Chapter 14: Indifferent to Life and Death

Why would thirty million Great Qin soldiers fight to the death at the Northern Border Great Wall without retreating?

Why would those members of the imperial clan, who lack nothing in terms of wealth and glory, die in battle without regret?

Because behind them are their country and their people.

Perhaps in the eyes of those immortals and demons invading the lands of the Nine Provinces, these commoners are nothing more than ants.

But in the eyes of the Qin people, these are their comrades, their family.

As he moved forward, Zhang Yuan's mind gradually calmed.

In his mind, blood qi beads and comprehension beads shattered one after another.

Within his body, his meridians cracked inch by inch, unable to withstand the sudden surge of blood qi power.

Before his eyes, a continuous mountain range seemed to appear, and an old man in black armor swung a long saber, invoking the power of the mountains to move with the blade's edge.

After three steps, Zhang Yuan's strength reached 1,300 jin.

After five steps, his Mountain Saber Technique reached Great Completion.

After ten steps, all his accumulated blood qi and comprehension beads were exhausted; his cultivation reached the peak of the mid-stage Houtian Realm, and his martial technique, the Mountain Saber Technique, reached the Great Completion stage!

"Kill—!"

With a thunderous roar, Zhang Yuan stepped into the air, his figure rising ten feet high as he swung his saber downward with both hands.

Two shields rose ahead of him, and three long spears thrust toward him.

*Bang—!*

The long saber struck the shields, and the heavy wooden shields shattered instantly. The Yan soldier holding the shield was sent flying, crashing into the spearman, knocking him off course and causing the thrusting spear to veer aside.

One strike to split two shields—Zhang Yuan's blow possessed the strength of an ox!

As soon as the saber landed, Zhang Yuan took a step forward, meeting the two incoming spears with a diagonal slash.

The long saber gifted by Zhao Changming, the Deputy Commander of the Red Scale Army, was forged from refined steel, possessing a heavy body and a razor-sharp edge.

The two spears were severed. Zhang Yuan's body spun, and he pulled the saber across his waist, slicing through the midsection of the Yan soldier ahead. Blood sprayed as intestines spilled.

He stepped forward and flicked his blade.

The blade caught the armor of another Yan soldier who had failed to retreat, carving a line of blood.

Zhang Yuan released his grip on the saber, planted a foot against the hilt, and kicked it. The long saber plunged heavily into the chest and abdomen of the opposing Yan soldier, driving his body over thirty feet away until he was impaled against a linden tree two feet wide.

Having killed two men in succession, two blood beads condensed and shattered instantly.

A ripple of blood qi energy vibrated around Zhang Yuan.

He had stepped into the late stage of the Houtian Realm, his blood qi power exceeding 1,500 jin!

This breakthrough had been entirely without bottlenecks.

It seemed that the heat of life-and-death combat was indeed the best time to break through cultivation realms.

Within a military unit, a late-stage Houtian expert could command five hundred soldiers; in the martial world, a late-stage Houtian was already a rare master.

The Xiantian Realm was known in the martial world as "first-rate experts," the powerhouses who suppressed entire regions within various factions, while the late-stage Houtian were the most capable elites.

At this moment, Zhang Yuan cared nothing for the extent of his cultivation increase.

In the face of life and death, why care?

The saber left his hand; he took a step back and suddenly spun around.

He spun and raised his elbow.

Iron Armor Fist: Turning Elbow!

He concentrated the strength of his waist into a single elbow.

His fist technique, having reached the Great Perfection stage, exerted extreme concentrated force with every movement.

*Bang—!*

A soldier who had hastily raised a shield was crushed by this elbow; his shield shattered, and his body flew into a tree trunk ten feet away, snapping the trunk which was only as thick as a bowl.

It was visible to the naked eye that the soldier's spine had twisted and deformed; when he hit the ground, his internal organs were ruptured, and his breath had ceased.

"These Qin dogs are tough!"

"Retreat! Get the crossbows up!"

"Spread out! Don't let this guy get close!"

Zhang Yuan rushed forward a few steps, grabbed the hilt of the saber he had kicked earlier, and pulled it out as he moved.

He had just charged into the fray, catching the Yan army off guard.

Once the Yan army spread out and the crossbows were deployed, he would soon be turned into a pincushion.

Moving through the mountain forest, Zhang Yuan activated Chaos Combat Support, dodging incoming arrows by mere millimeters.

He only needed to stall these Yan soldiers long enough for the civilians and wounded soldiers to escape the city.

As he navigated the woods, his speed increased.

The blood qi power that had suddenly surged earlier was now beginning to adapt, transforming into his own speed and strength.

The initial explosion of blood qi that his meridians could not carry was now beginning to stabilize.

This was how a true late-stage Houtian martial artist should look.

With late-stage Houtian cultivation, the Great Perfection Cloak Saber Technique and Iron Armor Fist, plus the Great Completion Mountain Saber Technique, Zhang Yuan handled his pursuers with increasing composure.

Running forward, Zhang Yuan headed toward the edge of a cliff.

He intended to lure the pursuers onto a different path rather than letting them chase the civilians and the wounded.

