How much suffering and hardship must one endure to reach the strength of the eighth rank? How many years of youth must be sacrificed?
An Jiu had only ever taken one thing—life. Not to possess, but to destroy.
An Jiu didn’t understand much about martial arts, but she always felt that absorbing someone else’s Inner Force was like transplanting their organs into her own body—it might not fit, and if rejection occurred, it could be fatal.
An Jiu had never believed in "luck," because those two words had never once appeared in her life.
"I’ve heard the Crane Control Army is the most elite force in the Great Song," An Jiu sneered. "And yet you need to recruit someone without Inner Force? Forgive me, but I have no interest in being a human target."
"Heavenly Book Fragments," the commander said. "I can grant you all the remaining fragments in the Crane Control Army."
"Bargaining with a tiger for its skin," An Jiu remained unmoved.
"I like that phrase," the commander said. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance, seizing the dagger An Jiu had thrust at him. His palm was shielded by True Energy, and the razor-sharp blade failed to leave even a scratch.
He pressed closer. "But this isn’t up to you!"
"Then let’s see!" An Jiu focused her killing intent. She realized that since entering the temple, she hadn’t encountered anyone with higher Mental Strength than her. In this standoff, that might be her only advantage.
Sure enough, An Jiu noticed the commander’s movements falter slightly. She seized the moment to kick hard at his groin.
The commander’s gaze sharpened instantly. He didn’t dare underestimate An Jiu’s abilities, so even with his entire body enveloped in True Energy, he twisted aside to evade.
Feeling the grip on her weapon loosen, An Jiu yanked the dagger free and pressed it to his throat.
The commander felt a cold sting at his neck. His pride—his True Energy shield—had been cleanly sliced open by the dagger. The blade left a shallow cut on his skin, beads of blood welling up and staining the Dark Cloth around it.
"Mei Shisi, I have no patience for games," the commander said sternly. "You’d best come with me willingly!"
His threats and pressure yielded no sign of surrender from An Jiu, finally provoking his anger. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
A palm strike infused with pure Inner Force roared like a dragon’s cry and a tiger’s roar. Before his hand even made contact, the force alone shattered the surrounding walls, sending rubble crashing down in a deafening collapse.
An Jiu dodged at her fastest speed but was still grazed. The internal injuries from the earlier crossbow impact tore through her like fire.
Amid the rolling dust and debris, An Jiu dashed to the fifth floor.
The walls here were adorned with murals, and a Buddhist Shrine at the center housed several relics. There was nowhere to hide.
An Jiu’s crossbow held only one bolt left. She hesitated—should she use it against the commander? Though he pursued her relentlessly, he showed no intent to kill. If she fired and succeeded, so be it. But if she failed, she’d be making an enemy of the Crane Control Army.
Provoking an assassin unit was nothing short of suicide.
A shadow emerged from the dust. Before An Jiu could decide, her body moved on its own. Fortunately, she only fired the bolts she’d taken from Elder Zhi.
Yet with a mere flick of his hand, the commander reduced the three powerful bolts to dust. The dust retained the shape of the arrows as it hurtled forward, only dispersing upon colliding with his True Energy shield.
The commander lashed out with a rope, coiling it around An Jiu’s waist. With a twist of his wrist, he yanked her toward him.An Jiu was never one to be manipulated. She followed the pulling force, simultaneously wielding her crossbow and dagger, aiming straight for his vital points.
The commander, holding the rope with one hand, could only use his free hand to fend off the arrows and dagger—and he couldn’t afford to accidentally kill An Jiu, so he couldn’t use more than forty percent of his Inner Force.
The commander was a tough man. He deflected the arrow barehanded and twisted his body, taking An Jiu’s dagger straight into his shoulder.
Fortunately, his True Energy shielded him, halving the dagger’s force, so only half of the blade sank into his flesh.
An Jiu had never heard of holding back. She immediately exerted force, shoving the entire dagger into the commander’s body!
