Chapter 45

Chen Hai sat back in his place, noticing Chen Qing staring at him with a dazed look. He thought she, who had grown up in a sheltered environment, had been frightened by the bloody battle. He sneered and showed a disdainful smile.

Chen Hai had previously refined his vital energy to be several times more concentrated than that of ordinary people, but he had struggled to break through his meridians, causing his body to become bloated and clumsy, especially his face, which had become fat and large, completely losing his former handsome appearance.

Now, his fat face was cut with over a dozen bloody gashes, and the left cheekbone was exposed, covered with blood scabs. When he smiled, it was as ugly and hideous as it could be.

Chen Qing was originally surprised by Chen Hai's behavior. Seeing his ghastly smile, which was even worse than crying, she turned her head away in disgust. However, given her internal injuries and her knowledge of Chen Hai's temper, she did not provoke him.

Su Ziling avoided eye contact with Chen Hai, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Some female disciples were interested in the brave and skilled Chen Hai, but seeing his hideous and terrifying face, they hesitated.

Qian Wenyi had previously feared the methods of the young master, but after this battle, he realized that the young master, who was considered a waste by others, not only had exceptional tactics but also the courage that ordinary people could not match.

Qian Wenyi agreed with Chen Hai's thoughts but was unsure how Li Xianghai would decide. He walked over with his cold iron saber, sat down next to Chen Hai, and whispered, "What will Elder Li decide?"

"Elder Li has no other choice," Chen Hai said, enduring the pain and lying down in a more comfortable position. "No one stood up to support him before, but now you see that he has kept Senior Brother Shen and the others to discuss matters..."

Qian Wenyi thought about it and whispered, "Your method does seem to offer more hope."

At this moment, Chen Hai saw the Lu family's bodyguard who had been protecting Lu Hongqian's safety looking at him, with a look of approval in his eyes.

Among the bodyguards accompanying the inner disciples, the two from Lu Hongqian and Xie Wenzhuo were the most powerful, both at the late-stage Spirit Opening realm. Chen Hai had the deepest impression of these two.

However, this time, Xie Wenzhuo managed to escape from the stone fort, but the Xie family bodyguard who was protecting him failed to break through the encirclement. The Lu family bodyguard who was protecting Lu Hongqian managed to break out, but Lu Hongqian himself died in the chaos of the stone fort...

It was truly a twist of fate.

Chen Hai saw that this Lu family bodyguard was only in his thirties, with a tall and robust figure, agile and strong like a sturdy pine tree.

Although Chen Hai had a deep impression of him, he only nodded and smiled, not thinking of initiating any conversation. He thought that these bodyguards, who were always struggling under the shadow of the noble families' children, even if they were experienced veterans with rich combat experience and not weak cultivation, rarely had the opportunity to express their own opinions.

Seeing Chen Hai and the Lu family bodyguard exchange glances, Qian Wenyi sighed and whispered to Chen Hai, "Le Yi is a rare commoner disciple of the Taowei Sect in recent years. He had already been promoted to a thousand-warrior commander in the Weijiang camp due to his accumulated merits, but was punished for insubordination. He later pledged allegiance to the Lu family to escape punishment—As Lu Hongqian's protector, he failed to save Lu Hongqian from the Yellow Dragon Abyss, and the Lu family will not let him off easily..."

"Don't talk about him. Elder Li will probably not have an easy time even if he survives this time," Chen Hai said with a low laugh.

Lu Hongqian, Xie Wenzhuo, and others, despite their young age, had reached the Spirit Opening realm and were the core disciples heavily cultivated by their respective noble families, seen as the next generation of leaders.

However, so many core disciples and future leaders fell into the trap of the rebels and perished deep in the Jade Dragon Mountain. Imagine the terrifying anger of these noble families, and how the Taowei Sect would not fail to severely investigate the responsibility.

Although Li Xianghai was a key figure of the Li family, the Great Yan Empire's noble families were divided into four ranks: Marquis of Commandery, Marquis of County, Marquis of Township, and Marquis of Pavilion. The Li family was only at the Marquis of Pavilion level, and it was unlikely that he could withstand the combined attack of so many noble families this time. After all, those with even greater responsibility than Li Xianghai had already lost their lives in the Yellow Dragon Abyss, and the noble families would not vent their anger on the dead.

In comparison, Chen Hai and the other low-ranking soldiers, as long as they could break out of the Jade Dragon Mountain, would be well rewarded by the sect and the Grand Protector General's Office to boost morale, and would not be held responsible.

However, Chen Hai would not worry about Li Xianghai and the others at this moment. He did not have the qualifications to do so. The most pressing task now was to break out of the Jade Dragon Mountain.

If he had to say who to take special care of next, it would be to protect Chen Qing, who had always been hostile to him, otherwise he and Qian Wenyi would not be able to face Chen Lie.

Damn! Thinking of this, Chen Hai felt very depressed. He should have let this woman learn a lesson.

******************************

After Li Xianghai made up his mind and received the support of core disciples like Shen Kun, Zhou Jun, and Ge Tong, he acted decisively.

