Chapter 9: A Tenfold Physique—Martial Arts Have Dropped Out

[Defeating an enemy, attribute points gained: 0.69]

Seeing the system notification, Li Dao could not help but feel a surge of surprise. Calculating based on the rule that fallen enemies yield one-tenth of their attributes, the Northern Barbarian leader’s total attributes must have been at least seven times that of an average person. However, Li Dao had previously noticed that the leader’s physical strength was not particularly high, likely only two or three times that of an ordinary man. He surmised that the high attribute gain was due to the leader being a practitioner, possessing attributes that ordinary people lacked—such as internal energy (Qi).

With a thought, Li Dao added the attributes dropped by the Northern Barbarian leader to his own. A familiar heat flowed through him, though less intense than before, likely because his physique had already adapted to this level of reinforcement.

"Status Panel."

[Host: Li Dao]
[Physique: 9.38]
[Available Attributes: 0]

Li Dao smiled. A physique nearly ten times that of a normal person was close to his initial goal. However, it was time to raise the bar. If everyone were just an ordinary person, having ten times the physical strength would be enough to dominate in this era of cold weapons. But when practitioners were involved, he knew better. Without a physique rating in the hundreds, he would struggle to feel secure.

Meanwhile, after Li Dao struck down the Northern Barbarian leader, Lieutenant Liu, who had been watching the battle, froze in astonishment. He had expected "9527" to last a dozen rounds at best, not to actually kill the opponent. Once the shock wore off, excitement took over. Seeing the leader dead on the ground, he shouted to the surroundings, "Your leader is dead! Surrender now!"

The leader is dead?

At the sound of this, the remaining Northern Barbarian cavalry turned their gaze. Because the armor of the Northern Barbarian leader was distinct from that of the common soldiers, his fallen body was quickly identified. Instantly, the morale of the Northern Barbarian cavalry plummeted, their combat effectiveness withered, and their formation collapsed. With their leader dead, they knew they had almost no chance of victory.

Finally, a Northern Barbarian cavalryman, unable to overcome the fear of death, threw down his weapon and surrendered. Once the first one broke, others followed in quick succession. Soon, the remaining cavalrymen dismounted and surrendered as well.

Li Dao could not help but sigh. If he had known this would happen, he would have cleared out the common cavalrymen first. But on second thought, if he had not acted, Lieutenant Liu would certainly have been killed by the leader, and the situation would have turned dire. The soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty might have suffered the same fate as the Northern Barbarians—a collapse in morale leading to surrender upon the death of their commander.

"Forget it, this is good enough."

All in all, the harvest this time was excellent. When he had started, his physique was under five points; now it was nearly ten—more than double.

Hmm?

Li Dao suddenly noticed something where the armor of the fallen leader had split. Curious, he walked over and crouched down. A blood-stained yellow cloth was wedged in the gap of the armor. He reached out and pulled it out; it seemed to be wrapping something. Upon opening it, two books appeared before him: one titled *Yellow Sun Formula* and the other *Gale Saber Technique*.

Li Dao was stunned. He had actually found a cultivation manual and a saber technique.

***

It appeared these were the techniques the Northern Barbarian leader had practiced.

"9527, you’re quite lucky," Lieutenant Liu’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Looking back, he saw that since the Northern Barbarian cavalry had surrendered, the remaining Great Qian soldiers had already begun binding the prisoners and clearing the battlefield.

"Do these need to be turned in?" Li Dao asked, shaking the items in his hand. He hadn't thought to hide them, nor could he. Death-row prisoners were stripped and washed upon returning, and they were forced to change into thin prison garments—nothing could be hidden. Unless... he used that method, which Li Dao would rather die than accept.

Lieutenant Liu glanced at them and said truthfully, "By regulations, all spoils of war must be turned in, but..." He turned away, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice, "Sometimes there are exceptions. Keep them for yourself; I’ll pretend I never saw them." With that, he walked away.

Li Dao watched the Lieutenant’s retreating figure and shook his head with a smile. It seemed his performance these past two times had earned him some trust from this officer. To be honest, Li Dao had a favorable impression of the Lieutenant, especially since he had personally intervened to save him. He tucked the two books into his tunic, planning to try practicing them at night. Although the old Taoist priest from his childhood had said he had "naturally severed meridians" and could not cultivate, what if the old man was just senile? There were many old swindlers in this world, after all.

...

Half an hour later, the battlefield was cleared, and everyone gathered together. Lieutenant Liu asked the soldier beside him, "How is the count?"

The soldier nodded. "Count complete."

"Read it to me."

The soldier took a piece of paper from his tunic and read, "In this battle, the Death Row Battalion deployed fifty-five men. Fifty-four died; one survived."

