"Bold!"
A middle-aged cavalryman stepped forward, spoke no further, and stomped his foot heavily towards Lin Zhao's abdomen.
Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow and kicked back.
With a soft "bang," his true qi swirled. This middle-aged soldier was merely a martial artist of the second realm. After receiving a kick from a fifth-realm martial artist, he stumbled back, almost falling off the bridge. His face turned ashen, and in an instant, he became enraged, "How dare a lowly commoner strike the Iron Cavalry of the Shanhai Division? Are you seeking death?"
"Wait!"
The bearded general smiled and said, "Let me."
He strode forward, his fists clenched, radiating immense fist intent. He was a peak eighth-realm martial artist. He drew his sword and pressed the blade against Lin Zhao's shoulder, coldly saying, "This general orders you to kneel immediately, and you shall be spared death!"
"I will not kneel!"
Lin Zhao's eyes fixed on the man. He repeated the phrase. This "I will not kneel" was etched into his bones, the last shred of dignity for a child raised in mud.
"Seeking death!"
The bearded general flickered forward, his left fist, enveloped in peak-realm qi, suddenly lunged towards Lin Zhao's chest.
"Brother Lin Zhao, be careful!"
Xiao Shitong shouted.
Lin Zhao saw it coming. His foot slipped, and he instantly retreated a step. The moment he escaped the sword's pressure, he adopted a stance that could stir the heavens, meeting the opponent's punch with a fist radiating scorching qi!
A fifth-realm martial artist clashing head-on with an eighth-realm!
"Bang!"
The entire stone bridge trembled slightly. Lin Zhao let out a muffled groan, feeling as though he could barely breathe. His tiger's mouth had split and was bleeding. He was shaken and retreated repeatedly. The gap in their realms was immense; there was no surprise.
The bearded general stood his ground, unmoving. An eighth-realm fighting a fifth-realm, the higher fifth realm against the lower fifth, there was no need for doubt. Even if the opponent was a young genius, he couldn't win. However, after this exchange, his heart slightly constricted. His entire fist felt numb. This kid's fist was too hard; he was truly a freak!
"Ignorant fool!"
The Shao Fu Ling, Li Tong, sneered, "I'll say it one more time: kneel down immediately, or you will be dealt with according to the military law of the Great Shang Dynasty and be executed on the spot!"
Lin Zhao lightly shook his arm, dispersing the numbness. Fist intent and true qi instantly flowed through his body again. He said faintly, "Never!"
"Seeking death!"
Li Tong raised his hand, "Shoot them to death with arrows on the spot!"
Instantly, a group of cavalrymen drew their bows, which hung on the sides of their warhorses, and nocked arrows. In a flash, dozens of arrowheads were aimed squarely at the two youths in the small town.
"Xiao Shitong!"
Lin Zhao turned and shielded Xiao Shitong behind him, ready to jump off the bridge with him at any moment. That was their only path to survival.
...
"Fire!"
Li Tong gave the order, and arrows flew!
At that very moment, a muffled thunderclap echoed from the sky, followed by a towering figure descending and blocking Lin Zhao. As the group of Great Shang cavalry unleashed their arrows, he met them with a punch. Within his fist intent, the vast expanse of rolling waves appeared, and instantly, a large number of arrows snapped and deflected as if hitting a solid wall!
Lin Zhao's body trembled. He recognized the back.
"Does Lord Shao Fu Ling not know a saying?"
Chu Huaixi crushed a pile of arrows and smiled faintly, "Martial artists of the Great Chen Dynasty can kneel to heaven and earth, but never to men!"
"Chu Huaixi?"
Li Tong frowned. "I am Li Tong, a third-rank Shao Fu Ling of the Shanhai Division. Commander Chu, are your actions meant to be an enemy of our Great Shang Dynasty's Shanhai Division? Do you know your crime?"
"An enemy?"
Chu Huaixi sneered, "Lord Shao Fu Ling leads troops to kill my people at Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, do you know your crime?"
"Chu Huaixi!"
Li Tong's voice deepened considerably. He grunted, "You are too defiant and audacious!"
"This place."
Chu Huaixi smiled slightly, his eyes suppressing anger. He pointed a forefinger at the ground. "This is Tianchi Ridge, the place where I signed the contract with the Great Shang Dynasty. As long as we are on Tianchi Ridge, I, Chu Huaixi, have the final say. What right do you, a mere third-rank Shao Fu Ling, have to shout at me here? Even if Wen Hou himself came, I would say the same thing!"
"Truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth!"
Li Tong gritted his teeth. "Great Shang Iron Cavalry, where are you!?"
