A Will Eternal

The plain covered by the spell formation was vast, and was filled with black mists and countless vengeful souls whose screams echoed about and caused the mists to seethe and churn.

However, that was only on the borders of the mist-filled area. In the middle was the location filled with dilapidated tents, apparently created from the hides of enormous beasts. There were so many of the tents that they were virtually impossible to number, even from a distance.

Within each tent lurked numerous savage giants, clad in hide garments. Some of them were sleeping, others would occasionally walk here and there among the tents. Whenever any of them looked in the direction of the center of the enormous camp, expressions of awe would appear on their faces. Furthermore, if the giants happened to cross glances, they seemed to have to force themselves to hold back from fighting. Apparently, they were extremely violent and short-tempered. Any of them who couldn’t hold their temper and actually began to fight would quickly be separated by streams of divine sense sent out by the tribal chiefs.

The camp was split up into ten areas according to the tribes, and although the giants all looked similar, they had clear differences in skin tone and eye color.

In addition to the giants were the beasts, which were kept beyond the tens of thousands of tents. Each beast was secured by iron chains, and occasionally let out thunderous roars that shook heaven and earth.

In the very center of the tents was a circular area demarcated by a ring of more than a thousand 9-meter-tall black boulders that emitted intense pressure in all directions. In fact, the air for 30,000 meters in all directions rippled and distorted because of it, seemingly carving that area out of the world itself. 

Obviously, the black boulders were no mere decorations, but had some sort of magical function!

Occasionally, people could be seen walking into and out of the shimmering light cast by the boulders!

Although such cultivators were not dressed in expensive, extravagant clothing, they were clearly different from the giants. They were good-looking, well-washed and clean!

Clearly, these were none other than... Wildlands soul cultivators!!

Whenever such soul cultivators emerged from the central area in the tents, the savage giants who saw them would drop to their knees and kowtow respectfully.

In the Wildlands, soul cultivators occupied a high position, almost like nobility. They were almost like gods who enslaved the savages and commanded the seas of souls.

Also in the middle of the ring of black boulders... floating in midair... was a black altar!

“Dammit!!” The old man sitting on the altar had a very unsightly expression on his face, and his eyes burned with fury as he watched the scene playing out on the water screen. Thirteen pill furnaces sailed out from behind the Great Wall, then exploded, completely razing a 30,000-meter area.

The looks of fear on the faces of the savages were clearly visible, and as for the vengeful souls, they were clearly terrified....

“Pill furnaces....” the old man murmured, his eyes flashing with hatred. This was his second time seeing pill furnaces thrown out from behind the Great Wall. Of course, what was most shocking was not the explosions themselves, but the medicinal strength of the pills inside of them!

Although it was impossible to say what those pills were, they were terrifyingly effective at handling vengeful souls.

“How can we carry out the grand elder’s plan this way…? We need to get that Chen Hetian outside of the Great Wall and then kill him....” The old man frowned. He was sure that it wouldn't take long for the tribal chiefs among the savages to realize the implication of this development.

With those terrifying pill furnaces being used, the sea of souls would be of little help. As such, the savage giants would have no backup, and it would be difficult to force them to charge into battle.

Back on the battlefield outside the Great Wall, the sudden appearance of a 30,000-meter area of emptiness resulted in complete silence. Atop the Great Wall, the cultivators of the five legions all gasped, their eyes going wide and their jaws dropping.

Then, a huge commotion broke out.

“Were those... the same type of pill furnaces as last time?”

“Heavens! This time was even more shocking than last time. Thirteen exploding pill furnaces really devastated the sea of souls!!”

“The countless vengeful souls... are clearly terrified!!”

After all, everyone had seen dear friends injured and killed in the fighting. Because of that, their emotions were running particularly high, and many of them turned in the direction of the Skin Flayers’ district, their eyes shining with bright light.

After that, the fighting continued. However, it was clear that the savages and the vengeful souls were slightly hesitant compared to before. Occasionally, they would look up into the sky, seemingly fearful of descending pill furnaces.

Bai Lin was thrilled as he turned and headed off of the wall. Back in the Armory, Bai Xiaochun was standing there looking absentmindedly at the unexploded pill furnaces, wondering what was happening outside the Great Wall.

