In this chaotic world of vying for power, I can become stronger by marrying a wife.

The wind and snow were dark and gloomy, and the banners fluttered in the wind.

The drill ground outside Jing'an City was packed with newly conscripted soldiers. Cries, curses, and the dull thuds of whips striking flesh mingled together, creating a scene straight out of hell on earth.

"Stop crying! If you cry again, I'll cut your tongues out and use them as a snack with my drinks!"

Chen Li rode on a tall horse, pointing his whip at a group of trembling farmers. The blue birthmark on his face looked particularly ferocious with his sneer.

Su Ming stood at the very end of the line, his expression indifferent.

He glanced back.

Outside the crowd, Li Yueru stood on tiptoe, biting her lip tightly, tears welling in her eyes but not falling. She remembered Su Ming's instructions: Don't cry, don't distract him.

Su Mingchong nodded slightly to her, made a "go back" gesture, then turned around and strode into the blood-soaked military formation.

This turn of the head separates the mortal and the immortal, and sets them on different paths of life and death.

……

The march was not long, but for these new recruits who lacked food and clothing, it felt like walking on the road to the underworld.

The snow was knee-deep, and the cold wind felt like knives piercing to the bone. Many weak farmers collapsed in the snow as they walked, never to get up again.

The military supervisor in charge of escorting the goods turned a blind eye to this, simply noting down a figure for "losses".

Su Ming blended into the crowd, his steps steady and powerful.

The "Dragon-Tiger Primordial Chaos Technique" within his body circulated on its own, a warm current flowing slowly through his meridians, dispelling the bitter cold. He didn't even need to consciously adjust his breathing; with each inhale and exhale, he was drawing faint spiritual energy from the world.

"This kid's got some skills."

Chen Li, mounted on his horse, stared at Su Ming with a sinister gaze.

Along the way, everyone else was exhausted like dead dogs, but Su Ming, carrying that long cloth bag, stood up straight without even panting.

Especially that cloth bag.

Chen Li had a keen eye; he immediately recognized that the cloth bag resembled a bow, and judging from its length and curvature, it was definitely not an ordinary item.

"Although that idiot Liu Tao is dead, the fat sheep he left behind has benefited me." Chen Li licked his chapped lips, a greedy glint in his eyes.

Half a day later, the army arrived at the Jing'an Army camp.

The so-called "vanguard camp" was actually a makeshift camp surrounded by rotten wood, located at the forefront of the army, facing the advance of the northern barbarians.

The camp was covered in mud and excrement. Several veterans with broken arms and legs were leaning against the tents, sunbathing, their eyes vacant like those of the dead.

"We're here! All of you, stand in line!"

Chen Li dismounted, kicked a slow-moving recruit to the ground, and roared, "Once you're in the vanguard camp, your lives aren't your own! They belong to the imperial court! They belong to me!"

"Now, begin distributing the weapons!"

Several guards dragged over several baskets of tattered weapons: rusted iron spears, half-broken wooden shields, and dulled machetes...

The recruits, clutching their tattered weapons, were filled with despair. To fight the heavily armed Northern barbarian cavalry with this? What difference was there between that and suicide?

"Hey you, Su Ming, step forward!"

Chen Li suddenly called out a name, carrying a rusty spear in his hand, and swayed as he walked up to Su Ming.

Su Ming stepped forward, expressionless: "Here."

"I see you're in good shape, this spear is yours." Chen Li casually tossed the nearly rotten spear at Su Ming's feet, then pointed to the cloth bag on Su Ming's back. "Also, there's an order in the army that anyone who privately possesses weapons must hand them over for inspection. Show this centurion what's on your back."

See the picture poorly.

The surrounding recruits cast sympathetic glances. Everyone could see that Chen Li was deliberately causing trouble, trying to seize Su Ming's belongings.

Su Ming did not move.

He didn't even glance at the rotten spear on the ground, but simply looked at Chen Li quietly: "Sir, according to the military law of the Great Zhou Dynasty, soldiers may provide their own weapons and armor, and do not need to hand them over."

"Military law?"

Chen Li laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard the funniest joke. He suddenly leaned close to Su Ming, his fleshy face almost touching Su Ming's nose, and whispered viciously:

"In the Vanguard Battalion, my word is law!"

"You're lucky Liu Tao didn't kill you. But if you're in my hands and want to live, you'll have to learn to be a dog! Understand?"

"Hand over the bow, or I'll hang your head on the gate right now for 'disobeying military orders'!"

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Several guards had already gripped the hilts of their swords and surrounded them with mocking expressions.

Su Ming lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the fleeting killing intent in them.

He is evaluating.

Killing Chen Li wasn't difficult; the difficulty lay in how to handle the aftermath. With a large army gathered, publicly executing a superior would be tantamount to rebellion, and would implicate Li Yueru, who was still in the village.

We need to try a different approach.

"My lord wants my bow?" Su Ming suddenly smiled, a bright smile. "It's not that it's impossible. It's just that this bow is too stiff, and I'm afraid my lord won't be able to draw it, which would hurt his pride."

"Bullshit!" Chen Li roared, "I'm an eighth-rank martial artist, with the strength of a thousand jin, can't I even draw your broken bow?"

"How about we make a bet?"

Su Ming reached out and slowly untied the cloth bag on his back.

The black mulberry wood bow gleamed with a cold metallic sheen under the snow, and the thick, thumb-sized animal sinew bowstring was taut, exuding a fierce aura.

The moment the bow was revealed, Chen Li's eyes widened.

Great stuff! Absolutely a treasure!

"What are we betting on?" Chen Li asked, his breathing rapid.

"If I can prove that keeping this bow is more useful to me than handing it over to you, then you will pardon my crime of 'handing it over,' and..." Su Ming paused, then pointed to Chen Li's warhorse, "and give me a horse."

"What if you lose?"

"Take this life, sir."

"Alright! It's a deal!" Chen Li, afraid Su Ming might change his mind, immediately agreed. In his view, this was practically a freebie. What kind of archery skills could a country bumpkin possibly have, even if he had some strength?

"How do we compete?" Chen Li sneered. "Target shooting? Fifty paces?"

Su Ming shook his head.

He turned around, his gaze passing over the camp fence and looking towards the distant sky.

There, a black eagle on reconnaissance was circling hundreds of meters in the air, like a small black dot, almost impossible to spot with the naked eye.

"Shoot that one." Su Ming pointed.

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

"Are you crazy? That eagle was flying so high, at least three hundred paces!"

"Forget about shooting, I couldn't even see it clearly!"

Chen Li laughed so hard tears almost streamed down his face: "Kid, you don't need to make up excuses to stall for time! If you can shoot that eagle down, I'll call you daddy!"

Su Ming ignored the jeers around him.

He held the bow in one hand and drew a specially made armor-piercing arrow from the quiver.

Nock the arrow and draw the bowstring.

Inhale.

The Dragon-Tiger Mixed Yuan Technique was running wildly, and the great dragon of the spine trembled violently, emitting a deep tiger roar and dragon cry.

"open!"