Attacking Duan Yun Pass!

"Ding! Do you wish to fuse the attributes and talents you've picked up?"

When the system asked, Ding Hao naturally chose "yes" without any hesitation.

Instantly, Ding Hao felt streams of heat surge through his entire body.

In just a moment.

The entire person from head to toe had undergone a world-shattering transformation!

"Have I... entered the ranks?"

Ding Hao looked at his hands, his eyes filled with disbelief.

It should be known that the Jiuzhou Continent had martial arts realms, from low to high being Martial Artist, True Martial, Grandmaster, Celestial Being, and Land Immortal. Each major realm was further divided into nine ranks.

It was just that his previous self had no talent for cultivation, otherwise, he wouldn't have pursued the path of imperial examinations.

Now, it was good; in just a few breaths, he had reached the rank of a first-rank Martial Artist.

At the same time, a glowing attribute panel appeared!

[Host] Ding Hao

[Realm] First-Rank Martial Artist

[Vitality] 100 (Vitality increases physical realm)

[Spirit] 10 (Spirit increases soul strength)

[Comprehension] 15 (Comprehension for cultivating methods and divine abilities)

[Luck] 0 (Free attribute points can be allocated freely)

[Talent Bloodline] Natural Barbarian Strength (Click to view effects)

[Cultivation Methods/Martial Arts] None yet

[Owned Items] None yet

Just by looking at the panel, Ding Hao understood!

The current panel was very basic, with pitifully few four-dimensional attributes. The only thing worth noting was the talent he had just picked up.

[Natural Barbarian Strength: You are born with an extraordinary brute strength. A mere swing of your arms can generate a thousand jin of force!]

Feeling it, with this talent, although Ding Hao was only a first-rank Martial Artist, his strength was no less than that of a third-rank Martial Artist!

"Hmm!"

"Now that I have this cheat, I can actually aim for the First to Ascend achievement!"

A glimmer of hope flickered in the depths of Ding Hao's eyes!

After all, Ding Yishan had said that as long as he could achieve First to Ascend, he would have a chance to escape his death row status. Otherwise, he would die sooner or later!

"Death Row Camp, depart immediately!!"

Just as Ding Hao was secretly examining his cheat, the commander of the Death Row Camp, Zhang Dahu, roared at everyone.

Although the three thousand death row prisoners were extremely unwilling, they could only grip the swords, shields, and other weapons they were issued, and march out of the camp towards Duan Yun Pass.

Duan Yun Pass was one of the border defense lines of the Northern Barbarian tribes!

Although the pass was not large, due to its crucial geographical location, the small pass was guarded by five thousand barbarian soldiers!

Moreover, the pass was built between two mountains, with tall and steep city walls, almost at a ninety-degree angle, making it a typical position that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

When Ding Hao and the other three thousand death row prisoners arrived outside the pass, they could see that the entire Duan Yun Pass was already lined with dense barbarian soldiers.

Crossbow bolts, giant stones, and boiling golden liquid were all extremely terrifying!

"No, no, no!"

"We're going to die!"

"This pass is simply impossible to attack!"

As soon as they arrived on the battlefield, the death row prisoners began to riot!

Panic, fear, and even the timid ones were already on the verge of wetting themselves!

"Death Row Camp, launch your attack on Duan Yun Pass immediately!"

"Anyone who dares to retreat a single step without orders will be shot on the spot!!"

At this moment, Ding Yishan, who had already arrived at the front lines, issued an order.

In front of him, there were as many as eight hundred soldiers holding spears and drawing arrows, acting as the supervising troops.

Undoubtedly, if any death row prisoner dared to flee or slack off on the battlefield, they would be shot by the supervising soldiers without hesitation.

"Damn it, let's go for broke!"

"Kill! If we fight, maybe there's still a chance to survive!"

At this point, even if the soldiers of the Death Row Camp were terrified and fearful!

