“Sir, your orders?” a few cultivators ran up and asked. 

“Units 1-10 on the left half of the slope, units 11-20 on the other half!” Qian Yu turned to them and shouted. 

“Yes sir!” the cultivators didn’t dally and ran towards the slope. 

At the same time, Qian Yu looked towards the forested area. Though far away, he could see movements amidst the broken trees.

“Leader Qian! I’m back with the others!” Gu Zan had calmed down a little by now. Besides him though, there were 19 other disciples. Compared to the soldiers already prepared on the cliff though, each one here was the strongest of them all, being at the 8th or 9th stage of qi gathering. 

“Sir! The enemies have appeared!” a shout rang out from the slopes. 

*Whoosh!* the sounds of attacks started immediately, even before they started ascending the slope.

‘They seemed to be better prepared and organized this time,’ Qian Yu thought as he saw the change in the enemy troop movements and attacks.

‘Well, no matter, we should be fine,’ Qian Yu took a deep breath and calmed down as he saw the enemy start moving forward. 

“Focus on defending and don’t do anything too risky!” Qian Yu yelled out.

Turning towards the 20 behind him, Qian Yu ordered, “Form the walls.”

*Bbrrrr* a few tall pillars were formed. 

“Ice Arts disciples, get on top of them,” Qian Yu said.

*hop!* the 5 Ice Arts disciples nodded and jumped onto the stone pillars. Once done, they immediately started forming Spears of Ice.

Seeing that, Qian Yu nodded and turned towards the other 15 on the ground, “Let’s go!” 

With that, Qian Yu started running down the slope as the others followed him. 

“We’ll cleave from the left side to the right side,” Qian Yu pointed towards the leftmost area of the slope where the battles were being engaged on. 

“Fire walls,” Qian Yu kept running as he put up one finger. 

4 of the soldiers following Qian Yu stopped as they started concentrating. 

*Fwah!* Suddenly, 4 large walls of flame appeared on the white slope. They weren’t just linear walls though and with the mastery of a 8th or 9th stage qi gathering fighter, they curved and snaked around the battlefield. 

“What’s going on?” a few confused shouts were heard as they suddenly found themselves isolated into small groups by the walls of fire. 

“Wind,” Qian Yu said and put up two fingers for those behind him to see.

*Whoosh!* A few gusts of wind blew past Qian Yu, before creating a small clearing in the wall of fire.

“Who?” a lone soldier was startled as he saw Qian Yu and his group of soldiers appear.

Transcending Lightning Step! Qian Yu didn’t waste any time as he dashed towards the enemy soldier. 

*Boom!* Qian Yu’s fist landed onto the soldier as he activated Lightning Spasm and sent the qi gathering soldier flying across the battlefield. 

“Wind again,” Qian Yu waited a bit for the others to catch up before he started running towards another wall of fire. 

*Whoosh!* more gusts of wind flew towards the wall of fire, creating another clearing. 

‘4 of them this time,’ Qian Yu quickly glanced at the enemy before putting up three fingers and shouting, “Prepare the pillars!” 

Lightning Spasm! Qian Yu charged at the nearest enemy before taking him out with a quick punch.

“Attack him!” the three other soldiers snapped out of their confusion and started attacking. 

*Bbrrr!* yet as they did, a few pillars started forming at the ground, knocking them off balance and blocking their attacks. 

Another opportunity appeared as the walls appeared. Transcending Lighting Step! Qian Yu vanished like a ghost and appeared before the next soldier. 

*Boom!* With another Lightning Spasm, Qian Yu sent the second soldier flying. 

“These damn walls. God da-” one of the soldiers yelled. 

*Puat!* yet with his focus fully on Qian Yu, a barrage of icicles had caught him off guard and released their full force on him. 

“Tch! Where did that come from!” the last soldier yelled seeing his fellow brethren being taken out so fast. 

“You-!” Yet by now, Qian Yu had already appeared in front of the 4th soldier and struck forward. 

