Oliver Sheng straightened his neck and began to listen attentively.
This unfamiliar world held many secrets he was yet to uncover.
After all, his previous self was just a frail scholar, oblivious to the world outside his window, wholly devoted to the teachings of sages.
To put it bluntly, he was inexperienced, immersed in his own world, seldom interacting with the outside, akin to a socially anxious otaku.
Yet, despite his dedication to the classics, he hadn't even passed the scholar exams, which was truly pitiful.
The veteran spoke slowly, "Martial arts cultivation is divided into Martial Disciple, Martial Artist, Martial Master, Postnatal, and Prenatal realms.
Martial Disciples focus on body refinement, the first realm of martial arts, primarily honing the body to be strong and resilient.
Upon reaching the Martial Artist realm, one can generate True Essence within the body. This realm focuses on refining essence into qi, condensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into one's True Essence.
At the Martial Master realm, one begins to refine qi and temper blood. Beyond that, in the Postnatal realm, one refines tendons and bones.
In the Prenatal realm, one undergoes marrow cleansing and bone transformation, becoming reborn and transcendent.
Only upon reaching the Prenatal realm can one be considered a true martial arts expert.
After becoming a Martial Disciple, one's single-arm strength can reach between one hundred to one thousand pounds, easily handling ten ordinary people who know nothing of combat. Upon becoming a Martial Artist, with True Essence in the body, single-arm strength increases from one thousand to three thousand pounds, capable of shattering rocks with a punch.
A Martial Master can have single-arm strength between three thousand to five thousand pounds, with blood as dense as mercury; A Postnatal martial artist has copper skin and iron bones, with strength reaching five thousand to ten thousand pounds; A Prenatal martial artist can have strength between ten thousand to fifty thousand pounds, capable of facing a thousand troops alone."
Oliver listened intently, thinking this was incredible. A punch with ten thousand pounds of force—what kind of concept was that?
One punch to turn a child into mush?
The veteran stopped there, not continuing.
"And after that?" Oliver, engrossed in the explanation, asked when he saw the veteran stop.
"After that?" The veteran glanced at Oliver and said, "Young man, don't aim too high. You need to be practical."
Oliver scratched his head, looking at his initial Martial Disciple cultivation. Cultivation? Is it that hard?
Isn't it just a matter of allocating points with one click?
The veteran didn't continue discussing the martial arts realms, so Oliver had to let it go.
***
During this truce, everyone was relaxing and resting.
The veteran brought a set of armor and helped Oliver put it on.
"Put this on. It's safer. Don't get yourself killed by an arrow."
Oliver was speechless. Why did the veteran always talk about death? It was so inauspicious.
The veteran helped Oliver put on the armor.
"Not bad, you look the part now," the veteran said with a smile.
Oliver felt uncomfortable in the armor, not used to wearing it.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM…"
Beyond the pass, war drums sounded, like a death knell.
"Quick, grab your weapons and get to the wall," the veteran shouted.
Everyone grabbed their weapons and rushed to the wall.
Soldiers from other squads did the same, quickly heading to the wall.
Oliver grabbed his bow and arrows, carrying over thirty arrow feathers, and followed the veteran and the others.
Upon reaching the wall, they saw the Huns' army already beginning their assault.
A colonel shouted, "Archers, step forward and shoot all your arrows."
Archers from various squads stepped forward, nocking arrows and shooting at the Huns' army.
Arrows rained down from the wall.
Oliver skillfully nocked an arrow, aimed, and shot. The arrow feather whistled through the air.
A robust Hun soldier running towards the wall was shot through the heart and fell to the ground.
Kill Point +1.
On the wall, arrows fell like rain, and Hun soldiers kept falling on their charge.
Oliver had adapted to the battlefield, coldly nocking and shooting arrows, quickly taking down Hun soldiers.
This was the battlefield—kill or be killed, nothing else mattered.
He quickly shot all thirty-five arrows, each one taking down a Hun soldier.
His Kill Points increased to forty-five.
The archers, having exhausted their arrows, retreated to the back.
Oliver was also called back, while spearmen and swordsmen moved forward to fend off the attacking enemies.
The afternoon assault was even fiercer than the morning. The Huns' numbers had doubled, surging like a tide.
The fearless Hun soldiers, sacrificing many, soon breached the wall.
Oliver retreated to the back and began allocating points to enhance his cultivation.
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Realm: Martial Disciple (Initial) (+)
Cultivation Method: [Wild Bull Strength (Entry) (+)]
Strength: 300 pounds
Talent: Bronze Archer (+)
Kill Points: 45
Oliver allocated points to Wild Bull Strength, as martial cultivation was paramount now.
