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

Gao Jing, holding a wine glass, walked to Fu Qing's table and stood there, bowing condescendingly with his hands clasped in a gesture of defiance, displaying only provocation.

"I am not very talented, but I would like to hear the details."

Gongsun Du put down his wine cup and glanced at Fu Qing.

Just as Xu Heng was about to speak up to smooth things over, Gao Jing took another step forward.

"Lord Xu told me that you are the youngest centurion in the border army, having advanced from Body Tempering to Meridian Opening in just a few months. You must be a prodigy. May I ask what your insights are on Confucianism and Taoism?"

Fu Qing leaned back in his chair, still holding a wine glass in his hand. "No insight, no understanding, I'm just a roughneck."

Gao Jing sneered, snapped his folding fan shut, and clapped it in his palm.

"Don't understand? What did you just say to the person next to you? Would you please repeat it in public?"

All the border generals present tensed up.

They knew Fu Qing's temper well; he was a ruthless man who dared to break even the city lord's son's leg. If Gao Jing took another step forward, something bad might happen. Zhou Tie's hand had already moved from the wine glass to the edge of the table without making a sound.

Just as Xu Heng was about to stand up, Fu Qing put down his wine glass on the table and stood up. He was more than half a head taller than Gao Jing, and he only looked at Gao Jing.

"Mr. Gao, I am but a martial artist and I truly do not understand Confucianism and Taoism. However, when I was idle in the mountains, I did write a few doggerel poems. Since you, Mr. Gao, are so eloquent, why don't you give me some pointers?"

Gao Jing smiled, slapped the folding fan into his palm, and gestured for Fu to enter. "Commander Fu, please."

"The flames of war illuminate the western capital, and my heart is filled with indignation..."

Fu Qing slowly began to read aloud.

"With jade tablets, I depart from the Phoenix Palace; with iron cavalry, I encircle the Dragon City."

"The snow obscures the painted banners, and the wind mingles with the sound of drums."

"Better to be a centurion than a scholar."

When the last two sentences were uttered, the entire main hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Gao Jing's smile froze, and he stood there dumbfounded.

Zhou Tie slammed his hand on the table, making all the wine glasses jump with a loud "bang."

"Good! A true saying goes, 'Better to be a centurion than a scholar!' I, a weed, have fought for twenty years, and finally someone is speaking up for us common soldiers!"

The bearded man slammed his glass down on the table, muttered "That was great," and a rare smile appeared at the corner of his eye.

The most surprising thing was an old centurion with graying temples.

He had served in the border army for twenty years, and the scars on his hands were more numerous than the wrinkles on his face. He never spoke in such situations.

But at that moment, he stood up, holding his wine glass.

"Brother Fu, I've guarded the border for half my life, and no one has ever written any poetry for us roughnecks, but this one is enough."

After saying that, he bowed deeply to Fu Qing.

Dozens of border generals behind him stood up in unison and raised their cups to toast Fu Qing.

In the main seat, Xu Heng looked at Fu Qing with surprise, his face gleaming and the corners of his mouth turning up.

Gao Jing's face turned white and then pale.

He wanted to say something to salvage the situation—he wanted to say that the poem was not in tune and lacked proper parallelism, and that "better to be a centurion than a scholar" was nothing more than the courage of a common man, hardly worthy of being considered refined.

But the words got stuck in my throat.

He was the scholar, and those "dull-witted people who were only fit to practice martial arts" that he had just mocked were now sitting in this hall, each holding the head of a Di cavalryman.

He stood in front of a group of people who had crawled out of a pile of corpses and talked about the superiority of Confucianism and Taoism, only to have all his sense of superiority wiped out by a poem.

Finally regaining his senses, Gongsun Du stood up. "Aren't you going to step back? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

Gao Jing lowered his head and retreated behind Gongsun Du, tucking his fan into his sleeve, and never dared to raise his head again.

Gongsun Du picked up his wine cup, raised it above his eyebrows with both hands, and bowed deeply to Fu Qing.

