He frowned in thought. A patrol took a full day: leaving in the morning, returning in the evening. His absence now didn't necessarily mean he was in danger.

Li Muzhan smiled and nodded at the burly man, then mounted Red Shadow and rode out of the training ground to the perimeter of the Black Tiger Camp headquarters to request an audience with the Commandant.

Entering the great hall, the Commandant was reviewing documents, looking at him with a slight smile.

Li Muzhan performed a military salute and said in a deep voice, "Commandant, I request permission to go out on patrol, to catch up with Commander Zhao and the others!" The Commandant stroked his handsome beard, waved his hand, and said, "Sit down and talk."

Li Muzhan made no pleasantries and went straight to the high-backed chair opposite, staring intently at the Commandant.

The Commandant chuckled, "Little fellow, are you dissatisfied with this general?"

"I wouldn't dare," Li Muzhan replied gravely, his gaze unwavering.

The Commandant burst into loud laughter, shaking his head repeatedly while stroking his beard, pointing at him and smiling, "You, Mingkong, are so very reluctant to speak your mind! If you're angry, just say so!" Li Muzhan kept a stern face, "Hmph," he retorted, "The Commandant is sagacious and powerful; how would your subordinate dare to be randomly angry!"

He was acting deliberately. In the army, men valued straightforwardness and clear-cut characters; being too calculating, showing neither joy nor anger, was actually detrimental.

Soldiers were often frank and guileless; spending all their time training left them no room for deep thought, their minds moving directly. Seeing someone whose emotions were hidden made them feel as if they were being tricked even while being helped, naturally leading them to keep their distance. One could be smart, but scheming was frowned upon; character needed to be direct and value camaraderie to be likable; otherwise, building rapport was difficult.

This applied to soldiers and the Commandant alike. A subordinate who was inscrutable, whose emotions were never revealed, made anyone in command uneasy, fostering inevitable wariness.

Li Muzhan's heart was like a lake, calm and waveless; he could control his joy and anger. Furthermore, the Commandant had shown him kindness by teaching him, making their relationship closer; displaying emotion outwardly could also be a sign of closeness.

Indeed, the Commandant was not angered, but laughed heartily instead: "Haha, you Mingkong, you have quite a temper!"

Li Muzhan frowned, "Commandant, why did you send our group out on patrol without waiting for me to return?" "Nonsense!" The Commandant's face darkened, and he chided without real anger, "Do you think the barracks is your home? You can do whatever you please?"

Li Muzhan remained silent, looking around, clearly unconvinced.

The Commandant snorted, "The rotation for the Flying Cavalry and the Fierce Cavalry was already set. You failed to see it clearly and didn't return in time—who is to blame? Don't tell me this commandant should revise the rotation schedule just because you didn't get back? Humph, such great authority!"

Li Muzhan lowered his head, saying no more.

The Commandant stood up, his face grim, walked up to him, pointed a finger at his nose, and lectured him, "You, you, don't think that because you achieved a great feat, the entire barracks must revolve around you... A military camp is a military camp. No matter how great the merit, discipline comes first, discipline comes first—do you understand?"

"Yes," Li Muzhan nodded resignedly, "Commandant, I wish to go pursue Commander Zhao and the others!"

"Hmph, go then, scram!" The Commandant impatiently tossed out a piece of black iron plaque. Li Muzhan quickly caught it and saluted with a smile, "Thank you, Commandant!" "You brat, if you truly run into danger, don't forget to signal! Don't try to be a hero!" the Commandant grumbled.

Li Muzhan nodded firmly, "Yes, your subordinate understands. Farewell!"

....................................................

Li Muzhan left the hall, immediately leaped onto Red Shadow, and sped like a gust of wind to the South Gate. Using the iron plaque, he opened the city gate and galloped out. Before leaving the city, he borrowed six quivers of arrows from the soldiers at the gate and hung them on his saddle; the soldiers recognized the hero and cheerfully presented them.

Once outside the city, past the moat, stretched the vast, flat grassland, level and wide, extending to the horizon where it met the sky, a sight that immediately soothed the spirit.

Though anxious, Li Muzhan maintained his composure. He admired the beautiful scenery, then closed his eyes. His Void Eye looked down, revealing everything within a two-mile radius before him.

Not detecting the group, he closed his eyes, releasing his spirit to merge with heaven and earth—no man, no self, no ground—only a single point of spiritual light flickering.

Red Shadow raced like lightning. Sensing Li Muzhan's intention, without needing direction or speech, it flew south like a whirlwind.

Li Muzhan captured that point of spiritual light—a thread of intuition, profound and mysterious, faint and obscure. When one's spirit reached a certain degree of power, intuition sharpened, becoming like inspiration, something that could be grasped.

With five Mind Pearls now, his spirit was overwhelmingly strong; his intuition, like a pearl, could be clearly apprehended, foretelling fortune and misfortune with a degree of accuracy.

