Chapter 151: The Initial Clash, A Fierce Battle Against the Four Tigers

Jiang Pingchuan stood atop the city gate, gazing down at the vast, endless sea of an eight-hundred-thousand-strong army beneath the ramparts. The black battle banners were emblazoned with tiger-shaped runes, and the golden character for "Barbarian" stood out with blinding glare under the sunlight.

According to Tieniu, this was the third wave of the Barbarian King's assault, and the number of troops led into battle had steadily increased from the previous two hundred thousand to the current eight hundred thousand. It was clear that the Barbarian King had lost his patience and intended to launch a full-scale offensive against Frontier City, aiming to capture it in a single stroke, march upon the royal capital, and overthrow the dynasty of the Changfeng Continent.

Jiang Pingchuan watched the four commanders leading the troops. Each of them possessed a burly, tiger-like frame, thick brows, and wide eyes, clad in heavy battle armor and gripping massive sabers as they stared up at Frontier City.

"Is that fellow on the wall Jiang Pingchuan?"

One of the commanders leading the Northwest army pointed his broad saber directly at Jiang Pingchuan, demanding in a deep voice. Jiang Pingchuan furrowed his brow. He had only arrived at Frontier City a few days prior, yet the Barbarian King's forces were already well aware of his presence. It seemed there were spies planted by the Barbarians right here within Frontier City, though he wondered if Tieniu had similarly planted agents within the Northwest.

"Who goes there beneath the city, daring to bark so insolently?"

Long Heng roared in a booming voice from atop the wall. The commander below scoffed, suddenly raising his heavy saber to give a signal. From the ranks of the soldiers behind him, five cavalrymen spurred their warhorses forward, raising their heavy whips and lashing them fiercely across the mounts' flanks.

The warhorses reared, letting out piercing neighs before charging forward at breakneck speed. Only as the horses drew closer did Jiang Pingchuan and the others notice that each of the five steeds had ropes trailing behind them, dragging a human body relentlessly across the hard ground.

The figures being dragged struggled in agony. Upon recognizing who was tied behind the horses, a sudden surge of fury erupted within Jiang Pingchuan. The aura surrounding him congealed violently, and with a rush of wind, the Asura Spear flew straight out from the Iron Mansion, piercing the sky and hurtling directly into his outstretched hand.

Gripping the Asura Spear, Jiang Pingchuan let out a furious roar and leaped off the ramparts, plunging straight toward the five charging warhorses. Seeing this, Long Heng and Xia Ha followed suit, vaulting over the wall as they drew their sharp blades and charged swiftly toward the Northwest army.

The moment Long Heng and Xia Ha leaped from the gate, two vanguard officers spurred their mounts out from the enemy camp, charging directly to intercept them. Meanwhile, Jiang Pingchuan gripped the Asura Spear and lashed out fiercely toward the five horses. The men being dragged behind the mounts were none other than Long Da and his brothers.

Jiang Pingchuan's gaze caught the horrific sight of Long Qi's arms having been completely severed, while the rest of the Dragon Guard brothers were tied to the horses in states of near-death. With a single sweeping strike of his spear, Jiang Pingchuan sliced one of the warhorses clean in half, rescuing Long Da.

Long Da gazed hazily at Jiang Pingchuan. Of the entire Dragon Guard Thirteen, only five remained, and every single one of them was now on the brink of death. Among them, Long Shisan—a mere fourteen-year-old boy—was hovering on the very edge of mortality.

After rescuing the five members of the Dragon Guard, Jiang Pingchuan cradled Long Shisan in his arms and cast a cold, chilling gaze toward the four Northwest commanders. Now that he had entered the battlefield, the four enemy leaders merely watched quietly, allowing him to slaughter five horses and elite cavalrymen without the slightest intention of lifting a finger to stop him.

Seeing that Jiang Pingchuan had rescued the five men, Yuan Hao hurriedly swung open the city gates, rushing the wounded members of the Dragon Guard inside for emergency medical treatment. Meanwhile, Jiang Pingchuan stood alone with his Asura Spear in the center of the battlefield before the gates of Frontier City, locking his eyes on the four Northwest commanders.

"Jiang Pingchuan, rumors say you possess peak-tier strength. But so what? Not a single person by your side is a peak expert. Can you really protect them all?"

The Northwest commander chuckled as he looked at Jiang Pingchuan. Jiang Pingchuan furrowed his brow. He had not expected that when he sent Long Qi back to rescue his brothers days ago, they would be intercepted and exposed. He tightened his grip on the Asura Spear, glaring at the four commanders.

"Who are you? State your names. I, Jiang Pingchuan, do not kill nameless nobodies."

