Chapter 27: Holding Off a Thousand, Slashing the Innate Master

The slaughter continued.

As time passed, the soldiers of the Luoyun Tribe grew increasingly desperate. They realized that their attacks were utterly useless against the man before them; even a strike from a sharp blade could not so much as graze a single hair on his body. Conversely, a casual swipe of his blade claimed a vast number of their lives. Over time, no one dared to approach this terrifying enemy willingly.

Yet, what left the frontline soldiers most speechless and broken was the pressure from their own rear ranks. Because the soldiers in the back could not see the reality of the situation, they kept pushing forward, forcing those in front into the reach of the enemy. This meant that even those who had no desire to fight to the death were given no choice.

"Stop pushing! He’s coming this way!"
"Kill him!"
"Stop attacking! He’s unkillable!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill your mother! Get away from me!"
"Kill him!"
"..."

Ultimately, that soldier died under a casual strike from Li Dao. When the soldier who had been shouting "kill" finally reached the front and saw the piles of corpses and blood, he understood why the previous man had been blocking him. At that moment, he wished he could resurrect the man who had stopped him, but only the sharp edge of the black iron blade awaited him.

By now, Li Dao had truly descended into a killing frenzy. While not quite facing an entire army, he was effectively moving through the ranks as if no one were there. Ordinary soldiers could only wait for their ruthless slaughter. This was the advantage of having a powerful physique over a warrior who relied on *Qi*. If a warrior relied on *Qi*, it would eventually be depleted, and they would be reduced to nothing more than an ordinary person slightly stronger than the average. A swarm of soldiers could potentially wear such a warrior down by sheer numbers.

But Li Dao was different. Though he lacked *Qi*, he possessed superhuman stamina. Simple, repetitive blade strikes consumed negligible energy. Instead, with each kill, he felt more invigorated. Especially as he watched the stats in his attribute panel climb, his blade moved only faster. The sweet, melodic system prompts echoed in his ears, a sound he never grew tired of:

【Killed four enemies, gained attributes: 0.65】
【Killed six enemies, gained attributes: 1.13】
【Killed five enemies, gained attributes: 0.96】
【Killed...】

Although each reward was small, they were frequent. Suddenly, a distinct prompt appeared in his mind:

【Completed one hundred consecutive kills, rewarded with attributes: 5】

Hm? A hundred consecutive kills? Did the system have such a mechanism? He recalled receiving a single point of attribute for his first kill, but since then, he had only received drops from kills. He had assumed there were no further system rewards. It seemed he had been mistaken; reaching a milestone of one hundred kills triggered a bonus. He didn't know if this was a one-time reward or if he would need to reach even higher milestones to earn more. Regardless, these five points were a pleasant surprise.

This sudden bonus only fueled Li Dao's bloodlust. If killing were a job, this unexpected overtime pay greatly boosted the enthusiasm of this hardworking employee.

Meanwhile, outside the encirclement, Jin Hua and Jin Sha grew uneasy.

"What is going on? Why has it been going on for so long?" Jin Hua's expression turned grim. It had been minutes, not thirty or forty seconds, and the battle was still raging. He could vaguely hear the screams of his own men.

"This is bad. I’m going to check." Unable to restrain himself, Jin Hua left these words and rushed toward the battlefield. When he arrived, he was stunned. His men were being torn apart, and a single figure was slaughtering them with ease.

"Bastard!" Seeing this, Jin Hua’s eyes turned bloodshot. With a roar, he charged into the fray, shouting, "Everyone, retreat!"

The raid on Changgu Town and the capture of the Great Qian commander, Wei Yun, should have been a great victory for the Luoyun Tribe. But with this man killing so many of his soldiers, the casualty rate was skyrocketing. He could not sit idly by.

Li Dao claimed a few more lives with a single sweep, only to sense a chill behind him. Turning, he saw one of the tribe's innate-level warriors charging at him.

"Good!" Li Dao checked his panel.

【Host: Li Dao】
【Physique: 51.72】
【Available Attributes: 25.78】

After the initial slaughter and the five-point system bonus, his surplus attributes had reached a staggering twenty-six—more than half of his current physique.

"Should be enough." Facing an opponent who might actually kill him, Li Dao, who valued his life, decided to go all out. "System, apply attributes."

In the next second, the panel changed.

【Host: Li Dao】
【Physique: 77.50】
【Available Attributes: 0】

As the twenty-plus points were added to his physique, a massive surge of heat erupted within him, coursing through his body. With every pulse, his physique strengthened. In a short time, his skin turned a faint red, and with every breath, white mist puffed from his nostrils.

His killing intent soared alongside his physique. Seeing the innate warrior closing in, he saw an opportunity to test his new limits.

"Die!" With a muffled roar, Li Dao raised his black iron blade and charged toward Jin Hua.

Across the way, Jin Hua had been planning how to capture and torture this man to death, but seeing him charge, he sneered, "Seeking death!" In his eyes, this man was at most a strange, post-natal warrior; he couldn't project *Qi*, so he clearly wasn't innate.

"Divine Eagle Claw!" Jin Hua’s hand formed a claw, sharp *Qi* shimmering at his fingertips. As the blade descended, he dodged fluidly, his right hand hooking firmly onto Li Dao’s arm.

