Chapter 561: Battle Array

It was called Barren Island, and true to its name, vegetation was sparse. It was covered in rugged rocks, and from any high point, the view was completely unobstructed.

Over thirty people were scattered across the island’s shaded side, gradually tightening their perimeter according to some pattern.

At that moment.

“Peng!”

A large rock shattered.

Four figures appeared in their midst, as if they had leaped out from the cracks in the rock.

“Don’t get entangled.”

Zhu Ju said,

“Charge through. We need to leave this place first.”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei nodded in agreement. She threw her Jade Ruyi forward, and a thousand Wind Blades materialized out of thin air.

She no longer had a use for this Magical Artifact that had accompanied her for more than a decade, so she decided to unleash the remaining two charges of the Ten Thousand Ridges Technique all at once.

“HUMMM…”

Countless Wind Blades, as thin as cicada wings, trembled in midair, suffusing the area with an intangible Stern Slaughter Intent.

Raising one hand slightly, Ming Nianwei spoke in a chilling voice:

“Get out of the way if you don’t want to die!”

As soon as the four of them had appeared, the thirty-odd people on the island had already moved in from all sides to surround them.

Seeing this, they were surprised that not a single person in the group showed any fear.

‘Something’s wrong!’

Zhu Ju frowned slightly.

Although his side only had four people, all of them were Sixth-Grade and hadn’t concealed their auras.

The enemy party was larger, but they only had a single Sixth-Grade Martial Artist. Logically, they shouldn’t be this composed.

As the thought raced through his mind, Zhu Ju shouted in a deep voice:

“Attack!”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei complied. With a single push of her hand, over a thousand Wind Blades howled forward in a furious torrent.

“Chixiao!”

The opposing Sixth-Grade Martial Artist stepped forward. He held a long saber, and six banners of different colors were inserted on his back. With a low cry, he charged toward the Wind Blades.

“WHOOSH…”

The long saber in his hand erupted in a swirl of Fierce Flame, instantly spreading over a hundred feet and enveloping the majority of the Wind Blades.

The rest of the men, in groups of three to five or in pairs, brandished their weapons and charged toward the four of them.

“SPLAT!”

“CLANG CLANG CLANG…”

The sounds of tearing flesh and clashing metal rang out.

“How can this be?”

Zhou Ruxuan cried out involuntarily:

“Qi Blood Divine Weapon!”

Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered. The thirty-odd people before him were all clad in Soft Armor, and that armor was, shockingly, Grade-Entering Qi Blood Divine Weapon.

Over thirty sets of Qi Blood Divine Weapon… even if they were all Low-Tier, that was not something a powerful clan like the Zhou Family could afford.

Moreover, their Qi Blood could actually link together. When three of them joined forces, the trio of Ninth-Grade Martial Artists could erupt with the power of an Eighth-Grade.

Ming Nianwei had put everything into detonating her Magical Artifact, yet she had only managed to injure a few of them. Not a single one had died.

“SHIING!”

Mok Ying was the first to draw his sword and charge out.

He still possessed a mid-Sixth-Grade Cultivation, making his strength roughly equal to that of the enemy leader.

He crossed the distance of several dozen feet in a single leap.

Before the sound of his Longsword leaving its sheath could even fade, its tip was already pointed at the vital spot on his opponent’s forehead.

“Hmph!”

The leader grunted, a flicker of disdain in his eyes as the six banners on his back suddenly unfurled.

“Eight-Armed Arhat!”

“FWOOSH…”

Rampant Qi Blood coalesced in the air, forming the Illusion of a multi-armed Arhat that smashed down viciously, wielding the banners.

The air for dozens of meters around suddenly grew heavy, and the entire barren island seemed to tremble.

‘Sixth Grade?’

‘This level of power… it’s already at the Fifth Grade!’

As the long saber and six banners crashed down, Mok Ying only managed to resist for a moment before being sent flying.

The sickening sound of his body breaking apart echoed in midair. He landed without a sound, utterly and completely dead.

A single move.

Mok Ying, a mid-Sixth-Grade expert, was dead!

“Battle Array!”

Certain memories belonging to Li Chengxia were instantly activated in her mind, and Ming Nianwei cried out in alarm:

“They’re from the military?”

As she spoke, the enemies had already closed in. She flicked her finger, and the Fuyao Sword transformed into a cascade of starlight that rained down upon them.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ruxuan was also locked in battle with a group of them.

She was wreathed in frost, her spear radiating a chilling aura that seemed to freeze everything it touched, yet she too found it difficult to overcome her opponents.

‘Battle Array?’

Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered.

‘So the Martial Arts of this world allows Martial Artists to merge their Qi Blood, form a Battle Array, and enhance their Cultivation.’

