Chapter 30

Upon learning the boy's identity, Jiang Zhen's sinister expression suddenly froze, turning into one of terror.

He carefully examined the boy, noticing that he looked a bit different from the portrait—less naive, but still strikingly similar.

Jiang Zhen's heart was instantly filled with fear. He was just a newly appointed squad leader, at most on par with Squad Leader Cui Xiao.

And this boy, who had killed Xu Hao, was clearly much stronger than him.

Seeing the murderous intent in Jiang An's eyes, Jiang Zhen fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face.

"Little Master! I was forced to do it, it was our battalion commander Ma Lin who forced me! I didn't want to harm ordinary people, but if I didn't act, the people above would kill me!"

"Please, Little Master, spare my life! I'll resign from the military and never harm anyone again!"

"Clatter, clatter, clatter~"

As he was pleading for mercy, a large cloud of dust rose in the distance, and several hundred cavalrymen arrived.

Jiang Zhen, kneeling on the ground, looked ecstatic. He instantly stood up and roared at Jiang An with a sinister smile:

"Little brat! You're finished! Our battalion commander Ma Lin has brought three hundred cavalrymen! Ha ha, you fool, you actually dared to come back, just wait to die..."

Before he could finish, a fireball hit him, instantly covering his entire body.

"Ah~"

Jiang Zhen screamed in agony, rolling on the ground to try to extinguish the flames.

But this was no ordinary fire; it was released by a cultivator and wouldn't be easily put out.

Amidst his agonizing screams, Jiang Zhen was burned alive, suffering immense pain before he died.

Not just him, but several other soldiers were also burned to death.

The villagers, witnessing this, felt a great sense of relief.

"Little brother, you'd better run and avenge us in the future!" a wounded villager shouted anxiously.

They all knew about Jiang An, and the news had already spread throughout Ping Shui County.

Only if this boy survived could he kill more scoundrels and avenge them.

"Ha ha, little brat! You actually dared to come back!"

Ma Lin, seeing Jiang An, almost thought he was seeing things.

This fool, instead of hiding in Lian Shan County, had actually returned to Ping Shui County.

Wasn't he asking for death?

Wait, why does the girl in his arms look so familiar?

She's the daughter of General Meng Kuo from Lian Shan County, Meng Jing!

Ma Lin felt that the heavens were on his side, giving him a chance to achieve great merit.

If he could eliminate Jiang An and Meng Jing, it would be a great achievement!

With this great achievement, he could approach the governor and negotiate for higher-level martial arts techniques.

With high-level martial arts techniques, he could break through to the Martial Master level, and become a general instead of just a squad leader!

Ma Lin was already imagining himself as a general.

"Ha ha~"

A thunderous laugh echoed as Ma Lin drew his military saber and charged at Jiang An and Meng Jing on horseback.

In his eyes, these were not two people, but two easy military achievements!

Meng Jing also recognized him, feeling utterly hopeless.

He was one of the strongest battalion commanders in Ping Shui County, nearly at the level of a Qi Practitioner at the ninth layer.

Being targeted by such a person, with hundreds of soldiers following, meant certain death.

"Jiang An! You've doomed me! In the next life, you'll wash my feet for the rest of your life!"

Meng Jing gritted her teeth, preparing to dismount the beast and fight to the death, but Jiang An tightly held her waist.

"Hold on, I'll take you to fight the enemy."

Leaning against Jiang An's chest, Meng Jing felt an unusual warmth, a strange warmth flowing through her heart as she stared at the stern young man in front of her.

"He's the battalion commander, we can't fight him, let's run. With this beast, we might have a chance to escape!"

Jiang An didn't run. He infused his spirit energy into the rune blade, and several basic runes began to shimmer on it.

"Little White, full speed ahead!"

The beast's legs sank slightly, then it quickly charged forward.

A streak of white light flashed by, and before Ma Lin could understand what was happening, Jiang An was already in front of him.

"What kind of horse is this! So fast!"

Ma Lin's heart raced. Just as this thought arose, a rune light suddenly burst in front of him.

A blade struck him, and the life-saving rune on his body was activated.

The rune shattered, and the immense force sent Ma Lin flying.

Shock, fear, and disbelief surged within him.

"Impossible! How can you have such strength!"

Ma Lin landed on the ground, steadied himself, and stared at Jiang An in shock and terror.

If it weren't for the protective rune, that blow would have killed him!

A month ago, this guy was crippled by a single kick from him, and now, after just a month, how could he have become so strong?

Jiang An's eyes narrowed slightly. Another rune.

If it weren't for the rune, he would have already killed the opponent with one strike.

Riding Little White, he charged at Ma Lin again.

Ma Lin retreated frantically, drawing another rune and infusing it with spirit energy, shouting at it:

"General! Jiang An and Meng Kuo's daughter Meng Jing have mistakenly entered our Ping Shui County, in Heigouzi Township! Request immediate support!"

"Bad! It's a sound transmission rune!" Meng Jing shouted anxiously.

A sound transmission rune, a special and expensive rune, could transmit a message instantly when infused with spirit energy, burning and sending the message to another rune.

These runes were very expensive and were generally used only in emergencies.

Ma Lin considered this an emergency.

If it weren't absolutely necessary, he wouldn't have used a sound transmission rune.

But now, something felt very wrong. Jiang An's strength was bizarrely great, and the strange white beast's speed was bizarrely fast.

Jiang An had already reached Ma Lin and swung his blade again.

"No matter how strong you are, you can't kill me!" Ma Lin immediately swung his blade to meet the attack with all his might.

At that moment, a light flashed in Jiang An's right eye.

The opponent's movements suddenly paused, though only for a moment.

Using this ability of his right eye consumed mental and spirit energy, and the stronger the opponent, the greater the consumption.

The opponent was not weak, and if he were to control him strongly, the consumption would be very high.

But this pause reduced the opponent's strength, achieving the goal.

Three illusions of the blade appeared simultaneously from both sides.

Ma Lin's pupils constricted sharply.

Illusory Blade, third level!

The opponent had actually mastered the third level of Illusory Blade!

Ma Lin had practiced martial arts for decades and only mastered the third level in recent years, while the opponent was just fourteen years old and had only learned the Illusory Blade technique two months ago!

This boy was a martial arts genius!

"Clang~"

The two blades collided, sparks flying.

Ma Lin felt a terrifying force surge through his right arm.

His blade was knocked away, his arm trembling violently, and blood flowed from the tiger's mouth of his hand.

"Vibration Blade Technique, second level."

Meng Jing, in Jiang An's arms, opened her mouth wide, looking as if she were in a daze.

She had only given Jiang An the *Vibration Blade Technique* a month ago, and he had already mastered the second level!

Jiang An's blade moved, and a large head flew up, blood splattering.

The expression on the head was one of disbelief.

He couldn't believe that the boy he could easily control a month ago now had the strength to kill him in an instant.

The hundreds of soldiers charging from behind suddenly halted, their faces filled with fear.

The battalion commander... was dead!