《Warlord》 Prologue Death. He knew about it, but he never expected it to happen so soon. It''s so unfair that someone as young and handsome as him would be dealt this card just when things were going well in his life. Life do be like that sometimes. People die when they are killed. But what happened next was so surprising for him. He was a Christian once, but neither did he go to heaven or hell. Instead, he received a one way trip to another world, maybe to live a new life. After what felt like a long slide, he crashed into something. Something that made him want to enter and seek comfort. He forcibly pierced through that something and was able to enter inside. He then received a rush of dopamine that felt as if he just won a competition. After that, he found the sense of being complete with the object. As time goes by, memories of his past life began to disappear while his thoughts began to change so fast that he can barely keep up with the random thoughts coming onto his mind. For a mature mind who can think, the feeling of not being in control of his memory and faculties must be maddening. What kept him sane and conscious was a familiar screen, or rather, 2. Name: ??? 1 Vigor- Onehanded, Twohanded, Polearm 1 Control- Bow, Crossbow, Throwing 1 Endurance- Riding, Athletics, Smithing 1 Cunning- Scouting, Tactics, Roguery 1 Intellect- Charm, Leadership, Trade 1 Charisma- Steward, Medicine, Engineering The first screen is the the Mount and Blade Bannerlord skill sheet. The second screen is a notepad of the above skill sheet, reminiscent of the Mount and Blade Warband character sheet, albeit with a few differences.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Name: ??? Attributes Strength- 1 Agility- 0 Intelligence- 0 Charisma- 1 Skills Constitution- 0 Ironflesh- 0 Grandmaster- 0 Shield- 0 Magic Control- 0 Magic Power- 0 Mana Control- 0 Trainer- 0 Willpower- 0 Disciple management-0 Vigor- 1 Control- 1 Endurance- 1 Cunning- 1 Social- 1 Charisma- 1 Proficiencies Onehanded- 0 Twohanded- 0 Polearm- 0 Bow- 0 Crossbow- 0 Throwing- 0 Riding- 0 Athletics- 0 Smithing- 0 Scouting- 0 Tactics- 0 Roguery- 0 Charm- 0 Leadership- 0 Trade- 0 Steward- 0 Medicine- 0 Engineering- 0 Import/Export As his consciousness weakens and memories of his past life begin to disappear, he tried to do a few things according to his old habit. He tried to input a number on the strength value, but it only showed 63. He then tried the same on the other attributes of agility, intelligence and charisma, but its still the same, with only 63 showing up. He proceeded to the skills bar. There, he first put 10 on constitution, it showed up as 10. Then he tried putting a bigger number, but it only showed up as 10. He decided to put 99 on every skill in order not to miss anything. The values of the skills ironflesh, grandmaster, magic control, magic power, mana control and trainer became 15, while the values of the skills Vigor, Control, Endurance, Cunning, Social, and Charisma showed up as 10 + 5, but for the other remaining skills, they showed up as 10 flat. For the proficiency bar, he tried to experiment on one handed. He inputted a random number with 1 digit, the value changed to the number he inputted. He continued by inputting a 2 digit number, it followed his input. When he finally put a number with 4 digits, the value adjusted itself to 699. After confirming the limit, he put the value 699 on every proficiency. After doing that, every proficiency confirmed his guess by showing the value 699. As his thoughts go faster and faster, with great effort, he made a final check and found that nothing seems to be amiss, so he finish his changes with Import. He then immediately lost consciousness right after Unbeknownst to him, his stats screens now appears as: Name: ??? 10 Vigor- Onehanded IIIII, Twohanded IIIII, Polearm IIIII 10 Control- Bow IIIII, Crossbow IIIII, Throwing IIIII 10 Endurance- Riding IIIII, Athletics IIIII, Smithing IIIII 10 Cunning- Scouting IIIII, Tactics IIIII, Roguery IIIII 10 Intellect- Charm IIIII, Leadership IIIII, Trade IIIII 10 Charisma- Steward IIIII, Medicine IIIII, Engineering IIIII Name: ??? Attributes Strength- 63 Agility- 63 Intelligence- 63 Charisma- 63 Skills Constitution- 10 Ironflesh- 15 Grandmaster- 15 Shield- 10 Magic Control- 15 Magic Power- 15 Mana Control- 15 Trainer- 15 Willpower- 10 Disciple management- 15 Vigor- 10 Focus-5 Control- 10 Focus-5 Endurance- 10 Focus-5 Cunning- 10 Focus-5 Social- 10 Focus-5 Charisma- 10 Focus-5 Proficiencies Onehanded- 999 Twohanded- 999 Polearm- 999 Bow- 999 Crossbow- 999 Throwing- 999 Riding- 999 Athletics- 999 Smithing- 999 Scouting- 999 Tactics- 999 Roguery- 999 Charm- 999 Leadership- 999 Trade- 999 Steward- 999 Medicine- 999 Engineering- 999 Chapter 1. Flow like water Tang Family. Town of Tai Jan, the frontier of Da Han near the Hulnora Steppe, its first defense against the Hulnora nomads. "Congratulations on the birth of your baby, patrolman Lin." The voice came from a man with an athletic frame. His short black hair is neatly tied, giving emphasis to his full, wild face. Small black eyes are set delicately within their sockets. Several moles are spread neatly on his left cheek. There''s something different about him, perhaps it''s his good will or perhaps it''s simply his unusual charm. But nonetheless, people tend to worship him, while learning as much about him as possible. "Many thanks, patrol leader Tang Feng." The man with white, long hair tight in a ponytail replied. His lean, lived-in face has narrow gray eyes, set buried within their sockets. A moustache handsomely compliments his mouth. This is the face of Lin Delan, a true idealist among humans. He stands big among others, despite his skinny frame. There''s something incomprehensible about him, perhaps it''s his sympathy or perhaps it''s simply his reputation. But nonetheless, people tend to invite him into their homes, while secretly despising him. "Boy or girl?" "Tis a boy, as healthy as an ox and as loud as a rooster." "Haha! Worthy of this one''s godson. He would be a great man of Da Han like his father." "I hope so too. Patrol leader, would you like to visit your godson?" "Yes, of course. Did you give him a name already?" "Yes, patrol leader. Lin Feng, just like the name of his godfather." "YOU!! Really? You don''t have to do that, you know." "Patrol leader, when I said that I will name him Feng, I will name him Feng. Even if the King of Yama arrives this evening to take me, my son will still be named Feng today." "So be it. I respect your choice." While the two were talking, there suddenly was a great commotion. Smoke can be seen on the horizon, followed by a sound of the great gong being struck continuously. "It could be the Hulnora!" "What?" "Inconceivable! They have''nt raided for 10 years." "It''s almost harvesting season!" "Winter is coming!" "My lord!" "SILENCE! WHAT IS ALL THIS INSOLENCE?" "Hush! It''s mayor Tang Jiayi. Let him speak." "People of Da Han, please remain calm. I''ve already sent the cavalry to scout the situation. We''ll learn more information when they return. For the meantime, I want every good man to prepare themselves to fight and gather here in an hour. All women and children should go to our Tang family manor for safety. Tell everybody to prepare as soon as possible."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Arm yourselves everyone! Send the women and children to the Tang manor." "Tang Feng! Come here." "Tang Feng has seen patriarch!" The patrol leader said while saluting the mayor by cupping his fist. "Double, no! Triple the patrols. I want the town to be as secure as possible." "No! Lord Mayor." The mayor accepted his affirmation and left the area. Lin Delan helped Tang Feng stand up from kneeling. "Delan. You go home and tell Mingzhu to take xiao Feng with her and go to the Tang family manor." "No! Patrol leader." Lin Delan kneeled and mumbled words of thanks to Tang Feng. At Lin''s little house. A woman with black, shoulder-length hair is cradling a baby. Her worried face cannot hide her dead green eyes, set far within their sockets. Those same eyes are watching the door of their house, looking for signs of her husband. Her smooth skin alluringly compliments her nose and mouth, and leaves a captivating memory for those who has taken a glimpse of her beauty. That is the face of Yelu Mingzhu, a dreamer. She stands gracefully among others, despite her fragile frame. There''s something puzzling about her, perhaps it''s her decency or perhaps it''s simply her unfortunate past. But nonetheless, people tend to keep their distance, while commending her for her deeds. Her dead green eyes soon regained a bit of life once she saw her husband arrive. "Mingzhu, you need to go with Feng to the Tang manor. It''s safer there." "What happened? Why all the commotion?" "We still have no information before the cavalry arrives. I need to return to lord Tang. The town is on high alert and we need more patrolmen on the walls." Lin Delan said before sending his wife to the Tang family. He then proceeded to the walls to find Tang Feng. A few hours later... "It''s evening men, you must never lower your guard. The cavalry has''nt returned yet and we need to prepare for the worst, just in case." Tang Feng said to his soldiers as he keeps himself alert to the surroundings. While he is speaking, something suddenly happened in the southern wall. "Enemy attack!" "Stop right there, Hulnora scum!" "Kill Hu!" "We need reinforcements! There are too many Hu!" Tang Feng took his soldiers to reinforce the southern wall, but left a few men including Lin Deyan to hold the western wall, in order to not lose the rabbit in hand, just in case the Hu is luring them to lower their guard. "Charge, men!" Tang Fei was like a wolf in a flock of sheep, killing Hu and pushing them off the wall. After easily driving off the Hu, they were about to rejoice, until... "The gate! Hold the gate! The Hu are attacking the North Gate!" "To me!" Tang Feng said while rushing to the North gate via the western wall. "Help! The Hu are too fierce!" Tang Feng, to his horror, discovered that Hu have overrun the western wall and only a few pockets of individuals are resisting there. It seems that the Hu attacking the North gate came from this part of the wall. Even with intestines that turned green with regret, Tang Feng led his men to take the western wall back and cut off the Hu from getting more reinforcements. Tang Feng lost himself to rage, slaying Hu left and right. After 10 minutes of fierce fighting, Tang Feng and his men was able to retake to wall back from the Hu. A messenger from the Northern wall arrive to tell them that the Hu attacking the North gate was prevented from opening the gate. It turns out that right after repelling the attack in the gate, thousands of Hu appeared in the North of the town and would have entered the town with their horses if not for the capable defenders in the North gate. Tang Feng sweated coldly with that news. After that, he was soon called by one of his men. "Patrol leader, it''s Lin Deyan, he..." "What happened to him?" "Im afraid he won''t be able to survive, he wants to say something to you." Tang Feng soon remembered Lin Deyan and hurriedly went with the soldier. He saw Lin Deyan was fatally wounded. Not only was his arm cut off, but his gut was also slashed open that the intestines can even be seen, and he was bleeding blood like water irrigating the fields. He surely won''t be able to live another day. "Leader... Servant... Failed... You... The ... Wall... Didnt... Hold... Please... Take... Care... Wife... And... Son... Tell... Mingzhu... Sorry..." With a heavy heart, Tang Feng sent Lin Deyan off. He held Lin Deyan''s hand as the man''s life ended. After Lin Deyan''s heart stopped beating, he pried off the man''s death grip and sent for the body to be disposed of along with the other casualties. Chapter 2. 8 years After getting news of her hubby''s death, Mingzhu was heartbroken, but thanks to the support of Tang Feng and other family friends, she was able to recover. Instead of wallowing in grief, she decided that she must live for her son Lin Feng, if not for herself. It turns out that the attack of the Hulnora that time was not a simple affair. An army of 10,000 Hu was planning to raze a few towns of Han, but they were stucked in Taijan for 15 days. The defense of Taijan allowed the nearby Han settlements to gather an army of 20,000 Han and they were able to push back the raiders of Hu into the grassland. The victory of the empire that day would be enough to deter the Hu for at least a decade or two, according to some Imperial Scholars. As for the Feng surnamed Lin, he was, according to the people of Taijan, the perfect neighbor''s kid. "Why you so stupid? Look at little Lin Feng next door, he''s X years old, to find food every day he walks 20 miles uphill both ways, on one foot. His other foot was starting a business." "You wanna be an oiran? I tell you what I tell all aspiring oiran? Venti, Latte with caramel please! Look at Lin Feng, he''s already a doctor, and he''s not even X years old." "Why you cant be a tenths as good as Lin Feng? You cant even line up to buy soy sauce or hold the torch well, but you eat more rice than the entire town combined!" "Failure! I''ve been teaching you for 5 years now, but you can''t even fight as well as Lin Feng. Look at the lions and tigers he fought. They work for him now!" "What the hell! I will send you to Lin Feng!" Speaking of which, Lin Feng when he was one year old is already able to run, jump, and do calisthenics. He can also speak Han, Hulnora and the Taijan''s regional dialect fluently. When he was 2, he can already ride horses. He has also mastered how to calculate accounts during this age. When he was 3, he took up carpentry and blacksmithing like a fish in water. When he was 4, he can already hold his own in martial arts against a grown man. When he was 5, he was already going out of the town, either looking for medicinal herbs, hunting prey, scouting the countryside, or doing whatever job that needs to be done outside the town. When he was 6, he''s already a trusted sponger of the Tang family. His coat now buttons up on many duties, including but not limited to militia leader, manor steward, intelligence officer, military adviser, doctor, blacksmith, engineer and chief trainer. By this time, he also has a few businesses, a caravan and he even has a gang in the nearby city. When he was 7, he was already stronger than his godfather, who was supposed to be the strongest man in the town, a newly advanced real general. But due to his age and size, he is still inferior and wont be able to do much in a real fight against a person who knows martial arts and is only slightly weaker than him. The godfather, Tang Feng is a general. General''s are experts able to command a group of soldiers. Besides generals, there are other titles in the Han dynasty, but they are usually separated into 2 broad groups, the martial artists practitioners and the ordinary men.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. For ordinary men who don''t or can''t train any martial arts cheat, they are separated into 18 different ranks. The first 4 ranks are waste, trash, child, flowery fists embroidery legs. There usually are no people whose cultivation are lower than child, but even if there is, they should become outcasts real fast, if they dont improve their strength. After growing up, the child becomes an adult or man rank, and this rank is considered as civilians or militia, and are further separated into five different ranks depending on their power level. Small man, good man, big man, strong man and great man. They are all 3rd class fighters. When a man decides to not live for himself, but to die for some great cause, he becomes a soldier, either fighting for nation, family or whatever he decides is worth dying for. Which is also further separated into small soldier, big soldier, strong soldier and great soldier ranks. They are all 2nd class fighters. Beyond the soldier rank is another bottleneck, and those who have surpassed this bottleneck is called the guard. These men have distinguished themselves from the ranks of ordinary soldiers with their own ability and they usually give their allegiance to a general or scholar. The ranks of the guard are filled with, young guards, middle guards, old guards. They are all 1st class fighters. (Not to be confused with guard which is synonymous to watchmen. Everytime we refer to the third class fighter, we add the for emphasis, like "the guard". And everytime we refer to watchmen or other stuff that includes guarding, just guard will suffice) There is also another rank after the guard, and is considered as the epitome of ordinary men. This rank is called by the many as soldier king, but the nobility scoff at that name, for how can there be a king among soldiers. So these nobles would collect these deadmen and form an elite squad called the deathguard. They are Experts and should be treated as such. Equivalent to the soldier is the civil official, but the ranking for officials is not as set in stone, for if there is a first in martial arts, then literary has no second. Now, for the martial arts practitioner, they are under a different ranking system. The weakest of them are as strong if not stronger than a small man. They usually have 9-10 ranks to cultivate before being called a general or scholar or hero or other equivalent, but its on a case to case basis depending on their cheats or manuals. Those who have cultivated the first 4 ranks are 3rd class martial fighters, those who have cultivated 5 to 7 ranks are 2nd class martial fighters, those who cultivated 8-10 ranks are 1st class martial fighters. After that is the general or hero level and these Martial Experts are the ones that make the news in jianghu or determine the grand scheme of things. Not all heroes or generals are equal tho, some have cultivated more than others so its only right if these people are stronger. Now, back to Lin Feng. After the imperial city has learned of Tang Feng advancing into general, they sent him an imperial decree. They are mobilizing an army of 100,000 to the Western border and they want Tang Feng to accompany the army and in the process undergo training under a more qualified general. Wanting to be of use to the court, Tang Feng agreed to the dispatch. Not one to shirk away from a challenge, Lin Feng begged his mother and godfather to also join the expedition. "Mom, godfather, please, I want to go to!" "But you''re only 8 years old!" "When I was 8, I was 25!!" "???" "...." "Please, this place is too boring, I''ve already learned what I can from everybody here." "Yelu Mingzhu, Im not one to meddle with your affairs, but let me say a few things. Lin Feng is already mature. He needs to make his own decisions already. Besides, I swore in the name of the Tang family that no harm shall befall Lin Feng." "Okay! But you need to drink your milk and eat your vegetables okay? Don''t stay up all night, and don''t talk to strangers, ..." "Mom, I''m an adult already!" "You''ll always be a child to me xiao Feng Feng." "Uuugh!" Both man and child turned red after hearing Yelu Mingzhu''s endearment. Before his mother can say anything else, Lin Feng already ran away and is already deciding the arrangements for his responsibilities. Not one to dally, Tang Feng also excused himself. Chapter 3. Arrived at Garkash 1331th Year of Han, May 12 The Feng''s surnamed Lin and Tang arrived in the border city of Garkash, region of Jiangxin, accompanied by 10 other retainers from the Tang family. With them are 20 horses, of which 5 are Purebloods bred by Lin Feng. The Pureblood is not a real warhorse per se, it doesnt have the weight nor the belligerent nature of a warhorse. It is rather docile, and friendly, but don''t let their gentle demeanor fool you. What they lack in bulk, they make up for in endurance and abnormally tough, compact bodies. Not only that, even with their light weights, purebloods are shockingly very powerful, perhaps the most powerful breed among horses, if according to the people of Taijan. They are very obedient too, even to the point of dumbness that they would even disregard threats to their lives in order to please their owners. This horse breed was selectively bred and trained by Lin Feng, and currently, it is unique to the town of Taijan. The difficulty in breeding this horse is very high. According to Lin Feng, each and every horse can sire or give birth to a pureblood. The pureblood is the distillation of the blood of the entire equine race, that''s why each horse is capable of producing a pureblood heir. Even if a pureblood foal is born, it will soon degenerate into its herds'' nature and breed without human intervention and proper training. Only the stupid and dumb pureblood nature is moldable enough to follow the cruel regimen of awakening their full potential. The Feng team is currently staying in an outpost outside the city of Garkash, and they need to change some of the horses before continuing to the camp of the Han army, one to two days trip away. Purebloods are tireless, but the other horses are rich spoiled brats so the team has no choice but to swap horses, and maybe get some bed and breakfast in the process. The two Feng''s took more than half of the team to enter the city while the remaining 4 retainers went to exchange the horses in the outpost. While the team was lining up to pay the toll in the gate, Lin Feng was listening to the news from the other people. "Brother! Did you hear? The most beautiful oiran of Butterfly pavilion, Dilraba Dildavout has vowed to marry the expert who can defeat the Western Poison Ouyang Feng." "What?" "Ouyang Feng? The name''s familiar... Oh, is''nt that the master who wants to discuss martial arts with the experts of Garkash this afternoon?!" "You are correct, but there are no points for you! This afternoon''s demonstration is because esteemed Master Ouyang wants to gain prestige in order to found a branch school." "Not only that, Master Ouyang also has a talented nephew named Ouyang Ke. Young master Ouyang is one of talented trainees of the Imperial Academy. Tiger uncle begets no dog nephew indeed." "The Ouyang Ke that is on the list of the scholars accompanying the army in this year''s expedition to Stan kingdom? Those surnamed Ouyang are not simple indeed!"The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Lin Feng was curious of this so called Ouyang uncle and nephew. One of the Tang retainers next to him scoffed at the people praising Ouyang. "Hmmmphh! I''d rather see for myself whether this Ouyang has three heads and six arms. These poor souls don''t know Mr. Lin, do they Sergeant Hao?" "They don''t, Mr. He." "They don''t know Mr. Lin once saved an Imperial envoy''s life, do they Sergeant Hao?" "They don''t, Mr. Huang." "They don''t know Mr. Lin shot three Hu''s out of the saddle in 15 seconds, do they Sergeant Hao?" "They certainly don''t, Mr. Hou." "Then they don''t know Mr. Lin beat a man half to death, just for having rust on his sword." "They don''t, Mr. Lei." "I bet they don''t know Mr. Lin killed a captured Hu general, just for not putting up a good fight." "...." "What was it Mr. Lin says, makes a good fighter, Mr. He?" "Remind me again, sarge." "What Mr. Lin says makes a good fighter, is the ability to use a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, ride a horse, and a strong body that is able to fight in any weather, must remember that. Shush, boys!" The team was exempted from the toll after Tang Feng showed his credentials and they entered the city unharassed. After asking the guards where the city hall was, they proceeded there to report their arrival to the governor. After being stopped in the city hall''s door, they were told that only two people can enter inside. As the two Fengs continued forward, the guardsman at the door said... "No women and children allowed!" "What?" "He did''nt just do what I think he did, right?" "Oh no! Should''nt have done that, I bet somebody''s gonna be unlucky real soon." "That''s okay, Sergeant Hao, you go in." After hearing that, Sergeant Hao accompanied the older Feng inside, while not forgetting to pat the guardsman, pitying the minimum wage person for having eyes but not seeing Mt. Tai. Lin Feng soon whispered something to the retainer named He, who by the way, was once a trader of sorts, by way of property and the like, though mostly of other people''s. In other words, a thief. Mr. He scurried away into the alleyways of Garkash, probably up to no good, for no person with an upright goal would look so wretched and vile. It did''nt take long for the two inside the city hall to return. They were told by the governor to first go to the Millenium Hotel to check in, free of charge, compliments of the Great Han Imperial Dynasty. As the governor was sending them off, he told Tang Feng to meet the other generals and commander in the banquet that will happen this afternoon in the Nanban Pavillion. After