Chapter 397

Wu Tie

Chonglou Realm

Since being banished to Da Ze Prefecture, how long has it been since I last had such a good meal and drink?

A place where even the prefect and the military commander are killed off every few days; a godforsaken spot where the ground isn't even leveled; a broken-down place where most food can only be grown, and hardly anyone dares to hunt in the mountains and forests.

Zhou Military Commander

A man over two meters tall, with a stout build like a wild boar, raised a wine jar and bellowed at Wu Tie: "To the commander, I would die in his service!"

A group of meat-eating, wine-drinking "good fellows" with flushed faces all raised their wine jars, shouting at the top of their lungs: "To the commander, I would die in his service!"

No matter what these fellows' true nature is, at least for now, having eaten and drunk their fill and still carrying pockets full of gold coins, they feel grateful to Wu Tie; if Wu Tie were to deceive them into attacking Qian San right now, they would draw their swords and rush forward without hesitation.

This is the camp's drill field; on the west side of the drill field stands a reviewing platform, on which sits a high-backed chair carved with a tiger descending the mountain pattern, and it is covered with a white tiger skin that shines like snowflake silver.

Wu Tie sat in the chair, looking down at these men who were eating and drinking heartily, and quickly dismissed the thought that had just popped into his head.

Great Jin Divine Kingdom

Third-Rank General

Divine Martial Army

After a bout of heavy eating and drinking, their liquor was finished, their meat was finished; the good fellows each let out a belch, contentedly picking their teeth with small wooden sticks. Li Erhaizi sat by the campfire, smugly boasting to the nearby good-fellow leaders about his own brilliance and greatness.

If he hadn't dragged his brothers into the group, could we have such a good meal?

Look at Li Erhaizi himself—he's reduced to skin and bones from hunger!

Heaven Sword Secret Scroll

The good-fellow leaders also kept nodding, saying, "That's right—this bunch of fighting-and-killing good fellows have been living miserably in Da Ze Prefecture; this meal is truly the best wine and meat they've had since arriving here."

Wu Tie sat quietly in the chair, waiting for this bunch of full-fed fellows to rest for a moment, before he slowly spoke.

Samadhi True Fire

Li Erhaozu and the others fell silent at the same time; some stood up to look at Wu Tie, while others remained lazily sitting by the fire.

They were never any good to begin with, and they had never seen how formidable Wu Tie was; in their usual dealings with their own gang leaders, they were always joking and grinning, never serious.

So don't expect them to behave properly before Wu Tie.

Lazy, disorderly, slick, and ruthless—these traits are etched into their bones, almost fused into their blood.

Wu Tie smiled, nodded, then raised his right hand and swept it forward. Suddenly, hundreds of bowl-sized fists glowing with cyan light appeared in the air, the wind-condensed fists whooshing forward.

Aside from those who had stood up to look at Wu Tie, every one of the heroes sitting by the fire was blown away by a single punch.

The sound of breaking bones rang out like popping beans; hundreds of men were blasted far away by the heavy punches, each slamming into the military camp's wall opposite Wu Tie before coming to a sudden stop.

Hundreds of people vomited blood in unison, then slid down the wall in orderly fashion, each sprawled on the ground spitting blood mouthful by mouthful, their bodies twitching, none able to rise.

"First, I'll teach you a bit of discipline."

"I am Huo Xiong, third-rank general of the Great Jin Divine State, coming from the Divine Martial Army; I fortunately earned some merits and was transferred to Great Ze Prefecture to serve as chief commander of the state military."

"No matter what you suspect of me in your hearts, no matter what opinions you hold of me, or whatever schemes you may have against me..."

"Anyway, the first rule I'm teaching you is to be polite to me."

"If I tell you to stand, you may not sit; if I tell you to kneel, you may not stand; if I tell you to do something, you must do it; even if I tell you to eat shit, you must kneel and gulp it down!"

"Just look at Li Erhaozu and you'll know you're no good; therefore, tormenting you causes me no psychological pressure."

"Those who obey me will eat well, drink well, and later have wives; everything can be discussed."

"Those who disobey me, heh... Li Erhaozu, among you, who do you dislike the most?"

Wu Tie looked toward Li Erhaozu.

Li Erhaozu stood there trembling; Wu Tie's gaze swept over his body like a blade, and he shuddered, then snapped to attention with a swish, instinctively pointing at a burly man by another pile of fires ten or so zhang away.

"Zhu Lao Wu, he..."

Before Li Erhaozu could say why he disliked Zhu Lao Wu the most, Wu Tie waved his hand, and a massive hand condensed from Wu Earth energy appeared out of thin air, slamming down with a whoosh.

With a crack, Zhu Lao Wu, whose cultivation was at the third level of the Chonglou Realm—the highest among them and also the most burly and mighty—was crushed by the giant hand, his body bursting apart.

