"These villages and fields have all fallen into desolation."
"Better to be a dog in a time of peace than a person in an age of chaos. Ordinary folk suffer too much living in turbulent times."
As he walked along, many of the villages along the way were already deserted.
The fields were overgrown with wild grass, completely abandoned.
"Huh? People are still living over there."
After traveling about five li, Lin Zheyu finally spotted signs of life.
It was a village cluster composed of large quadrangle compounds. The houses were built from a mixture of mud brick, sand, and stone, erected into towering, castle-like courtyards.
The layout of these buildings was exceptionally ingenious, serving perfectly as defensive strongholds during times of war.
*This must be the Ma Family Village Xie Jiang mentioned!* Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
In Ma Family Village, every single person practiced martial arts, making their living mainly through blacksmithing and hunting.
It was a powerful village where everyone practiced martial arts, from eighty-year-old elders down to babbling toddlers.
Moreover, Ma Family Village was exceptionally united, boasting numerous skilled fighters.
Lin Zheyu looked from a distance. Outside the village, several men were on patrol, though their clothes were somewhat worn and patched.
Even though the village had survived, life was not easy for them either.
Outside Songyi City, quite a few large villages had managed to survive; Lin Zheyu had seen three of them along the way.
He had even spotted Viscera Tempering Realm experts among those patrolling.
He continued forward.
Lin Zheyu did not take the main thoroughfare, deliberately choosing secluded, rugged trails instead.
After traveling roughly another two li, he stopped in a secluded, dense forest.
He took off the outer coat that bore the tracker's mark, tossed it into the bushes nearby, and darted into the thicket on the opposite side to hide.
...
Outside Songyi City, a group of riders galloped swiftly across the terrain.
After riding for three li, they halted.
The middle-aged man beside Xing Jinglong produced a wind-chasing gray ferret. The creature sniffed the air, squeaked, and flailed its paws eagerly to bound forward.
"Young Master, he's just ahead," the middle-aged man said.
"After him!"
"Let's see if you can escape my grasp this time!" Xing Jinglong sneered.
This time, he had brought along two Viscera Tempering Realm experts, both possessing remarkable attainments in qinggong.
Beyond these two experts, he had also requested ten elite soldiers from Xing Penghai.
With such thorough preparation, he refused to believe that Lin Zheyu, a mere Bone Tempering Realm martial artist, could slip through his fingers again.
*Clatter, clatter.*
*Clatter, clatter, clatter.*
The clatter of hooves rang out, kicking up trails of dust.
...
Within the secluded mountain woods.
The wilderness was full of deserted mountains and forests. As long as one was not near the main thoroughfares, it was rare to encounter bandits.
Lin Zheyu had crouched in the grass for nearly half an hour. The surroundings were silent, with only the occasional wild beast passing by.
*Clatter, clatter.*
*Clatter, clatter, clatter.*
The sound of galloping hooves approached from afar.
In the distance, the faint neighing of horses could be heard, along with the rhythmic vibrations of thudding hooves.
*They're here!*
His expression shifted. He circulated the Turtle Breathing Art with full force, suppressing his aura lower and lower until it became virtually imperceptible.
Leaping into a tree, he looked out at the group rushing toward him in the distance.
Leading the pack was the very man Lin Zheyu had crossed paths with several times—Xing Jinglong.
*It really is you!* Lin Zheyu thought.
Counting their numbers, there were twenty people in all.
Ten wore the armor of the City Guard, soldiers Xing Jinglong had requisitioned from Xing Penghai.
The rest consisted of two Viscera Tempering Realm experts, seven members of the Wuding Gang, plus a wind-chasing gray ferret.
*Their overall strength isn't that formidable. I can handle this.*
Lin Zheyu concealed his figure, held his breath, and brought his qi and blood to their lowest ebb.
...
Following the wind-chasing gray ferret, Xing Jinglong's group forged ahead and charged into the dense forest.
*Squeak, squeak!*
The wind-chasing gray ferret chattered excitedly and dashed ahead, unable to contain itself.
"Keep up!"
"Uncle Zhao, Qiao Quan, keep your eyes peeled. The kid's qinggong is quite decent; don't let him slip away," Xing Jinglong said in a low voice.
