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

That evening, Fu Qing went to the pharmacy to change his dressing.

The knife wound on his back had almost healed. Mr. Shen removed the bandage and pressed the edges of the wound with two fingers.

After confirming that the new skin and flesh had healed properly, she took a small porcelain bottle from the medicine cabinet and handed it to him.

"You don't need to change the dressing anymore. Take this bottle home and apply some whenever you bump or scrape yourself."

Fu Qing tucked the porcelain bottle into his pocket and was about to get up to say goodbye when Mr. Shen did not pack his medicine box as usual.

The old man pushed the medicine box aside and sat down on the stool opposite Fu Qing. He took off his reading glasses, placed them on his knees, and slowly wiped the lenses with his sleeve.

"Young Master Fu, I've been observing you for a long time. You have quite a few secrets—but who doesn't have secrets? I've lived for over sixty years, and among all the people I've met, you're a young prodigy..."

He put his reading glasses back on, clasped his hands together on his knees, and said, "You're a good person, genuine, and clear about right and wrong. Now you're guarding our territory and you saved my daughter's life, so..."

Mr. Shen stood up, walked to the medicine cabinet, squatted down, and pulled out a small cloth bag from a dusty drawer at the very bottom.

The cloth bag was opened, revealing a dark green jade pendant, its color warm and lustrous, with a Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom) engraved on its surface.

He placed the jade pendant in Fu Qing's palm. "This is an old item from my time in the Medicine Palace. The jade pendant is sealed with a protective medicinal aura of grade three or higher. Wearing it can protect against Gu poison of grade three or lower."

"With your current cultivation level, if you were to fight a Gu Master head-on, it wouldn't be the Gu Master who would suffer. With this heart-protecting medicinal energy, at least your life can be saved."

Fu Qing looked down at the dark green jade pendant in his palm, held it in his hand, stood up, and bowed to Mr. Shen.

Mr. Shen waved his hand, "I recently smelled the aura of Gu Dao, drifting from the north, so I gave you this just in case. You must be careful."

"Thank you, Mr. Shen."

Fu Qing was startled and bowed respectfully.

Old Man Shen's words were not unfounded, and he vaguely sensed that Old Man Shen had a great secret, but he didn't need to know it.

...

Late that night, Fu Qing was sitting under the jujube tree wiping his knife, pondering what Old Man Shen meant by the Gu Dao aura, when suddenly the courtyard gate was pounded with a deafening roar.

He unlatched the door, and Zhou Tie stood in the doorway, clutching a bloodstained parchment. He shoved the parchment into Fu Qing's arms.

"Urgent report from scouts: Di cavalry are gathering at Eagle Gorge, with a force of at least five hundred, led by two centurions at the Transcendent Realm. Their purpose is unknown. Commander Tian has personally ordered Ironblood City to send troops to intercept them."

He paused, then asked, "Do you dare to go?"

For some reason, whenever something happens, Zhou Tie always thinks of Fu Qing first, probably because he never messes up.

Fu Qing folded the parchment and handed it back to Zhou Tie, then turned and went into the house. He spoke a few words to Song Yawei, then came out again.

"Walk."

Five hundred border troops set off overnight, with Ma Xiong's hundred-man team leading the way, Xiao Lu on the left flank, and Han Yue leading scouts to explore the route ahead.

Fu Qing was stationed in the central army, this was the first time he had commanded a battle of 500 men since being promoted to centurion.

He stood at the front of the line, looking at the dark mountain shadows in the distance, his hand on the hilt of his sword, saying nothing.

Eagle Gorge is a strategically important location, with steep cliffs on both sides and a narrow path in the middle that only allows two riders to pass side by side. Outside the gorge is an open area where the Di cavalry camp is located.

The campfire flickered, and there were more than twenty tents.

Han Yue led his scouts on a patrol and returned to report. There were at least five hundred cavalrymen, two centurions at the Qi Refining Realm, one of whom had an even stronger aura, possibly at the second level of the Qi Refining Realm or higher.