agreeing to the governor''s request, Tang Feng just noticed that retainer He was missing and his eyes twitched. He then looked at Lin Feng''s eyes, informing him through eye contact that he should stop making trouble. Tang Feng''s plea to Lin Feng was like a mud ox sinking into the ocean as Lin Feng just replied with an oblivious stare, so innocent and so pure, not unlike that of a newborn babe. Tang Feng lamented his godson''s willful character, thinking he must have owed too much lifesaving grace to Lin Delan in his previous life. They were accompanied by an official to the hotel. After picking two rooms, retainer Lei was sent outside the city to inform the other brothers, leaving 3 retainers and the two Feng''s. After freshening up a bit, Tang Feng and Sergeant Hao left to go the banquet, leaving the two retainers and Lin Feng. Before they left though, Tang Feng looked at the bear child Lin Feng, and sighed to himself, lamenting the fact that he was not able to turn iron into steel. After the two left, Lin Feng and the two retainers waited for the brothers outside the city to arrive. When they arrived, Lin Feng asked everybody to go to dinner, but two men volunteered to guard their stuff, so Lin Feng promised to bring them food instead. Lin Feng and six retainers of the Tang family left the hotel to eat outside. Chapter 4. Opening fight and Lin Fengs vision Lin Feng and friends walked to the central district where the martial arts stage was built, to search for a restaurant there with a good view of the stage. After finding one restaurant with a large table more than enough for them, they forcibly occupied the table even tho there was a big wooden sign with the words "RESERVED" written on it. With tacit understanding from everybody, the rest block the view of the surroundings while one retainer cleared the table to let the sign fall to the floor, and the whole team acted oblivious about it as they took their seats, with one retainer kicking the sign as far away as possible, for good measure. When the manager arrived to speak to the group, Lin Feng threw a large bag of taels to him and said... "For starters, give us one of every food, and 8 jars of wine to wash everything down!!" "Hurrah to the young master!" "Many thanks big boss!" "What are you waiting for? Once Boss Lin wants food, even if the King Yama wants your life today, he won''t dare appear until Boss Lin leaves tomorrow!" "Haha, gongzi is too kind! Xiao-er, serve this table everything they want." (I hope these bastards leave as soon as possible!) "Huehuehue! What did I tell you boys? Everything has a price!" "Yes! Yes! Lin gongzi is right. Xiao-er!! Serve the wine faster, I want to toast general Lin." (These stupid buffoons, kid looks like he''s not even grown hair down there yet, but he''s already called a general. If he''s a general, then I''m a commander, hmmph! Maybe this kid is a son of a bigshot? Hmm, can''t be a son of some bigshot, at that age they would not have the luxury of going out of their homes away from their studies. Bandits? Possible, possible. But they should not be as outrageous as these scumbags, not unless these fools are a new group who have made their first easy money. That could explain why these newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. But whatever, as long as I receive money.) The team ate and drank to their fill, and the restaurant soon began to welcome guests. No doubt people of Jianghu wanting to watch the excitement in the martial arts stage from a comfortable spot. As the restaurant began to fill up, the protagonist of the afternoon, Ouyang Feng took to the stage and began to ask for challengers from the surrounding schools. A heroic figure using a spear climbed above the stage, introduced himself, then took up stance. "Quan Jinfa!" "I wonder which sect hero came from?" Ouyang Feng asked his opponent. Quan replied... "None of your business!" Thereafter, he thrusted his spear like a flood dragon going out to sea. Ouyang responded by first using his iron staff to parry the attack then counterattacked Quan with a powerful swing. Quan blocked it but Ouyang responded by pushing his staff into the spear. Ouyang then used his comprehension of stickiness to control Quan''s spear. Upon gaining control of the enemy spear, Ouyang leveraged his one arm to wrestle the two arms of Quan holding the spear while using his other arm to punch Quan with his fist art. Quan tried to escape from Ouyang''s sticky technique, but he was too slow and was hit by the punch. Ouyang repeated this technique again, but when he was throwing another fist, Quan also freed one arm to block the punch, but Ouyang''s fist was tricky and Quan was still hit. Not to mention Ouyang pushed the arm holding the stick to move Quan''s spear holding arm into an even worse place. Ouyang was soon well entrenched, making him gather enough strength to overpower Quan''s defense, giving him the opportunity strike a good hit on Quan''s head, which stunned Quan real bad. While Quan was disoriented, Ouyang used that opportunity to end the fight by knocking Quan out of the stage with a powerful punch to the chest. "Hmmmph! Know your place!" After Quan fell of the stage, his friends caught him before he can fall to the ground. Quan Jinfa then threw up blood. A friend of Quan then shouted...Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Arrogant! How dare you hurt my brother? I, Nan Xiren shall take Jinfa''s place in taking you down! Take my saber!" "Dreaming!" Nan jump on the stage and attacked Ouyang with the ferocity of a tiger, but Ouyang''s defense is like Xuanwu, thus both sides were not able to take advantage of each other. Taking advantage of their rights to comment unnecessarily, the onlookers turned into professional commentators as they began to say their apt views of the situation in the ring. "Ouyang has good staff skills, but he is slightly inferior to Nan''s saber." "What do you know of staves and sabers?" "I don''t, but I''m an onlooker, and onlookers have better view of the situation compared to those involved." "You''ve got a point, but why do I think you look like a pushover?" "..." Enough of the other people and the match, let us return to the main character for the meantime. When Lin Feng first saw Ouyang Feng, he was surprised, Ouyang Feng was the strongest martial artist he has seen. But only limited to just that. Even if Ouyang is stronger than his godfather, Ouyang''s values still cannot compare with himself. You have to know, that ever since Lin Feng was conscious, he has already been seeing things nobody else can see, these things being numbers and words on people and objects. It was only that when he was learning how to read and write that he was able to make sense of what he can see. He thought it was normal for everybody to see these things, but everything changed one faithful day. One day, a trio of martial artists arrived in the town. These people acted mysterious enough and a few days after, there were rumours in the town that a world famous martial god from the capital is travelling the rivers and lakes, looking for worthy disciples to train. The people of the town soon noticed these three people and they somehow resemble the appearance of the martial god and his entourage. Thinking themselves smart for discovering clues, some townspeople soon went to the trio and signed themselves up in order to learn cultivation. They also paid a considerable fee. Now, when the news reached Lin Feng tho, he was rather shocked to learn why other people are so gullible, for he thought everyone is the same as him, able to see other people''s values. Young as he was, he confronted the three and exposed their scam in front of the people. He said that these three are''nt martial artists and that they are just ordinary people, but with high roguery skills, enough to become bandits. Needless to say, everyone first doubted Lin Feng, a child, but when Tang Feng asked the martial god whether his highness King Qin was well and how was the wine in the Qin palace. The martial god replied, King Qin is very well and the wine was good, which they were able to taste when they last visited the King''s palace, as the king entertained them with a banquet. Upon hearing what he said, Tang Feng had his men arrest the trio. After a scuffle, the so called martial god wasnt able to stop the soldiers and he was caught easily. It turns out that Tang Feng asked them a trick question. In fact, unknown to many people, this martial god and King Qin were bitter enemies, and King Qin would never invite the martial god, much less serve wine, for King Qin was secretly a very devout Buddhist, and would never touch nor taste wine, much less serve it to an enemy. But Tang Feng still asked his godson, how did he discover these people are fake, Lin Feng answered, they are different from martial artists. Now that made Tang Feng curious. "How so?" he asked. Lin Feng added... "Is''nt it simple? Martial artists have perks below the numbers. Those three don''t have perks, they only have proficiencies and the corresponding levels, meaning they are ordinary people." "What proficiency, levels, and perks are you talking about?" "What do you mean, godfather? Can''t you see these stuff appearing around everybody when you look at them?" Tang Feng said he can''t, and other people also can''t, so Lin Feng''s ability to see is rather unique and in the more than 1,300 years of Han, or even in the 10,000 years of mankind, there has been no precedent. Su Mingzhu(she has a Khitan father with the surname Yelu and a Han mother with the surname Su) feared for her son''s wellbeing, so she asked for help from Tang Feng and other family friends. In the end, the doctor and scholars in the town tested Lin Feng and they were surprised with what they learned in the end. It turns out that Lin Feng cannot only see martial strength, but also literary accomplishments. Wanting to find out who is more ahead in their respective fields, they got sidetracked into competing with each other and forgot the reason for why they were there in the first place. In the end, Tang Feng made everyone calm down and used his authority to ask a personal question. "How strong is I, your godfather?", Lin Feng replied that his values are the highest he has ever seen in his life. Satisfied with his godson''s filial piety, Tang Feng then asked whether there are something peculiar about the stuff he can see. Lin Feng just told them most of what he knows. First, there are 4 different attributes, 13 different skills, and 18 different proficiencies. He then told them that only martial artists have the four attributes, thirteen skills, and eighteen proficiencies. Ordinary people can only have six of the skills and the eighteen proficiencies. What Lin Feng didn''t tell them that he has 3 other skills martial artists don''t have, so the little guy kept this secret from them for they don''t need to know what they can''t understand. Soon, the town being only as big as a town and with people being people, everybody soon learned about Lin Feng''s weird quirk of seeing other people''s cultivation. At first, they thought Lin Feng was crazy, then, as the boy grew up, they concluded... He is really crazy indeed. Chapter 5 part 1. The invincible Ouyang Feng
The fight between Nan and Ouyang soon developed in a situation unfavorable for Ouyang. His stick was blown away and he barely held on by grabbing Nan''s saber. The two fought for control of the saber and Nan, with his better handling, soon pushed Ouyang to the ground, who also supported himself by using his kneecap to stabilise his ground. Nan''s saber drew closer to Ouyang''s neck, and when it seems all hope is lost for Ouyang, his body suddenly became bloated and with amazing force that seemed to came out from nowhere, Ouyang slammed himself into Nan. "Amazing! This Ouyang''s Toad skill is not bad." Lin Feng shouted jubilantly. He then told Ouyang''s skill set to his friends... "Onehanded of 300, polearm of 250, crossbow of 250, riding of 250, athletics of 275 and smithing of 250. This Ouyang is too perverted!" The retainers themselves sweatdropped when they heard what Lin Feng had to say about Ouyang. In their minds, they were thinking... (Not as perverted as you!!) "You have to believe me, this guy is too good. Godfather can''t even compare to him. He stacks 3 final perks of palm, fist, and toad skill on onehanded. He only has one final perk on staff but when combined with his riding skills final perk, it allows him to mount his venomous snake on the tip of his staff, like he''s not even riding the snake, what the fudge is that suppose to do with riding. His crossbow final perk is weird, since he turns his finger into a crossbow bolt, meaning he can only use it at melee range, but it can paralyze his opponents once it hits specific points on the human body, holy shiet! His athletics is not bad, with two final perks on qinggong and qi cultivation. Bloody hell! He even has a smithing final perk that, you wont believe it!, he turned his body, into a legendary weapon. Who can beat him? Hack him! He should be hacked, to the death!"This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Lin Feng turned hysterical while describing how much of a cheat Ouyang is. If the retainers don''t know any better, they''d think Lin Feng sounds like a kid whose playmate just cheated on him during a game. But then, they remembered, Lin Feng is just a kid. Once enough time began to sink in, what Lin Feng said reverberated inside their minds. Godfather. Cant compare. Just these words alone made the atmosphere around the group more solemn. You have to know, Tang Feng was currently the strongest in the group. If Tang Feng is like a lean soldier without excess weight, Lin Feng is like a short, heavily muscled bodybuilder with too much weight dragging him down. In other words, Lin Feng is still too young, and besides, his perks are''nt even complete yet. He is still in the honeymoon stage of growth. As for Tang Feng teaching his skills (perks) to Lin Feng? Dreaming! Tang Feng is an imperial graduate, and it won''t bode well for himself and Lin Feng, while also implicating their families. Once the court hears rumors of somebody giving and teaching imperial arts like roadside cabbage, it won''t bode well for the offending party. The Jinyiwei is not some watchdog who only knows how to bark, you know. Han dynasty didn''t survive for nothing these last thousand years or so, just to be ousted by some Oakie from Muskogee with little access to a few incomplete facets of imperial knowledge. Chapter 5 part 2. Invincible Ouyang Feng Ouyang Feng pushed Nan out of the stage with his Toad style. Another martial artist then replaced the saber user, but he still was''nt able to do much against the Feng surnamed Ouyang on the stage. One after another, more and more martial artists and heroes of jianghu went to the stage in order to gain fame for themselves, but each of them were soon weighed, each of them were soon measured, and all of them have been found wanting. Finally, Ouyang Feng retired himself from the stage and he made a disciple from his White Camel Mountain Manor take his place in accepting challenges. He made his way to a group of imperial scholars. In the front of the group, a young man that looks just like Ouyang Feng is seen talking to another man. It seems he is not simple, for it looks like the whole group revolves around him. Meanwhile, on the restaurant where the Tang retainer group is hanging out. "I noticed this just now, this Ouyang''s medicine skill is also not to be trifled with. Master of toxicology, Hundred poisons immunity, and bachelor of science in toxic behavioral psychology, these final perks look and sound scary indeed." Lin Feng mumbled to his himself. He fell into deep thought and he was''nt able to see retainer He, the one he sent away to do an errand a few chapters ago, has returned. Retainer He climbed upstairs to their floor level and the rest of group invited him to come and sit once they recognized the old dog''s pockmarked face. It turns out he was looking for them and lucky for him, he saw the group on the veranda of a restaurant.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He especially went to sit next to the currently autistic Lin Feng. After pushing the nearby rowdy brother to open the space for himself, he then called Lin''s attention. "Boss, it''s all good, I''ve contracted a gang to do what needs to be done. Tonight, the Bloodhound gang will beat that guard so bad his mother won''t even recognize him." "Grab the snake''s dragon scale seven inches from it''s head... What? Oh, your back, yes, good job. Eat and drink what you want, it''s all on me tonight. Anyways, while you were roaming around, have you heard anything of note?" "Thanks boss! There''s this rumour spreading across jianghu, boss, of a peerless technique. It is said that this martial art when practiced, will make a martial artist the greatest of their generation." Retainer He said with fervor, his knuckles rapping on the table excitedly, as if he can''t wait to find the manual. "Hmmm, peerless technique? Where is it?" "That I can''t answer, my lord. But I can tell you this, they called it the Nine Yin Manual." "Interesting!" Lin Feng said upon hearing retainer He''s words. It turns out he was eyeing a few people in the restaurant. These people being a boy, a girl, dining with an old beggar and in the rostrum, a pitiful, blind lady playing the guqin. The boy, he saw, had some ordinary perk called, nine yin classics for idiots. The girl has a smithing ordinary perk called, nine yin editor, the old beggar has no nine yin perk, but he seems to be of comparable strength to the Ouyang on the martial arts stage. Finally, the blind, pitiful looking, sexy lady playing the guqin has nine yin white bone claw as final perk. "Well, well, well! It seems the night won''t be boring boys!" Meanwhile, on the entrance of the restaurant, a group of young scholars appeared, and they are lead by the heroic scholar and next to him, was the master who just left the martial stage after slaughtering many famous names of the jianghu. Lin Feng was right, the night certainly won''t be boring. Not a chapter, just some info about the power system Ordinary men ranks- ordinary men''s ranks are determined across their combat proficiencies. (Or particular scholar skills, for civil officials and skilled professionals) Unranked fighter Waste- 0 Trash- 10 Child- 20 Flowery fists embroidery legs- 30 3rd class fighters- at the very least, 3rd class fighters should have at least 1 specialty combat proficiency that corresponds to their rank but their other combat proficiency should not be 2 ranks lower. For example, a small man working as a hunter needs at least 40 on archery, but his other combat proficiencies need to be 20 or higher as well Small man- 40 Good man- 50 Big man- 70 Strongman- 80 Greatman- 100 2nd class fighters- all combat proficiencies should be more than 100, but they also need 2 specialty combat proficiencies that correspond to their rank. For example, a big soldier working as shield infantry not only need to have 150 on onehanded and athletics, but should also have 100 on other combat proficiencies, in order to be well rounded Small soldier- 120 Big soldier- 150 Strong soldier- 170 Great soldier- 200 1st class fighters- they need 3 specialty combat proficiencies that correspond to their rank. 200 for all combat proficiencies is only required for old guards, but young guards and middle guards need to work on having 150-170 to all combat proficiencies at the very least. For example, an old guard working for Bu surnamed Lu''s red hare cavalry need to have 290 on riding, polearms and archery Young guard- 230You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Middle guard- 260 Old guard- 290 Expert fighters- In order to be considered as experts, deathguards need to master 1 proficiency to 330, have 3 other combat proficiencies that must be above 300, and his other combat proficiencies must also not be lower than 230. Usually, two of these is riding and athletics, and the other two could be for mastery of one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. Finally, we also have the bravest of the brave, soldier kings. First, they need to have a general with a perk that pushes them past the 330 limit in one or more proficiencies, then, they need to have more than 300 in their other combat proficiencies Deathguard- 330 Soldier king- 361 (330 is the proficiency cap limit for non martial artists, but perks from cultivators and martial artists can increase soldier proficiency cap, at most perk/s can only give up to +31 level increase for each proficiency) Bonus: absolute strongest ordinary troop type, the soldier emperor. With 361 in every proficiency, including the non combat ones, these talented supermen can do anything, from soldiering, to officiating and they are the perfect example of pen and sword, in accord. Martial artist''s / Cultivator''s ranks- every 25 levels in a proficiency allows martial artists to learn a perk, and that''s why ranks are separated every 25 levels. At level 250, final perks start to replace ordinary perks. Final perks are perks with amazing effects that increase based on the number of levels on their corresponding proficiencies, making them much, much stronger than ordinary perks once cultivators begin to have high proficiency levels. 3rd class martial fighter- these martial artists are at character level 1-10 range Qi condensation- 25 Foundation establishment- 50 Core formation- 75 Nascent soul- 100 2nd class martial fighter- these martial artists are at character level 11-18 range Spirit severing- 125 Dao seeking- 150 Fairy- 175 1st class martial fighter- these martial artists are at character level 19-26 range Ancestor- 200 Ancient- 225 Primordial- 250 Martial experts- unlike expert fighters, martial experts are separated further into threat levels D rank expert- 275 to 300 (character level 27-30 range) C rank expert- 325 to 375 (so on and so forth, divide proficiency by 10 to get character level range) B rank expert- 400 to 475 A rank expert- 500 to 600 S rank expert- 625 to 675 (character level 61-62 range) The maximum level for proficiency is 699, where points cannot be added to a proficiency anymore. However, one can go over 699 by using the proficiency very, very often, and for a long time, until finally the heavens will automatically increase the proficiency by 1 during a tribulation, where the expert is in the most desperate of times. In case this happens, the expert will have one more perk than his/her contemporaries in this particular proficiency(remember the one perk every 25 proficiency levels rule?), potentially making this expert a peerless tianjiao of the era. Peerless tianjiao character level bumps to 2119 after experiencing the proficiency increase. It also gives them the corresponding increases per level. Their every attribute cannot go over 63 points, but only the Strength attribute will not give more stats if they put points on it after 63. Agility, Intelligence and Charisma will still give proficiency points, extraordinary skill points, and increase the disciple limit for every attribute point put into them. In addition to MC, only peerless tianjiao can train armies of soldier emperors to maintain their rule. Chapter 6. The calm before the storm "Master Ouyang and esteemed guests, welcome to my humble establishment!" A portly middle aged man with a ratlike face greeted the two Ouyangs and the group of scholars who just entered the restaurant. "Ah! You''ve grown fat, xiao Jun! I see business is flourishing nowadays." "Yes, yes! That''s because I''ve received much help from Master Ouyang when I was starting out." "Humble as always, Uncle Jun! What you have right now is because of your ability." "I dare not accept lord lord''s praise. This humble person is happy to serve the Great Han Empire." "Haha! If only every Han is as loyal as Uncle Jun, Da Han will not be besetted upon by these greedy wolves from all sides." "Oh my! How ungracious of me, please forgive this humble servant for this poor show of hospitality. Come, come! Let us head upstairs and get you all seated. Xiao-er, prepare the best room for our esteemed guests." The group is currently climbing to the supposedly best room of the restaurant, and when they passed the floor where Lin Feng and his company are causing a ruckus... "Tell this to the brother beside you. We''ll be doing something tonight." Lin Feng whispered to He, who also did the same to the others. He also told the young and energetic retainer Lei beside him... "By the way, we need to bring food to old Jiao and old Cao. See to it that you should secure the food as soon as possible." After doing that, the retainer left, then Lin Feng made the eloquent retainer Huo shout... "EAT AND BE MERRY TONIGHT MY FRIENDS! XIAO-ER, GIVE EVERY TABLE IN THIS FLOOR A JAR OF YOUR BEST WINE." When retainer Huo shouted, Ouyang''s group was currently passing the second floor, and there were even some scholars who were so absorbed in conversation and herd mentality that they indirectly blocked retainer Lei''s passage to the ground floor. Upon hearing retainer Hou''s shout, the imperial scholars raised their eyebrows and some even laughed. "Hahaha! Lower class people are too funny indeed. Do they even have the money to pay for it?" Hahaha! Good one, Mr. Gao, you rightfully deserved your place among Jingbei''s 12 famous flowerpickers." "Hahaha! I want to see their stupid faces once they find out they can''t even pay." "Look, this guy wears the same clothes as the man who shouted. They should belong to the same group. Let us humour ourselves with his presence."