A numbness shot through the back of her neck, and darkness swallowed her vision.
“Tsk—” The commander sucked in a sharp breath, yanked out the dagger, and poured an entire bottle of Wound Medicine onto the injury.
He tossed An Jiu onto the ground, examined the dagger for a moment, then cursed under his breath, “Damn brat!”
An Jiu’s Mental strength was too formidable—he feared she’d wake up too soon, so he soaked a handkerchief in knockout Medicine and prepared to hold it under her nose.
The commander crouched down and lifted An Jiu’s mask, revealing porcelain-white skin. He froze for a moment, then, as if compelled by some unseen force, removed the mask entirely.
A delicate, beautiful face emerged. In her unconscious state, her brows were slightly furrowed, making her appear fragile.
People often said the face reflected the heart, but the commander never expected such a ferocious girl to look so delicate.
“Mei Shisi,” he murmured, placing the handkerchief under her nose before lowering the mask again.
“Commander.” A shadowy figure appeared at the entrance stairs, clasping his hands in salute. “Only twenty or so trial participants remain. The Li and Cui families have been completely wiped out. Additionally, the Divine Martial Army is locked in a standoff with the enemy on the plank road—that Transcendence Realm Archer is using our men as live target practice. There are ten Ninth-Order Martial Masters guarding the opposite cliff, making it impossible for us to approach the archer.”
The commander had only broken through to the Ninth Order last year and was currently at the third rank of the Transformation Realm. Even if he personally intervened, it would be difficult to reach that Transcendence Realm Archer.
“I’ll head there immediately.” The commander picked up An Jiu. “Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The two exited the tower one after the other.
Thick snow swirled in the wind as the commander carried An Jiu straight toward the plank road. Like a hare darting and a falcon swooping, they flashed through the pine forest and past the mountain gate in the blink of an eye.
The black-clad man following behind struggled to keep up.
The Divine Martial branch of the Crane Control Army had suffered a decline in talent. The previous commander had mysteriously died last year, and no suitable successor had been found within the entire Divine Martial Army. At the time, one of the four Divine Martial Decree holders had broken through to become a Transformation Realm Master and was thus promoted as an exception.
Among the four divisions of the Crane Control Army, each had four “Decree” holders—Divine Martial Decrees in the Divine Martial Army, Divine Strategy Decrees in the Divine Strategy Army, Feather Forest Decrees in the Feather Forest Army, and Wei Yue Decrees in the Wei Yue Army…
The so-called Divine Martial Decree was actually a messenger responsible for delivering critical orders. Though they belonged to the Divine Martial Army, they answered directly to the emperor and handled various “secret decrees,” so they weren’t entirely considered part of the Divine Martial Army.
This Divine Martial Decree holder was an orphan recruited and trained by the Crane Control Institute. The great families, believing him to be the emperor’s confidant, had seized military authority without permission. Very few truly obeyed his orders—so much so that even a minor trial like this required his personal supervision.This time, if they could complete the mission successfully, it would be fine. But if they suffered heavy losses here, his future management would become even more difficult.
The intricacies were extremely complex, so the identity of the person who designed this ambush remained shrouded in mystery.
Near the broken plank road, the snowstorm grew fiercer, making it hard to keep one's eyes open. Through the dense curtain of snow, one could vaguely see two groups of people clashing on the plank road. The snow on the ground had melted into crimson "mud" from the blood, and splashes of red flew through the air. Amid the snowflakes blown by the wind, specks of scarlet dotted the air, while arrows wrapped in blue light occasionally shot over from the opposite side.
The Commander set An Jiu down, removed the handkerchief from under her nose, and dispelled the effects of the knockout medicine.
In the biting cold wind, the medicine wore off faster.
An Jiu opened her eyes and found her wrists gripped tightly by a strong hand.
"How are you?" the Commander asked in a deep voice.
An Jiu twisted her wrist, a silver needle at her fingertips stabbing toward his wrist. The Commander released her but immediately seized her again. In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged several moves.
