The warning gong had only half-rung out when Xu Yunfan’s toe struck its surface.

Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength surged through the bronze, twisting the soldier’s arms into mangled ropes. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He vaulted over the archery parapets, his eyes drawn to the brightest blaze on the mountainside of Divine Weapon Ridge. The once-towering steel refining furnace was crumbling amidst the inferno.

Three tripwires sprang up from the shadows. Xu Yunfan twisted his waist in mid-air.

His Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body activated, spiraling the muscles in his waist and abdomen. He forcibly shifted three feet to the side in mid-air. Following the motion, his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer swept out, snapping the fine steel chains. The recoiling iron chains then whipped back, slicing the hidden axemen in half.

At a turn in the mountain path, thirty Heavy Halberd Soldiers waited in formation.

Xu Yunfan let out a cold snort. Great torrents of Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength surged from his spine into his arms. His Pure Yang Inner Breath instinctively kicked in, rapidly circulating to replenish the energy he was burning through.

The Thunderfire Qilin Hammer flew from his hand, transforming into a chain hammer. The spinning hammerhead pulled the Thunder Pattern Steel Chain taut. This was the "Cloud Gate Locking Mountain" from the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique. When Zhan Yan had demonstrated it in a rainstorm, he had used this move to level half an acre of bamboo forest.

A metal storm swept through the formation, and the heavy halberds snapped like wheat stalks.

Xu Yunfan charged into their ranks. Just as he caught the handle of his returning hammer, its head met the horrified face of a centurion.

A sickening thud echoed as hammer met face, and he used the momentum to leap atop a seventy-foot-high beacon tower.

Looking down on the battlefield, the scene at the base of Divine Weapon Ridge—or rather, Divine Weapon Valley—made it impossible for him to suppress the rage in his heart any longer.

A dozen or so Divine Weapon Valley disciples were using iron forging platforms as a defensive line, under siege by a thousand Black Armored Elite Warriors.

Zhan Yan’s bare torso was pierced with seven armor-piercing arrows. The two giant hammers in his hands were chipped and jagged like saws. His upper body was a mess of gaping wounds, large and small, and a pool of his blood stained the ground.

Xu Yunfan’s heart clenched. ’Zhan Yan must be running on sheer willpower alone.’

The most horrifying sight was at his feet: five corpses in Mountain Pattern Armor were piled into a mound of flesh. Judging by their uniforms, they were Daqian Martial Generals of the fifth grade or higher. Surrounding them were many Martial Arts Masters from various sects, clad in different robes, lying motionless in pools of blood.

Judging by the gold thread patterns on their sleeves, they were clearly Luo Net Martial Arts Masters recruited by Daqian.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Zhan Yan’s furious roar sent three shield-bearing Armored Warriors flying. His twin heavy hammers cleaved open a light cavalryman trying to sneak an attack on the Sword Furnace.

But an opening appeared on his left, and three Hook and Scythe Gunners seized the opportunity to lock onto his knees.

It was at this moment that Xu Yunfan dropped into the battle.

The moment his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer struck the ground, the terrifying power of his Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength, amplified by his incredible physique, erupted. It split into nine streams and surged into the Earth Veins.

The Black Armored Soldiers within a thirty-foot radius suddenly staggered, the flagstones beneath their feet rippling like waves!

"Yunfan, what are you doing here?!"

Seeing Xu Yunfan charge down from the mountain and into the Daqian battle formation, Zhan Yan was both shocked and furious. Yet, an undeniable emotion welled up in his chest, bringing tears to his fierce eyes.

"This is a deathtrap! The Daqian Army and the Luo Net’s masters from the Martial Arts have this place completely surrounded. You shouldn’t have come!"

Xu Yunfan swung his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer, making the heavy weapon look as light as a feather. With every effortless move, he sent swarms of attacking Heavy Armor soldiers flying.

He looked at the blood-soaked Zhan Yan, his expression complex.

"Master, you..."

"This is no place to be sentimental!"

Although Zhan Yan was annoyed, Xu Yunfan was already here. What’s done is done. To argue about it now was tantamount to suicide.

"Good, you’re just in time, kid!" Zhan Yan’s hammer-axe flicked a vice general’s helmet off. "Northwest corner! I’m pinned down! Those bastards are going after the women and children!"

