Midnight. The moon was dark, and the wind ran high.
The five men changed into night clothes, smeared their faces with charcoal, and slipped out through Iron Wall City's north gate.
Three li beyond the city lay the battlefield.
The traces left by the day's slaughter had yet to be fully cleared. Severed limbs and shattered corpses lay scattered across the scorched earth. Broken blades and swords jutted from the soil, while blood-soaked banners drooped helplessly in the night wind.
The air was thick with blood, mixed with the stench of charred flesh and a cloying, rotten sweetness.
"Stay close." Chen Feng lowered his voice and led the way.
He held a compact crossbow in his left hand. Its bolts had been dipped in poison and glimmered with a ghostly blue light in the darkness. In his right hand, he gripped a short sword in reverse, his footsteps as light as a cat's.
Li Xuan followed three paces behind him, the Black Scale Saber clutched in his hand. He had coated the blade with mud and ash so it reflected not a trace of light. The arrow wound in his shoulder still throbbed faintly, but it no longer impeded his movements.
Zhao Wuji was on the left, Sun Wu on the right, and Liu Qingqing brought up the rear.
The five formed a wedge-shaped formation and silently crossed the battlefield ruins.
The farther north they went, the more traces of barbarian activity they found. Extinguished campfires, carelessly discarded animal bones, and... human bones.
"Do the barbarians eat people?" Liu Qingqing's voice trembled.
"They don't eat them." Li Xuan crouched and picked up an arm bone. It bore marks from sharp teeth. "Wolves. Snow wolves raised by the barbarians. They're responsible for cleaning up the battlefield after a battle."
He dropped the bone, his gaze turning colder.
They didn't even spare the corpses.
These barbarians deserved to die!
After another half hour, firelight appeared ahead.
Wolf Fang Pass.
The pass wall, originally three zhang tall, had now collapsed by more than half.
The barbarians had built a crude camp atop the ruins. Wooden palisades surrounded it, while bright campfires burned within and indistinct figures moved about.
There were patrols outside the camp.
The five men lay behind a mound a hundred paces away and observed.
"Three patrol teams, five men each, with twenty breaths between them," Chen Feng whispered. "There's a gap in the palisade on the east side. That's where the defenses are weakest."
"It's too obvious." Zhao Wuji frowned. "It could be a trap."
"Then we still have to go in," Li Xuan said. "General Wang's orders are to harass them, not launch a direct assault. We go in, set fires, kill people, cause chaos, and leave."
"How do we get in?" Sun Wu asked.
Li Xuan took a small cloth pouch from his robes and poured out five black pills.
"Breath Concealing Pills. They can hide our auras for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. But they can only conceal us from senses below Body Tempering Layer Six. Against an expert, they're useless."
The five divided the pills among themselves.
The pills tasted bitter. Once they slid down their throats, their auras quickly weakened.
"Move."
With Chen Feng in the lead, the five men became five shadows pressed against the ground as they crept toward the camp.
Twenty paces.
Ten paces.
Five...
A patrol passed in front of them, torchlight sweeping across the shadows where the five were concealed.
No one noticed them.
Once the patrol had gone far enough, the five swiftly passed through the gap in the palisade and infiltrated the camp.
The camp was larger than it had appeared from outside.
The main tent stood in the center, three times larger than the other tents. A blood-red wolf-head banner stood before it.
Dozens of smaller tents were scattered around it. Snores came from some, while others glowed with lamplight and echoed with coarse laughter, curses, and the sounds of wrestling.
The air was thick with the scorched fragrance of roasting meat and the sour smell of inferior liquor.
"Split up," Li Xuan said. "Senior Brother Chen, you set fires in the east. Senior Brother Zhao, take the west. Sun Wu and Liu Qingqing, take the south. I'll... take a look at the main tent."
"That's too dangerous," Chen Feng objected. "The main tent is definitely where Wanyan Lie stays. The guards will be tightest there."
"That's exactly why I'm going," Li Xuan said. "If Wanyan Lie is there, we can't kill him, but we can still create chaos. If he isn't..."
"I'll go with you," Zhao Wuji suddenly said.
Li Xuan glanced at him.
Zhao Wuji's gaze was calm. "Two people can watch each other's backs."
