I become stronger by sacrificing my lifespan, becoming invincible in the world.

Sun Cheng leaned against the edge of the battlements, his gaze sweeping across the wilderness like a hawk's, barely uttering a word.

Lin Chen also learned to observe, while secretly activating the Divine Jade to slowly release his senses.

After breaking through to the fourth level of the Acquired Realm, the Divine Jade's perception range expanded to about twenty feet. Within this range, he could vaguely sense the strength and movement of life force.

At this moment, the wilderness beyond the pass was deathly silent, with only a few extremely faint specks of light, like candles flickering in the wind, probably ground squirrels or insects.

Time passed in silence.

At dawn, a messenger crouched low and ran up the city wall, delivering today's password—"Iron Wall"—to be answered with "Rock Solid".

Around 9:00 AM, a small cloud of dust suddenly rose in the distance beyond the pass.

Sun Cheng immediately became alert and gestured for Lin Chen to crouch down. He squinted for a moment, then whispered, "It's a pack of wolves, a small group, about seven or eight of them, chasing something... They're heading east, not trying to break through the pass."

Sure enough, the dust billowed out a few miles away, turning a corner and disappearing behind the rolling hills.

"This kind of thing happens often," Sun Cheng unusually added. "Demon wolves, rotten claw jackals, and sometimes scattered barbarian scouts. As long as they don't come at the pass in large numbers, we don't need to pay attention. We need to keep an eye on bigger and more distant movements."

At noon, Zhao Tiegu and Li Quezi came up to relieve him.

As Lin Chen descended the city wall, he encountered a patrol of soldiers at the corner of the steps.

The leader was a burly man with a face full of scars. He glanced at Lin Chen, paused, gave him a disapproving look, snorted, and led his men past him.

"That's Wang Meng, the squad leader of the B-class detachment," Sun Cheng whispered from behind. "One of Captain Chen's men."

Lin Chen memorized this face.

Back in the barracks, Lin Chen ate a quick lunch that had been brought to him and then closed his eyes to meditate. He had no shifts in the afternoon, a rare moment of free time.

He tried to continue refining the remaining violent thoughts from the sand bandit leader within his body, while pondering his next step.

Lifespan is scarce, and we must find a way to obtain more.

Openly devouring living people within the pass is too risky. Monsters... are a source, but one needs the opportunity to leave the pass.

Chen Hong would never easily give him a safe chance to leave the pass.

Perhaps we could get help from Zhang Heng?

Just as I was pondering this, a commotion arose outside the barracks, as if people were arguing.

Lin Chen opened his eyes, exchanged a glance with Sun Cheng, and the two got up and went out.

In the open space in front of the barracks, Zhao Tiegu was struggling with a tall, thin man, also wearing patrol battalion leather armor, while Li the Cripple anxiously tried to mediate. Several wooden buckets were scattered on the ground, with water spilled everywhere.

"What happened?" Sun Cheng asked in a deep voice.

When the tall, thin man saw Sun Cheng come out, he released Zhao Tiegu, pointed at the water buckets on the ground, and shrieked, "Squad Leader Sun! Where are your men's eyes? Didn't they see I was fetching water? They knocked over our buckets, and they can't even speak a human language!"

Zhao Tiegu's face turned red with anger: "Bullshit! You were the one who didn't watch where you were going when you turned the corner and bumped into me!"

"Hey? You dare to swear?" The tall, thin man glared, and several soldiers in similar attire surrounded him, their faces unfriendly.

Lin Chen looked at Sun Cheng. Sun Cheng frowned, staring at the tall, thin man: "Zhou Qing, the water-fetching times for Class 3-5 and your Class 2-5 are staggered. You shouldn't be in the water room at this time."

The tall, thin man named Zhou Qing choked for a moment, then said arrogantly, "When did I need to report to you when I fetched water? Anyway, it was your men who knocked over the bucket, so if you don't pay for it today, this isn't over!"

Sun Cheng's face darkened. He could clearly see that the other party was deliberately picking a fight, but they outnumbered him, and if they confronted them head-on, they would be at a disadvantage.

Lin Chen suddenly stepped forward, bent down, and picked up a bucket that had fallen over. The bucket was made of thick wooden hoops and was quite heavy. He weighed it in his hand and looked at Zhou Qing: "If the water spills, we can just fill it again. If the bucket is broken, we'll pay for whatever it costs."

Zhou Qing was taken aback by Lin Chen's calmness, then sneered, "These buckets are military supplies; you can't just say you'll compensate for them. Besides, you've delayed our water supply, can you take responsibility for that?"

"So what do you want?" Lin Chen asked.

"Simple!" Zhou Qing pointed to the water stains on the ground. "Lick up all the water here, and the water along the road from the water room to our barracks! And pay ten taels of silver for medicine, and this matter will be settled!"

Upon hearing this, even Sun Cheng was enraged: "Zhou Qing! Don't push your luck!"

"I'm just bullying you, so what?" Zhou Qing said confidently, and the men behind him laughed and looked at Lin Chen and his companions with mocking eyes, as if they were prey that had fallen into a trap.

Lin Chen looked at the winding watermarks on the ground, then looked up at Zhou Qing's face, which was full of provocation.

He suddenly smiled.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, he lifted his foot and gently kicked over another intact bucket next to him.

Clear water gushed out again, mixing with the previous water stains and covering an even larger area.

"What...what are you doing?!" Zhou Qing was both shocked and furious.

"Didn't you want to lick it clean?" Lin Chen said calmly, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Qing and the people behind him.

"There's plenty of water on the ground; enough for all of you in B25 to lick slowly."

"You're asking for it!" Zhou Qing roared in fury, throwing a punch at Lin Chen's face!

This punch was powerful and heavy, accompanied by the sound of wind. It clearly showed that the user had a cultivation level of three or four levels after birth, and it was merciless, aiming straight for vital points!

Sun Cheng's expression changed, but it was too late to stop him.

Zhao Tiegu and Li the Cripple exclaimed, "Watch out!"

Lin Chen did not dodge.

He also raised his right hand, fingers spread, not making a fist, but precisely meeting Zhou Qing's fist, and then—grabbed his wrist!

Devour!

With a slight thought, the suction force of the divine jade was quietly activated.

He only drained one year's worth of life force, a slow and steady process that went unnoticed.

Zhou Qing felt a numbness in his wrist, and the force in his fist instantly dissipated by more than half, as if he had punched into cotton.

Even more strangely, a strange feeling of weakness spread up his arm, making his chest feel tight.

Lin Chen smoothly pulled to the side and back, naturally using the force-dissipating technique of the "Wolf Look-Back Step" on his feet.

Zhou Qing was thrown forward and stumbled, falling face down on the edge of the puddle, getting muddy all over his face.

The entire room fell silent.

The soldiers of the second platoon were dumbfounded. Sun Cheng's eyes narrowed, and he gave Lin Chen a deep look. Zhao Tiegu and Li the Cripple were also full of surprise.

Zhou Qing lay on the ground, shocked and angry, but mostly filled with an indescribable fear. The sense of powerlessness she felt just now was all too real.

Lin Chen released his grip, took a step back, and patted off non-existent dust from his hands.

"Zhou Wuchang, the ground is slippery, be careful."

His voice remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Zhou Qing struggled to his feet, his face alternating between pale and flushed. He looked at Lin Chen, then at Sun Cheng and the growing number of other soldiers in the barracks, and finally spat out a mouthful of muddy blood.

"Walk!"