Chaotic Times and Disasters: I Hunt Down Martial Arts Masters and Become a God

At that moment, Leo suddenly stood up, his dark golden mane glowing with a flowing, demonic fire. He opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white fangs, and roared at Chen Yulang.

The roar wasn't loud, but it struck straight to the soul; it was the innate demonic power of the Lion Clan's demon general, something mortals simply couldn't withstand.

Chen Yulang was so shocked by the shout that he took several steps back, his face turned pale, his legs trembled, and he fell to the ground with a thud, rolling and crawling backward.

Song Nini shielded Fu Mingxuan and Fu Mingdao behind her, her voice turning cold.

"If you dare take another step forward, my lion will bite off your hand, and I won't care."

Chen Yulang got up from the ground, brushed the mud off his backside, waved to the guards behind him, and gritted his teeth, saying...

"Seize this beast! How dare it bare its teeth at me! I'll skin it alive and use its skin for a rug!"

The guards exchanged glances, drew their swords, and braced themselves as they approached Leo.

They were all martial artists at the Meridian Opening Realm, considered top-notch in the Duke's Mansion. They usually followed Chen Yulang in bullying men and women and had never encountered anyone daring to resist.

But they had only taken a few steps when they sensed something was wrong. Leo slowly stood up, his body began to swell, and he returned to his original size from the size of a large dog.

A giant lion, nearly ten feet tall at the shoulders, stood in the center of Vermilion Bird Avenue, its eerie green flames hissing as it burned in its mane, its vertical pupils glaring at them.

He looked down at the trembling guards gripping their knives, grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs, and said, "Want to skin me alive? Come on, count how many teeth I have first!"

The guards' faces turned pale instantly.

Their knife tips were trembling, and one of the cowards threw down his knife and ran away.

Chen Yulang was so frightened that he took several steps back, and almost slipped and fell again.

Leo, too lazy to waste words with them, swallowed the guards who couldn't escape in time, one by one, chewed a couple of times, and spat out a bloodstained knife hilt.

"Pah...it doesn't taste good..."

The crowd that had been watching on the street had long since retreated to a distance; some covered their eyes, unable to watch, while others shouted, "Go find the Imperial Guards!"

The Imperial Guards arrived quickly.

A group of fully armed Imperial Guard soldiers rushed over from the street corner. The leader was a burly man with a dark face in his forties, Zhou Queyou, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard.

He and Chen Yulang were old acquaintances, and he had received quite a bit of money from the Duke of Liang's mansion on a regular basis.

Seeing Chen Yulang's disheveled appearance, he immediately drew the long sword from his waist.

"How dare this audacious beast wreak havoc in the streets of the capital!"

Leo glanced at him, let out a burp, and exhaled a burst of demonic fire with a bloody stench.

"I am the mount of the General of Shengjing, not some demonic beast. This bastard surnamed Chen harassed my lord's wife, so what if I took a few of his guards? Are you going to stand up for him?"

Zhou Que frowned.

General Fu Qing of Shengjing!

He weighed the pros and cons in his mind: he couldn't afford to offend the Duke of Liang's mansion, but Fu Qing was not someone to be trifled with either.

However, since this lion has eaten a person, it is perfectly justified to arrest the monster according to the law, and even if we complain to the emperor, he won't find fault with it.

He brandished his long sword and gave an order to the imperial guards behind him.

"Capture this demonic beast! And take these demon spies with you!"

Song Nini held the two children tightly behind her, saying, "We're not demon spies! My brother-in-law is General Fu Qing of Shengjing!"

Zhou Que looked at her expressionlessly. He had already chosen to stand on the side of the Duke of Liang's mansion, and it was too late to change his mind now. He could only grit his teeth and go all the way down this path.

The Imperial Guards surrounded them. Leo opened his mouth wide, about to lash out, but Song Nini held him back. She gritted her teeth, picked up the two children, and walked towards the Ministry of Justice prison under the escort of the Imperial Guards.

...

The streets of Zhuque were bustling with people. Pei Qing, carrying a jug of wine he had just bought from the wine shop at the alley entrance, was pondering whether to go to the martial arts academy to practice his swordsmanship or go home for a nap.

