Tenfold Physique, and martial arts dropped

[One enemy killed. Attributes gained: 0.69]

Seeing the system notification, Li Dao could not help feeling surprised.

Since killing an enemy yielded one-tenth of their attributes, the Northern Barbarians leader's overall attributes had to be at least seven times those of an ordinary person.

However, he had noticed earlier that the Northern Barbarians leader's body was not actually that strong, perhaps only two or three times stronger than an ordinary person's.

The reason he had gained so many attributes was probably that the man was a cultivator, possessing attributes that ordinary people lacked.

For example: true qi.

With a thought, Li Dao added the attributes dropped by the Northern Barbarians leader to himself.

The next second, the familiar warm current appeared.

Compared to before, though, the sensation was less intense, perhaps because his physique had already adapted to this degree of enhancement.

"Panel."

[Master: Li Dao]

[Physique: 9.38]

[Available attributes: 0]

Seeing this, Li Dao smiled.

With a physique nearly ten times that of an ordinary person, he was close to achieving his original goal.

But it was also time to raise his sights.

After all, if everyone were ordinary people, a physique ten times stronger than theirs would let him unleash overwhelming might in this age of cold steel.

But with cultivators involved, he could forget about that.

Without a few hundred points of physique, he would have a hard time feeling safe.

Meanwhile.

After Li Dao killed the Northern Barbarians leader, Squad Leader Liu, who had been watching from the sidelines, froze.

He had thought it would already be impressive if Nine Five Two Seven could hold his own against the Northern Barbarians leader for a dozen exchanges.

He had never expected Nine Five Two Seven to actually kill the man.

Surprise gave way to excitement. Seeing the Northern Barbarians leader fall dead, he immediately shouted to those around him, "Your leader is dead! Surrender now!"

Our leader is dead?

At his shout, the remaining Northern Barbarians cavalrymen all looked over.

Because the Northern Barbarians leader's armor differed from that of the ordinary cavalrymen, they quickly spotted him.

They saw their Northern Barbarians leader lying dead on the ground.

In an instant, the Northern Barbarians cavalrymen's morale plummeted, their fighting strength rapidly waned, and they could no longer even maintain their formation.

Their leader's death meant they had almost no chance of winning.

Finally, one Northern Barbarians cavalryman could no longer withstand his fear of death. He threw down his weapon, dismounted, and surrendered.

Once there was a first, a second and third followed.

Soon, the remaining Northern Barbarians cavalrymen all dismounted and surrendered.

Seeing this, Li Dao did not know what to say.

If I'd known, I wouldn't have dealt with the Northern Barbarians leader first. I'd have finished off these Northern Barbarians cavalrymen instead.

But on second thought, if he had not acted, Squad Leader Liu would certainly have died at the Northern Barbarians leader's hands.

Then things would have turned ugly.

The Great Qian Dynasty's soldiers might well have ended up just like these Northern Barbarians cavalrymen, their morale collapsing after their leader's death and driving them to surrender.

"Forget it. Missing out on this little bit doesn't matter."

All in all, his gains this time were already very good.

When he had set out, his physique had been below five points. Now it was nearly ten, more than double what it had been.

Hmm?

Just then, Li Dao suddenly noticed something where the dead Northern Barbarians leader's armor had broken.

Curious, he walked over and crouched to take a look. A piece of bloodstained yellow cloth was caught in a gap in the armor.

He reached out and pulled the bloodstained cloth free. Something seemed to be wrapped inside.

He opened it and found two books.

One was titled "Yellow Sun Art," and the other "Gale Saber Technique."

Li Dao paused. There was actually a cultivation manual and a saber technique.

By the look of things, these were probably the cultivation method and saber technique the Northern Barbarians leader had practiced.

"Nine Five Two Seven, you're in luck."

Suddenly, Squad Leader Liu's voice sounded behind him.

Looking back, he saw that, now that the Northern Barbarians cavalrymen had surrendered, the remaining Great Qian soldiers had begun binding the prisoners and cleaning up the battlefield, just as they had last time.

"Do I need to hand these over?"

Li Dao waved the items in his hand as he asked.

He had not intended to hide the two books he had found. Besides, he could not hide them anyway.

After returning, the death-row prisoners had to strip, wash, and change into thin prison clothes. There was nowhere to hide anything.

Unless...

Li Dao would rather die than accept that method.

After taking a look, Squad Leader Liu answered honestly, "By rights, everything seized on the battlefield must be handed over. However..."

At that point, he turned away, lowered his head, and gave a dry cough before saying quietly, "There are exceptions sometimes. Keep these safe yourself. I'll pretend I didn't see them."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Watching Squad Leader Liu's retreating back, Li Dao smiled and shook his head.

It seemed his performance these past two times had earned him some trust with this centurion.

To be honest, Li Dao also had a favorable impression of the centurion. After all, the man had taken the initiative to save him.

He tucked the two books into his robe, planning to take them back and try practicing them that night.

Although the old Taoist priest he had met as a child had said he was Born Severed Meridians and could never cultivate.

What if the old priest's eyes were failing him? There were plenty of old swindlers around these days, after all.

Half an hour later, they finally finished cleaning up the battlefield.

Everyone gathered together.

Squad Leader Liu asked the soldier beside him, "How's the tally coming?"

