Chapter Eleven: The Master

  "Shut up!"

  "Preposterous!"

  Li Changguo's words had just fallen when a burst of shouting and scolding erupted.

  Gao Xianzhi was diligent in practicing martial arts from a young age, skilled in archery and horseback riding, with extremely high martial arts skills and considerable strength. The six-stone hard bow he used was the most powerful hard bow in the Tang army, and there were no bows harder than the six-stone hard bow.

  If it's about drawing a six-stone hard bow, there are many brave warriors in the Tang army who can do it. If you want to destroy a six-stone hard bow, it's almost impossible, even Gao Xianzhi, with his exceptional martial arts skills, couldn't do it. Li Changguo's words sounded like boasting to everyone, or rather, boastful to the point of being boundless.

  Li Changguo spoke in this way, and there was a reason for it.

  In the army, only the strong are respected, not the weak. The stronger you are, the more respect you will get. So Li Changguo decided to show off his strength, make a high-profile appearance and establish his special status in Gao Xianzhi's mind, then he can lead the troops to attack Xiao Bolu.

  "Ah!" Gao Xianzhi was taken aback, staring at Li Changguo in surprise: "If you really have such abilities, I naturally won't blame you! Not only will I not blame you, but I'll even reward you handsomely! Do you have such abilities?"

  Gao Xianzhi's vision was very high, and ordinary people found it difficult to enter his eyes. In his opinion, Li Changguo had some martial arts skills, but as for whether he could damage his precious bow, he really didn't believe it, the last sentence full of contempt.

  Li Changguo didn't say a word, just smiled, and a captivating smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, as intoxicating as spring breeze.

  Li Changguo exerted his strength and the hard bow in his hand suddenly turned into a crescent moon.

  "Good!"

  The bow opens with a full moon, this strength is not small, everyone is a connoisseur, loudly praising.

  Gao Xianzhi's eyes shone brightly as he nodded his head heavily, extremely admiring.

  "Squeak!"

  Li Changguo's arms did not stop, and he continued to pull back, his bow arm letting out a groan of unbearable weight, as the bow quickly became a straight line.

  "Stop!"

  Gao Xianzhi's eyes flashed with a hint of horror, and he shouted loudly, taking a step forward. He was heartbroken for his precious bow. This bow had been with him for decades, and it felt extremely comfortable to use. If Li Changguo were to break it, it would be no different from losing his left arm or right wing.

  "Ah!"

  The crowd let out a burst of exclamations, and everyone's eyes were filled with shock.

  Bian Lingcheng also covered his mouth with his hand, otherwise, the O-shaped mouth would be revealed to everyone.

  Li Changguo said that the treasure bow would be damaged, and everyone didn't believe it at all, thinking he was boasting and speaking wildly. Who could have imagined that what Li Changguo said was a fact, and the fact proved by Gao Xianzhi's treasure bow was even more astonishing!

  Gao Xianzhi is the soul of Anxi Duhu Fu, his weapon is extremely precious, who dares to use his weapon to prove such a thing? Even Duan Xiushi and Bian Licheng are not allowed!

  It just so happened that Li Changguo became a reality, and everyone was shocked, stunned, and terrified!

  Just as Bao Gong was about to become a one-word shape, Li Changguo stopped and slowly relaxed, and the treasure bow gradually changed into a crescent moon and then back to its original shape.

  "Ah!"

  Gao Xianzhi's hanging heart finally put down, and he looked at Li Changguo with admiration. He saw that Li Changguo's face was not red, his breath was not short, as if nothing had happened.

  His appreciation was not just because Li Changguo had great strength, able to pull his precious bow into a straight line, such divine power was something he couldn't do himself, and he couldn't help but admire him. More importantly, Li Changguo knew when to stop, and hadn't pulled the bow to its limits, instead choosing to yield and give him face.

  With Li Changguo's strength, he could completely break the precious bow, and if that happened, Li Changguo would be impressive, but it would make Gao Xianzhi lose face.

  Li Changguo did this, which is the best way to handle it. He established his authority while also saving Gao Xianzhi's face, a win-win situation. Gao Xianzhi's appreciation for Li Changguo suddenly increased, and he nodded in satisfaction.

  "Good! Good! Good!"

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The crowd cheered loudly and applauded vigorously, a crisp round of applause ringing out exceptionally clear.

  "Fortune does not betray one's will!"

  Li Changguo held the precious bow with both hands, took a step forward and presented it to Gao Xianzhi.

  Gao Xianzhi first patted Li Changguo's shoulder and laughed, saying: "You're great! Good kid!" His words were extremely warm and affectionate, sizing up Li Changguo, who looked pleasing to the eye no matter how he was looked at.

  He held a high position and great power, was the soul of the Anxi Protectorate, had extremely high standards, how many people could gain his lavish praise? Even Duan Xiushi didn't have this honor, everyone looked on with envy, hated that they couldn't replace Li Changgui.

