My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

"you--"

Lin Yingying's pupils shrank sharply, and before she could speak, Lu Ming's figure flickered and disappeared.

Closely following behind were sharp claws shrouded in a foul stench and blood.

"ah--!"

Lin Yingying hastily used the final move of the Plum Blossom Hand, causing a shower of petals to fall.

With arms crossed and raised, palm shadows scattered like falling flowers.

However, the Plum Blossom Hand is known for its agile movements, and directly confronting the mountain demon's attacks would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"Click—"

A crisp sound, clear yet muffled.

The mandrill's claws slammed down, twisting Lin Yingying's hands and slender neck into bizarre angles.

Before the smugness on her face had faded, her pupils dilated.

He collapsed limply to the ground, landing on the gravel.

At that very moment, Lu Ming reappeared behind the mountain demon.

He squatted slightly, arched his back, and poured all his blood and energy into his palms, like a green ox pushing against a mountain.

"boom--!"

The blow landed squarely on the same spot on the mandrill's back.

Having been struck repeatedly in the same spot, and compounded by the injuries sustained by the others in their desperate struggle, the mandrill's back suddenly collapsed, and it spat out mouthfuls of green blood.

It turned halfway around, its blood-red eyes fixed on Lu Ming, and let out a low whimper.

It gave Lu Ming a deep look, then leaped onto the pile of rocks by the roadside and jumped into the depths of the dense forest in the mountains.

There is also conflict among demons.

If it suffers severe injuries here, its survival in the wilderness will become increasingly difficult.

Compared to hunting down a human, survival is the most important thing.

Lu Ming stared intently at the other person until he was sure they were gone, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

His body went limp, his knees buckled, and he almost fell to the ground.

"Lu Ming—"

At this moment, Fan Wu finally ran over, panting heavily.

His face flushed red, and he staggered as he grabbed Lu Ming's arm, letting him lean against him.

"You...you deliberately betrayed and killed your comrade?"

Zhang Yuquan struggled to his feet, his face covered in blood, and roared at Lu Ming.

Lu Ming turned around abruptly, his eyes cold and sharp.

Zhang Yuquan was startled and stumbled back several steps, crashing into the tree trunk behind him. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he could only stubbornly hold on and stare at Lu Ming.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Ming's voice was icy. "Should we report today's events to the centurion and have us stand off in the army?"

His gaze slowly swept over the people on the ground, and everyone involuntarily looked away.

Finally, his gaze settled on Wang Chengbao, the squad leader.

Wang Chengbao lay under the tree, his eyes flickering, before finally turning his head away and looking elsewhere without uttering a sound.

Everyone here is a cunning fox, and they all know exactly what they're up to. How could the high command in the military not understand?

Unless it's a clear case of desertion or blatant assault, this kind of "poor coordination" is impossible to explain away.

Lu Ming indifferently withdrew his gaze and, supported by Fan Wu, turned and left.

……

Tiger Roaring Peak at night.

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the rugged rocks and sparse bushes.

Alone, Lu Ming bypassed the daytime patrol route and quietly climbed halfway up the mountain along the mountain path.

Using both hands and feet, he parted the waist-high weeds and finally found a broken stone tablet under a clump of wild thorns.

The surface of the monument is covered with moss and cracks, and the inscriptions on it are so blurred that they are almost illegible.

He crouched down, took out a brocade pouch tied with a special knot from his bosom, and carefully placed it under the stone tablet.

He then took out an incense stick from his pocket and lit it with the tinder he carried with him.

Wisps of smoke rose, tinged with a faint purple hue under the moonlight.

After doing all this, he stood up and turned to leave.

However, just as he turned around, a glance out of the corner of his eye swept across the summit of Tiger Roar Peak—

Under the moonlight, a black dot appeared silently on the rocks at the summit.

The black dot suddenly spread its wings in the moonlight, its wingspan almost obscuring half the sky.

Immediately, the enormous black shadow swooped down.

"call--!"

A strong wind howled.

Lu Ming was swept up by the shockwave and lifted into the air, falling helplessly off the cliff.

"Damn it!"

His expression changed drastically as the wind-blade-like energy tore several bloody gashes across his body.

He twisted his body in mid-air with all his might, shifting his center of gravity by half an inch as he fell, and finally grabbed a short pine tree that was sticking out diagonally from the side of the cliff.

The tree trunk suddenly sank, barely supporting his weight.

He hung in mid-air, gritting his teeth as he looked up.

A dark shadow hovered above the stone tablet, its wings slowly flapping; it was a giant eagle with a wingspan of over three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Its feathers were as black as ink, its head was lowered, and its golden pupils were looking down at him.

A chill ran through Lu Ming's heart as the threat of death loomed over him.