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The scholars who were just unconsciously blocking retainer Lei on the stairs, then stood their ground and this time, with malicious intent, are now consciously stopping retainer Lei''s actions. Before, they ignored retainer Lei, so Lei was able to avoid them until he reached the middle of the group, and thus, because of that, retainer Lei is now surrounded by the imperial scholars in the stairs, unable to move forward or backward. You have to know, retainer Lei is the youngest among the retainers in the group, about eighteen years of age. And you also have to know, in order to be a Tang family retainer, one must be not simple. And retainer Lei, as the youngest retainer accompanying Tang Feng''s group, is certainly not simple. Beneath his youthful looking exterior is a confident and prideful heart. From where does his pride and confidence came from? He is the first of Lin Feng''s many followers and among the firsts of his life, being the first there has its own benefits. He has known Lin Feng ever since he was 11 years old. But he only started following Lin when he was 12 and Lin was 2. In the 6 years he stood behind Lin Feng, he has been the most zealous of Lin Feng''s fanatics. He trains under Lin Feng everyday, and the current him now, is the prototype of what shall be known as the best troop under heaven someday. While the other people still has some fear or prejudice about Lin Feng, Lei has already trusted Lin Feng with all his heart. Whenever Lin Feng says to go East, he would never dare go West, or that''s what would others say about him. That singleminded belief in Lin Feng has brought him to where he is currently now. Don''t be shocked for what I''m about to tell you, but all the retainers brought by Tang Feng, are at least middle guards. Among them, only Sergeant Hao can barely be considered an old guard, but he is a 50 year old veteran who has dedicated most of his life to the army, at his peak, he almost became a deathguard, but he was crushed by a soldier king and his condition deteriorated as the heart demon prevented him from becoming a deathguard ever again. Enough of Sergeant Hao, lets talk about the other retainers. Amongst the retainers, the two old men left in the hotel reached middle guard without Lin Feng''s help. But the 7 other retainers with Lin Feng now are all his confidants. These men are the ones he trained to middle guard rank in his 8 years of living. And not just ordinary middle guard rank, they are all trained to middle guard level in every proficiency there is, and they can be considered the alpha versions of the future powerhouse army under Lin Feng. Let us return to retainer Lei, who by the way, is currently stuck in traffic on the stairway of the restaurant, surrounded by a group of scholars. "Well, well, well! What do we have here? A country bumpkin blocking this lord''s official business." "I know! I know! Ask him the five questions!" "Three questions." "Yes, the three questions. Ask him the three questions!" "Stop! Who would cross these stairs of death must answer me these questions three, ''ere the other side he see!" "Hahahaha! Look at this dude!" "Ask away, stairkeeper. I may be many things, but never afraid." "What, is your name?" "Why are you asking my name? What use could you have for the name of one such as I? What''s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, does it not?" "Hey, this dude is pretty good." "Yeah, someone else would tell his name straightaway and there''s no fun in that!" "What, is your quest?" "I seek, something of value that will soon be forsaken, but I fear that I, may soon forsook this quest, should this thing of value, that I have sought for, will not be taken." "Hmmm, passable." "Yes, a little bit less and you would have failed." "Third question, hurry, hurry, this lord have''nt got much time now." "What, is the qi luck probability of seeing a purple cloud from the east?" "For whom are we calculating, an African chieftain or European emperor?" "What?" "You know that? What about you?" "Me? I, I did''nt know that!" The scholars were so dumbfounded by retainer Lei''s answer that they just left him be, as they pondered the intricacies of qi luck probability and its possible connection to the differences of African chieftains and European emperors. Chapter 7. Rumble in the Restaurant "HAHAHA! Ganbei! Ganbeii! "Long live Da Han!" "Da jia hao! Da jia hao!!" "What are you looking at, punk!" The battle started like a flash fire. At first, people in the second floor of Jun''s restaurant were making merry and then, as if somebody threw a live torch inside a firecracker factory, the whole conflict suddenly exploded like dynamite. Brother against brother, child against adult, man against woman, younger against elder, many against few, it was utter chaos. "Haha! Beautiful lady, stay with this laozi tonight! "Hateful!" "Don''t run, little beauty! Uncle has lots of sweet candy stored up just for you..." "Oh my, what shall I do? An old pervert has taken fancy on me, Guo Jing!! Help!!" "Stay away from Miss Huang, old man!!" "Stinky boy! Laozi has been fighting while you was still drinking your mother''s milk, your three legged cat kung fu won''t beat I, your father!" "Almsgiver, what has the beggar clan ever done to you in order to incur this much hatred?" "Old man, go home and retire, your time in jianghu, is OVER!!" "Help!" Inside the restaurant, you can see the vile looking retainer He harassing the guqin player, and a tall lanky retainer is helping him against the woman. The old and withered-like-a-dead-tree retainer Huang is chasing a teenage girl, while the teenage boy is being manhandled by the freckled face retainer Huo. Fighting the old beggar is a grizzled looking retainer with serious facial wounds. The retainer has a destroyed left eye, most of his right ear and several of his teeth was missing. Before the fight started, the retainer already took out his false teeth, removed his wig and eye patch, and he looks terrifying indeed. Lin Feng is helping the scary retainer against the old beggar. He is responsible for nullifying all the beggar''s moves with amazing foresight while the retainer attacks the old beggar with wild abandon. On the reserve team is the young retainer Lei and beside him is a limping retainer with a bad leg, they are responsible for bullying the other people in the floor to prevent these people from having ideas, while also guarding the stairs to prevent busybodies from intervening in their good fortune. "What''s all that ruckus?" "I don''t know, it sounds like its coming from downstairs." "Let''s go and see what''s happening down there." "Haha, It should be a small matter, I''ll just stay here with my uncle." 7 of the Imperial scholar group decided to go downstairs to check what''s the matter, these 7 being the most adventurous, or just those bored enough, I guess. A few moments later... "Look, it''s that silly person we met on the stairs a few minutes ago!" "They are fighting! How dare they not respect the rules inside the city!" "Not only are they fighting. Look at who are they fighting with. Women, children and elderly!" "I knew it, I knew it! That guy was a troublemaker from the start!" The imperial scholars were fuming with righteous fervor, thus they move forward, wanting to be the hero who saves the beauty. Their advanced was soon stopped as they were awed by the sharpness of the limping retainer.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. "Come at me, ye bastards!" "Whaa!! He looks strong!" "Hmmph, how strong can someone who only knows how to bully the soft while fearing the hard be! Brothers, charge!" "I don''t believe these two can stop us all!" "Yes, two fists can''t beat four hands, attack!" The retainers Lei and Li Cha soon met the attack of the Imperial scholars head on. Li Cha was very ruthless as he kept using very sharp moves, trading injury for injury. Lei was not as reckless as him, and he''s a bit soft, but he would never waver in preventing the Imperial scholars whenever it looked they were gonna break through their chokepoint. One of the scholars soon had enough of it so he decided to call other scholars upstairs to help. Meanwhile, as the fight inside the room began to get longer, more and more people were considering whether to help the pitiful persons being assaulted. Lin Feng saw that the situation is becoming bad for them, so he decided to just go full auto. "Weilian, leave me to deal with this old man, go help the others." "No, boss! We''ll go take down the woman first." "This old beggar greatly admires benefactor. At this age, with this skill, jianghu will soon welcome the rise of another peerless evildoer. But, why are you doing this? Do you really intend to force your will upon us?" "Old man, it''s not like I want to force you, but you are the ones forcing us instead! Everyone, hurry up, double time!!" Lin Feng relieving Weilian from the old beggar was the straw that broke the camel''s back. While Mei Chaofeng was resisting He and the tall, lanky retainer by lashing out with her deadly white claws that just scream I-want-to-yin-you, the just-relieved Weilian swooped in and knocked her unconscious with a whiplike kick to the head. It hit so hard that the other people witnessing the event was very worried, obviously wanting to help the poor girl, but also scared since the scary guy was so ruthless. "(Wahh, such a beautiful girl, but he hit her so ruthlessly.)" "(He''s so ugly and yet he does not hesitate to hit a good looking woman, surely no girl will marry him in the future.)" "Don''t dally anymore! It''s your guy''s fault that boss was angry." "Sorry, the lady was just too beautiful and me thinks boss would''nt like it if she gets injured." "What he said, brother Weilian!" "Fools! The boss is too smart to fall for her beauty. Besides, he''s still too young for that. Do''nt hesitate now and help the boss capture the others. At all costs." Retainer He and the tall lanky retainer cut off Huang Rong''s retreat, and the three of them soon tied up the girl. Huo strangled Guo Jing and has already started tying the boy up. The stairs were soon overrun by Imperial scholars as the man who sent to inform the others brought another 4 people including himself, but thankfully, Weilian arrived just in time to barely stop the Imperial scholar''s advance. The old beggar tried many tricks in front of Lin Feng, but he solved them all, albeit at a cost, making Lin Feng with his small body more tired than usual. In the end, once the entire group tied up all the targets and they were pushing back the Imperial scholars to the stairs, the surnamed Ouyang''s Feng, Ke along with the remaining scholars also came down since the conflict does''nt seem to stop but just gets louder and louder, even with 10 Imperial scholars sent to defuse the situation. Not only that, passersby gathered in droves in the groundfloor, and some of them seemed to be from White Camel Mountain manor. Finally, Lin Feng relaxed his nerves when he saw the hostages were captured, allowing Hong Qigong to finally have an opening, which the old beggar used to overturn a table in order to make it as an improvised shield. "You leave me no choice!" The old beggar said as he grabbed from one of his pockets some unspeakable things a normal person would''nt dare touch with his hand and threw these outside the balcony, which splattered on a wall and a few unlucky passerby. Unbelievably, the splatter had a few recurring patterns and it would have been an amazing work of art, if it were''nt for some people shouting... "The f is this?" "Such a foul smell!" "Pwehh, it''s bitter!" "What the hell you doing?" "What? Not my fault it fell into my mouth while I was yawning." In the restaurant, when Lin Feng saw the hateful Hong Qigong throw something outside, he cursed and kept suppressing Hong Qigong to stay beneath his turtle shell with his newly made technique, restaurant of flying chopsticks. He kept the pressure because the old beggar still seems intent on continuing to throw the things-which-will-not-be-named outside the restaurant. "(Nima, after all this work, you just have to relax at this time, stupid brain of mine!)" "Boss, its the Ouyang Feng, we saw him upstairs with the Imperial scholars." "(Too many problems, dammit!)" Thinking about the pickle he is stucked with, Lin Feng''s muddled eyes soon shined with an eery light after he had an idea sprout inside his consciousness. "Quick! Drive away all the people still here!" Meanwhile, in the outside, as soon as some scruffy beggars saw the splatters, they then did something like move a sign there, or throw some stones there, so on and so forth. Soon, beggars all over the place began to scurry and gather, making it look like there was gonna be a feeding program somewhere. Chapter 8. Lin Fengs plan "Li cha, Weilian and Huang, help me take care of this old beggar!" "Nooo!" "Lei! Where is Lei?" "Boss!" "I want you to leave and tell old Jiao and old Cao to bring our stuff from the hotel. We can''t stay in this city anymore. Bring the purebloods here, we need to escape as soon as possible. Have the two of them wait for us with the baggage and the other horses outside the city." "No! Boss, I''ll go ahead." "Saya, you and the others barricade the stairway." The tall and lanky retainer replied... "No, boss." With 3 people bearing down on the old man, he was soon trapped with nowhere else to go even though he was better than them. Li Cha was the tank attacking recklessly, Weilian was the damage dealer hounding the old man''s flanks and Huang was the support aiming to hold the old man down while his new force still has''nt been brewed. And held him down, Huang did, thus prompting Li Cha and Weilian to also support the old Huang in holding down the beggar. They wrestled the old man and used the strength they use to suck milk in order to be able to barely hold the old beggar down long enough for Lin Feng to deal the coup de grace. Smashing a big winejar to the old beggar''s head, Lin Feng finally put an end to the old beggar''s rampage. "Woah! That was intense!" Lin Feng took a look around the place and saw that Saya, He, and Huo are barely holding the stairway, which by the way, is now barricaded after pushing out all the unrelated passerby out of the way. "Boss, its Ouyang Feng, I think he''s gonna make a move." "Wew, its so tiring already. Saya, get a chair for me to stand on!" "Here, boss!" Lin Feng, while he standing on the chair, was barely able to support the defense line with his throwing skills against the renewed, combined offense of the people from the upper floor and lower floor. If it were''nt for the timely help of Weilian and Li Cha, these two who plug the defensive gaps, they surely won''t be able to stop the attack of 15 2nd class martial fighter, 3 1st class martial fighter and 1 D rank martial expert. Thankfully, Huang soon tied up the beggar Huang Qigong like a BDSM chicken, thus freeing up everybody on the team to focus down on holding the floor. "Not dissapointing the boss!" "Good! Now we just need to wait for Lei." Meanwhile, Lei, who jumped into the alleys of Garkash, saw the beggars marching in groups to the restaurant. With renewed energy, he ran to the Millenium Hotel, cursing himself for having two legs instead of four. He forcibly entered the lobby and ran straight to the rooms and found the retainers old Jiao and old Cao playing chess. The exhausted Lei then spoke... "Hurry, you two, pack up, the things, and leave, the city, with the horses. Boss Lin, has done something, and he needs, to get out, of the city, quickly. We need you, to stand by, the western gate, to open the way, out of the city, just in case, things go awry."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Damn it! That kid really did it!" "But what about general Tang Feng and Sergeant Hao?" "We''ll find, a way to contact them, but first, we need to leave, fast!! I''m going ahead with the purebloods." In the restaurant, when Lei left and just after the retainer''s repelled the attack, Lin soon told the group his plans. "Once they find out that head on attack isn''t possible, they''ll try more cunning methods. Now, I want to tell you the rest of the plan. First, Li Cha, I want you to leave the area to carry Mei Chaofeng with you. Remember the warehouse we passed by? You need to wait there for Lei and the horses." "After Li Cha, Huang will bring the boy Guo Jing there. After Huang, Huo will go with the Huang girl." "Li Cha, you go now. We''ll cover up your escape. Before they yin us, we need to keep them on their toes first. Everyone, let''s take the top floor, it would be easier to defend and more conducive to my other plans." On the top floor, Ouyang Feng is shocked by the difficulty in taking down the second floor. He is looking at a chopstick that just stopped him on his tracks. "These bandits are not simple." "What do you think, Uncle?" "Attacking directly is not good. We need to make an uproar in the east and strike from the west." "Not good!! They are coming at us." "The audacity! We can''t do much in attacking them, but not respecting our defensive prowess of us Imperial scholars is too insulting. Let''s show these turtles that we Imperial scholars are not to be trifled with." The Imperial scholars stop the charge of Huang and Huo easily. After failing to enter the defense of the army, Huang retreated to the second floor. "Only two?! These lowlifes look down on our Imperial scholars so much! Attack them, show them hell hath no fury than the scholar scorned." The entrenched Imperial scholars renewed their attack by sending their entire force from the upper floor to strike the retreating Tang retainers to the lower floor. The people on the bottom floor, seeing the top floor attacking the second floor, also sent their troops to redress their grievances against the people on the second floor. Lin Feng was joyful once he saw the enemy was lured in, hook, line and sinker. He then led a fierce ambush on the scholars rushing on the stairway. Spearheaded by the scary Weilian carrying the unconscious Hong Qigong as a shield, the retainers easily split the opposing team of scholars into two. thus, allowing the group to wipe out and throw the imperial scholars one by one to the ground floor below. After sending all the scholars off with a quick trip to the ground floor, Huo was sent to bluff the ground floor into thinking the second floor''s defenses is still complete while Huang left with Guo Jing in tow. The rest of the team forcibly attacked the almost vacant defenses on the top floor and they met the initial outburst of the 1 D rank martial expert supported by 2 1st class martial fighters with the poor body of the unsconscious Hong Qigong. Lin Feng then used his amazing talent in disrupting the tempo of the enemy, and the supposedly three versus three fight turned into three separate instances of one versus three. Needless to say, the two Ouyangs plus one Imperial scholar were cornered and forced to leave the third floor by jumping to the ground floor, one by one. Seeing that the third floor is as good as captured, the strained Huo guarding the second floor relaxed and finally took the unconscious Huang Rong out of the restaurant. Huo found that the restaurant has many beggars surrounding it already, but he saw Lei is leading a pureblood horse and next to him is Li Cha arguing with the group of beggars. Not one to miss an opportunity, Huo jumped out of the restaurant into the nearby establishment''s shed, and the opposite of this establishment is the block where the warehouse is located. He then signaled something to Lei, who saw him, thus he promptly nudged Li Cha to stop. Lei adjusted his horse to wait for Huo to intersect with them out of the alley, then he put a cloak on the unconscious Huang Rong and the group then left to escort Huang Rong to the warehouse. In the third floor, the three people are now at their wits end. They saw that too many beggars have surrounded the restaurant and that they have no place to escape from. Not only that, the Imperial scholars and the people from White Camel Mountain manor are now recuperating themselves in the groundfloor and based on the time, the cityguard could be arriving any moment. Just when it seems all hope is lost, the huge group of beggars began to get agitated. Chapter 9. Fight and Escape The fight on the third floor started with the Ouyang side, they used the very despicable technique, dropping rocks(or other stuff if there are no rocks to be had) on Ah Qin from high ground. Thankfully, the Lin side responded by sacrificing the unconscious Hong Qigong to disable the very treacherous technique with minimal cost. The older Feng finally saw the younger Feng, and he greatly admired the ease at which the boy manages everything. He praised the boy, and Lin Feng, not wiling to be ungrateful, also responded. "You seem a decent young child, I hate to kill you." "You seem a decent old man, I hate to die." After the pre-battle speech that did''nt include shouting single words or adding exclamation marks for emphasis, the two sides started the fight like normal civilized men lining up for soy sauce on the nearby store, which is rather uncommon for the current era and culture. "You are using stable mountain formation against us, eh?" The knowledgeable Ouyang Ke spoke, upon seeing the retainer team adopt a formation that uses the tables and chairs scattered around the room to great effect. No, this is not a secret imperial perk, its just an ordinary advanced military formation of the Han army. "We thought it fitting, considering the uneven terrain." Lin Feng replied nonchalantly, not taking Ouyang Ke''s measly 200 tactics into account. "Naturally, you must expect us to attack with mountain breaking tactics." The Imperial scholar surnamed Gao replied. He is the other scholar to have reached 1st grade martial fighter status among their group of Imperial scholars. They then assaulted the supposedly weakest link of the formation, which, by the way, is defended by Lin Feng unsurprisingly. So their assault just barely made a dent in the retainer team''s formation. "Naturally. But we find that flying fox snowy mountain cancels out mountain breaking tactics, don¡¯t you?" Lin Feng explained, for with his 360 levels in tactics and the retainer''s 260 levels, they can easily change formations on the fly. "Unless the enemy has studied his roaring avalanche. Which I have!" Ouyang Ke broke the retainer team''s entrenched position with his 200 levels in both scouting and tactics, moving into their most vulnerable spot and forcing the retainer team to temporarily retreat. "You are wonderful!" Lin Feng praised Ouyang Ke sarcastically, he admired the amazing growth rate of the person who just went from 200 to 201 in tactics. "Thank you. We¡¯ve worked hard to become so." Ouyang Ke jubilantly replied, not forgetting to indirectly praise everybody on his team too, a good bootlicker indeed. Still, Ouyang Ke''s breaking the entrenched position of the retainer team was just like forcing themselves to go burn directly in the fire instead of staying in the frying pan, for the retainer team has more comprehensive proficiency levels compared to them. Lin Feng and company easily pushed back the pair of Imperial scholars and Ouyang Feng to the stairs. "We admit that you are better than we are." "Then why are you smiling?" "Because we know something you don¡¯t know." "And what is that?" "We are not ordinary fighters." The two teams traded words and when the scholar group had the stairway directly behind them, they gained a burst of strength and used all their hidden strength (perks) to overpower the opposition. Ouyang Feng was very exceptional compared to the two and Lin Feng can''t help but cry out loudly. "You are AMAZING! "I ought to be, after 40 years." Ouyang Feng smugly said as he kept the pressure up, forcibly taking the retainer team''s ground, gaining back rapidly as much as they''ve lost speedily back then. "There¡¯s something I ought to tell you." Lin Feng took the time to barely say a few words as he and the team retreated from the crazy assault of the Imperial group. Ouyang Feng was very swollen as he was finally able to release all his pent up aggression and took the liberty in making Lin Feng say his last words. "Tell us." "I, am not an ordinary fighter either." Right after Lin Feng said that, he immediately activated the amazing bonus all martial artist have, this being the grandmaster bonus that weakens the enemy stats depending on the user''s specialty and agility. Lin Feng does not usually activate this for it makes him very arrogant and condescending, always belittling the capacity of everybody around him. Not to mention the very harsh side effects he will experience after these periods of "za warudo". Usually, Lin Feng has only one mode always activated permanently, this being "suta purachina", which fills his body with strength and increases his ability to preserve his life, and its only side effect is that it increases metabolism thus making him just hungry more often.