Vitality Pill!

Host: Ding Hao

Realm: Ninth-Rank Martial Artist

Vitality: 25400

Spirit: 780

Comprehension: 1500

Luck: 0 (none for now)

Talent Bloodline: Primordial Barbarian Bloodline (two and a half parts), Natural Barbarian Strength, Light as a Swallow, Unyielding Resilience...

Cultivation Arts and Martial Techniques: Heavenly Tyrant Body Art (first layer), One Qi Art (great mastery), Three Talents Saber Technique (minor mastery), Tyrant Blade Slash (perfect mastery), Stepping Wind (perfect mastery), Golden Bell Shield (perfect mastery)...

Martial Dao True Meaning: True Meaning of Strength (ninety percent), True Meaning of Saber (fifty percent), True Meaning of Fire (thirty percent), True Meaning of Wind (twenty percent)...

Items Possessed: Mysterious Iron Saber, Golden Silk Soft Armor, Mysterious Treasure Map (one corner)...

At a glance, every one of his attributes looked far more splendid than before!

"Now, I can finally be considered a minor expert!"

Ding Hao rejoiced inwardly.

When he had first been sent to the Death Row Camp, he had been a useless wreck, nearly squeezed dry and too weak even to truss a chicken. Now, aside from formidable generals like Zhang Dalong and Ding Yishan, there were few people left for him to fear!

The only thing that made him feel utterly screwed was that his death-row prisoner status still had not been removed!

Now that the Northern Barbarians' main force had suffered a crushing defeat, with the Divine Phoenix Army's strength, if they continued fighting, they would likely sweep away the Northern Barbarians within a month!

Once this war ended, the imperial court would not bother sending death-row prisoners like them back to their places of origin. They would definitely dispose of them on the spot!

Back then, he had no hope, so death was death. But now, with his cheat in hand and a bright future ahead, he had no desire to lose his head!

"Fuck!"

"It's all Zhang Dalong's fault, that bastard! Otherwise, I'd have long since completed the four great military merits!"

Thinking of this, Ding Hao could not help cursing Zhang Dalong in his heart.

The one reassuring thing was that Ding Yishan and even Luo Shenhuang now thought highly of him. When the Northern Barbarians war truly ended, perhaps the two of them could keep him from being beheaded outright!

With that thought, Ding Hao decided to pay Luo Shenhuang a visit.

Who would have thought that Luo Shenhuang would send a personal guard to summon him first!

So, he followed the guard to the central command tent where Luo Shenhuang was.

After a great victory, even Luo Shenhuang had relaxed considerably.

Her golden armor and silver saber had been set aside, replaced by a dark blue dress. She had lost some of her heroic sharpness, but gained much more soft beauty!

It had to be said that amid a military camp full of rough men and burly fellows, she was an incomparably dazzling sight!

For a moment, Ding Hao stared in a daze, forgetting to pay his respects.

Only when Luo Shenhuang smiled sweetly did she ask, "Hehe, is your Army Lord beautiful?"

"Beautiful. Such a face belongs only in heaven—how many times can one see it in this mortal world?"

Ding Hao nodded and praised her without thinking, immediately making Luo Shenhuang's pretty face flush red. She reproached him, "You really are worthy of being Great Zhou's new Top Scholar this year. Your talent truly overflows!"

"But why did you enter the imperial palace at night and plot wrongdoing?"

By the end, Luo Shenhuang's eyes were filled with confusion!

Only then did Ding Hao come back to himself. "Army Lord, have you investigated me in secret?"

"Mm!"

Luo Shenhuang admitted it frankly. Her vermilion lips parted slightly as she said, "After all, you now possess three great military merits and even saved my life. If I want to clear you of your crimes, I naturally need to investigate your past!"

Hearing this, warmth rose in Ding Hao's heart, and he decided to lay everything bare.

"If I told you, Army Lord, that my crime was fabricated out of thin air, and that I was wronged by your dear best friend, the current Empress—"

"Would you believe me?"

Luo Shenhuang's pretty face darkened. Clearly, she already believed him seventy or eighty percent!

But she still asked in confusion, "As the new Top Scholar in the first year after the Empress ascended the throne, shouldn't you have been valued and promoted by her? Why were you wronged, even reduced to a border death-row prisoner?"

"Heh, she really valued me too much!" Ding Hao laughed at himself.

At this point, there was nothing he could not say. He directly revealed how Xia Weiyang had wanted to use him as a breeding stallion to conceive a fake dragon seed!

After hearing it.

Luo Shenhuang was completely dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief!

She knew Xia Weiyang was somewhat muddleheaded, but she had never expected her to be this muddleheaded!

She had actually treated a new Top Scholar as a tool for conceiving a fake dragon seed, and after the plan proved impossible, she had even demoted him to a border death-row prisoner!

"Th-this-this..." Luo Shenhuang opened her cherry-like red lips, clearly wanting to say something, yet she could not force the words out.

For some reason, besides being angry at Xia Weiyang's foolishness, an intensely unpleasant emotion welled up from deep within her heart!

It was as though... something she loved had been bullied by someone else!

"Sigh!"

In the end, all her emotions turned into a helpless sigh. Luo Shenhuang spoke again, "Last night, I had someone send the front-line battle report back to the imperial city by Urgent Dispatch!"

"In the report, I especially stated your, Ding Hao's, outstanding achievements and three great military merits. Together with my personal letter, I originally thought it would be enough to make the imperial court issue an order pardoning your death-row prisoner status!"

"But now, I'm afraid that is impossible. Even if Xia Weiyang does not know that this Ding Hao is you, she will not easily pardon him!"

Ding Hao's expression grew grave. Naturally, he had long expected this!

That was also why he wanted desperately to gather the four great military merits—so Xia Weiyang would have no reason whatsoever to refuse!

"Forget it!"

"Although the imperial court's decree will not arrive for several days, I will compensate you in advance with other rewards for your merits!"

Luo Shenhuang shook her head, then said, "However, I already gave you all the cultivation arts and martial techniques I could give you last time. Hmm~ what compensation should I give you this time..."

She pondered for a moment.

Luo Shenhuang's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. "Right, I have it!"

She rose and walked to a corner of the command tent, where she searched through a marching chest and found a small cloth pouch the size of a palm.

Then she returned and held the little pouch out to Ding Hao.

At the same time, she explained, "There are more than ten Vitality Pills in this pouch. I obtained them by chance. Taking them can greatly increase your vitality!"

"You are now a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist and have already grasped True Meaning. These Vitality Pills should be able to help you advance into the True Martial Realm!"

"Mm!"

Ding Hao was greatly invigorated. Pills like these were high-end goods!

There were probably not many in all of Great Zhou. Though there were only a dozen or so before him, they were likely worth at least thousands, even tens of thousands, of taels of gold!

Though precious, Ding Hao had no intention of refusing them. Besides, with the military merits he had earned, he deserved such a reward!

"Thank you, Army Lord Luo!"

Thus, Ding Hao did not hesitate and directly reached out to take the small pouch!

Afterward, he bade Luo Shenhuang farewell and eagerly returned to the Death Row Camp!

The moment he returned, he took a Vitality Pill from the pouch.

It was the size of a thumb, perfectly round, and crimson red throughout.

Gulp!

After looking at it for a moment, Ding Hao tilted back his head and swallowed it. The Vitality Pill melted upon entering his mouth, and surging vitality spread through his body!

Before long, the system notification sounded in his mind.

Ding! Vitality +1230!