Everyone had suddenly appeared in this new world. No home, no country, no family, no friends, no commanders—they were utterly lost. But now, seeing Yi Tianxing, witnessing his godlike power, it was as if a spiritual pillar had risen within their hearts. In that instant, the fog of confusion was swept away, and a flicker of fervor ignited on their faces.
"Kill! Follow Mr. Yi! Kill!" a soldier shouted, his eyes bloodshot as he gripped his blade and slashed down at a rat suppressed by the Yin-Yang Rings. The blade fell, blood sprayed.
The rats had no power to resist. They were killed effortlessly, one after another.
These soldiers had been through rigorous training. Their strikes were ruthless and efficient. Especially now—these rats lay defenseless before them. Killing them was all too easy.
"Kill! So what if they're monsters? So what if these rats are huge? They die just the same. I'll treat them like enemies and hack them down!" someone snarled with reddened eyes.
"Kill! We can't let the civilians behind us down. We are soldiers. Even without a country, we must still protect the helpless. If anyone dies, it should be us first. We signed up for this. If I'm going out, I'm going out swinging. Who's afraid of death?!"
"Kill! Not for others—but for us! To survive! As long as we live, there's hope! We'll find our families again! We'll rebuild our homes!"
One by one, the soldiers were stirred to bloodlust. The stench of blood in the air only fueled their killing intent.
Over a hundred soldiers followed behind Yi Tianxing. The four hundred-plus savage rats pinned down by the Yin-Yang Rings were slaughtered in moments. The speed was unimaginable.
As the rats died, their souls were instantly pulled back into the Yin-Yang Eye, where the Innate Yin-Yang Diagram rapidly refined them. The power was funneled into forming the sixth Yin-Yang Lock, and one after another, the once-illusory rings condensed into solid, gleaming artifacts.
In just a few moments, nearly half of the rings had fully materialized.
This rampant harvesting of souls was a tremendous boon to the growth of the Yin-Yang Eye.
But the monsters were endless. As Yi Tianxing retrieved the rings, new waves of rats surged forward. Green-skinned creatures appeared as well.
A rat suddenly leapt from the ground, claws outstretched for Yi Tianxing's throat. Its speed would have overwhelmed a normal person—but to Yi Tianxing, its every motion was as clear as a still image.
Just as the rat pounced, his war spear appeared before it, as if the beast had thrown itself upon it. In a flash, its head was impaled. With a casual flick, Yi Tianxing hurled the corpse to the ground. His eyes scanned it, drawing in the soul like a whirlpool, swallowing it whole.
"KILL!!"
The other soldiers had already clashed with the horde. Blades flashed, blood splashed. Some were surrounded by several rats, their flesh torn open, but their faces twisted into maddened grins as they hacked the beasts apart. Even trading injury for injury, they refused to back down.
The bloodlust surged.
Everyone knew—hesitation meant death. Only by fighting could they survive.
One soldier found himself encircled by a dozen rats. A green-skinned brute charged in from the side, swinging a wooden club. Trapped, desperate, the soldier bared his teeth.
As a rat pounced, he didn't dodge—he grabbed it, sank his teeth into its neck, and tore out a hunk of flesh. Then he drove his blade into the green creature's chest. Laughing wildly, he roared:
"Die with me! Worth it! If I'm going down, I'm taking some with me—I die in battle!!"
His laughter rang out as the rats ripped his body to shreds.
But before death claimed him, he stood tall.
His spine never bent.
His head remained high!!
And he was not the only one.
No one fled. No one cowered.
There was only one thought in their minds: Kill them all.
Yin-Yang Lock. Yin-Yang Rings!!
Though it seems slow to describe, all of this happened in mere seconds. The rings reappeared, and once again, 405 of them shot out, binding countless monsters in an instant. They became completely helpless before humanity.
"KILL!!"
More civilians—adult men wielding tools—rushed forward, faces crazed, smashing the fallen monsters with sticks and stones.