Pointing his spear at the four leaders, Jiang Pingchuan demanded in a low, resonant voice. The four commanders exchanged glances and smiled faintly.

"We are the Four Tigers of the Northwest, under the command of the Barbarian King: Wind Tiger, Thunder Tiger, Fire Tiger, and myself, Bone Tiger. Now General Pingchuan knows who we are."

Bone Tiger said with a chuckle. As he finished speaking, Jiang Pingchuan noticed the aura surrounding the four commanders beginning to shift. Silver light flickered in Jiang Pingchuan's eyes as his layered pupils scrutinized the four men. The feeling they gave him was identical to that of Wang Mang.

Through Jiang Pingchuan's piercing gaze, he saw that all four men were capable of beast transformation, manifesting as four tigers. Yet, true to their names, each possessed distinct characteristics. Behind Wind Tiger hovered an illusory tiger phantom, its head raised in a silent roar as fierce gales manifested into blade-like winds swirling around him.

Thunder Tiger lowered his head, emitting low, rumbling growls. Every rumble sounded like the approach of distant thunder. Within Jiang Pingchuan's silver vision, Thunder Tiger was surrounded by crackling strands of lightning; looking at the incessant flashes, Jiang Pingchuan could almost hear the sharp, snapping sound of lightning striking flesh.

Next was Fire Tiger. True to his name, one would expect Fire Tiger to be engulfed in raging flames, but what Jiang Pingchuan saw through his silver eyes was not fire at all. Instead, it was a water-like ripple spreading slowly from the four tiger paws across the entire beastly body. Yet, this water-like aura exuded a fiercely scorching heat.

Finally, Jiang Pingchuan looked at Bone Tiger. He had never heard of Bone Tiger before. What he saw was a skeletal tiger frame bereft of flesh and skin, devoid of any discernible aura—nothing more than a set of ordinary tiger bones.

Yet, Jiang Pingchuan silently placed Bone Tiger at the very top of his threat list. Indeed, ordinary things placed where they did not belong often concealed the most fatal truths.

"All of you are going to die."

After seeing through the four men with his silver eyes, Jiang Pingchuan spoke coldly. The moment his words fell, the four of them burst into loud laughter, looking at Jiang Pingchuan with utter contempt. That disdain caused Master Gong, standing atop the city wall, to clench his fists tightly.

No one could afford to ignore Jiang Pingchuan's existence. Yet, from the looks of it, the Northwest army marching on Frontier City and naming Jiang Pingchuan specifically was nothing more than a deliberate provocation. In Master Gong's arms, Maoqiu opened its eyes for a fleeting second, let out a cold snort, and closed them again to resume its slumber.

"Jiang Pingchuan, you truly are shameless in your boasting. These Dragon Guard Thirteen were close to you, yet you couldn't protect them. There are many more people you won't be able to protect either."

"Jiang Pingchuan, you are no god, nor are there any gods to help you. Give up; this war is destined to crown us as the rulers of the Northwest."

"You ignored the Barbarian King's goodwill, and we expected you to be hunted to the death. Who would have thought that the cultivators in the heartlands are such utter trash, unable to even kill you? Truly useless..."

"Jiang Pingchuan, sometimes human emotions are our greatest weakness. You are still not ruthless enough. Someone who lacks cold-bloodedness is destined never to reach the peak, and destined to become a soul beneath my blade."

The Four Tigers spoke one after another, then broke into another round of laughter as they sneered at Jiang Pingchuan. The corner of Jiang Pingchuan's mouth curled upward. He watched the Four Tigers continually attempt to provoke him. In warfare, aside from raw strength, the mindset was everything; if one's inner resolve was not strong enough, even overwhelming power would eventually succumb to one's own emotions.

"Will you fight me one by one, or come at me all together?"

Ignoring their provocative taunts entirely, Jiang Pingchuan pointed the Asura Spear directly at the Four Tigers. Fire Tiger, one of the four, glared coldly at Jiang Pingchuan. None of them had expected Jiang Pingchuan to remain so utterly calm.

He had paid no mind to their deliberate instigations. Fire Tiger twitched the corner of his mouth, jammed his heels hard into his stirrups, and leaped forward, landing right in front of Jiang Pingchuan. Wielding a halberd, he glared at Jiang Pingchuan while slightly swaying the weapon.

The halberd let out a roar as an illusory tiger phantom emerged from it. Jiang Pingchuan flicked his Asura Spear toward the phantom. A massive skull burst forth from the spearhead, transforming into a black dragon composed of dark malevolent energy that gradually expanded, slithering through the air before a flash of purple light flickered across its dragon eyes.

