Rebirth Like Jade

The earth trembled as two thousand warriors of the Bloodstone Tribe clashed against three thousand Azure Armor Celestial Soldiers, their weapons slashing through the air.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and fierce winds howled. The Azure Armor Celestial Soldiers wielded their iron spears, each thrust accompanied by arcs of lightning and razor-sharp wind blades, their might echoing the power of heaven and earth itself. It was a scene of sheer awe. Witnessing the battlefield firsthand, Xiao Yi felt no surge of battlelust, no fiery passion—only pure, unfiltered shock. His grip tightened around his broken spear, his knuckles turning white.

The two thousand Bloodstone warriors exuded a faint azure battle aura. Their blood burned with intensity, their bone spears swung with terrifying force, and their crimson eyes reflected their ferocity. Together, their combined blood energy surged like an ocean, their battle aura crashing like a sky-shaking tsunami.

This was the power of humanity—an energy unique to their kind, cultivated through the mastery of the human body's secrets, connecting the celestial meridians within their flesh, and awakening their bloodline battle aura. No other race could achieve this feat.

"Kill!"

Moments later, nearly a thousand more Bloodstone tribesmen surged forward beside Xiao Yi. Though they lacked the strength to become full-fledged warriors, each of them had at least seven celestial meridians unlocked. With weapons in hand, they could effortlessly unleash a force of seven thousand jin (3,500 kg). A human body contained 108 celestial meridians—each one unlocked granted an additional one thousand jin of strength. With all meridians fully activated, one could command a might of 108,000 jin.

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

A green iron spear tore past Xiao Yi's side, surging with an azure battle aura. The force of its passage stirred a powerful gust, momentarily stalling the breath of many watching Bloodstone tribesmen.

"It's Shi Lei!"

A voice shouted in recognition. A youth moved like a dragon, his black hair wild in the wind, a green iron spear gripped firmly in his hands. He leaped across the battlefield in powerful strides, covering dozens of feet in a single bound, charging toward an Azure Armor Celestial Soldier a hundred feet away. It was Shi Lei.

"Brother Xiao, be careful! Don't act recklessly!"

Shi Lei's voice rang out from afar as his battle aura flared. His green iron spear shone brilliantly as it clashed fiercely against an enemy spear.

Sparks exploded upon impact. The sheer force of the collision shattered the mist surrounding the Celestial Soldier, and in an instant, a transparent shockwave rippled outward, spreading for several meters and kicking up dust.

"That brat is strong! He's unlocked twelve celestial meridians. Shi Lei's battle aura has grown again—his strike must carry at least twelve thousand jin of force!"

"He's already stronger than an ordinary newly enlisted warrior. After experiencing real bloodshed, he'll become a true force to be reckoned with."

The battle raged on. In front of the tribal wall, more and more Bloodstone tribesmen roared and charged forward. Though many were not highly cultivated, their sheer numbers made up for it. Hundreds with seven or eight celestial meridians unlocked joined the battlefield in an instant.

It wasn't until an incense stick's worth of time had passed that Xiao Yi finally calmed his trembling heart. He was not a killer—he had never taken a life before. Thrust into this world, his soul had yet to fully settle.

Taking a deep breath, he focused his mind, silently visualizing the Savage Elephant Diagram. In his consciousness, a colossal blue-scaled elephant emerged, its massive trunk sweeping across the battlefield, crushing everything in its path. Its towering form loomed like a mountain, pressing down upon his heart. As he concentrated, Xiao Yi felt his blood begin to boil.

Watching the battlefield with newfound clarity, his own blood energy stirred. He could feel the single golden strand of Desolate Dragon Blood within him slowly dissolving. Like silken threads, its essence seeped into his limbs and bones, enhancing his physique at an astonishing rate. What had once been merely equivalent to an average ten-year-old child of the Bloodstone Tribe now visibly grew stronger.

This was transformation.

In the distant past, in an era of advanced technology, human bodies had gradually weakened alongside the rise of machines. But now, fused with the essence of an ancient Desolate Dragon, his body burned with newfound vitality, shining brilliantly once more.

Far away, two mighty forces erupted skyward, their presence so overwhelming that even the three thousand Azure Armor Celestial Soldiers could not suppress them. Two Bloodstone warriors wielded crimson war spears, their bodies expanding as their muscles roared like thunder. In mere moments, their original eight-foot frames stretched to over twelve feet tall. Their dark green battle aura ignited, and their surging blood energy turned them into colossal, burning furnaces. They clashed fiercely with three Celestial Soldiers of the rank of Thousand-Man Commanders.

The Celestial Soldiers' war mounts roared, launching arrows of condensed water that sliced through the air. The soldiers themselves, gripping their azure iron spears, wielded icy killing intent, freezing moisture into crystalline shards. The battlefield within a hundred feet turned into a frozen wasteland, ice shards hurtling toward the two Bloodstone warriors.

