Li Dao flipped open the Gale Saber Art. Unlike cultivation techniques, it was a combination of images and text.
As before, he quickly memorized the entire book using his memory.
After memorizing it, he tucked the Gale Saber Art manual back into his chest.
Without a saber to practice with, Li Dao could only imagine practicing the Gale Saber Art in his mind.
Perhaps because the strengthening of his physique was a comprehensive enhancement, it allowed his mental capacity to reach ten times that of an ordinary person.
Even just rehearsing in his mind, he could clearly replicate the moves from the Gale Saber Art manual.
An hour later.
Li Dao opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.
He looked at his hands, feeling as if he could perfectly perform the Gale Saber Art if he had a saber in hand.
Recalling his previous encounter with the Northern Barbarian leader, he felt he could easily see through the opponent's saber techniques.
If the Northern Barbarian leader appeared before him again, even without relying on his physique to overpower, he felt he could suppress the opponent's Gale Saber Art with his own, thus defeating him.
"Is this a new skill that comes with a strong physique?"
Li Dao originally thought that as his physique could be continuously strengthened, he would need to follow the path of overwhelming force.
But he hadn't expected that after strengthening his physique, his mental capacity would reach such a level that he could quickly learn a saber technique.
Although the Gale Saber Art was relatively simple, the ability to learn it perfectly just by glancing at it and rehearsing it in his mind was quite extraordinary.
He wondered if there was any merit in combining overwhelming force with a skillful technique.
It should be worthwhile.
With a body beyond the ordinary and a killing technique beyond the ordinary, who could stop him in such a situation?
As long as his physique could suppress the opponent, killing the enemy would just be a matter of time.
Thinking of this, he cared even less about the trivial matter of not being able to cultivate.
Moreover, if he were to speak truthfully, his infinitely enhancing physique should also be considered a form of cultivation, just a different path from cultivating True Qi.
This form of cultivation should be called 'External Cultivation.'
......
Time passed slowly.
Perhaps because the last mission resulted in heavy casualties under Centurion Liu's command, a week passed without Li Dao receiving a new death row mission.
He could only pass the time in the death row prison by dozing off or studying the Gale Saber Art to see if he could modify it with his brain, which was ten times more capable than a normal person's, to make it more suitable for him.
Indeed, after seven days of research, Li Dao managed to come up with something.
Through constant rehearsal and deconstruction in his mind, he successfully streamlined the Gale Saber Art.
He omitted some moves that required the operation of True Qi.
He replaced them with moves suitable for his physique.
In summary, the modified Gale Saber Art was now more suitable for him to reap lives on the battlefield.
Another day passed.
Li Dao was resting with his eyes closed in the corner of his cell.
At this moment, footsteps approached from outside the cell.
He immediately opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.
Before long, Centurion Liu's face appeared outside the cell.
"9527, come out for a moment."
The jailer opened the cell door and called out to Li Dao inside.
Li Dao stood up, dusted off the dirt from his clothes, and walked out of the cell.
"Is there another mission?"
Looking at Centurion Liu, Li Dao directly asked.
Centurion Liu shook his head, "There's no mission for now. This time, I'm here for something else."
"What is it?"
Li Dao showed a curious look. In his view, given his displayed value, there shouldn't be anything else for him other than killing.
At Centurion Liu's signal, the jailer used a key to unlock the shackles on Li Dao's wrists and ankles.
Then he gestured, "Follow me, and you'll find out."
With that, he headed deeper into the death row prison.
Li Dao rubbed his wrists, watching Centurion Liu's back as he slowly followed.
The deeper they went, the more empty the surrounding cells became, until many cells at the end were completely unoccupied.
"Is there no one here?"
Li Dao asked.
Centurion Liu glanced at the empty cells and said calmly, "Recently, there have been more border skirmishes, and the consumption of death row prisoners has been faster."
From his tone, it was clear that death row prisoners were not considered human here, only consumables.
After speaking, Centurion Liu glanced at Li Dao's expression and found no reaction, explaining, "But don't worry, you're different from them. You have more value, so you won't be treated as a consumable."
Li Dao nodded, not caring about the term 'consumable.'
In his view, as long as they were truly deserving of death, being used as consumables was normal. After all, they should have been dead already. If it were more brutal, some might even find it hard to die.
......
As they continued deeper, a door soon appeared before them.
Li Dao turned back and asked, "Centurion Liu, what is this place?"
Centurion Liu explained, "This is where I wanted to bring you. Once inside, you'll know why I came to find you this time."
"But rest assured, it's definitely not a bad thing. In fact, it might be a good thing. How it turns out depends on you."
Leaving a meaningful remark, Centurion Liu opened the door and gestured for him to enter.
A good thing?
Li Dao shook his head. Having come this far, he could only take it one step at a time.
Walking through the door, a dim passage appeared before him.
At the end of the passage, a glimmer of light flickered.
With senses ten times sharper than a normal person's, he could detect several living people at the light's source.
Li Dao strolled slowly toward the light.
As he approached, his eyes changed slightly.
He sensed that the breathing of the people inside was different from normal, more like Centurion Liu and the Northern Barbarian leader from before.
