"Phew..."
Within the domain of his Wind of Perception Conception, Lu Changsheng "saw" with his own eyes You Shifei and the others annihilate a squad of northern barbarians.
A faint smile touched Lu Changsheng's lips.
"Not bad. Looks like it worked!"
As long as the distance was not too great, Lu Changsheng could clearly perceive everything that happened.
*Whoosh.*
Just then, You Shifei and the others returned.
"Hahaha, that was truly exhilarating!"
"Indeed. With Brother Dao guiding us, we just pounce right on them and strike. Quick, precise, and ruthless—a fatal blow every time!"
"When have we ever had it so smooth? No wandering in circles across the grasslands, no worrying about failing to find our enemies. We just go all out, finish them in two or three moves, and immediately pull back."
"Slaying a man every ten paces, leaving no trace across a thousand li. This feeling is simply magnificent, and the credit for all of it belongs to Brother Dao."
All four men wore broad smiles.
After this first outing, none of them harbored the slightest doubt about Dao Twelve anymore.
However, Lu Changsheng's expression grew solemn, and he said in a low voice, "Though you performed well, this alone is not enough. Or rather, it is not good enough. We shouldn't need even a single breath to wipe out a northern barbarian squad."
"For instance, Tie Yuan, the time you take to assemble your greatspear can be shortened; there is no need to piece it together so leisurely."
"And Tong Xuan, your fist techniques could be even more ferocious, giving your opponent not the slightest opening."
"If everyone irons out these details and pursues pure killing efficiency, we can easily cut our strike time in half when eliminating a squad."
"The shorter the time, the less room there is for unexpected variables."
The four fell into deep thought.
It was true. Because it was their first operation together, they had indeed indulged in showing off their skills a bit.
Yet thinking it over now, that was utterly unnecessary.
The goal was simply to kill as fast as possible.
Wipe out the squad and retreat at once.
Even if other northern barbarians noticed anything, they would have long since slipped away without a trace. Where would anyone go to chase them?
Operating this way would make the squad far safer.
"Is everyone having any trouble moving while carrying the severed heads?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"None at all, of course."
In truth, lugging severed heads around was somewhat inconvenient.
Still, it was no real issue. Before each strike, the heads would be left with Lu Changsheng for safekeeping. Otherwise, the blood dripping from the heads might give away their movements during an ambush.
Details determined success or failure, and Lu Changsheng naturally paid close attention to such subtleties.
After resting for a brief moment, the group set out once more.
Lu Changsheng released his Wind of Perception Conception again.
He discovered that the more frequently he unleashed it, the deeper his comprehension of the Wind of Perception Conception grew, allowing it to advance even faster.
As Lu Changsheng walked, he carefully picked their targets.
"This squad is too weak, with only three Divine Strength Realm martial artists. Not worth our effort."
"This squad is rather cautious and tightly guarded. At the first sign of trouble, they will scatter in all directions, making them hard to catch in one net."
"Oh? This squad looks quite good, and they carry themselves with clear confidence. They must be certain of their own strength. There might even be an expert from the Divine Strength Ranking among them."
Lu Changsheng selected a group.
"Seven li to the southeast, a northern barbarian squad of four Divine Strength Realm martial artists. It is very likely that a ranked warrior is among them. Therefore, if we don't strike, so be it, but once we move, we must crush them with thunderous momentum!"
Lu Changsheng gave them a meticulous warning.
"We'll stay sharp. Move out!"
You Shifei and the others departed once more.
This time, however, they were thoroughly prepared.
***
Meanwhile, in the northern barbarian squad.
Wei Hu, ranked ninety-third on the Divine Strength Ranking, sat boldly on the ground with broad-legged confidence.
This squad had been formed around him as its core.
Wei Hu possessed formidable strength; securing a spot among the top hundred of the Divine Strength Ranking was by no means a fluke.
During his long tenure on the Northern Region Battlefield, he had suffered virtually no defeats.
There were a hundred places on the Divine Strength Ranking. While a hundred might sound like a large number, when placed against the tens of thousands of martial artists out there, it was practically insignificant.
