Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 63: Fighting for Life

At around midnight, in the quiet hours.

Xue Yi held his horizontal blade while standing guard at the door, from time to time looking back toward the side chamber with anticipation in his expression.

His injuries actually hadn't completely healed yet.

At most he had recovered seventy to eighty percent.

But today was a great day, the long-silent Young Master Wen Yue was going to break through.

So even with his injuries not fully healed, he had to come and stand guard to protect the cultivation.

No matter how strong a second-rate expert might be, they were still only second-rate experts.

Without entering the Organ Refining realm, one couldn't be called a first-rate expert.

Organ Refining realm martial artists, as long as they weren't trapped in military formations or locked onto by powerful crossbows, could completely fight one against a hundred. Such people, when placed on the battlefield, would be extremely formidable fierce generals.

Although the tradition of single general battle had long since disappeared, when a commanding general led his personal guards into battle and carved open a breach, it could not only destroy the enemy army's formation, but also greatly boost the morale of one's own soldiers, raising the chances of victory by at least ten to twenty percent.

As for Innate Grandmasters, that was truly too distant.

Even over a hundred first-rate experts might not produce a single Innate Grandmaster.

The Innate Grandmasters in the jianghu were countable.

So when Wen Yue told him he wanted to break through, Xue Yi only assumed it was breaking from second-rate into first-rate.

Organ Refining would be sufficient, Xue Yi thought to himself.

Perhaps Organ Refining could even help with the leg injury.

As long as it could help Wen Yue stand up again, that would be enough.

Wen Yue wasn't rushing to break through; he was waiting for the right moment.

This breakthrough particularly important. If he failed, who knew if there would be such an opportunity again in the future.

If he had to lay there waiting for death for the rest of his life, he would rather die in the breakthrough attempt.

Today, either success or death with honor!

So this time he could only succeed, not fail.

"Exhale."

"Inhale."

Breathing techniques alternated.

Internal energy surged and rose as his body adjusted to optimal condition.

Tu Shanjun within the Revered Soul Banner was also quite nervous.

Xiang Hu's breakthrough had been experimental in nature, and also a desperate gamble with no retreat.

With his Organ Refining realm strength, he fundamentally wasn't Xue Yi's match.

If he wanted revenge, regardless of the outcome, Xiang Hu had to break through. Even if death lay ahead, as long as there was a thread of hope, he had to charge forward.

Even if there was no hope at all, he still had to break through.

Wen Yue's breakthrough was somewhat similar to Xiang Hu's, yet also different, he actually had a way out.

If he didn't break through, with his current strength, although he didn't know how long it would take to stand up again, or even if there was a great probability he'd never stand up, he could still preserve his life.

If he regretted it midway, he could also stop.

Forcibly attempting to break through meant abandoning his own life.

Between life and death, Wen Yue chose to seek life through facing death, only because he wanted to stand up again.

Tu Shanjun inevitably felt nervous.

He was the primary soul ghost and could no longer feel his heartbeat, only the taut string of his spirit remained tense.

Now was also the time to test theory. If successful, it would prove his theory was correct.

If unsuccessful.

Tu Shanjun had also considered this, if unsuccessful, he could only lament that fate was unkind, and he would ultimately need to find a new banner master to continue forward.

Time passed minute by minute, second by second.

The thin veil between heaven and earth seemed to be lifted and fade away.

The faint morning light bloomed a single ray, making the sky bright.

At this moment, Wen Yue directly activated the internal energy that had already filled his dantian.

Surging internal energy immediately erupted, like a sweeping red tide rushing into the extraordinary meridians and eight vessels, the twelve primary meridians, and the circulation of the five organs, half of the Great Cycle was already complete.

Very smooth.

At least for now it seemed far smoother than Xiang Hu's breakthrough.

The Great Cycle flowed naturally. With a sufficiently powerful physical body that could support the meridians in guiding internal energy, there wouldn't be a situation where meridians collapsed due to surging internal energy.

Tu Shanjun nodded secretly. It seemed that breaking through to the Innate realm was relatively smooth when fully prepared.

But now wasn't the time for celebration yet. He had a premonition that the early and middle stages of Great Cycle would be relatively smooth, the most dangerous part was actually concentrated at the position of the broken leg.

Half a month ago, Tu Shanjun had Wen Yue cut open the wound and remove the crushed debris inside, leaving only the main structure.

Bones could grow on their own, but if debris remained, it would create complications, growing into an uncontrollable shape. If it all adhered together in the end, it would not only affect the entire lower leg bone's recovery, but also cause the wound to heal crooked.

The general way to deal with crooked healing was to break it again and let it regrow.

Tu Shanjun had some common knowledge, and since martial artists with internal energy had high resistance, after sterilizing the blade with boiling water, he reopened the wound and removed the debris inside.

It was only because Wen Yue's internal energy didn't contain sufficient spiritual power that Tu Shanjun didn’t personally perform the procedure himself, otherwise, he definitely would have taken the knife into his own hands.

Tu Shanjun pressed his ghostly hands together, his crimson ghost eyes watching Wen Yue, who was breaking through, through the Revered Soul Banner.

Wen Yue's breakthrough had entered the critical moment.

