Northwestern Races and a Plea for Help

"Beyond this formidable pass, Bolan Prefecture has nine towns in all. Among them, White Light City, Peerless City, and Long Pass hold the vital strongholds. Therefore, the hardened soldiers of the border army must undergo martial selection, life-and-death selection, and selection of the heart!"

"Pass one of the three gates and you may serve as a military captain, guarding a city's basic defenses. Pass two and you may establish a separate military guard, forming the foundation of the troops alongside the Military Governor's Office. Pass all three, and you possess the bearing of a military general, to be sent to the Central Plains for further tempering!"

"The northwestern lands are vast and boundless, divided among three races: the Demon Clan occupies the coastal western desertlands, the Feather Clan dwells in the eastern wastelands and seas of sand, while the Barbarian Tribe occupies the Western Desert at the center, their spearpoints reaching directly to Great Zhou's borders. Thus, life-and-death training chiefly aims to hunt and kill the Barbarian Tribe!"

"Whether Barbarian Tribe soldiers or ordinary barbarians, all count as members of the Barbarian Tribe. Sever their heads and bring them back to White Light City, and they will all be recorded!"

"Over the past century, countless soldiers have perished within Barbarian Tribe territory. Thus, a set of methods to secure victory was developed—defend while awaiting attack, with concealment as the foremost principle..."

"The Barbarian Tribe places great importance on blood kin and cherishes young children most dearly. If you bring along a young barbarian and employ the tactic of besieging a point to draw reinforcements, encircling and slaughtering the hunters, you may well retreat unscathed. Special note: Barbarian Tribe soldiers possess bodies far stronger than our own martial men. Do not strike lightly without certainty of victory!"

"Within six months, slay ten targets to pass. For every additional one, you may exchange it at the Military Governor's Office for merit. Everyone may carry their own weapon; the military camp will provide the rest..."

Line after line of experience tempered from the bloody lessons of those before them made Wang Xuance sigh. Sure enough, throughout every dynasty, border soldiers had always possessed the fiercest spirit and most savage momentum.

"How could soldiers selected under such conditions not be capable of holding off ten alone!"

Wang Xuance closed the jade slip and began considering this life-and-death selection. To ordinary people, it was fraught with boundless danger, but to him, it was nothing but pure martial resources.

With a thought, he summoned the Martial Dao Template.

[Wang Xuance]

[Martial Dao Talent]: Superior innate physique.

[Martial Dao Cultivation]: Three-Knock Blood Pass (second strand of Essence of Blood and Qi).

[Dragon Elephant Grand Stance]: 2100/3000 (Beginner).

[Great Arm Scripture]: 1250/2000 (Beginner Copper Flood Dragon Realm).

[Nine Sun-Shooting Arrows]: 0/3000 (Beginner).

[Vajra Fist]: Fist technique perfected.

[True Martial Qi]: 0

"At present, I do not have even half a strand of True Martial Qi. Progressing my martial arts has slowed down. I still have one month to prepare for the trial—I cannot waste this time!"

Wang Xuance weighed whether to leave the city in search of sand bandits or slowly temper himself through steady grinding, waiting for the month to pass.

With his current strength, it was difficult to find an opponent beneath the level of a Martial Practitioner. As for Martial Practitioners, thanks to the chaos during the Six Schools Martial Meet, General Li had ordered three commandants under him to lead troops on patrol outside the city.

Several cities had descended into chaos because of an unknown plague, and large numbers of martial men had fled. Among them were no lack of Martial Practitioners. If they had poor luck and ran into the three iron armies, they would be reduced to ashes and dust.

Both paths were relatively safe.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Urgent knocking suddenly sounded outside the door.

Wang Xuance opened the door and saw Chen Linger dressed in white robes, her face veiled in white gauze. A servant boy in green stood before her—the one who had knocked on his door.

"Brother Wang, Ling'er has an urgent matter to ask of you!"

Inside the main hall, Wang Xuance stood before the table. Beside him, Chen Linger lifted her veil, revealing her delicate and lovely face. Yet her expression was filled with anxiety now; there was not the slightest trace of a young lady's restraint.

"Miss Chen, you aided me with spiritual medicine back then. I promised to accompany you on a trip to the cave estate, and at the same time save your life!"

"What else do you need my help with now? Do you think I, Wang Xuance, am so idle?"

