Colonel Hao snapped out of his trance.

"Kill her!" he shouted, his voice raspy from his wounds. "Kill her now!"

It was as if a bomb had dropped. The soldiers steeled themselves and launched their assault. Arrows flew through the air, swords swung with deadly intent, and a few desperate spells were cast.

Li An stood calmly as the attacks closed in.

With a simple gesture, she summoned the Energy Shield technique, creating the magnetic field around her. The shimmering barrier of magnetic lines repelled every arrow and sword that came her way. The soldiers' efforts were futile, their weapons bouncing off the shield harmlessly.

"Pathetic," she murmured.

As for the spells, those belonged to the strongest amidst the soldiers, the Lieutenants and the more powerful Corporals. They could not be stopped with a mere magnetic field.

"But so what?"

Bright bolts of lightning, searing flames, and sharp ice shards hurtled towards her, crackling and hissing through the air.

They hit Li An directly, momentarily engulfing her in a blinding display of elemental qi. For a brief second, it seemed as though the soldiers' combined efforts might have an effect. Lightning scorched her skin, fire charred her flesh, and ice pierced her body, leaving deep, bloody wounds.

But the hope was fleeting.

As the light from the spells faded, the soldiers watched in horror as Li An's injuries began to regenerate almost instantly. Her charred skin mended, the ice wounds closed up, and the burnt flesh was replaced by new, unblemished skin. It was as if the attacks had never happened.

One of the lieutenants gripped her weapon tightly. "She's a monster! A demon! We can't win!" she whispered.

Li An's expression remained apathetic as her body healed itself. She turned her gaze towards the soldiers, her eyes reflecting their desperation and fear. Her voice was calm, almost soothing in its deadliness.

"I think I felt a sting."

With a flick of her wrist, dozens of tiny golden spheres materialized around her, each one glowing almost red from the heat of its rotational speed.

"Go."

The spheres shot out in all directions. Each sphere was homed in on a group of soldiers.

The explosions tore through the ranks of the soldiers, their bodies ripped apart by the sheer force. Limbs were severed, torsos obliterated, and blood sprayed across the battlefield in a gruesome display of power. The air was filled with the scent of burning flesh and the screams of the dying.

Even then, Li An was still holding back.

"I might as well try my new movement technique too," she thought. During her closed training, she had mastered three new techniques: the Energy Shield, the Plasma Cannon, and a movement technique she had yet to test in battle.

With the soldiers in disarray, Li An manipulated her spiritual energy. Using electromagnetic fields, she made herself weightless and reduced friction, allowing her to glide across the ground at extreme speeds. Plasma soles formed beneath her feet, leaving trails of ionized particles as she moved.

She slid through the battlefield like a feather, not allowing the weaker enemies to even catch a glimpse of her. As she approached the soldiers, her scythe swung for the kill. Each stroke was accompanied by a trail of blood and the sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh and bone.

A corporal charged at her, sword raised high. Li An's scythe moved in a blur, decapitating him before he could strike. Another lieutenant attempted to cast a spell with fire qi, but was cut down mid-manipulation, his body falling in two halves to the ground.

And the spiritual bullets... hadn't stopped.

Even as she fought with her scythe, the tiny golden spheres continued their deadly work. They continued to shoot out in all directions, each one finding a target and exploding with devastating force. Soldiers were thrown into the air, their bodies disintegrated by the powerful blasts.

One soldier attempted to flee and was caught by a spiritual bullet. The explosion tore his body apart, leaving only charred remains and other two corpses next to him. Another tried to shield himself with spiritual energy, but the bullet pierced through his defenses as if they were made of paper, detonating inside him and reducing him to a bloody mist.

It was hardly fitting to call it a battle when the Blackthorn soldiers could not even lay a finger on their enemy. Li An was akin to a porcupine; anyone who ventured too close was obliterated by the onslaught of spiritual bullets flying from her body. Should an attack miraculously manage to breach her defenses, it was quickly repelled by her energy shield, and even if it did find contact, her wounds would mend almost instantaneously.

However, all of this assumed they could even target her at the monstrous speed with which she moved, effortlessly changing direction without any need for deceleration.

Her scythe and spiritual bullets decimated the ranks of the enemy. The ground was littered with the mangled bodies of soldiers, and the fort was now a graveyard of twisted flesh and shattered stone.

