The Second Mission, a Xiantian Martial Artist

After learning how his body had changed, Li Dao marveled inwardly, I finally have a little power to protect myself.

The transformation of his skin had greatly increased his ability to stay alive, making the road ahead much easier.

After cleaning away the skin he had shed and getting dressed, Li Dao finally sat down at the table and began eating ravenously.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he stretched, flopped onto his bed, and fell asleep.

Time flew by.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three days, after Li Dao and the other four successfully "assassinated" the Third Prince of Falling Cloud, Wei Yun never came looking for them again.

They had tried seeking Wei Yun out themselves, but could not find him and could only keep waiting. Fortunately, life here was more comfortable than in the Death Row Camp, and they could eat and drink their fill every day.

Finally, on the afternoon of the third day, Wei Yun invited the five of them to meet.

That day, inside the main command tent.

Wei Yun sat at the head of the table and raised his wine cup toward Li Dao and the other four.

"First, I would like to thank you five. With the death of the Third Prince of Falling Cloud, negotiations between the Northern Barbarians' Tamu Tribe and Falling Cloud Tribe have fallen through for the time being. That has relieved some of the pressure on our border regions."

With that, he drained his cup.

Beside the table, Shen San downed a cup of wine and said bluntly, "What good are all those pretty words? Why not give us brothers something tangible, like household registrations and our freedom?"

The corner of Wei Yun's mouth twitched. He had still underestimated Shen San's shamelessness. He had merely been offering a polite acknowledgment, yet this fellow had taken it seriously.

Ignoring Shen San, he turned his gaze toward Li Dao. "Although I cannot give you any tangible rewards, I can help you finish those three tasks sooner. I summoned you today to tell you about your second mission."

Hearing this, Shen San could not help muttering, "That counts as a reward?"

Ignoring that great fool Shen San, Li Dao set down his cup and asked directly, "What do we need to do for the second task?"

To him, having a mission was a good thing. The sooner they finished, the sooner he could shed his status as a condemned prisoner.

Wei Yun answered directly, "Although we have temporarily severed the connection between the Northern Barbarians' Tamu Tribe and Falling Cloud Tribe, the Tamu Tribe has not stopped there."

"Our scouts on the front lines have learned that, aside from negotiating with the Falling Cloud Tribe, the Tamu Tribe also ordered a hundred thousand arrows from the Northern Barbarians' Blazing Fire Tribe. Unless something unexpected happens, those arrows will be used against our Great Qian army."

At this, Shen San's expression changed. "Hey, Wei, don't tell me our mission this time is to intercept those hundred thousand arrows?"

Wei Yun shook his head. "Of course not."

Shen San breathed a sigh of relief. "That's more like it."

But then Wei Yun continued, "We do not need to intercept those hundred thousand arrows. We need to find a way to destroy them."

Smack!

Shen San slapped the table and shot to his feet. "Wei, don't take us for fools! A hundred thousand arrows are vital supplies, nothing like that useless Third Prince of Falling Cloud. There will definitely be plenty of escorts, and plenty of experts among them. You're simply sending us to our deaths!"

Wei Yun was not angered by Shen San's attitude. After all, what was the point of arguing with a great fool?

He turned to Li Dao. "Nine Five Two Seven, what do you think of what I just said?"

Li Dao set down the wine cup in his hand and said quietly, "This mission is indeed beyond ordinary people. If you do not intend to break your promise to us, Commander Wei, there must be something you have yet to tell us."

Wei Yun could not help clapping his hands. "I still underestimated your intelligence. You are right. This task is indeed asking rather a lot, so..."

He turned back to Shen San and continued, "So this time, it will not be just the five of you. I will also bring some men from the Mighty Camp and accompany you."

Shen San curled his lip. This time, he had nothing to say. After all, the man himself would be going.

If he still claimed they were being sent to their deaths, that would mean Wei Yun was digging his own grave too.

Hearing that Wei Yun would be going himself, Li Dao grew attentive and asked, "Is it that troublesome?"

Wei Yun nodded. "It is indeed somewhat troublesome. According to the information I received, there is a Xiantian Martial Artist among the escorts."

A Xiantian Martial Artist!

Li Dao and the others froze at those words.

