Anger

When they returned to North-Rejecting City, dawn was nearly breaking.

Li Jinshui was carried back by two soldiers.

From the riverbank to the city gates, every step felt like walking on the tips of knives. The wound in his left leg had gone numb, leaving only pain all over his body.

The gate guards saw their blood-soaked group and hurriedly opened the gates, frightened out of their wits.

Some ran to report what had happened, while others brought stretchers. The whole place descended into chaos.

By the time Li Jinshui was carried back to the barracks, it was broad daylight.

He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind blank.

Monkey limped in after him, holding a small bundle. He tossed it onto Li Jinshui's bed.

"Wound ointment, and medicine to take by mouth," Monkey said. "I got it from the quartermaster. He said the commander specially approved it—you killed three Inner Strength Realm fighters last night. That's a huge achievement, so you're to rest up properly for five days."

Li Jinshui moved his fingers, trying to sit up, but Monkey pressed him down.

"Don't move." Monkey glared at him. "The wound on your leg is deep enough to almost show bone, and you still want to move? Lie still."

Li Jinshui glanced at him without a word, then lay back down.

Monkey sat beside his bed, opened the bundle, took out some powder and bandages, and began changing his dressing.

"You're one lucky bastard." As he changed the dressing, Monkey kept muttering, "Three Inner Strength Realm fighters, and you were only at the ninth level of Body Forging, yet you managed to kill all three. When I ran, I looked back and saw you punching that guy in the face over and over, until it was covered in blood... I thought you were done for."

Li Jinshui listened, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Lucky," he said.

After changing the dressing, Monkey poured him a bowl of water and watched him drink it.

"All right, go to sleep." Monkey stood up. "I'm going back to lie down too. I'm dead tired."

He reached the doorway, then glanced back at Li Jinshui.

"Jinshui."

"Yeah?"

"You're one hell of a monster."

The door closed.

Lying in the darkness, Li Jinshui's lips slowly curled into a smile.

A monster?

Maybe.

He closed his eyes and soon sank into a deep sleep.

He slept through the day and night.

When he woke, it was the following evening. The setting sun shone through the window lattice, laying a golden blanket across the floor.

Li Jinshui moved. His wounds still hurt, but they were much better than yesterday.

He sat up and looked down. The wound on his left leg had been treated well, with a fresh bandage and no blood seeping through.

Monkey must have come by again at some point.

He got out of bed and took two steps. He was all right. Though he still limped, he could walk.

Rapid footsteps sounded outside.

The door swung open, and Monkey rushed in, his face pale.

"Jinshui! Something terrible happened!"

Li Jinshui looked at him.

"The Di People have gone mad!" Monkey swallowed. "After you burned their provisions yesterday, they attacked the city first thing this morning. They fought from dawn till dusk, and a lot of people died! That Scholar Soldier from the Personal Guard Battalion—the one who led us on the night raid—was killed in action!"

Li Jinshui froze.

That Scholar Soldier, the one in the late stage of Inner Strength who'd cut down enemies like chopping melons and vegetables, had been killed?

"And Camp Commander Zhou!" Monkey continued. "Zhou Kui was wounded too, and nearly died. I heard two men from the Personal Guard Battalion were killed, one Camp Commander, and seven or eight squad leaders. As for ordinary soldiers, there were too many to count..."

Li Jinshui was silent for a long time.

Zhou Kui had been wounded.

That Zhou Kui, with a scar on his face and a voice like a stone hitting the ground—the one in the middle stage of Inner Strength—had been wounded too.

He walked to the window and looked toward the city wall.

Flames still flickered over there, and the distant cries of battle carried faintly through the air.

"They're still fighting today?"

"Fighting!" Monkey said. "They battled from morning till night and only just withdrew. They'll definitely come again tomorrow."

Li Jinshui said nothing.

He stood by the window, watching the flames for a long time.

On the morning of the third day, Li Jinshui woke up.

He got out of bed and stretched.

His wounds still hurt, but they no longer stopped him from moving.

The ninth layer of Iron Shirt really did give him powerful recovery.

He put on his armor, picked up his saber, and pushed the door open.

He'd just reached the camp entrance when he ran into Qin Lie.

Qin Lie stared at him in surprise. "How the hell are you up? Weren't you told to rest for five days?"

"I couldn't stay in bed," Li Jinshui said. "How's the front line?"

Qin Lie's expression darkened. "Bad. Another hundred or more died yesterday. Zhao Tieniu was wounded, and Zhou Tai was wounded too. Less than half of our squad leaders can make it up onto the wall today."

He looked at Li Jinshui, seeming about to say something, but in the end he only patted him on the shoulder.

"All right. Let's go together."

The scene on the city wall was just as before.

Blood, corpses, screams, battle cries.

Li Jinshui stood behind the battlements and looked down at the densely packed Di soldiers.

There were even more of them today than yesterday.

"They're coming up!!!"

Scaling Ladders were propped against the wall, and the Di soldiers began surging upward.

Li Jinshui tightened his grip on his saber and charged to meet them.

His first slash knocked down a Di soldier who had just appeared over the edge.

[Enemy Northern Di soldier killed, points +1]

His second slash swept sideways, slicing open another Di soldier's neck.

[+1]

His third slash was an Upward Slash, thrusting up through a third Di soldier's chin and out the back of his head.

[+1]

One after another, slash after slash.

Li Jinshui was like a tireless machine, holding his stretch of wall and stopping every Di soldier who charged up.

When one man fell, the next filled the gap.

He didn't know how long he'd been killing. He only knew that the points notifications kept popping up.

