Life and Death Rest in Fate's Hands

Li Dingguo lightly held the reins in one hand and a long spear in the other, experiencing for the first time what it felt like to ride a Spirit Beast Warhorse over a long distance at full speed.

He had to admit, it felt incredible.

A large number of ordinary horses followed behind them, preventing the Spirit Beast Warhorses from displaying their true speed. It left him wanting more.

Ever since they had entered these rugged mountain roads, the horses had slowed more and more. As the terrain grew increasingly complicated, they eventually moved at little more than a walking pace.

Such roads posed no problem for Spirit Beast Warhorses. Their hard hooves and nimble reactions meant poor terrain would not injure them.

But one had to remember that most of the horses in this convoy were ordinary mounts, and they were also hauling more than ten carriages. Naturally, the pace had to be based on what they could endure.

Though the mountain ridge ahead had long been within sight, it still took nearly half an hour before the swaying convoy finally arrived before a small, bun-shaped hill.

"Whoa..."

As Zhang Xianzhong at the front called his Spirit Beast Warhorse to a halt, the convoy finally stopped in an open patch of grassland.

"We're here!"

"Everyone, dismount!"

"Soldiers responsible for logistics, immediately set up a temporary camp! Assign men to stand guard as well!"...

After leaping off his horse, Zhang Xianzhong shouted orders in rapid succession.

The three trusted officers who had just jumped down from their Spirit Beast Warhorses immediately began moving, directing the logistics soldiers who had arrived with the carriages to split up and get busy.

The temporary camp they were setting up was mainly meant to guard the various supplies and look after the horses left here.

The wilderness was anything but peaceful. With poor luck, danger could strike at any moment.

If they encountered Demons and Monsters that killed as easily as breathing, a moment's carelessness could wipe out all these logistics soldiers!

"Ai Nengqi, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Zhang Huier, the four of you, immediately lead your respective squads up the mountain with me!"

Zhang Xianzhong then shouted at the young soldiers, "Hurry and complete the mission. By dusk today, we must return to Dingbian County."

The daytime was limited, and the dangers of the wilderness rose sharply at night.

Unless a properly organized army was traveling in force, capable of forming Blood Fiend Qi that soared into the heavens and provided enough deterrence against Demons and Monsters, one should avoid spending the night in the wilderness unless forced into it by utter desperation.

This was a lesson humanity in this world had only truly understood after paying an immeasurable price.

And more than an hour had already passed since they had set out that morning.

They had to make haste. There was no time to waste.

"Yes!"...

The Martial Artist youths, who had just dismounted and assembled, all shouted their acceptance.

Soon, after making their preparations, they followed behind Li Dingguo and the other three captains. Formed into four single-file squads, they began ascending the mountain under the lead of the fully armed Zhang Xianzhong.

"Remember this: when surviving in the wild, while remaining as vigilant as possible, you must never make loud noises."

"Especially in places occupied by Demons and Monsters. A slight lapse in attention, or a turn of bad luck, can easily alert them."

As Zhang Xianzhong led them onward, he imparted his experience to the youths. "It is fortunate that this time, our targets are merely the lowest-level Demon Beasts."

"If ghosts and monsters are hiding here, and you have not made the proper preparations, you may be struck without even having time to react. Even Martial Artists of the same realm have over a fifty percent chance of perishing!"

"The best trump card we Martial Artists have against Demons and Monsters is our own Qi and Blood Power."

"The stronger your Qi and Blood Power, the greater the damage the appropriate techniques can inflict upon Demons and Monsters."

"If you become experts of the Qi Refining Realm in the future, circulate the true qi within your bodies and merge it with your own qi and blood, and you can form Protective True Qi. Only then can you be said to possess the most basic safeguard for surviving in the wild."

For any military formation to unleash its true might, it required an expert of the Qi Refining Realm—or the legendary Spirit Refining Realm—to preside over it and bring out its power.

"The person commanding the formation must use the qi of their entire body to draw upon the Blood Fiend Qi of the battle formation. Only then can they confront, or even kill, high-level Demons and Monsters head-on."