"Fine." Li Xuan nodded. "The rest of you follow the plan. In half an incense stick, whether we succeed or not, rendezvous outside the northern palisade."
"Understood."
The five split up.
Li Xuan and Zhao Wuji crept toward the main tent.
A ring of wooden fencing surrounded the main tent. Two barbarian guards stood at the entrance.
They were no ordinary soldiers.
The two barbarians stood nearly seven chi tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. Their bare upper bodies were covered in scars, and their muscles bulged like iron blocks. Each held a massive axe as wide as a door panel, their eyes ferocious and their breathing deep and steady.
Body Tempering Layer Five.
Two Body Tempering Layer Five cultivators guarding the entrance.
"We can't force our way in," Zhao Wuji whispered.
Li Xuan pulled two blowpipes from his robes.
Inside were thin needles coated with a numbing agent.
He handed one to Zhao Wuji.
The two men raised their pipes at the same time and aimed at the guards' napes.
Pfft, pfft.
The thin needles shot out.
The two guards stiffened, then collapsed limply.
Li Xuan flashed forward, caught one of them, and gently lowered him to the ground. Zhao Wuji did the same with the other.
The two dragged the guards into the shadows, stripped off their leather armor and wolf-skin caps, and put them on themselves.
The barbarians' leather armor reeked strongly, but it was passable as a disguise.
"Let's go."
The two swaggered toward the main tent.
Lamps burned inside.
As they drew near, they could hear someone speaking within.
It was the barbarian tongue, which Li Xuan could not understand.
But the reverence and fear in the speaker's tone were obvious.
Whoever was inside clearly held a high status.
Li Xuan lifted a corner of the tent flap and peered inside.
The furnishings were crude. A tiger pelt covered the floor, several low tables stood nearby, and bows, arrows, and animal heads hung on the walls.
A man sat behind one of the low tables.
He looked to be in his thirties, with a rugged face and a scar running from his brow to the corner of his mouth along his left cheek.
His upper body was bare. A blood wolf howling at the sky was tattooed across his chest. His muscles looked carved by knives and axes, while his skin gleamed faintly with a bronze-colored luster.
Wanyan Lie.
Li Xuan recognized him. He looked exactly like the portrait Wang Meng had given him.
Body Tempering Layer Eight, the Blood Wolf Tribe's young chieftain, and a cultivator of the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique.
He was drinking.
Three barbarian commanders knelt below him and respectfully reported something.
Wanyan Lie nodded from time to time, his gaze cold and indifferent.
Li Xuan withdrew his head and signaled to Zhao Wuji with his eyes.
Now was not the time to act.
The two retreated into the shadows behind the tent.
"What do we do?" Zhao Wuji asked.
"Wait," Li Xuan said. "Wait for the others to set the fires. Once the fires start, the people inside will surely go out to investigate. Then..."
He left the rest unsaid.
But Zhao Wuji understood.
The two lay in ambush.
Time passed bit by bit.
The conversation inside the main tent continued.
Li Xuan pricked up his ears and struggled to distinguish the words in the barbarian tongue.
"...southerners... reinforcements... three days..."
"...wolf riders... prepare..."
"...blood sacrifice..."
Blood sacrifice?
Li Xuan's heart tightened.
The barbarians had a tradition of blood sacrifice. They offered the hearts of captives or enemies to the Wolf God, supposedly in exchange for power.
Just then—
An explosion came from the east.
Fire surged into the sky!
"Enemy attack!"
The camp exploded into chaos.
Barbarian soldiers rushed from their tents. Some were bare-chested, while others were still pulling up their trousers, but they reacted with astonishing speed and quickly gathered toward the fire.
Inside the main tent, Wanyan Lie abruptly rose.
"What happened?"
A commander rushed out to investigate and soon returned. "Young Chieftain, the grain stores in the east are on fire!"
"A sneak attack by the southerners?" Wanyan Lie sneered. "They're courting death. Take a squad and go. Kill them all."
"Yes!"
The three commanders charged out of the main tent.
Wanyan Lie did not move.
He sat down again and continued drinking.
Outside the tent, footsteps, battle cries, and the clash of weapons blended into one.
The flames spread.
Yet Wanyan Lie remained as steady as Mount Tai.
"Not good." Zhao Wuji lowered his voice. "He isn't taking the bait."
Li Xuan's gaze flickered.
