In the 300th year of Daqing, you achieved minor success in "Tianhe River Flowing" and challenged Wang Ye again. This time, your energy, enhanced by your martial arts skills, saw a slight increase in your transformation abilities.
[So you had the upper hand in this battle, but you didn't achieve significant dominance. Plus, it was just a sparring match, so it still ended in a draw.]
In the year 301 of the Daqing era, you escorted the master's last disciple, 21-year-old Bai Liguang, to Qitian Peak to participate in the Young Talent Competition. Bai Liguang's martial arts skills had already reached the limit of a second-rate warrior, and he was only one step away from unleashing his inner energy, becoming a first-rate master like you.
[The Young Talent Competition is a stage for young warriors under 25 to become famous... Perhaps in this world, it should be replaced with a martial arts arena.]
You can't help but think back to twenty-five years ago. Back then, you were actually qualified to participate in that year's Young Talent Competition, and perhaps even made it into the top fifty. Unfortunately, you were tied to the Qinghe Gang and focused on licking the mysterious master Zhu Baowen.
[Afterwards, he experienced various dissipations of his gong, which caused his martial arts cultivation to stagnate for a time. Otherwise, he would have reached the top level before the age of thirty-five.]
Although you don't regret it.
On the way to Qitian Peak, you encountered a group of bandits, over 60 strong, many of them barely capable of third-rate martial arts. You watched Bai Liguang single-handedly dispatch over a dozen of them in a short period of time. You couldn't help but marvel at the sheer stamina of young people.
[As you watched over thirty bandits being killed, you watched from behind. You felt that Bai Liguang's internal energy and physical strength were almost depleted. Just as he was about to attack, the bandits, fearing death, retreated.]
You thought that was it, but a few days later, as you passed through a small town, you saw three hundred soldiers surrounding you. They claimed that it was you two who were so ruthless that you actually massacred the entire village outside the town you passed by, leaving no one alive.
[But as luck would have it, a passerby saw all this, quietly hid himself, and later chose to report it to the city lord, exposing your evil deeds to the sun!]
You and Bai Liguang fell silent as you looked at the righteous whistleblower. He was one of the bandits who had escaped from your hands a few days ago. His sausage-shaped mouth was so memorable.
Bai Liguang angrily begins to argue, but before he can finish, soldiers armed with spears draw closer, gradually forming a circle around him... You immediately grab him and run.
[The situation is very clear. The city lord and the bandits are in cahoots. Their relationship is even more than just white gloves. Perhaps the bandit leader is the city lord's brother-in-law.]
How else could he have killed two of his own men every time he mobilized his army, even massacring a small village?
[At the same time, he used the power of words to intimidate the soldiers: "We have a martial artist behind us! Are you sure you want to offend a powerful martial artist who can take your life at any time just for those bandits?!"]
[But the city lord was not there and did not hear it.]
Even if a second-rate warrior and a first-rate warrior were combined, it would be impossible to kill all 300 soldiers, especially since these soldiers had undergone a certain amount of training and could barely be considered second-rate warriors.
[They have more soldiers, but they're not as strong as you. Until they send out the cavalry... You kill the knights with a few strikes, and then you and Bai Liguang mount your horses together.]
[When you arrive in the neighboring city, the two of you will visit the local martial arts gym, spread the news widely, and then proceed to Qitian Peak to participate in the competition as if nothing had happened.]
[Since you are not the main character in the competition, you are responsible for eating, drinking, and watching the competition from the audience.]
Bai Liguang won 24th place in the competition and ranked 71st on the "Young Talent Ranking."
On your way back, you received several carriages filled with silver, various martial arts tonics, and a letter of apology from the city lord.
[Basically, it's about a temporary deputy city lord who accepted bribes from bandits and had the audacity to frame a good young man. Fortunately, he discovered it early...]
"This is a world where warriors are the best of the best." Yun Shou sighed.
But this is understandable. An ordinary second-rate warrior can kill twenty or thirty well-trained soldiers. This means that as long as he wants to leave, one or two hundred people cannot stop him.
A powerful first-class warrior can fight one hundred, two or three hundred at a time, and even after exhausting his energy, he is still no match for ordinary people. This means that he can easily defeat an ordinary army of thousands of people, take the general's head, and then walk away.
As for the martial artist, a martial artist basically has the power to cut through an army of thousands, and can defeat an army of a thousand men alone, and even horses cannot catch up with the normal trotting speed of such a being.
As for a martial arts master, unless he fought foolishly, he would remain unscathed even if faced with a million-strong army and arrows raining down. He could even knock down a house with one palm strike...
So - how could the city lord be an enemy of warriors? How dare he be an enemy of warriors?
Before he ordered 300 soldiers to encircle and suppress Yun Shou, he only knew that the opponent was a relatively outstanding second-rate warrior, or two. If he knew that Yun Shou was first-rate, then the two of them would not have been stopped at all when they entered the city!
And if the city lord knew that there was a martial artist behind the two men, he might even take the initiative to prepare a drink to apologize.
Now that you've received the apology, you no longer care about the truth. Perhaps the bandit leader is the city lord's brother-in-law, or perhaps the city lord's younger brother, unwilling to be provoked, became a bandit soldier, only to be killed instantly by Bai Liguang's sword... As long as I get the money, it's fine.
In the year 302 of the Daqing era, you are 47 years old, your foundation is at 161%, and your internal organs have reached 30%. You feel that many of your body's internal abilities have been enhanced, including your heart's ability to pump blood, your lungs' breathing power, and your stomach's digestive ability.
[The strengthening of these organs doesn't directly increase your combat power, but it does strengthen your hidden strength in various aspects, for example, making your martial arts training more effective.]
"Your energy has increased by 30% compared to when you first reached the first-class level four years ago. Now, even when sparring with Wang Ye, you only manage to win a small victory."
Although you are nearly 50, you feel as healthy as if you were in your thirties. This foundation, which is growing year by year, not only increases your combat power but also seems to have some effect on prolonging your life.
[The lifespan of a warrior isn't as extraordinary as that of a cultivator. The average lifespan of a Grandmaster is only two and a half decades, or around 150 years. And if you continue to strengthen your foundation like this, you might even be able to live to 200!]
In the 303rd year of the Daqing era, one night, a red meteorite streaked across the sky (ps: this is just a metaphor). Unknownst to anyone, this was the beginning of a world of upheaval!
On April 7th, overnight, Xingcheng was transformed into a dead zone. Hundreds of thousands of people perished in the city. Blood and fumes rose to the sky, dyeing the sky red. The entire city was littered with broken bones and flesh.
[After the merchant spread the news, the whole world was shocked! ]