Innate Aura

"Whoosh~"

The crimson streak of light crossed dozens of yards in an instant, smashing through the White Horse cavalry like a wrecking ball through rotten wood before plunging straight into White Horse Lake and exploding with a thunderous splash.

"Ah~"

"Ow!"

"My hand~"

More than three hundred White Horse cavalrymen were sent sprawling. Most of them never got back up after hitting the ground.

The White Horse Training Grounds were where the White Horse Gang’s headquarters drilled its troops. They spanned over a thousand yards in every direction. Even with the White Horse Gang’s elites gathered there today—more than ten thousand men—it did not feel crowded.

However, with Gu Sheng charging into their formation alone, the White Horse Gang’s forces had retreated again and again. That was why they had crowded together on the side of the White Horse Training Grounds nearest White Horse Lake, shoulder to shoulder in a dense mass.

But after Gu Sheng’s attack, the towering platform of the training grounds near White Horse Lake collapsed in an instant. A passage several yards wide and over a hundred yards long stretched from before Gu Sheng all the way to White Horse Lake, looking utterly out of place amid the thousands gathered there.

Gu Sheng slowly rose from the ground and pulled the Cleaving Mountain Blade from where it was buried deep in the earth. With a thunderous boom, a massive crack appeared belatedly across the training grounds—three feet wide, over a yard deep, and stretching dozens of yards.

"Crack~"

A faint snap rang out. The Cleaving Mountain Blade in Gu Sheng’s hand began to tremble slightly. Under the horrified gazes of the White Horse Gang members, cracks spread across the weapon he had obtained less than a few days ago, and then it shattered completely.

"Hmm~"

Gu Sheng merely furrowed his brow slightly and paid it little mind. He had used that move for the first time just now, and its power seemed outrageously immense. It had consumed half the Inner Force in his body in one go. The Cleaving Mountain Blade was merely Wang Tieshan’s weapon, not some divine weapon. It was only natural that it could not withstand the attack.

"Are you all right?"

A black blur swept over with the wind. Chu Xin leaped down from the Black Wind Leopard and hurried to Gu Sheng’s side, anxiously looking him over from every angle. She was not sure whether he had been injured.

"Cousin!"

Teng Qingshan arrived on the wind. After seeing that Gu Sheng was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Li Yanshan, Liu Shui, City Guard Ni, Lord Li, Teng Yunlong, and the others arrived one after another as well. Even Liu San came to the battlefield, and only after seeing that Gu Sheng was all right did he slow down and walk behind Hong Zhenjie and Fourth Master Hong.

"I’m fine!"

Gu Sheng shook his head to reassure Chu Xin, then told Teng Qingshan and the others not to come any closer before walking alone toward the White Horse Gang members, who had retreated into a frightened huddle.

"I’m only here for Fourth Master Hong and his son. Everyone else, get out of my way!"

As Gu Sheng approached, several White Horse Gang core disciples nervously raised their weapons toward him. After he roared, most of them opened a path. Only the White Horse Battalion continued to stand firm, protecting Fourth Master Hong and his son in the center.

The White Horse Battalion had been personally trained by Fourth Master Hong and were his loyal, trusted followers. They had committed evil alongside him and his son for years, and every one of them deserved death. They were essentially death soldiers. Their families had either been wiped out or were being held by Fourth Master Hong, so they could not retreat as easily as the core disciples.

"Teng Qinghu, the White Horse Gang admits defeat this time. We’ll let you handle the militia training matter. Why don’t we sit down and talk?"

Seeing Gu Sheng bearing down on him, Fourth Master Hong was no longer arrogant as before. He lowered his stance considerably. "From now on, the White Horse Gang will follow your orders and recognize you as our leader. The whole of Yicheng will submit beneath your feet."

As soon as Fourth Master Hong said this, Li Yanshan, Liu Shui, and City Guard Ni’s expressions all changed. They quietly retreated, keeping their eyes fixed on Gu Sheng to see what choice he would make.

