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

In fact, it didn't take more than five days; the army arrived at Woye City, a key border town of the Yue Kingdom, three days later.

Woye City is backed by the Ten Thousand Mountains and is the most important northern barrier of the Yue Kingdom. The city walls are covered with densely packed Gu array runes, and every few steps on the city wall stands a Gu cultivator dressed in a black robe.

The main force of the Jingguo Southern Expeditionary Army had already set up a large camp outside the city, with the central command tent located in the very center of the camp.

When Fu Qing arrived with the vanguard battalion, there were already people waiting at the camp gate. A middle-aged man dressed in a civil official's robe introduced himself as the chief clerk of the army under the Grand Marshal.

"The commander-in-chief has ordered all generals to immediately proceed to the central command tent for a military meeting. General Fu, please come with me."

Fu Qing followed the chief clerk through layers of tents and entered the central command tent, where several generals from various departments were already standing.

Behind the central desk sat an old general, with gray hair and beard, a square face, and eyes as sharp as knives...

Zhang Wukai, a cultivator at the Visceral Realm, is said to be nearly two hundred years old. He is the Grand Marshal of the army in this southern expedition and has more seniority in the military than Tian Jingming. He has fought for most of his life, from the northern border to the southern frontier, from the Di Kingdom's cavalry to the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators. He has participated in wars across most of Jing Kingdom's territory.

His gaze swept past the generals and landed on Fu Qing, scrutinizing him from head to toe. When he spoke, his tone was very calm.

"You're Fu Qing? The Fu Qing from Iron Blood City? You look younger than I expected."

"Marshal Tian said in his letter that you are a capable person, but in my opinion, a letter of recommendation is not enough; only performance on the battlefield matters."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Your vanguard battalion will be responsible for the outer perimeter security. The first battle to attack Woye City will be handled by Old Zhou's men. Young people, observe and learn more. We'll discuss it further after you've seen a couple of battles."

The eyes of several veteran generals inside the tent all fell on Fu Qing, some with sympathy, some with schadenfreude, and some simply to watch the spectacle.

Fu Qing stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Your humble servant obeys."

When he returned to his tent, An Sheng was waiting for him outside. As soon as Fu Qing came out, he came up to him and asked how things were going.

As Fu Qing walked inside, he asked, "The commander-in-chief wants us to maintain perimeter security?"

An Sheng frowned slightly. "What does 'outer perimeter alert' mean?"

As Fu Qing walked, he explained that the vanguard battalion should keep watch on the perimeter first, and that Old Zhou's men should be sent in the first wave.

An Sheng was stunned for a moment.

"This old man looks down on people!"

"Don't worry, this is a good thing..."

Fu Qing chuckled and turned to look at him. "Let Old Zhou's men go first in the first round. It'll be a good opportunity to see the true strength of the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators. Let's see how Old Zhou fights them first. If he can't take them down, then we'll go in."

An Sheng nodded. "Alright."

...

The siege officially began the next day. Old Zhou led 8,000 troops in a frontal assault, but the methods of the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators far exceeded Old Zhou's expectations—

The large number of Gu worms released from the city wall were unaffected by the arrows, and the barrier formed by the Gu energy blocked the boulders thrown by the catapults.

The fatal flaw was that Lao Zhou couldn't defeat the enemy's general for a long time, and instead suffered minor injuries himself.

Old Zhou's troops fought fiercely at the city wall for half a day, suffering heavy casualties, and finally had to sound the retreat.

After listening to the battle report in the central command tent, Zhang Wukai remained silent for a moment, then slammed his teacup on the table. "Let Fu Qing come and see what he's capable of!"

When Fu Qing entered the central command tent, the atmosphere inside was completely different from yesterday.

Old Zhou sat to the side with a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his arm, and the other veterans looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhang Wukai looked up at him, stared at him for a long time, and then slowly spoke.

"Fu Qing, tomorrow it will be your vanguard battalion's turn. I'm giving you a chance—let me see if you are the capable fighter that Marshal Tian described in his letter."

Fu Qing clasped his hands in a fist salute and smiled slightly. "This humble general obeys. Tomorrow, this humble general will personally lead men to charge the city gate head-on. Please, General, have the flying boats and cannons launch a feint attack on the east side of the city to contain the Gu cultivators on the city wall."

Zhang Wukai narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded. "Alright, we'll fight as you said first thing tomorrow morning and take Woye City. I'll personally recommend you for credit."

...

The next day, outside Woye City.

The Yue army, with its back to the city walls, was arrayed in formation. Its numbers were less than a third of the Jingjun Vanguard Battalion, but the formation was permeated with a strong aura of Gu poison.

