Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 324 Wooden Stake Sound Technique, Three-on-Three Duel

A few days later, when Tong Bo returned to the entrance of the Water Moon Cave Heaven barrier, he was surprised to find that it had undergone tremendous changes.

Originally, this entrance was a cliff, with a small river flowing down the cliff, forming a small waterfall.

The water falls below the cliff, forming a small pool, which continues to flow outward, transforming into another stream.

On both sides of the stream, the ground is relatively flat, covered with weeds and small trees, but not far away is a dense forest, with tall trees and deep grass.

But now, the cliff is still a cliff, but all the trees and weeds in front of it have been cleared away, and the original pool has been expanded many times over, to the point that it can even be described as a small lake.

The water from the mountain waterfall continued to flow down into this small lake and no longer flowed outwards.

In this small lake, there are tall wooden stakes planted one after another.

These wooden stakes vary in thickness and height, and their positions are almost random, making them appear chaotic at first glance.

But upon closer inspection, it seems to follow a certain pattern.

However, if you want to explore the patterns within this and look closely, you will soon feel your brain become foggy.

"It seems Yin Zhong knew we were coming all along!"

"It's very likely that he already knew about it on the very day we set off!"

Martial artists, especially those at the Innate level or above, possess extremely powerful building abilities.

For an ordinary person to erect a pillar, they have to dig a deep hole in the ground, insert the pillar, fill it in, and make it stable.

The martial artist only needs to pour their internal energy into the pillar, and then forcefully thrust it into the ground to insert it directly!
A master-level martial artist can plant the weapon even more securely!

Even so, creating the scene before us is by no means something that can be done in a single day.

In that case, someone must have informed Yin Zhong.

This person is very likely in their group.

Yin Hao couldn't help but look back.

Then he sighed helplessly.

There's no other reason than there are just too many suspects!

After all, Yin Zhong had lived and held power in the Imperial Sword Manor for two or three decades. Even the manor lord trusted Yin Zhong implicitly. Yin Zhong had previously mobilized two hundred Iron Guards to leave without asking for the reason, which showed his prestige and power within the Iron Guards.

Under these circumstances, it would be perfectly normal for one or two people within the Iron Guard to emerge and support Yin Zhong.

I've made up my mind that once I get back this time, I'll definitely cleanse the entire Iron Guard.

But that's something to do after we get back.

"The owner of the village."

Tong Bo could also see that the situation was not good. He stepped forward and said, "Yin Zhong was prepared and used this formation to block us. Putting aside other things, we probably can't use the cavalry charge. Moreover, this formation is strange and may have some other abilities."

Yin Hao nodded.

While the art of strategizing and deploying troops using the techniques of Qimen Dunjia is rare in the martial arts world, it does exist.

"In that case, let's proceed cautiously and dismantle all the wooden stakes!"

At a command, the Iron Guard stepped into the water and began to deal with the wooden stakes.

at this time……

Zheng!
clank!

The silver vase was broken, water slurry burst out, and the cavalry stood out with swords and guns.

A loud but not harsh, even melodious, piano melody drifted from behind each of the wooden stakes and from the cliff.

Upon hearing the music, the Iron Guards trembled and turned pale.

However, the music of the zither disrupted the flow of their internal energy, causing them to suffer a backlash.

"Sound power..."

Yin Hao's voice was deep: "Yin Zhong truly lives up to his reputation as an old monster who has lived for so many years. He is even proficient in such unorthodox martial arts?"

This time, he guessed wrong.

The one sitting cross-legged in front of the cliff and in the pool, playing the guqin, is not Yin Zhong, but Zhou Ming.

Although sound-based techniques are unorthodox, they do have their unique aspects.

Its most powerful feature is that it possesses both wide-area attack and penetrating damage characteristics.

However, it also has its flaws.

After all, the world of martial arts also requires the conservation of energy; the price of a large damage range is huge energy consumption.

The renowned Ming Dynasty master, Wuhen Gongzi, possessed a unique move called "Rain of Flowers Sprinkling Money," which required imbuing countless flower petals with true energy to inflict harm on a person.

His apprentice was Shangguan Haitang, a secret agent of the Dragon Guard Manor. Although he learned this move, he was unable to use it.

Ultimately, it's because Shangguan Haitang's strength is low and her true energy reserves are insufficient.

The destructive range of sound attacks is significantly greater than that of a rain of flowers, thus requiring more profound internal energy and higher skill to withstand them.

Although Yin Zhong knew sound techniques, his physical condition was simply not able to support him to unleash too much power in an instant, so this task could only be left to Zhou Ming.

