The knight writhed and thrashed for about ten seconds, his legs kicking twice in succession, before falling completely still, faceup.
"Something's off," Wu Youren murmured at the sight. He flicked another small dagger straight into the man's eye socket.
The dagger sank in easily, leaving only a small portion of the hilt sticking out.
"Come on..." The Jin youth knitted his brows. "Tsk."
Wu Youren was truly puzzled. He waited silently for quite a while, then shook his head.
Could it be... possibly, perhaps, maybe... he'd killed the wrong guy?
He had gained a batch of experience points from the deaths of those two apprentice knights, even though he hadn't lifted a finger himself.
Just like with the old gardener's death, which had no direct connection to him either, it seemed all that mattered was that a causal link existed.
Yet this knight was unmistakably dead, and by his own hands no less, but... he hadn't gained a single point?
Earlier, he hadn't kept throwing daggers out of some sick desire to mutilate a corpse; it was because he hadn't received any experience points, which convinced him the man was merely playing dead.
Now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the man was dead as a doornail, yet he still felt no gains whatsoever.
So maybe the person he'd killed... really was an undercover agent from Jin!
As for how experience points were acquired, Wu Youren had already formed a hypothesis: they likely came from beings hostile to him.
Strictly speaking, from people or creatures belonging to an opposing faction; they didn't need to hold a personal grudge against him.
Before transmigrating, whenever the national soccer team played, he had always bet on their opponent to win. Originally he had done it just to vent his frustration, but unexpectedly, it had yielded quite a tidy profit.
Thus, he had some understanding of what it meant to be a "national destiny balancer."
Borrowing that logic, whenever an event benefited the national destiny of Great Jin and shared a causal link with him, he would reap experience points.
Wu Youren didn't dare call himself a child of destiny, but he was inclined to believe that national destiny genuinely existed.
In that case, mysteriously gaining experience points made complete sense!
Eliminating this knight had yielded nothing, proving that he might indeed have made a mistake.
So what if he had? The next instant, he cast that faint twinge of guilt straight out of his mind.
Even if the man truly had been a Jin spy, that didn't necessarily make him a suitable comrade-in-arms.
Logically speaking, the fellow hostages who had grown up alongside him should have been his most reliable companions.
Yet reality was what it was, so overthinking was pointless; striving to grow stronger was the only true path.
Earlier, this knight had adopted a preachy tone, and why? Simply because he was stronger.
Since the man had chosen to be an undercover agent, any outcome was par for the course... just as being a hostage meant he had to face every possibility head-on.
Wu Youren dwelt on the matter no longer. Walking out of the cave, he found a hollow not far away and set to work digging.
When burying the bodies, he deliberately mangled the various wounds—employing every concealment method he could think of.
The three men carried quite a few belongings with distinct identifying marks, almost all of which he buried alongside them.
These included, but were not limited to, biguijue, bladed weapons, tool kits, and wilderness survival gear...
Even so, he kept a refined short blade, some loose rations, and a few other items.
It was worth noting that he hadn't found any so-called poison among their gear.
Therefore, that earlier threat about "releasing poison gas" had been nothing more than an offhand bluff.
That being the case, the other information the trio had spouted might not have been entirely true either—such as their claim of belonging to the Military Intelligence Bureau.
None of that mattered anymore, though. Once the dirt was filled in, it was as if the three had never crossed paths with him at all.
To sever all ties completely, he had to relocate. Fortunately, rain was still falling, and the Guizu aura was noticeably thinner than the day before.
Weighing himself down with bags and bundles, Wu Youren traveled more than two kilometers from the cave.
Choosing a recessed spot, he quickly excavated a cat-ear dugout with a bend.
By the time he finished, afternoon had already arrived. After disguising the cat-ear dugout, he geared up fully and went out to hunt.
He wanted to try bagging some game for food, and if conditions permitted, see if he could slay any stray Guizu.
Anyone who had ever hunted knew that wild animals were not found everywhere; tracking down prey was always the most time-consuming part of the hunt.
Wu Youren searched for nearly two hours without spotting a single animal, let alone one that looked corrupted by Guizu aura.
He did run into a few lone Guizu, but clouds of Guizu aura hovered nearby, making it imprudent to strike.
In the middle of his search, a faint rumble suddenly echoed, and the earth seemed to quiver slightly beneath his feet.
Identifying the source of the noise, he was instantly taken aback: it was actually coming from deep within the mountains!
And faintly, it sounded quite close to where he had once patrolled.
Could it be...? He wasn't sure of his guess, but forget it—it was in the past, so why dwell on it?
The rumbling persisted for nearly half a minute. Even the clouds of Guizu aura were drawn toward the disturbance, churning slightly in unrest.
Soon after, streams of Guizu aura drifted toward the mountains.
Wu Youren watched these changes unfold, feeling a touch anxious: *Why haven't I found a single decent piece of game yet?*
Though he had scavenged some rations during the night, they would only last him two days or so.
Fortunately, an hour later, he made a new discovery: as a plume of Guizu aura drifted toward the mountains, a wisp trailed behind.