With a wave of his hand, the men behind him advanced swiftly in an encircling formation.
"Rest assured, Young Master Xing. He's merely a Bone Tempering Realm brat. No matter how formidable his qinggong is, he won't escape the palms of our hands," said an elderly man of around fifty with a rather long face.
His name was Zhao Wude, yet he possessed not a shred of martial virtue.
Relying on his exceptional qinggong, he never engaged opponents head-on, excelling instead in light-body techniques, hidden weapons, and poison.
"Young Master Xing, Old Zhao alone would have been enough for this. Why bother calling on me as well?" Qiao Quan remarked casually beside Xing Jinglong, as if taking a leisurely stroll.
Though he seemed unhurried, his speed kept pace effortlessly with Xing Jinglong's, guarding him in secret.
"That kid is slippery; he's gotten away several times," Xing Jinglong said. "Bringing both seniors along this time is to ensure he won't escape again."
Both Zhao Wude and Qiao Quan were subordinates of his father and had served the Xing clan for many years.
The wind-chasing gray ferret was extremely swift, darting through the mountain woods.
Had the middle-aged man not called out from time to time to make it stop and wait, Xing Jinglong and the others would have lost track of it.
"Young Master, be careful. This place is isolated, and Lin Zheyu fleeing here is rather odd. There might be an ambush!" warned a veteran behind Xing Jinglong.
As City Guard soldiers who frequently went out to battle bandits, their martial prowess and practical experience were both top-notch.
"Rest easy. There are tracks of only one person here."
"What waves can a Bone Tempering Realm runt possibly kick up?" Zhao Wude remarked, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the surroundings.
Ever since entering the woods, he had been observing closely.
Having wandered the jianghu for decades, he possessed vast experience and quickly determined that only a single person had passed this way.
Hardly anyone ever set foot here; no matter how carefully one covered their tracks, traces would inevitably remain.
"Young Master, he's just up ahead."
The wind-chasing gray ferret scurried back onto the middle-aged man, squeaking and gesturing toward the thicket ahead with its paws.
"Wait a moment, Young Master. I'll go check first," Zhao Wude said.
Skilled in hidden weapons and poison, he knew such tricks intimately and wanted to test the waters to see if there were any traps or ambushes.
"Soldiers, form up and stay alert," Qiao Quan ordered.
Gripping the short saber in his hand, he surveyed the surroundings, inwardly vigilant.
Although he did not believe a Bone Tempering Realm martial artist could stir up much trouble, as a veteran soldier he understood well that even when hunting a rabbit, a lion must exert its full strength.
Zhao Wude stepped into the thicket, his expression cautious.
As an expert in poisons, he knew of many toxins capable of incapacitating even Qi and Blood Realm martial artists. He did not let his guard down simply because his target was a Bone Tempering Realm junior.
Parting the weeds with care, he found a piece of clothing bearing the scent of white zinc powder lying on the ground.
Aside from the garment, there was nothing unusual in the area.
He sniffed the air; there was no odor of poisons or numbing powders either.
The target's trail ended right here.
No scent of blood, no signs of a struggle.
*Something's wrong!*
A sharp jolt of alarm surged through Zhao Wude's heart. An extraordinary instinct honed through numerous brush-with-death escapes screamed that danger lurked right here.
Without a second thought, the muscles in his legs bulged as he threw his body backward in retreat.
Yet it was already too late.
From behind an adjacent tree trunk, a figure darted out violently. Howling gale-force winds accompanied a whip-like kick aimed straight at him.
*Not good!*
Zhao Wude recoiled in fright and moved to scatter the poisonous powder he had prepped in his hand.
Yet the assailant was fast—startlingly fast.
Before the poisonous powder could be hurled, the whip kick slammed against his head.
A horrifying force crashed into him. Zhao Wude's head buzzed as his brains were jarred into mush, his vision blurring while blood sprayed from his nostrils.
*Boom!*
Zhao Wude was sent flying backward, slamming into a tree with cracking snaps as multiple bones shattered throughout his body.
"Old Zhao!"
"Damn it, form the battle array!" Qiao Quan shouted.
Everything had happened too fast, so fast that he hadn't even had time to react.
The moment his shout rang out, the ten well-prepared elite soldiers swiftly formed a miniature battle array.