At these words, the remaining Great Qian soldiers all looked toward Li Dao, who was leaning against a tree not far away. Some of these soldiers were seeing Li Dao for the first time, others for the second, but regardless, he had left a deep impression on them all.

Hearing that he was the only one left, Li Dao’s expression did not change; he had known as much. Even he had almost died under the Northern Barbarian leader’s blade, let alone a group of ordinary death-row prisoners.

The soldier continued his report. The ambush on the Northern Barbarian cavalry could be described as a pyrrhic victory. The leader was dead, and eighty percent of the hundred-plus cavalry were killed, leaving only about twenty. On the Great Qian side, including the Death Row Battalion, nearly two hundred men had been deployed, with only fifty or so remaining. If this wasn't a pyrrhic victory, what was?

After listening, Lieutenant Liu heaved a long sigh. Even though he knew the casualties were high, hearing it confirmed still filled him with sorrow, especially seeing his own men perish one by one. But such was war. And this was only a small-scale skirmish at the borders between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Northern Barbarian Dynasty. If they were to encounter a major battlefield, people like them wouldn't even cause a ripple.

Seeing everyone was ready, Lieutenant Liu waved his hand. "Cleanup finished. Let's move out and return."

...

Shortly after, Li Dao followed Lieutenant Liu’s squad back to Changgu Town. Unlike last time, he was personally escorted into the death-row cells by the Lieutenant to ensure the two books in his tunic were not discovered.

"I’ll see you to here. You saved my life; if you need anything, have the jailer notify me. If it's not too difficult, I will certainly help you," Lieutenant Liu whispered before leaving Li Dao.

Li Dao nodded and walked into the familiar death row. As before, when he returned, his fellow inmates looked on in shock, amazed that he had gone out for a second time and returned alive.

He found a corner and sat down as he usually did. Not long after, a familiar, appetizing scent filled the prison. The cell door opened, and a jailer walked in with a tray holding a roasted chicken and a bottle of wine.

"9527, Lieutenant Liu asked me to give this to you."

Perhaps due to the Lieutenant’s instructions, the jailer’s attitude toward Li Dao, a mere death-row prisoner, was remarkably polite.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me; I'm just doing as the Lieutenant asked."

"Safe travels then."

"Enjoy your meal. If you need anything, just call me."

"Sorry for the trouble."

After the jailer left, Li Dao sat in his corner and began to eat his roasted chicken and drink his wine. This time, no one dared to come over and bother him. Clearly, his interaction with the jailer had made the other inmates realize the gap between them. No one dared to offend him, and he enjoyed his peace. After eating his fill, Li Dao closed his eyes, lulled into a slight tipsiness by the wine.

...

As night deepened and the prison fell into silence, Li Dao opened his eyes. Sensing that everyone else was asleep, he took out the two books he had seized from the Northern Barbarian leader.

He first opened the *Yellow Sun Formula*. It was indeed a cultivation manual, teaching one how to refine internal energy. With his mental capacity, now ten times that of an ordinary person, Li Dao quickly memorized the entire book. He then tucked it away, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and attempted to practice.

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes and uttered two words: "Garbage."

After half an hour, he hadn't managed to cultivate a single shred of energy. According to the formula, he needed to focus his mind and perceive the hidden meridians in his body. He had spent the entire time sensing, but felt absolutely nothing.

"The old priest wasn't wrong. Naturally severed meridians mean naturally severed meridians; there really isn't a single path."

Otherwise, with Li Dao’s mental strength, he should have easily sensed the so-called meridians. Moreover, his physique was now ten times that of a normal person. If he had even a trace of meridians, ten times the reinforcement should have made them appear, but they hadn't.

It confirmed a mathematical truth: if something is zero, no matter how many times you multiply it, it remains zero. It would never become anything else. He had no meridians; therefore, even if his physique reached a hundred million times that of an ordinary man, if he couldn't cultivate, he couldn't cultivate.

"Forget it, I was only trying anyway."

Li Dao felt only a tiny bit of disappointment. After all, his system’s main function was to develop his own physique. Even if he could cultivate, he wouldn't abandon the shortcut of the system to toil away in bitter seclusion.

What did it matter how powerful cultivation was? If ten points of physique weren't enough, he’d go to one hundred. If one hundred weren't enough, he’d go to one thousand. If one thousand still weren't enough, then ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million. He didn't believe that when he could destroy a city or a nation with a single punch, anyone would dare talk to him about the importance of cultivation.

Since the cultivation manual was a bust, Li Dao reached for the *Gale Saber Technique*. He wondered if a saber technique would be of any use to him without internal energy.