Blood of the Army

by Tinalynge

  "With Luo Zhirou's and Shen Mu's current situation of being affiliated with the Crown Prince, they ought to also be there," he continued his contemplation, "and I have not seen them for some time. It would be fun to catch up with them again and hear how they are doing."

  Xue Wei did not have a communication device, so it was not possible for him to contact those two friends of his whenever he wished. He had to visit them in an old-fashioned way.

  Everyone in their group was filled with mixed emotions. Tie Haolong was puzzled as to what the Crown Prince was doing. Song Yuyan was slightly worried. Gu Dixing was very excited as he had never had the chance to even see royalty before, and Xiao Jie was rather collected about it all.

  Xue Wei had a feeling of discomfort, but at the same time he also wanted to know what was going on.

  "Well, for now, let us go to the training field and do some sparring. I suggest we try training with our armors on so that we can get used to how it is to move with them on."

  Having said that, all of them headed to the back of the mansion where the training grounds were located. It was time to learn one another's fighting styles.

  Chapter 37 - Unexpected Visit

  "Again!" Xue Wei called out with a domineering voice as the four others were thrown through the air, landing heavily on the ground a few meters away.

  They jumped to their feet and looked at one another, hesitating slightly before they nodded their heads and charged at Xue Wei, one from each direction.

  Xue Wei activated the Forbidden Rush, and then he swung around, sending out four palm strikes.

  These palm strikes did not contain any mystical martial arts technique, but the power of Xue Wei's physical body was enough to send them all tumbling back as if they had run directly into a wall.

  Xue Wei moved with grace and elegance; he was not overtaken by the murderous air or any menacing grins as if he was fighting to kill. Instead, he was calm and collected.

  "Again!" he yelled again, and the four once more got up from the ground, charging at him. All of them were armed, and none of them held back their martial arts techniques. However, Xue Wei was a higher rank than them, and he also had the benefit of a stronger body than the average fourth layer Earth Warrior.

  "Xiao Jie, Gu Dixing, attack first! Take his attention. Song Yuyan, soundwaves to confuse! Get ready to attack!"

  Xiao Jie used a saber to attack, and Gu Dixing used a sword similarly to Tie Haolong, who called the shots, and Song Yuyan was using a guqin as a weapon.

  A guqin was a weapon in the zither family; it had seven strings and was rather large. It was a feminine weapon, a weapon that mainly attacked through sound waves.

  This group had at first thought that Xue Wei was joking when he said he would face them all barehanded and without using any martial arts techniques, but after having pounced at him a few times and being smacked to the ground every time, their strategy had changed drastically.

  Now all of them were truly enlightened. Xue Wei was much stronger than all of them added together, and if they wanted a chance to injure him, or at least touch his clothes, then they had to work together.

  Xue Wei chuckled when he saw their determination, but it was not that he looked down upon them, nor was he starting to release his killing intent. The reason he chuckled was that he had never before trained with others, so the experience made him happy.

  Xiao Jie and Gu Dixing had wasted no time to do what Tie Haolong had called out for them to do, rushing towards Xue Wei with their saber and sword lifted in the air, a stream of Qi on the weapons' blades.

  These two had also managed to get their hands on some martial arts techniques from the Genius Camp, their techniques respectively enhancing the saber and the sword.

  "Sword Soaring the Heavens!" Gu Dixing yelled out as he jumped and descended through the air, not protecting his body at all and focusing all his strength on his attack.

  "Killing all Foes!" Xiao Jie exclaimed as the attack Killing all Foes activated and the Saber shone with a light stronger than when it had had Qi inserted into it.

  This light almost blinded the others, as a killing intent roared out from the saber.

  At the same time, the sword in Gu Dixing's hands seemed to turn into a flood dragon that was rushing towards Xue Wei. Both attacks were formidable, but it was not enough to make him feel threatened.

  Xue Wei nodded his head in approval though, to have been able to train these skills to the point that they had proved that they were anything but ordinary. They truly deserved their titles as geniuses of the Heping Kingdom.

  Having sent out two fists that collided with the sword and the saber, Xue Wei was forced a few steps back. Both of his hands were completely numb.

  He could not help but praise his newfound friends even more. When Xue Wei was pushed back, Tie Haolong suddenly appeared out of nowhere and swung the sword in his hands and chopped down towards Xue Wei's shoulder.

  Tie Haolong seemed to be alone, but when he attacked, Xue Wei felt the sudden pressure bearing down on him together with a few notes of the guqin that Song Yuyan was playing on.

  Song Yuyan was a supportive character. She was strong as the others because she was an Earth Warrior, but her fighting style focused on enhancing her comrades. She could increase their strength, enhance their speed, and also disturb others with her sound waves.

  Xue Wei could feel that Song Yuyan was trying her best to confuse him, slow him down, and affect him with her playing.

  It required all of Xue Wei's attention to keep a level head and properly engage Tie Haolong.

