Chapter 169: Preparations Before Promotion

A man roared, a horse whinnied long.

Shi Hong spurred his horse into motion, swift as an arrow loosed from its string, charging straight ahead, while the several hundred riders behind him let loose a long roar in unison, their ringing blades following close.

Outside the dense forest, Qi Ying swept his scythe sideways like a moon, and the several hundred riders moved with him, their scythes a forest of their own.

In an instant, the shouts of killing shook the heavens.

Two great sects, over a thousand men, outside this dense forest, in this snowy night, erupted into a brutal death-struggle.

……

Several li away, Jing Jing Shuhu urged his horse forward, then in a flash, as if sensing something, he reined the horse to a halt.

Neighhhh~

The flood-dragon horse reared up on its hind legs. Jing Jing Shuhu swept a cold glance ahead and saw, in the night, a single figure barring the way.

The man was clad in black close-fitting clothes, the wind whipping them with a rustle; his tall frame stood like a spear, a long-handled scythe held upright before him, its blade over a yard long radiating a cold, icy light.

"Xiao Xiao Zongyuan, you dare block me?!"

The instant Jing Jing Shuhu reined in his horse, a sharp explosive crack rang out—Xiao Xiao Zongyuan, over a hundred zhang away, had already erupted into motion.

His robes swelled with wind; a single stride carried him over twenty zhang, and after several bounds he came streaking across at extreme speed, his scythe erupting with terrifying light:

"Kill!"

Without the slightest hesitation, without any exchange of words, Xiao Xiao Zongyuan erupted into motion, his scythe radiating terrifying qi.

Fresh and rested, he struck straight at Jing Jing Shuhu, who had been riding hard for days.

Even from dozens of zhang away, Jing Jing Shuhu already felt that bone-piercing chill, and at once answered with a long roar:

"Kill!"

Boom~

In an instant, blade met hammer; solid qi surged outward like a gale-driven great wave, and the roadside weeds and dead branches snapped apart one after another.

A scythe taller than a man swept down like a crescent moon, trailing streaks of cold light, while a hand-hammer barely a chi long erupted with dazzling flames.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The gale howled, the fierce qi surged and roiled.

Terrifying qi tore the ground apart; wind and snow were utterly shattered, grass and trees reduced to ash, as the two men traded blow for blow at speed, hard against hard.

The place of their clash stretched—from ten zhang, to a hundred, and finally across several li—until they had fought their way onto the battlefield where the Sanyuan Army and the Divine Guard Army were locked in combat.

"Ah!"

A streak of qi swept past a body, and an armored soldier together with his fine steed beneath him was blasted into a pulp of flesh.

"Elder!"

In the midst of the fierce slaughter, Qi Ying's heart jolted: "Jing Jing Shuhu?! How did he get here so fast?!"

"Still dare to be distracted?!"

Shi Hong sneered, his blade vibrating as he moved, forcing Qi Ying back. At the same moment, a muffled boom nearly drowned out the shouts of killing and the clash of weapons on the field.

But at the place where fierce wind surged and roiled, a human figure was seen flying backward; hitting the ground, he coughed blood and let out a long, ragged cry:

"Run!"

"Elder!"

Qi Ying's face changed, and the host of Sanyuanwu experts all changed color as well—the one coughing blood was none other than Xiao Xiao Zongyuan.

"Run!"

Xiao Xiao Zongyuan, coughing blood and staggering, drove force into his legs; his qi surged and roiled, transforming around him into a gale as solid as the real thing,

the interwoven qi enveloping him like a raging ape.

The superior secret transmission of Sanyuanwu—the Raging Ape Scythe Art!

"Roar!"

As the raging ape let out its long cry, a tiger's roar answered in return.

Jing Jing Shuhu strode forward, the qi around his body weaving itself into a fierce tiger that cloaked his form and channeled into his hammer.

The fierce tiger formed from his inner qi was far more lifelike than Xiao Xiao Zongyuan's, and in its every glance there was a natural, awe-inspiring menace.

"Kill!"

After Xiao Xiao Zongyuan's two warnings, he no longer had any spare attention for the fighting behind him.

Accompanied by the tiger's roar, Jing Jing Shuhu had already pounced in for the kill.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion erupted, drowning out the entire battlefield.

