Chapter 23: Military Merit

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In the mountain forest, Xu Panyue struggled to his feet, panic written across his face, his body trembling slightly. The spirited confidence he had shown at the beginning was gone without a trace.

Before a second-realm martial artist, he, a mere fourth-barrier fighter, was no more than an ant!

“Qin Jue, you did well this time!” Wu Mi said, looking at Qin Jue with satisfaction.

It turned out that when Wu Mi saw Qin Jue pursuing Xu Panyue, a fourth-barrier fighter, he had grown concerned for Qin Jue’s safety and quietly followed after them.

Along the way, he had witnessed Qin Jue’s transformations one after another and had been repeatedly astonished. His resolve to protect the young man had only grown firmer.

At first, he had assumed Qin Jue would eventually give up after failing to catch his opponent.

After all, Xu Panyue had learned martial techniques and was thoroughly familiar with the terrain here. Even Wu Mi himself had not been confident of catching him.

Unexpectedly, Xu Panyue was the one who grew anxious first. Instead of continuing to flee, he turned around and attacked Qin Jue.

That gave Wu Mi the opportunity to intervene.

Once a second-realm martial artist made a move, its force was as swift and thunderous as lightning.

Xu Panyue had not even had a chance to resist.

Hearing himself praised, Qin Jue said sheepishly, “Captain, I acted rashly!”

If he had not let his emotions get the better of him, he would never have found himself in such danger.

The main reason was that everything had gone too smoothly for him along the way, causing him to become somewhat overconfident.

“From now on, I must act with greater caution,” Qin Jue secretly resolved.

“Young men are bound to be hot-blooded. What is a little recklessness? I was even more impulsive than you when I was young!” Wu Mi said, a rare smile appearing on his face.

Then he looked toward Xu Panyue. “You are Xu Panyue?”

“Yes, sir!” Xu Panyue replied.

Before a second-realm martial artist, he did not dare show the slightest sign of defiance.

He had always been a man who understood which way the wind was blowing. Now that he had been captured, he naturally had nothing to say.

“Your guerrilla tactics are rather well learned.” Facing the true instigator of the affair, Wu Mi was not angry. Instead, he offered praise.

In this day and age, there were not many who understood tactics.

The man before him not only knew tactics, but had also learned martial techniques and possessed formidable strength. He was a rare talent.

If Wu Mi could recruit him, they would not only gain a fierce general for the army, but could also use him to win over the martial artists of the other small strongholds.

Detecting the recruiting intent in Wu Mi’s words, Xu Panyue immediately cupped his hands and said, “You flatter me, sir. I have long heard that Qingfeng is no ordinary mountain stronghold, and that the Grand General is a broad-minded and chivalrous man.”

“This time, I was blinded by greed and acted against you. I beg your forgiveness, sir.”

Qin Jue, standing nearby, frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He had not expected this man to possess no principles whatsoever. He truly could not understand how such a person had become the master of a stronghold.

Wu Mi nodded faintly. “The Grand General has always been magnanimous. If you can atone for your crimes by rendering meritorious service, I doubt he will pursue the matter.”

He intended to take advantage of the opportunity and have Xu Panyue recruit the martial artists of the other small strongholds.

Hearing this, Xu Panyue eagerly spoke up. “Sir, I do indeed have a plan that could allow me to atone through meritorious service.”

“Oh?” Wu Mi asked, a hint of expectation in his voice. “Let us hear it.”

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Xu Panyue drew a deep breath, then straightened his chest and said with great confidence, “If I were Black Mountain Stronghold, I would surely strike at the place you must defend, seek outside aid, and attack East River City while its defenses are depleted.”

“If we can respond in time, we can turn their own scheme against them!”

At these words, Wu Mi’s expression immediately darkened. “If you do not understand the situation, do not speak nonsense. East River City is as impregnable as a solid rock. How could it possibly be breached?”

Xu Panyue was rendered speechless and wisely fell silent.

Wu Mi did not continue the subject. Instead, he immediately took Xu Panyue to persuade the other martial artists.

Once they saw that even their commander had been captured, the remaining martial artists lost all desire to resist and surrendered one after another.

A small number of martial artists fled back to their strongholds.

However, after this battle, it would be difficult for those small strongholds to regain any influence.

