One Palm

It was not only Second Lieutenant Lu who had come. Liao Zipeng, the other second lieutenants under his command, and Zhao Tong had come with him as well.

Each of them was brimming with arrogance.

"You really are hard to kill!"

Standing to one side, Zhao Tong swept a cold glance over the group, a sneer curling at his lips.

He had heard about last night's battle, when Ding Chen had led men into Blood River Forest. He had thought the cook soldiers' camp would be wiped out to the last man.

Yet only a few had been injured, and they had even brought back over a hundred demon corpses.

"You want another beating?" Wang Yan stepped forward.

With his current strength, taking on two Zhao Tongs would not be a problem.

"You!"

Zhao Tong's face turned cold as he raised a hand and pointed at Wang Yan.

At that moment, Second Lieutenant Lu stepped forward. "Who is Chen Xian?"

"I am!"

Chen Xian stepped past the others and stared at Second Lieutenant Lu.

He did not have the slightest favorable impression of these people.

"Insolent! Is that how you speak to this second lieutenant?"

Second Lieutenant Lu clasped his hands behind his back, glaring coldly at Chen Xian as he harshly rebuked him.

A cold smile rose at the corner of Chen Xian's mouth. "Second Lieutenant Lu, say what you came to say. If you have nothing else, please leave. Don't delay my training."

"A mere cook soldier dares act so arrogantly before this second lieutenant? You're courting death...!" Second Lieutenant Lu snorted coldly and directly unleashed the Great Tablet Smashing Hand.

The Great Tablet Smashing Hand was divided into the Tablet Smashing Style, Earth Splitting Style, Mountain Pushing Style, and Heaven Shaking Style.

Each style bore an imposing name, and their power was indeed formidable—but that depended on who used them.

The Great Tablet Smashing Hand unleashed by someone in the Body Refinement Realm and someone in the Jade Sea Realm differed as vastly as clouds and mud.

Second Lieutenant Lu opened with the Tablet Smashing Style, shattering a great stone with his palm.

Blood Qi swirled around his palm as a Blood Qi palm shadow condensed.

His palm came crashing down toward Chen Xian's forehead.

Chen Xian stared expressionlessly at Second Lieutenant Lu's descending palm. Just as the other man's palm was half a foot above his head, he kicked out.

Bang!

Second Lieutenant Lu failed to react in time and raised his left hand to block. The bones in his arm shattered instantly. He was kicked flying into Liao Zipeng and the others, blood froth spilling from his mouth.

Liao Zipeng and the others froze at the sight.

One kick had broken Second Lieutenant Lu's bones and made him cough blood?

Liao Zipeng suddenly raised his head and stared at Chen Xian. "You're not in the Blood Moving Realm?"

Chen Xian remained neither servile nor overbearing. "When did I ever say I was in the Blood Moving Realm?"

Liao Zipeng narrowed his eyes slightly. He had not expected a cook soldier to possess Surging Origin Realm cultivation. It truly caught him by surprise.

"Good, good, good...!"

Liao Zipeng shoved the blood-spitting Second Lieutenant Lu aside, rolled up his sleeves, and secretly channeled his palm force. The Blood Qi swirling around his arm was more than ten times denser than Second Lieutenant Lu's.

Not only that, the Origin Qi within the apertures of his body surged with force as well.

With a low shout, he too used the Tablet Smashing Style, shattering a great stone with his palm as he brought it down toward Chen Xian's head.

Bang!

The same scene repeated itself. Chen Xian did not hold back in the slightest this time. His kick was even fiercer, directly shattering Liao Zipeng's left arm bones and breastbone, sending him rolling more than ten meters away. He coughed blood and fainted on the spot.

Hiss!

Second Lieutenant Lu, Zhao Tong, and the others turned their heads, each drawing a sharp breath.

When they looked back at Chen Xian, their eyes were filled with fear.

No wonder Ding Chen and the others had always been fine. So it was because of this kid!

"You... just wait for this second lieutenant...!"

Second Lieutenant Lu barked fiercely though his heart was weak, hastily having Zhao Tong and the others carry Liao Zipeng away.

"Hahaha...!"

Watching Second Lieutenant Lu and the others flee in disgrace,

Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and the rest could not help bursting into laughter.

Ding Chen also sneered several times, inwardly thinking that it served them right!

He turned to Chen Xian. "Once Liao Zipeng wakes up, he'll definitely go complain to Li Sheng. Even if Li Sheng doesn't come looking for trouble himself, he'll have General Liu come over to demand an explanation."

