Longevity by Grinding Skills

Ning Wuque rode into the Celestial Cicada Sect’s Martial Arts Arena, the thunderous hooves of the Profound Armor Heavy Cavalry behind him shaking the very ground.

The longsword in his hand, an Upper Grade sharp blade, slowly dripped with the brains of the seventh Inner Sect Disciple he had slain. The viscous fluid slid down the blade, glinting with a chilling luster under the sun.

His once-gentle features now seemed coated in a thousand years of frost, his eyes filled with an endless, ruthless chill.

The blood collected in the fuller of the chilling longsword froze into tiny ice crystals that fell to the ground.

The surrounding Profound Armor Army formed tight battle formations. Their long spears were a forest of steel, their steps perfectly synchronized as they steadily closed in on the Celestial Cicada Sect disciples, shrinking their space to move.

"Fire!"

A Squad Leader barked a cold command, and a volley of arrows rained down from above, killing many Celestial Cicada Sect Outer Disciples in an instant.

The battle was almost completely one-sided. Lin Hanyi fought with desperate abandon, cutting down several Profound Armor soldiers before a squad wielding heavy spears surrounded her. A forest of spear points pressed in from all sides, forcing her to sustain injuries just to break through. She fought a running battle, retreating and using the surrounding buildings for cover.

"Senior Brother Ning!"

A piercing cry shattered the bloody silence of the battlefield.

Chu Xuan leaped from an archery tower like a butterfly with broken wings. The silver bells at her waist shattered as she fell, their discordant jangling like a wail of despair.

She gripped a longsword in each hand, both of them sharp blades in a style similar to Ning Wuque’s. She unleashed a constant spray of poisoned silver needles, forcing back many of the Profound Armored Soldiers.

In that moment, many of the surviving disciples rallied to her, and together they barely managed to halt the advance of the Hu Ben Profound Armor.

But that was the extent of it.

The Hu Ben Profound Armor soldiers were all clad in heavy armor. The weapons of the other disciples could barely scratch it. Only the sharp blades in Chu Xuan’s hands could cleanly pierce their defenses and kill.

For a moment, she actually kept the squad of Hu Ben Profound Armor from advancing.

Her deer hide boots trod heavily through a field of severed limbs. The broken body parts were scattered haphazardly, some still twitching. Blood gushed freely, collecting in ghastly pools that dyed her boots a deep crimson, as if they had just been pulled from a vat of dye.

The golden hairpin in her hair was askew, on the verge of falling out. Stray strands of hair clung to her cheeks. Her once-charming face was now a mask of fury and resolve. Gone was the usual cunning from her eyes, replaced by the fiery determination to protect her Sect.

"You promised you would protect the Celestial Cicada Sect!"

Her voice, choked with sobs, carried a vicious edge that promised mutual destruction as it echoed across the bloody battlefield.

A barely perceptible flicker of hesitation crossed Ning Wuque’s eyes, but the momentary wavering was quickly consumed by an even deeper cold.

He lunged forward, his longsword sweeping out without warning, kicking up a bloody gale.

Unable to dodge in time, Chu Xuan’s entire arm was hacked off by the sword strike.

She let out a pained scream and fell heavily to one knee, clutching the stump of her arm. Her face was a mask of utter disbelief.

Ning Wuque looked down at the girl kneeling in a pool of blood. The same gentle smile he had worn when they first met appeared on his face, but now it was more bone-chilling than the winter frost.

"Did you know, little sister," he began slowly, his voice low and devoid of any emotion, "every time you threw one of your little tantrums..."

"I found it utterly nauseating."

The moment he finished speaking, he mercilessly lifted his foot and brought it down, crushing the bones in Chu Xuan’s left hand.

CRUNCH. With the sharp sound of breaking bone, the color drained from Chu Xuan’s face. Cold sweat poured from her brow.

But she bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself to endure the agony. She refused to let out another cry of weakness, instead fixing Ning Wuque with a stare full of a hatred so deep it felt etched into her bones.

At this moment, the grounds of the Celestial Cicada Sect were a living hell.

The Profound Armor Army, like a pack of starving wolves, had broken into smaller squads and battle formations to wantonly slaughter the Celestial Cicada Sect disciples.

Some of the Celestial Cicada Sect disciples tried to flee in terror, their steps panicked and stumbling. But they were inevitably run down by the merciless Profound Armor Army, whose sharp blades slit their throats and sent blood arcing through the air.

Others fought back, their weapons a blur of motion, but the disparity in strength was too great. One by one, they fell into pools of blood, their bodies slowly growing cold.

The ground was covered in blood and sprawling corpses. The blood pooled into rivulets, flowing slowly with the lay of the land and dyeing the earth a ghastly dark red. It was a scene too horrible to behold.

Seeing this, Chu Xuan bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, her eyes turning crimson. She willed herself to struggle, but she was pinned fast under Ning Wuque’s foot, unable to move.

"Watch, little sister. I’ll let you see exactly how the Celestial Cicada Sect meets its end."

By the time Chen Tiangang appeared leaning on his iron staff, the three thousand soldiers of the Profound Armor Army had, like a legion of demons, slaughtered seventy percent of the sect’s disciples.

The old man’s festering right leg dripped with pus and blood. With every step, the foul-smelling ichor left a nauseating footprint on the ground.

But his eyes were frighteningly bright, gleaming with a light woven from greed and madness, like two balls of burning ghost fire.

His appearance immediately drew Ning Wuque’s attention, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.

Hatred, respect, anger, resentment.

This web of complex emotions caused a streak of crimson to appear at the corner of his eye.

The sight made Chen Tiangang overjoyed. He paid no mind to the emotions contained within Ning Wuque’s gaze, focusing only on that streak of crimson.

"My good apprentice, just like that. I’ve raised you well. Your strength is much greater than when you left."

His voice sounded as if it were forced through gritted teeth, each word dripping with perverse glee.

"You taught me well, Master."

Though a storm of emotions raged in his chest, Ning Wuque suppressed it and said calmly, "If you hand over the Celestial Cicada Sect’s Divine Weapon, the Celestial Cicada Armor, and kneel in surrender, Master, I can speak to General Fang and secure you a position as a Tributor."

’A Blood Exchange Realm expert, a renowned grandmaster of the Mortal World... Even in the Great Zhou Dynasty, he’s an undisputed master.’

"Fang Jun? The general who commands the hundred-thousand-strong Hu Ben Xuan Armor Army?"

A bizarre smile crept onto Chen Tiangang’s face, a trace of contempt in his eyes.

"Him? Worthy?"

Before the words had even faded, Chen Tiangang slammed his iron staff into the ground and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The Profound Armored Soldiers who swarmed to intercept him were instantly sliced in two as he passed.

In the blink of an eye, he was before Ning Wuque.

’So fast!’

Shaken to his core, Ning Wuque drew his longsword, the blade shrieking as it sliced through the air.

The muscles on his arm knotted like dragons and veins bulged like writhing serpents. His strike was as swift and fierce as lightning.

Yet Chen Tiangang merely sidestepped, his iron staff striking the blade with pinpoint accuracy seven inches from the hilt.

CLANG!

The longsword clattered to the ground. The webbing of Ning Wuque’s hand split open, and blood dripped from his knuckles.

His pupils contracted. ’Chen Tiangang’s speed far exceeds my expectations. That rotting right leg doesn’t hinder his movement at all!’

’I’m no match for a Blood Exchange Realm master. Even with his physical impairment, I can’t even clearly see his movements.’