"General Fu, this bow is not an apology, but Gongsun Du's apology on behalf of Confucianism to martial arts. Gao Jing was young and impetuous and spoke without restraint. I failed to discipline him properly and I am ashamed."

He downed the wine in one gulp, and as he put down the cup, he openly admired Fu Qing.

"General, your poem is powerful and majestic, certainly not something a rustic villager could write casually. May I ask, does it have a title?"

Fu Qing also picked up his wine glass, "It's called 'Song of Joining the Army,' just a few lines."

Gongsun Du nodded and did not ask any further questions.

...

After the banquet, Xu Heng placed a pot of tea in his study and invited Fu Qing to the study.

"Someone is looking for you."

Fu Qing walked in with some confusion, only to find an unexpected person sitting inside.

Gongsun Du took out a thin handwritten booklet from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Fu Qing. The cover had the four characters "Introduction to Confucianism and Taoism" written on it, and the handwriting was beautiful and neat.

He looked at Fu Qing intently.

"General Fu is highly talented and well-suited to Confucianism and Taoism. I sincerely hope that you will consider studying Confucianism and Taoism. This booklet is a copy I made by hand. It is not a profound secret manual, but just some introductory methods for cultivating qi and calming the mind."

"Confucianism and Taoism cultivate qi, which can calm the mind. Martial arts training consumes a lot of physical energy, so cultivating qi and concentrating the spirit is also beneficial to martial arts training."

"Mr. Gongsun, you're too kind."

Fu Qing took the booklet, flipped through it, and looked up curiously, asking, "How do I begin to understand Confucianism and Taoism? How do I cultivate my righteous spirit?"

Gongsun Du stroked his beard and began to talk about the first stage of Confucianism and Taoism, the "Enlightenment Stage".

Reading to understand principles, sitting quietly to guard one's mind, and cultivating one's inner energy and spirit are all indispensable.

Unlike martial arts, which relies on physical training, Confucian and Taoist cultivation relies on accumulation. Reading accumulates knowledge, meditation accumulates concentration, and cultivating one's inner energy accumulates righteous spirit.

Breakthroughs will occur naturally once you accumulate enough experience; you can't rush it.

"However, there are shortcuts."

Gongsun Du glanced at Fu Qing and said, "Those who are exceptionally talented can use their talent to enter the Dao. The so-called 'talent' is the vision and spirit within one's heart."

"A general who can compose lines like 'Better to be a centurion than a scholar' must have a noble spirit in his heart, and this spirit itself is the best foundation for entering the Tao."

"Though talent can lead to enlightenment quickly, the foundation may not be solid. One needs to put more effort into cultivating one's energy and concentrating one's mind."

"Been taught a lesson."

Fu Qing thanked Gongsun Du and put the booklet into his bosom.

When he got home that night, he sat under the jujube tree and opened "An Introduction to Confucianism and Taoism" by the moonlight. He was very interested in these strange and unusual ways of cultivation.

The first half of the booklet discusses the nine-rank system of Confucianism and Taoism, which corresponds one-to-one with the nine-rank system of martial arts. The second half is about methods of cultivating qi, the most basic of which is called "The Secret of Guarding the Mind".

Fu Qing sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing according to the instructions in the booklet, his eyes slightly closed and his consciousness sinking into his dantian.

At first there was nothing—it was dark, and my breathing was erratic.

He focused his attention on his breathing as instructed in the booklet: inhale for a count of four, hold his breath for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight. After repeating this several times, his consciousness gradually calmed down.

A faint light appeared in the darkness, like an oil lamp about to burn out, floating in the depths of darkness.

The light pulsed slowly with each breath, brightening and dimming with each heartbeat, then brightening and dimming again.

Fu Qing opened her eyes in surprise, and stood there stunned for a few moments.

"I'm a genius?!"

To verify whether he had truly cultivated the Righteous Qi, he opened the system panel. Next to the main interface, there was a small label with the words "Confucianism and Taoism" written on it.

He clicked on the label, which read: Cultivation level not yet at the first level, just beginning to understand.

"ha..."

Fu grinned, "I really am a genius!"