Naked Sword Art

Chapter 524: Li Anru’s Return

Watching from the hills, the captains searched for the backline of the beast horde—until one of them noticed something wrong.

"Father, look," one of Li Huxin’s sons said, pointing toward a break in the mass. "Those aren’t beasts."

Li Huxin narrowed his eyes.

The others followed his gaze, and a heartbeat later, they saw it too.

"...Humans?"

"Not just any humans—look at their uniforms, they’re—"

"Song," Li Huxin said grimly. He recognized them instantly.

"But how are they moving with the horde?"

"Are they controlling the beasts?"

Li Huxin’s jaw tightened. "Whatever this is, we can’t remain idle any longer," he muttered, half to himself, his eyes never leaving Li Lian’s burning figure.

"No, Father," Li Mu said quickly. "We can’t. If the Song Clan is involved, that’s all the more reason not to charge in blindly. The beast horde alone would cripple us. If the Song fights alongside them, none of us would survive."

"Li Mu is right," another captain added. "We shouldn’t be hasty."

Li Huxin knew they were right.

And yet, as he watched Li Lian standing alone against the tide, his fists remained clenched. The knowledge that the battle would only grow more brutal made the pressure in his chest tighten even further.

...

Li Lian tore through the advancing wave like an unstoppable fire tyrant. Nothing seemed capable of slowing her down. Beast after beast fell, reduced to ash beneath her chains, and for a brief moment, those watching began to believe she might actually survive.

Then—

A figure appeared behind one of Li Lian’s clones and shattered it with a single strike.

"Who’s that?" someone whispered.

The question barely needed asking. The moment the man’s uniform became visible, recognition spread instantly.

"The Song Clan..."

"They’re here."

A ripple of restrained murmurs passed through the hills, careful not to reveal their position.

"Tch," the Song cultivator sneered. "I was certain that was the real one."

[ Clone Reanimation ]

Before he could locate another target, the very same clone reformed behind him. A single punch crashed into his back, instantly incapacitating him.

"Yes...!"

"She’s unstoppable."

The army cheered silently in their hearts.

But the hope barely had time to take root.

Several more Song Clan cultivators struck at once, attacking Li Lian and her clones from all sides.

Li Lian didn’t fall.

She didn’t even slow.

Yet her attention was no longer focused solely on the beasts. As she was forced to split her awareness, creatures of the sixth, seventh, and even eighth tiers began slipping past her defenses.

From the hills, Li Huxin stepped forward, struggling to restrain himself.

Li Shan, his eldest son, grabbed his shoulder.

"Shan... don’t let go," Li Huxin said through clenched teeth, eyes locked on the battlefield. "I don’t think I can hold myself back much longer."

Truthfully, Li Shan was fighting the same urge to join the fight. They have lost countless clan members to the beast horde wars over the last few decades. Now it seemed like the Song clan was behind it, and they were attacking his little sister all at once like cowards.

...

Li Lian looked back as several beasts slipping past her and heading towards Xiao Fang’s tent, Xiao Hei and Xun Wei engaged them at a standstill. Unexpectedly, an 8th tier beast rushed past them towards Li Roh.

An 8th tier beast was as strong as a peak profound realm cultivator. Something they knew he couldn’t handle, but Li Roh didn’t know that. Ever since he passed Xiao Fang’s test by destroying his Profound realm clone, he believed even defeating an 8th tier beast was within his ability.

However, Xun Wei and Xiao Hei knew the truth. Xiao Fang broke his own clone to make it seem as if Li Roh passed his test.

They wanted to help but they were stuck in battle. Looking back at Li Roh in panic, they watched as Li Roh stood his ground with false confidence.

With Xiao Fang’s tent directly behind him, Li Roh shouted with vigor. The young man’s battlecry made the rest of the army watch with a tightened chest.

Then—

Boom!

The beast was knocked away, and struck again several more times before it could get the chance to get back up.

Li Roh’s eyes widened in confusion, but when he finally saw who did it, his confusion disappeared.

"Elder Anru!" Li Roh said excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" Li Anru then pointed behind him to Xiao Fang’s tent. "I’m here to defend our captain."

Li Roh smiled as if he was seeing his Elder in a new light.

"Let’s fight and keep him safe till he comes out," Li Anru said.

"Yes, Elder!" Li Roh replied with renewed determination in his brows.

The rest of the Li Army turned their attention to their captains, expecting them to engage in battle soon. The implication was clear, this wasn’t just a beast war anymore, this was in fact a war against the Song.

The war between their two clans had truly begun.

However, no one made a move. It was an undeniable fact that they would all die today against a beast horde army of that size. There were less than 2000 soldiers under Li Huxin’s command. The beast horde alone counted in the 40 or 50 thousand. Not including the Song clan members hidden within the horde.

Suddenly, Li Lian’s true body was struck, sending her crashing into the ground. The impact obliterated several tents within the military camp, debris and dust erupting skyward.

The Song Clan cultivators didn’t hesitate. The moment she hit the ground, they surged forward, pressing their advantage in an attempt to finish her while she was down.

But bringing down Li Lian was never going to be that easy.

More than a dozen Song Clan experts—at the Profound and Divine Realms—appeared around her in an instant, moving to end the battle decisively.

The moment they closed in, Li Lian’s earring flared with blinding light.

[ Exploding Star ]

Dozens of explosions detonated simultaneously.

Every Profound Realm cultivator caught in the blast was erased instantly, their bodies torn apart before they could even react. The Divine Realm cultivators survived—but only barely, their forms scorched and bloodied as they were hurled backward.

And Li Lian wasn’t finished.

Hundreds more [ Exploding Stars ] poured from her earrings, streaking across the battlefield like falling comets. Each detonation wiped out beasts that had slipped past her defenses while the Song clan members were attacking her.