Divine Weapon Acquired, Flames Soaring to the Sky

Lin Xuankong curiously reached for the Dragon Roaming Evil Warding Gauntlet, intending to pick it up from the table. The moment he touched it, his eyes shifted. This glove was astonishingly heavy!

A single small glove was actually twice as heavy as a hundred-pound steamed bun—nearly three hundred pounds!

A glove of such immense weight, worn on the right hand... an ordinary burly man would probably throw out his back on the spot.

Even a Martial Cultivator at Mortal Transformation Layer One would be unable to attack with their usual agility and speed while wearing such a glove!

If he had not already advanced to Layer Two, he probably truly would not have been able to handle this glove. No wonder Steward Ma Jiang had said that if Lin Xuankong felt his strength was insufficient, he could give it to Li Er!

Lin Xuankong put the Dragon Roaming Evil Warding Gauntlet onto his right hand and silently circulated his blood and qi.

In an instant, some of his mid-stage Layer Two blood and qi was consumed. The countless overlapping White Scales on the glove wriggled, then continuously extended until they covered his entire right arm!

The gleaming White Scales covering his right arm fitted together seamlessly and snugly. It looked as though his right arm had transformed into the limb of a divine dragon—graceful and smooth, yet brimming with terrifying might!

Excitement appeared in Lin Xuankong's eyes as he carefully stroked his right arm.

Now, this right arm of his, weighing several hundred pounds, would gain more than tenfold power whether he threw a punch, struck with his palm, or jabbed out a finger!

It was a very simple principle. If a thirty-pound girl and a three-hundred-pound girl each plopped down on top of you, which one would hurt more?

Now that his right arm alone weighed over three hundred pounds, if he additionally drove it with blood and qi and the strength of his entire body, then used Crane Points North...

Unfortunately, the large bluestone in his courtyard had already "vanished like a fallen beauty."

Otherwise, he definitely would have tested it on that stone. With one finger strike, he could probably have punched his entire arm straight through it!

He lovingly stroked his right arm, repeatedly marveling at the wonder and power of this Amulet Equipment. With equipment like this in hand, it gave him the illusion that he could hammer through the earth beneath his feet with a single punch!

Of course, the Dragon Wandering Amulet Hand was not merely powerful. It could also prevent Demonic Energy contamination, stop Demonic Energy from draining blood and qi, and guard against disturbances of the mind!

After his bout of emotion, Lin Xuankong put away the Dragon Wandering Amulet Hand and strode outside. This mission offered many benefits, and now that he possessed such a Sharp Divine Weapon, why should he fear failing to return victorious!

In the outer room of the Wooden Building at home,

Li Xiaolan looked at him with some concern. "You're going to fight in the Outer City? Although Xunyang Town is a Garrison Town belonging to Great Marsh Prefecture City and isn't too far away, demons occasionally appear in those towns!"

The Young Lady knew very well that he was at mid-stage Layer Two, so she was not worried that the Marsh Python Liao Tribe would stump him.

"The Great Stewards of the Yin Talisman Sect have all gone to drive away demons! Besides, I'm already at mid-stage Layer Two. With the Dragon Wandering Amulet Hand gifted by Steward Ma Jiang, as well as the Twin Vine Demonic Pearl and the Man Luo Demonic Pearl, I can preserve my life even if I encounter low-ranking demons!" Lin Xuankong said.

Li Xiaolan looked with surprise at the Dragon Wandering Amulet Hand he had taken out.

"Amulet Armor—it really is Amulet Armor!

"Because this kind of armor is extremely difficult to refine, it is worth as much as a Demonic Pearl. It is almost impossible to buy in Great Marsh Prefecture City. I heard that only an occasional set appears at auctions in Liang City, and every time, the Martial Cultivators fight for it with their lives!

"Even if that steward holds an exalted position and earns several times your monthly salary, it would be difficult for him to afford such precious Amulet Armor!"

Lin Xuankong thought for a moment. "He said he had good luck and won it gambling with dice!"

