The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 91 The Origins and Background of the Tuoba Family
"This person mentioned that Liu Xiaofeng's original name was Ba Feng, and his father's name was Tuoba Xiu. He sneaked into the mountains for two reasons: first, to take Liu Xiaofeng away, and second, to kill me at the behest of the Luo family in the capital." Han Qing recounted all the information he had seen from the old man's memories.

After hearing this, Qi Yan frowned and straightened up.

"What the assassin said is most likely true."

"Liu Xiaofeng is unable to speak and has an extremely strange personality. He cannot communicate with normal people and cannot remember what happened in the past. I have sent people to investigate his background in many ways, and he does indeed have some connection with the Tuoba family."

"The place where he was captured was a tribe that belonged to the Tuoba family."

"The Tuoba family is a powerful clan in Western Mang, with many experts within the family, and many of them hold important positions in the Mang court."

"As for Tuoba Xiu, he is even more remarkable. He was once the top general of the Mangting, with numerous military achievements. Thirty years ago, he defeated the army of our Dayu at Pojun Mountain, which shocked the court."

"If Liu Xiaofeng is his son, then it's not surprising that he has superb martial arts skills."

“The direct descendants of such large families must have been guided one-on-one by a master since childhood, and have an endless supply of rare and precious herbs to temper their blood and improve their constitution.” Qi Yan said a lot in one breath.

Han Qing had never seen these things in books before, and they aroused his great interest.

"With such an extraordinary background, how could Liu Xiaofeng have been captured? I heard he was caught in a small tribe on the border of Western Mang. Shouldn't disciples from such prominent families be living deep in the grasslands and protected by various experts when they are young?" Han Qing asked, puzzled.

"You don't understand. The internal power struggles within the Mangting court are extremely serious."

"The Tuoba family previously experienced a major upheaval due to the disappearance of Tuoba Xiu. The clan's experts formed multiple factions and fought each other, and most of the clan's disciples were also implicated, with countless people going missing. It is very likely that Liu Xiaofeng was captured by our Great Yu soldiers during that upheaval," Qi Yan pondered.

"Hmm? Tuoba Xiu has disappeared?" Han Qing asked curiously.

“Indeed, Tuoba Xiu is indeed powerful, but there are too many experts in the world, and there are always stronger ones among the strong. I heard from my father that he was unlucky enough to run into the leader of the Mo family of our Great Yu. Not only was he beaten to a pulp, but the elite troops of the Tuoba family were also almost wiped out.” Qi Yan spoke with great enthusiasm.

"I read in the book that since the Middle Ages, in terms of strength, the Mohist school has consistently ranked among the top three of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the other two being the Confucian school and the military school. The Mohist leader is the leader of this school and also the strongest, but I don't know exactly how strong he is. After hearing what you said today, I'm afraid his strength is unfathomable," Han Qing pondered.

Even among the various schools of thought, there are differences in quality. Any school that has produced a sage can be called the Great Way, while those that have not are considered Lesser Ways.

Typical representatives of the Great Way include Confucianism, Mohism, Yin-Yang School, and Military School, while the Lesser Ways are incredibly complex, including the Way of Deception, the Way of Painting, and many others. This is all knowledge he learned from books.

"The current leader of the Mohist school is indeed very powerful. In my father's words, he is likely the number one person in the world, and even the emperor would be afraid of him."

The Mohist school is skilled in mechanical arts and has four giant puppets passed down through generations, known as the Four Divine Beasts, which can only be controlled by the successive leaders of the Mohist school.

These four puppets alone possessed unbelievable combat power. Legend has it that each one was as majestic and towering as a mountain, capable of moving mountains, entering the sea, flying in the sky, and burrowing into the earth.

Previously, Emperor Yu used the Law and Dao as his weapon, intending to eliminate all other schools of thought and trample across the martial world. All schools of thought suffered greatly, and countless masters lost their lives. Only the Mohist school remained intact. Its leader traveled the world in secrecy, and no prince or minister in the court was not afraid of him. "Qi Yan said in a low voice.

