The Soul Departed Without a Sound, Original Spirits Gathered to Form a Body

The term "Thought Soldiers" (niàn bīng) means "to turn thoughts into soldiers."

The ancient method of Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers is similar, but it is a Divine Ability technique that distorts reality. In the Military Ranks World of Military School strategists, it is merely a mental construct that relies on a certain object and projects one's thoughts.

On Qiu Yan's side were soldiers formed from sand and gravel.

These soldiers, though seemingly like grains of sand, are at their core Human Thoughts. They often have Karma connections with their commanding generals and are more loyal than even the most trusted confidants in the world. How could they easily rebel?

But what was happening now puzzled and even surprised Guo Ji.

He hadn't taken this Military Contest seriously at first; if it weren't for the connection with the Household Ancestor Chen, he wouldn't have even given it a second glance. But the final outcome surprised him greatly.

At first, Qiu Yan scored nearly a thousand points, which was indeed amazing. However, considering the overall strategy, the disadvantages were still apparent. As for the specific differences, they were nothing more than the fact that the mountains and forests were not suitable for weapons, and tigers and leopards were better at traversing. Lu Hu had already weighed these factors, which is why he felt that he was bound to win, as if heaven was helping him.

Subsequent developments seemed to confirm this conjecture. Not only did Lu Hu advance unimpeded, as if entering an empty field, but Qiu Yan's various actions also seemed to be making one mistake after another, pushing the already unfavorable situation to the brink of collapse. Although they inflicted considerable damage on Tiger-Leopard Cavalry with crossbows and catapults, it was ultimately a small force, and they were inevitably no match for them. Their central army was even breached, and their troops were aimed directly at their commander!

Qiu Yan, as the commander-in-chief, was exposed to the enemy's long spears and was about to meet his end.

But then, unexpectedly, the situation took a dramatic turn, and the most improbable thing happened—

One of Lu Hu's Tiger Thought Soldiers Tiger-Leopard Cavalry suddenly drew his scimitar, raised his hand, and slashed Lu Hu's back, tearing his skin and drawing blood. He was severely wounded!

This strike didn't just disrupt the battlefield situation or reverse the battle's course; it directly overturned many concepts, impacting Lu Hu's thoughts and even his wounds.

Then, what the snow-white tiger he was riding shocked him even more. This beast was his mount when he was young, but it died. However, he had captured the essence of the Underworld and poured it into this place, which is why it could manifest at any time.

It can be said that this snow-white tiger is the least likely to betray you!

"How did you do that?" Spitting out another mouthful of blood, Lu Hu's expression was slightly ferocious and twisted, but a hint of despondency lingered in his eyes, as if he realized that all was lost.

He could vaguely hear the sounds of fighting coming from the Tiger-Leopard Cavalry behind him. But glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Qiu Army hadn't moved. Who were the Tiger-Leopard Cavalry fighting with?

Then look at the rider who had drawn his sword and was slashing at himself; he and several other riders had already turned their horses around and joined the melee of the Tiger-Leopard Cavalry!

It's unbelievable that the soldiers he conjured up would betray him. Hearing Qiu Yan's words, despite his resentment, he couldn't help but ask.

Qiu Yan did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "I was visualizing the weapon earlier, but I fell into a valley in the mountains. The situation was unfavorable, so you must have thought you were sure to win."

Lu Hu snorted coldly, "That's right, if my men hadn't been turned against me, this would never have happened!"

"In matters of military strategy, those who plan more win and those who plan less lose. Relying solely on battle formations to determine victory or defeat will always have its limitations. You saw me throwing stones with siege weapons and probably thought I wanted to force you into the plains, but did you ever suspect that I had other purposes? That I was deliberately trying to mislead your thinking?"

"Other purposes? What purposes? Is it to buy time to instigate a mutiny? This is precisely what I don't understand. How could Thought Soldiers rebel without the orders of his commander? You haven't had any contact with the soldiers from beginning to end, so how did you manage to instigate a mutiny?"

"You think they've rebelled? You're wrong. That's just an appearance. How do you know they're not killing each other because they were ordered by you?"

"Ordered to fight? What a joke!" Lu Hu sneered. "Do you think I wouldn't know whether I gave the order or not? However, you ultimately lack experience in battle, and now you're getting a little too cocky..."

As he finished speaking, his muscles suddenly bulged, and he sprang up from the ground. It was as if a spring had sprung up on his back, and even the claws of the snow-white tiger could not hold him down. He suddenly sprang up and grabbed at Qiu Yan!

"I'll teach you one more trick: after you win, don't waste so much time talking! Your defeat today is precisely because you were carried away by your triumph and didn't know how to finish them off!"

Boom!

Halfway through his sentence, Lu Hu's mind suddenly exploded, and a sharp pain struck. All the strength he had accumulated while talking to Qiu Yan was swallowed up by the pain. His violently throbbing and expanding muscles and skin stiffened, and he was left suspended in mid-air.

Then, Qiu Yan calmly channeled his energy and pressed down, combining his Bright Force, Hidden Force, and Vibratory Force. As his fist struck Lu Hu's chest, it dented the chest, and the opponent was slammed back to the ground by the immense force!

Boom!

