Volume 1, Chapter 21: Open Conflict (Part 2)

The young members of the Shengong and Xiangliu families, grimacing and clutching their groins, haphazardly grabbed their bedding and followed Shengong Bao away.

Xingtian Chao laughed loudly on purpose: "The Shengong family's patriarch, Shengong Li, manages the craftsmen and serves as the Minister of Craftsmen, assisting the Prime Minister. He can build a few more barracks for our Bear Camp. And the best part? It won't cost us any military expenses. The money saved can go towards treating our brothers to a feast. Isn't that delightful?"

The clan members of Xingtian and Fangfeng burst into laughter at his words, even Xingtian Bei, who was 'fainted' on the ground, joined in the laughter. Xiahou, however, felt a sense of gloom about his future. Was he to work in such a clan-influenced army? Was there any future in it for him? Fortunately, it seemed he had aligned himself with the stronger faction. Having been strictly taught about morality in his past life, Xiahou felt a sudden pang of guilt.

But this anxiety and sense of guilt quickly dissipated as he reminded himself, "Can the social morals and values like the 'Five Stresses, Four Beauties' bring down a saber-toothed tiger for food? Pfft, this is a land of barbarians; why should I bother with such values? According to the White Tiger, the more corrupt, the more joyful. Why should I even try to be a good person?"

With this realization, Xiahou felt a sense of calm. He heard Xingtian Chao asking him, "Chihu brother, well done. What do you call that sorcery? You neatly handled dozens of tough guys, heh, that method is something else." The senior officers all laughed uproariously, mocking the use of earth pillars to hit their adversaries below the belt, a tactic far from noble.

Xiahou could only offer a wry smile and repeatedly bowed, jesting about his own actions: "This is just a trick from the forest where I come from. Wild and fierce beasts have only two weak points: their eyes and their testicles. Isn't it similar with humans?"

Xingtian Chao, Xingtian Bei, and the others laughed even louder. Xingtian Chao tiptoed to pat Xiahou on the shoulder, nodding his approval: "Good, being able to adapt and react is key. Chihu brother, you're much better than those foolish new recruits. Brothers, given what we've seen of Chihu brother today, he's more than qualified to lead as a sergeant, even as an officer."

At the army camp entrance, Lin Xiazhi, who was the official in charge, laughed heartily: "From what I see, with Chihu brother's sorcery skills, he could easily be a commanding officer. But since he's new to the camp, and military ranks here don't mean much, let's start him off as a sergeant to avoid jealousy from others speaking behind his back."

Thus, Xiahou, after inexplicably getting involved in a brawl for Xingtian's kin, became a sergeant who normally could command up to a hundred soldiers and, in times of expanded military operations, up to three to five hundred.

"There are those in the court who rise through connections; the ancients did not deceive me!" Xiahou could only mutter this to himself repeatedly.

Now an officer, he no longer needed to do menial chores. Xingtian Chao, with other junior officers, stood at the entrance of the barracks, supervising the armory soldiers as they brought new stone slabs to replace those shattered by Shengong Bao, all the while casually chatting. Their conversation inevitably revolved around Chihu, the day's sensation.

Watching several armory soldiers struggle to flatten the dozens of earth pillars with steel axes, a commanding officer stroked his beard and asked Xiahou, "Sergeant Chihu, what made you think of practicing sorcery? Us sorcerer-warriors are loath to waste even a bit of sorcery power that could be used to strengthen our bodies. If you spend sorcery power to manipulate the elemental forces for sorcery, you'll have less energy to temper your body each day, won't that be detrimental?"

Xingtian Chao nodded repeatedly, agreeing with the commander: "Not everyone can grasp profound sorcery, so those of us who feel less talented practice sorcerer-warrior skills more directly. But everyone's capacity for sorcery power is limited; you're training your body and at the same time refining sorcery, the best time to strengthen your body is just these few years. If you divert your focus to sorcery when your body is growing the fastest, you might end up failing at both!"

Xiahou nodded, acknowledging Xingtian Chao's statement as profoundly correct. The prime time for a sorcerer-warrior to train is from the ages of five or six to just over twenty—a critical period of a decade or more. Missing this window means that once the body becomes set, the enhancing effect of the sorcerous power on the body suddenly diminishes by fifty percent. Which sorcerer-warrior hasn't, from a very young age, used all their sorcerous power without reservation to train every muscle? To simultaneously strengthen the body and expend a great deal of energy on sorcery practice often results in neither achieving notable sorcery skills nor becoming the strongest warrior.

