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

It was already evening the next day when Fu Qing returned to Ironblood City. He handed in his mission, collected his reward from the quartermaster, and went straight home.

He wanted to take a bath and have his sister-in-law scrub off the dirt.

He suddenly stopped as he turned into his own alley.

A man stood at the gate of the courtyard, dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. Fu Qing recognized the face—one of the two body tempering level five guards beside Duan Peng.

The man leaned against the gate, a blade of grass between his teeth. When he saw Fu Qing return, he spat the grass on the ground and turned to leave.

Fu Qing was startled and looked back at her courtyard gate—it was closed properly, and there was nothing unusual.

But he still pushed the door open and went in to check again. Song Yawei and Song Nini were sitting under the jujube tree talking about something. When they saw Fu Qing come back, they both smiled. Song Nini was about to open her mouth to call out "brother-in-law" when Fu Qing had already turned around and left.

Duan Peng had people squatting at his doorstep; they definitely weren't there to deliver gifts.

If this matter isn't resolved today, he'll never feel at ease whenever he leaves the city.

Fu Qing followed the guard through three streets and turned into a narrow alley behind the market.

The guard pushed open the back door of a restaurant at the end of the alley. The door wasn't closed properly, and the sounds of drinking games and women laughing and joking came from upstairs.

Fu Qing didn't go in. He leaned against the wall across the alley, his hand on the hilt of his knife.

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, three figures appeared at the entrance of the restaurant. Duan Peng walked in the middle, with a toothpick in his mouth, his face flushed, and he had been drinking.

Two guards followed behind him, one on the left and one on the right.

The three of them turned into a narrow alley with no lights. The alley was so narrow that only two people could walk side by side, and there were high courtyard walls on both sides.

Fu Qing followed behind, his footsteps so light that even the cat on the ground couldn't detect them. When he was still three steps away from the three of them, he drew his sword.

The guard on the left reacted first, and just as his hand touched the hilt of his sword, Fu Qing's blade had already slashed into the back of his neck.

A fifth-level Body Tempering cultivator facing a seventh-level Body Tempering cultivator doesn't even have a chance to turn around.

Before the body even fell to the ground, Fu Qing stabbed the right guard through the chest with a backhand stroke, the tip of the knife protruding from his back and embedding itself in the earthen wall of the alley.

Kill the Duan family guard (level 5 Body Tempering), gain 263 plunder points.

Kill the Duan family guard (level 5 Body Tempering), gain 276 plunder points.

Hearing the commotion, Duan Peng turned around and saw the second guard pinned to the wall with a knife, the toothpick falling out of his mouth.

"Fu... Fu Qing!"

He turned to run, but Fu Qing caught up from behind and stepped on the back of his right knee.

With a "crack," his kneecap shattered.

Duan Peng screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his right leg and rolling around on the ground, his face covered in tears and snot.

Fu Qing crouched down, holding the blade against Duan Peng's neck. Blood from the two guards dripped from the blade, falling drop by drop onto Duan Peng's collar.

"If you ever dare to lay a finger on my family again, next time I'll take your life."

Fu Qing's voice was so calm that Duan Peng didn't even dare to cry.

He got up, wiped the blood off the knife onto the guard's shroud, and walked out of the alley without looking back, leaving behind Duan Peng's intermittent groans and curses.

He also wanted to kill Duan Peng. Although no one saw it, Duan Tieshan, having lost his son, might be reckless and would do anything to find the killer.

At that time, he, a junior soldier who had clashed with Duan Peng and was capable, would likely be caught red-handed.

...

The next morning, Fu Qing went to the military camp for drills as usual. No one on the drill ground knew what had happened the night before. Xiao Lu was still bragging to the new recruits about the battle on the supply route the day before.

"I'll take them down one by one, like chopping melons and vegetables. My older brother Fu Qing was just lucky; he encountered two leaders before me. Otherwise, I'd be splitting the kills among myself..."

Fu Qing shook his head and chuckled as he walked inside. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the military camp, and a group of people rushed in.

The leader was dressed in a tight-fitting iron-gray outfit, with a thick-backed broadsword hanging at his waist, twice as wide as an ordinary horizontal sword, and the scabbard was inlaid with iron eagle patterns.

The overwhelming aura caused all the new recruits on the training ground to freeze in place, not daring to even breathe.

Looking at the figure being carried on a stretcher behind him, Fu Qing frowned slightly, realizing who the person was.

Duan Tieshan!

Zhou Tie came out of the military tent to greet him, but before he could even ask a question, Duan Tieshan had already walked past him and directly to the center of the drill ground, followed by two soldiers carrying a door panel.

Duan Peng, on the stretcher, darted around, then suddenly stopped when he saw Fu Qingshi and roared.

"Father, it's him! He's the one who broke my leg! Avenge me!"

Duan Tieshan squinted and was about to speak when another group of people entered through the main gate of the military camp.

The leading flag bearer carried a black iron eagle flag with gold trim. The flag was not embroidered with the border army emblem of Ironblood City, but with the commander's flag of the Jingguo Army.

Behind the standard-bearer were eight heavily armored mounted guards, who surrounded an elderly man in his fifties.

The old man was dressed in a black official robe, with a jade plaque hanging from his waist, on which were engraved the five characters "Jingbei Jiedushi".

Zhou Tie's expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward, kneeling on one knee to give a military salute.

"This humble general, Zhou Tie, pays his respects to Commander Tian!"

All the border soldiers on the drill ground knelt down in unison.

