How much suffering and how many years of youth must one endure to reach the eighth grade of martial arts?
An Jiu had only ever taken one thing from others – life itself. Not for gain, but for destruction.
Though unfamiliar with martial arts, An Jiu felt that taking someone else’s inner power was like transplanting an organ into oneself. It might not be compatible, and rejection could prove fatal.
An Jiu never believed in “luck” – those two words had never applied to her.
“I’ve heard the Crane Control Army is the Song Dynasty’s elite force,” An Jiu sneered. “Yet you need to recruit someone without inner power? Forgive me if I don’t wish to be a human target.”
“The Ancient Text fragments,” the Commander said. “I can authorize giving you all the remaining fragments in the Crane Control Army’s possession.”
“Dealing with tigers for their hides,” An Jiu remained unmoved.
“I like that expression,” the Commander closed the distance in the blink of an eye, grabbing An Jiu’s incoming dagger. His protective inner energy shielded his palm, leaving the blade that could slice through iron completely ineffective.
He pressed closer, “But you don’t have a choice!”
“We’ll see about that!” An Jiu concentrated her killing intent. Since entering the temple, she hadn’t encountered anyone with stronger spiritual energy. In this standoff, that was her only advantage.
Sure enough, An Jiu noticed the Commander’s movements falter slightly. She viciously kicked at his groin.
The Commander’s gaze sharpened. Not daring to underestimate An Jiu’s abilities, he shifted to avoid the blow despite his protective energy barrier.
Feeling his grip loosen, An Jiu immediately withdrew her dagger and thrust it at his throat.
The Commander felt a chill on his neck. His prized protective barrier had been cleanly cut by the dagger, its razor-sharp edge leaving a shallow cut. Blood beaded on his skin, staining the surrounding dark fabric.
“Mei Fourteen, I’m losing patience,” the Commander said sternly. “You’d best come with me willingly!”
His pressure and threats seemed to not affect An Jiu’s resistance. Now truly angered, he growled, “You leave me no choice!”
He unleashed a palm strike infused with pure inner power. It roared like a dragon or tiger, cracking the surrounding walls before even making contact. Rubble crashed down around them.
An Jiu dodged with utmost speed but was still grazed. The internal injuries from the earlier crossbow impact flared with searing pain.
Amidst the billowing dust and debris, An Jiu dashed up to the fifth floor.
The walls of the fifth floor were covered in murals. A central shrine held several sarira relics. There was nowhere to hide.
An Jiu had only one arrow left for her powerful crossbow. She hesitated, unsure whether to use it against the Commander. Though he was pursuing her relentlessly, he showed no killing intent. If she used the crossbow and failed to kill him, she’d be making an enemy of the entire Crane Control Army.
Antagonizing an assassin’s force seemed suicidal no matter how she looked at it.
A dark figure emerged from the dust cloud. Before An Jiu could decide, her body reacted instinctively. Fortunately, she only fired the regular crossbow bolts taken from Elder Zhi.
The Commander’s wave shattered the three powerful arrows into dust. The dust maintained the arrow’s shape as it sped forward, only dispersing when it hit his protective barrier.
The Commander lashed out with a rope, ensnaring An Jiu’s waist. With a flex of his wrist, he yanked her towards him.
An Jiu was not one to be manhandled. She used the pulling force to her advantage, wielding both her crossbow and dagger to strike at his vital points.
The Commander, holding the rope with one hand, could only use his other to fend off the arrow and dagger. Needing to avoid killing An Jiu, he couldn’t use more than 40% of his inner power.
The Commander was no pushover. He deflected the arrow barehanded and shifted his body, taking An Jiu’s dagger strike directly.
His protective energy absorbed half the force, but the dagger still sunk halfway into his shoulder.
An Jiu never held back. She immediately applied full force, driving the entire dagger into the Commander’s body!
An Jiu felt a numbness at the back of her neck, and her vision went black.
“Tch—” The Commander sucked in a sharp breath. He yanked out the dagger and poured an entire bottle of wound medicine over the injury.
He tossed An Jiu to the ground and examined the dagger, muttering, “Damned girl!”
Wary of An Jiu’s powerful spiritual energy allowing her to wake quickly, he prepared a cloth doused in anesthetic to place over her nose.
The Commander crouched down and removed An Jiu’s mask, revealing porcelain-white skin. He paused, then inexplicably removed her entire face covering.
A delicate, beautiful face was revealed. In her unconscious state, her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, giving her a vulnerable appearance.
They say the face reflects the heart. The Commander never imagined such a fierce girl would have such a delicate appearance.
“Mei Fourteen,” he murmured, placing the cloth over her nose and replacing her mask.
“Commander,” a black-clad figure bowed at the entrance. “Only about twenty trial participants remain. The Li and Cui clans were completely wiped out. Our Shenwu forces are in a standoff with the enemy on the plank road. That Transcendent State archery expert is using our people for target practice. Ten ninth-grade martial artists are guarding the opposite cliff, preventing us from approaching the archer.”
The Commander had only broken through to the ninth grade last year and was still only at the third level of the Transcendent State. Even if he went personally, he’d struggle to reach the Transcendent archer.
“I’ll go immediately,” the Commander picked up An Jiu. “Let’s move.”
“Yes, sir!”
The two exited the tower.
Heavy snow fell in dense sheets. The Commander carried An Jiu, racing towards the plank road. In the blink of an eye, they passed through the pine forest and temple gates.
The black-clad follower struggled to keep up.
The Shenwu branch of the Crane Control Army was facing a talent shortage. With last year’s mysterious death of the Commanding Officer, they couldn’t find a suitable replacement. When one of the four Shenwu Envoys unexpectedly broke through to the Transcendent State, he was promoted despite the unusual circumstances.
Each of the four branches of the Crane Control Army had four “Envoys”. The Shenwu branch had Shenwu Envoys, the Shence branch had Shence Envoys, and so on for the Yulin and Weiyue branches…
These Envoys were essentially important messengers. Though they belonged to their respective branches, they reported directly to the Emperor, responsible for delivering various “secret orders”. As such, they weren’t fully considered part of their branch’s forces.
This particular Shenwu Envoy was an orphan raised and trained by the Crane Control Institute. The major clans saw him as the Emperor’s confidant and arbitrarily gave him military authority. Few truly followed his orders, forcing him to personally oversee even minor matters like this trial.
If this mission succeeded, all would be well. But if they suffered major losses here, his future leadership would become even more difficult.