"The Thousand-Man Commanders have joined the fray!"

The Bloodstone tribesmen watching from the mountain wall felt their spirits surge. The battle had reached its climax—now, even their elite leaders had entered the fight. The two warriors' crimson war spears erupted with green battle aura, extending over ten feet long, shattering the ice shards and slicing through the Celestial Soldiers' deadly formations.

Blood splattered across the battlefield. The Bloodstone warriors fought with reckless abandon, their bodies drenched in crimson. Even young Bloodstone youths had joined the fray. Though their battle techniques were still raw, their blood ran hot with courage, and they fought fearlessly. Around them, veteran warriors formed protective circles, ensuring that only ordinary Celestial Soldiers could engage them, while ranking officers were kept at bay.

Stone Elder had once said:

A Celestial Soldier of the rank of Squad Leader must have thirty-six celestial meridians unlocked—equivalent to a human's thirty-six celestial meridians. A Hundred-Man Commander needs seventy-two meridians. A Thousand-Man Commander must unlock all celestial meridians and form a purple core in their dantian. Even a single Squad Leader is enough to slaughter every young warrior of the Bloodstone Tribe.

Xiao Yi's body continued its metamorphosis.

The Savage Elephant Diagram anchored his mind, while golden Desolate Dragon Blood continued to merge with his flesh. His once-ordinary blood now gleamed with a radiant red hue. With every breath, he could feel his strength surging.

This sensation was profound—Xiao Yi could precisely perceive every ounce of power within his body. Through the Savage Elephant Diagram, he could vividly observe every fiber of his muscles, every layer of his skin, even the marrow deep within his bones.

As golden blood energy seeped deeper into his body, his skin took on a lustrous, jade-like sheen. A faint fragrance emanated from him, but it was swiftly swallowed by the surrounding stench of blood, going unnoticed.

The broken spear in his hand felt heavier, perhaps nearly two hundred jin now, yet paradoxically lighter in his grip. He could wield it effortlessly.

"I finally have the strength of a normal Bloodstone tribesman."

Xiao Yi's eyes gleamed with resolve. But even so, the Desolate Dragon Blood's power was immeasurable—though it was merely a single, hair-thin strand, for someone from the technological era, it was enough to undergo multiple rebirths.

By the time the transformation concluded, the broken spear in his hand had grown to a thousand jin, yet it still felt weightless. The Desolate Dragon Blood was entirely absorbed, and his perception expanded—he could now see a hundred feet with absolute clarity and hear sounds from miles away. Within his consciousness, he visualized all 108 celestial meridians within his body. One of them throbbed violently, as though ready to break through at any moment.

The azure-armored celestial soldiers continued to retreat, leaving behind a trail of blood and shattered bones across the battlefield. The ground was littered with broken iron armor and fragments of bone, while every so often, a celestial soldier would be pierced through the skull, their form and spirit utterly annihilated.

Despite the mounting losses among the celestial ranks, the two Bloodstone Tribe commanders found themselves struggling under immense pressure. Opposing them were three celestial commanders, their blue-steel spears weaving a web of lightning, crackling with immense power. The oceanic waves of immortal energy they unleashed crashed down relentlessly, while their kirin steeds let out piercing cries, their blood energy surging like towering mountains, merging seamlessly with their masters' auras.

A cold snort echoed from above.

High in the skies, Shi Zhixuan remained seated upon his thousand-mile steed, his expression unshaken, his presence towering. With a slow, deliberate motion, he raised his right hand, and in an instant, a war spear wreathed in pale blue flames materialized within his grip. The moment the spear appeared, the surrounding air distorted violently, and an overwhelming surge of battle energy locked onto the three celestial commanders.

"The Sky Soldier Spear!"

A shocked cry rose from among the human ranks.

"The chieftain's Sky Soldier Spear!"

All eyes turned toward Shi Zhixuan. With his left hand, he continued to direct his black iron staff toward the three celestial commanders, while his right hand suddenly hurled the war spear forward with explosive force.

The very heavens shook.

The unfathomable might of the spear tore through the air, traversing a span of three thousand zhang in the blink of an eye. It was too fast, too terrifying—before the celestial commanders could react, the spear was already upon them.

A deafening roar of destruction followed.

The sky shattered, a shockwave ripped apart the battlefield, and the three blue-steel spears held by the celestial commanders were instantly obliterated. But the spear's momentum did not falter—it pierced straight through the chest of one celestial commander, its force so immense that it continued downward, impaling the kirin steed beneath him, nailing both man and beast to the ground in a single devastating strike.

"Retreat!"

The two remaining celestial commanders paled in horror.

"He's a Bone Tempering Realm warrior!"

Wasting no time, they spurred their kirin steeds into full retreat, their mounts galloping madly. As their hooves pounded the earth, mist surged beneath them, propelling them dozens of zhang away in mere moments.