Hao tightened his grip on his weapon, his eyes narrowing as he watched Li An glide through the battlefield with unnerving ease. His strongest lieutenants, Lieutenant Cheng and Lieutenant Mei, flanked him, their expressions equally resolute.

"We end this now," Hao muttered.

"We're with you, Colonel," Cheng replied, his qi crackling around him like a thunderstorm.

With a shared nod, the three charged at Li An, their qi techniques blazing to life. Hao summoned a torrent of fire qi, launching a wave of scorching flames towards her. Cheng unleashed a storm of lightning bolts, while Mei, harnessing the power of water, sent a deluge of razor-sharp ice shards hurtling through the air.

Li An's expression remained apathetic as she watched their approach. The first wave of attacks hit her spiritual bullets, momentarily piercing through the golden orbs with raw elemental force. For a brief second, it seemed as though they might have an effect.

But that hope was quickly dashed.

Li An was just too fast! The attacks lost speed as they collided with the spiritual bullets, and by the time they reached her location, she wasn't there anymore.

"Keep pushing!" Hao shouted, his voice strained as he launched another wave of fire qi.

Cheng and Mei followed suit, their attacks trying to break through the wave of spiritual bullets. But no matter how many they destroyed, more seemed to appear instantly, overwhelming their defenses.

Li An weaved between their attacks with ease, her scythe occasionally flashing out to cut down any soldier who dared to get too close.

"She's too fast!" Cheng yelled, his voice tinged with desperation as another wave of spiritual bullets pierced his lightning bolts and slammed into his chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Before he could recover, three golden spheres were already inches away from his body.

Splash!

An eruption of blood as his body detonated like a firework.

"Focus on defense!" Mei cried, trying to summon a water barrier to shield them, but the relentless assault of spiritual bullets shattered it almost instantly. She staggered back, blood trickling from multiple wounds on her skin.

Hao was already running out of spiritual energy, but he refused to give up.

"We can't let her win!" he roared, his fire qi flaring up once more. But even as he launched a huge column of flames, Li An was already in motion, her scythe slicing through the air with a pleasant hum.

She glided past him and with a flick of her wrist, a new wave of spiritual bullets erupted from around her. Hargrave barely had time to react as the golden orbs struck him. He was thrown back, his vision blurring from the pain and impact.

As he struggled to rise, he saw Mei lying motionless on the ground, her body riddled with wounds.

His heart ached with the weight of his failure, but he was not allowed to surrender. Summoning the last of his strength, he shouted to his remaining soldiers.

"Hold the line! Do not give in to despair! Fight with everything you have!"

But his words fell on deaf ears. The soldiers had begun to break. Cries of fear and hopelessness filled the air.

"We're all going to die!"

"There's no escape from her!"

"We can't win! We can't win!"

Li An stood amidst the carnage, her expression as cold and emotionless as ever. Her scythe dripped with blood, and the air around her glowed with the residual energy of her spiritual bullets.

Hao looked up at her, his vision fading. "You... won't win," he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.

Li An tilted her head slightly, her black eyes locking onto his.

"I already have."

And as the darkness closed in, the last thing Colonel Hao saw was the cold, emotionless face of Death, standing victorious amidst the ruins of Fort Blackthorn.

"You were strong, Colonel Hao, but unfortunately I was stronger." Watching the silent corpse of the colonel, Li An was again reminded of why democracy has no place in the world of cultivators.

Here, dreams, the will of the people, and the so-called greater good can be obliterated by the ambitions of a single person. This is the harsh, unyielding reality they lived in—a reality where one individual, through sheer might, can subdue the masses and impose their will upon the world.

To believe in democracy is to ignore the fundamental truth of this world. It is to cling to a fantasy that cannot withstand the harsh light of day. Democracy relies on the premise that no single person can dominate the collective will. But here, in their realm, that premise crumbles before the might of a true cultivator.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The righteous forces began to scatter, fleeing in all directions, desperate to escape the nightmare that had descended upon them. Li An understood their feelings; it was difficult to maintain morale when their strongest commanders had been felled like weak reeds before their eyes.

Even Li An found herself astonished by the sheer dominance of her energy cultivation compared to that of other cultivators. She had dispatched a peak Core Formation expert as effortlessly as if he were a Spirit cultivator. Although her body cultivation was useful, she had to acknowledge that her energy cultivation stood on an entirely different level, particularly when enhanced by her understanding of electromagnetic fields.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.

