Bloody Battle at the Besieged City

On the tenth day of the barbarian siege, Iron Wall City had become an isolated island.

Thirty thousand barbarian soldiers had the city surrounded, attacking in shifts daily.

Dozens of gaps had been smashed into the city walls by catapults. The defenders repeatedly plugged them with lives and sandbags, only for them to be blasted open again.

The city's grain and fodder were running out, arrows were depleted, and even the Golden Wound Powder for the wounded had been used up.

Every day, soldiers starved to death or succumbed to their severe injuries. Bodies were piled in an open space west of the city, rotting before they could be buried.

A plague began to spread.

Despair, like the plague, grew in everyone's hearts.

But the barbarians were not faring well either.

Wanyan Lie had not recovered from his serious injuries, and the command of the siege had fallen to his deputy general, Tuoba Shan.

This barbarian general was brutal but impatient. Ten days of fierce assault had cost him eight thousand soldiers, yet he had barely managed to set foot on the city walls a few times.

"Trash!"

Inside the central army tent, Wanyan Lie sat pale-faced on a tiger-skin chair, his chest wrapped in thick bandages, faintly seeping blood.

Although Li Xuan's blade had missed a vital spot, the blade's energy had invaded his lungs and damaged his foundation. He wouldn't recover in less than three months.

"Young Chieftain, please calm your anger." Tuoba Shan knelt on one knee. "The Southerners defend stubbornly, especially that brat named Li Xuan. Every time we are on the verge of breaking the city, he leads his men out to fight desperately..."

"Li Xuan." Wanyan Lie murmured the name, his eyes sinister. "He's still alive?"

"Alive and well." Tuoba Shan gritted his teeth. "Yesterday, I led my personal guards to attack the east wall. Just as we were about to ascend, that brat led three hundred death warriors out from a side gate and forced us back. Three of my centurions died by his hand."

The other barbarian generals in the tent exchanged glances.

A southern brat had gravely injured their young chieftain and repeatedly achieved great feats in the defense.

This had become a persistent worry for the barbarians.

"We can't delay any longer." Wanyan Lie clenched his fist. "My father sent a message; the three great sects of the South have dispatched reinforcements heading north. They'll arrive in five days at the latest. If we still haven't taken Iron Wall City by then..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood.

The Blood Wolf Tribe would face a pincer attack from southern martial artists and the army.

"Tomorrow." Wanyan Lie stood up. The wound on his chest split open, blood staining the bandages, but he paid it no mind. "Tomorrow, at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the entire army will advance. I will personally oversee the battle. If this city is not taken, bring me your heads!"

"Yes!"

At the same time, in the general's mansion of Iron Wall City.

Li Xuan sat cross-legged in a dimly lit room, the tattered pages of the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique spread before him.

Only three pages.

The first page was the general principle: Blood Fiend Bones are forged, and battle sustains battle. The more one slays, the stronger one's blood energy and the tougher one's bones become.

The second page was the cultivation method: Draw the battlefield's malevolent energy into the body to temper the bones. It requires cultivation amidst slaughter; sitting idly is useless.

The third page was the technique: A move called "Blood Fiend Fist," simple and brutal, powered by blood fiend energy. Its might is greatly increased, but it harms the enemy as much as the self.

Tattered, indeed.

But Li Xuan's eyes gleamed.

This cultivation method was practically tailor-made for him!

As for harming the enemy and oneself... With the status panel, what was there to fear?

"Let's try."

Li Xuan closed his eyes and circulated his vital energy and blood according to the cultivation method.

There was no reaction.

He frowned, stood up, and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep. Torches blazed on the distant city walls, and the sounds of patrolling soldiers and the groans of the wounded occasionally drifted over.

Without a battlefield, without slaughter, there was no malevolent energy.

No wonder it said sitting idly was useless.

Li Xuan pushed open the door and walked towards the north of the city.

That was where the fighting had been most brutal yesterday. Half the city wall had collapsed, and the bodies of defenders and barbarians had yet to be cleared, piled up at the foot of the wall like a small mountain.

The stench of blood was overpowering.

Li Xuan walked to the pile of corpses and sat down cross-legged.

He circulated the cultivation method again.

This time, it was different.

The aura of death pervading the air, the smell of blood, and the lingering resentment and malevolent energy, as if finding an outlet, surged towards Li Xuan!

