Chapter 101: Yang Shengtian Begins to Doubt

As Yang Tianbao pursued his mount, he turned to look at the battlefield, only to find that his soldiers had once again been surrounded by Huang Xianlin’s forces and were suffering heavy casualties. He suddenly recalled that in his preoccupation with the three enemy generals, he had forgotten that his men had not yet fully broken through the encirclement.

Yang Tianbao pondered his situation: his mount was injured, and his soldiers were surrounded once more. Should he prioritize securing his mount or breaking the encirclement for his men? Why was King Huicheng taking so long to defeat Huang Xianlin? Given Yang Shengtian’s strength, he should have finished off his opponent by now. If Yang Shengtian were here, the soldiers could have broken through and routed the enemy in no time.

With this thought, he looked toward Yang Shengtian and Huang Xianlin, who were still locked in mid-air combat. They remained evenly matched, though it was clear that Yang Shengtian held the upper hand and possessed far superior strength. Why, then, did he hesitate to strike the fatal blow?

Yang Tianbao weighed his options. Ultimately, he decided to dash toward his mount, the Wolf-Lion Beast. Although the creature’s right eye was blinded, its lethality remained formidable. He reasoned that by riding it into the thick of the enemy lines, the supernatural mist exhaled from its maw—which instantly turned foes into blocks of ice—would allow him to slaughter many. As for the surrounded soldiers, they would have to endure a little longer. Once he had secured his mount, he would return to break them out. Even if some died, he could always recruit more after the war.

He flew toward the frantically galloping Wolf-Lion Beast. Watching him abandon his men, Zhu Hongxiu, He Xinzhou, and Wang Qingjie could not help but sigh with contempt. "To think this man would forsake the soldiers who are dying for him just for the sake of his beloved mount!"

"Hey! General Zhu, isn't this exactly what we wanted?" He Xinzhou said. "Yang Tianbao’s strength is far greater than we imagined. Even if the three of us fought to the death, we might not have been able to kill him."

He Xinzhou added, "Indeed. His combat power is nearly on par with Huang Xianlin’s, and with that mount of his, it’s truly terrifying. The beast alone is worth hundreds of soldiers."

Wang Qingjie remarked, "He chose to prioritize his beast. I had hoped to pierce its left eye as well, but it proved impossible. If we could have blinded both eyes, we would have eliminated a major threat."

"Like our General Wei Xiaoping and General Huang," Zhu Hongxiu noted, "this Yang Tianbao must have practiced martial arts and cultivation for many years. His power is unfathomable, not to mention those two incredibly powerful thunder-god hammers he wields."

***

The three of them hurried toward the main battlefield. "Where is General Wei Xiaoping? Why do we only see General Huang engaging the enemy?" He Xinzhou asked.

"Surely General Wei hasn't been defeated by Yang Shengtian so quickly?" Zhu Hongxiu worried.

"With General Wei’s combat prowess, could he really be bested by the enemy general?" Wang Qingjie wondered. "Not seeing him is truly concerning."

"Let’s hurry. We should be able to annihilate the enemy soon," they agreed.

"General Wang, your method of blinding the beast was excellent," Zhu Hongxiu commended.

"I was terrified it would smash me into the rocks before I managed to blind its right eye," Wang replied.

In the air, Huang Xianlin and Yang Shengtian continued to trade blows. From the intensity of their moves, it was evident that Huang was struggling against Yang’s superior strength. Throughout the fight, Huang had been carefully observing Yang’s techniques, searching for any resemblance to Wei Xiaoping’s style. The physical similarity between the two was uncanny—they looked like identical twins. Furthermore, Yang had mentioned that at fifteen, he had suffered a severe illness and lost all memory of his past, which coincided with the disappearance of Wei Xiaoping’s twin brother, Wei Xiaofan.

"General Yang," Huang Xianlin called out while parrying a strike from Yang’s golden halberd, "I am clearly no match for you. If I am to die at the hands of such an expert, I have no regrets, but may I ask a few questions? I wish to die with a clear understanding."

"General Huang, I admire your character," Yang Shengtian replied. "I have said before that if we did not serve different masters, we could have been great friends. Ask away; as long as it does not involve military secrets, I will answer."

"It is humiliating for a man of my stature to be defeated by a young man," Huang said. "Worst of all, I don’t even know your age or your true name."

"General, have I not told you my name is Yang Shengtian? I told you as much when we met at the city gate a month ago. As for my age, I haven't mentioned it, but does it truly matter?"

"It matters a great deal."

"Very well. I will turn twenty-six in twenty-eight days. Now, tell me, why is this so important to you?"

"Have you not noticed?" Huang Xianlin asked. "You look exactly like our General Wei Xiaoping. His twin brother, Wei Xiaofan, vanished at fifteen, and the circumstances of your illness and memory loss mirror his disappearance perfectly. I suspect you are, in fact, Wei Xiaofan."

Yang Shengtian was stunned. Earlier, Wei Xiaoping had insisted on the same thing, even describing a black mole on his right shoulder, a small red mole between his brows, and a bow-shaped birthmark on his back that could transform into a divine bow. How could Wei Xiaoping know such intimate details if they were not brothers?

"General Huang," Yang asked, his strikes losing much of their ferocity, "you also believe I am Wei Xiaofan? Have you met him?"

The intensity of their duel had vanished the moment Huang brought up the possibility of his identity.

"My master and the master of the Wei brothers were fellow disciples," Huang explained. "Though we trained in different places, my master often took me to visit his senior brother, where I would spar with the two young disciples. That is how I became so familiar with them."