The vanguard general of Yue was a middle-aged man who practiced both Gu and martial arts. He was lean and muscular, surrounded by a light green Gu aura—the third level of Gang Qi, two levels higher than Fu Qing. He was the one who injured Old Zhou yesterday.

His natal Gu is the Savage Gu, not a control-type Gu, but a combat-type Gu specifically used to strengthen the physical body, capable of raising the host's physical strength by several levels in a short period of time.

He walked out of the Vietnamese army formation carrying a nine-ringed broadsword. The blade was engraved with Gu Dao runes, and with each step he took, a shallow footprint sank into the mud.

Fu Qing drew his cold iron saber, spurred his horse forward, and shouted, "Follow me! Charge!"

The two armies clashed, swords clashed, and poisonous insects and medicinal vapors collided in the air.

An Sheng, with his left wing, is holding back some of the Gu cultivators, while Zhao Laotie's right wing has cut off the retreat route to the south gate.

Fu Qing and the vanguard general of the Yue Kingdom clashed head-on on the battlefield.

The first clash of blades caused the savage Gu energy attached to the nine-ringed broadsword to spread along the blade, making the air tremble.

The moment Fu Qing's cold iron saber clashed with the nine-ringed broadsword, sparks flew everywhere, and a visible shockwave rippled through the muddy ground beneath their feet.

Both men took a half step back – the probing was over, and both sides had assessed the strength of their opponent.

The barbarian general grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and the Gu Dao runes on his nine-ringed broadsword lit up one by one.

He took a sudden step forward, cracking the ground beneath his feet. His blade strike was several times heavier than the first, and with its unique, brute force, it cleaved down towards Fu Qing's head.

Fu Qing parried with his sword, and with a loud "clang," the muddy ground beneath his feet sank into a shallow pit, and his hand felt slightly numb.

The bull gave Fu Qing no chance to breathe, slashing down with its nine-ringed broadsword one after another, each strike powerful and heavy.

The Jingjun and Yuejun soldiers around them had already voluntarily cleared a large area. This level of fighting was beyond their ability to intervene. The aftershocks of the collision between the sword energy and the Gu energy alone could send an ordinary Tongmai Realm cultivator flying.

While keeping the Gu cultivator at bay in the distance, An Sheng glanced over and saw Fu Qing being forced to retreat by the barbarian bull's repeated slashes. His heart leaped into his throat.

Liu Wentong's right hand, gripping the knife, was drenched in sweat, and he kept muttering, "General Fu, hold on."

While directing the right flank to cut off the retreat route at the south gate from the flank position, Zhao Laotie kept a close eye on the constantly clashing blades and Gu aura between the two armies.

He knew in his heart that the vanguard general of Yue Kingdom was a well-established veteran of Gu and martial arts cultivation. He had killed several people from Jing Kingdom who had reached the Gang Qi realm, while Fu Qing had only recently broken through to the Gang Qi realm.

The barbarian general unleashed a torrential downpour of sword strikes for nearly a quarter of an hour.

Fu Qing was forced to retreat continuously, his left shoulder was slashed by the blade with a half-foot-long gash, and his right leg was numb from the shock of the Gu Qi.

Just when everyone thought he was about to give up, Fu Qing's sword strikes never ceased.

A quarter of an hour passed, and his combat power remained undiminished, even showing signs of increasing.

[Enemy of Giants] takes effect, cultivation bonuses continue to stack, and [Combat Fun] accumulates as health and mana are consumed.

Under intense combat, the opponent's health began to decline.

His sword strikes grew faster and heavier with each blow, gradually shifting his momentum from being suppressed to being evenly matched, and from being evenly matched to gradually gaining the upper hand.

Disbelief flashed in the barbarian general's eyes—this Jingguo general had clearly been suppressed by him for a quarter of an hour, and his blood and energy consumption should have been far greater than his, but the opponent's sword momentum not only did not weaken but became more and more fierce, and his strength not only did not run out but also surged upwards segment by segment.

He let out a low roar and fully activated the Savage Gu. The runes on the Nine-Ringed Greatsword lit up at the same time, and his burly figure suddenly grew several inches taller, his muscles bulging to an almost terrifying degree.

After the Savage Bull Gu was fully activated, Savage Bull's power nearly doubled.

With a single slash, he sent Fu Qing staggering back several steps, carving deep furrows into the mud beneath his feet.

The barbarian general pressed his advantage, his nine-ringed broadsword surging with Gu energy, each strike aimed straight for Fu Qing's vital points.