No One Dead, No Merit or Blame

The smoke and dust had yet to settle. The night wind drove the sharp smell of sulfur and damp air straight up their noses.

The Mountain-Shaking Thunder had blasted a huge pit into the mountainside, as though a chunk of flesh had been gouged from the mountain's face. It was bottomless and black; one glance down made their heads spin.

Earth and stones still pattered from its edges, striking the jutting rock walls with dull thuds.

"Down."

Qin Geng gave the order in a single word.

There was no distinction between ranks now. This was the moment to trade their lives for merit.

Foreigners' heads meant hard silver and gold. They meant official hats.

Under the Dragon-Guard Office's rules, the head of a foreign grandmaster could fetch a thousand gold pieces. Even an ordinary foreign soldier's ears or tongue counted for considerable military merit.

Zhao Yuanji had no thought for appearances now. He tightened his dark-green soft armor, pulled a coiled Flying Tiger Claw from his waist, and prepared to hook it over an old pine nearby.

"No need for that thing."

Tiger Cub grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. He swung the Mountain-Driving Whip across his waist, crouched, and slid down the nearly vertical slope like a huge gecko.

He practiced Inviting the Immortal to Possess. Though he had not called on an immortal now, he had honed his muscles, bones, and flesh to the utmost. His fingers hooked into cracks in the rock as he descended, his movements rough but effective.

Xia Jingyi refused to be outdone. She spread her arms, tapped the protruding stones with her toes, and floated down like a swallow skimming water.

Qin Geng did not move yet.

He stood at the edge of the pit, narrowing his eyes as he felt the