Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

"Hey, you've got quite the appetite, haven't you! You've only just broken through to the peak of the seventh rank, and you're already thinking about going up to the sixth rank!"

"Everyone should have dreams!"

"That makes sense, then let me explain it to you."

Li Tiezhu sat down against the wall.

"From the seventh to the ninth rank, you train your body—skin, flesh, tendons, bones, qi, and blood. To put it bluntly, it's about constantly pushing your body's potential to its limits."

"Reaching the peak of the seventh rank means you've pushed your body to its limit. Beyond that, you can't just focus on training your body anymore."

"Starting from the sixth rank, a martial artist can cultivate true qi within their body."

"If used properly, true energy can be attached to a weapon, allowing you to injure demons even from several steps away."

"It can also form a protective layer around the body, which is a completely different thing from simply relying on the body to withstand the attack."

Qin Lie listened attentively. He had originally thought that everyone was practicing body cultivation, but he didn't expect that those above the seventh rank would start practicing Qi cultivation.

"What does the first grade look like?"

Li Tiezhu glanced at him.

"I just said you had a big appetite, and now I see you for who you really are—your appetite is terrifyingly big!"

"Only at the peak of the seventh rank, and already eyeing the first rank."

"I just want to know if our general is a first-rank master?"

Li Tiezhu followed his gaze to the city wall, where Pei Jinghan was still standing.

In the past two days, whenever a powerful demon broke through his formation that his soldiers couldn't handle, he would definitely take action.

Li Tiezhu lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of awe even to a peak sixth-rank expert like himself.

"Rank 9 to Rank 7 is called the three realms of body refinement, Rank 6 to Rank 4 is called the three realms of qi refinement, and Rank 3 to Rank 1 is called the three realms of grandmaster."

"Someone like me who has reached the peak of the sixth rank is already considered to have some ability, but in front of General Pei, I am not even qualified to carry his shoes."

"As for the first rank..."

"That's not something people like us should be thinking about. A man like General Pei, just by standing on the city wall, can ensure that the morale of the entire Duanfeng Camp remains high. That's what a first-class soldier is!"

Qin Lie watched Pei Jinghan's retreating figure and didn't press the matter further.

Asking Li Tiezhu, a peak sixth-rank cultivator, to describe the power of a first-rank cultivator to him is indeed a bit of a stretch.

It would be great if I could meet Pei Jinghan in person and ask him, but Qin Lie is clearly not qualified right now.

In the time that followed, Qin Lie's cultivation level did not improve at all.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that his basic body refinement had reached its limit, and he needed a qi cultivation technique to advance further.

Without cultivation techniques, having attribute points is useless.

You can exchange them in the family business value system, but you don't have enough family business value.

It seems that once we get back, we'll definitely have to bring Liu Yunniang and the others over.

Fortunately, the three dimensions haven't been maxed out yet, so the free attribute points are still useful.

On the third day, he pushed his physique to the limit that the peak of the seventh rank could withstand.

That day, the demon race attacked the city walls five times, and Qin Lie fought from morning until nightfall.

After his physical condition improved, he felt that his stamina became more endurance.

Before, I could only type for a maximum of one hour at a time before my hands started to shake.

Now, if he's given a little breathing space, he can get back up and fight again.

On the fourth day, he pushed his agility to its limit.

When the monster pounced, he could clearly see its movements.

The moment the lowly monster scaled the city wall, his blade had already slashed at it.

Those demons in the mid-to-late stages of the Lesser Demon Realm who wanted to launch a surprise attack on him could quickly change their forms.

On the fifth day, he pushed his mental limits.

After that day, Qin Lie felt that his Qi Observation Technique was clearer than before.

The aura of the demon race outside the city walls was mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish them before. Now, he could tell from the chaos which areas were stronger and which were more chaotic.

This allowed him to avoid danger several times in advance and also helped the War Wind Battalion thwart several sneak attacks.

When the demons temporarily retreated on the fifth night, Qin Lie opened the panel again.

[Realm Level: Peak of Seventh Rank]

[Technique: Basic Body Refining Technique - Ultimate]

【attribute】

[Physical Fitness: 150]

[Agility: 150]

【Spirit: 150】

Free attribute points: 6.4

Looking at this panel, Qin Lie finally felt a little more at ease.

Although he is still at the peak of the seventh rank, he can be said to be the strongest peak of the seventh rank now.

The basic body-refining technique has reached its limit, and all three attributes have been pushed to the highest limit that can be tolerated at present.

If you really want to advance further, you need to acquire a qi cultivation technique.

But now he is in the Broken Wind Gorge a hundred years ago, and it is uncertain whether he can get out alive.

As for the Qi cultivation method, we can only put it aside for now and talk about it later.

Just as Qin Lie was about to lean against the wall to rest for a while, a messenger came over.

Having spent five days on the city wall, Qin Lie had become quite familiar with the uniforms worn by the various soldiers.

The messenger was covered in blood and looked tired, but he still stood up straight when he walked up to Qin Lie.