"Oh, they are here," Li An mused.

"Something's coming!" one soldier cried, his face pale as he glanced around the surrounding swamp.

The air grew thick with an oppressive heat, and the scent of decay and rot filled their nostrils. The distant sound of clicking mandibles and the hum of wings grew louder, reverberating through the air like a death knell.

And then they emerged.

It wasn't only wasps, beetles and ants this time. More formidable predators, higher in the hierarchy of the swamp, had caught a whiff of the feast awaiting them and decided to join the banquet.

Li An's keen eyes discerned three particularly menacing figures among the throng. These were tall, slender insects with razor-sharp forelimbs and bulging, multi-faceted eyes, evoking memories of the Chinese mantis from her previous life.

The soldiers' desperation turned to outright panic as the insect beasts closed in.

"We're trapped!" one soldier screamed with his eyes wide open.

"Run! Run for your lives!"

But there was no escape. The horde surrounded them on all sides, cutting off any chance of retreat.

Li An watched the scene unfold indifferently.

"So naive," she murmured to herself. "Did they really think I would let them escape?"

The hunger finally drove the horde into a frenzied assault. Right now, every human in the fort was nothing more than prey for them.

"Help! Someone help us!" a soldier cried, a desperate plea as he was dragged to the ground by a swarm of ants.

But he was not the only one. The righteous cultivators had no leader and could not mount a proper resistance.

A group of braver soldiers still tried to form a defensive line, but the wasps swooped down upon them, their stingers piercing through flesh and armor alike. They fell in minutes, convulsing violently as the venom spread through their veins and foam bubbled from their mouths.

A female cultivator fell to her knees. "We're all going to die," she whispered, her hands shaking.

A nearby soldier clutched at his friend's arm. "Help me! Please, I don't want to die like this!"

But his plea was cut short as a mantid hunter's forelimb pierced through his chest, lifting him off the ground before tossing his lifeless body aside.

Another soldier, caught in the grip of a large, centipede-like creature, screamed in horror as the monster's teeth tore through his abdomen.

"It hurts! Oh gods, it hurts!" he cried, his voice trailing off into a gurgling wail as blood filled his throat.

Li An ignored the deaths around her and strode towards the motionless Lieutenant Mei. Although she was lying on the ground, her eyes were half-open and it was clear she was still alive.

Without a word, Li An kicked Mei's ribs, eliciting a pained gasp from the lieutenant.

"Tell me," Li An was chillingly calm. "Where are the catacombs?"

Mei coughed, blood trickling from her lips. "I... I won't... tell you..." Although she tried to sound strong, it was clear she was terrified of the girl.

"I will make it simple for you." Li An's smile widened, her eyes glinting with dark amusement. "Tell me, and I will grant you a quick death. Refuse, and I will make you a breeding bag for a Necrofly."

Mei glanced to the side and her face turned ashen. A massive, bloated necrofly had descended upon the battlefield, feeding on the dead and dying. Their maggot offspring burrowed into the flesh of their victims, the still-living soldiers writhing in agony as the larvae consumed them from within.

However, the worst part of the ritual was when the necrofly deemed a cultivator to be strong enough, laying her eggs inside their body and letting them deal with the excruciating pain of giving birth to its children.

Mei's resolve crumbled under that sight. "T-the entrance... it's behind the barracks... hidden... please, just kill me quickly..."

Li An nodded, almost kindly. "Thank you."

Without another word, she raised her scythe and ended Mei's life. She then turned her attention to the path ahead, cutting down any insect beast that dared to approach her, which was not too hard considering the stronger beasts remained away from her.

Just as Li An could feel they were dangerous, the beasts could also smell the scent of death from her.

The hidden door to the catacombs lay concealed behind a false wall in the barracks. Li An wasted no time, slashing through the barrier with her scythe. The stone and wood splintered and shattered under the force of her attack, revealing the entrance.

The two guards stationed at the door barely had time to register what was happening before Li An was upon them. Her scythe cleaved through the first guard, slicing him cleanly in half. Blood sprayed across the walls, and the guard's body crumpled to the ground with his entrails spilling out onto the floor.

"What the fuck!"

