Twenty Years of Jianghu Dreams, Ink Staining the Green Robe Soaked

Only those in the Xiantian Realm could shatter armor with a single arrow from two hundred paces away.

Young Master Tao's expression changed sharply. He stepped forward and lifted his long spear.

"Bang—"

A blue-black long arrow struck the tip of his wooden spear, snapping off the dagger-like spearhead. The arrow did not stop. It plunged into Young Master Tao's chest, carrying his body into Zhang Yuan's back.

The sharp arrowhead pierced through Young Master Tao's body, then stabbed into Zhang Yuan's shoulder from behind, passing five inches through.

The immense force carried by the arrow made Zhang Yuan stagger, nearly pitching forward.

"Go, go—"

Shot through the chest and nailed to Zhang Yuan's back, Young Master Tao gave a great shout. Blood gushed from his mouth as he stepped forward, forcibly dragging his body through the arrow shaft.

Blood streamed down the arrow shaft.

Zhang Yuan was about to turn back when Young Master Tao reached behind him and pressed a hand onto his shoulder, his palm covered in blood.

"Take the brothers' military merit back with you."

Zhang Yuan held the blood-soaked hemp cloth bundle in one hand, pressed down on the arrow piercing his shoulder with the other, and rushed out of the streets and alleys.

"Twenty years of Jianghu dreams, ink staining the green robe soaked."

"Tao Yulin of Great Qin is here! Which Yan dog dares kill me?"

Young Master Tao's laughter came from behind him.

Young Master Tao, who had not wanted to become a scholar, yet had recorded every wish and battle merit of everyone in the camp.

Young Master Tao, who had not wanted to deliver finishing blows or kill, and every time they went into battle had kept half a body's length ahead of Zhang Yuan.

Young Master Tao, who knew Zhang Yuan was a ninth-rank Black Robe Guard inheriting his father's post, yet often told him Jianghu tales, tempting Zhang Yuan to roam the world with a sword.

Zhang Yuan's steps halted after he had run more than ten zhang. He felt as though his chest were about to explode.

Death was nothing more than that. When had Zhang Yuan ever abandoned a comrade-in-arms who shared life and death with him?

Turning around and seeing the figure braced against a long spear, Zhang Yuan snapped the arrow piercing his shoulder, then swept the blade in his hand along his back and cut off half the arrow shaft.

With a wild roar, he charged straight back into the streets and alleys.

"Chaos, Battle Assist!"

In an instant, countless grids appeared before Zhang Yuan's eyes. The positions of the black-armored Yan Army soldiers ahead were all refined within those grids.

Faint red or scarlet glows also appeared above those soldiers' heads.

Faint red could be crushed. Scarlet required caution. Black-red had to be avoided. Mixed black meant flee at once.

The blood and qi throughout his body seemed to boil, and the world before Zhang Yuan's eyes appeared to slow to a crawl.

He took three steps, borrowed the force of his sprint, slid two zhang beneath his feet, lowered his waist, and dragged his saber upward.

He stepped forward and flicked his saber up.

"Clang—"

Zhang Yuan raised his saber to block the long blade slashing toward Young Master Tao's shoulder. The ear-splitting clash of weapons rang beside his ears, making the gravely wounded, dying Young Master Tao turn his head in bewilderment.

Zhang Yuan was utterly focused. Without drawing back his saber, he twisted his waist and drove his shoulder directly into the chest of the black-armored Yan soldier at the front, whose guard had been thrown wide open by Zhang Yuan's lifted blade.

Ironclad Fist, Close-Quarters Shoulder Strike.

Zhang Yuan's Close-Quarters Shoulder Strike had clearly reached the realm of complete mastery. Half-Step Bursting Force, like a savage bull charging ahead.

"Bang—"

The black-armored Yan soldier spat blood and flew backward more than a zhang before crashing to the ground.

His rib bones had shattered, and his internal organs were damaged.

Having landed one blow, Zhang Yuan did not stop. He gripped the hilt straight in his hand and swept the dragged saber horizontally.

"Bang—"

The long saber traced an arc and struck the shield held by the Yan soldier to his left, above whose head flickered a faint red glow.

That faint red glow meant this man's cultivation was far inferior to his own.

With one heavy blow, at least Five Hundred Jin of force crashed down.

The shield-bearing Yan soldier shuddered all over, his feet stumbling uncontrollably as he staggered back two steps at an angle.

That retreat exposed the figures of two soldiers behind him, one holding a long weapon and the other a bow and crossbow.