[+1]

[+1]

[+2, Northern Di squad leader killed]

[+1]

[+1]

[+3, Northern Di squad leader killed (ninth level of Body Forging)]

By then, he had gone numb.

Only one thought remained in his mind: swing his saber, swing his saber, and swing it again.

The Wolf Killing Seven Forms had reached mastery, and in his hands they had become instinct. Every slash followed the simplest path, and every slash took a life.

The saber qi along his blade grew denser and denser. One slash cut through armor and flesh alike; even bone couldn't stop it.

[+1]

[+1]

[+1...]

The points surged wildly.

He didn't stop.

He kept killing and adding points at the same time.

He put the points into Iron Shirt.

[3 points consumed, Iron Shirt proficiency +3]

[+2]

[+5...]

His Iron Shirt proficiency soared.

[Iron Shirt: ninth layer 34/50]

[41/50]

[47/50]

[49/50]

[50/50]

[Proficiency full]

[Breakthrough: ninth layer → mastery]

Boom—

The surge of energy within him finally broke through the last barrier!

A rush of heat flooded his limbs and bones. A dark golden glow blazed across his skin, then slowly faded after a full ten breaths!

Iron Shirt, mastery!

Ninth level of Body Forging, mastery!

From now on, he had no rivals within the Body Forging Realm.

Li Jinshui drew a deep breath and felt the surging strength within him.

He kept killing.

The Di soldiers were still pouring up.

[+1]

[+1]

[+2...]

The sun slanted westward. At last, the Di soldiers retreated.

Leaning on his saber, Li Jinshui stood by the wall and gasped for breath.

He was covered in blood, some his own and some his enemies'. He couldn't tell them apart anymore.

The old wound on his left shoulder had split open again, and blood ran down his arm. But he stood there, straight as a spear.

Monkey staggered over and dropped down beside him.

"You... hell..." Monkey panted. "How many did you kill today?"

Li Jinshui said nothing. He simply brought up the panel for a look.

[Name: Li Jinshui]

[Realm: ninth level of Body Forging (mastery)]

[Arts: Iron Shirt (mastery), Wolf Killing Seven Forms (mastery), Tiger Walk (mastery)]

[Points: 247]

He closed the panel and looked toward the retreating Di soldiers.

"A lot."

Monkey grinned, showing teeth stained with blood.

"All right, you're the man."

The two of them sat on the wall, watching the sun slowly sink.

In the distance, flames still flickered in the Di People's camp.

Tomorrow, they would come again.

Night fell.

Li Jinshui lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

It wasn't his wounds that hurt. The energy inside him was simply too full.

With his ninth level of Body Forging at mastery and Iron Shirt at mastery, he had reached the peak of Body Forging.

One step further, and he would enter the Inner Strength Realm.

He sat up and pulled the copy of the Evergreen Art from inside his clothes.

He opened it, and lines of instructions met his eyes.

He drew a deep breath and began circulating the energy in his body according to the instructions.

A warm current rose from his dantian and slowly flowed through his limbs and bones.

It was the power of blood and qi he had accumulated while cultivating Iron Shirt. Now, guided by the Evergreen Art's method, it began seeping into deeper places—his muscles, bones, and internal organs.

It hurt.

That pain wasn't from an external wound. It seeped out from between his bones, as if countless needles were stabbing him.

Li Jinshui clenched his teeth and kept circulating his energy.

Each cycle consumed a portion of his energy.

After three cycles, his energy was nearly depleted.

He opened his eyes and brought up the panel:

[Evergreen Art cultivation conditions met... Would you like to spend 200 points to forcefully enter the art?]

[Current points: 247]

Li Jinshui didn't hesitate.

"Spend them."

[Spending 200 points... Cultivation in progress...]

Boom—

A surge of heat burst from his dantian!

It was more violent than any surge before, like floodwaters released from a dam, rushing madly into every limb and bone! It didn't just flow through his muscles, tendons, and bones. It sank deep into his marrow and his organs!

His heart suddenly began to pound fiercely. Thump, thump, thump, like a war drum!

A cool breath filled his lungs, and his breathing instantly grew deep and steady!

His liver, spleen, kidneys... Every organ was washed by that surge of heat, reshaped and strengthened!

Pain!

Severe pain!

But once it passed, an unprecedented sense of ease followed!

Eyes closed, Li Jinshui felt the earth-shaking changes within him.

Body Forging trained the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones.

Inner Strength trained the internal organs.

Now, at last, he had crossed that threshold!

After an unknown stretch of time, the heat inside him finally subsided.

Li Jinshui opened his eyes.

The world before him had changed.

He could hear the soldiers snoring in the barracks in the distance, hear the wind rustling through the leaves outside his window, and see the slightest shifts in light and shadow in the darkness.

He raised his hand and gave it a gentle clench.

Strength.

Strength many times greater than before surged through him.

He brought up the panel:

[Name: Li Jinshui]

[Realm: Inner Strength Realm (Early Stage)]

[Techniques: Evergreen Art (Entry 0/200), Rock Body (Not Learned), Iron Shirt (Perfected), Wolf Killing Seven Forms (Perfected), Tiger Walk (Perfected)]

[Points: 47]

Inner Strength Realm.

At last, he had reached the Inner Strength Realm.

Li Jinshui sat in the darkness, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting.

Three months ago, he had been cannon fodder in Death Squad Camp, at the mercy of others.

Three months later, he was a squad leader in the Inner Strength Realm who had killed four enemies in the Inner Strength Realm.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

Those hands would kill many more.

Moonlight spilled in through the window and fell across his face.

There was no smile on his face, only calm.

A calmness like a bottomless well.