Han Qing was deeply shocked upon hearing these words.

If what Qi Yan said is true, then this leader of the Mohist school is truly as powerful as a god.

If he hadn't entered the Qi family and come into contact with a big shot like Qi Yan, he would never have known these secrets in his entire life if he had stayed in Baiyun County. He would have been unaware of how many powerful people there were in the world and what level of strength they had reached. Even with the Seven Killings Stele, it would have been difficult for him to achieve anything.

At that moment, he made a firm decision: to go out and see the world. Whether it was befriending the world's top experts, hunting them down, or seizing their supernatural abilities, it would greatly help his path in martial arts.

"As for the Luo family's assassination attempt on you? It's quite possible that it's true. It's not because they found out your identity, but because they know very well that my father is looking for you under the guise of recruiting personal guards. Although you are just a teenager, your mother and father are too famous. You are destined to have an extraordinary life. Only if you die can they be at peace."

So it's not just you; many of my top-ranking guards have been assassinated before, and my father has been secretly fighting back.”

"Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. The Luo family is ruthless!" Han Qing gritted his teeth.

He never expected that after so many years, the Luo family would still remember him, which shows how influential his mother was.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis. He had thought that entering the Qi family would allow him to improve his strength in a safe and comfortable way, but now it seemed that his situation was more dangerous than he had imagined.

The Luo family was a behemoth to him, and he had been on the opposite side of them since birth.

Seeing Han Qing remain silent, Qi Yan smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"What? Worried about the Luo family's threat? Don't worry, they don't know your identity yet. Even if they did, with us here, how could we let the Luo family succeed?"
Ultimately, however, you still need to seize the time to improve your skills.

"Just think about it, if you had the strength of the Mohist leader, what would the Luo family be? If the Four Divine Beasts were to be mobilized, even a thousand armies would be unable to withstand them."

Upon hearing Qi Yan's words, Han Qing nodded slightly, a determined look appearing in his eyes.

"You're right. What's the use of lamenting the unfairness of fate? I, Han Qing, will face fate head-on, strive for self-improvement, and one day become a true strongman, mastering my own destiny!"

"I'll send someone to investigate Liu Xiaofeng's matter again. Even if he really is Tuoba Xiu's son, you don't need to worry. The Tuoba family's strength is not what it used to be, so there's no need to be afraid. This is the Great Yu, not the Western Mang."

"Liu Xiaofeng is a martial arts prodigy, and he's also very simple-minded. If you can beat him and win his heartfelt respect, he's worth trusting and nurturing," Qi Yan said before getting up and leaving.

Han Qing stopped thinking about it and continued to sit cross-legged in the room, converting his proficiency and practicing the Zhige Jing.

"I'm going to try to break through to the Soul Gathering Realm these next few days!" Han Qing pondered.

He would normally need some more time, but the old man provided him with a fully mastered Spirit Refining Technique, which greatly increased his speed of learning the Zhige Jing.

Based on the current progress, he believes there is a chance of a breakthrough within ten days.

As his proficiency increased, Han Qingling's magical power within the temple grew stronger. With a thought, magical power would surge from within his body, surrounding him and permeating every area around him.

Every newly generated thought of Dharma, after leaving the body, will be baptized by the heavenly light and will become even stronger upon returning.

Three days later.

Han Qing sat cross-legged in the room, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

"Finally, I'm about to reach the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm."

With a thought, Han Qing noticed that the Blood Blade Visualization skill had reached zero proficiency on the panel, while the Ceasefire Sutra skill had reached 99% proficiency, having broken through to the Great Perfection stage.

A Blood Blade Visualization Technique with 100% proficiency ultimately translates to about half the proficiency of the Ceasefire Sutra, demonstrating a significant difference in rank between these two Divine Refining Techniques.

