While traveling side by side with Wei Yuan, Lee Zhi looked at the rolling clouds in the distance and remarked, “The Liao’s realm is over ten times greater than Great Tang’s. Not only that, they are empowered by the very world around them, while we are greatly limited within their territory. We are lucky that the camps are all located on the edge of Liao territory. Otherwise, I would have had second thoughts about this expedition.”

Wei Yuan had learned a lot about the Liao of Vast Sea thanks to his studies in A Comprehensive History of the Human Race, Foundational Studies of the Path to Immortality, and A History of Great Tang. He echoed in agreement, “The qi of the Liao’s realm is special. Even their horses can consume this qi and travel thousands of li without feeling fatigue. During a raid the night before, I saw them using the night itself to cover their tracks with my own eyes.”

“Once we enter Liao territory, we would have to cover ourselves in Dao energy to resist this worldly power. That is why we need to finish this as soon as possible. We will sweep through the enemy like thunder and make it home just as quickly,” Lee Zhi replied.

Wei Yuan nodded. This was military common sense. He might as well have said nothing.

Lee Zhi suddenly remarked in a wistful tone, “When I was studying in the academies, I sometimes thought that the Northern Liao possesses far more land than we do, and their people have a much easier time employing the power of the world than us. Sometimes, I must admit that the Liao barbarians are like the world’s favorite son.”

Wei Yuan agreed, “It’s not just the Liao barbarians. The Shamans, the Mountain Dwellers, the Chelis, and the Guirongs[3] all have greater realms than us humans. In their world, they are the world’s favorite sons. If you only look at the map, we are just a small country.”

Lee Zhi let out a long laugh. “Still, there are advantages to being a small country! For example, it rests on our shoulders to expand our realm!”

The cavalry galloped swiftly forward, soon reaching the invisible boundary line separating the human realm from the Liao domain. On the human side, the sky was clear, and the air was crisp. On the Liao side, a great yellow fog rolled thickly. Upon reaching the dividing line, the warhorses all hesitated in their footsteps, their reluctance to advance as clear as day. Wei Yuan had to squeeze his legs and urged it on before his steed finally crossed the boundary.

As soon as they entered Liao territory, Wei Yuan felt like he was covered in a layer of dust. He felt as if every pore in his body was stuffed in mud or oil; like he hadn’t taken a bath in weeks. His vision range declined sharply from eighty li to fifty li, and even Lee Zhi’s voice sounded a little softer than before.

Speaking of which, his companion reminded him, “The Clear Qi spell, Brother Wei.”

The Clear Qi spell was a low-tier Dao spell with a wide range of applications, and Wei Yuan did not even need to chant the mantra to activate it. A thought flickered inside his head, and it was as if someone had dumped a basin of clean water over his head. The slimy, sluggish feeling that had permeated his whole body was gone just like that.

That said, the Clear Qi spell only lasted for a certain amount of time. They would have to cast it repeatedly as long as they remained in Liao territory.

To be fair, the Liao’s realm was fairly accommodating compared to other races. Even an ordinary human being could live here for a time. Plenty of humans lived in the Liao’s realm during the Distant Antiquity Era. However, if a mortal stayed in Liao territory for a prolonged period of time, then they would be plagued by illnesses and become short-lived. It was likely they would not live past forty.

This was why the cavalrymen were all using the Clear Qi spell. When Wei Yuan examined them using the Daoist Qi Viewing spell, he saw that everyone’s body was covered in a sheen of hazy, clear light. It quickly washed away the yellow qi that had attached itself to their body.

The troops sped up upon marching into Liao territory. They quickly arrived at where they believed the first camp was located. Alas, they found nothing and no one. There were no traces of a camp anywhere.

Neither Wei Yuan nor Lee Zhi lingered. They simply moved onto the next camp.

