Chapter 87: Returning to the City

The grievously wounded demonic scorpion let out a blood-curdling shriek. Its tail transformed into a black lightning bolt, hurtling directly towards Li Zhen.

The demonic scorpion’s hatred remained firmly fixed on Li Zhen; it was acutely aware of the damage he had inflicted upon it.

Sensing imminent peril, Li Zhen was about to defiantly unleash his Dragon Might when he noticed the scorpion’s attack suddenly freeze mid-strike.

Only then did he spot a small hole in the demonic scorpion’s body, precisely where its brain would be located. This single blow had instantly sealed the scorpion’s fate.

As confusion washed over him, Pei Zhenxiu’s figure materialized before everyone. Her feet didn’t touch the ground; instead, she hovered in mid-air.

“I am deeply grateful for your life-saving intervention, Pei Zhenxiu!” Li Zhen, recognizing her timely rescue, hastily bowed in gratitude.

“As long as you don’t blame me for not intervening earlier, allowing you to face such peril, we’ll be fine!” Pei Zhenxiu replied mildly.

In truth, she had arrived some time ago and had been observing Li Zhen and his companions’ valiant struggle against the beast onslaught from a distance.

The previous two days of relentless combat had undoubtedly improved their skills, but the intensity of the current battle far surpassed any prior encounters.

Her gaze lingered on Li Zhen, knowing that it was only through confronting this crisis that his hidden potential had been forced to the fore.

Sword Force Thunderclap—this was the true hallmark of a master sword cultivator.

While many cultivators in the Xian Kingdom wielded longswords and flying blades, not all of them were sword cultivators.

Sword cultivators in the Xian Kingdom adhered to strict standards: they must master the transcendent skills of the sword path.

Sword Force Thunderclap was one such transcendent skill, allowing its wielder to slay enemies far beyond their reach with astonishing power.

Take the recent battle as an example. Had Li Zhen been armed with a high-grade longsword, a single instance of Sword Force Thunderclap would have proven sufficient to slay the monstrous scorpion.

“Li Zhen, your magical weapon was compromised during my belated rescue,” Pei Zhenxiu said with a smile as she produced a longsword. “This Pine Sword is yours!”

Envy flickered across the faces of Shi Xuan and Fang Congzhi, and even Wang Rushi, who had the support of her family, gazed at the longsword with wide eyes.

“This is far too valuable. Besides, my cultivation level might struggle to utilize it properly!” Li Zhen sensed the aura of a first-rate high-grade object and quickly declined, realizing it was a first-rate high-grade longsword.

“The Pine Sword consumes spiritual energy efficiently; your strength is more than enough to wield it!” Pei Zhenxiu gently placed the Pine Sword in Li Zhen’s hands, leaving no room for refusal.

Trusting the judgment of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Zhen accepted the Pine Sword. Before he could examine it closely, Pei Zhenxiu enveloped them all in her spiritual energy and took flight.

Mr. Zuo cast a perplexed glance at Li Zhen, uncertain if Wang Rushi and the other students had noticed. He, however, had recognized Li Zhen’s use of Sword Force Thunderclap.

The sheer magnitude of it staggers me, he thought. As a swordsman myself, I know all too well that achieving such mastery with a mere day’s practice is beyond the realm of possibility for someone with my talent.

Moreover, Sword Force Thunderclap was generally an ability mastered only by Foundation Establishment cultivators. For a Qi Refining cultivator to wield it was as rare as finding a feather on a tortoise.

Alas, bound by contract, he couldn’t reveal Li Zhen’s true capabilities to anyone during their stay near Tianchang City. Otherwise, he would have eagerly informed Second High School of this revelation.

As they ascended into the sky, their view expanded dramatically. Wang Rushi spotted numerous figures speeding across the landscape—both creatures and cultivators. The cultivators were fleeing for their lives, while the creatures surged towards Tianchang City.

“Is there a monster invasion?” she couldn’t help but ask Pei Zhenxiu.

“Yes, but don’t worry,” Pei Zhenxiu replied lightly. “Monsters near Tianchang City are regularly culled, so there aren’t many powerful ones around!”

Though her words were reassuring, concern flickered in her eyes.

This unexpected eruption of a monster invasion differed significantly from past incidents, catching everyone off guard.

This was precisely what Li Zhen feared - such strangeness. Who knew what reasons lay behind it?

As he approached Tianchang City, Li Zhen felt the spiritual energy within it surging, indicating that its spirit veins had been completely activated.