Together with his armor and weapons, everything was shattered to pieces by Wu Tie's extremely heavy palm.

Wu Tie opened his mouth and spewed a blaze of samadhi true fire; the flames roared, instantly incinerating the mess into nothing, leaving not a trace.

The field fell dead silent; even the heroes sprawled at the base of the wall, wailing to heaven and earth, clamped their mouths shut, none daring to make a sound.

"However you say it, he was a starved ghost; I suppose I've done right by him."

Wu Tie smiled at the crowd: "Look, killing a person is simple... before me, you're just a bunch of little chicks, hehe."

"So, understand? From now on, whatever I tell you to do, you will do it—understood?"

Li Erhaozu was the first to kneel on the ground and kowtow heavily to Wu Tie: "I, your humble servant, will utterly obey the commander's orders; if the commander says I live, I live; if he says I die, I die... I dare not have any disobedience."

Wu Tie laughed and clapped: "Good, Li Erhaozu, you're a smart fellow; well, these people, you are now their captain... everyone, you may beat them, you may scold them, as long as you have a proper excuse, you may even kill them at will!"

With a hook of his finger, Wu Tie drew Li Erhaozu onto the inspection platform.

He took out one of the ten divine skill manuals gifted by Mr. Li, the Secret Volume of Heavenly Sword, skimmed through it briefly, then forcibly poured the Chonglou Realm and lower-level arts within it into Li Erhaozu's mind via the art of initiation.

He took out a Nine Refinements Spirit Pill, an auxiliary cultivation aid refined by the military, stuffed the pill into Li Erhaozu's mouth, and said coldly: "Following the divine art just imparted to you, start cultivating anew from the Foundation Establishment stage."

Wu Tie pressed a palm onto Li Erhaozu's forehead, and a vast, pure surge of magical power roared into his body.

Wu Tie's life pool spans a diameter of 180,000 li; although the chaotic true seeds constantly devour the magical power he cultivates, his foundation is so abundantly rich compared to ordinary people that it's monstrous.

Even with the chaotic true seeds continually devouring the cultivated magical power, the energy accumulated in Wu Tie's life pool equals the total cultivation of several ordinary Embryo Treasury realm experts, and even the power he generates in a single breath matches months of arduous training for an average life pool cultivator.

With such a vast foundation, using it to help Li Erhaozu cultivate is like trying to fill a tiny puddle with ocean water—effortlessly pleasant.

In the camp, everyone watched in horror as Li Erhaozu's body suddenly swelled up, inflating like a pig's bladder; beneath his skin, veins bulged, and through his semi‑transparent flesh one could see the meridians inside his body radiating a grim, strong light.

Previously, Li Erhaozu didn't know what sort of rotten technique he was cultivating; in short, his level was abysmal.

With a single palm, Wu Tie shattered all of Li Erhaozu's prior cultivation foundation; the massive medicinal power of the Nine Refinements Spirit Pill ravaged his body, causing him to hoarse wail and hysterical scream, while a desperate, ruthless streak deep in his bones was ignited.

Li Erhaozu knew this was the greatest opportunity of his lifetime.

It's possible; this is his only chance in this lifetime to change his fate. So, while wailing and cursing, he desperately, following the method in the Heaven Sword Secret Scroll, mobilized the immense, inconceivable power within his body.

Three breaths, and the Foundation Establishment stage of the Heaven Sword Secret Scroll was completed.

After a cup of tea, the Profound Mystery stage of the Heaven Sword Secret Scroll was completed.

After a quarter hour, two thick streams of light, double-helix intertwined, erupted behind Li Erhaozi, while countless fine light filaments emitting sharp sword intent continually shattered; he took a step into the Chonglou Realm.

The Chonglou Realm: first heaven, second heaven, third heaven……

Sharp, icy sword qi burst from every pore of Li Erhaozi, several zhang long, tearing the void; the air on the review platform continually trembled, emitting a piercing 'hiss'.

Wu Tie then fed Li Erhaozi several Nine Refinement Spirit Pills to aid his cultivation.

After an hour, before hundreds in the camp, Wu Tie forcibly raised Li Erhaozi to the level of the twentieth heaven of the Chonglou Realm.

Li Erhaozi sweat poured like rain, a thick layer of grime coating his skin; Wu Tie slapped out a palm, a water column washed the grime clean, then a gust of wind swept the water column and grime out of the camp.

Li Erhaozi shakily rose to his feet, having grown over a foot taller than just over an hour ago; though still thin, a layer of barely passable muscle now lay beneath his skin.

What thrilled him most was the supremely sharp, overbearing, icy sword intent filling his body.

