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

The next day, just as Fu Qing entered the martial arts academy, Yu Fu tumbled in with a round, ruddy face.

"Oh my brother! You're finally back! Something terrible has happened—a huge disaster!"

He choked on the chestnut and coughed for a while before he recovered.

Fu Qing grabbed a chestnut from Yu Fu's hand, peeled it, and popped it into her mouth.

"What major event has occurred? Has the sky collapsed or the earth caved in?"

"It's bigger than the sky falling down!"

Yu Fu pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Fu Qing, spread the chestnuts he was holding on the table, and began to tell the story from the beginning.

"The Kang Kingdom delegation arrived in the capital three days ago. The leader of the delegation was Princess Yunnan of Kang Kingdom. That woman had a very grand entourage. She brought more than a hundred people with her, and the carriages lined up all the way from Zhuque Gate to the post station."

"My father said the last time he saw such a grand spectacle was thirty years ago when the King of Yan came in person."

"Yunnan?"

Fu Qing peeled chestnuts. "What are you here for?"

Yu Fu popped a chestnut into his mouth. "You know that secret realm at the border of Kangguo and Jingguo, right, Brother Fu? It's the one on Cangwu Mountain. It's a cave dwelling left behind by a great master who cultivated both martial arts and painting a thousand years ago."

"His cultivation in painting was at the second-grade Painting Venerable Realm, and in martial arts it was said to be at the Golden Body Realm. Before that great master passed away, he painted the void as wet, and circled out a world to be his tomb. Later, his tomb became a secret realm, which is opened once every ten years."

"There are countless treasures inside: elixirs, divine weapons, and secret cultivation manuals. In previous years, someone even brought out a magical artifact that was said to be able to bring the dead back to life, called something like the 'Soul-Returning Lamp.' If you blow it out, it can pull a person back from the brink of death."

Fu Qing nodded. He had seen records of the Cangwu Mountain Secret Realm in the martial arts academy's books. It was indeed one of the most famous secret realms at the border of Jing and Kang Kingdoms.

However, only ten people can enter the secret realm at a time. Once the limit of ten people is reached, the entrance will automatically close. This is a hard limit. Moreover, those who have exceeded the limit of opening the meridians cannot enter. I don't know why.

"Therefore, the two countries agreed to send five people each, and the allocation of places would be determined by a competition before each opening."

Yu Fu slammed the chestnut shells on the table. "Originally, this time it was going to be done according to the old rules, but that's what makes Yunnan so formidable. She brought a group of civil and military officials to the court to negotiate with His Majesty, saying that Kangguo wanted to increase its demands this time."

She said that Kangguo has invested a lot in martial arts in recent decades, making the competition more suspenseful than before. Therefore, the losing side has to give up two spots to the winner, meaning the winner can enter seven spots, while the loser can only enter three.

At this point, Yu Fu chuckled, "This proposal looks like a concession from Kangguo, but it's all a calculation. Kangguo is most skilled in poetry, so they're almost guaranteed to win this round."

"In the debate, it's a 50/50 chance between the two countries. Although Jingguo has the advantage in martial arts, it's a best-of-three match. As long as Kangguo wins the debate and poetry, it won't matter if we win the martial arts match. This woman has a very clear understanding of the situation."

Fu Qing tapped the table. "Who will Jingguo send to fight?"

"For the debate, Vice Minister of Rites Zhao Qianzhi is already making preparations. For the poetry competition, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, Sun Zhongwen, is personally in charge. Although the old man is old, his knowledge is still there. He once won first place in the Jingjing Poetry Competition. As for martial arts..."

Yu Fu chuckled.

"The Qi Refining Realm is too destructive. The two countries have agreed to only allow duels between those at the Meridian Opening Realm, stopping short of a draw. The Martial Academy has sent their senior brother, An Sheng. The list has already been submitted. How about it, my brother? Want to go watch the show?"

Fu Qing thought for a moment, and since he was free anyway, he might as well go for a walk. "Let's go take a look."

"good!"

Yu Fu jumped up. "Come on, come on! I've been so bored these past few days without you. On the way, I'll tell you about the people he brought with him in Yunnan. There's a guard who wields a long spear; they say he's at the ninth level of the Meridian Opening Realm, just half a step away from the Qi Refining Realm. And there's an old scholar whose beard is even longer than Old Man Sun's..."

The chubby boy followed Fu Qing out while babbling on and on, stuffing all the remaining chestnuts on the table into his arms.

...

Meanwhile, in a room on the second floor of the inn, a woman was writing when a young girl suddenly rushed in through the door.

"Princess, princess! Good news! Fu Qing is back today!"

Yunnan was taken aback, turned her head to look, and asked, "Are you sure it's him?"

