I Grind to Martial Saint

The dreary rain continued to fall tonight.

After leaving Cangshui County Town, Han Yuan headed in the direction of the Wuyun Bandits’ approach.

To conceal his identity, he had specially covered his face with a black face covering.

Just as he was passing a small grove, he smelled the faint scent of blood.

Han Yuan’s expression shifted, and he darted into the woods.

Before long, he saw a body covered in blood lying on the ground.

Blood from the corpse had stained the ground red.

’He must have died from massive blood loss.’

Han Yuan turned the body over to inspect it.

As he turned it,

the corpse suddenly and bizarrely came to life, its right hand silently stabbing toward Han Yuan’s chest.

"Agh!"

But the next second,

it was the corpse that let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Its wrist had been snapped and torn apart by a large hand!

"If you’re going to play dead, at least make it convincing!"

Han Yuan snorted coldly, clenched his left fist, and slammed it down!

BANG!

The man who had feigned death to ambush him had his heart shattered by the punch. He coughed up a spray of blood mist and breathed his last.

After Han Yuan stood up,

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH~~

three masked, saber-wielding figures silently emerged from all corners of the woods, surrounding Han Yuan.

"Is this all of you?"

"It’s not enough."

Han Yuan shook his head.

"Kid, are you sleep-talking?"

"Who do you think you are...?"

One of the masked figures had thought Han Yuan was joking.

Then he saw a cold gleam of light flash out.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

Two heads flew into the air.

The remaining masked man’s expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to flee, a large saber landed on his neck.

"Speak."

"Where are the Wuyun Bandits now?"

Han Yuan said coldly.

"I... I don’t know."

"We just received orders to clear out the scouts up ahead."

The man was so scared he dropped to his knees before Han Yuan.

"Then who does know?"

Han Yuan asked.

"We all take orders from the Second-in-Command."

"Only he knows about these things."

the masked man said hurriedly.

"The Second-in-Command?"

"Poison Scholar Chen Lun?"

Han Yuan asked.

"Yes... that’s him."

The masked man nodded hastily.

"Take me to him."

Han Yuan said flatly.

SWISH SWISH SWISH~~

Several streaks of silver light suddenly shot out from the shadows, flying rapidly toward Han Yuan.

Han Yuan’s ears twitched slightly. He swung his right hand in a horizontal slash.

CLANG CLANG CLANG~

His saber howled through the air, deflecting every streak of silver light.

They were Silver Needles.

However, Han Yuan had only protected himself, not the masked man.

When he looked over, he saw a Silver Needle lodged in the masked man’s throat.

The man’s lips quickly turned black. His mouth opened but no sound came out, and he quickly breathed his last.

’This poison...’

’It’s quite potent.’

Han Yuan looked ahead.

A scholar in white robes, holding a pure White Sword, slowly walked out.

"Chen Lun?"

Han Yuan narrowed his eyes.

"That would be me."

"Given your skills and build."

"Could you be Demon Blade Han Yuan?"

Chen Lun asked with a smile as he gazed at Han Yuan.

"Take a guess."

As Han Yuan spoke, he suddenly pushed off with his feet.

SWOOSH~

His figure shot forward like a thunderbolt, trailing a vicious arc of saber light as he slashed toward Chen Lun.

Chen Lun swung his sword to meet the attack.

Saber and sword clashed fiercely.

CLANG~

Chen Lun grunted, stumbling back five or six steps.

Each step left a deep footprint.

’Such astonishing strength!’

"Plum Blossom Needle!"

With a flicker of surprise in his eyes, Chen Lun steadied himself and executed a series of rapid thrusts with his longsword.

The light from his sword seemed to form a plum blossom in the air, a blur of real and illusory strikes that were impossible to track.

But Han Yuan just sneered and viciously chopped down with a Thunderous Slash!

BOOM!!!

A clap of thunder reverberated through the woods.

The wild, domineering lightning instantly shattered the Plum Blossom Sword Light.

But this sword strike was just a feint.

When the saber’s light fell, it didn’t collide with his opponent’s White Sword at all.

SWISH~

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Lun sent a vicious beam of white light stabbing at Han Yuan’s throat.

Han Yuan kicked out like lightning, striking his opponent square in the abdomen.

His explosive power was too terrifying; before Chen Lun’s sword light could even land, he felt a sharp pain in his gut.

THUD~

Chen Lun’s entire body was sent flying like a cannonball.

However, he flicked his left hand~

SWISH SWISH SWISH~~

A dense shower of silver light shot out like a violent storm.

Han Yuan, who had been about to pursue with another slash, could only swing his Dragon Sparrow Fierce Cloud Saber to knock away all the Silver Needles.

After all, the Silver Needles were coated in a deadly poison.

Even with his Great Demon True Qi for protection,

getting hit by one would still be troublesome.

So he had to be cautious.

Seeing this, Chen Lun used his Lightweight Skill and quickly retreated.

His Body Technique was exceptionally ghostly; in an instant, he had vanished into the woods.

’He’s pretty fast.’

Han Yuan did not give chase.

He didn’t know if there was a Wuyun Bandits ambush up ahead.

With the situation unclear, he couldn’t afford to be reckless.

After leaving the grove, he quickly scanned the nearby terrain, then leaped onto a small hill.

...

「Not far away.」

Zhang Bei, riding a black horse, was leading the frenzied and crazed Wuyun Bandits at a full gallop.

"Chieftain!"

"Han Yuan has appeared up ahead."

Chen Lun appeared like a ghost at Zhang Bei’s side and spoke with a cupped fist salute.

Blood was still trickling from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly suffered some internal injuries.

