Chapter 707: Battalion Commander

After taming Qiongniu, Li Yi was in excellent spirits; from today on, he had another mount, and he planned to nurture Qiongniu carefully, guiding it onto the path of cultivation.

But he intended to entrust this task to the Grand Sacrificer Dou Kun.

As a wise elder, Dou Kun had already learned the written characters of cultivation and would soon begin Qi Refining; after that, many matters could be handled for him by Dou Kun.

He himself could then have ample time to remain safely in this new residence, transforming his divine blood and perfecting the Five Qi.

Yet, though the plan was sound,

suddenly,

at that moment, a tremendous crash accompanied by violent tremors came from nearby, followed by a familiar aura of strange blood rising into the sky—this aura resembled a true dragon, yet carried the terrifying killing intent of a warrior, radiating savage fury.

"Hmm?"

Li Yi immediately looked up toward the source of the disturbance.

The Qiongniu beside him also turned its massive red vertical pupils in that direction, then nervously snorted.

For this aura had alerted it to a hint of danger.

"This is Long Yu's aura—he's fighting someone?" Li Yi's brow instantly furrowed, yet he felt puzzled.

Long Yu had been living peacefully in Xiuxiang House; these past days, he'd eaten meat and drunk wine, fully recovered his strength, and calmed his temperament—under normal circumstances, his chance of fighting was extremely low.

Who had provoked him?

"Let's go see." Li Yi immediately rose into the clouds, stepping on a golden auspicious cloud and instantly flying above Xiuxiang House.

Only then did he see it.

Somehow, Xiuxiang House had been surrounded by a group of warriors clad in leather armor, tall and muscular, wielding long spears; and one of them, a Battalion Commander, was already clashing with Long Yu.

Though this Battalion Commander was no divine-blood warrior, in this world, strength was not exclusive to divine-blood warriors—some warriors with boundless potential, even without divine blood, could still become regional lords.

This Battalion Commander was a warrior forged through countless trials; his physique was astonishing, his body once bathed in the blood of mighty strange beasts, as if cast from steel, each movement radiating earth-shaking power.

BOOM!

The strange-blood warrior Long Yu clashed with him; though his body was covered in dragon scales like a heavy armor, one punch shattered the scales, tore open his muscles, leaving a grotesque gash that bled profusely.

Yet when Long Yu's fist struck the Battalion Commander, it rang like metal on metal, causing little to no damage.

"A strange-blood slave dares resist our Northern Wasteland warriors? Today, I'll crush your bones, twist off your head, and hang your corpse at the gates of Northern Wasteland City to warn those who defy the rules."

The Battalion Commander roared loudly, his towering, muscular frame charging forward like a ferocious beast.

Wherever he passed, he tore through a white airwave, the air exploding around him.

Merely through his physical body, this Battalion Commander unleashed extraordinary power.

Long Yu's golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly—he sensed the opponent's strength—but as a strange-blood warrior, he could not simply stand idle and let these Northern Wasteland warriors bind his hands, drag him away, and slit his throat.

Combat was his nature.

"ROAR!" Long Yu bellowed, as if a true dragon had awakened; he extended his scaled claws, unleashing all his strength, aiming to tear open the Battalion Commander's hardened body and rip out his powerful heart.

Pure force collided, shaking the entire area, thundering with impact.

The Xiuxiang House, once built by Li Yi, could not withstand such turmoil; under the residual force, the stone structures began collapsing, once again reduced to ruins.

"Submit, strange-blood," the Battalion Commander roared, enduring Long Yu's blow and seizing the moment to strike back with a punch.

The punch struck Long Yu's head, instantly spewing blood from his mouth; he crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, the surrounding earth cracked with deep fissures—each one a chasm capable of swallowing a man whole.

Yet the Battalion Commander's chest bore five bloody holes, blood gushing steadily from them.

"Fine claws," the Battalion Commander grunted, exuding supreme arrogance; his muscles writhed, the wounds healing rapidly, the bleeding stopping instantly.

Long Yu, struck by that punch, had now completely fainted.

His strength was decent, but he was still too young, not yet reached his peak—otherwise, that old slave master would never have sold him for a thousand taels.

After all, cultivating a strange-blood warrior was a long, costly endeavor.

