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

Su Qingxue met his gaze quietly.

For the first time, a clear ripple appeared in those eyes, which were like an icy lake, beneath the light veil.

Not shock, not anger.

It's something deeper, more complex...

To explore.

And, a trace that is almost imperceptible...

dignified.

Lin Chen twitched the corners of his mouth, as if he wanted to laugh, but suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

His vision went black, and he finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed forward.

In the instant before his consciousness faded into darkness, he heard Zhao Tiegu and Li the Cripple roar like madmen, heard the deafening clamor of the crowd, and heard the Third Prince Lin Jing's emotionless voice from the wooden platform:

"That's... kind of interesting."

And Chen Hong's heavy breathing, which was suppressed to the extreme but still managed to let out a trace of exasperated exasperation.

Darkness completely engulfed him.

Dead silence.

On the drill ground, only the mournful sound of the cold wind whistling past the flagpole remained.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the center of the arena, on the rapidly withering corpse, and on the young man who lay sprawled on the frozen ground, his fate unknown.

Three or four breaths passed.

"Medical officer! Quickly!" Zhang Heng was the first to react, standing up abruptly and shouting sternly.

Several military medical officers then seemed to wake from a dream, carrying their medicine kits, and stumbled onto the stage.

One of them checked Xie Qi's breathing and then felt his pulse, shaking his head with a pale face: "Dead...dead."

The other person quickly helped Lin Chen up. His face was bluish-black, his lips were cyanotic, and his breathing was weak and rapid. His chest, shoulders, arms, and legs were covered with black, rolled-up wounds. His left arm was swollen and shiny, and there seemed to be black energy wriggling under his skin.

"The poisoning is severe! Quickly! Take him away!"

Several soldiers rushed forward, lifted Lin Chen onto a makeshift stretcher, and ran quickly towards the medical camp. Zhao Tiegu and Li the Cripple, their eyes red, followed closely behind.

The tense atmosphere on the training ground only exploded after Lin Chen was carried away!

"My goodness! What...what just happened?"

"How did the scorpion... turn into a dried-up corpse?"

"What sword technique did Lin Chen use in the end? A flash of blood, and he was gone!"

"This is bizarre! Absolutely bizarre!"

"Who cares if it's weird or not, we won! Give our scout battalion commander some face!"

The buzzing of discussions, gasps of shock, and cheers mingled together, creating a deafening uproar.

On the wooden platform.

The Third Prince, Lin Jing, slowly sat up straight, having put down the hand warmer he was holding at some point.

He looked at the dried corpse on the arena, then glanced in the direction Lin Chen was carried away. The calm and indifferent facade on his face faded, revealing a genuine scrutiny and... a hint of interest beneath.

"Absorbing life force and turning it for one's own use?" he muttered to himself, his fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest. "I've never heard of such a technique before. General Liu, are there any records of this kind of skill in the Northern Army?"

Liu Zhenshan frowned and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, the martial arts in the army all follow the righteous path of force and strength, using qi and blood to strengthen oneself. This kind of... technique of plundering the life force of others, I have only heard of in some forbidden and evil tales. Seventh Prince... this, this Lin Chen, he has probably had some extraordinary encounter..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already very clear.

It seems that Liu Zhenshan doesn't want to say much about matters within the imperial palace.

In his eyes, there was no Seventh Prince in this city, only the disgraced official Lin Chen!

Lin Jing nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. His gaze then turned to the old eunuch beside him.

The old eunuch still half-closed his eyes, his voice high-pitched and flat: "To this humble servant, it doesn't seem like a cultivation technique. It's more like... the mystical power inherent in that thing he carries."

"Things?" Lin Jing raised an eyebrow.

The old eunuch said no more, lowered his eyelids, and resumed his half-asleep appearance.

Chen Hong stood in the officers' section below the stage, his face ashen, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

waste!

Xie Qi, that good-for-nothing! A master of poisons at the eighth level of the Day After Tomorrow realm, he was actually killed by a kid who was already deeply poisoned and half-dead!

And that bizarre blood-sucking aging... Lin Chen really does have a big secret! The jade that Fairy Su wants is definitely on him!

He guiltily raised his eyes and stole glances at the side of the wooden platform.

Su Qingxue remained standing there.

The cold wind blew her moon-white cloak and veil, making her figure appear even more frail and lonely.

She lowered her eyes slightly, looking at the dried corpse being dragged away on the arena, and then at the pool of dark red blood on the ground that had not yet frozen.

a long time.

She gently raised her hand, her slender, jade-like fingertips seemingly brushing lightly across the area below her collarbone through the veil.

The probing and solemn look deep in her eyes slowly settled and froze back into a frozen lake, but beneath the surface, it seemed that a deeper undercurrent was surging.

"As expected... it's you." She murmured to herself in a barely audible voice, which was swallowed by the wind.

"However, let's see if you can get through this!"

Immediately, Su Qingxue turned around and bowed slightly to the Third Prince Lin Jing: "Your Highness, the battle is over. The bloodshed here may disturb your enjoyment. I am feeling unwell and will take my leave now."

Lin Jing glanced at her and smiled gently: "Fairy Su, you've worked hard, please go and rest."

Su Qingxue said no more, nodded slightly to Liu Zhenshan and the others, and then walked gracefully down the wooden platform with two maids.

A figure in white robes moved gracefully through the bustling crowd. Wherever he went, the soldiers involuntarily held their breath and made way for him, but dared not look him directly in the eye.

Throughout the entire ordeal, she never once looked in the direction Lin Chen was carried away.

It was as if the person who had just won a hard-fought victory and was on the verge of death was truly just dust.

Watching her departing figure, Zhang Heng's expression shifted, finally settling into a cold snort. He strode down from the wooden platform and shouted at the still-stunned soldiers, "What are you standing there for? Clear the area! The martial arts exercise continues!"

The chaos on the training ground gradually subsided.

However, discussions about Lin Chen's bizarre slash and Xie Qi's mysterious transformation into a dried-up corpse spread like wildfire throughout this desolate border region.

Medical tents.

The strong smell of medicine was mixed with the stench of blood.

Lin Chen was laid flat on a hard bed, his face dark and his breath faint.

An old physician was using silver needles to seal several major acupoints near his heart meridian to slow the spread of toxins to his heart.

Another physician carefully used a sharp knife to cut open the swollen, blackened wound on his left arm and squeeze out foul-smelling, black blood.

"The bone-corroding poison... has penetrated deep into the body." The old physician shook his head, sweat beading on his forehead. "Ordinary antidotes probably won't be enough to suppress it. Unless there's a high-grade antidote like the 'Heart-Clearing Pill,' or a master with profound internal energy forcibly expelling the poison with pure Yang internal force..."

Zhao Tiegu's eyes were bloodshot as he urgently asked, "Where can I find a Mind-Clearing Pill?"

"Within the pass... it's probably hard to find." The old physician smiled bitterly. "This pill is precious; only large pharmacies in the capital or a few sects have it."

Li the Cripple slammed his fist on a tent pillar: "Are we just going to stand by and watch...?"

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly flung open.

Zhang Heng walked in with a sullen face, holding a palm-sized jade box in his hand.

"Use this." He tossed the jade box to the old physician.

The old physician opened it and found three pale blue pills, each the size of a longan, emitting a refreshing herbal fragrance.

"This is... Qingxin Powder? Although it's not Qingxin Pill, it's still an excellent antidote!" The old physician exclaimed in delight.

"Can you temporarily suppress the poison?" Zhang Heng asked.