With a resonant roar, the black dragon plunged straight from the sky toward the tiger phantom on the ground. Seeing the descent of the black dragon, the earthly phantom flattened its body, arched its back, and sprang fiercely into mid-air to intercept it. Dragon and tiger collided directly in the sky.

The halberd in Fire Tiger's hand trembled violently. Fire Tiger spat a mouthful of blood, staggered back a few steps, and stared at Jiang Pingchuan in utter astonishment. The tiger phantom in the sky had quietly vanished, leaving only the black dragon cruising leisurely through the air as if searching for its next target. Everyone watching the scene unfold above could clearly see that Jiang Pingchuan's strength had completely crushed Fire Tiger. From atop Frontier City, deafening cheers erupted from the garrison soldiers.

Staggering back with rage etched across his face, Fire Tiger readied himself to charge at Jiang Pingchuan once more, but Wind Tiger and Thunder Tiger stepped forward, flanking him and fixing their gazes on Jiang Pingchuan. With another flick of the Asura Spear, the black dragon in the sky roared, and a second black dragon materialized right beside it.

That Jiang Pingchuan was able to comprehend the profound mysteries hidden within the Asura Spear was entirely thanks to three days of meditating on the *Myriad Laws*, through which he learned that weapons could channel the energy of heaven and earth to manifest battle phantoms, with different phantoms yielding varying levels of might.

In Jiang Pingchuan's view, the Asura Spear should be capable of conjuring nine dragons. However, given his current cultivation at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage, he could only manifest two black dragons, and the second one remained extremely unstable.

It was only through the insights gained during his brief clash with Fire Tiger moments ago that he had managed to slightly stabilize the state of the second black dragon. Seeing the two dragons in the sky, Wind Tiger and Thunder Tiger wasted no time; raising their weapons, they slashed upward toward the beasts.

Two tigers of differing elemental affinities lunged forward, tearing viciously at the black dragons. Immediately following them, Bone Tiger let out a fierce roar and joined the fray. Fire Tiger, having caught his breath, swung his halberd once more to summon his tiger phantom back into battle. In an instant, the Four Tigers and the two dragons locked into a fierce, entangled melee.

As the Four Tigers managed to pin down the two dragons, just when they believed victory was within their grasp, the two black dragons suddenly morphed, locking the Four Tigers in a suffocating grip. Amidst this evenly matched deadlock, Jiang Pingchuan pointed the Asura Spear straight up at the sky, directing its tip toward the dragons.

The energy within the black dragons surged as if receiving a massive amplification, instantly shattering the Four Tigers' phantoms. Just as the residual projections were about to dissipate, the Four Tigers fused into a single giant tiger, lunging desperately toward Jiang Pingchuan's black dragons. With a tremendous blast, all the illusory phantoms vanished into thin air.

A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Jiang Pingchuan's mouth as he stepped back to steady himself. Meanwhile, the Four Tigers spat blood, staring at Jiang Pingchuan in sheer disbelief. All four of them possessed early Foundation Establishment strength, yet they had never imagined that joining forces would still fail to defeat Jiang Pingchuan.

They had assumed that even if Jiang Pingchuan possessed peak-tier strength, he could not withstand four opponents at once. Now, it was clear that apart from the gap in realms, there was another possibility: Jiang Pingchuan's true strength might well surpass the peak tier, or perhaps his power simply could not be measured by their conventional tier classifications.

"Is that all the skill you have, yet you dare to invade Frontier City?"

Jiang Pingchuan asked coldly, glaring at the Four Tigers. The final blow unleashed when the Four Tigers merged moments ago had indeed managed to injure him, but the regenerative true qi within his body was already working at breakneck speed to replenish what he had lost.

"Hah, arrogant boasting!"

Fire Tiger let out a cold snort, his eyes instantly turning crimson red. With a heaven-shaking roar, he underwent a complete beast transformation, morphing into a gigantic tiger enveloped in flowing, water-like flames. Soon after, the remaining three tigers also transformed into beasts matching their respective attributes.

Following behind them, the entire army of eight hundred thousand underwent beast transformations, turning into various beast-men. Though their statures were not overly massive, their combat prowess was magnified exponentially compared to their human forms.

Seeing this spectacle, Tieniu let out a thunderous roar. All the commanders atop the city wall leaped down into the battlefield as the heavy gates swung wide open. A million elite soldiers poured out of Frontier City with deafening battle cries, wielding long spears, sabers, bows, shields, and halberds as they charged directly at the beast-men.

The moment steel met flesh, the first drops of blood fell to the earth. The battle had officially begun. Both sides burned with high morale, their eyes bloodshot, showing not the slightest intention of retreat. In this war, whoever retreated first was destined to lose.