Chapter 46: Warriors Living on the Edge
In the days that followed, Zhang Ze and his companions found their cultivation somewhat tedious. Day in and day out, aside from practicing their current martial techniques—fist compression and precise kicks—they spent much of their time holding horse stances under Ren Fan’s stern guidance.
Yet, under such rigorous training, Zhang Ze’s progress was swift. His lower limb meridians, already tempered before, brought his stance skills ever closer to mastery.
It’s worth mentioning that after two days of rest, the brothers Jin Long and Jin Yu rejoined the group. Together, their playful camaraderie dispelled much of the monotony of practice.
...
As always, Zhang Ze, stingy by nature, didn’t take his last third-grade Qi Supplementing Pill until the final moment. Because of this, it took him a full three or four days to return to his peak condition.
Wealth: 600,000
Cell Strength: 229S
Cell Spirit: 150
Skills: Shielding (11%), Probe
Meridians: Six (90%)
July 10th.
That evening, Zhang Ze sat cross-legged on his bed, glancing at his stats with a quiet chuckle.
He exhaled deeply. Tonight, he planned to connect the six meridians in his lower body. Once completed, the minor circuit of his lower limbs would be closed, his cell strength would rise again, and he could be considered a legitimate second-rank martial artist.
Wasting no more time, he began to circulate his energy, initiating the connection of his six lower limb meridians.
...
Meanwhile.
Nanhe Province, Xiangcheng County.
“President Ruan, your people will infiltrate from the left flank. In half an hour, our teams will attack together.”
The young man had long hair and a fair face, a roguish sort of handsomeness about him. His name was Wei Cancan, president of the Martial Arts Division of the Nanhe Bureau, a peak fourth-rank martial artist.
“No problem.”
Ruan Qi led Li Sanqing and others; they had been in Xiangcheng County, Nanhe Province, for nearly a week. Three days ago, they received reliable intel: a group of cult martial artists was hiding in Zheng Village, just north of Wolf Fang Mountain.
Having prepared for days, these young martial artists were ready to launch a full assault on the cultists tonight.
...
After finalizing their battle plan, Ruan Qi and his group wasted no time, moving with Li Sanqing and the rest of the Anqing Bureau’s Martial Arts Division towards Zheng Village.
“According to our intel, the cultists have been holed up in Zheng Village for nearly ten days, yet have made no move.”
“Those rats, who knows what wickedness they’re plotting this time?” one of the youths muttered darkly as they advanced. He too was a third-rank martial artist, having held the rank for almost a year, and was known for his formidable combat strength.
...
On the surface, Li Sanqing seemed to have just broken through to third rank, placing him at the bottom among these young martial artists. In truth, he was only a first-year student of the Anqing Martial Arts Bureau! When he entered the Bureau, his cell strength was barely 100S.
In other words, Li Sanqing had achieved third rank within his first year at the Bureau—a truly fearsome feat. Moreover, his actual strength exceeded even his apparent level, so these third- and fourth-year students regarded him with considerable respect.
“It’s likely these cultists want to storm the Star Gate once it opens,” Li Sanqing said gravely, hearing the youth’s mutter.
“We don’t even know whether the other side of the Star Gate leads to the Insectoid or Beast Domains. These rats are acting far too hastily.”
Still some distance from Zheng Village, Ruan Qi joined the conversation, his tone light.
But Li Sanqing shook his head slightly at that. “The cultists may well know what lies on the other side of the Star Gate.”
“Our strongest warriors are always tied up suppressing the Star Gate, making it hard to spare the manpower to deal with them. This has allowed the cult’s top experts to remain hidden.”
He frowned, looking up with a weary voice. “Perhaps they do have some form of contact with the Endless Sky.”
“That’s impossible,” another youth interjected before Li Sanqing’s words had faded. “Even our top warriors struggle to survive in the Endless Sky, let alone those rats. You’re giving those scum too much credit!”
His words were full of disdain for the cultists.
The group moved stealthily, and before long, they were near Zheng Village.
“About two minutes left—everyone, get ready!”
When they were roughly a hundred meters from the village, Ruan Qi signaled for everyone to stop.
Time passed quickly. As the roar of explosions sounded from the other side, Ruan Qi and his team charged toward Zheng Village.
A melee was about to erupt!
...
Boom!
A burly middle-aged man, sustained by terrifying cell strength, slammed his staff into the ground. The earth shook, sending dirt and debris flying for meters around.
Li Sanqing’s eyes bulged as he shouted, “There’s a fifth-rank expert in hiding!”
“Heh heh...” The middle-aged man ignored Li Sanqing’s warning, swinging his staff with a mocking sneer.
A fifth-rank against a third-rank—child’s play!
“Three moves,” the man thought, already picturing himself smashing these Bureau elites with his own hands.
“Die!”
Clang!
Before his roar faded, a piercing, grating clash erupted.
Li Sanqing’s ears rang with pain; for a moment, he could hear nothing at all.
“Go! I’ll hold him off!” Wei Cancan shouted to Li Sanqing, his arms trembling from the impact as he gripped his broadsword.
Without hesitation—knowing he couldn’t possibly defeat a fifth-rank martial artist—Li Sanqing spun his blade and charged at a nearby cultist.
He was like a cannonball, crashing into a third-rank cultist. Caught off guard, the cultist’s right arm was severed with a single stroke!
“Aaaah—!”
Before his agonized scream ended, his head rolled away in a spray of crimson.
...
With the pressure from the top expert gone, Li Sanqing became a ruthless blade among the cultists. Anyone he targeted was generally third-rank or lower; rarely did it take more than two strokes before his opponent was decapitated.
In just moments, more than five cultists had fallen to his blade.
Usually a quiet and reserved figure, Li Sanqing on the battlefield was like a demon, unstoppable and merciless.
...
Meanwhile, Ruan Qi and Wei Cancan were in dire straits. Though both were peak fourth-rank martial artists, boasting fearsome cell strength near two thousand, against a fifth-rank opponent, Wei Cancan was hanging by a thread!
Even if Ruan Qi wanted to help, he was tied up by a fourth-rank cultist who was equally tenacious.
“You beasts! If you storm the Star Gate and let the alien races in, it will be a massacre!” Ruan Qi shouted in anger, though he knew the cultists had long abandoned their humanity.
The cultist sneered, “How could fools like you understand the glory of the Sacred Order? The alien races are catalysts for human evolution—the weak should be culled so humanity can advance!”
Boom!
As the words fell, their clash grew even fiercer.