The voice seemed to carry the weight of three hundred years of weathering. The moment the words faded, rustling echoed from all directions.
Immediately after, countless figures clad in sleek black martial attire darted out from the shadows, scaling the walls and descending from the vaulted ceiling, each bearing a Buliangren token at their waist.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, landing without a single sound.
*Swish—*
Hundreds of figures dropped to one knee in perfect unison, their armor and weapons clashing in a crisp, chilling symphony of discipline.
A deafening roar, like a tsunami crashing against the shore, merged into a peal of rolling thunder that left the entire grand hall trembling.
"Buliangren, paying respects to the Commander!"
The sheer volume of their voices surged like a tidal wave.
Even the Four Great Corpse Progenitors, who had been locked in fierce combat, simultaneously ceased their attacks.
The thick-skinned, burly Hanba panted heavily, a trace of pure, unadulterated awe flashing across his rugged features as he looked at the figure.
Splattered with blood and looking thoroughly disheveled, Hou Qing didn't even bother to fix his appearance, turning instead to face Yuan Tiangang.
The seemingly innocent Yinggou blinked her large eyes, looking back and forth. Realizing that everyone else was paying their respects, she quickly mimicked them, offering a surprisingly proper bow.
Only Jiangchen wore a complex expression of nostalgia, as if she were gazing upon an old friend she hadn't seen in ages.
These four Corpse Progenitors, beings capable of stirring the winds of chaos across the world, all bowed. Though their postures varied, they all conveyed the exact same sentiment.
"Paying respects to the Commander!"
Everyone present—whether it was the fake Li Xingyun's faction, who had thought victory was assured, or the real Li Xingyun, who had been pushed to the brink of despair—was left completely stunned, their minds blanking at this sudden turn of events.
The Commander of the Buliangren, Yuan Tiangang? Was he here to save them?
Yuan Tiangang ignored the roaring crowd and paid no mind to the Corpse Progenitors' greetings.
His gaze, hidden behind his mask, slowly swept across the hall before finally landing on the fake Li Xingyun.
His stare was as calm as a placid lake, yet it carried an indescribable, suffocating pressure.
"You've grown bold," he remarked.
His voice betrayed neither joy nor anger.
"You've learned to form alliances and use the strength of others to strike your enemies."
"But you never should have used the territory of my Great Tang as a bargaining chip."
His tone abruptly shifted. A bone-chilling killing intent, as tangible as a sudden blizzard, instantly swept through the grand hall.
Everyone felt as though an invisible blade had just been pressed against their throats.
"Therefore, you must die."
Yuan Tiangang glanced around at the experts from the various factions, whose faces had drastically paled, and spoke with chilling indifference.
"I am not in a good mood today."
"You all have been rather disobedient lately. I think it is time to replace you with a more compliant batch."
He slowly raised his right hand.
With this simple gesture, the light within the hall suddenly dimmed, as if all illumination was being devoured by the gathering energy in his palm.
A terrifying power began to condense within his grasp.
The very air warped and distorted under the sheer weight of this force.
Just as this lethal strike was about to descend, a harsh, grating laugh shattered the dead silence without warning.
"Hahahaha—"
The Prince of Jin, Li Siyuan, suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, his voice laced with a mix of madness and smug triumph.
Braving the oppressive aura that threatened to crush everything in its path, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"The Commander's might is truly unparalleled! We naturally wouldn't dare resist!"
"However, I wonder if you care about the fate of those border cities and the lives of millions of innocent civilians?"
As it turned out, while they were all gathered here in Miaojiang, the Khitan cavalry of Mobei, the Zoroastrian Cult army of the Western Regions, and the elites of the Tongwen Manor had already split into three separate forces.
They had secretly seized control of several major stronghold cities along the borders of the Great Tang.
The millions of citizens residing within those walls were now hostages, leverage to be used against Yuan Tiangang.
If he made a move and slaughtered the rebels here, those millions of lives would immediately be buried alongside them.
Li Siyuan looked smugly at Yuan Tiangang and added one final remark, completely cutting off any potential escape route.