Through his conversations with Old Ghost and the others over this period, Li Dao had learned something about cultivation levels.

Cultivation in this world was divided into the following realms: Houtian Martial Artist, Xiantian Martial Artist, Grandmaster Martial Artist, and Great Grandmaster Martial Artist.

Great Grandmasters were figures who could safeguard an entire nation. They were generally part of a country's hidden reserves and rarely took action.

Grandmaster Martial Artists were the strongest figures openly active in the martial world, but they were also exceedingly rare. Even across an entire dynasty, they belonged to the very highest tier.

Xiantian Martial Artists, meanwhile, were the mainstay of the martial world.

Most of the experts people heard about belonged to this level.

In Li Dao's analysis, ordinary people were basic mobs, Houtian Martial Artists were elite mobs, and Xiantian Martial Artists were boss-level existences.

Although Houtian and Xiantian differed by only a single character, the actual gap in strength started at no less than tenfold.

And Jin Sheng, whom he had fought last time, had only been a Second Grade of the Acquired Realm, not even Houtian First Grade.

"A Xiantian Martial Artist? You're joking, right? Who could handle that?"

Shen San looked thoroughly unsettled. Clearly, he also understood how formidable a Xiantian Martial Artist was.

Wei Yun said, "Rest assured. You will not need to fight that Xiantian Martial Artist. I will handle him."

"Huh?"

Shen San looked astonished. "You're a Xiantian Martial Artist?"

Wei Yun smiled faintly. "Why? Can't I be?"

Shen San was immediately speechless. He felt he had been rather bold. Apparently, he had spent all this time mouthing off to a mighty figure of the Innate Realm. For a moment, he was almost impressed with himself.

"Have you thought it over? Will you accept this mission?"

Wei Yun turned his gaze back to Li Dao.

"Will we accept?"

Li Dao met Wei Yun's eyes directly and said, "We would like to refuse, but would you agree?"

"No."

"Then why waste your breath?"

Wei Yun: "..."

Fine. He had been the foolish one.

Two days later, outside Changgu Town.

As before, Li Dao and the other four mounted their horses and gathered together.

Unlike last time, however, there were many more people around them.

"Nine Five Two Seven, long time no see."

A familiar face suddenly approached Li Dao and greeted him.

"Squad Leader Liu."

Li Dao looked at the newcomer. It was none other than Squad Leader Liu, with whom he had dealt quite a few times before.

Squad Leader Liu stepped forward, glanced at Li Dao and the four beside him, and said, "Once you finish this mission, you should be just about ready to leave the Death Row Camp, right?"

"We still need two more."

Li Dao did not conceal anything from Squad Leader Liu. He should already know about this sort of thing.

"Tsk, tsk."

Squad Leader Liu could not help remarking, "Looks like you've got this in the bag."

Li Dao shrugged. "Who knows how it will turn out until the very end?"

He did not yet dare guarantee anything of the sort, not until the day he truly became free.

The two chatted a little longer before Squad Leader Liu left. He was a centurion; aside from Wei Yun, he and the other centurions held the highest rank and needed to lead their men.

Before long, Wei Yun rode out on horseback.

At his command, the force set off from Changgu.

Since they were marching ahead of time, the Mighty Camp arrived at the intended ambush site early under Wei Yun's leadership.

It was a location where the territories of the Blazing Fire Tribe and Tamu Tribe met.

The area was a desert plain with only one road through it, making it a route the Tamu Tribe's escort convoy would have to take.

Thus, Wei Yun led his men into hiding around the road.

Li Dao had just found a hiding place when he noticed Squad Leader Liu bringing his men over nearby.

He looked puzzled. "Squad Leader Liu, what are you...?"

Squad Leader Liu waved a hand. "Don't mind us. We simply want to lie in ambush with you. It's safer that way."

Li Dao was momentarily speechless, but he let them be.

Shen San and the others shared Squad Leader Liu's thinking.

They also came over to hide near Li Dao.

Time slowly passed.

In the blink of an eye, the entire night had gone by.

Yet there was still no sign of the Tamu Tribe's convoy on that lone road.

Under the blazing sun overhead, Shen San said, sweat covering his head, "Did that fellow Wei get it wrong? Why isn't anyone here yet? If no one ever comes, are we supposed to just keep waiting?"