Instantly, hundreds of Great Shang cavalry soldiers on both sides of the stone bridge drew their weapons and drew their bows, looking as if they were about to fight Chu Huaixi to the death.
...
"Yo ho~~~"
At this moment, a calm laugh echoed from the sky. Huang Tingyu rode on a strand of sword energy, gliding on the wind. He looked down at the magnificent scene on Baiyu Stream and said with a laugh, "You really treat Tianchi Ridge as your backyard, huh? Do you think only Great Shang has Iron Cavalry? Does our Great Chen Dynasty not have any?"
Saying that, Huang Tingyu raised his hand. "Where is the Death Battalion? Surround them!"
The thundering of horses' hooves erupted. Countless Tianchi Army cavalry soldiers surged out from the small town, completely surrounding the hundreds of Great Shang cavalry soldiers on both sides of the stone bridge. At the same time, Huang Tingyu ascended into the sky with a flash of sword light, activating a magnificent sword array. He said with a laugh, "Lord Shao Fu Ling, are you going to scram immediately, or die immediately?"
"You..."
Fear finally appeared on Li Tong's face. At this moment, he believed that the people of Tianchi Ridge would dare to do anything. They simply didn't take the Great Shang Dynasty seriously. This Tianchi Army was like a wild and arrogant group of exiles!
"You!"
On the stone bridge, Chu Huaixi pointed at the bearded general and said with a smile, "An eighth-realm fighting a fifth-realm, very impressive. Want to taste what it's like to be punched down by a superior realm?"
"Commander Chu, you..."
As the other man was about to explain, Chu Huaixi's fist had already been thrown. The bearded general was greatly alarmed and hurriedly channeled his fist intent. He poured all his strength into a punch that fiercely struck Chu Huaixi!
Chu Huaixi's punch was incredibly heavy and powerful. With one punch, a group of Great Shang cavalry soldiers on the west side of the stone bridge were blown back by the fist wind. The bearded general let out a tragic howl, his arm bone broken, and he was sent flying off the stone bridge like a blur, crashing heavily onto the grass. He would need at least half a year to a year to recover his strength.
"Chu Huaixi, you are audacious!"
Li Tong roared, "You are too defiant and reckless!"
"I advise you to shut up."
Huang Tingyu descended from the sky, holding a long sword, and said with a smile, "Otherwise, you will die."
Li Tong was speechless with anger.
Just then, a team of fiery red cavalry galloped out from the town. Leading them was a stunningly beautiful female general, the Dian Shuai, Shao Shi Yu. She swept her gaze over them and understood what had happened. "Li Tong, aren't you serving under Wen Hou? What are you doing here? If I recall correctly, the battles in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool area have always been supervised by Wu Hou, haven't they?"
"I..."
Li Tong's face flushed. "We are here on Wen Hou's orders to investigate the battlefield situation. After all... Wen Hou now leads the Prime Minister's Office, and it is only natural for him to pay some attention to the war with the Northern Four Tribes."
"Oh~~~"
Shao Shi Yu smiled faintly. "Seen enough? Go back. Go back and tell Wen Hou that the northern border is peaceful. The Prime Minister's Office has a mountain of things to trouble him with every day. Now he also has to concern himself with the war in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. We will feel ashamed."
"Yes... yes..."
"Still not leaving?"
When Shao Shi Yu saw Lin Zhao's bleeding tiger's mouth, her expression turned grim.
"We're leaving, we're leaving..."
Li Tong found his excuse and immediately reined his horse and rode off the bridge. He grunted, "Shanhai Division Iron Cavalry, return the way we came!"
"Yes, Lord!"
A group of Great Shang cavalrymen left dejectedly. Their previous killing intent had vanished in the face of the fierce and valiant Death Battalion cavalry. One was the Great Shang Iron Cavalry, trained in the imperial city and living in luxury, the other was the Tianchi Army's Death Battalion cavalry, who trained day and night and often descended the mountains to kill demons. The difference in combat strength was immediately apparent. The cold killing intent in the eyes of the Death Battalion cavalry was something even the Great Shang cavalry dared not face directly.
...
"Are you alright?"
Chu Huaixi looked at Lin Zhao.
"I'm fine, just a minor injury."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly and clasped his fists. "Thank you, Commander Chu."
"Not kneeling, very good."
Chu Huaixi also slowly clasped his fists, turned, and led the Death Battalion away. Shao Shi Yu also cupped her fists from afar towards Lin Zhao and, together with the female cavalry of the Vermilion Bird Battalion, returned to the camp with Chu Huaixi.
"The wind is about to pick up."
Chu Huaixi looked at the scenery in the small town and said faintly.
"Mm."