He was considering whether to act now.
Two Body Tempering Layer Five cultivators ambushing a Body Tempering Layer Eight cultivator gave them... less than a one-in-ten chance of victory.
But the opportunity was rare.
As he hesitated, explosions rang out from the west and south as well.
Chen Feng and the others had made their move.
The camp fell into complete chaos.
Wanyan Lie finally rose to his feet.
He walked outside the tent and looked at the flames blazing in three directions, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold smile.
"Child's play."
He waved his hand. "Give the order. Everyone is to hold their posts and not move recklessly. Send the wolf riders out to search for them. The southerners couldn't have gone far."
"Yes!"
Wanyan Lie turned and walked back into the tent.
The opportunity had come!
Li Xuan and Zhao Wuji exchanged a glance and moved at the same time.
The two shot into the main tent like arrows loosed from a bow!
The Black Scale Saber stabbed straight toward the back of Wanyan Lie's heart!
Zhao Wuji swept out with his long sword, sealing off Wanyan Lie's escape!
Their coordination was flawless, their timing precise!
But Wanyan Lie seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.
Without even turning around, he threw a punch behind him!
The force of the punch boomed like artillery!
The Black Scale Saber was knocked aside!
The web between Li Xuan's thumb and forefinger split open, and he nearly lost his grip on the saber.
Zhao Wuji's long sword was knocked off course as well. It grazed Wanyan Lie's shoulder, slicing through only a sliver of skin.
"Hm?" Wanyan Lie turned and looked at the two of them, surprise in his eyes. "Martial artists from the south? Interesting."
He twisted his neck, the joints cracking loudly.
"Body Tempering Layer Five, and you dare come assassinate me? Admirable courage."
Li Xuan did not waste words.
Strike again!
This time, he used the Stream Breaking Style!
The saber light was like a waterfall, pouring straight down!
Wanyan Lie neither dodged nor parried. Crossing his arms, he took it head-on!
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The saber edge struck his arms, actually producing the sound of striking metal, and left only a few white marks!
What hard bones!
Li Xuan's pupils contracted.
This was the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique?
"My turn." Wanyan Lie grinned and threw a punch.
This punch was utterly ordinary.
Yet the speed was too fast!
Li Xuan had no time at all to dodge, and could only block horizontally with his saber.
His entire body flew backward, crashing through the tent wall and slamming into the open ground outside.
A mouthful of blood spewed out.
At least two ribs were broken.
"Li Xuan!" Zhao Wuji rushed out urgently.
Wanyan Lie walked out of the tent unhurriedly, looking at the two of them as if gazing at two struggling bugs.
"State your names, I do not kill nameless nobodies."
"Li Xuan." Li Xuan propped himself up on his saber and stood.
"Zhao Wuji."
"Good." Wanyan Lie nodded. "I will remember your names. As a reward... I will turn your skulls into wine bowls."
He stepped forward.
His momentum was fully unleashed!
The pressure of the eighth layer of Body Tempering was like a mountain!
Li Xuan felt it difficult even to breathe.
Yet he did not retreat.
His hand reached into his bosom.
There, he had the Blood Burning Pill.
However, Zhao Wuji moved first.
"Run!"
He suddenly turned around, stabbing a sword directly at Li Xuan!
It was not a thrust at a vital spot, but a stab to the shoulder.
Li Xuan had not expected him to turn on him, and froze for a moment.
Because of this very hesitation, the tip of the sword had already pierced his left shoulder.
A sharp pain surged over.
"You..." Li Xuan widened his eyes.
"Sorry about this," Zhao Wuji said in a low voice. "My father has a deal with Wanyan Lie. Your life... is worth five hundred taels of gold."
Having spoken, he withdrew his sword and stepped back.
Wanyan Lie laughed. "Elder Zhao's son? Your father is certainly a man of his word."
"Young patriarch, I have handed the person over. The gold..."
"Rest assured, not a single coin is missing." Wanyan Lie waved a hand. "You may go."
Zhao Wuji glanced at Li Xuan, his gaze complicated, but eventually turned and vanished into the darkness.
Traitor.
Li Xuan gritted his teeth.
He should have thought of it earlier.
Elder Zhao could collude with the Black Wind Bandits, so naturally he could also collude with the barbarians.