"Demons? What is Liu Zhiyuan planning? To collude with demons? Or... to collude with the Taiping Dao?"

Countless thoughts surged through his mind.

After a while, the giant eagle finally withdrew its gaze, lowered its head, and looked at the brocade pouch.

It stared at the brocade pouch for a long time, its pupils slightly contracting.

It then lowered its head, picked up the brocade pouch with its hook-like beak, flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind, and flew off in the northwest.

"This beast... has intelligence?"

Lu Ming hung in mid-air, his face extremely pale.

A chill suddenly rose: what would have happened if he had opened that brocade pouch earlier?

Throughout his entire journey, his life and death were entirely dependent on the attitude of a beast.

Nobody cared about his life.

In this game of chess, he is a piece that can be used at any time, and also discarded at any time.

A great sadness welled up in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it.

"No. This can't go on any longer. I have to find a way to survive."

He took a deep breath, swayed his body, and stepped onto a protruding rock. He then climbed down the cliff face step by step.

……

The next morning.

Patrol Tiger Camp, Centurion's Camp.

The tent was dimly lit, with a few rays of morning light squeezing through the gaps in the curtains and illuminating the map spread out on the table and the tilted wine cup.

Shi Lei sat upright behind the large table, his thick eyebrows suddenly furrowing.

The scar on his left cheek twisted slightly with the twitching of his eyebrow, like a centipede wriggling under his skin.

"You mean, you want to be transferred to the Tiger Feeding Camp to become a brewer?"

Lu Ming bowed and clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice steady:

"Reporting to the centurion, I have noticed that the Tiger Feeding Battalion has been recruiting soldiers with auxiliary skills such as alchemists and brewers. I humbly request the centurion's permission to transfer to the brewery."

Upon hearing this, Shi Lei slightly tilted his tiger-like eyes and let out a cold laugh:

"Their tiger-feeding camp is short-staffed, but my tiger-patrol camp isn't?"

He leaned back, his back creaking as he pressed against the chair back.

"Brewing is a craft. You, a mere martial arts student, know nothing about brewing? So many people in the camp are eyeing that little bit of profit from the distillery; do you think you'd get a chance?"

Lu Ming's heart sank slightly.

The centurion's attitude clearly indicated that he was not planning to release the man easily.

The brewery and the alchemy workshop were notoriously lucrative positions in the military camp—safe, easy, and full of perks. Countless people would do anything to pull strings to get in.

If it weren't for the strict control exerted by Chen Xuan, the centurion of the Tiger-Feeding Camp, the place would probably have been filled with people with connections long ago.

"Your inspection of the underworld yesterday resulted in two deaths and four injuries—"

Shi Lei's tone suddenly changed, and his gaze turned cold:

"I haven't even questioned you yet, and you're already thinking about transferring?"

The warning in those words was unmistakable.

Lu Ming remained calm, but he understood perfectly.

Deaths and injuries are inevitable during inspections, and everyone knows that the blame cannot be placed on him; it's just that Shi Lei is using this opportunity to exert pressure.

He stepped forward a few paces, took out the last six gold leaves from his pocket, placed them on the corner of the table, then stepped back and bowed.

"Please grant my permission, Your Excellency."

Shi Lei stretched out his finger, picked up a gold leaf, and looked at it against the light.

He smiled slightly, twirled the leaf between his fingers, and his expression finally relaxed a little.

"Of course, it's not that we can't discuss it."

He put the gold leaf down, looked up at Lu Ming, his eyes filled with greed:

"I heard you displayed extraordinary prowess yesterday, your mastery of Spiritual Scripture-level martial arts prowess making you invincible, and you fiercely repelled that mountain demon. I wonder... if I could borrow it for a look?"

He stared intently at Lu Ming, his covetousness undisguised.

Lu Ming frowned slightly.

He knew without even thinking that the news must have been spread by Wang Chengbao and his group.

These people wanted to make his martial arts skills public, which attracted the covetousness of various parties.

Spiritual-level martial arts are extremely precious, especially in a place like a military camp where the strong prey on the weak. Once this opening is made, those around will swarm in and devour it completely.

He spoke calmly:

"You jest, sir. It's nothing but a second-rate martial art; how could it deserve the title of a sacred text?"

The smile on Shi Lei's face suddenly froze.

He suddenly waved his hand, sweeping the gold leaf from the corner of the table to the ground.

"You're asking for it... Get lost!"

Lu Ming lowered his eyes, bent down to pick up the gold leaf on the ground, slowly stood up, and left the tent.

As the tent flap fell, a low, cold laugh came from behind:

"Hmph. You want to go to the tiger-feeding camp? I'll make sure you die in the tiger-patrol camp."