Chapter 379

A martial family becomes a martial family because its clan serves in the military generation after generation, sharing robes and blessings, and is upheld by the soldiers, thus forming a martial family.

Therefore, the descendants of a martial family generally have decent character.

And the imperial clan…

Just look at Sima Xin's actions and you'll know what's going on.

Wu Tie had already reached the top of the altar; the immense pressure crushed his body, making his movements extremely slow. He slowly reached out and grabbed the oddly shaped token, about a chi long, three cun wide, and half a cun thick, entwined with two dragons, placed on the altar's top.

Sima Xin's cultivation had reached the Fetal Storage Realm, and he practiced the royal secret art of the Da Jin Divine State, which is far superior to the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill.

He strode forward and leapt onto the altar, kicking toward Wu Tie's back.

The sharp protrusion on the toe of his metal war boots glinted with icy light; Sima Xin kicked with all his might, fearing one kick wouldn't kill Wu Tie. As he swung his leg, Jiang Ping and the others who had just rushed to the base of the altar heard a muffled tearing sound.

"Sima Xin... damn!" Jiang Ping snatched a celestial soldier's long spear from a nearby third-rank general and hurled it with all his strength at Sima Xin. The spear trailed a cold light, emitting a piercing tearing sound, and instantly reached Sima Xin's back.

Sima Xin was startled.

Although also in the Fetal Storage Realm, Sima Xin's realm was built up with countless resources; though he practiced the royal secret art, he had not truly refined it.

His strength pales compared to Jiang Ping, who has fought blood-soaked battles in the army for years, repeatedly risking life and death.

He dared not take that sudden shot from behind; he could only clumsily employ an escape technique, suddenly fleeing to the side.

With a "crack," Sima Xin's war boot scraped Wu Tie's shoulder. The qilin-head pauldron on Wu Tie's shoulder instantly shattered into fragments, which sliced across his face, carving a deep bone-reaching wound that spurted blood.

Jiang Ping's thrown spear also narrowly grazed Sima Xin's ribs, its tip scraping a long spark across his armor; the celestial spear and celestial armor rubbed together, producing an earsplitting screech.

The spear flew over the altar, landing who knows where far away.

Jiang Ping gripped a celestial soldier's longsword, cursing lowly, leapt onto the altar in a couple of bounds, and swung down at Sima Xin's head.

Sima Xin cursed angrily, waving his coiling-dragon halberd left and right to block; the halberd and sword clashed five or six times, clearly showing his hands trembling, sweat continually streaming down his forehead.

Jiang Ping's strength far surpassed Sima Xin's; his army killing techniques were extremely proficient, each move vicious to the extreme, always aimed at lethal vital points.

Although Sima Xin's halberd is a fine weapon, his techniques are sluggish and ineffectual, like tofu dregs, and Jiang Ping beat him back repeatedly.

Suddenly a strange cry rang out; Sima Xin only thought of retreating, and after a few steps he reached the edge of the altar steps. He stepped back forcefully, but his foot found no purchase, and he immediately tumbled down the altar with a "thud-thud-thud".

Jiang Ping stood on the steps, spat at the rolling Sima Xin, then shouted loudly: "Huo Xiong, why haven't you yet stamped your soul seal on the city guard token? What are you waiting for? For the Wei dogs and Wu pigs outside to charge in and wipe us out?"

Wu Tie caught his breath, seized the token floating atop the altar, and a surge of soul power flowed into it, quickly forming a soul seal.

The entire fortification within a five-li radius trembled slightly; the pressure from the blood-colored light pillar vanished instantly, and everyone's movements returned to normal.

Wave after wave of invisible heat surged from the fort's underground, continually flowing into the bodies of all Divine Martial Army soldiers. Many severely wounded soldiers let out extremely comfortable groans; their injuries healed rapidly, and even missing arms and legs slowly began to regrow.

On the fort's hundred-zhang-high walls, light cannons kept popping out of the wall, and rack after rack of dense, hive-like heavy bed crossbows continually emerged from the wall.

Sharp spikes protruded from the wall, their surfaces covered with lethal barbs; a touch wounds, a pierce kills. Undoubtedly, these spikes densely sprouting from the wall will inflict massive casualties on any enemy outside trying to climb the wall and attack.

Apart from Jiang Ping, dozens of Divine Martial Army officers from martial families also climbed the altar, clapping and laughing together.

"Huo Xiong, well done... hey, the city gate you led the army to capture—this first stage's reward rightly belongs to you."

The reward for the first stage?

Wu Tie was pondering when the altar's blood light flashed a few times; a fist-sized crimson jade block appeared out of thin air, then strands of five-colored auspicious aura sprayed from it, swiftly entering Wu Tie's forehead.

