Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
Pangong Tso was leading Khan Ruandi and the rest of the experts to chase after Qin Mu when he saw over two hundred flying ships flying their flags. They covered the sky and the sun as though there were over two hundred clouds covering half of the horizon and moving over.
Below the flying ships, an army of strange beasts rushed out. The large creatures were moving forward like small mountains while archers sat on their backs. Behind them were chariots, mounted riders, and then the infantry in formation. They were separated into different types of troops according to the attributes of their spirit bodies, and it was a majestic sight.
This formation was astonishing, and puzzled Khan Ruandi.
In the past, Eternal Peace Empire had the army of strange beasts in front, with the chariots and mounted riders behind. The infantry would then act as vanguard by rushing forth under the strange beasts. As for the flying ships, they would be situated in the middle of the army.
Even though flying ships could float in the air, their range wasn't too great. They could easily be taken down, so they needed the protection of the middle guard.
Yet right then the flying ships were at the very front.
To take them down, experts needed to just swing their knife pellets into the sky from thirty miles away, and the ships would be destroyed while all of their passengers would fall off. Worse, if a pill furnace was hit, all the soldiers on the ship would die in the explosion.
Qin Mu had improved the pill furnaces of the flying ships and drastically increased their firepower. However, if they exploded, it would be up to ten times more frightening than before. Ordinary divine arts practitioners would have basically no chance to survive it.
Of course, this couldn't be blamed on Qin Mu entirely. He improved the pill furnace so the flying ships could become faster, but their firepower did not catch up, so they weren't able to unleash all of the energy.
'Is Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor crazy?'
Khan Ruandi thought until this point when Pangong Tso's voice pulled him away. "Ruandi, kill that Qin brat!"
Khan Ruandi was naked, his pants having been pulled down by Cripple. His golden knife and quiver were both taken away, and the luxurious raccoon cloak was also gone.
However, as the leader of an empire, he still had his cultivation. When he heard Pangong Tso, he immediately pulled up his pants, ready to tighten his belt, but he found nothing there.
His belt that was inlaid with gold and embedded with jade was gone as well.
'That Cripple's abilities are too strong! If instead of stealing my clothes he had come to kill me, how could I have defended against him?'
Khan Ruandi shuddered and cold sweat started rolling down his body, drenching his back.
However, he had overestimated Cripple. Even though Cripple's hands and feet were nimble, all of his abilities were used for stealing and then escaping for dear life. His body and hand techniques were unpredictable, but it was a pity that he relied only on his legs in close combat, so his hands lacked any combat abilities.
Cripple's corporeal body divine arts were sloppy and ordinary without any strong attacking moves. If one was to really attack him, it would be difficult for him to have an exchange of many blows. The most terrifying thing about him was his body techniques.
Even though Khan Ruandi didn't have a bow or an arrow, his cultivation was still around. His vital qi suddenly burst forth, and a figure that was like a god and a devil slowly stood up behind him. It had four arms and a bird's head while blazing fire shone brilliantly all over its body.
This god which Khan Ruandi's primordial spirit materialized. Its four arms pulled onto the bow, and blazing fire instantly filled the air of Duck Tongue Zone. Flames whooshed and gathered toward him, forming an incomparably bright arrow between the huge bow.
Hmmmm.
A vibration could be heard, and an arrow shot out. The sky and land became incomparably parched while flames caused visions to appear one after another. Wherever the arrow flew, fire dragons would seem to roll around in the yellow desert. They wrecked havoc all they went!
Still topless, Khan Ruandi raised his right hand. With his index and middle fingers put together while his thumb was on his ring and little finger, by which a sword art was clutched, he pressed on the heart of his brows.
Swoosh!
The arrow of flames was incomparably quick and shot straight toward the running Cripple and Qin Mu. The arrow was so fast that no one could see its incomparably bright flames, only a black line after the arrow had flashed past them!
Pangong Tso was extremely shocked. Khan Ruandi was acclaimed as the number one divine archer on the prairie, and the power displayed by his arrow had made even his heart palpitate!
'If I retrieve the golden book and go onto the next step to become god, I will need to guard against my convenient father… My golden book!'
Pangong Tso's heart was tearing apart. When he thought of how Qin Mu had stolen his golden book, he felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart before it was crushed.
On the journey to the border station, he had sneakily read the golden book and memorized the circulation diagram inside it. However, the circulation diagram was extremely complicated and the barest hint of difference would be the same as walking a thousand miles in the wrong direction. There couldn't be any mistakes in repairing the divine bridge.
Pangong Tso wasn't certain that he could replicate everything he saw without a single mix up.
The arrow light caught up to Qin Mu and Cripple, who suddenly threw away everything he had stolen and stretched out his hand to grab the youth by his side. He then moved like a phantom to avoid the arrow light.
