The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 417 Gathering
Are you alright?!

An Ziyang reached out and threw out the last handful of poisoned needles, knocking down the martial arts practitioners who had caught up with him, and asked urgently.

"can!"

Mei Qinghe pierced a head with her sword, then kicked the corpse in the chest, pulled out the sword, and said while panting.

She had dismounted from An Ziyang's back and was now fighting alongside him.

The two had been circling around for an hour.

An Ziyang had exhausted all the hidden weapons, traps, and Gu worms he carried. Mei Qinghe's longsword was made of special materials and was still usable, but the blade had been worn down by the bones and fascia and was not as sharp as before, making it increasingly difficult to chop.

But they had no chance to rest.

"They're catching up! Let's go!"

An Ziyang glanced at the martial arts practitioners who had already jumped onto the roof, shouted, and pulled them away.

"what!--"

A series of wails erupted, and the figures of the martial arts practitioners suddenly shrank. More than ten severed legs were neatly stacked on the eaves, and more than ten people slumped onto the roof, crawling around haphazardly.

An Ziyang waved his hand to retract the silk thread, and he and Mei Qinghe jumped off the roof.

The next moment, dozens more people climbed onto the roof.

"Where did they go?!"

A man with a broken leg, enduring excruciating pain, pointed his finger.

“Over there… Brother Zhou, please save me.”

"Definitely next time."

The crowd roared away.

An Ziyang pursed his lips from ahead.

“Before, we could at least spare some manpower, but now we’re too lazy to even do the bare minimum… Sister Mei, we’ll be overtaken in about an hour.”

Mei Qinghe shook her head.

"Faster than that."

She raised her hand and pointed to the side.

An Ziyang turned his head to look.

On a rooftop more than ten feet away from them, the monk was watching them.

Heaven and man, understanding nature.

An Ziyang clicked his tongue.

"Seeing that Qiao Cailian is dead, you dare not step forward, and instead let other martial arts figures wear us down while you wait to reap the benefits?"

“I’ve run out of hidden weapons, and you’ve also used up a lot of your inner energy. He’s appearing in front of us to put pressure on us… I reckon he won’t be able to hold back and make a move anytime soon.”

Mei Qinghe nodded and raised her hand to thrust her sword at her feet.

"what!"

Blood splattered, and the martial arts practitioner hiding in the pile of debris let out a scream before collapsing to the ground.

The two jumped onto the roof.

In that brief moment, An Ziyang glanced behind him.

The martial arts world has been gathered together.

"almost."

Mei Qinghe frowned as she spoke.

"Should we hold out a little longer... The martial arts practitioners gathered in the capital now probably only make up about 30% to 40% of the population. If we can stall for another half hour, we should be able to wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

"I can strike with my sword and let him be hesitant for a while longer."

An Ziyang shook his head.

"One cannot strive for perfection."

"we--"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud bang suddenly erupted in the distance, drawing An Ziyang's attention.

He frowned.

"A battle between heaven and man... Let me see."

An Ziyang took out a long tube from his pocket, pulled it out, and held it up to his eyes, carefully looking in the direction from which the loud noise came.

The next moment, his eyes widened.

"Commander!"

"The one who got knocked away is... An Qisheng!"

"They're also heading towards Wanggongchang!"

Mei Qinghe's eyes widened as well.

An Ziyang put down the binoculars and slapped his thigh.

"Just right!"

"The arrangement at Wanggongchang was originally prepared for An Qisheng, and now it's perfect! The commander must have seen our situation and deliberately brought An Qisheng here!"

"A chance encounter has led to unexpected success; now everything is perfect!"

An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe exchanged a glance, both of their eyes revealing a hint of surprise.

"How long until the commander arrives?"

"About the time it takes to brew a cup of tea! Just enough time for us to lure these martial arts practitioners over!"

Without further hesitation, the two sped off towards Wanggongchang.

Meanwhile, in Wanggongchang, the struggle between the old Wudang Taoist priest and the fake Li Miao was nearing its end.

However, the situation was somewhat strange.

In the vast square, the two stood facing each other.

The old Taoist priest closed his eyes.

The fake Li Miao glared angrily, but his gaze was unfocused, as if he had lost his mind. His facial muscles twitched from time to time, as if he were sleepwalking, and his lips moved, uttering broken words.

"Innate Leader...you, Jizhao...lead the entire universe..."

"Transform me into..." "You can't kill me... If I die, An Qisheng will..."

