[Defeated an enemy, gained attribute: 0.69]
Seeing the system's notification, Li Dao couldn't help but feel a wave of surprise.
Based on the calculation of gaining one-tenth of the enemy's attributes, the overall attributes of the Northern Barbarian leader must be at least seven times that of an ordinary person.
However, he had noticed earlier that the Northern Barbarian leader's physical strength wasn't particularly high, possibly only two or three times that of a regular person.
The reason for gaining so many attributes was likely because the leader was a cultivator, possessing attributes that ordinary people did not have.
For example: True Qi.
With a thought, Li Dao added the attributes dropped from the Northern Barbarian leader to himself.
In the next second, a familiar warmth surged through him.
However, compared to before, the sensation wasn't as intense, possibly because his physique had already adapted to this level of enhancement.
"Status Panel."
[Owner: Li Dao]
[Physique: 9.38]
[Available Attribute Points: 0]
Seeing this, Li Dao smiled.
A physique nearly ten times that of an ordinary person was almost reaching his initial goal.
But it was time to raise his own targets.
After all, if everyone were ordinary, a physique ten times that of a regular person would allow him to dominate in this era of cold weapons.
But when it comes to cultivators, that's another story.
Without a few hundred points in physique, he would find it hard to feel secure.
On the other side.
After Li Dao killed the Northern Barbarian leader, Centurion Liu, who had been watching, was stunned.
He had thought that if 9527 could hold his own against the Northern Barbarian leader for a dozen rounds, it would already be impressive.
But he hadn't expected 9527 to actually kill the opponent.
After the shock came excitement. Seeing the Northern Barbarian leader dead on the ground, he immediately shouted to those around him, "Your leader is dead, why don't you surrender quickly?"
The leader is dead?
Hearing this, the remaining Northern Barbarian cavalry turned their gazes.
Because the armor of the Northern Barbarian leader was different from that of the ordinary Northern Barbarian cavalry, it was quickly noticed.
Seeing the fallen, dead Northern Barbarian leader.
Instantly, the morale of the Northern Barbarian cavalry plummeted, their combat effectiveness rapidly declining, unable to maintain their formation.
The leader's death meant they had almost no chance of victory.
Finally, one Northern Barbarian cavalryman, unable to withstand the fear of death, threw down his weapon, dismounted, and surrendered.
And with the first, there was a second and a third.
Soon, the remaining Northern Barbarian cavalry also dismounted and surrendered.
Seeing this, Li Dao didn't know what to say for a moment.
Had he known, he wouldn't have dealt with the Northern Barbarian leader first; he would have taken care of these cavalrymen first.
But then he thought, if he hadn't acted, Centurion Liu would surely have died at the hands of the Northern Barbarian leader.
By then, the situation would have turned ugly.
It was likely that the soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty would have ended up like the Northern Barbarian cavalry, their morale crumbling and choosing to surrender because their leader had died.
"Never mind, it's not a big deal."
Overall, the gains this time were quite substantial.
When he set out, his physique was less than five points, and now it was close to ten, more than doubling.
Hmm?
At this moment, Li Dao suddenly noticed something in the crack of the Northern Barbarian leader's broken armor.
Curious, he walked over, squatted down, and took a look. A blood-stained yellow cloth was wedged in the armor's crevice.
Reaching out, he pulled out the blood-stained cloth, which seemed to have something wrapped inside.
Opening it, two books appeared before him.
One was called "Yellow Sun Formula," and the other "Gale Saber Art."
It seemed to be the cultivation method and saber technique practiced by the Northern Barbarian leader.
"9527, you have quite the luck."
Suddenly, Centurion Liu's voice sounded from behind him.
Turning around, he saw that because the Northern Barbarian cavalry had surrendered, the remaining soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty had begun to bind the captives and clean up the battlefield, just like last time.
"Do I need to hand these over?"
Li Dao shook the items in his hand and asked.
Finding these two books, he hadn't thought of hiding them, and besides, it was impossible to hide them.
Death row prisoners had to strip and clean up when they returned, changing into thin prison clothes, unable to hide anything.
Unless...
That method, Li Dao would never accept, even if it killed him.
After a glance, Centurion Liu truthfully said, "Technically, everything seized on the battlefield should be handed over, but..."
He turned around, cleared his throat, and said quietly, "But sometimes there are exceptions. Keep these things for yourself, and I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Watching Centurion Liu's back, Li Dao smiled and shook his head.
It seemed that his performance these two times had earned him some trust from this Centurion.
To be honest, Li Dao had a good impression of this Centurion, especially since the man had taken the initiative to save him.
Placing the two books in his chest, he planned to try practicing them at night.
Although the old Taoist master had said when he was young that he was born with severed meridians and couldn't cultivate.
But what if the old Taoist master was just a senile old fraud? After all, there were many old swindlers these days.
......
An hour later, the battlefield was finally cleaned up.
Everyone gathered together.
Centurion Liu asked the soldier beside him, "How's the tally?"
