Chapter 15: Li Dao Saves the Day, Strength Doubles
“No matter how strong your strength is, without true energy, you are nothing but a wild beast.”
Jin Sheng swung his blade repeatedly at Xu Hu, using the true energy within his body to continuously suppress the gifted Xu Hu. With each strike, he taunted him, as if trying to prove a point.
The little madman clung to Xu Hu’s shoulder. Seeing the increasing number of wounds on Xu Hu’s body, he suddenly let out an angry shout and lunged straight at Jin Sheng.
“You’re just a little beast yourself!”
Jin Sheng’s long blade swung out, a three-inch blade aura enveloping the sword, slashing directly at the little madman.
A scream rang out as the little madman was struck and sent flying.
“Hmph!”
Seeing this, a cold smile appeared on Jin Sheng’s lips.
“Long live the chief guard!”
At that moment, the guards around, who had been bullied by Xu Hu and the little madman, suddenly shouted loudly.
Jin Sheng felt a surge of pride rise in his heart.
Prince Luo Yun, watching this scene, nodded with satisfaction.
Suddenly, he twisted his waist, frowned, and said to a nearby guard, “Go find me a pair of underpants, and bring me a chair. Today, I want to see how these assassins will die.”
After the little madman was knocked flying, Xu Hu stood frozen in place.
Suddenly, images flashed involuntarily before his eyes.
They were memories of his foster mother—a tiger lying in a pool of blood, surrounded by humans laughing and jeering, just like now.
Finally, he saw someone laughing as they spread the skinned tiger’s pelt over themselves.
As the memories deepened, Xu Hu’s eyes grew redder, and the wild aura surrounding him intensified.
If anyone could see inside Xu Hu at this moment, they would notice the nameless true energy within him beginning to surge wildly.
With a loud bang!
Suddenly, an imposing aura burst forth from Xu Hu, kicking up dust from the ground.
This scene instantly caught Jin Sheng’s attention.
Could it be... a breakthrough?
But it was far from over.
Xu Hu stood still again, and another surge of aura exploded from him.
Simultaneously, the wild aura on his body grew even more intense.
If one looked closely, they would see Xu Hu’s already tall figure slowly and steadily increasing in size.
Thus, Xu Hu’s aura erupted three consecutive times before finally subsiding.
At this moment, Jin Sheng’s previous arrogance vanished completely, replaced by utter shock.
He had never seen anyone break through three times in a row.
He was even more puzzled as to why someone with true energy wouldn’t use it.
Finally, Xu Hu reached his limit. When his aura peaked, he suddenly moved.
“Kill!”
With a roar, Xu Hu ignored his wounds and charged straight at Jin Sheng.
“Breakthrough or not, today you must die.”
Jin Sheng’s murderous intent flared higher than ever. He envied the talent before him. Had he possessed such talent, he wouldn’t have been trapped as a postnatal martial artist all these years.
Though he couldn’t become a prenatal martial artist, killing such an unparalleled genius would still be worth it.
“Dominating Blade, Triple Excellence!”
Jin Sheng’s aura trembled violently as a blade gleaming with black light slashed toward Xu Hu.
Xu Hu faced it unflinchingly, throwing a punch directly.
At that moment, a ghostly tiger claw appeared on his right fist.
Boom!
The blade and fist collided, sending out fierce ripples.
As the dust settled, Xu Hu had blocked the strike.
Jin Sheng’s eyes gleamed with cold light. Without hesitation, he raised his blade again.
“Dominating Blade, Triple Excellence—Second Strike!”
Xu Hu met the blade head-on without hesitation.
After a fierce clash, he held his ground once more.
At the moment he blocked this strike, blood suddenly gushed from his previous wounds like a fountain.
Seeing this, Jin Sheng sneered mockingly, “You really think wounds from a blade with an aura are simple? The blood vessels beneath your skin have been shattered by the blade’s energy. Sooner or later, you’ll bleed to death.”
