The Scripture Pavilion stood deep within the General's Mansion, a three-story building of green bricks. Two old soldiers, their hair and beards streaked with white, guarded the entrance.
Li Jinshui handed over his token. The old soldier inspected it and nodded. "One hour. You may only enter the first floor. The second and third floors are protected by restrictions. Anyone who trespasses will die."
Li Jinshui pushed open the door and went inside.
The musty smell of paper and ink greeted him, mingled with a faint scent of sandalwood. The first-floor hall was lined with bookshelves, densely packed with scrolls, booklets, and animal hides. Labels sorted them into categories: saber techniques, spear techniques, footwork, internal arts...
He headed straight for the section on internal arts.
He scanned the rows of shelves. Blazing Sun Art, Cold Ice Formula, Vajra Force... Each title sounded grander than the last, and each annotation more tempting.
Li Jinshui leafed through them one by one, but he always felt something was missing.
Then he reached the farthest corner.
There sat a wooden rack thick with dust. On it lay just one thin booklet. Its cover had yellowed and its corners curled, as if no one had touched it for years.
Li Jinshui picked it up and blew off the dust.
Evergreen Art.
He opened it to the first page, and a line of text caught his eye:
"This art was passed down by the Heavenly Cloud Sect. It is exceedingly difficult to cultivate, and progress is slow. Yet once mastered, one's internal power becomes several times greater than that of ordinary people, flowing without end. It can also nourish the meridians and strengthen the internal organs. Only those of great determination should attempt to cultivate it."
The Heavenly Cloud Sect.
Li Jinshui's heart stirred.
That was the sect the commander had mentioned before.
He continued reading, and his eyes grew brighter with every page.
The art had three defining traits:
First, its internal power was profound. At the same level of cultivation, someone who practiced Evergreen Art possessed three to five times the internal power of an ordinary person. While others grew tired after throwing one punch, he could throw ten.
Second, it flowed without end. The most heaven-defying aspect of this art was how quickly its internal power recovered. In battle, while others grew weaker with every exchange, he would only grow more invigorated.
Third, it nourished the body. The internal power of Evergreen Art had a restorative quality, slowly healing hidden injuries and nourishing the meridians. The longer one practiced, the healthier one's body became.
It had just one flaw—difficulty.
Extreme difficulty.
It had sat in the Scripture Pavilion for decades, and no one had ever mastered it.
The annotations made it clear: the Heavenly Cloud Sect had placed this art in various locations to screen potential disciples. Anyone who mastered the basics within three years could enter the sect directly.
Three years.
Looking at those two words, Li Jinshui slowly curled his lips.
Others needed three years. He only needed points.
He closed the booklet, turned, and headed out.
At the entrance, the old soldier looked up at him. "Made your choice?"
"I have."
"What art?"
"Evergreen Art."
The old soldier froze for a moment, then smiled.
It wasn't a mocking smile, but one with a hint of complexity.
"Young man, you've got guts," he said. "This art has been sitting here for thirty-seven years. You're the first to choose it."
Li Jinshui nodded and strode away.
Back in the barracks, he sat cross-legged and opened Evergreen Art.
He had just finished reading the first page of its introductory formula when that cold, mechanical voice abruptly rang out in his mind—
[Internal art detected... Recording...] [Recording successful: Evergreen Art] [Requirement: Body Forging, ninth level] [Unable to cultivate at present]
Li Jinshui stared at the words and fell silent for a moment.
Body Forging, ninth level.
He was currently at the eighth level. He still had one more to go.
Soon.
He tucked the booklet away against his body, alongside Rock Body and that bag of silver.
Then he began to cultivate.
Iron Shirt, eighth level.
He was only a little short of breaking through.
He closed his eyes and circulated the art again and again, feeling that surge of energy rush through his meridians.
Outside the window, the night wind grew stronger.
Three days later, at the hour of the Rabbit.
The war drums thundered before the sky had fully brightened.
This wasn't the usual alarm. These were deep, urgent drumbeats, each one pounding against the heart.
Everyone to the walls!
When Li Jinshui charged out of the barracks, he saw the northern sky glowing crimson with firelight.
Not one fire, but countless fires.
The Di were here.
As he led Squad Jia up onto the city wall, he froze.
Beyond the wall, the Di Army stretched to the horizon like a dark, surging tide. Not three hundred, not a thousand—at least five thousand.
Five thousand Di soldiers.
Their battle flags snapped in the morning breeze. Siege towers, scaling ladders, and battering rams stood packed across the front lines.
The vanguard.
This was only the vanguard.
"Form ranks!!!"
A hoarse shout rang out from the city wall.
Li Jinshui drew a deep breath, gripped his saber, and glanced back at Squad Jia—Er Gou, Monkey, and the seven soldiers who had recently joined them. Monkey's face was as pale as paper, but his hands were steady, his grip tight on his saber.
"Stay close to me," Li Jinshui said.
Before the words had left his mouth, a rain of arrows blotted out the sky.
When the first volley fell, Li Jinshui shielded Monkey with his own shield and took an arrow in the left shoulder.
