Missing Thoughts

Chapter 41

Yu Sui was pulled aside by Mei Chengyu, and under his threatening gaze, she made a gesture to shut up.

"Senior Martial Brother," Yu Sui waved her hand in front of his eyes, "Are you awake? If not, should we wait until you're awake before going in?"

Mei Chengyu glanced at her.

Yu Sui smiled sweetly and innocently.

After Li Jinshuang finished registering, she came over with the Formation Opening Jade Plaque. The two instructors behind her were still laughing uncontrollably at Yu Sui's words.

"Shall we go in?" Li Jinshuang asked, to prove she wasn't mute. Mei Chengyu was still holding Yu Sui. He grunted, and Li Jinshuang then smashed the Formation Opening Jade Plaque on the spot. The shattered jade plaque formed circles of white water ripples at their feet, instantly sending the three of them into the Military Formation.

The gust of wind and sand that hit them made Yu Sui turn her face away. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of blood. It was another night where nothing was auspicious, with dark clouds pressing down, and a solemn, oppressive atmosphere everywhere.

However, this time, they were not on a battlefield outside a city filled with the smoke of battle, but inside a city filled with screams and the pursuit of cavalry.

The city was being plundered by the army. The corpses lying on the ground were piled up like a small mountain. Blood flowed like a river in the streets. Although no living beings were visible, screams could still be heard from time to time, fading into the distance, ferocious and distorted, greatly affecting their state of mind.

As fires burned houses ahead and smoke billowed from the city walls, Yu Sui and the other two could see a thin mist of blood spreading before them.

"It's a bit bloody, don't be scared." Mei Chengyu withdrew his hand that was holding Yu Sui, letting her stand behind him. He looked forward, golden Five Elements Qi forming a protective barrier around him.

Li Jinshuang and Mei Chengyu both stood in front of Yu Sui. These two seemed prepared to deal with the obstacles themselves, allowing Yu Sui to sightsee in the Level 1 Military Formation.

The scattered blood mist gradually formed a group of red soldiers and horses on the street ahead. The soldiers and horses were mounted by cavalry clad in black and gold armor, holding blood-stained long swords. The sword blades and the black and gold armor reflected each other's light. These undead cavalry were searching for something. Their hooves trod the ground, emitting the elegant, life-threatening sound of evil ghosts.

"We're inside the city this time," Yu Sui said, standing under the eaves and looking around. "Do we win by fighting our way out?"

"Yes." Mei Chengyu stared at the undead cavalry approaching them. "See the Undead Warriors ahead? Each Undead Warrior has the strength of the Ninth Realm. They can only be killed by destroying their light cores."

Ninth Realm?

Yu Sui nodded.

Mei Chengyu glanced at her reaction. Seeing that Yu Sui showed no surprise even after hearing that Black Wind City was full of Ninth Realm opponents, he wondered if she was truly fearless or if she had no concept of Ninth Realm cultivators.

Before Yu Sui had opened up the Asura Hell, she would have been shocked. All Ninth Realm Undead Warriors, endless waves of them, how terrifying that would be.

Unfortunately, after being instantly killed by a Thirteenth Realm Undead Warrior on the opposite bank of the Asura Hell river, Yu Sui felt that other Military Formations were not worth mentioning.

If she were to truly face the Asura Hell, there would be no point in saying anything upon entering. She would be instantly killed by the Thirteenth Realm black-armored cavalry inside, with no power to resist.

Even the low-level soldiers in high-level Level 1 Military Formations were only Ninth Realm, not even reaching the Soul realm. The Special Grade Military Formations directly jumped to the Thirteenth Realm.

Yu Sui muttered inwardly, still looking around. Suddenly, she heard Li Jinshuang draw her sword. The clear ringing of the sword was like heavenly music, shattering the disturbing wails of ghosts around them.

It also attracted the red horse cavalry in front.

When the red horse cavalry's gazes locked onto the three of them, Yu Sui could feel the air around them tremble. Dust flew away, scattered by unseen eyes. It felt as if invisible ropes were wrapping around her limbs, giving her a heavy sense of restraint.

The sound of hooves, which had been elegant moments ago, suddenly became frantic. The Undead Warriors galloped their horses, raising their swords and roaring at the three of them.

