Lu Changsheng hadn't moved an inch from where he had landed. He had rely unleashed his Silken Thread Sword and felled dozens of bandits in one breath, making for an unbelievable display of power.
Huh?
At that mont, his eyes widened.
I haven't actually consud that much blood qi...
He was astonished. The Silken Thread Sword was supposed to consu a great deal of blood qi. After all, blood qi projection was very taxing. However, the blood qi inside Lu Changsheng was still surging, showing no signs of depletion.
No... it's not that I haven't consud anything. Rather, my blood qi has recovered almost instantly. It must be the bone marrow. Following the transformation, the marrow's ability to produce blood increases trendously. Blood may not be blood qi, but an abundant supply of blood can certainly cause blood qi to recover much quicker. Besides, I've also undergone blood strengthening. With both the marrow and blood enhanced, my endurance and recovery rate have increased exponentially. I'm practically halfway into the Divine Strength Realm!
Lu Changsheng vividly felt that his strength had surged greatly. At this point, he was far above the Organ Refinent Stage. Not even an expert at the peak of the Organ Refinent Stage could compare to him. Indeed, Lu Changsheng was far stronger than such martial artists, and yet he had yet to reach the Divine Strength Realm. In truth, he was sowhere between the two stages.
At first, Lu Changsheng had been concerned that the Thirteen Riders had far too many bandits under their command. His Silken Thread Sword could wipe out entire groups with ease, but the blood qi consumption was too great, and he judged that one or two uses would exhaust him. But now, his incredible blood qi recovery had beco apparent, eliminating that concern altogether.
He walked straight over to one of the bandits, whose arm had been pierced through by a Silken Threat Sword. His clothes were soaked in blood, but he wouldn't die just from this.
Lu Changsheng seized him with one hand, lifted him clean off the ground, and asked coldly, "Where are the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert?"
"In the mountain stronghold..."
"Lead the way."
Lu Changsheng carried the bandit with no regard for his injuries. They headed straight into the mountain forest.
Eventually, Lu Changsheng spotted an abandoned temple halfway up the mountain. The temple was surrounded by palisades[1], and the faint shouts and chatter of many bandits could be heard from within. Clearly, this abandoned temple had been converted by the bandits into a simple mountain stronghold.
"Who goes there?" soone called out.
Lu Changsheng hadn't even approached the stronghold, and yet he had been discovered. As he looked around, he could vaguely see two bandits hiding in the grass to the side. They were clearly sentries, and the bandit in Lu Changsheng's grasp had to have known about them.
You really can't trust bandits!
Blood qi surged from Lu Changsheng's hand and took the shape of a sword, instantly piercing the injured bandit through the heart. Then, Lu Changsheng hurled the corpse straight at the two sentries.
"Ghah!"
The corpse smashed right into them, killing them on impact. Given Lu Changsheng's current physical strength, he could kill soone just by casually throwing sothing at them.
Although he had managed to swiftly dispose of the sentries, their screams had alerted the bandits inside the stronghold.
"What was that?"
"Did sothing happen to the sentries?"
"There is an intruder!"
All kinds of voices rose within the stronghold. Archers quickly ducked behind the palisade, aiming their bows or crossbows at the intruder.
Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly. There were at least several hundred bandits in the stronghold, and there were even archers who appeared to be well-trained. Clearly, the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert not only knew martial arts but might also have mastered battle formations, or perhaps it was the handiwork of the White Lotus Cult.
With those archers in position, he couldn't take advantage of the montary confusion and charge into the stronghold. Lu Changshenge was halfway into the Divine Strength Realm, with his marrow and blood transford. However, his body was ultimately flesh and blood. If he forced his way in, there was a very high chance he would be injured or even killed.
If I had Zhao Xing's iron armor... I could just run through their arrows.
From afar, he could already sense several sharp gazes fixed upon him from within the stronghold. Those were either the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert or experts of the White Lotus. It seed they were being cautious, as they didn't rashly send anyone out.
Lu Changsheng glanced around himself, scanning the forest.
These big trees...
A sudden spark of inspiration flashed through Lu Changsheng's mind. When he saw the densely packed trees with their thick branches and lush leaves, he already realized how he could deal with the archers and break through the stronghold gate.
Lu Changsheng walked straight up to a towering tree, so thick it would take three people to encircle it. He wrapped his arms around the trunk and pulled upward with all his strength.
Rustle, rustle...
The branches and the leaves kept shaking, but the trunk itself didn't move much from the ground.
The bandits inside the stronghold stared at Lu Changsheng with wide eyes.
"What is he doing?"
"Is he trying to pull that tree from the ground?"
"No way. Even soone born with divine strength wouldn't be able to uproot such a massive tree."
"Only soone in the Divine Strength Realm might be able to do that."
"Sure, that guy's aura is imposing, and it looks like blood qi is abundant, but he's no Divine Strength martial artist."
The bandits started chuckling, so of them bursting into laughter outright. They had been getting many intruders during this period, but none this stupid.
Lu Changsheng focused on the tree. It seed like he couldn't uproot the tree just with his raw strength, so he drew a deep breath, and his blood qi surged outward in a violent rush.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed through his body as blood qi erupted. A cloud of blood ford above his head, then swiftly split apart into countless strands of silken blood qi. However, this wasn't the Silken Thread Sword; rather, it was rely the basic Blood Qi Silk Transformation.
The crimson threads stretched out from his body like tendrils, quickly spreading across the tree and covering its trunk entirely.
"Rise!"
At that mont, Lu Changsheng exerted his strength through both hands, and the blood qi threads covering the tree erupted with terrifying power.
Boom! Rumble... Rumble...
An unbelievable scene unfolded. The entire forest seed to tremble, and along with that tremor, the towering tree shook violently before Lu Changsheng finally tore it from the ground.
Thirteen martial artists approached the palisades. With strange attires and pale skin, they looked nothing like the folk in this land. Their eyes widened as they stared at Lu Changsheng in the distance.
"How is that possible?"
"He actually managed to uproot that giant tree?"
"They say the martial arts of the Southern Dynasty were profound and produced countless experts. Hah, that martial artist is intriguing, unlike the idiots they've been sending so far."
These were the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert. They always referred to the Da Yu Dynasty as the Southern Dynasty. Geographically, the Da Yu Dynasty lay south of the northern tribes and the desert.
"Such overwhelming strength to pull out a towering tree... but the martial skills of the thirteen leaders are completely on another level. Below the Divine Strength Realm, few could stand against them. That person may possess brute force, but that by itself doesn't an much."
The one speaking was an elderly man, wearing white robes. Within the stronghold, he was known as Elder Chu.
1. a fence of stakes, usually for defense ☜
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