We're practicing all martial arts, so why did you switch to easy mode?

Chapter 192 Chaos in the North, Military Expedition, Inclusion on the List

In the distance, a familiar figure came into view.

The sudden appearance of Liang Qingsong made Ma Chen's heart tighten, and a look of panic and helplessness appeared on his face.

Through his observations over the past few days, he discovered that Liang Qingsong would come to the courtyard every night, but only once at most.

They deliberately made their move after Liang Qingsong left tonight, but unexpected things still happened.

As Liang Qingsong drew closer, Ma Chen grew increasingly anxious. He wanted to warn Su Chen, but he was afraid of being discovered by the Liang family.

"Tie Kun, hurry up!"

Ma Chen screamed inwardly and threw a pebble as a reminder.

Liang Qingsong had already arrived outside the courtyard and would be able to enter in just a few breaths.

If Su Chen doesn't come out soon, he'll be discovered!
"who?"

Left with no other choice, Ma Chen deliberately made a noise to attract Liang Qingsong's attention.

Sure enough, upon hearing the commotion, Liang Qingsong immediately shouted and then leaped into the air, chasing after the sound.

Ma Chen ignored him and continued to distract Liang Qingsong.

"you again!"

Liang Qingsong's eyes were sharp, and he recognized Ma Chen at a glance, his anger rising.

This guy has repeatedly sneaked into the Liang family mansion to steal their elixirs, and has already been placed on the Liang family's kill list.

Now they dare to come again, and even more brazenly, coveting the pill formula. Do they really think they can do whatever they want in the Liang family with such agility?

Liang Qingsong moved swiftly, clenched his fist, and suddenly raised his arm, forming a triangular spike made of concentrated energy.

With a soft shout, he released the triangular dagger, which transformed into a beam of light and struck Ma Chen directly.

The series of whooshing sounds coming from behind made Ma Chen feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He dared not be careless and hurriedly changed direction.

Bang!
A deep explosion suddenly resounded. Ma Chen turned his head and saw that the Mitsubishi Spike had exploded where he had just stood, creating a rain of elemental energy.

Upon seeing this, Ma Chen's pupils shrank sharply. If he were hit, he would likely be seriously injured even if he didn't die.

Before he could recover from the shock, another triangular spike hurtled towards him with lightning speed. Ma Chen's heart tightened, and he dodged.

But this time, Liang Qingsong seemed to have anticipated Ma Chen's move, and the second triangular spike quickly condensed and shot out in an instant.

"not good!"

Ma Chen's expression changed drastically. A triangular spike suddenly shot towards him from where he landed, its reflection in his pupils magnifying rapidly.

At the critical moment, Ma Chen frantically mobilized the energy within his body, concentrating it on his palm, and with a muffled groan, unleashed a powerful palm strike.

"hehe!"

Upon seeing this, Liang Qingsong, who was rushing over, sneered. How could such weak power possibly withstand his Yuan Power attack?

Sure enough, the moment the palm strike clashed with the triangular spike, the terrifying power of the triangular spike shattered the palm strike with overwhelming force.

In an instant, the triangular spike pierced through layers of force, shaking the void, and came hurtling towards the sky with the momentum to shatter clouds and split rocks.

The sharp point of light instantly filled Ma Chen's vision, and his mind went blank for a moment.

"Who?"

Just as the triangular spike was about to pierce Ma Chen's body, it suddenly stopped, as if it had hit something, making a strange sound.

But in Liang Qingsong's eyes, the Mitsubishi spikes were only three meters away from Ma Chen, and there was nothing in the darkness ahead.

No, that's not right.

As the violent impact resounded, Liang Qingsong's eyes narrowed.

He saw that at the tip of the triangular spike, the air was slightly distorted, revealing only the tip of an iceberg.

It was a giant, equally sharp gold needle, colliding with the Mitsubishi spike like two wheat awns meeting.

Bang!
In an instant, a dull, hammering sound resounded, like a tidal wave.

The golden needles and triangular thorns were shattered by the impact of their respective forces, and the restrained energy could no longer hold on and was about to explode.

Suddenly, a huge net of force descended from the sky, enveloping the two and managing to suppress their explosion.

"This is?"

Liang Qingsong was already surprised by who made the move, but when he saw this scene, his heart trembled.

What kind of move is this?
Before he could recover, the net of immense power suddenly flew towards him.

shhhhhh!
When Liang Qingsong was only twenty meters away, a gap appeared in the net of force.

The internal energy and primordial power were instantly released, pouring out like a tidal wave.

In the end, the net of force could no longer withstand the pressure and exploded in front of Liang Qingsong.

Liang Qingsong reacted quickly, realizing the danger, and transformed into a gust of wind to dodge.

After a long while, the roaring stopped.

