Chapter 23
The instant Chen Qing crashed into the Northern Barbarian battle formation, time seemed to freeze for a moment.
The nascent form of his invisible Fierce Tiger Domain silently unfolded around him. Though it covered only several feet, the suddenly intensified Killing Intent was like a tangible swamp, making the Northern Barbarian cavalry charging at him involuntarily falter. Their warhorses reared up in terror, whinnying uneasily.
That momentary pause!
His ring-pommel saber swept levelly out, carrying a shrill black-red saber gleam like Death's scythe!
There were no intricate moves, only ultimate speed and strength, fused with the sharpness of Meridian Condensing Realm Killing Intent and the domineering might of the Black Tiger True Intent that suppressed all things!
Screech—!
A crescent-shaped black-red saber aura flew from the blade! It was not as dazzling as externalized inner force, but instead carried a darkness that devoured light as it swept past several cavalrymen before him in an instant!
Men and horses alike were shattered!
Severed limbs, broken spears, splintered horse armor, and spurting blood formed a scene of utter carnage! The black-red saber aura did not lose momentum, carving a deep trench through the ground and cutting several infantrymen behind them in half as well!
[Killed Northern Barbarian cavalry... Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +30!] [Killing Intent condensing, saber aura taking shape...]
The power of one saber strike was terrifying indeed!
Chen Qing did not slow his steps, weaving through the crowd like a ghost. He no longer needed to withstand every attack head-on. The movement technique of the Meridian Condensing Realm, coupled with the slight interference of the Fierce Tiger Domain, allowed him to evade fatal strikes at the very brink of impact. Every swing of his saber inevitably brought up a basin of blood, reaping several lives.
He specifically targeted powerful officers and squads assembled in formation. Saber aura crisscrossed and fist force burst forth; wherever he passed, men and horses toppled over, formations thrown into complete chaos!
The Northern Barbarian soldiers discovered in terror that this Great Yan officer wrapped in black-red Killing Intent was simply an unstoppable killing machine! Their blades struck his body and often left only faint white marks, while the rebounding Killing Intent numbed their arms. Yet his attacks meant certain death upon contact!
"Stop him! Form up! Use heavy weapons!" A Northern Barbarian Commander's eyes were split wide with rage as he gathered a group of heavily armored infantrymen wielding giant axes and iron hammers. Like moving fortresses, they crushed toward Chen Qing.
Chen Qing's gaze was icy. Rather than retreat, he advanced, charging straight toward that dense forest of giant axes and iron hammers!
At the instant the weapons were about to strike him, his body twisted strangely as if boneless, slipping through the gap between two giant axes. The fingers of his left hand curled into a claw, dark-red Killing Intent gathering at his fingertips like red-hot branding irons as he fiercely grabbed a heavily armored soldier's breastplate!
Sizzle!
The breastplate forged from refined iron was forcibly torn through by his five fingers! His fingertips pierced inside and crushed the man's heart!
At the same time, the ring-pommel saber in his right hand spun in a strange arc. Its edge skimmed past another heavily armored soldier's neck, sending a helmeted head flying!
Like a dance performed along a blade's edge, he stirred up a storm of blood and gore amid the heavily armored infantry! Every attack was precise, ruthless, and efficient!
[Killed Northern Barbarian heavy armored infantry... proficiency +40] [Insight gained in battle; Fierce Tiger Domain range slightly expanded...]
Exhilarating! This was the power of the Meridian Condensing Realm! This was the might of the Saber Meridian!
Chen Qing could feel that as the slaughter continued, the invisible Fierce Tiger Domain around him seemed to slowly absorb the Killing Intent and deathly aura from the battlefield. Though its range expanded slowly, his sense of control over the domain became increasingly clear. Within the battle domain, he felt that his strength and recovery speed received a slight boost, while the suppression upon his enemies became even more pronounced.
He was like solid ice cast into water. Wherever he went, the Northern Barbarians' tight charging formation was forcibly torn open, and that breach continued to widen and spread!
"Follow the squad leader! Kill!" Old Niu was covered in blood and wild as a crazed tiger. Leading the soldiers under him, he clung tightly to the breach Chen Qing had torn open, endlessly expanding the chaos.
Sun Quezi, meanwhile, was like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. Leading another group, he specifically hunted down Northern Barbarian Officers attempting to reorganize their formations.
The entire Vanguard Camp was ignited by Chen Qing's fearless formation-breaking charge and terrifying battle prowess. Their blood surged with courage, erupting with astonishing combat strength. They actually held back the Northern Barbarian vanguard's fiercest first wave of assault and even began pushing them back!
In the distance, the Northern Barbarian Meridian Condensing Realm Commander directing the battle watched Chen Qing rampage through his army as though entering uninhabited ground, his face turning ashen. He recognized him—the brat who had taken one of his punches several days ago and survived! How many days had it been? Not only had his injuries fully healed, he had actually broken through to the Meridian Condensing Realm? And this combat strength... it was simply monstrous!
"You southern savage! Do not run rampant!"
The commander roared, unable to hold back any longer. His body shot into the air like an eagle, sweeping over the chaotic battlefield as he pounced straight at Chen Qing! Before he even arrived, condensed crimson fist force blasted down from afar! This time, he held nothing back and struck with all his strength!
Feeling that familiar yet even more terrifying pressure, Chen Qing abruptly raised his head, battle intent burning in his eyes!
