Chapter 557: Worldly Affairs, Settled with One Sword

The first year of Yuanxing, January 1st.

Before the enthronement ceremony in Lanling City began, Li Fei walked out of Moyun City.

Outside the city, the eighty-thousand-strong Northern Barbarian army had already lined up, seemingly knowing that Li Fei would come to break through the formation alone today!

"Might!"

"Might!"

"Might!"

On the city wall, the soldiers shouted in unison.

Several thousand meters away, rays of light flickered in the military formation.

Under the blessing of magic, the wildness in the hearts of the Northern Barbarian warriors was stimulated, their breathing became heavy, their body temperature rose, and their blood vessels swelled.

Born with physiques different from ordinary people, and fighting with fierce beasts in poor mountains and evil waters since childhood

If they were facing the Northern Border Army, the Northern Barbarian warriors would have the courage to fight to the death, even without the enhancement of sorcery.

But the sense of despair brought by top-tier powerhouses to ordinary soldiers was too overwhelming!

The person currently charging toward the army formation brought an even greater sense of oppression!

After two consecutive great battles, Li Fei's fierce reputation had been thoroughly forged in blood.

So much so that now, before a battle even begins, the Northern Barbarians must first use sorcery to stabilize their morale.

Li Fei began to accelerate, his golden robe like a dragon, as the wind and snow across the sky gave way.

Three hundred meters apart, countless arrows fell like a black canopy.

But all the arrows were left behind by Li Fei.

A flash of blade Qi lit up before the army formation, cutting fifty-seven barbarian soldiers in the front row in two with a single strike!

The slaughter had begun—

Inside Moyuncheng.

Prince Cheng Qin Shixian, He Yuxi, Xuan Chen, Zhou Xuanwo, Bai Meng, and Han Mu—a total of six top-tier powerhouses were gathered together!

Li Fei had already repelled two Northern Barbarian armies in succession, lifting the sieges of two cities.

Therefore, it was highly probable that the Northern Barbarians would not let him succeed a third time.

In this third great battle, it was extremely likely that Li Fei would encounter an encirclement and killing by top-tier powerhouses!

Previously, the group of Northern Barbarian powerhouses had attacked two major cities in succession to probe, all to prepare for this third great battle.

So today, Li Fei left the city to break the army alone.

The group of top-tier powerhouses remained in the city to hold the line for him.

"Report—"

Suddenly, urgent military intelligence arrived.

"Speak."

Qin Shixian said.

"Reporting to the Provincial Military Commander, Polucheng is under attack! Four Northern Barbarian top-tier powerhouses are leading seventeen Badu powerhouses to attack Polucheng!"

Upon hearing this intelligence, the expressions of the powerhouses present shifted slightly.

After the Imperial Guard Commander Han Mu arrived with five thousand Imperial Camp troops, there were a total of over eight thousand Imperial Camp troops on the northern defense line.

Except for Moyuncheng, the other four cities were each garrisoned by two thousand-man Imperial Camp units, which allowed all the top-tier powerhouses to be concentrated together.

But the Imperial Camp troops were not top-tier True Persons after all; using the army formation to drive the city-defending array within the city could not achieve the strongest effect.

Therefore, two thousand-man Imperial Camp units could not guarantee that they would definitely be able to hold a city.

Now that Polucheng was facing a joint attack from four Northern Barbarian top-tier powerhouses and over a dozen Badu powerhouses, it was feared that the city-defending array would be breached in three or four hours at most.

And the battle on Li Fei's side certainly could not be ended in a short time.

At the very least, one top-tier powerhouse needed to be sent over to provide support to ensure that Polucheng would not be lost.

Everyone looked at Qin Shixian.

In Li Fei's absence, this Prince Cheng held the highest authority.

Qin Shixian did not immediately send anyone to provide support:

"Investigate further and report back."

"Yes!"

A moment later, the second piece of urgent military intelligence arrived:

"Baisongcheng is under attack! Four Northern Barbarian top-tier powerhouses are leading nineteen Badu powerhouses in a joint attack!"

Now, all the Northern Barbarian top-tier powerhouses, except for that Northern Barbarian King, had revealed themselves.

Moyuncheng was located in the center of the northern defense line; the leftmost was Polucheng, and the rightmost was Baisongcheng.

