Chapter 181 – Molding the Military Soul, Isn't This Basic?

On the vast silver-white training ground, a fierce wind lifted Mu Yuan’s hair, causing his navy-blue sleeves to flutter and snap loudly in the breeze.

He stared at the figure in the distance—not tall, yet exuding an overwhelmingly terrifying aura, like a giant standing there, casting an indescribable pressure that made it hard for him to breathe.

If an ordinary old Lord were here instead, they might not even be able to stand steadily, trembling in fear.

“Is this the true power of a Great Lord?”

Even with the rules balancing things, one could faintly glimpse the strength of the Fourth-Order Commander Tier.

And this level of power was something many players, even official personnel and veteran Lords, had never had the chance to witness.

Mu Yuan had caught a glimpse of high-tier strength.

Indeed, as Shen Linglong had observed, even with the rules balancing her, such a sparring match was still unfair. She retained various advantages—accumulated time, technique, experience, and Realm—things that couldn’t be balanced.

But,

Mu Yuan wasn’t playing fair either. Epic lifeforms existed beyond the high-tier, beings even more unfathomable!

“Dorae Basic Template, First Mode.”

His hair began to lengthen, falling to his waist. This was due to the extreme demands of the newly combined mode; he had no attention to spare for minor details.

Within his body, power surged in waves, and his energy pool expanded rapidly.

Double! Triple! Sixfold! Tenfold!

A torrent of energy overflowed uncontrollably, sparking faint embers around him.

He, too, seemed to emanate a faint aura around him, much like Shen Linglong, though his was less defined.

Then,

Mu Yuan took another breath, closed his eyes, and abruptly opened them again. His pupils swirled with ghostly blue soulfire, absorbing the silent abyss.

Boom—

Behind him, a majestic and magnificent mountain materialized. From afar, it appeared to be a snow-capped peak, blanketed in pristine white. But upon closer inspection, it wasn’t snow—it was layers upon layers of stark white bones, dyeing the mountain’s gray-black earth pale.

Simultaneously, a brown spear, forged from malevolent energy, took shape between his loosely clasped palms.

He gripped it lightly, pointing the spear tip forward.

His entire state had already peaked.

Boom—

Two frenzied forces surged forth like tidal waves, colliding over a kilometer apart, compressing into visible arc-shaped ripples in the empty space ahead. The ripples spread out in layers like waves.

“I’m coming!”

Shen Linglong roared excitedly, like a Vicious Beast’s snarl. As she stomped the ground, the sturdy earth—capable of withstanding an Elite-level strike—cracked and fractured.

Her entire body shot forward like a cannonball, descending from above, a two-and-a-half-meter-long halberd slashing down heavily.

Following Mu Yuan’s usual approach, he would first evade and maneuver, figuring out the enemy’s patterns before delivering a decisive spear thrust.

But,

the moment he thought to dodge, it felt as if he had hit a wall. The air around him thickened, becoming like walls, like a cage, binding him within.

This was the power of Concept—he was locked in place.

He had no choice but to engage in direct, Physical Body combat.

Fortunately, he had chosen the Rakshasa Template as his primary combat method.The Fiendish Power surged, whipping his wildly dancing black hair into a frenzy. Against the backdrop of thick, dark brown smoke, he resembled a demon god emerging from the underworld, thrusting his spear forward as an extreme force erupted from its tip.

In the next moment, Mu Yuan’s expression shifted slightly.

The immense Fiendish Power was shattered by the heavy halberd’s strike. The residual force from the halberd continued unabated, crashing down on his spear tip with such intensity that the entire Fiendish Spear nearly cracked, and his palms buzzed and split open from the impact.

“This strength…!”

Although Dolai wasn’t a strength-focused combatant, it had Devoured rare ingredients like the Earth Rock Dragon and various Treasures and Materials. Its strength was merely less prominent compared to its vast energy reserves, but it was by no means weak.

Combining Mu Yuan’s own power with the Dorae Basic Template, his strength surpassed that of many warrior-level experts.

Yet, at the same level, he still couldn’t withstand a single strike from Linglong Lord.

“Is this the power of a top-tier Great Lord?!”

He clicked his tongue in astonishment.