"I'll try to break through to the Soul Gathering Realm in the Path of Dharma Thought before Qi Wufeng returns," Han Qing thought to himself.

There is a significant difference between those at the Condensing Qi Realm and those at the Gathering Soul Realm.

The Condensing Qi Realm can only use illusions to confuse others' minds. Even the Yin Soldiers they condense are the same, providing negligible direct combat power.

Upon entering the Soul Gathering Realm, one's magical thoughts condense into a divine soul, making attack methods more flexible and varied, and greatly enhancing combat power.

"continue!"

After resting for a while, Han Qing closed his eyes slightly and continued to visualize the third image of the Zhige Sutra in his mind.

The illusions arose suddenly, soaring upwards before shattering and transforming into pure Dharma thoughts. These thoughts then soared into the spirit temple, circulated once more, and, after being baptized by the heavenly light, grew stronger before falling back into the spirit temple.

In front of the shrine, the third incense stick was getting longer and longer, gradually approaching nine inches.

Time passed quickly, and three hours went by in the blink of an eye. At one point, the third incense stick suddenly grew to nine inches, and the proficiency level on the panel reached perfection. Han Qing opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and his eyes were filled with joy.

For the past three days, he hasn't practiced martial arts much, focusing instead on improving his Dharma mind realm.

That assassin from Tianlang Fortress showed him just how complex and profound the techniques of a cultivator at the He Xiang Realm were, and it also aroused in him a strong desire to become stronger and achieve greater success in the Path of Dharma Thought.

He got up and went outside; it was early morning.

He hadn't slept much for the past three days, but fortunately, his physique was strong enough that he didn't feel tired.

He closed his eyes slightly, and his spiritual thoughts spread outwards.

When he first entered the Condensing Qi Realm, his Dharma Sense could probe within a range of two hundred steps. Now that he has reached perfection, the range has expanded rapidly, reaching five hundred steps in no time. It can even continue to extend forward, but beyond this range, the scene becomes blurry, as if shrouded in a layer of fog.

Han Qing opened his eyes and understood what was going on. He looked up and saw a light blue bird, about the size of a palm, perched on the roof of a wooden house next to him, seemingly dozing.

With a thought, his spiritual power surged forth from the temple, silently piercing towards his head.

The bird shuddered, tilted its head back, and fell to the ground, lifeless.

"My current level of magical power might be enough to cause an ordinary person to suffer a mental breakdown, but it should only be able to cause interference to some powerful martial artists on the other side," Han Qing pondered.

As a martial artist's physique improves and their martial arts realm advances, their qi and blood will also become more vigorous.

A powerful martial artist's body is like a furnace; any spiritual energy that probes into it will be instantly burned away by the flames of blood and qi.

Therefore, while martial artists are indeed at a disadvantage when facing those who have mastered spiritual cultivation, they are not entirely powerless to fight back.

A powerful martial artist can completely ignore the interference of a low-level cultivator's spiritual power and take their life in an instant.

As Han Qing was pondering, Qi Yan's voice came from behind him.

"Han Qing, I've arranged a few formidable opponents for you today. How about a life-or-death duel?"

Han Qing turned around and glanced around, seeing Qi Yan sitting in a pavilion by the lake, holding a pot of wine in her hand.

"Okay, I'm ready to act at any time."

"follow me!"

...

Life-or-death battles have become an indispensable part of Han Qing's martial arts training.

These death row inmates became the fuel for his rapid growth on the path of martial arts.

As night deepened, Han Qing returned to his room, smelling faintly of blood. He had a five- or six-inch-long wound on his arm, inflicted by an elderly man who was said to be a barbarian priest.

This old man was quite powerful, a cultivator of the Divine Refinement realm. He caused Han Qing a lot of trouble, but that was all. He took one blow and was successfully killed.

At this moment, four more soul light spots appeared around the Seven Killings Stele.