The Northern Barbarians chose to split their forces and attack these two cities precisely to mobilize the Great Lan Dynasty's powerhouses to the greatest extent.

With eight Northern Barbarian top-tier powerhouses and all the Badu powerhouses gone to attack the cities, what confidence did they have to kill Li Fei with just Boerhu alone?

This question actually did not require much thought; everyone present could guess what the Northern Barbarians were relying on.

"True Person He."

Qin Shixian looked at a woman wearing a white robe, "Please make a trip to Polucheng."

Sending a True Person to control the city-defending array was certainly more reliable than sending a Grandmaster.

He Yuxi stepped out and bowed to Qin Shixian: "Understood!"

"Supporter Zhou."

Qin Shixian looked at Zhou Xuanwo again, "I'll have to trouble you to make a trip to Baisongcheng."

Of the two imperial supporters, Zhou Xuanwo's cultivation was higher than Bai Meng's; in fact, sending Bai Meng to support Baisongcheng would have been reliable enough, but Qin Shixian chose to send Zhou Xuanwo instead.

Regarding this, no one present was surprised.

Zhou Xuanwo nodded: "Very well."

He turned and looked out the window, his expression somewhat relaxed, yet also somewhat regretful.

A world-shaking battle was bound to break out here today; since he did not have to participate, he did not have to worry about his own safety.

It was just that missing such a great battle made him inevitably feel a bit of regret.

After the two top-tier True Persons left, no new military intelligence arrived.

Everyone was waiting for the outcome of that great battle outside the city.

The sounds of killing shook the heavens, and blood flowed like a river.

The Northern Barbarian army's formation had been thoroughly thrown into chaos.

A martial artist covered in hair, with sharp teeth and claws, pounced toward Li Fei with a crazed expression.

Before he could get close, a flash of blade Qi swept by, and he, along with a dozen barbarian soldiers around him, were dismembered.

This was a martial artist who had voluntarily chosen to beast-morph; he hadn't even managed to touch Li Fei once before he died, nor had he even managed to get within ten meters of Li Fei.

Not just him—in this battle, many martial artists voluntarily chose to beast-morph and then crazily charged toward Li Fei!

They didn't ask to be able to wound Li Fei; they only asked to be able to make Li Fei expend one more sliver of strength.

This was the most spirited and determined Northern Barbarian army Li Fei had encountered so far!

He guessed that many of the commanders among them were likely people of the Wuri tribe, or Boerhu's personal guards.

And this further proved one point—the Northern Barbarians would no longer let Li Fei continue to break the army alone.

Today's battle was bound to have an outcome!

Time passed bit by bit.

Whether it was the ordinary barbarian soldiers influenced by sorcery or the martial artists who had voluntarily beast-morphed.

Everyone's emotions were crazed.

Their eyes were fanatical, their faces twisted, and they bared their fangs and brandished their claws, like wild beasts, one after another, wanting to tear the enemy before them to shreds!

An army of eighty thousand converged into a crazed beast tide.

Flesh, internal organs, bones, weapons, exotic beasts—all sorts of mangled things mixed together, like a bloody hell!

Li Fei, in his golden robe, was the demon king in that hell, constantly creating slaughter and spreading fear.

In the jungle a thousand meters away from this battlefield.

Three old monks wearing red cassocks sat cross-legged on the ground, forming a circle.

Aside from the captured Wuche, three of the other five Great Arhats of Pudu Temple had come!

The three Great Arhats pressed their palms together and chanted scriptures in low voices:

"Taking life is a sin, slaughter accumulates karma. Karmic obstacles entangle the body, cause and effect cycle..."

Streams of thick True Power erupted from their bodies, entering the earth beneath their feet, and then transmitting to the distant battlefield.

The battlefield, which was like hell, was quietly undergoing a change.

As Li Fei killed more and more people, he gradually gained insights.

He couldn't help but look up at the sky.

Although it was the rising morning sun, unknowingly, a dark cloud had shrouded the sky above the entire battlefield.

A powerful pressure that made even top-tier powerhouses feel suffocated faintly transmitted from above the firmament.

This was the feeling of a heavenly tribulation about to descend!

Li Fei, who had once withstood a heavenly tribulation, sensed it immediately.

In the cultivation world, there had always been a saying—

Except for martial artists who walk the path of the soldier, the more powerful a cultivator is, the less they can wantonly slaughter ordinary people.

