Top Soldier Pursued by a Beauty

"Master!" Qing Yu cried, rushing forward to help Mu Yu up.

"I'm fine," Mu Yu said, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth as she staggered to her feet.

"Mu Yu, you're no match for us. Surrender now, and we might let you live!" the one-eyed elder said with a grim expression, slowly advancing.

"Never!"

Mu Yu spat, then lunged with her longsword, attacking the two men again.

"Master, I'll help you!" Seeing that Mu Yu was losing, Zhao Dong could wait no longer and rushed to join the fray.

"Good!" Mu Yu did not refuse, and they attacked together.

But they were facing two Great Grandmasters at their peak. Even united, they were ultimately no match. After a dozen more clashes, both were beaten and left sprawling on the ground, exhausted.

Mu Yu's face paled as she vomited a mouthful of blood. Zhao Dong was just as battered and out of strength.

"Mu Yu," the one-eyed elder said coldly, "for the sake of the many years we spent in the same sect, hand over the two behind you. There is still a chance to salvage this! If you continue to be this stubborn, you're simply seeking death!"

"Pah!" Mu Yu scoffed. "Drop the act. If you want me to hand over my disciples, you'll have to kill me first!"

"If you won't do this the easy way, you'll have it the hard way!" The one-eyed elder's eyes flashed with killing intent. "Since you're so eager to die, don't blame us for being merciless!"

His words fell as the one-eyed elder attacked once again. A storm of hidden weapons filled the sky, instantly blanketing the three of them. At the same time, the other elder's projectile of compressed air shot toward them again.

"Zhao Dong! Protect Qing Yu!" Mu Yu yelled, stepping forward and dragging her severely injured body to block most of the deadly attacks.

Zhao Dong didn't dare hesitate and immediately shielded Qing Yu behind him.

SQUELCH!

The sound of hidden weapons tearing through flesh rang out. Under the powerful blows, Mu Yu and Zhao Dong were sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Hmph! A mantis trying to stop a chariot. You truly overestimate yourselves!" the one-eyed elder snorted, his eyes full of disdain. As he spoke, the two men retracted their Spiritual Energy and began walking toward Mu Yu.

Mu Yu was a wretched sight, her hair disheveled and her mouth stained with blood. She wanted to fight back, but her grievously injured body wouldn't even allow her to stand. As she watched the two draw closer step by step, her eyes filled with despair.

Beside her, Qing Yu was sobbing miserably, constantly muttering apologies.

Mu Yu glanced at the setting sun in the distance, a bitter smile on her face.

Is this how it ends?

"Heh, do you really think you can still fight back?" the one-eyed elder sneered.

Mu Yu smiled grimly. "My death is nothing. My only regret is for the Blood Sect. Such a great sect, and it's about to be destroyed by your hands."

"A traitor like you has the nerve to speak of the sect? You disgust me!" the one-eyed elder said with contempt.

Mu Yu didn't reply. She had, indeed, betrayed the sect. But why had she done it? Was it merely out of affection for her disciples? Of course not.

Ouyang Hong and the others who held power in the sect acted with arrogant impunity. By now, the Blood Sect's reputation in the outside world was in ruins, and they had offended countless factions. Although the Blood Sect could rely on its iron-fisted methods to maintain its standing in the Provincial City for now, there was always someone stronger out there. The Blood Sect's tyrannical behavior would one day provoke a more terrifying power and bring about its own destruction.

Ultimately, Mu Yu was thinking of the sect's hundred-year legacy. If Ouyang Hong and his cronies weren't removed, the Blood Sect was doomed.

"Master!"

At that moment, Zhao Dong dragged his battered body and staggered to Mu Yu's side.

The one-eyed elder and his companion saw this but didn't bother to stop him. In their eyes, Mu Yu and Zhao Dong were nothing but lambs for the slaughter. They much preferred watching their prey struggle over killing them outright.

Zhao Dong took a pill from his robes, grabbed Mu Yu's hand, and pressed it into her palm.

"What's this?" Mu Yu asked, somewhat surprised.

"Master, don't ask. Just take it," Zhao Dong said with a determined look.

"A healing pill?" Mu Yu asked with a bitter smile. "Even at our peak, we were no match for them. What good would healing our wounds do now?"

Although she said this, she still tilted her head back and tossed the pill into her mouth. She was going to die either way. There was no reason to refuse Zhao Dong's kindness in her final moments.

The pill dissolved the moment it touched her tongue. A potent medicinal power instantly exploded within her Dantian! At the same time, a vortex formed inside Mu Yu. The surrounding Spiritual Energy swirled like a tornado and rushed toward her!

"This is...!" Mu Yu's eyes widened.

She felt her depleted Spiritual Energy not only being replenished in an instant but also continuing to skyrocket. The sudden commotion stirred up a fierce wind all around them. A terrifying pressure erupted from Mu Yu, so immense that the one-eyed elder and his companion broke out in a cold sweat.

"This is bad! Stop her, quickly!" the one-eyed elder roared in terror and attacked with his full strength, launching another volley of hidden weapons. The other elder, realizing the gravity of the situation, also attacked at once.

But just as the weapons and deadly attacks were about to land, the ground trembled violently. The surrounding trees suddenly uprooted themselves and shot toward the attacks.

"No! Her Spiritual Energy is protecting her automatically! She... she has broken through to the legendary Martial Saint realm!"

Everyone says that the Great Grandmaster realm is the apex of the martial path, but it is not the end of the road. The Martial Saint is the realm above the Great Grandmaster, but breaking through is extremely difficult. It not only requires one to reach the pinnacle of the Great Grandmaster realm but also to perceive a trace of the Dao's essence, achieving a unity of self and energy—a state where a single thought can bring all things to life.

Not even one in ten thousand Great Grandmasters might succeed in breaking through to the Martial Saint realm. But once they do, not even ten thousand Great Grandmasters could hope to kill a single Martial Saint. This is because Martial Saints have mastered the ability to control nature itself, a power far beyond the scope of traditional martial arts.

Seeing the very earth and trees bend to her will, the one-eyed elder's legs turned to jelly.

We can't win! We absolutely can't win!

Without a moment's hesitation, the two turned and fled.

"Trying to escape? Audacious!" Mu Yu's thunderous cry rang out. "Earth, kill!"

The moment she spoke, the ground in the direction of the two fleeing elders trembled violently before a massive fissure split it open. They were moving too quickly to stop or dodge and plunged headlong into the chasm.

"Close!" Mu Yu formed a hand seal, and the massive fissure instantly slammed shut.

CRACK!

The two didn't even have time to scream before they vanished from the face of the earth.

Silence. A dead, chilling silence.

Nearby, Zhao Dong and Qing Yu could only stare, completely dumbfounded.

So this is the power of a Martial Saint...?

After killing the two elders, an ecstatic expression appeared on Mu Yu's face. She turned to Zhao Dong and asked excitedly, "Zhao Dong, what on earth did you give me? How did I suddenly break through to the Martial Saint realm?!"

Zhao Dong suppressed his own shock and explained, "That was a Violent Blood Pill. It can temporarily raise one's strength by two minor realms. Since you were already at the pinnacle of the Great Grandmaster realm, Master, it's not surprising that it pushed you into the Martial Saint realm."

"For a short time?" Mu Yu looked inward at her Dantian and saw that the potent power was, indeed, rapidly fading away.