After allocating points, a warm current surged through his body, and he felt every cell strengthening.
Looking at the golden light screen again:
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Realm: Martial Disciple (Intermediate)
Cultivation Method: [Wild Bull Strength (Small Accomplishment)]
Strength: 700 pounds
Talent: Bronze Archer (+)
Kill Points: 25
His cultivation instantly advanced from the initial to the intermediate Martial Disciple realm, and his strength increased to 700 pounds.
It took twenty Kill Points to advance from the initial to the intermediate Martial Disciple realm and to achieve a small accomplishment in Wild Bull Strength.
Oliver moved his arms, feeling a surge of power throughout his body.
Seeing the fierce battle on the wall, Oliver felt an itch to join. Those Hun enemies were his source of strength.
"Captain, give me a saber. I want to fight," Oliver said to a captain.
"You just came down from fighting. Archers don't participate in close combat now," the platoon leader said.
"Who says archers can't fight? I want to fight, to kill enemies and defend the nation. As men, we should shed our blood to protect the border," Oliver said righteously.
The platoon leader looked at Oliver with a strange expression. Where did this fool come from, eager to die?
"Give him a saber," the platoon leader said.
A soldier handed over a saber.
Oliver took the saber and said, "Thank you!"
Then he turned and walked back to the wall to continue fighting.
Watching Oliver's back, the soldiers sighed. Fools like Oliver were rare now.
Without orders, who would willingly go to the wall to fight the Huns?
Oliver climbed the wall and joined the battle, targeting a Hun soldier fighting a comrade.
With a sneak attack, Oliver killed the Hun soldier with one slash.
With 700 pounds of strength in one arm, his slash nearly cut the soldier and his armor in half.
After killing one Hun soldier, Oliver looked for his next target.
At that moment, a Hun soldier climbed the wall, saw Oliver, and leaped at him with a saber.
Oliver raised his saber to block, but the force pushed him back two steps.
The attacker was also a Martial Disciple, with thick arms and a fierce face.
"Die!" The enemy swung his saber at Oliver.
Oliver fought back with no technique, relying solely on brute force.
With each clash, Oliver pushed the Hun soldier back, realizing the enemy wasn't as strong as he thought. The initial force must have come from the leap off the wall.
Seeing the enemy wasn't as strong as he imagined, Oliver pressed the attack.
With fierce slashes, he forced Grayson Li back.
Grayson felt the increasing weight of Oliver's blows, astonished by the strength of this seemingly frail scholar.
Cornered, Grayson fought back desperately.
"Clang!"
Grayson's saber was cut in half by Oliver, and a bloodline appeared on his forehead.
He looked at Oliver, unwilling, and fell to the ground.
Having dealt with one enemy, Oliver continued to seek out targets.
"Slash!"
With one stroke, Oliver beheaded another.
Xavier Li, having just killed a Peace Pass soldier, noticed Oliver and charged at him.
Feeling the intense killing intent, Oliver turned to see a strong Hun soldier coming at him.
Blocking the powerful overhead slash, Oliver was pushed back five or six steps.
"Kid, not bad. No wonder you killed my brother. But with this strength, you're still going to join him in death," Xavier said, not showing any sorrow for his brother's death.
Oliver raised his saber to block but was kicked away by Xavier, falling to the ground, unable to get up, his organs displaced by the kick.
Xavier, with his Great Perfection Martial Disciple strength, had a single-arm strength of a thousand pounds, far beyond Oliver's capability.
Xavier walked towards Oliver, raising his saber to decapitate him.
Seeing the descending blade, Oliver's pupils dilated. Had he overplayed his hand? Was he going to die here?
Just as he closed his eyes, he heard a "Clang."
Opening his eyes, he saw the attacking saber blocked by another.
"Kid, didn't I tell you to stay back? Why are you on the wall again? Do you have a death wish?" the veteran's voice came.
Hearing the veteran, Oliver felt relieved. He wasn't going to die.
"I want to kill enemies, so I came up," Oliver said.
"You're an archer. Close combat is our job," the veteran said.
"Who says archers can't fight?" Oliver retorted.
"If you're not dead, get up. The ground's cold!" the veteran said, not paying Oliver any more attention, and fought Xavier.
Oliver, feeling no gratitude, thought, of course, he knew the ground was cold. He was just winded from the kick.
Despite his hunched and frail appearance, the veteran's strength was formidable, pushing Xavier back.
Catching his breath, Oliver got up, rubbed his aching chest, and continued fighting.
This time, Oliver was smarter, targeting weaker enemies.
He couldn't handle the stronger ones.
After all, he was still a little newbie.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Leave a Reply