Origin Paradise!

Jiang He picked up the bow and arrow and stepped away, thinking to himself, "Hands and feet move together, elbows and knees move together, shoulders and hips move together, the whole body is a unified whole, this is the Ming Jin described in the Mountain Spear Technique."

"These techniques are independent of the Origins game. Similar to Dr. Ryan's bomb zombies and the current Garuda mode, they are all special applications of power."

"Ming Jin can mobilize the strength of the whole body, apply it to fists and feet, and even enhance weapons to strike with the force of a thousand pounds. However, it requires full concentration, and twenty or thirty strikes are enough to exhaust me."

"Having mastered Ming Jin, my spear skills have improved significantly, but my player panel still shows LV7. Indeed, this kind of regular extra damage is very valuable."

Jiang He used Ming Jin (a type of internal energy) to gradually improve his proficiency. This skill originated from his understanding during a mission teleportation. At that time, the strange power of the teleportation swept through every corner of his body, distributed very evenly and tightly, indirectly revealing the feeling of Ming Jin.

According to Dr. Ryan, a fellow practitioner, martial arts players are the smallest category, almost the only one. This is because when upgrading from a beginner to an expert skill, not only are skill points required, but also certain conditions must be met. These conditions cannot be obtained directly; they must be met through intuition and understanding. It is said that if an expert wants to advance to a higher level, they must go through this process again.

For martial arts players, going from beginner to expert is a major hurdle. Using skill points to improve is already difficult due to insufficient foundation. After reaching beginner level 9, it is a wiser choice to switch to shooting, bombs, traps and other areas.

In the current mainstream view among players, passive skills are far inferior to active skills. The latter grant power more quickly and efficiently, allowing for faster use of extraordinary abilities. Being faster in one step leads to being faster in every step, making it easier to seize opportunities in the new era.

Jiang He had no interest in the arguments of being proactive or passive; his immediate priority was to find a place to rest, as he was expending a great deal of energy as he became more and more familiar with Ming Jin.

Fortunately, we ate three bags of raw white rice and a hundred pounds of meat before setting off; otherwise, finding food would have been a significant challenge.

……

It was late at night, and the rain was falling.

On the streets, the Qing army had already begun a massacre.

Three soldiers stood in front, middle and rear positions, escorting over a hundred people to an open area. If anyone resisted, they were beaten with the back of their swords or killed outright. Despite the huge disparity in numbers, no one dared to escape.

These people were all from wealthy families. The leader of the soldiers began to torture a well-off middle-aged man to extract a confession. The women had long ropes tied around their necks, like strings of pearls. Because of their bound feet, they walked unsteadily and were dragged by the ropes after falling down. Their clothes were covered in mud.

At this time, the streets were full of abandoned children, trampled by horses or people, a scene of "liver and brains splattered on the ground," with cries echoing across the fields. In ditches and ponds, corpses piled up, hands and feet intertwined, blood flowing into the water, making it murky and turbid. Ponds were filled with corpses, crowded and unbearable.

On the eaves next to her, Jiang He covered herself with a black cloth, half asleep and half awake.

The sound of a middle-aged man begging for mercy rang in my ears, followed by a flurry of sword strikes, and then the sound disappeared.

A moment later, there was a woman's angry howl, followed by another sound of swords piercing flesh, and then the noise subsided.

Both of them died.

A soldier dragged the young woman to a nearby tree. She refused to put down her baby, so the soldier angrily snatched the baby away and threw it hard into the mud.

Another soldier demanded that all the women remove their clothes. The bound women looked on with fear and sorrow, but did not resist.

Just as the three soldiers were playing, an arrow flew through the air. It was slightly off-target and missed its vital point, but it struck the white armor on the back of one of the soldiers under the tree. However, the force of the arrow was suddenly released, and it pierced through the armor, shattering the lower back and side of the soldier's abdomen before splitting open.

The other two soldiers tried to escape, but due to the close proximity, they were hit by arrows one after another. One of them died instantly, and the other had his right leg shot off.

Jiang He climbed down from the eaves, took out a butcher knife to finish off the prey, and then cut the thick rope.