He guided this cold, violent energy, following the cultivation method's route, to impact his bones!

Crack--

A cracking pain shot through his left arm!

Li Xuan grunted, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

But he gritted his teeth and continued.

If he wanted to forge his bones, he had to endure the pain of broken bones!

Once, twice, three times...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

As the sky turned pale, Li Xuan opened his eyes.

The sharp pain in his left arm was gone, replaced by a feeling of being as hard as iron.

He clenched his fist, and his bones emitted a faint metallic grinding sound.

On the status panel, a new line appeared:

[Cultivation Method: Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique (Incomplete, First Layer Initial Completion)]

It worked!

Although it was only initial completion, the effect was immediate.

Li Xuan moved his left arm, feeling his strength had increased by at least twenty percent. More importantly, the defensive power of his bones had greatly improved. Now, ordinary swords would probably only leave a white mark on them.

"Li Xuan!"

Chen Feng rushed over, his face grim. "The barbarians are on the move! The entire army is assembling, it looks like they're going for a full-scale assault!"

Li Xuan stood up. "Let's go."

On the city wall, Wang Meng was already armored and armed.

The General of the North had not slept for ten days, his eyes sunken, his beard disheveled, but his gaze was still as sharp as an eagle's.

"Scouts report that Wanyan Lie is personally overseeing the battle," Wang Meng said hoarsely. "Today is a battle for survival."

He looked down at the city.

The barbarian army was like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.

At the forefront were three thousand heavy infantrymen, holding giant shields, their steps orderly. Behind them were five thousand archers, their arrows nocked. Further back were siege engines, scaling ladders, and catapults...

And the defenders of Iron Wall City numbered only six thousand, at most.

Among them were over a thousand wounded.

"General," Li Xuan walked to Wang Meng's side, "give me five hundred men."

"You want to leave the city?" Wang Meng frowned.

"If we don't leave the city, we can't defend it," Li Xuan pointed at the blood wolf banner in the barbarian center. "Wanyan Lie is there. As long as we kill or heavily injure him, the barbarians will surely fall into chaos."

"You almost died last time."

"Not this time," Li Xuan said. "I've practiced a new cultivation method."

Wang Meng stared at him for three seconds, then suddenly laughed.

"Alright. I'll give you five hundred cavalry, all elites of the army. But remember—I want you back alive."

"I'll try my best."

Li Xuan turned and descended the wall.

Chen Feng followed. "I'll go with you."

"You stay in the city," Li Xuan shook his head. "General Wang needs help. And... "

He paused. "If I don't come back, you must return to the martial arts school alive and tell the master that the evidence of Elder Zhao's treason is on Zhao Wuji's corpse."

Chen Feng gritted his teeth, then finally nodded. "Come back alive."

"Mm."

At the third watch of the morning, the barbarian horns of attack sounded.

The catapults fired first.

Dozens of stones, the size of millstones, whistled towards the city walls, the roar deafening. A section of the already fragile wall was smashed, debris flying everywhere, burying more than a dozen defenders alive.

"Archers! Suppress them!" Wang Meng roared.

A rain of arrows poured down from the city walls.

But the barbarian heavy infantry raised their giant shields, and the arrows pinged and clanged against them, having little effect.

Scaling ladders were brought up.

Barbarian soldiers climbed like ants.

"Rolling logs! Stones!" Chen Feng commanded from the city wall.

Rolling logs and stones were hurled down, accompanied by screams. But more barbarians climbed up.

Multiple sections of the city wall were in critical danger.

Just then--

The north gate suddenly opened!

Five hundred cavalrymen, like a black torrent, rushed out of the city gate!

Leading them was Li Xuan!

He wasn't wearing his leather armor this time, just a set of black combat clothing. In his hand, he held an iron spear from the armory—sabers were too short; long weapons were more practical for mounted combat.

"Target, the central army's Blood Wolf banner! Charge—!"

The five hundred cavalry roared in unison, piercing the barbarian formations like arrows!

The barbarians clearly hadn't expected the defenders to dare counterattack, and their vanguard formation was instantly thrown into disarray.

But Wanyan Lie was prepared.

"Wolf Riders, stop them!"

A thousand Wolf Riders charged out from the flank!

Snow wolves galloped, shaking the ground.

Li Xuan's eyes were icy.

"Change formation! Cone attack!"