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. With both "za warudo" and "suta purachina" combined, Lin Feng easily stopped the Imperial scholars and Ouyang Feng from further pushing them back, even going so far as to chase them all over the place. The -120 debuff to all proficiencies to enemies with less than 340 proficiency levels is very devastating to the other side and they were like mantises in front of a chariot. You have to know, Ouyang Feng with the highest proficiencies has only reached level 300 proficiency at most. The imperial scholar surnamed Gao was soon cornered and in desperation he fled out of the room without hesitation. "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." Seeing Lin Feng use za warudo with great effect, Ouyang Feng was greatly demoralized as he asked the question after he failed to stop Lin Feng repeatedly. He knows his limit and was only able to do it for only three proficiencies (only his 3 proficiencies that are above 260) and yet, still at a lesser extent compared to Lin Feng(the higher agility, the bigger the reduction). (He can''t even reduce the proficiencies of Lin Feng''s subordinates, for he did''nt know all of them have reached 260 in all proficiencies, and his debuff effect was only to those below 260, lucky bastards!!). He was so depressed that he ignored how Lin Feng just forced his son Ouyang Ke out of the room, making him roll on the stairs. "I must know." "Get used to disappointment." After dealing with Ouyang Ke, the three cornered Ouyang Feng, and Lin Feng mocked Ouyang Feng''s curiosity for the last time as they easily threw him out of the balcony. After Lin Feng threw out Ouyang Feng, he almost fell down right after after releasing za warudo. Thankfully, Weilian caught him before he can fall to the ground. For other martial artists, they can permanently activate za warudo and suta purachina at all times, but its not the same for Lin Feng. His attributes are too high, his proficiencies are too many, his skill is too burdensome, his mind is too underdeveloped and his body is too weak, thus he only has enough spirit to activate za warudo for a short time. We return to Ouyang Feng, who after being thrown from the third floor, was still able to right himself up midflight and landed upright on the street without his legs'' shaking. You have to admit, being a martial expert has its perks. He then entered the restaurant again and checked on everybody, especially Ouyang Ke. He find out that his son(ahem, nephew) was okay and he was relieved after knowing that. He was rather stoked after hearing his poor boy rolled on the stairs but also rather proud that he was still okay after that ordeal (hehe, tiger father begets no dog son indeed). Ouyang Feng remembered his fight with Lin Feng just now. Three versus three, he, with two Imperial scholar allies, one of which is his son (ahem, nephew), Ouyang Ke, against the child Lin Feng with two retainers. He was rather fearful of the child prodigy and he stopped his white camel mountain manor disciples and the imperial scholars from climbing up and getting into further trouble. After a brief respite, everybody in the restaurant soon noticed the unrest outside. The beggar sect is getting restless due to not receiving further news from Hong Qigong and they want to know more about the old beggar expert''s situation. Lin Feng was still grimacing and he now wonders how to get out of this sticky situation but then he heard the ruckus outside. He asked his men about it, after learning it was the beggar clan, he laughed wholeheartedly. He finally had some ingredients to cook with. He asked Weilian to undress the unconscious Hong Qigong and commanded Saya to wear the clothes. After wearing the beggar''s clothes, he made Saya appear in the balcony, bounded with ropes and struggling, like asking for help. After the beggars noticed Saya in Hong Qigong''s clothes, they got even more agitated, some even rushing to enter the restaurant but some high ranking beggars stopped them. The people inside the restaurant noticed the beggars began to get more unruly and they soon saw that the beggars are gathering their forces and were soon ready to attack. The imperial scholars were angry when they knew about it, for it seems even these beggars look down upon them. Ouyang Ke, Ouyang Feng and some other people, including from the beggars, was suspicious about the situation as a whole, but since Ouyang''s group don''t know what''s happening in the top floor, nor the beggars knew about the situation inside the restaurant, everyone soon went back into furthering their own agenda. The beggars want their martial expert, the scholars and white camel mountain manor want revenge and are angry after suffering various defeats, thus they have no scruples in further provoking the beggar clan. After some time, the beggars besieged the restaurant and the Ouyang''s inside, further angering these noble sons and disciples. They responded very aggressively to the beggar clan''s tentative attack, thus making the beggars even more crazy. Ouyang Feng and his son (ahem, nephew) was doubtful, but they believed the situation would still become clear after the arrival of the cityguard. So they just stood put, and held their own against the beggars, not minding the people on the top floor, thinking they are just rabbits in the urn, or fishes in the net, and they, the righteous side, would soon get the last laugh in the end. If you want to catch a rabbit or fish to cook them in the urn, you always have to prepare just in case the fish breaks the net or the rabbit topples the urn. Everybody thought the beggars were so ruthless in surrounding the place, not even sparing dogs or chickens to enter or leave, but they did not know how unscientific Lin Feng is. In order to surround the restaurant, a high engineering proficiency is needed by the offending side. Not only that, the patrolling scouts need to have high scouting proficiency, and a high steward and leadership proficiency is needed in commanding the multitude of beggars. Lin Feng, a connoiseur of fine cocktails, blended everything that can be taken into account and turned it into a mix of his own solution, unravelling the tight guard of the beggar clan''s army like a Lothario undressing his prize for the night. With a heavy heart, Lin Feng once again activated za warudo and the three of them soon went out of the restaurant, leaving the unconscious Hong Qigong under one of the tables, tucked and covered snugly with his clothes as blankets. Lin Feng and group easily escaped from the siege. The beggars may have good scouting proficiency, but Lin Feng used his own scouting proficiency to reverse engineer the layout of their posts, and everybody in the team used their own roguery proficiency to travel silently without being discovered. The two retainers Saya and Weilian also have to imitate all of Lin Feng''s actions to the best of their ability, for it is able to give them some slight effect not unlike that of za warudo and would allow their escape to go more smoothly, tho at the cost of Lin Feng overdrafting himself. Lin Feng finally relaxed once they''ve reached the warehouse and deactivated za warudo, fainting in the process. The retainers found each other and they soon put the four unconscious people in an already prepared carriage and travelled to the western gate, where they met the two retainers old Jiao and old Cao, who looked very angry. After being bathed by the scoldings of the two old timers, the team left the city with the carriage, most of the horses, plus all the arms and supplies. While the two old retainers stayed in the city with some of the horses, surely to inform the two highest ranking members of the team about their retainers and nominal leader''s exploits. Chapter 10. Expeditions Strength "General!! You would''nt believe what your godson did!" "The boy is too willful, general!" Old Jiao and Old Cao waited for the general in the Nanban pavillion. He did not get out after the sun has set on the horizon. Tang Feng was with sergeant Hao and they are with another respectable looking lord. After seeing that General Tang was busy, the respectable looking lord left with his retainer. Tang Feng just shook his head after hearing the two retainers complaints to him. "Many thanks brother Tang, I hope we can take care of each other on the battlefield." "Much obliged, brother Meng. With my 500 soldiers and your 500 soldiers, we won''t be disadvantaged in gaining exploits for Da Han." "I look forward to brother''s presence on the field of battle." "Farewell!" "..." "This boy! Who does he think he is? Oops, I meant where does he think he is? This is not Tai Jan, he can''t be arrogant here in Garkash, where many crouching tigers and hidden dragons congregate." Sergeant Hao, after he said that, then murmured to everybody... "{Dont tell him I said the first part tho, please?! I still want to be a deathguard someday. I mean, you guys can''t just eat all the meat right? Leave this brother here some soup.} "All right! What''s done is done! He must have a good reason for what he did, else I''ll...." Tang Feng first took a pause and searched for a specific word to describe what he''ll do to the bear child trusted upon him, then finished what he said with... "Ground him! Yes, he should be grounded for a week, if the reason he produced is not sufficiently good. At least there''ll be no problems if he''s only gone for a week or so. Perhaps I can even vouch for him." "But what did he do exactly?" The two retainers just told Tang Feng what they know of, that the boy kidnapped two teenage youngsters and a blind female musician, plus made a big ruckus in the martial arts district. "What? Unlawful destruction of private property, kidnapping women and children? No, I can''t be responsible for this. Let''s check out the martial arts district. Stealthily. We can''t have anybody suspecting us for his actions." The four men proceeded to the martial arts district in order to ascertain the damages done by Lin Feng. After they reached the place, they discovered the restaurant was ransacked thoroughly, and there are city guards all over the place, searching for whatever evidence that can be found. They inquired about what happened and they learned that a suspicious group of people started a gang fight inside the restaurant. The gang kidnapped two teens and a woman suspected to be a criminal. Not only that, the beggar sect is blaming the white camel mountain manor for disgracing their martial expert.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It turns out that Hong Qigong is found sleeping as heavens intended, under the table, and that the beggar sect was horrified by the unscrupulous behavior of the Ouyangs in denying their involvement with the scandal. The city guard found the matter was too convoluted, for they don''t believe a child can conspire that much, or even fight a real martial expert. All in all, as long as people aren''t hurt that much, they are prepared to close the case and not dig the skeleton out of the closet completely. As for the owner of the restaurant, Fatty Jun, he himself was relieved after finding out the perpetrators left money and he''s rather contented with the matter for the restaurant has received an amazing amount of traffic and publicity and is excited about hosting another grand opening after undergoing some much needed repairs. The proud imperial scholar group was at first not willing to end the matter, but after being convinced by the Ouyangs to back down, they decided to listen to the Ouyangs. They stated that the enemy this time is not simple, and that "we will meet them again, for the road is only this narrow". They probably noticed that the gathering this time was not small, and these perpetrators should have come to Garkash for the same reasons as them, especially after recognizing these people knew some secrets only the military should know. And that the kidnapping was just some minor matter designed to test the depth of the well. The old beggar who woke up was rather agreeable and he just calmed the beggar clan, saying that he himself is okay, and even though he is aggrieved, he will not pursue the matter further for the water is deep and those who tread the river will sooner or later get wet. He especially reminded the beggar clan to stay calm, and only hoped the kidnapped people won''t be treated harshly. What else can he do? He is inferior in skill, his beggar clan did''nt even notice the adversaries'' shadow, so the best he can do is to further his own training in order to not be as helpless as before. After leaving the martial arts district, the group left the area to return to the Millenium Hotel. Since they found out that the city guard were''nt able to connect anything to them, they just decided that its not bad to stay in the hotel, rather than stay outside the city with those troublemakers. "Good, at least that boy has the brains to keep us out of the matter. If they were wearing our Tang family''s uniform, it would have been far worse." "Milord, might we have the curiosity to ask, to what is the purpose of your gathering this afternoon?" "Nothing much. It was only just some troop deployments for the dynasty''s campaign in taking the state of Zigrek from the Stan kingdom." "What?!" "Yeah, its true, Da Han is just that strong. We''ve counted at least more than 250 first class martial fighters, 120 of which are Imperial scholars. The 130 or more are general aspirants like me. The imperial scholars with 1st class strength will be adjutants under the trump card legion of Jiangxin while the 1,100 imperial scholars of 2nd class strength will be adjutants to the main army. Outside of the imperial assistance, 600 1st class martial fighters serve as battalion commanders and 7,000 2nd class martial fighters serve as lieutenants. Moreover, for supernatural strength, we also saw 21 martial experts following the protector, who by the way is also a martial expert himself, and of these 21, 8 of them are Imperial scholars. The protector''s bodyguard with 1,000 expert fighters, the trump card legion with 15,000 1st first class fighters plus an army of 120,000 soldiers, you heard it right, all 2nd class fighters, not just 3rd class militia. Jiangxin has gathered almost every soldier in its prefectures, just for this moment." "Then, general, when shall the expedition start? We need to tell those troublemakers before we leave." "In three days, we leave. No need to tell them anymore. That godson of mine would sooner or later learn of it through his own methods. We just need to wait for them to meet up with us again." Chapter 11. Lin Fengs Deal Wilderness of Garkash. A group of men are sitting around a campfire, they are eating what looks to be scorpions and other animals that can easily be found on the desert. Beside them are three prisoners being interrogated by a confident looking child. "Greetings! It is rather late for introductions, but be that as it may, it is never too late to make new friends. Myself is Ouyang Jianjun from White Camel Mountain manor. I have long heard of seniors'' names and your fame in jianghu greatly astounds me." Lin Feng said as he signalled the retainers to remove the gags in the hostages mouths. After removing the gags, before the hostages can shout, they immediately threw some pills inside the mouths of the hostages. The hostages choked and their eyes became red as they tried their best to vomit the pill, but their effort was to no avail for the retainers hit their chins to make them close their mouths while also reflexibly bringing their tongues back. "Haha! Martial friends are too humorous. Don''t be ashamed if you are lacking air, look at where we are now, we have all the air for ourselves here in this place." "Hateful! Untie me this once, my father is the Eastern heretic and this boy next to me. He is the godchild of the Great Khan of the Hulnora." Upon hearing what the girl said about the Hulnora. Lin Feng''s eyes shined with a cruel light. You have to remember, Lin Feng''s father was killed during a Hu raid, and even sadder was that it happened on the day Lin Feng was born. "Really?!" Seeing the harsh gleam on Lin Feng''s eyes, Huang Rong immediately contradicted herself by saying... "Hehe! Xiao Jianjun, big sister is just kidding. You know, this boy is too daft, how could he catch the attention of the Great Khan. Even if he grew up on the Hulnora steepe, his mother still raised him as a Han true and true. In fact, Guo Jing was only staying with the Hulnora just to be able to kill the Great Khan, but he failed and just killed a few bodyguards during the attempt. You have to believe this big sister, how could a sister as beautiful as me lie to a cute child as little brother." "Hmmm... Good! Good! A worthy Han you are, brother Guo! A pity you never managed to kill the hateful Hu Nijumet. But fear not, sooner or later, I shall do it myself." Lin Feng said with such fervor that the blood of everyone in the area became hot and fierce. He continued... "Among the Hulnora, there circulates a question. A question as old as the time of barbarism. With this question, I found an answer that resonates with myself." "What is the question?" "The question is, What is best in life?"Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The retainer Li Cha replied... "That''s easy, the open steppe, a fleet horse, falcons in your wrist, the wind in your hair." "Wrong! Ask me this question." The retainer Li Cha first looked at Lin Feng, scrutinizing the boy so deeply, and founding nothing wrong with the boy''s serious face, he finally asked him with a disdainful voice... "What is best in life?" "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women!" "Is that it?" "Damn it! You''re supposed to say that is good! I''m removing you from the next training list, you''re getting no training until you''ve learned your lesson." "Bastard! I mean, bugger! Boss, I''m sorry!" "Li Cha, I can make you an expert, but I cannot keep you an expert. There is talk of an imperial inheritance, Li Cha. There is talk of a promise made to the late general Nuo Kesi. Swear to me on oath that the talk is just idle gossip, or by the heavens, Li Cha, you will walk out of this place an unranked waste fighter." "I swear on oath that no one heard me make a promise in respect of an imperial inheritance to general Nuo Kesi''s descendant, sir." "Good! Now fall back in line. Ahem, ladies, where was I again?" "Shut yer trap stinky boy! Just get on with it! Why d''ya hafta bring us out here in the middle of nowhere at this heaven''s forbidden time?" The blind woman Mei Chaofeng was getting impatient with the idle gossip of the group. "Oh, right! I was just getting to that part. You see, ladies and gentleman, I, am what you may call, a dealer. What I deal in is the hidden secrets of the human mind. That which you hold dear, I shall extract it out from you, and the compensation for you, depends on what are you willing to reveal. If you voluntary dedicate it yourself, we have no problems in serving toast, but in case you dare hide anything of value, don''t blame us for giving you forfeit instead." "So, what exactly do you need?" "Nine Yin True Scripture!" After hearing Lin Feng finally state his demands after what seems to be like an eternity of stalling and speaking in circles, they were, at first silent, then the quick thinking Huang Rong, who noticed there''s something wrong about keeping silent this time, decided to break the ice. "What? The famous art able to make a martial artist the greatest of their generation? How can such peerless art be found on someone as destitute as us?" "Hmmmph! It seems that miss Huang does not take us seriously." He then looked at the freckled retainer Huo and the withered-like-a-dead-tree retainer Huang behind Guo Jing, who after seeing Lin Feng''s gaze with many meanings, immediately forced Guo Jing to stand. They then dragged the young man to do what is supposed to be something unspeakable, if not for the terrified Huang Rong shouting. "Okay! Okay! You win, we have the Nine Yin True scripture indeed. It is on me. I memorized it." After miss Rong said those words, Lin Feng, at the corner of his eyes, saw Mei Chaofeng impercebtibly relax after hearing Huang Rong admit having the Nine Yin true scripture, but before that, she was tense, and even before that, also shocked when she first heard Lin Feng spoke Nine Yin True Scripture. "Why, yes of course miss Huang. In fact, all of you are here because you all have a destiny with the Nine Yin True scripture. But before we go on, I first have to ensure that the Nine Yin true scripture you will give to me is correct, for it seems you have a bad case of giving wrong instructions to those who are asking for the appertained Nine Yin True Scripture. Am I correct, miss Huang?" "Wha? How could you..." "And so, just to make this business as profitable for everyone as possible, we have to ask all of you to dictate the Nine Yin True Scripture in your hands to my trusted people, separately. Should any of you fail to match that of the others, Hmmmmph! I shall demonstrate to you why the flowers are so red! Take them away!" "NOO, BOSS!!" Chapter 12. Lin Feng collects Nine Yin True Scripture It took half a day for all three people to dictate their own submission of Nine Yin True scripture, after the hostages were all separated the night before. After taking all three versions, Lin Feng looked at each of them and discovered that they are still playing tricks. Not all the versions look the same. This dilemma was nothing to Lin Feng. In the first place, it never was his intention to practice the Nine Yin True Scripture. "In order to reach qi condensation realm, you must condense the Qi in nature into a Core Sea. Yes, the imperial scripture godfather trained in also needs to condense a core sea, but it has 12 levels all in all, each containing methods to raise 12 proficiencies to level 25 while brewing a special type of power inside them. The only difference is that this nine yin true scripture has 9 levels, and its not as exclusive as the imperial one. Its problem is with its perks tho, which are too unaccurate. For someone of talent, Nine Yin true scripture is just too random. It might awaken a very strong perk, one like Guo Jing''s which increases learning cap of all related proficiencies to 330 plus gives experience bonus to levelling speed of each related proficiency, or a useless one, like Huang Rong''s which just increases by a small percentage the already minuscule chance of critical failure when she verbally instructs a wrong version of Nine Yin True scripture''s exercise methods to another person." "The Core Sea of Qi Condensation stage condenses into the first Dao Pillar. This sets up your future Dao Foundation. After reaching Foundation Establishment , you will obtain a spiritual sense, and a martial soul. Spiritual sense and martial souls should be the range and effect of the formation perks that buff soldiers. There are 9 dao pillars to reach pseudo gold core? I remember godfather had 11 dao pillars formed. If according to this method where they teach the practitioner techniques to train 9 proficiencies, then is''nt it safe to say that all around development is king? And each pillar also corresponds to one proficiency, so that means pillars are the houses of lvl 50 perks, and qi seas are the houses of lvl 25 perks?" "In order to step in Core Formation, the pillars formed in foundation establisment is melted to become a core. And this scripture here can form 9 cores. There are many types of cores according to imperial standards, gold with 10-12 is perfect, violet with 8-9 is excellent, orange with 7-8 is upper moderate, green with 5-6 is moderate, crimson with 3-4 is lower moderate and mixed with 1-2 is worst. Core Formation Cultivators can use Core Qi to make personal perks reach the pinnacle of power. Different Cores would produce different Core Qi. Of course, the higher the level of the Core, the more likely it would be to produce Core Qi, and sooner. Obviously, the Core Qi would be much more powerful as well. Generally speaking, among Cultivators with a Violet Core, ninety percent would be able to cultivate Core Qi in the early Core Formation stage. For