Talent Fusion, Martial Dao Holy Fetus

A long spear thrust toward Lin Xuan with fierce, unyielding force.

Lin Xuan could detect even a hidden arrow, let alone such a massive target attempting to assassinate him.

He grabbed the spear shaft, exerted force, and dragged it toward his own formation, intending to pull the attacker in so his soldiers could seize the chance to kill him.

The opponent was also a master of the Breath-Connecting Realm with a very stable stance; as he wrestled with Lin Xuan, he only slid forward two small steps before coming to a complete halt.

Finding he could not pull the man further, Lin Xuan stepped directly onto the spear shaft with his right foot and stomped down with immense force. This spear was not of the same quality as the one Qin Sheng wielded, and under five hundred catties of force, it snapped clean in two.

He immediately used the broken spear to fight, thrusting it toward his opponent, instantly reversing the roles of attacker and defender.

Soon, Lin Xuan was surrounded by his own warriors, who shielded him behind them.

Seeing the scene before him, he felt a mix of amusement and frustration; he had wanted to settle the score with this man himself.

The warriors beside Lin Xuan all charged at the Breath-Connecting Realm bandit leader. The man had already struggled against Lin Xuan while at the Bone Binding stage; facing a siege by several Breath-Connecting experts, he was utterly unable to parry.

Before long, the man was defeated and jointly executed by several soldiers of the Liangcheng Guard.

Several large characters floated above the man, but Lin Xuan had no time to identify them. Although he was protected, the battlefield was ever-changing; what if the enemy realized everyone was guarding him and the bandit chief decided to target him directly?

The battle remained deadlocked for a time.

"Thousand-Household Commander Su, Liu Zhidong's unit has arrived!" Commander Zhang exclaimed with great excitement, looking at the dark mass of Liangcheng Guard soldiers behind him, numbering roughly three to four hundred.

Liu Zhidong's unit was the left wing of the Wuqu Allied Army. Their march had been slightly slower, leaving them trailing behind Thousand-Household Commander Su's Liangcheng Guard, but they had caught up quickly.

The Righteous Army had already lost dozens of men; most lay on the ground unable to move, their fates unknown.

Others were covered in blood, groaning and twitching on the ground.

Seeing the heavy casualties on their side and the arrival of reinforcements for the Liangcheng Guard, the morale of the Righteous Army wavered instantly.

Fear and panic spread through the crowd; the courage that had just been bolstered by hatred now withered away in an instant.

"It's over! The government reinforcements are here!"

"They have the numerical advantage; can we even win now?"

"Too many brothers have already died. We should retreat! I don't want to die here!"

Seeing this, Wang Shuofang realized that the fighting spirit of the Righteous Army was now extremely weak and immediately ordered: "Retreat! Retreat quickly! Do not get entangled with the government troops!"

The Righteous Army fled in succession, running at great speed; those who were slow were already cut down by the Liangcheng Guard.

"Shall we pursue?" Qin Lie turned to look at Thousand-Household Commander Su, asking for his opinion.

Thousand-Household Commander Su pondered for a moment before addressing the Liangcheng Guard:

"Do not pursue! We do not know the whereabouts of the main bandit force; rash pursuit could lead us into an ambush. Rest and regroup in place, count the heads, and report the military merits! I will send scouts to ascertain the situation first."

After Liu Zhidong's unit arrived and saw the corpses covering the ground, he could not help but sigh; his unit had lagged behind for only a moment, yet they had missed out on the military merits.

The Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office had lost over thirty men and had over forty wounded.

With one-tenth of their force dead, even though the marauders had all retreated, the morale of the Liangcheng Guard was not much better, so it was necessary to stabilize the situation first.

Although the equipment of the marauders was inferior to that of the Liangcheng Guard, hatred truly could change their combat mindset. The low-ranking soldiers of the Liangcheng Guard were afraid of death and lacked deep-seated grudges, so their will to fight was weak.

Most of the dead marauders had been killed by the officers of the Liangcheng Guard.

Most of the Liangcheng Guard casualties were low-ranking soldiers; two officers were also wounded, but their lives were not in danger and they could be saved, so the problem was not too severe.

The Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office had killed a total of seventy-four marauders, with Lin Xuan accounting for six.

Lin Xuan used a small box of wild boar fat and a piece of linen to carefully wipe the bloodstains from his Goose-Quill Saber.

Wiping a blade with animal fat was a common maintenance method to prevent the steel from rusting.

He had killed six enemies, and the Goose-Quill Saber at his waist had become somewhat dull, even sporting a small notch; he would need to have the camp blacksmith repair it later.

The number of people he killed was not high, but it counted toward military merit.

The Great Jin authorities currently stipulated that exterminating one of Zhao Chengde's marauders was rewarded with five taels of silver, totaling thirty taels of silver.

The ten taels Lin Xuan had received a short while ago had come out of Thousand-Household Commander Su's own pocket, and since the scale of that engagement was extremely small, it did not count as official military merit.

