Chapter 172: Twelve Golden Men

Zu An recalled a legend: After Qin Shi Huang unified the realm, he collected all the weapons from across the land, gathered them in Xianyang, and melted them down to cast twelve colossal bronze figures, each weighing a thousand *shi*, which he then placed in the imperial palace.

In ancient China, the terms for "gold" and "bronze" were often used interchangeably, so these "golden figures" were, in fact, bronze. Additionally, "a thousand *shi*" was undoubtedly a figurative number; these figures before them must have weighed at least several tens of tons.

"Watch out!" Qiao Xueying cried, seeing the giant bronze figures charging towards them. Zu An was still in a daze, so she quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the way.

With a loud bang, the spot where the two had just stood was stomped by the leading bronze figure, sending stone fragments scattering. When it lifted its foot, a massive imprint was left on the ground. Had they been crushed, no matter if they were a third-rank or fifth-rank practitioner, they would surely be a bloody mess by now.

"You owe me another life," Qiao Xueying scoffed, looking at Zu An.

"That doesn't count," Zu An retorted. "I would've dodged it even if you hadn't pulled me."

"You really are shameless!" Qiao Xueying couldn't help but curse.

However, other bronze figures were already charging, leaving her no time to say anything more. The two had to dodge separately.

These bronze figures shimmered with golden light. Their narrow eyes held an inexplicable majesty, and strange patterns adorned the center of their foreheads, as if displaying the numbers one to twelve.

Zu An wondered if these bronze figures were perhaps named Bronze Man One, Bronze Man Two... up to Bronze Man Twelve.

It was just like those guys from the Plum Blossom Gang.

As he pondered, he swiftly dashed behind the nearest bronze figure. Their immense size made them less agile when turning or maneuvering.

Against the bronze figure's nearly twenty-meter height, Zu An's figure appeared tiny, yet he showed no fear. Channeling all his elemental energy, he kicked forcefully at its ankle.

Since these bronze figures maintained a human form and were so massive, their ankles had to be their weakness.

With a full-force strike, he thought, even if he couldn't break its leg, he could at least twist its ankle. Then, unable to support its immense weight, it would collapse and pose no further threat.

But while his idea was grand, reality was stark.

His full-force kick felt like striking a massive granite boulder. The bronze figure didn't budge an inch, and not even a scratch appeared on its ankle. But the backlash sent excruciating pain through his foot, as if the bone was about to shatter.

At that moment, he recalled a joke he had heard in his previous life: An ant saw an elephant on the road. The ant burrowed into the ground, leaving only one leg exposed. A curious rabbit asked, "Why are you leaving your leg out?" The ant whispered, "Shhh! Don't make a sound. I'm going to trip that damn elephant!"

Zu An now felt like that overconfident ant, foolishly believing he could trip this colossal bronze figure with his foot.

The giant bronze figure was evidently provoked by his action, raising its foot to kick him.

Zu An sprang off his toes, hastily dodging to the side. Suddenly, a gust of wind whistled behind his head. He quickly activated his "Sunflower Mirage" technique, shifting several meters sideways through the air.

A grating metallic screech rang out as another bronze figure swung a several-meter-long greatsword, cleaving the spot where Zu An had just been. The blade ground against the stone slabs of the floor, sending out dazzling sparks.

Zu An swallowed hard. He had initially noticed longswords hanging from their waists, which looked purely decorative, but he never expected them to actually be drawn.

It was called a sword, but its blade was considerably wider than his body, making it seem more like they were wielding a giant door.

"What do we do? These bronze figures are indestructible! My sword broke," Qiao Xueying said, having dodged several other bronze figures. She came up behind him, and they stood back-to-back, her chest heaving as she panted. It was clear she had also faced grave danger.

Zu An noticed the broken half of a sword in her hand and said in a deep voice, "I refuse to believe they're truly indestructible!"

With that, he summoned his Doom Dagger, his figure becoming a blur as he charged towards the bronze figures.

If fists and feet couldn't hurt them, and ordinary blades couldn't, he refused to believe even his Doom Dagger couldn't!

Although these bronze figures didn't appear to be living beings, rendering the Doom Dagger's special ability likely useless, the dagger also possessed the power to cut through metal like butter. Breaking through their defenses should be no problem.

In Qiao Xueying's sight, it seemed as if several Zu Ans appeared simultaneously. She knew it was due to his incredible speed and unique movement technique creating this optical illusion, and she couldn't help but secretly marvel. No wonder this guy, despite being only a third-rank practitioner, couldn't be killed by so many of them before.

Zu An unleashed his "Evil-Slaying Sword Art" to its fullest. Each time his figure flickered, he appeared at a bronze figure's foot. The dagger struck like lightning, forcefully severing a large piece of "flesh" from the bronze figure's heel.

He was truly determined to defeat these creatures; he refused to believe he couldn't take them down!

Aow~

The bronze figures howled, startling Qiao Xueying nearby. Did these creatures possess a sense of pain?

One by one, the bronze figures relentlessly swung their greatswords at Zu An. Although their movements were slow, their blades were massive, and their limbs were long. When they attacked together, it was truly like a fierce storm. Even with Zu An's elusive movement technique, he was nearly struck by a sword.

Furthermore, these bronze figures occasionally used both their hands and feet, chasing and attacking Zu An as if swatting a fly. The resulting air currents and ground-shaking impacts made his breathing turbulent.