Forced to dissipate and reform the Fiendish Spear, he gripped the shaft and executed a series of rapid thrusts, trading speed and frequency for raw power, barely managing to block the overwhelmingly heavy blow.

He was still sent stumbling back over a dozen steps, leaving clear shoe prints on the hard floor with each retreat.

However, Shen Linglong was equally astonished—who would dare to block her slash head-on? When she sparred with other Great Lords, none had ever attempted such a thing.

Most crucially, Tianyuan had actually… succeeded in blocking it?

This was a strike delivered in her explosive posture, enhanced by her strategic talent, and infused with a Perfection-level Concept.

She felt like an invincible, lonely powerhouse encountering another peerless warrior, her blazing gaze almost tangible with intensity.

Especially since this opponent engaged her in direct, hard clashes—exactly what she loved most!

Shen Linglong stomped the ground and charged forward, the immensely heavy halberd swinging as lightly as a toy in her hands. She wielded it with sweeping arcs and powerful chops, stirring up gusts of wind with each movement.

Mu Yuan wasn’t unwilling to dodge; with the Dorae Basic Template and Rakshasa’s Fiendish Body, he believed he held the advantage in speed. But…

He simply couldn’t evade.

This was the vast gap between an entry-level concept and a perfection-level concept.

On another note, his Spear Intent only allowed him to perfectly harness his full strength while boosting his power and destructive force by 30%. In contrast, Shen Linglong, with her Perfection-level Concept, could enhance her strength by 150% under perfect execution.

That was the disparity.

Mu Yuan had another recourse—compensating for lack of strength with energy—but as the battle wore on, he suddenly sank into a profound, mysterious state.

He continued to block the halberd’s strikes head-on.

His palms split and bled, only to heal rapidly under the Fiendish Body’s power.

Amid the relentless clashing sounds, he was repeatedly forced back, his entire body numb from the vibrations, yet his eyes grew increasingly bright. Until, at a certain moment…

“Pop~!”

As if a spear had pierced through a sheet of paper.

His Spear Intent, which had reached the ‘Peak of Initial Stage,’ finally advanced to Minor Achievement, evolving from ordinary Spear Intent into ‘Unyielding Spear Intent’—an Advanced Concept that grew stronger with each setback.

Wait, why was it called Unyielding Spear Intent?

His thoughts drifted after the breakthrough, recalling the two periods when his Concept had progressed the fastest: in the Hero Arena, being utterly dominated by the gatekeeper; and here, being continuously suppressed by Shen Linglong. Hadn’t that very pressure forged his Unyielding Spear Intent?

How infuriating!

But now, it was his turn.After his Spear Intent breakthrough, he was already able to break free from Shen Linglong’s suppression lock. Transforming into wisps of brown mist, he swiftly dodged aside as the massive halberd slammed into the spot where he had just stood.

Without his resistance and blocking, the hard floor shattered with a cacophony, collapsing inward to form a crater dozens of meters in diameter.

Amid the flying debris, the lithe figure wielding the giant halberd charged out once more.

Mu Yuan dodged again.

Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge—heh, just keep dodging.

Compared to the strain of direct confrontation, relying on speed and the advantage of his Incarnation as a malevolent spirit to evade and maneuver felt far more effortless.

But Shen Linglong was far from satisfied. “Come fight me head-on! Why keep dodging!”

“As you wish.”

Mu Yuan halted his evasive steps, gripping his spear tightly as thick malevolent energy surged around him.

He knew full well that even with his Spear Intent breakthrough, he still couldn’t overpower Shen Linglong in raw strength. She was clearly a power-type fighter.

In that case—

Hum—

Behind him, the snow-white bones of the Undead Holy Mountain solidified, and hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of skeletal creatures crawled out from the burial grounds.

They clattered and roared, chanting the name of the Undead Emperor… no, Emperor Mu Yuan.

Previously, Mu Yuan had only received the amplification from the ‘Undead Holy Mountain’ territory, but now, using his Undead Domination talent, he drew upon the power of countless undead creatures, channeling it all into himself.

An endless stream of power flooded in!

The energy within him surged and roared.

Tenfold! Twentyfold! Thirtyfold! A hundredfold!

