This time, three spears came thrusting at him all at once.
Chen Sanshi's body twisted like a ghost. In an instant, he was no longer on the saddle. One hand gripped the horse's saddle tightly while his whole body swung to the side, hanging completely off the horse's flank as he narrowly dodged the attack.
Before the enemies could retract their spears, he twisted his waist and sprang back up onto the saddle like a coiled spring. His arm shot out, trapping all three wooden spear shafts under his arm. The muscles on his arms bulged, veins coiling like dragons. With the Blood of the Dragon and Elephant and the Nine Dragons Tempering the Tendons, he unleashed explosive power—snapping all three shafts with a sharp crack.
"Huuh—!"
A whistling cut sliced through the air from behind him.
From the sound alone, Chen Sanshi could tell that the attacker was clever—knowing he was too agile to hit, the man had chosen to strike at the White Swan horse instead.
"Move!"
Chen Sanshi leapt high into the air. While midair, he thrust his spear downward, impaling a disarmed spearman straight through the chest, lifting him into the air. He landed on the dead man's horse, using the corpse as a weapon, flinging it backward into the enemy ranks.
Freed of his weight, the White Swan horse instantly burst forward with a surge of speed, narrowly dodging the incoming blade behind them.
Hearts as one!
Only now, in real battle, did Chen Sanshi truly grasp just how important that phrase was.
He flipped back onto the White Swan horse, thrusting his spear again and again. Within seconds, three more riders fell dead beneath his strikes as he broke through the encirclement once more.
Barely ten seconds had passed—already six or seven cavalrymen were dead.
"My lord!"
The remaining barbarian riders hesitated for a moment. None dared charge again right away. All of them looked toward their Hundred-Household Officer, waiting for orders.
But before they could receive any command, the white-armored general charged toward them on his own.
In the chaos, Chen Sanshi's vision was filled with blades, spears, and flashing steel. Murderous intent flooded from every direction. He didn't have time to tell which enemy was an officer or a grunt—he simply swung his Reed-Leaf Spear again and again, killing one barbarian after another.
Blood sprayed through the air like rain. The entire field turned crimson.
In such a state of full combat intensity, the consumption of qi and blood for any martial artist was extreme.
A martial artist's strength came not only from the body, but from qi and blood reinforcing every strike—just like a soldier using a skill that constantly drained his energy bar.
Once the energy bar was empty, only the body's raw power remained.
Luckily, Chen Sanshi's "energy bar" was far greater than ordinary men's.
The Blood of the Dragon and Elephant surged through him endlessly. His whole body burned hot, yet he felt no exhaustion. His spear grew faster, sharper, more precise. Every thrust claimed another life. Screams and dying cries echoed one after another around him.
"Keep going!"
The barbarian Hundred-Household gripped his curved saber tightly, eyes locked on the fight, intending to let his men wear Chen Sanshi down before he personally struck the final blow.
After all, once a martial artist reached the tempering bone stage, their defense greatly improved. Strength and speed increased only slightly, but their flesh became tougher than iron.
So in theory, killing a tempering bone martial artist with cavalry alone was incredibly costly.
But sacrificing a bit over twenty riders to deplete half the opponent's qi and blood—then striking personally with a sneak attack—would guarantee victory.
Trading twenty lives for one tempering bone commander was a bargain.
Yet very soon, the barbarian Hundred-Household realized something was terribly wrong.
The young Great Sheng officer before him didn't weaken at all. He had already slaughtered over twenty cavalrymen, yet there was no sign of his qi and blood fading. In fact, he hadn't even used the defensive abilities unique to tempering bone cultivators.
To put it bluntly—his skin hadn't even been scratched.
The barbarian officer couldn't even tell what level of the tempering bone realm he was in.
"Impossible! Two months ago, the scout's report said there was only one young Hundred-Household Officer who'd just begun practicing a tempering bone technique! How could his power have risen so fast? Has he already reached Minor Achievement—or even Major Achievement level?!"
The barbarian Hundred-Household froze in disbelief.
It was because of that exact intelligence report that he had dared attempt a quick encirclement.
But now it was clear—the information had been wrong.
"No more time!"
As he hesitated, the Great Sheng cavalry was fast approaching in the distance.
"Retreat!"
The barbarian officer shouted, pulling his reins hard as he turned his horse north.
The remaining thirty-plus riders had already lost the will to fight. One after another, they turned tail and fled.
"My lord!"
"He's still chasing us!"
"What?!"
The barbarian Hundred-Household turned his head slightly, and sure enough, he saw the white horse charging toward him like a streak of lightning. Any cavalryman who tried to block the way was sent flying with a scream, crashing into the grass. Nothing could stop that momentum. In the blink of an eye, the rider was less than 10 zhang away.
"You really want to die?!"
The barbarian officer roared in fury. He himself was at the tempering bone Minor Achievement stage and had held back all this time only to ensure a flawless victory.
Now that retreat was no longer possible—there was no point holding back.