"Han Yuan... I didn’t expect him to be so vigilant."

"But it doesn’t matter."

"We will take Cangshui County tonight!"

Hearing this news, Zhang Bei knew that a silent night raid on Cangshui County Town was now impossible.

But he didn’t care.

Even in a direct confrontation,

he was confident he could conquer Cangshui County Town.

Priest Zeng, who was at his side, did not object.

The best course of action was to attack the city now, while his Evil Technique was still in effect and the Wuyun Bandits were in their most frenzied state.

Just then,

Zhang Bei suddenly sensed something.

He gazed toward a distant hillside.

Even in the pitch-black, rainy night, he could still make out a heroic figure standing with a saber, his black hair whipping in the wind.

Zhang Bei pulled on his reins, bringing his black horse to a halt.

"Han Yuan, I look forward to our battle!"

Zhang Bei’s voice, amplified by his True Qi, boomed out like a great clap of thunder.

"Zhang Bei... I’ll be waiting for you in Cangshui County Town!"

the saber-wielding figure laughed loudly.

After saying this,

Han Yuan turned and left, heading back toward Cangshui County Town.

The Wuyun Bandits were staging a raid, covering vast distances in a single day.

He had to get this news back to the city as quickly as possible so everyone could prepare.

His speed was phenomenal, and he moved like a phantom along the main road.

Before long, he was back on the city wall.

"Director Han, did you find anything?"

Seeing the look on Han Yuan’s face, Zhai Mu knew something was wrong.

"The Wuyun Bandits are on their way. They’re less than a dozen li from Cangshui County."

"Quickly, notify General Li and Prefect Wen! Prepare for battle!"

Han Yuan commanded in a cold voice.

Hearing this, Zhai Mu’s face paled instantly.

He hurriedly ordered the war drums to be beaten and sent men to notify Li Jin and Prefect Wen.

RUMBLE~~~

The deep, booming sound of the drums suddenly thundered through the rainy night.

In an instant,

all the garrisoned County Soldiers were roused. They rushed up to the city wall, Bow and Arrow in hand, ready for a siege.

Li Jin soon arrived with his men.

"Director Han, are the Wuyun Bandits really coming?"

Li Jin asked for confirmation.

"Yes."

"Prepare for a major battle."

Han Yuan said coldly.

Li Jin had exceptional trust in Han Yuan, and his expression immediately turned grave.

He quickly began to arrange the city’s defenses, such as rolling stones, logs, and hot oil.

For a time,

the atmosphere on the city wall grew tense and oppressive.

Most of the County Soldiers were new recruits. Although they had been training for a while,

they ultimately had no experience and had never been tested by the crucible of fire and blood.

However, under Li Jin’s command, there were no mistakes, and everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Soon,

Wen Zhiyuan arrived with Zhao Junshan and the others.

"Prefect Wen, Chief Constable Zhao."

"I’ll leave the city’s security in your hands."

"Once a siege begins, there will always be some people inside the city who try to stir up trouble amidst the chaos. There might even be Wuyun Bandits hidden among the populace, waiting to start a riot."

"So you must be vigilant."

Li Jin instructed.

Wen Zhiyuan nodded emphatically. "Rest assured, General Li. With our Government Office on duty, there will be no chaos in the city."

"We have already dispatched numerous Government Officials and constables to patrol the streets."

"If we find anyone with ulterior motives, they will be executed on the spot!"

Han Yuan also added, "Zhai Mu, your Feiying Tribe will also assist Prefect Wen."

The Feiying Tribe’s strength lay in reconnaissance, not head-on combat. They would be of little use on the city wall, so it was better to have them assist the Government Office where they could be more effective.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhai Mu cupped his fist.

After a brief exchange, the three of them quickly left the city wall.

「Meanwhile.」

Zhou Yuanhu also arrived, leading a group of Demon Exterminators.

The experts from the Huang Family and the Lu Family also appeared one after another.

Cangshui County Town was their home base.

Before, there were the Five Great Noble Families.

Now, only their two Noble Families remained.

If they could survive this, the power of the Huang and Lu Families would skyrocket once more.

Faced with such an opportunity, the Huang and Lu Families were naturally unwilling to let it slip by.

Many of the city’s common people had, of course, been awakened by the sound of the war drums long ago.

They didn’t dare leave their homes, instead nailing their doors and windows shut with wooden planks and praying that the government soldiers would defeat the Wuyun Bandits.

Otherwise, they would all be doomed.

「Atop the city wall.」

Han Yuan, Li Jin, Huang Huai, Lu Ganwen, and the others gathered together, collectively waiting for the arrival of the Wuyun Bandits.

"Director Han."

"Previously, Director Nie died because he was plotted against by Zhang Bei and a fiend from the Wangling Sect."

"You must be extremely careful."

Li Jin had mentioned this once before.

But now he couldn’t help but bring it up again.

"Rest assured, General Li... I won’t fall for their tricks."

Han Yuan nodded.

"They’re here!"

Suddenly, Huang Huai said in a low voice.

Han Yuan narrowed his eyes.

In the distance, on the pitch-black main road, a lone rider on a black horse charged toward them, spear in hand.

Behind him were thousands of Wuyun Bandits.

Their Weapons were a motley collection of steel sabers, long spears, and longswords.

Their expressions were all savage and crazed, and they constantly let out guttural roars.

"Fire!!!"

Li Jin waited until the Wuyun Bandits were within bowshot, then immediately gave the order!

SWISH SWISH SWISH~~~

A sky full of arrows pierced through the rain, raining down on the Wuyun Bandits!

But after the first volley, not a single person fell... It was as if the arrows had no effect at all.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!