  Then, Gao Xianzhi took the precious bow, holding it in his left hand and stroking the bow arm with his right hand, with a loving expression on his face, as if he was caressing the smooth skin of his lover, reluctant to let go.

  This bow has followed him for decades, following him in battles in the Western Regions. He established such great merit, this precious bow's contributions cannot be ignored!

  After carefully sizing him up for a while, without finding any injuries, Gao Xianzhi finally let out a sigh of relief, put the precious bow on his back, and then smiled at Li Changguo: "Good kid! I, Gao Xianzhi, have been through dozens of battles in my lifetime, and I don't know how many times I've risked my life, but none of them made me as frightened as your shot just now!"

  "Haha!"

  This was a funny remark and an endearing phrase. Gao Xianzhi highly appreciated Li Changguo, and everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

  "You've done a great job defending the fortress! This achievement will be recorded in the military merit book, and you'll be rewarded accordingly!" Gao Xianzhi no longer had any doubts.

  "Thank you, Vice Commander!" Li Changguo and Kang De said in unison.

  Kant was overjoyed and excited, his voice even trembling slightly.

  "Li Changguo, with your exceptional martial arts skills, you can't let them go to waste. Be my personal guard!" Gao Xianzhi's face was filled with a warm smile, extremely kind and full of anticipation.

  Being the personal guard of Gao Xianzhi is a great honor, I don't know how many people have sharpened their brains to think about it. As soon as his words fell, Duan Xiushi's face was shocked, and Bian Cheng's face was stunned, somewhat disbelieving his own ears.

  Kang De's eyes turned red and congested, he wished he could switch places with Li Changguo. As long as he could become Gao Xianzhi's attendant, it would be worth dying for him.

  Just as Gao Xianzhi was expecting it, Li Changguo declined: "Thank you, Vice General, I would rather be a soldier who charges forward."

  "What? Refused?"

  Everyone seemed to have been struck by lightning, each one was stunned and didn't react for a long time.

  According to Gao Xianzhi's expectation, Li Changguo would definitely be overjoyed and agree immediately. However, he did not expect that Li Changguo would actually refuse him. This was the first time in his life that someone was unwilling to be his personal guard. His mouth was agape for half a day, but he couldn't utter a single word, simply staring at Li Changguo in a daze.

  "Li Changguo, do you know what an honor it is to be a personal guard of the Vice Commander-in-Chief?" Bian Lingcheng's face turned stern, and he said in a deep voice: "Feng Changqing was so eager to become a personal guard of the Vice Commander-in-Chief that he pestered him until he had no choice but to accept him. And you, on the other hand, refused outright. Do you know what you're doing?"

  Feng Changqing was a famous general of the Tang Dynasty. His appearance was extremely unpleasant, making it difficult for people to have a good impression of him. When he saw Gao Xianzhi's attendants dressed in fine clothes and riding angry horses, he was deeply impressed and made up his mind to become one of Gao Xianzhi's attendants. However, Gao Xianzhi refused. Feng Changqing then lingered at Gao Xianzhi's gate, refusing to leave, until Gao Xianzhi had no choice but to accept him.

  "Thanks for the reminder!" Li Changguo remained calm and composed, saying: "Being a deputy commander's personal guard is a great honor, but I'd rather fight to the death with the small Borjigin tribe!"

  Gao Xianzhi arrived at Shule, and his campaign against Small Bolu was about to begin. This was a great opportunity for him to establish his merit, and Li Changguo would not miss it. If he became Gao Xianzhi's personal guard, it seemed quite honorable, but he would lose the chance to establish his own merit.

  Gao Xianzhi's personal guards were mainly responsible for guarding Gao Xianzhi's safety, conveying military orders, and rarely took part in battles. If they really served as personal guards, the honor would be theirs, but they would lose the opportunity to accumulate military achievements, which went against Li Changgui's original intention.

  For this expedition, Li Changguo was determined to participate no matter what, a good opportunity is hard to come by!

  "Alright! You take charge of the vanguard and listen for orders at the military headquarters!" Gao Xianzhi came back to his senses after a long while.

  "Thanks for your protection!" Li Changguo expressed his gratitude.

  Gao Xianzhi wanted to discuss military strategy, Li Changguo and Kang De came out of the military headquarters, only to see a robust man with a height of eight feet walking towards them in big strides, his body full of bulging muscles like iron thorns, with an endless supply of strength.

  "Hmm!"

  Li Changguo was greatly surprised, staring at this big man, with a sharp light bursting in his eyes. This is an expert!

  At the same time, a big man's eyes sparkled with light, his pair of eyes shining brightly like the fierce sun in the ninth heaven, staring at Li Changguo.

  Two people staring at each other, like two leopards meeting, neither giving way to the other!