Life and Death Taken Lightly

Why had thirty million Great Qin Warriors fought to the death at the Northern Border Great Wall without retreating?

Why had those imperial clansmen, wanting for neither wealth nor glory, died in battle without regret?

Because behind them lay their homeland and their people.

Perhaps in the eyes of those immortals and demons invading the land of the Nine Provinces, these people were no more than ants.

But in the eyes of the Qin people, they were all their comrades-in-arms, their family.

As he walked forward, Zhang Yuan's turbulent emotions gradually calmed.

Within his mind, Vitality Beads and Insight Beads shattered one after another.

Within his body, his sinews cracked inch by inch, unable to bear the suddenly surging power of his vitality and blood.

Before his eyes, a range of rolling mountains seemed to appear. An old man clad in black armor wielded a long saber, his slashes drawing upon the mountains' strength to move with his blade.

After three steps, Zhang Yuan's strength had reached thirteen hundred jin.

After five steps, his Mountain Yue Saber Technique reached the Great Accomplishment Level.

After ten steps, all the Vitality Beads and Insight Beads he had accumulated were exhausted. His cultivation reached the peak of Houtian Mid-stage, while his Mountain Yue Saber Technique reached the Great Accomplishment Level!

"Kill—"

With a thunderous roar, Zhang Yuan stepped into the air, leaping a Zhang high as he brought his saber down with both hands.

Two shields rose before him, while three spears thrust toward him.

"Bang—"

The long saber struck the shields. The thick wooden shields split apart at the sound, and the Yan soldiers holding them flew backward, crashing into the spear-wielding troops and knocking their thrusting spears aside.

One slash shattered two shields. Zhang Yuan's strike carried the Strength of One Ox!

Before his saber had fully fallen, Zhang Yuan stepped forward and slashed diagonally with his saber against the two thrusting spears.

The long saber gifted by Crimson Scale Army Deputy Commander Zhao Changming was forged from hundredfold-refined steel. Its blade was heavy, its edge razor-sharp.

The two spears were severed. Zhang Yuan spun, pulling his long saber across his waist and cutting through the midsection of the spear-wielding Yan soldier before him. Blood splattered, entrails spilled, and his guts were severed.

He advanced and lifted his saber.

The blade tore open the armor of another Yan soldier who had failed to retreat in time, drawing a line of blood.

Zhang Yuan released the long saber, then raised his foot and kicked the hilt. The saber plunged heavily into the chest and abdomen of the Yan soldier opposite him, carrying his body as it flew three Zhang away and pinning him to a linden tree two feet around.

After killing two men in succession, two blood beads condensed and instantly shattered.

A trace of vitality and blood power trembled around Zhang Yuan's body.

He entered Houtian Late-stage, his vitality and blood power exceeding fifteen hundred jin!

This breakthrough had come without the slightest bottleneck.

It seemed that life-and-death combat was the best time to break through one's cultivation realm.

Within an army, a Houtian Late-stage martial artist could command five hundred soldiers. In the martial world, Houtian Late-stage was already a rare expert.

The Xiantian Realm was known in the martial world as the first-rate expert realm. Those who reached it were powerhouses capable of holding down an entire region within every faction, while Houtian Late-stage martial artists were their most capable elites.

At this moment, Zhang Yuan did not care in the least how far his cultivation had increased.

Before life and death, what was there to care about?

The long saber left his hand. He retreated one step, then suddenly turned around.

He turned and raised his elbow.

Ironclad Fist, Turning Elbow!

All the power of his waist and body condensed into that elbow.

With a fist technique at the Great Perfection Level, every gesture could unleash it, concentrating strength to its utmost limit.

"Bang—"

The soldier who hurriedly raised his shield had his wooden shield smashed apart by that elbow. His body flew into a tree trunk a Zhang away, breaking even the trunk as thick as a bowl's rim.

Visible to the naked eye, the soldier's spine had twisted out of shape. When he fell to the ground, his organs had already shattered and his breath was gone.

"This Qin dog is hard to handle!"

"Retreat, bring up the bows and crossbows!"

"Spread out! Don't let this bastard get close!"

Zhang Yuan rushed forward several steps, grabbed the hilt of the saber he had kicked away earlier, pulled it free, and left at once.

Just now, he had charged into their battle formation and caught the Yan Army off guard.

Once the Yan Army scattered and their bows and crossbows fired together, he would soon be turned into a porcupine.

As he raced through the forest, Zhang Yuan activated Chaos Auxiliary Battle, dodging the incoming arrows by the narrowest margin.

He only needed to hold these Yan soldiers back long enough for the civilians and wounded soldiers leaving the city to get far enough away.

As he moved through the forest, his speed grew faster and faster.

The vitality and blood power that had suddenly surged earlier was now beginning to adapt, turning into speed and strength that truly belonged to him.

The wildly swelling vitality and blood within his body, which his sinews had been unable to bear, was also beginning to settle.

This was what a true Houtian Late-stage martial artist should be like.

With Houtian Late-stage cultivation, Cape Saber Technique and Ironclad Fist at the Great Perfection Level, and Mountain Yue Saber Technique at the Great Accomplishment Level, Zhang Yuan grew increasingly composed in dealing with the pursuers.

Running beneath his feet, Zhang Yuan headed toward the cliffside.

He wanted to draw the pursuers onto another path, rather than let them chase after the civilians and wounded soldiers.

"Boss Duan!"

