Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 166 - 162: Endless Ingenious Transformations, Impossible to Guard Against.

Chapter 166: Chapter 162: Endless Ingenious Transformations, Impossible to Guard Against.

"Trying to run?"

Yang Zhenshan had not expected him to be so decisive, so unprincipled, to directly abandon his companions and choose to flee alone.

But Yang Zhenshan reacted quickly, and as Yi Shan leaped onto the rooftop, Yang’s figure shot out like a cannonball.

If Yi Shan’s leap was like a light breezy flutter of falling leaves, then Yang Zhenshan’s jump was much cruder, almost like he just hopped up there.

When he landed on the rooftop, he crushed many of the tiles underfoot. If the roof hadn’t been sturdy, it might have collapsed under him.

Regardless, Yang Zhenshan had caught up.

The spear flew with a piercing sound; thunderous noise filled the air, and a terrifying murderous intent instantly spread.

Yi Shan was formidable in strength, and as a Jianghu Martial Artist, he was adept at solo combat and very experienced in fighting enemies.

Just as Yang Zhenshan jumped onto the roof, Yi Shan, who was initially fleeing, abruptly halted and chose to turn around and counterattack.

A short sword extended from his sleeve, stabbing directly towards Yang Zhenshan’s abdomen.

This move made Yang Zhenshan’s heart tense up.

Indeed, one must not underestimate Jianghu Martial Artists.

As a Sixth Layer martial artist, Yi Shan was much more troublesome than Wu Chongzhe.

Wu Chongzhe cultivated techniques suited for big, open battlefield confrontations, while Yi Shan’s cultivation centered around vicious and cunning close-combat skills. There was a significant difference between the two.

Seeing the cold glint of the short sword about to pierce into his belly, Yang Zhenshan had no choice but to stomp hard, propelling himself up in a leap.

And with that stomp, he actually collapsed the rooftop.

With a loud crash, the thick roof beams snapped, and shattered tiles flew.

Yi Shan reacted quickly too; as Yang Zhenshan jumped up, he immediately withdrew and retreated.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes dead set on him; still in mid-air, his hand flicked.

The whooshing sound of ripping through air rose as numerous Copper Coins shot out.

In combating a Jianghu Martial Artist, one must not engage in close-quarters fighting. Yang Zhenshan was well aware of what his weaknesses were.

Not being proficient in movement technique and footwork, his strikes and techniques weren’t crafty enough. Once someone gets within three feet of him, he becomes restrained, unable to fully utilize his martial arts.

This was not only his weakness but also that of most military generals.

As for compensating for these shortcomings through cultivating movement and footwork, it was possible. However, every profession has its own expertise, and human energy is limited.

Spear Technique was Yang Zhenshan’s lifeline on the battlefield. He couldn’t abandon his focus to cultivate swordsmanship and footwork instead.

Of course, he had trained them, just not investing much energy and time.

Instead, Thousand Mechanism Hand was the technical cultivation technique he practiced most, aside from Spear Technique and Kui Niu Skill.

On the battlefield, Thousand Mechanism Hand could be applied to throwing his Short Spear; off the battlefield, it could be used to scatter Copper Coins.

Dozens of Copper Coins, enhanced by furious strength, posed a lethal threat even without being crafted into specialized darts.

Yi Shan, who had just barely retracted and retreated, saw the flying Copper Coins and his face drastically changed.

Dodging was no longer an option; the sheer number of coins and their spread left him nowhere to hide.

He managed to raise his sleeve to shield his face.

Then, a series of searing pains shot through his body.

Even one of his ribs seemed to have snapped.

The intense agony contorted his face into a grimace as he cursed, "Damn it!"

A military general who didn’t focus on cultivating battlefield killing techniques, but instead trained in such dishonorable hidden weapon arts.

Yi Shan cursed Yang Zhenshan furiously in his mind.

But Yang Zhenshan didn’t care about his curses. As he landed, stepping on the edge of the broken rooftop, he lunged with the spear, thrusting it out.

Yi Shan, helpless, could only roll away awkwardly.