The maid nodded vigorously, "Absolutely certain!"

Yunnan turned to look at his newly completed poem, "Qinyuanchun: Snow," a glint of brilliance in his eyes.

"That would be much more interesting."

...

Two days later, the first round of debates began in a side hall of the Taiji Hall.

In the side hall, two rows of long tables stretched from the foot of the imperial steps all the way to the entrance of the hall. Civil and military officials from Jingguo and Kangguo sat on either side, leaving a three-zhang-wide passageway in the middle.

Ling Yushu sat on the throne, the Crown Prince sat to his right, and Ling Moxie was also present.

Yunnan was seated at the head of the guest seats, with several scholars and guards from the Kang Kingdom delegation standing behind him.

Fu Qing and Yu Fu, as representatives of the Martial Arts Academy, attended the meeting as observers and sat in the back of Jing Guo's side.

As soon as Yu Fu sat down, he took out a bag of chestnuts from his sleeve and started peeling them. After peeling two, he leaned back in his chair and yawned—in his opinion, watching the two old men bicker was more tiring than practicing swordsmanship.

The official sent by Jingguo was Zhao Qianzhi, the Vice Minister of Rites. He was in his fifties, thin and refined, and was a well-known scholar in Jingjing.

The delegation sent by Kangguo was led by Gongsun Ming, the deputy envoy. He was in his early forties, with a fair complexion, no beard, and long, narrow eyes.

The topic of the debate is "The benevolent are invincible".

Gongsun Ming represented the affirmative side, while Zhao Qianzhi represented the negative side.

The two debated everything from ancient sages to the current state of the world, citing classical texts with ease. Gongsun Ming argued that the benevolent rule by virtue and are therefore invincible, while Zhao Qianzhi countered that benevolence cannot fill an empty stomach and that the powerful nations of the time are all established by force...

Gongsun Ming then cited the example of the former king of Kangguo who governed the country with benevolence and whose people submitted to him. Zhao Qianzhi immediately countered that Jingguo was established by military force and yet people from all directions came to pay tribute.

The two engaged in a fierce verbal exchange, their speech becoming increasingly rapid and their gestures becoming more and more numerous.

The people inside the hall sometimes nodded, sometimes frowned, sometimes whispered to each other, and sometimes clapped and exclaimed in admiration.

After peeling more than a dozen chestnuts, Yu Fu finally couldn't hold on any longer, his head slowly drooping. Fu Qing nudged him with his knee, jolting him awake.

"Is it over? Who won?"

The first round ended in a draw.

Gongsun Ming and Zhao Qianzhi returned to their seats, both with expressions of unfinished business—the two sides were evenly matched, and neither could refute the other.

Yunnan stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful greeting to Ling Yushu, and smiled.

"Your Majesty, the two gentlemen were evenly matched in the first round, and it would be difficult to determine a winner if the debate continued. How about we change the topic and give everyone a change of pace?"

Ling Yu nodded in agreement.

Yunnan's gaze swept over everyone in the hall, slowly moving across the seats on Jingguo's side, and finally stopping on Fu Qing.

A slight smile played at the corners of her lips.

"I've long heard that there's a General Fu in Jingguo who writes excellent lyrics. His poem 'Qinyuanchun' even impressed the King of Kangguo. Since he's so talented in literature, he must be quite eloquent as well. Why don't we invite General Fu to give his try in the second round?"

All eyes in the hall turned to Fu Qing.

The civil officials sitting in the front row whispered among themselves—"A border guard can not only write poetry, but also debate?"

Zhao Qianzhi stroked his beard and looked over, frowning slightly. Gongsun Ming also looked at Fu Qing, a smile on his lips.

Fu Qing stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Highness is too kind. I am only here to listen in today. I am not on the list of participants. Debate is a matter for civil officials. I am a military man and I am afraid it is not appropriate for me."

"General Fu, there's no need for such modesty."

Yunnan's smile remained unchanged. "Consider this a tiebreaker for fun. Winning or losing won't affect the spots. I just want to see how General Fu's eloquence is, besides poetry."

It was as if she was issuing a challenge.

Fu Qing was about to refuse when Ling Yushu smiled and waved his hand.

"Fu Qing, since Princess Yun has personally called you out, why don't you go down and give it a try? If you win, it's yours; if you lose, it's not shameful."

Helpless, Fu Qing walked into the hall, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yunnan Zhiyi, and said, "Since Your Highness insists on seeing this, I, Fu, will humbly comply. May I ask what Your Highness wishes to discuss?"

Yunnan sat down again.

"Mr. Gongsun once specialized in the study of the School of Names at the Kangguo Confucian Academy. Why don't we have General Fu and Mr. Gongsun debate today on the topic of 'A white horse is not a horse'?"