Defending the City

Yuan Jin stood up and stretched lazily. Another night of cultivation. At their level, they no longer needed to sleep every day. Most of the time was spent absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate, which actually made them feel better in spirit, mind, and body. Once one embarked on the path of cultivation, their bodies began to differ greatly from ordinary mortals.

Zeng Fan also got up. After a night of cultivation, the changes in his blood were negligible. The concentration of spiritual energy was still too low. To break through to Body Tempering Blood here, he could only absorb Spirit Stones or take elixirs. He couldn't consider that now; they needed to gather first and prepare for the trial.

Walking out of the room, Murong Xue and Wang Beichen were already waiting at a table downstairs. Seeing the two descend, Wang Beichen was already complaining.

"What's the matter with you two? You're waking up even later than us. Truly lazy."

Zeng Fan knew this kid's temper and smiled without speaking. Yuan Jin had always been a bit at odds with Wang Beichen since they met. Hearing this, he sneered.

"We're not rich young masters like you, who have everything they want. We have to work hard to absorb spiritual energy and cultivate every day~" Yuan Jin responded with a hint of sarcasm.

Wang Beichen's face darkened, and he was about to lash out.

"That's enough, you two! Be quiet. You're going to the trial soon, and you're still arguing. Save your energy to kill a few more Demonic Beasts later, don't mess around here!" Murong Xue's eyebrows shot up, and a hint of anger appeared on her face.

The two immediately quieted down. After exchanging a look, they snorted at each other and said no more.

Zeng Fan felt a bit of a headache. These two still needed Murong Xue to step in to calm them down. Otherwise, he felt they wouldn't stop until they had a fight.

After breakfast, the group, following the main contingent, slowly walked out of the city towards the pass ahead. As they drew closer, the imposing presence of the tall defensive wall began to weigh on everyone's minds. A faint scent of blood drifted into their nostrils. The smiles of some disciples who had been chatting slowly disappeared, and their faces became tense.

Upon officially reaching the base of the defensive wall, Zeng Fan looked up. The wall was about several dozen meters high. Otherwise, with the bodies of Demonic Beasts, ordinary city walls would likely be easily leaped over.

Below the wall, some wounded soldiers were recuperating. While called soldiers, most of them were actually at the Body Tempering Realm cultivation level. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to withstand even a few attacks from the Demonic Beasts.

Some soldiers were covered in blood, being bandaged by others, letting out muffled groans of pain. Sweat mixed with blood dripped down their faces.

Other soldiers leaned against the city wall, gasping for breath. Their limbs were missing, looking as if they had been bitten off by something. Blood continued to seep from the bandages, clearly indicating that this had happened very recently.

The soldiers' reactions to the large group of disciples varied. Some had numb expressions, as if indifferent to everything. Others showed joy, thinking that reinforcements had finally arrived and the pressure on the front lines could be reduced. Still others had complex expressions, lost in thought.

Zeng Fan looked at the scenes with a heavy heart. "The situation is not optimistic. At the very least, the danger on the battlefield is still very great."

"As you can see, the situation is not optimistic. Otherwise, I wouldn't have requested reinforcements from the Sect. This is your disciple trial, but there are also rewards for killing enemies. As long as you complete your own trial objectives, you can record military merits for each Demonic Beast you kill by bringing back its corpse. The rewards you can redeem are posted on that list. It won't disappoint you!" The speaker was Sun Ze. At some point, he had flown above the disciples, with Qian Dayou and Lin Li slightly behind him.

"Why do we need to bring back the entire corpse of the Demonic Beast? Isn't bringing back a part enough?" Zeng Fan asked, somewhat confused.

"Demonic Beasts eat people to gain spiritual energy. Their bodies naturally contain spiritual energy. Although we cannot directly consume Demonic Beast flesh to gain spiritual energy, cultivators can use it for alchemy and forging magical artifacts. It's a form of mutual utilization," Murong Xue explained with a smile when she heard Zeng Fan's confusion.

Zeng Fan nodded, his heart unmoved. He had slowly grown accustomed to the rules of this world. Looking at the list, Zeng Fan felt a surge of excitement.

"Corpse of an ordinary Body Tempering Realm Demonic Beast: 50 Spirit Stones."

"Corpse of a special bloodline Body Tempering Realm Demonic Beast: Starting from 100 Spirit Stones, depending on its value."

"Ten corpses of Body Tempering Realm Demonic Beasts: Skill - Cloak Palm."

"Fifteen corpses of Body Tempering Realm Demonic Beasts: Skill - Nine Ox Fist."

"Thirty corpses of Body Tempering Realm Demonic Beasts: One Body Tempering Pill, which can help Body Tempering Realm cultivators break through their realm."

As he read, Zeng Fan became increasingly excited. His empty Storage Ring finally had a chance to be replenished with Spirit Stones! Many items on the list were tempting, but Zeng Fan knew they wouldn't be easy to obtain. The wounded soldiers below were an example. He only needed to complete his trial and then try to kill a few more Demonic Beasts to exchange for Spirit Stones for cultivation, which would be enough!