But as he dodged, Yang Zhenshan flipped his left hand, revealing a Copper Coin, which he flicked with a twist of the wrist and a flick of his fingers.

The Copper Coin shot out like a bullet, hitting Yi Shan in the abdomen, the force causing him to involuntarily arch his body.

Cough, cough~~

The sharp pain almost left him breathless.

Thousand Mechanism Hand was unpredictable and indefensible.

Its greatest feature was its variability of hand techniques; anything from a Short Spear to an embroidery needle could be employed skillfully.

Of course, that required long-term practice, and Yang Zhenshan had only just begun to master the Thousand Mechanism Hand. He was far from reaching its pinnacle.

But Yang Zhenshan had one huge advantage – his strength far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Even a mere flick of his fingers contained formidable power.

Perhaps for others, using this technique would be as harmless as throwing a pebble, but for Yang Zhenshan, it was not quite on par with a bullet but likely comparable to an arrow.

Strike when the enemy is sick, take their life.

As Yi Shan coped with the sharp pain in his abdomen, Yang Zhenshan delivered his spear with his right hand.

The spear tip, gleaming with a snowy white chill, stopped just before Yi Shan’s throat.

"You’ve lost!"

Yi Shan lay on the shattered tiles, his body rigid as he gazed up at Yang Zhenshan.

"I was careless!" he said darkly.

Indeed, he had been careless. He hadn’t expected Yang Zhenshan to be so strong; as a garrison officer with Postnatal Sixth Layer strength, he was already not weak, but Yang Zhenshan’s strength was clearly more than that.

Nor had he anticipated that Yang Zhenshan would possess such a concealed weapon technique as the Thousand Mechanism Hand. Just now, he thought even if he couldn’t defeat Yang Zhenshan, escaping would still be no problem.

However, the technique of the Thousand Mechanism Hand precisely countered him.

Making him unable to defend effectively or escape at all.

It must be said, Yang Zhenshan’s Thousand Mechanism Hand was an excellent underhanded tactic.

""""It was you who rescued Yu Qingyi!" Yi Shan suddenly remembered the incident where Hou Jun was ambushed by Yu Qingyi.

"Correct!"

Yang Zhenshan nodded, and at the same time, the long spear in his hand shook, and its tip struck Yi Shan’s right arm.

Crack!

His arm broke, and Yi Shan let out a piercing scream, as a short sword slipped out of his sleeve.

This guy is truly devious, still thinking of sneak-attacking Yang Zhenshan even at this time.

Disregarding his screams, Yang Zhenshan shook his long spear again, striking Yi Shan’s left arm.

Another crack, followed by another scream.

To deal with martial artists, ordinary methods won’t do; it’s not enough to just capture and shackle them. One must disable their arms to be sure.

Either dislocating them or directly breaking them, with breaking them being the safer option, because some martial artists could still reattach their dislocated arms.

With both arms broken, Yi Shan’s face turned deathly pale, and sweat poured down his forehead.

Only then did Yang Zhenshan retract his long spear, picking up Yi Shan as if he were lifting a sack of hemp.

Below them, Ding Qiu was already engaged in combat with Hou Jun, and a group of personal followers were mixed in a melee with the people of Black Cliff Village.

The people from Black Cliff Village were all martial artists, not many in number, just six, yet each was skilled.

In comparison, Yang Zhenshan’s personal followers were somewhat weaker; they had just become martial artists not long ago, with the highest cultivation level being merely the Bone Shifting Level.

However, Jianghu martial artists excel in individual combat, while military soldiers are good at cooperative group tactics.

Working in units of five, coordinating with each other, both offensive and defensive moves well planned, they were effectively suppressing the six people from Black Cliff Village.

It was, however, somewhat difficult for Ding Qiu and Ding Si to deal with Hou Jun in tandem.

But that was to be expected, as Ding Qiu was merely at the Postnatal Fourth Layer, while Ding Si’s cultivation was even lower, just at the Postnatal Third Layer.

In contrast, Hou Jun not only possessed the cultivation of the Postnatal Fifth Layer but also had exceptional strength. His short dagger moved mysteriously, making him nearly impossible to defend against.

