The Spirit of Youth

The Flood Dragon was wreaking havoc.

The Water Pythons were hissing.

Inside the Mist Blade stronghold, the Mist Blade assassins turned and left without a word. Well-trained as they were, they swiftly evacuated the stronghold.

They were killers, assassins, harvesters of life who walked in darkness. They were not brave and fearless warriors. When faced with a powerful enemy, one utterly impossible to resist, the Mist Blade assassins naturally chose to retreat.

With the Mist Blade assassins no longer keeping them in check, the Lineage warriors within the stronghold lost their heads.

Gathering haphazardly by their original Lineages, they shouted loudly in confusion.

Quite a few valiant Ox Tribe warriors waved great axes and spiked maces, roaring as they charged the Flood Dragon. Each time, the Flood Dragon merely exhaled at an unhurried pace, killing and wounding swathes of Ox Tribe warriors, then swallowing them in a manner that was highly efficient yet somehow almost "elegant."

Whether flesh, armor, or weapons.

At an unhurried pace, it swallowed them in a single gulp.

The Lineage warriors' resistance quickly collapsed. Elite warriors fled in disarray everywhere, while Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes cried and wailed all around.

At Old Tie's urging, Wu Tie had already traveled some distance downstream along the great river.

But after condensing Origin Force and constantly tempering his body with it, Wu Tie's five senses had grown stronger by the day. Now his ears were sharp and his eyes keen, and he clearly heard the cries coming from the Mist Blade stronghold.

The Ox Tribe's voices were deep and powerful, the Wolf Tribe's howls were high and piercing, while the gray dwarves' voices were like the iron hammers they favored—ringing and forceful, carrying the flavor of hard stone.

As for the weakest Rock Gnomes, their voices were delicate and clear. Even when shrieking in terror, they sounded as pleasant as notes from a piccolo.

Especially the Rock Gnome children who had not yet come of age—their voices were slender and immature, as though a great crowd were blowing whistles made from little bone chips at once, drifting far, far away on the river wind.

Those Rock Gnome children.

Rock Gnomes were at most around one meter twenty tall, and the children of their race were even more tender and frail. Their skin was pale gray, their arms and legs thin, their soft hair pressed close against their scalps. Their eyes, a size larger than ordinary people's, always brimmed with curiosity toward the whole world and an innocence without a trace of impurity.

Back at the Wu Family stone fortress, Wu Tie had treated those little fellows like pets.

They were like Gray Rock Lizards freshly hatched from their eggs—adorable and lovable.

Back at the Wu Family stone fortress, Wu Tie often shared his food with those little fellows, even if it meant going hungry himself.

So Wu Tie's greatest dream back then had been for the Wu Family stone fortress to one day gain a sufficient, unending source of water. Then they could grow more giant white mushrooms and other fungi, and those little fellows would no longer go hungry.

Those tender, slender little fellows who always wore tranquil smiles as they clustered around Wu Tie, listening to him retell the stories he had heard from Master Hui, gazing at him with worship in their eyes.

Those little fellows who, whenever Wu Tie had something to do, always rushed to help him put everything in perfect order.

Those little fellows who, despite their young age, followed their parents to work the fields, wiped the scales and great teeth of the Rock Pythons, cleaned the mouths of Gray Rock Lizards, and scrubbed the entire Wu Family stone fortress spotless.

Like a flock of innocent, lovable little sprites, they scampered everywhere through the Wu Family stone fortress, filling it with life and vigor.

"I wonder how they are..." Wu Tie thought of the few little fellows closest to him.

As slaves, Gray Rock Gnomes were not given names.

But Wu Tie had given those little fellows names, using the beautiful phrases he had learned.

Wu Tie abruptly halted, turned, and looked toward the Mist Blade stronghold.

The commanders had brought in many slaves.

To sustainably develop this secret realm, many slaves had been transported here with their entire families.

There were elderly people, strong adults, and naturally, children. Especially among the numerous Gray Rock Gnomes—their breeding cycle was very short, and over these past few months, they had already given birth to many infants.

Gray Rock Gnome children could run all over the ground after merely two or three months.

The Flood Dragon rammed its head into the walls of the Mist Blade stronghold. A dull boom sounded from afar as long stretches of wall collapsed.

Many warriors standing atop the walls, futilely firing bows and crossbows, were blasted into the air. Screaming hoarsely, they crashed heavily to the ground along with the shattered earth and stone.

Unhurried and at ease, the Flood Dragon led several huge beasts into the stronghold.

