A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

Chapter 103 Returning to Camp

Luochuan City, Patrol Battalion.

The fog in the early morning, mixed with the dampness of last night's rain, made the air feel particularly cold and gloomy.

At the entrance of the camp, several armored soldiers, holding long spears, listlessly fought off sleepiness.

Suddenly, one of them seemed to realize something, abruptly stood up straight, and shouted into the darkness in the distance.

"Who goes there!"

The surrounding armored soldiers were instantly awakened, raising their spears and tensely forming a battle formation.

In the darkness, several blurry black figures slowly approached.

The leader was exceptionally burly, covered in blood, and exuded a ferocious aura that was almost tangible.

He was carrying another person on his back, dressed in the standard armor of the patrol battalion. His handsome face was as pale as paper. It was Xue Min, the centurion of the patrol battalion.

That imposing figure was none other than Zhou Yuan.

The moment they saw who it was, the armored soldiers at the door all gasped in shock.

"It's Commander Xue!"

"Quickly! Go and report this!"

Several armored soldiers rushed forward. Zhou Yuan was expressionless, and his voice was hoarse.

"Go and call someone."

The soldiers were deeply shaken when they saw Xue Min, who was unconscious and barely breathing.

Xue Baihu is highly respected in the patrol battalion and is one of the most capable young people. Who could have injured her like this?

What alarmed them even more was that when Xue Baihu left the city, he brought with him fifty or sixty elite armored soldiers, but now only five or six of them remained with Zhou Yuan. They were all wounded and looked terrified, clearly having experienced an extremely fierce and bloody battle.

Just then, a sharp-eyed soldier pointed to the back of the column and exclaimed in surprise.

"What is that?!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw several corpses being carried on the backs of several warhorses.

Judging from their clothing, they were clearly mountain bandits, and their temples were bulging, indicating that they were all martial artists with considerable skill.

While everyone was still in shock and uncertainty, a figure rushed out of the camp.

The newcomer was dressed in armor and bore a resemblance to Xue Min. He was Xue Min's younger brother, Xue Renjie, a centurion.

"elder sister!"

Upon seeing the unconscious Xue Min, Xue Renjie panicked and rushed to Zhou Yuan, asking, "Brother Zhou, what happened? What's wrong with my sister?"

Zhou Yuan carefully handed Xue Min over to a soldier, glanced at Xue Renjie, and said succinctly.

"Yanling Fortress, three Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators were ambushed and killed."

These eight short words, however, struck Xue Renjie like a thunderclap.

The three of them—are they at the Marrow Cleansing Realm?

Xue Renjie froze completely. What did that mean? In the entire Luochuan County, there were only a handful of people openly at the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Three cultivators at the Marrow Cleansing Realm joined forces to set an ambush; this was a sure-fire way to die!

He wanted to ask Zhou Yuan how he escaped, but when his gaze fell on Zhou Yuan's swollen, black and purple left arm, he swallowed the words back.

Looking at the corpses of the bandits behind Zhou Yuan, Xue Renjie's heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly felt that the face of one of the corpses looked somewhat familiar.

He was a burly man with a full beard, and even in death, his face still showed traces of horror and resentment.

Xue Renjie's eyes suddenly widened.

He had seen this person before!

Zhao Qingfeng, the chief of Qinglong Village in Black Wind Mountain!

A genuine master of the Marrow Cleansing Realm!

He... is dead?

at the same time.

The patrol battalion's central command tent.

An elderly man with gray hair and a robust build was looking at the official gazette in his hand, his brows furrowed.

Beside him, Qianhu Cheng Kang also looked solemn.

The old man was Xue Wantong, the grandfather of Xue Min and the commander of the patrol battalion.

"Brother Xue, is the situation really that bad?" Cheng Kang couldn't help but ask.

Xue Wantong put down the official gazette, rubbed his temples, and nodded heavily.

"The army of the Prince of Yan has reached the foot of Xuanhuang Pass. The defending general, Huang Shougong, went out of the city to meet the enemy and was killed on the battlefield."

Cheng Kang was shocked.

"Huang Shougong? That's a master of the Blood Exchange Realm! How could he—"

"The one who killed him was Ji Gaoxu, the second son of the Prince of Yan." Xue Wantong's tone was tinged with helplessness. "This boy was exceptionally gifted; before he was even twenty, he had already reached the second level of the Blood Transformation Realm."

Blood transfusion level two!

Cheng Kang was completely speechless. In the path of martial arts, after the four stages of body tempering, comes blood exchange.

Every breakthrough in the Blood Exchange Realm is extremely dangerous; the slightest carelessness can result in severed meridians, rendering one a cripple, or even causing immediate death.

A second-level Blood Transformation Realm cultivator at less than twenty years old—what a terrifying talent!

"Things are about to change," Xue Wantong sighed. "Luochuan County is a crucial grain supply point for Xuanhuang Pass. We're going to be very busy from now on. We must quickly prepare our troops and eliminate the bandits in the surrounding area."

He was even more troubled by banditry.

"Especially the group from Black Wind Mountain. Zhao Qingfeng and Duan Fei are both martial artists in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Several attempts to eliminate them have failed, and they have become a major threat."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.

A soldier lifted the tent flap, knelt on one knee, and rushed in to report.

"Reporting to Commander Qian! Miss and Inspector Zhou Yuan have returned from Black Wind Mountain! Miss—is seriously injured and unconscious! Inspector Zhou is also seriously injured!"

Xue Wantong frowned slightly. He knew his granddaughter's strength very well. Unless she encountered a Marrow Cleansing Realm martial artist going all out, she would be in no danger.

Explain yourself!

The armored soldier swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"It seems they were ambushed by three Marrow Cleansing martial artists at Yanling Fortress..."

"

Xue Wantong suddenly stood up, and a powerful aura instantly enveloped the entire tent.

"Besides—" the armored soldier's voice lowered, "they also brought back several bandit corpses, including—"

The soldier paused, seemingly to confirm that he hadn't misread it.

"There's Zhao Qingfeng, the leader of Black Wind Mountain, and Duan Fei, the second-in-command!"

"What?!"

Xue Wantong and Cheng Kang gasped in shock almost simultaneously, their faces filled with horror and disbelief.

Inside the military tent, the military doctor was treating Xue Min's wounds on the bed, while Xue Wantong and Cheng Kang stood by, their expressions filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Xue Renjie strode in.

"Grandpa, the bodies have been identified." His voice trembled slightly. "They are indeed Zhao Qingfeng, Duan Fei, and all the Bone Forging Realm hall masters of Qinglong Village, not one is missing!"

Xue Wantong swayed.

He knew Zhao Qingfeng and Duan Fei's strength better than anyone. If the two of them joined forces, even he himself would have to temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

Facing such an ambush, Xue Min and Zhou Yuan would be lucky to even survive, let alone fight back.

But now, it seems that Qinglong Village has been wiped out overnight. What exactly happened?

"Where is Zhou Yuan?" Xue Wantong asked in a deep voice. He had a million questions to ask.

"Zhou Yuan was also seriously injured and is currently meditating in the next tent." Xue Renjie paused and lowered his voice.

"However, he said something before he adjusted his breathing."

Xue Wantong and Cheng Kang looked over at the same time.

Meeting their gazes, Xue Renjie said, word by word, "The one who colluded with the mountain bandits and set up this trap is Du Chong, the master of Changsong Martial Arts School."

......