He continued, "If Master knew what you’ve done, not only would he not be angry, he would praise you profusely. If we truly abandoned these common people, what would be the difference between us and those top Sects of the Six Paths?"

Fu Jin was about to speak, but Xu Yunfan cut him off. "I’ll go down the mountain first. The Giant Kite Mechanism Bird I flew here has been shaken to pieces. To get back, I’ll have to walk for a while. Senior Brother, don’t worry about me. I cultivate the Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body; I can come and go as I please on the battlefield."

Fu Jin’s expression was complex. A thousand words swirled in his heart, but in the end, they formed just one sentence.

"Junior Brother, be careful with everything. If it proves impossible, you must retreat and preserve your life. You are Master’s hope, the hope of the Weapon Casting Hall, and even more... the best successor to Divine Weapon Ridge!"

Of course, he knew what Xu Yunfan wanted to do.

Xu Yunfan, of course, had his own considerations. He wasn’t overly concerned with these commoners.

He simply wanted to test the true extent of his current strength. His recent, fierce fight with Tuoba Lie, though intense, had been nowhere near his limit.

What’s more, the notifications for increased Skill Level that kept popping up on his Attribute Panel made it even harder for him to walk away.

Only high-intensity combat against powerful experts could produce such an effect.

With every point his Skill Level increased on the Attribute Panel, his mastery over the Martial Arts he cultivated grew.

After holding back for so long, Xu Yunfan was naturally eager to test his limits.

Right now, most of the Daqian masters in Yanbei Dao were gathered outside Yanbei City and the Nine Radiance Sect, stirring restlessly.

With the power to hammer Tuoba Lie—an expert comparable to the Blood Exchange Realm—to death, all he had to do was carefully avoid masters of the Washing Marrow and Organ Cultivation Realms. Furthermore, he had the Endless Life effect of his Pure Yang Qi Skill, and the Ginseng Child on his chest to replenish his qi.

He was confident he could fight at high intensity for seven days and seven nights without rest.

As Xu Yunfan charged down the mountain with great, swift strides, he spotted a squad of Daqian Army soldiers resting at its base.

He showed no hesitation. Each step he took left a shallow crater in the earth.

On his ninth step, Xu Yunfan’s foot slammed onto a patch of exposed basalt. The shattering stones of the mountain path cracked and boomed like war drums.

His great tendons vibrated as his heel sank three inches into the rock, sending a spray of shattered stone flying.

At the base of the mountain, a scout watering his horse snapped his head up. His face turned deathly pale as he saw the seven-foot-long Heavy Hammer emerge from the dust.

"Enemy attack! Six Harmonies Formation! Shields up!"

The Captain’s roar was tinged with a tremor of fear.

The twelve Iron-Clad Shields had barely formed a circle when Xu Yunfan’s hammerhead slammed into the bronze rivets of the lead shield.

His bulging, diamond-hard muscles carried the sound of wind and thunder. The force from the hammer’s three successive vibrations stacked upon one another, and the Refined Steel shield face shattered into countless pieces.

The soldier holding the shield was sent flying by an unimaginable force without so much as a grunt, his fate unknown.

Xu Yunfan had intentionally held back.

The physical enhancement from the Flesh Refining Realm had surpassed his expectations. From his breakthrough yesterday until now, he could feel his strength still rising.

Any more force, and a single swing would have reduced the man to a bloody mist.

As he swept his hammer for a second strike, the trapezius muscles on the back of Xu Yunfan’s neck bulged, taut as a bowstring.

Gravel kicked up by the wind of his swing peppered their Iron Armor with sharp cracks. Six Hook and Scythe Spears lunging at him snapped in unison.

Sparks flew as the iron soles of his boots scraped against the flagstones. His Thunderfire Qilin Hammer stirred up a turbulent white wave of air as it crashed down into the heart of the formation.

Three breaths later, he had carved a path through the thirty-man squad. With a flick of his other hand, the Thunder Pattern Steel Chain of his Chain Hammer retracted, reforming it into the Thunderfire Qilin Hammer. He then seized the Captain by the throat.

Meeting the man’s terrified gaze, Xu Yunfan asked, "Do you know who this Tuoba Lie was?"

The Captain’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his tiger-claw grip. Five deep dents appeared in the man’s Iron Neck Guard where Xu Yunfan’s fingers pressed.