In the end, An Jiu was at a disadvantage due to her low Inner Force and was subdued by him.
"See? A life can be lost in the blink of an eye," the Commander said.
An Jiu remained indifferent. Even if the world were to end in an instant, what did it matter?
The Commander continued, "The situation is urgent. I had no choice but to bring you here by force. If you help me this once, I promise you anything within my power."
An Jiu was silent for a moment before glancing at the opposite side and speaking slowly. "Why ask for my help? Everyone here has better martial arts than me."
The Commander paused inwardly, realizing that An Jiu seemed more responsive to persuasion than coercion—the more she was forced, the more she resisted. So he softened his tone. "Archery has never been the Divine Martial Army's strong suit. The snowstorm is too fierce—our arrows can't even aim properly. I heard you can hit your target under these conditions."
Forget about aiming—ordinary arrows lacked the necessary strength. Before they even reached halfway, the mountain winds would strip away most of their force. Even if they managed to hit the enemy, they wouldn't do much damage.
The bow and arrows An Jiu used were crafted by Elder Zhi, their power far surpassing ordinary arrows. Combined with An Jiu's precise calculations, her accuracy reached ninety percent. Yet even so, she couldn't do much against that Transformation Realm Master.
"Even if my aim is true, I have no Inner Force," An Jiu said.
"Use mine for now," the Commander replied. "I'll channel my Inner Force into you."
An Jiu weighed the pros and cons. She had initially thought the situation wasn't this dire, but now it was clear the Crane Control Army was at a disadvantage—and the reason was that Transcendence Realm Archer on the other side. Helping the Commander might or might not earn her a favor, but if the Crane Control Army were wiped out here, she wouldn't escape unscathed either. Moreover, she was very interested in Startling String. The chance to experience the sensation of Inner Force infused into an arrow was highly appealing to her...
"I'll do my best," An Jiu agreed after a brief consideration.
The Commander secretly sighed in relief. Earlier, when they had fought in the tower, the gap between this girl's strength and his was like heaven and earth. Yet she had dared to resist, preferring death over agreeing to help him. Now, she had agreed so easily.
It turned out he had been using the wrong approach.
The Commander released her but remained wary of her trying to escape.
An Jiu untied the bow and arrows from her back and said to him, "Let's try first."
"Alright." The Commander raised his hand and placed it behind her right shoulder.She felt a continuous stream of warmth flooding into her body, bringing comfort throughout. But as the heat accumulated, it gradually felt like her blood vessels and meridians were about to burst.
The Commander said, "Your mental strength can at least accommodate the Inner Force of a second-rank Transformation Realm, but your meridians haven't been tempered. This might cause them to rupture. Tell me immediately if you feel discomfort."
An Jiu scoffed mockingly. Just moments ago, this person had tempted her by offering to transfer all the Inner Force of an eighth-rank expert to her. Had she greedily accepted, wouldn't she have already died from meridian explosion by now?
Understanding her implication, the Commander calmly explained, "A transaction requires mutual consent. Had you agreed earlier, I would have fulfilled my promise. But this was your choice—any consequences are not my responsibility."
How shameless must one be to cover up so seriously! An Jiu cursed inwardly.
Feeling the Inner Force saturating her meridians, she knew continuing further might cause problems. Immediately focusing her mind, she nocked an arrow and drew the bow, attempting to channel all the Inner Force within her body into the fingers gripping the arrow.
An Jiu adjusted her breathing, as if merging into the snow-filled depths of the night. (To be continued...)
PS: I've been sick these past two days. Stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before last, and my parents blew up at me. They're being super strict, not letting me use the computer. After much pleading, they finally agreed but demanded I adjust my schedule—type during the day and sleep by 8 p.m. from now on... 8 p.m.... That's still daytime for me, okay? Not much else to say. It's my fault for the inconsistent updates. I'll try to write more over the next couple of days.
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