Because the more people one kills, the more cause-and-effect and destiny entangle the body, and one's personal luck will be affected.

At its most severe, it could even trigger a heavenly tribulation!

The most typical example was one Li Fei had seen—

The Old Ancestor of the Styx, one of the three great demons.

However, Ning Qingman had given Li Fei another explanation: the so-called heavenly tribulation was merely 'positive charges' attracted by a large amount of 'negative charges'.

The reason the Old Ancestor of the Styx triggered a heavenly tribulation was mainly because the cultivation techniques he practiced and the Dao rules he condensed were relatively special.

If other powerhouses were to slaughter ordinary people on such a large scale as he did, it was unlikely to trigger a heavenly tribulation.

But the impact on personal luck and destiny was unavoidable.

However, Li Fei did not care about this.

He was campaigning for the country and killing for the country.

Although he did not practice the path of the soldier, he carried a grand momentum, so the impact on his personal luck and destiny would not be too great.

Yet, at this moment, this impact was constantly being magnified, to the point that it had attracted a heavenly tribulation!

Li Fei didn't need to think to know that it was the people of the Buddhist sect playing tricks.

In this world, when it came to the understanding and control of cause-and-effect and destiny, if the Buddhist sect claimed second, no one dared to claim first!

Even Wen Xuexian, the Pavilion Master of the Red Dust Pavilion, whose personal Dao rules were related to cause-and-effect and destiny, primarily focused her control of cause-and-effect on severing her own, rather than influencing others'.

Facing the constantly accumulating heavenly tribulation, Li Fei felt secretly pleased and continued to slaughter without restraint.

Another twenty days had passed; after exchanging blows with seven dukes, plus the energy naturally absorbed every day, the Ten Thousand Blood Bead had leveled up twice more, from level 63 to level 65!

The number of blood souls in the Ten Thousand Blood Bead had become 8,768.

Not only that, the energy value of the Ten Thousand Blood Bead had accumulated to 43%.

Leveling up on the spot during battle was precisely the trump card Li Fei had prepared for today's great battle.

Now that the Buddhist sect had conjured up a heavenly tribulation, they were merely helping him complete his upgrade faster!

Another thirty-plus minutes passed, and Li Fei's blade had claimed over three thousand more corpses.

Of the eighty thousand Northern Barbarian army, he had already killed over seventeen thousand!

In order to maintain his peak state at all times, the blood souls within the Ten Thousand Blood Bead had dropped below 50%, and 【Blood Breath】 was activated.

Dark clouds covered the sky above the battlefield, thunder flashed, and the magnificent heavenly might was soul-stirring!

Inside Moyuncheng, the group of powerhouses all had solemn expressions.

"It's a heavenly tribulation!"

"Should we intervene to help Li Fei disperse the heavenly tribulation?"

"Do not act rashly."

Qin Shixian calmed everyone down, "Li Fei has withstood a heavenly tribulation and knows the gravity of the situation; if he needs help, he will send us a signal."

"..."

Imperial Guard Commander Han Mu looked at the dark clouds in the distance with worry: "I only fear that the Marquis of Jing'an is being too reckless. If he is severely wounded prematurely, there will be no need to fight today's battle."

Boom—

Just as he finished speaking, thunder exploded in the heavens and earth!

The first heavenly tribulation descended, a purple thunderbolt as thick as a mountain peak crashing toward the top of Li Fei's head.

Before the thunderbolt fell, Li Fei had already donned a suit of golden battle armor.

He finally activated the 【Mixed Origin Sword Realm】.

However, this time, the two characters 'Jing'an' on the back of the armor appeared dim and lusterless.

Because this place no longer belonged to the territory of the Great Lan Dynasty, Li Fei could not obtain the enhancement of national power, and his combat strength was somewhat weakened.

When the heavenly tribulation fell, Li Fei stomped down hard; the frozen earth was as fragile as tofu, cracking, collapsing, and forming a large pit.

Li Fei soared into the air, swinging his blade to slash at the descending purple thunderbolt.

The blade edge slashed from bottom to top, cutting through the thunderbolt all the way!

When he first charged into the army formation, Li Fei had activated 【Blood Rage】, consuming the heaven and earth Yuan Qi to drive it to the extreme.

