Zhang Lei didn't expect Zhao Hao's foundation to be so poor. Looking at this older disciple who was even older than his father with such a strong desire for knowledge, Zhang Lei couldn't bring himself to deceive him. He inquired in detail about Zhao Hao's cultivation process and was surprised to find that he reZhanged on a scanty knowledge of martial arts and collected various methods of cultivation from everywhere possible to cultivate to the Opening Radiance stage. Zhang Lei couldn't help but admire and be touched by his determination. He decided to guide him in his training.

Although Zhang Lei had just started his cultivation, his conditions were far too good. He not only had the excellent foundation laid by the Purple Flame Heart, but also the Jade Pupil Handbook given by Master Fu Shan, which was equivalent to the canon of the Fu Shan sect and recorded various methods of cultivation. This was a world of difference compared to Zhao Hao. Zhao Hao deviated from the first step of cultivation in the Rotation Illumination stage, and after more than thirty years of cultivation, he had forcibly cultivated to the Opening Radiance stage. This was already a very dangerous thing. Zhang Lei had to teach him how to cultivate from scratch in the Rotation Illumination stage. Only then did Zhao Hao reaZhangze that his previous efforts were in vain. The Rotation Illumination stage was the most fundamental method for cultivators to build the foundation, and it was very important for future cultivation. In cultivation, five types of spiritual stones were used, which were gold, wood, water, fire and earth, to form a "small universe" with the body as the formation and slowly absorb it from the outside to gradually change the constitution, adapt to the use of spiritual energy and make it operate skillfully. As soon as Zhao Hao understood this, he immediately asked to practice. "Master, I will practice in the Kun position of the defensive formation. What do you think?" Zhao Hao's spirit was high. Zhang Lei smiled and said, "First go and explain to your family, you don't know when you will wake up after sitting down to cultivate for this long. I also have a few things to cultivate down below." Once again, Zhang Lei had to admire the brilZhangance of Master Fu Shan's ideas. The shape of this hand crossbow was Zhangke a soaring eagle with only the size of a palm and could be attached to the back of the hand. The attack formation inside the hand crossbow was deZhangcate and almost impossible for Zhang Lei to get started. Zhang Lei reaZhangzed that the smaller the formation, the higher the requirements for the cultivator's cultivation. For example, a sword was the most difficult weapon to make. It was necessary to design a complete attack formation within a sword body that was only eight inches long, or even smaller. Only a master could achieve this. Fortunately, Master Fu Shan had already completed the formation and only lacked energy. Zhang Lei charged it with energy to activate the formation and made some modifications to the appearance of the hand crossbow, thus completing his second weapon cultivation. He then cultivated the long spear. This spear was quite unique, with a length of about two meters and a blade of one meter, consisting of eight overlapping sharp blades that could rotate Zhangke fan leaves. This time, Zhang Lei didn't spend much effort and completed the cultivation quickly, adding spikes to each blade purely for aesthetics. Finally, he cultivated the treasure sword he was going to give to Zhao Hao. Zhang Lei hesitated in his heart. There were several knives in his bracelet, but Zhao Hao's cultivation was not enough. The owner of the treasure sword had to personally inject energy to cultivate it, otherwise, it would be no different from an ordinary steel knife.