They were less than twenty li away from the second camp when Wei Yuan saw a column of smoke in the sky. Several Liao barbarian riders were sitting around a bonfire barbecuing a large animal’s hindlimb. Several tents stood nearby, their iron frames reinforced with cold-proofing and insect-repelling arrays. As both the setup and the dismantlement of these types of tents proved troublesome, they were treated as semi-permanent military shelters among the Northern Liao. Right now, loud snores were echoing from inside the tents where heavens-know-how-many Liao barbarians slept.

The Liao barbarians sitting around the bonfire turned around and discovered Wei Yuan at the same time he saw the column of smoke.

Humans had both interacted and fought against the Liao of Vast Sea for hundreds of thousands of years. Naturally, they were intimately familiar with each other’s habits. Prior to entering the battlefield, every Palace of Absolute Beginning disciple received a booklet that clearly outlined the Northern Liao’s administrative structure, the distinctive attire and cultivation levels of Liao barbarians across different ranks, as well as common battlefield scenarios and corresponding countermeasures.

The ambush was effective, so Wei Yuan immediately cast a Godspeed spell and a Giant Strength spell upon his mount, increasing its speed by one and a half!

Lee Zhi and the rest of the cavalrymen also empowered their mounts with various Dao spells, speeding up tremendously and crossing what was a fairly long distance in just the blink of an eye.

They might not be able to stop the Northern Liao cavalrymen from mounting their warhorses, but they could at least stop them from organizing themselves and putting up an organized resistance during the first exchange.

The Liao barbarians sitting around the bonfire shouted various warnings while rushing toward their respective mounts. Several Liao soldiers also crawled out of the tents in an attempt to respond to the situation. As they had been woken up from a deep slumber, they were unable to comprehend the situation fully or immediately. Before they could react, a dozen arrows descended from above and turned them into hedgehogs.

Everyone Lee Zhi brought was an elite. Their mounted archery skill was excellent to say the least. For this first exchange, they were using mystic artifact arrows as well. Thus, it was impossible for them to miss from a range of three hundred zhang. They were able to slay some of the sleeping Liao barbarians without trouble.

Meanwhile, the Liao barbarians sitting by the bonfire had already climbed onto their horses and mounted a counter-charge, fearless. One of them was swinging his horse saber up and down while making a beeline straight for Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan’s expression was dark as he tightened his spear grip, his warhorse galloping so fast it was like he was flying through the air. The distance between him and the incoming cavalryman instantly shrank to just a hundred zhang. Then, at nearly the same time, the Liao cavalryman nocked a heavy arrow, and Wei Yuan pulled out a javelin. The air shrieked as both weapons shot out toward their targets. Neither combatant intended for the duel to turn into a melee.

The reactive force from Wei Yuan’s throw was such that even his mount’s charge was halted for an instant! The sudden halt was just enough for the Liao barbarian’s heavy arrow to miss his skin by a hair, and his javelin to sink into the chest of the enemy cavalry.

Wei Yuan was the disciple where the Hallmaster of the Bright King Hall had personally stepped in and opened his wallet to “buy” him from the Skyblue Hall after all. Thus, his spear throw boasted immeasurable strength. Not only did it pierce the Liao horse, it flew at least a hundred zhang before finally hitting the ground.

No matter how good the rider’s horseriding skill was, there was simply no way he could cling onto his horse after taking such a blow. While sailing helplessly through the air, he heard another odd-sounding whistle before a second spear pierced through his body.

Meanwhile, Lee Zhi’s long bow and arrow shone a golden light while he was drawing his weapon. The arrow shot through the narrow gap between a Liao barbarian’s helmet and nailed them in the face almost the instant it left the bowstring.

Lee Zhi’s long bow was a top-grade mystic artifact, and his arrows high-grade. Naturally, he held the absolute advantage when engaging the Liao barbarians in a shooting battle. When his bow reached full draw, a golden heavy arrow automatically appeared on the bowstring. At the same time, his perception was expanded tremendously. This was the ability of the top-grade mystic artifact. It allowed him to expand his perception to a radius of three hundred zhang and loose an arrow at an enemy as soon as he detected them. So long as Lee Zhi’s perception was locked onto an opponent, he could shoot the arrow in any direction and still hit his target perfectly.