"Capture him, take him away. Kill all the other servants."

The Battalion Commander glanced at the unconscious Long Yu; he judged this strange-blood warrior valuable, so he decided to take him.

The other servants and guests of Xiuxiang House were too weak to be worth keeping.

"Understood." The other Northern Wasteland warriors immediately charged into Xiuxiang House with their spears, preparing to slaughter everyone inside.

"What's happening? Why are the Northern Wasteland warriors killing us?"

"Escape quickly, find the Master, tell him what's happened here!"

"Fight these Northern Wasteland warriors! Protect our home with our lives!"

Seeing this, the guests and guards of Xiuxiang House roared in fury; though they did not know why they were being attacked, they would not surrender now, nor let others take their heads.

Even if they could not win, they would die fighting.

"Northern Wasteland warriors?" Shan Guo trembled at the sight; she had witnessed the strength of Northern Wasteland warriors before—once, the warrior Ju Jiao who guarded her village had aspired to become one.

Unfortunately, he was rejected in the selection and returned to the village.

Seeing Long Yu, the strange-blood warrior, defeated, Shan Guo realized she must hurry to inform Da Yi of this dire situation; staying here was useless—she was no match for Northern Wasteland warriors.

"This seems an unavoidable disaster," murmured Grand Sacrificer Dou Kun, then gestured for E Ji and Su Ji to hide behind him as usual.

His eyes glowed brilliantly, his body gathering an extraordinary aura as celestial energy surged wildly toward him.

The once ordinary Dou Kun now radiated a faint luminous glow.

This was what the Earl of Nanshan had meant: "When the spirit is tranquil, heavenly light is born."

Using soul power to manipulate the forces of heaven and earth, manifesting abilities akin to spells—here, such power was called witchcraft.

Yet at this very moment,

just as a Northern Wasteland warrior moved to carry away the unconscious Long Yu,

suddenly,

a silver lightning bolt struck down.

In a flash, the silver lightning transformed into a dappled tiger, striking the warrior with terrifying force.

"Ugh!"

The Northern Wasteland warrior spat blood, his powerful body flung backward, crashing heavily to the ground—unconscious, but not dead.

Perhaps due to the strong defense of his leather armor, or perhaps because people in this world possessed extraordinary vitality.

He survived the tiger's blow.

"Stop." This sudden change caused the Battalion Commander to issue an order.

All Northern Wasteland warriors who had been preparing to attack froze in place.

They stared at the silver tiger born from lightning, their expressions shifting—on this tiger, they sensed a familiar scent: the scent of divine blood.

Had a divine-blood warrior intervened?

The Battalion Commander immediately looked up at the sky.

There, Li Yi descended slowly atop a golden auspicious cloud, fixing his gaze on the Battalion Commander and speaking: "I am Da Yi. This strange-blood warrior is my servant. Why have you attacked him? He has done nothing to offend you."

But Li Yi stepped down slowly upon a golden auspicious cloud, fixing his gaze on the Warrior Chief and saying, "I am Da Yi; this bloodline warrior is my servant—why are you attacking my servant? He has done nothing to offend you."

The Battalion Commander fixed his eyes on him, then said: "Master Shang Xiang committed a grave crime; all his possessions are to be seized, and all servants connected to him are to be executed. Da Yi, you are a divine-blood warrior—do you also intend to obstruct our Northern Wasteland warriors?"

Out of respect for a strong opponent, the Battalion Commander was willing to explain the reason; had it been anyone else, he would have already punched them to death.

Li Yi recalled how, in recent days, Shang Xiang had vanished for a long time to seek revenge against another merchant lord.

And today, the merchant lady Nü Heng, who had sold him three residences, had mentioned that Shang Xiang's revenge had not gone smoothly—if trouble arose, he could seek her out.

Had Nü Heng already learned something?

"I am a guest of Master Shang Xiang; he has done me a great favor. And today, you've seized my servant. As a warrior, your actions are an insult to me." Li Yi spoke immediately after brief thought.

In this world, keeping one's word surpassed all else.

If he ignored Xiuxiang House's plight, he could never remain in Northern Wasteland City again—and he could not abandon Long Yu.

Therefore, regardless of the outcome, Li Yi must step forward now.

(End of Chapter)

(End of chapter)