Fu Qing squatted on the ground and used his dagger to draw an attack route.

"Before they come out, sneak in under cover of darkness. Han Yue led the scouts to the back of the camp and set it on fire. Ma Xiong's hundred-man squad pushed forward from the front to draw attention. I led Xiao Lu's elite squad to take advantage of the chaos and storm the tents of two centurions."

Ma Xiong grinned in the darkness, "I love setting fires the most."

When the signal flare was launched, the Di Kingdom camp was still sound asleep.

Ma Xiong's hundred-man squad charged head-on, a cacophony of flashing swords, sparks, and shouts of battle.

Han Yue lit a pile of grain and straw at the back of the camp, and the firelight illuminated half the sky.

The Di cavalry rushed out of their tents, some without even boots. In their panic, they couldn't tell which direction the enemy was attacking. Fu Qing took advantage of the chaos and charged straight into the centurion's tent in the center of the camp.

Two centurions rushed out of the tent at the same time, one carrying a scimitar and the other a spear.

The gun-wielding Di Jun scoffed when he saw Fu Qing's armor.

"You dare to come with such a small group?"

The scimitar-wielding centurion quickly added, "Don't underestimate him; this is the one from Wolf Fang Stronghold who killed Ha Gou."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two attacked at the same time. Xiao Lu led his men to rush up and hold off the centurion with the curved sword, while Fu Qing faced off against the centurion with the gun.

The spear, at the second level of the Meridian Opening stage, possessed a much stronger Qi and Blood power at its tip than Fu Qing's blade, compared to the first level.

When the first spear thrust came, Fu Qing blocked it with his sword. He felt his feet sink and was knocked back several steps.

The centurion smirked and thrust his spear three times in quick succession, each aimed at a vital spot: the throat, the heart, and the lower abdomen.

Fu Qing moved constantly at the edge of the spear's attack range, his blade scraping against the spear shaft, leaving a trail of sparks, and his body almost touching the spear tip as he dodged to the side.

The centurion grew impatient with him circling around, let out a low growl, and swept his spear across, forcing Fu Qing to block with his sword, and was once again knocked back several steps.

Taking advantage of this break, Fu Qing opened the system panel and added all the plunder points he had accumulated to his cultivation progress bar.

The progress bar jumped from 34% to 51%, then to 68%, then to 85%, and finally stopped steadily at 100% when it was exhausted.

The moment the progress bar reached its maximum, a surge of heat exploded from the dantian, and the second meridian was instantly opened.

As Qi and blood surge and converge in the two meridians, strength, speed, and perception all increase dramatically.

The meridians are unblocked twice.

It's not that he likes to break through at a certain point; it's mainly that he needs to adapt to each realm. So, when he can avoid breaking through, he prefers to hone his skills through combat and stabilize his realm.

The centurion with the gun's pupils shrank suddenly. He sensed that Fu Qing's blood and qi fluctuations had increased dramatically in an instant. It wasn't a temporary burst; it was a genuine breakthrough in his cultivation level.

His grip on the gun tightened unconsciously. "Just as I suspected, the intelligence was right. You're a monster; you always manage to pull off breakthroughs at the last minute!"

"There's no other way; it's a necessary measure."

As he spoke, Fu Qing cleaved the spear tip that was thrusting towards him with a single slash, and then swung his second slash at the spear shaft with a backhand, which the opponent parried.

The two fought for thirty to fifty moves, each sustaining injuries. However, Fu Qing, having the added bonus of enjoying the battle, grew stronger as the fight went on.

Finally, seizing an opening, he cleaved his opponent's head in two with a single blow.

Kill the Di Kingdom's centurion (Level 2 Meridian Opening), gain 13522 plunder points.

Seeing his comrade fall in a swift attack, the scimitar-wielding centurion was thrown into disarray.