It wasn't hard to guess that they were all cultivators.
At the same time, he could see the people in the room clearly.
There were five people in total.
And among these five, four were quite distinctive.
The one closest to Li Dao was a towering figure, standing at least two and a half meters tall, with an extremely robust build, like a little giant. Just standing there motionless, he exuded a terrifying pressure.
Most importantly, his aura gave Li Dao a beast-like feeling.
Perhaps because Li Dao's gaze was too brazen, the little giant suddenly turned his head to look over, their eyes meeting directly.
At that moment, Li Dao felt as if he were being stared down by a fierce tiger.
Seemingly sensing nothing amiss, the little giant turned back around, leaning against the wall in a daze.
Next, Li Dao's gaze shifted to a petite figure beside the little giant.
Calling it petite wasn't just in comparison to the little giant; the person was genuinely small.
Barely over a meter tall, the figure was emaciated, with dirty hair hanging down.
Yet, Li Dao could sense an even more primal aura from this small person than from the little giant.
It wasn't wildness; it was madness.
Similarly, the small person noticed Li Dao's gaze and immediately turned to look.
"Hiss!"
With a hiss, the small person revealed the lower half of their face, making a threatening expression at Li Dao.
Opening their mouth revealed rows of serrated teeth.
Their eyes were filled with madness, mixed with a certain clarity, like a lunatic.
The other two figures were relatively normal compared to the first two.
One was a middle-aged fatty man with a lecherous face.
The other was an old man muttering to himself.
The only seemingly normal person present was a middle-aged man standing in the center.
He wore armor similar to Centurion Liu's Great Qian uniform, but of a higher rank.
Similarly, this man gave Li Dao the impression of being the most dangerous among them.
"You're finally here, just the one we were missing."
The middle-aged man smiled as he saw Li Dao.
"And you are?"
Li Dao raised an eyebrow and asked.
The middle-aged man introduced himself, "Wei Yun, Grand Commander of Weiwu Camp."
Hearing this, Li Dao was taken aback.
Grand Commander of Weiwu Camp?
If he remembered correctly, the army stationed in Long Valley Town was Weiwu Camp.
And the Grand Commander was the highest-ranking officer here.
In other words, Centurion Liu's direct superior.
After thinking it through, Li Dao looked at the four others, "I wonder what business Commander Wei has with an ordinary death row prisoner like me?"
"Ordinary?"
Wei Yun chuckled, "In just two death row missions, you managed to kill nearly fifty people, including a Northern Barbarian leader of a hundred cavalry. I wouldn't call that ordinary."
Li Dao glanced at the other four, then found a spot to sit down, saying, "Just say what you need."
Wei Yun chuckled, "Since everyone is here, I'll get straight to the point."
"I invited you all here today to ask if you would join forces to help our Weiwu Camp with some matters."
Hearing this, Li Dao raised an eyebrow.
Before he could say anything, someone suddenly jumped in to voice their opinion.
The middle-aged man with a lecherous face jumped out and said bluntly, "Are you kidding? You want me, Chen San, to help your court? You're dreaming. I'll tell you now, even if I die here today, I, Chen San, will never help your court."
With that, the man named Chen San turned and headed for the passage, seemingly intent on leaving.
Despite Chen San's attitude, Wei Yun remained calm, even with a faint smile.
As Chen San walked further away, Wei Yun muttered to himself, "Then forget it. I was thinking of having you help with some tasks, and afterward, I'd return your household registration and grant you freedom."
The next second, a gust of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Before the others could react, Chen San was already in front of Wei Yun in the blink of an eye.
"Are you serious? You can give me household registration and freedom?"
Chen San grabbed Wei Yun's armor, his face filled with excitement.
"Weren't you just saying you wouldn't help the court?"
"What do you mean help the court? I'm just voluntarily helping others."
"Didn't you also say you'd never change your mind, even if you died?"
"The thing is, I'm not dead yet."
Hearing this, Wei Yun smiled slightly, "I'm serious. So, do you agree?"
"Agree, agree!"
Chen San nodded firmly, showing everyone what it meant to eat one's words.
"But, your agreement alone isn't enough."
Wei Yun glanced at the other four, continuing, "You need to get them to agree too."
"Because the task might be dangerous, and all five of you need to work together."
Hearing this, Chen San turned to the other four, clapping his hands and shouting, "What are you waiting for? This is freedom."
"Ahem."
The only old man present coughed, his voice hoarse, "I'll agree if you, fatty, be my medicine boy once."
Chen San immediately jumped up, annoyed, "Why should I be your medicine boy?"
A medicine boy was someone used to test medicine, typically employed by those skilled in medicine.
The old man retorted unceremoniously, "Then I won't agree, and you can wait to die with me in this death row camp."
"You!"
Seeing the old man's stubbornness, Chen San had no choice but to compromise, "Your medicine won't kill me, right?"
The old man sneered, "In my life of practicing medicine, I've never killed anyone with medicine."
Seeing the old man's confidence, Chen San looked skeptical.
At this moment, Wei Yun spoke up, "Chen San, you can trust him. He's never killed anyone with medicine."
"Really."