"Boss Duan!"

After traveling several hundred yards, Zhang Yuan saw Duan Hong lying on the ground.

Duan Hong had a bloody wound across his waist and abdomen, his face pale as he leaned against a tree trunk.

Seeing Zhang Yuan, Duan Hong struggled to lift his head and grinned.

"Kid, you're not dead yet."

Zhang Yuan reached out, grabbed Duan Hong's arm, and turned to look at the Yan soldiers pursuing them from behind.

*Boom—!*

From the direction of the South City, a thunderous roar echoed.

The collision of Xiantian energy caused the surrounding clouds to churn.

Three streaks of Xiantian energy were moving rapidly toward the low forest.

"Yu Lin, you are strong, but the wounded you are escorting will not escape!"

Zhang Yuan looked up at the colliding energies.

Two Xiantian experts from the Yan army were intentionally moving toward the direction of the escaping civilians and wounded to lure Yu Lin away.

Using Chaos Combat Support, Zhang Yuan's eyes flickered with light and shadow as his gaze fixed on the rocky cliff to the right.

There, a shadow of deep crimson, almost black, flashed.

He was currently at the late Houtian stage; anyone capable of projecting a deep crimson-black shadow in his eyes was at least at the peak of the late Houtian stage.

A half-step Xiantian.

Those in the Xiantian Realm must temper their Xiantian True Essence; many experts reach the peak of the Houtian Realm and begin condensing essence, getting stuck at the half-step Xiantian stage.

While the strength of a half-step Xiantian expert cannot compare to a true Xiantian expert, they possess True Essence pillars and protective energy, allowing them to fight Xiantian experts, though their thin essence prevents them from long battles.

Those two Yan Xiantian experts were luring Yu Lin here, intending to use a half-step Xiantian expert to surround and kill him.

*Boom—!*

The collision of energy uprooted the shrubs in the low forest.

The Yan half-step Xiantian expert, hidden behind the rocky cliff, leaped out, thrusting a long sword toward Yu Lin's chest.

Yu Lin snorted coldly and swung his long saber horizontally to block the strike; the vibration of the blade forced him back several yards.

"Young Master Ouyang, be careful. Yu Lin is a renowned expert of the Red Scale Army. With him as your whetstone, you will surely step into the Xiantian Realm."

"Don't be in a hurry, Young Master Ouyang. Once we have worn down this fellow's True Essence, you can strike. This time, it will surely help you enter the Xiantian Realm."

The two Yan Xiantian experts remained expressionless as their energies intertwined, surrounding Yu Lin.

"Thank you, Uncles. Once we return to Great Yan, Ouyang Ming will certainly introduce you to my father," the sword-wielding youth said loudly, his face full of arrogance as he pointed his sword at Yu Lin.

The two Yan Xiantian experts smiled, forming a tripod with the youth, Ouyang Ming, while Yu Lin stood alone with his long saber, fighting three against one.

The Yan army had deployed two Xiantian experts and one half-step Xiantian to surround and kill the Red Scale Army Commander, Yu Lin!

It wasn't just a siege; they intended to use Yu Lin as a stepping stone for this "Young Master Ouyang" to temper himself and enter the Xiantian Realm.

In the distance, the sound of a bronze gong rang out from the city walls.

That was Zhao Changming, the Deputy Commander of the Red Scale Army, signaling Yu Lin.

If Yu Lin were overwhelmed, Zhao Changming would lead the remaining troops in the city to attempt a desperate rescue.

"Zhao Changming, defend Fengtian County to the death! No one is to leave the city!" Yu Lin's voice was filled with determination and resolve.

Perhaps he had known this situation would arise from the moment he left the city to engage the enemy.

If he did not fight the Yan experts, it would be impossible for the civilians and wounded to escape.

In the eyes of the Yan army, he, Yu Lin, was more important than all those wounded and civilians combined.

Zhang Yuan leaned against a two-foot-wide pine tree, his eyes fixed on the battle circle dozens of yards away.

The Yan soldiers who had been chasing him had already retreated when the Xiantian experts moved in this direction.

Zhang Yuan could not leave now even if he wanted to.

Any slight movement would be detected by the Xiantian experts.

Given the Yan army's methods, they would surely attempt to capture him and Duan Hong to distract Yu Lin.

"Since joining the Red Scale Army, I have fought a hundred battles. I long ago became indifferent to life and death."

Ahead, Yu Lin's voice rang out slowly as he gripped his long saber.

"I practice the Mountain Saber Technique, using the power of mountains as my foundation. My saber technique condenses immense force. Everyone, be careful!"

He wasn't warning the Yan Xiantian experts to be careful; he was warning Zhang Yuan to watch!

This might be the last time Yu Lin demonstrated the Mountain Saber Technique for Zhang Yuan to see!

Zhang Yuan pressed his hand against his own saber hilt, gritting his teeth, his eyes locked onto the blade in Yu Lin's hand.

*Hum—!*

The long saber vibrated, and Yu Lin's blade slashed out.

Mountain Saber Technique: Hidden Mountain Mist.

(End of Chapter)