Chapter 55: The Battle Rages On
Seeing everyone come to a stop finally allowed Yaan to pause, look around and properly assess the field. He had been battling none stop, swept up with the Ghu Clan's momentum, and not given the chance to take a breather thanks the ferocity of their enemy. Now that he looked around, he was briefly stunned by the scene all around him.
Blood, the injured and dead bodies, it was truly the mid-way state of a gruelling battlefield. At this point, almost nobody was completely uninjured, and everyone was exhausted to the point that they felt light headed.
The bulk of the dead were those at the True Yuan Qi realm, but there was also no lack of Qi Temple realm casualties. Some of the deceased even belonged to prestigious groups, including the Ghu Clan…in a battle such as this with dangerous spells and valuable treasures being thrown about crazily in every direction, it was far too easy to make a simple mistake, resulting in the end of your life.
Yaan was better off in this regard in that his body was naturally very resilient, even if he was caught up in the crossfire of a powerful attack, he would likely only be injured and not killed. He was also able to use vital recovery pills constantly to accelerate his restoration rate, something that was not advisable for Qi masters, since rapidly using those pills could cause them to suffer from even greater injuries.
Still, Yaan felt wary right now. He was breathing heavily and covered in cuts and bruises, not to mention multiple bone fractures spread throughout his body. He quickly swallowed another recovery pill, but he had used too many in a short period of time and they were beginning to lose their effect. These pills wouldn't work indefinitely, not when he was exhausting himself without rest at least.
Glancing to the side, Yaan tried to read Ghu Lin's expression. Unfortunately, he was as unreadable as ever. Whilst he was also clearly tired and slightly pale faced, his eyes were still serene, showing nothing. Not a trace of his inner thoughts could be deduced.
Just as Yaan was taking this chance to catch his breath and recover, Ghu Lin suddenly yelled something out that made Yaan's expression darken.
"Everyone, charge now whilst the enemy is exhausted!"
"We're all exhausted too!" Yaan turned to the side sharply and almost growled out. He couldn't help it, he felt both helpless and bewildered by this unexpected order! From a strategic point of view, it made no sense to throw themselves back into the battle when half of their side was on the brink of collapsing! All this would achieve was increasing the casualties experienced by both sides!
Yaan held onto a thin thread of hope that the Ghu Clansmen would ignore this crazy command. So long as they all ignored it, then the Ghu Clan guests and the few remaining pawns would also follow suit.
He knew that the Ghu Clansmen were not truly loyal to Ghu Lin, they were all a self serving bunch…but Yaan had underestimated their tenacity. Even though their bodies burned from the strain and exhaustion, despite barely being able to stand, every single Ghu Clansman present was ready and willing to battle on! It seemed that the 'training' they were forced to endure during their youth truly did temper these demonic clansmen into monsters…especially when it came to war!
Oftentimes in war, even when your muscles screamed at you to stop, even when your lungs burned and your head was spinning, even when you barely had the strength to lift your weapon…you still needed to fight! Even on the verge of death, you needed to battle on, ignoring your pitiful state so that you could cling to the thin strand of hope for survival. Your survival may very well be forfeit should you fail to develop this tenacity!
Even mortal warriors would eventually come to understand this fact. In fact, every surviving individual would, during the brink of an arduous war, realise this truth; pain was temporary, but death was not! The only way forwards was to battle on!
This was the natural thought process that swept through everyone's minds upon hearing Ghu Lin's command. Yaan's eye flashed as he noticed a faint, barely visible golden ripple, spread out across the crowd, passing through both enemy and ally alike. He glanced at Ghu Nadda and saw that his expression was also extremely dark right now.
They both realised it due to their experience in life and death situations, and because of their high cultivation levels. Ghu Lin had used this opportune moment when tensions were running high to use a mysterious spell, a spell that swept across the battlefield unknown to most! Its effect was not strong, but it was able to rouse the spirits and bloodlust felt by all on the battlefield, pushing forth their desire to battle. Like this, the masses accepted the decision that they must continue on!
Perhaps in normal times, when they were not under such immense life and death pressure, then more people would have noticed it. In truth, at least a dozen individuals realised what had happened, but they were all equally helpless to prevent the coming frenzy. The leaders of both sides were swept up in the momentum of their own followers, forced to follow the secret machination set in place by one man; Ghu Lin!
'To use a simple spell in this way, a spell that is subtle and only barely affects the emotional states of those in range…as I suspected, Ghu Lin is truly terrifying!'
Once again, the battle raged forth. Both sides were swept up in the momentum of their comrades and the pressure of their enemies, unable to voice their complaints in the sudden surge of blood thirst. They could not pull back for fear of being labelled a traitor, and holding back would result in the high chance that they would be killed!
CRASH!
As the two sides collided, it was exactly as Yaan had predicted. People lashed out crazily in their desperation, whilst many lost their lives in their carelessness. The dead stacked up on both sides, though the seasoned Ghu Clansmen were slightly better off. That said, all others on the Ghu Clan side, including their guests, allies and pawns, were in a miserable state, just like their opposition. Any stray attack could lead to a severe injury, and at this point, everybody had already overused recovery pills to the extent that they were no longer showing much of any effect.