Apart from a scant few including Shi Hong and Qi Ying, the vast majority of people could no longer see the two men's forms,

and could only see those two giant beasts formed from inner qi, colliding and tearing at each other violently; wherever they passed, dirt and stone flew, grass and trees snapped.

"Run!"

A blade forced Shi Hong back. Qi Ying was unwilling,

yet could only retreat.

"Want to run!"

Shi Hong sneered, pursuing in a killing chase, holding on tight—he had marched slowly, waiting for exactly this moment.

The head of a true disciple of Sanyuanwu's main lineage was worth far more than those few ordinary true disciples from Qianjun Cave.

Bang!

A moment later, the fierce qi shattered apart.

Beside the dense forest, Jing Jing Shuhu slowly withdrew his hand; his hammer was stained with blood. Several zhang away, Xiao Xiao Zongyuan opened his mouth, and foul blood surged upward:

"What a magnificent Duel-Killing Hammer technique!"

Waiting at ease, yet both lost...

The color in his eyes dimmed; his bones and tendons emitted a 'crack-crack' explosion. As he collapsed backward, blood seeped from every pore on his body.

"No wonder I couldn't catch the bait; this old rascal actually tried to fish for me!"

After wiping his hammer, Jing Jing Shuhu finally scanned the battlefield. Hundreds against a thousand, plus his sudden appearance from the sky—Sanyuan Wu was already in a great defeat.

Still, having been ambushed first, it could only be called a pyrrhic victory.

If he hadn't happened to hear this news from Su Su Wanxiong's mouth, it would now be a crushing defeat, or even total annihilation.

"Hah!"

Turning a thought in his heart, Jing Jing Shuhu let out a long breath, also feeling utterly exhausted.

Having ridden horses for several days, he was indeed extremely weary; otherwise, he would not have fought Xiao Xiao Zongyuan for so long.

◆￠〇

Regarding this, he felt somewhat dissatisfied in his heart.

Han Han Chuijun had already killed a Refining Filth...

Qi Ying was routed; Shi Hong pursued.

The slaughter continued until noon the next day, when Shi Hong returned carrying Qi Ying's severed head, finally bringing it to a complete end.

"Three hundred and twenty-plus enemies killed, two hundred and thirty died in battle, sixty injured, eighteen fled..."

Before the bonfire, Jing Jing Shuhu sat cross-legged. Several disciples returned from counting the battlefield, their faces extremely grim.

"Useless!"

Jing Jing Shuhu's face twitched; he flew into a rage: "A thousand against three hundred, yet two hundred and thirty died in battle?!"

Even though he had expected it beforehand, hearing this number made Jing Jing Shuhu feel his heart bleed; these were all the sect's elite.

"Useless things!"

In the distance, Shi Hong, carrying the head, had a dark complexion.

Clang! Clang~~

Inside the Crimson Fusion Cave, smoke filled the air.

Li Yuan, bare-chested, let the forging hammer fall like raindrops, dense and rapid. Sparks flew in all directions as impurities in the refined iron quickly separated.

His forging art had long reached Great Perfection, and his weapon-casting art was steadily advancing toward Minor Success; hammering iron was already second nature to him.

Forging alloys, quenching and tempering, planing and filing, reheating, polishing... every step was performed with utmost skill.

"The quota is almost complete."

After a long while, Li Yuan set down the forging hammer and relaxed his fingers.

With the sect preparing for war, every blacksmith in the Weapon-Casting Valley was assigned a large task. His assignment was not heavy, but it involved repairing and forging weapons at least of Superior Grade sharp blades, which consumed considerable energy.

Fortunately, his physique was robust, and with the enhancement of five forging hammers, after completing his daily quota, it did not affect his forging of the third Thousand-Weight Heavy Hammer.

"Junior Brother Li!"

Li Yuan turned around.

Outside the Crimson Fusion Cave, Niu Jun brought various iron materials. Seeing Li Yuan, whose complexion remained normal despite the high temperature, Niu Jun felt immense admiration in his heart.

The high temperature of the Crimson Fusion Cave was unbearable even for Shape-Shifting Martial Artists, let alone living inside it for long periods.

What immense willpower this required; he simply dared not imagine it.

"Trouble you, Senior Brother."

