Cleansing Marrow and Washing Sinews, Primordial Qi Enters the Meridians

Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, Chunjun and Zhanlu, Yuchang and Gelu, Juque and Xuanyuan, Longquan and Taie, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, the Painted Halberd...

Each Divine Weapon within the system radiated a brilliant golden light, signaling its grade.

The artistic craftsmanship, the flawlessly delicate patterns, and the unique aura contained within the weapons themselves made Zhao Cheng drool with envy.

Especially that Painted Halberd and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade!

The more he looked, the more they suited his tastes; he wished he could forge them right now, hold them in his hands, and swing them to his heart's content.

Alas, forging a single Divine Weapon required one hundred thousand years of life span. Lacking the necessary accumulation, he could only admire the details of the weapons through the system, quenching his thirst with a mirage.

"The Painted Halberd..."

He saw the Painted Halberd with its three points and two blades, the shaft like a dragon, the throat-guard like a tiger.

The crescent blades were etched with flowing cloud patterns and inlaid with dark starlight; when reflecting the sun, golden radiance swirled, and when meeting the moon, cold light condensed like frost.

The rings were tied with silk tassels, the core reinforced with a dragon-bone of refined iron, the exterior carved with thousand-fold waves, and the tail capped with a black-gold tiger head.

The entire weapon measured twelve feet; held vertically, it was like a pillar supporting the heavens, and held horizontally, it was like the Milky Way descending upon the wilderness.

It was truly a work of iron bones and frosty grace, a masterpiece of supernatural skill!

He looked again at the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, like a setting sun, with a dragon head supporting the sky!

The blade was like a great moon spanning the heavens, thin as frost, with green energy visibly swirling when it caught the light.

The head was like a blue dragon raising its crown, its horns supporting the sky, its throat-guard biting a pearl that shimmered with arcs of light, reminiscent of clouds and thunder.

The shaft was carved throughout with patterns of a blue dragon soaring through clouds, the guard was an eight-petaled golden lotus inlaid with jade, and the butt-cap was a hooked dragon tail that could be planted into the ground.

The entire weapon measured nine feet and five inches; a horizontal swing was like a blue dragon lashing its tail, and a vertical strike was like Mount Tai crushing down.

It was truly a weapon that could suppress the universe and swallow ten thousand miles of territory!

Zhao Cheng felt a secret resentment in his heart—how could they be so expensive!?

He couldn't even afford the ten-thousand-year Treasure Halberd, so when would he ever be able to forge the hundred-thousand-year Painted Halberd?

He sighed at the moon and simply stopped looking.

After much thought, he decided to spend a thousand years of life span later to exchange for a Precision Cast Great Halberd to charge enemy lines and break formations.

Given his tyrannical strength, such a weapon was perfectly suited to him.

With a Great Halberd in hand, he would be invincible amidst the army, capable of shattering a thousand troops with a single swing!

"But in the current situation, a Great Halberd is too conspicuous, and it's inconvenient to carry or use for fighting within the city, so I won't forge it just yet."

"Besides, most of the fighting now involves sieges, and there are few opportunities for two armies to clash in the field, so a sword is indeed more convenient."

"I'll just wait until tomorrow when we break the city to exchange for a Precision Cast Longsword."

With that thought, Zhao Cheng opened the system's Life Span Pill Condensation function, looked at the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and chose to condense it.

[Consumed 10,000 years of life span. Marrow Cleansing Pill successfully condensed! Do you wish to claim it now?]

"Claim."

A pill emitting an extreme fragrance fell into Zhao Cheng's hand. It didn't look like a pill at all, but rather a crystal-clear jade sphere.

Zhao Cheng didn't linger to admire it; he tossed the Marrow Cleansing Pill directly into his mouth and swallowed.

The pill melted upon contact, instantly transforming into wisps of coolness that merged into Zhao Cheng's limbs and bones.

Immediately after, an intense sensation of numbness and itching began to emanate from deep within his meridians and bones.

This feeling was excruciatingly uncomfortable, yet it sent an endless wave of relief to the depths of his soul, forcing Zhao Cheng to clench his fists and grit his teeth to keep from making a sound.

As the medicinal power spread, earth-shaking changes occurred within Zhao Cheng's body.

The corner of the meridian he had accidentally opened previously began to widen rapidly.

It was like solid ice meeting the warm sun, beginning to melt.