At these words, the soldiers beside Squad Leader Liu glared at Shen San, displeased with the way he addressed Wei Yun.

But if he cared about such things, he would not have been Shen San. He said bluntly, "What, am I not allowed to speak? Condemned prisoners have a voice too."

"Enough. Something's moving."

Li Dao suddenly spoke.

Shen San immediately shut his mouth, and the others rose one after another to take a look.

Sure enough, looking into the distance, they saw a convoy approaching from afar.

The flags flying over the convoy belonged to the Tamu Tribe. This should be the group escorting those hundred thousand arrows.

Squad Leader Liu rose slightly to look into the distance, his brow furrowing. "There seem to be rather a lot of people in this convoy. At least a thousand."

A thousand men were enough to wage a small-scale war.

Li Dao glanced over and suddenly noticed two different tribal flags among the convoy. He said, "There should be men from the Blazing Fire Tribe in there as well as the Tamu Tribe. That's why the force looks so large."

"The Blazing Fire Tribe?"

After a moment's thought, Squad Leader Liu quickly deduced the reason. "Then what happened to the Falling Cloud Tribe must have put the Tamu Tribe on alert. They borrowed some men from the Blazing Fire Tribe to escort these supplies."

Hearing that the enemy's numbers had changed, everyone nearby looked grim.

The mission had already been difficult, and now this unforeseen complication had piled hardship upon hardship.

Seeing no movement from Wei Yun's position, Li Dao assumed the mission would proceed.

That suited him perfectly. He also wanted to continue the ambush.

After all, as long as there were no exceptionally powerful fighters, the more ordinary people or weaker Houtian Martial Artists came, the better it was for him.

Especially now that his skin had undergone a transformation, human-wave tactics had almost completely lost their effectiveness against him.

After all, the vast majority of people could not even break his skin, let alone threaten him.

And anyone who could not threaten him was nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Combined with his superhuman stamina and recovery, he felt that, given enough time, he could slaughter this thousand-man force all by himself.

As time passed, the force from the Tamu Tribe and Blazing Fire Tribe drew ever closer to their ambush position.

Finally, before long, the convoy entered the ambush zone.

At that very moment, a whistle rang out across the plain.

Hearing it, Squad Leader Liu decisively ordered, "Everyone, stand and loose!"

In an instant, two hundred archers appeared on the slopes on either side of the convoy, sending the first rain of arrows straight toward it.

At the same time.

The Tamu Tribe and Blazing Fire Tribe men below also realized they had been ambushed.

They hurriedly shouted for their men to be on guard.

But they were still a little too late. As the first rain of arrows fell, many of the escorts died beneath it.

Before they could react, Wei Yun directed a second rain of arrows down at the convoy.

"You deserve to die!"

Just then, an enraged roar erupted from the center of the convoy.

The next second, a figure leaped into the air from the Tamu Tribe's convoy.

The figure swept both hands through the air. Under his movements, part of the arrow storm seemed to be twisted aside by an invisible force, causing all those arrows to land on empty ground.

Seeing this, Li Dao murmured, "Projecting True Qi outward. A Xiantian Martial Artist."

This man should be the Xiantian Martial Artist concealed within the Tamu Tribe's force.

At this moment, Wei Yun also noticed the figure who had suddenly leaped out.

He immediately ordered, "Vanguard, charge! Rear ranks, cover them! Just destroy the arrows!"

With that, he drew the long saber at his waist and headed straight for the Xiantian Martial Artist who had blocked the arrow storm.

Half his soldiers charged down toward the convoy, while the other half continued firing to cover their comrades.

Elsewhere.

Seeing this, Li Dao did not hesitate. He grabbed the Black Iron Saber and charged down with the men at the very front.

After all, the sooner he charged, the sooner he could harvest attributes.

At the sight, Squad Leader Liu immediately ordered, "All men, charge with Nine Five Two Seven!"

For this charge, his guiding principle was to follow on faith.

Likewise, seeing Li Dao move, Xu Hu and the others followed without much hesitation.

Only minutes earlier, all had been calm and peaceful. Minutes later, the two forces were locked in a bloody melee.