New Blood and Old Saber

When they returned to the open space in front of the Garrison barracks, Commander Chen was standing there. Cowering beside him were four dejected new recruits, their faces pale with fear. They were all wearing ill-fitting, tattered soldier uniforms, their eyes vacant. Wei Dayong was also leaning against something nearby, still looking unwell.

Commander Chen heard footsteps and turned his head. His dark face remained expressionless. "You're back? Good." He gestured towards the four newcomers with his chin. "The team is short-handed. You know the rules. You'll lead a squad tonight on the western section of the city wall patrol. Wei Dayong will lead another squad guarding the north."

As he spoke, he took out a small cloth bag from his chest and shook out a few dark red pills. He pinched one and gave it to Wang Quan, then another to Wei Dayong. He put the rest back.

"Exploding Pills. Recognize them," Commander Chen's voice was hoarse, brooking no argument. "If you encounter a situation you absolutely cannot overcome, swallow one. It'll forcefully boost your strength to the level of the Martial Realm, lasting for about half an hour. But remember this – once the effects wear off, you'll be half-crippled. Damage to your meridians is the least of it; you could lose your life. Don't use them unless it's a desperate situation! If you use one, report back to me with a clear explanation. If you don't use it, return it tomorrow morning, as is. Understood?"

"Understood, Commander Chen," Wang Quan took the pill. It felt slightly warm in his hand and had a pungent smell. He carefully put it away. This stuff was for when you were willing to risk your life, or when your life was on the line.

Wei Dayong silently accepted his pill and nodded.

"They're yours," Commander Chen said. He glanced at the four newcomers, his eyes like knives. "He's your leader. If you don't listen to him, you deserve to die. If you survive and come back, I'll deal with you then!" With that, he turned and left, his footsteps echoing with thuds.

Wang Quan walked up to the four men and looked them over one by one. One was skinny and gaunt, his eyes darting around nervously. Another was a bit sturdier, but his calves were trembling. There was a young teenager, his lips pressed tightly together. The last was a middle-aged man with a dark face and rough hands, looking like he'd done manual labor. He seemed the most steady, but his eyes held fear.

"My name is Wang Quan. Like you, I'm also a convict soldier. I only arrived yesterday," Wang Quan began, his voice not loud, but carrying weight. "I don't care what you did before or why you're here. Once you're here, once you put on this uniform, you're all the same – expendable material for the Garrison, destined to fill ditches. If you want to live a few more days, you'll listen to me."

The four men's faces turned even paler.

"Starting tonight, you're with me, patrolling the western section of the city." Wang Quan paused, his gaze sweeping over them. "The rules are simple: obey orders, don't make a sound, keep your eyes sharp, and be quick on your feet. No talking during patrols, no running off. Follow my hand signals. Anyone who breaks them..."

"Clang!" His long saber left its sheath, its blade glinting coldly in the evening light. The tip pointed diagonally at the ground. "This saber will send them on their way. You won't need to wait for military law. Got it?"

"Got it, got it..." the skinny one stammered, trembling. The others quickly nodded.

"Louder! Haven't you eaten?" Wang Quan barked.

"Got it!" they shouted, their voices still shaky.

Wang Quan said no more. He took an Exploding Pill from his chest and held it between his fingers. "Recognize this?"

Some shook their heads, others looked blank.

"Exploding Pill. For saving your life, and also for taking it," Wang Quan said in a flat tone that sent a chill down their spines. "Swallow it, and it'll temporarily surge your strength, making you faster and stronger, giving you the bearing of a Martial Realm expert. But it only lasts half an hour. Once the effect wears off, you'll feel like your muscles have been torn out; it damages your body and your foundation. Don't touch it unless you're facing death. If you use it, you'll have to explain yourself when you get back. See it clearly, and remember it?"

The four men's eyes widened, staring intently at the dark red pill.

"Alright, come with me to get your gear, grab something to eat, and we'll head out as soon as it's dark." Wang Quan stopped talking and turned to leave. Wei Dayong nodded at him and led his own group of new recruits elsewhere.

Darkness had completely fallen.

Wang Quan led the four trembling new recruits along the base of the old city wall in the western section. Outside the wall lay a rocky beach and sparse, withered trees, beyond which stretched a wilderness so dark it seemed bottomless. The wind moaned as it seeped through the cracks in the wall, like ghostly wails. The moon was dim. They relied on the wind-proof lantern in Wang Quan's hand to barely illuminate the pockmarked road beneath their feet.