Khan Ruandi frowned, suspicious. "The abilities of this elder aren't as high as I thought…"
While his fingers on the heart of his brow remained unmoving, the arrow light changed its direction in midair to shoot toward Cripple again. The old man's body techniques changed one after another, and he literally flashed here and there in an instant, giving people a feeling that he had already stepped through the obstruction of space.
Cripple didn't dare to receive the arrow, so his bizarre body techniques left everyone dumbfounded, while Khan Ruandi found it hard to hit him.
The distance between Cripple and the flying ship was decreasing faster and faster. Duke Wei rose into the air while holding the Duke Sword and slashed toward the arrow light!
Boom!
Incomparably terrifying explosion burst forth, and Duke Wei was blown upwards from the vibration. He then rose back up and landed on a flying ship while laughing. "Ruandi, you indeed have a skill or two!"
Ruandi's abilities were above his, so the arrow's momentum didn't slow down. Suddenly, Grand General who Crowns the Army stepped forward. His square sky halberd soared into the air and transformed into the claws of a dragon that stretched out to grab onto the arrow light.
Grand General who Crowns the Army grunted, and his vital qi almost burst from the impact. His legs couldn't resist moving back repeatedly, until he finally took the arrow light down. In the end, he was left overwhelmed with shock.
If it wasn't for Duke Wei who had clashed with the arrow first and exhausted more than half of its power, he wouldn't have been able to receive this move at all.
"The Khan of Barbarian Di Empire had a justified reputation. He's just a bit weaker than Imperial Preceptor and His Majesty!"
Once the sword light dispersed, Grand General who Crowns the Army stretched his hands out to grab forward. The long dragon flew back and transformed into a blood-red square sky halberd in his hands. The dragon claw changed into a small branch of the halberd which hummed as it vibrated.
In Duck Tongue Zone, all the khans and shaman kings were lifting their pants up, but all of them couldn't find their belts.
Suddenly, the tooting of a bugle horn came from Helan Pass, which was behind them. The army of all tribes came pouring out like a flood. The troops of the prairie were proficient in horse riding, so the first to come out was the goat army.
The divine arts practitioners that belonged to it weren't riding on mountain goats but barbarian goats, which were strange beasts with two legs. They were mixbloods that came from goats and strange beasts of Great Ruins. They ate grass, but were all strong and sturdy.
Barbarian goats had only two legs, but when they sprinted, they were like flightless birds rushing forward. Their physiques were very tall, so when they stood up, they were like small buildings. The strongest part of a barbarian goat was its horns which curved into spirals. When the beasts came sprinting forward with lowered heads, they were akin to plows going through dozens of yards and smashing everything in their way.
Meanwhile in the air was the prairie's flying calvary on hawk-eagle wolves. They were a sort of carnivorous strange beast which had the body of a huge wolf with wings. On the backs of the wolves were the strongest archers and knife practitioners in the prairie.
It was because the troops of the prairie came and went like the wind that the army of Eternal Peace Empire couldn't gain any advantage.
At that moment, the army of all tribes of the prairie rushed forth with world-shaking power, their numbers far exceeding those that came from Eternal Peace Empire.
Khan Ruandi and the rest tightened up their pants around their waists with dead knots.
Khan Ruandi laughed loudly. "So what if a small thief stole our treasures and clothes? We are only true men when we fight on the battlefield topless, our hot blood rushing through our veins! Our grudges have all been over land and livestock so our tribesmen could live better lives. Even though the prairie is vast, there's still an end to our land. On the other hand, Eternal Peace Empire is rich and flourishing; they have plenty of women and land! Let us fight to our hearts' content on this battlefield today! Once we conquer Qingmen Pass, Eternal Peace Empire will be our grazing land!"
Blood pumped in the veins of all the khans on the battlefield. They all laughed loudly with their bare upper bodies as their heroic spirit overflowed into the heavens, dispersing all the white clouds as if washing the sky clean.
Their cultivations weren't weak; there were quite a number of experts of Celestial Being and Life and Death Realm. There were even a few khans who had cultivated to Divine Bridge Realm.
Everyone's vital qi burst forth, and their primordial spirits appeared. All kinds of god and devil apparitions took shape behind them, all of them looking extremely powerful as they waited for their army to arrive.
Once it did so, everyone executed their own methods. Some sprinted on the land while others flew into the air to face the fleet of Eternal Peace Empire.
Pangong Tso hesitated, but he didn't follow after them. He summoned a shaman king over and said solemnly, "Escort me back into the pass."
That shaman king acknowledged his order, while the other shaman kings rushed toward Eternal Peace Empire's fleet.
On the flagship of the fleet, Sword Hall Master stood at the bow with his clothes fluttering in the wind. Yuyuan Chuyun stood beside him, and the two generals looked at the army of the prairie that was coming closer and closer.
"General, the enemy has entered the range of one hundred and sixty miles!" the signaller that was measuring the distance shouted loudly as he stood on the tall mast while gripping tightly on the ropes.
Sword Hall's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Continue forward, inform me when it'll be eighty miles."
