Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“Something’s not right?” Qin Fen was surprised to find that the true energy in his body felt completely absent, he couldn’t feel any true energy at all.
Qin Fen was very shocked by this finding. As he had been through half a month of killing, it could be said that he had made great progression again in his martial dao journey. Perhaps the divine beast martial artists would be able to suppress his strength, but no one could constrain him to the point where he couldn’t use true energy at all.
Although the liquid metal ball was magical, Qin Fen did not believe that it had the ability to suppress all of his true energy, but the reality was that he really couldn’t feel his true energy at all.
Technology… it’s indeed amazing! Qin Fen had no choice but to admit this in the end. This liquid metal ball has some high-tech magical tricks. I’m not sure how it worked in terms of stimulating the brain or inhibiting certain parts of the brain, therefore making me unable to feel any of my true energy.
The figure of light once again appeared in front of Qin Fen. It ordered Qin Fen with a cold and lifeless tone, “Survive. Die here and you’ll die in reality too.”
After the order was finished, the figure of light disappeared again. Qin Fen didn’t even have the chance to say anything. This time, he started to blame himself for not having a good habit of speaking much normally.
If Xue Tian was the one here, Qin Fen believed that as soon as the figure of light appeared, Xue Tian would’ve grabbed the chance to throw dozens of questions at the figure of light before it could even speak. Even though he might not get answers, at least he got to voice out his doubts and dissatisfactions.
Not giving him extra time to chat, sounds of ear-shattering war drums beating rose up to the sky; low pitch sounds of war horns were echoing in the huge battlefield.
Qin Fen found himself in a cloth uniform, holding a long but weak spear in his hand. The people around him seemed extremely nervous that the weapons in their hands were shaking at different degrees.
These are rookies! Qin Fen frowned slightly. It was not a good thing to be assigned onto a rookie team. They didn’t have strong military morale and were low in combat power.
There was not much time for Qin Fen to complain, he found that the army next to him had started to move. Castle gates of a huge city that was opposite them had opened up, and a man on his horse rushed out from the gate with an army following behind him.
They were equipped with shiny sabers. Before they even came into contact, Qin Fen could sense their sharp murderous aura and knew that his opponents were veterans, and some could be regarded as elite veterans.
The square formations of both armies started to move forward. Soon, Qin Fen discovered that these soldiers might seem to be moving forward in unison in a simple formation, but they were actually moving in orderly sequences. It felt like a strictly strategized formation! An ancient military formation!
The army didn’t seem to be marching quickly, but as the two parties were not separated by a long distance to begin with, as soon as both sides started to approach each other, the gap closed up rapidly.
There wasn’t a situation where the generals from both sides stood out to duel with each other. When there was a sudden change in the war drums’ rhythm, archers from both sides started shooting upward in unison; arrows rained down from the sky.
Pu pu pu…
The rain-like arrows instantly plunged into the bodies of the rookies beside Qin Fen. Some imitated Qin Fen’s moves by blocking out the arrows with their long spears and knives. Their opponents seemed to be well-trained and had way better equipment than them. The soldiers in the front row lifted up their shields to block off most of the incoming arrows.
The first to collide with each other were the generals of both sides; their saber and silver spear collided, sparking as the metals came into contact. Soldiers behind the two of them came into contact like two tides. Qin Fen could see a courageous murderous intent from his opponent’s eyes, along with a hint of pride.
Yes, he had a right to be proud. As a skillful veteran facing a bunch of rookies, he was very used to all the killing and bloody scenes. He knew better than anyone else that those who were afraid of death had a higher chance of dying.
Therefore, he was not afraid of death. At least, he needed to pretend that he was not afraid of death in front of the opponent. He must overpower the rookie opponent with his aura. He lifted the saber and held his shield, although he didn’t feel that it was necessary to guard himself with the shield. According to his experience, all he needed to do was to deliver just one strike, then his frightened opponent would be killed by him.
However, he was wrong. When he lifted the saber, his pupils reflected two sparks flashing in an instant. He felt a sharp and burning sensation in his throat. Stunning red blood spurted out from his throat the next instant. He fell forward like a puppet.
A veteran was killed. Several veterans beside him were shocked by this scene. The strike delivered by Qin Fen was fast, accurate, and steady; no rookie could perform this well.
Qin Fen didn’t draw back his spear after stabbing an opponent. Even though he had lost his true energy, his martial senses were still there. His physical strength and power that had exceeded those of ordinary people were still there, and he still retained the ability to identify the vital points on human bodies.
He shook the long spear mid-air and delivered four dazzling strikes. Another four veterans had yet to lift up their shields when their throats were already penetrated by Qin Fen’s spear.
Survive! At that moment, Qin Fen no longer thought about anything else. He would kill anyone who got close to him or directed hostility and murderous intent towards him on the battlefield!
This huge battlefield was filled with countless murderous auras. It was not an easy task for Qin Fen to be able to differentiate which one was directed towards him and which one of it was only part of the overall atmosphere on the battlefield.
The spear he was holding had a wooden rod and an iron tip. Within just a few minutes, the whole spear was covered in red. Before he knew it, the metal tip had become blunt and was no longer sharp; it was more of a solid piece of iron.