"With the soul light of this barbarian priest, my Ceasefire Sutra can be improved rapidly again."

Han Qing pondered for a moment, then with a thought, absorbed the soul light of the barbarian elder.

After a jumble of memories, the old man's martial arts skills appeared before him. He inherited a technique called the Hundred Beasts Refining Divine Method, which did not belong to the Great Dao school but to the minor barbarian path, and was only passed down among barbarians. Its visualization diagram was a barbarian warrior wearing a tiger helmet.

Han Qing closed his eyes slightly, and the fourth visualization image of the Zhige Sutra appeared in his mind. It was still that black-armored warrior, holding a long spear, pointing diagonally at the sky, with a fierce aura, lifelike.

"Each of the four visualization images is more vivid than the last, and each one exudes a stronger aura than the last."

On the panel, the fourth chapter of the Zhige Jing has been entered, with a proficiency level of 0, indicating that the level has not yet been reached.

Han Qing originally wanted to rest, but driven by his inner desire to become stronger, he ultimately chose to continue cultivating, transferring the proficiency of the Hundred Beasts Visualization Diagram to the Ceasefire Scripture, and began a new round of meditation.

"This time, I will step into the Soul Gathering Realm in one fell swoop!"

Time passed slowly, and the proficiency of the Hundred Beasts Visualization Diagram continued to decrease, while the proficiency of the Ceasefire Sutra continued to increase.

Half an hour later, Han Qing opened his eyes, a trace of fatigue flashing in them.

As one's spiritual level increases, the illusions generated during meditation become more realistic, and the difficulty of seeing through and breaking free from these illusions also increases.

Without the Seven Killings Stele, and without the killing intent in his heart that allowed him to break through the illusion in an extremely brutal way, he felt that relying on himself to condense a pure Dharma thought would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

It's not that it's impossible, but the speed of improvement will be extremely slow, and there's even a possibility of hitting a bottleneck and being unable to break through for life.

He had read many records in books, and the vast majority of those who cultivated their spirit could not reach the Soul Gathering Realm in their entire lives.

Soul Gathering is a threshold; below Soul Gathering, there are the most Refiners of Spirit. Only by stepping into Soul Gathering can one be considered an elite among Refiners of Spirit.

"Although it's difficult, once you achieve it, your combat power will increase dramatically!"

After resting for a while, Han Qing immediately began a new round of mental cultivation and concentration.

The next morning, the moonlight was bright and clear, casting its gentle glow across the ground.

in the room.

After rounds of deep thought, Han Qing finally achieved a 19% mastery level in the fourth chapter of the Zhige Jing, just one step away from mastering it.

The proficiency of this Hundred Beasts Visualization Technique has been completely converted, with a conversion ratio of 5 to 1, indicating that this visualization technique is of lower quality than the Blood Blade Visualization Technique.

"I'll strive to break through to the Soul Gathering Realm tonight!" Han Qing took a short rest in between and spent the rest of the time meditating.

Although the arduous training was monotonous, the gradual progress he made gave him great motivation.

"Keep going! You're about to break through!"

Han Qing closed his eyes and began a new round of meditation.

Illusions abound: there are celestial maidens dancing naked, demons tearing flesh apart with gaping maws, and loved ones dying violently before one's eyes...

Han Qing's mind remained unmoved, focused solely on killing; he slaughtered everything in sight.

As another wisp of Dharma thought flew away from his body, Han Qing had a sudden realization.

He understood that his Dharma thoughts had grown stronger through the first three realms and had reached the point where they could stay outside the body for a short time without dissipating. This also meant that he could try to condense his thoughts and gather his soul, turning these strands of Dharma thoughts into a divine soul.

The soul of an ordinary person is invisible and intangible, unable to affect the real world, and cannot exist outside the body. Only the soul formed by the condensation of Dharma thoughts possesses many incredible characteristics.

(End of this chapter)