Orange, Crimson and Green Cores, they were monochromatic Cores, and would generally produce Core Qi during the mid Core Formation stage. Regarding Mixed Cores, they contained a variety of colors and were the lowest of the entire stage. Since, a Perfect Gold Core is above a Violet Core. The Core Qi produced by a Gold Core must be stronger. Since godfather has 9 cores, he should have a violet core. Cores should be the houses of lvl 75 perks." "The Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Cultivator is based on the five elements, and always has at least five colors. A five elements yinyang Nascent Soul is actually considered the ultimate with its 10 colors. With a Flawless Foundation and a Violet Core, then it¡¯s possible to add one more element to the base 5 colors, which Godfather should have done, since he has a 6 colored soul. Only those who have entered the Nascent Soul Stage are able to cultivate divine abilities. These divine abilites should have meant class perks, and nascent souls should house these level 100 perks." "Spirit Severing is known as a process in which Dao enlightenment grants the cultivator the ability to sever anything from proficiencies to skills or disciples,etc, in order to advance. It is known that you need to sever at least three times before you can breakthrough. After the third severing, if successful, you will officially step into Early Dao Seeking. If failed, you will be stuck at the Third Severing until you have successfully severed it from the fourth severing or even more. There are many different types of severings, regular severing is the severing of proficiency, heavenly severing is the severing of skills, and mist severing is the severing of attributes. Wait a minute?! What am I suppose to sever for myself here? Isn''t all around development king? Why does it feel like the heavens hate me? No matter, I''ll cross the bridge when I get there. Oh by the way, these severings, or blades should house lvl 125 perks."The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "After gaining enlightenment for your Third (or more) Severing, you will step into Dao Seeking.The Dao Seeking stage involves seeking to further understand the Dao one has been enlightened on in Spirit Severing. Dao Seeking cultivators are capable of understanding natural laws related to their Dao and utilizing it through their perks. These naturals laws should house lvl 150 perks." "In order to become a fairy, these are some of the ways cultivators use. Use an imperial order to trick the heavens, this is something which most people use to reach fairy. Fight for fairy destiny in martial arts competitions. Corroborate your own Dao and force the heavens to accept you. In case you have successfully fought for Fairy Destiny and opened the Door of Fairy, Fairy Qi will swirl and you will hear the music of a great Dao. The fairy Qi will transform your body into that of a True fairy and a martial force dan will be formed. Martial force dan should allow cultivators access to leader perks, and these should be gotten from lvl 175 onwards." "Fairy realm is different than anything in cultivation as there are meridians instead of a core or pillars.The soul is grouped into three spiritual aspects and seven physical aspects; a total of ten vessels. The meridians are organized into groups of ten, each of which form a vessel to total of 100 meridians. So a group of 10 meridians is able to house lvl 175 perks? This 100 meridians could be the reason why most martial fighters are blocked from going further." "The next stage after Fairy is the Ancestor realm, which needs the cultivator to connect his body to a celestial star from the heavens. This Nine Yin True scripture allows the martial artist to create a constellation with 9 stars in his body. Compared to godfather''s Vermillion bird constellation with 7 stars, its somewhat better. But how can these stupid looking exercises connect to those dumb stars which I don''t know, could be an undetermined length of distance away? Isn''t this just preposterous! But it does''nt change the fact that these so called stars hold the lvl 200 perks." "The potential of a cultivator in the Ancient Realm usually depends on the number of Soul Lamps one can create after ascending and the power gained depends on the number of Soul Lamps extinguished.To then progress further in their cultivation, Ancient Realm cultivators then have to extinguish each soul lamp with increasing difficulty with each successive lamp using their life force until they reach the great circle at which point they can attempt to step into the Primordial Realm. Every five soul lamps extinguished brings one Desolation. Few people experience the Fourth Desolation, and even rarer is the Fifth Desolation. Some people only experience the Third Desolation The further along you get, the more dangerous they become. These Desolations could hold the lvl 225 perks." "Upon stepping into the primordial, the cultivator need to undergo a few tribulations. Each tribulation determines the potential of the cultivator and this Nine Yin True scripture has 9 tribulations. Why do these tribulations still look like exercises tho, just more dangerous, and crazy enough to be called fatal? I remember godfather only had 2 tribulations, this nine yin true scripture is pretty strong." "After the Primordial Realm, cultivators attempt to comprehend and control Essence. Any cultivator can have up to as many essences as they can and the power of the Essences under one''s control is what rank they are determined to be at. Hey, could this essence be the house that holds the final perks, the perk that scales with proficiency level and starts appearing from lvl 250 onwards?" "Even if I don''t practice this famous scripture, at least I can use this manual as reference in making my own. Godfather is too stingy, no matter how many times I tell him that what the jinyiwei don''t know won''t kill us, he still keeps saying I''ll understand what he is doing someday. Understand my ass! He dare not admit he''s already forgot everything that was taught by the Imperial Academy!" Chapter 13 part 1. Uneventful return to the city Lin Feng thanked the three people for the practice methods of the Nine Yin True scripture. "Im so happy to see you again, friends from jianghu. First of all, thank you for participating in this great endeavor. Secondly, since I can''t determine which of you is telling the truth, or maybe even none of you is, I''ve also decided to also give each one of you a taste of your own medicine. Each of you will also get a possible prescription of the antidote for the poison you swallowed yesterday. But wait, there''s more! You have at least a week before the poison''s hidden danger would explode abruptly, give or take a few days. Pain is a given, but it might also take your life or cripple your cultivation. Now isn''t that exciting?! I''d love to watch the drama regarding how you great heroes find a way to solve this problem, but I''m rather short for time, so I regret to say that we must part ways. My best wishes to each of you, and may you live in interesting times!" "AAAAHHHHHHHH!" "Hateful! You do not speak martial arts!" "You Devil!" "Since fellow daoist say I am devil, then there''s no problem in acting like one. Don''t cut the ropes, leave them that way." "Hahahahaha!" "Good luck!" "Heavenspeed!" "Sorry, may you burn a whole incense stick in heaven, before King Yama knows your dead!" The group easily turned their faces with the hostages as they left them tied up in the wilderness, the three prescriptions lying not far from the hapless people. Meanwhile, the group can be seen returning to Garkash''s direction. Halfway upon returning to the city, they met a first grade scholar accompanied by some beggars looking for something. They hailed the group, wanting to check the carriage.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "Halt!" "Who goes there?" "It is I, Kang, son of Honglie, from the clan of Wanyan, prince of the Jins, defeater of the Songs, noble of the Jurchens." "Pull the other ones." "I am. And these people are from the beggar clan. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of my master who will join me in my father''s army at this time''s expedition. I must speak with your lord and master." "What, ridden on a donkey?" "Yes!" "You''re using coconuts!" "What?" "You''ve got two empty halves of coconut and you''re bangin'' ''em together." "So? We have been searching the whole morning from when she was missing since night has covered this land, through this wilderness, through--" "Where''d you get the coconuts?" "We found them." "Found them? In Xiangjin? The coconut''s tropical!" "What do you mean?" "Well, this is a temperate zone." "The eastern Taifun may fly west with the sun or the western Shamo may seek warmer climes in winter yet these are not strangers to our land." "Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?" "Not at all, they could be found perchance." "What -- a wind carrying a coconut?" "It could blow it by the husks." "It''s not a question of where the wind blows it! It''s a simple question of weight ratios! Air in gaseous state could not carry a one pound coconut." "Well, it doesn''t matter. Will you go and tell your master that Wanyan Kang from Eastern Jin is here." "Listen, in order to find something which is not easily found, a man needs to pray 43 times at the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, right?" "Please!" "Am I right?" "I''m not interested!" "It could be found by a European emperor!" "Oh, yeah, a European emperor maybe, but not an African chieftain. That''s my point." "Oh, yeah, I agree with that." "Will you ask your master if we can search his carriage?" "But then of course, uh, European emperors can easily procure coconuts from Nanhai. "Oh, yeah." "So, African Chieftains from this place couldn''t afford coconuts anyway." The beggars and the 1st class scholar soon left in order to continue searching for his master. They ignored the group and their carriage after seeing these people look rather daft. Chapter 13 part 2. Tang retainer team reunites The team returned to the city, where they met some people from the bloodhound gang to receive their carriage. They also commissioned some gang members to send a message to the Millenium hotel. After asking questions to the gang member about yesterday''s fiasco, they finally let the gangmembers go. Lin Feng and the boys lurked outside of the city after sending the bloodhound gang off, as they overheard the beggar clan sent people to look for the hostages outside. A long time after the team placed their camp, Tang Feng and the rest of the team went out of the city gates. The four met a martial scholar and a few beggars on the entrance. They were accompanying a distraught, blind woman and 2 teens tightly holding 3 pieces of paper. The four followed some cryptic code given to them by the gang member, and they soon were discovered by Lin Feng and his lackies. Lin Feng then had the men disable the traps and whistles to let the four enter their fortifications through a hard-to-find entrance. When the two Fengs saw each other, both were''nt able to conceal the emotions in their eyes. "Godfather!" Lin Feng screamed and was about to run to the fuming Tang Feng, who mysteriously, had somehow managed to get ahold of a rather thick rattan stick in his hands. The excited kid, who saw his godfather managed to sneak next to him with a dangerous weapon, turned into a horrified kid as he backpedalled instead to run away. "Hold him down! If I can''t punish him today, you''ll all be deadmeat tomorrow!" "Noooo! General!" "Treacherous bastards!! Unhand me this instant!! I have a cousin at Horse Guards!!" "Sorry, boss! No can do." "Traitors!! You''ll all be crucified! I have friends in court!"This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Sure thing boss. Please send them my best regards." "Ahhhhh! I curse you all!" "Thwack!" "Please, release me. Let me go!" "THWACK!" "AHHH! Me legs, I can''t feel me legs!" After some trouble in catching and holding the struggling child, who by the way, is screaming like stuck pig, Tang Feng finally managed to administer 75 lashes to the little beast in red coat. "Huhuhuhuhu!" "Get up lad! Dont let the flogging get to ya. Flogging teaches only one thing, and that is, how to turn your back!" The limping Li Cha tried to help the ravished boy, who by the way, looks like he has been raped, complete with dead eyes and an unfocused stare. Thus, everyone can''t help but notice he somewhat resembles his mother''s eyes, which lead to the point where they now fantasize that the one in front of them is the boy''s mother, Mingzhu. The boy soon noticed the creepy atmosphere when the men greedily stared at him, until he finally can''t help but say... "Husband, I do''nt feel so good!" "SCRAM!!" Tang Feng screamed as he kicked the wormlike boy. Lin Feng blocked the kick and used the energy and momentum in it to spin and right himself up into a kneeling position. He then kowtowed three times to his godfather. "Godfather! Please forgive this baby!" "Baby only did this because baby wants to cultivate and become strong like godfather." "When baby is strong, baby will avenge the father killing grudge against Hu!" "Baby learned about the peerless Nine Yin True Scripture and baby can''t help it when baby saw those people knew it." "Baby this, baby that! Do you know how much trouble you did?" "Godfather, please punish this baby!" "Okay, okay! You stop saying baby, I''m tired of hearing it already." "Many thanks godfather, baby will massage godfather''s tired ears." "Filial bab(y), I mean boy! I heard you beat that Western Poison bloody!! Haha, just by hearing his name alone, I think he is no good already. Don''t worry boy, as long as I, your godfather am alive, I shall cover you. Which reminds me, what do you think of the protector''s deployment of the army?" "Baby isn''t clear of the protector''s exact plans, nor the army''s exact size." "Is that so? Then, let me tell you." Godfather Feng briefed godson Feng about his meeting yesterday with the protector and officers in the Nanban Pavillion, all while enjoying the boy''s deft hands massaging his tired head. Chapter 14. 18 levels of Qi Condensation "The day after tomorrow, May 16, the protector and his officers will head to the army on the border. They will arrive there evening of May 17. After a day of organization, the protector and most of the army will first march northeast to our border city of Uska, then northwest to the Stan city of Kolkarak, arriving there to surprise the defenders at May 23." "Meanwhile, we will be accompanying the 20,000 of the soldiers and 80,000 militia. Our goal will be Rabatash fortress, arriving there at May 18 after a night and a day''s march. We shall be the cloak, holding down the army of Rabatash and reinforcements from nearby cities, and our dagger shall be the protector and his host as they will take the frontier city of Kolkarak and the key city of Kibalhi, thereby cutting off the city of Rynar and the fortress of Rabatash from being supplied by the Zigrik state capital of Kekbich." "This maneuver will force the Stans trapped here to garrison the two places, weakening themselves by spreading apart, but we will gather our entire strength, and assault the less fortified and more accessible city of Rynar. Taking Rynar will greatly increase our initiative in this war, for their reinforcements from southern Zigrik, Eastern Kebzu state, Northern Kijat state, and Southern Zakaz state will have no choice but to concede to us the central position in the Rynar plains, which by the way, is the only place that can accommodate all the armies for a decisive battle." "Even if the Stans can gather an army of 300,000 soldiers and a million strong milita, protector can still rely on our own reinforcements of 2,000,000 militia to bolster our ranks." Tang Feng spoke of the plan he heard yesterday as Lin Feng listened seriously. "Now, since you''ve made an uproar yesterday, I think we will have to go two days ahead of everybody else, just so you all don''t get discovered by your enemies." "If you say so, godfather!" "Which reminds me child, did you really do that just for some measly martial arts scripture?" "Not just any martial scripture. It is the world famous 9 Yin true scripture, enough to make a martial artist the peerless of his generation. In fact, godfather, I have a vision of what my path should be in the future." "Good! Then we shall leave now, so we can arrive in the military camp by tommorrow. I don''t think we can enter the camp once we get there, but we should be able to camp in a nearby spot until the protector arrives. Pack the camp!" "Noo! General!" The team left the vicinity of Garkash and they travelled eastward until arriving in the military camp by May 15. They saw a multitude of tents spread along the basin next to a huge river. The group told the guards there about their arrival but they were told to await the protector''s arrival for the army can only recognize the seal, not the person. So, the Tang retainer team just settled in a nearby spot while waiting for the protector. Lin Feng used this time to cultivate his core sea and fully step into the Qi condensation stage. Lucky for him, he was able to reach 18 levels in one go, gaining another 13 perks for himself, in addition to the aforementioned 5 that was released many chapters ago, these 5 being Riding, medicine, trade, steward and roguery.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The 13 other perks he gained was; Onehanded 25- basher, turn defense into offense, defensive bashes now deal 100% more damage and stuns enemies two times longer. Twohanded 25- show of strength, Two handed weapon attacks that deal damage over 25% of your opponent''s defenses or hit points will knock them down. Polearm 25- sure footed, Increases your defence against charge damage by 60%. Bow 25- archer master, You can now use all bows on anywhere without any penalty. Means you will be in a condition to shoot a bow everytime, except when exhausted of course. Crossbow 25- marksman, you can determine acupoints 50% faster. Throwing 25- long reach, You can pick up spears or other weapons at maximum armspan effortlessly. Also includes those weapons that are thrown or shot from range. Athletics 25- braced, Decreases your charge damage taken by 60%. Smithing 25- curious smith, Increase the rate of inventing new part designs when smelting by 200%. Scouting 25- beast whisperer, When moving through steppes or plains you have a 5% chance of finding pureblood mounts daily. Tactics 25- swift regroup, Decreases the duration of the disorganized state after breaking sieges and raids by 50%. Charm 25- virile and in bloom, Increase any relationship gain with opposite gender by 20%, and you are 30% more likely to have children. Leadership 25- make a difference, Your actions have 100% higher effect on friendly troops'' battle morale. Engineering 25- scaffolds, Increase defense and equipped shield hitpoints by 30%. Notable synergies: Onehanded 25 and two handed 25 gives Lin Feng an ability to break through tight enemy formations. Two handed 25 and crossbow 25, hitting acupoints would deal bonus percent health damage and it would go well with a perk whose effects are locked behind losing a percentage of health from an action. Polearm 25 and athletics 25 will make Lin Feng immune from being damaged or knocked down from tackles or charges ever again, and even using the kinetic energy produced from the impact to heal Lin Feng instead. Smithing 25 and Engineering 25 will allow Lin Feng to customize a set of equipment used to increase his survivability. A wearable shield on back and a set of defensive armor for deflecting blows. Bow 25 and Throwing 25 will make Lin Feng able to use any bow at any weather, at any place, whether moving or not, day or night, and is almost always at peak performance condition, yet he will get tired at the same rate as his standard most efficient shooting posture. Not only that, he will also be able to get any arrows around him effortlessly, thus he can bring more arrows on himself, even storing it on some harder-to-reach spots other archers wont dare imagine. Not to mention, he can catch projectiles midflight, meaning that if he wants to, he can even resupply his ammunition by using the enemies'' arrows, while also making him somewhat immune to flying projectiles. Leadership 25 and tactics 25 will further improve Lin Feng''s ability to escape from crisis should the battle situation spiral out of control. Bonus points for scouting 25, that with the ability to tame horses on places where they graze on will give the tiger Lin Feng wings, since he can luckily find horses for himself and those who accompany him, giving them some safety net should this expedition to Zigrik turn into a disaster. Chapter 15. Reconciliation "Brother Kang, that''s the kid!" "Haha! We meet again, fellow daoists!" "AAAHHH!" A crazed Mei Chaofeng screamed as she threw herself to the little guy who just spoke. Lin Feng indulged her by laughing as he dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged all of the blind woman''s strikes. "Mei Chaofeng, Stop!" "Master, please calm down!" "Hmmmph!" "This Ouyang here is curious. What do you mean in prescribing these medicines to them? Who are you, why are you using my clan''s surname? Why are you so strong?" "Secret, hehe! "Just so you know, I have already helped with regards to the pill you forced upon them! Just a mere pill that reverses the bodies 5 elements cycle, it is too easy to crack." "Really?" Lin Feng then activated his za warudo for a moment, and the three people who swallowed the pill hurriedly excuse themselves as they went to go find a place to relieve their urgent needs. "Hahahahaha! You thought too simple. You think that merely with your three legged skills, can it be enough to solve whatever I, Lin Feng, put my hands on? Keep dreaming, dead cthulhu!!" "The elders speak truth, there is really a sky beyond a sky, and a mountain beyond a mountain. This Ouyang salutes you." "Why are you stopping? What is happening here?" A rather scholarly-looking general with a short stature and chubby build arrived to mediate. When Tang Feng saw him, he can''t help but say... "Classmate Yue Fei!" "Wha! How do you know my... Tang Feng?! Is that you?" "Haha! To think that one of my classmates has made it successfully already. Godson, greet your uncle Yue!" "Yes, godfather!" "Boy Lin Feng greets uncle Yue!" Lin Feng then observed Yue Fei but he was gobsmacked by the stats he saw on Yue Fei or rather, the one armed person accompanying him. Name: Dugu Qiubai (lvl 60) Attributes Strength- 35 Agility- 51This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Intelligence- 16 Charisma- 12 Skills Constitution- 10 Ironflesh- 11 Grandmaster- 15 Shield- 10 Trainer- 5 Willpower- 4 Disciple management- 1 Proficiencies Onehanded- 650 Crossbow- 625 Throwing- 330 Riding- 600 Athletics- 625 Smithing- 600 Tactics- 100 Roguery- 100 Tang Feng just noticed something was wrong with Lin Feng when the boy started to cry as he ran away from the scary one armed man. Tang Feng apologized to Yue Fei and the one armed man, then to everybody else for the boy''s bear child behavior. "Everyone, I''m sorry for this boy''s mischief. He has been this way ever since he knew of his father''s death. It would be nothing if he was a normal boy, but he has been favored by the heavens, and that is where the problems start from. Before he was born, if somebody asks me whether it is possible to start training from infancy inside a woman''s womb, I''d call the person a lunatic, but now, I don''t know what to do. You would''nt believe what I have to deal with, every single day, in order to help his mother raise him. I know he did something wrong, but please give this boy a way to live." "Mr. Tang Feng, right? I greatly admire a person like you who would help raise other people''s children, but I''m rather curious how your boy cultivates."