4: Chapter 4 The Immortal Cultivator and the Mysterious Little Monk

Tianfu City is vast.

It spans three hundred li in every direction, with four hundred-meter-tall city walls enclosing the entire Tianfu City, which is divided into an inner city spanning one hundred li and an outer city spanning two hundred li.

Beyond the city walls lies a border zone spanning over a hundred li.

Millions of the Tianfu Army are deployed there, along with various types of modern weaponry.

Ye Xiu sprinted rapidly toward the border. As a Transcendence Realm Rank 2, his speed was now comparable to a high-speed train, with mountains and trees flashing past him in a blur.

The outer city is more dangerous than the inner city.

While Vicious Beasts over a dozen meters in size were not exactly everywhere, Ye Xiu had already killed no fewer than a dozen of them on his journey here.

He had been traveling through the outer city district for over an hour.

While traveling at high speed, Ye Xiu was suddenly startled by a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, causing him to stumble.

He looked up at the sky in confusion.

The blue sky and white clouds showed nothing; everything was normal.

However, as he observed carefully, he was shocked to discover a faint, massive black shadow above the clouds, seemingly engaged in a fierce battle with something.

Boom...

Another bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky.

The originally thick cloud layer was cleaved open, creating a massive gap.

Ye Xiu focused his gaze, looking through the gap in the clouds, and his scalp instantly went numb.

A massive Dragon was locked in battle with a Daoist.

Judging by its silhouette through the clouds, the Dragon was hundreds of meters long, while the Daoist was enveloped in lightning, using thunder techniques to strike the Dragon again and again.

"Is this a Daoist Immortal?"

His eyes were filled with shock; compared to the Daoist in the battle, Liu Qingyan was as weak as an ant.

"Little friend, leave quickly. The Yao Beast Dragon before you is powerful; do not let it harm you." The voice of an old Daoist appeared beside him, offering advice.

Ye Xiu was stunned. He took one last deep look at the battle above the clouds, then, not daring to linger for even a moment, continued his rapid journey toward the border war zone.

Immortal!

This is what a true cultivator is!

Even while engaged in a fierce battle above the clouds, he could still sense everything in the world.

As he continued moving forward.

Crossing mountains and rivers, treading through fields.

After traveling several dozen li, his path was blocked by a young monk who looked about seven or eight years old.

"Benefactor, the road ahead is fraught with danger. Why persist in moving forward?"

"When the nation is in peril, every citizen bears responsibility. Move aside."

Ye Xiu said heavily. This little monk was not right; its skin was terrifyingly pale, and its eyes did not look like those of a normal human—there were no pupils.

Instead, two terrifying whites of the eyes occupied the entire eye sockets.

Seeing a ghost in broad daylight?

Just how many incomprehensible existences has this Spiritual Qi resurgence stimulated?

He stared fixedly at the eerie little monk before him, his muscles tense, guarding against any move.

"When the nation is in peril, every citizen bears responsibility. Good, very good. It is just a pity that individual strength cannot alter the course of war." The little monk sighed, and its figure began to fade slowly. It seemed to be nothing more than an obsession, and it vanished.

Ye Xiu was shocked, yet also somewhat bewildered.

What exactly was going on with this little monk? Was it a ghost? Yet, aside from blocking his path, it made no other dangerous moves.

What kind of existence would cause this little monk to appear in such a form?

He shook his head slightly and continued his journey.

...

Tianfu City border zone.

After an afternoon of traveling, Ye Xiu finally arrived near the hundred-meter-tall city wall.

Although it was not his first time seeing the hundred-meter-tall city wall ahead.

This time, amidst the gunfire and roars, he personally experienced what war truly meant.

Countless modern anti-aircraft guns had been mounted atop the city wall, which had originally been a tourist attraction.

The sound of fierce shelling resonated through the heavens and earth, never ceasing for a moment.

"Who goes there? Go back."

When Ye Xiu arrived at the entrance of the massive city wall, the soldiers guarding the area stopped him.

"Jiuding Academy, Martial Arts Department Head Ye Xiu. Summoned by the Great Xia, I have come to support the Tianfu Army." Ye Xiu did not waste words and spoke directly.

"Those who have not reached Transcendence Realm Rank 2 are strictly forbidden from entering the border war zone." The guard was a middle-aged man; seeing that Ye Xiu was only a student of seventeen or eighteen, he could not bear to see him enter the most intense war zone.

Ye Xiu did not waste words. He exerted force through his feet and stomped directly onto the ground.

With a boom,

the concrete ground cracked, and several fissures extended six or seven meters outward, centered on Ye Xiu.

This scene attracted the guard officer in the distance, who ran over quickly. "Ye Xiu, right? Now, in my capacity as a Thousand-Man Commander of the Tianfu Army, I am specially approving you as a member of the Tianfu Army Vanguard Battalion. Come with me now."

Having said that, the Thousand-Man Commander walked toward the border war zone.

The Vanguard Battalion, commonly known as the suicide squad.

As a student at the highest institution of learning, Ye Xiu naturally knew this.

But he said nothing and followed behind the Thousand-Man Commander, walking outside the city wall.

The passage through the city wall was very long, with a depth of over a hundred meters. There were very few guards; aside from the Thousand-Man Commander before him, there were fewer than ten people.

"The battle situation is very intense, kid. You need to prepare yourself mentally." The Thousand-Man Commander spoke as he walked.

"How many have died in battle?"

Ye Xiu asked in a deep voice.

"There are avian-type Yao Beasts in the air. They have thick skin and flesh, making them very difficult to kill with ordinary ammunition. Do you see the wreckage of those fighter jets? Our aerial combat units have been completely wiped out. Now, we are only barely suppressing the Yao Beasts in the sky by relying on the heavy firepower atop the walls."

"The hundred-li border zone has already lost thirty li. The Yao Beasts on the ground are even harder to fight than those in the sky. Ordinary firepower can no longer suppress them. Within the war zone, hundreds die every single second."

"The Vanguard Battalion—everyone who enters the border war zone is called the Vanguard Battalion. Now follow me and hold the line." The Thousand-Man Commander answered without addressing the question directly, his eyes revealing intense killing intent.

The two arrived at a military zone.

"Old Li, the higher-ups have already notified you to guard the rear. Why are you here?" A person who looked like an officer frowned slightly as he watched the Thousand-Man Commander approach.

"The higher-ups said to guard the rear if there were no soldiers. Now I have a soldier. Hurry up and arrange a vehicle." The Thousand-Man Commander pointed at Ye Xiu with a calm expression.

The officer followed the Thousand-Man Commander's gesture, looked at Ye Xiu, and frowned even more deeply. "Old Li..."

"Don't waste words. Hurry up." The Thousand-Man Commander interrupted directly.

"Sigh..."

The officer said nothing more, quickly fished a key out of his pocket, and tossed it to the Thousand-Man Commander.

The two successfully got into the vehicle.

They headed toward the frontline war zone.

Ye Xiu sat in the vehicle, looking at the heavy weaponry deployed in the rear of the war zone. Most of those operating this heavy weaponry were not very strong; some had not even reached the Transcendence Realm.

"Kid, are you afraid?" The Thousand-Man Commander asked casually while driving.

"Yes."

"Hahaha... honest enough. I'm afraid too. But if we can't hold this line of defense, the over one hundred million people in Tianfu City behind us will only become fodder for these Yao Beasts. So, even if you're afraid, you have to hold the line for me."

"Hehe..."

Ye Xiu smiled and did not refute anything.

On the battlefield, he had no heart for bickering with this Thousand-Man Commander.