In just a few minutes, Qin Fen had killed everyone around him. In the huge battlefield, no one would risk their life just to kill a small soldier.
The veterans treasured their lives as well. As for the rookies beside Qin Fen, their morale was greatly boosted when they saw how Qin Fen was killing their enemies fiercely. Their stiff stances had become increasingly flexible.
Qin Fen thrust forward another strike and he frowned slightly. He didn’t bring back his spear from the enemy’s throat like how he usually did.
The spear’s tip was really blunt now. Using it to kill the enemy could only bring trouble to himself. He had to change the weapon.
He took a step forward with a bow stance. Even if he didn’t have the true energy to support his moves, Qin Fen still managed to rush to the front of the dead opponent before he fell to the ground, grab the saber that was let go by him, and threw it out backward!
On the battlefield, no one would pay attention to what a small soldier was doing. However, the small soldier would pay attention to what the generals on the battlefield were doing. The two leading generals were fighting intensely on their horses, and none of them had noticed a small soldier was approaching them. What was even more unexpected for them was a saber flying out of nowhere in a flash.
Everything happened too suddenly. Qin Fen’s saber was like lightning. It pierced straight into the chest of the opposing general, who was then slashed in half by the other general.
The two armies fighting each other had their general suddenly die, and then, their military flag was also cut off by a flying saber. The morale of both sides changed dramatically immediately.
Qin Fen and the army smashed all their enemies, but they weren’t lucky enough to break into the castle. The opponent’s side dropped down the metal gate and couldn’t care less about their own comrades who were still outside the gate.
It was not logical for an army without any ladder to attack the tall castle walls, so therefore, Qin Fen’s side chose to retreat temporarily.
A flimsy army tent had become Qin Fen’s residence. Because of his wonderful performance in the last battle, he made great contributions and was promoted into a position where he was a commander of ten. He was also assigned a relatively better resting area.
The figure of light did not appear even after the battle had ended. Obviously, it did not intend to end this test immediately. Qin Fen had no choice but to sit in his flimsy tent and try hard to feel his true energy. If he could get his true energy back, the armies and the castle would be nothing to him.
Late at night, Qin Fen wrapped the clothes around his body. It was the first time he realized that he was so used to having true energy. He might still be a martial expert even though he had lost all his true energy, but he was no longer the type of experts that could influence the overall situation. He didn’t even have the strength to influence a situation where only two armies were involved.
People started to cook early the next morning. He put on the leather armor customized for the commander of ten and carried a relatively finely made saber. Both sides were confronting each other again.
Not long after, the opponents’ castle sent out another batch of soldiers not smaller than that of yesterday’s.
Qin Fen didn’t have time to think about how many soldiers they had inside the huge city. Armies from both sides collided hardly into each other.
A moment of life and death, you die I survive! Qin Fen once again went through a whole day’s worth of killing and fighting in blood and flesh. His flying saber trick didn’t work quite as effectively as it did yesterday.
The leading general of the opposing side had several soldiers guarding next to him. They were alert of the changes on the battlefield all the time. Qin Fen’s flying saber was blocked off completely by a soldier with his shield and his life.
For this battle, Qin Fen was forced to get really close to the enemy general before he was able to chop him down. He yet again turned the situation on the battlefield upside down.
It was a never-ending war. In the blink of an eye, Qin Fen had been in this war which felt like a meat grinder for seven days. He started as a commander of ten and was promoted to a general with control of over five thousand soldiers.
After fighting for seven days, Qin Fen had gradually adapted to the days without true energy. Although the killing had become extremely difficult, he was trained with a sense of the overall situation on the battlefield.
Qin Fen had never noticed this sense before, where he was aware of the overall situation. In addition to affecting the war results, it was actually an important practice for martial artists themselves.
One was able to see the subtleties from understanding the big picture! This did not only belong to the army, it also belonged to everyone. Even if it was a battle between two people, it could have the same subtleties and overall picture.
Today, Qin Fen was riding a horse as the leading general. Looking at the open castle gate from afar, they saw that seven generals came out!
Qin Fen recognized all of these seven people. His position as a general was given in exchange for the lives of these seven people. Now, the seven people had resurrected!
Qin Fen’s heart skipped a beat. If I could use my true energy, they would not be rivals for me even if all seven of them fought me together. However, I can only manage three generals without true energy. These generals are strong.
“What happened to me?” Qin Fen looked quietly at the seven generals in a distance. “Why? Why didn’t I have confidence in myself? Back when I was only a one-star martial artist and had almost no income at all, I never doubted myself. Why am I doubting myself now after I have acquired the Celestial Aura? Did I lose my self-confidence? Does my self-confidence come from my Celestial Aura true energy? Do I not believe in myself?”
“No! I believe in myself! Even though I was weak before, I never doubted myself. I am strong now but I’m starting to doubt myself? Do I believe in my power, or do I believe in myself?”
At that very moment, Qin Fen finally felt the true energy that had left his body for days and it filled his whole being! The power of Celestial Aura was back to him again!