Afterward, he activated the 【Dragon Elephant】 divine ability, having long since reached the realm of 'Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants'!

This meant that for these past few hours, he had been maintaining this peak posture, bearing a tremendous load!

If anyone else fought like this, they would have burned themselves out long ago.

But Li Fei used blood souls as 'fuel', constantly driving the 【Refining Matter】 divine ability to maintain his peak posture.

This allowed him to face any attack with his strongest posture.

The blade edge slashed upward, thoroughly splitting the descending thunderbolt.

Then the second thunder tribulation fell; Li Fei stood in mid-air and withstood this thunder tribulation head-on.

Then came the third thunder tribulation.

Between heaven and earth, purple thunder struck the golden armor, the momentum splitting the firmament!

After the triple thunder tribulation, the cause-and-effect and destiny triggered by Li Fei's slaughter of tens of thousands were thoroughly exhausted, and the tribulation clouds in the sky began to disperse.

He stood in mid-air, the Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand already covered in cracks.

The energy value of the Ten Thousand Blood Bead had risen from 43% to 84%!

"Since you want to kill me, do you not dare to make a move now?"

Li Fei suddenly said aloud.

Heaven and earth were silent; no one responded.

"Very well, then this Marquis will send you one more sword strike!"

Li Fei voluntarily crushed the Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand.

The long blade shattered, and the sword left its sheath!

In three great battles, having killed tens of thousands, Li Fei had also been cultivating his intent through battle.

At this moment, before the great battle had even begun, he struck with his sword first!

A terrifying sword intent that could pierce the heavens and slaughter the earth erupted from his body; he extended his right hand, his five fingers grasping at the void:

"Come—"

Inside Moyuncheng, the weapons in the hands of tens of thousands of soldiers vibrated!

Intense fighting spirit surged from the depths of their hearts; even without any sorcery to inspire them, they were now longing to charge out of the city for a great battle.

The several thousand soldiers standing on the city walls, having watched Li Fei's battle from beginning to end, were the first to have a response.

This was an invitation—

They raised their weapons high one after another, shouting aloud.

Invisible power was drawn from their bodies, rapidly converging toward Li Fei!

Immediately afterward, the tens of thousands of soldiers inside Moyuncheng also accepted this 'invitation', their 'essence, Qi, and spirit' converging into invisible Yuan Qi—

Like a mountain, like a sea, like a dragon!

"This is..."

The group of top-tier powerhouses felt the response even more intensely.

"The Creation Realm."

Qin Shixian murmured.

Li Fei had used another Dao force technique that reached the Creation Realm!

Dao force techniques of the Creation Realm possessed effects similar to divine abilities, and this Dao force technique of Li Fei's had the effect of being able to gather the Yuan Qi of others!

In the air, a golden longsword appeared in Li Fei's empty-grasping hand.

Since 【Unknown Height of Heaven】, he had created his second personal ultimate move of the Creation Realm!

This was the insight brought to him that day by Lan Yu and the other border army soldiers.

Relying on 【Ten Thousand Phenomena】 to accommodate all kinds of spirit and intent, through three consecutive great battles, the shouts and cheers of the soldiers behind him, and the ever-rising morale in the army, helped Li Fei polish the sword intent in his heart to perfection, erupting at this moment!

This was a sword technique, named—

【Comrades in Arms】!

"Everyone, follow this Marquis to kill the enemy—"

Between heaven and earth, that golden-robed figure held the longsword and thrust it toward the enemy army below.

"Might!"

"Might!"

"Might!"

The roars of tens of thousands of people converged into a sword hum.

The sword light fell to the ground like a reversed Milky Way, and countless sword Qi erupted within the enemy formation!

The sword Qi tore through the bodies of barbarian soldiers one by one, like a tide of death, constantly spreading outward.

Looking down from the air, the large patch of black dots formed by the tens of thousands of Northern Barbarian army was instantly cleared out in a large area, replaced by a blinding bloody color!

The Northern Barbarians and the Buddhist sect wanted to use the Northern Barbarian army to continue wearing Li Fei down; even though Li Fei had withstood the triple heavenly tribulation, they still did not intend to make a move.

But Li Fei shattered their illusions with just one sword strike—

One sword, killing 6,600 enemies!

Asking for a monthly ticket.

(End of Chapter)