Ferocious Ox Strength

The several soldiers around him looked at one another.

Strong enough to be terrifying!?

With Sheng Huai'an's pretty-boy face, skinny arms, and thin legs, he looked more like a frail young scholar. No one could tell where his strength lay.

Seeing that Sheng Huai'an was unwilling to retreat to the rear, Old Soldier said, "Go get him a good bow, and ten arrows."

"Uncle, I want fifty arrows. Today, I'm going to hunt to my heart's content," Sheng Huai'an declared grandly.

Old Soldier was speechless. This fellow had changed far too quickly. Just minutes ago, he had been trembling like a startled quail, scared out of his wits.

Now, he looked like a battle-hardened Old Soldier.

Though somewhat puzzled, Old Soldier still said, "Get him twenty arrows."

A soldier acknowledged the order and hurried off to fetch a bow and arrows.

The others continued guarding with steel sabers and spears in hand, or carrying stones to hurl downward, smashing the enemy soldiers climbing the ladders and sending them plummeting to their deaths.

Boiling golden juice was also poured down in one great rush.

So long as it could kill the attacking enemy, anything went.

Sheng Huai'an spotted several arrows shot up by the enemy lying on the ground and immediately went over to pull them out.

"Not bad. They can still be used."

After pulling up the six arrows scattered nearby, Sheng Huai'an continued shooting enemies with that battered old bow.

Whoosh!

One arrow took one life, and his Slaughter Value increased by one point.

Soon, the six arrows were spent, and six Xiongnu soldiers had been killed.

The sight left the nearby soldiers dumbfounded. Was this really not a pig pretending to be a tiger?

You called this a conscript?!

What kind of conscript looked like this? He casually shot down ten enemies without his expression changing in the slightest.

His Slaughter Value rose to ten, and a plus sign finally appeared after Novice Archer.

He could add points with one click again!

Without hesitation, Sheng Huai'an added the points. Novice Archer became Bronze Archer.

A great amount of archer experience flooded into his mind, and at the same time, his strength increased somewhat.

After becoming a Bronze Archer, Sheng Huai'an felt terrifyingly strong.

Old Soldier and the several soldiers around him all looked at Sheng Huai'an differently now.

Using nothing but a broken bow, he had shot and killed eleven enemies. Such talent with the bow was truly terrifying.

If they could obtain the heads of those eleven enemies, then with that Military Merit, he could be promoted directly to Platoon Leader.

In the Great Wei Dynasty, a Squad Leader could command five soldiers, while a Platoon Leader could command ten.

Old Soldier was a Platoon Leader, and the ten soldiers around him were all under his command. Sheng Huai'an had also been assigned to his unit.

Now that a promising sharpshooter like Sheng Huai'an had appeared in the squad, Old Soldier felt inclined to protect him.

Very soon, the soldier sent to fetch the bow and arrows returned.

"Kid, kill the enemy well and strive to survive. Maybe one day, you'll become a general," Old Soldier said with a smile.

After switching to the new bow and arrows, Sheng Huai'an tested them. Not bad—they were more than a level above that old bow.

"Only by killing enemies for the nation can a man show his true colors. Uncle, watch closely. I'll make sure these Xiongnu brats all go to hell," Sheng Huai'an said as he nocked an arrow and drew the bow.

After becoming a Bronze Archer, Sheng Huai'an felt that even his posture when drawing the bow had become far more handsome.

Whoosh!

The arrow struck right between the brows. A Xiongnu soldier died in bewilderment.

Before long, twenty arrows had taken the lives of twenty Xiongnu enemy soldiers.

By then, Xiongnu soldiers had already climbed up the wall, but they were all cut down by the defenders and fell beneath the ramparts.

At that moment, quite a few Xiongnu corpses had already piled up below the city wall.

Blood stained the walls red.

Yet the Xiongnu soldiers below stepped over their comrades' corpses and continued climbing upward without fear of death.

Until the drums signaling withdrawal sounded, the siege would not stop. Anyone who dared retreat without cause would be beheaded!

Their relatives would be demoted into slaves.

Therefore, even if they died, the Xiongnu soldiers attacking the city would not retreat a single step.

After Sheng Huai'an ran out of arrows, Old Soldier ordered him down to rest.

The battle continued until noon before the Xiongnu army finally beat the drums and sounded the call to withdraw.

The Xiongnu soldiers attacking the city also retreated like a receding tide.

That morning, the Xiongnu army had failed to scale the walls, leaving behind over a thousand corpses.

Unfortunately, this golden finger only granted Slaughter Value for enemies he killed himself. Otherwise, Sheng Huai'an would have soared straight to the heavens.

The Xiongnu army had not withdrawn, so clearly, the day's fighting was not over yet.

Sheng Huai'an retreated to the rear to rest and examined the light screen.

Name: Sheng Huai'an

Race: Human

Cultivation Method: None

Talent: Bronze Archer (+)

Slaughter Value: 20

With twenty points of Slaughter Value, a plus sign had appeared after Bronze Archer, but Sheng Huai'an did not rush to add points.

For defending the city, Bronze Archer experience was barely enough for now.

He had to consider learning martial arts. Martial cultivation existed in this world, and if he wanted to survive on the battlefield, he had to become strong himself.

At noon, while resting and eating, everyone introduced themselves and became acquainted.

