Annihilate a Village

The words reached his lips, but Lu Yuan casually brushed them off.

The fewer people who knew about matters related to the Great Dao Seed, the better.

Over the next ten days, Lu Yuan spent his time training in martial arts and gathering information about Iron Dragon Stockade. He even circled the stockade's vicinity many times, mapping out its terrain.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~

In the courtyard, Lu Yuan's figure flickered and shifted, trailing afterimages like bouncing pellets or shooting stars. The air around him spun and exploded with sharp cracks, like thunderous blasts of energy.

This was the pinnacle of the Seven Star Dragon Swimming Steps.

At this level, even without physical contact, the sheer force of his steps and turns could send ordinary people staggering within several feet.

If Bai Hailong were resurrected and saw an outsider mastering the Bai family's secret footwork to such a degree, he would be utterly dumbfounded.

Lu Yuan's talent was now that of a true genius. After breaking through to Blood Qi Like an Ox, his martial progress, while not as terrifying as before, was still astonishingly fast.

In these ten days, both the Seven Star Dragon Swimming Steps and the Lightning Blade had been honed to their peak, perfect completion.

Moreover, he had formed preliminary ideas on how to merge the Lightning Blade with the Great Gale Saber Technique.

He was confident that, if he succeeded, this new saber art would at least be a Middle-grade Technique.

Night faded, and the great sun rose.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes and sat up, exhaling softly: "The Dragon Elephant Longevity Art has broken through again."

After a period of intense cultivation, the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art had reached the Sublime level, and his lifespan had increased significantly.

[Name: Lu Yuan] [Age: 17] [Talent: Genius] [Lifespan: 159 (Remaining: 34 years)] [Techniques: Ox Demon Fist (Peak 100%), Great Gale Saber Technique (Peak 100%), Dragon Elephant Longevity Art (Sublime 1%), Seven Star Dragon Swimming Steps (Peak 100%), Lightning Blade (Peak 100%)]

Opening his status panel, his total lifespan had reached 159 years, with 34 years remaining.

"Not bad. I no longer need to worry about lifespan for now."

Lu Yuan was very satisfied.

"Peerless Prodigy talent is still far out of reach—definitely unattainable in the short term. I wonder if cultivating the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art to its perfect completion could accumulate enough lifespan to push me from Genius to Peerless Prodigy."

Upgrading from High-grade Talent to Genius had consumed eighty years of lifespan.

From Genius to Peerless Prodigy would require at least two hundred years, perhaps more.

After breakfast, Lu Yuan left the county town and headed straight for Black Dang Mountain.

He now had a thorough understanding of all the information about Iron Dragon Stockade.

Iron Dragon Stockade was located on Black Dang Mountain, with three leaders: Second Boss Long Ying and Third Boss Li Jing were both at the Blood Qi Like an Ox level, while Great Boss Yi Zheng's strength was unknown.

Lu Yuan estimated that Yi Zheng was at least at Four Blood Changes, possibly even Five Blood Changes.

Besides the three leaders, Black Dang Mountain also had a figure like a Dog-head Strategist named Tang Gui, who was quite cunning. It was said he had once been a Xiucai but, after failing the imperial exams multiple times, turned to banditry in anger.

Near Iron Dragon Stockade were two villages that colluded with the stronghold, serving as its lookout posts. The two necessary paths up the mountain passed through these villages, so any disturbance would immediately alert the stockade, allowing them to prepare in advance.

Lu Yuan crouched at the foot of Black Dang Mountain until afternoon, when he heard a chaotic clatter of footsteps. Looking up, he saw a vast tide of nearly ten thousand people surging toward Iron Dragon Stockade.

Almost all of these ten thousand were dressed in white.

Such a massive force couldn't be hidden. When villagers spotted the crowd, some immediately sprinted up the mountain to report.

"Hall Master, should we...?"

Someone drew a bow to its full moon, seeking orders from a burly man on horseback.

"Kill them all! If even one survives, you'll answer for it!"

The voice grated like metal on metal, sending a chill through everyone present.

Twang, twang, twang!!

Three arrows crossed over a hundred meters, pinning three fleeing villagers to the ground on the spot.

"Hahaha! The Hall Master commands—kill them all!"

"We've been cooped up so long, our balls are shriveled. Time to wet our beaks!"

The Taiping Sect disciples were already itching for action. As soon as Helm Master Li Zongming gave the order, they poured out like a swarm of locusts, charging toward the village.

"Ahhhh~~~ Mercy! Don't kill me!"

"Fight them! These beasts!!"

"Beasts!! Let go of my daughter!!"

"You killed my wife and child—I'll kill you!!"

"Bastard, I'll slaughter you!!"

Under the burning, killing, and looting of over ten thousand Taiping Sect followers, this village of barely a hundred households faced utter annihilation.

The men were all slaughtered; the women were either killed or violated before being killed.

In an instant, the village ran with rivers of blood, screams ceaseless, turning into a hell on earth.

Lu Yuan watched the Taiping Sect followers burning, killing, and looting from afar, shocked and furious, fists clenched, his heart icy cold. Though he had already guessed the Taiping Sect was an evil cult, he never imagined it was far more wicked than he thought, daring to commit such cruel acts of wiping out an entire village.

Great Sheng might be in decline, but it was still a behemoth.

How dared the Taiping Sect annihilate a village?

Unless the Taiping Sect was already prepared to rebel.

Lu Yuan's chest burned with rage, yet it felt suppressed by ten thousand years of frozen ice. He wasn't foolish enough to leap out, thinking he could stop the Taiping Sect's massacre with his own strength.

Not to mention how many experts they had—with over ten thousand men, a single spit from each could drown him.

In less than half an hour, the village was slaughtered clean, then set ablaze, the firelight painting half the sky red.

The massive force of over ten thousand surged toward Black Dang Mountain. Before they even reached Iron Dragon Stockade, they alarmed the bandits there, who panicked and hastily organized defenses.

"Hall Master, Iron Dragon Stockade's fortifications are fairly complete, easy to defend and hard to attack."

A strategist beside Li Zongming said in a low voice:

"In terms of absolute strength, we naturally hold the upper hand, but Yi Zheng is skilled at drilling troops, advancing and retreating with discipline. In military formations, we're certainly no match for Iron Dragon Stockade—even the government's several campaigns suffered heavy losses."

"Yi Zheng is indeed a man of caliber. If he's willing to submit, our sect will naturally entrust him with important duties."

Li Zongming curled his lips into a cold sneer:

"Unfortunately, this man doesn't know his place, unwilling to hand over the Secret Key. Since he won't take the toast, let him drink the penalty!"

The strategist's eyelids twitched, his heart itching like a cat was scratching it.

He was a man of great curiosity, having heard the term 'Secret Key' from Li Zongming's mouth several times, and saw how highly Li Zongming valued it.

As far as he knew, the Holy Cult's inner circle was unaware of the 'Secret Key's' existence. Li Zongming was mobilizing followers to besiege Iron Dragon Stockade on his own authority.

If the Holy Cult's high echelons found out that this Helm Master dared to move over ten thousand followers for personal matters, at best he'd be stripped of rank, at worst crippled.