Squad Leader Level

Within the Bloodstone Tribe, there lay a stone garden spanning a hundred zhang in every direction. In this garden, clusters of blue pines—each over a thousand years old—stood proud and gnarled, their twisted trunks and sword-like needles exuding a subtle yet unmistakable aura of sharpness.

Amid the pine grove, a figure clad in red sat cross-legged. He was a middle-aged man with jet-black hair and a robust build, his scarlet leather armor gleaming brilliantly in the light. In that quiet moment, his eyes were gently closed, and with each measured breath, soft blue streams of Qi burst forth like little serpents, only to be drawn back into his core.

Not far from him, a red celestial horse stood silently. Its fiery wings were folded neatly by its side, yet an aura of searing heat perpetually radiated from its body, leaving the surrounding vegetation withered and dry. Its eyes burned like embers, scattering tiny sparks of light, while above its brow hovered a slowly rotating, blazing red star that emitted an awe-inspiring energy. 

In a sudden shift, the middle-aged man opened his eyes, a faint smile gracing his lips as he murmured, "Not far now."

The night was cool as water, the moon cold and the stars few. Elder Shi lay on a stone bed, wrapped in several layers of animal hide. His life force was nearly spent—so much so that even the chill of the night could no longer be withstood. Inside the stone house, ancient blue stone jars had long stood empty; in recent days, Elder Shi had stopped gathering herbs, and the once-pervasive medicinal aroma had faded to near oblivion.

Seated cross-legged on the stone bed, Xiao Yi found himself unable to settle his racing heart. There was a certain sorrow in farewells—a terror that stemmed from the thought of parting from those dear to him. Having faced life and death repeatedly in the savage ancient forest, he had come to see death as just another facet of battle. Yet, what troubled him most was the painful distance between life and death—a separation from family.

Life, he mused, is the cruelest of all; it grants no extra time, and inevitably, every life must end.

"I refuse to believe it!"

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yi's eyes flared with fierce determination as his entire being surged with vital energy, a torrent of blood and Qi boiling within him. He refused to surrender to fate—as long as there was another day, another chance, another hope!

By dawn, the lingering miasma in the stone house had yet to fully dissipate. This ancient abode had sheltered Elder Shi for decades, its stone walls forever permeated by the chill of night. And now, even Elder Shi had grown old.

When the first rays of sunlight graced the earth, Xiao Yi opened his eyes, his gaze resolute. In just half a month, he and his companions—Shi Lei and the others—would turn sixteen. At that time, they would undergo the tribe's assessment to enter the ranks of the war masters, becoming official warriors of the human tribe. For Xiao Yi, the task at hand in these remaining two weeks was clear: to unlock his eighth Heavenly Vein and fully embrace the power and realm of Lesser Blood Refinement. Only then would he truly become a Squad Leader and earn the right to have Elder Shi reside in the prestigious White Stone Lodge!

In the vast expanse of the Panlei Mountain Range and the endless ancient forest beyond, Xiao Yi strode forward. The arrows on his back had been replaced with the Purple Radiance Arrows. His battle aura roiled around him, and venomous insects, snakes, and ants that came too near were instantly shattered into dust. At his current level—bolstered by the power of his seven Heavenly Veins and thirty-five jun of force—ordinary low-level wild beasts were no longer worth his attention. With his Stone Mirror at his side, even common wild beasts could no longer supply him with sufficient vital energy. If he were to hunt them, it would take at least two months before he could hope to open his eighth Heavenly Vein. He simply did not have that much time. This time, as he re-entered the wild ancient forest, his target was not the weak, but rather mid-tier wild beasts.

Mid-tier wild beasts had long since refined their own vital energy. By night, they could even absorb the faint solar essence hidden in the moonlight to temper their flesh. Their blood and strength were leagues ahead of those of lower-tier creatures.

Without wasting another moment, Xiao Yi plunged deep into the Panlei Mountain Range—nearly eighty li into its heart. As the bright moon rose, he discovered his first mid-tier wild beast.

It was a white lion-wolf, its body resembling a mighty lion with a mane of snowy fur billowing in the wind. At that moment, the beast stood atop a broken cliff, its gaping maw drawing in the silvery moonlight as if swallowing a river of luminescence. Thread by thread, the feeble solar essence was refined within its belly, tempering its flesh and stirring its surging blood Qi. There was no disguising the ferocity in its aura as it maintained its territory with an iron grip.

Xiao Yi strode up the cliff and emerged from a vast thicket of shrubs. Gripping his broken spear firmly, his eyes sharp and silent, he advanced steadily toward the lion-wolf.