He simply had not expected Zhao Wuji to backstab him at this moment.
"Now," Wanyan Lie looked at Li Xuan, "only you remain."
Li Xuan gripped his saber hilt tighter.
Old wounds and new injuries stacked upon his left shoulder, blood flowing like a torrent.
Yet he smiled.
"What are you laughing at?" Wanyan Lie frowned.
"I am laughing at your stupidity," Li Xuan said. "Do you truly believe that Zhao Wuji will let you live?"
Wanyan Lie paused.
Right at that moment—
A crossbow bolt shot out from the darkness, aiming straight for the back of Wanyan Lie's neck!
Wanyan Lie reacted extremely quickly, sidestepping to avoid it.
Yet a second bolt, and a third, followed closely behind!
It was Chen Feng!
He stood atop a tent not far away, holding a light crossbow and firing continuously!
"Court death!" Wanyan Lie roared angrily, throwing a punch toward Chen Feng.
The fist wind was like a dragon, whipping up dust!
Chen Feng flipped down from the tent, dodging the blow while shouting at the same time, "Li Xuan, run!"
There was no running now.
All around, barbarian soldiers had already surrounded them.
At least fifty men.
Every single one wielded sabers and axes, their gazes fierce.
Li Xuan glanced at Chen Feng, then looked back at the surrounding barbarians.
He pulled the Blood Burning Pill from his bosom.
He swallowed it.
The pill entered his throat, transforming into boiling magma that instantly scorched his entire body!
His strength surged violently!
[Strength: 3.0 → 9.0]
His physique followed suit and rose as well!
[Physique: 5.0 → 8.0]
Eighth layer of Body Tempering!
Even though it was only temporary, it was enough!
"Senior brother Chen," Li Xuan's voice was hoarse, "help me hold off the others. Wanyan Lie... leave him to me."
Chen Feng was stunned for a moment, but seeing the resolute determination in Li Xuan's eyes, he nodded. "Alright!"
He turned and charged toward the surrounding barbarian soldiers.
His light crossbow fired continuously, his short sword flashing like a rainbow.
One man holding off fifty!
Li Xuan looked at Wanyan Lie.
"Now," he raised the Black Scale Saber, "it is fair."
Wanyan Lie's gaze grew solemn.
He could sense that Li Xuan's aura had changed.
In an instant, it had soared from the fifth layer of Body Tempering straight to the eighth.
A forbidden drug?
"The Blood Burning Pill?" He sneered. "Southerners always love these crooked, heterodox paths. However... do you think you can win against me just like this?"
"Let us try."
Li Xuan moved.
This time, he did not use the Shadow Step.
It was a head-on charge!
Saber and man merged into one, transforming into a streak of bloody light that slashed toward Wanyan Lie!
Wanyan Lie did not dare to be careless either, throwing out both fists together with a wind like a roaring tiger!
Saber and fists collided!
A shockwave burst outward, overturning the surrounding tents!
Both men retreated simultaneously.
Li Xuan retreated seven steps, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Wanyan Lie retreated five steps, an additional saber wound appearing on his arm that was deep enough to expose the bone.
"Good saber!" Wanyan Lie stared at the Black Scale Saber. "This saber, I want it."
"If you have the ability, come and take it."
Li Xuan advanced again.
This time, he used the Mountain Slaying Style.
However, he did not force its execution; instead, he poured the entire medicinal power of the Blood Burning Pill into this single strike.
Upon the blade, a bloody light soared into the sky!
That was not saber light, it was burning vital energy!
"Slay—!"
With a single slash, it fell!
Wanyan Lie's expression changed drastically.
He felt the threat of death.
"Blood Wolf Body Protection!"
He let out a fierce roar, his entire body's skin instantly turning blood-red, his muscles expanding and his veins bulging.
He took it head-on!
Boom!!!
The ground blew open into a pit three zhang deep!
Dust flew everywhere.
When the dust finally settled.
Wanyan Lie was standing.
However, a gash ran across his chest from shoulder to abdomen, deep enough to expose the bone.
Blood poured like a spring.
"You..." He lowered his head to look at the wound, disbelief filling his gaze.
Li Xuan was also standing.
Yet the Black Scale Saber was broken.
The blade body could not withstand the force of the Mountain Slaying Style and snapped right down the middle.