The soldier nodded, "It's done."
"Read it to me."
The soldier nodded, took out a piece of paper from his chest, and read, "In this battle, the Death Row Camp sent out fifty-five men, fifty-four died, and one survived."
At this, all the remaining soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty looked in unison at Li Dao, who was leaning against a tree not far away.
For some of these soldiers, it was their first time seeing Li Dao, while for others, it was their second.
But regardless of how many times they'd seen him, Li Dao had left a deep impression on them.
Hearing that he was the only one left, Li Dao's expression didn't change much, or rather, he had already expected it.
After all, even he had almost died under the Northern Barbarian leader's blade, let alone a group of ordinary death row prisoners.
The soldier's report continued.
In the end, the tally showed that the ambush on the Northern Barbarian cavalry was a pyrrhic victory.
The Northern Barbarian leader was dead, and of the over a hundred Northern Barbarian cavalry, 80% were killed, leaving only about twenty.
On the side of the Great Qian Dynasty, including the Death Row Camp, nearly two hundred men were deployed, with only a little over fifty remaining. If that wasn't a pyrrhic victory, then what was?
After hearing this, Centurion Liu sighed deeply.
Although he knew the casualties on his side were high, hearing the numbers still made him feel sad, especially seeing his men fall one by one under his command.
But this was war.
And this was just a small-scale skirmish on the border between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Northern Barbarian Dynasty.
If they were to encounter a large-scale battlefield, these men would probably not even make a ripple.
Seeing everyone ready, Centurion Liu gestured, "Once everything's packed up, let's head back."
......
Not long after, Li Dao followed Centurion Liu's team back to Long Valley Town.
Unlike last time, this time he was escorted by Centurion Liu directly into the Death Row Camp, to prevent the two books in his chest from being discovered.
"I'll take you this far. You saved my life, so if you need anything, let the guards know. If it's not too difficult, I'll help you."
Li Dao nodded and walked back into the previous death row cell.
As before, upon his return, his fellow inmates showed expressions of surprise, shocked that he had gone out a second time and still returned.
Finding a corner, he sat down as usual.
Soon, a familiar aroma filled the death row cell.
The cell door opened, and a guard came in with a plate of roast chicken and a bottle of wine.
"9527, this is from Centurion Liu."
Perhaps Centurion Liu had said something specific, as the guard's attitude towards Li Dao, a death row prisoner, was more courteous.
"Thank you."
"Serving Centurion Liu, no need to thank me."
"Then take care."
"Enjoy your meal. If you need anything, just call me."
"Thank you."
After seeing the guard off, Li Dao sat in the corner with his roast chicken and wine and began to eat.
This time, no one dared to disturb him.
Clearly, his interaction with the guard had made the other death row inmates aware of the difference, and no one dared to provoke him lightly, allowing him some peace.
After eating and drinking, Li Dao, feeling slightly tipsy from the wine, closed his eyes.
......
As night fell.
Once the death row cell was quiet, Li Dao opened his eyes.
Noticing that everyone in the cell was asleep, he took out the two books he had obtained from the Northern Barbarian leader.
First, he opened the book titled "Yellow Sun Formula."
Sure enough, it contained cultivation methods, teaching how to refine True Qi.
With mental strength ten times that of an ordinary person, Li Dao quickly memorized the entire book.
Then he put the Yellow Sun Formula back in his chest, sat cross-legged, and tried to practice.
An hour later.
Opening his eyes, Li Dao slowly uttered a single word.
"Trash."
After an hour, he hadn't cultivated even a hair's worth.
According to the Yellow Sun Formula, he needed to focus his mind and sense the hidden meridians within his body.
The result was that after an hour, he sensed nothing.
"So the old Taoist master wasn't wrong. he was born with severed meridians, he really had no meridians at all."
Otherwise, with Li Dao's mental strength, he would have easily sensed those so-called meridians.
Moreover, with his physique now ten times that of an ordinary person, if he truly had those so-called meridians, even just a little, they should have appeared after tenfold enhancement, but they didn't.
This also confirmed a mathematical principle.
If something is zero, no matter how many times you multiply it, it remains zero, never becoming anything else.
He had no meridians, so even if his physique reached a billion times that of an ordinary person, he still couldn't cultivate.
"Never mind, I was just trying."
Li Dao felt only a slight disappointment at being unable to cultivate.
After all, his system's main ability was to develop his own physique.
Even if he could cultivate, he wouldn't abandon the shortcut provided by the system to painstakingly cultivate in seclusion.
No matter how powerful cultivation was.
If ten points of physique weren't enough, then a hundred points.
If a hundred points weren't enough, then a thousand.
If a thousand points weren't enough, then ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million.
He refused to believe that when he could destroy cities and nations with a single punch, anyone would still talk to him about cultivation.
With cultivation methods out of the question, Li Dao turned to the Gale Saber Art.
He wondered if, without True Qi, the saber technique would be of any use to him.