"You can run now."

Nearly a hundred people participated, but no one answered.

Amidst the shouts of the soldiers, wives called out to their husbands, and parents called out to their children, making the streets unusually noisy, but this place was exceptionally quiet.

A young woman sat on the ground, her face deathly pale, muttering things like "I'm going to die" and "I'm going to be killed."

A teenager looked at someone with hatred and howled, "You beast! You were right there! Why didn't you save my parents? Why?!"

A half-naked woman ran up from under the tree and frantically pounded on someone's back, yelling, "You killed Qingbing, you're going to get us killed! They're everywhere, what can they possibly hide in!"

Upon hearing the word "kill," a dozen or so people, their faces pale, slipped away, thinking that it would be good to live a little longer.

Jiang He remained calm, turned around and kicked the persistent guy away. Then, stroking his chin thoughtfully, he walked to the alley next door, intending to go back to sleep. Three more Ming Jin blows had already made his shoulder feel sore and numb.

"The boy was driven by guilt, the woman under the tree by fear and shame, and what about that silly goose?"

A wealthy merchant stepped forward, leading his wife, children, and elderly relatives into the alley.

Jiang He raised an eyebrow and turned around.

“My benefactor, I will never forget your life-saving grace. I beg you to protect my family and ensure their safety. I will give you a thousand pieces of gold after we leave the city!”

The wealthy businessman knelt down decisively, his face filled with sorrow.

Several family members knelt down with the wealthy merchant, and the woman covered her face and sobbed.

Jiang He shook his head and told the truth, "There are 50,000 troops outside, eyeing us like hungry wolves. I can barely protect myself, let alone your family. Besides, you don't have a thousand taels of gold."

The wealthy merchant was extremely anxious. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a boy rushing towards the man with a piece of broken tile in his hand, only to have his head kicked off without mercy. He was immediately alarmed, realizing that this man was no good either.

Jiang He pulled his leg back, somewhat surprised that this kid had suddenly become so brave.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed through the streets, and those who refused to leave were hacked to death on the spot.

The sobbing woman turned pale with fright and stammered, "It's all your fault, you're the one who killed her, it wasn't your fault for meddling..."

The wealthy businessman quickly slapped his wife across the face and dragged his family away.

"Chaos and fear can rob people of their reason."

Jiang He quietly climbed onto the roof, preparing to use the cover of night to find He Xiuchu, the second son of the He family. Since it concerned their initial identities, that guy was obviously an important figure.

Chapter 18 Lord Liu

The next morning.

The day after Yangzhou fell.

The relatively quiet nighttime killings suddenly erupted.

A man walked along the city wall, the dead piled up under his feet like fish scales. Because there were corpses everywhere, there was nowhere to put his feet, so he could only bend down and move forward like a wild beast, his hands covered with a thick layer of blood and mud.

Whenever cavalrymen passed by on the street, dozens of people would soon follow with wails and screams. Corpses lay strewn about, one on top of the other, making it impossible to distinguish the identities or even the faces of the dead. All that could be heard was the sound of weeping and the smoke of battle.

As Jiang He advanced on the mountain of corpses, he immediately lay down upon hearing the large group of people. He could faintly hear breathing around him, indicating that there were people among the corpses below him. However, even an experienced hunter could not pinpoint their exact location in this situation. His nasal cavity was completely filled with the thick, watery smell of blood, which almost made him dizzy.

After traveling three miles, a hand suddenly emerged from the mountain of corpses, a dagger-like short knife thrusting straight into the abdomen. The hilt was gilded and openwork, inlaid with a bright red gemstone, making it extremely ornate.

Jiang He was struck in the abdominal scales. His mind focused slightly, and without thinking, he threw a punch back. Because his current posture was so strange, he almost failed to unleash his Ming Jin strike. He felt the bone cracking at the tip of his fist, and the blood and flesh stuck to his hand.

After prying open more than a dozen corpses, Jiang He found the attacker. The attacker was tall and strong, and was wearing half-body armor. However, his leg joints were broken, and the wounds were bleeding profusely. He was trapped in the mountain of corpses and could not move. After a day and a night, his breathing was weak.

