Chapter 326 - 201: After the Battle

Chapter 326: Chapter 201: After the Battle

The gates of Hujue Pass opened.

Large squads of soldiers poured out and began to clean up the battlefield.

Every demon corpse on the battlefield was a spoil of war. They would bring these spoils back into the city, ensuring every part was put to good use.

Zhang Wangyue and the others were all covered in wounds. They paid no mind to the demon corpses, instead silently gathering the bodies of their fallen comrades.

"This is life and death."

Li Tingkui stood beside Su Mu, his long spear slung over his shoulder, and spoke in a level tone.

The spear that had killed the Tier Five Demon now looked perfectly ordinary, no different at first glance from the ones used by common soldiers.

"You’ll get used to it after you’ve seen it enough."

Li Tingkui said, "If you don’t want to see these casualties, then you’d best grow stronger as quickly as possible."

"Lord Li, the Demon Court doesn’t seem that strong. Why don’t we—"

Su Mu fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.

Tens of thousands of demons—that was comparable to a Tier Seven Demon Tide.

When Wuling City faced a Tier Five Demon Tide before, the city was nearly annihilated. The death toll in Wuling City that time far exceeded the number of casualties here.

In truth, the casualties at Hujue Pass this time were not severe—far fewer than Su Mu had imagined.

The Demon Court’s so-called army of one hundred thousand was also much weaker than he’d expected.

He had originally thought Hujue Pass would have to pay a much greater price to repel the Demon Court’s attack.

"You think the Demon Court is weak?"

Li Tingkui glanced at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Kid, you’ve got more nerve than I did when I was young.

Not even the Marquises would dare say something like that.

Let me tell you, the Demon Court isn’t weak at all."

His gaze swept across the battlefield as he continued, "You think the Demon Court is weak just because Hujue Pass repelled their attack and even killed one of their generals?

I’m telling you, this was just a stroke of luck.

If it hadn’t lost its mind and charged to the very front, if your Demon Pet hadn’t been there to help tie it down, do you really think a Demon Court General is so easy to kill?"

What Li Tingkui didn’t mention was that he had only managed to kill the Demon Court General by taking advantage of a sneak attack.

That Demon Court General had been tied down by Ao Qing, with Yang Changfeng and Su Mu pinning it from the sides. Even so, it had only been at a slight disadvantage.

Truly defeating it would have been far from easy.

In reality, Li Tingkui had arrived much earlier. He had held back, waiting for the right moment to launch a surprise attack.

Otherwise, even if the Demon Court General couldn’t win, it would have had a very good chance of escaping.

"Killing it was lucky. But even so, think about it—how many of the Demon Court’s forces actually died? Only a few thousand demons.

The rest of the demons fled; they didn’t die."

Li Tingkui said, "They can regroup and attack again at any time."

A strange feeling welled up inside him. When he really thought about it, the biggest variable in killing the Demon Court General and forcing the demon army to retreat had been Su Mu.

If Su Mu hadn’t acquired a Tier Five Demon as a Demon Pet, even with Li Tingkui’s arrival, they probably would have only barely managed to defend Hujue Pass.

In that scenario, the casualties at Hujue Pass would have been a hundred times greater than they were now.

Su Mu nodded.

’This battle at Hujue Pass seemed like a great victory, but in reality, aside from the Demon Court General, the Demon Court’s army didn’t suffer significant losses. A few thousand demons isn’t a crippling loss for their army of one hundred thousand. As long as the Demon Court is willing, it can attack Hujue Pass again at any time.’

’We were lucky to win this time, but what about the next? The Demon Court General was simply driven mad by anger, which was why it charged to the front line. If it were a different, less impulsive Demon Court General who fought steadily and surely, it would be much harder for Hujue Pass to win again.’

"Kid, how many Intents have you comprehended?"

Li Tingkui suddenly asked.

Su Mu was silent for a moment. "Lord Li, do you want the truth or a lie?"

"Never mind."

Li Tingkui paused, then waved his hand. "It doesn’t matter how many Intents you’ve comprehended. I have a piece of advice for you; it’s up to you whether you listen."

’A Martial Artist should never reveal all their trump cards,’ he realized. ’If word got out that Su Mu has comprehended at least four Intents, it would certainly boost his fame, but it would also bring a great deal of trouble. At the very least, the Demon Court wouldn’t want to see such a genius emerge in Da Xuan.’

"Please, Lord Li, enlighten me."

Su Mu said sincerely.

’Li Tingkui is the strongest person I’ve ever met,’ he thought, ’and the only expert I’ve seen so far who has comprehended a Phenomenon. It’s my good fortune that he’s willing to offer me guidance.’

"Don’t be greedy with Intents. Two is enough. Cultivate two Intents to Perfection, then focus on comprehending a Phenomenon."

Li Tingkui said seriously, "The power of a Phenomenon far exceeds that of an Intent. Even if you mastered eight Intents, they couldn’t compare to a single Phenomenon.

Rather than waste time comprehending multiple Intents, you’re better off specializing."

When Li Tingkui had seen Su Mu in action earlier, he had been shocked.

’I saw at least four different Intents in his attacks, and all of them were at the Realm of Great Success! A Taiping Captain who has mastered four Intents to the Realm of Great Success... if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed such a freak of nature existed!’

’Comprehending even a single Intent requires an immense amount of time and energy, yet Su Mu has comprehended four! How much time has he wasted!’

’With his talent, if he hadn’t wasted time on four different Intents and had instead focused on just one, he surely would have brought that single Intent to the Realm of Perfection by now, wouldn’t he?’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

In Li Tingkui’s eyes, this was simply going down the wrong path!