He spurred his horse forward, seizing the instant when Chen Sanshi had just finished stabbing another rider and hadn't yet withdrawn his spear. His curved saber flashed like a black crescent moon, slicing downward through the air, aiming straight for Chen Sanshi's throat.
"Huuh—!"
The Reed-Leaf Spear darted out at an angle so sharp and unnatural it defied reason. Though it moved second, it landed first—striking the barbarian commander's chest in the blink of an eye.
The barbarian Hundred-Household's expression twisted in shock.
He tried to dodge, but it was too late. With no other choice, he brought up his arm—wrapped in metal wrist guards—to block.
"Crack—!"
The iron plating tore apart like paper. The spear punched straight through, the hard bones of his forearm shattering under the force.
Gritting his teeth through the pain, the barbarian reached to grab the spear shaft, intending to trap it and trade wound for wound.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance.
The three-meter spear should have been cumbersome, yet in Chen Sanshi's hands, it was lighter and swifter than a dagger. Before the enemy even realized what happened, the spearhead vanished from his arm—only to reappear, buried deep in his chest.
"Crack—crack!"
Chen Sanshi's entire body erupted with power. His qi and blood surged like thunder through his veins and tendons, flowing into his bulging arms, channeling into the spear. The tip twisted like a drill, shattering bone and punching straight into the heart.
He lifted the dying barbarian officer high into the air, his body hanging on the spear like a torn flag. With a powerful swing, Chen Sanshi hurled the corpse forward, smashing it into a rider who was trying to flee, sending both man and horse crashing into the ground.
A single clash—one strike!
The surrounding barbarian cavalry froze, eyes wide in disbelief.
Their commander, their Hundred-Household Officer, had been slain in one move!
"Retreat!"
"Run! Get out of here!"
With their leader dead, the barbarians' morale collapsed instantly.
The riders panicked, their formation scattering as they spurred their horses to flee.
But the white horse stood blocking their path. Anyone daring to approach was immediately impaled by a spear.
And behind them—more than 100 Great Sheng cavalry were thundering in pursuit.
No escape forward. No retreat behind.
It was a dead end.
"Surrender!"
"My lord, spare us! We're willing to surrender!"
One barbarian Flag Officer shouted first, and the rest followed, dismounting one after another in panic.
"Surrender?"
Chen Sanshi's brows furrowed. "Who gave you permission to surrender?"
"What do you mean?"
Before the confused barbarians could react, the White Swan horse charged again, and they were forced into a desperate struggle for survival.
...
"What the hell?"
When Zhao Kang finally arrived on the battlefield, he was stunned by what he saw—the white horse charging again and again across a field littered with corpses.
One man. One horse.
He had driven over 50 cavalrymen into a complete rout.
Over 50 riders!
Even a tempering bone martial artist would've run dry of qi and blood long ago, forced to rely solely on brute endurance to fight on.
But that wasn't even the shocking part.
The enemy had their own tempering bone Hundred-Household Officer!
If Chen Sanshi had shown even the slightest opening, he would have been doomed.
But now wasn't the time to stand in awe.
Zhao Kang raised his saber high and shouted, "Brothers! Kill! Don't let a single one escape!"
...
The pursuit ended within half a stick of incense.
Of the 50 barbarian riders, none escaped. Nearly all were cut down where they stood. Only two were taken alive for interrogation.
The Great Sheng soldiers also captured more than 20 warhorses, along with spears, sabers, and various other weapons.
"Hundred-Household Officer Chen, that's insane," Zhao Kang said, unable to hide his amazement. "If it were me, I'd have been bled dry by those riders, then finished off by their commander while I was weak.
"You, on the other hand—killed more than 30 of them yourself, and even slew their commander who was a realm higher!
"When we get back, you won't just be rewarded. A rank promotion is guaranteed."
"Hundred-Household Officer Zhao, you flatter me."
Chen Sanshi was covered in blood, but his spirits were high.
His satisfaction didn't come from the military merit—but from the results of the battle itself.
The toxins in his meridians were almost completely gone, and his spear proficiency had skyrocketed.
It seemed real bloodshed, especially against overwhelming odds, unleashed far more potential than any sparring or training could.
Simply put—fighting felt damn good!
[Technique: Undying Golden Serpent Spear (Upper Scroll) (Mastery)]
[Progress: 205/1000]
The spiritual grain within his body had been fully absorbed. His mastery had jumped significantly—equivalent to several days of hard practice.
Zhao Kang directed the men to clean the battlefield and then quickly led the troops back to camp.
But what awaited them upon return was not cheers of celebration—but a grim and heavy silence.
"Urgent report—eight hundred li in haste!"
"The four tribes of the grasslands have secretly formed an alliance! Five days ago, they launched a sudden full-scale assault across the three northwestern prefectures!"
"Moreover, Prince Tuoba the Fourth has led 50,000 iron cavalry straight toward Anding Prefecture!"
"Yunzhou is in grave danger!"