Zu An, however, ignored these distractions and stared in surprise at the twelve bronze figures. He had clearly just succeeded in severing large pieces of "flesh" from their Achilles tendons, yet why did these figures seem completely unharmed?

"Look! Their wounds are regenerating!" Qiao Xueying, sharp-eyed, shouted, pointing at the bronze figures' feet.

Zu An's eyes narrowed. He watched as the wounds on their feet healed at a visible rate. The pieces of bronze he had cut off, which had fallen to the ground, melted into the earth and vanished, and the missing parts on the corresponding bronze figures' feet quickly restored themselves.

"It seems they can regenerate automatically in this environment," Qiao Xueying said, her face pale. These bronze figures might not be agile, but their attack power was immense, and they were seemingly immortal. How could they possibly fight them then?

The crucial point was that the Young Mistress couldn't wait. If they delayed too long, Zhang Han would return!

"I've heard fire counters metal. Do you know any fire-element cultivation techniques?" Zu An quickly asked.

Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. "Don't you know I cultivate wood-element techniques? If I used fire, I'd probably burn myself first."

Zu An said with disdain, "Useless! Not to mention how protagonists in novels are all masters of every element; even some villainous stepping stones often cultivate two elements. You're not even as good as a stepping stone."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.

"What kind of trashy novels do you read? In this world, every practitioner can only awaken one elemental power. That's common sense, do you understand common sense?"

Rage from Qiao Xueying +233!

Qiao Xueying's teeth clenched in fury. This guy was truly incompatible with her; in their past lives, they must have been sworn enemies!

"Since you're so knowledgeable about common sense, why don't you tell me what we should do now?" Zu An asked, grabbing her hand and dodging the bronze figures' attacks.

Qiao Xueying also fell into thought, muttering, "As the saying goes, 'The Great Dao has fifty, Heaven's Way derives forty-nine.' The Heavenly Way lacks one, but leaves a glimmer of life. This is merely a seal; there must be a way to break it. Therefore, these creatures cannot be without flaws; we just haven't found them yet."

Zu An couldn't help but retort, "That's a lot of nonsense. Say something useful."

Qiao Xueying's face flushed, and she glared fiercely at him. "It means stop staring at their feet. The weakness should be somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" Zu An eyed the bronze figures. His first instinct was to look at their crotches, but he found nothing between their legs. Clearly, these bronze figures had no discernible gender, so the idea of attacking a vital spot there wouldn't work.

They separated, continuously circling the colossal bronze figures. But no matter how they looked, they couldn't find anything that could be called a weakness.

"Hmm, do you think their weakness might be those strange patterns in the center of their foreheads?" Qiao Xueying, being of a higher cultivation level, quickly noticed something. Each time the bronze figures moved, a faint light flowed through the patterns on their foreheads.

Hearing her analysis, Zu An nodded. "That must be it. It seems there's some truth to the saying, 'big breasts, no brain.'"

Qiao Xueying paused, thinking, *What does 'big breasts, no brain' have to do with me? My breasts aren't even big...*

Suddenly, her expression changed as she finally realized: the opposite of "big breasts, no brain" implies "small breasts and brains." He was indirectly insulting her.

Rage from Qiao Xueying +666!

Just then, Zu An spoke again. "These bronze figures are too tall. Even if we know their weakness is on their foreheads, we can't reach it."

These bronze figures were nearly twenty meters tall. If they were inanimate objects, given their current cultivation levels, it wouldn't be hard to leap onto them by leveraging something mid-air. But these creatures were highly aggressive; how could they possibly allow them to leisurely climb up?

They had been relying on their agile movement techniques to contend with them, and the bronze figures' speed indeed couldn't keep up. But running right in front of them would be suicidal, wouldn't it?

It was like the mosquitoes in his previous life: they'd bite and then fly away, making them almost impossible to hit due to the vast difference in agility. But if a mosquito flew directly in front of someone's face, it would be purely seeking death.

Zu An certainly didn't want to become a squashed mosquito. His thoughts raced, and suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Qiao Xueying asked, seeing his expression.

"How long can your hair stretch? And how tough is it?" Zu An quickly asked. In their previous encounters, her hair's ability to grow at will, extending in the wind, had left an indelible impression on him.

Qiao Xueying's face showed hesitation. Such details were a practitioner's trump cards, usually not revealed to others. But seeing his serious expression, she replied, "It should be able to stretch several tens of meters. As for its toughness... ordinary blades and swords can hardly damage it."

"Good then. Make your hair as long as possible." As he spoke, he grabbed her hair and tugged it outwards.

Having a man touch her hair made Qiao Xueying both shy and furious. Her hair immediately surged, transforming into countless whips that lashed out towards the detestable man.

"Don't get agitated, don't get agitated, I'm doing this to break the formation!" Zu An hastily explained. Meanwhile, he grabbed the ends of her hair and continuously ran towards the bronze figures, dodging left and right. Soon, he had wrapped her hair around the feet of every single bronze figure.

Qiao Xueying was quick-witted and quickly guessed his intention, secretly marveling at his abundant cunning ideas. However, she also felt a chill in her heart, wondering if these incredibly strong bronze figures would tear all her hair out, leaving her bald.

Sure enough, no sooner had the thought arisen than she felt an immense force pull at her head. Before she could react, she was involuntarily yanked into the air. In mid-air, tears streamed down her face from the pain as she cried and cursed the instigator, "Zu An, you bastard!"