Chapter 285: Humiliation, Forging a New Army

"Stop!"

The two hurried toward the house; still over ten meters away, the hot-tempered Yang Zhong directly shouted at those men.

"Oh? Two young masters have returned from hunting."

"You're back early today—still more than two hours till dawn!"

"Why is Third Young Master so angry? We're just taking a casual look."

………………

The mocking words at the door stoked Yang Zhong's already blazing anger, his grip on the club trembling violently.

Hearing the title "Third Young Master," he could no longer contain himself—he charged straight at the man, ready to strike.

The man clearly had weak cultivation; seeing Yang Zhong rush toward him, he immediately shrank back several steps in fear.

Thwack…

Internal brawling within the garrison, once confirmed, carried a minimum punishment of one month's labor in the mine shafts; if serious consequences arose, lifelong service in the mine was possible.

Li Hu, well aware of the camp's rules, could not allow Yang Zhong to act—he grabbed him instantly and gave him a look.

Yang Zhong was no fool; seeing Li Hu's gaze, he instantly calmed, stood still, took several deep breaths, then fixed his eyes on the man who had retreated, showing a flicker of contempt.

The man clearly felt his pride wounded; realizing the two dared not strike back, he continued taunting Yang Zhong: "Third Young Master, your strength has truly improved lately—you even dare to fight inside the garrison now."

"You intruded without cause—"

"Don't waste words with these dogs. Go find their master."

Yang Zhong's words were cut off by Li Hu.

Hearing Li Hu's words, the dozen or so men around the house all showed anger, ready to retort—when a voice, utterly calm, came from Li Hu's left room.

"Fourth, come in."

"Third, get your ass in here!"

If the first voice was flat, revealing no emotion;

the second, a commanding, furious roar, was its complete opposite—brimming with cruelty and hatred, clearly despising the "third" it addressed.

Hearing the two voices from inside, Li Hu and Yang Zhong's faces darkened instantly, but they quickly regained composure and walked in.

Inside the room stood thirteen people: eight dressed as subordinates, still rummaging around; the remaining five, aged similarly to Li Hu, wore noticeably more luxurious clothing, standing in the center, observing Li and Yang as they entered.

The moment Li Hu and Yang Zhong stepped in, the five clearly sensed something—their expressions subtly changed.

The central man fixed his gaze on Li Hu and said coldly: "Fourth, it's only been half a month since I last saw you, yet you've reached the limit of Digging Earth. You've got something you haven't told me, haven't you?"

"What, Li Li Wuqing? You're allowed to cultivate, but I'm not allowed to break through?"

Li Hu wasn't surprised his cultivation had been seen at a glance—after all, the man had reached the Digging Earth limit two years ago and begun using beast blood.

Li Li Wuqing looked genuinely startled—he'd never seen Li Hu so defiant. He stared at him for a moment, as if recalling something, then smiled faintly:

"Li Hu, you probably think reaching the Digging Earth limit means you can join the Longyou Army, and once you're out of the hunting squad, I won't be able to touch you, right?"

Li Hu sneered, answering Li Li Yuanqing by implication.

Li Li Yuanqing could brazenly insert men into Li Hu's hunting squad because his maternal grandfather, Zhu Xing, oversaw all ordinary hunting squads in Longshan.

As Li Li Yuanqing said, Li Hu had now reached the Digging Earth limit and would soon join the Longyou Army; once outside the hunting squad, even Zhu Xing couldn't control him, let alone Li Li Yuanqing before him.

The Longyou Army was Longshan's strongest weapon, governed with extreme strictness—except for the commander and a few others like Li Li Li Li Tiancheng, no one else could interfere, not even Zhu Xing.

Li Hu had pushed himself to the brink to accelerate his breakthrough, all to enter the army as soon as possible and escape the surveillance of Li Li Yuanqing and Yang Gan.

Of course, the more important goal was to steal for Great Xia…

Huh!

As Li Hu's thoughts churned, a punch suddenly slammed toward his face.

Li Li Yuanqing had struck him before; Li Hu reacted swiftly, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness as he swiftly drew his greatsword to counter.

Internal fighting was forbidden in the Longshan garrison, but since the other had struck first, Li Hu had no restraint—he knew his strength couldn't match Li Li Yuanqing's, who had broken through two years ago, so he drew his greatsword immediately.

"He broke through two years ago—his base strength can't exceed mine by more than ten thousand jin. He thinks he can beat me with just a punch—"

Boom!

Li Li Yuanqing's straight punch shattered Li Hu's thoughts.

