One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

Outside the Pass, Skull Plain.

The iron-gray sky, hidden in the fog distant snowy mountains, dark dried-out land streaming with rivers of blood, and countless mutilated limbs. The roaring of tens of thousands resembled a surge of waves all at once, causing Zhao Meiying’s brow to furrow and eliciting a groan as she opened her eyes.

She was buried under the huge rocks of a collapsed city wall, feeling a searing pain in every nerve of her body.

Clatter!

After struggling violently a couple of times, too weak to break free,

Rather, the movement of her body caused the ruins to collapse, and the giant rock pressed down heavily, making the left half of Zhao Meiying’s leg lose all sensation.

She held her breath, slowly gathering strength, planning to push off the rock pressing on her all at once.

Boom!

But before she could exert herself,

Brilliant light poured down, and a large hand reached out.

Zhao Meiying reached out her hand, and was pulled up by Li Lingxiu, the chief of the Demon Suppression Army in Jiangzhou, who then soared into the air and landed on a iron-gray hill slightly away from the battlefield.

"Thank you," Zhao Meiying panted in pain as she took a pill from Li Lingxiu.

Her gaze moved downward from a high position towards the battlefield in front of her.

The entire battlefield.

Surrounding a city filled with temples, it formed a huge meat grinder.

Inside the city dressed in yellow robes were monks, barbarian warriors, White Wolf cavalry, and so forth, probably totaling over twenty thousand people.

While on the outskirts of the city were fifty thousand elites from the Demon Suppression Army and the frontier guards. The city walls had collapsed, and the elite troops of the Great Zhou Dynasty had broken into the city, indiscriminately slaughtering everyone except their companions. They came only to exterminate, showing no mercy, sparing no lives.

Powerful fluctuations of energy resonated back and forth across the battlefield, temples collapsed, and the ground heaved like waves.

Sacred thangkas, prayer flags, and golden wheels were all utterly destroyed.

The huge Buddha statues bathed in fresh blood.

It seemed the elites of the Great Zhou Dynasty had now gained the absolute upper hand in this war, but Zhao Meiying inexplicably felt a strong sense of oppression that left her breathless. Her right eyelid, representing misfortune, throbbed unstoppable even when she pressed on it.

The last time she experienced such a strong intuition was when she recklessly tested Su Heng.

And now...

Zhao Meiying raised her head.

Seeing Li Lingxiu standing on a rock beside her with the same expression.

"You also have that kind of premonition," Zhao Meiying said in surprise. "It’s too smooth. From the start of the war until now, our advancement has been too smooth. Looking back now, it feels like an invisible hand is guiding us forward." 𝔯

"This isn’t a premonition, but rather you’ve sensed the presence of that person, the fear that naturally emerges," Li Lingxiu paused and said. "He did it on purpose. He wants to lure us here."

"That person... Who!?" Zhao Meiying felt an increasingly heavy pressure within her, each heartbeat thunderous.

"Barbarian King, Khan of Khans, Talihuitai Solban!"

Boom!

A loud bang, the earth shattered, the mountains crumbled.

Li Lingxiu frowned and roared, "He’s here!"

The ground shook violently, as if unable to bear the dreadful weight the name brought. Zhao Meiying followed Li Lingxiu’s gaze, and saw at the center of the battlefield, in the middle of the city. In an instant, a white surge of power like a reverse waterfall shot into the skies.

The entire sky burst open in a boom, clouds spinning and gathering, amid flashes of lightning and thunder, forming a massive vortex.

Within the huge vortex engulfing the city and the battlefield, a faint human face appeared.

The face, like a living Buddha, loomed high above, gazing down on all beings. His cold, merciless face carrying an aura of reverence, his pupils burning with fierce lightning. Below the Buddha, amid the towering white beam of light, stood an incredibly strong giant in his prime, about forty years old, proudly upright.

He stood over eight feet tall, his muscles sharply defined as if carved by ghosts and deities.

His rage-dragon-like pitch-black long hair fluttered wildly in the wind, and his bare upper body was inscribed with golden Sanskrit. His strong arms were crossed in front of his chest, and the old and vast chanting also came from the void. The voice was grandiose and vast, and Zhao Meiying, who had only remotely sensed a bit of it, felt a strong urge to worship.

"Talihuitai Solban Khan, he intends to bury these elites here, and we also want to take his head here," Li Lingxiu’s voice, cold and solemn, came through the wind, jolting Zhao Meiying, causing her to break out in goosebumps.

"Can we do it?" Zhao Meiying asked.

"Before seeing him with my own eyes, I was one hundred percent sure," Li Lingxiu shook his head and said. "But now, I’m not sure."

Boom!

As Li Lingxiu’s words fell, another roar exploded on the battlefield.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Streams of pitch-black smoke surged into the sky, causing minor atmospheric changes. Cultivating one’s power to such an extent indicated that its wielder had stepped into Heavenly Deceit.

But even so, under the might of the Barbarian King, it still appeared weak and insignificant, entirely enveloped by the bright light.

A total of seven Heavenly Deceit masters, in an instant surged into the sky, with bone-chilling killing intent attacking the Barbarian King in the sky.

Encircled and ambushed by seven top masters, Solban did not retreat, nor did he defend.

"How to repay a thousand years of blood feud!" Solban roared skyward, his eyes tearing and turning red, "Heaven bless! The children of the grassland shall never be enslaved!"

"Kill!"

He spread his arms wide and then furiously brought them together!

