Chapter 4: The Living Dead

“Run! There are so many man-eating monsters roaming the city!”

“Isn't that Wang Er Mazi? He’s biting someone!”

“These are the living dead raised by the White Lotus Sect!”

The commotion outside was loud. Even though Yang Le’s home was in a remote part of town, he could clearly hear the shouts from around.

“Something’s wrong.”

Without hesitation, Yang Le grabbed the sword from the table and leapt out onto the street.

Though mentally prepared, the scene before him still caused his brow to furrow.

On the street, familiar and unfamiliar townsfolk alike were fleeing in panic.

Shouts and screams intertwined, rising and falling in a chaotic chorus.

Behind the crowd, a villager with a pale, numb face was frantically gnawing on an old woman.

As blood and flesh splattered from the villager’s teeth, a streak of crimson suddenly flared in his once lifeless eyes.

Nearby, a burly man, seeing the living dead closing in, raised his firewood knife, ready to fight to the death.

But as his blade struck, the undead’s skin proved as tough as cowhide.

The man’s strength was above average, yet his full force blow only left a faint white mark.

“The living dead…”

“Qinghe County is in chaos!”

Though uncertain how such creatures appeared in Qinghe County, Yang Le had no time to ponder.

At the intersection of two alleys, two living dead had already locked onto him.

Perhaps sensing his martial cultivation or some other reason, these two grew more frenzied upon detecting his aura.

With heavy steps, they charged.

Without hesitation, Yang Le struck.

[Sword Apprentice (White); You have gained a chance to cultivate the sword path and mastered the technique: Seven Swords.]

[Double Sword Style (White); For each additional sword equipped, your sword moves’ power doubles, up to four swords.]

These two attributes, boosted by the Divine Sword Path effect, effectively doubled Yang Le’s strength.

A sword dance blossomed in his hand, his eyes calm and steady.

He swung his sword—slash!

The sword’s energy sliced through one living dead, severing it cleanly, and the residual sword qi even lifted the large stone bricks beneath.

“You die too!”

With one undead down, Yang Le turned behind him.

A backhanded thrust struck the brow of the other living dead, and with a flick, he severed its head cleanly.

“Escape in the chaos!”

Having dealt with the two undead nearby, Yang Le noticed that the elite soldiers under Zhangsun Ji were not guarding the city gate but were busy clearing the undead inside Qinghe County.

He realized his chance to leave Qinghe County had come.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yang Le returned home swiftly, grabbed the remaining scarce provisions, and set his sights on the city gate.

Along the way, he cut through living dead like they were dogs.

Even the crudest iron longsword, empowered by his sword qi, made him an unstoppable force.

The living dead that could withstand weapons were as fragile as tofu against his sword.

“Who is that? Such swordsmanship!”

“A martial cultivator who also practices swordsmanship?”

“Fight your way out!”

Many shared Yang Le’s intention to escape.

The members of the Zhengfeng Martial Hall also planned to break through the city walls.

No one wished to remain in a place that could fall to the White Lotus Sect at any moment.

When they saw Yang Le’s effortless slaughter of the living dead, they were stunned.

Since when did Qinghe County have such a powerful sword cultivator?

His sword moves were so formidable that no one dared to confront him.

“Zhangsun Ji?”

Yang Le paid no mind to their astonishment. Upon reaching the city gate, he was about to leap out.

To his surprise, Zhangsun Ji and his elite soldiers were still guarding the gate at such a critical moment.

Yang Le stopped and stared hard at Zhangsun Ji atop the gate.

Things were different now. If Zhangsun Ji intended to block him, Yang Le would show him a lesson:

Your blade is sharp, but my sword is no less so.

“Thousands of refugees outside have besieged Qinghe County, led by Wu Tong, a seventh-rank martial cultivator and elder of the White Lotus Sect’s Bone Vein Headquarters in Cangzhou, along with hundreds of sect disciples. Leaving the city means certain death!”

Sensing Yang Le’s keen sword aura, Zhangsun Ji’s gaze locked onto him.

Seeing that Yang Le was only a tenth-rank quasi-martial cultivator, he didn’t waste much time on him.

Instead, he glanced at the other martial cultivators in Qinghe County with his peripheral vision.

Yet he did not suppress the group preparing to flee.

Instead, he pulled out an ancient-looking book from his chest.

“Only by firmly defending Qinghe County and holding the city can we survive the White Lotus rebels’ assault. I give you two choices.”

“First, join my Zhangsun Ji’s Martial Camp, defend Qinghe County, and await reinforcements. I will teach you the Spring and Autumn Technique.”

“Second, attempt to escape and either die at the hands of the White Lotus Sect or be slain by me on the spot.”

With that, Zhangsun Ji’s eyes sharpened like an eagle’s, his hand gripping a horizontal blade.

The aura of a seventh-rank martial cultivator was unmistakable.

He glanced again at the crowd where Yang Le stood, his expression grim.

If not for holding the title of Magistrate of Cizhou Prefecture and escorting an unknown young girl, Zhangsun Ji would never have come to Qinghe County but would have returned directly to Cizhou with his guards.

Now trapped in Qinghe County, Zhangsun Ji had to resort to using cultivation techniques to rally these martial cultivators, little more than ants, to resist the White Lotus Sect together.

Using cannon fodder as the vanguard would reduce losses during the breakout.

Moreover, Cangzhou had already been abandoned by the Great Qian dynasty.

Though these cultivators were worthless, Zhangsun Ji saw them as rare materials for cultivation or at best cannon fodder.

Looking over the crowd, a hint of greed flickered in his eyes.

“All martial cultivators of Zhengfeng Martial Hall, willing to live and die with Qinghe County!”

“I, Zhang Ling, am willing to join the Martial Camp.”

“I am also willing…”

Zhangsun Ji’s words were sincere, and the crowd was not foolish.

In this situation, leaving the city meant death.

Staying inside to clear the living dead offered a chance to survive.

More importantly, Zhangsun Ji, clearly a man of exceptional background, even offered cultivation techniques covering ranks three and below as a reward.

Anyone but a fool would know what to choose.

“Cultivation techniques…”

“The only way to break from tenth to ninth rank is to find a suitable physical cultivation method to meld qi into the meridians.”

“Unknown conditions outside the city, but reinforcements seem to be arriving. Clearing the living dead inside and obtaining a much-needed cultivation method…”

Weighing the pros and cons, Yang Le sheathed his sword and slipped into the crowd.

Joining Zhangsun Ji’s Martial Camp wasn’t out of the question.

Acquire the cultivation technique, advance to ninth rank, then escape!

“Clear the living dead within the city, then come to the county government office to receive the Spring and Autumn Technique!”

Seeing over two hundred people temporarily under his control and even useful to him, Zhangsun Ji’s eyes gleamed with determination.