However, Lee Zhi detected no one when his perception swept through the area. Surprised, he looked only to find that every Liao barbarian had fallen to the ground, lifeless. His guard[1] had killed one with an arrow volley, but the remaining five had died to Wei Yuan’s javelins.

Stunned, he praised, “Your strength is truly formidable, Brother Wei!”

Wei Yuan had no time to respond. He was throwing another javelin and killing an ownerless Liao horse. It was only then Lee Zhi recalled with a start that the horses had to be killed as well!

Thankfully, everyone in his guard was an experienced warrior. The arrows fell, and every single Liao horse was shot to death.

A Liao horse recognized their master. If their master died, they would immediately run back to a camp they had resided before. Thus, the Liao would find out what happened to this camp if even a single horse managed to escape them.

The battle was over. As hot steam rose from every part of Wei Yuan’s body, he let out a steaming hot breath and hung his long spear[2] back on his horse’s side.

From the start until the end, Wei Yuan had relied purely on his spear throws to kill his enemies. No one within a hundred zhang was a match for him, and every enemy who entered his range was killed. Thus, the long spear was no more useful than an ornament in this battle.

Outlawed by Heaven and Earth needed fortune to function. It was very likely that any fortune he used up in Liao territory would be permanently expended. That was why he wasn’t planning to use the secret technique unless it was a critical moment. Although he still had several thousand wisps of black qi in his sea of consciousness, there was no need to waste them. One should manage their finances with diligence and thrift.

After galloping over to Wei Yuan’s side, Lee Zhi looked him up and down before praising him, “You are just as impressive as you were back then, Brother Wei!”

Wei Yuan sighed. “You jest, Brother Lee. My cultivation is so slow that I haven’t even formed a Dao Foundation yet. All I have is a bit of strength.”

Lee Zhi’s eyelids twitched. A bit of strength? His javelin weighs thirty catties each, yet his spear throws are almost as fast as my mystic artifact arrows. He’s seriously calling this “a bit of strength”?

Lee Zhi possessed a keen eye. Although Wei Yuan’s javelins performed like mystic artifacts, he could tell that they were Fortified at most. He had not even empowered them with a Sharpness talisman. The real mystic artifact was the spear box he used to store his javelins. It had enough space to store thirty javelins in total. In terms of grade, it was easily the worst among mystic artifacts. Even his guard would find it somewhat pitiful for their standards. Thus, Wei Yuan’s physical strength was the only reason his javelins were so powerful.

His javelins were perfectly basic—it didn’t even possess basic functionalities such as perception-based homing. They were simply fast, heavy, and absolutely destructive. Yet, not even Lee Zhi, an immortal foundation cultivator with a set of top-tier mystic artifacts, would want to face them within a hundred zhang of distance.

The young general abruptly recalled the terrifying silhouette who sat steadily atop a giant of a mountain boar during the martial test. Back then, Wei Yuan had shattered his top-tier secret technique of fortune in one strike. To this day, the fear he felt that day had not lessened one bit.

He is a barbarian alright, thought Lee Zhi, though of course he didn’t say it out loud.

Meanwhile, Lee Zhi’s personal guards were looking at Wei Yuan in a new light as well. The young man had slain more than half of the Liao cavalrymen and left no one alive within a hundred zhang. Frankly, the only thing they got out of this was military merit.

1. I should have mentioned this sooner, but “guard” here refers to a guard of soldiers, not a single guard. ☜

2. NOT his javelin, his one zhang two chi long spear. ☜

3. As of the latest chapter the Chelis and Guirongs have not made an appearance yet. I have NO. IDEA. What they can be and so I'm just transliterating them at the moment. This may change in the future. ☜