Wang Xuance turned around, his blood and qi spilling outward as a vast pressure crashed down upon her.

The Great Arm Scripture had once said: use momentum to suppress others, seize the initiative by force, and strike directly at the vital point!

Though Chen Linger had crossed the Two-Knock Blood Pass, under Wang Xuance's oppressive aura, her mind still swayed, and she staggered back a step.

"Brother... Brother Wang, I can offer a magical artifact as payment."

Chen Linger pressed her lips together, enduring the heaviness in her chest as she blurted out the words in her heart.

"A magical artifact?"

Wang Xuance raised a brow. With a sweep of his sleeve, the pressure he had imposed scattered away.

"Miss Chen, what matter could make you invite me with a magical artifact?"

The young man bared a mouthful of stark white teeth.

"Huff, huff—"

Seeing that the young man seemed interested, Chen Linger laid everything bare: Chen Feng's breakthrough to Martial Practitioner, the struggle for the Chen Clan's main branch, and her brother's failed attempt to break through to Martial Practitioner.

The moment she finished speaking.

The hall fell silent once more, leaving Chen Linger unsettled. Though she was clearly a Three-Knock Blood Pass martial man, before Wang Xuance she instead appeared like a small bird clinging to someone.

Tap!

Tap!

Wang Xuance sat in his chair, his fingertips tapping the tabletop as he weighed the gains and losses.

Chen Feng had broken through to Martial Practitioner. Wang Xuance certainly would not be able to avoid him. After being disregarded like that that day, Chen Feng would surely make trouble for him if he wished to survive in the military camp in the future.

Even if he passed the trial.

Just consider it: a Martial Practitioner of the Chen Clan joining the army to serve the nation. Any force wishing to befriend him would surely cater to his preferences.

A trace of embarrassment flashed through Wang Xuance's eyes. In the end, his strength was still too weak, leaving him constrained at every turn. If he became a Force Aura Realm Martial Practitioner, who would dare provoke him!

Seeing Wang Xuance's unreadable expression, Chen Linger immediately felt that things were going badly, fearing he would refuse to act.

Clack!

She placed a palm-sized sandalwood box on the table.

"Brother Wang, if you agree to this, I can also give you this item. It will be enough to raise your strength by another level!"

"Oh!"

Without betraying a hint of emotion, the young man opened the wooden box. A chill aura soared into the air, and when he looked closely, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Before him lay a palm-sized piece of silk armor. Blue light flickered faintly over it, layers of fish-scale-like armor plates piled together, sleek and lustrous, exquisitely crafted beyond compare.

"This item was obtained by my father years ago from a desert ruin. It is called Heavy Whale Silk Armor. Once worn, it can withstand the full-force strike of a Martial Practitioner!"

Chen Linger abruptly rose to her feet and gave a graceful bow.

"Brother Wang, please lend Ling'er a hand. So long as we keep the main branch's position, when Brother Wang breaks through to Martial Practitioner in the future, my Chen Clan will certainly aid you with all our strength!"

Having said that, she slowly bowed again. Her already tightly stretched collar surged even more dramatically.

Wang Xuance looked toward the courtyard and nodded.

"Miss Chen, I, Wang Xuance, accept this matter. In three days, I will surely attend the appointment and deal with it. Leave Chen Feng to me."

"However..."

Wang Xuance changed the subject and spoke a sentence that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Miss Chen, please help me find a set of armor that can conceal my appearance!"

"Huff~~"

After sending Chen Linger away, Wang Xuance calmly held the Heavy Whale Silk Armor in his hands. It felt icy to the touch, as though it dispersed the heat throughout his body.

"Good stuff. I was just lacking defensive armor for close combat. With it, Chen Feng has only just broken through to Martial Practitioner—he absolutely cannot shatter this silk armor!"

"With my strength, if I close in, stake everything on one strike, and trade injury for life, it is not as though I have no chance of victory!"

The Vajra Fist's Fist Aura was powerful, fierce in both attack and opening. The Great Arm Scripture amplified the force of every punch layer upon layer; there was much to be done with it!

He had offended Chen Feng already. Sooner or later, he would encounter him. Taking this opportunity to heavily injure him would spare him plenty of trouble in the future.

"Perfect. I'm short on True Martial Qi. If I fight a Martial Practitioner one-on-one, how much True Martial Qi will I gain?!"