  Tie Haolong had appeared just as Xue Wei had been forced to take a few steps back, with the support of the tones that were creating sound waves, increasing Tie Haolong's speed and strength and at the same time also causing Xue Wei to slow down.

  Xue Wei lifted his arm. He retracted it and punched out with all his physical strength.

  Xue Wei did not dare to meet the blade head on, but what he did was hit the side of the blade, causing the weapon to be flung out of Tie Haolong's hands.

  Xue Wei’s other hand was thrown out, and this punch caused Tie Haolong to be shot backward.

  Everyone was breathing heavily. Xue Wei was smiling, but his clothes were a little disorderly from the battle.

  "Well, this is just the beginning!" Tie Haolong stood up and dusted his clothes off of the dust that had gathered on them after he had been pushed to the ground.

  Xiao Jie, Song Yuyan, and Gu Dixing all went towards Xue Wei and Tie Haolong. Their faces were smiling, all of them feeling rejuvenated.

  "Well, we do not have more time to train," Tie Haolong sighed. "We should probably wash up or we will be late for the Crown Prince’s Banquet."

  Everyone nodded their heads. They needed to have both their clothes and themselves cleaned before it was time to enter the royal palace. They had been working up a sweat. Even Song Yuyan, who had just spent time as a supportive character in the match previously, supporting them with her guqin, was also sweating.

  The group was exhausted, but all of them felt energized and happy. Their group was becoming much tighter knit, and they were able to talk with one another about random things as they went back to the mansion and their own rooms. All of them felt at ease with one another, and none of them felt any pressure or discomfort any longer.

  As Xue Wei closed the door to his chambers, a smile was evident on his lips and he was feeling casual and free.

  "Young Master is feeling pleased with himself?" An alluring female voice appeared in the room, and the previously calm and casual Xue Wei suddenly became tense and turned to look into the room with caution.

  There, right in the middle of everything was the woman in black. Her face was no longer hidden behind the hat and veil. Instead, it was on display.

  Her hair cascaded down from her shoulders, framing her face and glistening in the sunshine that shined in through the windows. The color of her hair was silver like the rays of moonlight that descended during the
night.

  Her eyes were blue like ice, and Xue Wei could not help but shiver when he felt her eyes land on him, the woman's lips curling into a mocking smile as a gleam of insanity and madness appeared in her eyes.

  "Xue Wei, I have waited a long time to see you," she said and dragged the word long as she gracefully stood up from the chair she had been sitting on.

  "I bet," Xue Wei answered. He was worried. This was the Primordial Beast that had caused no end of trouble for them on the way to the capital, and now she appeared in the middle of the Tie mansion, but no one seemed to even realize she was there.

  The Tie family was not a large noble family when it came to cultivators, but they still had one Heavenly Warrior in their family, yet even he was seemingly incapable of sensing this woman who had appeared in his room.

  "No need to sweat like this," the woman chuckled with her voice low so that Xue Wei had to strain his ears to listen to her. "I will not harm you," she continued.

  "Why don't we strike a deal?" she asked curiously, but Xue Wei just snorted. "The last person that struck a deal with you got killed by your own hands. Do you think I am foolish enough to make the same mistake?"

  "Oh you knew?" The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise and wonder, but there was a mocking tone to her voice. "Well, it does not matter if you do not wish to make a deal with me. I have other means to get what I want."

  "Is it not dangerous for a Primordial Beast such as yourself to be in the midsts of the capital where the experts are numerous as the clouds in the sky?"

  Xue Wei knew it would have been for the better to not ask such a question, to acknowledge that he knew that this woman was a Primordial Beast, but he was genuinely curious. Also, the woman knew that he knew. What was the loss of asking?

  "To these experts, I am a young woman from the center of the continent." The primordial beast chuckled. "I am here on a self-tempering journey."

  "They will do anything to ensure that I do not get insulted, aggravated or in any other way troubled. They would never believe that this young miss is actually a Primordial Beast."

  "Why are you telling me this?" Xue Wei frowned. "I am loyal to the humans and I will tell them the truth. Your cover will be blown and you will be hunted forever!"

  The woman started laughing out loud. "This Kingdom of Heping wants to hunt me?" She giggled as if she had heard the funniest joke of the year.

  "I guess I should introduce myself. I am Chu Huiyin, but most humans know me as the Ice Harpy," she introduced herself. When she did, Xue Wei's face turned pale.

  "Ice harpy?" he asked fearfully and the woman nodded her head proudly. "I am from the center of the continent, and I am only in this part of the continent for one single purpose, but telling you that seems wasteful as I would have to kill you afterward."

  The woman looked genuinely sorry about that fact, but Xue Wei could see more and more madness swell within the eyes of the woman. Whenever she looked at Xue Wei, although she contained it well, there was a killing intent so strong that Xue Wei did not know where such hatred could come from.

