Surging Undercurrents

Li Yuan successfully struck, his fast blade drinking Su Dongliu’s blood. His blade momentum did not stop; one successful strike was enough for him to follow up with three more.

"You are not at the Fifth Grade," Su Dongliu said, having taken all three strikes. His robes from his shoulder down to his lower body were soaked in fresh blood, his face slightly pale as his sword style shifted to defense.

"Just lucky, I broke through to the Sixth Grade a few days ago. To celebrate, my curved blade has been thirsting for blood for a long time," Li Yuan said crazily.

His body was as large as a forest ape, moving with unmatched agility. With his flexible offensive style, honed by frequent combat in the forest, it could be said that no one on this battlefield could rival him.

Su Dongliu looked coldly at Li Yuan’s offensive, which was like continuous waves, the later ones crashing over the former. If the current offensive could not be stopped, it would only grow more intense.

His hand tightened around his longsword. The opponent was three steps away, then two—he was within striking range. Su Dongliu’s eyes widened, sword light flashed, "swish," five strikes in a single second.

"Clang!" Li Yuan was unexpectedly counterattacked by Su Dongliu, not expecting the opponent's sword to be so fast. He himself was struck twice, blood seeping from his shoulder and chest.

The curved blade whistled through the air, slashing at Su Dongliu’s chest. He used his longsword to parry the blade momentum. Just as it was parried, the blade momentum reversed upward, aiming for Su Dongliu’s head.

In an instant, Su Dongliu watched the blade momentum with wide eyes, not missing a single detail. Waiting until the blade was nearly upon him, he leaned his head back, successfully dodging.

During the heavy collision, blood gushed from the wound Li Yuan had just inflicted, making his face even whiter.

"Certain-Kill Strike!" Su Dongliu gnashed his teeth, both hands gripping the sword hilt as if accumulating power for a moment of explosion. Instantly, the sword style stabbed straight toward Li Yuan.

"Blade's Silver Rain!" Li Yuan did not panic; his curved blade simultaneously swung with extreme speed, weaving an illusory net that enveloped Su Dongliu’s entire body. He licked his lips brutally; if this heavy strike hit, Su Dongliu would undoubtedly die.

"In terms of speed, no one is faster than my sword." Su Dongliu’s sword style broke through the illusory blade net, stabbing into the center of Li Yuan’s chest. Li Yuan was terrified; his move had been a second too slow.

Although it was just a tiny second, for experts, one second was enough to determine victory and defeat. Su Dongliu, his face pale but cold, thought: die, Li Yuan.

"In your dreams!" The sword style pierced Li Yuan, but it didn't hit a vital point, and the blade wasn't deep enough to kill him in one go. Li Yuan’s robes loosened, revealing a layer of thin armor beneath.

"Fortunately, I have the Azure Flow Silk Armor; otherwise, I might have truly lost my life after one strike. You're quite something," Li Yuan said, touching his inner armor and speaking in a deep voice.

"Brother Dongliu, do you need me to lend a hand?" At that moment, Zheng Donglin’s voice rang out from the other side. He was seen with a sleepy expression, sitting on a large log, his back straight as if leaning against the air. Beneath his feet, Li Yuan was horrified to see a small mountain formed from countless bandit corpses.

"Finished!" Ding Buling used his foot to stomp the last bandit to death, breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked over: "It seems Su Dongliu is having a bit of a hard time."

Li Yuan snorted coldly, his curved blade not slowing down as it aimed for Su Dongliu’s head. After killing this one, he would kill those two brats over there.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted as he saw the longsword in Su Dongliu’s hand vanish, flying toward him at a speed that "tore the air." He thought for a moment and then showed contempt; it seemed the opponent knew he couldn't escape death and was desperately throwing his sword in attack. But for a swordsman, once the sword left the hand, death was not far away.

The curved blade easily parried the flying sword off course, but an anomaly occurred. Immediately after the sword was knocked away, Su Dongliu’s figure suddenly appeared behind it, a fist striking directly at Li Yuan’s old wound.

"Gah!" Li Yuan felt a sharp pain from his chest, making him cough, his entire body losing strength as he had to lean against his blade to keep from falling. He looked at Su Dongliu with resentment.

"It's over," Su Dongliu picked up his longsword, his steps steady as he approached Li Yuan, his face cold and indifferent.

"Don't kill me, I have a secret!" Li Yuan’s pupils constricted, and he said hurriedly.

"Another secret," Zheng Donglin said in surprise. It seemed every time they were about to kill someone, that person would beg for mercy and use a "secret" to trade for their life.

"You seem interested," Ding Buling said.

"Of course, I love secrets the most," Zheng Donglin pouted.

"Knowing too many secrets makes it very easy to die," Ding Buling said, leaning against a tree.

"My life may be small, but not just anyone can kill me," Zheng Donglin replied sincerely.

Su Dongliu’s eyes showed no emotion; it was unclear what he was thinking, whether he agreed with Li Yuan or didn't care at all.

"This secret is very big; I can use my life to guarantee it!" Li Yuan said urgently.