From the size of half a fingernail, it grew to the size of a full fingernail within a few breaths.

Then, it began to spread along the meridian, opening up from the center of his chest and abdomen, moving both upward and downward.

Every time a section opened, vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi surged into it.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi that had originally been stored in his entire arm could now be contained within a meridian the length of a finger.

This process of cleansing and opening accelerated, occurring simultaneously throughout his entire body.

Every meridian began to loosen, then gradually melted open at one corner, spreading outward to both sides.

As each meridian opened, the massive amount of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi stored in that part of his body would swarm in, filling the meridian.

When his chest and abdomen were completely opened, all the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in his body had surged into the various meridians, leaving none stored elsewhere in his flesh.

Not long after, the large meridians in his chest and abdomen began to connect with other parts of his body.

At this moment, a feeling of immense fluidity washed over him, like silt that had been blocked for years being flushed away, or a long-standing nasal congestion suddenly clearing.

Large amounts of impurities and waste began to be expelled through Zhao Cheng's skin, following his breathing and the circulation of his primordial qi.

Even his bones were expelling something; the mixture of discomfort and relief was indescribable, making Zhao Cheng want to crack his bones open just to rub his own marrow.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi throughout his body seemed to have been released from some kind of restraint, leaping and cheering as it surged back and forth through his meridians, tempering them while simultaneously refining itself.

Zhao Cheng's meridians were constantly becoming tougher and more expansive, and at the same time, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi within them was being continuously condensed, though the degree of this refinement was so slight it was almost imperceptible...

While Zhao Cheng was washing his marrow and cutting his tendons, undergoing a rebirth of his very being.

Inside Ye City, the garrison commander Han Jiang heard the report from his subordinate, and his vision went black as he toppled straight toward the ground.

"General!!"

His subordinates rushed forward to catch Han Jiang, preventing him from smashing his head and bleeding out.

Even so, Han Jiang felt dizzy and lightheaded, the world spinning before his eyes as darkness encroached upon his vision.

A stifled, suffocating rage lodged in his chest, unable to be spat out or swallowed!

His face turned ashen, and he pointed a trembling finger at Wen Mao, his mouth agape, yet he could not force a single word out.

"General, calm your anger!"

Wen Mao knelt on the ground, his eyes red; he felt aggrieved as well. That damn thing was no spy—he was a total Sha!

"The Qin Army must have used some sorcery. I suspect it might be the legendary Fangshi or some kind of bizarre Incantation Technique!"

"At first, when Du Shuang's men fled and told us that the guy was impervious to blades, arrows, water, and fire, we didn't believe them. But after a chaotic battle, we surrounded him in a small alley with nearly two thousand men."

"My soldiers charged forward with blood-fueled courage, wave after wave, never retreating, yet we could never take that fierce man down."

"At first, I only thought he had great stamina and superb swordsmanship, but in less than a quarter of an hour, my soldiers grew fewer and fewer. In that short time, he had actually slaughtered nearly a thousand of them!"

"With over half our casualties, my army did not retreat, but that man was so eerie that my soldiers had long since lost their will to fight."

"If we don't return now, I fear our entire force will be wiped out!!"

Wen Mao's expression was filled with grief and indignation, his words sincere and heartfelt.

But as Han Jiang listened, his face suddenly flushed red, and he spat out a mouthful of old blood!

After spitting out that blood, he finally felt better; a surge of energy rushed up, and he immediately roared in fury.

"Execute him for me!!"

"Execute him!!"

Wen Mao's expression was complex. Recalling what he had said to the deserters earlier, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

So that was how it was.

No wonder I didn't believe it.

The General heard it, and he didn't believe it either!

Death is death; what difference does it make if I die sooner or later?

With that Sha there, Ye City would surely fall before long. When the Qin Army entered the city, they wouldn't spare me either.

It is only a pity that I did not die on the battlefield fighting the enemy, but instead died under these circumstances.

As the long sword descended, Wen Mao suddenly smiled.

Heh, going down to see Du Shuang, at least I'll have company.

I'll have to apologize to him, too. I misunderstood him before; if he was a coward, then I am an even bigger one.

Oh, and when the General comes down, I wonder if he'll apologize to me as well, saying he misunderstood me...

Shing!

His head flew into the air.

Wen Mao was executed for dereliction of duty and inciting panic among the troops.