The ten divine arts Mr. Li gave Wu Tie rival the Divine Martial Army's Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique, even surpassing it…… Having cultivated the Heaven Sword Secret Scroll to the twentieth heaven of the Chonglou Realm, Li Erhaozi is now capable of matching ordinary Life Pond Realm officers of the Divine Martial Army.

Li Erhaozi let out a wild laugh, shot up a hundred or so zhang, then pointed his ten fingers into the air, and countless brilliant sword qi streaks crossed miles, emitting a piercing tearing sound in the sky.

After firing over a thousand sword qi continuously, Li Erhaozi finally exhausted the surging, turbulent mana within him; he heavily fell back onto the review platform, his head striking Wu Tie's feet, hoarse and exhausted, he shouted with all his strength: 'Commander……'

Li Erhaozi could no longer speak.

He knew his fate had been completely changed. With the twentieth-heaven cultivation of the Chonglou Realm, and obviously having cultivated a profound divine art, his mind still held all the methods to directly cultivate to the peak of the thirty-third heaven of the Chonglou Realm; his fate had been completely changed.

Wu Tie also had a layer of sweat on his forehead.

This was still the first time he had used such a violent method to boost someone's power and cultivation; to prevent the immense mana from bursting Li Erhaozi, Wu Tie had to control his own mana down to the finest detail.

However, this feeling was not bad.

In the process of helping Li Erhaozi increase his cultivation, Wu Tie violently broke open the Chonglou Realm shackles within Li Erhaozi's body, and his understanding of the myriad heavenly-earthly mysteries within those shackles deepened greatly.

Looking down at Li Erhaozi kneeling on the ground, Wu Tie said calmly: 'Get up…… this counts as a small advance payment for your future death in my service…… but you must understand, I can make you, and I can also destroy you…… from now on, work diligently, and you will reap benefits.'

He kicked Li Erhaozi off the review platform with one foot, Wu Tie frowned and scolded disgustedly: 'In my heart, you are a dead man…… you deserve death for the crimes you've committed…… but for now, no one else can be used, so I'll temporarily use you.'

'From now on, serve me loyally; if you dare commit any offense again, I will subject you to death by a thousand cuts, grinding your body and soul to dust, so you can never be reborn.' Wu Tie sneered, and with a fingertip he emitted a point of firelight.

A 'hiss' sound.

A lurid green flame entered Li Erhaozi's brow, leaving a deep, bone‑scorching fire mark there.

This is a vicious technique Wu Tie learned from the Netherworld Tower: a netherworld death‑silent fire lurks in the core of Li Erhaozi's soul; whenever Wu Tie thinks of it, Li Erhaozi will instantly have his soul scattered and perish as horribly as desired.

Li Erhaozi trembled as he knelt, kowtowing repeatedly: 'I know, I understand, I will surely die for the Commander!'

Wu Tie nodded and said calmly: 'Although I made you, this kind of forcing growth…… your foundation is extremely unstable, your grasp of divine abilities…… tsk, you are now just a dog with fangs and claws but no ability to bite. I'll give you a few months to properly familiarize yourself with your current cultivation.'

'Especially, don't greedily rush progress and cultivate haphazardly…… with your aptitude, directly raising you to the twentieth heaven of the Chonglou Realm…… tsk, that's already the limit. Your foundation is unstable; if you still dare to cultivate, going berserk is a sure thing. If you die, don't blame me!'

Li Erhaozi hastily kowtowed, firmly remembering Wu Tie's words.

In the camp, so many people personally witnessed Li Erhaozi go from a 'expert' at the first heaven of the Chonglou Realm to a 'great ability' at the twentieth heaven!

Moreover, the cultivation method he practiced is extraordinarily magnificent, completely incomparable to those crude folk arts.

Hundreds of men, including those badly wounded by Wu Tie's punch, simultaneously knelt on the ground, each howling hysterically: 'We wish to die for the Commander!'

Wu Tie slowly nodded.

Fine wine, good meat, gold coins, plus a sound thrashing, and with Li Erhaozi as a typical example before them, this group of men can barely be driven.

'For now, you need not die for me.'

Wu Tie frowned and asked slowly: 'I want to know, which bastard chose this city site? With this downpour, can anyone still live in the city?'

He snorted in disgust, Wu Tie said coldly: 'Enough, cut the nonsense; let's first properly rebuild Dawze City.'

'Li Erhaozi, take people into the city to recruit workers…… if they don't want to be soldiers eating rations, doing manual labor should be fine, right?'

'Tell them, I want to rebuild Dawze City, and have them work for me…… white rice, flour, various fine grains; if they do well, there will also be pork, mutton, beef, not to mention poultry.'

'Work for the Black Phoenix Army? Hey, three sweet potatoes? He Qian Sanshen can certainly produce that!'