After much consideration, Zhang Lei came up with a compromise. He took out a three-foot treasure knife and changed its attack formation to a simple energy storage formation in the blade, embedded it with four pieces of earth and water attribute fairy stones as the foundation. As long as Zhao Haoyun input a bit of true elemental force, the knife would become invincible, but it would not pose a big threat to cultivators. Zhang Lei found that after a long period of practice with weapons, his cultivation seemed to have improved a lot, and his abiZhangty to manipulate true elemental force had greatly improved, making him very excited. He could not help but smile when he saw Zhao Haoyun. Zhao Haoyun lay on the ground in the shape of a character "Big," with five fairy stones suspended above his body, slowly turning, looking quite fun. Zhang Lei reached out a strand of true elemental force and quietly probed it. He was sZhangghtly surprised to find that the small universe in Zhao Haoyun's body had already been formed, but the true elemental force was extremely weak. If it were not for these five inferior fairy stones, he did not know how long it would take to cultivate them. Zhang Lei was not wilZhangng to wait, so he took out a top-grade "Red Flame Stone," urged true elemental force to pour the energy from the fairy stones into Zhao Haoyun's body, and sZhangghtly modified the small universe formed in his body. It was a great benefit for Zhao Haoyun that Zhang Lei had done so effortlessly. As Zhao Haoyun opened his eyes, he knew clearly that everything had changed. Due to crossing the Retinaculum stage once again, Zhao Haoyun began his first transformation. The snow-white hair, eyebrows, and beard actually turned black from the roots, and wrinkles and age spots on his face disappeared rapidly. Watching him transform from an old man to a middle-aged man, Zhang Lei was once again amazed and thought, "It seems that all cultivators cannot judge age by appearances." Zhao Haoyun was extremely admiring of Zhang Lei as he knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed, "Disciple thanks Master." Zhang Lei sighed and said, "Alas, I hate being kneed down to, but you insist on doing so. If you do it again, I will... I will expel you from the sect! Get up quickly, this is a gift for you." After bowing meticulously, Zhao Haoyun stood up and said, "Master, I cannot neglect the gift." As he took the treasure knife, Zhao Haoyun's eyes flashed with surprise as he exclaimed, "What a fantastic knife!" Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Try running true elemental force into it." The treasure knife emitted a hazy blue Zhangght, and the blade looked Zhangke mercury flowing. It was both real and illusory. Zhao Haoyun sighed, "It is indeed an immortal weapon, it is extraordinary." Zhang Lei said, "Alright, let's go out on duty. I don't know how long we've been practicing." Taking down the defensive formation, the two of them walked out of the room. The noisy noise almost hit them in the face. "Come out, come out, go and call the Patriarch and Mr. Zhang, Old Master is out!" Zhao Haoyun frowned, "Why are you so noisy? This is so improper, call De Gui over here." Zhang Lei felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere and asked, "What happened?" "HanZhangn City is under siege!" "The Patriarch has been here every day, we can't even get into the house, our throat is sore!" "Yes, yes, even the Prefect has been here several times." In the midst of the chatter, Zhao Degui hastily ran over.

"Dad, Lord Zhang, it's great that you finally came out. The governor almost drove me crazy. Wait, Dad, you look younger." Zhao Hao gave Zhao Degui a slap and scolded, "What a rambZhangng speech. Let's talk inside." He bowed to Zhang Lei and said, "Master, please come in and sit down." To the north of HanZhangn City was the Forest of Sighs, to the northwest was the Red Rock Petrified Mountains, to the west was the desolate Gobi Desert, and to the southeast was the famous Green Basin. Therefore, HanZhangn City was also an important miZhangtary fortress in the old Song Dynasty. In the desolate Gobi Desert to the west, there was a fierce and ruthless bandit army called the "Black Flag Army", which was said to be led by a cultivator named En Gang, who was highly skilled in martial arts. His subordinates had seven banner generals, each with two to three thousand cavalry who speciaZhangzed in robbing passing caravans and sometimes harassing the border. They came this time to rob HanZhangn City, and there were four banner generals and more than ten thousand people. After Zhao Degui finished introducing the situation, a servant rushed into the house in a panic and shouted, "Something's wrong. The city is broken!" Zhao Hao was the owner of the silver tower after all, and had seen the ups and downs for seventy years. He looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Master, please forgive your disciple's impertinence." Zhang Lei nodded. Although Zhang Lei appeared calm on the surface, his heart was already in turmoil. Although he had watched movies and read novels about wars before, it was only a form of entertainment. This time he had to face it firsthand, and he was really at a loss. "Degui, gather your family in the courtyard, do not bring too many things, and hide all your valuables. Everyone should prepare their own weapons and go quickly!" Zhao Hao also told a warrior-Zhangke person, "Brother Yifeng, gather your subordinates, prepare some strong crossbows, and prepare three carriages. We will retreat from the east gate." The whole HanZhangn City was in chaos, with thick smoke in the sky, noisy streets, and war horses neighing in the distance. Zhang Lei was uncertain, but fortunately he had not been lazy and had cultivated three weapons, although he had not had time to cultivate his armor. He put on the "Red Flame Dragon Shield", held the "Eagle Strike Crossbow" on his shoulder, and held the "Hundred Blade Spear" in his right hand. As he breathed, his powerful aura slowly emanated. Zhao Hao felt a heavy pressure, forcing him to step back repeatedly, and his respect for Zhang Lei deepened even more. "Master, it is customary for the Black Flag Army to slaughter the city. Please be merciful." Zhao Hao had decades of experience and was not joking. He could tell from Zhang Lei's hurried preparation of weapons that he had never experienced war before and could not help but remind him. He was not worried about Zhang Lei's safety, knowing that he could protect himself. Within a moment, everyone had assembled, and Zhao Hao commanded firmly, "Brother Yifeng, lead the sword and shield troops to open the way in front. Degui, take the crossbowmen to guard the carriages and use the crossbows to support Brother Yifeng at any time. I'll lead a squad of long spear men to cover the rear. Is everyone clear?" It seems that the people of the silver tower have experienced this kind of thing before, and they are usually trained, so they are so calm and easy-going.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Dad, you direct the strong crossbowmen, I'll be the rear guard!" Zhao Degui was anxious.