Killing six enemies, for an ordinary soldier, would be enough to be promoted to Squad Leader or Flag Commander.

But for a Flag Commander, it was not enough to promote him to Probationary Hundred-Household Commander, as he had not killed a bandit leader.

That Breath-Connecting leader did not count as his kill, so it could not be credited to him.

To be promoted to Probationary Hundred-Household Commander, he would need to perform similar feats in the upcoming battles, or achieve one of the Four Great Merits.

These were: being the first to scale the walls, breaking the enemy formation, slaying a general, or capturing the enemy banner.

If he could achieve these, let alone becoming a Hundred-Household Commander, his future rank would soar; after all, this world was not like the ancient times of his past life.

These four merits were even harder to achieve!

He had too little time. He was currently only at the mid-stage of the Bone Binding realm; if he had time to cultivate to the Breath-Connecting realm, he could slaughter his way through the entire enemy formation.

Because among these people, the highest-ranking were the leaders on both sides, who were only around the Breath-Connecting realm. Relying on his strength, which was thirty percent greater than others at the same level, as long as he did not encounter a top-tier expert of the Breath-Connecting realm, he would be invincible.

"Flag Commander Lin, let the laborers handle these things. You killed so many enemies on the battlefield; you should get some rest." Liu Jiye saw Lin Xuan moving corpses himself and reminded him.

"With one more person, we can finish sooner." Lin Xuan rejected Liu Jiye's proposal and took the lead in processing the corpses himself.

What excited Lin Xuan wasn't the military merit, but the talents; among the hundred-plus dead, three talents had emerged.

[Qi Infusion]: Increases the refined quality of Qi by fifty percent.

This talent came from the small bandit leader who had been surrounded and killed by several Garrison soldiers. It was highly significant for his martial path; after all, the quality of one's Qi determines one's endurance during combat. Having already possessed Endurance, and now adding Qi Infusion, his capabilities on the battlefield would advance even further.

He would be able to run further and faster than anyone else, even when fleeing!

[Musical Mastery]: Increased sensitivity to musical rhythm.

This talent was obtained from a bandit who had been carrying an old xun, made of black pottery, which must have held great significance to him.

However, now that the man was dead and his light extinguished, the pottery xun had lost all meaning.

[Libidinous Skill]: Enhanced performance in the bedroom.

This was obtained from a fallen Garrison soldier. It seemed to be of no use to Lin Xuan, as the physical constitution of the Bone Binding realm was already extremely strong; even without this, he could still achieve satisfactory results.

For now, among these three talents, only [Qi Infusion] offered a significant boost to Lin Xuan, while [Musical Mastery] and [Libidinous Skill] were merely icing on the cake, serving no real purpose.

Lin Xuan did not hesitate and immediately plundered all the talents.

The talent pool was becoming quite chaotic now; Lin Xuan opened the Book of Fate to check, feeling dazzled.

Talent Pool: Martial Prodigy, Sharp Eyes, Endurance, Super Strength, Eidetic Memory, Bad Luck, Qi Infusion, Musical Mastery, Libidinous Skill.

As for the Silent Step talent he had previously bestowed upon Lin An, he did not take it back. At his current level, Silent Step was of no use within military formations, and he could already mimic that soundless gait himself—though he wasn't sure if it was because the talent had been with him for too long, directly influencing him.

Suddenly, some talents in the talent pool began to flash with a white light, distinguishing themselves from the others.

"Current available talents for synthesis: Martial Prodigy, Sharp Eyes, Endurance, Super Strength, Eidetic Memory, Qi Infusion. Synthesis: Martial Dao Holy Fetus."

[Consume ten points of Dao Rhyme. Proceed with synthesis?]

"Ten points of Dao Rhyme? Where am I supposed to get that many?" Lin Xuan sighed, but made his decision a moment later.

He would sacrifice [Bad Luck], [Musical Mastery], and [Libidinous Skill] to obtain Dao Rhyme points. Since they were useless anyway, he might as well sacrifice them in exchange for resources that could make him stronger.

After selecting yes, his Dao Rhyme points reached three, still seven points short of being able to synthesize the [Martial Dao Holy Fetus].

Lin Xuan was filled with anticipation. These ordinary talents had already allowed him to surpass years of hard work by others in just two months, transcending the average person. He wondered to what heaven-defying level his martial talent would reach after synthesizing the Martial Dao Holy Fetus?

Commander Zhang was now Lin Xuan's direct superior. Seeing Lin Xuan's methods today, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Compared to when he fought Zhang Quan a few days ago, Lin Xuan's strength seemed to have grown even further. Zhang Quan could barely contend with a Breath-Connecting Realm expert, but holding his own was still difficult.

Yet Lin Xuan had cut down six men in a row and engaged a Breath-Connecting Realm bandit without falling behind in the slightest. While he himself could achieve such a record, he was already over forty and had reached his limit.

