Chapter 1255: Hot‑Blooded Surge

When the battle began, both sides immediately scattered their troops and charged at the opponent.

The Demon Cultivator units were basically groups of nine, forming a fan shape as they advanced toward the enemy.

Qin Peng's elite soldiers were completely dispersed, each fighting alone, forming an overall cone shape as they pushed forward.

But the soldiers kept a certain distance from each other. If anyone met an enemy, they could use the ferocious beasts' speed advantage to rush in and reinforce.

"This match mainly tests individual strength. Otherwise, if we relied on formations, it would be a different story," Qin Peng began chatting with Ye Liuyun.

"Indeed! Later we can go find the Corpse Demon to practice formations," Ye Liuyun added.

The two of them, seeing their respective forces drawing near, felt a bit nervous.

After all, these were soldiers they had trained themselves, and now half of them would die at the hands of their own men.

It is somewhat cruel, but those lacking strength must be eliminated; there is no other way. Otherwise, even if they entered the battlefield, they'd die, which would affect the whole unit's operations.

Soon after, the vanguard units of both sides made contact.

Then the battle erupted everywhere.

Every Martial Cultivator fought desperately, with no one retreating.

Both Ye Liuyun and Qin Peng were quite satisfied with this.

On the Demon Cultivator side, needless to say, thanks to Ye Liuyun's Nine Nether Prelude, they weren't afraid at all. Those ordinary soldiers, however, were truly valuable.

"Looks like your troop training really works!" Ye Liuyun praised Qin Peng.

"Haha, otherwise I wouldn't be carrying the title of a great Leader for nothing!" Qin Peng laughed.

Then, watching everyone fighting, they both felt their blood boil and became emotionally stirred.

"How many have died?" Ye Liuyun asked Qin Peng after a moment.

"Only twenty percent!" Qin Peng replied.

"These soldiers really aren't easy! They're so tenacious!" Ye Liuyun exclaimed.

He saw someone already wounded yet still persisting.

"There's no choice; war is that brutal! Either you die or I perish! Without the crucible of life and death, we can't forge iron‑blooded elite soldiers!" Qin Peng said calmly.

Only through such trials can soldiers develop a killing aura.

Some units, once deployed, their momentum overwhelms the enemy; even before fighting, they've already won half the battle—that's the principle.

But Ye Liuyun still felt a pang of sorrow.

"If we could produce more Kuailei, wouldn't we need fewer deaths!"

Ye Liuyun suddenly thought that perhaps they could create more high-level Kuailei to counter the Foreign Tribe.

"It would be great if we could make such Kuailei. But now even forging simple shields is so labor‑intensive. Crafting those complex Kuailei is simply impossible in time!" Qin Peng sighed.

Ye Liuyun nodded: "Indeed it's too late, but we can still make them and keep them for future use!"

At that point, Ye Liuyun took out a Transmission Talisman, contacted Zhuge Feiyu, and voiced his idea.

Zhuge Feiyu, upon hearing, also thought the plan feasible.

"Then we'll make the best. I'll first inquire what the highest realm can achieve. Only Kuailei that can confront Martial Cultivators of the Tianzun Realm will be meaningful to us," Zhuge Feiyu replied.

Ye Liuyun knew that Zhuge Feiyu was considering how to deal with the Emperor Xia dynasty, to prevent the dynasty from acting against them.

They now should also prepare their Trump Card in advance.

Soon, the duels within the Secret Realm intensified to a white‑hot state.

Both sides had fully dispersed, chasing each other, turning the Secret Realm into battlefields everywhere.

Qin Peng monitored the death count.

"It's about half now!" he reminded Ye Liuyun that the battle should end.

"Dong!"

The Mourning Bell rang again in the Secret Realm, leaving everyone momentarily stunned.

Those who had been pursued finally exhaled and relaxed.

And those who saw comrades slain and wanted revenge could only helplessly sheath their weapons and cease fighting.

When the bell sounded, they were no longer enemies but all comrades.

The wounded immediately began healing on the spot.

The uninjured went around tending to the injured.

Ye Liuyun and Qin Peng didn't rush to gather them either; they helped treat the wounded everywhere and distributed pills.

Only after everyone finished healing and could move did the troops regroup.

A tally of death ratios showed the Demon Cultivator team held a slight edge.

The other team, which usually relied heavily on ferocious beasts, saw individual combat power decline, and would suffer setbacks against strong opponents.

Nevertheless, passing this battle and recognizing their shortcomings meant they hadn't sacrificed so many in vain.

"Return to rest! The next training will be to reconfigure formations and then engage the Corpse Demon in real combat!"

As soon as this fierce battle ended, Qin Peng announced the next combat objective.

His training has always been like this, giving soldiers no respite.

Because on the battlefield, the enemy also won't grant the opponent a breather. His usual training rhythm is to accustom soldiers to continuous combat.

When these soldiers emerged from the Secret Realm, bloodied, and returned to the barracks, the other soldiers stared in shock.

They entered fine, but when they came out, half the people were gone. What had they experienced?

They were all very strange, yet no one asked about it.

These elite units kept tight lips about their regular training content; asking would be pointless.

Nevertheless, the soldiers started chatting among themselves.

"Good thing I didn't join such a unit, otherwise I'd be trained to death!" a soldier lamented for them.

"Tch! You don't even look at your own strength; I don't even look at you!" another soldier sneered.

"Exactly. With that level of strength, you probably won't survive three days in there!" other soldiers joined in the mockery.

These elite troops, their ferocity in combat, we have indeed witnessed. They usually take on the toughest challenges, and at crucial moments they have a huge impact.

So the other soldiers both respect and envy them; it is also a kind of reverence and yearning for the strong.

This time, seeing so many of them die in a single training, we can't help but feel sorry for them.

Yet they all understand that the harsher the training, the stronger these people's combat ability becomes.

The next day, after a night of repairs, the two squads reassembled and entered the Secret Realm.