The Undead Warrior at the forefront raised his sword and slashed down. The air current shattered the blood mist, and a powerful force surged forward, as if to cut through everything. Even from a distance, it could cut through the Five Elements Qi circulating around the three of them, tearing it apart and scattering it.

Li Jinshuang and Mei Chengyu simultaneously retreated to the rooftops of nearby houses using the Wind Riding Technique. Yu Sui followed closely behind. She saw the spot where she had been standing moments before, with the ground tiles lifted by the Undead Warrior's sword energy, and the corpses on the ground shattered, blood splashing again.

It was indeed bloody.

Yu Sui raised her hand and lightly wiped the blood that had splashed near her eyes with her fingertip.

Li Jinshuang and Mei Chengyu attacked without a word. They leaped from the rooftops, landing directly in the center of this group of Undead Warriors. Li Jinshuang unleashed a hundred slashes with her sword. The speed of her blade was incredibly fast. Her target was clear: she intended to kill the first Undead Warrior who had swung his sword.

This was not the first time they had entered a formation. They already had some understanding of this Military Formation and knew that they had to destroy the opponent's Five Elements Light Core to eliminate them.

Yu Sui had seen Li Jinshuang's Military School swordsmanship before. This time, her gaze fell on Mei Chengyu.

She seemed not to have seen Mei Chengyu in action before.

The Nine Schools Techniques could be simply summarized: Military School's blades and swords, Ghost Dao School's runes.

But Mei Chengyu didn't use any runes. He seemed to be fighting bare-handed, yet relying on his Five Elements Qi to protect his body, he moved with ease within the military formation.

The Undead Warrior's long sword swept across, incredibly fast, as if aiming to decapitate Mei Chengyu. Mei Chengyu raised his hand, and a small lightning serpent flashed between his fingers. He flicked his finger at the sword body. With a crackle, two powerful energies collided. The twisted lightning serpent, like a strange rune, flashed rapidly across the sword body.

The ground trembled with a loud boom. Yu Sui, standing on the rooftop, raised an eyebrow slightly after her gaze caught the lightning serpent rune that flashed across the sword body.

It was the same Bagua Life Technique, yet her lightning serpent didn't twist into that strange rune shape?

Chapter 41 (Page 2/2)

The Undead Warrior, along with its horse, was sent flying far away. But they were fast. Before the first one had completely fallen, another's bloodthirsty long sword had already reached Mei Chengyu's face.

Gen Hexagram, Life Technique, Shaking Mountain.

Mei Chengyu glanced at the sword tip that was slashing towards his eye. A giant mountain descended, and everything paused due to the irresistible gravitational pressure. Even the fluctuating Five Elements Qi came to a halt.

The man's well-defined fingers rested on the blood-stained sword tip, pressing down gently. The small lightning serpent that popped out from his fingertips opened its mouth and bit down on the sword tip. The Undead Warrior on the red horse had its limbs twisted, emitting a terrifying cracking sound. As its Five Elements Light Core was bitten and shattered by the lightning serpent, it fell from its horse.

In just two breaths, Shaking Mountain was withdrawn.

Yu Sui observed from above, her eyeballs darting around, following Mei Chengyu.

The same Bagua Life Technique. Clearly, everyone knew the same moves, yet Mei Chengyu's was somewhat different. This should be one of the three trials of the Taiyi Level Up Challenge: the Five Elements Birth Technique, Self-Modified Divination Technique.

If the Mei Chengyu from before hadn't been fully awake, he was now completely alert in the midst of battle. His combat state was no longer the usual carelessness, but focused and decisive.

Although Li Jinshuang was under some pressure, she was much more relaxed than when she entered the formation alone. After all, Mei Chengyu was a Ninth Realm cultivator, on par with these Undead Warriors, and perhaps even superior as he was on the verge of the Tenth Realm.

Yu Sui watched from a high vantage point for a long time, feeling that Mei Chengyu wasn't using his full strength, so she couldn't discern his true power. He mostly used the Bagua Life Technique, and didn't even employ much from the Ghost Dao School's Nine Schools Techniques.

Mei Chengyu seemed to be guiding Li Jinshuang at this moment. He would first deplete the Undead Warriors' Nine Schools Techniques, and when their Five Elements Qi weakened, he would hand them over to Li Jinshuang to finish off. Occasionally, he would glance at the swordsmanship Li Jinshuang was using.