Seeing this, a copper coin mysteriously appeared between Yang Zhenshan’s fingers.

Others might find carrying copper coins troublesome, but not Yang Zhenshan.

The copper coin, stored in the Spiritual Spring Space, would appear in his hand with just a thought.

The copper coin shot out, and the unsuspecting Hou Jun felt a pain in the back of his neck, his vision darkening, and he plunged to the ground.

By the time he opened his eyes again, Ding Qiu’s long sword had already reached the front of his throat.

Hou Jun closed his eyes unwillingly, allowing Ding Qiu to remove his arms.

Ding Si looked at the copper coin on the ground with astonishment; Yang Zhenshan’s move was unexpected.

And as Secret Martial Guards, some among them were adept at using hidden weapons too, but very few could incapacitate a Postnatal Fifth Layer martial artist in an instant with just a copper coin like Yang Zhenshan did.

Ding Si felt it was necessary to reassess Yang Zhenshan’s combat ability.

Indeed, to reassess Yang Zhenshan’s combat ability.

As the Secret Martial Guards surveilled all civil and military officials, Yang Zhenshan was naturally within their scope.

In fact, most officials in Da Rong had files with the Secret Martial Guards, Yang Zhenshan included.

And prior to this, Wei Cen had already modified Yang Zhenshan’s file, but now Ding Si thought that information ought to be updated again.

Yang Zhenshan holding his spear in one hand and lifting Yi Shan with the other, leaped down from the rooftop.

Several people from Black Cliff Village were still struggling, but Yang Zhenshan stepped forward and one by one, smacked them down with his spear.

Time was of the essence, and he had no time to entangle with these folks.

"First, take them back to the large prison at the Prefectural Government office!"

Yang Zhenshan instructed.

There were too many captives this time, and the garrison office’s prison definitely couldn’t accommodate them all, but squeezing them into the Prefectural Government office’s prison should just about work.

Separate detentions would require separate guards, which not only needed more manpower but were also very inconvenient, so it was better to imprison them all together at the Prefectural Government office.

...

By the time Yang Zhenshan returned with Yi Shan and the others to the Prefectural Government office, a large number of soldiers had also brought over a mass of prisoners.

At that moment, An Yuan State City was in total panic; aside from the fully armed soldiers, almost no one else could be seen on the streets.

"Sir!"

Han Cheng, seeing Yang Zhenshan, ran over anxiously.

"Mm, it’s nothing; I was cooperating with the Secret Martial Guards!" Yang Zhenshan briefly explained.

He understood what Han Cheng was anxious about.

As a subordinate, Han Cheng had to follow Yang Zhenshan’s orders, but Yang Zhenshan’s actions were so significant this time, and Han Cheng was not privy to the specifics, so it was inevitable that he would feel uneasy, just like Wang Sheng before.

Compared to Han Cheng, Song Dashan would not think too much; whatever Yang Zhenshan asked him to do, he would do without care or concern for anything else.

That was normal, as Song Dashan was Yang Zhenshan’s absolute confidant, while Han Cheng was just a trusted subordinate and definitely not a confidant.

Hearing it was in cooperation with the Secret Martial Guards, Han Cheng was completely reassured.

As Yang Zhenshan walked into the Prefectural Government office, he asked, "How is the situation at the city gates?"

"I have closed the city gates and left a troop of soldiers to guard each one!" Han Cheng replied.

Yang Zhenshan nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Send someone to find Xie Yuan, and have him bring five hundred soldiers into the city to take charge of the city defense tonight!"

Their actions were very rapid, but who knew whether there were still some that slipped through the net inside the city, and given the current situation, it was easy for unrest to occur within An Yuan State City.

To be fully prepared just in case, Yang Zhenshan had to make comprehensive arrangements.

But there were only a thousand soldiers in the garrison camp – they had to guard the city gates, patrol the city walls, keep an eye on prisoners, and maintain order within the city, so manpower was definitely insufficient.

Calling troops from the garrisons was a necessity.

Fortunately, Wei Cen only requested a lockdown for three days, which wouldn’t affect the spring plowing of the garrisons.

"Yes, sir!" Han Cheng responded and respectfully took his leave.