After advancing several hundred Zhang, Zhang Yuan saw Duan Hong lying on the ground.

At that moment, Duan Hong had a bloody gash across his waist and abdomen. Pale-faced, he leaned against a tree trunk.

Seeing Zhang Yuan, Duan Hong struggled to raise his head and grinned.

"Kid, I'm not dead yet."

Zhang Yuan reached out, grabbed Duan Hong's arm, and turned to look toward the Yan soldiers pursuing them from behind.

"Boom—"

A thunderous rumble came from the direction of South City.

Xiantian force collided, stirring the surrounding clouds.

Three streams of Xiantian force were actually moving swiftly toward the scrub forest.

"Yu Lin, you may be strong, but those wounded soldiers you sent away won't escape!"

Zhang Yuan raised his head and looked toward the constantly clashing forces.

The two Yan Army Xiantian Realm experts had deliberately headed toward the civilians and wounded soldiers leaving the city, luring Yu Lin over.

Using Chaos Auxiliary Battle, Zhang Yuan saw flickering light and shadow in his eyes, his gaze fixing on the rocky cliff to the right.

There, a deep crimson, nearly black shadow flashed.

With his current Houtian Late-stage cultivation, anything that showed as a deep crimson, nearly black shadow in his vision was at least at the peak of Houtian Late-stage.

Half-step Xiantian.

To enter the Xiantian Realm, one needed to temper Xiantian True Essence. Many experts reached the peak of the Houtian Realm and began condensing True Essence, only for their cultivation to become stuck at Half-step Xiantian.

Though a Half-step Xiantian Realm expert could not compare with a true Xiantian Realm expert, they possessed a True Essence aura and protective force around their body, allowing them to fight Xiantian Realm experts. Yet their True Essence was thin, and they could not fight for long.

The two Yan Army Xiantian Realm experts had lured Yu Lin here so they could join forces with a Half-step Xiantian Realm expert and kill him.

"Boom—"

As their forces collided, the shrubs of the scrub forest were uprooted.

The Half-step Xiantian Realm Yan soldier hidden behind the rocky cliff sprang forth, thrusting the long sword in his hand toward Yu Lin's chest.

Yu Lin snorted coldly and swept his long saber sideways, blocking the sword. With a tremor of his blade, he sent the opponent flying several Zhang back.

"Young Master Ouyang, be careful. Yu Lin is a renowned expert of the Crimson Scale Army. With him to temper you, you will surely step into the Xiantian Realm."

"Young Master Ouyang, don't be hasty. Wait until we have worn down this man's True Essence before you make your move. This time, we will surely help you step into the Xiantian Realm."

The expressions of the two Yan Army Xiantian Realm experts did not change. Their forces linked together, surrounding Yu Lin.

"Many thanks, Uncles. Once we return to Great Yan, Ouyang Ming will certainly introduce you both to my father." The sword-wielding young man spoke loudly, arrogance on his face as his long sword pointed at Yu Lin ahead.

The two Yan Army Xiantian Realm experts smiled. Together with the sword-wielding youth Ouyang Ming, they formed a three-pronged stance around Yu Lin, who held his long saber and faced three enemies alone.

The Yan Army had deployed two Xiantian Realm experts and one Half-step Xiantian Realm expert to kill Crimson Scale Army Commander Yu Lin!

It was not just an encirclement to kill him. They intended to use Yu Lin to temper that Young Master Ouyang, making him a stepping stone into the Xiantian Realm.

From the distant city wall came the sound of the gong being struck.

That was Crimson Scale Army Deputy Commander Zhao Changming sending a message to Yu Lin.

If Yu Lin could not defeat them, Zhao Changming would lead the remaining troops in the city out to rescue him at the cost of their lives.

"Zhao Changming, hold Fengtian County City to the death. No one is to leave the city, not even half a step!" Yu Lin's voice carried determination and resolve.

Perhaps from the moment he had left the city to entangle the enemy, he had already known such a situation would arise.

If he did not fight the Yan Army experts, the civilians and wounded soldiers leaving the city could never escape.

In the eyes of the Yan Army, he, Yu Lin alone, mattered more than those wounded soldiers and civilians.

Zhang Yuan leaned against a pine tree two feet around, staring intently at the battlefield several dozen Zhang away.

Those Yan soldiers who had pursued and blocked him had already withdrawn when the Xiantian Realm experts moved this way.

Even if Zhang Yuan wanted to leave now, he could not.

The slightest movement would alert the Xiantian Realm experts.

Given the Yan Army's methods, they would certainly come to capture him and Duan Hong, using them to divide Yu Lin's attention.

"Since I, Yu Lin, entered the Crimson Scale Army, I have fought hundreds of battles great and small. I have long taken life and death lightly."

Ahead, Yu Lin's voice slowly sounded as he held his long saber.

"I cultivate the Mountain Yue Saber Technique, founded upon the strength of mountains. My saber technique condenses immense force. Gentlemen, watch carefully."

He was not warning the Yan Army Xiantian Realm experts before him to be careful, but telling Zhang Yuan to watch carefully!

Perhaps this was the last time Yu Lin would demonstrate the Mountain Yue Saber Technique for Zhang Yuan!

Zhang Yuan pressed a hand against his saber hilt, gritted his teeth, and stared intently at the saber in Yu Lin's hand.

"Buzz—"

The long saber trembled, and Yu Lin slashed out.

Mountain Yue Saber Technique, Cloud Concealing Mountain Mist.