Liang Qingsong's expression was uncertain, his eyes were gloomy, and Ma Chen had already disappeared.

"They even had backup!"

Liang Qingsong murmured to himself, recalling the figure that had appeared in his fleeting glimpse just now, and his expression immediately became dark and inscrutable.

A moment later, Liang Qingsong returned to the courtyard.

"Chief, Liang Rui has fallen unconscious."

As soon as he entered the courtyard, the guard hurriedly reported, and Liang Qingsong's face turned ashen upon hearing it.

He entered the room and found that not only Liang Rui had fainted, but also four maids.

"Wake him up," Liang Qingsong ordered.

Shortly after, Liang Rui awoke and, seeing Liang Qingsong's pale face, cried out in alarm, "Clan leader, the pill formula... the pill formula has been stolen..."

"waste!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Qingsong snorted coldly, waved his hand, and the guards took Liang Rui away.

……

The person who made the move was none other than Su Chen.

After rescuing Ma Chen, the two rode back at full speed and arrived at their residence in less than fifteen minutes.

"Phew." Ma Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Su Chen intervened in time, otherwise he would have been in grave danger.

"Thank you very much this time." Su Chen patted Ma Chen's shoulder lightly and said thank you.

If Ma Chen hadn't distracted Liang Qingsong, he wouldn't have been able to obtain the pill formula so easily.

Ma Chen shook his head and smiled, then asked, "It's nothing. Did you get the pill formula?"

Su Chen nodded and took out a stack of documents from his pocket. These were all obtained from the alchemist Liang Rui.

Liang Qingsong must have handed over all the pill formulas to the alchemist so that he could master the pill refining technique as soon as possible, but unexpectedly Su Chen ended up getting the benefit.

My head started to ache after just a few glances; I guess I'm just not cut out for studying.

Ma Chen put down the pill formula and saw Su Chen looking at it with great interest, so he couldn't help but ask, "It's good that you found it. But Tie Kun, you can also refine pills?"

Su Chen replied without looking up, "I know a little."

Silent all night.

The next day at noon, Su Chen finished organizing the pill formulas. The pill refining process was actually quite similar, but there were many annotations that needed to be categorized.

"Are you leaving?"

After the two had lunch, Su Chen said goodbye, and Ma Chen was a little reluctant to part.

"Okay." Su Chen nodded upon hearing this. He had been away for so long, it was time to go back. "Let's meet at the usual place from now on."

"it is good!"

After saying goodbye to Ma Chen, Su Chen returned to Fengbei City with his original appearance restored.

After entering the city, Su Chen keenly sensed that the atmosphere inside the city had become much heavier, and there were far fewer pedestrians on the streets and alleys.

There was a hint of unease on everyone's face.

"what's going on?"

Walking down the street, Su Chen could feel the oppressive atmosphere even more clearly, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

I haven't been back for a few days, and Fengbei City seems to have changed.

After traveling through the streets, Su Chen returned to the Qiao residence. The servants of the Qiao residence were already used to Su Chen's sudden disappearances and returns.

The yard is cleaned every day and looks exceptionally clean.

After putting away what he had acquired recently, Su Chen went to the courtyard and soon saw Qiao Qiliang walking over in a hurry.

"Su Chen, you're finally back." Qiao Qiliang strode over and said to him.

Su Chen knew Qiao Qiliang definitely had something to say, so he just smiled and didn't interrupt.

“You have no idea, while you were gone, Dafeng City was about to change drastically!” Sure enough, Qiao Qiliang continued.

The next sentence immediately made Su Chen's expression turn puzzled. Qiao Qiliang's face became solemn as he continued, "The North was in chaos, and the Demon Martial Sect seized the opportunity to rise up, sweeping across the land with overwhelming force."

In just a few days, they captured half of the cities in the north. The situation had become too volatile, and the north was in grave danger.

At the same time, rebellions of varying degrees broke out in Xicang Prefecture and Nanyuan Prefecture. Although not as serious as those in the North, they still made the Great Qian Dynasty very nervous.

Of the five prefectures of the Great Qian Dynasty, only the Donglin Prefecture remains unscathed, but when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

Once the North falls, the Great Qian capital will be in grave danger, let alone the Eastern Lin Prefecture.

The incident in the north shocked the court and the public. When Emperor Qian learned of the news, he was furious and ordered Xicang Prefecture and Nanyuan Prefecture to quell the rebellion quickly.

At the same time, the three prefectures were ordered to send troops to support the northern region and suppress the rebellion.

Upon learning the news, the prefectural lord ordered the five cities of Dafeng to recruit warriors from each city as the first batch of auxiliary troops, who would then go to the front lines alongside the prefectural army.

Qiao Qiliang spoke at length, and the gravity of each sentence was palpable.