At the eighth level of Iron Shirt, the arrowhead sank only two finger-widths into his flesh before getting stuck. He yanked it out with his free hand and tossed it aside. The blood soon clotted.
By the time the second volley fell, the scaling ladders had already reached the wall.
"Kill!!!"
The first Di soldier appeared over the edge. Li Jinshui swept his saber upward, the blade entering beneath the man's jaw and bursting through his crown. Warm blood sprayed across half his face. He had no time to wipe it away before his second strike fell on the next Barbarian Soldier climbing up.
[Di soldier killed, points +1] [+1] [+1...]
The city wall became a meat grinder.
Li Jinshui had no idea how long he had been killing. He only knew that he swung his saber, drew it back, and swung again.
In his hands, the saber art of Wolf Killing Seven Forms, mastered to perfection, became instinct. Every strike followed the shortest path, cleaving leather armor, slicing flesh, and breaking bone.
He kept adding points in his mind. "Put them all into Iron Shirt! All of them!"
[3 points spent, Iron Shirt proficiency +3] [+2] [+5...]
Iron Shirt's proficiency shot upward.
[Iron Shirt: Eighth level (42/45)] [Eighth level (44/45)] [Eighth level (45/45)] [Proficiency maxed] [Breakthrough: Eighth level → Ninth level]
Boom—
The energy that had been building inside him finally smashed through the last barrier!
A torrent of heat surged through his limbs and bones. A dark golden light blazed across his skin, holding bright for eight full breaths before slowly fading.
[Current realm: Body Forging, ninth level]
Power.
An even more ferocious power surged through his body.
Li Jinshui struck down the Di soldier before him. His saber sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
"Squad Leader! On your right!" Monkey shouted from the side.
Li Jinshui spun around and saw a Di Squad Leader charging at Monkey. He was at the eighth level of Body Forging, his saber strikes fierce.
Monkey fought desperately to block him, already driven to the very edge of the wall.
Li Jinshui stamped down hard and unleashed Tiger Walk at full strength. He shot forward like a streak of shadow.
Wolf Killing Seven Forms: Wolf Charge!
His saber pierced the Di man's back and burst through his chest!
[Di Squad Leader killed (Body Forging, eighth level), points +3]
Li Jinshui pulled out his saber, splashing blood across Monkey's face.
Monkey stared at him blankly, mouth opening as if to say something.
"Save your breath! Kill!" Li Jinshui turned and lunged at another Di soldier.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
They fought from dawn until noon, from noon until dusk.
The sun rose in the east, passed overhead, then sank in the west.
Bodies piled layer upon layer across the city wall—Zhou soldiers and Di soldiers, indistinguishable now. Blood soaked the bricks until they were slick. Every step required care to keep from slipping.
Li Jinshui had no idea how many he had killed.
He only knew that the notifications for points kept popping up, over and over, until he couldn't be bothered to look anymore.
But he didn't stop.
For every enemy he killed, he spent the points.
On Iron Shirt.
[Iron Shirt (Ninth level 3/50)] [+2, 5/50] [+3, 8/50] [+1, 9/50...]
On Wolf Killing Seven Forms.
[Wolf Killing Seven Forms: Great Mastery (45/50)] [+1, 46/50] [+2, 48/50] [+1, 49/50] [+1, 50/50] [Proficiency maxed] [Breakthrough: Great Mastery → Perfection]
It was as if something exploded in his mind! Countless scenes of killing flooded into him like a bursting river—wolves hunting in a pack, the wolf king fighting to the death, a lone wolf staking everything. Every scene fused seamlessly with his saber technique!
Wolf Killing Seven Forms, perfected!
With his eyes closed, his right hand swung out on its own—
A simple strike, without a hint of flourish.
Yet as the blade cut through the air, it didn't whistle. It let out a low wolf's howl!
Awoo—
The faint glow along the blade had solidified into a thin layer of light, its edge radiating a bone-piercing chill.
Saber qi.
At the realm of perfection, saber qi formed of its own accord.
On Tiger Walk.
[Tiger Walk: Great Mastery (28/30)] [+1, 29/30] [+1, 30/30] [Proficiency maxed] [Breakthrough: Great Mastery → Perfection]
Heat surged through his legs, and his whole body felt as light as a feather.
He made a light leap, soaring more than two zhang into the air. When he landed, he made no sound at all, like a true ferocious tiger.
Perfected Saber Technique, perfected footwork, ninth level of Body Forging.
He lifted his head and looked at the Di soldiers still surging toward him. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
The setting sun stained heaven and earth a bloody red.
On the city wall, fewer and fewer people remained alive.
Of Li Jinshui's Squad Jia, only six of the ten were left.
Er Gou had injured an arm, but he was still gritting his teeth and holding on. Monkey was covered in blood, some his own, some his enemies', so much that he couldn't tell them apart anymore. Yet he kept killing, his saber technique far fiercer than it had been that morning. Between life and death, he too had broken through to the fifth level of Body Forging.
"Centurion!" Er Gou suddenly shouted. "Over there! They're about to be overrun!"
