Though the Body Perishes, the Spirit Is Divine; Though the Soul Is Resolute, It Becomes a Ghostly Hero!

"Though the body perishes, the spirit is divine; though the soul is resolute, it becomes a ghostly hero... Gentlemen, go well on your road. I, Dai Chengfeng, will never forget this blood debt!"

The Heaven Dou Empire's army had already withdrawn, and peace returned once more outside Wu'an City.

Only amid the beacon flames, the wild wind raged, red flags rolled and unfurled, and blood gathered into streams... babbling eastward, yet once gone, it would never return.

Dai Chengfeng stood in the center of the battlefield, stood where, half an hour ago, he and those one thousand brave and fearless soldiers had fought to the death in blood.

He tilted his head slightly back, both eyes tightly shut.

"Your Highness, are you... crying?"

Zhu Fan had been standing guard at his side the entire time and spoke softly.

"Heh, how could I cry..."

Dai Chengfeng did not admit it, and when he lowered his head again, there was no longer the slightest trace of confusion in his eyes.

"Uncle, you don't need to comfort me."

"In war, how could no one die? I still understand the principle that mercy does not command troops."

"I just can't accept it!"

"Whose fathers were they, whose sons, and whose husbands... Was someone waiting for them to come home safely?"

"Hoo!"

Dai Chengfeng took a deep breath and looked at his blood-soaked hands. "And I was thinking, if I were strong enough, strong enough that I alone could wipe out the Heaven Dou Empire's army..."

"Perhaps the outcome would have been different."

Zhu Fan looked at his nephew and pressed his lips together. He wanted to say something comforting, but in the end it only became a long sigh as he patted his shoulder.

"Chengfeng!"

"Your uncle understands how you feel. It's just that even a Titled Douluo has moments when his strength runs dry..."

"You already did well enough!"

Dai Chengfeng forced a smile. "Maybe!"

"But if even a Titled Douluo has moments when his strength runs dry..."

"Then what about gods?"

He raised his head again, looking at the blood-red setting sun in the sky. His golden eyes seemed as if they would pierce through the barrier to that other realm. "Second Class Gods, First Class Gods, God Kings, even those above God Kings!"

"One day, I will stand above the Peak of All Gods in the name of the White Emperor!"

"When that time comes... anyone! Any god!"

"Will never again be able to take anything from me before my eyes... I swear!!!"

After a long while, Dai Chengfeng turned around. "Uncle!"

"Go tell Zhu Yan to give me the roster of these one thousand Vanguard Death Soldiers. Whether they survived or sacrificed themselves in battle, not a single name is to be missing!"

"Remember! Not a single name can be missing!"

"That is an order!"

With that said, he staggered around the corpses on the battlefield, turned, and walked toward Wu'an City.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Zhu Fan answered, watching Dai Chengfeng's desolate figure leave in the evening wind, and sighed deeply. "The setting sun splashed crimson over iron armor, war robes snapped and rolled into soul-summoning banners. So what the young man had ridden his horse through and shattered... was never the mountains and rivers, but the dusk between life and death. Ah!"

The next second.

He saw Dai Chengfeng's proud, upright figure collapse straight down in the distance.

"Chengfeng, Chengfeng..."

Three days later.

"Doctor, didn't you say Chengfeng only fainted because he had lost too much blood and completely exhausted his strength?"

"But how is it that a full three days have passed, yet he still remains unconscious?"

Inside a certain room in the City Lord's Mansion of Wu'an City.

Zhu Fan looked at Dai Chengfeng, whose face was rosy and who lay on the bed as if he had merely fallen into a deep sleep, then anxiously questioned the white-haired, white-bearded Old Man beside him.

"This matter is indeed strange."

The Old Man frowned slightly, his fingers pressed to Dai Chengfeng's pulse. The green light of a Soul Skill flowed as he spoke at the same time. "Judging by his pulse, Fourth Prince is perfectly normal. It could even be said that his qi and blood are more vigorous than those of ordinary people his age."

"But with such a healthy pulse, how could he remain unable to wake?"

Yet just as the two were speaking.

Bang—!

The doctor taking Dai Chengfeng's pulse was suddenly forced several steps back by an invisible power before he barely managed to steady himself.

"What is this?"

At that moment—

Wisps of red airflow had suddenly appeared around Dai Chengfeng, who had remained unconscious all this time. Like thunder and lightning, they coiled around his body.

Soon, they began to entwine with his own Innate Geng Metal Qi, like two "Giant Dragons" that fought each other yet existed in strange harmony. It was exceedingly peculiar.

The old man's eyes widened in surprise, filled with deep confusion.

He had practiced medicine for decades and seen countless people, but what he witnessed today had far exceeded the scope of his understanding.

Zhu Fan stood to the side as well, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes Staring Fixedly at Dai Chengfeng as he sensed the airflow suddenly emanating from him.

In an instant—

An ice-cold, bone-piercing aura carrying endless killing intent entered his perception.

Zhu Fan could not help blurting out in shock, "This is... killing intent?!"

"How could such intense killing intent suddenly appear on Chengfeng? Is it good or bad?"

For a moment, Zhu Fan's eyes were full of worry, but he did not dare step forward and disturb him.

After all, from the looks of it, nothing had worsened. What if he rashly interfered and caused the situation to spiral out of control?

Therefore, Zhu Fan simply watched in silence, preparing to make a move if the killing intent lost control.

However, before long, Zhu Fan discovered something else in surprise...

The killing intent that had originally been chaotic and completely uncontrolled suddenly became like gentle trickling streams, slowly flowing into the vast ocean, merging into Dai Chengfeng's Soul Power.

And that was not all!

Under the integration of this killing intent, Dai Chengfeng's Soul Power was also growing continuously in a slow but steady manner.

"Strange. It's said that the Dai Family's White Tiger Spirit has always been of the light attribute. I've never heard of anyone being able to refine killing intent and take it for their own use."

"What exactly happened to Chengfeng's body?"

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Zhu Fan's mind, yet he still could not find a reasonable explanation.

About half an hour later—

All the killing intent, Innate Geng Metal Qi, and Soul Power within Dai Chengfeng's body had actually fused together in a strange ratio and returned to calm.

Everything had settled.

Dai Chengfeng, who had been asleep for three days, finally had his eyelids twitch slightly, then slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant—

A red gleam flashed through his eyes, carrying endless, ice-cold killing intent. But it vanished in the blink of an eye, making one almost wonder if it had merely been an illusion.

"Chengfeng, how do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?"

Seeing Dai Chengfeng finally wake up, Zhu Fan hurriedly rushed forward in one stride, gripping Dai Chengfeng's shoulders tightly with both hands as he asked anxiously.

Hearing this, Dai Chengfeng gently clenched his fist.

Feeling the power within him, so full it almost seemed about to overflow, he could not help letting a smile appear at the corner of his mouth.

Looking at Zhu Fan, he said in a relaxed tone, "Uncle, I'm fine. I feel even better than before!"

"You brat... Somehow, your Soul Power actually broke through to rank 15. Of course you'd feel better than before!"

Zhu Fan looked at Dai Chengfeng, his eyes holding both relief and an irrepressible trace of curiosity.

"But Chengfeng, you really scared me and that old gentleman just now."

"Hurry and tell me, what exactly is going on? Where did that killing intent come from?"

"These past three days, were you really unconscious, or..."