One Man Holds the Pass

"Thud, thud, thud..."

A series of orderly footsteps rang out from outside the mansion, shaking the main road of Xiongyuan City as if an earthquake had struck. On the streets, countless Barbarian soldiers, moving in perfect unison, had received their orders and now came to aid the Barbarian King in killing the enemy.

"The bandit is inside! Warriors, charge in with me and assist the King in slaying the bandit!"

Seeing Alaichi and Guduo leading the army toward him, Sijia's face lit up with immense joy. He drew the long sword at his waist, waved it, and commanded the soldiers to charge forward—though his own body slowly retreated, distancing himself from the mansion.

"Roar! Charge! Kill!"

"Kill!"

Hearing this, countless Barbarian soldiers, fearless of death, charged into the mansion with bloodshot eyes, utterly unafraid of whatever powerful enemy lurked within.

Because to them, the Barbarian King A Yanda was a god in their hearts, an existence that surpassed their very lives. Now that A Yanda was in danger, they would naturally defend him to the death.

"Oh? The Barbarian soldiers are charging in?"

Inside the mansion, Gu Han, who had been locked in fierce combat with the Barbarian King A Yanda and had gradually gained the upper hand, heard the noise and felt a stir in his heart. He then exerted force through his body, sending a punch that drove back A Yanda, whose face had turned somewhat pale, and sneered:

"Heh! What a load of crap about a Barbarian King—nothing but an empty reputation. And you call yourself a peerless prodigy? Turns out you're just a coward who calls for backup when he can't win. Fine. I'll spare your miserable life for today's battle. But if I ever run into you again, Gu Han will take your head!"

"Thief, don't you dare flee!"

Though A Yanda couldn't understand Gu Han's words, seeing his demeanor, he still guessed his intentions.

"Haha! If Gu Han wants to leave, who in this world can stop me?"

Gu Han's voice rang out clearly as he let out a hearty laugh. Then, he reached for the massive pillar beside him—one that would take a full embrace to circle—which supported the hall's roof beam. Gripping it with force, he instantly hoisted the entire beam into his arms.

"Ha! Stand in my way and die!"

Facing the Barbarian soldiers surging in like a tidal wave, Gu Han showed no fear. Instead, laughing loudly, he swung the solid wooden beam—several zhang long and weighing several thousand jin—as if he were a god from ancient legends, wielding a heavenly pillar to sweep across all directions as he charged out.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Gu Han's eyes were merciless as he swung the beam in all directions. Wherever it passed, whether it was a Barbarian soldier comparable to Skin Refining Mastery or a Barbarian officer comparable to Muscle Tendon Strengthening, they were all like ants beneath his hand. One sweep, and their bones snapped, their tendons tore, and blood spewed from their mouths.

"Ahhh!"

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Under Gu Han's hand, Barbarian after Barbarian was easily beaten to death, crushed into pulp. These soldiers, who on ordinary days were vicious and merciless, slaughtering the people of Yan with abandon, were now as fragile as weeds. With every sweep, several Barbarian soldiers lost their lives.

"Loose arrows! Loose arrows! Fire, I say!"

Seeing his hard-trained Barbarian soldiers suffering heavy casualties in no time, the Barbarian King A Yanda, who had already retreated back into the Barbarian ranks, was so enraged his eyes nearly split. No longer caring about the Barbarian soldiers still near Gu Han, he hurriedly barked out orders.

"Yes, my King!"

At the Barbarian King A Yanda's command, countless Barbarian archers shouted in unison, then nocked their arrows, drew their bows, and aimed at Gu Han at the center of the mansion.

"Shhhh..."

Countless arrows tore through the air. Volley after volley was loosed by the robust Barbarian soldiers. In an instant, the sky was filled with a scene of ten thousand arrows flying at once.

"Haha! Let's see who can do anything to me today!"

