Abundant Martial Arts Virtue
Chapter 418 - 372: Baptism

Chapter 418: Chapter 372: Baptism

Zhao Congnan and Ma San pushed out a heavy, round, black iron disc from the warehouse.

"For some reason, the city’s Array Plate has vanished, but luckily we have a spare," Zhao said.

"Yes, we must assemble it right away."

The two of them started bustling about as they spoke.

"Will we make it in time?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Demons are approaching the city from the outside, a group from the east and another from the south, arriving at the city gates in about ten minutes," the woman said.

Wu Xiaode looked at her, his face expressionless as he asked, "What’s your name?"

—As an NPC, asking someone their name should be quite normal.

"Caijing," the woman replied.

"Alright, Caijing, go to the city outskirts—"

Before Wu Xiaode could finish, he suddenly looked up.

The woman known as Caijing also looked up at the sky at the same time.

They saw a streak of light flashing across the clear sky, descending at an extremely rapid pace and stopping right in front of them.

—It was a man clad in a magnificent red robe, his expression brimming with tyranny.

He scanned the group, his gaze sweeping over Caijing without recognizing her.

Indeed.

The woman had completely concealed her aura and had put on a set of light scout armor; she was truly a person of this world.

"Answer me, or you will all die—have you seen a man dressed in the same clothes as me?" the man demanded sternly.

Leveraging a quick glance at his attire and sensing the aura around him, Wu Xiaode realized.

This man was from the Destruction Council.

He must have lost contact with Arian and thus came specifically to look for him.

Wu Xiaode stole a look at the woman named Caijing, noticing a hint of confusion flashing across her face.

—After she had immobilized Arian, she didn’t witness herself killing him.

At this moment, she didn’t know Arian’s whereabouts either.

"Answer me, or you’ll all die," the man in the red robe said.

Everyone looked towards Wu Xiaode.

Taking a step forward, Wu Xiaode said in a hoarse voice, "We don’t know who you are looking for, but this place is the Human Race’s last hope. Would you like to help defend the city?"

The man’s expression clearly shifted.

He stared into the void, his face changing from tyranny to astonishment, murmuring softly,

"The reward is—an Awakening Skill for Tao Power?"

A thought crossed Wu Xiaode’s mind, and he added another line to the mission.

The whole mission text appeared as:

"Demon Suppression Mission:"

"Assist the Demon Suppression General in defending the city."

"Reward: Human Emperor Tao Power Cultivation Method."

"If the city falls, the mission fails."

"Failure to complete the mission results in expulsion from the Human Emperor’s Secret Realm, with no re-entry for one year!"

—In fact, Wu Xiaode had wanted to set the penalty for failure to "eradication."

But according to the "Commander" rule, he could not eradicate those who took on the mission; expulsion was the most he could enforce.

If the "Commander" really had such a function, it could be considered a kind of "End."

—However, this was barely sufficient.

The man in the red robe was immediately tempted.

Gaining Tao Power is something everyone dreams of.

"Fine, I can move with you. But none of you should interfere with my actions or command me," he stated.

"Agreed," Wu Xiaode said in a guttural voice.

Seeing his serious reply, the man accepted the mission.

A display immediately appeared in front of Wu Xiaode:

"The other party has accepted the current mission."

This was going to be easier.

Wu Xiaode strode to the wall of the city, extended his hand, and threw a punch.

Crash!

A piece of the wall turned into two segments from his strike.

He extended two fingers, plucked out half of the brick, and held it in his hand.

"General, what are you doing?" Zhao Congnan asked nervously.

"Elder Zhao, no need to worry," Wu Xiaode said in a deep voice, slowly walked back, and stood in front of the man in the red robe, showing him the broken half-brick.

"What does this mean?" the man in the red robe was puzzled.

"This is a piece of the city wall, and now it’s broken," Wu Xiaode said in a low voice.

The man in the red robe was stunned.

The woman named Caijing also stood frozen, unable to help but throw glances at Wu Xiaode.

—Could that actually work?

In the next moment, the man in the red robe saw several lines of text appear before him:

"City broken, mission failed."

"Penalty activated!"

"Expelled from the Human Emperor’s Secret Realm immediately, no re-entry for one year!"

A spatial fluctuation appeared on the man in the red robe.

"Damn you, I’ll remember you—"

The man in the red robe hadn’t finished cursing when he turned into a streak of light and vanished with a swoosh.

The world regained its quiet.

Wu Xiaode couldn’t help but smirk.

You’ll remember me?

I’m wearing a faceplate, covered in Battle Armor, you don’t even know what I look like, and I deliberately lowered my voice when speaking.

Now you say you remember me?

Nobody would believe that!

"That man was too presumptuous, openly saying he won’t follow military orders, so he is unfit to act with us," Wu Xiaode said in his normal voice.

Zhao Congnan, Ma San, and even the woman looked at him, all quite impressed.

"Then—my mission is also to defend the city—I—" Caijing hesitated.

The city has fallen, wouldn’t my mission also fail?

Of course, Wu Xiaode wouldn’t let her mission fail, especially since she was a strong fighter. Whether they could hold the city later heavily depended on her efforts.

"Here, take this," Wu Xiaode handed her the half brick.