"I know the Commander has already dispatched the Buliangren to handle the situation."
"But why don't you try and see if you can still contact those agents you sent to infiltrate the cities?"
Yuan Tiangang's slowly raised hand froze in mid-air.
The gathered energy did not dissipate; instead, it grew even more terrifying, held back like a drawn bowstring.
For three hundred years, he had exhausted every scheme and calculation, all for the sake of protecting the Li Tang Dynasty's empire and its people.
This threat struck directly at his one true weakness.
Watching Yuan Tiangang fall silent, the smile on Li Siyuan's face grew increasingly sinister. He was absolutely certain of his victory.
"Trading my lifetime of infamy for your life, Commander..."
"It's well worth it!"
The entire hall plunged back into a deathly silence.
All eyes were fixed on the three-hundred-year-old guardian, waiting to see what choice he would make.
No one could see Yuan Tiangang's face beneath the mask, but the churning killing intent radiating from him was so intense it nearly tore the air apart.
His mind raced at an unprecedented speed, simulating the impending battle.
He needed to instantly obliterate everyone in the room in less than a single breath—before they could even react and send out the order to execute the hostages.
Just as the tension reached its absolute breaking point and an explosive battle was about to erupt...
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Several figures, bound tightly by specialized ropes, were suddenly hurled through the entrance of the grand hall.
Li Siyuan and his cohorts focused their eyes, and their pupils instantly contracted in horror.
Those battered and bruised figures were none other than the top-tier experts they had dispatched to the border cities to oversee the hostage operation.
Every single one of them was a formidable expert at the mid-stage of the Great Heavenly Position.
They couldn't fathom how their meticulously crafted and highly secretive plan had been foiled so quickly. Their operatives had been captured alive, and their entire force completely wiped out.
Yuan Tiangang paused his assault, shifting his gaze toward the entrance as well.
When he saw the figure slowly walking in, even his heart—which had remained as placid as an ancient well for three centuries—couldn't help but ripple with shock.
That familiar white robe. That transcendent, otherworldly aura.
And that face—a face that had no business appearing in this era, nor existing anywhere outside of his own memories.
In the next second, the figure seemed to bypass the very concept of space, teleporting directly in front of Yuan Tiangang.
The newcomer, dressed in a Daoist robe and exuding the ethereal grace of an immortal, cupped his fists and bowed. His voice carried the profound emotion of a long-awaited reunion.
"It has been over a century since we last met, yet the Commander's brilliance remains undiminished!"
"Buliangren Li Chunfeng, paying respects to the Commander!"
Before his words even faded, another figure materialized beside him.
This man was dressed in robes as white as snow, exuding an untamed and free-spirited aura. Holding a wine gourd in his hand, he raised it in a distant toast to Yuan Tiangang, his demeanor three parts drunk and seven parts heroic.
"Buliangren Li Bai, paying respects to the Commander!"
Immediately after, a third figure suddenly appeared right behind Yinggou.
Taking advantage of everyone's stunned silence, he reached out and gently pinched Yinggou's chubby cheeks.
"Ouch!"
A'jie instantly bristled like an angry cat, whipping her head around to glare at the offender.
"Where did this little brat come from? How dare you pinch A'jie's face!"
The man paid her no mind. Instead, he lazily turned toward Yuan Tiangang and offered a casual, half-hearted salute.
"Buliangren Ian, paying respects to the Commander."
Everyone present—especially those well-versed in history like Li Siyuan—felt their minds go completely blank.
Li Chunfeng? Li Bai?
How could these two legendary sages of the Great Tang, men who had been dead for centuries, be standing here alive and well?
The first to break the eerie silence was Hou Qing.
The moment he laid eyes on Ian, an unprecedented brilliance erupted in his gaze.
Completely abandoning the stylish and dignified posture he had maintained while greeting the Commander...
...he executed an incredibly smooth sliding kneel, gliding effortlessly out of the combat zone and coming to a halt right in front of Ian. His movements were as fluid as water and brimming with absolute devotion.
"Master! You're here too!"