He also firmly guarded Yu Sui behind him, ensuring no Undead Warrior's Nine Schools Techniques could bypass him to disturb Yu Sui on the rooftop behind.

Wave after wave of Undead Warriors surged and were eliminated, but they barely moved from their positions. The commotion they caused, however, was significant, drawing more Undead Warriors from all directions. The enemies grew in number, and their Five Elements Qi was depleted more and more.

Yu Sui saw a large number of Undead Warriors approaching in the distance. She squatted at the edge of the rooftop and peered down at Mei Chengyu: "Senior Martial Brother."

Mei Chengyu signaled for her to stay put and looked towards Li Jinshuang, who was holding her sword not far away: "Are you unwilling to use your Sword Spirit, or do you not have one?"

Yu Sui looked at Li Jinshuang. Upon hearing Mei Chengyu's question, her body stiffened slightly, and she fell silent.

Mei Chengyu held the Formation Opening Jade Plaque in his hand and said to Li Jinshuang, "If you don't have a Sword Spirit, you won't even get halfway through the Military Formation. If you're unwilling, then letting my Junior Martial Sister watch Military School swordsmanship for a while is enough."

More and more Undead Warriors arrived riding red horses. During a brief lull in the fighting, sharp screams erupted from all sides again.

Mei Chengyu said, "If you intend to challenge the formation today, you must use your Sword Spirit. If you're just here to accompany my Junior Martial Sister for a tour, then I'll break the formation and leave."

Li Jinshuang remained silent, not answering. She lowered her gaze, quiet for a moment, and slowly sheathed her sword.

The result was as expected.

If this person continued fighting, there would be trouble.

Mei Chengyu smashed the Formation Opening Jade Plaque and, the instant the Undead Warriors charged forward with their swords, he left the Military Formation.

Before entering the Military Formation, the Military School trial grounds were dimly lit. Now, the sky was bright, as if it were almost noon, and there were many more people than before.

Disciples entered the formation full of confidence, only to emerge battered and bruised.

Almost every disciple who came out of the Military Formation was covered in blood, either their own or from those within the formation.

The two instructors responsible for registering disciples in the Military Formation held their teacups and leisurely told the injured disciples, "Figure it out yourselves. Yes, go to the Medical School yourselves."

Mei Chengyu's Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. He tapped it to check. Xing Chun asked, "Food?"

"Food," Mei Chengyu replied, then glanced at Yu Sui beside him. Yu Sui was also looking at him. Seeing his gaze, she smiled and said, "Senior Martial Brother, thank you for letting me watch the Military Formation. Shall I treat you to a meal?"

It's free food, why not.

Mei Chengyu took Yu Sui to the dining hall. Yu Sui asked Li Jinshuang if she wanted to go to the dining hall, but Li Jinshuang shook her head and left alone. Yu Sui had originally planned to have these two bring her into the Military Formation to observe the situation before trying it herself, so she didn't pay it much mind. On the way to the dining hall, she asked Mei Chengyu, "Senior Martial Brother, do you know about Li Jinshuang's Sword Spirit?"

"I don't know," Mei Chengyu replied, walking ahead, his voice lazy. "The swords and sabers of the Military School each have their spirits. One can cultivate them after reaching the third realm. Her Sword Spirit might not be non-existent, but it's very dangerous, and she probably can't control it herself."

Yu Sui jogged to catch up with him, "Why do you say that?"

Mei Chengyu turned back to wait for her. "Li Jinshuang's sword energy almost couldn't be controlled and nearly cut both you and me. If she had continued fighting, I would have killed her along with the Military Formation puppets."

Yu Sui couldn't help but look up at him, her eyes filled with unconcealed amusement.

Is Li Jinshuang more dangerous, or are you, Senior Martial Brother, more dangerous?

Mei Chengyu's gaze fell on her. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," Yu Sui shook her head. "Usually, Sword Spirits that can't be controlled are particularly powerful."

Mei Chengyu snorted, "If you can't control it, it's harmful to yourself and others."

Yu Sui raised her hand and lightly smoothed her hair. "What if it can be controlled?"

Mei Chengyu: "If it can be controlled, then what's there to say? That means it's powerful."