The instant the battle array took shape, the soldiers' essence, qi, and spirit linked as one. A special energy surged from them and coalesced onto Qiao Quan.
Entering his body, this energy substituted for the function of qi and blood, serving as a reserve power source.
Qiao Quan's aura climbed rapidly, soon breaching the threshold of the Qi and Blood Realm, though only barely crossing into it.
Lin Zheyu glanced at Qiao Quan, grinned, and charged toward the dying Zhao Wude.
With a wet squelch, a flash of silver saber light flickered, and Zhao Wude's head slid from his neck.
Blood spurted everywhere.
"Young Master, run! I'll hold him off!"
"This guy is extremely strong—he might have reached the Qi and Blood Realm!" Qiao Quan yelled at the top of his lungs.
The masked man before him was terrifyingly powerful; even bolstered by the battle array, Qiao Quan had no confidence in handling him.
*Squeak, squeak!*
Right then, the wind-chasing gray ferret burst from the grass and leaped into the middle-aged man's arms.
Squeaking frantically, the ferret extended its claws and flailed them toward Lin Zheyu.
"Young Master, this man is Lin Zheyu!" the middle-aged man blurted out.
"Lin Zheyu?!"
"How is that possible? He's only at the Bone Tempering Realm! How could he kill Uncle Zhao?!"
Xing Jinglong was thoroughly shocked, disbelief filling his eyes.
Everything had happened so fast that Zhao Wude was dead before he could even process it—slain with a single strike by Lin Zheyu.
Zhao Wude had been at the peak of the Viscera Tempering Realm, merely a hair's breadth from breaking through to the Qi and Blood Realm!
*It can even detect that?*
*Is there still some residual scent clinging to me?*
Lin Zheyu was surprised, but now that he had been exposed, there was no need to remain covert.
The twenty pursuers were not particularly strong; dealing with them would be simple.
Every one of them who saw his face would have to die today!
"Young Master Xing, what a coincidence to meet you here," Lin Zheyu said with a half-smile as he pulled down his cloth mask.
The blade in his hand reflected a chilling, terrifying gleam.
"It really is you!"
"How is this possible? You're only in the Bone Tempering Realm! Even if you're a genius, how long have you even been cultivating? How could you possess this kind of strength?!" Xing Jinglong stared in utter disbelief at the familiar face before him.
"Young Master, run!"
"Mount your horse and head back! As long as you reach Songyi City, you'll be safe!" Qiao Quan, watching Lin Zheyu with extreme wariness, shouted urgently when he saw Xing Jinglong frozen in place.
Yet Xing Jinglong did not budge, staring blankly at Lin Zheyu as if possessed.
The Qi and Blood Realm... this guy was in the Qi and Blood Realm!
"A battle array truly is miraculous!" Lin Zheyu remarked admiringly as he looked at Qiao Quan, sensing the Qi and Blood Realm aura radiating from him.
From the very start, his attention had been on Qiao Quan and the ten soldiers behind him.
Had he wished, he could have disposed of Qiao Quan before the man even had time to react.
Yet Lin Zheyu had refrained.
He wanted to see just how formidable a battle array was.
Senior Martial Brother Han Mo had told him before that if given a hundred elite soldiers, he could effortlessly crush a Qi and Blood Realm martial artist, and would even dare to clash with a Marrow Tempering Realm expert.
However, that was with a hundred elite soldiers.
The battle array before him, formed by merely ten elite soldiers, could at best handle martial artists below the Qi and Blood Realm; before a true Qi and Blood Realm expert, it was far from enough.
*So that's how it works.*
*By using the battle array to link the soldiers' essence, qi, and spirit into a single whole, that essence, qi, and spirit merges with the soldiers' murderous aura to condense into a unique energy.*
*Using the battle array as a conduit, this energy pours into the leading commander's body, substituting for the function of qi and blood and granting the commander the equivalent of Qi and Blood Realm strength.*
*Remarkable, truly remarkable.*
The more Lin Zheyu observed, the more amazed he grew.
Still, he had yet to figure out exactly how the battle array connected the soldiers' essence, qi, and spirit with their murderous aura to condense into that peculiar energy in the first place.
Chapter 52