"Standard Fourth Grade... Longxiang Four Towns Jiedu Envoy..." he choked out, spitting flecks of blood. "He c-commands... the Zhang Sunyang, Profound Halberd, Breaking Array, and Iron Forest battalions... all Central Army elites... He... he wields the imperially bestowed Hundred Jin Meteorite Iron Mountain Swallowing Sword..."

Xu Yunfan understood. He casually tossed the Captain to the ground.

"Tell your commander that the one who killed Tuoba Lie was Su Zhenhe of the Profound Daoist Sect!"

With that, Xu Yunfan mounted the best Scale Horse and galloped away in the direction of Qingzhou.

-----------------

「That night, in Cui Bo City of Cangzhou.」

The Copper Water Clock had just passed Midnight. In the main hall of the military headquarters in Cui Bo City, the candlelight suddenly flickered.

The Gilded Crouching Tiger Belt at Qi Wanshan’s waist slammed heavily against the Zitan Desk, making the twelve Bronze Military Talismans on it clatter.

His hawk-like eyes swept over the blood-soaked Captain below, then fixed on the headless corpse on the rug. The Wolf Head Swallowing Mouth on the corpse’s Profound Iron Waistband was clearly inlaid with the Tuoba Clan’s unique Uzi Steel Pattern.

He flicked open the bracer on the corpse’s left arm. Three serpentine bruises were visible, seemingly writhing beneath the skin.

This was the Muscle and Vein Abnormalities that appeared as the Tuoba Clan’s True Blood dissipated—a sign that only manifested six hours after death.

"Tuoba Lie is dead just like that?!"

The tall, thin general stared wide-eyed, his gaze shifting from the half-kneeling Captain before him to the headless corpse of Tuoba Lie lying nearby, a mangled ruin that had been hammered beyond recognition.

If not for the familiar True Blood Aura emanating from the corpse, he would have thought the Captain was playing some kind of twisted joke.

Even so, his expression was one of utter disbelief. "The Martial Arts Masters in Qingzhou and Cangzhou have all been purged. Who could possibly have killed him?!"

"General Qi..."

The Captain, his face pale, said, "The man claimed to be Su Zhenhe, from the Profound Daoist Sect."

"The Profound Daoist Sect... Su Zhenhe..."

Qi Wanshan grew thoughtful. He had someone bring him a register, and after flipping through it for a moment, he said with dawning realization, "So, he’s a True Disciple of Daoist Guanshan, the Sect Leader of the Cyan Mountain Profound Daoist Sect in Lingnan Dao..."

He glanced at Tuoba Lie’s body, which had been reduced to a mangled pulp not far away, and rubbed his temples, which had begun to throb.

With Tuoba Lie dead, the Tuoba Clan would never let it rest. His older brother, Tuoba Li—who was currently leading the siege against the Nine Radiance Sect’s Three States—would surely come seeking revenge upon hearing the news.

’Tuoba Lie, oh, Tuoba Lie... I stationed you in the rear precisely so you would stay out of trouble. How did you get yourself killed so easily...?’ 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Though Qi Wanshan felt a sense of helplessness, an idea suddenly sparked in his mind, and a strange expression flickered across his face.

"Summon the adjutant of the Beacon Fire Battalion."

As he turned, the hem of his robe extinguished two bronze lamps. "Where is General Tuoba’s Profound Halberd Army now?"

Before the words were out of his mouth, the sound of three short and two long horn blasts echoed from outside the city walls.

A personal guard burst through the carved doors, holding a Whistling Arrow engraved with the Nine Luminaries Star Map. It was a signal arrow from the vanguard of Tuoba Li’s army, which was besieging the Nine Radiance Sect.

Qi Wanshan raised an eyebrow. He took the arrow and examined it, a glint in his eye. ’If I can use this to get ahead,’ he thought, ’it would be a fine thing indeed.’

"Prepare an eight-hundred-li express message to inform the Tuoba Clan. Also, a letter must go to Tuoba Li of the Profound Halberd Army. I will write it myself!"

-----------------

Early the next morning, in a mountain forest, Xu Yunfan finished cultivating his Pure Yang Qi Skill. After taking three deep breaths of the Qi of Ginseng wafting from his Ginseng Child, he felt utterly refreshed. He mounted his horse and set off toward Qingzhou.