“This spear strike is called the Dark Nether Dragon.”

The spear shot forth like a dragon, its vast and mighty power coalescing into a vivid brown giant dragon that flew out before him, roaring as it pounced down toward Shen Linglong.

In that moment, Shen Linglong experienced what Mu Yuan had felt earlier.

Under the oppressive force of the Dark Nether Dragon, the surrounding space grew thick and stagnant, leaving no room for evasion.

She had no intention of dodging.

But her extensive combat experience judged: with her current strength, she could not withstand this move.

She had no choice but to activate her second-stage transformation!

“Bring it on!”

She bellowed, her roar growing increasingly thunderous.

Simultaneously, her body emitted sharp cracking sounds, as if some restriction had been unleashed…

Her originally slender arms suddenly bulged, swelling circle after circle until, in an instant, they became thicker than Mu Yuan’s thighs!

Her armor didn’t tear apart but stretched along with her expanding form.

In the blink of an eye, the originally petite Shen Linglong, standing only 1.6 meters tall, transformed into a muscular, brawny Barbie over two meters tall!

“Hiss—”

Mu Yuan sucked in a breath, tightening his grip on the malevolent spear as he pushed forward with renewed force, unleashing a second burst of power.

The Dark Nether Dragon and the brawny figure engulfed in orange flames collided violently, erupting into an overwhelming tide of energy.

Within the tumult, Shen Linglong’s giant halberd trembled as the two forces clashed and continuously canceled each other out.

But just as the orange flames were about to dim and vanish, the Dark Nether Dragon’s form still retained more than half of its energy.

At this point, even with her blazing Battle Intent, Shen Linglong began to sense impending doom.

How could a newcomer possess such profound and enduring energy? Was that even reasonable?

The Nether Dragon descended.

Shen Linglong only had time to utter a “Holy shit!” before her entire body was swept away by the energy tide, flung backward for several thousand meters.

She bled profusely mid-air.

Her brawny form deflated like a leaky balloon, shrinking back into her petite and delicate state.She crashed heavily to the ground, struggling for several seconds before managing to prop herself up halfway, but she was already drenched in blood with her armor in tatters.

“Exhilarating! Let’s do it a few more times!”

She shouted.

Mu Yuan: “?”

……

After several more intense battles, Shen Linglong expressed great satisfaction.

Mu Yuan was also very satisfied.

He had exerted his full strength multiple times, and with Shen Linglong as an excellent super training dummy, his own progress was rapid. Whether in skill combinations or the power of Concepts, he showed significant improvement.

This was also the reason why, later on, even when Shen Linglong activated her second-stage transformation at the start, she was still beaten down by him.

Linglong-brand training dummy—everyone who uses it says it’s great.

He just couldn’t understand why someone would enjoy being abused.

“By the way, don’t you have a Domain?”

If she had unleashed her Domain, it would have been Mu Yuan who suffered a crushing defeat.

Shen Linglong: “???”

She spoke up, “If I had a Domain, I would have long stepped into the Legendary Realm!”

So, comprehending a Domain is that difficult?

Mu Yuan had read about it in the materials. Among the three prerequisites for the Legendary Realm, ‘Limitless Body’ was the easiest. As long as one’s foundation was solid enough and supplemented with sufficient resources and Treasures, it could be achieved at the Peak of the Fourth Order.

Next was ‘Willpower Light.’

The most difficult was ‘Domain.’

He could set aside Deadbone as a special case, but Isloria had already mastered a Domain—didn’t that make it seem quite simple?

Never mind, he would wait until he learned it himself.

He looked at Shen Linglong, “Now, can you hand over the training time for me to use?”

“No problem, tell me, what kind of training environment do you want?”

She said straightforwardly.

Special privileges couldn’t be transferred to others, but inviting outsiders into one’s own training space and setting up monster enemies according to their requirements could achieve the same effect. There were other similar special places, and many Great Lords used this method to give their descendants extra training.

Soon, the vast silver-white battlefield transformed amidst the shifting heavens and earth into an endless, expansive grassland.

On the grassland, figures of Ironclad Giant Scorpions and Nuns gradually materialized.

