"Get lost. Go back."
The voice was calm and casual, yet its words were directed at the barbarian cavalry.
The speaker was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, wearing a blue robe, his long hair tied up. His handsome face was filled with languor. Seeing that none of the cavalry moved, he tilted his head and muttered to himself.
"Don't understand Great Song's language?"
Following his principle of avoiding unnecessary violence if he could persuade them to retreat, Chen Xia waved a hand outward and spoke again.
"You lot, hurry-hurry, get lost."
The barbarian cavalry leader's gaze darkened, and he shouted at Chen Xia in less-than-standard Great Song speech.
"You're courting death!"
"So you do understand." Realization dawned on Chen Xia. He nodded, stretched, and answered the leader.
"I'm rather lazy and don't much like fighting. Leave on your own, and I can consider sparing you all."
He yawned again after speaking, frowning slightly. He did not know why, but lately he kept feeling a little tired, wanting to lie flat and slack off.
The barbarian leader's gaze sharpened. He held his saber across himself, its blade gleaming coldly, and said in an icy voice.
"You're an expert of Great Song."
Chen Xia shook his head. "I'm not an expert of Great Song. My name is Chen Xia. You can also call me..."
"Great Song's State Preceptor."
The moment those four words rang out, the defending soldiers behind him grew fervent, for Great Song had only one State Preceptor: the immortal who had just taken office!
This was the immortal!
The commanding officer immediately knelt on one knee before Chen Xia, cupped his fist, and spoke respectfully.
"We welcome the State Preceptor!"
The soldiers behind him hurriedly knelt as well, shouting in unison, "We welcome the State Preceptor!"
The commotion was so loud that it drew the attention of the soldiers atop the walls. Looking over, they saw the soldiers kneeling before a man.
And what they were calling him seemed to be...
The State Preceptor?
Who was the State Preceptor?
The soldiers on the walls searched their memories, then suddenly lit up with delight and shouted excitedly.
"The immortal! The immortal is here! Hurry and tell the general! The immortal is here!"
In contrast to the delight atop the walls.
The barbarian cavalry leader urged his towering warhorse two steps forward, looked Chen Xia straight in the eye, and spoke each word distinctly.
"Three thousand of our steppe cavalry can sweep all before them. Thirty thousand are invincible on land. Behind me are three hundred thousand cavalry, enough to sweep through all of Great Song!"
"You're just a martial-world expert. What gives you the nerve to stand here, in the path of our three hundred thousand steppe cavalry?!"
The cavalry leader bellowed, pulling on his horse's reins and making it neigh shrilly, before shouting again.
"Before the charge of three hundred thousand cavalry, you're nothing but an ant! In an instant, you'll be crushed flat and become a dead soul beneath our blades!"
"Charge!"
The leader roared. The cavalry at the city gate began charging into the city. Three hundred thousand horses' hooves struck the ground together, shaking the earth and mountains.
The defending soldiers hurried to their feet, staring in alarm at the barbarian cavalry charging toward them.
Though the immortal was here, it was just as their leader had said: there were three hundred thousand barbarian cavalry behind him!
Could the immortal stop three hundred thousand cavalry?
None of them felt certain.
The commanding officer gritted his teeth, raised his saber, and roared an order.
"Everyone, form ranks! Support the State Preceptor and meet the barbarian cavalry!"
"No need." The lightly spoken words reached every defending soldier with perfect clarity.
Chen Xia stood alone at the very front.
Three hundred thousand barbarian cavalry charged at him, shaking the earth and mountains, their killing intent filling the sky.
Chen Xia's expression was calm. He even found time to stretch. Only when the charging cavalry came within thirty meters did he break into a grin and say disdainfully.
"Three hundred thousand?"
He raised his foot. Dense Flood Dragon Qi shone in his eyes, all of it channeled into that foot.
He stomped down hard on the ground before him.
The flagstones turned to dust in that instant, offering not the slightest resistance.
Then the soil began to disintegrate, exploding into a deep pit at a terrifying speed.
Finally, the city wall atop the soil could no longer hold. It shattered inch by inch and collapsed entirely.
Starting from Chen Xia's stomp, the farther back it spread, the wider the shattered area became and the deeper the ravine grew, forming a terrifying fan shape.
Within that fan-shaped ravine, like a small mountain, nearly ten thousand barbarian cavalry were slain.
The defending soldiers and the barbarian cavalry alike froze.
Was this... was this the might of a single stomp from an immortal?!
A figure slowly emerged from the dust of the collapsed section of wall. Standing atop the highest point of the ruins, he smiled at the barbarian cavalry several hundred meters away.
"Three hundred thousand cavalry won't do. Three million might at least be worth killing."
The barbarian cavalry dared not answer. Looking at the figure standing atop the ruined wall, they felt as though they were looking at a heavenly god.
Only a heavenly god could possess such might!
For the first time, the barbarian cavalry who had run rampant across the steppes felt fear. They stopped charging, almost wanting to turn their horses around and flee.
The defending officers grew fervent. Gazing reverently at the figure atop the ruined wall, they began cheering.
"State Preceptor! State Preceptor!"
The soldiers atop the wall had pulled back in time and had not been caught in Chen Xia's stomp. Now they stared ardently at his back and joined the shouting.
"General, we've won! The State Preceptor is incredible! Is this the mighty power of an immortal?!"