The soldier nodded. "It's finished."

"Read it out."

The soldier nodded, took a sheet of paper from inside his robe, and read, "In this battle, the Death Row Camp deployed fifty-five men. Fifty-four died. Only one survived."

At those words, every remaining Great Qian soldier turned to look at Li Dao, who was leaning against a tree nearby.

For some of these Great Qian soldiers, this was their first time seeing Li Dao. For others, it was their second.

But whether it was their first or second time, Li Dao had left a deep impression on all of them.

Hearing that he was the only survivor, Li Dao's expression barely changed. Or rather, he had already known.

After all, even he had nearly died beneath the Northern Barbarians leader's saber, let alone a group of ordinary death-row prisoners.

The soldier continued his report.

Once the final tally was complete, this ambush against the Northern Barbarians cavalry could only be called a costly victory.

The Northern Barbarians leader had died, and eighty percent of the hundred-odd cavalrymen had been killed. Only twenty percent remained, roughly twenty Northern Barbarians cavalrymen.

The Great Qian force had deployed nearly two hundred men, including the Death Row Camp, yet only fifty-odd remained. What else could that be but a costly victory?

After listening, Squad Leader Liu let out a long sigh.

Although he had known their casualties were heavy, hearing the figures still saddened him, especially with his own soldiers slipping away one by one under his command.

But this was war.

And this was merely a small border clash between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Northern Barbarians Dynasty.

If they were thrown into a large-scale battlefield, their little force probably would not even raise a ripple.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Squad Leader Liu waved a hand. "If everything's packed up, let's head back."

Before long, Li Dao returned to Changgu Town with Squad Leader Liu's force once again.

Unlike last time, Squad Leader Liu personally escorted him into the Death Row Camp to keep anyone from discovering the two books tucked inside his robe.

"This is as far as I'll take you. You saved my life. If you need anything, have a jailer let me know. As long as it doesn't put me in a difficult position, I'll help you get it done."

Before sending Li Dao inside, Squad Leader Liu whispered those words in his ear.

Li Dao nodded and walked into the Death Prison where he had been held before.

Just like last time, when he returned to the Death Prison, his old cellmates looked astonished, shocked that he had come back alive from his second outing.

He found a corner again and settled against the wall as usual.

Before long, the familiar aroma once again spread through the Death Prison.

The cell door opened, and a jailer walked in carrying a plate of roast chicken and a bottle of wine.

"Nine Five Two Seven, Squad Leader Liu asked me to give you these."

Perhaps Squad Leader Liu had given him specific instructions, because the jailer treated Li Dao, a death-row prisoner, much more politely.

"Thank you."

"I'm just doing something for Squad Leader Liu. No need to thank me."

"Take care, then."

"Enjoy your meal. Just call me if you need anything."

"Sorry for the trouble."

After seeing the jailer off, Li Dao took his roast chicken and wine, leaned back in the corner, and started eating.

This time, no one blind to the situation came over to bother him.

Clearly, his exchange with the jailer had made his fellow death-row prisoners recognize the gap between them. No one dared offend him lightly, leaving him free to enjoy some peace.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Li Dao closed his eyes, pleasantly tipsy from the wine.

The sky gradually darkened.

After silence settled over the Death Prison, Li Dao opened his eyes.

Once he confirmed that everyone in the cell was asleep, he took out the two books he had seized from the Northern Barbarians leader.

First, he opened the cultivation manual titled "Yellow Sun Art."

Sure enough, it contained a cultivation method that taught how to refine true qi.

With mental power ten times that of an ordinary person, Li Dao quickly committed the entire book to memory.

Then he tucked the Yellow Sun Art back into his robe, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and tried cultivating.

Half an hour later.

Opening his eyes, Li Dao slowly spat out a word.

"Trash."

After half an hour, he had not cultivated so much as a hair.

According to the Yellow Sun Art, he needed to focus his mind and sense the meridians hidden within his body.

Yet after trying to sense them for half an hour, he had detected nothing.

"So the old Taoist priest was right. Born without meridians means born without meridians. There really isn't a single one."

Otherwise, with Li Dao's mental power, he should have been able to sense those so-called meridians with ease.

Besides, his physique was now ten times that of an ordinary person. If he truly had those meridians, even the faintest trace should have revealed itself after a tenfold enhancement. But nothing had appeared.

This also confirmed a mathematical principle.

As long as something was zero, it would remain zero no matter how many times it was multiplied. It would never turn into anything else.

He had no meridians, so even if his physique reached a hundred million times that of an ordinary person, he still would not be able to cultivate.

"Forget it. I was only giving it a try anyway."

His inability to cultivate left Li Dao feeling only a little disappointed.

After all, his system's primary ability was to develop his own physique.

Even if he could cultivate, there was no way he would abandon the shortcut his system offered to shut himself away and toil at cultivation.

So what if cultivation was powerful?

If ten points of physique weren't enough, then a hundred.

If a hundred points weren't enough, then a thousand.

If a thousand still weren't enough, then ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million.

He refused to believe anyone would still talk to him about cultivation once he could shatter cities and annihilate nations with a single punch.

Since the cultivation manual was no use, Li Dao took out the Gale Saber Technique instead.

He wondered whether a saber technique would be of any use to him without true qi.