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

After an unknown amount of time, the wind stopped and the rain ceased.

Li Yueru curled up in Su Ming's arms like a lazy kitten and fell into a deep sleep. Nourished by the spiritual spring water and with the balance of yin and yang, her originally pale face was now rosy as a sunset, her breathing was long and strong, and most of the chronic illness in her body had been cured.

[Ding! Detected that the host and his wife have become deeply connected, their emotional bond has greatly deepened!]

[Li Yueru's favorability +20, current favorability: 105 (Unwavering until death)!]

[Congratulations, host! Your favorability rating has surpassed 100, triggering a critical reward!]

[You've been awarded two chances to win a Gold-tier prize! Want to draw now?]

A glint flashed in Su Ming's eyes.

105 favorability rating? Unwavering loyalty?

This means that even if someone held a knife to Li Yueru's neck and forced her to betray Su Ming, she would not hesitate to commit suicide.

"lottery!"

The virtual turntable spun rapidly, gleaming with golden light.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have drawn a special life skill: Craftsmanship (Grandmaster Level)!]

[The skill of a master craftsman: A thorough understanding of forging, mechanisms, and toolmaking; with iron in hand, even the most rotten can be transformed into something wondrous.]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have drawn a low-grade Heaven-rank cultivation technique: Dragon-Tiger Primordial Chaos Technique!]

[Dragon and Tiger Primordial Qi Cultivation Technique: A legitimate Taoist foundation-building method, cultivating internal primordial energy and externally developing a dragon and tiger Vajra body. Upon mastery, one possesses the power of both a dragon and a tiger, inexhaustible and ever-renewing.]

Huge explosion!

Su Ming took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming joy in his heart.

If the previous "Bull Force" was just a rudimentary farming technique, then this "Dragon Tiger Mixed Yuan Skill" is the true ladder to the heavens of martial arts!

"extract!"

boom!

A vast and pure flow of information instantly rushed into my mind, and then, it felt as if a small sun was rising in my dantian.

The faint, almost imperceptible energy within his body, guided by this power, instantly grew stronger, like a surging river, rushing wildly along his meridians.

"Click click click..."

Su Ming's bones crackled like popping beans, and a layer of dark oil seeped from his skin, as deep impurities were forcibly expelled from his body.

strength!

An unprecedented sense of power filled my entire body.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, and the empty room was filled with light. He casually picked up a piece of hard obsidian from the ground and applied slight pressure with his five fingers.

"puff!"

The hard stone was crushed into powder like tofu, and the powder fell through his fingers.

Name: Su Ming

[Realm: Ninth-Rank Martial Artist (First Level of Dragon-Tiger Mixed Yuan Technique)]

[Combat Power Rating: Invincible among those of the same rank, capable of fighting opponents eight ranks higher!]

"Is this what a ninth-rank martial artist is like?" Su Ming clenched his fist, feeling the explosive power contained in his muscles. "If I were to encounter that scarred man again now, I could crush him with a single finger."

But he did not revel in the thrill of power.

Time is of the essence; I must enlist tomorrow.

Su Ming looked at the supplies piled up in the corner of the space. They were the refined iron ingots, beef tendons, and high-quality mulberry wood that he had purchased earlier.

"The art of craftsmanship, unleash!"

Su Ming's eyes narrowed, and his demeanor changed drastically. At this moment, he seemed like a grandmaster who had been immersed in the art of forging for decades.

Instead of lighting a furnace, he directly used the internal energy of a ninth-rank martial artist, along with the short sword in his spatial storage that could cut through iron like mud, to begin processing the materials.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and iron filings splattered.

He is doing two things.

The first item is a bow.

The standard soft bow issued by the army had a range of only sixty paces, which was an insult to someone like him who possessed the skills of a "sharp archer".

He chose the toughest mulberry wood as the core, supplemented it with ox horn and fish glue, and used animal sinews soaked in spiritual spring water in the space as the string.

An hour later, a longbow, entirely black and with an ancient design, was completed.

Su Ming tried to pull it, his body arching like a full moon, making a taut sound that made one's teeth ache.