He conducted a thorough body search and found the corresponding soldier's badge. These soldiers had badges on them to prove their identity in order to facilitate post-war statistics and burial.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Li Tongfeng.

At the same time, Jiang He also found a defense map of the West District and a letter with worn edges.

The letter was written by General Li Tongyan, dated yesterday at noon. The two were brothers, and General Li Tongyan was trying to persuade his younger brother to go out and surrender with him.

"...A true man should wield the emperor's sword, hunt down the disobedient, and be ennobled across ten thousand miles. The emperor of the Southern Ming is muddleheaded, and disobedient people fill the fields. A person should be as wise as a bird choosing its tree..."

Jiang He was speechless. General Li meant that he was too exhausted to hunt anymore and wanted his younger brother to come with him.

As for the defense map of Xicheng District, the location of Yanjiafen is clearly marked, and there is a granary not far away to supply the defending troops of Xicheng District.

Jiang He put away the letter, his soldier's badge, and the deputy commander's seal. He discarded the butcher's knife and put on the jewel-encrusted short sword. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he heard the sounds of fighting coming from his side.

A group of about thirty men collided with the Qing soldiers, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle. The burly man took the lead, his iron armor was exceptionally sturdy, and any weapon that fell to him shattered, its recoil force was superb.

Chu Fuqiang fiercely protected the middle-aged general beside him, wielding an axe in both hands. He was incredibly brave and killed two or three people in the blink of an eye. Occasionally, he would use his energy to unleash a fiery handprint that was half a person high. Those who were hit by it would be burned to death, and the fire could not be extinguished by water.

Beside the middle-aged general, an elderly spearman was clearly very old, but every shot he fired was incredibly ruthless. After three shots, the eye sockets of three soldiers exploded, their eyeballs hanging on their faces like grapes, and blood streamed down their faces.

Unfortunately, the Qing soldiers outnumbered the Qing soldiers, were exceptionally brave and skilled in one-on-one combat, and the Qing troops quickly suffered casualties.

Jiang He stealthily advanced, summoning the Everlasting Hatred Spear. The spear was 2.4 meters long, its entire body as white as snow, with a dragon pattern carved at the tip, exuding hatred and malevolence.

He took a sudden step, his foot propelling him forward, the force surging through his entire body. His clothes fluttered in the wind, and he moved like a snake darting through the grass. After lunging forward, he gripped the butt of his spear tightly, and with a sudden, sharp swing of his arm, the air in front of him seemed to explode like firecrackers, the sound piercing and deafening.

The sudden burst of power was like a landslide and a tsunami, unstoppable. With a strange spear weighing one and a half tons, it unleashed a powerful strike. Within a 2.4-meter semicircle, all living beings perished. Six Qing soldiers were immediately crushed at the waist, turning into two pieces of flesh.

Arrows flew in, clattering as they landed on the scales. Jiang He shielded his face with one hand, and an arrow pierced his palm, leaving a bloody hole in his face. He charged forward with his Long Hatred Spear, raising it high and bringing it down. The heavy armor of the three soldiers shattered instantly, buzzing continuously like a hammer violently striking a bell, making everyone present's eardrums ring.

Jiang He flipped his hands, and the 1.5-ton Long Hatred Spear swung around him, leaving afterimages. The rain of arrows shattered as they fell, and a fierce wind like a blade swept around him. He unleashed his Ming Jin power and strode forward, his flesh and blood splattering, like a human bulldozer.

Chu Fuqiang was stunned. He reached out and touched his helmet, only to find that a rain of blood was falling from the sky.

"Follow this brave warrior!" the middle-aged general shouted.

The remaining twenty-odd people immediately stepped onto the bloody path that someone had carved out. On both sides of the road were not just severed limbs and remains, but simply fragmented bones and mud.

"A true warrior capable of taking on a thousand men," the old gunner judged. Before the enemy's stamina was exhausted, these elite Qing soldiers could only die. If he had a full suit of armor and a fine steed that could travel a thousand miles a day, and was not hit by the Qing soldiers' red cannons, this brave man could dominate the battlefield and be unstoppable.