“Sir, that was amazing!” one of the soldiers said as Qian Yu fell the last one.

“Mmm, let’s not waste time and keep going,” Qian Yu said. 

Quickly moving through the battlefield, Qian Yu and the soldiers following him slowly trimmed down the amount of enemy troops. 

It was a perfect team created solely for his abilities. Qi gathering cultivators alone posed no threat to Qian Yu. However, an army of them posed a problem and he couldn’t just charge at them without getting injured. 

Yet with this divide and conquer method, he could easily and quickly dismantle the qi gathering cultivators with Lightning Spasm. Like always, it wasn’t much of a burden on his level of qi and more importantly, it was also sufficiently strong enough towards the qi gathering cultivators. 

While not as strong and deadly as Zhao Xieren’s Wandering Blade attacks, she couldn’t afford to use it that many times before being deprived of too much qi.

“What’s going over there?” At the bottom of the slope, a man, donned in a complete set of armor, stared at the chaotic battlefield.

“Sir, we aren’t too sure… the walls of fire appeared and then the troops in the area were just wiped out,” one of the nearby soldiers said. 

“Hmm… it seems like their commanding leader has joined in on the action. Hehe, looks like I will join in on the fight too then,” the iron cladded man said. 

“Sir! What about the troops though?” the soldier asked. 

“Hmph, it’s whatever, you can order them. We have so many troops, it’s hard to lose anyways. In time, we will take the slope,” the man nonchalantly said.

“Yes sir!” the soldier replied. 

“Good job everyone,” Qian Yu stopped to take a break. Half an hour had passed and they had constantly roamed around the slope, relieving the pressure from the enemy troops. 

“Can you guys keep going?” Qian Yu followed up. 

“L-leader… we might need a break,” one soldier answered. 

*Booom!* the ground suddenly shook harder than ever. 

“What’s that!” one of the soldiers waved his hands, clearing the debris in the air. 

As the dust settled, a tall man, several feet taller than Qian Yu himself appeared. With large bulging muscles, he was cladded in thick armor and a large greatsword hung by his waist.

“He’s gigantic…” a frown appeared on Qian Yu’s face.

‘Master! He’s a middle stage soul foundation cultivator!’ Tian Xinyi warned Qian Yu. 

“Tch… is he their leader this time?” Qian Yu bit his lips. 

“Hahaha, looks like I was right. I should have joined in on the fun earlier,” the large man laughed.

“Leader, can we take him on?” one of the nearby soldiers said, with a little fear in his voice. 

Qian Yu stayed silent as he looked around him, noticing they were a little frightened by the giant piece of armor. 

‘The wind currents will definitely be useless against that guy. Same with the walls of fire. The earth pillars can probably block a hit only. The ice spears might be useful but… everyone seems tired as well,’ Qian Yu reasoned.

“You guys go rest and then start helping the other units. I’ll stall him by myself,” Qian Yu said. 

“Leader, are you sure?” the soldiers voiced, a little relieved now though.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Just go,” Qian Yu ordered.

“Then good luck leader, we’ll do our best as well,” the soldiers yelled as they scattered away.

“Hahaha, truly bold! You are a real man!” the enemy leader said. 

‘Xinyi, don’t do anything unless it becomes dire… I’ve never had a real fight with someone stronger than me,’ Qian Yu said as he prepared himself for battle. 

Seeing Qian Yu stay silent, the cladded armor man chuckled, “Well then, here I come!”

*Whoosh!* With a dash, the armored man immediately closed the gap as he swung forward. 

‘A movement skill!’ Qian Yu’s eyes widened as he brought his spear forward.

*Clang!* The large greatsword crashed into the spear yet it only pushed Qian Yu back a few feet.

‘His strength is similar to Sun Hong when she trains me, but his speed is a lot slower,’ Qian Yu inwardly smiled. 

“Oh? Not bad,” the man nodded his head. 

“How about this then? Barbaric Death Slash!” His blade shoned with a black hue as he lunged forward. 