Silence. The silence was unnerving. Apart from the wind, there was only their own heavy breathing and the sound of their trembling footsteps. Wang Quan's ears were perked, his right hand resting on his saber's hilt. Since achieving minor success in the Bronze Armor Technique, his hearing and eyesight had improved, but in this darkness, who knew what lurked unseen.

After about half an hour, as they neared an old watchtower that had half collapsed, Wang Quan suddenly raised his hand, forming a fist.

The four behind him froze instantly, not daring to breathe.

Wang Quan cocked his ear and sniffed. There was a smell in the wind, a mix of earthy dampness and a faint hint of... decay.

He slowly drew his saber, lifted the lantern with his left hand, and shone it into the shadows of the ruins.

The light illuminated a figure, its back to them, moving stiffly, rummaging through the rubble. Its clothes were in tatters, revealing skin that was a greenish-grayish white.

The figure paused, then, extremely slowly, turned around.

Half of its face was rotted away, its eye sockets black holes, flesh peeling back. Its mouth hung open, and a guttural sound came from its throat. Its movements were slow, but the predatory gaze it fixed on the living pierced straight to their bones.

"A... Zombie!" the skinny one shrieked, turning to run.

"Shut up! Stand still!" Wang Quan hissed. His voice wasn't loud, but it pinned the skinny one in place like a nail. The man trembled like a sieve.

The other three were also terrified. The sturdy one's face was as white as paper. The teenager clamped his hand tightly over his mouth. Only the dark-faced middle-aged man, though sweating profusely, still gripped the ill-fitting saber he'd just received, his eyes fixed on the approaching creature.

Wang Quan quickly assessed the situation. The creature's movements were slow and stiff. The smell wasn't too strong. It wasn't even a low-grade Purple Corpse, just a common Walking Corpse, recently formed.

"What are you panicking about!" he said sternly, glancing at the four. "See it? This is what you'll be dealing with regularly from now on. These are the weakest kind, newly formed Walking Corpses. They're slow, a bit stronger than ordinary people, afraid of fire. Chop off their heads or pierce their hearts, and they're finished."

He pointed at the Walking Corpse. "You four, take turns trying. I'll be watching. Anyone who chickens out, or disobeys orders..." He didn't finish the sentence; his eyes made the meaning clear.

"Boss, I, I really can't. My stomach hurts..." the skinny one wailed, his legs buckling as if to kneel.

"If you don't go, you die now," Wang Quan said, his saber tip turning to point at him, no room for negotiation.

The skinny one trembled in fear, nearly wetting himself.

"I'll do it!" To everyone's surprise, it was the teenager. His face was deathly pale, but there was a fierce look in his eyes, as if he'd forced his fear down. He gripped his saber tightly, took a deep breath, roared, and charged forward.

His movements were clumsy, his footing unsteady, driven purely by reckless courage. As he reached the Walking Corpse, it reached out to grab him. The boy, eyes squeezed shut in fear, swung his saber.

Clang!

The saber struck the Walking Corpse's shoulder, sinking in slightly and causing some black-red viscous fluid to ooze out. The Walking Corpse swayed, its claw still extended.

"Retreat!" Wang Quan shouted.

The boy scrambled back, panting heavily, a mix of fear and an abnormal excitement on his face. At least he'd landed a blow.

"Next," Wang Quan looked at the sturdier man.

The man's lips trembled. He looked at Wang Quan's cold eyes, then at the approaching ghoul. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward. He swung with more force, aiming for the neck, and brought his saber down!

The blade sank halfway into the Walking Corpse's neck and got stuck. The creature let out a guttural sound, swinging its other arm. The man's soul nearly flew out of his body. He dropped his saber and turned to run, hiding behind Wang Quan and slumping to the ground, a wet patch spreading on his trousers.

"Trash," Wang Quan spat the word coldly, no longer looking at him. His gaze fell on the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man spat on the ground, gripped his saber tightly with both hands, his stance more stable than the previous two. He circled to the Walking Corpse's side, dodged a grab, and let out a muffled roar, hacking his saber fiercely into the back of the Walking Corpse's knee!