"And you believed that? It must have been accumulated over several generations before he obtained such a thing! Eh, wait, did that pretty chief steward let you use it?"

"...Absolutely not!"

"Hmph!"

"Really not! Well, I'll pack up and set out!"

Li Xiaolan frowned. "I'm going with you!"

Lin Xuankong shook his head. "You gained some insight when you went out last time, and now you're at the critical moment of a breakthrough. You should focus on cultivation and break through as soon as possible! Just remember, when I return in triumph, prepare me a feast of eight meat dishes and eight vegetable dishes!"

Seeing his determined expression, a crafty glint surfaced in Li Xiaolan's eyes. She nodded. "Then I'll have those Food Halls prepare it in advance, but you have to give me silver. I'm out of money!"

"Then forget it. Just prepare eight dishes!"

After Lin Xuankong finished packing and left the Wooden Building, Li Xiaolan leaned against the second-floor window and watched him walk away without blinking.

Then her lips curled upward. "My legs are attached to me. Do you think you can just shake me off? At worst, I'll cultivate while traveling!"

When he arrived at the Cattle Horse Street Barracks,

Lin Xuankong glanced at the sun, then looked toward the more than forty people already lined up at the Assembly Ground.

Looking at Guo Yun, whose face was full of worry amid the crowd, he asked, "How are the preparations?"

Dark-skinned Guo Yun respectfully cupped his hands. "Reporting to Steward Lin, the food, medicine, and weapons have all been prepared."

"And your family?" Lin Xuankong asked.

Guo Yun's expression stiffened. Then he forced a smile. "It's only one trip out. I didn't tell my family!"

The expressions of many disciples nearby shifted. They had all personally seen Guo Yun write a last letter to his family. These disciples could not help lowering their heads, their faces filled with complicated emotions.

Lin Xuankong silently swept his gaze over everyone. Then he suddenly spoke in a ringing voice:

"This mission is both a crisis and an opportunity! Though I, Lin Xuankong, dare not guarantee that I can bring every single person back, I can absolutely guarantee that on this trip to Xunyang Town, we will win a complete victory and annihilate the Marsh Python Liao Tribe outside Xunyang Town! At that time, every one of you will have merits to your name, and the sect will naturally reward you!"

A complete victory? All the disciples looked at Lin Xuankong in confusion, without the slightest confidence in their hearts.

Even Li Er shook his bald head, secretly thinking, If Steward Lin said we had a chance to win and drive back the Liao People Tribe, that would still sound somewhat believable. But a complete victory, annihilating the Marsh Python Liao Tribe... even if Steward Ma led the team at Mortal Transformation Layer Three, he probably would not dare say such a thing!

Among the many disciples, only Yang Shan clenched the long spear in his hand and looked at Lin Xuankong with considerable admiration.

He actually had no confidence either, but he deeply admired his steward's bold spirit! He did not understand all those grand principles, but he knew that when two armies met, the brave would win!

As one of the towns in the Outer City, Xunyang Town was not too far from Great Marsh Prefecture City, roughly over one hundred and forty li away. Of course, this "not too far" was relative to Martial Cultivators with extremely swift footwork.

If ordinary people traveled such a distance on foot, they would probably need five or six days—and would wear huge bloody blisters into both feet!

The disciples from the Cattle Horse Street Barracks had all been at the Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One for more than a year at minimum. They ran like the wind, and by the time night fell, everyone had reached the outskirts of Xunyang Town and stopped atop a small hill thick with dense forest.

As the disciples stood atop the hill and looked toward Xunyang Town, their expressions changed dramatically.

At that moment, continuous flames burned along the city wall surrounding Xunyang Town. Most stretches of the city wall, several li in length, had already caught fire. The flames rose more than a zhang high without end, their blaze nearly reddening half the sky!

By the light of the fire, they could see several hundred thick Wooden Stakes, each over a zhang long, erected over twenty zhang outside the main city gate of Xunyang Town.