  "Why are you really here?" Xue Wei asked after a bit of time. He had accepted that this was likely to be his end, considering how much hatred was hidden within the eyes of the woman, but she just shrugged her shoulders.

  "I wanted to see what you looked like. Nothing special, it seems. For another expert to strike a deal with me to kill you kept me curious about your personality. Now that I have seen you, I have to agree with him. You are definitely a disgusting character."

  As she said the last words, the woman suddenly took a step forward, causing Xue Wei's entire body to tremble and tense up, yet moments after she vanished into thin air. It was as if the step she had taken had caused her to step into another world.

  Chapter 38 - Pure Yang

  Xue Wei was left behind, puzzled by what had happened. The woman wanted him to die, no doubt about it, but she had not lashed out and had instead hidden her killing intent deep within. She had even tried to make a deal with him.

  But what had he done to warrant such hostility other than being human when she was a Primordial Beast? Was it perhaps because his uncle as a Primordial Beast Hunter had killed numerous of her friends? If so, why had she not killed him instantly rather than try to convince him into striking up a deal with her?

  Xue Wei was puzzled. She had vanished with a flash as if she had never been there in the first place before he could figure anything out. Although this deeply shocked Xue Wei, he quickly washed and changed his clothes while cleaning the robes he had been wearing before.

  Wearing a new set of robes, Xue Wei had spent the entire time contemplating what had happened, but no matter how much he thought about it, it was impossible for him to come to any conclusions.

  When he exited the room, he was still thinking about it, and it was not before Tie Haolong and the others came to greet him that he parked it at the back of his mind.

  "She might just have visited to mess up my peace of mind," Xue Wei mumbled to himself. "She might have realized I knew what and who she was, so she wanted to warn me. I can't very well tell everyone that she, some miss from the center of the continent, is a Primordial Beast. Especially not with the strength she has. If we attempt to capture her, we will definitely bring misfortune upon ourselves."

  "But what happened to Xiaoyun and her family members? They were hunting the Ice Harpy. She is here, looking just fine, but I haven't heard a word about Xiaoyun since then," Xue Wei was starting to feel worried.

  Although his time with Wang Xiaoyun was short, and one could consider his emotions for her pure infatuation and superficial, they were not so simple to him. When he met her, he lost his heart at that moment, and his emotions were genuine. He truly had no space for any other woman than her, yet now there was a chance that she might have encountered some mishap.

  On the other hand, it was also likely that the Wayfarers had not managed to locate the Ice Harpy. With her cultivation base, it would be impossible to find her unless she wished to be located.

  "Brother Wei?" Tie Haolong looked at Xue Wei with curiosity. Xue Wei shook his head as he smiled back, "Don’t worry, I was just thinking about a few things. Do not be surprised."

  Xue Wei grinned and waved his hand, "We cannot afford to let His Highness the Crown Prince wait."

  "That's true," Tie Haolong agreed, his head nodding, but his eyes were still searching Xue Wei. It was clear that something had happened that had caused him to be surprised or shocked and descend into deep thought, but what could possibly have happened at his Tie mansion?

  Xue Wei said nothing to give him an idea, so Tie Haolong did not ask any questions, but their group was rather silent as they moved towards the Crown Prince's abode together.

  As they arrived at the residence, they were once more greeted by a group of guards of the Sky Warrior rank, all of which looked dignified as they observed these youngsters with pride.

  Although they were from various factions, they were still all to become a part of the army. They would all become important figures for the kingdom, whether they survived or not.

  If they survived, they would likely become either Sky Warriors like themselves, maybe even Heavenly Warriors. On the other hand, if they did not survive, they would become heroes of the nation, the ones who had given the ultimate sacrifice for their homeland and their citizens. These people deserved all the respect that they could get.

  Because of this, these children were looked at with respect. Although they had no choice but to enter the army, they were still heroes of the nation.

  As they entered the building, they could hear the sounds of a zither that played alongside a lute. There were women who mingled in between the tables of the many people, catering drinks and snacks to the many visitors, and there were geniuses from all over the country, but those from the capital were a majority.

  As they entered, their names were called out by a herald, "Young Hero Xue Wei, Young Miss Song Yuyan of the Song family, Yo
ung Master Tie Haolong of the Tie family, Young Hero Gu Dixing, Young Master Xiao Jie of the Xiao family."

  Song Yuyan, Tie Haolong, and Xiao Jie were all of the noble families within the Kingdom of Heping. Hence they were referred to as either Young Master or Young Miss. Gu Dixing and Xue Wei were not nobles, which was why the herald had to refer to them as Young Heroes.

  As soon as Xue Wei's name had been introduced, everyone in the room turned silent and looked towards the entrance of the chamber. Everyone had heard rumors about this young man. He had one of the most menacing nicknames in the history of the human army, Crimson Devil, and he was rumored to be inhuman.

  The ones present were all geniuses in their own right. They had heard about Xue Wei through connections or had personally witnessed his gruesome display of fighting in the arena.