The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 89 Counterattack (Ninth Update)

Since Han Qing did not enter the Fourth Realm and condense the Evil Domain, these Yin Soldiers could not manifest themselves or directly attack the physical body. However, they could invade the body of others, interfere with their five senses, and cause the enemy to fall into an illusion.

As Han Qing rushed into this man's domain of malevolence, wisps of malevolent energy surged into his body, and he clearly felt his agility decrease. A sense of fear also inexplicably arose within him.

If someone is timid, they may be controlled by this fear, leading to a mental breakdown and a sharp drop in their combat ability, to the point that they cannot even exert half of their original combat power.

However, Han Qing was a cultivator of spirit, possessing extremely strong resistance to negative mental states. Furthermore, he was not a timid person to begin with, so he was not greatly affected.

But then he saw a series of dark figures rushing towards him. These were all martial artists who had died at the hands of the old man, their souls bound and infused with evil spirits, and refined into ghost soldiers.

These ghostly soldiers have no consciousness, but there are hundreds of them. When they charge at us together, it is difficult for ordinary people to resist them.

Han Qing swung his sword repeatedly, and with a series of swift strokes, the Yin soldiers were cleaved apart.

These ghost soldiers varied greatly in combat strength; some were even weaker than ordinary people, while others were comparable to ordinary third-realm martial artists, but overall they could not pose a significant threat to Han Qing.

However, the Yin soldiers are immortal and indestructible. As long as the cultivator's spiritual power is not exhausted, they can continuously transform evil energy to maintain the evil domain, and the Yin soldiers can be resurrected indefinitely.

Han Qing knew in his heart that there were two ways to win: one was to keep killing the Yin soldiers until their magical power was exhausted, and the other was to kill the old man.

As soon as the old man dies, the evil aura will immediately dissipate, and the ghostly soldiers will vanish into thin air.

With the second idea in mind, Han Qing stepped on the Wild Goose Technique, his body flashing with black and gold light, breaking through the black mist, killing the Yin soldiers, and rushing forward at high speed.

"You do have some skill!"

As Han Qing rushed forward thirty steps, the old man's hoarse voice drifted from ahead.

The next instant, a tall figure suddenly appeared in the black mist. He was about two people tall, with disheveled hair, and held a pair of blood-red scimitars. He had the very distinct style of a warrior from the Western Wilderness Grasslands, but his face was that of the old man himself.

"The Realm of Harmony!"

"This old man is actually a Nascent Soul cultivator at the Integration Realm!" Han Qing was shocked.

After the Condensing Qi Realm comes the Gathering Soul Realm, where one's spiritual power condenses into a soul, allowing one to move objects, control flying needles and swords, and interfere with a martial artist's physical movements from a distance. After the Gathering Soul Realm comes the Harmonizing Image Realm, where one's divine soul can manifest, becoming visible to the naked eye and capable of directly attacking another's physical body.

The two-zhang-tall grassland warrior was the old man's divine soul manifestation.

"die!"

The roar echoed as the towering divine spirit lunged at him, its twin blades crossed and slashing down heavily.

Han Qing parried with his sword, but there was no sound of metal clashing against metal.

He only felt a tremendous force flowing into his arm along the blade, but it was still within a tolerable range.

The two, one human and one soul, engaged in a fierce battle on the open ground, fighting for more than a dozen rounds in the blink of an eye.

With his sharp swordsmanship, Han Qing repeatedly found openings and struck the divine soul image with his blade.

However, this divine spirit was not as fragile as ordinary ghost soldiers. When it was struck, it only appeared to become blurry and did not immediately dissipate.

Han Qing's attack was like striking a lump of mud; the blade penetrated, but was bound by the mud, encountering immense resistance.

"No, I have to find a way to bypass this divine elephant and attack the old man's main body directly. Otherwise, if we keep fighting like this, I'll eventually run out of energy!" Han Qing frowned.