Mu Yuan also deployed the most elite hundred warriors of the Undead Legion here.

Led by the undead, Rakshasa, Red Robe, and others.

Of course, Deadbone was only responsible for command and minimal power output; he wouldn’t use any of his ultimate moves. This wasn’t his solo performance—only through coordinated efforts could the embryonic form of the army’s spirit be forged at the fastest pace.

Soon, Giant Scorpions, Skeleton Generals, and Bone Buriers clashed in combat.

The enemies were on the periphery, the legion within.

The battle was exceptionally fierce and brutal.

At Mu Yuan’s request, this batch of Ironclad Giant Scorpions and Nuns numbered a full thousand units, though their Rank was lowered slightly, only at the initial Elite level.

It was perfect for the soldiers to hone their skills.

He and Shen Linglong stood in the air, observing from different spatial dimensions, looking down from afar.

“You’re… trying to forge an army spirit?”

Shen Linglong, being an expert, saw through Tianyuan’s goal at a glance.

She was somewhat surprised by the strength of this legion; it seemed each had a high Rank and strong potential, truly living up to the title of ‘a man whose talent is no less than Lady Han Yue’s,’ but…

“Your elites are too low-level. As someone who’s been through this, let me tell you, it’s impossible to condense an army spirit like this. You need to train and cultivate them to the Second Order first, allowing these high-Rank elites to develop their intelligence as much as possible. Only then will there be a chance to forge an army spirit.””You’re just wasting time and energy doing this now. Without awakened wisdom, your troops can’t even hone their combat skills.”

She couldn’t understand why Tianyuan, of all people, wouldn’t grasp this basic principle.

Was he being too impatient?

But this approach was fundamentally flawed. Even she knew the adage: “A craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do good work.”

She pleaded with him earnestly.

Well, mainly because Tianyuan was someone Han Yue valued as a junior. She couldn’t just stand by and watch him go astray.

She would guide Tianyuan back to the right path… Huh? Wha—?!

Before she could finish speaking, her eyes suddenly widened into perfect circles, shimmering with waves of astonishment. She stared intently at the black Undead Legion, clearly seeing dark mist gathering and churning above the troops, as if condensing into something tangible.

“A-a-a military spirit prototype is already taking shape?!”

Just moments ago, she’d called this a waste of time and energy.

Shen Linglong rubbed her eyes and stretched her eyelids to their maximum, staring unblinkingly, afraid to miss even the slightest detail.

The great battle continued!

Scorpions and nuns fell in waves, but Shen Linglong quickly deployed new ones, maintaining the total at a thousand.

Skeleton Generals, wraiths, and other elite troops also fell in battle one after another.

Yet,

they returned to the battlefield through Mu Yuan’s redeployment.

This method of tempering proved more efficient than simple, brute-force advancement.

Soon—or rather, what felt incredibly fast to Shen Linglong though Mu Yuan found it reasonably paced—after over an hour of warfare, a transformation occurred.

The churning dark mist suddenly converged and condensed, materializing into something mysterious.

A…

slightly blurred, giant sword shadow planted atop a burial mound!

「Ding!」

「Prompt: Your Undead Legion has condensed the military spirit prototype ‘Sword Tomb of the Fallen.’ Effects to be explored independently.」

The military spirit prototype had truly taken form!!

Shen Linglong finally dared to blink, but her astonished gaze toward Tianyuan only intensified.

Forging a military spirit with such rudimentary troops? What kind of miracle was this?

Truly worthy of being a man whose talent could rival Han Yue’s.

Wait, even Han Yue hadn’t been able to condense a military spirit at this stage. Didn’t that mean…

Tianyuan might actually surpass Han Yue?

“You… you… y-y-you…”

Yet Tianyuan seemed completely unaware of how extraordinary his achievement was. His expression remained calm, as if this were expected, and he even remarked:

“After fighting dozens of life-and-death battles, we’ve only just managed to condense a military spirit prototype. Shouldn’t this be basic operation?”

Shen Linglong: “?”

Then what did that make her? She’d led her troops through hundreds of battles, large and small, spending two and a half years to forge her first legion with a military spirit prototype!

4.6K chapter, another one coming later…

(End of chapter)