Li Yuan took the various iron materials and moved the repaired and forged weapons outside.

"By the way, Liu Zheng under your command came to find you this morning. He said the weapon shop has been sold out, and in a few days, it will be replaced by the delivery of pills."

While moving the iron materials, Niu Jun said: "As a True Disciple, these trivial trades are unnecessary to you; you should have put them down long ago and focused your mind on hammering iron."

"Senior Brother speaks correctly."

Li Yuan nodded and asked him about the sect's

current situation.

"What else could happen inside the sect? That Sanyuan Army is hundreds of li away; could they possibly attack?"

Niu Jun was not worried and even comforted Li Yuan: "We and those families fight once every ten or twenty years; Junior Brother, you should just get used to it."

"Has the Grand Elder sent any news?"

Li Yuan asked.

"This, this actually hasn't."

Niu Jun shook his head and left while carrying various weapons.

"Old Jing hasn't returned yet? Could something have happened?"

Li Yuan felt somewhat worried in his heart. That old man was a bit stubborn with his words, but he was beyond reproach toward him.

Quickly moving the various iron materials into the Crimson Fusion Cave, Li Yuan had just picked up the forging hammer when he heard Lei Lei Jingchuan's steady footsteps.

"Elder."

Li Yuan clasped his hands in salute. Seeing his complexion was good, his heart stirred: "The Grand Elder has news?"

"A great victory!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's brows relaxed; he was in a good mood: "The night before yesterday, the elite forces sent by Sanyuan Wu to ambush suffered heavy casualties; Xiao Xiao Zongyuan and Qi Ying died on the spot!"

An inner sect elder, a contemporary True Disciple great disciple, and hundreds of elites—all of them died in battle?

"This, well, that truly is a great victory."

Li Yuan also set his mind at ease: "Then has the Grand Elder returned?"

"He went to help Duanmu."

Lei Lei Jingchuan's expression grew somewhat solemn: "The Three Yuan Stronghold's strength cannot be underestimated. Duanmu's defensive line across the cities has already lost half of them; the war situation is not optimistic."

"However, the Valley Master must also go all out."

Only then did a smile appear on Lei Lei Jingchuan's face. As long as they took Thousand Jun Cave, then they could advance to attack or retreat to defend.

"Old Han... ahem, where's my master?"

Li Yuan almost called him the wrong thing.

During this period, he had inquired plenty about Old Han's information, but to no avail. He only knew that Old Han had taken Ba Ba Wanli and Fang Fang Bao Luo to Ge Yun Prefecture to intercept Pang Pang Liexue Mountain.

"That old fellow won't have any problems."

Lei Lei Jingchuan was very certain, and also very obviously showed that he didn't want to bring up matters related to him. He waved his hand, preparing to leave.

"Elder, wait."

Li Yuan hurriedly called out to him, rubbing his hands together: "Before I went down the mountain last time, the Grand Elder promised this disciple..."

"What did he promise?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan was slightly startled.

"One superior-grade famous-weapon-grade longbow, and two taels of refined gold."

As Li Yuan spoke, he hurriedly added: "That longbow—afterwards this disciple will help forge San Yang Jian Shang Pin famous weapons. As for the refined gold, this disciple will buy it with gold..."

A superior-grade famous-weapon-grade longbow?

And refined gold too?

"He really promised you that?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's eyelid twitched. That old fellow was this generous?

"Every word is true!"

"Really?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan was very doubtful. After thinking for a moment, he said: "As for the longbow, the Divine Weapon Pavilion did have a few before, but now..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Li Yuan understood in his heart—he estimated the Divine Weapon Pavilion was already empty.

"But as for refined gold..."

Lei Lei Jingchuan hesitated slightly, but thinking that what was being given was also Jing Jing Shuhu's stuff, he nodded:

"Three thousand taels of gold gets you less than one tael of refined gold. This stuff very few people sell. The value should be three thousand five hundred taels of gold. Do you have that much money?"

Three thousand five hundred taels of gold—why not just go rob someone!

Li Yuan only felt his teeth ache.

"Even at the price of three thousand taels of gold, can you afford it?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan was rendered speechless. He had just remembered that Li Yuan had only become a True Disciple for less than a year, and was penniless.

"This..."