He glanced at his blade and sneered, “Thank me later. I’ll finish you off with the third strike.”
With that, Jin Sheng swung his long blade.
“Dominating Blade, Triple Excellence—Third Strike!”
This strike was fiercer than the previous two, aimed directly at Xu Hu’s forehead. If it landed, even Xu Hu’s resistance would be futile.
However, due to excessive blood loss, Xu Hu, despite his robust tiger-like physique, had grown weak and could only wait helplessly for death.
“Die!”
Jin Sheng shouted triumphantly, believing the genius before him was about to fall under his blade, filling him with secret joy.
“One after another, none gives peace of mind.”
Suddenly, a voice sounded beside Jin Sheng and Xu Hu.
The next moment, Jin Sheng’s vision blurred, and Xu Hu vanished.
Bang!
His third strike struck empty air, leaving only a slender scratch on the ground.
“Who?”
Jin Sheng roared furiously, looking up.
He saw a young man standing not far away.
The young man had a sword at his waist, carrying a small figure in his left hand—the very assassin Jin Sheng had just sent flying.
His right hand supported Xu Hu, clearly showing the three were allies.
“Sss.”
Seeing Xu Hu saved, the little madman weakly hissed in Li Dao’s arms. Though still incomprehensible, it seemed he was somewhat pleased.
“Enough, you should take care of yourself first.”
The little madman’s wound from that blade was severe, but fortunately, as a Gu child, his skin was as tough as copper and iron. Otherwise, he might have died on the spot.
“Sss.”
Weakly responding to Li Dao, the little madman hissed again, then forced himself to move, crawling onto Xu Hu’s shoulder, lying down in comfort.
Seeing the little madman alive, much of the madness in Xu Hu’s eyes faded, replaced by a silly grin.
Li Dao was surprised to see their relationship had grown closer.
Seeing the three exchanging words, Jin Sheng felt embarrassed and immediately ordered the surrounding guards, “What are you staring at? Two of these assassins are already crippled. Hurry up and kill them!”
“A hundred gold for each assassin’s head.”
In Jin Sheng’s eyes, the two strongest among the three were already defenseless, leaving only one as easy prey.
A hundred gold?
Hearing this, the guards’ eyes lit up, their hearts stirred.
It wasn’t greed; a hundred gold was an immense sum.
Even in prosperous Great Qian, one gold equaled a hundred silver, and one silver equaled a hundred copper coins.
An ordinary person earned about twenty copper coins a day. One silver was five days’ wages; one gold was five hundred days. A hundred gold could support a typical family of three for a century.
Such wealth was a powerful temptation.
“Kill!”
Finally, the first guard couldn’t hold back, drawing his blade and charging at Li Dao and the others.
Soon, the rest followed, drawing their swords and surrounding them.
However, unnoticed by most, some guards in the crowd hesitated and cautiously retreated.
As the guards closed in, Xu Hu tried to move but suddenly felt his legs weaken.
“Leave this to me.”
If Li Dao were alone, he could hold his own against such numbers, but with Xu Hu and the little madman, it was a bit more challenging.
But after all, he was no ordinary man.
Li Dao opened his system panel with a thought.
[Owner: Li Dao]
[Physique: 9.38]
[Available Attributes: 8.69]
“System, allocate points!”
The system responded instantly.
[Owner: Li Dao]
[Physique: 18.07 (Mutatable)]
[Available Attributes: 0]
Huh?
Li Dao noticed a new note beside Physique: “Mutatable.”
What did it mean?
He had no time to ponder, as the heat flow from the physique enhancement surged through his body.
This time, the heat was fiercer and more abundant than ever.
In an instant, Li Dao’s skin glowed red, and a terrifying power arose within him.
Simultaneously, his mind felt cool and clear.
In this state, he sensed everything around him fade, as if time itself had slowed.
“This head is mine.”
A guard swung his blade fiercely.
Because Li Dao appeared most humanlike, he became the primary target.
To Li Dao, the guard’s blade swung slowly, irritatingly slow.