Many warriors spent long stretches on the Northern Region Battlefield without ever crossing paths with anyone on the ranking.
Consequently, the squad built around Wei Hu was extraordinarily powerful. Almost every time they encountered a squad from the Great Fish Dynasty, they achieved total victory and slaughtered their foes.
At this moment, Wei Hu sat cross-legged on the ground, quietly resting with his eyes closed to conserve his energy.
His teammates maintained vigilance along the perimeter.
*Lately, the clashes on the Northern Region Battlefield have grown increasingly fierce. My teammates' strength falls somewhat short; should I replace them, or even form a new team with martial artists of equal strength?*
Wei Hu was privately weighing the pros and cons.
With a team centered around him, he always took the lion's share of the spoils from every kill.
Yet if he sought out peers of equal standing to form a squad, he would no longer be able to claim the largest cut.
Doing so would certainly make things much safer, but he would also lose out on a great deal of the harvest.
Just as Wei Hu was still turning the matter over in his mind...
Suddenly, he sensed something.
"Not good!"
A jolt of alarm ran through Wei Hu. Just as he attempted to move, a terrifying martial conception instantly suppressed him.
The martial conception descended, and a powerful warrior slashed straight toward him with a saber.
At first, the blade seemed far away.
Yet in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of his face.
Against an ordinary saber technique, Wei Hu could have easily withstood it.
But this was no ordinary saber technique.
This single strike filled Wei Hu with the distinct sensation that he was about to be torn to shreds.
Wei Hu's eyes went wide.
He caught sight of his assailant.
"The Lone Wanderer, You Shifei..."
Wei Hu stared in utter disbelief. He could not fathom how the Lone Wanderer, You Shifei—a martial artist ranked eighteenth on the Divine Strength Ranking—could have actually teamed up with anyone.
What was worse, his opening attack was a fatal strike that left Wei Hu completely powerless to retaliate.
*Spurt.*
Wei Hu's head was severed and dropped to the ground, his consciousness instantly plunging into darkness.
Dead.
Wei Hu had failed to hold out for even a single split second before falling to You Shifei's single slash.
"Mm? This fellow seems to have been a big fish—Wei Hu? Ranked ninety-third on the Divine Strength Ranking. He truly was a big fish, a warrior on the ranking!"
You Shifei's eyes lit up with excitement.
Among the four enemy martial artists, only Wei Hu had posed any real difficulty, and You Shifei had dispatched him with a single stroke. The rest had all been slain in the very first clash.
The total time the four spent annihilating the squad amounted to a mere half a breath.
"Go!"
The four swiftly withdrew, vanishing from sight in the span of a breath.
When they rendezvoused with Lu Changsheng, four more heads were in their hands.
"Brother Dao, we took down Wei Hu this time. He alone is worth a thousand minor merits!" You Shifei said with a grin.
Martial artists on the Divine Strength Ranking held immense value.
Those from fifty-first to one hundredth place were worth one thousand minor merits each.
Those beyond the top hundred were worth only three hundred minor merits, or even less.
This showed just how massive the disparity was.
Of course, earning a place on the Divine Strength Ranking was proof enough of one's might.
Slaying a ranked warrior was ordinarily exceedingly difficult.
Yet now, in only their second strike since assembling the squad, You Shifei and the others had successfully slain an expert from the ranking.
It had gone remarkably smoothly.
"Not bad. Let's call it a day."
"Nine heads in total will be enough to exchange for a substantial amount of merits. Let's see how much we end up with, and have the Martial Demonstration Tower divide it evenly among us."
"Let's head back."
With that, Lu Changsheng led the group back toward Beiling City.
***
Inside Beiling City, the moment Lu Changsheng and his companions entered, countless gazes immediately locked onto the five of them.
Dao Twelve, You Shifei, Yang Zhen, Tong Xuan, and Tie Yuan.
Which among these five was not illustrious?
Every single one was a renowned expert on the Divine Strength Ranking.
"Isn't that Dao Twelve?"
"Not just Dao Twelve—look, You Shifei and the others are with him! I heard Dao Twelve was personally recruiting warriors to form a squad; could this be it?"
