The thunderous shouts shattered the stillness of the plains. In an instant, countless torches flared to life across the barbarian camp, stretching like a sea of fire. Within several li, night turned as bright as day.
Chen Sanshi's heart tightened.
For a moment, he wondered—he hadn't been spotted, so what had gone wrong?
Then he saw it. The barbarian soldiers were rushing toward another direction. When he caught the shouted orders clearly, realization dawned—it wasn't him who was exposed.
It was Wang Zhi and his group.
"How could that be? They were so far away!"
Chen Sanshi didn't dare linger. He used the confusion to slip out of the camp.
But Tracking and Hiding wasn't invisibility.
This wasn't a dense forest filled with cover. The camp was open, with tents and torches everywhere. Earlier, he had been lucky—the barbarians were relaxed, and the darkness helped conceal him. But now that the entire camp was on alert, someone finally spotted him moving against the flow.
"Hey, you! Why are you still here when everyone else has gone out to pursue the enemy?!"
"Whizz—"
Chen Sanshi didn't waste a word. He loosed an arrow straight through the man's throat.
"There's a Great Sheng soldier here!"
"Over here!"
"Whizz—"
He kept firing, arrows flashing in the firelight, each shot dropping another barbarian. Then he whistled sharply—the signal.
From afar, a loud neigh split the air. The White Swan horse, Little Xun, had been waiting. It galloped in with a burst of wind and snorted fiercely as it reached him.
"Good horse!"
Chen Sanshi leapt into the saddle, and within seconds, he and the horse had left his pursuers far behind.
After riding for about three li, he saw a group ahead—Wang Zhi and the others.
They were retreating toward the right flank, chased by dozens of barbarian cavalry.
"How did you get spotted? And why are you going this way instead of back toward the wall?" Chen Sanshi called out from horseback.
"Hell if we know!" Wang Zhi cursed between heavy breaths. "We didn't even dare breathe too loud. There's no way we were seen!"
Xu Bin picked up the explanation. "Not long after you left, a group of barbarian riders suddenly appeared—like they already knew we were nearby. They blocked our retreat and started searching the area in a damn carpet sweep!"
"They knew in advance?"
Something clicked in Chen Sanshi's mind.
"Luo Dongquan—damn that bastard!"
Wang Zhi spat before Chen could speak. "Had to be him! That snake must've leaked our position somehow!"
He had thought following Shi ge'er would mean a smooth mission this time. He hadn't expected Luo Dongquan to pull a move like that.
"Are there really people that petty in this world?"
Chen Sanshi couldn't wrap his head around it. He had been the one wronged before, yet it was as if he'd stolen something that belonged to Luo Dongquan.
'Strong bullies the weak—no reason, no logic.'
"Dada-da-da-da—"
From the side, a squad of barbarian cavalry heard the commotion and charged over, cutting off their path.
"Puchi—"
Chen Sanshi spurred his horse ahead and speared the lead rider through the chest. "Form up! Formation!" he shouted.
For half a month, they had trained every day.
Their formation drills were second nature by now.
Eleven warhorses swiftly shifted into position, forming a tight circular pattern as they plunged into the enemy line.
The Chariot Suspension Formation.
It didn't just look like a wheel—it was a spinning blade.
Every rider, every horse, was a deadly gear in motion.
Among them, Chen Sanshi and Wang Zhi were the spear's edge—the sharpest point of the wheel. Xu Bin and Fang Buping followed closely behind, while the rest provided outer defense.
Every angle was covered. There was no fear of being flanked.
The formation flowed seamlessly. Positions alternated in rhythm—those with lower cultivation watched the rear and protected against ambushes, while the stronger fighters cut through the front ranks.
That allowed Chen Sanshi to focus entirely on the enemy ahead.
Each thrust of his spear claimed a life.
The twenty-man barbarian squad blocking their way didn't last long. Within a few exchanges, they were wiped out completely.
For men like Zhuang Yi and Zhao Qiao, it was their first time spilling blood.
But as they fought, watching Chen Sanshi's back ahead of them, a strange calm filled their hearts. With him leading, there was nothing to fear.
He was their backbone—their mainstay.
Where the commander stood, no one panicked.
Still, even with such power, their momentum couldn't last forever.
The few moments they had spent breaking through had been enough for the rest of the enemy forces to surround them.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter—"
From every direction, darkness pressed in.
It was impossible to tell how many foes there were—hundreds, maybe more. All that could be seen were shadows and the gleam of countless blades.
"Hold formation! Don't break!"
Using his Night Vision ability, Chen Sanshi scanned the encirclement, searching for a weak point. He led the group toward the thinnest part of the ring.
But this was enemy territory.
The heart of the barbarian army's main camp.
Escape wouldn't come easy.
Hundreds of barbarian cavalry charged in from all sides, tightening the noose.
The Chariot Suspension Formation spun as it fought to break through, carving paths of blood and bone. But their speed began to slow.
The enemy was endless.
And even Chen Sanshi's relentless spear couldn't pierce through forever.
The corpses piled high before them nearly tripped the horses' hooves.
"Hyah—!"
From a hundred zhang away, an enemy general galloped forward through the night.
"Thousand-Household! A tempering organs cultivator!"
Chen Sanshi recognized him at a glance.
Behind the tribal chieftain surged hundreds more riders.
Even with Chen Sanshi's deep reserves of qi and blood, even with the fearsome power of the Chariot Suspension Formation, they could never match a tempering organs general—especially while still fending off waves of cavalry.
"Looks like today's the day we fall!"
Wang Zhi slashed down an enemy's neck with a wild grin. "I don't care if I die, but you can't! Your horse is faster—when we tear open a path, you take it and run! Maybe you'll make it out. Train harder, Shi ge'er, and one day, avenge us!"
