Chapter 64: The Golden-Armored Divine General!

"Uncle, are you sure... you weren't scammed?" Although Zhao Ergou was thrilled on the inside, he still put on a skeptical facade. After all, the old corporal didn't look like the sharpest tool in the shed.

"What? You little punk think I'm a fool? Easily tricked by others?" The corporal glared at him, a dangerous aura radiating from him as if he were about to discipline Zhao Ergou in the next second.

Sensing the shift in mood, Zhao Ergou instantly switched to an expression of utter admiration and loudly proclaimed, "Uncle! Who are you kidding? You are brilliant, wise, and mighty! Is there anyone in this world who could possibly pull one over on you?"

"With those sharp eyes of yours that can see through everything! Anyone daring to try and trick you would simply be courting death!"

"All right, get lost, get lost! If you don't want it, give it back to me. I wouldn't even want to give it to you anyway, considering this is a treasure I spent a whole silver coin to buy!"

Beaming inwardly at Zhao Ergou's adulatory look, the corporal feigned disgust, waved his hand, and dismissed him.

Seizing the moment, Zhao Ergou grabbed the ancient manual and strode out with swift and decisive steps.

He was eager to return and couldn't wait to begin his cultivation!

"Ergou, not staying for a while?" Qian Dashan asked, watching Zhao Ergou rush out like a whirlwind.

"Brother Dashan, no can do! Your brother here has urgent business to attend to. Next time, I'll treat you to a drink next time!" Zhao Ergou shouted without even turning his head, his voice echoing through the entire camp.

"What's got into this kid? Acting like a ghost is chasing him—running faster than a rabbit!" Qian Dashan scratched his head in bewilderment.

"Brother Dashan, who was that? He looks pretty impressive!" A green recruit scurried over and asked out of curiosity.

"Him? His name is Zhao Ergou. Used to be in our squad too, but now he's made something of himself—he's a squad leader in command of a hundred men! That kid was born to be a general," Qian Dashan said, a hint of pride coloring his tone as if he shared in the glory.

"A squad leader?!"

"Good heavens, in charge of a hundred soldiers!!"

The recruits' eyes widened in sheer shock. They never would have guessed that someone as young as Zhao Ergou was already a squad leader.

To them, he was nothing short of an idol!

"All of you, better kill the enemy hard and strive for merits so that one day you can be like him—a squad leader bringing honor to your ancestors!" Qian Dashan seized the moment to fire up the recruits with some high-flying rhetoric.

"We will definitely slaughter the enemy, earn merits, and become squad leaders!"

Longing flashed in the recruits' eyes. Imagining the day they would become squad leaders, their blood boiled, and they felt an urge to charge onto the battlefield immediately and fight through enemy lines seven times over.

Looking at them, Qian Dashan felt a strange twist in his stomach.

That pie in the sky was painted a bit too large and dry; he wondered if these recruits could even swallow it.

Zhao Ergou sprinted all the way back to his quarters.

Unable to wait a second longer, he pulled out the martial arts manual the corporal had given him and examined it closely.

"These characters... are so terribly written! But who am I? Would I care about such minor details?"

Grumbling to himself, he flipped open the manual, eager to see what miraculous cultivation technique was recorded inside.

Night fell like a massive black cloth, shrouding the entire Yinshan City.

The scattered lights within the city flickered like faint yet stubborn stars sprinkled across the dark fabric.

Wang Li stood atop the city wall, his deep gaze fixed upon the city below.

Those flickering lights illuminated thousands of households and shone into the depths of his heart.

He knew that behind every single light lay a family and a glimmer of hope.

At this moment, the burden on his shoulders felt heavier than ever.

In a tent not far behind him, atop a spacious desk, a piece of calligraphy lay quietly.

The brushstrokes were vigorous and sharp, carrying an aura of chilling sternness.

Emblazoned upon it were several bold characters:

"Do not speak to me of earning titles and honors; a single general's success is built upon ten thousand withered bones!"