"Incredible! You Shifei, Yang Zhen, Tong Xuan, Tie Yuan... all of them are top-fifty powerhouses on the Divine Strength Ranking! In terms of pure strength, wouldn't Dao Twelve actually be the weakest among them?"
"Wait, the heads in their hands—are those all Divine Strength Realm martial artists? One of them looks like Wei Hu from the northern barbarians!"
"I think it really is him! A freshly formed squad, and they've already slain nine Divine Strength Realm northern barbarians? Even taking down someone from the top hundred?"
In an instant, hushed chatter broke out across the streets.
Lu Changsheng and his group drew immense attention.
Dao Twelve was already a popular subject on his own. Now, flanked by four formidable warriors from the top fifty of the Divine Strength Ranking and having just claimed the head of the ninety-third-ranked Wei Hu, the spotlight on them was overwhelming.
Lu Changsheng and the others headed straight for the Martial Demonstration Tower.
*Thud.*
Lu Changsheng tossed the nine heads before the Martial Demonstration Tower's attendant.
"Please calculate our merits as quickly as possible."
"Right away, please wait a moment."
The personnel at the Martial Demonstration Tower promptly began their assessment.
Though all were Divine Strength Realm martial artists, those outside the top hundred typically fluctuated in value between one hundred and three hundred minor merits.
Before long, the attendants finished the calculation.
"Nine heads. Wei Hu accounts for one thousand minor merits. The remaining eight heads total fifteen hundred minor merits."
Just as Lu Changsheng expected, it came to twenty-five hundred minor merits in total.
In truth, this was already an impressive sum.
It proved that the Divine Strength Realm martial artists in both squads had been quite formidable, or their heads would never have been worth so much.
"According to our rules, we split it five ways: five hundred minor merits each," Lu Changsheng said to the other four.
The others nodded in full satisfaction.
In reality, had Lu Changsheng acted alone, he could have earned more than five hundred minor merits a day.
However, doing so carried considerable risk.
Now, all the danger was borne by You Shifei and the other three, while Lu Changsheng reaped hundreds of minor merits daily virtually free of risk.
Previously, Lu Changsheng had already accumulated roughly six thousand minor merits, putting him quite close to ten thousand.
What was more, their daily earnings would not necessarily remain capped at five hundred.
Today they had only destroyed two squads; in the future, they could wipe out three or even four in a single day.
The Barbarian Slaying Squad's maiden hunt had yielded a bountiful harvest.
Yet this was merely the beginning.
In the days that followed, the Barbarian Slaying Squad operated with sheer, unbridled frenzy.
Every day, they ventured into the Northern Region Battlefield, and almost every day, they returned loaded with spoils.
Destroying at least three northern barbarian squads daily, each member earned no less than six hundred minor merits every single day.
In just a few days, Lu Changsheng's accumulated merits surpassed ten thousand.
He immediately exchanged them for a Marrow Augmenting Great Pill, elevating his physical strength from three hundred and sixty ding to four hundred and sixty ding.
He was one step closer to the Thousand Tripods Realm.
Furthermore, as his physical strength surged, Lu Changsheng's Qi and Blood Sword Casting Secret Method advanced correspondingly, causing the volume of qi and blood he accumulated each day to skyrocket.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month went by.
Lu Changsheng accumulated another twenty thousand minor merits, which he exchanged for a Divine Blood Great Pill and a Divine Bone Great Pill.
These medicines were all designed for the Divine Strength tier, with each pill augmenting physical might by one hundred ding.
Lu Changsheng consumed both pills in succession, pushing his physical body to a terrifying strength of six hundred and sixty ding!
Comparatively speaking, Lu Changsheng's strength had grown the fastest.
Curiously, however, his standing on the Divine Strength Ranking had not risen at all; rather, it had dropped slightly, slipping from sixty-first down to sixty-fifth.
The reason for the drop was simple.
Over the past month and more, Lu Changsheng had hardly ever raised a hand in combat.
He had become the director of the Barbarian Slaying Squad, requiring no personal action beyond coordinating their strikes.
Without seeing him fight, the Martial Demonstration Tower naturally assumed that Dao Twelve's strength had stagnated.
Consequently, his ranking had drifted down slightly.
