Chapter 576: I Don't Want to Hurt You!

After three rounds of drinks, Long Xiao chatted leisurely with Ling Feng for a while. It was only then that he found out Ling Feng was actually a student at Tianwei Academy.

"Young friend Ling Feng, since you are a student of Tianwei Academy, have you ever considered joining the military after graduating to protect your country?" Long Xiao squinted slightly, smiling as he asked.

Given the brotherly relationship between Ling Feng and Wen Tingguang, even getting into the divine guards, a unit that all soldiers dreamed of, wouldn't be too difficult if Ling Feng wanted to join the military.

"To be honest with you, General, I'm already the head of a sect, so joining the military might not be very suitable for me," Ling Feng replied with a smile and a shake of his head.

"I see." Long Xiao sighed with regret but continued, "Even so, you might still want to consider spending a few years in the military after graduation. I can assure you that it would only benefit your martial arts journey. Only life-or-death combats on the battlefield can unlock the greatest potential in a martial artist. Moreover, the military's cultivation resources would far exceed your expectations."

"Life-or-death combat?"

Ling Feng's eyes twitched slightly.

Indeed, his Slaughterous Sword Will needed to be honed through killing.

Given his nature, it was difficult for him to indiscriminately slaughter innocent people. But on the battlefield, it would be different. There, he would be killing demons and killing his enemies.

"I'll think about it," Ling Feng replied with a faint smile.

"True, you've just advanced to being a mystical-tier student at the academy. Graduation is still a long way off."

Long Xiao poured Ling Feng another cup of wine. The saying went that camaraderie was built on the drinking table. While the bonds forged over drinks might not always be reliable, it was still one of the best ways for men to establish friendships.

After a few rounds of drinks, Long Xiao and Ling Feng were already calling each other Big Brother and Little Brother Ling as if they had known each other for years.

The next morning, as the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, City Lord Helian and Long Xiao, along with a group of people, were at the city gates seeing Ling Feng off as he prepared to leave Iron Wolf City.

Before parting, Long Xiao gifted Ling Feng a few military strategy scrolls, encouraging him to seriously consider joining the military.

As long as Ling Feng was willing, the doors of the Black-Armored Cavalry would always be open to him.

After expressing his gratitude multiple times, Ling Feng set off on his journey back to the imperial capital.

Once deep in the forest, Ling Feng summoned his despicable donkey. With its demon emperor speed, it would take only about two days to reach the imperial capital at full pace.

...

Two days later, Ling Feng finally returned to the imperial capital.

The vast city was as bustling as ever, with martial artists constantly coming and going.

Due to the holiday season, there weren't many people at Tianwei Academy. Most students had either returned home or gone out to train. Even the mentors and instructors had taken their disciples to explore dangerous places.

Ling Feng made his way directly to Yan Cangtian's medicinal herb garden. It was the same as always, except for a thin layer of dust that had settled on the furniture and the ground.

"It seems that Elder Yan has gone into seclusion again."

Ling Feng shook his head with a smile. Before he had left, he and Yan Cangtian had refined the Divine-Will Nine-Transformations Pill, which could help one advance to the level of a human emperor. Knowing Yan Cangtian's temperament, he had likely thrown himself into relentless cultivation again.

Ling Feng quickly made his way to the alchemy room. As expected, the door to a secluded chamber within the alchemy room was tightly shut, and faint but terrifying energy fluctuations occasionally emanated from inside.

"It looks like Elder Yan is very close to reaching the level of a human emperor."

Ling Feng smiled knowingly. Once Yan Cangtian advanced to the human emperor level, his power would increase dramatically.

In the entire Tianbai Empire, there were fewer than thirty experts who had reached the human emperor level.

As far as Ling Feng knew, the only one with that level of strength was Yue Zhonglian, the sect leader of the Cangqiong Sect!

Author's note: It might seem that the human race is weak, considering that the Heavenly Demon City alone has nine peak demon emperors. How could they possibly stand against the demons? But in reality, the demon race has to face all the human experts across the entire Dongling Region. The Dongling Region is divided into four major empires, and the Tianbai Empire's strength is only considered slightly below average. This will be explained in more detail later.

Just as Ling Feng was about to leave a letter for Yan Cangtian, informing him that he had successfully upgraded the Reincarnation Sword Embryo into the Reincarnated Sword Will, the door to the secluded chamber suddenly opened, and a clear whistle echoed from within.

"Is that you, Ling Feng?"

"It's me!" Ling Feng smiled and strode into the chamber. Inside, Yan Cangtian's entire body was radiating a golden glow. His aura was incredibly overwhelming, as if he could seize the power of heaven and earth and absorb the essence of the sun and moon.

The human emperor realm was also called the Creation Realm.

Martial artists at this level had begun to grasp the mysteries of creation and were blessed with extraordinary abilities, which is why they were called emperors.

"Kid, it seems I worried for nothing after all." Yan Cangtian laughed heartily.

Because of his concern for Ling Feng, he had always kept part of his mind occupied and was unable to fully immerse himself in his cultivation.

"Come, let me see just how powerful this legendary Reincarnated Sword Will really is!"

Yan Cangtian leaped up and, in a flash, appeared in the courtyard. He shouted, "The Reincarnated Sword Will is said to be the strongest among the ten attributed sword wills. However, no one has managed to comprehend it for nearly a thousand years. But you, kid...

tsk tsk tsk...

"

Ling Feng followed Yan Cangtian into the courtyard while smiling faintly. "I'm not sure how strong it really is, but I did acquire a sword technique that can only be activated with the Reincarnated Sword Will. Unfortunately, despite some practice, I haven't made much progress."

"

Oh?

" Yan Cangtian squinted his eyes. "Even a kid with your monstrous comprehension struggles to master this sword technique? Come, let me see it!"

Yan Cangtian readied himself, surrounding his body with a layer of elemental qi, and said calmly, "This qi barrier of mine requires the destructive power of a first-level Spiritual Element Realm expert to break. Give it a try."

"

Uh...

"

Ling Feng shook his head and replied, "Elder Yan, I've had some fortunate encounters recently. You might want to increase your defense to at least the third level of the Spiritual Element Realm. I'm afraid I might accidentally hurt you."

"

Hahaha!

"

Yan Cangtian burst into laughter. "You brat! I know how strong you are. Do you think my first-level Spiritual Element Realm qi is as weak as a regular one? Don't hold back! After all, I'm a half-step human emperor!"

"

Uh,

is that so...

"

Ling Feng nodded. That made sense. The elemental force of an ordinary Spiritual Element Realm expert couldn't be compared to a half-step human emperor. Even if Yan Cangtian suppressed his strength, he was far superior to ordinary martial artists of the same realm.

"Alright then. Elder Yan, here I come!"

Ling Feng took a deep breath, silently reciting an incantation in his heart. In an instant, three locks opened at once!

Buzz!

The air trembled as an overwhelming wall of true qi burst forth, almost solid in form.

"This!"

Yan Cangtian's eyes twitched as he carefully assessed Ling Feng's cultivation. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Eight... eighty meridian gates!?"