As they charged forward, the fierce Qing soldiers began to crumble. Jiang He thrust his Long Hatred Spear horizontally with both hands, directly blasting down a brick wall thirty paces away. The Qing soldiers who tried to stop him suffered heavy casualties, with more than ten killed.

At this point, the defeat was completely irreversible, and the entire Zuo-ling team scattered and fled.

Jiang He picked up the Long Hatred Spear again and glanced at the main quest: Hunting Tie Duo (0/1) and Killing Qing Bing (105/200). The latter was already more than halfway complete.

A superior-grade main weapon allowed him to surpass his current level of life, enabling him to fight dragons in the sea and independently develop a border region. The benefits were unimaginable.

After the skirmish ended, the group retreated and arrived at a small courtyard. This was the villa of the Li Dang Imperial Guard, which had once been used to house relatives who came to seek refuge. Now, with the city destroyed and people dead, it had become a stronghold for the Qing soldiers. Last night, it was attacked by Chu Fuqiang and his men, and now it had become the group's resting place.

Several corpses lay scattered in the courtyard, two soldiers were tied to the ground, and the remaining thirty-odd people were busy cooking, most of them old and young.

After the able-bodied soldiers returned, they immediately began to wolf down their food to replenish their strength.

“Brother Mo Ke, this battle will inevitably alert Tie Duo. We should not stay here for long. We were just about to launch a surprise attack on the granary in the west of the city, but it was heavily guarded and we had no choice but to retreat. However, we encountered a patrol team. Thanks to your righteous help.”

Chu Fuqiang briefly recounted what had happened and introduced him: "This is Lord Liu Dingwei, the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Ming Dynasty and the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. When Yangzhou was besieged, Lord Liu was the only general to come to its aid. Since the Chongzhen era, he has suppressed countless rebellions."

Lord Liu clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for saving our lives, brave warrior. Time is of the essence, so I will speak frankly. Thirty thousand Qing soldiers are rampaging through the city. Trying to save them one by one will be largely futile."

"Now the Qing soldiers have scattered, going from house to house looting money and killing for fun, and have become very disorganized."

"In my opinion, if we can remove Tie Duo's head, the army will be leaderless. If we can persuade the surrendered troops outside the city, the 30,000 elite Qing soldiers can be wiped out in no time. This battle will become the Qing army's most devastating defeat since entering the pass."

"After recapturing Yangzhou, I will recruit the surrendered troops and promise you and Chu Zhuangshi high-ranking positions and generous rewards. The Left Army has rebelled, the four garrisons north of the Yangtze River have returned to reinforce, and the imperial court is facing an imminent major battle. The situation is critical. I am absolutely confident that I can get those guys in the central government to agree to the rewards."

Jiang He pondered. The title of Crown Prince's Grand Tutor was a first-rank official, with a title but no actual duties. It was usually given as an honorary title to important officials and close ministers, truly a great person.

In the other party's view, although he and Chu Fuqiang were both talented individuals, the imperial power was supreme and could be bought off with high-ranking positions and generous salaries. Chu Fuqiang was simply acting out of love and didn't care much about such things. As for himself, his primary goal was naturally to hunt down Tie Duo.

Jiang He said, "Lord Liu, have you met any other extraordinary people? Tie Duo is the younger brother of the regent of the old capital of Jiangbei. He holds great power. If so, there must be many hidden talents around him."

Lord Liu gestured and introduced, "This Mr. Wu Shu is one of the extraordinary people. When he was young, his punches could penetrate half a foot into the rock, and the hairs on his body would stand up like needles, injuring people's internal organs. Mr. Wu is quite familiar with the affairs of extraordinary people. There is also a Grass Snake, but he has other important matters to attend to at the moment."

The old man nodded and said with a gentle smile, "Young friend, you are proficient in Ming Jin and possess a peerless spear, making you a first-rate figure in the martial world. Although I am at the An Jin level, I am old and frail, and can only muster my strength for a few more strikes."

