The squad of militiamen swiftly blew through the forest, making barely a rustle and the merest of depressions in the dirt. They skilfully avoided any beasts, but the few that they unavoidably ran across, were swiftly dispatched. With 30 men, of which some were at late Blood condensing Stage, even guarding the forest wall would be an easy task for them! Xing Kai and the men travelled through the night for almost 4 hours before they all stopped, and hide amongst the branches of nearby trees. "Listen carefully. We're going to take out one of the food stocks of the Zen family. They have a strong guarding force as you know, but we should be able to handle them, as a large number of their men were lost 2 days ago. Remember...we only need to wipe out the food stocks, not fight them to the death!" Officer Jie whispered to the men among the trees, and they bobbed their heads. Xing Kai crept forwards with the others until he could see a few large, squat buildings in a clearing. There were high barricades made of spiked wooden posts, and a deep trench just before it. One would have to try jumping clean over the trench, as well as the wooden fencing. But this was no mean feat, as the width was at least 12 meters and the height needed to clear the jump was 5 meters. It was like trying to jump over a whole house! Fortunately, they were all at early Blood condensing Stage or higher, so even the weakest man could clear this jump with a bit of effort. Xing Kai and the some of the men dropped down onto the ground, and crept forward towards the edge of the forest. They slowly unsheathed or lifted their weapons, and began picking out their path over the wall. A few guards could be seen patrolling diligently along the spiked wall. "Bows ready men" Faint sounds of stretching could be heard as the archers pulled their bowstrings, and prepared to fire. The bows were of a good quality, as the Nalan town were skilled bow makers, and but the arrows were made of just fire hardened wood. The metal crisis in the town meant that metal tipped arrows were just a luxury, the archers had a trick to make up for it. The tips were covered with dirt and dung, so should the arrows fail to kill outright, the person would be infected and they would die later. It was a nasty trick, that a lot of town's employed. "Begin" Officer Jie, unlike other incompetent officers, whispered this command and like a crashing wave, the men rushed out of he forest and launched themselves over the barricade in all directions. The nasty arrows flew over head, and were taking the lives of a few of the patrolling men, while leaving many with stinging wounds. 2 on the left, 5 on the far right. The archers will take care of any runners Xing Kai jumped over the wall with the other men, as an inconspicuous black flash, with a fierce glint of excitement in his cold eyes. Xing Kai immediately assessed the situation as he landed besides the guards behind the walls. He quickly plunged his sword in the neck of a man who fell to an arrow. In but a few heart beats, the man's Heart's blood was all absorbed and Xing Kai's soul fragment ring had refined it. Xing Kai paused for a moment as he cycled the blood according to the first layer cycling pattern. Xing Kai's soul fragment ring trembled with excitement at the prospect of refining more Heart's blood, and Xing Kai's speck of Heart's blood was also arrogantly awaiting the refined bloods arrival. As the blood was cycled, Xing Kai held his breath. He had wondering how effect using human Heart's blood would be in conjunction with the first layer. Stunned. Xing Kai was stunned. The refined blood travelled through his Jingmai, and then was distributed down into his Loumai, for his flesh to absorb. The very Loumai channels themselves seemed to thicken by the partial absorption of the blood! His muscles were become even more powerful. The imbalance in strength was addressed immediately, as all his tissues were darkened to a deep red colour, and the muscular graining deepened and the fibres tightened. His tendons also shared the benefits and turned from its pale, old yellow colour to a pale white. The tendons themselves became harder and more elastic, increasing Xing Kai's flexibility but also enabling Xing Kai to implement his new muscular strength to their maximum output! His skin, for the first time, enjoyed a strange sensation. It was as if a layer of his skin was suddenly removed, and fresh new layer formed! Xing Kai looked around his body, but he did not appear any different. However when he ran his hands over his new skin, he felt a subtle difference in the texture. It was as if his skin had become more smooth, more soft, yet also more resistant to scratches. This whole refining and absorbing process, left Xing Kai feeling wondrous and empowered. The transformation of his body, felt like it was half-way to reaching an important stage...this was Xing Kai's impression. I should not be far from completing the first layer...then I will become a true early Blood condensing cultivator Xing Kai grinned and felt his heart thundering with excitement. His eyes flickered, as memories of his failed revenge appeared before his eyes, and Xing Kai gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword. His soul fragment ring simmered, as it too was eager for Xing Kai's revenge. I'm getting closer...getting stronger "NALANS ARE HERE" The guards from the Zen family rushed forwards to meet the militiamen of the Nalan family. Both of these towns were fierce rivals, so it was not surprising that they were identified so fast. The clothing was the same green one as always, as they didn't care if the Zen family knew who attacked them. Xing Kai charged at a couple of men in black clothing, who were preparing to fire arrows back at the Nalan militiamen. Xing Kai appeared like shadow before the men, and ducked under one of the men's aiming bow, and cut his arm off, to then proceed to the throat. The other archer was bewildered by Xing Kai's small frame, and thought he was some kind of strange cat or ape. His confusion gave Xing Kai the few moments he needed to kill him. The effects weren't as strong this time? Xing Kai frowned. He