The five hundred cavalry quickly shifted, with Li Xuan as the arrowhead, charging headlong into the Wolf Riders!

BOOM!!!

Cavalry clashed, men and horses falling!

Li Xuan's iron spear was like a dragon, piercing the throat of the lead Wolf Rider. With a flick, he flung the corpse away, knocking over three riders behind him.

[Potential +0.3]

His iron spear swept sideways, crushing the heads of two more barbarians.

[Potential +0.2]

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique circulated frantically.

The malevolent energy on the battlefield surged into his body like a tide, tempering his bones.

With each kill, his bones grew tougher, his strength increased!

Li Xuan fought more bravely as the battle wore on.

Where his iron spear passed, flesh and blood flew.

The five hundred cavalrymen also had blood in their eyes.

They were all death warriors from the army, already fearless of death. Seeing their commander fight so ferociously now, their morale soared like a rainbow.

The thousand Wolf Riders were actually cut through!

"Trash!" Wanyan Lie, watching from the central army, was furious. "Guard! With me!"

Although he hadn't recovered from his serious injuries, he was still at the eighth level of Body Tempering. Now, donning his armor and mounting his horse, he led three hundred guards to charge at Li Xuan.

"They're here," Li Xuan's eyes sharpened.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

"Scatter! Fight individually!"

The five hundred cavalry quickly dispersed, mixing into a chaotic brawl with the barbarian guards.

Li Xuan, alone, faced Wanyan Lie.

The two met again.

"Kid," Wanyan Lie wielded a giant axe as wide as a door, his eyes ferocious. "You were lucky to survive last time. This time... you will die!"

"Enough talk."

Li Xuan thrust his iron spear straight!

Wanyan Lie swept his giant axe horizontally!

CLANG!!!

Sparks flew!

Li Xuan and his horse retreated three steps. The tiger's mouth on his hand split, and the iron spear bent.

Wanyan Lie also staggered, his chest wound splitting open, blood staining his armor.

"You've grown stronger," Wanyan Lie said with a grave expression.

"You've grown weaker," Li Xuan sneered.

He abandoned his spear and drew the spare saber from his waist.

Shadow Step erupted!

His figure was like a ghost, instantly circling to Wanyan Lie's flank!

The battle saber slashed down!

Wanyan Lie blocked with his great axe.

Another loud clang.

But this time, Li Xuan didn't retreat.

He used the force to flip, landing behind Wanyan Lie's horse and slashing at its legs with a backhand strike!

The warhorse screamed and fell.

Wanyan Lie tumbled from the saddle, utterly disheveled.

"You..." he roared, bringing his great axe down fiercely.

Li Xuan didn't dodge, instead sweeping his battle saber upwards!

A direct clash!

CLANG!!!

This time, Wanyan Lie retreated.

He staggered back three steps.

Li Xuan also retreated, five steps, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

But he smiled.

[Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique First Layer: Initial Success → Minor Success]

[Effects: Bone Hardness +50%, Strength +20%]

The malevolent energy accumulated on the battlefield erupted and transformed at this moment!

His bones cracked like popping beans!

His strength surged!

Li Xuan felt his body filled with explosive power, as if he could punch through a city wall with a single blow!

"Again!"

He attacked proactively!

His battle saber was a storm, each strike heavier and faster than the last!

Wanyan Lie grew increasingly alarmed as they fought.

How was this southern brat getting stronger and stronger?

And he could clearly feel that Li Xuan's bones were unbelievably hard. Several blows had landed squarely, but only left shallow marks, numbing his own arm.

"Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique?!" Wanyan Lie finally reacted, "You've practiced the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique?!"

"Took you long enough to realize?" Li Xuan split the great axe apart, his blade slicing across Wanyan Lie's chest, adding another wound.

"Impossible! This is a secret art of my Blood Wolf Tribe! How do you have it?!"

"Zhao Wuji gave it to me."

"Zhao..." Wanyan Lie froze.

In that moment of hesitation, Li Xuan seized the opportunity.

His battle saber lunged forward, aiming straight for the throat!

Wanyan Lie retreated urgently, but he was half a beat too slow.

Slish!

The blade tip pierced half an inch into his neck!

Blood spurted out!

"Young Chieftain!" The personal guards rushed forward like madmen.

Li Xuan pulled his saber back, evading their encirclement.