(Ouyang thinks Tang is like him) "Woah! To think that a child can do all that! Now that makes me curious too. If what you said is true, what if all the children of Da Han can be this way? Would''nt that make us rule the world?" "To tell the truth, he does not cultivate!" "What?" "How can that be?" "He really does''nt. He just knows, its like, instinct, if I must say. The first time he touched a bow, he shot three Hu''s out of the saddle in 15 seconds. The first time he fought a man, he easily dispatched him with the least effort. If I don''t know any better, I would say he is like a demon who does not need to cultivate for they can grow stronger as they age." "Is that so?" The three people returned and they heard some of the gossip about Lin Feng. Tang Feng saw them and so he told them how to cure their reversed 5 elements cycle. That the pill they took was not threatening at all, for it would cleanse their body of impurities and raise their cultivation by a few years. But its side effect was that it reverses the 5 elements cycle for a week or so, but this cure from Tang Feng will be able to prevent the side effect from happening altogether. "So, that''s how it is. To think that such an ingenious method existed. I have been taught. Don''t worry you three, I have just what you need and you will soon be cured in no time at all." "Mr Tang, might I take the liberty to instruct this boy? I somehow think that I finally met the one who can give me what I seek. Lord Yue, thank you for everything, it sure was nice being your sword." "Wait a minute, Qiubai, I don''t think the boy can beat you now. Maybe you should wait for him to grow up before you seek what you need from him." "Hmmm, what you said is correct, lord lord. Regarding the boy''s past actions, he should have not fled upon seeing someone who cannot threaten him. It seems that he knows I can deal with him but he has no way of dealing with me, thus he ran away with his character of seeking fortune and avoiding misfortune. Such good vision, he will really become a trend someday." "Hmmph, as long as he does''nt disturb me again. I won''t care about him anymore." "I''m okay with it too. His potential is rather admirable and we''d like to see how big the waves he will make in jianghu someday." "Seeing that he is just a child, this lady here won''t pursue further matters. Everybody keeps saying I am too willful, but now, I have seen somebody more willful than me, and with the skill to back it up too. Now, see if I don''t argue with them that I, Huang Rong, am not willful at all, right brother Guo?" "As long he does''nt hurt my Rong-er again, I see no point in making this matter bigger than it is." "Thank you everyone! This Tang here wants to toast to you all, but we''re rather short for time as it is. But don''t worry, I''ll make him give you an explanation, not verbally of course, he is rather slick with his tongue and you won''t even notice he''s already sold you and you''ll still help him count the money after. You shall instead be remunerated materially, I have to say, his craftsmanship is amazing, once this war is over, I''ll have him toil away in making each of you a good weapon. You won''t regret it." "We look forward to it." Chapter 16. Pre-war mobilization of the Great Han For Han men nowadays, becoming a professional soldier will definitely be the desire of most people. Not only is the standard for female mate selection driven, but the various treatments and benefits of soldiers are really so good. Women who are extremely insecure, they want a husband who can protect themselves when they need it, so there is no career that can show courage more than becoming real soldiers. Furthermore, today''s professional soldiers are not only the representatives of the country, but also the various social welfares are quite good. There is really no better mate than soldiers, well, except for stronger, more professional guards and the even better experts and also the obvious martial artists and scholars. All classes believe that good female resources tend to marry the strongest fighters. Human history has been changing, and the only thing that has not changed is the needs of both sexes. From ancient times, men who can get enough food can attract women. Later, men who can make money attract women. Men are usually struggling because of women''s requirements. Once women think what kind of man is good, then men will desperately work hard in the direction that women feel good. Of course, it is impossible for every male in a country to become a professional soldier, and the military is definitely not willing to accept it. To become a professional soldier is in some respects proving one¡¯s own discipline, so don¡¯t blame women for favoring those in the army more. "It''s precious because it''s not easy!" Shi Bo gnawed the lamb in his hand and glanced at the dark distance from time to time: "The emperor has given us this opportunity, so we should seize it." This Shi Bo is the eldest brother of Jiangxin Shizhong. He is from Panying village hundreds of kilometers away from the state capital of Qiurum, which is 1,500 kilometers northeast of Garkash. The people sitting around Shibo are also from Panying, and a few of them are from the Betib province. They are living on the same prefecture, and they came together to Garkash to go to the Stan Kingdom together. During training, they were divided into teams according to their hometowns. Because of the tacit understanding during training, they were naturally still a team when they were formally formed. The Great Han Empire is a civilization that pays attention to father and son becoming comrades in arms. On the other hand, the village party becomes an army. Soldiers from the same place are familiar with each other. If they are familiar with each other, they can have more tacit understanding. Secondly, the fellow villagers are more affectionate. When the war is unfavorable, even if they want to escape, they will have more scruples. Or even in the chance they escape by themselves, the fellow villagers will die in battle, so if they want to go back home, will they still have the face to meet their relatives? After that, they will be scolded to death by the folks in the village pointing at their cowardice. "Killing the enemy officers by beheading can be regarded as military merit." Lin Mi grinned and said with a smile: "Without military merit, you can still grab money and women, it''s a great thing." Lin Mi is a relatively short but strong man. He didn''t use this name before, and he was not even a Han. After his naturalization, he heard that the emperor''s given name was the same as his own surname. His Lin surname was derived from a noble house from the Shang dynasty, even going further back to the time of the Yellow Empire. His ancestor was the predecessor of the Han, and he felt that he was taller, bigger, and more superior. When the person next to me heard the words "grab a woman", his eyes flashed. They are all registered in Jiangxin, but in fact the situation is very complicated, just like Lin Mi is a naturalized Hulnora, Shi Zhong is an out-and-out Miao, among them, the naturalized Hu is not too small, and there are not a few Miao. On the contrary, they are slightly less than the Hulnora, but after the militarization of Jiangxin province, these ruthless men with good strength and smart brains came to the province from all corners of the Han country. There were not many Han soldiers in Jiangxin. Han from all over the place migrated, and they knew each other for only four or five years, but they didn''t care who was like before. Because it is a migration and gathering, most are basically bachelors, and only a very small number of them are dragging their families. As a result, the number of single women in Jiangxin is really pitiful. Shi Zhong snatched a wife from the Indochina Peninsula a few years ago for his brother. This incident caused a sensation in Panying, and then a group of companions from the same village either brought back a woman or made a fortune. A realistic example suddenly opened a new door for the rest of the people.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. What place is more beautiful than the Indochina Peninsula? The people who go to the Indochina Peninsula to die there are uncountable. They are looking for wealth or catching natives to sell for money. For those who go to the Indochina Peninsula, if a strong family can not only make a fortune but also take care of the land, those without strength will also make a fortune, and they will be able to catch a woman for self-use. Needless to say, it''s really not that anyone can adapt to the environment of the Indochina Peninsula, especially some northerners like Shi Zhong, who are uncomfortable with the various waters and soils over there. There were 730 people who went to the Indochina Peninsula together. Not long after they got there, 140 people had to return by boat because of illnesses. Forty of them died of illness before returning to the mainland. Later, another twelve persons died of illness, then more died in battle with the natives, and even more were poisoned...of the 730 people, only 220 were able to finally return safely to their hometown. Last year, the Empire made a new move. It not only encouraged the Han people to go to the Stan Kingdom, but also explicitly calculated military merits. For ordinary people, it is undoubtedly hearing the sound of the great dao. Those who return home safely show to the folks in the village that they are getting rich. They also bring a woman with them. To be rich is of course attractive, but the most important thing is to bring back a woman. They rarely describe the horrors of the Indochina Peninsula, attracting more people to the Indochina Peninsula. After the official propaganda and development of Jiangxin, those from the North who are going to the Indochina Peninsula, as long as they either get on a boat and go to sea, or if they are far away from the Stan Kingdom, they choose to change their itinerary immediately. They will also deliberately disgust the southerners, saying that the beheading of the Indochina Peninsula is not considered military merit. "The same is to kill foreign races, why not count as military merit?" Liang Qu didn''t dare to show it even if he wasn''t angry. He wears more clothes than others, and the following words also indicate his origin: "No matter how dry the air in the north is, it will be deadly hot during the day, but freezing cold at night." Liang Qu is from the southern Provinces. The provinces in the south is a mountainous, forested and rainy environment. If he goes to the Indochina Peninsula, he will at most be frustrated with all kinds of poisons. He really didn¡¯t think there was anything of note here. So when he arrived in Jiangxin, he really came to another world. . "Can it be different?" Lin Mi said with a smile, "Hehe", "The savages in the Indochina Peninsula are thin. Fighting directly is to kill and play." Well, he didn''t say that the natives over there are sturdy and lithe, That''s because he also almost died there. The Indochina Peninsula is mostly wild, and there are many decent civilizations. They are just not as developed and populous as the Han Empire. Although there are the same civilization levels there, there are scattered into different tribes, living off the land and fighting with each other, enough for the armed Han people to exploit. What the Han needs to be careful there is all kinds of sneak attacks, since the Han are not as accustomed to the environment. Liang Qu''s cheeks twitched when he heard it. He was placed in the Panying village party formation. He could only complain that the team had no other southern people except him. He was not usually rejected by the village party, but he couldn''t behave casually. He thought and thought, and it seemed that there was really no rebuttal. The Stan Kingdom entered the field of view of the Han Empire a long time ago. Before the Han army included the Jiangxin into their scope of civilization, Greek culture prevailed there. From a broad perspective, the Greek civilization is really not inferior to the civilization of the Han, and even better than the Han in some aspects, such as metal smelting. The Greek civilization''s spread to Jiangxin, is thanks to the legacy of Xander the Great after the Eastern Expedition. During Xander¡¯s Eastern Expedition, the Persians, Arabs, and Mauryans suffered successively. After Xander died of a mysterious disease, the huge empire fell apart. The problem was that the Greeks established their own countries everywhere, with the largest and strongest territory being bitten and chewed upon by the smaller ones. The Greeks remnants of Bactrian kingdom in Central Asia were soon devoured whole as the monolothic Central Asian behemoth Stan Kingdom rose from its ashes 500 years ago. In the wars between the Han army and Hu, Stan kingdom has dirtied its hands multiple times and the Han Empire has no tolerance for its ambitious neighbor. The influence of the Han people did not enter the Jiangxin province until 300 years ago, when the state of Akip became an independent Principality from the Stan Kingdom and it was the remnants of Greek civilization and pressure from the Mauryan Empire that affected the state''s betrayal. How about the Stan Kingdom? As a race with Tiesov ancestry, the noble rulers of the Stans are rather good in military strength...especially in land warfare, but they still can''t underestimate the technologies of the Mauryan civilization, of which some are still ahead of the world during that point in time. The Great Empire''s national race is Han. Many people know what is meant by this. It is because people are proud of 1,300 years of heritage, of which, more than 200 years are spent collectively fuming as the riotous rebels are still holding the province of Wantai, also known as the island Republic of the Free Han. Those who go to the Jiangxin in response to national policies will learn about it from various channels, even if they are not interested in the province before. They don¡¯t need to know everything, but the most basic ones must not be ignored. For example, the united Stan Kingdom is not inferior to their own Han Empire. Chapter 17. Panying camp Rimtar Barracks. 150 kilometers away from Garkash City, there is a vast camp covering more than one-half of the area of ??the basin. The barracks of the Great Han army is set up here. At this time, the sun is slanting to the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun is reflected on the Han flag that is flying high at the gate, inexplicably, revealing a sense of killing intent. Not far away, three horses galloped forward, yet even if there is still more than a mile away from the barracks, it already attracted the attention of the guard sentry at the door. "Who?" "The barracks are heavy, idlers and civilians are not allowed to approach!" When the three horses came, one of the sentry stood up angrily, then strode forward with a spear, and opened his mouth with an explosive voice. "Tang Feng from the Military Department is hereby ordered, here is the token!" Among the three horses, the first one was Lin Feng''s godfather. His equestrian skills were quite good, holding a rein in one hand, and turning out a black iron token in the other. On it, a large blue character was exposed in front of the sentry. "It turned out to be General Tang!" The sentry first looked at the token and then at the people, his posture suddenly relaxed a bit, but the vigilant color in his eyes that had not dissipated was staring at the two people behind the general. Lin Feng and Ouyang Ke. The three of them rode their horses for 10 minutes before rushing to the barracks from their small outpost. At this time, the sentry was looking at Ling Feng and Ouyang Ke, but Ling Feng couldn''t help but hide behind his godfather. Faintly, the guard felt that he seemed to have met a young master, and he had new guesses about the identity of the child. Its just curiosity, it hasn''t reached the point of opening the casserole to take a look inside, not to mention its very untimely right now. Listened to Tang Feng, he said: "The chief of the staff is ordered by the military master to bring these two people into the camp to select soldiers, and the secondment is here!" As he said, he took out a yellow envelope sealed with wax oil from his arms. The letter inside was written by the protector to Tang Feng after Lin Feng told him to accept some missions. The sentry respectfully took it, but he was not qualified to take it apart, so he asked the three of them to wait a while before returning to the camp to report. Not long after, someone in the barracks came on horseback, and the three of them saw it was a big man with thick eyebrows and full armor and a long knife on his waist. Lin Feng glanced, and saw that there were one scorching sun marks on the armor of the big man''s chest, and each scorching sun had nine rays of light, three of which were shown in cyan, and the rest were gray. This shows that this big man is a first-class martial fighter, and his rank is no longer low. When the nine rays of light on the scorching sun are all blue, he will have the qualifications to be promoted to a higher rank. "Xu Canling! Reporting to the General Tang!" The big man approached and bowed his hand to Tang Feng, but he was puzzled, and he paused and asked again: "General, is the number of secondments on this document wrong?" Tang Feng smiled slightly, and couldn''t help but glance at Lin Feng, who looked calm behind him, and said, "If there are one hundred fifty people on it, there is nothing wrong." "I wonder if General Xu is convenient here?" "Ha ha!" The General Xu laughed loudly: "There are only one hundred fifty people, not even a small piece of the cow, so why talk about convenience and inconvenience?" "I don''t know what kind of unit to choose?" Tang Feng said: "Take us to the Panying Camp." "Oh?" General He raised his brows, "Panying Camp?" Didn''t say much any more, waved his hand and made a please gesture, and led the way first, leading the two and a half men into the barracks. Lin Feng rode a horse and approached Tang Feng, and asked curiously: "Godfather, what does this Panying camp say?" Tang Feng glanced at him with a smile, pretending to be profound, and said: "When you arrive, you will know. This is a secret of I, your godfather child. It depends on whether your kid has this blessing to enjoy."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Enjoy?" Lin Feng looked thoughtful. Ouyang Keng who was following behind them, appearing confident. He was sent by his uncle Ouyang Feng to be the scholar apprentice under Tang Feng so he could learn from this kid. He has never been into a barracks, but the training under the Academy has given him great pride, which cannot be hidden beneath his calm exterior. Rimtar barracks is a heavy land, and there are a lot of soldiers stationed here. After entering the barracks, looking around, there are full of scattered camps, as well as groups of soldiers patrolling solemnly. Everyone inadvertently revealed the iron and blood. The meaning made Lin Feng feel an indomitable aura. Here is where he should stay! Following Xu Canling, Lin Feng suddenly felt as if he had returned to his rightful place, and returned to the military camp that he was so yearning for! It¡¯s just a pity... is still too young. He sighed in his heart, and listened to General Xu in front of him yelling: "Here!" He shook his head and put aside the chaotic thoughts. Looking left and right, this place was inside the barracks, but it was an extremely remote place. Except for the ten camps in front, the other camps were separated. Extremely far. This is like an isolated island on the sea, which has a sense of isolation from the world. "Xu Canling, you are more familiar with the soldiers here, so please do it yourself." "Let''s go, the soldiers you want is inside." Xu Canling said, going to the nearest camp first. The three followed by themselves, and they got close, and a tumult came from the camp in front of them. "hit!" "Haha, kill this bastard!" "I''ll rub a squeeze, this punch is strong, come again!" "Come on, open the handicap, I sit in the bank, you guys, dare to gamble?" "Bah! I''m afraid you won''t make it, I''ll gamble five taels of silver, Shi Zong will win, and you will lose to death!" "Hahaha, happy!" The noise gradually became clear. After listening to the dialogue inside, neither Xu Canling nor Tang Feng looked good. Panying Camp? Took special care of himself? Ah! Tang Feng, who had always been kind, also looked pale at this time, and pulled open the camp curtain with a brush, and the noise inside was even more unscrupulous. Lin Feng looked inside. Inside the big camp, twenty or thirty shirtless big men were blushing. Many people were holding wine bottles in their hands, sipping wine and shouting. In the middle of the camp, two big men who were also shirtless fought in a ball. You punched me and I kicked you. Every blow was deadly, and the punches were the last. Ouyang Ke only glanced at it, and suddenly his eyelids jumped wildly. "Is it noisy enough?" Seeing that he came in, everyone did not respond, and General Xu Canling immediately screamed. Silence. The original noisy camp was suppressed by his shout, and then, there was a greater noise. "Hahaha, old Tang, is that you!" "My god, did you guy become fatter?" Facing Xu Canling''s scolding, all the big guys inside were not afraid, some drunk man even came forward and laughed while saying: "Long time no see, come here, I invite you to drink!" "Drink wine?" There was a sharp look in Tang Feng''s eyes, and the palm of his hand knocked the wine bottle into the air. There was a snap, and the wine splashed all over. "You!" The big Han who handed the wine suddenly glared, lifted the collar of Tang Feng, and said angrily: "You''re looking for death!" "What?" Tang Feng sneered at him, "You dare to hit me?" "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding!" Someone swiftly rushed out from the side, hehe with a smile, went to grab the hand of the big man, and smiled at the Tang Feng: "Then what, Shi Bo, he drank too much! "Drank too much?" Xu Canling''s complexion did not ease, he stared coldly at everyone present, and said coldly: "Drinking, gambling, fighting!" "Look at you, but you still yourselves soldiers!" "fart!" Even though the big man named Shi Bo was pulled away, his face was still furious, and he roared: "I don''t need you to care about us, who the **** let you come?" "Hurry up!" He responded to him with the military aircraft token erected in Tang Feng''s hands. "Do you think I would like to see you?" General Xu Canling disdainfully said: "My lord came here this time by the order of the Military Department to dispatch troops!" "Dispatch soldiers?" Shi Bo squinted at Tang Feng, his gaze wandered, staring at the face of Lin Feng who entered the account one step later, and suddenly said with contempt: "This kid?" He walked around Tang Feng with his whole body drunk, circled around Lin Feng, and said, "Boy, you weren''t weaned when I was at war. Who gave you the courage to borrow me?" This sounded so familiar, Lin Feng sighed inwardly, and almost subconsciously took the thorn. After watching this with cold eyes for a long time, he also probably understood the situation. From the attitude of these soldiers to Xu Canling, he had even more guesses in his heart. He didn''t feel annoyed at the moment, but smiled and said: "You are not young, so you should have been mixed in army for so many years more than the others, yet still haven''t seen much progress." "Huh?" Shi Bo raised his brows, and said grimly: "You kid, don''t you want to go out alive?" Before the words fell, the arms that were thicker than Lin Feng''s thighs were already sticking out, and he wanted to pinch Lin Feng''s neck. How can this unstructured grab hold Lin Feng? Although his physical fitness is growing right now, he still has his fighting skills. Now he calmly dodged aside, and Shi Bo''s iron claws suddenly fell in the empty space. At the same time, he gave the other party a more contemptuous look, and said with disdain: "You don''t want to be dispatched by me?" "To be honest, I don''t want to borrow either!" As he said, he turned around and wanted to go outside, still sighing: "I don''t know what godfather thinks. It''s really a waste of time to let me use these type of trash." "Stop!" "Fuck, who do you say is trash?" "You brat, are you impatient?" This group of ridicule and hatred is so high that it might be more stable than pulling a top tank around. Everyone in the camp was full of anger and roared and cursed at Lin Feng one after another. "Why am I wrong?" Lin Feng turned around in doubt, but pointed his finger backwards, and said: "Just like you, you can''t even beat my entourage. How can I look it up?" His finger pointed to Ouyang Ke who was wiping cold sweat wildly behind him, making the latter''s face pale instantly. This hatred transfer is also a good use, and he was about to make another move to catch Lin Feng, but upon hearing the kid''s words, Shi Bo''s fierce gaze immediately glared on Ouyang Ke. "Just him?" "Come on, come out for a fight?" "me¡­" Ouyang Ke was about to cry. His face was twitching as he remembered what happened a few days ago in the restaurant. "(Ni ma, why is this kid so good in creating conflict? I did''nt sign up for this, you kill me already uncle.)" He caused all the big guys in the camp to laugh wildly with such an embarrassing appearance. Lin Feng didn''t change his face, so he walked over and pulled Ouyang Ke naturally, and said, "Go, teach them for me!" Chapter 18. 