Perfect timing!
He needed a whetstone to sharpen this newly born Saber Meridian and battle domain!
He did not choose to take the blow head-on. His feet shifted repeatedly, and his figure flickered through the crowd like a ghost, barely evading the fist force capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks.
Boom!
The fist force missed, blasting a crater over ten feet wide into the ground. The surrounding Northern Barbarian soldiers were shaken until they vomited blood and flew backward.
Chen Qing had already used the crowd as cover to silently circle around to the commander's flank and rear. His ring-pommel saber, carrying black-red Killing Intent condensed to the utmost limit, silently stabbed toward the man's heart from behind.
A sneak attack? On the battlefield, there was only life and death—no rules!
This commander had also fought through countless battles. A warning surged in his heart, and without a second thought, he swung a fist behind him!
Clang!
Fist and saber collided with a thunderous metallic crash!
Chen Qing felt tremendous force surge toward him, making his arm go slightly numb. Borrowing that force, he drifted backward. The commander's body also swayed, while a thin layer of black ice once again covered his fist. The stinging pain of Killing Intent erosion made him furrow his brow.
"What strange Killing Intent!" The commander was horrified. This Killing Intent was not only ice-cold to the bone; it also seemed able to erode the circulation of his blood and inner force.
The two instantly clashed.
The commander's cultivation was deep, his fist force fierce, and his experience seasoned. Chen Qing had only just entered the Meridian Condensing Realm, but his Killing Intent was sharp, his movement strange, and he had the slight support of the nascent Fierce Tiger Domain.
For a time, fist force and saber aura crisscrossed, clearing an empty zone around them that no one dared approach. Every collision erupted with astonishing shockwaves, sending sand and stones flying.
Chen Qing grew increasingly adept at wielding the Meridian Condensing Realm's power. His fusion of the Black Tiger Fist and saber's true intent with Killing Intent also became more exquisite. No longer constrained by fixed moves, he attacked as he pleased, effortlessly drawing upon each technique. Every strike targeted his opponent's weakness, vicious and tricky.
The more the commander fought, the more alarmed he became. He discovered that he was actually being faintly suppressed! His opponent's Killing Intent was too troublesome, and his recovery ability was far too strong. Even when they occasionally traded wounds, one saber strike from Chen Qing would leave Killing Intent invading his body and tormenting him for ages, while Chen Qing acted as though nothing had happened!
If this boy was not eliminated, he would surely become a great calamity!
A vicious glint flashed through the commander's eyes. He endured a saber strike from Chen Qing, losing a chunk of flesh from his left shoulder as blood streamed down him, but he successfully seized a tiny opening in Chen Qing's defense. His right fist gathered all his power, crimson fist force blazing like a burning meteor as it blasted directly toward Chen Qing's face!
This punch contained his lifelong cultivation. He was determined to kill Chen Qing beneath it!
As the fist force neared his body, a cold gleam of triumph flashed through Chen Qing's eyes.
Not only did he not evade, he instead drew in a deep breath. The nascent Fierce Tiger Domain around him contracted with unprecedented intensity, then abruptly expanded!
Buzz!
An invisible ripple spread outward from him! The commander felt his mind sway, his blood circulation briefly stagnating, and the fist force he had launched deviated ever so slightly!
That hair's-breadth of difference was enough!
Chen Qing suddenly threw his head back. The fist force brushed past the tip of his nose, its gale-like pressure making his cheeks ache. At the same time, his left hand shot out like lightning, five fingers burning with dark-red baleful fire as they precisely seized the commander's striking wrist!
"Got you."
The cold voice was like Death's whisper.
The commander's expression changed drastically. He tried to break free, only to find that Chen Qing's hand was like an iron clamp. That icy Killing Intent instantly slithered up his arm's meridians like a venomous snake, invading his body!
Chen Qing unhesitatingly thrust his ring-pommel saber forward with his right hand!
Pfft!
The blade pierced through the commander's chest and emerged from his back!
The commander's body abruptly stiffened. The horror in his eyes froze solid. He opened his mouth as though wanting to say something, but only bloody foam spilled out.
Chen Qing twisted his wrist, shredding the man's heart meridians, then kicked him flying.
[Killed Northern Barbarian Meridian Condensing Realm Commander, gained massive amounts of vitality and pure Killing Intent. Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +500! Fierce Tiger Domain strengthened!] [Black Tiger Fist proficiency has reached 5000/5000. Realm increased: consummate mastery (0/)!] [Black Tiger Saber Technique proficiency has reached 5000/5000. Realm increased: consummate mastery (0/)!]
Surging energy flooded into him, and the Fierce Tiger Domain's range instantly expanded to thirty feet around him! His control over the domain became even more natural! Both the Black Tiger Fist and saber technique broke through to consummate mastery, elevating his use of true intent to another level!
Chen Qing stood with saber in hand. Within thirty feet around him, black-red Killing Intent flowed slowly like a living creature, making him seem like a demonic god descended upon the world.
He looked at the surrounding Northern Barbarian soldiers, who had completely lost their will to fight and were retreating in terror after their commander's death, then slowly raised his blood-dripping ring-pommel saber.
"Kill!"
The cold voice was like a command.
Behind him, the Vanguard Camp soldiers, their morale exploding, surged forward like a breached flood!
The Northern Barbarian vanguard completely collapsed!
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