Chapter 58 Subduing the Xuanwu Mercenary Corps

Led by He Chengfeng, Liao Chen and his party soon arrived at the headquarters of the Xuanwu Mercenary Corps. This time, no guards blocked their path; after all, challengers attempted to seize the positions of the major corps leaders every year. If a challenger succeeded, they would take the leader's place. Conversely, if they failed, the consequence was having their meridians shattered or even having their cultivation crippled—though the final outcome ultimately depended on the mood of the targeted corps leader.

The leader of the Xuanwu Mercenary Corps was named Li Yuan. He was a powerfully built man of massive proportions, resembling a humanoid tank when viewed up close, a title fitting for the leader of the Xuanwu Corps. Wielding a spiked club, he was a formidable physique-cultivator at the quasi-Emperor realm, which prompted Liao Chen to give him a second look.

Seeing He Chengfeng arrive, Li Yuan asked coldly, "He Chengfeng, what brings you to my territory for no good reason? Could it be that you wish to duel me?"

He Chengfeng laughed heartily and said, "Brother Li, I have no desire to duel you. This time, I have brought my lord here to duel you. If you win, the White Tiger Corps is yours. On the other hand, if you lose, the Xuanwu Corps will come under my lord's command. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

Li Yuan glanced at Liao Chen and said with a hint of disdain, "You mean that brat? You're useless, He Chengfeng—how could you take a little kid who hasn't even reached the Emperor realm as your master? Don't you find that laughable?"

He Chengfeng was not angered at all; instead, he chimed in, "Indeed, my lord's cultivation is not yet at the Great Emperor realm, but his combat strength is enough to thrash the likes of us. The White Tiger Corps already belongs to my lord. If you dare not accept this challenge, my lord will go challenge Long Aotian of the Azure Dragon Corps instead. Don't say I didn't give you a chance then! If my lord successfully subjugates the Azure Dragon Corps, it won't be so easy for your Xuanwu Corps to join us later!"

Though He Chengfeng spoke as if offering a gentle reminder, the threat was glaringly obvious. What was framed as "joining" was actually an alliance with the Azure Dragon Corps to crush the Xuanwu Corps. By then, no matter how strong the Xuanwu Corps was, it would be no match for them.

Though Li Yuan was rough around the edges, he was far from foolish. Since He Chengfeng had already been subdued by this person, he wanted to see what extraordinary abilities this young kid actually possessed.

"What is your name, kid? I am Li Yuan. If you can defeat me, I might just agree to submit to you. But if you lose, you will submit to me. How about it?"

Liao Chen smiled and replied, "No problem! This sovereign is the Invincible Ancestor of the Chengguang Sect. I heard that you have achieved the Emperor realm through your physical body, so I shall match you using purely physical strength!"

Li Yuan burst into laughter, thinking he had misheard, and confirmed once more, "Are you certain you want to test your physical body against mine?"

"That is correct!" Liao Chen affirmed.

"Good! Very good! Since you've put it that way, I have nothing more to say. If you can truly defeat me with physical combat prowess alone, I, Li Yuan, will follow your lead!" Li Yuan stated with absolute certainty.

The two of them then stepped into the void for close-quarters hand-to-hand combat. The onlookers grew extremely excited, as Li Yuan was a genuine quasi-Emperor whose combat prowess was in no way inferior to that of true Emperor-realm masters—this was the terrifying power of a physique-cultivator.

Originally, Li Yuan believed his Emperor-realm physique would easily crush Liao Chen. However, once the exchange began, he realized his opponent was not as fragile as he appeared; Liao Chen's physical strength was not inferior to his own in the slightest. At first, the two traded blow for blow with their fists, and after ten thousand strikes, they remained evenly matched. Next, they exchanged kicks, but even after an hour, the two were still locked in an intensely fierce deadlock.

At this moment, Li Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. He could not understand why Liao Chen's physical body was completely on par with his own, nor how his opponent had managed to cultivate such a state. More importantly, he discovered that Liao Chen's actual cultivation realm was merely at the Saint realm, whereas his own cultivation was at the quasi-Emperor level. In comparison, he outranked Liao Chen by a massive margin, yet this alone was not enough to make him concede defeat.

"Brat, if this is all the ability you have, it is impossible for you to make me submit to you. Let's call this fight a draw!" Li Yuan declared brazenly. In his mind, Liao Chen must have employed some special body-refining technique to temporarily boost his physical strength, and such a technique could not possibly last. If he surrendered so easily, what would become of his dignity?

Seeing how brazenly confident the other man was, Liao Chen chuckled and said, "Since Corps Leader Li is so confident, my warm-up is now complete. Next, I shall get serious. If I accidentally injure Fellow Daoist, please don't hold it against me!"