Meanwhile, with no one left to interfere, the stronghold was finally conquered, resulting in a complete victory.

That evening, everyone decided to remain at the stronghold, which was called Yellow Leaf Stronghold, and rest for the night. Xu Panyue was also tasked with persuading the nearby small strongholds.

That night, after washing the blood from his body, Qin Jue sat on his bed and looked at his personal status panel.

[Name] Qin Jue
[Age] 16
[Realm] Flesh-and-Skin Realm, Tendon Tempering Barrier
[Attributes] Strength 5 [+], Constitution 8 [+], Agility 8 [+]
[Cultivation Art] Iron Bone Art III, Mastered
[Martial Techniques] None
[Skills] Archery, Mastered [+]; Swordsmanship, Perfected
[Victory Points] 27

A full day of slaughter had yielded a bountiful harvest!

Qin Jue’s gaze, however, remained fixed on the “Martial Techniques” section.

Today’s pursuit had allowed him to feel, for the first time so clearly, the difference between possessing a martial technique and possessing none.

If he could obtain even a single martial technique and then use his victory points to enhance it, his strength would surely soar!

Unfortunately, martial techniques were mostly controlled by the great clans and the imperial family, with only a tiny portion circulating beyond their reach.

Obtaining one was simply too difficult.

At that moment, Qin Jue suddenly recalled Wu Mi mentioning the rewards during their discussion of the upcoming military-camp competition.

He seemed to have said that one of the rewards for this competition would be a signature technique belonging to the commander of the Vanguard Camp.

That ought to be a martial technique, right?

Qin Jue’s heart trembled slightly. Even if it was not a martial technique, the signature ability of a camp commander would certainly be enough to transform his currently awkward and limited fighting style.

At that moment, he made a decision:

He would seize first place in the military-camp competition!

…

Deep in the mountains, at the Vanguard Camp’s main base, before a military tent.

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Wu Mi stood there, his expression anxious.

He had not remained at Yellow Leaf Stronghold that night. Instead, he had hurried here.

On the one hand, he had come to report the day’s results. On the other, there was another matter he needed to inform the commander about.

At that moment, the tent flap was lifted, and a captain emerged after finishing his report.

Wu Mi immediately entered.

“Commander, I have an important matter to report.” Seeing the tall figure illuminated by the candlelight, he stepped forward respectfully.

“Speak.” Vanguard Camp Commander Wang Zhong gazed at the bamboo slip before him, his tone calm.

Wu Mi then told him what Xu Panyue had mentioned that day.

“Commander, Black Mountain Stronghold has always been treacherous. We must take precautions!” Wu Mi bowed his head, a trace of urgency in his voice.

In truth, he had already believed Xu Panyue the moment the latter spoke those words during the day.

But the matter was of great importance, and he did not dare make a rash judgment. He could only come and report it to Wang Zhong.

“Very well. There is no need to worry. The military strategist has already made arrangements,” Wang Zhong said.

Only then did Wu Mi feel relieved. He immediately handed over the record of the day’s achievements.

Wang Zhong accepted the bamboo slip and unfolded it for a glance. Before long, one name caught his attention.

“Qin Jue?” he murmured hesitantly, looking up at Wu Mi. “He killed more than fifty enemies?”

According to the record on the bamboo slip, Qin Jue had fought in two consecutive battles and slain more than fifty martial artists in total!

One had to understand that such an achievement would generally belong only to a second-realm martial artist in the army.

Yet Qin Jue was merely a third-barrier fighter.

How had he managed it?

It was no wonder that even Wang Zhong could not help doubting the authenticity of the military merits.

Wu Mi replied respectfully, “Commander, it is absolutely true!”

Military merits could not be falsified.

First, there were dedicated battlefield supervisors. Second, every soldier who killed an enemy would cut off the enemy’s left ear as proof for recording military merit.

Moreover, the army imposed collective punishment for falsifying military achievements.

For example, if Qin Jue were discovered to have forged his military merits, not only would his entire squad be implicated, but Captain Wu Mi would also be punished.

Thus, hardly anyone would dare falsify military achievements.

Especially not Qin Jue, who was already under close observation.

Hearing Wu Mi’s assurance, Wang Zhong did not question the matter further. He merely said淡ly, “You are always praising this young man’s bravery. I truly would like to see him with my own eyes…”