He grasped the broken half of the saber, panting heavily.
The medicinal efficacy of the Blood Burning Pill was rapidly fading.
A feeling of weakness surged over like a tide.
Even so, he held on.
"Young patriarch!"
Seeing Wanyan Lie heavily injured, the barbarian soldiers swarmed forward frantically.
Chen Feng's eyes were already red with slaughter, seven or eight wounds marring his body, yet he was still desperately blocking their path.
"Go!" Li Xuan roared.
He charged toward Wanyan Lie, the broken saber thrusting straight for his heart!
Under the weight of his severe injuries, Wanyan Lie's movements were half a beat too slow.
Squish!
The broken saber stabbed into his chest, yet it missed by a fraction of an inch and failed to hit a vital spot.
"Ah—!" Wanyan Lie shrieked in agony, slamming a punch into Li Xuan's abdomen.
Li Xuan flew backward, crashing down ten zhang away.
His vision went dark.
Yet he saw it.
With the half-broken saber still embedded in his chest, Wanyan Lie staggered backward, guarded by his personal guards.
He was not dead.
What a pity.
He no longer had the strength to pursue, however.
The efficacy of the Blood Burning Pill had worn off.
The backlash had arrived.
His meridians felt as though they were about to split, his bones as though they were falling apart.
He lacked even the strength to stand.
"Li Xuan!" Chen Feng carved a bloody path, charging over to heave him up and run.
Behind them, the barbarian soldiers pursued relentlessly.
Yet Chen Feng moved with extreme speed, carrying Li Xuan and clearing the camp in a few bounds to vanish into the night.
At dawn, ten li north of Iron Wall City, inside an abandoned earthen kiln.
Chen Feng set Li Xuan down to inspect his injuries.
"Four broken ribs, the wound on your left shoulder split open, severe meridian damage," he said with an ugly expression. "The backlash of the Blood Burning Pill, plus your old injuries... you'll need to lie down for at least three months."
Li Xuan lay on the ground, lacking even the strength to speak.
Yet he smiled.
"Wanyan Lie... was heavily injured."
"Yes, you almost killed him," Chen Feng smiled bitterly. "But you're going to die too."
"I won't die." Li Xuan closed his eyes, examining his panel internally.
[Potential: 0.00 → 2.5]
Being heavily injured at the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering had yielded 2.5 potential.
Combined with what he had before, it totaled 3.7.
Dump it all into constitution!
[Constitution: 5.0 → 8.7]
A warm current surged through him.
His fractured ribs began to reset, his split wounds began to mend, and his damaged meridians were nourished.
Though he was not completely healed, at least... he wouldn't die.
Li Xuan opened his eyes and sat up.
"You..." Chen Feng widened his eyes. "Your injuries..."
"Much better," Li Xuan said. "What about Sun Wu and Liu Qingqing?"
"I don't know," Chen Feng shook his head. "We haven't seen each other since we split up. I hope they... are still alive."
The two of them fell silent.
After a long while, Li Xuan asked, "What about Zhao Wuji?"
"He ran," Chen Feng said. "His old man had a deal with Wanyan Lie—five thousand taels of gold to buy your life. But Wanyan Lie was heavily injured, so the deal should be void. Right now he... either died in the hands of the barbarians or fled back to the martial arts hall."
"Back to the martial arts hall?" Li Xuan sneered. "The master won't let him off."
"Not necessarily," Chen Feng said. "Elder Zhao wields massive influence in the hall; the master has to give him some face. Besides... as long as Zhao Wuji stubbornly claims he was coerced, or outright bites back and says you colluded with the barbarians, things will be hard to call."
Li Xuan's gaze turned cold.
"Then we won't let him make it back."
"You're going to kill him?" Chen Feng asked.
"He has to die," Li Xuan said. "Just not right now."
He stood up, loosening his muscles and bones.
His wounds were not fully healed, but he could already move.
"What's next?" Chen Feng asked.
"Return to Iron Wall City," Li Xuan said. "Report back to General Wang. Then... nurse my injuries and grow stronger."
"Let's move."
The two of them left the earthen kiln and walked toward Iron Wall City.
Behind them, the morning sun rose.
It illuminated the battered and ravaged earth.
And it illuminated that trace of icy killing intent within Li Xuan's eyes.
Before you continue