Crack…

The punch struck Li Hu's greatsword directly; the terrifying force traveled up his arm, and a sharp snap echoed as his bone broke—Li Hu's face instantly paled.

The greatsword flew from his grip; his entire body was flung backward over ten meters, smashing through the wall behind him and driving him half a meter into the ground.

Spurt…

"Brother Hu!"

Yang Zhong stood frozen for several seconds, then snapped back to reality and rushed to lift Li Hu—but he'd taken only two steps when Yang Gan, beside Li Li Yuanqing, kicked him hard, sending him flying.

"Third, did Big Brother tell you to move?"

After kicking Yang Zhong away, Yang Gan pressed forward and stomped hard on his left cheek, crushing his skull ten centimeters into the ground, leaving only one left eye exposed.

"Third, your base strength has increased significantly lately—tell Big Brother honestly, how did you and Li Hu manage it?"

Yang Zhong's temperament was fiercer than Li Hu's; facing such humiliation, his fiery nature erupted—he roared, even knowing he was outmatched: "Yang Gan, if you've got balls, kill me! As long as I live, I'll kill you someday!"

Yang Gan had likely heard this before—he flickered a sliver of killing intent, but quickly suppressed it, sneering: "A waste who hasn't broken the thirty-thousand-jin limit at twenty-two—if not for camp rules, you'd be dead dozens of times over. Even if you had ten more years, you'd still be under my foot. Understand, waste?"

Boom!

"Waste! You useless waste!"

Yang Gan's temper was extremely volatile; feeling unsatisfied, he cursed "waste" while relentlessly stomping Yang Zhong's body.

But it was clear he hadn't killed him—if he'd used full force when kicking him earlier, Yang Zhong would've died.

He hadn't killed him—but he'd carried the humiliation to its extreme.

"Kill me if you've got the guts. Kill me."

"Dog bastard, kill me! Kill me!"

"Monster, I'll kill you—I'll kill your mother!"

………………

Yang Zhong's head buried in the earth still roared, refusing to yield even through unbearable pain—as if deliberately provoking Yang Gan, he finally blurted out his innermost thoughts.

Hearing the threat to kill his mother, Yang Gan's rage flared—his eyes brimmed with lethal intent as he raised his foot high, clearly preparing to kill.

"Li Li Yuanqing, you've broken through to Cold-Resisting Level?"

But at that moment, Li Hu spoke from the other side.

Li Hu's question seemed to jolt Yang Gan—he remembered something. Though his foot still came down, he retracted seven or eight tenths of the force.

Yang Zhong's roaring ceased; he turned to look at Li Li Yuanqing, his body trembling slightly, a flicker of despair crossing his face.

Clearly, Li Hu had just felt Li Li Yuanqing's power after taking that punch.

Li Li Yuanqing had reached the Digging Earth limit two years ago and begun reshaping his skin with beast blood—Li Hu's question made the implication obvious.

"You've got some eyesight, after all!"

Li Li Yuanqing's voice dripped with triumph. He stepped forward and kicked Li Hu out of the ground with his foot, then squatted before him and continued:

"Li Hu, your and Yang Zhong's cultivation speed lately has been abnormal—you've been hiding something. Be smart and tell me now, or I'll make sure you two never get another chance to hunt in Longshan. Do you believe me?"

Seeing Li Hu remain silent, he seemed to recall something, his eyes flashing cold: "By the way, you've reached the Digging Earth limit, and Yang Zhong has too—you'll need beast blood next…"

Yang Gan immediately took up the thread, sneering: "Two little bastards, thinking you can get beast blood? Dream on!"

Lying on the ground, Li Hu and Yang Zhong's expressions darkened instantly.

Yang Gan's father, Yang Yang Fengping, was not only the camp's strongest archer but also oversaw all elite hunting squads in Longshan—and the beast blood warehouse was managed by his mother, Li Li Li Xuanqiu.

Li Li Li Xuanqiu was Yang Zhong's mother's killer; she would never let them exchange beast blood like other normal Digging Earth limit cultivators.

So Yang Gan was right—they could never get beast blood. It was indeed a dream.

"Here's my offer: tell me your secret for accelerating your cultivation, and from now on, you may go to the warehouse to exchange for beast blood—I won't interfere. Deal?"

After feigning thought, Li Li Yuanqing made his offer, then gave Yang Gan a glance—clearly signaling him to cooperate.

Yang Gan immediately responded, his eyes flickering: "That's right, Third. We're still family. Tell me your secret, and I'll stop harassing you. How about it?"