Quite a few Wooden Stakes had human bodies impaled upon them. Most of those pierced through the thick, long stakes were already dead, while a few still twitched faintly. Yet with their bodies rammed through by such massive wooden poles, how could they possibly survive? It was merely the struggle of those at death's door!

"Could we have arrived too late? Could such a huge fire mean the town has already been breached?" someone asked, staring at the soaring flames with a complicated expression.

"I wonder whether these corpses are the bodies of the defenders!" A disciple looked at the miserable sight of those distant corpses and could not help swallowing.

The others all looked incomparably grim as well. Clearly, the savage and brutal scene before them had shaken them to their cores. Even Yang Shan, who had already advanced to Layer Two, could not help gripping his long spear tightly upon seeing this.

Lin Xuankong, standing at the very front, merely shook his head slightly.

"These flames are burning far too uniformly, and there are no ignition points inside the town. The defenders within the town must have lit them.

"The Marsh Python Liao People are born from water and naturally loathe fire. Once flames this high are lit, even after they are extinguished, the embers can last through the entire night! With embers spread across the city wall, no matter how fierce the Marsh Python Liao People are, they will not launch a nighttime raid on Xunyang Town. That way, the defenders can get a proper rest at night!"

After hearing his analysis, the disciples all froze. Though they had fought the Liao People Tribe before, this was clearly their first time facing the Marsh Python Liao People.

Bald Li Er said admiringly, "It seems Steward Lin came prepared and did his homework thoroughly. Since Steward Lin understands the Marsh Python Liao People so well and says we can win, I finally have some confidence!"

Lin Xuankong said impassionedly, "Not that we can win. We will win a complete victory!"

The disciples could not help looking helplessly at Steward Lin. They were about to face the savage Liao People Tribe, so why was Steward Lin still talking tough?

Just then,

A savage howl rang out from a dense forest outside the city gate. Immediately afterward, several groups of freakish figures nearly two meters tall, dragging long tails, leaped out of the dense forest.

Bulging Leather Pouches hung from the waists of these freakish figures, and they wore only strips of tattered cloth. Their exposed, swollen muscles appeared packed with explosive power, while their skin was ash-gray. The White Scales on their foreheads flashed continuously!

Each freak held two humans in its hands—young men, elderly people, women, and children!

The more than one hundred Marsh Python Liao People ran outside the city and each took up position beside a wooden stake.

The next moment, three Liao People leaped into the air and slammed the six men in their hands directly onto the pointed ends of the Wooden Stakes. In an instant, the six men were impaled, and their screams merged into one. The inhumanly tragic cries of those six men still made the disciples present turn pale even from two li away.

"They're using this savage, shameless method to force the disciples defending the city to come out and fight them!" Yang Shan's eyes widened as he watched, and he wished he could charge over immediately.

The disciples all understood it now, but every one of them had doubts in their hearts. Would the city defenders come out? Should they?

"Two hundred and twenty people. Over seventy men, more than eighty children, and over sixty women... Sigh, the city defenders probably will not come out. Judging by the number of corpses, they must have done this once already!" someone said in a low voice.

"Beasts!" A furious shout suddenly rang out from the city wall, and several dozen Yin Talisman Sect disciples appeared above the city gate.

The Martial Cultivator at the forefront roared, "You were once human too. You possess intelligence now, yet you willingly allow demons to control you and slaughter your own kind! Damn it, you are beasts who have lost all conscience! I, Han Lu, cannot endure this any longer!"

Several disciples around him were clearly anxious and tried to reach out and pull him back. Unfortunately, limited by their strength, they failed to hold that Martial Cultivator.

Han Lu leaped down, crashing from the city gate several zhang high onto the ground with a thunderous boom.

Then, sword in hand, he charged toward the Liao People Tribe. More than ten of the disciples standing atop the city gate leaped down to follow behind him, while the rest drew their longbows and lit the fire oil on their arrows.

"It's Steward Han! Quiet—move closer!"

Lin Xuankong was the first to stride forward. After their expressions shifted for a moment, the disciples all gritted their teeth and followed after him!