However, the situation in the city was the same now as it had been before. Unless something incredibly shocking happened, like the previous appearance of the Underworld River, people inside the Great Wall wouldn’t be able to hear anything about what was happening on the outside.

Bai Lin soon came whistling through the air toward Bai Xiaochun, and before he even arrived, his laughter filled the air. As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard that laughter, his heart calmed, and he struck a lofty pose. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stood there looking like a transcendent being, elegant and graceful to the extreme.

“Bai, my boy, you did wonderful!” As Bai Lin touched down, excitement could still be seen on his face as he waved his hand, sending a violet command medallion with the Skin Flayers’ sigil on it flying toward Bai Xiaochun.

“The five legions of the Hall of Steel Veins have clear punishments and rewards in place. Bai Xiaochun, your success in the Dao of medicine has earned you the right to lead ten soldiers. Henceforth, you are a lieutenant of the Skin Flayers!”

Considering that Bai Xiaochun was new to the Great Wall, he wasn’t completely familiar with everything, and didn't know much about the position of lieutenant. However, the four young guards who had been watching over them immediately cast envious glances at the violet command medallion.

All of them had been members of the Skin Flayers for years already, and still had not reached the rank of lieutenant. And yet, Bai Xiaochun had just barely arrived, and was already being promoted.

In any other circumstance, they would have found this hard to accept. However, the fear inspired in them by the exploding pill furnaces ensured that, after merely exchanging a few glances among themselves, they all admitted it was reasonable.

“Not only does that command medallion represent your position in the Skin Flayers, it also will keep a record of your battle credits. The number of enemies killed by each of your exploding pill furnaces will be collected there!” The approval in Bai Lin’s eyes couldn’t have been clearer, and the truth was that were it not for the strict rules in the five legions, he would have directly promoted Bai Xiaochun to the rank of captain.

“Lieutenant?” Bai Xiaochun murmured, accepting the violet command medallion. When he did, something warm spread out from the medallion and entered his body, instantly enlivening him. As of that moment, he realized that this command medallion was no ordinary item. After merging it with his divine sense, he could sense a strange connection between himself and the enormous, towering pagoda in the middle of Great Wall City.

“That’s right,” Bai Lin said. “Don’t underestimate the rank of lieutenant. As of now, you can select ten cultivators from the army to be your personal entourage. They will have no choice but to follow any and all orders you give them!” After giving a bit more encouragement, Bai Lin said that he hoped Bai Xiaochun would be able to make more exploding pill furnaces, and increasingly powerful ones at that. Finally, he left.

Bai Xiaochun stood there looking at the lieutenant’s command medallion for a moment before blinking a few times and looking up at the four young guards. Immediately, the four of them stepped forward and saluted solemnly.

“Greetings, Lieutenant!”

Feeling wonderful, Bai Xiaochun looked over the group of four, then glanced down at the command medallion momentarily. Clearing his throat, he looked at the young men and said, “You’ve been stationed here for some time, and yet I don't know your names.”

“Zhao Long, at your service!”

“Sun Li, at your service!”

“Xu Deshan, at your service!”

“Zhou Wu, at your service!” 

Considering everything these four young men had seen over the past several days, and the fact that Bai Xiaochun was now a lieutenant, they looked him with solemn expressions of awe. That was especially true of Zhao Long, who was in the late Core Formation stage, and seemed especially in awe of Bai Xiaochun. Part of that was because he was the very same young man who had been blasted off into parts unknown a few days before....

“From now on, you four are under my command. We have six more spots open, so I’ll let you four handle that. Hurry up and find the right people. With me in charge, we will advance triumphantly to the highest of heights!” Bai Xiaochun felt that the words he had just spoken were quite extraordinary and inspiring.

Zhao Long and his companions could see that Bai Xiaochun was on the rise, and that following him was a good choice for them. After a moment of hesitation, they exchanged glances, then voiced their assent and left to find more cultivators.

After they were gone, Bai Xiaochun began to inspect the pill furnaces again. Around evening, Zhao Long and the other returned, six cultivators in tow. Four were men and two were women, and all of them were looking curiously at Bai Xiaochun.