"Hah—"

Zhang Yuan gave a low shout. His left foot stomped forward with all his strength, and the power of his entire body burst forth as he rammed straight ahead.

After charging forward three feet, he raised his right leg. Empowered by the force of his waist, it slammed heavily into the chest of the black-armored soldier holding a long-handled war saber, whose blade could not be raised in defense.

Ironclad Fist, Sky-Piercing Knee.

"Crack—"

The piercing sound of rib bones shattering rang out.

The black-armored soldier's chest instantly caved in. The black blood erupting from his mouth was mixed with viscera, hot as it splashed over Zhang Yuan's head.

The Chaos Screen within Zhang Yuan's mind had already turned entirely blood-red. One stored Blood Bead shattered, turned into the blood and qi expended in his battle.

"Kill!"

The black-armored Yan soldier standing nearby, holding a short crossbow, gritted his teeth and gave a low shout as he raised the crossbow toward Zhang Yuan.

Three feet.

Zhang Yuan let out a beast-like growl. He turned the edge of his saber outward, and the blade sliced horizontally along his arm.

"Bang—"

"Rip—"

The crossbow bolt grazed Zhang Yuan's waist, pierced through his Leather Armor, and brought out a string of Blood Beads. The foot-long arrow embedded itself in a broken wall a zhang away.

Zhang Yuan's saber cut open the throat of the Black Armored Soldier, and blood gushed out.

The soldier threw away his crossbow and clutched his neck with both hands, but he could not stop the blood from splattering.

Zhang Yuan stepped forward, gripped his saber in reverse, and drove it into the shoulder hollow of the black-armored Yan soldier whom he had knocked to the ground with one knee and who was struggling to rise.

The blade stabbed in through the soft spot at the shoulder hollow, pierced the chest cavity, passed through the heart and lungs, then burst out through his back and plunged heavily into the bluestone paving.

"Clang—"

The tip of the saber snapped, and Zhang Yuan's arm went numb from the shock.

The rebounding force made Zhang Yuan's entire body shudder, and the blood-red haze before his eyes slowly faded.

He looked up. Before him, only the shield-bearing soldier he had driven back with one slash remained, his face pale as he retreated in panic.

With his eyes shining brightly and blood streaming all over his face, Zhang Yuan looked like a mad demon in the eyes of this soldier, who had seen death often enough.

At the end of the streets and alleys ahead, a figure bearing a mixed black glow above his head came running.

That Xiantian Realm expert whose arrow had gravely wounded Young Master Tao, even piercing through his body!

Zhang Yuan pulled back his long saber, kicked the Yan soldier's body before him into the streets and alleys, then turned, hoisted Young Master Tao onto his back, and ran with his head lowered.

Two arrows chased after him, embedding themselves in a wooden pillar of a broken wall at his side. They pierced through the pillar, as thick as a bowl's mouth, and sent splinters whirling into the air.

Zhang Yuan turned the street corner before the arrows arrived.

After turning the corner, grids filled Zhang Yuan's vision. He instantly chose the best route and wound through the ruins.

He vaulted walls.

He passed through alleys.

He crouched and moved.

He leaped.

At least five arrows capable of directly piercing through his body shattered within a hair's breadth of his side.

Without Chaos Auxiliary Battle, Zhang Yuan would have long since been shot dead by an arrow.

His long saber had already been discarded. Blood streamed endlessly from the arrow wound through his shoulder, while blood also continued to flow from the wound at his waist.

Running with all his strength, he felt as though his chest had been filled with lead, heavy and tearing.

Zhang Yuan did not dare stop.

"Zhang... Zhang Yuan, you... you yourself..."

Young Master Tao's voice was weak on his back.

Zhang Yuan ignored him and simply ran forward with all his strength.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Yuan's legs gave out and he fell to the ground, sending Young Master Tao on his back tumbling away as well.

"Where's the medic? These two brothers are badly wounded!"

"What a fine man! He carried his own comrade-in-arms all the way back!"

"This one can't make it. An arrow pierced through his chest and lungs, and his heart meridian is injured. It was the work of a Xiantian Realm expert."

A group of Qin Army soldiers gathered around them.

Several veteran soldiers stepped forward to inspect them and sighed softly.

Can't make it?

Zhang Yuan climbed up from the ground, crawled to Young Master Tao's side, and pressed his hand over the wound in his chest, where nearly all his blood had already drained away.

As Zhang Yuan pressed down, a gush of blood welled up from the wound.

"Cough, cough..."

Young Master Tao opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Yuan. Blood welled from his mouth.

"Zhang... Zhang... Yuan... give... give me a quick... quick end..."