Naturally, Li Yuan did not believe his opponent had any hidden cards left. After all, he had just unleashed his full strength; if the opponent could execute an even stronger blow, he would undoubtedly sustain heavy injuries. One had to know that even for a physique-cultivator, physical strength had its limits. If one exceeded the limit of what the flesh could bear, it would be impossible to endure.

At that exact moment, Liao Chen summoned his cheat system and consumed one hundred million cultivation points, instantly elevating his cultivation to the first layer of the Great Saint realm. Previously, Liao Chen's physical strength was already on par with a quasi-Emperor physique-cultivator; now that his cultivation had advanced by a major realm, his physical strength soared directly to the peak of the Emperor realm. All his other attributes similarly surged to the perfection of the Emperor realm, bringing his overall strength to the Half-Immortal realm. Even if he were to fight a genuine Heaven-Human realm expert, he could escape calmly.

"Fellow Daoist Li, be careful!" Liao Chen issued his final warning, then unleashed fifty percent of his power. Even so, the might of this single punch was far beyond anything a full-strength blow from the Saint realm could compare to.

"Heavenly Dao Fist, break for me!"

As soon as Liao Chen's voice fell, a fist imprint hurtled toward Li Yuan. The latter had not yet realized the severity of the situation. The moment the fist imprint struck him, he was sent flying heavily backward like a cannonball. His meridians were severely damaged, his internal organs were battered into a wretched state, and he was left hanging by a single breath. The members of the Xuanwu Corps immediately rushed forward to support him, their hearts filled with unspeakable terror.

Liao Chen flashed to a position right in front of Li Yuan and asked, "Corps Leader Li, do you yield?"

Li Yuan replied with great difficulty, "This-this subordinate yields. From now on, the Xuanwu Corps belongs to my lord. I fear I do not have long to live, but I hope my lord will lead the Xuanwu Corps to glory. Li Yuan pays his respects here!"

Before Liao Chen could speak, the members of the Xuanwu Corps burst into loud, inconsolable tears. "My lord! Please save Big Brother Li! If you can save him, from this day forward, we swear our lives in loyalty to you!"

"We are willing to swear our lives in loyalty to my lord!"

Liao Chen said somewhat speechlessly, "Alright, alright! He's not going to die. A bunch of grown men bawling their eyes out—what does that look like?"

He then produced a Divine Origin Pill and signaled for Li Yuan to swallow it. Doubtful yet desperate, Li Yuan swallowed the medicinal pill. Suddenly, a wave of warmth coursed from his head down to his toes, sweeping through his entire body. His damaged meridians began repairing themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye, followed by the rapid healing of his internal organs. An hour later, his injuries had completely recovered.

Regarding such an outcome, He Chengfeng and the others were already unfazed, given that He Chengfeng had experienced the exact same situation not long ago.

At this moment, Li Yuan's admiration for Liao Chen sprang genuinely from the heart. "My lord, from this day onward, Li Yuan follows your lead, steadfast unto death!"

Liao Chen nodded and said, "Good, very good! Next, let us go take a look at the Azure Dragon Corps."

Naturally, Li Yuan had no objections to this. He took the lead, guiding the party forward, and they soon arrived at the headquarters of the Azure Dragon Corps.

The leader of the Azure Dragon Mercenary Corps, Long Aotian, was actually a cyan flood dragon. Possessing formidable combat strength, he was a genuine Emperor-realm demonic beast. At that moment, Long Aotian was resting when he suddenly heard a subordinate run over to report, "Corps Leader! The White Tiger Corps and the Xuanwu Corps have brought people here to challenge your position!"

Woken up abruptly, Long Aotian was displeased. Upon hearing that someone wanted to challenge his position as corps leader, a sudden blaze of fury ignited within him, and he bellowed, "Which tired-of-living piece of trash dares to challenge my position? Let's go, let's take a look!"

Long Aotian strode outside and, upon seeing He Chengfeng and Li Yuan, said with utter contempt, "He Chengfeng, Li Yuan, what are you two good-for-nothings doing here in my territory? Are your hides itching for a beating?"

He Chengfeng remained silent, but Li Yuan chuckled and said, "Brother Long still has such a fiery temper. This time, we aren't here to get beaten up; rather, our lord has come to challenge you! I wonder if you dare to accept the challenge? My lord has said that if you win, both the White Tiger Corps and the Xuanwu Corps will be yours. But if you lose, the Azure Dragon Corps will belong to my lord."

Thinking he must have misheard, Long Aotian figured he had nothing to lose. After all, the White Tiger Corps and the Xuanwu Corps were already under the other party's command; if he actually won against this person, he would end up commanding all three major mercenary corps. At the thought of this, Long Aotian declared, "Those are your words! No going back on them!"

Liao Chen stepped forward and replied, "Rest assured, Corps Leader Long, we will never break our word. If we break our promise, may we be struck by heavenly lightning and never enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

Seeing that the opponent had sworn such an oath, Long Aotian felt entirely reassured. The two of them then soared up into the void.