had noticed over the month that his demand for Heart's blood was growing faster than his own physical growth. The effectivity of beast's Heart's blood had fallen after just a few days, but human Heart's blood seemed also to be decreasing in effectivity already. Perhaps because these men were weaker than the first archer, so their Heart's blood was less effective at nurturing my strength... It was the solution that made sense. If Xing Kai could receive a boost from any Heart's blood, than surely it was most efficient to just kill chickens his whole life. But this was not the case. Powerful cultivators all became powerful on the battlefield, so naturally it must be normal for the requirements for growth to increase with cultivation... Then again I don't know anything about blood cultivators...it's still hard to say if the effects should be decreasing like this or not... Xing Kai put the thought away for later consideration and returned to the battle. He ran straight towards one of the stone food storage buildings and charged through the door. Immediately he was faced with a small group of archers, who were lying in wait for anybody to enter. However Xing Kai crashed into them like a cannonball, and the men all sprawled across the floor. Xing Kai quickly rolled across the ground and stood up unscathed. He glanced about the dark, cold building and sighted a number of men who had been impaled by their friend's arrows by accident. Xing Kai did not let the opportunity go to waste, and stabbed into the men's throat as they were trying to reach for their weapons. The men scurried away from Xing Kai as he efficiently sent them to their next life. The demand has increased so fast! Even this amount of refined blood is not effective enough Xing Kai growled in his throat with frustration. He ran out and looked across at the scenes of carnage. Some of the wooden storage buildings were already covered in torches and flaming arrows, while other stone food storages were being besieged by the Nalan militiamen. Xing Kai looked back at the group of dead archers. Damn it Xing Kai ran back inside and lit all the fallen bows and arrows on fire. he then threw the burning arrows onto the food sacks and crates. This is ridiculous With the fire quickly spreading around the bags Xing Kai had fulfilled his duty. He ran out of the building, leaving the bodies to be sent to the next life with the flames. These two certainly look strong...their Heart's blood must be powerful Xing Kai could see a group of his fellow militiamen in green fiercely battling a couple of black clothed guards. The guards wielded spears, and they were expertly keeping all 5 men at bay. They were certainly late Stage cultivators. Xing Kai sneaked up behind the men, avoiding the randomly flying arrows in the night. As soon as he saw an opening, he put on a burst of speed and slashed at one of the men across his chest. However, Xing Kai's sword instead met with the guard's spear, which deflected his attack and shot straight towards Xing Kai's forehead. Xing Kai's eyes shrunk in an instant, and he twisted to the side. He barely avoided the fatal strike, but the other guard suddenly swung his spear towards Xing Kai. Finished Xing Kai spun his sword around and sliced the man's knee, and then dashed back among the group of encircling militiamen. But he was not fast enough, and a sharp pain lanced into Xing Kai's back as the man desperately lashed out at Xing Kai. The spear clattered out of the man's hand, as Xing Kai pulled the shaft out of his back. Lucky shot Xing Kai snarled and kicked the spear out of the cursing guard's reach. With no hesitation, Xing Kai lunged forwards and buried his sword in the man. The Heart's blood was pulled out of his body, and he screamed in anguish as it killed him. The blood was not noticed by the men, as it flew up the sword and into Xing Kai's hand. He refined the blood even as he fought with the final spear wielding guard, and the soul fragment ring needed no more than a moment to do so. The refined blood this time was noticeably more powerful than any before it, it was more potent than all the beast's blood he had absorbed put together! This should do it Xing Kai cycled the blood with smooth accuracy and control. He could feel the wound on his back closing and healing... Again? Why is it so hard for me to break into the early Blood condensing Stage... Xing Kai had completely absorbed the refined blood according to the first layer. There was no mistakes, and the refining was faultless yet again. But as he approached the feeling of maximum power, the growth was slowing down dramatically. Xing Kai backed away and stepped into the shadows. He could see that the final guard was tiring and would be defeated soon. Sanguinary cultivators just need to absorb a single drop of their own Heart's blood to complete the first layer...I'm guessing their absorption rate is far lower than mine since I can absorb a whole person's refined Heart's blood very quickly... He thought about his cultivation issue seriously even in the middle of a serious mission. Should he decide that he wouldn't be able to grow properly in the militia, he was determined enough to leave the militia this very night. He would help them complete the mission, but he would not follow them back. He needed to know right now what he was going to do about his cultivation...since even a late Stage man's Heart's blood was not enough, just who on earth was he meant to kill to breakthrough? Xing Kai sighed. He crept out of the shadows, and pounced on the dead spear guard. The man's Heart's blood flowed up his sword and he ran away before the militiamen even noticed he had appeared. The blood went up to his soul fragment ring where it refined the blood with ease. Yet Xing Kai noticed that since the spear guard hadn't been killed by him, the refined blood was smaller and less potent. This he understood would happen anyways, but he wanted to see how much it would decrease by...perhaps by stealing dead people's Heart's blood, he could get away with not having to battle such risky battles. The refined blood did little to affect his strength. His injury had already