Sensing an uninvited guest, the lion-wolf's blood-red eyes began to glimmer with a ghostly light. In an instant, it kicked off the ground with powerful leaps, morphing into a crimson afterimage as it lunged directly at Xiao Yi's chest. Droplets of saliva scattered in the air. It had caught the rich, fresh scent of vital energy emanating from him. At the same time, a chilling, bloodcurdling force surged toward Xiao Yi—a manifestation of mid-tier wild beasts' spiritual will, instinctively condensing into a power that resonated with their very nature.

Without triggering his full Barbarian Elephant momentum, Xiao Yi merely used this force to repel the attack from his body. Unleashing his Wind-Thunder Spear Technique, he engaged the lion-wolf in close-quarters combat.

The battle unfolded with the precision of twelve forms of the Wind-Thunder Spear Technique—nine ordinary maneuvers followed by three ultimate strikes. Even the tenth ultimate move could barely be compared to an ordinary second-tier battle method. Yet to perfect the Wind-Thunder Spear Technique to its apex required reaching the realm of Lesser Blood Refinement—at most, one could integrate up to the eleventh form. Now, Xiao Yi's immediate task was to grasp and thoroughly master that eleventh form. Once accomplished, this technique would secure him a vital place even among second-tier battle methods. Coupled with the ferocious clash against his foe to imprint the true form and spirit of his spear art, Xiao Yi was confident he would fully comprehend this move in the shortest possible time.

After the burning incense had long since burned out, Xiao Yi stood bloodstained from head to toe, his back marked with ragged claw scars. The mighty lion-wolf lay at his feet in a crumpled heap. Channeling his Barbarian Elephant Mighty Strength Mantra, his arms moved like the long trunk of an elephant, drawing in the lion-wolf's blood Qi like countless rivers merging into a vast sea, condensing it into his palm.

A few li further on, Xiao Yi encountered his second mid-tier wild beast—a four-eared black bear. Within half an hour, a colossal bear, nearly three zhang tall, had fallen. More claw marks marred Xiao Yi's body, yet on his back, the scars left by the lion-wolf had already healed, leaving only faint white lines behind.

After five days, the fourth mid-tier wild beast had been defeated and lay at Xiao Yi's feet. In his hands, the first nine forms of the Wind-Thunder Spear Technique now flowed without a single flaw—completely fused with his being. As for the eleventh form, Xiao Yi had only barely begun to grasp its fundamentals; he still needed some time before achieving true, flawless mastery.

On the tenth day, the ninth mid-tier wild beast was felled—a blue poisonous scorpion with a body the size of a grinding stone, its tail as sharp as a sword. When it struck, it seemed to unleash a battle technique rivaling the strength of a formidable sword method. Only through unwavering focus did Xiao Yi avoid being pricked by its venomous stinger.

After absorbing the scorpion's blood Qi once more, Xiao Yi felt a subtle tremor in his eighth Heavenly Vein—as if a long-dormant life force was beginning to stir. Gradually, the vibration grew clearer, like the beating of a giant heart radiating powerful waves of blood and Qi. Xiao Yi knew that this was the omen of an imminent breakthrough. With the blood Qi he had absorbed from nine mid-tier wild beasts, and refined through his Stone Mirror, he had now amassed enough energy for the next stage.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yi settled cross-legged beneath an ancient tree and began his breakthrough.

In the Barbarian Elephant Mighty Strength Mantra, each Heavenly Vein that one opens requires several—sometimes even dozens—times the blood Qi of an ordinary person. Yet, once unblocked, a single vein explosively adds five jun of force. Whereas a common mortal who unblocks all 108 Heavenly Veins might amass 108 jun of divine power, the Barbarian Elephant technique shatters this limit. With every breakthrough, Xiao Yi could feel his fleshly Heavenly Veins being blasted and forced to expand by surging Qi and blood; if his veins were once mere trickling streams, then through this tempering they transformed into mighty rivers, able to contain far more battle Qi.

At that moment, the refined essence of blood Qi—meticulously extracted over several days by his Stone Mirror—erupted with overwhelming force. His seven Heavenly Veins merged as one, and a torrent of battle Qi surged throughout his body, coalescing into a spear-like column of blood and Qi that barreled straight toward the gateway of his eighth Heavenly Vein.