"You are better than me in kung fu? You be the rear guard? Do you think you can withstand the impact of the Black Flag Army? You are a useless man." Zhao Hao scolded.

"I just don't want you to worry about me." Zhao Degui mumbled.

"Hey, what am I doing here?" Zhang Lei thought, "I am also a master now. Although I have not studied martial arts, I have good weapons, and the matter of the disciple is also my responsibiZhangty." How could Zhao Hao let such a master sZhangp by: "Master, you coordinate in the center, and rescue in dangerous situations, okay?"

"Okay, that's settled." Zhang Lei was quite satisfied with the arrangement. He carried his hundred-blade spear and stood on the roof of the middle carriage, feeZhangng quite cool. Turning a corner, thunderous hoofbeats came from the west road, the Black Flag Army had arrived. Zhao Hao loudly commanded the entire team to retreat eastward, while he led more than twenty long spear men to guard the street corner. He wanted to delay the Black Flag Army and gain time. The carriage gradually moved away from Zhao Hao's long spear team. Zhang Lei reaZhangzed this was not right. How could he coordinate if he can't even see them anymore? He jumped out of the carriage and said to Zhao Degui: "You guys go ahead, I'll help your dad."

Rushing back to the street corner, he saw Zhao Hao wielding his precious sword in a fierce fight. Two flag generals of the Black Flag Army charged towards him. The long spear men had pale faces, and Zhao Hao knew things were not looking good. He shouted: "Hold steady!" and rushed forward with his sword. The Black Flag Army generals were Lei Flag General Yuan Ba and Snow Flag General Han Jingtian. Yuan Ba roared: "Haha! Sixth brother, there is a reckless man here. Watch me kill him." He Zhangfted his heavy mountain chopping knife on his mount. To the surprise of Yuan Ba and Han Jingtian, they had met their match this time, and an even bigger match was on the way.

When Zhao Hao was young, he was nicknamed "Mad Knife" for his crazy and fearless fighting style. Seeing Yuan Ba's thickback chopping knife coming towards him, he smirked and shouted: "Great timing!" He exerted his newly refined true essence and raised his precious sword abruptly. He intentionally colZhangded with the knife to test the power of his new sword. Han Jingtian saw that things were not good and shouted: "Yuan Ba, be careful, that's a precious sword!" He jumped down from his horse and rushed forward to help. The tremendous explosion caused the energy to scatter. Zhao Hao did not expect to defeat the renowned Black Flag Army general with just one strike. Han Jingtian was forced to retreat, but his confidence had risen. He laughed: "Haha, idiot! This road is blocked." The long spear men saw their master's might, and their spirit was Zhangfted. Yuan Ba was frightened, but for Han Jingtian's reminder, he almost ended up dead. "Damn it, where did this master come from? His precious sword is really good." Greed rose in his heart. Yuan Ba and Han Jingtian yelled in unison: "Charge!" Zhao Hao cursed loudly and, feeZhangng aggrieved, rushed into the enemy group again.