been completely healed thanks to the other late Stage man's Heart's blood, but still the blood was not enough. Somehow I can absorb Heart's blood, but would I have this ability If I had more of my own Heart's blood? Could it be that what gave me this ability, is also what is slowing me down so much? One thing Xing Kai was sure of was that his cultivation was very different to others, and made him far stronger than other people on his level. If Xing Kai could already rival late Stage cultivators, then when he reached early Stage, how strong would he be? Whatever I have become, I will become strong somehow..I don't know what my cultivation route is, but as long as it makes me stronger then I'll continue on this path Xing Kai was frustrated with his situation. He could tell that killing hundreds of weak people or beasts wouldn't increase his strength at all. What he needed was highly powerful Heart's blood...something along the lines of a peak Blood condensing, or multiple late Blood condensing men's blood. Damn it, even if it's the Heavens opposing my cultivation, I'll still become strong Xing Kai's Heart's blood trembled slightly. Xing Kai gritted his teeth and joined the battle again. He felt like even if everything tried to stop him becoming stronger, he would force his own path forward like a mighty King conquering the world. The 7 Captains are not weak...with them I can certainly become stronger Xing Kai did encounter a few other late Stage guards, but there were groups of Nalan militia surrounding them, so he couldn't find the killing blow. He took their Heart's blood after they died and defeated several middle and early stage guards. In just a few hundred heart beats, all the food stores were cleared of guards and the men had regrouped under officer Jie. "Work quickly men; archers gather your arrows, you 5 start more fires, and everyone else gather weapons. Carry as many as you can safely, and destroy any you can't" Xing Kai and the men ran around the camp once more doing the final sweep. The few remaining Zen guards had fled, so the Nalan militiamen only had a few minutes before reinforcements arrived. Xing Kai snapped swords, spears and bows crazily as he gathered any good quality weapons he could see. The hatred between the towns, was so vicious that they would anything to harm one another, even if it meant losing out on benefits. Who knows when I will get the chance to battle against a late Blood condensing cultivator...it's not like there are many... Xing Kai had his worst suspicions confirmed during the last few minutes of the attack. Even after defeating several early, middle and a few dead late Stage cultivators, he couldn't achieve breakthrough. He felt like he was 80% towards completing the first layer...but the last 20% would be incredibly difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, Xing Kai decided to stay with the Nalan town for now. Mostly because he felt a niggling annoyance that if he left the town he would never be able to repay the 50 blood coins to the two sisters. Perhaps after repaying the sisters I'll leave...the recommendation isn't critical, and I'm not likely to face another enemy cultivator at late or peak Stage in months probably...and even then, what resources will I need to breakthrough after reaching early Stage? Soon all the buildings were covered with raging flames, and the men leaped back out of the camp, carrying armfuls of swords and sacks of arrows. The Zen family would suffer greatly because of this attack. With the winter food stocks destroyed, they would have to dig into their reserves to feed the town, which would then decrease their spending power for the next year. Stronger towns had collapsed in the past because of a single mistake, and the series of opportunistic attacks that followed. "Time to greet the shadows" Officer Jie lead the back into the forest following a different trail to the one they arrived on. Xing Kai followed along the back of the squad, and followed quite a jagged path up and down the tree branches, so as to train his agility. By carrying so many oddly shaped objects, he had created an interesting method to challenge his balance and movement skills. He was still quite full of energy, so he was more attentive to the surroundings than the others. Something doesn't seem right Xing Kai could feel that his Heart's blood was twitching strangely. He completely overlooked that his Heart's blood had increased in size, but noticed that it seemed to be throbbing if he went in a certain direction. Even my Heart's blood is strange...little wonder my cultivation would be Xing Kai pulled his ever-present parchment and ink, and wrote down that he smelt something strange from the direction his Heart's blood throbbed. When he showed officer Jie, he responded with a frown, but he nodded his head after a moment. "Men, we are going to make a quick detour. The operation has been successfully completed so we are going to investigate an anomaly" Officer Jie redirected the men and followed behind Xing Kai. The squad was not happy since they had their hand's full with weapons and it was annoying to take an unknown detour, where they could run into even more danger. To complete a risky mission with no deaths, but suddenly be attacked by a wave of beasts would be a bitter ending to the night. However after just 300 heart beats the men arrived at a strange location. It was not a place covered by Nalan maps, as was much of the area since the forest was so difficult to explore. It was a strange deep valley with a thin river many hundreds of meters below. The valley cliffs were incredibly steep, and very jagged. As Xing Kai crept forward to the edge, his eyes widened as he saw a narrow track on the cliff edge below him. "Now way..." "This can't be..." "Good Heavens, what is this...how could this be?" The men were only able to keep themselves concealed due to shock, otherwise they would be wildly noisy. Even officer Jie was standing with his mouth wide open. The narrow track on the rocky cliff edge below them, was being traversed by a small group of masked and black clothed men. In these men's hands were bags...bags of Yao Grass!