Martial Saint with Passives

Unfortunately, the street vendor had no new supply.

This was to be expected. Martial Arts Secret Manuals were the signature skills of their respective Sects and wouldn’t be leaked easily.

The ones that could be bought were all from Sects that had already been wiped out.

If a living Sect had their Martial Arts leaked, they would dispatch members to clean house.

One day, while Jiang Che was at the Martial Arts Hall instructing Jiang Ling in her Martial Arts, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the gate.

A disciple who had just broken through to the Bull Skin Realm rushed in, his face beaming with joy, and said:

”It’s starting! It’s starting!”

”What’s with all the rushing? What’s starting? Speak clearly,” Jiang Che said with a frown.

”Greetings, Senior Brother!” The disciple hurriedly bowed.

Then, he explained the situation.

Apparently, today was the day of the all-out assault on the Black Wind Mountain Horse Bandits! The city gate was packed with troops and horses!

Jiang Che’s heart stirred, and with a flicker of his body, he was out of the Martial Arts Hall.

When he arrived at the city gate, he saw a dense black mass of soldiers already assembled.

At the very front, three men sat on tall steeds, clad in generals’ Armor, making them the most conspicuous.

The man in the center was none other than the Seven Stars Gang’s Gang Leader, Li Hanchuan.

To his left was a fair-skinned, somewhat rotund middle-aged man.

This man also appeared to be a Force Integration Martial Artist, but his Strength seemed a bit lacking in condensation, as if his body had been hollowed out by wine and women.

Jiang Che didn’t know who this man was, but many onlookers were gathered nearby. From their chatter, Jiang Che learned that this was the County Captain, the man in command of all Lin Yuan City’s troops.

Jiang Che watched him and shook his head.

’With an appearance like that, no wonder they were repeatedly defeated before,’ he thought.

As for the man on the right, he was a robust man of about thirty with a chiseled face and sharp eyes.

This man suddenly glanced in Jiang Che’s direction, and Jiang Che immediately felt the hair on his skin stand up, as if he were being watched by a fierce beast!

Jiang Che was startled. The pressure this man exuded was no less than Li Hanchuan’s!

This man’s body contained a power that felt far more ferocious, surging, and explosive than that of a Force Integration Martial Artist!

Jiang Che had no doubt that this person could kill him in a single move!

Even with his Transformation, he wouldn’t be able to resist!

And in all of Lin Yuan City, the only one who could do that was...

”It’s Eldest Young Master Zhao, Zhao Kang! The next Patriarch of the Zhao Family!”

”So that’s Zhao Kang? I heard he recently broke through the Realm above Force Integration. Even Li Hanchuan fought him to a draw!”

Someone in the crowd spoke up.

Jiang Che narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zhao Kang.

For some reason, the feeling this man gave him was... off.

He seemed to be radiating an extremely faint hostility.

So faint that an ordinary person would never notice it.

But Jiang Che was very sensitive to this sort of thing; he couldn’t be mistaken.

This hostility seemed to be directed at someone nearby.

With Zhao Kang’s power, he obviously wouldn’t be hostile toward ordinary soldiers.

That left only two people.

One was Li Hanchuan, and the other was the County Captain.

However, since the hostility wasn’t directed at Jiang Che, he couldn’t perceive the specific details.

’What’s going on?’

A seed of doubt grew in Jiang Che’s mind.

He decided to warn Li Hanchuan, but with Zhao Kang right next to him, there was no way for him to do so.

Just as Jiang Che was getting anxious, he suddenly saw Li Rushan, also dressed in armor, standing at the edge of the military formation.

An idea struck him, and he ran over.

Li Rushan was a little surprised to see Jiang Che.

”Little Brother Jiang, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you want to kill some Horse Bandits too? But the battlefield is no joke! It’s dangerous even for Force Integration Martial Artists like us. Someone like you who hasn’t even reached Force Integration should stay away!”

Li Rushan immediately tried to shoo him away.

Jiang Che was not arrogant enough to think he could join the battle.

Although he had some strength now, facing an army of ten thousand and their Strong Bows and Crossbows, even with his Iron Body Great Success, he would be ground to death.

What’s more, there were many Force Integration Martial Artists among the Horse Bandits, and even a Tuoba Lie, who was above Force Integration!

Besides, his individual contribution to the battle would be negligible; his presence would make no difference.

But if he died, Jiang Ling would be finished!

