Ten years of dormancy: Starting as a martial arts master at the pinnacle

The team of nearly a thousand people needed neither horses nor provisions.

Each person carried only a water jug, some dry rations, and a few pieces of beef before setting off on foot towards the grasslands.

They moved with incredible speed, disappearing almost visibly beneath the walls of Beimo City.

"My goodness, they're all grandmasters?"

"In our border army, I thought our knowledge was already quite remarkable. We've not only seen Grandmasters, but even many legendary experts in the Free and Unfettered Realm."

"But I never dreamed that I would one day meet so many grandmasters?"

"That's terrifying!"

An army of a thousand men—such a grandmaster-level army is extremely rare, even in the entire history of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Each time this happened before, it was a crisis moment that concerned the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"These are all experts from my Great Zhou. With them here, I don't believe those barbarians can cause any trouble."

This statement was agreed upon by almost all the soldiers.

No matter how terrifying this army is?

This is all to help them.

The grasslands and the Northern Gold are what we should be afraid of, not them.

The words are divided into two parts.

Li Changqing led his men at breakneck speed, covering the distance in half an hour.

You should know that among this group, even the weakest among them is a Grandmaster.

Half an hour is enough for them to travel more than a hundred miles.

Even though they took a detour, they still managed to reach a fortified village nearly 80 miles away from Beimo City.

"According to the information previously sent by our Beggars' Clan brothers, this stronghold is the logistics base for the grasslands and the Northern Jin."

To store the food and drink for 600,000 people, the Northern Jin built a wooden city for them.

The city stretches as far as the eye can see.

The city was surrounded by troops, even a conservative estimate would be tens of thousands.

Besides these tens of thousands of people, there is a large group of experts guarding the shadows.

The reason why Li Changqing and his group were able to obtain the information so easily was largely because the grasslands and the Northern Jin had no intention of hiding it.

They have enough strength to protect their supplies and provisions, so they don't need to hide like the Northern Desert City.

"Chief Chen, those guys have a very keen sense of smell; our men can't get close."

A master of the Free and Unfettered Realm came to report.

Even if a team of thousands of people were all experts at the Grandmaster level or above, the target would still be too big.

It's alright if it's far away.

Once they get close to the vicinity of Dazhai, they will be easily discovered.

"Brothers, heroes. We're not here to launch a sneak attack with so many of us. We're here to launch a full-scale assault! Forget everything else, let's just charge in!"

After Li Changqing finished speaking, the heroes and warriors around him were stunned for a moment before they gradually understood the meaning behind his words.

So it wasn't a sneak attack, they just rushed in like that?

Although the risk factor is higher, this risk is shared equally by everyone and will not be concentrated on the one who launches the sneak attack.

Let's reconsider their current roster.

Nearly a hundred powerful beings at the Free and Unfettered Realm, and more than eight hundred and fifty Grandmasters.

What are they afraid of?

With this in mind, everyone felt much more confident.

"Chen will lead the way!"

Upon hearing that Li Changqing was about to rush out first, a group of martial arts heroes quickly stopped him.

"Master Chen, you absolutely mustn't! You are our leader; how can we let our backbone charge into battle?"

"In the army, Master Chen would be a general; how can you put a general as the vanguard?"

These people all share the same idea: Li Changqing cannot be touched.

It was not only because of Li Changqing's reputation, but also because of his relationship with the Prince of Qinghe.

The people from the Xiaoyao Marquis's Mansion and the Qi State Duke's Mansion did not join the group trying to persuade them.

Just because they can obey Chen Changfeng's orders doesn't mean they are truly willing to be under his command.

For them, it might even be better for Chen Chang to die here.

In this way, the Prince of Qinghe would have no choice but to rely on them.

These people were ultimately different from the heroes of the martial arts world present; they were more calculating.

But this is only human nature.

Putting yourself in their shoes, if you put Li Changqing in their position, he would feel the same way.

He wouldn't step forward at this time.

"Fellow seniors and brothers, you are all here because you have a noble cause in mind and are willing to do your part for the Great Zhou. But in the end, it was I, Chen, who started this. Now, I would feel ashamed to let any of my brothers stand in front of me. Besides, I believe I am quite capable. There will inevitably be some twists and turns on our way. I am willing to take the lead and pave the way for you heroes."

After saying this, Li Changqing disregarded what the people around him thought and rushed out first.

"Esteemed seniors, esteemed brothers, I, Chen, shall take my leave first!"

Upon seeing Li Changqing rush out, a Grandmaster immediately followed.

Seeing how enthusiastic everyone around them was, the experts from the Xiaoyao Marquis's mansion quietly retreated to the back of the group.

The people from the Duke of Qi's mansion consciously moved closer to Li Changqing. In that brief instant, their thoughts changed.

They felt they should protect Chen Changfeng.

If this Golden Dragon Hero can return alive this time, his prestige will be different not only with the Prince of Qinghe, but also throughout the entire Great Zhou.

The Beggars' Sect leader's influence over the World Society is probably even greater than that of Li Changsheng.

This means that he is someone the Duke of Qi's mansion should befriend.

In the grain and fodder stronghold, the grassland patrolmen were the first to discover the anomaly.

An infantry unit, without armor or horses.

They came rushing towards them. And these men were incredibly fast, even faster than the fastest cavalry.

They were about to reach them.

The guards on patrol immediately blew their whistles.

"beep!!!"

In the quiet night, the whistle sounded exceptionally loud.

The soldiers in the wooden stockade, as well as the hidden masters, were all alerted.

"He's a grandmaster!"

"They're all grandmasters!!"

"Where did so many grandmasters come from?"

The soldiers of the Northern Jin were stunned.

In order to mobilize thousands of grandmaster-level experts, the Great Jin Dynasty had been preparing for more than two months, or even earlier.

From the time Da Zhou received the news until now, it has only been a little over ten days.

Moreover, they had already mobilized several hundred grandmasters to guard the Northern Desert City before this.

Otherwise, Beimo City would have fallen long ago and would never have been safe until now.

How could the Great Zhou possibly redeploy so many grandmasters in such a short time?

When did these experts become so united?

The general in charge of guarding the area was trembling with disbelief.

"It's over! It's all over this time!!!"

They had a large number of people guarding the wooden fortress, with a total army of 50,000.

Twenty thousand grassland people, plus thirty thousand elite troops from the North Gold Army.

There should be two or three hundred masters at the grandmaster level...

From any perspective, there is no possibility that the Great Zhou could pose a threat to them at this time and place.

……