Wanyan Lie clutched his neck, his eyes filled with horror.

So close.

He had almost died.

"Retreat... Retreat!" he rasped.

The barbarian horns sounded.

The barbarian soldiers attacking the city retreated like a receding tide.

Wanyan Lie, protected by his guards, fled back to the main camp in disarray.

Li Xuan didn't pursue.

He stood in place, looking at the ground littered with corpses, and the fleeing barbarians in the distance.

Won.

But Wanyan Lie wasn't dead. Next time he came, he would only be more troublesome.

"Return to the city," he turned.

Of the five hundred cavalry, only a little over two hundred remained. Everyone was wounded, but their eyes burned with fervor.

"General Li is mighty!" an old soldier rasped.

"Mighty! Mighty! Mighty!"

The crowd roared.

Li Xuan didn't speak.

He looked up at the city wall.

Wang Meng stood there and nodded at him.

Then, the General of the North swayed and fell to the ground.

"General!"

The General's Mansion was brightly lit.

Wang Meng lay on the couch, and the army doctor was treating his wounds.

During the siege, he had been hit in the left shoulder by a stray arrow. The arrow was poisoned, and now half his body was black.

"The poison has entered the bone," the army doctor shook his head. "I can only suppress it temporarily. If there is no antidote within three days..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was understood.

"What poison?" Li Xuan asked.

"A tribal poison called 'Wolf Poison,' refined by mixing wolf saliva with seven types of poisonous herbs. Only a tribal shaman knows the antidote."

Li Xuan fell silent.

Wang Meng couldn't die.

Iron Wall City could do without Li Xuan, but it couldn't do without Wang Meng.

"I'll go to the tribal camp," he said.

Chen Feng's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? Wanyan Lie wants to tear you apart right now!"

"Precisely because he hates me, he will let his guard down," Li Xuan said. "Besides... I need the antidote formula."

"The formula?"

"It's not just to save General Wang, but others will be poisoned like this in the future," Li Xuan stood up. "Prepare a set of tribal leather armor for me, and... a poison."

"Poison?"

"The kind that kills on contact with blood."

Midnight. The moon was dark and the wind was high.

Li Xuan changed into tribal leather armor, smeared mud on his face, and silently climbed over the city wall.

With Shadow Step fully activated, he was like a shadow, darting through the night.

The tribal camp was heavily guarded.

But Li Xuan had experience.

He circled around to the west side of the camp, where the wounded soldiers' camp was. The guards were relatively lax.

As expected, there was a gap in the western fence, and two tribal guards were dozing in the shadows.

Li Xuan crept over and knocked them unconscious with a hand chop, dragging them into the darkness.

Then, he swaggered into the wounded soldiers' camp.

The camp was filled with the smell of blood and medicine. Dozens of tents housed wounded soldiers, their groans incessant. Several tribal medical officers were busy treating wounds and brewing medicinal soup.

Li Xuan lowered his head and walked towards the largest tent.

It was the shaman's tent.

Inside the tent, an old man wearing a deerskin robe and with his face smeared with paint was pounding medicine. Dozens of clay pots were placed before him, containing powders and liquids of various colors.

Li Xuan lifted the curtain and went in.

The shaman looked up, frowning. "Which squad are you from? Are you injured?"

Li Xuan didn't speak.

He struck like lightning, grabbing the shaman's throat and covering his mouth with his other hand.

"Don't move, don't shout," Li Xuan whispered in the tribal language. "I ask, you answer. Dare to lie, you die."

The shaman nodded in terror.

"The antidote for Wolf Poison, the formula."

The shaman pointed to a clay pot in the corner.

Li Xuan released his hand, but the knife remained at his throat.

The shaman trembled as he wrote down the recipe: Three stalks of snow lotus, two liang of blood vine, one ice toad, simmered with rootless water for three hours.

Li Xuan jotted it down and asked, "Where is Wanyan Lie?"

"The young chieftain... is recuperating in the main tent."

"Take me there."

"No... I can't..."

The blade sank half an inch into flesh.

"Take me there, or die."

The shaman's face turned ashen, and he finally nodded.

The two walked out of the tent.

In the darkness, Li Xuan pressed the knife against the shaman's lower back as they headed towards the main command tent.

There were guards outside the main tent, but they didn't stop them upon seeing the shaman.