They could only grit their teeth and, under the sound of the attack horn, charge towards Duan Yun Pass. Ding Hao, holding a war saber, was naturally among them.

In this kind of battle, his heart was naturally pounding!

The only thing that reassured him was the cheat he had on him!

"Fire arrows!"

Soon, when the Death Row Camp soldiers charged into enemy range, the barbarian soldiers on the pass immediately unleashed a volley of arrows!

The arrow rain was like a tide, dense and numerous, attacking the Death Row Camp soldiers.

Although the Death Row Camp soldiers charging at the very front mostly carried shields, these shields were just scrap metal discarded by the Divine Phoenix Army!

While they offered some protection against arrows, it wasn't much, and screams erupted instantly!

At least a hundred death row inmates died on the spot in the arrow rain, which filled the charging Death Row soldiers behind them with terror!

Some instinctively wanted to flee, but were shot dead by the supervising army in the next moment.

Only—Ding Hao!!

At this moment, he wasn't just fearless, but extremely exhilarated!

Because as a large number of Death Row Camp soldiers died, masses of collectible light orbs dropped from their bodies like flowers scattered by a celestial maiden!

Ding Hao accepted them all without hesitation, quickly gathering them.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for picking up 5 points of Vitality!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for picking up 8 points of Vitality!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for picking up a scrap shield!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for picking up a War Saber!]

[...]

A large number of system prompts immediately echoed in his ears!

Although many of the items he picked up were undoubtedly junk, he still fused numerous Vitality attributes into his body.

His only regret was that no one dropped any talents anymore.

Boom boom!

In just a moment, as Ding Hao charged into the arrow rain's coverage range.

His cultivation realm had already advanced from a first-grade Martial Artist to a third-grade Martial Artist!

A third-grade Martial Artist wasn't high, but it was enough to allow him to survive the arrow rain.

He casually retrieved a still intact shield from his system space.

Ding Hao, carrying the arrow rain, charged towards Duan Yun Pass, his movements incredibly agile.

Finally, he rushed to the base of Duan Yun Pass with a large crowd. Many death row inmates were already setting up cloud ladders and climbing towards Duan Yun Pass!

Clearly.

Many Death Row Camp soldiers had long forgotten their initial fear; baptized by blood, they were now filled only with madness!

But the barbarian soldiers on Duan Yun Pass were not to be trifled with. As they employed defensive measures like spears, crossbows, rolling stones, and liquid filth, the death row inmates attempting to scale the wall were once again slaughtered in large numbers!

The highest they reached was the parapet before being speared down!

Even with their relentless advance, there was no hope of reaching the city walls!

Meanwhile, Ding Yishan, who was commanding the battle from a distance, did not order a retreat.

This was because, in his mind, the purpose of these Death Row Camp soldiers was precisely to deplete the defensive supplies of Duan Yun Pass!

Of course.

As for the reward of being the first to ascend and having their death sentences commuted, he wasn't speaking idly. There had been precedents in the Great Zhou, but the prerequisite was that you had to achieve it!

"Divine Phoenix Army, prepare!"

"Once the Death Row Camp is depleted, we will attack Duan Yun Pass under my command!"

As expected, over ten thousand Divine Phoenix Army soldiers, clad in armor, wielding weapons, and armed to the teeth, were already poised for action!

However, at this moment, someone beside Ding Yishan suddenly exclaimed.

"General, look over there!!"

Ding Yishan instinctively followed the direction indicated and gazed into the distance!

And with that glance, he was utterly shaken, his eyes filled with astonishment!

Below Duan Yun Pass.

After unexpectedly acquiring a special talent called "Light as a Swallow," Ding Hao also let out a loud shout and began to climb the cloud ladder!

Now a third-grade Martial Artist, coupled with the "Light as a Swallow" talent, he easily dodged the crossbow bolts and rolling stones shot from the pass!

He moved like a soaring kite, and with just a few ascents and descents on the cloud ladder, he completely reached—Duan Yun Pass!!