I, Liu Sanji, Request Battle!

Xiao Zhentian was so angered by the selfish martial artists in the square that he flicked his sleeve and left.

He needed to gather the martial artists in the army and quickly organize a rescue.

Chou Wantian also brought Xiao Chen and Lin Qingxian back to Sword Immortal Academy.

All along the way, Chou Wantian wore a troubled frown, while Lin Jiansan's face carried a trace of gloom as well.

Xiao Chen would turn eighteen in two days. According to Saintly Wasteland Old Man's prophecy, his cultivation would vanish completely then, turning him into a cripple. With that, Sword Immortal Academy's only hope would be utterly severed, and it would never again have a chance to rise.

For Sword Immortal Academy, already on the brink of closure, such terrible news was far too crushing.

And Xiao Chen was also deeply anxious, thinking of the old soldier in Bear Martial City who had cared for him for three years and was now facing a life-or-death crisis.

Before long, they returned to Sword Immortal Academy. Seeing that none of them looked well, Lin Jiansan frowned slightly and looked at Chou Wantian. "What happened? Why are you all pulling such long faces?"

Chou Wantian pulled Lin Jiansan outside the hall to an empty spot and told him what had happened earlier.

Lin Jiansan was instantly shocked. His eyes, once filled with restrained divine light, suddenly darkened. "Y-you mean Xiao Chen will lose all his cultivation in two days?"

"Saintly Wasteland Old Man said it. He should not be wrong!"

Chou Wantian took a huge swig of wine and spoke in a low voice.

"It's over. The Sword Spirit Stone is gone, and Xiao Chen has become useless. Sword Immortal Academy is finished!"

Lin Jiansan looked utterly despondent.

"Senior Brother, it was my fault. I destroyed Sword Immortal Academy's hope!"

Chou Wantian was full of remorse as well, continuously pouring wine from his gourd into his mouth.

Heaven-Jealous Ones were simply too rare. Hardly anyone understood them. At this moment, he regretted it beyond measure, regretting why he had used the Sword Spirit Stone on Xiao Chen.

"Say no more. Everything is fate. I have never seen a Sword Dao prodigy like Xiao Chen, but what a pity..."

"Senior Brother, how should we arrange Xiao Chen's future?"

Chou Wantian looked at Lin Jiansan.

Lin Jiansan fell silent for a moment, then said, "Since he has entered Sword Immortal Academy, you and I must protect him and accompany him through the last stretch of his road!"

"That was my thought as well!"

Chou Wantian nodded.

At that moment, Xiao Chen walked out of the hall. "Old Man Chou, Old Man Lin, do you have any healing medicine? Something that works quickly!"

To save people in Bear Martial City, he had to recover his strength as soon as possible. After all, he might have to face several thousand demonic beasts there. Let alone in his current injured state, even at his peak, it would still be a case of nine deaths and one life.

Of course, that mainly depended on how many martial artists in Bear Martial City would fight alongside him!

"What are you planning, brat? Your injuries aren't serious. They'll heal on their own in a few days! Right, from now on, just do odd jobs and chores at Sword Immortal Academy! Don't worry, we won't despise you!"

Chou Wantian looked at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen understood that Chou Wantian had misunderstood, believing he was about to become a cripple. But he had no mind to explain and said directly, "I'm going to Bear Martial City to save people!"

Chou Wantian immediately spat out a mouthful of wine. "Save people? You're injured right now, and you're about to lose all your cultivation. You still have the mind to worry about others?"

"There is an old soldier in Bear Martial City. He took care of me for three years when I was at my lowest. I promised him I would see him through his old age and bury him when he died! Now that he is in trouble, I cannot refuse to save him!"

Xiao Chen spoke in a low voice.

"Do you know what you will face if you go? Several thousand members of the Demon Race, yet there will not be many Human Race martial artists willing to fight. Alone, you are but a cup of water against a cartload of firewood. You would merely be throwing your life away!"

Lin Jiansan frowned.

Such Demon Race massacres of cities had occurred frequently in recent years. At first, the imperial court would still send people to rescue them. But after several rescues, too many martial artists died, and the imperial court began to feel the loss keenly.

No matter how many ordinary people died, as long as there was enough time, the population could multiply again. After all, Great Xia had billions upon billions of people.

But losing even one martial artist was not so easily remedied. Every martial artist was one in ten thousand; even Great Xia did not have many of them.

Thus, gradually, fewer and fewer martial artists dealt with city massacre incidents. Those trapped inside could only wait for death!

It was cruel, but reality was just that cruel!

Xiao Chen was very strong, but his enemies were too powerful. Two fists could not beat four hands. Even if he went, he would not be of much use!

"If I go, at least my conscience will be clear!"

Xiao Chen said firmly.

