“Men, with me—kill!”
From amid the shattered wreckage of the carriage, Wu Kuang, fully armored, let out a fierce shout and leapt forth. Like a猛 tiger bursting from its cage, he charged straight into the dense forest!
“Kill—!”
Chen Sheng had already cast aside his shield. With a reverse grip, he drew the treasured saber “Shehan.”
Where the blade pointed, the elite soldiers around him, who had been in disarray, quickly steadied their formation and roared as they charged forward with him.
This time, Chen Sheng no longer hid his strength. With Huang Ren dead, he no longer had any rivals, but he still needed military merit to pave the way for his future promotion.
And with Commandant Nie personally overseeing the ambush, in his eyes, their chances of victory in this battle were extremely high.
“We’ve fallen for it! It’s an ambush! Retreat, quickly!”
Deep within the forest, the sounds of thunderous clashes rang out without end. Clearly, Nie Yuanliu had already set his sights on the bandit leader. After only a few exchanges, that burly leader cried out in terror, utterly suppressed, and could only hastily order a retreat.
But with Nie Yuanliu having planned everything so carefully, how could he allow them to escape?
The dozens of elite government troops who had recovered their senses would give them no such chance either.
Chen Sheng fully revealed his fierce and valiant side. After several days of bitter cultivation, both his saber technique and cultivation had advanced further.
Though it was only a basic saber art honed through killing on the battlefield, it was exceptionally suited to actual combat. Chopping, hacking, slashing, sweeping upward—simple, direct, without the slightest flourish. Every strike was aimed at taking a life, its efficiency extremely high.
Ordinary rebels could not last even a single exchange under his hand. Even the minor leaders among the rebel forces were far from his match.
The treasured saber “Shehan” was incomparably sharp, often cutting through an opponent’s weapon with ease. Then, with a flash of saber light, a head would fall to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the forest descended into a melee.
But relying on their prior preparations and Nie Yuanliu’s terrifying strength, the government troops swiftly gained an absolute advantage. Xiantian true qi swept through everything in its path; aside from the bandit leader, no one could withstand even one exchange from him.
The rebels soon showed signs of total collapse.
Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang led the left and right respectively, pursuing them from behind and constantly cutting off their routes of retreat. Seeing that escape was hopeless, an ugly man with a face covered in hideous scars suddenly leapt out from among the rebels, intending to hold the rear. He blocked Chen Sheng, who was charging at the very front, with desperate determination.
He held a heavy nine-ring broadsaber, savage light bursting from his eyes, even carrying a trace of madness. With a roar, he lunged at Chen Sheng. The wind from his blade howled, powerful and heavy, and he actually managed to halt Chen Sheng’s assault.
“Clang—!”
Metal rang against metal, sparks scattering in all directions!
This time, the treasured saber “Shehan” actually failed to cut through the nine-ring saber in one stroke. It only left a fine notch in the blade, showing that while the opponent’s weapon was no treasured armament, its material was nevertheless extremely tough.
What made Chen Sheng’s heart tighten even more was the man’s berserk strength. It faintly surpassed his own; in the hard clash, his arm was jarred slightly numb, forcing him half a step back.
Middle-stage Foundation Establishment, a Bone Tempering realm martial master!
Ever since Chen Sheng began cultivating the Golden Bell Body-Tempering Art, his strength had long since far surpassed others of the same level. He could lift a seven-hundred-jin stone lock. Yet now he was being suppressed in raw power, which showed just how strong his opponent was.
Knowing he had encountered a formidable enemy, Chen Sheng’s gaze abruptly sharpened, and he did not dare be the slightest bit careless.
His saber momentum suddenly changed, turning hardness into finesse. The simple variations within his basic saber art came readily to hand—chopping or sweeping upward, sweeping across or parrying. Every move was steady, his defense so tight that not even wind could pass through.
Though the scar-faced man’s strength was violent, his speed was not slow either. The heavy broadsaber spun like a blur in his hands, and he could actually keep up with the speed of Chen Sheng’s changes.
“Clang!”
“Bang!”
“Clash!”
In the space of a spark, the two had already exchanged more than a dozen moves.
