41: Fighting General

Over the next few days, Gu Chang continued to Cultivate using the Mist Mountain Iron Snake's venom, but the cost was a large amount of barbarian beef consumed by him.

After all, to recover quickly under the destruction of toxins, it was impossible without sufficient Qi and blood tonics.

About five days passed, and the middle-aged scholar from before came again.

However, this time he was clearly much more polite, and his attitude was respectful upon seeing Gu Chang.

"Last time, I had not yet congratulated the Stockade Master; I hope the Stockade Master will be more understanding."

"This time, I have come with Xuan King's good intentions. To congratulate the Stockade Master on his Breakthrough, Xuan King specially ordered people to send various gifts, and from now on, Da Wu Mountain will be under the Stockade Master's command."

The other party first apologized, then had people present various gifts, and at the same time explained Xuan King's attitude.

"Hmm, thank you for your trouble."

Gu Chang nodded and directly agreed. These things were no longer much to him now, but the people under his command needed them.

Even if Xuan King only gave him nominal support, the common people living in Da Wu Mountain would feel much more at ease from then on.

After delivering the gifts and expressing Xuan King's goodwill, the middle-aged scholar quickly departed, not daring to linger.

Afterward, the other various military camps in Da Wu Mountain also sent people to pay their respects, one by one, hoping to nominate Gu Chang to become the leader of the entire Da Wu Mountain, and they were willing to lead their military camps to join under his command.

To put it bluntly, these people entered Da Wu Mountain merely to find a way to survive.

Now with Gu Chang as a prominent figure, they had to come and sincerely request to join for their future, otherwise, if they didn't come and their military camp was remembered by Gu Chang, they would have nowhere to cry in the end.

After all, they could hide from Xuan King's army, but they had no way against Gu Chang, who was already in Da Wu Mountain.

For these people, Gu Chang directly handed them over to Li Ergou and the others for arrangement; as long as they were not great villains, they could be accepted.

After all, the further he wanted to develop, the more people he needed, and he couldn't do everything himself. The more people under his command, the more talents would emerge.

After simply handling the affairs of Da Wu Mountain, Gu Chang once again chose to enter the deep mountains to hunt.

This time his target was barbarian beef, as the size of these big creatures was large enough, and just the meat from one barbarian beef would be enough for him to use for a long time.

"Moo~"

"Bang!"

This time, even when confronting barbarian beef head-on, Gu Chang truly managed to kill it without any harm to himself!

The refined steel long spear in his hand precisely pierced into the barbarian beef's body, hitting its heart, and then it was time for the harvest.

The entire barbarian beef weighed a full ten thousand catties; even with Gu Chang's current strength, he couldn't move it.

Fortunately, he had more manpower available now, and soon this barbarian beef flesh and blood was moved back to the mountain valley military camp. Immediately afterward, he continued to bury himself in hard Cultivation.

The improvement in strength at the Marrow Refining Realm was not particularly rapid, but the benefit was that as long as resources were sufficient and he continuously practiced, he could almost feel his strength growing and improving every day!

About two months passed, and Gu Chang's entire physique grew taller; his height was about 1.85 meters, making him look even more mighty and robust.

His whole body's muscles were like coiling Dragons, his skin was smooth as jade and exceptionally tough, his bones and sinews were like vajra, and his internal organs, after tempering, were also very strong, greatly enhancing his resistance to toxins and harsh environments.

Now his lifting strength had reached a thousand catties with one arm and over two thousand catties with both arms. A casual strike from him was a terrifying force comparable to a battering ram for ordinary people.

But the most crucial thing was that his internal Qi became increasingly vigorous. The powerful internal Qi allowed him to easily use various combat techniques, making all aspects of his body stronger and tougher!

However, at this stage, Gu Chang had already reached his current limit; no matter how he Cultivated further, he could no longer improve.

"It seems I've encountered a Bottleneck again. Currently, my strength can only be considered Marrow Refining Minor Achievement. Although my internal organs and meridians have been strengthened once, the most fragile parts like the nervous system, spinal cord, and brain have not yet been reinforced."

"It seems that continuing to use the Mist Mountain Iron Snake's venom is no longer useful. If I want to continue to Breakthrough, I must find better Heaven And Earth Treasure or achieve Breakthrough through practical combat and enlightenment."

After some thought, Gu Chang decided to try the latter method first.

After all, he also wanted to test his actual combat ability and see if there was still a gap between him and General Yan Zhiliang.