"This is—"

"Put it back on the city wall."

"...Alright, I’ve never seen anyone defend a city like this."

Caijing sighed, walked over, and placed the brick back into the crevice, piecing it together with the other half.

Zhao Congnan and Ma San watched from the side.

"I’ve realized, it takes being this cunning to be a Demon Suppression General," Ma San muttered softly.

Wu Xiaode heard him.

Zhao Congnan immediately kicked Ma San and exclaimed,

"What cunning not cunning—this is called being adept in battle. Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand. Just the Demon Suppression General deeming you ’disrespectful’ could cost you your head."

"Yes, yes, yes! Our Demon Suppression General is truly skilled in battle!" Ma San immediately snapped back to reality, showing a flattering expression to Wu Xiaode.

Wu Xiaode didn’t bother with him and directly gave orders:

"Elder Zhao, Ma San, assemble the Array Plate. Caijing, go kill the demons in the south."

"There are more demons on the east side," Caijing said.

"The east side is mine," replied Wu Xiaode.

Caijing explained, "The demons on the east side are strong, and there are remnants of the Human Race continuously approaching; the situation is complex. It might be dangerous for you alone."

"We’re short on hands; let it be this way for now, start the action!" Wu Xiaode stated.

After that exchange, Caijing didn’t insist any further. His figure flashed as he soared into the sky, flying towards the southern part of the city.

"I’m off as well, see you later," Wu Xiaode said.

"General, take care,"

Zhao Congnan and Ma San bowed together.

Wu Xiaode’s figure flashed, he swept across a vast expanse of buildings, and stood atop the city wall.

He looked out beyond the city wall.

He could see movements stirring in the distance within the forest.

The demons were coming!

He squatted down, pushed hard against the ground, and his entire figure shot out.

He pierced through the fierce wind, deftly landed like a lark into the forest, standing atop an ancient, towering tree.

In front of him

was all demons.

Wu Xiaode stood up, looking down at the gradually approaching monsters.

Suddenly,

the sound of wind approached.

Caijing quietly landed on another tree.

"Your task?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Wiped them all out, so I came to check on you," Caijing said with a smile, arms folded, "After all, if you died, General, there would be no one left to teach me the Human Emperor Fist."

She wiped out the southern demons that quickly?

Too fast!

How powerful is she?

Wu Xiaode’s expression remained unchanged, and without turning back, he said:

"Even if I died, it wouldn’t matter much. In this world, everyone would be willing to teach you that Human Emperor Fist."

Caijing paused for a moment, then said, "No, I want to learn the best Human Emperor Fist from the strongest person."

The demons had already spotted the two of them.

The ground trembled.

They began their charge.

"There are remnants of the Human Race approaching from three miles away, they want to join you!" Caijing suddenly announced.

"No need," Wu Xiaode stated.

He took his stance.

—Tao-Netherworld Cave Heaven-Sealing Hand.

Every living being that encounters this fist, encounters death upon birth!

Even as a General of the Human Emperor’s Secret Realm, he needed to show some real skills, otherwise, being looked down upon by Caijing would make many things complicated afterwards!

In an instant,

the Void manifested densely packed bronze fists, covering every sightline, every position.

They connected as one, forming a towering city wall, soaring with a dark, ashy flame, ready to fend off any enemy attack.

Caijing took a closer look and immediately recognized that this was Tao Power.

"Dark Tao Power—the Demon Suppression General of the Human Emperor’s Secret Realm has already reached this level?"

She pondered deeply in her heart.

Wu Xiaode stood within this city of bronze, his eyelids lightly drooping, appearing unconcerned about the charging demons.

But his fist moved.

With all the combat techniques, memories, experiences, and the "Human Clan’s Boxing Collection" personally imparted by the Human Emperor if this was his first time striking!

A simple, straightforward punch.

Boom—

The bronze city wall behind him transformed into a surging tide of water, rushing across the undergrowth, sweeping over the land, crossing over hills, and with a roar like the ocean’s tempest, charged towards the army of demons.

With every punch,

The demons tried every trick—either to block, dodge, or receive with magic—

but whatever method they tried, the bronze fists found their gaps and then—

Thud.

The first punch struck in the center of a Bear Demon’s chest that stood over four meters tall.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

The punches came like a furious, torrential downpour, ceaseless and relentless, yet not a single demon could evade.

—And yet every punch was merely a straight punch.

From the moment Wu Xiaode threw that punch, all the bronze fists did not change!

The demons simply couldn’t handle it!

Caijing was moved and exclaimed, "Simplifying the complex... already reaching a profound realm of returning to simplicity, impressive martial arts!"

Ahead,

all the bronze fists silently flew back, reintegrating behind Wu Xiaode and then disappearing.

The world fell silent.

All the demons had turned to dry bones.

Wu Xiaode’s single punch had left none standing as his match!

—This was the true martial inheritance bestowed by the Human Emperor himself to Wu Xiaode!

A few lines of ice crystal words appeared before Wu Xiaode’s eyes:

"Through the baptism of battle, you have practiced the path of martial arts you’ve acquired and have thus grown."

"Your Soul Power has increased by 2 points."

"Current Soul Power: 50."

"You can initiate the Death Trial at any time."