Without a robust physique, how can one withstand the demands of powerful sorcerer-warrior techniques? Take, for example, the Xingtian family's 'Sky Cleaving Thousand Slashes,' which involves wielding a battle axe formed purely from sorcerous power to deliver thousands of axe strikes in an instant—powerful enough to tear the earth apart and split the seas. A fragile body, however, would likely be torn apart by the sorcerous power while trying to form the battle axe.

Xiahou could only meekly explain that these were necessary survival skills in the forest. As he rapidly concocted lies in his mind, he went on describing how ferocious the beasts in the forest were, and how even more formidable the notorious ones were. For a young sorcerer-warrior who had not yet reached maturity, surviving in the forest relying solely on martial skills was a formidable challenge. Mastering even a little sorcery was essential for survival in the forest.

Xingtian Chao nodded repeatedly, patting Xiahou's shoulder encouragingly, "Brother Chihu, we've heard of the hardships of life in the wilderness; no wonder you prioritize sorcery over physically honing your body. We know sorcerer-warriors who were judged from a young age to have too little affinity with the elemental forces, yet because of our family lineage, possess a strong innate talent for sorcery, which is why we practice it. You, having trained in martial skills but also learned some sorcery, really have taken on a challenging task."

Pausing, he smiled and said, "But in the army, we don't have the luxuries of your forest. Just focus entirely on practicing your martial skills. Seeing your talents, brother Chihu, you're bound to become a formidable warrior. Ha, if you ever receive a fief, you could move your kin there—wouldn't that be much better than living in the forest?"

Shaking his head, Xingtian Chao gradually emitted a yellow glow. He furiously pointed his finger at the ground repeatedly, but the ground showed no reaction. He cursed in frustration, "Damn, it's always the same; I possess the power of wind and earth, but why can't I raise a single clod of earth? It's still not enough affinity. I can absorb it but not control it. Sigh!"

Xingtian Bei looked at Xiahou with some surprise, "Sergeant Chihu, you actually managed to raise earth columns, that's rare good fortune. Perhaps, being from the wilds, you have a closer connection to the forest and a keener sense of the elemental forces than we people of the Nine Provinces."

Xiahou just kept nodding, not daring to speak recklessly anymore. How could he tell them that not only did he possess a high talent for sorcery, but he was also practicing the Xuanwu True Scripture, a Taoist text? How could he reveal that the so-called sorcerous potential was actually about the strength of one's spirit and mind, and that his practice of the Xuanwu True Scripture was continually strengthening his spirit?

It seemed that these sorcerers' innate potentials were fixed. Although they were born with tremendous power, making further breakthroughs was difficult. And while he was currently only a ninth-grade sorcerer-warrior, he possessed infinite potential for growth. Hmm, as long as he could acquire advanced sorcery techniques, achieving the world's most powerful strength might not be impossible.

As he jovially interacted with Xingtian Chao and others to foster good relations, four expressionless men in black slowly approached.

Xingtian Chao's personal guards felt the cold murderous intent emanating from these men in black and immediately drew their long swords and surrounded them. A commanding officer loudly shouted, "What are you doing? Are you from the First Battalion? Get lost!"

Lin Xiazhi, the officer in charge, tilted his head in thought, stepped forward, and adopting the demeanor of a high-ranking officer, scolded, "Aren't you the last new recruits to join today? You even injured several officers during the tests! What are you doing here?"

The four men in black did not respond but instead cast their icy glares solely on Xiahou. Xiahou furrowed his brow, looked down at himself for a moment, and then raised his head to ask, "Why are you staring at me?"

One of the men in black stepped forward, ignoring the guards who were ready to strike, and said coldly, "You, Chihu Baolong?"

Xingtian Chao and his men exchanged puzzled glances, muttering under their breath, "An enemy? How dare they pursue him into the new army camp? Do they think I'm just for show?" Xingtian Chao felt his authority was being challenged. After all, Xiahou was a guest of his brother, Xingtian Dafeng, and this was his, Xingtian Chao's, territory. If Xiahou's enemies dared to join the army to pursue him, wasn't that a direct affront to the Bear Camp?

The similarly proud senior officers around him turned pale with anger, glaring at the four men in black, their hands gripping their weapons tightly.