So, a few days later, Gu Chang once again came to Yunshan City and directly found Yan Zhiliang, requesting him to fight him.

"You are Gu Chang of Da Wu Mountain? Heh, you look like you have some skill!"

At this time, Yan Zhiliang naturally didn't know Gu Chang, but he could clearly sense the extremely vigorous Qi and blood within Gu Chang's body.

"That's right, it's me. Please enlighten me, General!"

Gu Chang's purpose this time was very clear: to see what gap still existed between himself and the opponent at the same Realm.

"Good! A Martial Artist of our generation should be like this!"

Yan Zhiliang was a general who had achieved Breakthrough many years ago, and his strength was naturally not to be underestimated. He greatly admired Gu Chang's courage in challenging him to a fight.

"Come!"

"Everyone, spread out!"

"Yes!"

Soon, a large area of the military camp's training ground was cleared, with only Gu Chang and Yan Zhiliang present.

"Whoosh! Boom!"

The two who were originally standing still suddenly moved, and the ten-zhang distance seemed nonexistent between them as they instantly collided.

The long spear and long polearm clashed like a needle point against an awl, with deafening collision sounds accompanied by sparks.

Immediately afterward, their movements became faster and faster, so fast that ordinary people's vision could no longer keep up with their moves.

Only lieutenants at the Refining Bone level could clearly see how many times they had clashed in a short period.

At this level, every strike was fatal, and every move meant going all out.

The surging internal Qi, the vigorous Qi and blood, the powerful physique, and the refined weapons all merged into one, making Gu Chang and Yan Zhiliang completely transcend the human Realm, appearing as two of the most terrifying killing weapons!

The stone bricks on the training ground shattered into fragments under their feet, and the surrounding walls and stones would turn directly into a pile of dust if touched by them.

"Hahaha! Good!"

"Boom!"

"Clang! Crack!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Suddenly, accompanied by a piercing snap, the long spear in Gu Chang's hand broke. Immediately afterward, he pulled out the military saber from his waist and used the Seven Kill Saber Technique. His whole body's Qi and blood erupted, and enveloped in a bloody aura, he lunged at Yan Zhiliang like an evil spirit from Hell.

The terrifying Killing Intent seemed to materialize, causing the surrounding soldiers and officers watching the battle to constantly retreat, looking at Gu Chang as if they had seen something terrifying.

"Boom! Bang!"

Facing Gu Chang's desperate outburst, Yan Zhiliang also used his killing move. His entire body swelled a few points, his skin was as black as ink, and a monstrous might erupted as he swung his long polearm, charging at Gu Chang like a venomous Dragon.

Thus, their desperate fight reached a frenzied level, until the military saber in Gu Chang's hand could no longer withstand the brutal force and snapped.

"Crack!"

"Pfft! Bang!"

The next moment, the opponent's long polearm instantly pierced into Gu Chang's body, followed by countless powerful energies surging into Gu Chang's body like a tide, continuously destroying and damaging his internal organs, meridians, and bones.

"Haha, good! Well done!"

"Crack!"

However, facing such an attack, Gu Chang burst into laughter. Immediately afterward, Yan Changzhi's long polearm also snapped in response; this powerful weapon finally couldn't hold up.

"Cough, cough, truly a brave warrior!"

Looking at the broken polearm in his hand, Yan Changzhi's mouth overflowed with blood, and his aura rapidly faded, his whole person looking much diminished.

Then, he looked at Gu Chang, who was gradually losing his life, and continuously sighed in admiration. Such a powerful Martial Artist, who faced death as if going home and showed no fear, was someone he had never encountered before.

Although he won this time, it was actually because his equipment was more superior.

The long polearm in his hand was forged from the best Materials through countless refinements, far stronger than the long spear and military saber in Gu Chang's hand.

If not for that, he would have been the one to die this time; even the best outcome would have been a mutual demise with Gu Chang.

【The Dao of Martial Arts has initially formed, the Killing Intent is solid; the path of a Martial Artist lies in killing and restraint!】

【This Reincarnation evaluation: Grade D+】

【This Reincarnation reward: 15 Reincarnation points】

【You already have 28 Reincarnation points, which can be used to exchange for: Profound Iron Fragmented Armor (7 points), Refined Steel Fragmented Saber (1 point), Current Cultivation (25 points)】

In the real world, Gu Chang woke up again, but this time his face was filled with pleasant surprise.