He faintly felt that Commander Zhao and the others were trapped in danger and needed his rescue.

Li Muzhan sighed, shook his head helplessly, and could only once more dissipate the internal power he had gathered from the army, transforming it into the Azure Sea Divine Art, injecting a thread of true Qi into Red Shadow's meridians.

Its speed increased dramatically; it truly seemed like a gust of wind sweeping past, its four hooves barely touching the ground, traveling on the wind. The fierce wind lashed his face like blades and whistled around his body.

Li Muzhan sat on his horse with his eyes closed, his spirit composed. Anxiety was suppressed; at this juncture, agitation served no purpose; the only need was to reach them as quickly as possible. Negative emotions would only disturb his mind, causing harm.

After about half an hour, he had traveled an unknown distance, keeping his eyes closed and observing his surroundings.

With a dull thud, a muffled sound exploded from the sky, like muffled thunder, forming a cloud of birds that hung motionless in the air, unable to be blown away by the wind.

Li Muzhan's face changed drastically. He suddenly leaped off his horse, grabbing two quivers of arrows. His figure flashed once, then again, and after a few blurs, he vanished a hundred paces away in an instant.

Red Shadow let out a soft neigh, pawing the ground to chase, but Li Muzhan pulled further and further ahead. In the blink of an eye, he was out of sight. Red Shadow grew frantic and accelerated again.

It streaked forward like an arrow, slicing through space, rushing forward regardless of cost. Its inner strength surged, transforming into unending motivation. No matter how fast it ran, its body felt cool, devoid of fatigue.

.................................................... Li Muzhan sped on with his eyes closed, flashing forty or so zhang at a time, faster even than Red Shadow—he had activated the Lamp Lighting Art, the Azure Sea Divine Art's inner power burning fiercely. His whole body felt as if consumed by fire, endless power demanding release. He let out a long howl toward the sky.

The howl shot upward, surging like a raging tide, rolling out in all directions, possessing the power to halt moving clouds.

More than ten li away, Zhao Shengli and the others spurred their horses, galloping desperately—seven men, two horses each, totaling fourteen mounts, their hoofbeats sounding like thunder.

Clad in iron armor, they kept turning back to look. A mile behind them, a group of men was giving chase.

There were about a dozen pursuers, clad in black armor and radiating a grim aura that made the hairs on Zhao Shengli's arms stand up even from a mile away.

"Damn it, truly unlucky, running into these bastards again!" ... "The Monk is not here!" Zhao Shengli cursed loudly, turning back repeatedly. He rode at the rear, with Xiong Sihai beside him, while the others rode ahead.

Xiong Sihai adjusted his crooked helmet, his expression calm, and smiled, "Commander Zhao, even though the Great Monk isn't here, there's no need to be so frightened. Don't forget, our horses are excellent!" He pointed to the black horse beneath him—a Black Eagle steed obtained by Li Muzhan—which ran both steady and fast, its mane flying as it galloped, its spirit awe-inspiring.

Zhao Shengli laughed heartily, "Haha, if we didn't have these black horses today, we'd be done for!" Li Baolu, riding at the very front, twisted around on his saddle and grinned, "Commander Zhao, with these horses, we have nothing to fear. Let's turn back and deal with them!"

"Get lost!" Zhao Shengli glared and waved his hand, "With your skill level, confronting the Black Eagle riders head-on would be pure suicide. Stop the nonsense, keep running!"

Li Baolu turned back, grinning, "It's not far now anyway, we shouldn't be afraid!" Suddenly, his face changed drastically, and he hurried, "No, Commander Zhao, there are people ahead too!"

Knowing his eyesight was keen, the others quickly shaded their eyes and looked far into the distance. Faintly, a few black dots were visible where the heaven and earth met, slowly growing larger.

Zhao Shengli cursed hatefully, "Damn the Black Eagle!"

A black eagle soared high in the sky, too far up for their arrows to reach, however skilled they were, and impossible to lure down. With that eagle present, it was like an eye in the heavens; no matter where they fled, they would be found. Moreover, the eagle could summon various Black Eagle riders to converge on a target.

The Black Eagle riders dispersed into several squadrons, roaming between the two cities. Once a target was spotted, multiple groups would surround them simultaneously, forming a ring. If not for this tactic, a single squadron, however formidable, would not have rendered the Flying Cavalry and Fierce Cavalry utterly helpless; they could at least die fighting, taking some enemies with them, rather than fleeing in despair at the sight of them.

.................................................... "Commander Zhao, what do we do?" Li Baolu shouted.

Zhao Shengli gritted his teeth, "Charge through!" Damn it, death is the worst outcome. Everyone, don't let them surround you, don't stop!"

"Yes!" The men roared in agreement, preparing their bows and arrows for a fierce battle.