Li Xianghai first dispersed the inner disciples' bodyguards and protectors among the dao soldiers.

These bodyguards, chosen to protect the core disciples, were all powerful and had better equipment than ordinary dao soldiers. Li Xianghai would no longer let them stay in the battle formation, allowing the dao soldiers to fight bloody battles to protect them while they did nothing.

Li Xianghai also gathered the few remaining mounts of the inner disciples, led by Zhou Jun and Shen Kun, with over thirty dao soldiers and bodyguards skilled in riding, forming a cavalry force that could be used for a breakthrough, even without time and place for drills.

This time, the dozen or so spirit birds brought by the inner disciples did not abandon their masters, but suffered heavy casualties. Most were killed when they charged into the stone fort. Only the spirit vulture tamed by Li Xianghai, despite being severely damaged by the poisonous smoke, managed to break out of the stone fort with the group, but it could no longer fly out of the Jade Dragon Mountain to send a message.

However, the mounts of the inner disciples were more intelligent and powerful, mostly strong riding beasts like the Black-scaled Horse, which allowed them to penetrate deep into the Jade Dragon Mountain.

Even without heavy armor, these powerful riding beasts had natural tough heads and iron bones, charging through rain of arrows and a forest of weapons like mobile tanks, with formidable power.

To break through the encirclement, they needed such a force of iron hooves to trample the rebels' defenses on the north side of the stone slope to have a chance of a successful breakthrough.

Although the inner disciples did not need to fight directly on the outer perimeter, they were extremely dissatisfied when they had to walk with the other injured soldiers, but at this moment, with Li Xianghai's strong attitude and the leadership of Ge Tong, Shen Kun, and Zhou Jun, the remaining dao soldiers, the inner disciples had no right to complain.

Most of them were injured by the reverse flow of true essence into their meridians, and even those who were alert could not move their true essence until the reverse spirit powder was cleared, making them no stronger than ordinary dao soldiers.

The large number of essence pills and healing ointments prepared by Chen Hai, Shen Kun, and Ge Tong in the Dao Academy came in handy at this moment.

Most of the healing medicines and other supplies were distributed directly to the dao soldiers before the expedition, as even Transcendent Realm soldiers could carry one or two hundred pounds of weight through rugged mountain paths, reducing the logistical burden of entering the mountains.

However, this also meant that in the previous defeat, a large amount of healing medicines, supplies, and even some extremely valuable spirit swords and magical treasures fell into the hands of the rebel ambush.

In short, the Taowei Sect's sect mission this time had everyone lose their underwear, while the rebel forces in the Jade Dragon Prefecture made a huge profit.

Before the expedition, Chen Hai and the others had exchanged two to three thousand essence pills from the Dao Academy. Even if they were distributed evenly among the group, the three hundred soldiers could hold out for two more days.

However, Chen Hai's and the others' hope of selling the pills at a high price was dashed. Li Xianghai would not allow the other dao soldiers to be extorted by the three of them. At this moment, they could only hope that the Dao Academy would give them some compensation after the fact.

With everything prepared, the four hundred dao soldiers held the stone slope until midnight, then officially broke through to the north.

The rebels had attacked the stone slope twice before, but after losing two to three hundred bodies, their attacks were repelled. They then began digging trenches around the stone slope to cut off the dao soldiers' retreat.

Fortunately, the surrounding area was mostly hard stone ground, and the rebels' progress in digging trenches was slow. They mostly cut down trees to make obstacles like deer antlers and chevaux-de-frise, or piled stones to form low walls around the stone slope.

The Jade Dragon Mountain was mostly rocky and barren, with hot night winds howling. The rebels kept their distance, guarding behind the obstacles, and there were not enough large trees in the mountains to build fortifications, which greatly facilitated the dao soldiers' breakthrough.

The healing medicines from the Dao Academy, especially the healing spirit medicines carried by the inner disciples, although they could not completely remove the reverse spirit powder from the bodies, allowed over a hundred injured soldiers to walk and support each other, avoiding becoming a burden.

The three hundred dao soldiers protected the nearly a hundred injured in the center, with Zhou Jun and Shen Kun leading over thirty riders charging at the obstacles to the north. These Black-scaled Horses and other powerful riding beasts, taller than a man, charged down the stone slope like light tanks. The two hundred dao soldiers formed two diagonal formations, following the flanks of the cavalry to trample the rebels' defenses on the north side of the stone slope.

Chen Hai abandoned his large shield, combining his twin halberds into a nearly ten-foot-long cold iron war halberd. He, along with Qian Wenyi and Le Yi, the Lu family bodyguard who had protected the deceased Lu Hongqian, took the front position of the left diagonal formation, breaking through the enemy lines.

Although Le Yi had not yet removed the reverse spirit powder from his body and could not move his true essence, as a late-stage Spirit Opening realm expert, he could still use martial arts techniques with his refined energy, far surpassing the dao soldiers.

Qian Wenyi was also a seasoned veteran with excellent combat skills.

Li Xianghai placed the most elite soldiers at the front and rear of the formation, hoping they would serve as the stabilizing core to prevent the formation from collapsing.