In short, this had to be a Guizu that had fallen behind the main force.
Although he sensed it hadn't reached knight rank, a straggler was still prime prey.
Wu Youren didn't consider himself in any position to be picky.
What he needed to do now was keep a low profile and build up his strength, gathering every scrap of experience points he could get.
Wary that the Guizu's death throes might attract others, he intentionally waited a bit longer.
Once the surrounding Guizu aura had drifted sufficiently far away, he struck without making a sound.
He unleashed three vicious slashes right off the bat; before the Guizu could even react, it dissolved into nothingness.
Another wave of experience points secured!
Wu Youren savored the sensation, simultaneously checking his true qi to see if the energy he'd expended had paid for itself.
Warfare was a contest of comprehensive national power, and cultivation worked the same way: one should avoid loss-making battles whenever possible.
Fortunately, just as he expected, he hadn't taken a loss; his yield ratio exceeded tenfold.
He hadn't calculated it in such fine detail before because back then, slaying Guizu hadn't involved only his personal causality.
Naturally, the experience points—or rather, the acquired fortune—would have been diluted by others.
This time, he had made a solo kill with no one around, giving him ample time to reflect and analyze.
Yet right as he was silently analyzing, a voice suddenly drifted over: "Nice bladecraft!"
*Holy crap...* Wu Youren was genuinely startled. "A grand knight?"
With his current perception, an ordinary knight couldn't possibly have approached without him noticing in the slightest.
The next moment, two figures appeared. "Military scouts. Are you a student of Red Pine?"
Between the two, one was a knight, while the other was merely an apprentice knight.
Wu Youren thought it over for a brief second and realized that his failure to detect them had little to do with their cultivation rank.
Rather, they were also exploring a zone overrun with Guizu aura, so they naturally concealed their presence with utmost care.
They were military elites to begin with, and scouts tasked with intelligence gathering at that—how could their stealth skills possibly be lacking?
Even so, the words "military scouts" triggered a mild reaction in him... the previous duo hadn't exactly left him with a glowing impression.
Naturally, he didn't show it, merely nodding slightly. "I'm from Red Pine, on a patrol mission."
"Forget patrol duty," the apprentice knight said, remarkably blunt. "You're being requisitioned."
Evidently aware that his procedure was flawed, he added, "Your bladecraft just now was exceptionally efficient at killing Guizu."
*That's hardly a reason to requisition me, is it?* Wu Youren was somewhat speechless.
He gave a slight nod. "Then I must ask my instructor first. Otherwise, I cannot bear the responsibility."
Just as the apprentice knight was about to say more, the knight spoke up: "Forget it, don't force him. Saving lives comes first!"
In the next instant, the two vanished into the drizzle.
Wu Youren was a little bewildered. "Saving lives... who are they saving?"
"Saving the military's finest," another voice chimed in, completely catching him off guard.
This time, however, it was a genuine grand knight—before the person even showed himself, his intent had already arrived. "Your battle qi is rather unusual."
Evidently, he had witnessed Wu Youren's solo kill of the Guizu and sensed something out of the ordinary.
"Military elites?" Wu Youren nodded slightly, his expression flat. *What does the military have to do with my Martial Academy?*
A moment later, another silhouette flickered into view: a burly man.
He was armed to the teeth, bristling with both melee and firearm weaponry, and was even carrying a heavy machine gun on his back alongside three large packs.
Yet strangely enough, his footprints on the ground were barely indented.
He sized up the Jin youth. "What cultivation method do you practice?"
Wu Youren remained silent. Wild Gale was a quintessential Jin cultivation method; if this grand knight felt murderous intent, Wu Youren wouldn't even stand a chance of fleeing.
Seeing his silence, the burly man assumed he was afraid someone would covet his technique.
He gave a dismissive smirk. "Fine. Your method will be useful to us. You're requisitioned; I'll inform your instructor later."
"Who thinks they can requisition a student from Red Pine?" another voice rang out, this time a woman's with a slightly raspy, smoky quality.
Directly afterward, another figure appeared—none other than Chief Instructor Hong Yan.
This time she wasn't riding her motorcycle, and while she carried quite a bit of gear on her back, compared to the burly man, she was traveling light.
Upon appearing, she glanced at Wu Youren and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you... Aren't you with what's-his-name?"
There were far too many instructors at the Martial Academy; she couldn't keep track of everyone's exact whereabouts.
"Greetings, Hong Da," Wu Youren replied respectfully. "It is Instructor Keli."
Instructor Hong paid him no further mind and looked at the burly man instead. "This student cannot be requisitioned."
Others might not know the boy's identity, but how could she not?
The military requisitioning a Jin hostage for combat—are you trying to make us an international laughingstock?
"With Keli?" The burly man was momentarily taken aback.
Given his standing, he wouldn't normally know many Red Pine instructors, but Keli was an exception.
Not many Red Pine knights had joined the front-line battle, and that man had pushed right to the vanguard alongside the military's logistics department.
Chapter 72