Internal energy directly bypassed the meridians, clinging to the leg bone as it rushed past.

Wen Yue felt even more nervous in his heart, but the arrow was already on the string and had to be released. Whether he stuck his neck out or pulled it back, it was still one slash. He had already completed most of the Great Cycle, if he fell short of success now, he would never have another chance to stand up.

One breath.

Two breaths.

The newly grown bone held firm. Although the meridians weren't particularly resilient and cracks had already appeared, as long as they could hold out for the Great Cycle to break open the acupoints, that would be enough.

Wen Yue could no longer care about the pain in his lower leg and prepared to complete the Great Cycle.

Suddenly, Wen Yue's eyes flew wide open, bloodshot and twisted.

It hurt too much!

The lower leg bone was like a dam that had been damaged from the start.

Although it could block the flood's momentary impact, when it became full, it immediately crumbled and collapsed.

The two penetrating wounds even emitted sizzling black qi. The malevolent qi, stimulated by internal energy containing spiritual power, actually produced a reaction.

Just as he was about to cry out in pain, Wen Yue grabbed the towel-wrapped bite guard beside him and bit down hard.

Chu Jiu, who was also standing guard at the door, felt somewhat restless, there seemed to have been some commotion from inside the room just now.

But he didn't dare rashly enter, and could only press against the door to listen.

This time wasn't like when he first practiced cultivation, when only he alone stood guard at the door.

Now there was an Organ Refining realm military expert standing guard outside, no one could break in.

Chu Jiu looked toward Xue Yi, who was holding his horizontal blade.

Xue Yi had already furrowed his brow tightly. Never mind that Chu Jiu had heard the commotion, how could he as an Organ Refining realm great expert, not have heard it as well?

There were clearly muffled sounds and low growls coming from inside the side chamber.

"Could it be that injuries affected the breakthrough?" Xue Yi gripped the horizontal blade in his hand tighter. The three-finger grip on the horizontal blade was barely manageable, his knuckles turning white, the tendons and bones at his wrist tensing.

"That shouldn't be right."

"Organ Refining is the tempering of the five organs and six viscera, supplemented by heavenly materials and earthly treasures for harmonization. It's not particularly dangerous for those breaking through."

The thoughts in Xue Yi's mind all came pouring out at once.

Martial practice was painstaking work that required bone structure, aptitude, and even more time for grinding practice, as well as accumulation of internal energy.

So many second-rate experts couldn't break through, either they were too old with declining qi and blood, or limited by cultivation methods, or unable to obtain the treasures needed for Organ Refining, which blocked many people.

Although Wen Yue had already been stripped of his heir title, with his previous accumulations, he fundamentally lacked nothing in terms of supplementary resources.

So Xue Yi was certain that it was the injuries affecting his entire body's qi and blood, preventing the blood tide from surging.

Taking a step forward, he was about to enter the door.

"Master Xue, what are you doing?"

Chu Jiu hurriedly blocked Xue Yi's path.

Although Xue Yi was anxious, he still explained to Chu Jiu: "This won't do. The young master might have insufficient blood qi."

"If this continues, there could be danger to his life."

"Let the breakthrough be abandoned. If I go in and use internal energy to protect his heart meridians, there's still a thread of hope."

Chu Jiu bit his teeth, clenched his fists, and shook his head: "You cannot enter. The young master said he absolutely must break through."

"This is his last chance to stand up again."

Wen Yue had already instructed Chu Jiu beforehand, unless he called for someone, no one could enter.

Life was certainly important, but if he couldn't even stand up for the rest of his life going forward, what use was life!

Either breakthrough or death.

"Boy, if you keep blocking me, the young master will lose his life."

Xue Yi's anger surged, and his large hand pressed directly on Chu Jiu's shoulder.

He hadn't drawn his blade now because Chu Jiu had followed the young master for many years, and he didn't want to cross blades with him.

But Chu Jiu was merely an ordinary person who knew some crude martial skills. If he wanted to break in, Chu Jiu fundamentally couldn't stop him.

Chu Jiu clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and tears flowed down uncontrollably. He drew the dagger from his waist, faced Xue Yi directly, and repeated: "I know, I know."

"But the young master told me, either success or death with honor. He doesn't want to live in degradation."

"No one can enter."

"Unless I die!"

"Well now, usually so timid, but you've actually gotten tough for once." With one slap, Xue Yi knocked away the dagger in Chu Jiu's hand, and even Chu Jiu was sent staggering.

Xue Yi was the guard captain and also the young master's instructor, even the young master respected him, so naturally Chu Jiu didn't dare offend him. He could only cry to himself on the side.

Although Xue Yi was rough, he didn't reach out to hit anyone again.

Having heard Chu Jiu's words and understanding Wen Yue as well, Xue Yi stood firm at the door, caught in a dilemma.

"Alright, alright, stop wailing.

"I won't go in, okay? You know to fulfill the young master's wishes, am I Old Xue, someone who doesn't understand propriety?"

Xue Yi turned around and sat down heavily on the steps. The horizontal blade he treasured like his life was also tossed aside. He looked back at the side chamber and sighed deeply: "Ai, what kind of situation is this?"

"In the future, I, Old Xue, will never take on such life-threatening thankless tasks again."

(Chapter End)