Indeed, Su Chen, who had been away for a long time, might not have known, but Qiao Qiliang did. As soon as the news broke, countless forces reacted and prepared for the worst.

"No wonder!" Su Chen suddenly realized, no wonder he had felt a sense of impending storm before.

Qiao Qiliang nodded: "Our Fengbei City also needs to recruit martial artists. The city lord has given us ten Blood-Moving Martial Artists, one hundred Bone-Forging Martial Artists, five hundred Visceral-Refining Martial Artists, and one thousand Strength-Refining Martial Artists."

The city of Dafeng is now vastly different from what it used to be. With the influx of various forces from the prefectural city, its overall strength has increased many levels.

Recruiting 1,600 martial artists is somewhat difficult, but definitely not too much.

“However…” Qiao Qiliang frowned as he spoke.

Su Chen asked, puzzled, "But what?"

“However, this conscription was jointly organized by the city lord’s mansion and the clan, and the mansion lord also sent his personal guards to supervise it,” Qiao Qiliang replied somewhat indignantly.

Logically, the city lord's mansion should have been in charge of recruiting martial artists, but no one expected the mansion lord to make such a decision in the end.

Seeing Su Chen's furrowed brows, Qiao Qiliang smiled and said, "Don't worry, with me here, neither you nor Li Mo will be on the record."

"Hmm." Su Chen nodded. He didn't care, but he was worried about Li Mo.

Now that I've heard Qiao Qiliang say this, I feel relieved.

"By the way, what did you want to see me about?" Qiao Qiliang asked.

Su Chen took out a list and said, "I need you to help me buy some medicinal herbs."

Qiao Qiliang took the list, glanced at it, then put it away, patting his chest and saying, "Don't worry, leave it to me."

After chatting for a few minutes, Qiao Qiliang took his leave, as the matter of recruiting martial artists had kept him busy.

Qiao Qiliang was as efficient as ever, and by evening he had already delivered a batch of medicinal herbs ahead of schedule.

However, Su Chen did not rush to refine the Blood Strengthening Pill, but continued to study the pill formula, striving to master it in the shortest possible time.

Although the steps and contents recorded in this prescription are very detailed, understanding them is one thing, and doing them is another.

These annotations can help Su Chen understand better, reduce some unnecessary mistakes, and get started faster, so he should take them seriously.

"As expected of the Blood Strengthening Pill, which is even more potent than the Blood Qi Pill, it contains hundreds of medicinal ingredients, including a Light Spirit Pill as a medicinal guide."

If I remember correctly, the Light Spirit Pill is a Qi and Blood Medicine produced by the Liang family. Its effects are weaker than the Qi and Blood Pill, but I never expected it to have this effect.

No wonder the Liang family controls the sales channels for the Light Spirit Pill, and rarely sells it to individuals.

After studying it for almost a day, Su Chen finally understood the Blood Strengthening Pill and also learned why the Liang Clan became one of the four major clans.

The relationship between the Yun and Liang clans was similar to that between the Hong and Chu clans; they were interdependent and each developed independently.

The Liang family controls the Light Spirit Pill, while the Yun family controls the Blood Strengthening Pill. Although the Light Spirit Pill has little effect on martial artists, it is extremely important to the Yun family.

Because the formula for the Blood Strengthening Pill clearly states that using the Light Spirit Pill can increase the success rate by 30%, and its efficacy is also several times stronger than that of the Blood Strengthening Pill made by ordinary means.

Therefore, the Liang family traded the Light Spirit Pill with the Yun family for the Blood Strengthening Pill, achieving a win-win situation for both parties.

After a moment of random thoughts, Su Chen began refining the Blood Strengthening Pill.

Time flies, and five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

in the secret room.

Bang!
The alchemy furnace exploded.

"Another furnace has been scrapped."

Su Chen sighed helplessly; this was already the umpteenth time he had failed to refine it.

The difficulty of refining the Blood Strengthening Pill is far beyond imagination, ten or even a hundred times more difficult than the Blood Qi Pill.

The five-day refining process was almost entirely unsuccessful.

The closest I came to success was that, although the furnace didn't explode, the pills didn't form either; instead, a bunch of sticky liquid appeared.

This is nothing like what a Blood Strengthening Pill should be.

"Sigh, let's continue refining."

After adjusting his mindset, Su Chen continued to bury himself in rigorous training.

On this day, the outside world...

The recruitment of warriors proceeded in full swing, and with the joint efforts of the Luo family and the city lord's mansion, the quota was quickly filled.

The Luo family mansion.

The music lingered, dancers swayed gracefully, and wine cups clinked—a truly vibrant and enchanting scene.

Luo Yuanxiu, the patriarch of the Luo clan, raised his wine cup and laughed heartily: "I am grateful for the help of the three gentlemen in this recruitment. I, Luo Yuanxiu, would like to offer a toast to the three gentlemen."