Heh…

Both Li Hu and Yang Zhong silently sneered inside.

Having grown up under Zhu Rou and Li Li Li Xuanqiu's watchful eyes, were they fools easy to deceive? Li Li Yuanqing and Yang Gan's tricks were transparent to them.

Both remained silent—the atmosphere turned icy.

Li Li Yuanqing and Yang Gan waited long without response, realizing their ruse had been seen through—finally, frustration surfaced on their faces.

"Fine. Don't talk. I've never cared about you two wastes. But…"

Li Li Yuanqing's tone turned sinister as he continued: "If you think joining the Longyou Army means you're safe, you're dead wrong. Last night's council decided to form a new Longyou Army. I've been appointed one of its two Supervising Captain positions. Even if you join the new army, you won't escape my grasp."

Yang Gan couldn't help but speak now, sneering at Yang Zhong on the ground:

"I'm close to breaking through too—you won't escape my grasp either!"

Hearing this, Li Hu and Yang Zhong's expressions hardened.

Today was the first of June; yesterday was the last day of May—the monthly council day. Li Li Yuanqing hadn't lied.

The Longyou Army formed in units of a thousand; a new army meant all future Digging Earth limit breakthroughs would be assigned to this new unit.

The Longyou Army's structure: one Commandant, four Captains;

the Commandant led the entire army; two Commanding Captains each commanded a five-hundred-man regiment, handling actual command; each regiment had a Supervising Captain overseeing discipline, battlefield order, and post-battle rewards.

Since they'd just broken through the Digging Earth limit, they'd be assigned to the new army. With only two five-hundred-man regiments, Li Li Yuanqing could easily manipulate their placement into his own unit.

So "you won't escape my grasp"—it wasn't an empty threat.

"I'll give you one last chance—tell me the secret behind your accelerated cultivation…"

Li Li Yuanqing asked again, still unwilling to give up; seeing that Li Hu and Yang Zhong remained silent, he finally lost patience and let out a bitter laugh.

"Fine, fine, fine! You refuse the cup of wine and choose the cup of punishment. If that's how it is, I'll take away your chance to go out hunting even once a night—without meat, I want to see how you get your beast blood, how you keep breaking through!"

As soon as Li Li Yuanqing finished speaking, he turned and walked out with Yang Gan.

The others followed behind the two of them, exiting together.

Inside the room, the two men lying on the floor remained motionless for a long time.

Only the steadily deepening sounds of their breathing revealed that both were far from calm.

After a long while, Li Hu, whose injuries were lighter, rose first. Seeing the chaos in the house, he forced down his raging anger, walked over to Yang Zhong, and helped him up.

"Huizi, maybe we should go to Great Xia first…"

"Don't be foolish. I know what you're going to say!"

Li Hu cut him off and silently began gathering the scattered items from the floor.

His tone grew eerily calm as he continued: "If we go to Great Xia now, we're just two stray dogs—disgracing the cultivation supplies Senior Secretary gave us, and we'll never rise in Great Xia."

He paused, then added: "This humiliation is worse than before. It's probably because our cultivation speed has been accelerating lately, making them nervous. That's a good thing—don't lose heart."

Yang Zhong's expression grew serious, though his face still held hesitation.

"But if we join that new army, Li Li Yuanqing…"

"Li Li Yuanqing doesn't have that kind of power. If he were truly strong, he wouldn't be stuck as a Supervising Captain. He's just abusing his authority, cutting our cultivation supplies during merit rewards. But we're different…"

Li Hu paused, then lifted his head, his eyes filled with hatred as he spoke low and steady: "Once we join the new army, we'll gain access to the camp's high command—and learn every move of the Longshan Army. Do you think such intelligence matters to Great Xia? To Senior Secretary?"

Yang Zhong's expression sharpened, and a spark lit up in his eyes.

"From what I know, the camp's current number of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators is insufficient. Building this new army consumes enormous resources. Longshan wouldn't create a new army without reason—it's almost certainly because the camp is preparing some move. We must get this news to Senior Secretary quickly."

Hearing Li Hu's words, Yang Zhong immediately nodded—but then his face darkened with difficulty.

"They've been watching us too closely lately—even inside the garrison. We have no chance to go out alone. How do we send the message?"

"We need to recruit another reliable newcomer—one who doesn't attract Li Li Yuanqing or Yang Gan's attention—to carry the message for us."

Xue Ping!

The name flashed into Yang Zhong's mind almost instantly.

(End of Chapter)