Eyes bloodshot, they had only one thought: Kill these monsters. Even if I die, let it be in battle.
And with Yi Tianxing standing at the forefront, wielding the divine might of the Yin-Yang Rings, morale soared. His presence galvanized them all.
With such a powerful figure leading them, what was there to fear?
Even if they couldn't handle fully active monsters, the ones pinned down by the rings posed no threat. They could be killed immediately, saving Yi Tianxing the effort.
In just a few breaths, every trapped monster was slain—far faster than if he had done it himself.
The rings flew out, suppressed the monsters, and returned with their souls. Again and again. And soon—the sixth Yin-Yang Lock had fully solidified.
The number of rings increased to 486, boosting their kill rate dramatically.
Behind Yi Tianxing, the soldiers and civilians were filled with soaring morale. Their eyes shone with awe and fanaticism. The divine power of the Yin-Yang Rings was too shocking.
Most of them had never even heard of such a thing—much less witnessed it.
In the old world, such a person would be considered a divine being, a guest of emperors and kings.
Now, seeing it with their own eyes, the shock was indescribable.
They had only one thought—follow him, kill monsters.
With Yi Tianxing leading, the Innate Yin-Yang Eye unleashed its power without restraint. Its Yin-Yang energy drained, only to be instantly replenished by True Dragon Qi. The battle raged on, blood flowing like rivers.
No one knew how long it lasted.
But eventually, the wave of monsters at the valley's entrance was fully exterminated. The few survivors had long since fled.
The entire entrance was bathed in blood. Corpses of countless monsters piled high. Human bodies lay among them—soldiers who had fallen. But compared to the monster corpses, the number of human casualties was negligible.
With Yi Tianxing at the front, the only truly dangerous moments had been when the rings returned to him. If not for the sheer number of monsters, there might have been no casualties at all.
"Mr. Yi!!"
Amidst the mountain of corpses, soldiers and civilians gasped for breath, all eyes turning to Yi Tianxing. Their gazes were filled with awe and reverence—as if they had already made him their spiritual leader.
It was clear. Instinctively, they had begun to regard Yi Tianxing as their commander.
"What are the casualties?" Yi Tianxing asked, his voice low. The black-and-white light in his eyes slowly faded. Though this battle had consumed over half his energy, the gains were immense. He had refined a massive number of monster souls—enough to fully condense the sixth, and even the seventh and eighth Yin-Yang Locks. Now, in the Yin-Yang Space, eight locks shimmered, constantly shifting and transforming.
"Ten soldiers dead. Twenty-three brave men also fell. Many are wounded to varying degrees," a soldier reported respectfully.
At the mention of the fallen, everyone's heart grew heavy.
After all—those who died were their own.
"On the battlefield, death is inevitable. What matters is whether that death was meaningful. Today, they died for survival—for the civilians behind them—for protection—for honor. They died standing. Though their bodies fall, their spirits live on. Death is not the end—it is the beginning of another life."
Yi Tianxing walked to the fallen, bowed deeply, and said solemnly.
This gesture filled the hearts of the soldiers and civilians with a deep sense of recognition. This was respect.
And for a warrior—to be respected was everything. If it meant dying for someone like Yi Tianxing, it was worth it.
People need to respect one another.
Yi Tianxing honored the fallen, and in doing so, earned the heartfelt respect of the living. In their eyes, someone of his strength and status bowing to common soldiers and civilians was an act of rare humility.
"Mr. Yi, what should we do now? I'll follow your lead. Whatever you say goes," said a burly man, stepping forward and bowing. His body was bloodied and wounded. During the battle, he had fought fiercely, each strike precise and deadly.
Among the fighters, he was one of the strongest.
"That's right, Mr. Yi, we all follow you!"
"Only you can lead us to survival! I don't listen to anyone else—but I'll listen to you!"
One after another, the soldiers and civilians voiced their support.
Their tone, their eyes—utterly sincere.
They understood that without unity, they were doomed. Only by following someone like Yi Tianxing could they have a chance at survival.