Jiang Che quickly explained that he wasn’t there to fight, then shared his suspicions about Zhao Kang.

Li Rushan was skeptical. He didn’t quite believe what Jiang Che was saying.

’Hostility is something you can see?’

’That’s ridiculous!’

Jiang Che felt helpless and said, ”Regardless, please keep a close eye on that Zhao Kang.”

”Alright, alright, I get it. We’re about to move out. You should go now!” Li Rushan urged.

Jiang Che didn’t know if Li Rushan had taken his words to heart, but he had done his best. He left the military formation.

Before long, the troops finished assembling. The city gates opened slowly, and the dark mass of soldiers surged out like a river of iron.

Even after everyone had left the city, the crowd of onlookers lingered, their spirits high. They all chattered about how the Horse Bandits would be an easy catch.

But Jiang Che felt a lingering worry in his heart. He had a feeling things wouldn’t go so smoothly.

...

...

...

At the foot of Black Wind Mountain.

On a watchtower, a man in black stared into the distance, bored out of his mind.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he yawned, sat down, and prepared to take a short nap.

SWISH—

An arrow slammed into the wooden watchtower with a THUD.

The man in black froze, wondering what that sound was and why it seemed so familiar.

It was immediately followed by another THUD.

He shot to his feet, only to see something in the distance, a dark mass like a swarm of locusts, rapidly approaching Black Wind Mountain!

THUD!

Another arrow flew past, grazing his face and embedding itself in the wooden pillar behind him.

”Enemies!!!” All traces of sleep vanished as the man in black screamed at the top of his lungs.

Just as he was about to ring the warning bell, an arrow struck him in the forehead. His breath left him, and he slowly collapsed.

The Horse Bandits training on the mountain were startled, but they reacted quickly, preparing rolling stones, logs, and molten metal to hurl down at the soldiers charging up the mountain.

The soldiers below also took out their bows and arrows, firing up the mountain.

Some of the Force Integration Martial Artists from Lin Yuan City who had come with the army used their Qinggong to rapidly ascend the mountain and kill the Horse Bandits.

Like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep, they left a trail of corpses wherever they went.

...

In a large courtyard at the mountain’s peak, an old man dressed in a white silk robe and a white felt hat frowned as he watched the scene below.

He had a high nose, deep-set eyes, and a golden, bushy beard, not looking like a man of Great Chu.

Beside him, a tiger the size of a calf, its fur pitch-black, lay quietly on the ground.

”Luna, you see, the lowly easterners cannot be trusted,” the old man said.

The black tiger let out a low growl, as if in response.

Before long, a figure suddenly arrived at the summit.

This person had an androgynous face and was clad in a general’s Armor. It was, surprisingly, Li Hanchuan.

”You must be Tuoba Lie?” Li Hanchuan said, raising an eyebrow.

”Barging in like this doesn’t align with the etiquette of you easterners,” the old man replied in broken official Mandarin.

”Etiquette is for guests, not for bandits,” Li Hanchuan laughed.

”Luna, go teach this unruly, lowly easterner a lesson,” the old man said with a frown.

The black tiger let out a fierce growl and pounced in an instant, its figure as fast as lightning, seeming to tear through the air.

The Qi Force around its body was incredibly thick; it was a Black Beast at the Great Success Level of Force Integration!

Li Hanchuan was completely unafraid. With a flicker of his body, he dodged the black tiger’s pounce, then kicked it in the stomach, sending it flying sideways.

But before he could turn, he felt an extremely powerful Qi Force arrive in an instant.

Tuoba Lie had already thrown a punch.

Li Hanchuan, unafraid, turned and threw a punch of his own.

As their fists collided, they instantly created a sonic boom in the air.

”So it really is Bone Forging Force!” Li Hanchuan raised his eyebrows.

He hadn’t expected Tuoba Lie to actually be a Bone Forger Martial Artist.

Bone Forging was the Realm one entered after breaking through from the Peak of Force Integration.

The Qi Force generated by a Bone Forger Martial Artist is called Bone Forging Force.

If a regular Force Integration Martial Artist could rely on Qi Force to easily defeat a Qi Blood Martial Artist who had not yet mastered it...

...Then a Bone Forger Martial Artist could just as easily defeat a regular Force Integration Martial Artist!

Compared to ordinary Strength, Bone Forging Force was a blade of iron, while the latter was merely a Wooden Saber.

The two types of Strength were fundamentally different.

Both men grew serious, each seeing the other as a rare and worthy opponent!