Xu Yunfan spun to look. Twenty massive Warriors wielding siege hammers were charging at a dozen disciples from Divine Weapon Ridge, whose knotted muscles strained as they desperately fought back.

He scanned his surroundings. The thousand elite Heavy Armor soldiers of Daqian were all on par with Martial Arts Masters who had activated their Blood Qi. True Blood Martial Generals watched them like tigers stalking their prey. All of them were experts comparable to the Flesh Refining Realm, able to ignite their True Blood for an explosive burst of power. Though Zhan Yan had forced them back, they were relentless, pressing the attack.

Not far away, Luo Net masters waited like venomous snakes hunting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Moreover...

Xu Yunfan raised his head, his gaze falling upon the mountaintop. A True Blood General sat astride a Jiao Horse, his face a cold mask, a jet-black Ten-foot Long Spear in his hand.

A True Blood Powerhouse, his strength equivalent to the Sixth Step of Transcendence and Great Mastery of Blood Transformation.

He was waiting for the human-wave tactics to exhaust them, ready to descend and reap the harvest.

’If we don’t drop everything and run, we’re dead!’

"Lin."

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yunfan formed a seal with one hand and entered the Linn Character State. The muscles that had been extremely tense with vigilance quickly relaxed, and the bulging veins beneath his skin vanished from sight.

In his eyes, the muscular structure of the twenty Warriors became clear down to the finest detail.

He suddenly tossed his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer into the air and grabbed the ankles of two Heavy Armor soldiers.

The physical strength driven by his Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body erupted, and he actually swung the living men like meteor hammers!

As the storm of flesh and blood crashed into the siege hammer formation, Xu Yunfan caught his falling Thunderfire Qilin Hammer in mid-air.

The moment the hammerhead tapped a True Blood Martial General, Xu Yunfan’s Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength transformed into a high-frequency vibration, like the buzzing of a cicada. The Qi Force that erupted from the Thunderfire Qilin Hammer blasted the man into a fine red mist.

"Good! Good! Good!" Taking the opportunity to rush over, Zhan Yan grinned broadly and tore the arrow shafts from his shoulder. "Now that’s worthy of Divine Weapon Ridge’s Red Flood Dragon Force!"

It was a technique even Zhan Yan himself couldn’t perform.

Zhan Yan laughed loudly, but in his heart, he was shocked beyond words.

’How long have I been away? How did he gain such terrifying power?’

’Could I even beat him now?’

The two of them held their ground, facing the onrushing tide of the enemy army.

Xu Yunfan’s Hammer Technique was gradually approaching the Transformation Realm. Every move contained the eighteen variations of force application from the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique: an uppercut to the jaw concealed a knee strike, a wide sweep held a hidden grappling move, and even the motion of retracting the hammer was followed by a vicious kick to the groin.

The bodies of Black Armored Soldiers quickly piled up into a circular rampart before the stele. The True Blood Martial Generals who couldn’t resist charging in were all hammered to death by him in less than a single exchange, with overwhelming force. As for the Luo Net masters from the Mortal World hiding in the corners, a few came up, only to be sent flying back like broken ragdolls the next instant, motionless.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a mechanism cut through the shouts of battle.

The hairs on the back of Xu Yunfan’s neck stood on end. In his Linn Character State, he protected his back with his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer in the style of "Su Qin’s Back Sword."

Three armor-piercing crossbow arrows struck the face of the hammer, their tips stopping just half an inch from his spine. This was the "Three Talents Bone-Piercing Crossbow," the most insidious weapon in the Daqian Army. It had to be used with a Six-Stone Strong Bow and was specifically designed to break through a Martial Artist’s Blood Qi and Strength.

Even with his Horizontal Training, it was the kind of attack you didn’t block unless you absolutely had to.

The Silver Armored General who had fired the arrows was slowly backing away.

Xu Yunfan recognized that face. Three days ago at Luoyan Gorge in Cangzhou, it was this man who had commanded the cavalry to block his retreat, leaving Tuoba Li to fight him.

His personal strength was only comparable to the Flesh Refining Realm, but his tactics were venomous. The formation of a hundred soldiers under his command had given Xu Yunfan significant trouble.

Meeting the other’s slightly regretful gaze, Xu Yunfan’s eyes were as calm as still water.

Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength gathered to its peak in the arches of his feet. Xu Yunfan leaped up, launching himself off the wall of corpses.