"Li Sheng? Brother Ding, who's that?" Wang Yan asked with a frown.

Before Ding Chen could answer, Xue Qishan said, "Could he be Li Sheng, the son of Duke Li's family in the Capital City?"

Ding Chen glanced at him in surprise, then nodded. "That's right. It's him."

Everyone was stunned.

The son of a ducal household!

"So what? Once he's in the military camp, who cares whether he's Duke Li or Duke Zheng? Without military merit, they're all useless!" Wang Yan snorted, utterly unconcerned.

Ding Chen said, "That's true, but his status is different after all. Even without military merit, once he leaves the army, he'll still be duke's grandson and inherit the duke's title in the future."

"How can you compare with him?"

Those words struck Wang Yan speechless.

Wang Yan did not argue. There truly was no comparison.

Unless he could earn immense military merit in the army, gain Emperor Ning's favor, and later become an official in court and receive some noble title.

Then he would have to endure bit by bit, outlive some old fogeys, and support a few imperial princes and grandsons in becoming emperor. Perhaps then he might somehow become a marquis.

If that day truly came, he would probably already be seventy or eighty.

Of course, whether he could establish great military merit was hard to say in the first place.

At that moment, Qin Fei frowned. "Brother Ding, we've been targeted all this time. Could the one behind it all be Li Sheng?"

Ding Chen's eyes flickered. Last time, he had only told Chen Xian alone. This time, he simply told all of them.

Upon hearing it, everyone's anger flared up.

"Despicable! If we get the chance, we'll definitely beat them up." Wang Yan clenched his fists in fury.

Ding Chen said, "Train. Nothing is stronger than making yourselves strong!"

Everyone nodded.

Inside the tent.

Chen Xian took out the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art and began reading. He first skimmed through it quickly, then read through it again to commit it to memory.

Very soon, a new cultivation art appeared under the martial arts section of the panel.

Martial Arts: Vajra Dragon Elephant Art (Not Initiated)

Experience: 18,421 points

Realm: Dao Foundation Perfection

Lifespan: 220 years

Chen Xian put away the panel and continued reading the book in his hands.

Pei Menglong had said he could return the secret manual after a month. Whenever he had nothing to do, he could take it out and study it. It did not matter if he could not comprehend it—he still had the panel to add points and improve it.

The Vajra Dragon Elephant Art was divided into five major realms: the Vajra Realm, Dragon Elephant Realm, Dragon Elephant Fusion, Lightning Flame Formless, and the Great Luo Vajra Dragon Elephant Body.

Each realm was further divided into initiation, minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, and perfection.

Just like the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique, each realm he deduced also had four minor stages.

Judging from the contents of the art, it was indeed harder to cultivate than the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique, but its power was more than ten times greater.

According to the art, once cultivated to success, one could reach the realm of ten thousand phenomena.

As for what realm that specifically was, Chen Xian did not know.

He immediately sat cross-legged and began studying the first major realm of the art, the Vajra Realm.

Head Chef Army camp.

Inside the Central Army Tent, Liu Dingchun looked at the pale-faced Liao Zipeng. "You said he's in the middle to late stage of the Surging Origin Realm?"

The middle to late stage of the Surging Origin Realm meant leaning toward major accomplishment. Naturally, he was far stronger than Liao Zipeng, who had only just entered the Surging Origin Realm.

Liao Zipeng said, "General, there can be no mistake!"

Liu Dingchun frowned slightly. Eighteen years old and nearly at major accomplishment in the Surging Origin Realm—he was indeed a cultivation talent.

Pei Menglong had taken him away. After nurturing him for a while, he would become another fierce general.

By then, among the nine camps, Pei Menglong's arrogance would grow even more rampant.

Liu Dingchun waved at Liao Zipeng, then rose and went to find Li Sheng.

Inside a tent.

Li Sheng, Wang Pei, and Mu Feng were drinking. After hearing Liu Dingchun's account, all three were greatly surprised.

"There's someone in the Surging Origin Realm among the cook soldiers' camp?" Mu Feng looked astonished.

When he had previously suggested to Li Sheng that they establish the cook soldiers' camp, he had actually harbored selfish motives. It was to give Ding Chen, the Ninth Prince, an opportunity to bide his time and rise.

Though cook soldiers held lowly status, they could still go onto the battlefield and fight demons, which meant they had a thread of hope for rising to prominence.

Even if their merits were seized by Li Sheng.

But when the time was ripe, the great roc would ride the wind and soar to the ninth heaven.

Who could stop him?