The second guard managed a startled shout before Li An's scythe pierced through his chest, the huge blades exiting his back with a sickening crunch. His eyes bulged before he slumped to the ground, lifeless.

Li An stepped over the bodies without a second glance, her focus now on securing the catacombs. She summoned another variation of her Energy Shield, manipulating photons to create a refractive barrier. This shield not only concealed her presence from the insect beasts' energy senses but also alerted her to any intruders. Better yet, it was almost invisible to the naked eye, since cultivators did not understand what photons were.

The catacombs were dimly lit, and the air had the usual thick stench of mold and decay from underground spots with no ventilation. Li An moved through the passages, her senses on high alert. She knew it was unlikely a lot of people had knowledge of this place, but caution was always wise.

Besides, she sensed a presence ahead.

After crossing the corner, Li An saw an old malnourished man waiting for her with narrowed eyes and a frown on his lips. It was Lieutenant Wong, who was tense after not recognizing the girl in front of him.

"Who... who are you?" Wong stammered. Not a great start.

Li An didn't even bother smiling or replying to him. The man was just another Core Formation expert to kill, and she had to be quick since she didn't want to be too noisy down there.

Panic flickered in Wong's eyes, but he quickly composed himself.

"Wait! I want to surrender," he blurted out. "I have no loyalty to anyone. I can help you. I can join your side."

The torturer had already lived for many hundred years and was not someone without any experience. Although he sensed her aura of a ninth-stage Spirit cultivator, his guts told him he would die without a corpse if he tried to fight her.

Li An raised an eyebrow. "And why should I trust you? Or rather, what is your value?"

"I know information," Wong said calmly. "I know some secrets of the Skyshadow Sect, the weaknesses of some officers. I can be valuable to you. I swear it."

Li An considered his words, her eyes narrowing as she weighed her options.

"Very well," she said finally. "I will accept your surrender. But know this, if you betray me, your fate will be worse than death."

"Thank you. Thank you, my lady." Wong nodded vigorously, relief flooding his features. "May I ask... who are you?"

Li An smiled.

"I am the one who killed everyone up there," she replied. "The Young Demon of the Black Lotus Cult."

Wong's face paled, and he swallowed hard. "You... you killed them all? The entire garrison?"

He knew the infamous tyranny of the past Young Demons of the Cult, but seeing it himself was a different experience all together.

"Yes," Li An said simply.

She turned on her heel. "Follow me. I have soldiers to recruit."

It was impossible to miss the dense demonic energy seeping through the thick stone walls in the direction of the last cell.

She approached it, the heavy iron door looming before her. With a flick of her wrist, she shattered the lock and swung the door open.

Inside, the Warden hung suspended by chains, his limbs locked in place by a powerful formation. A twisted grin spread across his bloodied face as he looked up at Li An.

"Well, well," his voice was a low, mocking drawl. "What do we have here? Another torturer come to play?"

"I am not a torturer or a righteous scum," Li An said, stepping into the cell. "I am Li An."

She did not bother mentioning her title because she knew this beast couldn't care less about it. The man felt like a tiger who only recognized those stronger than himself.

The Warden's grin widened, and he did not show any surprise.

"Ah, could it be that you are the new little God. The one who brings chaos and death." His words were full of mockery. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"I seek manpower," Li An's gaze didn't waver. "And I sense that you could be a valuable ally."

The Warden chuckled, the sound echoing through the cell. "An ally? Interesting. And what makes you think I would join you?"

"I am not going to lie to you," Li An sneered. "I won't offer you freedom; you will just switch from a jail to another. However, in my jail, you will be able to plunder, kill and play as you will."

The Warden's eyes shone. "Oh? And what is it you want in return?"

Li An liked him even more after he said that. This was a beast who understood how the world worked: there was nothing without a price attached to it.

"Your loyalty," Li An replied. "And your power. I have a lot of enemies, and even more people to kill. A girl gets tired from doing it all alone."

The Warden considered her words, his twisted grin never faltering.

"Loyalty is a tricky thing," he mused. "But I am intrigued. Very well, Li An. I, Mo Tianrui, will join you. But know this, my loyalty is to killing the righteous dogs. As long as our goals align, you have my support."

"I will do you one better, Tianrui," Li An moved her face right next to his and her voice lowered. "How does it sound to kill both the righteous AND the demonic dogs?"

"That is all I ask," Tianrui's face started flushing red from excitement. "You can call me Warden, master."

