The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 7: Acting Decisively

Several figures appeared on Zhou Tianci’s path and blocked his way. Zhou Tianci stopped in his tracks and looked at them calmly. There were five of them in total. From the patterns on their armor, Zhou Tianci deduced that they belonged to the Storm Legion. Under the military system of the Great State of Yu, the Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern, and Central Armies constituted the five most elite legions. Among them, the Western Legion—due to its garrison at the City of Tears and Blood—was also known as the Northwest Legion. Aside from the Central Legion, which garrisoned the capital, Yan City, with 500,000 troops, each of the other four legions numbered 200,000. These four legions were commanded by the Four Conquering Generals, who reported directly to the King. Below the Four Directional Legions were several elite regiments, such as the Blood Battle Legion under the Northwest Legion. Such regiments typically consisted of 5,000 men and were generally led by Generals of Miscellaneous Ranks—for example, Huang Jue, who commanded the Shattering Blade Regiment, held the title of Guerrilla General. The previous commander of the Blood Battle Legion, Mo Yunjie, was similarly ranked; his title was General of the Valiant Cavalry. From his memories, Zhou Tianci learned that the Northwest Legion comprised a total of 36 elite legions. Each legion had its own distinctive banner and cultivation techniques; while the legions were not subordinate to one another, they all fell under the authority of the General of the Western Campaign. The Storm Legion was one of them. “What’s the matter, Zhou Shi? Don’t you recognize me anymore?” While Zhou Tianci was silent, a man approached him with a defiant expression. Zhou Tianci looked him over and finally remembered: “So it’s you. What’s up? Has your leg healed?” “Captain Zhou, you’re pretty cocky—attacking my men without a word.” A burly man stepped forward, and the man standing in front of Zhou Tianci immediately stepped aside. “Who are you?” Zhou Tianci asked coolly. The burly man grinned. “I’m Zhang Han, squad leader of the Storm Legion. The man you hit, Xu Erdan, is one of my men.” “Oh?” Zhang Han said, “I’ve stopped you today to demand an explanation on behalf of my men. No matter what, my men—Zhang Han’s men—can’t just be beaten up like that.” “What kind of explanation do you want?” Zhou Tianci asked. A hint of smugness flashed in Zhang Han’s eyes; he thought Zhou Tianci was backing down. “It’s simple. I’m a man who values fairness above all else. As the saying goes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You broke Xu Erdan’s leg back then; now let him break yours in return. From then on, we’ll be even, and our grievances will be settled,” Zhang Han said loudly. Before long, a crowd gathered—people from various legions. As they watched the clash between Zhou Tianci and Zhang Han, the onlookers’ eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if they were watching a show. In this world where brute force reigns supreme, brawls in the barracks were a common occurrence; as long as no one died, the generals wouldn’t lift a finger to intervene. Zhou Tianci remained as composed as ever. He looked at Zhang Han and said, “It’s been three months since I broke Xu Erdan’s leg. You haven’t come looking for me all this time—you’ve only shown up today. I suppose you heard the news about the Blood Battle Legion falling into an ambush, didn’t you?” No sooner had Zhou Tianci finished speaking than a chorus of mocking laughter erupted around them. No one was a fool; everyone understood Zhang Han’s true intent. He was using the pretext of avenging his subordinate to try to humiliate Zhou Tianci. The bystanders’ mockery infuriated Zhang Han; he truly had no intention of avenging Xu Erdan. Zhang Han himself had a personal grudge against a certain captain in the Blood Battle Legion, but since the man’s cultivation level and rank were both higher than his own, Zhang Han was powerless to act. Now that he’d heard the Blood Battle Legion had fallen into an ambush and only one man had escaped, he decided to teach Zhou Tianci a lesson—to vent his own frustration while simultaneously making a name for himself. “I’ve been busy lately and didn’t have time… Enough small talk. You’d better let me break your legs without a fight, or I can’t guarantee how many more bones I’ll break on you,” Zhang Han said menacingly, as the four men behind him seamlessly surrounded Zhou Tianci. “That kid from the Blood Battle Legion’s in for a rough time,” someone nearby chuckled. “Five against one—the Storm Legion is trying to take advantage of the numbers. Even if they win, it won’t be honorable.” “Who cares about honor? Winning is all that matters. It’s just Zhou Shi’s bad luck. Usually, fights in the barracks are one-on-one. If anyone tries to gang up on someone, the losing side will definitely retaliate in the same way, which would escalate the conflict and surely draw the generals’ attention. Now, though, the Blood Battle Legion is down to just this one man. The Storm Legion can beat him up all they want—no one’s going to stick up for him.” “So you think you’ve got me beat?” Zhou Tianci said. Zhang Han burst out laughing. “That’s right—I’ve got you right where I want you. The Blood Battle Legion is finished. You’re just a squad leader—at best, you’re at the mid-Post-Heaven realm. What can you possibly do?” Zhou Tianci sighed inwardly. As a newcomer, he’d originally intended to keep a low profile, but circumstances had forced his hand, and now he had no choice but to take action. At his core, Zhou Tianci wasn’t one to shy away from a fight. The profession of “Cosmic Explorer” was akin to that of a sailor in the Age of Discovery or an extreme sports enthusiast in peacetime—both were people with a strong spirit of adventure. As someone in this line of work, Zhou Tianci was certainly no gentle scholar! “All right, then…” Before Zhou Tianci could even finish the word “then,” his entire body transformed into a gale, sweeping toward Zhang Han. Zhou Tianci could see clearly that among