Normally, cultivators using their spirit veins would need to exercise control, drawing at most sixty percent of the spiritual energy and leaving the remaining forty percent to nourish the veins. This practice ensured their long-term durability.

However, activating the spirit veins to their full extent, as was happening now, would lead to their accelerated weakening due to prolonged strain.

“A battlefield conscription has been announced!” declared a solemn voice. “Passage through spatial gateways is one-way only; all cultivators must participate in the city defense battle!”

Li Zhen observed that none of the nearby cultivators showed any surprise, though their expressions were far from favorable.

Cultivators who enjoyed Tianchang City’s protection were expected to contribute when it faced trouble.

“This won’t affect the challenge, will it?” Wang Rushi couldn’t help but ask.

“There’s no need to worry about the competition,” Pei Zhenxiu replied. “With a bestial onslaught here, Tianchang City’s tournament will be postponed. Our focus should be on dealing with the demon threat!”

She positioned her group along the city wall and greeted a late-Qi Refining Stage military officer.

“You’ll remain here to assist the troops in defending the city. I’ll keep an eye on things here too!” Pei Zhenxiu instructed as she prepared to leave.

After she departed, Li Zhen promptly sat down cross-legged and began to refine the ‘Pine Sword’.

The Pine Sword could not be used effectively without refinement. It would be impractical to pull out another magical artifact from his Dragon Heart space while surrounded by so many people.

Mr. Zuo positioned himself in front of Li Zhen, with the other three students guarding the remaining directions around him, acting as Dharma Protectors.

Li Zhen’s refinement of the Pine Sword only involved claiming it as his own, ensuring basic functionality. This process took little time; within three minutes, he stood up.

He drew the Pine Sword, its blade shimmering with a faint green glow.

This first-order high-grade magical item was a custom-made weapon, crafted from exceptionally sturdy materials.

Unlike his previous Xingrui D13 longsword, which had compromised on materials and snapped during his use of the Sword Force Thunderclap technique.

Pei Zhenxiu might have recognized this issue when gifting the Pine Sword. Despite Li Zhen being in the Late Qi Refining Stage, the Pine Sword remained suitable for him.

He channeled spiritual energy into the Pine Sword, confirming Pei Zhenxiu’s words. The Pine Sword indeed required a very low minimum of spiritual energy, making it usable with his current cultivation realm.

This did not mean the Pine Sword’s power was lacking; rather, its spiritual energy consumption threshold was even higher than that of ordinary high-quality long swords. It could only be said that the artificer who crafted the Pine Sword had employed exceptionally skillful techniques.

What Li Zhen didn’t know was that truly top-grade magical artifacts rarely ever made it into circulation. Most were absorbed within the systems of major universities.

The Pine Sword he possessed was the work of a certain institution’s artificing program.

A series of shots brought him back to reality.

On the city walls, soldiers wielded rune spears, firing continuously towards the outside.

Rune spears served as the standard-issue weapon for these troops. Compared to rune darts, they were much longer, making them difficult to conceal. Additionally, rune spears were more strictly managed than darts, which made them even more challenging to obtain.

Their power surpassed that of rune darts too, capable of penetrating the defenses of mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators and posing a significant threat to those in the late stages of Qi Refining.

“The military sure knows how to get things done!” Shi Xuan marveled.

Despite the relatively weak strength of the military’s cultivators—most around the third layer of Qi Refining—their use of superior half-tech weaponry enabled them to unleash terrifying combat capabilities.

“Quick, check your identity bracelets! A mission has been issued!” Mr. Zuo reminded everyone.

Li Zhen checked his identity bracelet. The mission was to guard the city walls, primarily by helping the military forces kill monsters.

At this moment, the situation on the battlefield was such that the first wave of arriving monsters wasn’t too numerous, mostly being random beasts that had gathered nearby.

But the second wave of monsters was visibly larger by several times, densely packed together. Flying monsters also appeared in the sky.

Rune spears could no longer block the monster charges as effectively as before, and the tide of beasts was relentlessly closing in on the city walls.

The towering batteries located at multiple points within the city now showed their prowess. These were rune cannons.

Rune guns were simplified versions derived from rune cannons. Unlike rune guns, rune cannons weren’t powered by spiritual energy blocks, but rather connected directly to spirit veins through array formations.

The power of rune cannons was immense; each attack would blast away all low-grade monsters within a thirty-meter radius.

Li Zhen even saw a monster scorpion hit by a rune cannon, its body disintegrating into a blood mist. This scorpion was comparable to one he had encountered earlier—a first-rate high-grade monster—yet it was instantly killed.