Lin Xuan was not yet sixteen; his future prospects were limitless.

The more Commander Zhang thought about it, the more afraid he became, pondering to himself: "I wonder if he knows... that I was the one who sent Xiao Chongyang?"

He felt fortunate that he hadn't openly burned bridges with Lin Xuan back then.

Just as the group was resting, an order came down from Thousand-Household Commander Su.

"Pursue. There are no ambushes ahead; follow the main road and pursue directly."

The soldiers who were still fit sat on the ground, silently gnawing on their rations, while others simply lay down on the spot to rest.

Upon hearing the order, they immediately stood up, assembled as usual, and prepared to pursue once more.

As for the wounded, the accompanying military physicians provided simple bandaging and treatment, after which the able-bodied men carried them on stretchers to nearby towns for further care, to return to the Garrison once recovered.

Thus, the Garrison troops currently pursuing Liu Zuolong's forces remained an effective fighting unit. Some had already earned military merit, and those behind them were filled with hope; with no wounded left in the ranks, the military morale was high.

The Garrison troops marched rapidly, following the official road toward Linshui and Xihuai.

However, they did not pursue for long before they reached the battlefield where Sun Chengdong's unit had fought Liu Zuolong.

At this point, the battlefield was occupied by a portion of the Qu Prefecture Garrison left behind by Sun Chengdong, along with two Flag Commanders, who were waiting to coordinate with other Thousand-Household Offices of the allied forces.

Liu Zuolong had been forced into a desperate flight by Sun Chengdong's ambush. His scouts had long since been killed by the government troops, and upon learning that the government forces were traveling light and intended to ambush him, he had wanted to abandon his supplies and flee, but it was already too late.

Four hundred of the bandits led by Liu Zuolong were slaughtered, while the rest fled toward the southwest. Sun Chengdong had pursued them all the way, intent on wiping out Liu Zuolong's forces entirely.

After all, the nature of roving bandits was that they were like wild grass—impossible to burn away completely, and they would sprout again in the spring. As long as the chaotic environment of the current era remained unchanged, they could return at any time.

Therefore, it was necessary to pull them out by the roots.

Liu Zuolong's army no longer possessed its former prestige, having been beaten into a panicked retreat by Sun Chengdong.

"The Commander has been in pursuit for half a day. Before he left, he gave orders: if other troops arrive here to rendezvous, ignore the pursuit of Sun Chengdong for now."

"Since we can't catch up anyway, we might as well start by collecting the bandit corpses and pacifying the commoners."

Although Liu Zuolong's forces were defeated, the roving bandits from Linshui and Xihuai counties had already safely retreated with their supplies.

There was no helping it; while Sun Chengdong's troops were formidable, they were not gods. Being able to sever the connection between those two counties and Liu Zuolong was already quite an achievement.

Those two counties were simply too far out of reach.

"Good, collecting corpses. I love collecting corpses for others the most." Lin Xuan felt a surge of joy upon hearing this order.

He was originally seven points of Dao Rhyme short, and these four hundred-plus corpses should be enough to fill that gap.

Seeing the smile blooming on Lin Xuan's face as he collected the corpses, Thousand-Household Commander Su and Centurion Qin were left deeply puzzled.

After all, the work of collecting corpses is usually left to the lowest-ranking laborers; why would a Flag Commander like him enjoy doing such a thing?

Lin Xuan stared at the golden characters floating above the corpse.

[Medicine Identification][Master Painter][Clear Mind][Calculation][Beast Taming][Literary Talent][Master Craftsman][Silver Tongue]

There were eight in total, spanning various trades. From this, it was evident that before joining this so-called Righteous Army, these individuals were likely the elite of their respective fields.

Lin Xuan carefully examined the details of these talents and ultimately decided to keep [Clear Mind].

Clear Mind could suppress the influence of emotions and enhance one's thinking ability to a certain extent.

All other talents were sacrificed for Dao Rhyme, totaling seven points. Added to the three he already possessed, it was exactly enough to reach ten.

Lin Xuan opened the Book of Fate and selected the option to synthesize talents.

Several talents merged instantly, condensing into four golden characters: [Martial Dao Holy Fetus].

Lin Xuan couldn't wait to check the details of this talent.

[Martial Dao Holy Fetus]: True Qi condensation speed increased by sevenfold; moves are mastered upon sight and perfected upon practice; physical strength increased by fifty percent; True Qi quality doubled; easier to discern weaknesses and see through moves; breakthroughs ignore bottlenecks.

Seeing these effects, Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel delighted. This not only integrated all those previous talents but also provided a comprehensive enhancement to them. In this light, the consumption of ten Dao Rhyme points was well worth it.

Of the many talents he originally held, only two remained: [Martial Dao Holy Fetus] and [Clear Mind]. The Book of Fate looked much more concise than before.

Lin Xuan rejoiced inwardly; even if he hadn't received a promotion this time, the martial potential he had gained was a hundred times more valuable than any official rank!