"Chief Luo, you're too kind. This is our duty. Besides, we were able to complete the recruitment so quickly thanks to Chief Luo's great help." A middle-aged man laughed loudly, raised his glass and drank it down. The men on either side of him also raised their glasses and drank their wine in one gulp.

"Haha, Lord Xin, you flatter me." Luo Yuanxiu shook his head and smiled.

Just then, a member of the Luo family walked in through the door. He came to Luo Yuanxiu's side and whispered a few words.

Seeing Luo Yuanxiu frown, Qian Xin, the leader, asked curiously, "Clan Chief Luo, have you encountered some trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Yuanxiu waved his hand, the servants withdrew, the zither music stopped abruptly, the dancers fell silent, and the hall instantly became quiet.

He waved his hand and said, "It's nothing important, just a visit from Qiao Qiliang."

"Qiao Qiliang?" Qian Xin was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "What's he doing here?"

Before they could finish speaking, they heard footsteps coming from the doorway, and then they saw Qiao Qiliang striding in with a sullen face.

Seeing Qiao Qiliang barge in, Luo Yuanxiu's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but he remained calm. He stood up, flicked his sleeve, and ordered the dancers to leave.

Looking at Qiao Qiliang, Luo Yuanxiu said with a forced smile, "Young Master Qiao, isn't it rather improper of you to barge into the Luo residence without permission?"

Qiao Qiliang swept his cold gaze across the room and snorted, "How can it compare to Chief Luo's meddlesome behavior of chasing mice like a dog?"

"Qiao Qiliang, the Luo family is not a place for you to run wild!" A soft voice rang out; it was Luo Jin'an, the direct descendant of the Luo family.

Upon hearing Qiao Qiliang's words, he immediately stood up, his face showing displeasure.

"I'm talking to Clan Chief Luo, what right do you have to interrupt?" Qiao Qiliang replied indifferently, which made Luo Jin'an's face turn black with anger.

Just as he was about to lose his temper, Luo Yuanxiu stopped him: "Jin'an, all the officials are here, don't lose your dignity."

He then turned to Qiao Qiliang and asked, "Young Master Qiao, please speak frankly. Since all the officials are here, let them be the judges."

"Back then, the Luo family and the City Lord's Mansion signed an agreement, each responsible for half of the recruitment quota. My City Lord's Mansion is responsible for recruiting martial artists in the East and South Districts. Li Mo is from the DC District. Clan Chief Luo, could you explain to me why he is also on this recruitment list?" Qiao Qiliang asked through gritted teeth.

"Hehe, so that's what it is."

Luo Yuanxiu chuckled lightly, "This matter was a mistake made by my subordinates. I have already reported it to the three lords, and they have decided not to hold it against me."

"Then why not change it?"

Luo Yuanxiu's expression hardened slightly: "He's just an unknown nobody. If he makes a mistake, so be it. It's his good fortune to be able to go to the front line. Why should we change it?"

Could it be that Young Master Qiao believes that others can go, and members of the Luo clan can go, but this person cannot?
Is this Li Mo more noble than the tens of thousands who serve their country?

His voice rose slightly, carrying a hint of aggressiveness, leaving Qiao Qiliang speechless.

"Of course not," Qiao Qiliang quickly denied.

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "However, I have my own arrangements for this person, and Chief Luo need not meddle in his affairs."

Luo Jinan, standing to the side, chuckled lightly: "Qiao Qiliang, I advise you not to make trouble. The list has already been submitted, witnessed by all the officials. What's done is done, how can you possibly change it?"

After a long silence, Qian Xin said expressionlessly, "The list has already been submitted to the Lord of the Manor and cannot be changed. Young Master Qiao, it would be best not to make trouble unreasonably."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Qiliang was furious. He rushed over as soon as he received the news that Li Mo had been included in the list.

Unexpectedly, Luo had already secretly submitted the list and even summoned Qian Xin and others to testify.

Just a few days ago, he confidently assured Su Chen that Li Mo would not be selected, but in the blink of an eye, the Luo family interfered. You can imagine how angry Qiao Qiliang was, and his face was as dark as ink.

At this moment, Luo Yuanxiu gave the order to leave: "If there is nothing else, Young Master Qiao, please leave. Jin'an, see him out."

Luo Jinan responded and came to Qiao Qiliang. Seeing his appearance, he sneered.

He sneered, "Don't just stand here like an idiot. Hurry up and go back to prepare for the aftermath of the Four Seas Gang. I forgot to tell you, besides Li Mo, this time they also recruited your so-called vice gang leader."

These words acted as a fuse, completely igniting Qiao Qiliang's anger. He roared, "You're asking for death!"

(End of this chapter)