"Are you Qin Lie?"

"I am!"

"General Pei wants to see you!"

Qin Lie was stunned after hearing this.

"Come with me now, General Pei is waiting!"

Before Qin Lie could speak, Li Tiezhu next to him started laughing, his smile carrying a hint of amusement.

"Well done, kid! I've been at Duanfeng Camp for so long, and I've never been received by General Pei alone."

Qin Lie stood up and looked down at his tattered armor.

"Is it inappropriate for me to go see the general looking like this?"

Li Tiezhu waved his hand casually, looking quite like a sixth-rank peak expert with a carefree attitude.

"Come on, give me that! We roughnecks don't listen to that. The way you're doing it will just highlight your achievements these past few days, and the general will be even happier!"

Qin Lie nodded and followed the messenger up to the city wall.

The closer he got to the city wall, the more uneasy he felt.

Why does Pei Jinghan want to see him?

Is it because he's killed a lot of demons these past few days?

Or was it because his cultivation level improved too quickly, attracting the other party's attention?

In fact, Qin Lie himself knew that he had only just entered the eighth rank on the first day he arrived, but he reached the peak of the seventh rank on the second day.

Although his cultivation level didn't change in the next three days, his physical fitness improved rapidly, which would be abnormal for anyone.

Pei Jinghan was a first-rank expert; there was no way he couldn't see anything.

By the time Qin Lie followed the messenger up the city wall, it was already completely dark.

Qin Lie looked up at the city gate tower, where Pei Jinghan was standing.

His black armor was torn in several places, and there was a bloodstain on his shoulder that hadn't been cleaned properly.

The ferocity of this war far exceeded Qin Lie's expectations; even a master like Pei Jinghan was injured.

The messenger brought Qin Lie there and then left.

Soon, only Qin Lie and Pei Jinghan remained on the city wall.

Qin Lie stood still, without taking the initiative to speak.

He knew very well that Pei Jinghan must have a purpose in suddenly wanting to see him.

After a while, Pei Jinghan turned around and looked at Qin Lie.

"Your name is Qin Lie, right?"

"Greetings, General Pei!"

Pei Jinghan waved his hand, indicating that Qin Lie did not need to bow.

"I called you here today because there are a few things I need to clarify with you."

"I've seen everything you've done these past few days. You've saved many people in the Broken Wind Camp and made many contributions, that's true. But I also see your problems clearly."

"Whether it's the people from the Broken Wind Camp or the people from nearby villages and towns, I've seen quite a few, including martial artists, fishermen, woodcutters, and hunters. Their aura is all connected to the state of this world."

"You are different from them; your aura doesn't belong here."

Qin Lie's heart skipped a beat after hearing Pei Jinghan's words.

That's so blunt, he can't even pretend to be stupid anymore.

"General Pei, I can't explain my background either, but you've seen my actions these past few days. I haven't done anything to betray the Duanfeng Camp, nor do I have any thoughts of betraying them."

Qin Lie was also very straightforward; he knew that Pei Jinghan was not someone who would fall for empty promises.

At this point, there's no point in arguing about this or that; he just needs to clarify the key point: his sword has always been aimed at the demon race.

"So you're still standing here. I know you have a problem, but everything is under control right now. The Broken Wind Camp is currently lacking in combat power. Since you can hold off the demons on the city wall, I'll consider you a member of the Broken Wind Camp."

"Once this battle is over, I can investigate where you came from and what your identity is."

Qin Lie breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Pei Jinghan's words.

Because Pei Jinghan didn't say he completely trusted him, nor did he pretend to be magnanimous; instead, he told him the most truthful situation at present.

"There's another very important thing I wanted to discuss with you today."

After hearing this, Qin Lie knew that what followed was probably the real reason why Pei Jinghan had called him up.

"Qin Lie, I've been having the same dream for the past few days. Every time I close my eyes for a moment, I dream that the pass of Duanfeng Gorge has been destroyed."

"The pass in my dream had no city walls, no war drums, and no Broken Wind Camp soldiers. I felt like I was nailed here by something, my whole body was filled with demonic energy, and someone kept calling my name in my ears, but I couldn't hear it clearly."

Upon hearing this, alarm bells rang in Qin Lie's mind.

The pass was dilapidated, nailed down, and filled with demonic energy.

As soon as these words came out, he immediately thought of the main hall in the old pass of Duanfeng Gorge a hundred years later, and also of the seal that Old Zhao had mentioned.

However, Qin Lie did not respond immediately, fearing that if he reacted too strongly, Pei Jinghan would notice something.

"To be honest, I've never really believed in this kind of thing. I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what dreams really mean. But at my level, I wouldn't have the same dream for several days in a row for no reason."

"Moreover, every time I wake up from a dream, I can feel that the qi and blood in my body are disordered."

Qin Lie was now somewhat confused.

It's likely that Pei Jinghan didn't foresee what would happen a hundred years from now, but rather that after reaching their level, they had a premonition of what was about to happen.

"General, do you think this dream is related to me?"