The woman likewise gazed ardently at the figure atop the ruined wall, her heart filled with indescribable excitement and admiration.
It was a transformation from despair to brimming hope.
All because of one person.
Perhaps this was the pinnacle of strength in the mortal world?
Chen Xia glanced several hundred meters to the left of the wall. Seeing Tiemuwu still fighting Zuo Feiyang and the old monk, he casually flicked his foot.
Whoosh!
A pebble from the ruins shot out at tremendous speed, instantly piercing Tiemuwu's left arm and knocking him down to one side.
Tiemuwu clenched his teeth and glared resentfully at Chen Xia, shouting angrily in broken Great Song speech.
"What skill is there in a sneak attack?!"
With an indifferent expression, Chen Xia brushed his sleeves and asked.
"Are you good at fighting?"
"Yes!" Tiemuwu roared furiously.
"Better than me?"
Tiemuwu did not answer, but continued glaring angrily at Chen Xia.
Zuo Feiyang and the old monk hurried back and respectfully cupped their fists toward Chen Xia. "Greetings, State Preceptor."
"Mm." Chen Xia gave a casual, perfunctory reply.
Neither Zuo Feiyang nor the old monk found anything inappropriate about it. Great Song had ten great experts, and the world had two immortals.
Though they were mentioned together, only the ten great experts themselves knew that the gap between them and the immortals was like that between heaven and earth.
Chen Xia casually wounding Tiemuwu was the best proof.
They even felt that Chen Xia had had no intention of killing Tiemuwu just now. Otherwise, Tiemuwu would already be dead.
Still gritting his teeth, Tiemuwu refused to show weakness before Chen Xia. "Despicable Song scum! If you've got the guts, wait another thirty years while I cultivate. I'll take your head then!"
Tiemuwu truly lived up to the temperament of the steppe barbarians. He did not understand how to show weakness at all, insisting on fighting to the death.
"You can't beat me now, and you're talking about thirty years from now?" Chen Xia laughed in amusement, then added his appraisal.
"A fine body paired with a dog's brain."
Tiemuwu gritted his teeth and smashed a fist hard into the ground, leaving an extremely deep fist imprint as he shouted furiously.
"You merely had the advantage of being born earlier, cultivating when heaven and earth's providence was at its fullest and obtaining fortuitous opportunities! In talent, I would crush you!"
"Just give me thirty years to reach another flourishing age of fortuitous opportunities and ascend to the pinnacle, and I will slay you!"
Chen Xia brought his hands together, bent backward, and stretched, looking utterly casual as he asked Tiemuwu an unrelated question.
"Here's a math problem for you. How old will you be in thirty years?"
Tiemuwu furrowed his brows and shouted at Chen Xia, "I'm only thirty now! In thirty years, I'll be just sixty! For a cultivator, that's still the prime of life, when martial prowess is at its peak!"
"You really do have a dog's brain. I wasn't wrong about that." Chen Xia laughed and answered.
"In thirty years, you'll certainly be thirty."
Tiemuwu froze, then quickly realized that Chen Xia meant to kill him. His eyes widened in fury, and he roared at Chen Xia.
"You're afraid! You're afraid you'll lose to me in thirty years?!"
"Mm." Chen Xia nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid of your dog brain that can't even do arithmetic. Satisfied? If you are, strike a better pose. You can smile and make a V sign. Make your corpse look a little nicer."
Tiemuwu gritted his teeth and roared furiously, "You coward! You don't even dare give me thirty years, yet you dare call yourself an immortal? Call yourself a chicken instead!"
Chen Xia remained indifferent and replied casually, "Keep barking, and I'll turn your corpse into a specimen."
Tiemuwu froze. Though he did not understand what a specimen was, he knew it certainly was not anything good, and angrily cursed again.
"Sneaky little bastard! Spineless coward!"
A sound suddenly came from the ruined wall.
Before Tiemuwu could see clearly, a large hand seized his face. Immense force surged through it, flinging him away.
His body scraped along the ground, plowing a hundred-meter furrow before he lay helplessly at its farthest edge. His bones were pulverized and his windpipe shattered. He could only make muffled noises.
"Can you still talk?" Chen Xia asked, having directly "muted" Tiemuwu.
He slowly walked toward Tiemuwu, saying, "I was going to give you a peaceful death. Who knew you could bark so much? Thirty years?"
"You could slay me if I gave you thirty years? Heh, don't make me laugh."
"Do you think I won't grow stronger?"
"Whether now or thirty years from now, you'll only ever be a defeated opponent I can casually pound to death."
"Besides, why should I give you thirty years? If you'd had a better attitude, knelt and begged me, and said a few nice words about sparring and exchanging pointers, perhaps I'd have been in a good mood and really given you thirty years."
"You even said you wanted to kill me. You really think you've lived too long."
"I am a nice person."
"But I'm not a pushover."
Chen Xia approached and casually picked up a sword a soldier had dropped, preparing to finish Tiemuwu with it.
Suddenly, fierce drumming sounded in the distance, and flames rose high.
A group of white-robed figures gathered around an altar, circling it and chanting loudly, their hands raised high with spiritual light shining above them. The Qi practitioner at their head roared toward the heavens.
"We beseech the upper sect to descend!"
The sky went dark.
Golden light emerged in the eyes of the dying Tiemuwu, and he rose into the air.
The ground within a hundred meters of him began to...
Shatter, piece by piece.