As this blood Qi spear penetrated the threshold a short distance, an invisible force violently repelled it. Xiao Yi's body quivered ever so slightly, but his eyes shone with unprecedented brilliance as his mental resolve coalesced. Then, the full might of his Barbarian Elephant erupted: within his seven Heavenly Veins, his Qi and blood converged to form a blood-red elephant that seemed to gallop forth from his very core. Thunderous roars burst out in rhythmic succession—like war drums beating and battle horns blaring—heralding the assault.

With unstoppable momentum, the blood-red elephant shattered the barrier and surged into the eighth Heavenly Vein. An unending flow of nascent energy emerged, and in that instant, Xiao Yi's battle aura skyrocketed as if crossing a definitive threshold. All eight Heavenly Veins trembled in unison as he roared, unleashing an astonishing burst of power throughout his entire being.

Forty jun!With the eighth Heavenly Vein fully opened, Xiao Yi's strength soared to a staggering forty jun—a level of power befitting a Squad Leader. Though he had long held the Lesser Blood Refinement Realm, it was only at this moment that he truly embodied its power. In total, this achievement crowned him a Squad Leader-level warrior—a human war master of the highest order.

This leap—from a simple warrior to a Squad Leader—was transformative. In the human Blood Refinement Realm there are three critical thresholds. The first, "Effortless Might," paves the way into the Lesser Blood Refinement Realm. A Squad Leader-level warrior is one who has attained that stage; both his cultivation and strength firmly reside at that level.

At that very moment, high above Xiao Yi's head in the tree canopy some ten zhang up, two dim, ghostly green lights flickered ominously. As his eighth Heavenly Vein burst open, a sudden green shadow shot out forcefully from among the treetops. The air tore asunder under the crushing weight of surging blood Qi, carrying with it a raw, ironclad stench of blood.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yi acted. His black broken spear flashed coldly as he thrust it forward. The air twisted violently around the weapon, unleashing a deafening roar as a terrifying force surged through its tip. Four feet of crystalline spear aura—razor-sharp and unyielding—sliced through everything in its path, piercing the green shadow in an instant and nailing it to the tree trunk.

It was a seven-foot-long azure phosphorescent snake—a mid-tier wild beast. Although its stature was modest and its blood Qi less robust than that of larger, more imposing creatures, it ranked among the upper echelons of mid-tier beasts. Yet Xiao Yi had dispatched it with a single, effortless thrust, a testament to the formidable power he now commanded.

In the Barbarian Elephant Mighty Strength Mantra, every Heavenly Vein unlocked demands exponentially more blood Qi than that required by ordinary practitioners. But once a vein is open, it amplifies one's strength dramatically. With each breakthrough, Xiao Yi felt his fleshly channels expand—as if a once-trickling stream had transformed into a mighty river capable of carrying endless battle Qi.

At that moment, the essence of blood Qi, accumulated over days through his Stone Mirror, surged forth. His seven Heavenly Veins merged as one, channeling his entire vital force into a spear of pure blood Qi that lunged toward the eighth vein's gateway. Although an invisible force initially pushed it back, Xiao Yi's indomitable spirit coalesced, and the power of his Barbarian Elephant surged forth from within. His Qi converged to form a blood-red elephant, whose thunderous roars echoed like war drums, heralding the impending breakthrough.

The blood-red elephant smashed through the barrier and burst into the eighth Heavenly Vein, unleashing an unceasing flood of fresh power. In that instant, Xiao Yi's battle aura surged—a clear demarcation as all eight Heavenly Veins trembled in unison. With a resounding roar, he unleashed a force that measured forty jun—the hallmark of Squad Leader-level might. Though he had already attained the Lesser Blood Refinement Realm, only now did he truly embody its full power. Together, these feats crowned him as a true Squad Leader—a human war master at the pinnacle of his realm.

As if in response, deep within the ten-zhang-high canopy above, two ghostly green lights flickered. In the very instant Xiao Yi's eighth Heavenly Vein unlocked, a sudden green shadow erupted from the treetops. The air split open under the overwhelming pressure of his surging blood Qi, releasing a potent, ironclad aura of blood.

Reacting in the blink of an eye, Xiao Yi launched his black broken spear. It flashed with a chilling gleam as he thrust it forward, distorting the air around it with a deafening roar. Four feet of crystalline spear aura—sharp as a blade and radiant as ice—cut through everything in its path, impaling the green shadow and pinning it firmly to a tree trunk.

That green shadow was revealed to be a seven-foot-long azure phosphorescent snake—a mid-tier wild beast. Though its size was modest and its Qi less robust compared to the giant creatures of the wild, it ranked among the best of its kind. Yet, Xiao Yi had dispatched it with astonishing ease, a clear sign of the formidable power he now wielded.