However, this was precisely the goal of posting this list. They also knew that ordinary disciples wouldn't be able to obtain the items above. It was enough if the disciples were tempted by the ordinary rewards below and killed a few more Demonic Beasts.

After speaking, the three Foundation Establishment realm cultivators left. They were likely going to discuss how to deal with the Foundation Establishment realm Demonic Beasts on the other side. Cai Yi, clad in armor, walked over, his face solemn. He quietly gave a few instructions to his subordinates, then slowly looked up and scanned the disciples below.

"Fellow cultivators, I will be in command of the city defense from now on. You will take turns defending the city. Anyone who disobeys orders or flees will be executed without mercy!"

Cai Yi's words carried a killing intent, and an aura of peak Spirit Control Realm spread out. Everyone's hearts tightened. They hadn't expected Cai Yi's cultivation to be among the strongest below Foundation Establishment, just one step away from breaking through.

A sound of hurried footsteps approached. Zeng Fan turned his head to see dozens of soldiers carrying long, box-like containers walking towards them. As they reached the group, the soldiers, with some effort, placed the boxes on the ground. The moment the boxes touched the ground, the ground vibrated, clearly indicating that the contents were not light.

Everyone looked at the boxes with curiosity. Cai Yi didn't intend to play coy. With a wave of his hand, the boxes were opened by the soldiers. Inside were neatly stacked black spears. The spears were straight, emitting a cold black luster. The tips had special blood grooves, suggesting that once the spear pierced a body, the wound would bleed profusely due to the grooves, making them effective killing weapons on the battlefield.

Seeing that all the boxes had been placed, Cai Yi announced loudly to the crowd, "Each person can receive one spear. These were refined by artifact refiners and pose a certain threat to the bodies of Demonic Beasts. They will be collected after the battle. If you are interested, you can also exchange for them with Demonic Beast corpses. That's all! Begin taking turns to ascend the city wall!"

Cai Yi strode away. As the commander of the entire army, he had many matters to arrange. His subordinates would handle the subsequent arrangements. He had only come to serve as a deterrent.

A burly man in black armor emerged and began arranging the disciples in front of him into different queues. Zeng Fan and the other four naturally requested to be placed together. The officer had no objection, as long as they could go up and kill enemies.

With their weapons in hand, Zeng Fan distributed the healing pills given by Yao Ling'er to everyone. However, only Yuan Jin and Wang An accepted them. Murong Xue and Wang Beichen had their own preparations.

Zeng Fan swung the spear in his hand. It was slightly heavy and cold to the touch. Before Zeng Fan could feel it further, he received notification to ascend the city wall.

His eyes darkened slightly. Zeng Fan hadn't expected them to be the first batch. He hadn't familiarized himself with many situations yet, but he couldn't afford to think too much. The group could only proceed to the city wall.

The moment they stepped onto the city wall, the smell of rust assailed their nostrils. The wind howled above the wall. Zeng Fan narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings. The entire top of the defensive wall was covered with various claw marks and tooth marks, presumably left by Demonic Beasts. Black and red dried bloodstains were everywhere, making it impossible to tell if they belonged to cultivators or Demonic Beasts. These traces all spoke of the ferocity of the battles.

A rapid bell sound rang out, "Everyone pay attention, the Demonic Beasts are coming!"

As a shout carried on the wind, Zeng Fan looked towards the outside of the city, his expression changing. Small black dots appeared faintly on the horizon, rapidly approaching. The dots grew larger, revealing hundreds of strangely shaped Demonic Beasts. These beasts were rapidly approaching the city wall, and waves of roars could be heard. Zeng Fan could already smell the stench from the Demonic Beasts' mouths.

"They're coming, everyone be careful!" Zeng Fan tightened his grip on the spear, and his spiritual energy began to flow rapidly within his body.

The Demonic Beasts were fast, and in a blink of an eye, they reached the base of the city wall. Zeng Fan could feel the ground vibrating. The Demonic Beasts at the base of the wall did not hesitate, leaping up and digging their claws firmly into the city wall, beginning to climb.

A black light emanated from Zeng Fan's body as he activated the Ironwood Body.

"Here they come!"

A stench of wild beasts, accompanied by roars, emanated as a boar-like Demonic Beast leaped from below the city wall. However, its limbs were not hooves but sharp claws. After reaching the wall, the boar-like Demonic Beast scanned everyone with red eyes and swiped fiercely at Zeng Fan with a claw.

"You don't need to act, I'll handle it myself!"

Zeng Fan shouted to the others. He could tell this Demonic Beast was equivalent to the Body Tempering Bone realm, similar to him. It was a good opportunity to practice.

Zeng Fan quickly retreated, dodging the beast's sharp claws. The beast, unable to change direction in time, slammed into the ground with immense force, leaving a deep claw mark. While the beast was momentarily unable to change direction, Zeng Fan exerted his strength, and the whistling spear directly struck the beast's head.

