ten times.
A quarter of an hour later the first grade’s moving target shooting exam was completely finished.
Each person shot ten arrows. As long as they hit five or more they passed.
Out of the nine students eight successfully passed the graduation grand exam. Only one student did not pass. Out of ten arrows she had only hit two.
This girl was the one who had led Suo Lun into the shooting ring and who had been the first to rush towards him and kiss him passionately after he created a miracle.
At this moment her heart was surging with emotion and her whole mind was on Suo Lun. How could she have the mood to shoot arrows?
Moreover if she failed the grand exam then so be it. What did it matter? It was just graduating one year later and marrying one year later. Besides, she no longer wanted to marry at all now.
…
Half a quarter of an hour later the second half second grade exam began.
The six students chose the second grade and used two hundred and fifty jin bows to hit fleeing roe deer from one hundred metres away.
At this time Suo Lun also gathered all his spirit, waiting for the sounding arrow to begin.
Although it was not yet his turn to shoot, he had never tried using spiritual power to lock onto living creatures in an invisible state, and this was the key to whether he could achieve complete victory in the second half of the exam.
What he wanted to test now was using pure spiritual power to lock onto fast running targets in an invisible state. The black roe deer that were the shooting targets for the second grade exam could serve perfectly as his test subjects.
He took a deep breath, concentrated completely, and used the spirit out of body technique to release spiritual power to perceive everything around him.
Immediately all life energy bodies around him would be perceived by his spiritual power.
Spiritual power usually needed to be released through the eyes. But that was an illusion. In reality it was released through the brain, especially the forehead.
However for beginners of the so called spirit out of body technique, releasing it through the eyes made it more concentrated, and配合 with visual effects it was more intuitive.
Once the spirit out of body technique became proficient there was no need to use the eyes. Therefore even if Ye Jing Yu was sleeping her spiritual power could still perceive everything around her. Once an enemy appeared she would immediately become alert.
Suo Lun’s spirit out of body range was three hundred metres, so all life forms within a radius of one hundred metres were completely within his perception.
Every person was a faint light shadow with different colours.
Then he concentrated fully, waiting for the sounding arrow to ring out and for the second grade moving shooting targets, the black roe deer, to appear.
Whether he could completely lock onto them with spiritual power and aim accurately was the key to whether he could win to the end.