[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dark-and-dawn-light-years":3,"chapter-dark-and-dawn-light-years-dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-190":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dark and Dawn Light-Years",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2264790,4420,"Chapter 190: No Threats Accepted","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-190",190,"\u003Cp>Qin Donglai coughed heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each cough was heavier than the last, and he felt cold all over, his limbs weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even his head ached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the wound on his shoulder; though the iron plate embedded with wood splinters had been removed and bandaged, the area had slightly swelled, and a throbbing pain, like a heartbeat, came and went.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed softly and said to the soldier beside him: “Go get the medic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, a strange-looking southern barbarian shaman approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black, withered old man examined Qin Donglai’s body, muttered a few incomprehensible incantations—nonsense to both Qi and southern barbarians—then said: “You’re cursed. Someone has placed a hex on you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai frowned: “Impossible… the True Lord didn’t even strike me. Though he was a Spirit Hunter, he used only radiant thunder arts—there’s no way he’d resort to lowly curse magic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you are cursed,” the shaman said, rolling his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai sighed: “Then cure me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern barbarian shaman pulled out some bizarre herbs from the pouch he carried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such as dried-out eyes, a piece of white bone, and some insects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He crushed and mixed them into powder, then steeped it in spring water from beside the camp, and handed the brew to Qin Donglai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai stared at the black, paste-like substance floating with wisps of white, ribbon-like “medicinal broth,” and instinctively frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It smelled awful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drink it,” the shaman said coldly. “You’ll recover once you do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, and drained the bowl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shaman left, satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai sat where he was, recalling events from a few days prior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin’s face appeared in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the images of purple lightning striking down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, he truly felt the terror of a Spirit Hunter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic was simply unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, that’s how he felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he realized: the unreasonable one wasn’t the magic—it was the young man. He wasn’t lacking in Spirit Hunter arts; his power was simply immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a Daoist heir at that age couldn’t match him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After failing to capture Yulin County, his rank had been demoted by one grade, and he was now escorting roughly twenty thousand Qi civilians back to Yuecheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These captives could serve as laborers—and if necessary, as food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood on high ground, watching the group of Qi civilians not far ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his eyes, every one of them was utterly cowardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty thousand people, held in check by just a few hundred of them—if they truly rose up, his men couldn’t stop them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these people dared not rebel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Qi people are born cowardly… like chickens and dogs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he frowned again—he knew that statement was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Qi were truly born cowards, how had he suffered defeat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drifted into idle thoughts, then suddenly noticed… his body didn’t feel as bad anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chill was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern barbarian shaman really knew something!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He brightened instantly, waved his hand—and felt no pain in his shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Impressive!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai took a deep breath, feeling much more comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was about to fetch a bow to test if his strength had fully returned, when suddenly—he saw a volley of flaming arrows streaking in from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enemy attack!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone screamed, shrill and piercing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the southern barbarian soldiers sprang into action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About two hundred flaming arrows landed scattered across the entire camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As an archer, Qin Donglai instantly understood: these arrows weren’t meant to kill—they were for… illumination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrows ignited flammable materials in the southern barbarian camp—tents, grain stores—and the fire spread rapidly, lighting the entire camp in brilliant glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the thunder of hooves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of cavalry charged forward, their silver spears piercing through the southern barbarian lines, then circling at a distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least forty southern barbarian soldiers were speared to death; over thirty more were trampled or knocked down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of this happened in less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came hundreds of Qi infantry charging forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai grabbed a large bow, leapt out of the camp, slapped off the sparks burning on his clothes, and stared into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drew his bow, loosed an arrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding… the arrow bounced off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qi infantry had formed ranks—the front line shield-bearers, some even armored soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the village militia from Yulin County a few days ago, their equipment was clearly far superior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dropped the bow, snatched a long spear from beside a fallen southern barbarian soldier, and roared: “Everyone, follow me—fight these cowardly Qi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, many soldiers gathered around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At such moments, a commander who steps forward easily inspires a crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, over two hundred southern barbarian soldiers stood beside Qin Donglai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Charge back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai roared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He charged straight at the Qi lines; the southern barbarians followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai moved fast, sprinting hard—soon he reached the front line of Qi shields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, he felt weightless, as if one push could send him flying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then… he truly “flew.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a dog-eating-shit motion, he collapsed face-first before the shields, motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sudden turn stunned not just the southern barbarians—even the Qi shield-bearers froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin, standing behind the shields, broke his hand seals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d been about to unleash a Thunderbolt Spell right on Qin Donglai—only for the man to faint first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hidden injury?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Donglai falling didn’t matter—but the two hundred southern barbarians following him all froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither fleeing nor fighting seemed right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, a rain of arrows shot from behind the Qi army, felling most of the southern barbarians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud voice rang out, echoing across the entire battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin turned—saw a burly man on a high platform, pointing at the twenty thousand trembling Qi civilians like a shepherd pointing at twenty thousand lambs ready for slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you attack us again, we’ll kill them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the twenty thousand civilians stood about a hundred soldiers… holding spears, poised to stab down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twenty thousand stared at the Qi army, at Li Lin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Li Lin wore official robes—he looked like a high-ranking officer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qi army halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good,” the burly commander sneered. “Now, drop your weapons… and surrender.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin sighed softly and said: “Continue the attack.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qi army advanced once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern barbarian commander roared: “Kill the civilians! Kill them now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over a hundred soldiers surged into the captive crowd like wolves, beginning to slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The captives screamed, scrambling backward, each trying to shove someone else in front of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin’s face darkened—he began forming hand seals again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One after another, purple heavenly lightning struck down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-three bolts… killed twenty-three executioners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin had done all he could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His spiritual energy was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The influence of ordinary human strength on a battlefield was still too small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the other southern barbarians weren’t deterred—they kept killing among the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after the Qi army had cleared all enemies from the battlefield’s perimeter did they turn toward the Qi captives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1184,"2026-06-19T19:39:18.782Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","df6e73a367a56938842d1f32c37a148a28fb35b594ec8f25f207301135d80bac","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-191","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-189",221,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdark-and-dawn-light-years-cover.jpg"]