Swish!
Li Dao slapped the blade with his palm.
Crack!
The blade shattered into dozens of pieces.
With Li Dao’s enhanced strength, the shards flew like hidden weapons toward the attacking guards at high speed.
“Ah!”
“What is this?”
“What’s happening?”
Some guards had no time to react before being severely injured by flying shards.
One unlucky fellow was struck through the eye by a fragment, the shard penetrating his skull, killing him instantly.
[Killed enemy, gained attribute: 0.18]
More guards rushed in.
Since Xu Hu and the little madman were on Li Dao’s right side, the guards targeted them.
Li Dao’s heat flow surged and receded quickly, and soon his physique was fully enhanced.
How powerful was a body eighteen times stronger than an ordinary person’s?
Li Dao demonstrated flawlessly.
He dragged Xu Hu and the little madman to the left and kicked toward the guards on the right.
With one kick, the lead guard’s eyes bulged as his body bent at the waist at a full 180 degrees.
He flew backward like a cannonball.
Several guards behind him were struck and spat blood as they fell.
That single kick felled dozens of guards.
After this enhancement, Li Dao’s movements became even more agile.
Imagine strength greater than Xu Hu’s combined with agility surpassing the little madman’s—the result was terrifying.
Among the crowd, Li Dao protected Xu Hu and the little madman, circling and fending off the guards.
Still, not a single guard could approach the trio.
Anyone hit by Li Dao’s first attack was guaranteed to perish instantly, without exception.
Within a dozen rounds, over a hundred guards lay around Li Dao—some severely wounded, some dying, and a few dead.
Prince Luo Yun had brought just over three hundred guards. Li Dao and company had already eliminated about a third.
That meant over half of the remaining two hundred had fallen.
Including those guards too afraid to attack, it was nearly a complete rout.
This scene finally snapped Jin Sheng back to reality.
Another monster!
And this one was even stronger than the previous two!
He also noticed this monster didn’t use true energy, fighting solely with physical strength.
He couldn’t fathom how a human could possess such a terrifying body.
Yet soon, his heart swelled with excitement.
Killing a talent like this would bring even greater satisfaction.
“Clear the way!”
Hearing Jin Sheng’s command, the guards seemed to hear a savior’s call. Without hesitation, they backed away, fearing even a moment’s hesitation would disrespect their chief guard.
Jin Sheng stepped forward.
“Though I don’t know who sent you, I thank those behind you.”
“Because whichever faction you belong to, losing talents like you must sting.”
Sting? They were prisoners from the death camp.
But Jin Sheng didn’t bother to explain, instead focusing on the formidable figure behind the expert before him.
Among a dozen guards stood a young man dressed in splendid attire.
That must be the so-called Prince Luo Yun.
Harvesting attributes was his goal, but eliminating Prince Luo Yun was also part of his plan.
Seeing the monster target him, Prince Luo Yun could no longer watch.
He immediately ordered, “Chief Guard Jin Sheng, kill these three assassins at once!”
“Yes!”
Jin Sheng accepted without hesitation, as it suited his own desires.
“Today, all you assassins will perish here.”
Jin Sheng launched an attack without delay, his long blade glowing as it headed straight for Li Dao’s face.
Respecting a formidable foe, Li Dao carefully placed Xu Hu and the little madman on the ground and decisively drew his mysterious iron blade.
“Dominating Blade, Triple Excellence!”
“Wild Wind Blade Technique!”
In an instant, the blade shimmering with energy clashed against the brute-force-laden sword.
Bang!
The next moment, a figure flew backward.
He twisted and turned midair, landing steadily on the ground.
“How is this possible!”
Jin Sheng stared with trembling hands, utterly shocked.
When their blades collided moments ago, a terrifying power surged through the opponent’s blade, forcing him to retreat and reduce his strength.
Even now, his hands trembled from that dreadful force.
He realized he had underestimated his opponent’s physique.
This was no longer a power his body could handle.