Innate Realm

Feeling the wind at the back of his head, Zu Hao reacted with incredible speed. He immediately performed an iron bridge, sharply arching his upper body backward as the spear tip brushed past his nose.

Bracing himself on one foot, he kicked upward with his other leg, striking the chain spear wielder's wrist squarely. At the same time, he used the Three-Edged Sword planted against the ground to spring himself back into a stable stance.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Just then, taking advantage of Zu Hao's unsteady footing, two long sabers crossed in from either side—one slashing toward his neck, the other sweeping at his waist and abdomen.

In that critical instant, Zu Hao pushed off with his feet and drifted backward as though weightless, while his Three-Edged Sword spun a curtain of light before him.

"Clang! Clang!" The blades collided!

Zu Hao's wrist sank as he felt the opponent's considerable strength. But his physical power far surpassed that of ordinary men. He spun with the momentum, and his sword light swept out like a white streak.

"Ah!"

With a scream, the saber wielder on the left had his sword arm severed at the shoulder.

Zu Hao did not pause. His left leg lashed out like a whip, kicking the saber wielder on the right—who had lunged too far from putting in too much force—into the air. He crashed into seven or eight people behind him like a bowling ball.

The sword light flashed again. Zu Hao turned and thrust straight ahead, instantly piercing the throat of a lackey trying to launch a sneak attack.

With a backhand upward slash, he disemboweled another man.

"Loose the arrows!"

The minor leader holding a Ghost-Head Saber shouted sharply.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

More than fifty archers released their bowstrings at once, sending arrows flying toward him like a swarm of locusts.

Zu Hao shifted and maneuvered within that tiny space, using the Three-Edged Sword to deflect or flick away every arrow. The occasional arrow that slipped through was easily avoided with his nimble footwork.

He charged directly into the crowd, sword light flashing unpredictably. Every jab, thrust, lift, and slash felled a man.

His techniques were not particularly exquisite, but his speed, strength, and reactions far surpassed his opponents'. Furthermore, his stamina was immense. Nine Yang True Qi surged through his body, and the longer he fought, the more exhilarated he became.

A formation capable of surrounding and killing an ordinary Innate Realm expert was, before Zu Hao, like a flock of lambs awaiting slaughter.

"Die!"

The burly man wielding the Ghost-Head Saber took advantage of the instant Zu Hao leaped into the air to evade the arrows. Roaring, he swung with all his strength. The blade wind howled as he sought to cut Zu Hao in half at the waist.

Zu Hao was in midair and seemed to have nowhere to borrow force from. Yet he lightly tapped the top of another Supreme Alliance disciple's head with his toe, then executed an incomparably nimble kite flip. The Ghost-Head Saber swept past his waist and abdomen.

The instant he landed, Zu Hao sprang out like a cheetah. The Three-Edged Sword shot forth like a venomous dragon leaving its lair, piercing through the chests of three men in succession.

The moment his figure stopped, killing intent surged again from both sides.

One man rolled in low, his saber light aimed solely at Zu Hao's lower body. Another leaped up from the side, his sword tip thrusting straight for Zu Hao's neck!

Zu Hao drew his sword and leaped sideways, evading the low rolling saber while viciously kicking the leaping man in the chest. The kick caved in his breastbone. Then, with the momentum, Zu Hao drove the Three-Edged Sword downward, pinning the low-saber expert to the ground.

The instant he landed, the black-clad saber wielder who had initially used that desperate technique flew at him again.

Only this time, his companions failed to follow up in time to cover him.

Zu Hao slid sideways as though skating, his body twisting strangely and allowing the blade to pass right by his cheek.

As they passed each other, Zu Hao abruptly stopped, twisted his waist, spun around, and delivered a swift spinning back kick precisely into the black-clad saber wielder's back.

"Pfft!"

The black-clad saber wielder slammed heavily into the ground. His spine shattered on impact, and blood gushed wildly from his mouth. He completely lost the ability to move.

Zu Hao used him as a stepping stone and soared into the air once more, landing lightly atop Ten-Thousand Horses Fort's towering gatehouse. His Three-Edged Sword pointed diagonally toward the ground, his robes fluttering as he looked down upon the chaotic crowd below.

In that short span of time, more than forty Supreme Alliance disciples already lay dead on the ground.

Though the rest still surrounded him, a trace of fear had appeared in their eyes.

"Don't be afraid! No matter how powerful he is, he's only one man! His true qi will run out sooner or later!"

The minor leader forced himself to remain calm and shouted encouragement. "Wear him down! Victory belongs to the Supreme Alliance!"

"Wear me down?"

Zu Hao grinned. "Then give it a try."

After the fierce battle just now, the Nine Yang True Qi he had expended not only recovered rapidly, but under the effects of the Negative Reversal System, it became even more abundant and pure.