He wasn't considered top-tier in the martial arts academy's elite class, but ever since Fu Qing crushed his hand bones with a single hand, he's become much more restrained. His arrogance as a scion of a powerful family has been largely gone, and even his father says he's become more sensible lately.

As he turned the corner of the alley next to the braised meat shop, he heard a commotion ahead, and faintly heard the sound of children crying.

He squeezed through the crowd and saw several imperial guards escorting a young woman and two children toward the Ministry of Justice prison. A young man in a royal blue brocade robe was standing next to the deputy commander of the imperial guards, pointing at the woman and saying something.

The woman held her two children tightly; the younger one was crying her heart out, while the older one remained silent.

Pei Qing was taken aback and recognized the face; it was Fu Qing's wife's younger sister, Song Nini.

He had seen her come to pick up Fu Qing at the martial arts academy. At that time, she was standing on tiptoe by the training ground, looking inside, and she was carrying a box of osmanthus cakes. She blushed when a few passing disciples glanced at her.

He hurriedly asked the person next to him what had happened. After listening to a few words, the wine jug in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," shards of porcelain and osmanthus wine splattered all over the ground. He turned and ran away.

He ran across Zhuque Street, past the entrance of the Martial Arts Academy, and across the alley in front of the Shengjing General's Mansion where he had once led his men to ambush Fu Qing.

He nearly tripped over the threshold as he rushed into the general's mansion, staggering several steps before regaining his balance.

"General Fu! Something terrible has happened! Your wife and two children have been captured by the Imperial Guards!"

Fu Qing was studying the remains with Su Wen in the pharmacy when he heard Pei Qing's shout. His fingers tightened involuntarily, and the pill shattered into pieces.

He stood up and pushed open the door of the pharmacy, and Suwen put down the pharmacopoeia and followed behind him.

Pei Qing stood in the courtyard, bent over and panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat.

He looked up and saw Fu Qing, and subconsciously took half a step back. Every time he saw Fu Qing at the martial arts academy, he would instinctively back away.

He gritted his teeth and stood up straight. "I saw your wife being taken away by two Imperial Guards!"

Fu Qing's expression turned cold.

Which checkpoint?

"The Ministry of Justice prison!"

Fu Qing strode towards the main hall, took the cold iron sword from the wall, and strode out.

He stopped as he walked past Pei Qing, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I'll remember this favor. I'll treat you to drinks another day."

Pei Qing was stunned for several breaths. He and Fu Qing had been enemies since they met. He had once led a group to ambush Fu Qing, only to have his hand bones crushed by Fu Qing with a single hand.

He thought Fu Qing would never give him a second glance, but now Fu Qing said she owed him a favor.

He watched Fu Qing's figure disappear at the courtyard gate and suddenly felt that breaking his hand bones back then wasn't such a bad thing after all.

...

The Liangguo Duke's Mansion occupied a small section of a street in the west of Jingjing City.

The vermilion gate was inlaid with nine rows of copper nails—nine rows, second only to the regulations for royal princes.

Above the gate hangs a plaque bestowed by the emperor, with the four characters "Liangguo Duke's Mansion" personally inscribed by Ling Yushu. The plaque is decorated with gold and inlaid with silver, and it dazzles the eyes in the sunlight.

The two white marble lions at the entrance were several sizes larger than those in ordinary duke's mansions, and the copper balls in their mouths turned slightly in the wind.

Even the stone steps in front of the door are paved with whole pieces of high-quality bluestone, each piece of which is engraved with fine cloud patterns, so it won't slip on rainy days.

The courtyard walls were so high that one couldn't see inside, but the weeping willows and green bamboos peeking out from the top of the walls offered a glimpse into the grandeur of the mansion's gardens.

Fu Qing had no interest in appreciating any of this; he simply walked to the door, drew his cold iron sword, and slashed down with it.

The dark blue blade cleaved vertically through the middle of the door, splitting the vermilion gate in two, and sending copper nails flying everywhere.

The screen wall behind the door was carved from a single piece of white jade, depicting the military campaigns of the Duke of Liang accompanying Emperor Taizu. At this moment, it was riddled with small dents from splinters of wood and copper nails.

The gatekeeper was so frightened that he tumbled off the stool and scrambled into the inner courtyard to report the news.

"Master! Master! Disaster has struck! Someone has chopped down our front door!"