A satisfied smile curled Li An's lips. "Welcome to the fold, Warden."

Li An approached the Warden and swung her blade, shattering the formation and severing the chains that held him in place. Although they were extremely tough from the inside, outside they were no different from common iron. The sound of metal clattering to the ground echoed through the underground chamber.

"You're free," she said, stepping back. "Now, follow me. We have other soldiers to free."

As she turned to leave, her senses tingled with a sudden warning. She tilted her head just in time to avoid a huge metal spike that shot from the Warden's direction, cracking the wall in front of her.

The Warden straightened, a twisted grin on his face. "Your speech was very nice," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But I will not obey someone weaker than me."

As he stepped out of the shadows, the dim light of the catacombs finally revealed his striking features. Even compared to most men Li An knew in her past, the Warden was extremely handsome.

A sharp jawline, framed by a slight stubble that added to his rugged appeal. His eyes were a piercing, icy blue and his black hair was tousled from the long confinement, giving him a wild, untamed look.

Beneath the tattered remnants of his clothing, muscles rippled under his skin, each one well-defined and sculpted. However, deep lacerations crisscrossed his torso, and there was a particularly nasty gash on his left shoulder oozing blood, the flesh around it swollen and inflamed.

The Warden was a warrior through and through. To others, the faint scar tracing the line of his right cheek and the calluses on his palms might appear as unsightly imperfections, but to Li An, they were badges of effort and dedication. Her own hands had been no different when she trained under her former teacher.

Regrettably, the Warden could not know this and instead gazed upon her immaculate skin with disdain. Even the laziest of cultivators bore some scars or calluses from their training, yet Li An had none, which was partially the fault of her insane regeneration.

He smashed his fists together "Let's see what the little God can do."

Li An sighed, resigned with her fate.

"I was expecting this," she replied. "Fine. I'll fight you only with my body. I don’t want the catacombs to collapse."

The Warden laughed, though there was a strained edge to his amusement. "You underestimate me," he charged at her with a roar.

Li An stood her ground as the Warden lunged at her, his fists wrapped in metal qi. He swung a powerful punch aimed at her head. Her eyes widened slightly and she dodged it by a hair's breadth. The Warden's fist smashed into the wall behind her, leaving a deep indentation.

"You move well," the Warden admitted, his eyes narrowing.

Li An didn’t respond. Instead, she launched a counterattack with rapid strikes aimed at his vital points. However, the Warden's metal qi reinforced his body, absorbing most of the impact.

"Is that all you've got?" he taunted, throwing another series of rapid punches.

"This guy..." Li An was surprised by his ruthlessness. She was completely sure her hits hurt him, but the monster didn't even flinch. A grin spread across her face. "Now I want you even more."

She weaved through his attacks, her eyes focusing now that she began to take the battle more seriously. The Warden's strength surpassed her expectations, and even Li An knew she couldn't meet his fists directly. However, she had the Cosmos martial arts that used the opponent's force against themselves.

She redirected his energy, deflecting his blows with minimal effort and countering with precise, targeted punches at his neck, nose and groin.

"You're stronger than I thought," she admitted with no shame.

The Warden grinned, the strain starting to show on his face.

"And you're more skilled than you look." His breath had started to come in heavier gasps.

Li An's grin widened as she sensed the Warden's fatigue. "It is time to bring this to a close." With a sudden burst of speed, she closed the distance between them, her fist slamming into his gut. The Warden staggered back, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

He tried to respond with a powerful punch aimed at her chest, but Li An twisted and turned, seizing his outstretched arm. With a fluid motion, she flipped him to the ground and cracked the stone floor.

The Warden's confidence began to wane as he found himself unable to land a decisive blow. His metal qi, which had made him nearly invulnerable, now seemed to work against him, making his body heavier.

Li An's kicks and punches grew more forceful, each one chipping away at his defenses.

"Impossible," the Warden gasped. "You're not even using spiritual energy!"

Li An's expression remained impassive. "Strength isn’t everything," she replied. "Or maybe it is, and this is your limit."

With a final dodge, Li An delivered a series of rapid chops at the Warden's neck. His metal qi finally faltered, and he fell to his knees, panting heavily. This was the fastest he had ever been defeated, but the girl's strength was too monstrous for her age.

He could feel the huge gap between them.

"You... you win."