"You think there’s still any need for us to talk? The mere White Horse Gang means nothing to me! If I left behind a bunch of parasites who produce nothing and prey on their neighbors, why would I have gone to all this trouble?"

Gu Sheng reached the front of the cautiously guarded White Horse Battalion, his fist already primed to strike. "Today, I’m wiping out your White Horse Gang and Fourth Master Hong with it!"

"You really intend to push us this far?"

Fourth Master Hong lost his temper as well. He walked forward with the Cold Moon Blade in hand. "Don’t forget that every bandit stronghold large and small in Yicheng follows the White Horse Gang’s orders. If you want to eliminate the bandits without our cooperation, just wait for Yicheng to descend into chaos!"

"It won’t descend into chaos!"

Gu Sheng said coldly, "Anyone who dares cause trouble, I’ll slaughter them! Since I said I would eliminate Yicheng’s bandits, I’ll wipe out every stronghold that burns and loots the villages or collects annual fees."

"Get out of my way!"

Gu Sheng raised his fist and knocked down the White Horse Battalion soldier blocking his path. Only then did the frightened White Horse Battalion belatedly begin to resist.

"All of you, get out of my way!"

With an angry roar, Gu Sheng sent a surging aura billowing in every direction, flinging several White Horse Battalion soldiers blocking his path away.

An invisible fluctuation enveloped Gu Sheng’s body. Crimson streaks of light danced around him like flames. The translucent radiance was several shades brighter than the already somewhat dim sunlight. Wrapped in glowing flames, Gu Sheng looked like a War God of fire as he strode firmly toward Fourth Master Hong and his son.

"What is that? It’s so beautiful!"

There were some women in the crowd as well. When they saw Gu Sheng surrounded by glowing flames, they cried out in shock and admiration.

"Could this be the legendary Innate Aura?"

City Guard Ni watched with tightly furrowed brows, sounding somewhat uncertain.

"Innate Aura? I never thought someone like this would appear in this era. What an unparalleled prodigy!"

Among the spectators, Huo Yan, the master of the Yicheng Myriad Manifestations Pavilion, was explaining it to his disciples: "The term Innate Aura originated in antiquity. Before the era of Emperor Yu, humanity had not yet been unified. The various tribes rarely communicated with one another, and their cultivation methods varied widely.

"However, the transition from the acquired state to the innate state always involved the hurdle of breaking through the Niwan Palace with the spirit. Back then, Emperor Yu had not yet founded sects to spread cultivation methods, and there were naturally no secret arts like those of the various sects today for breaking through to the innate state and condensing True Essence. Thus, after reaching the peak of the acquired state, most martial artists truly could only rely on luck.

"When an acquired martial artist transformed into an innate one, their spirit would break through the Niwan Palace and leave the body, affecting the surroundings. It would naturally resonate and commune with the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

"Martial artists who had just broken through the Niwan Palace could not yet control their spirits skillfully. During battle, the ‘spirit’ that escaped their bodies would instinctively trigger a resonance with heaven and earth, drawing in the power of heaven and earth and causing it to swirl around their bodies, forming something resembling flames. This was the Innate Aura.

"The power of this Innate Aura was considerable. Just look at that Teng Qinghu—his attack moments ago smashed through several hundred armored cavalrymen. However, it consumed a great deal as well. If someone unaware of the details used such moves too often and depleted themselves excessively, their joy could easily turn to sorrow. Thus, the Innate Aura was not necessarily a good thing.

"Once a martial artist became familiar with and gained control over their spirit, they would draw all their strength back into their body. Their spirit would no longer escape during battle, and the glowing flames would disappear as well.

"In this era, most First-Rate Experts have heard some of these secrets, more or less. High-grade cultivation methods also contain corresponding secret arts. Once their spirit breaks through the Niwan Palace, they can circulate those secret arts and attempt to break through to the innate state and transform their energy into True Essence. Thus, situations where the Innate Aura appears before others have essentially disappeared."