Countless young voices shrieked. Standing atop a small hill, Wu Tie could even see the tiny figures stumbling as they ran within the distant Mist Blade stronghold.

Behind those tiny figures, gray figures not much taller than them charged at the Flood Dragon and Water Pythons. With no weapons, these small figures rushed forward carrying mining shovels.

Tiny mining shovels made specifically for Gray Rock Gnomes, weighing no more than two catties, smashed against the scales of the Flood Dragon and Water Pythons...

The Flood Dragon and Water Pythons disdained such attacks. With a casual roll, they crushed hundreds of tiny figures to death.

The Flood Dragon raised its head and gave chase after those tender, petite figures fleeing ahead.

Wu Tie watched the Flood Dragon's movements with a dark expression.

He seemed to hear the soft, gentle voices from the Wu Family stone fortress, thanking him as those little fellows accepted the mushrooms he had secretly passed them.

He seemed to see again those sensible little fellows who went hungry themselves, yet still saved their scant mushrooms for their younger brothers and sisters.

Wu Tie thought of his father and his elder brother.

He thought of Wu Jin, standing in front of him...

The wounds on Wu Jin's back had exposed the bone...

For the sake of him, his useless younger brother, Wu Jin had knelt on the ground...

"I have already run away once." Wu Tie inexplicably recalled a powerful line Master Hui had once muttered.

"Though facing thousands, I shall go forth!"

"Though facing thousands, I shall go forth!!"

"Though facing thousands, I shall go forth!!!"

"Though facing thousands... I shall go forth..." Wu Tie roared, "Though I still don't quite understand what those words mean... I can understand why Master Hui always loved to recite that line about 'apricot blossoms'!"

"The more you recite it... the more spirit it gives you!"

Wu Tie laughed loudly, straightened his back, and seized his spear. An invisible force field enveloped his entire body as wild winds rose around him. He suddenly leaped more than a hundred meters into the air and shot toward the Mist Blade stronghold amid a howling gale.

His blood burned once more.

His bloodline boiled.

Within his brow, a mass of golden light rapidly spun and expanded.

Sparkling primal energy drifted from the surrounding air, transforming into streams of glittering light that continuously flowed into Wu Tie's body.

Wu Tie gulped down the primal energy around him. The Origin Force in his lower abdomen surged out and coursed rapidly through his body. Primal energy entered the Origin Force, making it grow strand by strand. Excruciating pain tore through his entire body wherever it passed, as though the Origin Force were a divine giant hammer, tempering and pounding Wu Tie's body bit by bit.

Wu Tie's blood truly began to boil.

Within his brow, that mass of golden light shook violently. Wu Tie howled himself hoarse as he shouted the words he did not fully understand—"Though facing thousands, I shall go forth!"—charging toward the Mist Blade stronghold and that terrifying Flood Dragon.

His bloodline boiled.

Within it, certain exceedingly faint, strange energies hidden deep in Wu Tie's bloodline were stirred.

The speed at which Wu Tie's Origin Force circulated abruptly increased tenfold, while the agony in his body multiplied a hundredfold. Threads of blood seeped continuously from his pores. A small primal-energy vortex appeared over his head as streams of primal energy as thick as arms poured into it, continuously entering his body through the crown of his head.

His Origin Force rapidly increased.

His Origin Force swiftly grew stronger.

The golden light in his brow transformed into countless exceedingly fine golden threads that swept downward, like a cascading celestial river, endlessly washing over Wu Tie's body and cleansing his muscles, bones, internal organs... especially his bloodline.

An indescribable aura—vast and mighty, supremely hard and powerful, fierce and majestic—began to gather faintly within Wu Tie's body.

The next instant, that aura erupted. Wu Tie's flight speed surged severalfold, and behind him, wisps of pale gray aura gradually condensed into a blurry human figure with a straight spine, flowing robes, and a high crown.

When Old Tie saw Wu Tie rashly charging out, he opened his mouth in fright, about to spit lightning to stop Wu Tie's impulsiveness.

That Flood Dragon was simply not something Old Tie and Wu Tie could deal with now.

Had he not unleashed that earth-shaking strike some days ago, Old Tie would still have had some confidence in severely wounding the Flood Dragon.

But now... Old Tie had the will but lacked the strength...

Lightning surged over his great teeth. Just as Old Tie was preparing to spit it out, that hazy figure, like mist, silently emerged.

Old Tie held his mouth open, staring blankly at the vague human figure.

