Two Great Captains

Jiang Ping An sorted and put away these supplies.

Besides weapons and techniques, there were also two bottles of medicine.

One bottle was labeled "Qi Gathering Pill," and the other "Spirit Dispersal Pill."

He knew about the Spirit Dispersal Pill. It was the stuff that old bastard had forced him to take, making the spiritual energy within his body disperse.

But what was this Qi Gathering Pill?

Jiang Ping An opened the bottle suspiciously and sniffed it.

This was an extremely dangerous thing to do. If it had been highly poisonous, he might very well have died.

Jiang Ping An was lucky. The Qi Gathering Pill was not poison.

When he inhaled the medicinal vapor of the Qi Gathering Pill, the spiritual energy in his body suddenly increased and circulated rapidly once.

Jiang Ping An's heart trembled.

"Could this be the medicine that can speed up cultivation?"

He had heard of pills before, but none were sold in Flat Water County.

Jiang Ping An poured the medicine into his palm. There were two pills in total.

The Qi Gathering Pills were pure white and emitted a faint fragrance.

Jiang Ping An tried swallowing one.

A moment later, the spiritual energy within Jiang Ping An's body surged dramatically, and its circulation speed became three times faster than before!

Jiang Ping An hurriedly sat cross-legged and circulated the Breathing and Meditation Technique.

Half an hour later, a crisp cracking sound came from within his body. The spiritual energy around him churned and gathered rapidly, while the surrounding trees rustled.

Jiang Ping An opened his eyes, his face full of shock.

The Fifth Level of Qi Refining!

This single Qi Gathering Pill was comparable to ten Spirit Stones. Most importantly, it could speed up the circulation of spiritual energy within his body.

Under normal circumstances, he would have needed at least thirty or forty Spirit Stones to break through to the next realm.

Yet just one Qi Gathering Pill had allowed him to break through!

It had saved him three or four days of cultivation time!

Another truth was added to Jiang Ping An's worldview: pills were good things.

"There are energy fluctuations over there. Yuan Bin might be there!"

A furious shout came from not far away.

Two extremely swift figures sped toward him.

Jiang Ping An's expression changed drastically. His sudden breakthrough had caused his spiritual energy to churn, creating fluctuations that others had noticed.

He hurriedly put away his things and fled.

But the two men were too fast. In the blink of an eye, they caught up to him.

"It's that brat the general is looking for!"

"Haha, we searched everywhere in worn-out iron shoes and found him without any effort!"

When the two Great Captains saw Jiang Ping An, wild delight appeared on their faces.

This brat had killed the general's son, Xu Hao. If they could not bring him back, the general would definitely be unhappy.

If the general was unhappy, he certainly would not give them benefits in the future.

They had not expected to find this brat while pursuing Yuan Bin! And it seemed this brat had even killed Yuan Bin!

The two soldiers had mastered the third floor of the Blood Qi Art, and their physical strength was extraordinary. In only moments, they rushed behind Jiang Ping An.

Jiang Ping An infused the blade in his hand with spiritual energy and slashed at the man beside him.

"What fast speed! No wonder you could kill Xu Hao and Yuan Bin, but it's useless against us!"

The Great Captain was astonished by the speed of Jiang Ping An's blade, but of course, such an attack could not hurt them.

He dodged the attack and threw a punch.

Bang!

The Protective Barrier around Jiang Ping An activated, but the instant it appeared, it was shattered by the other man's punch.

The energy inside the Protective Amulet had never been fully replenished, so it could not withstand their attack.

Jiang Ping An was blasted into the trees by the tremendous force, smashing through three or four large trees in succession.

Jiang Ping An's heart was filled with shock. This man was too strong—he had definitely reached the third floor of the Blood Qi Art!

Ignoring the pain in his body, he turned and ran.

Bang!

Ma Lin kicked Jiang Ping An in the back, and the sound of bones bursting was painfully clear.

Blood sprayed from Jiang Ping An's mouth as he crashed heavily into a boulder.

He wanted to get up, but the agonizing pain throughout his body left him utterly unable to rise.

One move. Just one kick, and he had completely lost his ability to fight.