"Alright, I'll trust you this once, but only one medicine test."
Seeing the fatty agree, Li Dao glanced at Wei Yun, feeling that this always-smiling Wei Yun had some ulterior motives.
At this point, Chen San approached him.
"Hey, you handsome brother, you should agree too, right? After all, you're so young. Wouldn't it be a waste to die in this death row camp?"
Perhaps having suffered at the old man's hands, Chen San was extremely polite to Li Dao.
Li Dao glanced at Chen San, then turned his gaze to Wei Yun, "I'll agree, but you need to answer a few questions for me."
Wei Yun smiled faintly, "Go ahead."
"First question, how many tasks do we need to complete for you?"
Wei Yun raised an eyebrow, "Ten tasks!"
Li Dao's face instantly darkened, "No deal!"
If it were ten tasks, he'd rather focus on accumulating battle merits.
Because even without thinking, he knew that tasks requiring five people to execute must be particularly challenging.
Hearing this, Wei Yun shook his head with a hint of disappointment, "Then how many do you suggest?"
Hearing this, Chen San was stunned. So they could negotiate terms? Then his earlier stance was unnecessary.
For Wei Yun's question, Li Dao raised three fingers.
"Three tasks!"
Chen San was dumbfounded. Who negotiates like this? It was harsher than cutting in half. Just as he feared Wei Yun would get angry and wanted to intervene...
"Alright, three tasks it is."
Wei Yun hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Chen San nearly fell over. So three tasks were enough? If it were him, he wouldn't have even bargained.
Seeing Wei Yun agree, Li Dao asked his second question.
"Will there be any tasks that are certain death?"
As soon as he asked, Chen San and the old man were stunned.
Their eyes turned to Wei Yun.
"Why do you ask?"
Wei Yun raised an eyebrow, curious.
Li Dao calmly quoted a famous saying from his past life.
"When the cunning hare dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the good bow is put away. Isn't this the way of the world since ancient times?"
"When the cunning hare dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the good bow is put away."
Wei Yun slowly recited the phrase, feeling a sense of melancholy, a feeling of being discarded after use. He then changed his previous demeanor, speaking solemnly, "Rest assured, I'm not that kind of person. Although the tasks are dangerous, I won't deliberately harm you."
"Brother, what you said is damn good. It's a pity you're in this death row. You should take the imperial exam. With luck, you might become a consort and sleep with a princess."
Chen San said admiringly.
Little did he know, the one he praised had already slept with a princess, and not just any princess, but the highest-ranking one in the Great Qian Dynasty.
Seeing Wei Yun and Chen San's strange reactions, Li Dao remembered that this world was different from his past life, so the historical process was different, and some things from his past life didn't exist here.
Without the matter of sleeping with a princess, without the system, relying solely on ancient poetry from his past life, he could have lived well in this world.
Unfortunately, this life didn't give him the chance to be a plagiarist, but instead, he first experienced the thrilling life of a death row prisoner.
"Any more questions?"
Wei Yun asked after regaining his composure.
"No more."
Li Dao shook his head. The most important questions had been answered.
Seeing Li Dao agree, Chen San breathed a sigh of relief, then turned his gaze to the remaining two.
A little giant and a little madman.
Taking a deep breath, Chen San decided to tackle the seemingly easier little madman first.
Seeing this, Wei Yun couldn't help but remind, "Chen San, I advise you to be careful."
"Don't worry, just a little guy. I've got this."
A stick of incense later.
The others only saw two figures moving rapidly around the room.
Chen San was running, and the little madman was chasing, hissing madly.
"Help me, big brother."
Chen San, his clothes in tatters, with bite marks on his butt and arm, ran while pleading for help.
The old man was powerless, knowing that if he intervened, he'd just be offering himself up.
Wei Yun had said Chen San had to handle it himself, so he was unreliable.
Finally, Chen San turned his gaze to Li Dao.
Currently, this brother seemed to be his only hope.
"Big brother, help me."
With that, he ran towards Li Dao.
Li Dao immediately saw through the fatty's 'good intentions.'
As Chen San lunged at him, Li Dao didn't hesitate, kicking Chen San aside.
As Chen San flew away, the little madman behind him lunged at Li Dao.
Facing the frenzied little madman, Li Dao swiftly reached out.
He grabbed the little madman's neck.
With one hand, he lifted the little madman, who could only struggle in mid-air, his short limbs flailing as he hissed at Li Dao.
"Brother, you're a bit too forceful."
Chen San got up from the ground, seeing the little madman subdued, he couldn't help but complain.
Li Dao merely glanced at him disdainfully before turning his attention to the little madman in his grasp.
In his view, whatever the reason, the little thing needed to be subdued first, or it would be troublesome to work together in the future.
Seeing the little madman still flailing, trying to bite, Li Dao smiled faintly, speaking to himself, "Let's give you a taste of the windmill."
With that, he began to spin the little madman in his hand.
One circle... two circles... ten circles...
Li Dao's hand moved faster and faster. At first, the little madman struggled, but as the spins increased, he couldn't hold on. His once-crazed eyes lost their madness, turning to fear, confusion, and finally, panic and bewilderment.