The First Sage of Military Strategists

The Cangjiang River is a large river that flows from Yongzhou to Liangzhou. Its waters are turbulent and murky yellow, and as it flows, you can hear a lot of splashing sounds.

Boats of varying sizes were moving slowly on the river.

On one of the large ships, which was over twenty feet long, Lin Yueqiu, the Nine Elders of the Crimson Dragon, and others were practicing their martial arts on an open space on the deck.

Suddenly, a figure leaped down and landed right in the center of the deck. It was Han Qing.

"Son!"

"The master is back!"

...

Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on Han Qing with respect.

Han Qing glanced around, nodded slightly, and got up to walk into the cabin.

Yue Xiaobiao quickly followed, a fawning smile on his face: "As the saying goes, a day apart feels like three autumns. It's been so long since I've seen you, young master, that each day feels like a year, and I'm suffering day and night..."

"Get to the point!" Han Qing interrupted Yue Xiaobiao. Yue Xiaobiao's talkative nature was getting worse and worse; if he were to keep talking, who knew how long he would go on.

"Ahem! The matter with Lord Cao has been taken care of!" Yue Xiaobiao coughed lightly and quickly said in a serious tone.

"Good, well done!" Han Qing nodded slightly.

On that day, as he set off from Baifeng City, he received a secret letter from Qi Wufeng. The letter mentioned two things: first, Yang Wanxiu's whereabouts, as he had returned to Tiannan City from the north; and second, there was a righteous army in Liangzhou, and the situation was critical. He was asked to detour to Liangzhou and lend a helping hand.

Therefore, Han Qing chose to seek revenge on Yang Wanxiu alone, while a large group of people went to Liangzhou with him, and Yue Jinbiao and Lin Yueqiu led three thousand Tiger Might Battalion soldiers back to Yinshan Camp to report to Cao Zhen.

After nearly a year of rigorous training, Han Qing's journey across the northern ice plains is coming to an end.

There was no need for them to stay at the Yinshan camp any longer. Cao Zhen saw Han Qing's letter, understood his meaning, and decisively approved Han Qing's withdrawal of troops and departure from the camp.

Han Qing was caught in the vortex, and he was already exhausted. He wanted Han Qing to leave the camp, but he never dared to say it. Now that Han Qing took the initiative to leave, he was overjoyed.

The rest was simple: Han Qing, Lin Yueqiu, and Yan Qiuling met on a large ship and headed straight for Liangzhou along the Cangjiang River.

...

On the ship, in a cabin.

Yan Qiuling and Han Qing sat facing each other, with a pot of warm green ant wine in front of them. Zhou Xiaoru was also there, fanning himself and gazing at the riverbanks on both sides.

“Young Master, your reputation has soared after the battle in the Northern Ice Plains. More and more forces are now certain that you are already a half-saint before the age of twenty. Who knows what will happen next?” Zhou Xiaoru said.

“Other forces are fine, but the important thing is the Great Yu Dynasty. If you and I become Daoist partners, I’m afraid we’ll be hunted down by the court!” Yan Qiuling said.

"It's alright. The Luo and Han families have been hunting me down all along. I've always stood against the imperial court, and now it's just more thorough. But now I've become a half-saint, and I have a whole bunch of experts by my side to help me. If the imperial court wants to kill me, then let them come at me!" Han Qing said, drinking a large cup of green ant wine, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

"What are your plans for the next step, young master?" Zhou Xiaoru asked.

"I'll return to Shu first. I need to see General Qi and Liu Yue before making a decision," Han Qing said thoughtfully.

He had a plan in mind. From a personal perspective, he was bound to keep attacking and killing powerful enemies from various forces in order to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

After obtaining such a large amount of resources from the Boundless Monument, he also had the idea of ​​cultivating his own power.

However, none of these ideas had yet been developed into a plan, so he decided to take it one step at a time and return to Sichuan first.

Zhou Xiaoru nodded slightly: "With your talent, young master, it won't be long before you return to Shu and quietly cultivate for three years. I think even the top ten masters in the world might not be your match."

Yan Qiuling did not refute this. Even now, she felt that in a life-or-death battle, she might not be a match for Han Qing.

"I'm not afraid of the others, except for Han Yi, the Martial Saint of a Hundred Apertures and the leader of the Legalist School. His strength is beyond comprehension. If he were to personally take action, even if all of us joined forces, we might not be his match." Han Qing frowned.

“Han Yi is indeed a dangerous person. If you kill Han Zhuang and the news reaches the capital, he may very well take action himself. You must be careful!” Yan Qiuling also pondered.