With a bang, the Demonic Beast let out a pained cry, its entire body slammed to the ground by the immense force. However, it immediately got back up and lunged at Zeng Fan, biting towards him.

"The defense of a Demonic Beast at the same realm is truly solid," Zeng Fan remarked, watching as only a bit of blood seeped from the beast's skin after taking his hit. His expression turned serious, but it didn't affect him. Gripping his spear, Zeng Fan charged at the Demonic Beast again.

"Even this spear struggles to pierce the Demonic Beast's skin. I'll have to attack its weak points," Zeng Fan mused as he grappled with the beast, devising a strategy. The beast's sharp claws attacked again. Zeng Fan parried with his spear, blocking the assault, but the beast didn't relent, its head lunging towards Zeng Fan in a bite.

A bright light flashed in Zeng Fan's eyes as he gathered power in his right fist, Spiritual Energy converging madly towards it.

"Fish Dragon Dance!"

Zeng Fan's fist slammed hard into the Demonic Beast's jaw, forcing its head back at a high angle. Before the beast could react, a spear directly pierced its eye socket. After a pained howl, the wild boar Demonic Beast's corpse crashed to the ground.

Zeng Fan panted slightly as he walked over and pulled out his spear, drawing a spray of blood.

"Finally, I'm starting to earn Spirit Stones," Zeng Fan thought happily. As long as he continued to kill these Demonic Beasts, his Storage Ring wouldn't be so empty anymore.

Murong Xue and the others stood nearby. After this wild boar Demonic Beast appeared, no other Demonic Beasts climbed this section of the city wall for the time being, so they kept watch for Zeng Fan. Just then, a shrill hiss suddenly came from behind Murong Xue. A snake-like Demonic Beast had somehow snuck up behind her and was now lunging towards her head.

"Watch your back!"

Zeng Fan shouted at Murong Xue, his face anxious as he prepared to move. However, the next scene caused his body to stiffen slightly.

Sensing movement behind her, Murong Xue slightly shifted her body, directly dodging the snake-like Demonic Beast's open maw. Then, she swung the iron spear in her hand, emitting a sharp whistling sound in the air as it landed on the beast's head.

In Zeng Fan's sight, a cloud of bloody mist suddenly erupted beside Murong Xue. The snake-like Demonic Beast's head was instantly blown apart by Murong Xue's strike, leaving only its body writhing on the ground.

"So strong!"

Zeng Fan's heart tightened. In that instant, Murong Xue's displayed cultivation had reached Body Tempering Blood Perfection. Looking at her powerful aura, it seemed she was only one step away from breaking through to the Spirit Gathering Realm.

Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin exchanged glances, both offering wry smiles. How could they possibly catch up? They hadn't dared to slack off for a single day in their cultivation, yet they still couldn't compare.

Wang Beichen, however, felt nothing. Only he knew that Murong Xue's talent was among the most outstanding even within this group of Earth Vein disciples. Body Tempering Blood Perfection was nothing for the big sister.

Seeing Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin looking a bit stunned, Murong Xue blinked and said playfully.

"What, are you girls discouraged by me? It's only natural."

Murong Xue's expression was a little haughty. She had always hidden her cultivation because she didn't want to put too much pressure on Zeng Fan. However, since they knew now, it didn't matter.

"A little," Zeng Fan replied, shaking his head. Although Murong Xue's cultivation surprised him, it was within his expectations. After all, her cultivation talent had always been strong. Even if Murong Xue had already broken through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, Zeng Fan could accept it.

Yuan Jin walked up to Zeng Fan and quietly leaned in to curse him.

"Damn it, Murong Xue cultivates so fast. How am I supposed to get revenge later? I can only follow big sister Murong and cheer her on."

Zeng Fan's expression was odd. "You're still thinking about revenge? With Murong's cultivation speed, you'll only be eating dust behind her."

Yuan Jin couldn't help but say sheepishly, "Who knows for sure? Maybe I'll have a great opportunity later and become a late bloomer."

Zeng Fan rolled his eyes and stopped talking. While they were talking, the guarded section of the city wall became quiet. After all, Demonic Beasts knew to avoid danger. The scent of two quickly dispatched Demonic Beasts permeated this section of the wall, deterring weaker Demonic Beasts from charging. However, accidents always arrived silently.

Just as Yuan Jin was walking towards Murong Xue, intending to ask for some cultivation tips, a piercing screech sounded again, making all four of them want to cover their ears.

A massive shadow suddenly leaped up from below the city wall, crashing in front of Zeng Fan and the others. It was another snake-like Demonic Beast, similar to the one Murong Xue had casually killed earlier.

However, Zeng Fan and the others no longer had the mind to discern if it was the same species of Demonic Beast. This snake-like Demonic Beast that appeared before them exuded an aura stronger than anyone present. They could see a layer of spiritual energy flowing on its scales.

Yuan Jin's voice, filled with shock and a hint of fear, echoed around them.

"Spiritual Energy Manifestation?! Spirit Gathering Realm Demonic Beast!"