The imperial soldiers reined in their horses when they saw Wei Liang. Their torches cast dancing shadows across his blood-stained robes. Captain Chen Hu raised his hand to stop his men.
"You there," Chen Hu called out. "Have you seen a merchant caravan pass this way?"
Wei Liang smiled and pointed behind him with his spear. "They decided to stay for dinner."
Chen Hu squinted into the darkness. Then the wind shifted. The smell of blood reached his nose. His hand moved to his sword hilt.
"Dismount!" he ordered his soldiers. "Form battle lines!"
The imperial troops dropped from their horses. They wore matching armor and carried identical weapons. Their movements showed good training and discipline. These were not village militia or merchant guards.
Wei Liang counted thirty-two soldiers plus their captain. All of them looked experienced. Their qi auras showed they were cultivators too. Not strong ones, but cultivators nonetheless.
"Surrender now and your death will be quick," Chen Hu said. He drew his sword. The steel gleamed in the torchlight.
"Death?" Wei Liang laughed. "I am the one who brings death."
He charged forward with his spear leading. The iron tip punched through the first soldier's breastplate. Blood sprayed across the forest floor. Wei Liang yanked his weapon free and spun to face the next attacker.
Two soldiers came at him from different sides. Wei Liang's spear shaft blocked the first sword strike. He pivoted and drove his spear point into the second man's stomach. The soldier doubled over and fell.
More soldiers pressed forward. Their swords flashed in the dancing torchlight. Wei Liang's spear wove between their attacks like a striking snake. Each movement was precise and deadly.
The Iron Blood Manual had changed his body. His reflexes were faster than normal humans. His strength could bend iron. His qi pathways burned with stolen life force.
A soldier's sword cut across Wei Liang's shoulder. The blade barely scratched his enhanced skin. Wei Liang's return strike took the man's head clean off. Blood fountained from the severed neck.
"Formation Delta!" Captain Chen Hu shouted.
The surviving soldiers spread out in a wide circle. They attacked in coordinated waves. Three from the front, two from each side. Their timing was perfect from years of training together.
But Wei Liang had read their movements. The Iron Blood Manual taught more than just power. It showed how to see through an enemy's intentions. How to predict their attacks before they began.
He dropped low and swept his spear in a wide arc. The shaft caught three soldiers across their ankles. Bones cracked like dry wood. The men crashed to the ground screaming.
Wei Liang rose and thrust his spear straight up. The point emerged from beneath a falling soldier's chin. Brain matter dripped down the iron shaft.
Captain Chen Hu stepped forward himself. His sword glowed with qi energy. This was his trump card. A family technique passed down through five generations.
"Azure Dragon Slash!" he roared.
His sword moved like blue lightning. The qi blade extended six feet beyond the steel. It could cut through stone and iron with equal ease.
Wei Liang met the attack head-on. His spear blazed with dark red energy. The two weapons clashed in a shower of sparks. The force of impact cracked trees and shattered rocks.
Chen Hu's eyes went wide. His Azure Dragon Slash had never been stopped before. What kind of monster was this man?
Wei Liang pressed forward. His spear moved in a complex pattern from the Iron Blood Manual. Each strike built on the last one. The tempo increased with every exchange.
Chen Hu gave ground steadily. His breathing grew labored. Sweat ran down his face despite the cool night air. This opponent was beyond his abilities.
The spear point finally found its mark. It slipped past Chen Hu's guard and pierced his heart. The captain looked down at the iron shaft protruding from his chest.
"Impossible," he whispered.
Wei Liang twisted the spear and pulled it free. Chen Hu collapsed face-first into the dirt. His blood mixed with that of his soldiers.
The remaining troops broke and ran. They mounted their horses and fled into the darkness. Wei Liang did not pursue them. He had what he needed right here.
Thirty-three fresh corpses lay scattered around the forest clearing. Their blood was still warm. Still rich with qi energy. Wei Liang began collecting it in every container he could find.
By dawn, he had filled two dozen waterskins and pottery jars. This much blood would fuel his cultivation for months. The Iron Blood Manual's second stage required exactly this kind of sacrifice.
Wei Liang returned to his cave behind the waterfall. He arranged the blood containers in a ritual circle. Then he sat in the center and began the advanced meditation.
The blood began to glow and bubble. Dark red vapors rose from each container. Wei Liang breathed in the crimson mist. He felt it entering his lungs and spreading through his body.
His qi pathways expanded further. His bones became as hard as iron. His muscles developed the strength to lift massive stones. But the greatest change was in his mind.
The Iron Blood Manual was rewriting his soul. Each death made him colder. Each drop of stolen blood froze another piece of his humanity. He was becoming something beyond human limits.
Three weeks passed in isolation. Wei Liang emerged from the cave a changed man. His eyes now held a red gleam. His skin had taken on a pale, corpse-like color. When he smiled, his teeth looked sharp as a wolf's.
The blood was running low. He needed more deaths to continue advancing. The Iron Blood Manual's third stage demanded the sacrifice of a hundred people. All killed by his own hand within a single night.
Wei Liang picked up his spear and headed down the mountain. He knew exactly where to find his victims. The town of Silver Creek lay two days' walk to the east. It held over three hundred residents.
More than enough for his needs.
The path wound through dense forest and rocky hills. Wei Liang moved with inhuman speed. His enhanced body never tired or grew hungry. He reached Silver Creek by sunset on the second day.
The town sat in a valley beside a fast-flowing river. Wooden houses lined neat streets. Gardens bloomed with vegetables and flowers. Children played in the squares while their parents watched and smiled.
It looked peaceful. Prosperous. Happy.
Wei Liang hated it on sight.
He waited until full darkness fell. Then he entered Silver Creek through the north gate. The guards were drinking wine and playing dice. They never saw him coming.
His spear took both their lives in a single thrust. Wei Liang dragged their bodies into the shadows. Then he barred the gate from the inside.
No one would escape tonight.