Yet the achievements of the Barbarian Slaying Squad were nothing short of glorious.
Thanks to their frequent battles, the other four members had also advanced swiftly in combat prowess.
Although all of them were already in the Thousand Tripods Realm and could not advance further in realm, their actual fighting power had increased significantly.
After all, having earned so many minor merits, whatever resources they redeemed served to bolster their combat strength, causing all four of their rankings to rise.
You Shifei rose to fifteenth.
Yang Zhen rose to twenty-ninth.
Tong Xuan rose to thirty-eighth.
Tie Yuan rose to fortieth.
All four had climbed higher.
Naturally, compared to their modest individual gains, it was the Barbarian Slaying Squad itself whose fame truly skyrocketed.
Striking day after day, the squad wiped out between two and four northern barbarian squads each outing.
On average, they slaughtered eighteen Divine Strength Realm northern barbarian warriors every day.
Over the course of roughly fifty days, they had slain around nine hundred martial artists in total!
A tally like that was staggering to contemplate.
Nine hundred Divine Strength Realm martial artists!
Even if Northern Barbaria possessed tens of thousands of Divine Strength Realm warriors, they could hardly sustain such relentless slaughter.
As a result, the Barbarian Slaying Squad had become a thorn in the side of Northern Barbaria.
Northern Barbaria was now prepared to eradicate the Barbarian Slaying Squad at any cost.
Yet Lu Changsheng possessed the Wind of Perception Conception.
Whenever an enemy squad appeared even slightly too powerful, Lu Changsheng refused to let his team engage.
Lu Changsheng had plenty of time to grind down Northern Barbaria at his own pace, and he could always locate squads whose strength was manageable.
Moreover, there were very few individual warriors or squads capable of wiping out the Barbarian Slaying Squad in the first place.
Though Northern Barbaria exhausted every scheme, they remained completely powerless against the squad.
Gradually, however, the northern barbarians finally pieced together through investigation that the true core of the Barbarian Slaying Squad was not You Shifei, but the extraordinarily low-profile Dao Twelve.
Dao Twelve almost never drew his weapon, yet he posed the greatest threat of all!
***
At this moment, within Northern Barbaria.
Tianxin sat cross-legged inside a chamber.
He had remained motionless for a very long time.
"Tianxin, the higher-ups have ordered you to take action and eradicate the Barbarian Slaying Squad," a black-robed martial artist said coldly.
Tianxin said nothing, seemingly paying the man no heed.
"Tianxin, the reason you have delayed breaking through to the Divine Gang Realm all this time—isn't it because you want to bring your Slaughter Conception to perfection so that, founded upon it, you can forge an Asura Body the instant you step into Divine Gang?"
"If you move to eliminate the Barbarian Slaying Squad this time, the higher-ups will reward you with a Dao Comprehension Pill."
"A single Dao Comprehension Pill can plunge you into sudden enlightenment. Bringing your Slaughter Conception to perfection with it should present no great difficulty, wouldn't you agree?"
The black-robed martial artist spoke deliberately, his words carrying astonishing implications.
*Swish.*
Tianxin opened his eyes at last.
His gaze was calm.
Indeed, it was extraordinarily calm—unnervingly so, devoid of any emotional ripple.
"I need their location confirmed," Tianxin said slowly.
"Immortal Master Lingji will use divine sense to lock onto the Barbarian Slaying Squad's position. Your objective is to ensure the death of their core member, Dao Twelve."
"The others in the squad are secondary. Remember: Dao Twelve must die!"
"You may only have a single chance..." the black-robed martial artist said in a frigid tone.
In truth, having Immortal Master Lingji intervene in this manner breached the unspoken rules between the two nations.
Yet the Great Fish Dynasty would not dare complain.
On the surface, Northern Barbaria had not technically shattered the tacit understanding, as the Immortal Master was not personally taking the field to kill.
Even so, such a method could obviously not be employed repeatedly; it was an extraordinary measure for a single occasion.
"One chance is enough."
"I will kill Dao Twelve."
Having spoken, Tianxin paid the black-robed man no further attention, quietly closing his eyes once more.
Chapter 119