The Walking Corpse's legs buckled, and it knelt on the ground. The middle-aged man didn't stop, swinging his saber in a reverse cut, and fiercely hacking at the Walking Corpse's nape!

More than half the blade sank in. Its neck was nearly broken, its head lolling to the side, yet the thing still struggled, trying to get up.

"Alright, stand down," Wang Quan nodded. This man was alright; he knew to aim for the vital spots and dared to act.

The middle-aged man immediately retreated, gasping for breath, sweat beading and rolling down his face, but something new flickered in his eyes.

Finally, it was the scrawny man's turn. He had already been scared stiff. Under Wang Quan's gaze, he wailed, closed his eyes, and charged forward, flailing his knife wildly.

The Walking Corpse's neck was almost severed, its movements much slower, but its claws were still flailing. The scrawny man charged too close, tripped over a rock, and fell straight into the Walking Corpse's embrace!

The Walking Corpse's hollow eye sockets "looked" at him, and its grayish-green claws lunged for his neck!

"Idiot!" Wang Quan cursed, stomping his foot with force! The power from his minor success Bronze Armor Technique lent him speed, making him dart out like an arrow loosed from a bow!

Wind Slaying Saber Technique—Shadow Dodge!

The blade's light flashed under the dim, yellowish lamp. A cold glint swept past the Walking Corpse's outstretched arm and its crooked neck.

Puff! Puff!

Two muffled sounds came almost simultaneously. A grayish-green arm flew off, followed immediately by the rotten head, already hanging precariously, spinning through the air and rolling to the side.

The headless corpse swayed for a moment before collapsing to the ground, motionless. Only a trickle of black blood seeped from the severed neck; there was no other movement.

[Killed Low-Level Walking Corpse, gained 2 Skill Points]

A cold notification chimed in his mind.

Wang Quan sheathed his saber, not even glancing at the scrawny man who was now sprawled on the ground, his pants soaked. His gaze swept over the other three, still shaken, and landed on the middle-aged man. "You, what's your name?"

The middle-aged man panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "Re-returning to Boss, Shi Zhu. I used to be a stonemason."

"Mm," Wang Quan replied, asking no more questions. He walked over to the Walking Corpse, nudged it with his saber tip to confirm it was dead, then squatted down and felt around its tattered clothes—nothing. These lowest-tier creatures were useless, apart from giving a couple of Skill Points.

"Continue patrolling," Wang Quan stood up, his tone as casual as if he had just stepped on an ant.

He walked ahead, his mind sinking into his consciousness. Two Skill Points, just enough to max out the Bronze Armor Technique. Without hesitation, he added them.

[Consume 2 Skill Points to upgrade Bronze Armor Technique to "Perfection"?]

"Yes!"

A more potent surge of heat exploded like a "boom"! This time, it wasn't just his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones; even his internal organs felt as though they were wrapped and scoured by something thick and resilient! His skin felt taut and hard, as if a layer of bronze had truly been added. His bones itched and felt swollen, as if they were sturdier. The strength in his body also increased, and his breathing felt smoother.

In his mind, everything about the Bronze Armor Technique became clear—how to use subtle force to deflect blows, how to concentrate qi to withstand impacts, and even how to use the body's own hardness to rebound attacks... It all became innate knowledge.

[Bronze Armor Technique Current Realm: Perfection]

[Notification: This Cultivation Method has reached the limit of its current tier. You may attempt to deduce, explore the possibility of breaking through the Mortal Grade and entering a higher rank. Requires 5 Skill Points.]

"Perfection... I can deduce it?" Wang Quan felt the solid strength within him and pondered. This crude technique, trained to its limit, only made him more resilient and stronger than ordinary people. He was still far from being able to deal with truly powerful Demonic Creatures. Deduction required five points; he'd need to kill two more Walking Corpses like this, or...

He suppressed the thought and concealed his aura. The perfected Bronze Armor Technique was indeed stronger, but it was far from enough to walk around unchecked. In this dark night, dangers lurked everywhere, and he couldn't afford to be careless.

Behind him, Shi Zhu pulled up the limp, scrawny man. The half-grown boy and another man managed to follow. The four looked at Wang Quan's receding figure ahead, their expressions complex. They were terrified, yet undeniably impressed. Their new leader, though young, was ruthless, his saber swift, and he didn't even blink at those monstrous things