Li Dao felt a flicker of surprise; this was an innate warrior skilled in unarmed combat.

"I'll start by crippling an arm." Jin Hua smiled confidently as his hand locked onto Li Dao’s limb. He unleashed his *Qi* through his fingertips and clawed down.

*Rip!*

His sleeve tore, followed by a flash of blood. But as Jin Hua pulled back, he froze, staring at the scraps of cloth and a tiny fragment of bloody skin on his fingertips.

*Impossible!* It was absolutely impossible. Why was the damage so negligible? He expected to tear away a chunk of flesh, not just a bit of skin.

Li Dao looked down at the three thin scratches on his arm and raised an eyebrow. "An innate warrior? Why are you using a woman’s moves?"

It reminded him of his school days when he would get scratched by female classmates. Back then, such a wound would scab over in an hour. And now? Li Dao looked again—the scratches were already scabbing over. He shook his arm, and the scabs fell away, revealing flawless, unblemished skin beneath.

"A woman's move?" Jin Hua twitched. His "Divine Eagle Claw" had never been described that way. Furious, he struck again. After a flurry of exchanges, he landed another claw on Li Dao’s arm, this time pouring every ounce of his innate *Qi* into the strike. He felt his *Qi* temporarily blocked by the density of the flesh and skin, only barely managing to pierce the surface before the super-dense muscle beneath stopped it cold.

*Rip!*

Looking at the tiny scrap of skin in his fingernails again, Jin Hua’s face went pale. He had never imagined that his "Divine Eagle Claw," capable of shattering gold and stone, would be thwarted by the flesh and blood of a human.

"Are you man or ghost?"

Li Dao watched his wounds heal and chuckled, "Flesh and blood—what else would I be?"

With that, he countered. He had learned that his physique, now seventy times that of an ordinary man, combined with his reinforced skin, made him incredibly difficult to kill. Now, it was time to test his offensive ceiling.

"Nameless Strike!" Li Dao’s blade whistled toward Jin Hua’s neck. Jin Hua scrambled to dodge, but Li Dao was much faster than he anticipated. Despite his superior movement techniques, he only barely evaded the blow.

*Rip!*

Jin Hua realized that even though he had dodged the blade itself, his clothes had still been shredded by the sheer force of the air pressure. He noticed no *Qi* attached to the blade. A terrifying thought occurred to him: *Is this pure, raw brute force?*

The surrounding Luoyun soldiers retreated, seeing their commander losing ground. Li Dao had only one strategy: since the enemy couldn't hurt him, he would counter-attack with everything he had. Jin Hua, meanwhile, was forced into a defensive, cowardly state. Every strike from Li Dao, though lacking *Qi*, was backed by such terrifying power that one slip would mean certain death.

Wei Yun, hanging from the banner, watched with his mouth agape. He hadn't expected Li Dao, who he thought could only handle half-step innate warriors, to be holding his own against a true innate master.

In the distance, Jin Sha finally noticed the duel. "Still playing around?" he scoffed. He assumed Jin Hua was merely toying with the opponent. He had no idea that Jin Hua was walking a tightrope over an abyss.

Li Dao’s attacks were relentless, fast, and precise. As his physique had grown, so had his mental faculties. Now possessing the cognitive power of seventy ordinary men, he could analyze and simulate his opponent's movements in real-time. Once a pattern was established, he could see right through it.

Finally, after a few more exchanges, Li Dao predicted Jin Hua’s next move.

"Left!"

Li Dao’s eyes narrowed. He shifted his blade mid-swing. Jin Hua, acting on habit, dodged to the left—straight into the path of the steel.

*Rip!*

The sound cut off abruptly. This time, the blade didn't hit clothing; it bit cleanly into Jin Hua’s throat. No matter how strong one’s *Qi* was, flesh and blood could not withstand the sharpness of black iron. Jin Hua’s eyes went wide, his hands clutching his neck as blood gushed out. He stared at Li Dao, unable to comprehend how the trajectory of the blade could have shifted so strangely.

【Killed one enemy, gained attributes: 10.31】

As Jin Hua breathed his last, the system notification rang. Li Dao was stunned. Ten points? A true innate warrior’s total attribute value was over a hundred times that of an average human—even higher than his own physique. He realized that the vast majority of an innate warrior’s power was tied to their *Qi*.

The battlefield fell into a deathly silence. When the Luoyun soldiers saw their commander lying dead, they began to retreat, one by one. There was no point in throwing their lives away.

Jin Sha, standing nearby, froze. He still didn't understand how Jin Hua had died. If he had known the truth, he would have been horrified. He stood at a crossroads: avenge Jin Hua and likely die himself, or flee and live to fight another day.

Li Dao turned his gaze toward the last remaining innate warrior. "Only one left."

Before he could move, Jin Sha leapt onto his horse and turned, shouting, "Retreat! Everyone, fall back!"

That command shattered the soldiers' paralysis. They scrambled to their horses, desperate to flee.

Li Dao: "???"

He was left standing in the dust. This wasn't what he expected. Shouldn't they have swarmed him to avenge their leader? Before he could react, the last of the Luoyun soldiers were already a hundred meters away, galloping into the horizon.