When he saw three men get hit, a triumphant grin instantly appeared on Du Xiaoqing’s face.

The oil stored inside those two buckets wasn’t just ordinary vegetable or animal oil—it was a rare, expensive underground mineral oil that their Twelve Linked Rings had purchased for a hefty sum from the north.

This oil could only be found by chance while mining deep underground in the north.

The oil was black, thick, pungent, and extremely sticky; if spilled on the ground, it was nearly impossible to clean without prolonged scrubbing, and it was highly flammable. Once ignited, it would instantly reach an extreme temperature, and even masters of Inner Strength couldn’t put it out quickly with their power.

It was truly a trump-card weapon for defending a city.

Exactly because he had this ace up his sleeve, Du Xiaoqing wasn’t overly panicked when he saw more than ten Inner Strength experts scaling the city wall.

The black oil continued to flow down the city wall, dragging high-temperature flames along with it. At this, the Inner Strength experts Liu Ming brought immediately lost their nerve; one after another, they either jumped back down to the ground or dodged to either side to escape the path of the black oil.

Three figures engulfed in flames suddenly dropped vertically from the inferno, crashing onto the ground below. Not only did they crush several soldiers to death, but the flaming black oil on their bodies also splattered out, instantly igniting many soldiers caught off guard.

"Ah!!"

"Help!! I’m on fire!"

The three blazing Inner Strength experts struggled at first, but after a few blinks of the eye, they went rigid and stopped moving—burned alive by the searing flames.

One Inner Strength expert chose to avoid the sea of fire and kept climbing the wall, soon reaching the top. Without a word, Jin Haishi picked up his weapon—the Silver Moon Serpent Spear—and charged at him.

The man propped himself up with one hand at the edge of the wall, flipping onto the battlements like a swallow flying backwards, then drew the longsword on his back and hacked at Jin Haishi’s spearhead.

Bang!

Sparks flew as their weapons clashed. Jin Haishi’s immense strength was formidable, but his opponent was no pushover either. In just a few moves, the fight became deadlocked.

Du Xiaoqing was about to rush over and help when suddenly another Inner Strength master climbed up from below and drew his weapon to engage someone else.

The Inner Strength experts Liu Ming brought were no fools. Though the burning black oil was terrifying—enough to toast even experts alive if they were careless—it was still lifeless and sluggish. As long as one avoided the area under the flames, it was no real obstacle.

Du Xiaoqing, dual-wielding a pair of iron pens, fought hard to hold back two Inner Strength experts at once. But he knew this wouldn’t last; more and more enemies would soon be scaling the wall. On his own side, even with every ounce of strength, only four people could fight on equal terms. If they were drawn into a fight outnumbered, they’d all lose their lives here today.

"Iron Whistle, bail!" Du Xiaoqing shouted at a short man holding two iron plates.

The man nodded, pursed his lips, and promptly blew a shrill whistle toward the sky.

Fweeeeee!!

The whistle was loud and piercing, its sound carrying far and wide—nearly deafening.

As the sound spread, others immediately echoed with whistles of their own. In moments, the entire Twelve Linked Rings stronghold was filled with overlapping whistles.

This was the age-old secret code of Twelve Linked Rings: abandon everything and retreat at once.

The four Warden Lords of Du Xiaoqing’s side all attacked with renewed fury, giving their brothers more time to withdraw.

"Brother Zeng, this Twelve Linked Rings is something else after all," Liu Ming said from the prow, waving his golden folding fan. "Those three Inner Strength experts died for nothing."

The man he called Brother Zeng lowered his head and asked, "Young master, do you need me to intervene?"

"No need for that. We’ll just enjoy the show. After all, it’s the Yellow Turban’s people dying."

More and more Inner Strength masters climbed onto the wall, and Du Xiaoqing’s group was struggling more and more. At first, they barely held their own two-on-one. Soon, though, it was three-on-one, then four-on-one. Under such relentless attacks, eventually one of the Wardens made a mistake: a Yellow Turban expert drove a dagger deep into his lower back, punching a bloody hole right through him.

The man tried to fight back, but outnumbered by four attackers, as he turned two others thrust their longswords into his chest from either side. The blades sank straight in, and blood bubbles flooded from his mouth—his lungs had been sliced through.

"Steel-Leg Liao!" Seeing his friend so grievously wounded, Du Xiaoqing roared in anger.

But what could he do? Four Yellow Turban experts were also besieging him; if he showed the slightest opening, his fate would be no better than Liao’s.

At this point, everyone present was stricken with a sense of powerlessness.

The fall of Twelve Linked Rings was certain. Nothing could stop it now.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a flash of swordlight—Jin Haishi saw a brilliant arc, and his right arm went flying high into the air, trailing a geyser of blood.

Before he could react, another sword glint slashed toward his throat.

"I’m dead!" Jin Haishi stared, eyes wide.

Clang!

In that instant, a cold gleam shot over like a dart, blocking the threatening sword just as it was about to chop through Jin Haishi’s neck. The Yellow Turban assailant’s hand jolted—an immense force surged into his body, making him stagger three steps backward, missing his chance to finish Jin Haishi off.

Bang!

The cold, shining sword hammered straight into the stone wall, the hilt quivering violently.

"What’s this!" As soon as Du Xiaoqing saw the sword, his eyes lit up with astonishment.

The look of that sword... was oh so familiar!

Red sun high in the sky, beneath the firmament.

Two figures hurtled in from the distance, slamming into the city wall in the blink of an eye.

Just before hitting the ground, Sanhuang was thrown aside by Qin Yuesheng, spinning to a safe stop without serious harm.

Qin Yuesheng, on the other hand, smashed headlong into the wall, leaving a deep depression. If not for his incredibly tough body, he’d have been a bloody pulp at the moment of impact.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Lying exhausted on the ground, Qin Yuesheng couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh.

From Cyan Yang City he’d sprinted across the sea using ’A Step Away From the Edge.’ To call it a non-stop streak of wind and thunder was no exaggeration—crossing a thousand yards with every breath, enough to leave one breathless just from the wind alone.

The cost of using A Step Away From the Edge so relentlessly was a massive drain on the Inner Strength within him. By the time he reached Twelve Linked Rings, his inner reserves were almost exhausted, and his body was worn to the limit.

"Young Master Qin!" Seeing Qin Yuesheng lying in the crater, Du Xiaoqing and Jin Haishi were instantly flooded with hope.

Their savior had arrived! They were going to make it!

As for the Yellow Turban experts, they were stunned by the sudden meteor-like arrival. Not recognizing this new threat, they became instantly wary, not daring to attack rashly.