Upon hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Chen Ping smiled bitterly and was about to refuse, but Zhang Chen said, "What if I could reconnect your meridians and heal the injuries within you? Would you stay?"
Chen Ping was taken aback by these words, staring at Zhang Chen in a daze, his body trembling, and his voice slightly excited, "Really?"
Then Zhang Chen smiled, took out an elixir from his sleeve, which was concocted by Xu Erniu in the past. It was specially left with him for use downhill when he was at the Five Villages Temple.
"Swallow this pill, and you can heal your internal injuries. However, your eyes were gouged out, and I am powerless to help with that," Zhang Chen sighed softly.
Chen Ping looked at the pristine pill in disbelief and then, with a trembling voice, said, "Brother, don’t tease me!"
Zhang Chen smiled and signaled Chen Ping to swallow the elixir. Chen Ping swallowed it in one gulp. As the elixir entered his stomach, Chen Ping felt a tingling sensation in his arms, as if countless ants were crawling. In the next moment, his awkward arms unexpectedly regained power, and all his hidden injuries were cured, then he spat a mouthful of black blood.
As the black blood spewed out, Chen Ping’s eyes gleamed astonishingly bright, his gaze filled with disbelief as he raised his arms, "I have actually recovered! I really have recovered!"
Then Chen Ping’s knees went weak, and he directly knelt on the ground, bowing to Zhang Chen, "Brother Zhang, you have saved my life a second time. I, Chen Ping, owe you for this life! Rest assured, if I can return to the Chen Family, I will surely compensate you for this elixir."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen helped Chen Ping up, "Young Master, your righteousness and heroism have met with my remedying of this calamity. This is the reward for your compassion in everyday life."
Chen Ping stood up accordingly, looking at Zhang Chen with serious eyes, "Brother Zhang, I have one more thing to ask of you. I am going to seek revenge, so please help take this girl to Jinling."
Zhang Chen shook his head, "You are no match for those people; going would be to send yourself to die in vain."
"I suffered a severe injury at the time, so they had an opportunity to exploit..." Chen Ping was somewhat unwilling to accept this.
Zhang Chen, however, couldn’t bear to hurt his pride, merely pointing in the direction of the distant bonfire, "You need not seek revenge, just look if you don’t believe..."
In the next moment, among the group of robust men eating meat and drinking by the bonfire, three suddenly erupted, and in just a short moment killed all their colleagues thoroughly.
"This..." Chen Ping’s eyelids twitched, and his whole being was dumbfounded at this sight.
"Those remaining three have fallen into my trap and become my puppets. Once we pass the Tiger Soul Pass, I will naturally deal with them for you. Now, better tell me about the Tiger Soul Pass; passing it is the most pressing matter," Zhang Chen said.
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Chen Ping returned to his senses and looked at Zhang Chen in shock, "I understand now, my blindness is not unjust, as I failed to recognize your capabilities, Brother!’
"As for the Tiger Soul Pass, the reason this Heroic Pass is so hard to overcome is because it’s guarded by a notorious figure in the Northern Land, named Jin Dou. This person can transform into a Steel Body, Vajra Unbreakable and nearly indestructible, very troublesome indeed. Many outstanding figures have succumbed to his hands. Most crucially, his Martial Dao cultivation has ignited Qi Blood; it’s said he has stepped into a higher level, being a first-class expert. After Xie Xuan proved the Dao of Yang God, he contended with Xie Xuan for over a hundred rounds without losing," Chen Ping said.
"So, it’s a stubborn piece of iron, the toughest kind of bloodline to deal with. A Yang God True Man would have no easy method to kill him, the only way would be to target the soul level," Zhang Chen said.
"Previously, bloodline powerhouses and Martial Dao experts tried to storm the Tiger Soul Pass with their skills, but were all forcefully suppressed by Jin Dou. Now, those people have organized hands in secret, preparing to fiercely attack Tiger Soul Pass tomorrow to create chaos. Then we’ll seize the opportunity to avoid Jin Dou and rush through," Chen Ping said, "If we want to pass the Heroic Pass, tomorrow is the chance!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen suddenly understood, thinking to himself: "So it saves me much trouble."
Right then, someone took action under the cover of night. From afar, a voice shouted, "Fellow villagers, we’ve been trapped under this Heroic Pass, in a dilemma. Retreating means facing the Demon Race’s beasts and the chaotic army of Prince Pingbian, which leads to a dead end. We have no choice but to advance and break into that Heroic Pass to carve out a path for survival. Instead of waiting here under the city to die in vain, why not organize ourselves to try attacking the city, then fight for a path of survival?"
With these words, the atmosphere on the field changed, and someone immediately spoke up, "We want to attack the city, but we have no siege equipment nor armor and weapons. How do we attack the city?"
"There are always more solutions than difficulties! Without siege equipment, we can build on the spot. As for having no swords, armor, and spears, we have sticks and hoes in hand. Using every available weapon is better than waiting here to die," someone else responded.
"That’s right, continuing to wait is just a waste of time, better to fight with all our might and carve out a path for survival!"
"Exactly, Prince Pingbian’s dog of a thing gives us no chance of survival, so why not fight to carve out a path!"
"We’ll fight them!"
"..."
In this world, there’s never a shortage of adventurers willing to take a gamble, and among the crowd were many martial world knights. At the provocation of those hundreds, everyone already at the brink of despair had their spirits stirred up, each chiming in with agreement.