Shao Shi Yu said, "The rivalry between Wu Hou and Wen Hou has long been no secret in the Great Shang court. Wu Hou commands the three armies, and Wen Hou leads the Prime Minister's Office, but the Prime Minister's Office also handles military affairs. Wu Hou has a fiery temper, and Wen Hou is cunning. In the end... it is likely Wen Hou will win, and Wu Hou may suffer a crushing defeat."
Chu Huaixi scoffed, "Since unifying the south, Great Shang seems to have never stopped its internal strife. Before, it was the two imperial tutors; now it is the dispute between Wen Hou and Wu Hou. If Wu Hou and Wen Hou truly fall out, which side will you six Dian Shuai stand on? Will you support Wu Hou, or will you support that Wen Hou?"
Shao Shi Yu's beautiful eyes were like water. "We will stand on neither side. The six of us guard the six great strongholds of the human race in the northern border. Are the burdens on our shoulders not heavy enough? Our gaze will always be towards the north, and the tips of our swords will always point north. If even we six Dian Shuai become involved in the dynastic infighting, it will likely be the day the Northern Four Tribes advance south."
"If that is the case, then I am relieved."
Chu Huaixi smiled faintly.
Shao Shi Yu's lips curved slightly, and she said no more.
...
South of the town, on the road down the mountain.
Li Tong's face was flushed with anger. He rode his warhorse and said angrily, "I have never suffered such a humiliating disgrace in my life. It's all thanks to that ungrateful brat, Lin Zhao!"
"That's right!"
A Qian Hu frowned. "My Lord, if we don't avenge this, won't our Shanhai Division become a laughingstock in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool?"
"How do we avenge it?"
Li Tong sneered. "Go back and cry to Wen Hou, begging him to mobilize the border defense army to kill all these remnants of the Great Chen Dynasty?"
"Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken!"
The Qian Hu's voice was icy. "A mere fifth-realm martial artist, is he difficult to kill? My Lord can select two sixth-realm death warriors from the army and order them to disguise themselves as ordinary Jianghu people and sneak into the town. Then, find an opportunity to kill that little beast with one punch, and it will all be over. Moreover, even if the assassination fails, they are just two sixth-realm death warriors; their deaths won't matter. My Lord can easily explain it away on the Shanhai Division's side."
"Understood."
Li Tong said with a cold smile, "Leave the selection of personnel to you. Be quick. I want to see that brat Lin Zhao's head on my desk as soon as possible!"
"Yes!"
...
On the side of the mountain path, in the jungle, a Snow Domain Grizzly bear let out a howl and fell. A delicate rapier had pierced its eye. On the grass ahead, a pair of long, slender, and shapely jade legs clad in combat boots walked over. She gently pulled out the blood-stained rapier. With a wave of her true qi, the bloodstains on the blade were instantly scattered.
Leng Yan, the leader of the National Server's Sheng Tian Guild, 25 years old. She was a standard beauty. Although her facial features couldn't compare to the exquisite and astonishing beauty of Shen Xingchen, she possessed long and well-proportioned jade legs. They were snow-white and flawless. From the moment she debuted, she was hailed as the "Leg God" of the Huaxia District National Server.
"Hey..."
Behind Leng Yan, a handsome man in a mage robe, carrying a fiery red staff, walked out. He said with a laugh, "Beautiful Leng Yan, did you hear that? This NPC named Li Tong seems to want to kill that little brother fishing on the bridge..."
Leng Yan's beautiful eyes were like water. "I heard. So what?"
"As Jianghu wanderers, can we stand by and watch?"
The male mage was named "Xian Bai," the leader of the Huaxia District Seeking Immortals Guild, one of the ten initial beta testers in the national server. Looking at the retreating figures of the cavalry, the corner of his mouth curled up. He said with a laugh, "Let's go take a look... If Lin Zhao dies and drops that mysterious sword behind him, won't you have your new weapon? Even that guy Yi Shi Cang Liang has a Level 40 gold-grade longsword. Isn't it acceptable for us not to have a Flowing Gold item?"
Leng Yan frowned. "Understood. We'll keep an eye on them these few days."
"Okay!"
Xian Bai's smile was refined, but his gaze was fixed on Leng Yan's snow-white legs.
"I told you to watch Lin Zhao, not my legs."
"I know, I know, I couldn't help it!"
Leng Yan's expression was stern. "Xian Bai, let me make it clear. The reason I agreed to team up with you is solely because of the need for a team. As for you... we aren't even considered friends. I hope you can maintain proper boundaries."
"I will, I will."
Xian Bai said with a smile, "I also have great respect for beautiful Leng Yan."
"Hmph!"
Leng Yan, carrying her long sword, walked directly towards another leveling area.