"My name is Sheng Huai'an. Sheng as in prosperous age, Huai'an as in cherishing peace," Sheng Huai'an said.

"Prosperous age, cherishing peace. Not bad, not bad. A very good name," Old Soldier said, then sighed.

A prosperous age...

On the northern frontier of the Great Wei Dynasty, war had raged unceasingly year after year. No one knew how many Great Wei sons had been buried there.

He, too, wanted to see what a prosperous age looked like.

"My name is Wang Wu," a burly man said.

"My name is Zhang Da Niu," Zhang Da Niu, who was built as sturdily as an ox, said.

"My name is Li Bu Si." Li Bu Si looked rather thin and weak.

"Li Bu San!"

After Li Bu San spoke, he shut his mouth again. He looked rather aloof and was somewhat tall and thin as well.

"He and Li Bu Si are brothers. Blood brothers," Wang Wu said with a smile.

Sheng Huai'an's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Had these two brothers' parents really named them so carelessly?

Neither three nor four!!

"..."

After everyone had introduced themselves, only Old Soldier had yet to speak.

"Uncle, what's your name?" Sheng Huai'an asked curiously.

"The Platoon Leader is called Old Soldier. No name," Zhang Da Niu said.

No name? Could there be some story behind it!?

"A name is merely a designation," Old Soldier said blandly.

Sheng Huai'an scratched his head. This only made him more curious about Old Soldier.

After becoming familiar with everyone, Sheng Huai'an looked at Old Soldier and said, "Uncle, are there martial arts in the army?"

Old Soldier looked Sheng Huai'an over before saying, "You really should learn some martial arts. Otherwise, with those skinny arms and thin legs, two slashes from those Xiongnu bandits will kill you."

"Uncle, do you have to belittle people like that!?" Sheng Huai'an said helplessly.

"You killed thirty-one enemies today, so you're now officially a member of the Anning Pass defenders. I can make the decision to pass on the martial arts cultivated in the army to you."

Hearing Old Soldier say there were martial arts, Sheng Huai'an was overjoyed.

"The martial art learned by the Anning Pass defenders is called 'Ferocious Ox Strength.' Once cultivated to success, one's strength can rival a ferocious ox, and one's arm strength can exceed ten thousand jin," Old Soldier said.

"I want to learn it! I want to learn it!"

"Fine, I'll teach you now!" Old Soldier nodded.

Taking advantage of the time after lunch at noon, Old Soldier taught Sheng Huai'an the cultivation chant and body forms of the army's Ferocious Ox Strength.

Old Soldier demonstrated the body forms only once, then asked Sheng Huai'an,

"Well? Did you remember them?"

Sheng Huai'an nodded. "I remembered them."

How could he not? Ferocious Ox Strength had already appeared on the golden light screen.

Name: Sheng Huai'an

Race: Human

Cultivation Method: "Ferocious Ox Strength" (+)

Talent: Bronze Archer (+)

Slaughter Value: 20

"You really remembered them?" Old Soldier asked somewhat disbelievingly.

"Really!" Sheng Huai'an nodded earnestly.

Old Soldier was a little suspicious. He had remembered it after seeing it once—could Sheng Huai'an be a martial arts prodigy?

"Practice it once and let me see," Old Soldier said.

"Sure!" Sheng Huai'an nodded.

Then he directly added points. In an instant, a warm current spread through Sheng Huai'an's entire body. He felt as though his whole body was brimming with strength, enough to punch a cow to death.

At the same time, memories and experience of cultivating Ferocious Ox Strength appeared in his mind as though they had been born there.

Ten points of Slaughter Value were consumed directly, and Ferocious Ox Strength immediately reached Minor Accomplishment.

Sheng Huai'an assumed a stance and performed the body forms of Ferocious Ox Strength once.

Old Soldier and the other soldiers stared at Sheng Huai'an in utter amazement.

Could this level of proficiency in the Ferocious Ox Strength forms really come from seeing it only once?

Everyone looked at Sheng Huai'an as though he were a monster.

"You really only watched it once? You truly never cultivated before?" Old Soldier asked in disbelief.

Sheng Huai'an nodded and said, "That's right. Is there a problem?"

"A monster," Zhang Da Niu muttered quietly.

"A one-in-ten-thousand martial arts prodigy?" Li Bu Si also spoke.

"It feels like we're all useless trash," Wang Wu mocked himself.

When they had first enlisted, they had practiced for two and a half months before barely learning the body forms of Ferocious Ox Strength.

Everyone looked at Sheng Huai'an as though he were a monster.

Ferocious Ox Strength was only effective when the body forms were practiced together with the martial chant.

Sheng Huai'an rubbed his nose. How should he put it? With a golden finger, wasn't he naturally a monstrous genius?

This northern frontier battlefield was simply too suitable for him.

He looked again at the golden light screen.

Name: Sheng Huai'an

Race: Human

Realm: Martial Disciple Early Stage

Cultivation Method: "Ferocious Ox Strength" (Beginner)

Strength: Three hundred jin

Talent: Bronze Archer

Slaughter Value: 10

The golden light screen had gained the categories of realm and strength. Sheng Huai'an had gone directly from an ordinary person to a martial cultivator at the Martial Disciple Early Stage.

"Uncle, are there realm divisions in martial cultivation?" Sheng Huai'an asked.

"Of course there are realm divisions," Old Soldier nodded and said.