"As for the extraordinary people you mentioned, there are indeed some, but with the country in ruins, they either died under the attack of soldiers or went into hiding. Take that martial arts champion from the Chongzhen era, for example. He was born with superhuman strength and could easily wield a 180-pound broadsword with great force. When the old capital fell, he defended the city gate against the enemy, fighting to the death with more than 20 iron cavalry and nearly 100 elite soldiers. Only when his strength was exhausted did he fall down due to the great shaman's magic. He was truly a divine person."

"The great shaman beside Tieduo has the blood of many extraordinary people on his hands, far more than two hands can count. I am accompanying him this time, and I only wish to do my best."

The old man laughed heartily, “If you are willing to help me, young friend, I am willing to give you a copy of my life’s experience. It would be the icing on the cake. You are very talented. Every move you make is as natural as a beast. We martial artists are actually two-legged beasts. Even without my teaching, you could probably learn it on your own as before, but you are too fierce.”

Jiang He calmly said, "Coming from a poor background, if I hadn't learned it, I would have starved to death, but I'm still alive, which means I've learned it."

The old man nodded and said with a smile, "You must protect your ambition. When practicing martial arts, you must first train your mouth and cultivate an imposing aura."

After saying this, the old man took out half a broken pen and a booklet from his clothes. There was no preface, the writing was messy, and the essentials of martial arts were piled up together. It was not even finished, and the last page was stained with ink.

"I've written everything that needed to be written. What's left are just complaints. I originally intended to bury them in the ground for future generations, but perhaps Heaven has taken pity on this old man."

"Thank you, senior."

Jiang He clasped his hands in a fist salute and then took the booklet. The cover had only three words: "Arm Manual". He glanced through it and found that it covered spear techniques, sword techniques, double-edged sword techniques, etc., with spear techniques being the most important. It contained the training methods of Ming Jin and An Jin, as well as the deduction of Hua Jin.

On the other side, the able-bodied men ate their meal quickly and, under Chu Fuqiang's command, cleaned up the scene. Several soldiers led the elderly and children to hide in the cellar, and torches were thrown towards the courtyard. In the blink of an eye, flames rose, and two young soldiers were decapitated.

Lord Liu gathered everyone together and said, "We don't know Tie Duo's location. According to the original plan, we should have set fire to the granary to alert the enemy. Although we haven't succeeded yet, we have achieved our goal. The 'snake in the grass' will later gather intelligence based on the enemy's movements."

"We need more manpower right now, and we also need to contact the surrendered troops outside the city. Mr. Wu and I will go outside the city. My nephew wouldn't kill someone to gain merit."

"Inside the city, the western district needs to create a big enough disturbance to attract the enemy's attention. This task can only be entrusted to the strongest warrior, Mo Zhuangshi."

"Over there in the dungeon, Warrior Chu, you must recruit those desperados as soon as possible. We'll split into three groups and meet at the private school in the west of the city tomorrow night to plan our big plan!"

Chapter 19 Secretly Crossing the Granary

The streets and alleys where the chaotic battle broke out.

A man dressed in red, with a sword at his waist, a hat, and black boots, slowly arrived at the scene of the incident. He was handsome and in his early thirties. He glanced around and gently tapped the folding fan in his hand.

“At least two squads of able-bodied men are armed. The one in the lead is really strange. Look at his footsteps and the marks from the spear. The spear is extremely heavy, yet he himself is unaffected.” The man in red laughed. “My father went to war with thirteen iron-clad men. Men, once they gather together, are prone to making a commotion. Liu Taibao survived but still hasn’t given up.”

"Around thirty people."

Beside the man, an attendant dressed in yellow robes and armor, over two meters tall, with a waist bell around his waist, holding a drum in his left hand and a drum whip in his right, his face completely covered by a black tiger totem, now provided a more precise answer.

The man in red nodded slightly and asked, "How is that guy who calls himself Chaos? His palm technique is vicious, but he's still quite useful. If he practices for another twenty or thirty years, he'll be no worse than you."

The Great Shaman replied, "Luanxiang demanded ten beautiful women, a thousand taels of gold, and a treasured weapon from the armory. He reported that there are at least four extraordinary individuals in the city at this time, only slightly weaker than him, who previously resided in the He family compound in the western district."