With this in mind, Han Qingliang downed the wine in his cup in one gulp and said in a deep voice, "This is why I captured Yang Wanxiu alive. I must interrogate him thoroughly and find out all the details about Han Yi and the entire Han family."

With a thought, he activated the Boundless Stele. These days, he spends time every day refining the Boundless Stele, and his control over it is rapidly increasing.

In an instant, a vortex of eerie light appeared above his head, through which the ancient city within the inner space could be faintly seen.

Now, he can control the size of the vortex of light at will, instead of the way it used to cover a large area above his head and cause a huge commotion when activated.

Han Qing flew in first, followed closely by Yan Qiuling. Zhou Xiaoru hesitated for a moment and did not follow.

...

No boundary markers.

Inner space.

In the heart of the magnificent city, in a spacious courtyard, Yang Wanxiu was bound to a stone pillar by the Illusory Soul-Suppressing Chains.

His body was covered in wounds, his breath was weak and feeble.

The Martial Saint possesses a powerful self-healing ability, but the Illusory Soul-Suppressing Chains can not only suppress his magical thoughts but also restrain the flow of his blood and qi, making it difficult for the wounds all over his body to heal.

So, over the past few days, Zhou Xiaoru's health has not improved at all. He is as weak as an ordinary person, with his bones broken piece by piece, and he is completely paralyzed.

Seeing Han Qing and the other person descend from the sky, Yang Wanxiu looked up, his empty eyes fixed on Han Qing, and let out a strange laugh.

"Han Qing, I underestimated you, and so did everyone else. There were rumors that Yue Jinbiao had seized the Boundless Stele, and I believed them. I never imagined that this precious treasure would fall into your hands. I thought Xiang Ying was the biggest winner of this great battle on the Ice Plains, but now it seems that you are. Unfortunately, you have gone astray, colluding with the demon race and betraying the emperor's grace. This is going against the will of heaven. No matter how talented you are, you will not have a good end!"

Upon hearing this, Han Qing remained calm and composed, exuding a sharp and imposing aura.

"Going against the will of Heaven? Emperor Yu neglects state affairs, allowing the Han and Luo families to run rampant. The Han family, which you risked your life to protect, is a notorious scoundrel in the capital, harming countless people without ever being punished. Han Yi claims to be the leader of the Legalist school, with strict rules and harsh laws for all people, yet he turns a blind eye to his own relatives and friends. Hmph, such behavior has caused turmoil in the world, with uprisings breaking out everywhere, a sign of the overthrow of the dynasty. My actions are precisely in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, while you are going against the will of Heaven, and naturally you will be reduced to ashes!"

Yang Wanxiu shook his head: "Han Qing, you are sharp-tongued, but my will is firm. How could you confuse me? Don't even think about persuading me. Today I only ask for a quick death. Do it now!"

"You think it's that simple? You want a quick and painless end? Then cooperate with me obediently. Tell me, what is Han Yi's strength now?"

Yang Wanxiu remained silent, lowering his head as if determined to fight to the bitter end.

Han Qing frowned, and Yan Qiuling behind him said coldly, "Han Qing, this old thief refuses to back down, but I have plenty of ways to deal with him."

"Yang Wanxiu, do you know about the Reverse Blood Yama Scripture?" Yan Qiuling asked.

Yang Wanxiu looked up, his eyes fixed on Han Qing. Although he didn't say anything, Han Qing could sense that he was emotionally turbulent.

"Since you know this, you should know how powerful this method is. I will gradually cripple your martial arts, turning you into a cripple in pain. As a martial artist, you should understand what this means," Yan Qiuling said with a light laugh.

Yang Wanxiu sighed: "So be it, Han Qing, I have fallen into your hands. This is fate. I do not know how deep Han Yi's mastery of the Dao of Dharma is, but his path of martial arts has gone extremely far. A year ago, I heard that he had opened 360 acupoints. Under heaven, there are no more than a handful of people who can compare with him."

Han Qing hadn't expected the Reverse Blood Yama Scripture to be so powerful. But upon closer reflection, he realized that these powerful individuals who had spent their entire lives cultivating and finally reached the pinnacle of martial arts were not afraid of pain or even death. What they feared most was losing their martial prowess and becoming an ordinary person. The feeling of losing that power little by little was no less than a form of mental torture.

Subsequently, Han Qing and Yang Wanxiu engaged in a question-and-answer session, with Han Qing asking more than a dozen questions, all concerning Han Yi's strength and the number of experts in the Han family.