‘No wonder…’

‘No wonder in a world of Martial Arts where the strong reign supreme and a single expert can be a match for thousands, armies are still so important.’

‘So that’s how it is!’

‘This leader in front of me only has a mid-Sixth-Grade Cultivation, and an unstable one at that. Yet by harnessing the converged Qi Blood of over thirty men, he can unleash power no less than that of a Fifth-Grade expert.’

‘That’s it!’

‘I should have thought of it sooner.’

‘Besides a proper army, what other force could be so disciplined, making no sound other than their unified battle cries?’

‘These people are pure killing machines… No wonder I felt something was strange back at the treasury.’

Even as these thoughts raced through his mind, Zhu Ju remained perfectly aware of his surroundings. He reached out with one hand and pulled Ming Nianwei to his side, helping her dodge an incoming arrow just in the nick of time.

“Kill!”

Their battle cries were perfectly synchronized, shaking the heavens as a storm of overlapping blades slashed down.

“BOOM!”

Zhou Ruxuan hastily retreated, her face pale.

“These people…”

“They’re so strong!”

“They are strong,” Zhu Ju agreed with a nod.

“But not strong enough.”

He casually tossed the Five Elements Mountain with one hand. It expanded in the wind, growing to the size of a house in the blink of an eye, as its Five-Colored Divine Light swept downward.

All the incoming Hidden Weapons and arrows fell to the ground.

With a gentle spin, the Five Elements Mountain shot toward the leader like a falling meteorite, carrying terrifying Giant Power.

“BOOM!”

Rampant Strength scattered in all directions.

The rock beneath them shattered violently, and massive waves crashed around the island as the thirty-odd men coughed up blood and fell to the ground.

In the end, neither the Eight-Armed Vajra nor their linked Qi Blood could withstand this single strike of pure Barbaric Power.

“Fourth Grade…”

“No.”

Zhu Ju shook his head gently.

“It shouldn’t be Fourth Grade.”

He hadn’t held back in that attack; it was practically his full power, reaching the might of the Upper Fifth Grade.

Although the Battle Array was strong, it had its limits.

Or rather…

The Qi Blood of these thirty-odd men had its limit.

“Question them.”

Recalling the Five Elements Mountain, Zhu Ju panted slightly.

“Find out where they come from.”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei acknowledged.

Her figure flashed, and she appeared before the barely breathing leader, tapping his forehead with her finger.

Soul Capturing Technique!

“Peng!”

The leader’s head suddenly exploded, splattering red and white matter everywhere and dousing Ming Nianwei.

“My Lord.”

Ming Nianwei said, casting a Dust-Removal Spell on herself,

“His Divine Soul had a Restriction placed on it. It self-destructs the moment it encounters a Soul-Searching Secret Technique.”

“However…”

“These people likely aren’t from the Divine Dynasty’s army. The Cultivation Method they practice belongs to the East Sea Dragon Race.”

‘Li Chengxia was the daughter of Prince Yong’an, after all. She was worldly and knowledgeable, and had some familiarity with the Cultivation Methods of the Divine Dynasty’s army.’

“The East Sea Dragon Race?”

Zhu Ju frowned.

“The Dragon Race has an agreement with the Divine Dynasty not to cross the border for ten thousand years. How much time has even passed?”

“Are these people just an exception?”

He then shook his head gently.

“Let’s leave this place first.”

Although the Human Race and Dragon Race had an agreement, it only applied to the East Sea Dragon Race. East Sea Demons could still come to the Divine Land Continent.

Likewise, Martial Artists from the Island of Continuous Mountains could also venture deep into the East Sea to hunt, as long as they didn’t do so in the name of the Court.

It was also common for both sides to probe each other in secret.

…

「One hour later.」

“It seems this wasn’t an isolated case.”

Looking at the city, its sky filled with fiery light and its air with earth-shaking battle cries, the three wore grave expressions.

Zhu Ju spoke slowly:

“It looks like there’s no going back to the Black Dragon Gang. Let’s return to Taiyuan Prefecture for now and figure out what’s going on.”

“Yah!”

“Yah!”

Agile riders galloped along the main road. As one of them swept his gaze over Zhou Ruxuan and Ming Nianwei, his eyes lit up.

“I never thought I’d run into such beauties out here. This truly is my lucky day.”

He cracked his long whip, sending it coiling toward Zhou Ruxuan.

“Beauty, come up and keep me company.”

Zhou Ruxuan’s expression darkened. She shot out a hand, grabbed the whip, and with a slight tug, pulled the man right off his horse.

“Don’t kill the horse,” Zhu Ju reminded her.

“We’ll need it to travel.”