"A three-stone bow!" Su Ming nodded in satisfaction. An ordinary soldier drawing a one-stone bow was already considered elite; this three-stone bow, combined with his superb archery skills, allowed him to hit any target within three hundred paces!

The second item was a small, black iron box, about the size of a palm.

This is Li Yueru's life-saving charm—an arrow hidden in her sleeve.

Using the mechanical principles of "craftsmanship", this small box contains three short arrows coated with anesthetic. The mechanism is ingenious and powerful enough to pierce leather armor within ten paces.

5:00 AM (卯时).

As dawn broke, the mournful sound of bugles shattered the tranquility outside Jing'an City.

At the village entrance, there was a chorus of weeping.

The conscripted men carried tattered bags, turning back to look at each other every step of the way. The elderly, women, and children clung to their loved ones' sleeves, weeping bitterly.

Su Ming stood at the edge of the crowd, dressed in a neat blue short-sleeved shirt, with a long cloth bag on his back (that was his bow) and a hundred-refined steel knife at his waist. His posture was as upright as a pine tree, forming a stark contrast with the hunched-over, sorrowful farmers around him.

"Take it."

Su Ming shoved the black iron box into Li Yueru's hand, and, using his sleeve as cover, whispered to her how to use it, "If anyone dares to bully you, don't waste words, aim at their face and press here."

Li Yueru gripped the cold iron box tightly, her knuckles turning white. She didn't cry, but her eyes were red as she stared intently at Su Ming's face, as if trying to etch his image into her bones.

"We have food at home, money in hand, and this for self-defense." Su Ming tidied a stray hair at her temple. "Wait for me to come back. If you encounter any trouble you can't handle, hide in that place, understand?"

"Yes." Li Yueru nodded emphatically, her voice choked with emotion but firm. "Husband, go ahead and strive for your future. I'll take care of things at home. It won't collapse."

"good!"

Su Ming gave her a deep look, then turned away from his romantic feelings and strode towards the assembled group.

At this moment, the officer in charge of roll call, mounted on horseback, coldly surveyed the group of greenhorns.

This man was neither the scarred-face man from yesterday, nor Liu Tao who had been arrested, but a burly man with a sinister face and a blue birthmark on his left cheek.

"Listen up, all of you!"

The officer with the birthmark brandished his riding crop, cracking it loudly. "I am your new centurion, Chen Li! Once you're in my camp, dragons must coil up, and tigers must lie low!"

His gaze swept through the crowd, finally settling on Su Ming, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Which one is Su Ming?"

Su Ming raised an eyebrow, a cold smile playing on his lips.

It seems that although Liu Tao has fallen, the culprits in this quagmire haven't been completely eradicated yet.

He stepped forward, looked Chen Li directly in the eye, and spoke in a loud voice:

"That's me!"

Chen Li looked him up and down, a hint of greed and jealousy flashing in his eyes.

Someone from above passed on a message: as long as this kid named Su Ming is killed, the "vacancy" left by Lord Liu Tao will be his.

What's more, I heard that this kid has plundered Liu Tao's assets and is rolling in money.

"Okay, very good."

Chen Li grinned, a forced smile on his face, and pointed his riding whip at the vast snow-covered plains to the north.

"Good physique, good enough to be a soldier."

"The vanguard camp needs someone to scout ahead, so you'll be assigned to the vanguard camp! Depart immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers fell silent instantly, followed by suppressed gasps of surprise.

Vanguard Battalion?

That was a camp of dead men, called the vanguard but actually just cannon fodder!

They were usually used to fill moats and deplete enemy arrows; nine out of ten never returned!

Li Yueru swayed and almost fainted.

However, under the spotlight, Su Ming showed no sign of panic.

He even laughed.

Vanguard Battalion?

That suits me perfectly.

Military merit is most valuable in the most dangerous places.

As for wanting me dead?

Su Ming's fingers gently caressed the bowstring of the three-stone strong bow on his back, a bloodthirsty glint flashing in his eyes.

Let's see who dies first.