Li Jinshui turned to look. In the middle section of the wall, Di soldiers had torn open a gap. A dozen or so Zhou Army soldiers were struggling to hold them back, on the verge of collapse.
"Follow me!"
He charged over with Squad Jia.
With Tiger Walk perfected, he was as fast as a gust of wind.
With Wolf Killing Seven Forms perfected, his saber flashed like a bolt of silk.
Wherever he passed, Di soldiers fell one after another.
[+1] [+2] [+1...]
He reached the gap and saw a Di Centurion standing there. He was in the early stage of the Inner Strength Realm, and the great axe in his hands had already felled seven or eight Zhou Army soldiers.
When the centurion saw him, he grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Zhou cur, come here to die?"
Li Jinshui said nothing and lunged straight at him.
Inner Strength Realm against ninth-level Body Forging—the gap was an entire major realm.
But he didn't care.
He had a saber in his hand.
A perfected saber.
The great axe came crashing down. He dodged sideways, circled to the man's flank with Tiger Walk, and slashed toward his ribs.
The centurion reacted swiftly, turning the axe haft sideways to parry the blow, then kicking out at him.
Li Jinshui neither dodged nor retreated. He took the kick head-on. With his ninth-level Iron Shirt and the force-deflecting footwork of Tiger Walk, the blow only made him stagger half a step.
Instead of retreating, he pressed forward, his saber flashing again!
Wolf Killing Seven Forms · Wolf Fang Bite!
Three slashes, each faster and more vicious than the last!
The first was knocked aside by the axe haft.
The second scraped past the haft, leaving a bloody gash on the centurion's arm.
The third went straight for his throat!
The centurion finally panicked. He retreated with all his strength and barely dodged the blow.
But Li Jinshui's saber had already latched onto him.
He unleashed his perfected saber technique, every strike a killing blow, every strike aimed at a vital point. The centurion had all the cultivation of the Inner Strength Realm, yet Li Jinshui drove him back step by step, leaving him no room to fight.
"Damn it!" the centurion roared. He took a slash head-on and swung his great axe down with all his strength!
That was exactly what Li Jinshui had been waiting for.
As the great axe came down, the centurion's centerline lay wide open.
Tiger Walk · Tiger Pounce!
He threw himself into the man's embrace, his saber flashing—
Wolf Killing Seven Forms · Wolf Charge!
The blade pierced the centurion's chest and emerged from his back.
The centurion's eyes widened. Blood welled from his mouth. He lowered his head to stare at the blade in his chest, unable to believe it until the moment he died.
[Killed Northern Di Centurion (early stage of the Inner Strength Realm), points +15] [Current points: 23]
Li Jinshui pulled out his saber, and the body crashed to the ground.
The surroundings suddenly fell quiet.
The remaining Di soldiers stared at the fallen centurion, then at the Zhou Army soldier drenched in blood, standing like a demon god. The ferocity on their faces gave way to fear.
"Kill!!!"
The Zhou Army soldiers let out a deafening roar and counterattacked.
At last, the Di soldiers broke.
They began to retreat, then to flee, streaming down from the city wall like a receding tide.
At last, the setting sun sank below the horizon.
The Di soldiers had withdrawn.
On the city wall, the survivors sank to the ground, gasping for breath. Some began to cry, some began to laugh, and some clung to the people beside them, whether they knew them or not.
Li Jinshui stood at the edge of the wall, leaning on his saber as he watched the Di soldiers retreat.
He had seven or eight wounds on his body. The deepest ran from his left shoulder to his right waist, his flesh gaping open so that bone showed through. But he stood firm, straight as a spear.
Monkey staggered over and dropped onto the ground beside him.
"Are you even... human..." Monkey panted, his voice so hoarse it barely sounded like his own. "You killed an Inner Strength Realm centurion..."
Li Jinshui said nothing.
He brought up the panel:
[Arts: Iron Shirt (Level 9, 11/50), Rock Body (Not Started), Evergreen Art (Not Started), Wolf Killing Seven Forms (Perfected), Tiger Walk (Perfected)] [Realm: Ninth Level of Body Forging] [Points: 23]
He was only a little short of advancing Iron Shirt by another level.
But he was still a long way from breaking through to Inner Strength.
He lifted his head and looked at the night sky.
There was no moon tonight, only a sky full of stars.
In the distance, firelight still flickered in the Di camp.
They would come again.
Next time, it wouldn't be five thousand men.
Li Jinshui looked away and lowered his eyes to the saber in his hand.
Its edge was full of notches. It was nearly ruined.
He stood up and turned toward the stairs leading down from the wall.
"Where are you going?" Monkey called.
"To get a new saber. Eat. Sleep."
He paused, then glanced back at Monkey.
"Tomorrow, we keep training."
Monkey froze for a moment, then grinned.
He struggled to his feet and staggered after him.
Behind them lay corpses strewn everywhere, the reek of blood, and the faint sounds of groaning and weeping.
Before them lay the pitch-black night, the road they had come by, and—
An even bloodier tomorrow.
But Li Jinshui walked steadily.
Because he knew that with every person he killed, he grew stronger.
And when he grew strong enough—
No one would be able to stop him.
Before you continue