Yang Wanxiu answered readily, and Han Qing wasn't worried that he was lying, because he possessed the Seven Killings Tablet. It could absorb soul light points to verify their authenticity.

"Young Master Han, now that you've finished asking your questions, please give me a quick answer!"

"Don't worry, I, Han Qing, keep my word. I'll send you on your way right now!"

Han Qing threw a punch that struck Yang Wanxiu squarely in the chest, shattering his heart.

The latter's body trembled violently, and he spat out a cloud of blood mist from his mouth, dying instantly.

Another soul light appeared before the Seven Killings Stele, with Yang Wanxiu's face faintly visible within it.

Han Qing immediately absorbed the soul light point, and many images appeared before his eyes, reversing like flowing light.

A short while later, the image disappeared, and Han Qing frowned.

He gleaned a lot of information from it. Yang Wanxiu's death was not unjust. Many of the things he said earlier were false. For example, Han Yi didn't have 360 ​​acupoints a year ago, but 480. Now he's probably even more terrifying!

This person also created a secret martial arts technique called the Supreme Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture, which records how to proceed on the path after seven complete transformations.

Unfortunately, the memories were too fragmented. Although there was some information about the Han family, it was too little and too chaotic to extract much useful information. Therefore, the Han family was still shrouded in mystery in his eyes, and he didn't know how many powerful figures there were.

Han Qing stopped thinking about it and, after returning to the cabin from the Boundless Monument with Yan Qiuling, he turned around and went back to his room to begin learning the martial arts skills from Yang Wanxiu.

He immediately noticed one of the scriptures, called the Supreme Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture, but unfortunately it was only a fragment.

He learned from Yang Wanxiu's memories that this was the supreme secret manual that guided the Martial Saint on how to open all the acupoints after the seventh transformation and achieve the eighth transformation. It was created by Han Yi after observing a large number of martial arts manuals in the royal treasury.

He estimated that he would soon master the Heavenly Profound Technique and complete his seventh transformation. The path ahead remained uncertain, but the Supreme Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture had arrived at just the right time. Though incomplete, it was bound to be useful.
Therefore, Han Qing was the first to inherit this martial art, and a lot of information appeared in his mind.

In about half an hour, he had completely inherited this incomplete manual.

"I see. According to Han Yi, the human body can only undergo seven transformations. Eight transformations are defying the heavens. Therefore, once one achieves the Hundred Apertures, although the body becomes stronger, lifespan will decrease rapidly. Without the legendary Heavenly Crystal Stone, one must find a way to achieve the Thousand Apertures before lifespan is exhausted."

"And the hundred acupoints opened during this eighth transformation are not visible acupoints, but hidden acupoints!" "Hidden acupoints are even more secretive than visible acupoints. Only a Martial Saint who has achieved an extremely high level of control over his body after seven transformations can find hidden acupoints by following a certain method."

"The power contained in the hidden apertures is far greater than that in the visible apertures. Once opened, they can cleanse the entire body, greatly improve physical strength, and reveal all sorts of incredible mysteries!"

"The method for opening each hidden acupoint is a supreme secret of the major powers. This complete version of the Supreme Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture has approximately 360 methods for opening acupoints, but Yang Wanxiu only learned a little bit, about 18 acupoints, so it is an incomplete version."

Han Qing memorized how to activate these 18 acupoints.

"I have the Seven Killings Stele, and this incomplete scripture will have a chance to be deduced and perfected sooner or later."

Han Qing stopped thinking about it and chose another martial arts technique at the seventh level, called Moon Sea Tide Rising Technique, and transferred its proficiency to Heavenly Profound Technique.

With the help of the Seven Killings Stele, he worked hard to improve his strength on the ship.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. The large ship entered Liangzhou via the Cangjiang River. The group disembarked and set off along an official road toward their destination, Fengyang City.

Qi Wufeng's secret letter mentioned that this rebel army in Liangzhou is now in Fengyang City, and its leader is named Liu Jinchen, who is Liu Yue's younger brother.

Therefore, it's more accurate to say that he was working for Liu Yue rather than for Qi Wufeng.

Han Qing has now become a half-saint, so he can actually ignore this letter. Even without the help of Qi Wufeng and Liu Yue, he can now travel the world and is no longer as afraid of the two behemoths, the Han family and the Luo family, as he was before.

However, he would not do that. During his year in the North, Liu Yue had provided both manpower and money, which was a timely help. He would remember it and repay him many times over.