The old Taoist priest suddenly opened his eyes.

"What will happen?"

"Fake Li Miao murmured."

"It will... be more..."

The next moment, his voice suddenly became hoarse and calm.

"I am the king who governs the changes of the celestial sphere from the innate; I am the king who governs the changes of the celestial sphere from the innate..."

The old Taoist priest fell silent.

His self-realized state of tranquility was incomplete. If it weren't for the profound heritage of Wudang, he wouldn't have been able to influence other beings of the same realm with this incomplete state of tranquility.

His solitary contemplation is merely a form, beyond even his own control; it's more like dragging others into a dream. Once inside, even he finds it difficult to awaken them.

"If he dies, will An Qisheng be even more..."

"More... stronger? More perfect?"

"Lord Li previously mentioned that An Qisheng's condition was unusual. Could this be related to that?"

The old Taoist priest stepped forward and struck the fake Li Miao on the forehead. With a muffled thud, the forehead caved in, and the fake Li Miao collapsed to the ground, twitching a few times before losing consciousness.

The old Taoist priest reached out and picked up the corpse, intending to head to the palace to tell Li Miao what he had seen and heard that night.

Unexpectedly, a shout suddenly came from afar.

"Master Taoist, are you done yet?"

The sound grew louder as it approached, and the next moment, An Ziyang rushed into the square, clutching his head.

Mei Qinghe then rolled in, and after getting up, she used the "Swallow Returns to the Morning Sun" technique to kill the martial arts man chasing after her. Without daring to stop for a moment, she turned and ran towards the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest frowned as he looked at the two of them.

First came confusion... then his eyes widened in surprise.

A crowd surged in.

Hundreds of martial arts practitioners followed An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe, rushing into the square like madmen.

An Ziyang had already rushed up to the old Taoist priest.

"Taoist Master, don't ask why, don't ask what's going on, just tell me if you can control these people?"

Even the old Taoist priest was astonished!
Yes, Wudang is preparing to cooperate with Li Miao, but it will take time, won't it?
With just one glance, the old Taoist priest spotted more than a dozen familiar faces, all important figures from major sects in the martial arts world, who rushed over with red eyes.

Whether or not they can suppress it is another matter... But if they do suppress it, will Wudang still be able to survive in the martial arts world?

The old Taoist priest paused for a moment, just about to answer.

A gasp suddenly rang out from the rushing crowd.

"Look! Who's that old Taoist priest carrying in his hand!"

Hundreds of eyes converged on them.

"Holy crap?"

"Holy crap!"

"Holy crap... damn it..."

The chaotic footsteps gradually ceased.

The crowd stared blankly at the old Taoist priest and the corpse in his hand.

"Li...Miao?"

"Li Miao, is he dead?"

"Li Miao has been murdered!"

The crowd gradually became restless.

"Li Miao is dead... does that mean we're free from future troubles?"

Someone stared wide-eyed and said hesitantly.

"It seems so..."

Someone was muttering with their mouth open.

"That's right! No one can stop us today! There are no more Imperial Guards! As long as we get the Xuanlan Technique, we won't even have to worry about Li Miao coming after us!"

Some people got excited and then charged at An Ziyang with weapons in hand.

"Hand over the Xuanlan cultivation technique!"

The crowd surged and swept towards An Ziyang and his two companions.

An Ziyang grabbed Mei Qinghe and darted behind the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest kept clicking his tongue.

He only let out a slow sigh when the crowd was right in front of him.

The weapon was already at his nose; there was no room for hesitation.

The old Taoist priest raised his hand, about to throw a punch.

Just at this moment!
boom! ! ! !

Suddenly, a huge burst of blood-red fireworks shot up from the crowd!
More than a dozen people were swept away by the wind pressure!

The deafening roar reverberated the next instant, shattering the eardrums of dozens of people in the center of the crowd, causing them to lose their balance and fall to the ground.

The martial artist who had rushed up to the old Taoist was startled, his strength faltered, and his longsword grazed the old Taoist's nose before slipping away.

He widened his eyes and turned around.

In the middle of the crowd, a gaunt and emaciated figure slowly stood up.

"Who is this...?"

He hesitated for a moment, then looked closer.

The next instant, another loud bang exploded!

A familiar figure crashed to the ground from mid-air!
He focused his gaze, examined it carefully, and slowly opened his mouth wide.

"Li...Miao?"

(End of this chapter)