A profound and endless Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill appeared in Wu Tie's mind; a tremendous force surged from the void, quickly entering his body, driving his blood and qi to circulate rapidly according to the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill.

Strangely, above the altar, strange, dragon-like Dao patterns emerged; the heavenly and earthly laws became a hundred times clearer than usual, and these patterns penetrated Wu Tie and the others' bodies, imprinting incomparably clear insights of the Great Dao onto their souls.

"Ha, good, good, good..." a commander clad head-to-toe in fiery red armor loudly applauded: "I've long wanted to comprehend the Flowing Light Dao; combined with my innate Geng Metal battle body, the Flowing Light Dao can continually boost my speed, increasing my combat power at least tenfold... hahaha, Huo Xiong, thanks to your luck, Flowing Light Dao, I've entered the gate!"

Several other commanders also cheered in unison; besides cultivating their own arts, they strove to comprehend other Great Dao paths. Even a slight insight into the heavenly and earthly Dao greatly enhances their combat power.

The heavenly and earthly laws manifesting so clearly on the altar, and being so conveniently inscribed directly into everyone's souls, is undoubtedly a tremendous fortune for the dozens of commanders atop the altar.

The altar's top area is small, only enough for a few dozen people to stand.

Below the altar, Sima Xin, forced to roll down by Jiang Ping's sword, stomped his feet in frustration; yet there was no place left for him to stand on the altar, and furthermore... where would he dare to go up again?

"In the Blood Banner Contention, the first stage's reward varies each time; you've obtained a cultivation art? As the elders of our clan say, the arts that appear here are granted according to one's own cultivation, and they are all profound and supreme... What did you get?"

Wu Tie swallowed his saliva.

His blood and qi surged rapidly within his body; under the push of the immense force from the void entering the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill, he actually broke through the third-turn barrier outright and was now striding toward the bottleneck of the fourth turn.

A terrifying force grew stronger as the art circulated; Wu Tie felt as if a volcano lay within his body, amassing horrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth.

"Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill... not Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill, but Nine Revolutions... Mystic Skill." Wu Tie stared blankly at Jiang Ping, bewildered, and asked: "What cultivation art is this?"

The Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill imprinted in Wu Tie's mind is indeed the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill.

Furthermore, comparing it to the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill he knew, the version poured into his mind from the jade block is the original, unaltered Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill.

"Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill!" Jiang Ping and the others simultaneously showed envy: "This is the source art of the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill!"

Wu Tie's blood and qi surged wildly, rendering him temporarily immobile; Jiang Ping and the others also stood atop the altar, savoring the wonderful Dao principles continually imprinted into their souls, feeling their cultivation rise, and they too did not wish to move.

Exchanging words, Jiang Ping and the others clarified the relationship between the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill and the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill.

Precisely, the Divine Martial Army's secret arts—Three Turns Primordial Skill, Six Turns Primordial Skill, and Nine Turns Primordial Skill—all derive from the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill; they are reduced versions, with power and profundity weakened a thousandfold.

Yet the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill is a forbidden art in the Da Jin Divine State; although a complete version exists in the royal treasury, no one dares to cultivate it.

It is said that anyone who privately cultivates the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill faces, each time they break through, an immensely fearsome heavenly thunder tribulation that continues until the cultivator is shattered to dust, body and spirit destroyed, after which the tribulation ceases.

So privately cultivating the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill means certain death.

Many similar forbidden arts, countless in number, have been passed down since antiquity, equal to the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill as divine techniques.

Because cultivating them means certain death, these arts can only be locked away; no one dares to practice them.

However, a certain generation's Divine Martial Army commander-in-chief, that is, the Divine Martial Hall's master, comprehended the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill and obtained weakened versions of the three-turn, flowing-turn, and nine-turn Primordial Skills; after people tried cultivating them, they found these weakened versions did not provoke heavenly tribulation, so these three arts became the exclusive methods of ordinary Divine Martial Army soldiers.

Only in the Three Kingdoms Blood Banner Contention do fortunate individuals obtain the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill or other primordial divine arts; only such fortunate ones can cultivate the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill without facing heavenly tribulation.

It is as if an unseen pair of eyes watches over all beings between heaven and earth; only those granted permission may cultivate these forbidden divine arts.

"So..." Wu Tie looked at Jiang Ping with a face of delight, shock, and ecstatic joy.

