Li Qingshan had been expecting this from Han Tieyi. He raised his head and gazed over. There were at least seven or eight hundred military disciples standing on the long steps, ranging from as low as the second or third layer to as high as the seventh or eighth layer. They were cleverly divided by the steps.
Every single disciple of the school of the Military gave off a scent of valour and fierceness. If regular Qi Practitioners were hounds, then they would be true wolves. From a rough glance, their figures did not seem particularly large, but when it came to actual battle, it would be completely different.
Han Tieyi said, “The training mission today is actual combat. Your objective is to defeat that person.”
“Yes, sir!”
Military orders bore the weight of mountains, and it would be strictly enforced. Several hundred pairs of eyes turned towards Li Qingshan at the same time, all staring daggers at him.
Every single one of them had witnessed the battle the other day. They admired and applauded this person who had defeated Chu Tian despite the odds, earning Han Anjun’s praise, but they did not fear him. As “soldiers”, they were people who had to be able to cast aside their personal safety and charge in with full strength even against enemies that outnumbered them ten-to-one.
Li Qingshan could truly feel the existence of the army’s “might”.
When they poured their strength together and achieved unity, they would form a monster called an “army”. The tremendous bearing crushed down on him like an avalanche, like he was facing an army a hundred thousand strong.
Yes, if it were an army composed of regular people, even if they were a hundred thousand strong, they still would not be able to stop them.
Faced with this situation, it would be quite rare if regular Qi Practitioners could even unleash thirty percent of their full strength.
However, was Li Qingshan a regular person? He had never been shaken up by anyone’s aura or bearing before. Compared to lifting a brush and writing, situations like this were what he was adept at dealing with. As a matter of fact, he even liked such situations.
Not only was he composed and devoid of any fear, but this had even set off his burning fighting spirit, making him eager to try them. He laughed aloud. “Tieyi, we’re friends who’ve drunken together, even though I overwhelmed you, hahaha! Yet, you use something like this against me. When I get up there, I’ll definitely give you a punch or three.”
He infuriated the military disciples with that. Although they admired Li Qingshan’s strength, he was just a seventh layer Qi Practitioner if he could not use any techniques or weapons. He knew the art of forging the body, but just who here didn’t know that? Let alone beating him up, they could even exhaust him to death.
Han Tieyi snorted coldly. “Then you’d better give it a try! Do you really think you’re invincible just because you defeated that piece of trash?”
Li Qingshan turned towards Xiao An and said, “Wait here. Watch how I tear through his military formation!”
With that, he planted a foot on the steps. Over a dozen figures leapt up and immediately filled his vision. As they called out, they attacked every inch of Li Qingshan’s body at the same time. Their combination was flawless, like they were a single person. They sealed off every single direction for Li Qingshan, along with any possibility for him to dodge.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! He was basically struck at the same time all over his body. The punches, kicks, palm strikes, and knee strikes were like spear thrusts and hammer blows. Even a boulder would be smashed to pieces by them.
We’ve won. All the disciples who launched the attack thought at the same time. He had no protective techniques. They did not even sense any protective true qi. How was he supposed to withstand their punches and kicks with his body alone?
“Now, this is the welcoming ceremony our school of the Military gives to esteemed guests!” said a military disciple, answering Li Qingshan’s little joke from earlier.
Li Qingshan lowered his head. His tied-up hair was shaken loose, draping onto his face.
“Really? Punches as weak and as powerless as this don’t seem like a particularly enthusiastic welcome.”
The military disciple who had spoken suddenly became stunned. A pair of eyes shone red like a beast’s within the messy hair as his lips curled into a vicious grin, exposing his snow-white teeth.
With a jolt, the true qi stored within his sea of qi began to surge out.
All the military disciples who had struck him were sent flying, landing far away. Their arms and legs that they had used to strike Li Qingshan were in agony, but none of them groaned. Some of them even struggled back onto their feet, wanting to fight back.
“It’s best if people like that just sit out if that’s all the strength that you have. People like that can’t pique my interests at all.”
As Li Qingshan said that, he continued to climb up the steps. Whenever he climbed a step higher, even more and even stronger military disciples would attack him. He still did not fight back, allowing his body to endure their attacks. He did not even bother to shake them off. The punches from third or fourth layer Qi Practitioners would never be able to harm him even without protective true qi.
On the steps, the military disciples had completely surrounded Li Qingshan, punching and kicking him, but they failed to slow him down, not even slightly. Instead, their arms and legs ached as Li Qingshan shook them off. They were in utter shock. Just how powerful were his defences?
Li Qingshan could tell that he had to climb to a certain height before stronger military disciples would attack him.
Han Tieyi watched on from the very top. Their gazes met.
Li Qingshan smiled. Suddenly, he leaned forwards, and his arms draped down naturally. The stone steps that had been reinforced using techniques cracked under his feet.
All of a sudden, Li Qingshan’s figure vanished from before the military disciples.
Li Qingshan had already shot off like an arrow, charging through the military disciples in his way and sending them flying. He directly rushed towards the highest point on the steps.
The Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain in an unstoppable fashion.
No one had expected Li Qingshan to actually be so fast when he decided to move quickly. In the blink of an eye, he reached the top of the stairs, only ten steps away from Han Tieyi.
The military disciples all roared out, “Stop him!”
Not a single disciple remained where they were anymore. All of them were alarmed and set off at the same time. If they allowed Li Qingshan to charge to the very top, they truly would become laughing stocks.