Tian Jingming – Jiedushi of Jingbei, a third-rank border army commander, and the leader of all border troops in Ironblood City.

Duan Tieshan also turned around and cupped his hands in greeting, his anger subsiding somewhat.

Tian Jingming dismounted, tossed his whip to his guard, walked to the center of the drill ground, looked at Zhou Tie kneeling on the ground, then at Duan Peng on the door panel, and then at Duan Tieshan.

"It's quite lively in Ironblood City this early in the morning. City Lord Duan, what business do you have barging into my military camp with your men?"

Duan Tieshan pointed at Fu Qing,

"Last night, this border corps captain ambushed my son in a dark alley, killing two of his guards and breaking my son's leg. According to the laws of Ironblood City, he should be executed."

"Fu Qing?"

Tian Jingming turned to look at Fu Qing, then asked Zhou Tie,

"Is this the kid you mentioned to me? The one who killed Guo Lie at Black Stone Ridge?"

Zhou Tie stood up, walked to Tian Jingming's side, and whispered a few words.

As he listened, Tian Jingming raised an eyebrow slightly and looked Fu Qing up and down again.

"How many levels of body tempering are there?"

"Sevenfold."

Fu Qing clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and after answering, added, "I just reached the eighth level last night."

Yes, he has already allocated all his points and just broke through to the eighth level.

Tian Jingming raised an eyebrow again, walked up to Fu Qing, looked him up and down, then turned to Zhou Tie and said something.

"Was it level four not long ago?"

Zhou Tie nodded.

Tian Jingming glanced at Fu Qing again, then turned to face Duan Tieshan and laughed heartily.

"Lord Duan, you say Fu Qing broke your son's leg, where are the witnesses?"

Duan Tieshan was taken aback.

"My son, Duan Peng, witnessed it with his own eyes."

"He witnessed it with his own eyes? He was a party involved; how can his testimony be considered witness testimony?"

Tian Jingming smiled again. "Where's the physical evidence? The murder weapon? The bloodstains? The body?"

Duan Tieshan opened his mouth.

The bodies? The bodies of the two guards had already been taken away by the city patrol soldiers. He hadn't had time to find out who took them or where they were taken.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Tian Jingming walked up to Duan Tieshan with his hands behind his back.

"Lord Duan, the border troops are not under your jurisdiction. This is the military law of Jingguo, as you know. If you want to convict Fu Qing, you must first obtain evidence and then report to the military headquarters. Only after the military headquarters approves can you arrest him."

"You've brought your men into the military camp to arrest someone today, which is against the rules. It puts me in a difficult position..."

Duan Tieshan's face darkened. He looked at Tian Jingming, who was also looking at him.

The two men stared at each other on the training ground for a while. Duan Tieshan then looked away, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and

"I was being presumptuous. Farewell!"

After saying that, he waved for the soldiers to carry Duan Peng and turned to leave. Duan Peng struggled on the door panel, trying to say something, but Duan Tieshan glared at him and shut him up.

...

Watching the person leave, Fu Qing stood still, his hand loosening its grip on the hilt of his sword.

Tian Jingming turned to look at him, reached out and pinched his shoulder, like a blacksmith inspecting a freshly forged steel billet, then withdrew his hand.

"This talent is rare; train him well, lad..."

He then looked at Zhou Tie and said, "Watch closely. This combat physique is rare. I'm entrusting him to you for training. If he dies on the battlefield, that's his fate. But if he gets into trouble in the city, hmph... you'll have to answer to me with your head!"

After saying that, he mounted his horse and rode away with his personal guards.

Hearing this, Fu Qing was overjoyed, knowing that this was someone backing him up, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He had originally intended to activate the backup plan, but it seems he won't need to anymore.

Zhou Tie watched Tian Jingming leave the camp, then turned to look at Fu Qing, his eyelids twitching. He then grabbed Fu Qing's neck.

"You just reached level eight last night? You're advancing faster than I've been drinking! Did you do the deed to Duan Peng's leg?"

"no."

Zhou Tie stared into Fu Qing's eyes, and Fu Qing met his gaze without changing his expression.

After a moment, Zhou Tie looked away and snorted.

"Go train your troops."

Fu Qing turned and walked towards the training ground. Xiao Lu caught up with him, looking at Fu Qing with admiration.

"Brother Fu, you're too fierce! You broke Duan Peng's leg just like that."

Fu Qing glared at him, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm a good person, how could I do such a thing? Who knows which kind person did it?"

Xiao Lu chuckled, "Yes, yes, we really have to thank the kind person."

Beside the training ground, Han Yue leaned against the weapon rack, holding a bowl of tea. He watched Fu Qing walk past, took a sip, and spat out the tea leaves.

"Damn it, this is already at the eighth level! I can't even handle this!"

...

That afternoon, Zhou Tie called Fu Qing into the military tent and threw a new waist tag on the table—a centurion's waist tag.

"Based on your cultivation level, you should have been a centurion long ago. At the eighth level of Body Tempering, you can rank in the top thirty in the border army. The second team of the scout battalion is short of a centurion, so you can take over directly. The team of thirty people will be in place tomorrow."

Fu Qing took the waist tag and looked at it. The bronze tag was a size larger than that of a centurion. The front was engraved with the three characters "Centurion", and the back had an iron eagle with outstretched wings that occupied the entire surface of the tag.

"Yes, sir."

Watching Fu Qing's departing figure, Zhou Tie picked his teeth, his face full of resentment.

"Damn it, if this keeps up, I'll be calling him 'sir' in no time..."