"Huo Xiong, you've struck great luck... normally the first stage's reward is a third-rank or even sixth-rank celestial soldier... but celestial soldiers are external objects; the right to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Mystic Skill is what matters!" Jiang Ping slapped Wu Tie's shoulder hard: "From now on you'll prosper... how about considering becoming a son-in-law of my Jiang family?"

Wu Tie's face twitched violently.

This guy…… seeing Jiang Ping's dead‑serious look, is he for real?

Marry into the family?

Well, my Jiang clan has many handsome, heroic daughters; if you marry into the family, your first son will take the Jiang surname, while other children will keep the Huo surname—how about that? Jiang Ping earnestly told Wu Tie the condition: "With the resources of my Jiang clan, plus the strength you gain from cultivating the Nine Turn Mystic Technique, in just a few years I guarantee you'll become a major general of the Divine Martial Army!"

Besides Jiang Ping, several other scions of military families also chimed in, spitting as they promised Wu Tie various conditions, hoping to draw him into their households.

Wu Tie gave a dry laugh, but kept his mouth shut.

Marry into the family?

Heh!

The Nine Turn Mystic Technique spun at high speed; the immense force in the void relentlessly pushed Wu Tie's cultivation upward step by step.

Within the Life Pool, 180,000 li in diameter, streams of viscous, crystalline mana flashing with seven‑colored divine light continually poured in from the void, gathering in the pool. Wu Tie's mana cultivation surged forward, while his body gradually exhaled a heaviness like a great mountain.

This aura was extremely overbearing yet unusually agile, silently resonating with the ever‑emerging Dao patterns in the void, giving a sense of profound mystery and boundless power.

Jiang Ping and the others couldn't help but exclaim in wonder; they too were among the fortunate few who had first encountered the practice of the primeval forbidden art, and they felt extremely fresh about Wu Tie's mighty, marvelous aura.

Sima Xin stood below the altar, gnashing his teeth as he watched Wu Tie's aura grow stronger on the altar, with threads of spiritual light constantly seeping from every pore; his face twisted with rage, wishing he could spear Wu Tie through with a single halberd.

This opportunity should have originally been his!

Whether it was the cultivation method or the three‑fold, six‑fold refined immortal soldiers… and even in several Blood Flag Contention Battles, the fortunate one who first left a soul imprint in the City Guard Token received the egg of a primeval divine beast, thereby gaining an immensely powerful war beast.

Sima Xin had long envied those fortunate ones; this time he finally encountered the Three Kingdoms Blood Flag Contention Battle, and he firmly believed the opportunity should have been his… and moreover, he originally had a chance to seize it.

But 'Huo Xiong', a lowborn from a military household.

And there's Jiang Ping, that bastard, relying on the power of the Jiang military clan, he doesn't even put Sima Xin's noble royal lineage in his eyes, daring to draw a blade against him.

Sima Xin's eyes turned red with jealousy, his whole body trembling with rage.

He gripped the Coiling Dragon Heavenly Halberd tightly; if he weren't unable to best Jiang Ping, he'd truly charge forward and skewer Wu Tie and the others to death.

From the city gate came a loud shout: "Form ranks, form ranks… defend, defend!"

Thousands of Divine Martial Army soldiers, their strength restored and all wounds healed, formed up at the twenty‑zhang‑wide city gate, their slightly damaged tiger‑head shields hovering above their heads; everyone stood ready, bracing for the impact of the Leopard Cavalry and the Soul‑Slaughter Army.

Several hundred soldiers with heavier wounds, still not recovered despite the underground heat seeping up, instead rushed up the steps behind the wall and took control of dozens of light cannons and about a hundred heavy bed‑crossbows atop the wall.

Sima Xin's gaze suddenly turned extremely ferocious.

He glared fiercely at Wu Tie and the others on the altar, then strode toward the city gate.

He bellowed hoarsely: "Everyone, hear my order—charge!"

"You cowardly, death‑fearing bastards, who told you to hold formation and defend? Attack, attack—show the might of my Great Jin Divine Kingdom!"

"Everyone, attack on my command!"

Sima Xin walked up behind the ranks, raised his long halberd, and with a 'swish' pierced a Divine Martial Army soldier to death, then stomped his feet and cursed: "Who told you to stay here? Attack, attack!"

"The Divine Martial Army of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom—how could there be any reason to fear death and cling to life? Charge out, charge out!"

On top of the altar, Jiang Ping and the others stared dumbfounded as Sima Xin bounced and roared at the city gate, each of them seeing red with anger.

Outside the city lie a million enemy troops, and you're sending only a few thousand soldiers to charge?

"This bastard doesn't want us to get the later rewards…" a scion of a military family shouted in anger: "This bastard, he, he wants to ruin our Blood Flag Contention Battle this time! Damn… bastard!"