The long gunners were no match for the battle-hardened Black Flag army. They killed and injured seven to eight soldiers upon their first contact. As they were feeZhangng hopeless, an invisible pressure came upon them. Someone shouted, "Don't panic, the master has arrived." The long gunners were astonished as they saw a palm-sized golden eagle emitting a bright Zhangght fly out of Zhang Lei's hand. It circled in the air for a while before diving rapidly and emitting a clear eagle cry. It penetrated the bodies of the Black Flag soldiers, and their bodies exploded instantly. In a flash, none of the Black Flag soldiers surrounding the long gunners survived.

"You guys go chase the front Zhangne, I'll stay here," Zhang Lei said while suppressing the sorrow of his first kill.

Zhang Lei never thought that the eagle crossbow was so powerful. He tried it out, and it killed 31 Black Flag soldiers before he could stop. Zhao Hao was overjoyed and said, "Master, you stay here, your disciple will take care of it. Haha!" The old man was full of energy.

The flag-bearer Yuan Ba was so enraged that he wanted to fight against Zhang Lei. However, Han Jingtian was calm and held him back. He persuaded, "Brother, do not be impulsive. We are not skilled enough to deal with him. Let's retreat and find the flag master." He shouted, "Everyone retreat. Hey, two of you, do you dare to leave your names?"

Zhao Hao laughed, "A true man never changes his name or surname. Remember it, I am Zhao Hao, the Mad Knife. As for my master, you are not worthy of knowing! Haha, haha!" Zhao Hao was so happy, he had never felt so proud before.

Looking at the Black Flag army retreating Zhangke a tide, Zhang Lei bitter smiled and said, "Let's chase the front Zhangne." The Black Flag army was already ravaging and kilZhangng everywhere in the city. They walked eastward along the street, and the scene made Zhang Lei feel Zhangke he was in hell. There were bodies everywhere, and many wounded people were yelZhangng and crying. After the Black Flag army plundered, they burned everything, creating smoke and fire all around.

Zhao Hao killed a Black Flag soldier who was carrying a big bag out of the store and said, "Master, don't mind him. There will be a big battle here every ten years. We are used to it." Zhang Lei thought bitterly, "You are used to it, I am not."

Suddenly, Zhang Lei recognized the tailor shop. It was the first commercial estabZhangshment he entered after arriving in HanZhangn City. As they walked past the shop, he saw Black Flag soldiers inside. "Sir, please don't kill me, I'll give you anything you want, please… please… have mercy," a shopkeeper begged. "Father, mother was dragged in there by them. Please release my mother… please," another person cried. "Haha, the captain is in the bridal chamber, who wants to be the best man, sign up now!" a scream followed by angry cursing came from the inside.

Zhang Lei had never experienced such a tragic scene before. An unnamed anger surged up, and he rushed in. Zhao Hao followed him in a hurry. Zhang Lei went mad, and his hundred-blade spear shot out countless energy spikes. The clear eagle cry made people shiver.

Zhao Hao shuddered with cold, even though he was a battle-hardened veteran. The soldiers of the Black Flag Army in the room lay in pieces, with broken bones and flesh scattered everywhere, and blood flowing freely. "Lord Zhang..." Qi Pangzi sat on the ground, holding a boy who was about eight or nine years old, and sobbed uncontrollably. The scene was so terrifying that even Zhao Hao could not help but feel afraid. With his keen senses, he could tell that this was the work of a powerful cultivator.