1 v 10 Keng Since getting a new follower, Lin Feng has never found a chance to pretend in front of him. At this time, he happened to find these men. In the eyes of everyone, Ouyang Ke''s momentum changed drastically. His body is straight, and after bowing his hands to Lin Feng, he walks in the middle of the camp with a solemn expression. The weight of his foot stepped on every step of the way, and in the eyes of others. It is like a big moving mountain. His changes made everyone present stunned. Even Tang Feng who was about to speak to stopped and looked at Ouyang Ke and Lin Feng curiously. Although Ouyang Ke¡¯s changes are strange, who is not one of the people in the camp who is used to seeing big scenes? After the initial surprise, Shi Bo cursed: "Who the **** are you scaring?" He threw a big slap to greet the approaching Ouyant Ke''s face. "Wait a moment!" But at this moment, Lin Feng shouted in a deep voice. "Yeah? Are you scared?" Shi Bo slapped his palms in the air, not hiding the heavy disdain in his eyes, then said: "I thought he was brave, but it turned out to swing the other way." Lin Feng ignored him, glanced around him coldly, and then uttered an angry sentence to the audience. "One is too few, he wants to hit ten!" Upon hearing this, Ouyang covered his forehead with his hand, his face cannot help but show dumbfoundness. This Lin Feng, there is really a problem with intelligence... He even doubted whether Lin Feng had hidden martial vision. For example, He might have seen some jade inside bones and is only using this opportunity to awaken it. "You dog thing, you are going to die!" "Wow, yeah, I''m so mad, everybody let''s go together and tear him apart!" Ouyang Ke is quite mature looking. He stays in the wind and sun all year round. Although he is only in his 16 years, he can still be regarded as a grown man with his appearance already. One sentence caused everyone to riot, each gearing up, and with red eyes, they wanted to rush towards Ouyang Ke. "Well, well, I will teach you well!" Shi Bo approached Ouyang Ke, clenching his teeth and clenching his fists, but at this moment... "Wait!" There was another violent shout, shaking the audience. Everyone saw that it was Lin Feng again. "What''s wrong with you?" Shi Bo is speechless, is it true that since the pot is black then must the kettle be also black? How can this master be so troublesome? Lin Feng faintly smiled and walked to Ouyang Ke, and said slowly: "You want a fight with my entourage, this is naturally okay, but..." "But what?" Shi Bo scolded, his chest violently rises and falls with a sulky gas, and he was about to explode. "But you can''t fight for nothing, right?" Lin Feng smiled and said, "There must be something to add, isn''t it?" "Do you want to bet?" Shi Bo understood, and raised his chin, "What gambling method?" "This is simple." Lin Feng smiled slightly and glanced at the angry big guys on the spot, "If he wins, then the people here will obey every command of mine. Before the end of this mission, there must be no defiant thorn!" "Humph!" Shi Bo snorted heavily, curled his lips and said: "Then what if you lose?" "Lose?" Lin Feng rubbed his chin, "I think, letting you beat me up won''t relieve you?" "If he loses, he will take off his pants and stand upside down and walk around the barracks. What do you think?" Ouyang Ke opened his mouth wide, and was speechless for a while. Other people present also temporarily took back their anger, and looked at Ouyang Ke''s lower body with a weird look. Some people couldn''t help but laugh at the thought of this man''s small brother standing upside down with his nest in full view. "Wait! This is my body, I have the right..." "Shut up! Did I tell you to speak? Followers should just obey every word of their superior unconditionally." Ouyang Ke just fumed as he is not able to deal with Lin Feng the scourge yet. Men, you want face.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. To be fair, these people here would rather be quartered by five horses than do such a shameful thing. It really is more than ten times more venting than beating him bloody! Yet he can''t even complain since his fate relies on himself. "What do you say?" Shi Bo looked back at his companion. The other party wanted to play ten each. This bet could not be promised by him alone. "Come on, who is afraid of whom!" "Do you still have to think about it, I''m the one!" "Got a bet!" There was a wave of responses at a time, let alone ten. These twenty or thirty people in the camp fought bravely for the first place, and almost fought for the ten places. "Don''t grab it!" Shi Bo let out a violent roar, he still had some prestige in this camp, the chaotic crowd turned to look at him. "Shi Zong, Lin Mi, and you, you, you!" He tapped his finger, pointed out nine of them, and shouted: "Only ten of us!" No one objected. Everyone has been in the same camp for many years, who doesn¡¯t know whom? The nine people named by Shi Bo plus himself are the ten most powerful people in this camp. In order to win the bet, he obviously doesn''t want to give Ouyang Ke a chance. "Very good." Until then, Ouyang, who was getting rather bloodthirsty, said coldly, "This is what it looks like. The inside is too small. Come out with me!" He turned and left the tent. "I see how long you can act arrogant!" Shi Bo was itching with anger, and beckoned fiercely, leading the nine brothers to follow out aggressively. The rest of the crowd followed suit, leaving Lin Feng the firestarter on the sidelines, and no one looked at him too much. "Godson, you''re really bold this time." In an instant, the two Fengs Lin and the Tang were left in the camp. The latter walked up to Lin Feng with a wry smile and sighed deeply. "Oh? What does godfather say?" Lin Feng was not in a hurry to go out, and looked at his godfather indifferently, carefree. "Let me ask you, what is the weight of intelligence in war?" The older Feng asked instead without answering. "There is a saying in the art of war, knowing oneself and the other can win all battles, before the transport of food and munitions, before marching and fighting, intelligence is the first and foremost priority." Lin Feng replied without thinking about it. "Yes, you also understand the truth of knowing yourself and the enemy, but why are you..." Lin Feng shook his head and sighed, and said in a deep voice, "Do you know who the soldiers of the Panying camp are?" "Godfather, please let me know." Lin Feng smiled slightly, he was not in a hurry to go out, he just wanted to get information about these people from Tang Feng. "These people¡­" Tang Feng showed his memory and said, "Most of them are not real Han, but are vagrants from other countries, some are Han but these few are all criminals!" "So, you mean these people are all fodder?" Lin Feng raised his brows. Before he watched these strong and powerful men act defiantly, he guessed that it was the elite soldier unit that Godfather had a stint on in the past. Could it be that his godfather was once a member of the fodder unit? The criminals and non-Han rank last among the social hierarchy in the Great Han Empire. Its troop diversity is the biggest, and because of its bitter harsh treatment, it is also the most barren in terms of resource distribution, but no one dares to look down upon these gang of fodder and criminals. It is also because of living in a bitter harsh treatment all the year round. The soldiers of the Panying camp are sturdy, and all soldiers under it have outstanding endurance and toughness. Instead, they rank first in the quality of the soldiers of the Han empire. The greatest wish of all the generals on the continent is to have an elite foreigner division like these poor fellows from Panying camp, the slave soldier Janissaries and the Mameluke guards, the Viking berserkers and the Varangian mercenaries, etc. Even the general who holds the most elite Imperial Army in the Han capital of Jingbei has said it more than once. If the two armies are facing each other, 600,000 criminals escaping from their past and have no hope for the future can surpass a million strong Imperial army! This shows how powerful the Panying soldiers are. "When the Great Khan of the Hulnora tried to break through our post in the Great Wall with his Batar Ulan horde, the five thousand men strong Panying legion at that time never faltered as we held on until the reinforcements arrive. When the reinforcements finally arrived, only two thousand Panying soldiers remained. But did you know who took the fame and the spoils of war? Those damned Imperial army scions." "For so many years, they don''t know how much the Panying camp have contributed to the Han Empire, but it is a pity..." Tang Feng also expressed his feelings. Speaking of this, he suddenly stopped talking, but kept shaking his head and sighing. At the end, he said: "I think Ouyang Ke is good, but if you say that he can fight one to ten, it would be too much. It''s a big difference!" Boom! Before the words fell, a dull and heavy noise came from outside the tent. Then, a sturdy figure flew and smashed through the tent curtain, and fell just at the feet of the two. He looked with his eyes, and this soldier who was beaten down was certainly one of the nine people who had just been selected by Shi Bo? Tang Feng: ? ? ? Lin Feng with an innocent face shrugged and smiled: "The so-called knowing oneself and the enemy is based on the fact that both sides have equal strengths, but now I only need half, that is, confidence!" He has vision. He has long seen that these stubborn men are pretty good, and the words of Tang Feng have confirmed this. But except for Shi Bo, they are just great soldiers at most. In comparison, Lin Feng estimated that the strength of these guys was about the same as his average gang member back home. Great soldiers. After all, it is still a soldier, but who is Ouyang Ke? That is a 1st class martial fighter who can resist Wei Lian, Lin Feng''s fiercest fighter, with more than ten moves, even held his ground, and only lost because of the za warudo empowered Lin Feng! Not even a dozen, Ouyang Feng still can''t beat them? Is this looking down on his perk, ambushed from all sides? Moreover, at the restaurant fight, Ouyang Feng was''nt able to use the full value of this perk for his side has outnumbered Lin Feng''s from the start. With this perk alone, Lin Feng was able to roughly guess Ouyang Ke''s combat power is not bad at all and there would be no better bait than this Ouyang Ke who got sold by his uncle to Lin Feng. After all, Ouyang Ke is still able to comprehend insights during battle and can even improve on the spot. So Lin Feng is not worried about Ouyang. It would even magnify his presence in the heart of Ouyang Ke while also gaining a temporary loyal team for this invasion in Stan Kingdom. He can still let these men sell all of themselves to him once he is able to grab hold of their hearts and minds. Lin Feng will never throw good food out of his plate. "This is impossible!" Tang Feng was stunned for a moment, and suddenly rushed out of the camp at a speed that was extremely consistent with his body. Lin Feng smiled, and leisurely followed. Outside the tent, the roar shook the sky. Not only were two Feng and the others in this camp, the Panying soldiers in the other nine camps also ran out after hearing the movement. They formed a big circle at the moment, clapping their hands and cheering. What made them excited to watch, it was the one versus ten battle. Tang Feng was very fast, and after rushing out of the camp, he had reached the periphery of the crowd in three or two steps. He squeezed in for a while, and he was shocked by what he saw. One against ten? No, it''s already one versus six now! He exchanged a few words with Lin Feng. Among the ten people headed by Shi Bo, except for one who was blown into the camp, the three people who were still in the field are now unconscious. Their combat power is non existent anymore. As for the other six people, they weren''t overwhelmed by Ouyang Ke. From time to time, they could attack each other with a cold shot or two, but it was also obvious that the six of them were already at a disadvantage. "I **** with you!" Tang Feng rushed into the crowd. Seeing Shi Bo''s face full of anger, he drew a spear from the sidelines and jumped up high, holding the spear high above his head. . On the other hand, Ouyang Ke was besieged by three other people at this time, trying to replace one person with injury. He seemed to be angry, and turned a blind eye to the murderous intent above his head, and was about to capture the other two. Seems like a lose-lose situation! "No!" Tang Feng''s complexion changed drastically, and he immediately tried to stop the fight. But after all, it was still slow. Chapter 19. Lightning Dragon Click! Shi Bo slammed the spear with all his strength, and when it was about to reach the top of Ouyang Feng''s head. At this moment, Ouyang Feng, who had been turning a blind eye, suddenly sped up, and suddenly grabbed the spear with a clawlike hand! Shi Bo felt a tremor all over his body, and a powerful force suddenly came from the tip of the spear. It was too painful to hold the spear, thus making him let go of it. "Spears? You are playing spears like this?" With a spear in his hand, Ouyang Feng''s form changed again. From the mountain-like heaviness just now, a sharp aura that pierced the sky was faintly revealed. He squinted at the six men who were still able to maintain their combat power, and he said: "Grandpa will let you see who is the ancestor of martial arts!" Lin Feng, who had just walked out of the camp, rolled his eyes when he heard what Ouyang Ke said. If you want to talk about the ancestors of martial arts, then you can''t talk about you, brother! Didn''t you notice the Dugu Qiubai person yesterday? However, Lin Feng knew what Ouyang Ke was doing next, and immediately his eyes condensed slightly, carefully watching the situation in the field. "If you don''t want to die, just avoid it!" After a violent outburst, Ouyang Feng slammed on the ground with one foot, and his sturdy body soared into the sky. This jump was a full ten meters! Lvl 200 Polearm perk: Lightning Dragon! This is Ouyang Ke''s personal skill. It is different from Lin Feng''s. He needs to be armed with a polearm weapon before it can be used. A shot from Shi Bo''s move just made up for him to use it! The moment everyone looked up, their eyes were full of horror! Ouyang Ke, who was in mid-air, threw his spear violently, and the dark body of the spear instantly turned into a black thunder. Boom! The earth quaked. Whether it was the six men in the field or the soldiers surrounding them, they immediately felt a violent rush toward their faces, and there was no time to react. They were lifted into the air by this huge wave of air, and they were getting more and more serious. The periphery fell. Tang Feng stood farther away, at any rate, he hadn''t been lifted off. However, he felt the horrible power in the strike just now. The six men who were fighting just now were all looking very terrified. They were very thanful because Ouyang Ke knew how to measure his shot. If this move was made against someone just now, it would not be as simple as just falling unconscious. Lin Feng stabilized Tang Feng''s heart, and there was also a touch of amazement in his eyes. Ouyang Ke, no, it should be said that Ouyang Dragon''s shot was really amazing, that even he who was mentally prepared for a long time was shocked.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Compared with other passive personal perks, Ouyang Ke''s Lightning Dragon which can only be used for one single attack, is really powerful! "This this¡­" Tang Feng has also seen big scenes. After spitting out two words in a row, his emotions gradually calmed down, but when he looked at the square, the horror that was forcibly suppressed suddenly came to his heart like a volcanic eruption. Ouyang Feng has fallen back to the ground. With him as the center, a small pit with a diameter of about 5 meters was left on the ground in a divergent shape. The strong wind blew by, and the huge smoke and dust showed its fangs like a ferocious yellow dragon. Seeing Ouyang Ke standing upright under the billowing yellow dragon, Xu Canliang praised sincerely: "Good, Good!" In his eyes, Ouyang Ke is no longer the entourage who follows Lin Feng, but a good general who can stand alone! But from his eyes, Ouyang Ke seemed to be exhausted when he shot the shocking blow. Although his body stood upright, everybody could also see that Ouyang Ke¡¯s calf was trembling slightly, and his forehead was trembling. There seems to be cold sweat on it. Exhausted? Lin Feng, who was next to Tang Feng, knew that was not the case. Ouyang Ke''s trembling calf is simply because of fear! Lightning Dragon is like to gamble all the power in the body for one desperate blow. After a shot, no matter how long the stamina can last, it will leave him exhausted in an instant after finishing the move. In other words, the current Ouyang Ke, he is really not able to do this feat when he was still in the Imperial Academy! He suddenly finds himself in such a situation, can he not be afraid? Thankfully, he has already had an experience, knowing that it must be related to Lin Feng, so he can maintain calmness without kneeling on the ground, but it is impossible to say that he is not afraid in his heart. This was really not what he was capable of. When he was still in the academy, he only had an epiphany about creating a technique that uses all his strength for a single throw, but he is never able to explode with this much power. It was only because of Lin Feng that he discovered, for this guy Ouyang Ke also has another scouting perk called ambushed from all sides which increases Ouyang''s power based on the number of opponents that are against him, minimum is being outnumbered twice and maximum being outnumbered ten times. Thankfully, Lin Feng had experimented with these thorns first, otherwise, he would really be unaware of this two perks power on the battlefield. "I think, the competition should be over, right?" Did not give the people present more time to be astonished, and at the same time to relieve Ouyang Ke, Lin Feng walked forward with a smile, and his eyes slightly scanned the nine people headed by Shi Bo. "You...you brat, you..." Shi Bo¡¯s mouth was full of blood, and he stared at Lin Feng fiercely. Suddenly he was discouraged, his arms softened, and he could no longer support his weight. He collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, and said unwillingly: "¡­you win!" Even so, anyone can see the unwillingness in his eyes. But when he was unwilling to turn to Ouyang Ke, who was standing on the spot, he turned into admiration at an extremely fast speed. "I admire you!" Although he couldn''t get up, he still gritted his teeth and half propped up, and held his fist solemnly at Ouyang Ke. "Huh? I...that, I have accepted!" He looked very arrogant when he said that, but his eyes were still unable to suppress the admiration and gratefulness to Lin Feng. "Humph!" Shi Bo saw it in his eyes, so he said immediately: "With the ability of brother, why be a solemn follower and listen to this kid, arrive when he calls for you and drink when he tells you too?" "No, no, I''m nothing, my boss is amazing!" When Ouyang Ke heard Shi Bo, the cold sweat of soybeans suddenly poured on his forehead, and he waved his hand quickly. "He?" Shi Bo stared at Lin Feng disdainfully, spitting out phlegm, and contemptuously said: "A soft guy who only knows to hide behind, he is nothing but a stinky brat!" "If you have the ability, come down and fight yourself, I will kill you with one finger!" The latter sentence is naturally provoking Lin Feng. How can Lin Feng eat this level of mockery? His face still had that nasty grin on his face, so he shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he replied, "How dare the loser continue to be brave? Believe it or not, I kick your third leg right now?" Shi Bo''s face turned cold once he heard what Lin Feng said. He felt an electric tingling in his family jewels, and cannot help but squirm to express his discomfort. Chapter 20. Merit earning party "you!" These words almost caused Shi Bo to spit out a big mouthful of blood, and his complexion instantly turned pale. "Don''t you you me!" Lin Feng ignored his anger, raised his chin and said, "I''ll ask you, can you still count the bet you just made?" "Of course it counts!" Shi Bo said angrily: "I have always kept my word, so there is no reason to not count!" "It''s not just me, my brothers are all the same, pick whomever you want!" "What? What bet?" This remark caused the soldiers who came out from the other camps to watch the excitement look at each other. They heard the movement running out to watch the excitement, and they didn''t understand the cause and effect. At this time, they were looking for their familiar brothers in 1st Panying Camp to inquire. Thanks to Lin Feng''s vision of seeing other people''s cultivation. He can always play the pig to eat the tiger and no one can ever do that to him. "Very convenient." Lin Feng tsk tsk tsk at the corner of his mouth. This vision does not seem to have an actual strength improvement, but the effect is extremely powerful. With vision, Lin Feng can accurately determine the fighting ability of others. "What are you doing in a daze, you are the one to choose!" Seeing Lin Feng never reacted, Shi Bo yelled triumphantly. Although he admires Ouyang Ke, it does not mean that he really surrenders to Lin Feng, and even because of the injustice he thought on Ouyang Ke''s part, he does not have a good impression of Lin Feng, who looks like a little boy from the family. The gambling agreement is to be followed, but the gambling agreement only says that he and the people in the Panying camp will listen to Lin Feng¡¯s secondment and complete a task for him. But it is obvious that Lin Feng can''t manage the people here, otherwise there will be no terms in the gambling agreement to let him choose. Then... let him pick! After all, the people from Panying village camp come from different backgrounds, and their strength is not low, but there are also differences between the upper and lower strata in the pecking order. Shi Bo doesn''t believe that Lin Feng can pick the wheat from the chaff. Of course, this is of no use, and Shi Bo is just angry, and simply wants to disgust Lin Feng. Just lost a bet, and it seems it''s okay to find some satisfaction from this scummy idea.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. However, it is a pity that with vision, Lin Feng does not intend to let him find this satisfaction. Lin Feng smiled, looked around, and said, "Okay, then thanks for the meal in advance." "This time I need to gather one hundred fifty soldiers. Since the gambling contract is established amongst the whole Panying camp, I will choose within this range." Shi Bo pursed his lips, with undisguised disdain, "Only one hundred fifty?" "You are pretty good, let''s pick you first." Lin Feng glanced at Shi Bo. Amongst the soldiers just now, Shi Bo¡¯s proficiencies were the most amazing, which was confirmed by Lin Feng in the battle just now. He is already a young guard. "It''s up to you." Shi Bo shrugged, not surprised. "Then...I want him, him, and this..." Lin Feng ignored him, and walked forward, looking as casual as buying vegetables at a vegetable market, and was so angry that Shi Bo and the other soldiers were itching. Gradually, as Lin Feng chose more and more people, the disdain in Shi Bo''s eyes began to change to surprise. Lin Feng chose all the soldiers who were fighting just now. These were the people Shi Bo had selected to fight against Ouyang Ke. He was not surprised because Lin Feng chose these men. After all, they were picked by him for their strength in the fight against Ouyang Ke. This could have prompted the other party. However, the kid also choose forty nine people who are among the strongest in the camp except him, and they were also his brothers who belonged to the Phalanx formation, which surprised Shi Bo a little. He looked at all the people Lin Feng¡¯s chose again... Of the 100 people he chose, forty swordsmen, forty archers, ten scouts! 