“Eat my fist!”
Li Qingshan grinned. The bones throughout his entire body thrummed as he mobilised all the true qi in his dantian. Nothing happened when he remained still, but once he struck, he would unleash his full strength.
His vision suddenly dimmed, as if a wall had appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path to Han Tieyi.
The giant lumberman Mu Kui let out a furious roar. Lifting his arms over his head, he swung them down like battering rams.
He was the otherperson who had once competed against Li Qingshan in a trial of strength. He was naturally endowed with unrivalled physical strength, and he had spent most of the past year working diligently, allowing his strength to reach a whole new level. He wanted payback right now.
Thump! The platform at the very top of the steps seemed to shake.
The punch and the battering rams collided.
Mu Kui was overwhelmed with shock. Under an overwhelming force, his colossal body stumbled backwards before he collapsed on his bottom in the end.
Li Qingshan maintained his posture of throwing a punch without taking a single step back.
The ox demon had provided him with great physical strength, while the tiger demon had provided him with unrivalled explosive power. Together, he could even force back a giant lumberman who was naturally endowed with strength.
However, Mu Kui’s obstruction gave the military disciples the opportunity to stop Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan looked around.
The strongest disciple present at the eighth layer had already arrived before him. His fists actually burned with flames, fusing his abilities as a Body Practitioner and a Qi Practitioner together. Even Li Qingshan could not afford to underestimate him.
A little further away, over a dozen seventh layer Qi Practitioners unleashed their various techniques and shone with an assortment of colours. Even further away, several hundred men of the school of the Military formed a sea of surging heads, lunging over like a wolf pack that had spotted prey.
In front of him, Mu Kui had stood up again; he spread out his arms, refusing to let Li Qingshan pass.
“That’s more like it! Come get me together!”
Li Qingshan laughed before turning around and charging into the crowd. He was like a fierce tiger that had climbed to the very top of the mountain before turning around and lunging back down.
The Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain!
The first in line was a seventh layer Qi Practitioner. He wielded his palm like a knife as Geng Metal true qi condensed a blade. His moves were as swift as lightning, specialising in tearing through protective true qi.
The path of the military did not have any spectacular techniques, but what they could do was condense all their power into a single point, forming a simple but highly effective killing move.
His plan was that as long as he could force back Li Qingshan by even half a step, they would be able to fall into formation and launch combined attacks against Li Qingshan. By then, no matter how capable Li Qingshan was, he would not be able to break free. He would be a sitting duck.
Li Qingshan only attacked without defending. He allowed the Geng Metal blade to land on him while all he did was smile viciously and throw a punch.
At that moment, whoever retreated would take a great blow to their momentum.
If that’s the case, then I’ll make you suffer. The military disciple gritted his teeth and swung down hard.
Even an idiot knew what was more damaging—being struck by a punch or being chopped by a blade.
With a thump, the military disciple took off like a broken kite, falling down the steps and colliding against his fellow officers. His eyes were wide open. All he saw was a white mark on Li Qingshan’s shoulder, which soon disappeared.
Just what kind of body tempering techniques did he practise? That was the final thought that flashed through his head before he fainted.
Li Qingshan’s Gui Water true qi was extremely pure. Although it could not block the Geng Metal blade qi completely, it could slow it down momentarily. Before it could even land on him properly, Li Qingshan interrupted the attack with his punch, and the residual power was nowhere near enough to get through his Ox Demon Forges its Hide.
We’re both seventh layer Qi Practitioners, but my physical strength is greater, my speed is faster, and even my true qi is more pure. How are you supposed to contend against me?
Li Qingshan attacked every single direction, like a tiger within a flock of sheep. All he saw were figures. There was no need for him to consider what moves he would use. All he did was throw his arms and legs about, and the military disciples would be sent flying as they called out one by one.
Above, there were also a few drillmasters of the school of the Military besides Han Tieyi. They could all tell that Li Qingshan was not a brute on a mindless rampage. From the beginning till end, he did not give the strongest few disciples the opportunity to surround him. Their fellow officers had instead become their obstacles.
It was truly shocking that he could still grasp the entire situation despite how chaotic it was. Even more shockingly, he actually seemed to be trying to defeat all of these disciples alone.
An old drillmaster asserted, “It’s impossible for his physical strength and true qi to last that long.”
Fifteen minutes later, half of the military disciples had already collapsed. All of them could fight no more. Some of them had even fainted, directly rolling down the steps, and this was all with Li Qingshan holding back, or they would have been dead.
On the other hand, Li Qingshan was still as energetic as ever, without the slightest hint of exhaustion. Instead, he was in high spirits, calling out, “Satisfying!” He grabbed a military disciple by the leg and whirled him around a few times like a weapon before throwing him far away.
The drillmasters were utterly astounded. The old drillmaster from earlier added again, “This kid truly has taken me by surprise, but he won’t be able to last much longer.”
Sure enough, Li Qingshan’s true qi had already begun to run out. He would only use his true qi to block relatively more dangerous attacks, which earned a series of nods from the drillmasters.
However, fifteen more minutes passed, and Li Qingshan could not even unleash his protective true qi anymore. His sea of qi was empty too. He completely relied on an ox’s resilience and a tiger’s staunchness to keep fighting. He became riddled with injuries too, but his vigour did not weaken at all. Instead, he grew even fiercer, reaching a peak.