the five people surrounding him, only Zhang Han was at the mid-Post-Heaven cultivation level; the other four were all at the early Post-Heaven “Tendon Refining” realm. Zhou Tianci’s move was so sudden that nearly everyone present had assumed he was about to back down to Zhang Han—yet he did the exact opposite, striking first. His attack was so sudden and swift that not only the onlookers but even Zhang Han himself didn’t have time to react. “How dare you strike first?” Zhang Han cried out in shock. Unfortunately, before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Tianci’s fists had already struck. With a dull “thud,” Zhang Han was sent flying. Having landed the first blow, Zhou Tianci didn’t let up. He lunged forward, swiftly grabbed Zhang Han’s left leg, and slammed him to the ground. At the same time, he kicked Zhang Han in the waist with his right foot, the full force of the blow shaking Zhang Han’s kidneys. His sequence of moves was incredibly decisive; by the time everyone realized what was happening, Zhang Han was already coughing up blood and lying unconscious on the ground. “Whoa!” A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd as they looked at the unconscious Zhang Han; everyone was stunned by Zhou Tianci’s ruthlessness. Zhou Tianci didn’t stop there. He pushed off with both feet, launching himself like an arrow from a bow toward Xu Erdan, leaving two pits about one chi deep in the ground behind him. Seeing Zhou Tianci charging at him, Xu Erdan was terrified out of his wits. He’d come to pick a fight with Zhou Tianci relying entirely on Zhang Han, but now that Zhang Han was in a critical condition after just a few moves from Zhou Tianci, how could he not be afraid? Zhou Tianci showed no mercy toward Xu Erdan either. Since Xu Erdan had started this whole mess, how could Zhou Tianci possibly let him off the hook? While Xu Erdan was still reeling from the shock, Zhou Tianci grabbed his right arm and gave it a gentle twist, causing him to let out a agonized howl. But it didn’t end there. Zhou Tianci then snapped Xu Erdan’s left arm, followed by a sweeping kick with his right leg that shattered both of Xu Erdan’s legs. With his late-stage Post-Heaven cultivation, Xu Erdan was completely powerless to fight back! In the blink of an eye, Zhou Tianci had already crippled two men! The remaining three Storm Legion soldiers finally snapped out of it. Seeing their comrades in a life-or-death situation, their first instinct was to flee. Unfortunately, the three were no match for Zhou Tianci’s speed. After running only a few steps, Zhou Tianci grabbed them by the back of the neck, slammed them to the ground, and then crippled their legs. From Zhou Tianci’s surprise attack to the end of the fight, the entire process took no more than half a minute! “If others do not provoke me, I will not provoke them; but if they do provoke me, I will show no mercy!” Zhou Tianci surveyed his surroundings, gazing coldly at those who had once gossiped about and mocked him. Wherever his gaze fell, people scrambled to avoid his eyes, terrified of catching his attention. Seeing this, Zhou Tianci smiled haughtily and returned with his food. “Whoa!” After Zhou Tianci left, the crowd erupted in a frenzy. “Was that really Zhou Shi from the Blood Battle Legion? When did he become so formidable?” exclaimed someone who recognized Zhou Tianci’s original body. “Such masterful skills, such a decisive strike, such ruthless tactics!” a squad leader from the Mad Wolf Legion said, shaking his head and sighing as he looked at the five men lying on the ground. “Is this man really a squad leader from the Blood Battle Legion? I don’t think his cultivation level is merely at the mid-Postnatal stage—he’s likely reached the late Postnatal stage, or even the peak of the Postnatal stage. Someone like that would be more than qualified to serve as a captain in our legion!” another person remarked in admiration. “It seems the Blood Battle Legion’s fire hasn’t died out yet…” As Zhou Tianci walked, he reflected on the battle that had just taken place. Deep down, he didn’t consider his combat prowess to be particularly strong—after all, he had been in the cultivation world for less than two days. “My easy victory just now was mainly due to the element of surprise and my cultivation level. I haven’t fully integrated Zhou Shi’s memories yet, so I’m still unable to unleash some of his most devastating techniques. If I hadn’t taken out Zhang Han immediately, I might very well have been the one to fall in the end! It seems that in both my past and present lives, striking first is the key to victory!” “Now that I’ve broken through in cultivation, once I fully integrate Zhou Shi’s memories, my combat power will skyrocket, and I’m sure my influence will grow as well. However, here, the ‘Post-Heaven’ cultivation level is clearly insufficient. Only if I can break through to the ‘Pre-Heaven’ realm will I have the ability to take control of my own destiny. But the ‘Pre-Heaven’ realm…” Zhou Tianci let out a soft sigh. He now dreamed of breaking through to the Innate realm, but how easy was that to achieve? Setting aside other factors, just within the Northwest Legion alone, there were over a hundred thousand Post-Heaven martial artists, yet those at the Innate level numbered only a mere few dozen. “Come to think of it, don’t I still have that devouring ability?” A sudden flash of insight struck Zhou Tianci as he recalled the strange devouring ability he’d used last night during his battle with the pack of hyenas. At the time, Zhou Tianci had been nearly exhausted, but after devouring several short-tailed hyenas, his strength had quickly returned. “Devouring just a few dozen short-tailed hyenas allowed me to break through from the mid-Post-Heaven realm to the late Post-Heaven realm. What if I devoured even more ferocious beasts?” Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but wonder. This world wasn’t limited to ferocious beasts; it also contained demon beasts comparable to those of the Innate realm. What if he could devour a demon beast? “That’s what I’ll do!” Determined to save his own life, Zhou Tianci made up his mind.