"Tell us; if I find it worthwhile, your life will be spared," Zheng Donglin spoke up.

"I don't believe you; you must make a commitment," Li Yuan said, a hint of contempt in his eyes. He had done countless heartless things, so he trusted others even less.

Furthermore, Zheng Donglin truly didn't want to spare him. For an evil person, keeping one's word was not important.

"I commit," Zheng Donglin said.

"You must swear before the Lac Long God," Li Yuan demanded.

"Don't casually swear before the Lac Long God, Brother Donglin," Su Dongliu said sternly.

"The Lac Long God is a deity among our people who maintains the order of the world. He represents life and death. If you swear before him, he will bear witness. If you do not follow your oath, he will personally pluck out your soul," Ding Buling explained, knowing Zheng Donglin didn't understand.

Zheng Donglin was surprised, his eyes constantly shifting as he called out in his mind.

"System."

— Present, — the System replied. — Please give your order, Host.

"Is there a way to avoid being found by the Lac Long God?"

— Simple, Host only needs to spend 8 prestige points, and I will help you erase the mark of the gods on your body.

"Good."

"Fine, I swear before you," Zheng Donglin said, despite the surprise of Su Dongliu and Ding Buling.

"Donglin, don't be foolish," Ding Buling tried to stop him.

"Indeed, Brother Donglin," Su Dongliu said simultaneously.

"I swear before the Lac Long God that I will not kill you," Zheng Donglin said. Suddenly, in his heart, he felt an unclear bond from the upper realm appear in his soul, showing that the oath had been successfully established.

"It seems the rumors are true," Zheng Donglin was surprised, but he had nothing to fear because the system had guaranteed a way to eliminate the oath.

"Good, straightforward! I will tell you a world-shaking secret!" Li Yuan laughed loudly upon seeing him make the oath.

Su Dongliu’s eyes were cold as he looked at him, wishing he could kill him with one sword strike, but he still didn't act.

"I have intelligence from the Shifang Tower. They say the current Emperor is surrounded by enemies on all sides and has no strength left to manage the territory, so he has secretly accepted a new rule: the Kingdoms on the land are free to wage war and annex each other to create a larger Dynasty, while also stimulating the growth of talents during the chaotic war. And so, the new rule has been issued, a new era has arrived—the era of warring states. Currently, the 'Da Li Dynasty' has its sights set on invading the 'Xi Shan Dynasty'; the time remaining is only half a month. I advise you, after knowing this news, to quickly pack up and leave," Li Yuan said.

"The Shifang Tower is the largest intelligence organization in the Annan Kingdom, so the news will definitely not be wrong. But how did you trade for such valuable information?" Su Dongliu asked.

"I happened to have a Shifang Token," Li Yuan replied indifferently.

The three of them fell into silence. They knew a storm was coming, horse hooves would stretch across the Annan territory, countless lives would be lost, and cities would fall, signaling an era of prosperous chaotic war.

Currently, they were lucky because they knew the war was coming and had the right to flee the Xi Shan Dynasty before it was too late. Everyone knew Xi Shan was much weaker than Da Li.

The 'North' had four great Kingdoms: Xi Shan, Da Li, Lian Zheng, and Zheng Wu. The Lian Zheng and Da Li Kingdoms were roughly equal in strength, Zheng Wu was slightly stronger, and Xi Shan was the weakest. Xi Shan’s military power was not strong because it was a country strong in food production. Now that chaotic war was happening, it appeared weaker than others.

"Donglin, what do you think?" Ding Buling looked at Zheng Donglin, wanting to know his decision.

"I will fight for Xi Shan," without waiting for Zheng Donglin to answer, Ding Buling continued.

"Me too," Zheng Donglin said. If he fled now when facing Da Li, how could he talk about resisting the mighty Great Tang later?

"What about you, Su Dongliu?" Ding Buling asked.

"My hometown is in Xiangdong City; my ancestors have lived there for generations, and I cannot leave it. Furthermore, I am the newly appointed Vice Chief of the Yunluan Bureau," Su Dongliu said.

"Good, one heart for Xi Shan!" all three shouted.

Li Yuan’s eyes flickered, full of contempt. Just the three of you want to resist Da Li? Pure delusion! Currently, fleeing is the only chance of survival.

"Li Yuan, long nights bring many dreams; I will kill you right now," Zheng Donglin said indifferently, his face full of killing intent.

"No, you cannot kill me, you swore before the Lac Long God!" Li Yuan screamed in terror.

He suddenly went silent; his head had been crushed by Zheng Donglin. His hand didn't have a single drop of fresh blood. Looking closely, his hand was enveloped in a layer of earthy yellow True Qi, preventing blood from touching his skin.

"System, quickly dissolve the oath for me!" Zheng Donglin barked. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, knowing that the divine mark on his body had begun to exert its power after he broke the oath.

— Consuming 8 prestige points, do you agree?

"Agree!"

— Host has successfully eliminated the "Divine Mark," 8 prestige points deducted.

Prestige: 20/100.

"It seems it's gone," his head felt light, and Zheng Donglin breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped his forehead; it seemed that without the system, it would have been too dangerous.