With a loud bang, Lu Hu's burly body landed heavily on the ground. The force of the punch did not leak out at all, Yidi did not ripple. The force of Qiu Yan's punch was distributed throughout Lu Hu's body.

Crackling sounds!

A series of cracking sounds echoed from his body, which had become somewhat shriveled—a result of broken bones.

Puff!

Upon landing, Lu Hu spat out another mouthful of blood, his eyes wide open, his expression shifting constantly, his mind a jumble of thoughts, and waves of sharp pain coursing through him.

Once things had calmed down a bit, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

"He tampered with my body? No, not my body, but my consciousness! That's right, ever since I was forcibly pulled out of the fake body, my consciousness has been damaged, sometimes with a stinging pain. It wasn't too frequent in the Intestine-less Continent, but since coming here, it's become increasingly intense, almost..."

As he pondered this, he was suddenly startled and finally regained his senses.

"Almost every time I connect with my Tiger-Leopard Cavalry with my mind, a stinging pain always strikes. Could it be that he's using this method..." Thinking of this, Lu Hu's resentment and unwillingness lessened, replaced by palpitations and fear.

He is not afraid of Military School, and he will not be resigned to defeat even if he is defeated. However, an opponent who can manipulate things unconsciously is hard to guard against and gives people an elusive and unfathomable sense of mystery.

Due to its inherent characteristics, the cultivators of the Intestine-less Continent differ from those of Donghua and Zhou Rao, exhibiting a severe polarization. In ordinary battles, they can rely on the Military Momentum. True top experts rarely appear in the world. Since entering the Sand Battlefield, Lu Hu has come into contact with many cultivator techniques, but they are ultimately limited. When has he ever seen such mysterious abilities? Naturally, he felt apprehensive.

"You..."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the force pressed down on his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"It seems you've already discovered something." Noticing the look in Lu Hu's eyes, Qiu Yan murmured.

In fact, everything he said before was true. The Tiger-Leopard Cavalry had not betrayed them; they had simply received different orders. The root cause of this lay in Lu Hu's damaged consciousness.

While the damage was indeed caused by his forced withdrawal of consciousness, Qiu Yan had also planted a Heart Demon Fragment within him. Back in the Wuchang Continent, due to the great distance, Qiu Yan couldn't do anything about it. However, this time, with Lu Hu's consciousness returning to the Sand Battlefield and engaging in combat with Qiu Yan at this General-Selecting Platform, the two were so close that it was possible to slowly stimulate him, allowing him to imitate Lu Hu's consciousness and issue latent commands.

However, this order is not to be issued immediately; a signal is required first.

This signal was precisely the moment when swords were pointed at Qiu Yan!

Qiu Yan already knew Lu Hu's location. The reason he still sent scouts was to lure Lu Hu into contacting the Tiger and Tiger-Leopard Cavalry as much as possible, so that the orders issued by the Heart Demon Fragment could cover more riders.

Qiu Yan had already conveyed this to Qiu Yi through telepathy, which is why the latter paused for a moment after suggesting sending out scouts before understanding the deeper meaning.

As for the catapults and crossbow assassinations, one reason was to ensure absolute success, to make Lu Hu lower his guard when he was at his most triumphant, thus allowing the attack to succeed. And another reason...

"You're right. There can be no hesitation when facing the enemy, nor should we utter a lot of nonsense. But as far as I know, to win Military Contest, besides killing the enemy's commander, we must also annihilate the enemy army as much as possible," Qiu Yan stared at Lu Hu, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Do you think I don't know that you're using these words to gather strength for a counterattack?"

"Not good!" A thought flashed through Lu Hu's mind, and he knew that the troops he had left behind to provide support were now in danger.

Sure enough, the thought had barely formed when a figure approached from afar—it was Vice General Qiu Yi.

Qiu Yi approached Qiu Yan, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Reporting to the General, I have successfully completed my mission and have annihilated all of those hundred-plus Tiger-Leopard Cavalry!"

"Hmm..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Hu, speechless, struggled to speak, but all his strength seemed to have been drained away, and he could no longer get up.

The Tiger-Leopard Cavalry, who had been fighting amongst themselves, had long since been reduced to almost nothing. The few remaining members were surrounded and eliminated by the Qiu Army.

On the other side, Qiu Yan nodded, turned around, and looked at Lu Hu: "General Da Tuo of the Intestine-less Continent, I, Qiu, will see you off. As for whether your soul returns to the Underworld or goes somewhere else, that is not something I can control."

After saying that, he punched Lu Hu, causing the head to explode. Brain matter and blood splattered all over the ground, and a wisp of consciousness drifted away, leaving this Military Contest.

Its rise was wild and domineering, but its departure was silent.

Subsequently, nearly a hundred Original Spirit burst forth and coiled around Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan didn't say much. He raised his hand and grabbed, and half of his Original Spirit gathered there. Seventy strands of spirit condensed in his hand, divided into two types: the <Tiger Commander's Manual> and the <Discourse on Military Affairs>.

There are two other types, totaling more than eighty, that are entwined around the sides and do not submit.

Whoosh!

Just then, a beam of white light suddenly descended from the sky, pointing directly at Qiu Yan! (To be continued...)

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