150 people, fifty spearmen, forty shieldbearers, forty bows and ten scouts? If this lineup is magnified ten times, wouldn¡¯t it be a standard battle formation? There are bow and arrow units for skirmish, spears for offense, and the defense is covered by swords and shields. In addition, even scouts for spying and intelligence are available, which can be described as utility. It¡¯s not like buying a dish and picking it out! Tang Feng is suspect, but he should have been gone for far too long now, and most of the veterans that guy has known has died already. It could not be Tang Feng. So Shi Bo couldn''t help but glance at Xu Canling. Xu Canling naturally knows the details of their camp, is he telling Lin Feng the information in advance? But what Shi Bo saw was the same surprised look of Xu Canling, and when the two eyes met, the latter shook his head slightly. Not him! Shi Bo is very sure now. Although he doesn''t like this general, he still trusts the other person''s character. Since he said no, he must not. How can it be? Lin Feng will not explain to him. Ignoring the doubts of Shi Bo and the other soldiers, Lin Feng smiled and said, "We''ll be leaving soon, godfather, we''ll wait for you and Uncle Meng to bring the rest of the soldiers. These 150 people should be good enough for now. You don''t have to worry, me and the boys should be able to control them, you''ll surely be able to earn lots of merits this time." "But you''ll have to bring Sergeant H... I mean Major Hao. I need him to keep a close eye on you. I don''t want anything like that incident in Garkash to happen again. Anything you do, you must first consult him. You hear me, boy?" "No, Godfather!" "(So this piece of work is Tang Feng''s little godson. What could they be planning?)" Shi Bo suppressed the doubt in his heart and couldn''t help asking: "What are you going to do?" Regarding this question, Lin Feng did not answer, nor did he glance at him. Instead, he turned his head and faced the forty sword and shield soldiers, and soon pointed them out to a direction. "Huh? Huh?" The forty sword and shield soldier were all stunned, and they looked at the direction indicated by Lin Feng, and what they saw was Shi Bo with a surprised face. "Why are you?" Shi Bo said angrily: "Which green onion are you, dare you to lay a finger on Laozi?" He said that, then he jumped out with gritted teeth, he raised his head raised and looked very angry. "I think you have been spoiled for a long time, and you have forgotten the military laws!" The easy-going smile on Lin Feng''s face was swept away. From his small thin body, a fierce aura rose to the sky, and he shouted: "Since you have been chosen by me, you are my soldier. As a soldier, obeying orders is what you should do!" "Not asking your superior officer to inquire about the military situation!" He stared at Shi Bo coldly, and said every word: "Now I even have reason to suspect that you are an agent sent by the enemy!" Chapter 21. To war! Military! Right now, Shi Bo is already a soldier under Lin Feng. In any case, it is impossible for a soldier to ask the commander''s military orders on major issues without authorization. So there is nothing wrong with Lin Feng giving him forty lashes. But he did not do that, he just made the soldiers tie up Shi Bo. To blame, he can only blame himself for being sloppy and getting caught. This confused Shi Bo, knowing that he was in the wrong, but he didn''t get the corresponding lash. Not wanting to refute any more, he just let the forty sword and shield soldiers tie him up like a prisoner. It¡¯s just that before leaving, his eyes that were looking deeply at Lin Feng had already told the other party clearly that he had written down this grudge! Lin Feng, of course, was just messing with him, and his purpose of coming to the barracks is considered complete, and now he is ready leave. Its just that the men still have to prepare their equipment, food and all other things that will be needed and Ouyang Ke is supervising this with Lin Feng''s instruction. But at this time, Lin Feng and Xu Canling is sitting in the camp, drinking tea and resting. "Little brother has led soldiers before?" Xu Canling gently blew the steaming tea, and seemed to ask casually. "Know a little." Lin Feng nodded his head. "A little?" Xu Canling drank a sip from his cup, his face trembled twice, and said with disdain, "I see that you have a laissez-faire approach to the army, and I think you have no right leading one at that age." Lin Feng''s carelessness can be seen on his face, but Xu Canling is amazed in his heart. Who''s child is this? How can this little guy be so confident in himself? Most children can''t help but cry when confronted by grown men such as those bastards from Panying camp. "Many say that, but I beg to differ." "We''ll see about that." Lin Feng''s act of bluffing Shi Bo was nothing more than a prank. Just but a passing whim of his childish mind. But still, being able to select a lineup with both offensive and defensive capabilities from these soldiers at a glance, this cannot be explained by just good luck. He can do it by himself, but that is because of his years of experience in marching and fighting. While this little boy did''nt even look long enough, but he was able to correctly pick the best soldiers? Is it just coincidence, or is there any talent involve? Is this really the difference between people? For example, swordsmen and shields are usually short and strong men with a steady footing, while pikemen are tall and healthy, with good waist and abdomen. As for archers, their eyes are sharper than ordinary people. These are all small details, it is difficult for ordinary people to distinguish, and the information about Lin Feng according to Tang Feng, was just a small entourage of the Tang family. A little entourage, does the Tang family still have a vacancy? He wants to send his son in order to be taken care of too. Xu Canling does not believe it. He thinks Lin Feng is like a son of a bigshot or something. If an entourage can be as easygoing as this, then he must be living a really fulfilled life there or something. He really looks down on Tang Feng, telling such a terrible lie to him and expecting him to believe it. And if what he said is really true, then he also really looks down on the Tang family, for raising their servant to be like this.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! So more or less, he began to have doubts about Lin Feng''s identity in his heart, which is why he tricked Tang Feng into leaving just to test Lin Feng alone. "How can a kid like you know the tricks of selecting good soldiers?" How can Lin Feng explain? Tell the other party that he can directly see the soldier''s proficiency level? So Lin Feng just defuse the tension with Xu Canling by slapping the other guys shoulder, and laughed while saying: "I am interested in this, so I will naturally pay more attention to it. As the saying goes, have you never seen a pig run without eating pork?" "Pig...Run?" Xu Canling is obviously stunned. This metaphor seems appropriate, but I always feel that something is wrong with this kid saying it. How many pigs has he seen in order to apply it at his current age? Lin Feng obviously didn''t want to talk more about this matter, so he then changed the subject: "Sir Xu, godfather said those soldiers are very good, but why would you so easily give them away?" "And judging by their appearance, why are they so dissatisfied with you?" "This¡­" Xu Canling groaned, his fat fingers circling the edge of the teacup, and Lin Feng''s sharp question successfully diverted his attention. "Kid, you might not know, but these people are used to doing things their own way, and it is because of that we never see eye to eye. That is a terrible thing. These soldiers have problems, I would rather not have them in the next war and use other more obedient soldiers instead. It¡¯s better than being unclear and giving my life away!" At the end, he thought about it, and then said: "But I can assure you that these people are absolutely fine, and you have seen their combat power. If you use them well, it will be a great help to yourself!" Lin Feng is silent. In fact, he probably guessed a bit, and asking more deliberately is just changing the subject. But there is a word from the Xu Canling that is somewhat right. That is, the combat power of these people is really good, when compared with the other soldiers he passed on the way here. But for Lin Feng, they are no different from his gang members back home. If he was given enough time, he can turn everyone here into the same strength as the retainers. If he can accept all of these people... The revenge plan against the Hulnora will not be an illusion anymore. In fact, after his godfather brought him to the barracks, Lin Feng felt that the other party wanted him to solicit the soldiers of the Pan Ying camp. His goal for this team is not only to eliminate the secret whistles and posts on the way to Rabatash but the ultimate goal should be to gather these soldiers for himself! After seeing Lin Feng''s expression turned serious after his words, Xu Canliang lost the curiosity to explore Lin Feng''s background, and he seemed a little disappointed while sipping the tea. Lin Feng naturally wouldn''t provoke a conversation rashly, and the two of them were silent, both thinking their own thoughts. After readying everything, it is not nonsense that the soldiers of Panying are irresponsible. Judging from their actions before marching, if Lin Feng was replaced by an ordinary general, they would not be able to lie down for two or three days after being lashed, every single one of them. But now, except for Shi Bo who was being dragged by a horse, the other soldiers were marching as usual. Along with Lin Feng, Ouyang Ke and Major Hao, a group of 152 soldiers and one prisoner left the main army. "Godson, we''ll send you off, and hope to see you return in triumph soon!" After traveling for 8 miles, Tang Feng with Old Jiao and old Cao sent off Lin Feng and his party at the intersection. Naturally, the group met the other retainers who promptly joined in the queue. "Godfather, take care!" Lin Feng also bowed his head in return, and watched the three ride their horses in the direction of the camp. "My son, where are we going?" The scout sergeant in the Panying team was named Chen Ming, and he was quite clever. Knowing that Lin Feng had no military rank at this time, he followed Ouyang Ke and called him son. Then drew the map of Zigrek province in front of Lin Feng. As a scout, he must first go to find the military situation near their destination. Ganafer Kakyr Mountains. On the poorly drawn caricature on the ground, Lin Feng had already determined the location of the border and its surrounding terrain. A day ago, he found information about Zigrek state to make up for it. At the time Chen Ming asked, he pointed out with confidence, and said: "Let''s go here first!" The Ganafer Kakyr Mountains is the border of Jiangxin province and Zigrek state. Near itself is a small canyon called the Bashiat depression. Perhaps not many Han know about this Bashiat canyon. Yes, its reputation is of ill repute. The Bashiat canyon and its poisonous forest is not far from the Ancient Road, only more than seventy miles away, but the environment here is quite different. The Ancient Road is full of yellow sand, but the forest of Bashiat canyon is full of miasma, dense forest, quagmire and swamp, which makes it a really undeveloped area. It is precisely because of this geographical environment that it has become a hiding place for the secrets whistles and posts of both Han and Stan people. The environment of this forest is a bit like the valley of the Ganafer which is just past the Ganafer Kakyr mountains. The people hiding in it are all patriotic fanatics, and everyone¡¯s hands are stained with the blood of non-race. Chapter 22. Poisonous Forest Because of this special geographical environment, Jiangxin province and Zigrek state sent troops several times to eliminate the others whistles, but it was a pity that each side returned without success. As a result of their findings, the complex environment is not conducive to the advancement of the army, not to mention that if the movement is too large, the people hiding in the other side''s part of the forest wil scatter like birds and beasts, and will only return after the army leaves. The Poisonous Forest is located in the border area, too far away from the surrounding cities, and there is no official road nearby. It is a place off the beaten track, so the two countries does not take great care to eradicate the other''s scouts. Over time, the forest has become an official sanctuary for military criminals. Of course, this requires some serious military slip ups if a soldier wants to be sent to the Poisonous Forest as a scout. This is also an important reason why the Ancient Road is gradually being abandoned. For these criminals in military clothing will have no compunctions in robbing their own countrymen of their goods. The Poisonous Forest is not a large area of ??complete forest, but a collective name covering a radius of hundreds of miles. All kinds of areas are scattered among them, a miasma forest to the east, a quagmire swamp to the west, and sometimes a dense forest that seems to be quiet, but there are so many venomous snakes and beasts hidden. It is like a maze of life and death. In addition to knowing that he will die, the soldier will have no choice but to go to the forest of poisonous mist and try his luck. Ordinary people will avoid it for fear, let alone approach it. But today, a group of people who are not afraid of death have come to the edge of the poisonous forest. Lin Feng, Ouyang Ke, and the Panying Camp headed by Shi Bo and the Tang retainer squad headed by Major Hao. Starting from the Rimtar arracks, they marched for half a day. They finally arrived at the Poisonous Forest, evening of May 17. Lin Feng only has less than one day in advance to clear the path for the main army. And he has to clear the Poisonous forest before the soldier legion has used the ancient road. Meaning that the poisonous forest has to be cleared before noon tommorrow. Do something which the predecessors have''nt done with an army, using only a measly group of not even 160 men, how laughable, typical Lin Feng. At this time, everyone is wearing a hat to cover their faces, and they are dressed in wide cloaks to hide their weapons. They are completely dressed up as people in the Jianghu. What is more special is that everyone is carrying a huge bag behind their backs, which looks full of weight. In order to hide their whereabouts, they didn''t take the traveller''s road. But instead used their forty swords and shields soldiers lead by Wei Lian and Saya to open the way with steel knives in turn, specifically to sneak in the dense forest and tread the no man''s land. Although some people have opened the way, there are many trees and poisonous insects, mosquitoes and ants, and every step is extremely difficult. This is very telling of the stamina and professionalism of the Panying soldiers.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Only when marching in such a difficult environment, no one screamed with bitterness. Everyone just walked forward silently without complaining at all. From this point, Lin Feng is very satisfied with people from the Panying camp. As for Shi Bo and the others, they also have an admiration for Lin Feng, the commander in chief who looks like he could be their son. Although the terrain here is difficult, they are not unexperienced, and even the more difficult roads have been walked, which is nothing to them. But what''s surprising is the Lin Feng who seemed so weak, and Shi Bo and others thought that not long after they got into the woods, Lin Feng couldn''t stand it and asked to retreat. How can I think that Lin Feng not only didn''t retreat, he didn''t even frown. Instead, he was still at the forefront of the team, helping to cut with two swords and clearing the way during the rotation of the sword and shield soldiers. Everyone can also see that Lin Feng is not only holding on, but is really accustomed to this environment, even faintly, Shi Bo feels that Lin Feng seems to feel like a fish in water. He didn''t know that Lin Feng had done this kind of thing dozens of times in his life. Walking in the dense forest is like walking in his own living room. How could he not be able to stand it. While opening the road, Lin Feng ordered the people to collect all the branches, shrubs, etc. that were cut along the way, and bundle them into bundles and bundles. After walking for most of the day, everyone lifted the bucket-thick bundle of wet wood. None of them gave up. This is also due to the excellent physical fitness of the great soldier. If you need to replace them with an ordinary small soldier. He may not be able to carry a bundle of wet wood, let alone move, while carrying a heavy object in the dense forest with no road at all. Shi Bo tried to protest against Lin Feng''s inhumane practices several times, but when he saw Lin Feng also carrying a bundle of wet wood on his shoulders that was not inferior to their own, he closed his mouth after all. After walking like this for a few hours, when everyone''s physical strength was reaching the limit, they finally found an open, low-lying flat ground in the dense forest. Including Lin Feng, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. People had been waiting here in the depression, they were the scouting team led by Chen Ming and the vile faced He who left the group to explore the path. Walking through the dense forest where the direction cannot be distinguished, Lin Feng and others rely on the marks left by retainer He in advance, otherwise they are afraid that they are still exploring in the mountains. "Boss!" "Boss!" Chen Ming saw the party walking through the dense forest, and even bowed to Lin Feng on one knee and bowed to Lin Feng. "How?" Midnight is approaching, and Lin Feng asked retainer He while instructing everyone to rest for some time. Lin Feng specifically chose each of these soldiers for their scouting proficiency and night vision. "We have already explored the area, and there is still a short journey from here to the nearest Stan area. There is no sign of activity within 2 miles of this place." Retainer He replied. According to incomplete statistics, there are at least four to five thousand Stan scouts hidden in this area of ??hundreds of miles. After years of operation, dozens of different forces, large and small, have been formed, and their strength should not be underestimated. Although these Stan forces are always competing for merits with the other camps constantly, when foreign enemies like Han invade, they will definitely put aside their private grievances and unify themselves! The Poisonous Forest is the only place where the military felons of the Stan from the three surrounding States can continue to serve their sentence while still being free to do what they want. It is like their safe haven, and no one wants to lose it. Therefore, if there are any Han who dares to go to the Stan side of the poisonous forest, no matter who it is, it will inevitably cause fierce resistance from all the Stans inside. This is the tacit understanding of every Stan in private. If today you let the Han take an inch, who is to say they will only stop with just that? When they were still approaching the Poisonous Forest, Lin Feng had already told everyone the purpose of this trip. The purpose of sending retainer He and the scouting group is to explore the way first and also to avoid being discovered in the Poisonous Forest, for amongst his retainers, He has the highest scouting and roguery proficiencies, almost reaching old guard level. Chapter 23. 5 platoons Leading the soldiers, marching to fight, for Lin Feng, there is a feeling of finding his place in the world, and his blood seems to be boiling and stirring. This is a call from the soul. Since birth, there are only a few times Lin Feng was able to lead the army to march and fight. Last time was against a group of Hulnora. But that time was very boring, involving only a party of castaways, and the pressure was not enough for Lin Feng. However, this time it is different. It seems that this action is considered to be impossible by everybody, except himself. And the time of action seems to be only in one night. During this time, he can command these soldiers to the fullest and experience the feeling of rushing blood. "And that is the current state of affairs!" When retainer He and the other scouts finished handing over their report, the one legged Li Cha rushed forward. In the eyes of the surprised retainers, he rushed to the position of the soldiers. "This old thing, he actually dares to take the lead!" "Not putting us in his eyes!" ...... The other retainers are all angry. Lin Feng heard the angry voice of the other retainers in his ear, but he just smiled and didn''t care about them. With these retainers accompanying him on the battlefield, some plans Lin Feng has thought of are also possible. With the help of these retainers, he will surely beat the Stans here, even with more than ten to one odds. Slowing down the pace, Li Cha trudged on with his special gait and went to the front of the 150 soldier army. This is his special gait for moving due to his injuries. Among the retainers, only he with his more than ten years of experience know how to use this method on how to keep moving and fighting even though his body is racked with fatigue and injuries. He took a look at these people, these veterans of the battlefield, and their worn-out armor is enough to illustrate the problem. Those who contribute their life to the empire''s frontier are eligible for his respect. Everyone in the 150 man army saw Li Cha''s movements, and they all changed their faces. This mission, originally they thought it to be a suicide mission lead by a fool, but they did not expect to see such a person. With an urgent gait even though suffering from lameness, Li Cha won the respect of these soldiers.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "My name is Lt. Li Cha Shar and I''m putting together a special team, and I need me three ten soldiers. Three ten of the bravest soldiers. Now, y''all might''ve heard rumors about the invasion happening soon. Well, we''ve left a little earlier. We''re gonna be stuck into this hellhole of a place, dressed with this shitty armor. And once we''re in Stan territory, as a bushwhackin'' guerrilla army, we''re gonna be doin'' one thing and one thing only... killin'' Stans. Now, I don''t know about y''all, but I sure as hell didn''t come down from the goddamn Taijan, cross five thousand miles of Jiangxin, fought my way through half of the Empire and jump out of a fuckin'' cliff to teach them Stans some lessons in humanity. Stans ain''t got no humanity. They''re the foot soldiers of a Han-hatin'', mass murderin'' maniacs and they need to be dee-stroyed. That''s why any and every son of a bitch we find looking like a Stan, they''re gonna die. Now, I''m the direct descendant of a mountain man. That means I got a little Betib in me. And our battle plan will be that of a Gurkha resistance. We will be cruel to the Stans, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us. And the Stan won''t not be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives. And the Stan will be sickened by us, and the Stan will talk about us, and the Stan will fear us. And when the Stan closes their eyes at night and they''re tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with. Sound good?" Li Cha finished his speech. His voice was high and his eyes were sharp. Even in the face of 150 battlefield veterans, there was no trace of self doubt. "I am willing to follow adults!" After a brief silence, a team of 30 men went out of the queue, their eyes looking bright and spirited. "That''s what I like to hear. But I got a word of warning for all you would-be warriors. When you join my command, you take on debit. A debit you owe me personally. Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Stan scalps. And I want my scalps. And all y''all will git me one hundred Stan scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Stans. Or you will die tryin''." Li Cha waved his hand and immediately went to the hill on the other side. Behind him, thirty of the best soldiers followed him closely. There was no clutter in their pace and queue, and they were the neatest and tidiest of the bunch. Lin Feng turned his head and glanced at Li Cha. He nodded secretly. As far as military literacy is concerned, among the surrounding retainers, Li Cha''s are undoubtedly the most solid. This also adds to his confidence in this action. "Why is this old man so energetic?" Retainer Lei looked at the back of Li Cha''s departure and frowned slightly. After Li Cha, Ouyang Ke followed next with his prideful demeanor. He also got another 30 soldiers who could be arbitrarily commanded by himself, though he is co leadered by Lei. But after all, they were of the same age. They had only seen some of the world, and they didn¡¯t like each other one bit. The Imperial academy is the Imperial academy. The civilians are civilians. Ouyang Ke can''t help but despise Lei with humble origins, while Lei looks down on Ouyang Ke for being not well rounded enough, which Lin Feng always labels as the most important foundation. "One must not simply be good in one thing." Lin Feng can''t help but interject once he saw everybody seemed to be taking their sweet time in choosing among the soldiers. "Forget it. The task is important, everyone, hurry up in picking." Li Cha''s group. Ouyang Ke''s group. Wei Lian''s group. Major Hao''s group. Lin Feng''s group. Everyone separated 150 soldiers into five teams of more than thirty men. The night is young, for the moon is high, but it does not care from whence the blood came from, as long as it flows.