Helping the Liangzhou rebels escape their siege was the first thing he did for Liu Yue.

...

Halfway through.

Han Qing suddenly saw a large group of people walking towards him on the official road ahead. They were all dressed in rags and had dirty faces.

"More refugees!" Zhou Xiaoru rode beside Han Qing, fanning himself with a fan, and sighed softly.

Han Qing glanced around and saw the corpses of refugees on both sides of the road.

Qi Wufeng mentioned this matter in a secret letter: Liangzhou was suffering from a severe drought, and the people were struggling to survive. The imperial court's relief grain was not arriving for a long time, so there were refugees everywhere, and rebel armies rose up everywhere, with war raging and the whole province in ruins.

The entire Liangzhou is now in complete chaos, and the rebel army led by Liu Jinchen is just one of many rebel armies.

"Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos." Han Qing sighed, a strong sense of sympathy rising in his heart for the starving people who had died.

"Let's talk about it after we get to Fengyang City!"

There is also a lot of grain in the Boundless Monument, no less than a million bushels, but now is not the time to distribute the grain, and besides, he is not good at this kind of thing.

As they approached Fengyang, a bald, burly man suddenly descended from the sky on a flying eagle and landed right in front of Han Qing and his group.

"Young Master Han, I am Song Qi, the commander of the Yunxiao Camp of the Liangzhou Righteous Army. I have been ordered by Lord Liu to come here to escort you into the city!"

Han Qing nodded slightly. Qi Wufeng's letter had mentioned how many strong men were in the Fengyang rebel army, including Song Qi. He glanced at him and recognized his appearance, so he said loudly, "Lead the way!"

"Yes!"

Song Qi didn't dare to breathe loudly. Before he came, he didn't know how many people would come. He only knew that the leader was named Han Qing, but he didn't even know his strength.

Seeing Han Qing and his large group of people at this moment, he was completely shaken.

"too strong!"

He had only one thought in his mind: this feeling could only mean that the gap in strength between the two sides was too great, and there was already a fundamental difference in their life levels.

He dared not ask any more questions, and turned to lead Han Qing and his group toward Fengyang City.

Along the way, the rebels set up no fewer than three checkpoints, and the roadsides were densely populated with sentries, both visible and hidden.

However, under Song Qi's leadership, Han Qing and his group passed through these checkpoints smoothly.

Before long, the group entered the city. The streets were deserted, most shops were closed, the air was stagnant, like a quagmire, and a deep, somber atmosphere permeated the air.

Han Qing was not surprised by this. This city was originally in the hands of the imperial court, but it was captured by the rebel army. It had gone through countless wars in the meantime. No matter how prosperous a city was, it would become extremely desolate after such a baptism of war.

Before long, he was taken to a mansion in the city, where he met Liu Jinchen.

The latter was in extremely poor condition. He sat in a chair, looking incredibly old, with white hair as white as frost and snow. He was curled up like a candle in the wind, as if he would be extinguished at any moment.

This surprised Han Qing quite a bit, because according to Qi Wufeng's secret letter, Liu Jinchen was clearly 52 years old.

But judging from his appearance, he looks much older than 52; doubling that wouldn't be an exaggeration.

This is very strange. Liu Jinchen is the leader of a righteous army. Even if he is not a martial saint, he must be a high-level martial artist. How could he be so old at the age of 52?
"My lord, this is Young Master Han Qing."

Upon hearing Song Qi's report, Liu Jinchen stood up from his chair, opened his eyes with difficulty, and carefully examined Han Qing, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He felt that Han Qing was too young, but he could also sense the oppressive aura emanating from Han Qing, so he couldn't be sure of Han Qing's strength for the time being.

"Young Master Han, I am Liu Jinchen!" He composed himself and struggled to his feet.

"Lord Liu, your health is quite poor. What happened?" Han Qing said in a deep voice.

Liu Jinchen sighed: "This matter is complicated. I see that Young Master Han is young but has considerable strength. However, the enemy I am facing is too terrifying. If you stay here, you will die with me. How about this, you help me take a letter back and escort a young man back to Shu."

As he spoke, he beckoned Song Qi and led a sallow-faced boy into the house.

“This is my only son, Liu Yu, who is fifteen years old. I hope that you will escort him safely back to Shu,” Liu Jinchen said.

These words were practically an arrangement for his funeral. Han Qing could clearly sense the despair in Liu Jinchen's eyes as he spoke.