Transcending Lightning Step! 

*Bam!* A small crater was created in his place as Qian Yu dodged past the man.

“It’s my turn!” Qian Yu yelled and stabbed forward from behind.

*Crrrk* Yet the spear only made a small dent in the thick armor. 

‘Tch, I’ll need to stab the same place a couple more times to break it,’ Qian Yu snickered.

*Swish!* the man turned around and swung his large greatsword at Qian Yu once more. 

Nonetheless, Qian Yu managed to dodge it as he retreated back a few steps, ‘He’s like a copycat of Sun Hong. Strong physical power and so far, his martial techniques are similar to hers as well. Hopefully, he doesn’t have a counter technique like Sun Hong though.’ 

“Barbaric Death Slash!” 

Transcending Lightning Step! Qian Yu dodged another attack as he found another chance to attack the enemy. 

Lightning Spasm! 

“...” yet nothing happened as Qian Yu punched forward

*Whoosh!* the large man turned around, sending a fast kick towards Qian Yu. 

‘Shit! It didn’t work!’ Qian Yu rolled away as he looked at the man. 

‘It’s his armor… it’s too thick! I’m afraid I can’t harm him unless I stick to him for a few seconds at least,’ Qian Yu realized. With such a thick layer of armor covering the enemy’s body, Lightning Spasm needed more time to disrupt the enemy’s qi and electrify it. 

“Hahaha, I thought you would be stronger. You disappoint me!” the man chuckled as he felt Qian Yu’s punch.

“Don’t be so cocky!” Qian Yu yelled as he pointed his spear. 

A burst of speed erupted from Qian Yu. It was his strongest move in his arsenal. A combination of the instant speed from Transcending Lighting Step and the deadly sharpness of the spear. 

“You-!” the enemy leader put up his sword.

“Too slow!” Qian Yu roared.

*Crack!* 

“Tch, not deep enough,” Qian Yu gritted his teeth as he looked back. The man’s chestplate had been broken, revealing his body behind it. However, the wound wasn’t deep and only injured the muscles at most.

“Hahaha, not bad… If I was in the early stage of soul foundation, I would be no match for your speed. But… it’s time I get serious. Inner Barbarian!” Suddenly, a demonic bloodlusting aura emanated from the man. From afar, a black hue could be seen surrounding the man. 

“Hehehe, it’s time to end this!” he chuckled. 

*Whoosh!* The man instantly performed another dash as he waved his large sword at Qian Yu. 

‘His speed! He became faster!’ Qian Yu dashed away with Transcending Lightning Step.

“You’re not getting away!” Unlike before, he appeared before Qian Yu and swung forward. 

‘Shit he caught up!’ Qian Yu pushed his spear outward. 

*Bam!* The enemy’s attack was much stronger than before, sending Qian Yu back a few meters. 

‘Master! He’s much stronger than you right now! Let me-’ Tian Xinyi worriedly said. 

*Whoosh!* The enemy ran forward immediately, giving Qian Yu no time to rest.

Transcending Lightning Step! 

*Bam!* Another hole was created in the slope.

“Pesky brat! Barbaric Death Slash!” The enemy’s speed skyrocketed as he performed his movement skill, closing the gap between himself and Qian Yu. 

‘Master!’ A glowing light started forming by Qian Yu’s side. 

‘Xinyi stop!’ A fierce expression appeared on Qian Yu’s face as he raised his spear to defend the attack. 

‘Master-?’ The glow dimmered a bit as Tian Xinyi’s resolution wavered, yet just enough to delay her appearance.

*BOOM!* Qian Yu’s figure was sent flying across the slope, stirring up a pile of white snow as he crashed into the ground. 

‘Master! Y-you…!’ Her voice shook with worry but they turned into excitement as she felt a noticeable change in the qi fluctuating from Qian Yu. 

As the snow settled, a large smile appeared on Qian Yu’s face, “Hehe, you’re right. I broke through!”