But to think that you can defeat thousands of Iron Guards with pure sonic power is wishful thinking.

The Iron Guards were all skilled in martial arts and quite strong, and all of them wore iron armor.

But don't assume that this so-called armor is a single piece; there is actually fabric underneath.

Moreover, as a powerful force in the martial arts world, Yujian Manor had long been prepared for sonic attacks, and therefore incorporated special designs for the helmet when designing the armor.

Speaking of which, the design of this armor was actually by Yin Zhong.

Therefore, Yin Zhong understood even more clearly how difficult it was to defeat a thousand Iron Guards with pure sonic power.

But that doesn't mean he has no solution.

At this moment, the array formed by countless wooden stakes has one effect: it can restrict sound, preventing it from spreading outside the array, while simultaneously amplifying it within the array.

Under this amplification, the Iron Guards who came into the formation to cut down the wooden stakes suffered considerable damage under the influence of this sonic power.

And this harm was only because they were currently in the position furthest from Zhou Ming.

After all, sound becomes weaker the farther away it is.

Zhou Ming's location was not at the center of the formation, but at the other end of the formation, below the cliff.

So strictly speaking, the injury they suffered at this moment was only the weakest form of injury.

"retreat!"

Faced with this situation, Yin Hao solemnly gave the order and then personally charged into the formation. However, he flew out of the formation in an instant, his face extremely ugly.

"Master, how is it?"

"The opponent's sonic abilities... are very strong!"

Yin Hao said, "Even I can't resist for long. If the Iron Guards go in, I'm afraid every one of them will die!"

"This……"

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the group changed slightly.

"In that case, the Iron Guard will probably be unable to play its role."

"There's no other way. The enemy was prepared... Right now, the only option is for the three of us to charge in and kill Yin Zhong. Even if that doesn't work, we can at least stop him from using sonic attacks, giving the Iron Guards an opportunity to destroy these wooden stakes!"

“But what if it was Zhou Ming who used the sound technique instead of Yin Zhong?”

"Whoever it is, should step in to stop it."

After discussing it, the three masters decided that the three of them would charge into the formation and strike the enemy leader directly.

Even if you can't kill the opponent, you can still disrupt their sonic attack.

As soon as the opponent's sonic attack stops, Yin Tianxue, Tong Zhan, and the others can lead the Iron Guard to destroy the wooden stakes.

This was agreed upon.

The three of them leaped up, stepping on the wooden stakes and heading straight for the cliff. The area above the wooden stakes was actually within the influence range of the formation, but the sonic damage was relatively small.

All three possessed the strength of a grandmaster, so they were not afraid of such harm.

After all, the drawback of wide-area attacks is that they deal very little damage when facing a single target.

If an attack has a wide range and high damage, it can only mean that the two sides are not on the same level at all.

Below the cliff.

Yin Zhong and Tong Xin both stood beside Zhou Ming, but their states were completely different.

Yin Zhong used a small amount of power to resist the effects of the sonic attack.

Tong Xin, however, had a blank expression, like a puppet.

His eyes were covered with a black cloth, and his ears were plugged with earplugs; only a faint silver line on his forehead was visible.

It was his third eye that was awakened.

"So far, no wooden stakes have been destroyed. It seems that we have indeed successfully stopped that thousand Iron Guards!"

Yin Zhong's face revealed a smug look.

A thousand Iron Guards, each clad in iron armor, would give him a headache if they were his enemy.

Therefore, this arrangement was intended to keep them outside and prevent these Iron Guards from joining the battle.

Yin Zhong had certainly considered eliminating these Iron Guards directly, but he couldn't set up those powerful methods in just a few days.

Moreover, in a real game, the enemy often does not act as expected.

For example, right now, when faced with this set of wooden stake formations, Yin Hao's first thought is to dismantle all the wooden stakes directly, rather than bringing people into the formation.

No one would be that stupid.

Yin Zhong understood this perfectly, so he never thought of achieving such a difficult goal. Simply blocking them from joining the battle was already a great achievement.

Moreover, not all of those thousand Iron Guards were enemies; many were his men as well.

According to his plan, after blocking the thousand Iron Guards, he would take Tong Xin directly into action.

Tong Xin had now opened his Heavenly Eye, and after being strengthened by him, he could be considered to have temporarily possessed the combat power of a Grandmaster.

When the time comes, let Tong Xin block the Tong clan so that he can take action against Yin Hao.

Yin Hao was indeed strong, but Yin Zhong was fully aware of his martial arts skills.

This informational advantage gave Yin Zhong the confidence to achieve a swift kill.