However, Xiahou casually crossed his arms and nodded easily, "That's me. What do you want? Do I know you?"

The man in black, expressionless, coldly threw a long sword towards Xiahou, "A challenge, to the death. You die, we leave the Bear Camp. We die, you stay."

Stunned, Xiahou stepped back, not even attempting to catch the lightly thrown sword, and exclaimed, "Are you out of your minds! Why on earth should I accept your challenge?"

Another man in black stepped forward, shouting coldly, "Too cowardly to accept a fight to the death? Coward!"

Xingtian Chao furrowed his brows tightly, bellowing, "How dare you! Who do you serve, coming here to make trouble in my Bear Camp? Have you no wish to live? I'll tell you, there's only one rule in the Bear Camp, and that's whatever I say goes! Now I see you're just here to die!" With a fierce wave of his hand, hundreds of fully armed soldiers in black armor suddenly emerged, surrounding the four men tightly.

The men in black did not even glance at the encircling troops but merely scoffed. The first to speak gave Xingtian Chao a cold look and said in a deep voice, "Chihu Baolong took a woman fancied by our master; thus, he must die! Chihu, don't tell us Qingyue is not with you now."

Their words hit a sore spot for Xiahou, causing him to burst out, "Damn it, are you the lackeys of that pretty boy, Li Tianhou? That girl Qingyue was taken away by Xingtian Huaying and that scoundrel Li Tianhou. I didn't even touch a finger on her, and now you come troubling me? Did a beast trample on your brains, or did your mother take the wrong medicine when she bore you?" Thinking of how Huaying and Tianhou had made him the scapegoat, Xiahou was furious, even cursing with vulgar slang from his past life.

Unmoved, the man in black simply continued staring coldly at Xiahou, "If it weren't for your meddling, our master would have taken that wench Qingyue away long ago. It was you who ruined everything. If you don't die, who should?"

Another spoke even more viciously, "But think about it, you're not at a loss. That wench Qingyue, at Fen Yin Lake, except for that one place, the rest of her might have been thoroughly used by other men. Perhaps Li Tianhou will have his fill and send her back to you so you can taste the daughter of the Silei commander too. You barbarian, you wouldn't be losing out in this lifetime either."

Xingtian Chao narrowed his eyes and glanced at Xiahou, murmuring, "Li Tianhou? They've brazenly come to my Bear Camp to commit murder. I'll remember this incident. Think you can climb over the Xingtian family's reputation and not fear the fall?"

Clearing his throat, Xingtian Chao was about to order his subordinates to kill these four ninth-grade sorcerer-warriors and severely undermine Li Tianhou's reputation. As a powerful commanding officer with a deeply rooted family background, he did not fear Li Tianhou, a prince without real power.

But Xiahou was already shouting in anger, "Shameless! Do you only know how to insult a woman's honor from behind? Even the lowliest street thugs aren't as despicable as you! You just want an excuse to kill me openly, don't you? Come on, if Xiahou is afraid, then I wouldn't be Chihu Baolong, who you claim to have raised."

In this life, the violent and unrestrained blood of his barbaric Chihu tribe stirred within him, turning Xiahou's eyes blood red. He grabbed a heavy steel axe and charged furiously.

Xingtian Chao gasped, "Damn, barbarians will be barbarians. How can he not withstand a few words? Someone, get the archers ready! If Sergeant Chihu is in danger, shoot those four bastards dead!"

Watching Xiahou clash fiercely with the men in black, Xingtian Chao deeply furrowed his brow, "I'm starting to like this barbarian. He's truly a brave fellow worth befriending. But, every one of these barbarians has this temper, quick to explode at the slightest provocation. Ahhhh!"

With four loud clangs, the four men in black managed to block Xiahou's heavy axe chops with their palm-wide swords. Their figures flickered, and four sword shadows slashed towards Xiahou's chest.

Xingtian Bei stared intently at the stern faces of the four men in black, exclaiming in a low voice, "These are suicide warriors! Knowing they would certainly die by openly challenging a guest of the Xingtian family in the Bear Camp. Li Tianhou actually sent his own men on such a foolish mission of jealousy. Is he an idiot?"

Xingtian Chao nodded seriously, "It seems that Li Tianhou really is a fool!"

The crowd of onlookers grew, and as they saw the four men in black successfully land several harsh strikes on Xiahou, the younger members of the Xiangliu and Shengong families even started to cheer.