When the Ninth Slash struck the handle of his hammer, Xu Yunfan’s Profound Steel Body suddenly boomed like a great bell.

"Your strength... it seems to have weakened quite a bit."

Tuoba Lie’s eyes went wide with fury, the corners tearing open and bleeding as a heart-rending howl erupted from his throat.

"You bastard! I’ll..."

Before he could finish, the rebound force surged back through the Red Flood Dragon Force. The crimson patterns on the Thunderfire Qilin Hammer seemed to writhe like a living dragon, crackling with arcs of electricity.

Tuoba Lie’s Protective Gang Qi, which was condensed from his True Blood, was struck by the dragon’s tail, and a bloody, bowl-sized hole instantly burst open in his chest.

The afterimage of the hammer arced upward like a crimson meteor.

When the first hammer blow struck the face of the axe, all the rubble within a five-zhang radius lifted into the air.

The second hammer blow struck Tuoba Lie’s iron armguards, which were forged from Refined Steel, causing them to crumple like paper.

As the third hammer blow, wrapped in the phantom image of the Red Flood Dragon, hurtled toward his chest, the True Blood in the barbarian’s body flared to life. The flesh around the bowl-sized wound began to writhe madly, attempting to regenerate.

"ROAR!"

As Tuoba Lie roared, blood seeped from his every pore. His knotted muscles swelled once more, and shards of his Iron Armor shot out like a swarm of locusts, embedding themselves deep in the surrounding rock walls.

"BREAK!"

He swung the Ornate Patterned Giant Axe in a full-moon arc. Before the blade even arrived, the rocky ground beneath Xu Yunfan had already cracked open into a zhang-long chasm.

Xu Yunfan’s expression was grim, his sword-like eyebrows angled sharply upward. His muscles bulged, straining his armor to the point of creaking. The Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength coursed wildly through his veins, and his Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body hissed like Forged Iron being quenched.

He met the attack head-on with a roar of thunder and fire, using the Earth Dragon Flipping Over move from his Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique.

The moment the two torrents of Gang Qi collided, the plants, soil, and rock within a ten-zhang radius churned like ocean waves, leaving behind a scene of utter chaos.

Xu Yunfan’s legs sank into the bedrock up to his knees, his Profound Steel Battle Boots grinding against the stone and sending up a shower of sparks.

The iron chain on the handle of Tuoba Lie’s axe snapped, link by link. Wrapped in a bloody mist, the fragments shot toward Xu Yunfan’s face like venomous snakes.

The pattern of a coiled Red Flood Dragon suddenly appeared on Xu Yunfan’s neck. He opened his mouth and spat out a searing bolt of Qi.

The bloody chain links burst into flames upon contact with the Qi. Amidst the acrid, poisonous smoke, Xu Yunfan spun his Heavy Hammer.

As the Profound Steel hammer head thrust upward from under his armpit, Tuoba Lie’s True Blood let out what sounded like a mournful wail.

The instant Xu Yunfan twisted his waist and spun, Red Flood Dragon Force surged through the hammer’s handle and into his enemy’s body. Beneath the barbarian’s knotted muscles, his bones made a crisp sound like cracking ice.

The barbarian opened his mouth to roar, but only burning, bloody flames spewed out.

"You never shut up when you fight."

Xu Yunfan grabbed the back of the axe, his Profound Steel finger guards scraping against the tungsten steel axehead and creating a dazzling shower of sparks.

As his Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength erupted for a third time, a fiery whirlwind suddenly engulfed the three-zhang area around him.

Tuoba Lie tried to activate the last of his True Blood, only to find his heart ensnared by the Red Flood Dragon Qi Force. The Thunderfire Qilin Hammer was already pressed firmly against his chest.

As the Shaking Mountain Hammer technique fell, the entire cliff face trembled.

The hammer’s afterimage became nine overlapping phantoms of mountains. The first blow pulverized his muscles and sinews; the second shattered his arm bones. When the seventh hammer smashed down upon his skull, Tuoba Lie’s swollen body went rigid, and spiderweb cracks spread across his skin.

The last of his True Blood gushed from his seven orifices, only to be incinerated into ash the moment it met the force of the hammer’s descent.