He died atop the city wall, before the military formation.

A warning to all others.

Watching Wen Mao fall, Han Jiang felt his entire body go limp. He sat weakly beneath the Parapet, waving his hand listlessly.

"Someone else, take command. Go to the government office and see how much of the grain and fodder can still be saved?"

There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart.

He was now utterly disheartened, wishing he could open the city gates himself, let the Qin Army in, and die along with this bunch of trash.

Leading this group of people to fight—it would be better to just surrender, damn it!

Less than a quarter of an hour later, a horse came galloping back in a hurry.

The rider wore a look of joy, and before he even reached the wall, he shouted the good news.

"General, good news!"

Han Jiang lifted his eyelids listlessly. Things had come to this; what good news could there possibly be?

But he saw the messenger dismount, his face beaming as he said, "That Qin Army spy is as stupid as a pig! He couldn't distinguish between the county administration and the granary. He only burned the administration in his haste and left; the grain and fodder in the storage are completely intact and unharmed!"

Upon hearing this, Han Jiang, who had been sitting limply on the ground, felt as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He stood up with a start, and a glimmer of light returned to his eyes.

"Ha!"

He let out a loud laugh, unable to contain his delight, and continued, "Hahahaha!"

"What a pig-brained spy, failing to even distinguish between the granary and the county office. He must have panicked upon seeing our army surround him, burning the county office in his haste before fleeing."

"How could such a fool cause Wen Mao and Du Shuang to suffer such a crushing defeat? It only goes to show how incompetent those two are!"

Laughing, Han Jiang stepped into the crude watchtower and beckoned the subordinate who had delivered the report to follow.

The rider entered, looking as if he had more to say but hesitating to speak.

After receiving a signal from Han Jiang's eyes, he finally said, "General, we investigated the battlefield in the city. Our casualties were indeed heavy, and every one of our men found along the path had been struck by a single arrow through the throat!"

"Furthermore, in a deep alley in the west of the city, our soldiers' corpses were piled like mountains, the blood flowing like a river. Every one of the dead had been decapitated by a single sword strike, with no other wounds on their bodies."

"Judging by the traces on the battlefield, there was indeed only one person on the other side."

"This person is truly terrifying. What General Wen Mao said seems to hold some truth after all."

"This subordinate believes that this man possesses extraordinary martial prowess; the General must be extremely cautious."

The more the man spoke, the graver Han Jiang's expression became.

As a garrison commander temporarily assigned to defend Ye County, he was naturally no fool; he knew full well that the enemy spy possessed exceptional martial strength.

However, he could not accept that Du Shuang and Wen Mao, commanding a total force of over three thousand men, had failed to take down a single enemy spy.

He could not allow them to sow discord within the ranks either. If he did not execute Wen Mao, the morale of the army would inevitably fall into greater chaos, which would be an even bigger problem.

Han Jiang sighed and said, "I am well aware..."

"This man's archery is divine. He has fought alone across various locations, skirmishing and breaking through encirclements for a long time without exhausting his stamina. He even infiltrated the government office, killed the County Commandant, burned the county office, and terrified Du Shuang's unit—his martial prowess is clearly formidable."

"But no matter how strong a warrior is, they still fear being surrounded and slaughtered by a powerful army."

"Facing such a ferocious individual, Wen Mao chose to engage in narrow alleys. How arrogant, how foolish!"

"In the dim light of the alleys, one cannot grasp the battlefield situation or make timely adjustments, leading him to only realize the severity of the situation after more than half his men were killed."

"Moreover, the alleys are narrow, where one man can hold the pass against ten thousand. With such strength, that ferocious man is naturally better suited to fighting in such terrain."

"Wen Mao brought two thousand troops, yet couldn't even utilize ten percent of their strength in such a place. To suffer such a crushing defeat—does he not deserve to be executed?"

"They were all trained by me. I may not know everything about their capabilities, but I know the general gist."

"If it were an ordinary spy, how could they have failed to take him down?"

Han Jiang sighed again. "Enough. The grain and fodder remain; that is already a stroke of luck."

"Search the entire city overnight. Take advantage of his fatigue to find him and kill him. We cannot let him pass intelligence out of the city, nor can we allow him to cause any more chaos."

"Fortunately, while that man has courage to spare, he lacks strategy. Burning the wrong building shows he cannot accomplish anything of real consequence..."