"Lord Chen, Shi ge'er! Go!"
Zhuang Yi and Zhao Qiao shouted almost at the same time.
"Save that sentimental crap! No one's dying today!"
As Chen Sanshi fought, his voice cut through the chaos. "Fatty Wang, what was your realm before?"
"Why the hell are you asking that now?!" Wang Zhi yelled back in disbelief. "Even if I was stronger before, it doesn't matter anymore!"
"I mean—"
Chen Sanshi thrust backward with the spear, killing an enemy in one motion. "That tempering organs bastard—how long can you hold him off? You dropped a realm, sure, but you should still be stronger than most full completion tempering bone cultivators, right?"
"Of course!" Wang Zhi barked. "My realm fell, but my blade technique didn't! A normal full completion tempering bone fighter can't last five exchanges against me! That barbarian chief isn't as strong as Xiang Tingchun—I can stall him for a while!"
He squinted. "Wait, what are you planning?"
"Hold them off! Keep the formation tight! Don't break it no matter what! I've got a way to get us out alive!"
Before anyone could react, Chen Sanshi suddenly wheeled his horse around—charging straight toward the opposite direction.
Toward the barbarian main camp.
"You're insane!"
Wang Zhi tried to grab him, but it was too late.
"Hm? Stop right there!"
The tribal chieftain saw the white horse turn and immediately understood. He spurred his horse after him. "Die!"
"Clang—!"
Their weapons clashed in the dark, sparks bursting like fireflies.
Under the crushing force of the tempering organs cultivator, Wang Zhi and his horse were driven backward, his arms trembling violently—but he held firm. "You barbarian bastard! Your fight's with me!"
"A mere tempering bone dares block me? Courting death!"
…
"Stop him! Stop him!"
…
Chen Sanshi's counter-charge was swift as lightning. With Little Xun's blazing speed, he skewered two barbarian officers mid-charge—both at the tempering blood stage—before they could even react. Then, no one could catch him.
He raced closer and closer to the enemy's heart.
He didn't go for the heavily guarded front gate. Instead, he turned west toward the weakest section of the defenses.
The White Swan horse leapt high, clearing the two-meter-tall wooden barricade, and crashed straight into the maze of felt tents within.
Earlier that night, he had already memorized the camp's layout.
This side was guarded by infantry—
Which meant they couldn't chase him.
Couldn't stop him.
The cavalry would take about one minute to arrive.
Once surrounded, he'd be dead.
But if he could reach his goal before that—there was still a chance.
"Hyah—!"
Chen Sanshi charged through the camp, his spear flashing. He cut down seven or eight foot soldiers in seconds. After barely fifty seconds, he burst into the central command tent.
Most soldiers only saw a blur of white light streak past, a gust of freezing wind brushing their faces. They didn't even realize death had come.
"Who's there?!"
Inside the tent, the barbarian Ninth Prince had just drawn his sword when the flap burst open. A white warhorse smashed through, hurling guards aside.
"Clang—"
He brandished his sword. "Who dares?!"
"Protect His Highness!"
A Hundred-Household Officer at the minor achievement stage of tempering bone—assigned to guard the prince—snatched up his weapon.
"Thwip—"
Before he could move, an arrow pierced his chest. He didn't even have time to parry—his heart was punctured clean through. He fell dead before hitting the ground.
"Die!"
The Ninth Prince wasn't entirely useless. He reacted quickly, swinging the Mountain-Suppressing Sword in a blazing arc toward the Great Sheng general on horseback.
"Clang—"
The Reed-Leaf Spear met the sword head-on, ringing like struck metal.
The Ninth Prince staggered back several steps. The sword trembled in his hands, nearly flying loose under the crushing force.
'What a sword!'
He was likely only a minor achievement tempering bone fighter—strong, but still beneath Chen Sanshi. Yet that single strike left a notch on his spearhead!
"Protect His Highness!"
Meanwhile, the entire camp had erupted.
Hundreds of archers and crossbowmen surrounded the command tent, forming layers of deadly steel. But with their prince inside, they dared not shoot.
A full completion tempering bone commander rushed in wielding a long saber. He tried to attack from behind, but before he even closed the last seven steps, a silver flash filled his vision.
A silver serpent!
His instincts screamed danger. He swung his blade just in time to split the spear-tip before it could pierce his face.
'So fast!'
Just one exchange, and cold sweat drenched the barbarian commander's back.
He steadied his stance for another strike—
But Chen Sanshi didn't even glance his way. His focus was fixed on the Ninth Prince.
"Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!"
The spear hammered down like a storm of steel rain, clashing over and over with the Mountain-Suppressing Sword.
The sound of metal on metal echoed through the tent like thunder.
He could hear boots pounding outside—the reinforcements were closing in fast. Killing intent swelled like an ocean, pressing down from all directions.
The blood of dragon and elephant within him surged wildly, roaring through his veins. The Reed-Leaf Spear became a blur of silver light. His arms burned hot, veins bulging as if ready to burst into flame.
The Ninth Prince couldn't withstand such an onslaught. The flesh of his palm split open, blood dripping as his arm went numb. He could no longer hold the sword—
The Mountain-Suppressing Sword flew from his grasp.
At that same instant, Chen Sanshi's spear tore through muscle and bone, piercing the prince's shoulder clean through.
The airborne sword spun once—and landed squarely in Chen Sanshi's free hand.
Before the surrounding barbarian generals could reach him, he was already behind the prince, pressing the sword's gleaming edge against his throat.
A thin line of blood ran down the Ninth Prince's neck.
Chen Sanshi's eyes burned crimson as he faced the flood of barbarian soldiers surrounding the tent.
"Step. Back."