As Xu Yunfan withdrew his hammer, the barbarian’s kneeling, ruined corpse suddenly exploded. Amidst the downpour of blood, only his Ornate Patterned Giant Axe remained, plunged deep into the rocky ground, its handle still vibrating.

The crimson dragon tattoo slowly faded back into his spine. Xu Yunfan wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth. The burns on his Profound Steel skin healed at a visible rate as his Pure Yang Inner Breath continuously converted energy, rapidly restoring his spent Strength.

Tuoba Lie, his body mostly destroyed, was not yet completely dead. A bizarre laugh escaped his mouth.

"You’re a dead man. And because you killed me, the power behind you will be destroyed as well. My name is Tuoba Lie..."

He roared with the last of his strength, "I am the third son of the great Daqian’s Tuoba Family, Hu Hou, Tuoba Lie!!"

THUD!

The Heavy Hammer fell once more, crushing Tuoba Lie’s head into splinters of bone. Only after confirming that he was truly dead did Xu Yunfan slowly grip his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer, pull it free, and look up at the terrified Daqian Net Soldiers.

He glanced at his interface, where over a dozen notifications had appeared during his fight with Tuoba Lie. His Skill Level in the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique had risen by a full eight points.

Xu Yunfan said nothing. Pushing off the balls of his feet, he lunged forward like a pouncing tiger.

A few breaths later, after hammering the last of the Daqian soldiers to death, Xu Yunfan was shaking bits of flesh from his hammer head when Fu Jin limped over.

He spoke with a grave expression, "The Daqian Army is patrolling all over Qingzhou and Cangzhou. Our only chance of survival is to head for Yanbei State, toward Yanbei City, the Dao City of Yanbei Dao."

Xu Yunfan glanced at the terrified women and children nearby while tearing off the shattered remnants of his armor. He shook his head. "Fu Jin, our strength is limited. We can’t save them. In this world, the kind-hearted are the first to die."

Fu Jin’s lips quivered. In his heart, he knew Xu Yunfan was right.

He looked back at the hopeful eyes of the women and children, and his heart clenched.

Soon, the hesitation in Fu Jin’s gaze hardened into resolve as he looked at Xu Yunfan.

"Yunfan, this is my path. If I don’t escort these commoners to Yanbei City, I will never have peace of mind."

He lifted his chin. "Eighteen brothers from the Mortal World started this escort. Now, only eight of us are left. If we give up now, the sacrifices of our fallen comrades will have been for nothing."

Xu Yunfan ripped away the last piece of broken armor hanging from his chest. The fractured plate of Profound Iron scraped across his collarbone with a harsh sound.

He casually tossed the dark-red armor into the mud, his gaze fixed on the bloodstains mixed in with the mire. "Eighteen lives, spent to buy us a mere thirty li." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The metallic tang of blood suddenly rose in Xu Yunfan’s throat, making his voice heavy. "You can do the math, Fu Jin. How many more thirty-li stretches are there to Yanbei City? That Tuoba Lie’s rank in the Daqian Army was clearly high. Now that I’ve killed him, Daqian will surely retaliate. These people... they’re not going to make it."

CLANG! The scar-faced man with the Chain Spear suddenly snapped an arrow in his hands.

Half a sheet of paper skewered on the arrowhead unfurled in the wind. It was an unsent letter home from the young master of the Horse Gang, who had been killed the previous night.

"Hee the Sixth always used to say..."

He stuck the blood-stained, broken arrow into his topknot. "’We’re just a bunch of self-taught strays,’ he’d say, ’but we’re going to live with the ferocity of the Greedy Wolf devouring the moon. He took a blow that broke three of his ribs, just to carve out a path for me to live.’"

The scar-faced man turned to look at the wretched faces of the commoners.

"I have to see his last wish through."

The other Rangers chimed in with their agreement. Though every one of them was exhausted, they all tightened their grip on their weapons without exception.

Xu Yunfan fell silent and gave Fu Jin a long, hard look.

"Fu Jin, I can’t help you with this."

Fu Jin reached out and patted his shoulder.

"You shouldn’t have come. The Celestial Craft Cave can’t get dragged into this. The Daqian Army has countless masters in its ranks. Once they learn you killed Tuoba Lie, they will surely seek revenge."

A slight smile touched Xu Yunfan’s lips. "Then let them come. That, at least, I do not fear."