The memories of the former owner of this body had long since fused with his own, and the two were no longer distinguishable. At that moment, a mad obsession in his heart compelled him to rescue the old soldier.

At those words, Chou Wantian and Lin Jiansan both fell silent.

For an old soldier, for an old promise, Xiao Chen was willing to stake his life!

Such character moved them deeply.

Lin Jiansan took out an exquisitely crafted black medicine bottle and silently handed it to Xiao Chen.

Smelling the faint medicinal fragrance drifting from the bottle, a flicker of shock passed through Chou Wantian's eyes.

A Minor Return Pill?

Lin Jiansan had actually taken out the Minor Return Pill he had treasured for years.

He had been seriously injured many times and still could not bear to use this bottle of Minor Return Pills. Yet this time, he was giving it to Xiao Chen?

Xiao Chen accepted the medicine bottle, opened it, and looked at the white pill inside that emitted a faint treasure glow. He could not help but freeze for a moment. Looking up at Lin Jiansan, he said softly, "Thank you."

After taking the Minor Return Pill, Xiao Chen clasped his fist slightly toward Lin Jiansan and Chou Wantian, then turned and left.

"Will he come back?"

Chou Wantian watched Xiao Chen's gradually receding figure and asked in a low voice.

"No. He never intended to return. He has already embraced the will to die. To go from an unparalleled prodigy to a cripple overnight—no one could endure such a blow!"

Chou Wantian's expression changed slightly. "You mean he is going to Bear Martial City because he wants to die?"

Lin Jiansan nodded. "Several thousand members of the Demon Race are attacking the city. Even a Sword Master Realm cultivator might not return alive. He is only a Sword Disciple and is injured besides. If that is not throwing his life away, then what is?"

"And you still gave him a Minor Return Pill? That is a rare item worth a thousand taels of gold per pill. You nearly died several times and still could not bear to take one! Yet you just gave it to him?"

Chou Wantian looked at Lin Jiansan.

"Heh, Sword Immortal Academy finally got such a prodigy. Although he has become crippled, how could I refuse his final wish before death? Come on! Hurry and guide Qingxian in her cultivation. Let's see whether there is still a sliver of hope in the academy competition!"

Lin Jiansan patted Chou Wantian's shoulder and turned to leave.

Ever since Xiao Chen entered the academy, the conflict between the two had completely dissolved, and they had returned to the closeness they once shared.

"A sliver of hope? Easier said than done!"

Only after Xiao Chen completely vanished from sight did Chou Wantian slowly turn around.

If Xiao Chen could have held on until the academy competition three months later, he had a ten percent chance of preserving the academy!

But now that Xiao Chen had become crippled, relying on Lin Qingxian alone, the odds of preserving the academy were not even one in a thousand.

He had already begun considering how to preserve Slaying Heaven Courtyard, where Lin Jiansan currently lived, after Sword Immortal Academy closed.

After leaving Sword Immortal Academy, Xiao Chen went to the market and bought a silver ghost-face mask and a white horse. He put on the mask, mounted the horse, and galloped straight toward Bear Martial City.

"Liu Sanji, you old bastard, you had better wait for me!"

Xiao Chen spurred his horse onward, his eyes full of urgency.

Outside Bear Martial City.

Several thousand Dog Demons, each as huge as a small mountain, densely surrounded the entire city. Corpses of city-defense soldiers lay scattered everywhere around them.

Some had been torn limb from limb. Some had had their heads eaten off, making them impossible to identify. Others still had a breath left in them, yet were being gnawed alive by the Demon Race, crying out in agony from time to time.

When the Demon Race attacked, these city-defense soldiers had charged out at once to fight them in order to protect the city's people. They had forcibly used their flesh and blood to delay the Demon Race's breach of the city.

But now, the twenty thousand defenders had suffered nearly total casualties, while reinforcements from Barren North City had still not arrived!

The entire Bear Martial City was permeated by the stench of despair!

"Where are the reinforcements?! Why have none arrived after so long?!"

The Garrison Commander was covered in blood. One of his arms had been gnawed off by the Demon Race. Standing atop the city wall and watching his soldiers be devoured, he was furious beyond measure!

Ever since the Demon Race surrounded the city, the Demon Suppression Office had shut its doors and refused to come out. He had sent people to Barren North City for aid, but not a single person from Barren North City had come even now. Were they abandoning the city?

"My lord, no one is coming! Some great figures in the imperial court are unwilling to trade martial artists' lives for commoners' lives! I, Liu Sanji, request battle! Damn it, isn't it just death?"

A hunched old soldier roared in a low voice!

His vitality and blood were failing, his body withered and thin, yet his eyes burned with unyielding fury. (Handsome readers of this book, please add it to your bookshelf and urge updates. Give this kid some hope to keep writing! If the data is bad and it does not get exposure, it will be finished! My thanks, gentlemen!)