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

On the tenth day of the siege, Ironblood City's granaries were empty.

The quartermaster spread the account book out in front of Zhou Tie.

"The city's food supply is only enough for less than ten days. The Di army is neither attacking the city nor withdrawing its troops. The 100,000-strong army has surrounded Ironblood City so tightly that not even a bird can fly in."

"Both the north and south grain routes outside the city have been cut off, and the grain transport teams haven't arrived for seven days."

Tian Jingming stood on the city wall, looking at the continuous Di Kingdom military camps to the north, holding a cup of cold tea in his hand.

"The Di army is not good at attacking cities; they are trying to trap us here."

Fu Qing stood beside him, her arm draped over the battlement.

"They came from afar, and their supplies and provisions were transported all the way from the grasslands. Their supply lines are longer than ours."

Tian Jingming turned to look at him. "What are you trying to say?"

"I will lead my men out of the city and cut off their supply lines."

Fu Qing took his hand off the battlements and drew a line on the rough brickwork.

"Di Jun's provisions were transported from the grasslands via the ancient road north of Eagle Gorge. I know that road; Han Yue led scouts along it more than once."

"As long as we destroy their transit stations and burn their stockpiled grain, the stomachs of 100,000 soldiers will be harder to fill than our 50,000 mouths. At that time, it won't be them surrounding us, but them having to retreat."

Tian Jingming remained silent for a while, then placed his teacup on the battlement and looked at Fu Qing.

"I'll give you three thousand men, with your thousand-man squad as the main force. I'll also assign two thousand-man squads to you, but those above the Meridian Opening Realm can't be given to you; you have to go alone."

"Yes, sir!"

Fu Qing turned to leave.

"etc..."

Tian Jingming suddenly called out to him, pulled out a knife from somewhere, and threw it to him.

"I heard you've broken several of your swords. Ordinary weapons aren't very effective against martial artists at the Meridian Opening Realm. This one was brought from Jingjing by someone; it's made of cold iron and gold crystal, and can break through the defenses of anyone below the Golden Body Realm."

Fu Qing took it and examined it; it felt slightly cool to the touch, and the blade seemed to emanate wisps of cold air.

He grinned, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Thank you, Marshal Tian!"

...

That night, Fu Qing led his men out of the south gate, with Ma Xiong charging ahead at the forefront. He slashed down two Di centurions blocking his path with his curved blade, howling with rage.

"Damn it, I've been holding back for ten days! Come on!"

Xiao Lu followed closely on Fu Qing's left flank, while Ding Meng carried an iron shield taller than himself, clearing the way ahead. The shield was riddled with more than a dozen arrow shafts from the Di army.

Han Yue led his scouts to patrol the flanks, his sword drawn but never sheathed.

Fu Qing cleaved down the Di Kingdom squad leader who was blocking his way with a single slash, while Han Yue silently finished off another Di soldier who was trying to launch a sneak attack from the side.

Three thousand-man squads, like a sharp knife, tore through the Di army's defenses at the south gate and marched rapidly along the edge of the mountains towards Eagle Gorge.

...

Meanwhile, in the golden tent of the Di Kingdom, Kublai Khan was sitting on a tiger-skin chair, holding a bowl of mare's milk wine.

This grassland king was in his early fifties, his beard was already gray, but his hawk-like eyes were still very sharp.

He put down his wine bowl and looked at a man in black robes in the tent. "Mr. Wu, the scouts say that a group of Jingguo cavalry has already left the city."

Mr. Wu smiled slightly, placed the small bronze lamp in his hand on the table, a wisp of dark red Gu energy flickering on the wick.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the fish have taken the bait. Fu Qing is leading three thousand-man squads and is marching towards Eagle Gorge. Over there at Eagle Gorge..."

He turned the bronze lamp halfway around, and a wisp of the Gu energy from the wick drifted towards the location of the grain transfer station marked on the map.

"Tuoba Xiong and Yelü Jin have been waiting for two days. Five thousand men, including two centurions at the Meridian Opening Realm. If he dares to enter that valley, he won't be able to come out again."

Kublai Khan picked up his wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He then ran his hand through his beard and gave an order to those outside the tent.

"Send word to Tuoba Xiong: I want to see him alive or dead. This Fu Qing killed several of my centurions. I want to see with my own eyes whether he has three heads and six arms."

...

Suwen rode alongside Fu Qing's group. Xu Heng originally refused to let her leave the city—if the Goddess of Medicine Palace were to die on the battlefield, he would not be able to explain it to the Medicine Palace.

Suwen simply said, "They need someone to control the Gu poison," and then mounted his horse.

Her riding skills weren't very good; she had to step into the stirrups twice before she could get a firm footing, but she still managed to keep up with the marching column steadily.

She rode silently in the middle of the group the whole way. The disciples of the Medicine Palace were scattered throughout the group, and each of their medicine cauldrons was burning with a pale green medicinal aura.

Suwen would occasionally raise her hand and point in a certain direction, at which point the disciples of the Medicine Palace would preemptively expel the Gu.