The words pierced deeply into Wang Li's heart like sharp daggers.

He recalled all those years leading troops on expeditions across the land, cheating death time and again, watching countless comrades fall beside him.

Those once vibrant faces had all turned to dust.

And yet, he had stepped over their corpses to reach where he was today.

Every single word burst like thunder in his ears, leaving his mind in turmoil.

Zhao Ergou's eyes shone with greedy excitement as he stared intently at the manual in his hands. Those ancient characters seemed to have hooks, dragging his very soul right into them.

He felt himself floating; everything around him vanished, leaving only a blazing red sun, brilliantly bright and radiating an overwhelming momentum as if it had burst forth from eight hundred years ago!

That magnificent sun filled his heart with clarity, illuminating even the path beneath his feet.

His heartbeat thudded heavily, resembling battle drums!

The blood surged through his body like boiling water, bubbling, crimson, and scorching hot!

Was this the legendary blood-refining stage of a martial master?

Practicing this stuff could turn one into a supernatural being!

Zhao Ergou felt as though he had grasped something profound.

Just as he had been floating for goodness knows how long, he snapped back to reality with a start. Looking down, good grief—the manual in his hand was actually burning on its own, turning to ash in the blink of an eye!

"This... this..."

Zhao Ergou's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. The manual was real!

The cultivation method the corporal gave him was genuine!

That meant the corporal hadn't been hoodwinked by some old beggar; they had struck gold!

He could sense that his vital blood energy had increased by a good twenty percent compared to before!

Just a single glance produced such results; if he actually practiced it, wouldn't he soar straight to the heavens?

What thrilled him even more was that with this surge of blood energy, his physical strength had inexplicably increased by two hundred catties!

Simultaneously, upon the golden, glowing screen visible only to him, four striking characters materialized: Tyrant's Divine Scripture!

Regrettably, his one hundred and eighty-eight points of killing intent were insufficient to light up the plus sign following the Tyrant's Divine Scripture.

Could this truly be a martial saint-tier cultivation technique?!

Zhao Ergou's heart raced with excitement!

Those one hundred and eighty-eight points of killing intent were harvested from slaying enemies after his consecutive breakthroughs yesterday.

He had no idea how much killing intent upgrading the Tyrant's Divine Scripture would require.

Peeking into his dantian, he discovered that the previously crimson martial arts true essence was beginning to transform into a golden hue!

After all, the martial arts true essence cultivated through the Subduing Dog Strength was strictly crimson.

Since his killing intent points fell short, Zhao Ergou began pondering the Tyrant's Mental Art instead.

Since the technique was already etched into his mind, he could figure out how to practice it on his own!

He stayed awake the entire night, locked in a fierce battle with the Tyrant's Divine Scripture!

As he practiced repeatedly, the true essence within his body flowed faster and faster, its color shifting toward a brilliant gold, resembling pure bullion!

Inside his mind, a blazing golden sun slowly rose, casting a radiance so intense that it chased away all darkness!

The Tyrant's Mental Art: contemplate the Tyrant, borrow form to refine the spirit, nourish oneself through the spirit, let the mind observe the heavens and the spirit observe the self...

Lost entirely in his cultivation, Zhao Ergou forgot everything else.

Imperceptibly, the horizon grew pale as a red sun leaped from the edge of the earth, spilling golden light across the land.

At this moment, Zhao Ergou's entire body seemed plated in gold, resembling a divine general clad in golden armor!

His potent aura continuously scoured his flesh, blood, bones, and sinews, elevating his strength to terrifying new heights!

Divine light descended from the heavens while divine light surged upward; golden radiance from the towering divine general washed over the war-torn earth, coating it in a sheen of hopeful brilliance.

Zhao Ergou abruptly reined in his cultivation, tilting his head back to let out a long roar that shook the surrounding wilderness!

The pent-up frustration in his chest vanished completely, leaving him feeling refreshed and brimming with explosive power!