"Though facing thousands, I shall go forth..." Old Tie's body trembled faintly, and the blood-red light in his eyes suddenly blazed, illuminating the area hundreds of meters around him. "This brat... did he step in dog shit, or is he truly an unrivaled genius?"

Old Tie slowly closed his mouth. No expression could appear on his metal-cast skull, yet his tone was enough to declare his feelings at this moment.

"What a terrifying bloodline. What a terrifying race... worthy indeed of being the descendants of those monsters who created me..."

"The spark passes on, life without end... So long as the bloodline remains... then..."

"Fuck it, kill it!"

Old Tie suddenly barked wildly several times like a mad dog. Then a grand sound, loud as thunder, erupted from within him. "Battle... battle... battle... While life endures, battle never ceases... The meaning of my birth is battle!"

"Running away? Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao?" Old Tie roared hysterically. "Those are not thoughts I should have... Which bastard put something else inside my head? I am a pure warrior... Ah, damn it, Bian Que... Ah, damn it, a medical-support Ancient Divine Weapon..."

The blood-red light erupting from his eyes solidified, scorching the rocks in his gaze until they melted into magma.

Old Tie crazily pursued Wu Tie, roaring as he ran, "Damn Yang Jian... I only violated battlefield discipline once... A combat genius like me was actually demoted by you into a medic!"

Roar!

Roar!

Old Tie roared with utter abandon. "To hell with battlefield discipline, to hell with military orders... The Supreme Commander of this war zone, Yang Jian, is dead. The Supreme Commander of our brother war zone, Ox Hero, is dead... I have received no new military orders... In accordance with the founders'... highest directive, I shall fight as my heart wills..."

"White Tiger Army... Death Squad... commanding general... Wrathful Asura... entering battle!"

Blood-red light surged from Old Tie's eyes.

Within his enormous, ghastly pale skull, it seemed an invisible shackle had shattered, its crisp cracking sound clearly audible.

Fine blood-red patterns silently appeared over Old Tie's pale, flawless skull, forming ever-changing totemic designs. Old Tie, already rather ferocious-looking, became increasingly savage and vicious.

The surface of Old Tie's skull wriggled rapidly. Several sharp horns grew from it, their blood-red shapes fierce and keen. Countless tiny sparks danced over the horns as the primal energy around them turned into visible glittering streams, endlessly swallowed by those horns.

With several crack crack sounds, a great many electric sparks erupted from Old Tie's neck, and his movements suddenly became somewhat unbalanced.

Within his skull, immense terrifying energies crashed violently about. But his body was not, after all, his own body. Under those violent energy impacts, Old Tie's four legs staggered, and he abruptly plunged headfirst into the ground, smashing a huge stone stalagmite to pieces.

Roar!

"Battle!" Old Tie screamed himself hoarse. Great sheets of lightning burst from his neck as he suddenly sprang up, transforming into a streak of blood-red fire that raced forward.

A group of young Gray Rock Gnome children fled through tears and cries.

Their parents had already become a mess of blood and flesh, or had been swallowed by the Flood Dragon and Water Pythons.

Their little legs, less than a foot long, moved with difficulty as they fled through the chaotic stronghold. Their huge eyes were full of tears, and unprecedented terror filled their bodies and minds, warping their voices out of tune.

They... had no fighting strength at all.

A huge Water Python caught up, leisurely opened its great mouth, and swallowed down toward the group of Gray Rock Gnome children.

"I'm afraid too... but... I came!" Wu Tie cried hoarsely as he plummeted from the sky, gripping his spear with both hands and ruthlessly driving it through the Water Python's head.

An inexplicable tremendous force, utterly beyond Wu Tie's control, erupted from the spear.

Vast and mighty, supremely hard and powerful, it filled heaven and earth, brimming with boundless righteous energy.

The Water Python's enormous body abruptly exploded, bursting into blood and flesh that filled the sky.

The ground violently shook. Wu Tie's body slammed down, and his spear struck the earth, blasting out a huge pit more than ten meters across.

An invisible force field surged around him as Wu Tie slowly floated out of the pit.

Holding his spear, he gritted his teeth and looked at the Flood Dragon staring back at him from several hundred meters away.

"I'm afraid of you... but I still came!"

"There are always some things that must be done... always some people who must be protected..."

"I really am stupid... but I still came!"

Wu Tie crooked a finger at the Flood Dragon and laughed with a tremor in his voice. "Grandson, come to your grandpa. Your grandpa will have a good time with you..."