Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

In the camp near Tianchi, soldiers bustled back and forth, their faces taut with an iron hue.

It was clear that the defensive line had been forcibly breached, and everyone was simmering with rage inside!

If the higher-ups hadn't repeatedly ordered not to engage, they would've already pushed the blockade line to the eastern slope controlled by Silla... Now, they could only hastily erect walls to prevent others from forcefully breaking in with their immunity from the Barrier Charm.

The helicopter arrived at the scene, the team members descending rapidly. Liu Longtao asked the person in charge on the scene about the situation and turned to Yan Yu to confirm,

"Go in directly?"

"What else?" Yan Yu counterquestioned, "We're not here for a tour."

"Okay, I'll go in first," Liu Longtao said decisively. "You bring them up from behind."

In the Mysterious Realm that already housed enemy Cultivators, the team entering first was taking a risk, as they couldn't guarantee whether there would be an ambush around the "starting point"... Though the possibility was low, it was still a risk, so Lord Master naturally took the most dangerous responsibility upon himself.

Yan Yu didn't fuss about it either but simply turned to the girls with tense expressions and said,

"Relax, everyone, don't look so tense. Old Liu is clearing the way for us."

Liu Longtao nearly stumbled as he walked ahead.

I'm clearing the way for you all? So I'm the vanguard now?

He looked back and realized not only were the Zhenhai Team girls anxious, but even members of the Dragon Soar Team like Ye Jun, although they hid it well, were unconsciously revealing a hint of nervousness.

Indeed, this wasn't a confrontation in the Mysterious Realm, but a life-and-death struggle against enemy nation Cultivators; it was inevitable for everyone to feel tense.

Thinking of this, Liu Longtao let go of his captain's pride completely and said with a smile,

"Ye Jun, what's with that expression? And Old Yang, your legs are shaking - are you really that nervous? Fei Yun, make sure to keep an eye on number 26 later; he looks so pale I'm afraid he might bolt."

"Get lost, duck!" Ai Lu immediately became flustered and bellowed, "Captain Liu, I'm going in second right after you, no one else better jump in front of me!"

"I'll be the second to enter," Yan Yu said calmly. "Captains first."

"Then I'm third," Ai Lu quickly said.

"After the captain, it's the vice-captain's turn," Ye Jun stated seriously. "You stay put and line up for the fifth slot."

"Damn it!" Ai Lu was at a loss, while Guo Feiyun beside him laughed uproariously, smacking the back of his head,

"Get in line at the back! You go in after I do."

With their banter and antics, they hardly wasted any time, yet the previously tense mood had relaxed significantly.

Seeing the troops' morale stabilize, Liu Longtao turned around and stepped into the Mysterious Realm's entrance without hesitation.

Yan Yu followed next.

Upon entering the Mysterious Realm, they were greeted by a vast expanse of goosefeather-like snowflakes fluttering down, the air filled with a bone-chilling coldness.

In the distance, snow-capped peaks stood under a swath of palaces surrounded by dazzling, colorful auroras... Not only that, the entire night sky was studded with stars, and multicolored celestial lights unfolded and brushed gently through the clouds like silken drapery.

But Liu Longtao, who led the way in, had no time to enjoy these beautiful scenes.

He stood silently in the front like a fierce general guarding the border. The sheathed Ying Long Sword hovered before his head, emitting a colder sword intent than the surrounding ice and snow.

"Historical debt," Liu Longtao murmured. "Can't owe it forever."

"What's up, Old Liu?" Yan Yu laughed heartily. "You turning into a debt collector now?"

"Even though I can't compete with you this time, Old Yan," Liu Longtao resumed his smile and said courteously, "it's my honor to fight alongside you, defending our nation and killing enemies."

"You're not trying to drag me down later, so you're compensating in advance here, are you?" Yan Yu became instantly wary.

"How's that possible?" Chen Lingyun appeared with Ye Jun, just in time to hear Liu Longtao laugh heartily, "Well, you better watch closely later."

"What are you all looking at?" Princess Jiang Hai's eyes danced playfully as she looked towards Yan Yu at her side.

"He said he's going to show off later," Yan Yu said, glancing behind her, "Is everyone here?"

Soon, the full roster of both combat teams, along with the medical group from each side and the support Cultivators from the Dingbei Army, all appeared within the Mysterious Realm, a bustling crowd of nearly thirty or forty people.