Facing the onslaught of arrows, Gu Han showed no fear. He set down the beam, casually grabbed a spear, and began executing the basic staff techniques of Treasure Pearl Temple, spinning the spear so fast it became an impenetrable wall, impervious to wind or water.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Under the barrier of Gu Han's spear, countless arrows were easily deflected. It was like an iron wall—no matter how many arrows came, no matter how fierce, none could breach even half a step within Gu Han's reach.

One man holding the pass, ten thousand cannot break through—that was exactly the sight before them.

Because the path of martial arts sought the complete evolution of the human body. When one's physical body reached Gu Han's level, not only were strength and speed terrifyingly superhuman, but even neural reaction speed was incredibly swift.

These arrows, perhaps blindingly fast to ordinary people—so fast they couldn't even see them—were like slow-motion scenes in a movie to Gu Han, easily blocked.

"Damnable thief!"

Seeing Gu Han so ferocious that even a thousand troops and ten thousand horses could do nothing to him, A Yanda was furious. He turned to a black-armored Barbarian general beside him and snarled:

"Akado, bring me my bow!"

"Yes, my King!"

The black-armored general Akado immediately ran back. Within a few breaths, he returned with a peerless divine bow—five feet long, reddish-brown all over, nearly half again as long as an ordinary longbow—and several dozen arrows forged from pure steel.

"Haha! You bald bastard! Let's see how you die this time!"

A Yanda took the bow, stroking its body with a look of lover-like infatuation on his face, and spoke viciously.

This bow was called the Divine Tiger Bow. Its body was forged from Thousand-Year Cold Iron taken from a mysterious pool in the Southern Barbarian lands. As for the bowstring, it came from a White-Forehead Green-Eyed Tiger over a zhang in length that A Yanda had encountered deep in the Southern Barbarian wilderness over a decade ago—he had killed the tiger and taken its sinew.

Thus, in A Yanda's eyes, this divine bow had long become the number one bow in the world, treasured as his greatest possession.

"Die!"

A Yanda's heart hardened. He nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and his Inner Qi surged wildly, attaching itself to the pure steel arrow. The next moment...

"Whoosh!"

As A Yanda released his grip, a streak of cold light flashed through the void, dazzling and brilliant like a meteor, carrying irresistible power and speed straight toward Gu Han, who was still spinning his spear on the battlefield.

"Not good!"

Seeing that streak of cold light coming at him, Gu Han's heart rang with alarm. A great sense of crisis surged into his mind, and he abandoned all thought of the countless ordinary Barbarian arrows.

"Block them!"

Gu Han's gaze sharpened as he thrust his spear upright, lashing out like a swimming dragon toward the pure-steel arrow that carried terrifying Inner Qi—a clash of needle points, each meeting the other head-on.

"Clang!"

A sound like a great bronze bell rang out. The spear in Gu Han's hand met the arrow, but was almost instantly severed by its incomparably sharp Inner Qi. The arrow continued its charge unabated, hurtling toward Gu Han.

Fortunately, after being blocked by the spear, the pure-steel arrow's power had already dissipated by nearly half. The remaining force posed no great threat to Gu Han; he simply reached out, grabbed it, and crushed it easily in his hand.

"What a divine bow—truly fearsome! This place is no longer safe to stay. If I linger, I'll be dead before long."

Feeling the terrifying arrow, now still but still trembling and humming in his grip, Gu Han was deeply shaken. He had wanted to kill a few more barbarians, but seeing A Yanda nocking another arrow, he dared not delay any longer.

Ignoring the barbarian arrows that struck his body like mosquito bites, he repeatedly executed the third-level perfected "Moon Chasing Steps," leaping like a ghost onto the rooftop, crossing several hundred meters in a single breath, and then fleeing toward the city outskirts.

"Damn it! After him!"

Seeing Gu Han escape, the Barbarian King unwillingly loosed a few more arrows. When he found he could not hit his target, he slammed his precious bow down in fury and roared at the assembled Barbarian Chieftains.

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