Simultaneously, the force in the sky condensed to form a colossal human face also bending down, a huge pair of arms emerging behind it, fingers spreading, driving the airflow, twisting through the air.

The seven Heavenly Deceit experts of the Great Zhou Dynasty, like insects trapped in amber, were firmly nailed in mid-air, then suddenly directly exploded, turning into a rain of blood falling from nowhere.

"Solban Khan!"

"Khan of Khans!"

A roar like a landslide and tsunami erupted from the city.

The monks and barbarians, already heavily surrounded, all looked up to the sky and howled, their bodies flushing with blood and turning red. They seemed to burst with endless strength, fearlessly pushing back forces many times their own.

"From today onward, no one can wantonly slaughter the people of my grasslands!" Solban roared passionately and rushed forward.

In the distance, on top of a hill.

Zhao Meiying’s face was full of shock and horror.

Li Lingxiu shook her head, "There’s no need to continue fighting. Prepare to withdraw the troops."

...

...

...

Beneath the Demon Suppression Tower in Baihua County,

"Was it you who saved me just now?" An Ran raised her head and looked toward Su Heng, "Thank you."

As she finished speaking, a cold wind blew. An Ran shivered and realized that her clothes had been burned off during the fight, exposing a large area of her body.

She was still young, a blush streaking across her face as she instinctively curled her arms around her shoulders.

Rustle!

Su Heng wasn’t particularly interested in such a young girl, although she might be older than her appearance suggested.

He tore a piece of cloth from his clothing and handed it to An Ran.

The size difference between them was significant, so the cloth from Su Heng covered An Ran like a soft bathrobe. An Ran took it and bowed her head again to thank him.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Simultaneously, Luo Qi finally woke up from the shock of An Shelie’s Dragon Power.

She leaped out of the window following.

Seeing An Ran safe and sound, she heaved a deep sigh of relief.

"What exactly happened after I fainted?" An Ran’s memory still lingered at the restaurant and the fight with Anade, everything after was a blank. She was feeling unwell, a strong metallic taste in her mouth as if she had sustained a severe injury.

Luo Qi recounted the agreement she reached with Su Heng as well as the possession and arrival by An Shelie.

"I see."

An Ran nodded and then bowed to Su Heng, speaking earnestly, "Thank you once again for saving my life."

"Also, since it was Luo Qi who agreed with you on my behalf, it represents my intentions as well. Regarding the exploration of the Dragon King’s Tomb, I will cooperate fully as promised," An Ran told Su Heng generously. She extended her hand, and Su Heng shook it lightly.

"Since there’s no issue with the cooperation." Su Heng spoke gravely, "Let’s discuss the matter of compensation now."

"Compensation!?" An Ran’s head shot up, a huge question mark forming above it.

Su Heng gestured toward the massive hole in the square, then raised his hand upwards, the tower of the Demon Suppression Tower visibly marked with many twisted scratches. Those were left from their recent fight with An Shelie. The reception room inside the tower was also in shambles.

"Each matter has its own responsibility; these damages arose because of you all, and you should compensate for the losses of the Demon Suppression Bureau," Su Heng said earnestly.

"I..." An Ran wanted to say that it was An Shelie who had done it.

But looking at Su Heng’s stern face, she really couldn’t muster any excuses.

She searched herself, fortunately, her purse was still hanging on her belt, not burnt or lost in the fight.

An Ran carefully took out her purse, emptied its contents into her palm, and sadly asked Su Heng, "Sir, is this money enough?"

Su Heng crossed his arms, looking at the few bits of silver and copper coins and creased banknotes in An Ran’s palm, his expression unchanged, though his breathing grew audibly rougher, "What do you think?"

"Sorry." An Ran scratched her head. "Perhaps I could stay and help clean up?"

"Maybe you could settle your debt with something else."

A voice devoid of emotion came from the side; An Ran looked toward the source as if seeing a savior. It was a beautiful, cold girl with delicate features and soft hair, none other than Su Heng’s top henchman, Li Hongxiu.

"Like the An family’s ancestral Cultivation Technique," Li Hongxiu suggested expressionlessly.

"Oh, I see." An Ran, having no particular attachment to her family, suddenly realized the implication upon hearing Li Hongxiu’s suggestion.

"Can I get some paper and a pen from you?" An Ran looked up at Su Heng.

Rustle!

Moments later, a freshly inked booklet appeared in Su Heng’s hand—The Dragon Shedding Blood Refining Method!

"Excellent!" Su Heng revealed a satisfied smile.

Just by glancing through it, he confirmed that it was a top-level Blood Refining Secret Technique, far superior to those few Blood Refining Techniques of the Demon Suppression Bureau and the Elephant Sect.

"Here’s the root diagram," An Ran handed over another paper, somewhat embarrassingly adding, "I haven’t learned fine brush painting, so it might not be very well done."

"No worries..."

Su Heng was about to boast about his exceptional comprehension when he saw a few badly drawn lines resembling worms scattered across the rice paper.

"You’re quite humble and sincere," Su Heng commented dryly.

Fortunately, he had an attribute panel; even without the root diagram, just by using the breathing techniques and stances, he could succeed in mastering it if he just noted down the names on his panel. The lack of the root diagram wasn’t a big issue for him. Su Heng conversed with An Ran for a bit more, learning that opening the tomb would take some more time.

He had already sent people to keep watch.

In the meantime, he could take this opportunity to master the Dragon Shedding Blood Refining Method.

Also, it was time to inspect the supplies sent by Zhao Meiying to see what good items were in there.