Fu Qing would sometimes turn his head to look at her, but her face remained expressionless from beginning to end, like someone with facial paralysis.

Three teams of a thousand men discovered a grain transfer station of the Di Kingdom in a valley about twenty miles south of Eagle Gorge.

Dozens of tents were pitched at the bottom of the valley, and the stockpiled grain and fodder were piled up like small mountains.

Fu Qing led his men down the hillside and cleaved the guard in two with a single blow. Ma Xiong and his veterans then slaughtered the guards as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Bags of grain, bundles of dried meat, and barrels of mare's milk wine filled the valley.

Ma Xiong excitedly hoisted a sack of grain onto his shoulder and slapped it hard. "This much grain is enough to last us for days! Boss, we're rich now!"

Fu Qing stood in the middle of the valley and slowly turned around, his brows slightly furrowed.

The surrounding mountains and forests were so quiet; there were no birdsong, no insect chirping, not even the sound of the wind.

Their journey was too smooth; they encountered almost no significant resistance, and... the guards protecting the supplies numbered only a little over three hundred!

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!

"Everyone drop the food and retreat!"

Fu Qing shouted, but before he could finish speaking, horns sounded simultaneously from all four mountaintops.

Di Jun's ambush troops surged out from all directions, their swords flashing in a continuous line among the trees.

Fu Qing glanced at them and counted roughly—at least five thousand people.

The two centurions leading the way came down the hillside, one carrying a scimitar and the other holding a spear. Both wore leather armor inlaid with iron plates, and each had a bone chain hanging from their chest.

The man with the scimitar grinned and addressed Fu Qing in broken Yasukuni.

"Fu Qing of Jingguo! I've been waiting for you for two days!"

The one with the spear added, "Tuoba Xiong and Yelü Jin—remember the names of those who killed you. Dying at our hands is no disgrace!"

Fu Qing's face darkened, and he gave Ma Xiong an order.

"Lead the team and break out to the south! Old Han and Xiao Lu, I'll cover the rear!"

Just as Ma Xiong was about to speak, Fu Qing cut him off with a single sentence. He gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and dragged the still cursing Ding Meng southward.

Two centurions at the Meridian Opening Realm rushed towards Fu Qing at the same time. Tuoba Xiong's scimitar slashed towards Fu Qing's neck, while Yelü Jin's spear followed closely behind, piercing towards his chest.

Fu Qing cleaved the curved blade in two with a single stroke and parried the spear with his other hand, sparks from the clash of weapons splashing all over his face.

The two centurions attacked from the left and right in turn, while Fu Qing fought and retreated, using the trees in the forest as cover as he fought and moved.

He had already taken a spear thrust to the back from Yelü Jin; the spearhead sliced ​​through his soft armor, leaving a gash in his shoulder blade. But the fight between Tuoba Xiong and Yelü Jin grew increasingly alarmed...

The Jingguo man in front of them, who was clearly only at the second level of the Meridian Opening Realm, had been fighting with the two Meridian Opening Realm cultivators for so long. Instead of retreating, he became more and more courageous in the battle. When they slashed at him, Fu Qing did not dodge or avoid, but returned the slash with his own. It was a fighting style of exchanging injury for injury.

Yelü Jin's spear pierced Fu Qing's left shoulder, but Fu Qing didn't even flinch and slashed Yelü Jin's chest with his backhand.

Yelü Jin looked down at the deep, bone-revealing gash in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Is this guy even afraid of dying?!"

Fu Qing was certainly not fearless; he had the "Battle! Exhilarating!" attribute to support him—the more he was injured, the stronger he became in combat, and the bonus from the loss of qi and blood allowed him to withstand the combined attack of two cultivators at the Meridian Opening Realm.

Tuoba Xiong slashed Fu Qing's back with his blade, the blade cutting through the soft armor and leaving a deep gash on the spine that exposed the bone.

Unaware of what was happening, Fu Qing lunged forward and stabbed Yelü Jin in the stomach with a backhand stroke. Blood gushed from Yelü Jin's mouth, the curved sword slipped from his hand, and he collapsed to his knees.

Seeing his companion fall, Tuoba's eyes instantly turned red. With a roar, he raised his scimitar above his head and slashed down at Fu Qing.

Fu Qing turned and parried with his sword. With a clang, Tuoba Xiong's curved sword bounced back, and Fu Qing's second strike had already pierced his neck.

Kill Yelü Jin, the centurion of the Di Kingdom (Level 2 Meridian Opening)... Kill Tuoba Xiong, the centurion of the Di Kingdom (Level 3 Meridian Opening)...

Two centurions fell one after another, and Fu Qing knelt on one knee, leaning on his knife, with two cuts on his back bleeding from both.

Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly felt a pang of anxiety and shortness of breath. He looked into the void, and the health bar on the panel remained unchanged, nor did his wounds worsen. But this palpitation came without warning.

His vision went black, and he collapsed.