Although he was not at a disadvantage on the field, he actually had a hard time fighting.

"This soul power is immense and fearless of weapons. In a one-on-one fight, ordinary fourth-realm martial artists are no match for it."

"In addition, there is interference from the constantly resurrected Yin soldiers, and the constant invasion of the spirit and body by the Dharma thoughts."

"If it weren't for my solid foundation and combat strength far exceeding that of other martial artists of the same realm, I would probably have been killed quickly as well."

Many thoughts flashed through Han Qing's mind. He tried to bypass the divine soul and directly attack the old man behind him, but he was blocked time and time again.

Just as he was racking his brains for a solution, the battle finally took a turn for the better.

Han Qing slashed at the divine elephant again, this time cleaving it in two. "A good opportunity!"

Han Qing's eyes lit up. Not only was the divine elephant shattered, but the evil aura also dissipated.

He struggled on, until finally the old man's spiritual power was exhausted.

His gaze sharpened, locking onto the old man sitting cross-legged on a large rock not far away. The old man stood up, drew his sword, a curved blade with a distinctly grassland style.

"Could this old man be a spy sent by Sirius Fortress to bring Liu Xiaofeng back?"

"But what does this have to do with me? Who commissioned this old man to assassinate me?" Han Qing was filled with many questions.

While he was pondering, his hands didn't stop moving; he had already pounced on the enemy.

The old man casually twirled his knife, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

"I didn't expect that you could withstand my attack using the Refining Spirit Technique. You truly deserve to be called a martial arts genius. But it doesn't matter. With your stamina so depleted, I have a great advantage in physical combat. Prepare to die!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man moved. His curved blade was suddenly covered with a layer of dark, malevolent energy, and then transformed into a malevolent blade.

Although the old man's magical energy was greatly depleted, it was not completely exhausted. Abilities like the Fiend Blade did not require much magical energy, so he could still use them.

Han Qing was not afraid of close combat; he was eager to test his swordsmanship against the old man.

Then, in the next instant, the two figures collided violently.

All that could be heard was the clanging of blades against each other, a series of crisp metallic sounds.

In less than ten moves, Han Qing had already gained the upper hand.

The old man's expression changed rapidly, from initial contempt to solemnity, and now to horror.

With each clash of the longsword, he felt an immense force surge through the blade into his arm, causing the sword in his hand to vibrate violently, almost slipping out of his grasp and flying away.

What's even more terrifying is that the opponent's exquisite swordsmanship left him speechless.

Each strike was swift and ruthless, the shadows of the blades spreading and weaving together to form a net, trapping him within it, leaving him no chance to dodge or escape.

He was forced to retreat step by step, while Han Qing pressed forward, his sword strikes becoming faster and faster.

Finally, the old man was forced into a corner with nowhere to retreat, and his body pressed against a large rock behind him.

"Die!"

Han Qing's gaze was icy as he unleashed a slash. The old man tried to raise his sword to block, but he was a beat too slow.

A flash of gleaming light pierced through the old man's body, tracing an arc before cleaving his protective energy and slicing through his soft armor.

"How can this young man possess such formidable combat strength?"

The old man's last thought flashed through his mind, a line of blood appeared on his chest, then his vision went black, his body split in two, and he died suddenly.

Han Qing sheathed his sword, sweat dripping from his forehead, and he was panting.

This battle was not easy.

"This old thief is actually a cultivator at the Military Strategy Integration Realm, he is indeed very powerful!"

"If it weren't for my combat strength far surpassing that of other martial artists of the same realm, and my mastery of the third chapter of the Ceasefire Scripture, I'm afraid my chances of survival would have been slim."

During this month, he diligently practiced the Zhige Jing every day. Occasionally, elite barbarian warriors could provide him with the Refining Spirit Method to convert his proficiency. With this two-pronged approach, his proficiency finally reached 45%.

While reflecting on his actions, Han Qing searched the old man's body for a while but found nothing.

(End of this chapter)