"The stronger the Blood Fiend Qi activated through a military formation, the greater its lethality against Demons and Monsters. It can even allow one to kill enemies above one's realm!"

Zhang Xianzhong continued, "Those among you who have cultivated the two unorthodox techniques essential for military scouts—the Stealth Technique and the Breath Concealment Technique—would do best to activate them now. Reduce your presence in the wilderness and deceive the keen senses of Demons and Monsters."

"They are especially useful when assassinating Demons and Monsters alone."

The moment his words fell, all sixteen Genius Martial Artist youths, including Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, changed expression. They hurriedly activated one or both of those unorthodox techniques they had cultivated, doing their utmost to conceal their auras.

It seemed that every one of these sixteen gifted youths had mastered the basics of both techniques, and all had achieved some success in cultivating them.

They were not fools. On the contrary, each was exceedingly clever.

After Zhang Xianzhong had specifically explained the matter, once they became Martial Artists, no one needed to urge them to deliberately cultivate these two life-saving techniques.

The heavens were vast and the earth was wide, but one's life was greatest of all.

"A herd of first-level Demon Beasts, Iron Tusk Pigs, lives on this earthen ridge."

Zhang Xianzhong continued explaining, "Unlike ordinary wild boars, Iron Tusk Pigs are not only thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, with extremely strong bodily defenses, but their mouths are also full of sharp teeth, sharper even than those of ordinary tigers."

"Once their huge mouths bite down on you, not only will your current bodies be unable to withstand it—even ordinary weapons can be bitten in two with a single bite!"

"Moreover, the thick hide covering their bodies is as tough as iron armor, giving them formidable defenses. Ordinary arrows cannot even pierce it!"

"In battle, Martial Artists of the same level can only harm them by infusing their Qi and Blood Power into the sharp weapons in their hands!"

"Of course, Spirit Weapons are an exception. Even a Low-Grade Spirit Weapon can pierce the defenses of these low-level Demon Beasts."

"If you infuse Qi and Blood Power into a Spirit Weapon and seize the right opportunity, you can absolutely kill them in one strike."

"Even among first-level Demon Beasts, there are differences in strength."

"For example, if you encounter a peak first-level Iron Tusk Pig, then with your current cultivation—and without a well-practiced battle formation—you should obediently run for your lives."

"For Demon Beasts of the same level, every minor increase in realm doubles both their physique and qi and blood. Compared to our human Genius Martial Artists, they are absurdly stronger."

"Therefore, in a one-on-one fight, ordinary Martial Artists can scarcely be a match for Demon Beasts of the same realm."

"According to my earlier scouting, the herd of Iron Tusk Pigs living here numbers more than twenty."

"Among them is one late first-level Demon Beast leader, four mid first-level Demon Beasts, and all the rest are early first-level Demon Beasts."

"Your practical combat training mission this time is to kill every last one of them, no matter what methods you use!"

"As for the spoils, half can be distributed to your team!"

At this point, Zhang Xianzhong gave a soft laugh. "I imagine you have never eaten Demon Beast meat before?"

"To tell you little ones the truth, Demon Beast meat is not only delicious—far tastier than the meat of ordinary beasts of the same kind—but its benefits for a Martial Artist's cultivation are comparable to Spirit Rice Meals of the same level!"

"All right. If you want to eat meat today, then go fight a true battle of life and death!"

"Win, and you will have Demon Beast meat to eat. Lose, and the Demon Beasts will eat you. You have no third choice!"

After saying this, he immediately stopped and stepped aside from the path up the mountain. "This battle belongs to you little ones. I will not participate. Even if you face a life-or-death crisis, I will not intervene!"

"If you survive, you will be a true member of our Rebel Army!"

"If you die, then you die for nothing!"

He swept out a hand. "What happens next depends on you. No one can help you. You can only rely on yourselves. Life and death rest in fate's hands!"

Li Dingguo and the others felt their hearts tighten. They hurriedly gathered their thoughts and raised their vigilance.

Then, with the four squad captains personally taking the lead and every squad ready for battle, they vanished amid the tangled trees and wild grass beneath Zhang Xianzhong's watchful gaze...