This is also a rather strange point. When he entered the city, he saw that the soldiers in the city were fully armed and had bright eyes. Their morale was not high, but it was definitely not low either.

From this perspective, the overall situation in Fengyang City is quite stable.

So what happened to Liu Jinchen that made him so desperate after encountering such an opponent?

A multitude of thoughts flashed through Han Qing's mind in an instant, while Liu Jinchen took out a secret letter from a wooden box next to him and handed it to him.

Han Qing ran his fingers over the letter and pressed, "Lord Liu, I am here to help you on someone's behalf. You must tell me the truth. If you can do it, do it; if you can't, find a way to do it!"

Liu Jinchen's expression changed. He sensed an inner confidence emanating from Han Qing, as if any powerful enemy could be crushed in his path.

This caused a change in his previous thinking.

However, he was still hesitant because he didn't know how strong Han Qing really was or whether he could deal with that terrifying enemy.

Seeing his hesitation, Han Qing silently activated his divine eye, scanning Liu Jinchen from head to toe. He discovered that the latter was emanating billowing black energy, which intertwined to form a rune on his forehead. This rune seemed to be constantly devouring his blood energy, making his body weaker and weaker.

"I see." A look of understanding appeared in Han Qing's eyes.

"Lord Liu, it seems you don't quite trust me. How about this, I'll resolve the hidden dangers affecting you first, and then we can discuss other matters."

As Han Qing spoke, a thought flashed through his mind, and he reached out and touched the center of the man's brow, sending strands of magical energy into his body. Then, he suddenly thrust the energy towards the Yin-Yang curse mark on the man's forehead.

With a crack, the Yin-Yang curse seal shattered instantly, turning into wisps of black energy that dissipated into the air.

Liu Jinchen suddenly felt much lighter. He had been able to feel his blood energy constantly draining away, but now that strange feeling had finally disappeared.

"Lord Liu, how is it? Now can you tell me who the enemy is? Let me guess, could it be a master of the Yin Yang Sect?" Han Qing's face was calm and composed.

The black mark on Liu Jinchen's forehead is the Yin-Yang Curse Mark, or rather, a part of the Yin-Yang Curse Mark.

Fortunately, he had previously studied the incomplete Yin-Yang Incantation Manual and had a very deep understanding of this secret technique; otherwise, he would not have been able to identify it, let alone know how to break it.

The Yin-Yang Curse Seal can be further divided into thirty-six sub-seals, each with a different effect. Liu Jinchen was hit by one of these sub-seals, named Blood Yin. Once it hits his body, it can continuously devour his blood and qi until it is completely drained.

Moreover, this curse seal is not something that ordinary people can break. If it is forcibly broken by brute force, it may be completely detonated, which would instead cost Liu Jinchen his life.

Liu Jinchen looked excited. He had consulted many experts in the army, but none of them could help with his injuries. He never expected that Han Qing could solve the problem so easily with a single finger. This gave him a glimmer of hope and made him trust Han Qing's abilities even more.

"Young Master Han, it seems your strength is even greater than I imagined!"

"Since that's the case, I have nothing to hide. The one who injured me is one of the four branch masters of the Yin-Yang Path, named Huangfu Qi..."

Liu Jinchen then recounted the whole story. A month ago, he accidentally discovered a group of Yin Yang Sect members in the city and wiped them out. Unexpectedly, this led to Huangfu Qi's assassination attempt. Although he was protected by the best warriors in the army, he barely managed to save his life, but he was also cursed and his life force was draining away every day.

When Huangfu Qi was forced to retreat, he even threatened to kill all the strong soldiers in Fengyang City, including himself, which greatly terrified him.

“If it were just Huangfu Qi, that would be one thing. But when I interrogated those Yin-Yang Sect members, I heard from them that the Yin-Yang Sect’s Shao Siming is also in Liangzhou. He is a notoriously terrifying figure, and with my strength, I am absolutely no match for him. I see that you are young, and I cannot bear to let you get involved in the conflict and lose your life. I hope you will understand,” Liu Jinchen said.

"I see." Han Qing nodded slightly.

Yan Qiuling sneered, "Who do we have here? It's Huangfu Qi. He's nothing to fear. It's Shao Siming Xingmou who's somewhat capable, but Han Qing, if we join forces, along with Mr. Zhou, she'll be sure to come and never return. The only one the Yin Yang Sect needs to be wary of is Da Siming Heitong. He possesses a Yin Yang curse seal that has been passed down for a thousand years, its power is terrifying. Apart from him, no one else is worth fearing!" (End of Chapter)