"The young chieftain needs his medicine changed," the shaman said.

A guard lifted the tent flap.

Inside, Wanyan Lie lay on a tiger skin rug, his chest bandaged, his face pale. Two maids were feeding him medicine.

Seeing the shaman enter, Wanyan Lie frowned, "So late..."

Before he could finish, he saw Li Xuan behind the shaman.

Their eyes met.

Wanyan Lie's pupils contracted sharply.

"It's you--!"

Li Xuan moved.

He pushed the shaman aside, his body a blur, and lunged at Wanyan Lie!

The maids screamed.

Wanyan Lie, weakened by his injuries, reacted a beat too slow, and Li Xuan plunged a knife into his abdomen!

Squelch!

"Ah--!" Wanyan Lie cried out in agony.

But the barbarian young chieftain was, after all, at the eighth level of Body Tempering. In his death throes, he lashed out, his fist slamming into Li Xuan's chest!

Li Xuan flew backward, overturning a low table, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His ribs were broken again.

But he didn't stop.

He rolled to his feet and thrust his knife towards Wanyan Lie's heart once more!

This time, Wanyan Lie couldn't dodge.

The blade sank three inches deep!

But at the critical moment, a personal guard rushed in and swung a sword at the back of Li Xuan's neck.

Li Xuan was forced to retract his blade to defend himself.

Sparks flew.

The guard was at the sixth level of Body Tempering. His strike sent a numb shock up Li Xuan's arm.

Wanyan Lie seized the opportunity, rolling to the side and roaring hoarsely, "Guards! Seize the assassin!"

Footsteps pounded outside the tent.

Li Xuan knew his chance was gone.

Without hesitation, he turned and charged towards the tent wall, slashing open the cowhide with his knife and bursting out.

Outside, barbarian soldiers had already surrounded the area.

Li Xuan pulled a black pill from his embrace and threw it on the ground.

The pill exploded, filling the air with thick smoke.

It was a smoke bomb given to him by Chen Feng.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Xuan used Shadow Step, clearing the encirclement in a few leaps and disappearing into the night.

Iron Wall City, General's Mansion.

Li Xuan, covered in blood, flipped into the courtyard.

Chen Feng was waiting for him and quickly supported him, "How did it go?"

"I got the recipe," Li Xuan pulled out the paper from his bosom. "But Wanyan Lie... didn't die again."

"Getting the recipe is good enough!" Chen Feng took the recipe and immediately went to find the military doctor.

Li Xuan slumped to the ground, checking his injuries.

That punch to the chest had broken three ribs. He'd also taken a slash to the abdomen; though not deep, it bled profusely.

On the status panel, his potential points had increased again.

[Potential: 8.6 → 10.3]

He'd killed a few guards in the barbarian camp earlier, plus heavily injuring Wanyan Lie, which had yielded a good amount.

He added it all to Stamina!

[Stamina: 9.5 → 11.8]

A warm current surged through him.

His wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Though not fully recovered, he could at least move now.

Li Xuan stood up and looked north.

The barbarian camp was ablaze with light, clearly searching for him.

But tonight, they wouldn't attack the city.

With Wanyan Lie heavily injured, their morale would surely be in disarray.

Iron Wall City could hold out for a few more days.

"Enough," Li Xuan murmured.

As long as he could hold out until the reinforcements arrived...

He turned and went back to his room, sitting down cross-legged.

He began circulating the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique.

The malevolent energy from tonight's slaughter, along with the thrill of escaping death, were the best nourishment.

His bones were undergoing transformation.

His strength was growing.

When Li Xuan opened his eyes, dawn was breaking.

On the status panel, the progress of the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique had advanced another step.

[Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique - First Layer: Minor Accomplishment → Major Accomplishment]
[Effects: Bone Hardness +80%, Strength +30%]

He was now as strong as someone at the seventh layer of body forging, with bones as hard as fine iron.

Although his cultivation level was still at the fifth layer, his combat power... was no less than the eighth layer!

"Wanyan Lie," Li Xuan clenched his fist, "The next time we meet, I will take your life."

Outside his window, the cheers of soldiers could be heard.

"Reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!"

Li Xuan pushed open the window.

On the eastern horizon, a vast army was approaching in full force.

Banners fluttered, and armor gleamed.

On the largest banner at the forefront, a crimson cloud pattern was embroidered.