To Zu Hao, battle was the best form of cultivation!

Before his words had even faded, he charged into the enemy ranks again.

Wherever the sword light passed, another dozen or so people died in the blink of an eye.

"Form the Four Symbols Killing Formation!"

The minor leader shouted sharply.

The four second-rate experts who had been holding the rear immediately moved in response.

Two positioned themselves to the left and right, their saber tips touching as their inner force connected. The third flipped into the air and landed steadily with both feet atop the crossed sabers. The last stood in front, thrust his long sword into the ground, leaned backward, and lashed out with a swift scorpion tail kick, his right foot smashing fiercely into the two sabers behind him.

"Buzz!"

The man standing atop the sabers shot out as though launched by a powerful bow and crossbow. Man and sword became one, transforming into a dazzling streak of light that hurtled toward Zu Hao at astonishing speed.

This strike gathered the strength of all four men. It was swift and ferocious.

Zu Hao neither dodged nor retreated. He likewise leaped down, thrusting the Three-Edged Sword straight out, needle against wheat awn.

"Clang—!"

A piercing clash of metal rang across the entire field.

A burst of sparks exploded in midair.

In that lightning-fast moment, relying on strength and physical toughness far beyond his opponent's, Zu Hao forcibly knocked aside the sword that carried the other man's full power. At the same time, his left leg shot out like lightning and struck the man squarely in the chest.

With a dull "Bang," the man flew back like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the crowd. Whether he lived or died was unknown.

As Zu Hao landed, the two second-rate experts from either side who had provided support had already pounced. Their twin sabers chopped down with the force of splitting mountains, their inner force pushed to its limit.

Zu Hao raised his sword to block.

"Boom!"

A tremendous force struck him, jolting Zu Hao backward for several yards.

It was not that the two men were stronger than Zu Hao. Rather, the impact from their explosive burst of power had sent him flying.

Seeing this, the surrounding men thought Zu Hao was finished and immediately swarmed forward.

Zu Hao, however, felt the Nine Yang True Qi within him rapidly leaking away, only for it to swiftly feed back into him under the Negative Reversal System's effect. His true qi increased by another measure.

"Since you refuse to see reason, don't blame my sword for showing no mercy."

Zu Hao let out a long howl that shook the surrounding fields. With a shake of the Three-Edged Sword, the two concealed short blades spun out under the reinforcement of his true qi.

This was neither Sword Telekinesis through mental power nor the use of mysterious iron's magnetism. This was true sword control through qi, and it consumed a great deal of true qi.

The long sword fought at close range, while the short blades spun through the air to cut throats. Occasionally, Zu Hao even snatched his opponents' sabers and swords, shattered them with inner force, and fired the fragments out as though his inner force were endless.

As a result, the Nine Yang True Qi within him leaked away at extreme speed.

[Reversible state detected.]

[True qi leakage: Before the Nine Yang Manual reaches mastery, true qi cannot be freely controlled.]

[Side effect: True qi is out of control, carrying the risk of dying from complete true qi exhaustion.]

[Negative reversal: True qi replenishment, enhanced true qi control.]

Along with the system prompts, the more Zu Hao used his true qi, the more he had, and the purer it became.

Although the remaining Supreme Alliance disciples still numbered many, they had been slaughtered into terror. Their formation was scattered, and they could no longer organize an effective encirclement.

The battle that followed became almost entirely one-sided slaughter.

Though Zu Hao was alone, after using sword control through qi, it was as though three martial arts experts were attacking at once. His killing efficiency doubled.

About half an incense stick later.

Under the system's reversal, Zu Hao, who should have died from true qi leakage, was not only unharmed but had instead greatly increased his cultivation.

The Nine Yang True Qi, already close to the Innate Realm, finally flowed through every hidden pass in his body. As naturally as water flowing into a channel, it broke through the barriers of the Ren and Du meridians in one stroke.

In that instant, Zu Hao felt his entire body tremble, as though some sort of shackle had been shattered.

The meridians throughout his body suddenly opened. His dantian's sea of qi expanded several times over. The Nine Yang True Qi, which had already surged like a rushing river, now became a vast torrent, circulating on its own through his broad, resilient meridians in an endless, unceasing cycle.

At that moment, Zu Hao officially stepped into the Innate Realm!

By then, more than two hundred Supreme Alliance corpses lay on the ground. Zu Hao swept his gaze over the crowd and locked onto the minor leader who had been shouting earlier.

He raised his hand and slashed out with his sword.

It was an utterly ordinary strike, yet it carried sword qi over thirty feet long, splitting the minor leader who was trying to flee cleanly in two.

Seeing this, the remaining Supreme Alliance members completely lost their courage and scattered in all directions.