Saber light whirled chaotically, and streams of force spilled in every direction, turning the area several zhang around them into a forbidden zone of death. The surrounding soldiers all dared not rush forward rashly, fearing they might interfere with Chen Sheng.
Under the opponent’s storm-like assault, although Chen Sheng appeared slightly passive, his footing never fell into disorder. He steadily received each and every lethal attack.
After the stalemate lasted for several dozen breaths, Chen Sheng keenly sensed that his opponent’s strength and speed were rapidly declining. His offensive was no longer as frenzied and fierce as before.
A chance!
A cold gleam flashed in Chen Sheng’s eyes. How could he let such a fine opportunity slip by? Seizing upon an obvious flaw in his opponent’s movements, his saber swung out and deftly knocked aside the incoming nine-ring broadsaber, leaving the man’s chest wide open!
In the next instant, the qi and blood throughout Chen Sheng’s body surged with a thunderous roar, pouring without reservation into the “Shehan” saber!
A black, cold gleam shot out like a venomous snake leaving its cave, flashing past in an instant!
“Puchi—!”
The muffled sound of a sharp weapon tearing through flesh and bone rang out.
The scar-faced man’s movements suddenly froze. The madness in his eyes was swiftly replaced by terror and disbelief. From his left shoulder down to his chest, he had nearly been split open diagonally by that single stroke!
He did not even manage to let out a scream before he toppled heavily onto his back. Blood instantly dyed the withered leaves beneath him red.
Chen Sheng slowly withdrew his saber, his chest rising and falling as he let out a long breath of turbid air.
Though this bout of killing had been short, it had been exceptionally dangerous. It could be considered the strongest enemy he had encountered so far. If not for his solid foundation, practiced saber technique, and sharp weapon in hand, he likely would not have been able to take the man down.
“Your saber foundation is solid, and your ability to adapt in battle is not bad.”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the side.
Chen Sheng looked toward the sound and saw that Wu Kuang had, at some unknown point, leaned against a large tree not far away. His arms were folded as he watched the fight, a trace of astonishment and approval on his face.
“Commander!”
Chen Sheng hurriedly cupped his hands.
Wu Kuang nodded slightly. His gaze swept over the mangled corpse on the ground, then looked Chen Sheng up and down before he said, “Your actual combat strength is already no weaker than an ordinary Bone Tempering realm martial artist.”
“This man was actually a Bone Tempering martial master?”
Chen Sheng feigned surprise as he looked at the corpse.
“Not necessarily.”
Wu Kuang shook his head. “Judging from how his strength failed at the end and how his qi and blood were unsteady, he most likely took some fierce medicine like a ‘Violent Blood Pill’ to forcibly stimulate his potential, giving him strength comparable to the Bone Tempering realm for a short time. In truth, calling him a pseudo-Bone Tempering martial artist would not be excessive.”
In fact, he had already been watching from the side for quite some time. He had arrived as soon as Chen Sheng and the other man fell into a stalemate.
But he saw that Chen Sheng was gradually taking control of the rhythm, so he did not intervene. This sort of evenly matched life-and-death battle was the best tempering for a person. Since the overall situation had already been decided, he was happy to let Chen Sheng use this opportunity to refine himself.
“So that’s how it is.”
Chen Sheng came to a realization. Naturally, he had heard of the “Violent Blood Pill.” The army also kept a supply of them, used only to stake one’s life in desperate situations. Though taking one allowed for a brief eruption of power, the price was extremely great, and it could easily damage one’s foundation. Ordinary people would never use it lightly.
“Is the battle over?” Chen Sheng changed the subject and asked.
“The remaining bandits are being cleared out. Not many will escape. Commandant Nie personally went after that bandit leader...” Before Wu Kuang could finish speaking, a sharp, urgent whistling suddenly tore through the air from the distance!
The two of them looked up at the same time—
They saw a figure in black armor rushing over from deep within the forest, his form graceful and swift as lightning. Each time the tip of his foot lightly tapped a branch or leaf, he swept several zhang forward as though treading on level ground, almost as if he were crossing the void. In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived before them!
It was none other than Nie Yuanliu.
At this moment, he held his spear in his right hand, the blood on its tip not yet dry. In his left hand, he carried a bundle soaked through with fresh blood. What was inside it no longer needed to be said.