But once Yin Hao dies, it's uncertain who the thousand Iron Guards will obey.

But things didn't go as he expected.

Three people suddenly rushed over from the opposite side.

Three!

No, where did that old woman come from?
Did Yin Hao seek help from outsiders?
With the resources and connections of the Imperial Sword Manor, finding a few grandmasters to help would be a simple matter.

But can Yin Hao really bring himself to do that?

You should know that this time we're dealing with Yin Zhong, the Second Master Yin of the Imperial Sword Manor!

How do I ask outsiders for help?

Should we tell them that the powerful Second Master Yin of Yujian Manor, who controls all the industries of Yujian Manor, is actually an outsider in disguise?

For the past two or three decades, no one has noticed?

If this gets out, the reputation of the Imperial Sword Manor will be completely ruined.

Therefore, Yin Zhong didn't think Yin Hao would ask outsiders for help at all.

But things didn't go as he imagined.

When Yin Hao and his two companions arrived, they were taken aback by the enemy's lineup.

But it quickly dawned on him that the other person could be Tong Bo's younger brother...

"childlike innocence!"

Tong Bo had already called out that person's name.

But the child remained completely unmoved.

It wasn't that Yin Zhong's control methods were so powerful that Tong Xin could ignore her brother; rather, it was because Tong Xin was completely cut off from sight and hearing at this moment, so she naturally didn't know what was happening.

"We knew each other after all!"

Yin Zhong had somewhat anticipated this, and a silver mark appeared between his brows. At the same time, Tong Xin's third eye between his brows also lit up with a faint light. He then leaped up and threw a punch directly at Tong Bo.

Tong Bo took the punch and was sent flying backward.

Yin Hao and Long Po, who were standing nearby, were both shocked by what they saw.

Wasn't it said that this younger brother only had innate strength? Judging from his current speed and punching power, he's probably not much different from a grandmaster.

On second thought, this must be Yin Zhong's doing.

There's actually such a method; no wonder he's a thousand-year-old monster.

However, this gives the opponent another master-level combatant.

Both sides believed that by increasing their own fighting strength, it should be a three-on-two situation.

But in reality, it's three to three.

Yin Zhong also leaped up, stepping on the wooden stakes to charge at Yin Hao.

Yin Hao's body was radiating sword energy, making him resemble a sharp sword, extremely fierce.

With a wave of his hand, sword energy rained down like a storm, his technique so effortless and graceful that it was even more impressive than Yin Zhong's.

But Yin Zhong is, after all, the patriarch of the Imperial Sword Manor, and the martial arts that the Imperial Sword Manor is now passed down were all created by him.

Even if Yin Hao hadn't mastered the Imperial Sword Manor's inheritance to its highest level, Yin Zhong would still be able to find flaws in it.

Now, he waved his hand and unleashed a sword aura that pierced through the rain of sword energy, skillfully bypassing all the sword energy and striking Yin Hao's vitals.

Yin Hao had no choice but to retreat and defend.

Yin Zhong then immediately launched another attack.

In their battle, Yin Hao was arguably in a worse state than Tong Bo was back then.

The Chi You martial arts that Tong Bo displayed had evolved over hundreds of years and undergone many changes, which caught Yin Zhong somewhat off guard.

Even so, Tong Bo was left speechless and had no choice but to use the Dragon God Skill to get out of trouble.

However, the Imperial Sword Manor tradition that Yin Hao cultivates was not only created by Yin Zhong from the very beginning, but Yin Zhong also did not know or control all the changes over the past five hundred years.

Therefore, in the battle between the two, Yin Hao was completely suppressed and had no room to show his strength.
Fortunately, Luang Phor was nearby and immediately stepped in to help.

She also realized why Yin Hao was no match for Yin Zhong, and said, "Master Yin, you go deal with Tong Xin, I'll handle things here. As for Tong Bo, let him distract Zhou Ming!"

"it is good!"

Yin Hao was not stubborn and immediately withdrew from the battle.

Yin Zhong tried to stop her, but was stopped by Long Po.

The old woman held a fine steel sword, its blade gleaming sharply and exuding a chilling killing intent.

Yin Zhongdao said, "You are not a member of the Imperial Sword Manor, so why are you meddling in this matter?"

Long Po said hatefully, "Yin Zhong, have you already forgotten the blood debt you inflicted on my Long family?"

"Long family?"

A fierce glint flashed in Yin Zhong's eyes: "So you're a remnant of the Long family. It seems I wasn't careful enough back then, allowing you to survive. In that case, today I'll send you to reunite with your whole family!"

(End of this chapter)