Watching the two soldiers, brimming with murderous intent, approach him, Jiang Ping An fell into complete despair.

Even if he took out all his Protective Amulets, he could only delay them for a few seconds.

Before absolute strength, no trump card was of any use.

He was too weak. He could not fight them at all.

But even if he died, he would still knock a few of their teeth loose!

"You little bastard, you made us stay in this damned place for so many days. This Old Man really wants to stomp you to death." Ma Lin cursed viciously.

"Don't be impulsive. The general wants him alive," the other soldier reminded him.

"I know. I just need to break one more of his legs."

Just as Ma Lin raised his foot, the trees and vines suddenly began growing rapidly, swiftly binding Jiang Ping An and dragging him away.

The two soldiers' expressions changed. Just as they were about to give chase, rows upon rows of thick trees burst from the ground and blocked their path.

"Who is it!"

They quickly drew their blades and hacked at the trees ahead.

"The genius you people from the Spirit Terrace Kingdom do not want, our Great Summer Kingdom wants!" An ethereal voice rang out.

The two soldiers' expressions changed drastically.

Someone from the Great Summer Kingdom!

They absolutely could not let this genius be rescued by the Great Summer Kingdom! Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!

The two men frantically swung their blades, clearing away the trees before them.

Their blades were sharp, but the surrounding trees surged madly, forming a wooden cage that trapped them within.

By the time they had chopped down all the trees, Jiang Ping An had vanished without a trace.

The two men's faces turned deathly pale.

It was over.

Ma Lin said in a low voice, "We can't let the general know about this. We'll say we never found this brat."

"You don't need to tell me that," the other soldier agreed grimly.

If the general learned that they had let this brat escape and that someone from the Great Summer Kingdom had taken him away, they would be finished.

Damn it, why would cultivators from the Great Summer Kingdom appear here!

Jiang Ping An lay across an Old Man's back as the Old Man raced forward at high speed.

The Old Man raised his withered hand and handed Jiang Ping An a fragrant pill.

"This is a Healing Pill. Take it and sleep for a while. This Old Man will not harm you, or I would not have saved you."

"Thank you."

Jiang Ping An weakly gave his thanks and swallowed the pill. The pain in his body triggered its self-protection mechanism, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The Old Man smiled. "A hero emerges from youth. That bunch truly has no shame, using two Great Captains to capture a child."

A day later, Jiang Ping An abruptly opened his eyes and immediately assumed a defensive stance.

The prolonged Crisis of Death had made him extremely vigilant.

He was in an antique bedroom. The decorations around him were exceedingly luxurious, the finest room he had ever seen in his life. It was utterly incomparable to the ramshackle thatched hut he had lived in before.

"You're awake?"

A middle-aged man sat before a table. His body was ramrod straight, his eyes deep, and a scar ran across his face. Even without anger, he radiated authority.

The middle-aged man looked up at Jiang Ping An. "Let me introduce myself. Meng Kuo, general of Continuous Mountain County."

"Continuous Mountain County."

Jiang Ping An was slightly startled.

Continuous Mountain County was not far from Flat Water County, within the Great Summer Kingdom.

Before the two kingdoms went to war, the two counties had been connected to each other. Later, after the war broke out, contact was cut off.

He had not expected this man to be the general of Continuous Mountain County!

Jiang Ping An touched the Storage Bag at his waist. It was still there; the other party had not touched it.

Meng Kuo noticed his small movement but did not expose it.

"Your injuries have already been treated by Old Li. Old Li was the one who saved you."

"Thank you."

Jiang Ping An spoke gratefully.

If that man had not saved him, he would already be dead.

Meng Kuo poured Jiang Ping An a cup of tea at the table. "I'll get straight to the point. Your talent is good, and I want you to join my Military Camp."

"Alright."

"I know you may be unwilling... Hm?"

Meng Kuo suddenly froze, the mountain of words he had prepared abruptly lodged in his throat.

The other party had actually agreed so readily, leaving him somewhat taken aback.

He had thought Jiang Ping An would hesitate, refuse because he disliked being restrained, or ask for better terms.

Yet he had never expected him to agree immediately.

It caught him completely off guard.