Zhao Shengli saw Xiong Sihai taking out a signal flare, and he shook his head, "Sending a signal is useless. There are no men from our side on the plains... It's a pity we won't see the Monk one last time!"

"What if the Monk comes?" Xiong Sihai pulled the igniter, and immediately a bright light shot into the sky. With a "bang," like muffled thunder, a dark mass condensed in the air and did not dissipate.

The group slowed their pace, suddenly switching to their reserve horses to let the black horses rest for a moment, preparing for the final sprint.

Xiong Sihai said, "Commander Zhao, you go first. Old Ma and I will hold them off for a while." Zhao Shengli glared, "Don't talk nonsense! If we go, we go together!" If only he could get close, he would use his Mad Demon Staff technique to teach them a lesson! Xiong Sihai shook his head, "They will never get close, Commander Zhao. Is there really no other way?"

Zhao Shengli snorted, "What other way is there? Just one word: Fight!"

As he spoke, the black dots opposite resolved into Black Eagle Knights—ten of them in total. They were not moving fast, slowly approaching. Zhao Shengli's group had to worry about the Black Eagle riders behind them, so although they slowed down, they dared not go too slow.

Li Baolu pointed to the left, "Look, there are people over there too!" Then his eyes widened as he pointed right, "They're over there too! We're surrounded!"

Zhao Shengli stared fixedly at the Black Eagle riders a mile ahead, "Stop wasting breath! Just charge!" Li Baolu cried out, "Commander Zhao, we're done for today!"

"Shut up!" Zhao Shengli snarled through clenched teeth, focusing intently ahead, then suddenly roared, "Change horses!"

When the distance was three hundred meters, everyone leaped onto the black horses simultaneously. Zhao Shengli yelled, "Shoot!"

The men drew their bows and loosed their arrows. With hissing sounds, streaks of light flew toward the front, but they failed to reach the Black Eagle riders and fell weakly midway.

"Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!" Streaks of black light shot back, and the men were struck one after another. They wore iron armor, but these arrows possessed immense force, piercing the armor directly. Li Baolu was at the front, followed by Feng Dakun, then Cai Yuzhang. All were hit, and those behind Zhao Shengli were not spared.

Zhao Shengli took an arrow, the pain searing his heart, and roared, "Damn it, shoot them to death!" The men crouched beneath their horses' bellies to shoot, but their archery was no match for the Black Eagle riders. Even when their arrows struck the black armor, they bounced off without any lethal effect.

"Charge! Charge! Charge!" Zhao Shengli bellowed, the black horses galloping wildly, charging toward the front. The ten Black Eagle Knights suddenly split apart, circling around to their rear, unleashing a relentless barrage of arrows.

.................................................... In the blink of an eye, Zhao Shengli had three arrows piercing his chest. Fortunately, none were in vital spots; when the arrows neared his body, he twisted to avoid the vital areas—he was well accustomed to such attacks.

Everyone else was hit, without exception, but no one fell from their horses. Zhao Shengli secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a long, heaven-shaking roar echoed, filling the space between heaven and earth, drowning out all other sounds, rushing into their ears like a torrent.

"It's the Monk!" Zhao Shengli cried out in elation.

The men's spirits lifted, and the Black Eagle Knights on both sides paused their movements for a moment, then immediately increased their rate of fire.

As the roar faded, Zhao Shengli immediately yelled, "The Monk has come to save us, hold on!" The men quickly hid beneath their horses' bellies to evade the arrows. Suddenly, a long neigh sounded, and Li Baolu's black horse stumbled, throwing Li Baolu to the ground.

He rolled on the ground, and several arrows instantly pursued him, striking his back twice more.

Zhao Shengli and the others dared not stop. He looked back and shouted, "Lizi, catch up!" He flipped back onto the saddle, turning to fire arrows desperately to cover Li Baolu. The others also rolled out from beneath their horses' bellies and fired at the Black Eagle riders.

The two sides exchanged fire. Zhao Shengli fell to the ground with a thud, sliding far on his back, an arrow lodged in his heart.

"Commander Zhao!" Li Baolu ran desperately, his back now riddled with arrows—more than a dozen. Seeing Zhao Shengli fall, he yelled and sped up even more.

Li Baolu reached Zhao Shengli, stopped, and bent down to embrace him. In that brief pause, four or five more arrows struck him. Li Baolu's body trembled, but he ignored it.

Zhao Shengli used all his remaining strength to push his hand away, spitting blood foam, and managed to say, "Run quickly... find the Monk... and avenge me!" "Damn it, let's fight to the death!" Feng Dakun suddenly dropped his arrows, grabbed his spear, fiercely pulled his reins, and turned his horse's head toward the Black Eagle riders.

His spear swept out, deflecting six or seven of the ten incoming arrows, but three or four still pierced his body.