This was a confrontation between nations, where notions of equal numbers and fair competition were dismissed. If the home team could flood the field with a swarm tactic, why not do it?

"Let's go!" Yan Yu declared grandly, striding forward, "Move out!"

Aside from the quick-to-follow girls of the Zhenhai Team, the others remained where they were, just looking towards Ye Jun and Liu Longtao. Your adventure continues at empire

Yan Yu's group had already moved out several steps when he looked back and asked:

"Old Liu, what are you waiting for?"

"I'm here," Liu Longtao adjusted his headset and said over the channel, "Ye Jun will command the team and as for the military side... Captain Zheng, your cooperation, please."

Captain Zheng was the leader of the medical group of the Dragon Soar Team, and he immediately acknowledged upon hearing this.

"What about the Zhenhai side?" Ye Jun asked for confirmation, "Do we move separately or together? And is command each to their own?"

"We move together, but command separately," Liu Longtao responded, "If something comes up, I'll discuss it with Yan Yu."

"Understood!" Everyone replied in unison.

The overall environment of the Mysterious Realm was extremely simple: the center was dominated by a towering and majestic snow peak, surrounded by an endless expanse of white snowfields. Even the dimmest mind knew they had to head towards the mountain.

What was troublesome was the ceaseless flurry of snow from the sky, and the chilling winds interspersed with pieces of ice, which scraped across one's face making it difficult to keep the eyes open even after a few steps.

If one covered their body with Runescript, they could completely nullify the low temperatures, but since they hadn't yet encountered enemy Cultivators, no one was willing to waste their True Yuan here.

Yan Yu, however, had no such concerns, boldly activating Runescript and leading the way up front.

The girls wrapped themselves in clothing and followed behind. Lin Ning shivered from the cold, wanting to ask Yan Yu to slow down, but she knew that enemy Cultivators had entered the Mysterious Realm an hour before them, so she barely held back from making a sound.

Just as she was pondering whether to activate Runescript for a few seconds, a sharp and abrupt booming sound suddenly emerged from afar—Lin Ning was all too familiar with that sound! It was exactly the sharp, brief blast of noise that Huang Tingjian made each time it tore through the air during the actual combat exercise (ai) phase (zhou).

"Scatter!" she cried out in alarm.

The other girls instinctively acted as well, the moment they heard that noise. They immediately activated the Shifting Technique and scattered in all directions.

Then, they saw a phantom figure, outlined by snowflakes and ice shards and clad in half-armor, suddenly ripping through the layers of snowstorm, swinging its dazzlingly bright blade towards Yan Yu!

Yan Yu stood calmly in place, not dodging. Huang Tingjian whistled as it rose obliquely to meet the armored soldier's steel blade, clashing with a low, crisp ringing sound.

The opposing soldier, along with its blade, was shattered by the recoil of the weapons' collision, dispersing into countless pieces of ice and snow that were swept away by the cold wind and vanished from sight.

"This is..." Zhao Yuanzhen widened her eyes, "A formation?!"

"Wind Blade Frost Sword Formation," Yan Yu said with a calm expression, "Everyone be careful of attacks masking within the wind and snow."

"That ice soldier from just now seemed to have only the strength for one strike?" Chen Lingyun observed sharply, noting that the sound of metal hitting metal when the soldier's blade collided with Huang Tingjian indicated that the opponent's blade would indeed cause harm if it struck a person.

But the opponent's body was exceedingly fragile; it couldn't withstand even the backlash of its own strike and blew itself apart, which was quite laughable indeed.

"Yes," Yan Yu replied, "But their numbers are endless. Everyone must stay alert while moving without fail, but remember never to stop and defend; that would be playing into the hands of the formation. They can afford countless mistakes, but one error on our part would be costly."

"No big deal," Zhao Yuanzhen said nonchalantly, "If they come, we'll just block. We've all practiced this before, haven't we?"

This reassured the girls: the Wind Blade Frost Sword Formation might seem difficult to tackle, but if they considered the bladed snow soldiers as Flying Swords, the difficulty seemed to drop instantly. After all, during regular swordsmanship combat training, they had to face Yan Yu's Huang Tingjian.

His heavy sword not only held immense momentum and strength but would also chase them down with relentless strikes; blocking it numerous times was futile as it wouldn't stop until it had sliced them to the ground. Compared to that, blocking these bladed snow soldiers once and they were gone, it was child's play.

They were simply unafraid!