I gripped my sword and charged forward. The battle continued relentlessly until I had defeated nearly one hundred people. Seventy remained, all of whom possessed above-average martial arts skills. Among them, five stood out in particular.
The first was Jin Yongje, the boy with golden eyes and brown hair. The second was Tian Yong, his close friend. Tian's talent was extraordinary. Both possessed remarkable sword intuition and could grasp the essence of movements within any sword form, understanding the principles and mechanisms behind them. However, their comprehension of the true essence of the sword was still limited, remaining at a rather superficial level despite their potential.
The remaining three were Tao Yi and the twin siblings Ling Yan and Ling Yi. Their natural aptitude for strategy, tactics, and military command was nearly excellent. However, they lacked a strong foundation in probability assessment and predictive thinking, often relying on surface-level observations instead of anticipating future developments. Even so, their sword arts showed promise, granting them the potential to eventually achieve a state of unity with the sword itself.
We then presented proposals to the seventy recruits, allowing them to choose one of the four squad leaders.
- Jin Yongje chose Ling Tian.
- Tao Yi joined Xing Jin.
- Ling Yan joined Xing Yan.
- Ling Yi joined Xing Xue.
As for Tian Yong, he personally requested that I teach him. I advised him that he needed military and strategic experience before beginning advanced training. Nevertheless, he remained insistent, leaving me with little choice but to accept him as my disciple.
Of the remaining sixty-five recruits:
- Seventeen joined Qing Yan, Xue Yue, and Brother Jin.
- Fourteen joined Ling Tian.
- The rest were distributed among the other squads.
After the recruitment period ended, each recruit received their rewards for joining the mercenary group as well as compensation for their participation in combat.
Following that, Ling Tian and I decided to conduct a reconnaissance mission. Our goal was to investigate traces of the plague and determine whether neighboring villages had also fallen victim to it. Meanwhile, the others remained behind to guard the village.
We searched the nearby mountains and valleys thoroughly but found nothing. Eventually, we noticed strange violet-black traces, as though some unknown entity had leaked a sinister substance into the surroundings. Following the trail, we arrived at the first village.
Not a single sound could be heard.
There were no signs of life.
We searched the houses. All belongings remained untouched, as though the inhabitants had vanished instantly.
We continued following the same trail and reached a second village.
The exact same scene repeated itself.
Still, we refused to give up.
The trail led us toward a third village. This time, as we ventured deeper into the area, I suddenly sensed a faint aura leaking into the surroundings.
I paused.
Ling Tian immediately spoke.
"Did you feel that aura just now?"
"I think so too," I replied.
We attempted to determine its source, but the sensation would disappear and reappear intermittently. I decided to follow the disturbances left behind by the leaking aura. Whenever spiritual energy escaped into the atmosphere, it left microscopic distortions within the flow of the wind—imperceptible to ordinary people but visible to those with sufficient perception.
Following those traces, we eventually discovered a bald young man.
A string of monk prayer beads hung beside him.
He appeared to be around our age.
However, one of his arms was infected by a dark energy that continuously emitted a corrupted aura. Upon examining him, I realized the energy was spreading through his blood vessels, slowly consuming his vitality and causing his flesh to deteriorate from within.
He had already lost consciousness.
Ling Tian rushed forward while I placed a hand on the young man's body. After examining the energy, I altered the nature and color of my own aura by manipulating the power within my dantian. Carefully, I guided my energy into his dantian and forced it to resist the corruption.
At first, his dantian began to destabilize.
I immediately increased my energy output, maintaining extreme precision.
Moments later, a mass of dark-black energy erupted from his eyes. He vomited a substance of the same color before collapsing completely unconscious once more.
The corruption had finally been expelled.
I gently laid him on the ground and erected a protective energy barrier around him.
Then I turned toward Ling Tian.
"Search the surrounding area."
He nodded and departed immediately.
Meanwhile, back at the village, the mercenaries were undergoing rigorous training. Their progress was astonishing considering how little time had passed.
Tian Yong and Jin Yongje were patrolling together when they suddenly sensed a dreadful presence.
A colossal shadow emerged before them.
An overwhelming killing intent descended upon the area like a tidal wave.
Both boys instantly drew their swords.
Without hesitation, they launched their attacks.
Tian Yong stepped forward first. Rotating his sword vertically, he twisted his waist and directed every ounce of strength toward the monster's abdomen. The strike carried tremendous force, compressing all of his momentum into a single devastating blow.
Jin Yongje followed immediately.
He kicked off the ground and struck the giant's center mass while simultaneously twisting his body. His sword flowed through the air like a wave. Then, with another rotation, he unleashed a crushing vertical strike.
Dozens of attacks exploded forth within mere seconds.
Their combined assault visibly damaged the creature.
Yet the monster's flesh began regenerating almost instantly.
Its body healed before their eyes.
The creature possessed a pointed reptilian head resembling that of a giant lizard, and despite the barrage of attacks, it continued advancing as though nothing had happened. The monster grabbed the young boy Tian Yong and hurled him far away. Yongje was struck as well, and one of his fingers twisted painfully from the impact. Then the monster unleashed its aura, and both boys found themselves overwhelmed beneath its crushing killing intent.