All of this was caused by one man…Ghu Lin!
Even now, he seemed to care not for the losses on his own side, as if their deaths held no meaning to him. No, thinking about it, this definitely was indeed the case. Even if his own clansmen were to die, he likely would not care in the least.
Still though, even knowing that Ghu Lin didn't care about the lives of his comrades in the least…despite all of this…
Yaan felt that something was seriously wrong about this situation!
Not only his allies, but Ghu Lin himself was clearly showing signs of exhaustion, so why did he insist on avoiding a break, instead thrusting himself into the midst of a chaotic and dangerous frenzy where his own life was placed in jeopardy?! No matter how much Yaan considered it, he couldn't think of a good reason, which was making him feel more and more uneasy.
BANG!
"Peugh!" Suddenly, Yaan's train of thought was cut off. He narrowed his eyes and cleared his mind for now, he had no luxury to worry about Ghu Lin when there was a more immediate threat before him…the leader of the opposition, the Aque Clansman, Aque Li!
Yaan had only learned of this name recently, but he knew about the Aque Clan. This clan was one of the few groups in the Ghu Province which was currently lead by an Origin Soul realm powerhouse. The Aque Clan was a group that could compete with the remaining three clans in the Greenwood mountain range to the North of the province. Since they were located on the Western coast of the province, not far from the inheritance site, they often sent disciples to compete in the inheritance. This year, it seemed that they had hidden themselves well, blending themselves into the masses. This was likely an attempt to catch the Ghu Clan off guard at an opportune moment.
Aque Li had revealed himself only because he wanted to rally the others to gather together, in an attempt to resist the Ghu Clan's relentless mission to massacre. He used the premise of 'leaving the inheritance' to band everyone together peacefully, but in truth, wasn't that almost everyone's plan? Almost nobody would willingly enter the 4th trial, since nobody had returned alive from that trial ever since the inheritance's discovery 1,800 years ago!
Either the 4th trial was an absolute death trap, or it took countless years to complete the inheritance as a whole, or, the exit to the inheritance was in some far off land, making it impossible for anyone to return to the Ghu Province. Most speculated that the second of these possibilities was most likely; from the 4th trial onwards, the inheritance simply took far too long to complete. Well, it was probably quite dangerous too, given the former trials.
Regardless, everyone wanted to leave, and nobody had wanted to engage in this present bloodbath. As such, Aque Li managed to rally everyone unaffiliated to the Ghu Clan under his banner. Whether it was his identity as a young prodigy of the Aque Clan, or his power as a 5th Layer Qi Temple realm Qi master, he was certainly a person who possessed the qualifications to be a leader.
And now, with the majority of the Ghu Clan pawns disposed of, the Aque side had far greater numbers. Of course, that's not to say that they possessed greater power, not at all…
Just the forefront of the Ghu Clan side, consisting of Ghu Lin, Yaan and Ghu Nadda, was a terrifying force that formed the tip of the arrow formation used by the Ghu Clan to pierce through their opposition like a spear of death. Ghu Lin's mysterious fatal methods left his opponents crippled without knowing what hit them. Ghu Nadda's control over his powerful corpse puppets shocked everyone, even Yaan and Ghu Lin. His achievements in this battle were extremely notable and so long as he returned alive, he would be heavily rewarded and nurtured by his clan.
And Yaan was a body temperer, someone unaffected by the lacking spiritual energy in this enormous palace trial. His stamina was beyond others, and casual attacks simply couldn't even penetrate past his skin. His recovery rate also made him a terrifying force in war, because unlike Qi masters, the accumulation of countless minor injuries did not affect him badly, since they recovered almost as fast as they were received.
Still though, despite Yaan's strength and clear advantages over the Qi masters here, why was he the one fighting Aque Li head on?! Sure, he was strong in this place, but Ghu Lin was obviously a level stronger! Ghu Lin was at the 6th layer, he was the strongest player in this trial, whilst Aque Li was at the 5th layer…he was Ghu Lin's natural opponent, right?!
Not to mention that the two were both young prodigies from their respective, opposing clans, whilst Yaan was just some unknown outsider!
Yaan briefly glanced at Aque Li's expression as he raised his staff, summoning a miniature tsunami which shot towards Yaan. He saw a hint of confusion and doubt as the middle aged looking man glanced at Ghu Lin, alongside a hint of wariness. From this, Yaan actually felt a bit relieved…for a moment, his heart lurched as he had the thought that perhaps Ghu Lin and Aque Li had actually teamed up against him in secret! Luckily, the Aque Clan and Ghu Clan had an even worse relationship than he realised, such an alliance was basically impossible.
As the torrential wave reached him in mere seconds, Yaan's expression became serious. He had no luxury to worry about others, Aque Li was targeting him with his full strength, and he was not an opponent that Yaan could take lightly!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SpicyDaoist
SpicyDaoist I took a bit of a long break since the last chapter since I caught covid and the fatigue hit me hard, but now I'm back and will be releasing a chapter every other day. Enjoy!
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