He forced back the old soldier with a single strike, then turned and ran, leaving his back wide open. Fu Qing caught up and slashed him from behind.

Kill the Di Kingdom's centurion (Level 1 Meridian Opening), gain 8897 plunder points.

After the two centurions fell one after another, the remaining Di cavalry completely collapsed.

Xiao Lu sat on atop a captured Di Kingdom military flag, covered in blood and panting heavily. Ding Meng squatted beside him, bandaging the knife wound on his arm, muttering to himself.

"Centurion Lu, you've gone toe-to-toe with a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator for several moves and you're still alive? You're a ruthless one!"

"Get lost! If it weren't for Uncle Wang and Uncle Zhao holding off the enemy, I would have been hacked to death long ago."

Xiao Lu weakly cursed at him to shut up. The Uncle Wang and Uncle Zhao he mentioned were two old centurions at the ninth level of cultivation. They were both around forty years old, and Old Wang was only one step away from opening his meridians.

Ma Xiong walked back from the front lines, leaning on his sword. He counted the corpses of the two centurions on the ground, then looked at Fu Qing and cursed under his breath.

He had originally thought that the ninth level of Body Tempering was not far from the Meridian Opening Realm, but after seeing it today, he realized how far apart they were. He then grinned at Fu Qing.

"Luckily, you didn't go all out when I challenged you last time, or I'd be buried on my grave by now."

Han Yue walked past him and spoke calmly.

"Last time, you were almost scared to death by Old Fu's two-finger knife grip."

Ma Xiong stiffened his neck,

"That's not called being scared out of your wits, that's called a strategic retreat. A temporary retreat on the battlefield is not considered admitting defeat..."

Five hundred border soldiers laughed heartily amidst the embers of the campfires scattered on the ground.

...

Of the five hundred men who went out, only three hundred or so border troops returned. Zhou Tie greeted them at the entrance of the drill ground and remained silent for a long time after hearing the battle report.

He looked at Fu Qing, his eyelids twitched, and he punched Fu Qing hard.

"You son of a bitch, how come you're at level two again! I finally leveled up to level five the day before yesterday, and I was hoping to widen the gap between us. If this keeps up, I'll be calling you 'sir' in no time!"

Fu Qing smiled slightly, "I don't mind that you called me in advance."

"Get lost, go back and rest. I'll go and get you credit."

...

Several days after returning to Ironblood City, a group of people arrived in Jingjing.

Leading the group was a military officer surnamed Feng, a third-rank officer, who was Tian Jingming's old subordinate. Officer Feng brought a commendation order from the military headquarters, as well as several other messages.

Duan Tieshan is wanted by the military, and several secret strongholds have been raided, but his whereabouts are unknown.

What's more troublesome is that the military has confirmed that Duan Tieshan did indeed have arms dealings with the Di Kingdom, and that a large number of standard weapons and armor from the Ironblood City armory have gone missing in the past three years.

After writing this down in the military report, Lieutenant General Feng paused, then privately told Fu Qing some news that made his heart clench.

"The military discovered a key middleman in Duan Tieshan's transactions. This person was proficient in Gu magic, skilled at concealing his movements, and traveled back and forth between the southern and northern borders, responsible for contacting various forces in the Di and Yue kingdoms."

"Based on the description, this person is very likely Mr. Wu, and the latest intelligence shows that Mr. Wu was last seen in Qingyang Town, south of Ironblood City, just a few days ago."

Upon learning this news, Fu Qing immediately mustered his elite scouts and headed to Qingyang Town.

After all, he and Duan Tieshan were sworn enemies, and he dared not allow a cunning Gu cultivator to roam freely outside.

But when they arrived at the destination, they only found a few burnt pages of letter paper and a dead Gu worm in an abandoned house.

Most of the writing on the letter was burned, and the words "Valley Master" and "King Di" could be barely made out from the remaining fragments.

He held the note tightly, his face grave.