Yuyuan Chuyun's face was also indifferent, but when he heard eighty miles, he raised his eyebrows slightly. The signaller waved a flag and ordered the ships to continue forward.
"General, the enemy has reached the eighty mile range!"
Yuyuan Chuyun took out his sword pellet and held it in his hand with his eyebrows raised. Sword Hall Master then said, "Call me when it's forty miles."
Yuyuan Chuyun frowned slightly while looking at Sword Hall Master, but he didn't say anything.
The signaller's nervous voice could soon be heard again. "The enemy has reached the forty miles range!"
Yuyuan Chunyun let out a shaky breath, and the light in his eyes began to shine in all directions like the sun. Sword Hall Master said, "Send orders for all ships to heat up the True Origin Cannons, we will fire at thirty miles."
Yuyuan Chuyun's palms were all sweaty as he gritted his teeth while hissing, "General Jian sure can restrain himself! To actually wait until thirty miles... Thirty miles, it's the range of the enemy…"
The signaller immediately waved his flag to command all the ships. The cannon batteries instantly drew energy from the pill furnaces and waited for action after having accumulated enough for an attack.
Sword Hall Master looked at the army of the prairie that poured forth while covering the horizon, the experts of Celestial Being and Life and Death Realm at the front. He then explained at a speed that was neither too fast nor too slow, "Imperial Preceptor's order was to raze Helan Pass to the ground and not just defeat the enemy. At one hundred and sixty miles, the enemy would have the chance to escape with the main force still intact. At eighty miles, sixty percent of the enemy would be able to escape. At forty miles, only thirty percent of the enemy would be able to escape, but the chief generals would still manage to get away. At thirty miles, even the chief generals' survival rate will only be thirty percent at most!"
Yuyuan Chuyun sighed in admiration. "Teacher Jian is still Teacher Jian. Chuyun is only able to have today's achievement after learning sword from you back then."
Over two hundred flying ships suddenly turned to their side with a creak. The huge bodies instantly became a barricade in the air, and the cannons fired all at once. Instantly, several thousand thick pillars of light appeared in the air!
In a single face-off, many barbarian kings, khans, and shaman kings were turned into sieves and fell from the sky!
Quite a few of the strong practitioners of Life and Death Realm as well as Divine Bridge Realm who were behind the first wave were astonished. In the meantime, Duke Wei, Grand Marshall, Grand General who Crowns the Army, and Grand General of Cherishing Transformation rushed out to attack them!
On the flagship, Sword Hall Master personally waved the flag, and the cannons changed direction to point toward the ground. They were like sword lights slicing at the army rushing forward!
Sword Hall waved his flag and split the two hundred and more ships into two fleets, one flying high in the sky while the other hovered three hundred yards away from the ground. Yuyuan Chuyun controlled the fleet above to attack the flying wolves, while Sword Hall controlled the fleet below, plowing the land in front of them as they pushed forward. With the cannon beams sweeping through the battlefield, humans and goats were thrown into disorder wherever they passed!
Meanwhile on the other side, Qin Mu and Cripple returned to Qingmen Pass to see Village Chief and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor leisurely drinking tea on the city tower. They were completely unfazed by the situation outside.
"Jian Sansheng can restrain himself, and his attainments in sword skills are also extraordinary. With the battlefield like his sword, he's already considered a professional."
Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor poured tea for Village Chief, who was waiting for him to lift the teacup to his lips when he suddenly remembered that the man before him was not Apothecary, thus he used his vital qi to lift the teacup up to take a sip. "His sword skill has the shadow of your sword skill, but what's weird is that it also has the shadow of my sword skill."
Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor shook his head. "I have never taught him before."
The two of them turned their heads in unison to look at Qin Mu who had just entered the city tower. If neither of them had taught Sword Hall his sword skills, it could only be this Great Cult Master Qin.
The two of them immediately frowned when they saw him holding a weird golden book with one hand and underwear with another.
"Mu'er, I've been forced to throw away the stuff I stole, but you haven't, so now you are the number one divine thief in the world!" Cripple praised as he stuck up his thumbs.
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "My abilities are way inferior to those of Grandpa Cripple."
"Throw it, throw it!" Cripple pinched his nose and said, "What's so good about Grandmaster's underwear? Quickly throw it away!"
Qin Mu threw the underwear out of the city tower. He then walked toward the two people that were drinking tea and threw the golden book onto the tea table. He sniffed the fragrance of the tea and smiled. "I have some good tea leaves. They're from a young master called Xu Shenghua who is from High Heavens. I had shamelessly asked for half a bag from him."
"High Heavens?"
Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Village Chief's hearts jumped. Village Chief hurriedly asked, "You met a visitor from High Heavens? Did he attack you?"
"No." Bewildered, Qin Mu said, "Xu Shenghua is a very amiable person. I had a clash with him, and we were both equally excellent. Village Chief, he's also an Overlord Body! An Overlord Body like me!"
The youth became excited.