Martial Arts Across the Heavens: Becoming a Martial God Starting from the Big Boss in Tangshan

Chen Wen slowly walked forward and stood beside the blood-stained white cloth.

He drew a short knife from his waist and, without hesitation, slashed his left palm!

Fresh blood gushed out instantly.

He clenched his fist, letting the crimson blood drop by drop fall precisely into the center of the white cloth.

Then, he raised his bleeding hand, clenched his fist towards the sky, and stood upright at the bow of the ship.

He spoke again, his voice high-pitched, each word carrying immense weight, as if echoing through the blood-soaked night sky of the docks:

"The descendants of the Han imperial family must not be trampled upon! Our land is shattered; how can we endure this peace?"

"Today we will slay foreign barbarians, punish traitors, and eradicate corruption, offering our blood to the flag to uphold justice!"

"From this moment on, we break free from shackles, sweep away the gloom, and shake up the world!"

"Sweep away the chaos of war, rebuild the land of China! Offer our blood to the Yellow Emperor, and revitalize China!"

"I offer my blood to Xuanyuan!" Huang Feihong was the first to step forward, drawing his sword and slashing his palm. He stood beside Chen Wen with a firm fist.

"I offer my blood to Xuanyuan!" Yan Zhendong followed closely behind, also making a vow with his palms together, and stood on the other side.

"I offer my blood to Xuanyuan!" Lin Shirong and Liang Kuan strode forward.

"I offer my blood to Xuanyuan!"

One after another, the militia members, whether injured or not, stepped forward silently and resolutely, smearing or dripping their blood onto the huge white cloth that had been completely stained red.

They made the same solemn vow.

The pristine white cloth is long gone.

Instead, a crimson flag, soaked in the blood of the enemy and the blood of patriots, was raised!

Chen Wen shifted his gaze from the blood-stained flag at the bow of the ship and slowly swept it down to the dock below.

Besides the piles of corpses of foreigners and Shahe Gang members, there were two groups of living people.

The group consisted of former yamen runners who looked terrified and at a loss.

The other group consisted of rescued civilians who were still in shock and mostly dressed in tattered clothes.

He first looked at the constables, his voice icy cold:

"Do you know why I didn't kill you?"

The constables looked at each other, none of them daring to answer.

Actually, they were terrified just now, thinking they would be beheaded like the Shahe Gang and the foreigners.

But strangely, nothing happened. Everyone felt a mix of panic and anticipation, unsure of what to say to survive.

"Because Master Huang spoke up for you."

Without waiting for their reply, Chen Wen pointed to Huang Feihong beside him.

"He told me that there are good people among you."

"I understand. More than two hundred years have passed, and many things are still difficult to distinguish clearly."

He paused, his tone devoid of any discernible emotion:

"The world forces us to be like this, and I am not a saint, so I have no right to demand that others be saints."

"It is a fact that you have done a lot of things to aid and abet evil. But I gave even Admiral Fucha a chance to choose, and I will do the same for you."

"The opportunity is now before you. The choice is yours!"

The constables were all stunned, and they instinctively looked at each other.

They certainly knew what choice Chen Wen had given them.

Not choosing? Great!

The knife in the militiaman's hand was still dripping blood, and there was a frightening blood-red flag on the bow of the boat.

The next moment if you don't choose is death!

The choice? That means joining the rebellion!

It's a capital offense, and it might even implicate your family!

It's true that whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll still get stabbed.

But then I thought again, even someone like Wong Fei-hung has rebelled, so what do they, these small fry, have to hesitate about? Rather than die now, they might as well…

"I'll do it!" a constable suddenly roared, as if he had used all his strength.

He stepped out from the crowd, strode onto the gangplank, reached the bow, took a bloodstained knife from Lin Shirong, and, mimicking the actions of the militia members before him, slashed his palm with it. He then hissed at the blood-red flag:

"I...I've had enough! Oppressing the people is boring, being treated like a dog by foreigners is even more boring! I...I offer my blood to Xuanyuan!"

With someone taking the lead, the remaining constables all found a way to make a living.

Whether they truly harbored rebellious intentions or were simply trying to survive, they all followed suit, rushing forward in a chaotic frenzy to express their stance and swear oaths by cutting their palms.

I was somewhat dragged into joining this newly formed team.

After dealing with the yamen runners.

Everyone's eyes were drawn to the rescued people.

They huddled together like a flock of frightened sheep.

"What should we do with these people?" Liang Kuan asked in a low voice. "If we release them, what's going on here probably can't be kept secret. If we don't release them... are we going to force them to rebel?"

The people reacted in various ways.

Several young men, their eyes darting around, suddenly knelt down and began to weep:

"Sir! Master! We're willing to work for you! My father was driven to suicide by tax collectors!"

"My sister was kidnapped by the landlord and forced to be his maid. She was beaten to death! In this world, there's no way to survive!"

But many more people simply trembled and kept kowtowing and begging:

"Your Honor, spare us! Spare us! We're just ordinary people, we know nothing, we dare not even think of anything!"

"Please, please let us go! We just want to go home and have some food to eat. We'll never say anything bad! Please!"

Chen Wen looked at the kneeling crowd below, his face expressionless, and simply shook his head indifferently.

"I will not kill you."

"Those who want to leave can leave now. Those who want to stay are welcome."

After saying that, he simply waved his hand.

Although the militia members guarding the dock exit hesitated for a moment, they obeyed the order and parted to make way for the outside.

The begging people were stunned at first, then looked up at Chen Wen in disbelief.

Then look at that path to survival.

Some people tentatively took a step back, and seeing that no one was stopping them, they immediately scrambled and ran wildly towards the dark dock.

They were afraid that if they were even a step too late, the other party would change their mind.

Before long, most of the people had fled this bloody place.

Only a small number of people remained in the same place.

Yan Zhendong watched the retreating figures of those who had fled, his brow furrowed. He leaned closer to Chen Wen and whispered:

"Boss, let them go. The news will spread quickly."

"It's alright." Chen Wen shook his head.

"The mites don't have many years left. They're too busy hunting us down. Besides, aren't there people who choose to stay?"

He paused, then looked at the remaining people.

That's enough.

About twenty or thirty people remained.

Most of them were women, their clothes torn, their eyes empty or filled with fear.

In this era, women who suffered humiliation often faced even more cruel clan rules and oppression when they returned to their hometowns.

Even resorting to methods like drowning someone in a pig cage to clean house.

Having nowhere else to go is the most direct reason they stayed.

Only a few genuinely wanted to join them.

But that's enough.

Chen Wen's gaze slowly swept over the people who remained, and he sighed inwardly.

They are all pitiful people driven to desperation by this cannibalistic world.

One of the young men who remained suddenly knelt down again, and said excitedly:

"Sir! We're willing to follow you! We'll rebel against you!"

"Stand up! No kneeling!" Chen Wen suddenly shouted, startling the young man and alerting everyone else.

"I am neither some high-ranking official nor any of you superiors!"

"Ordinary people don't understand yet, and I can't control that."

"But since you've chosen to stay, from this day forward, you're my brothers and sisters! No kneeling allowed!"

He pointed to the militia members standing tall and the newly joined yamen runners.

"Be the same as them! Stand together! Eat together! Practice martial arts together! Kill those who deserve to be killed together! Do what needs to be done together!"

"Here, there are no kneeling slaves, only standing brothers and sisters! Do you understand?!"

These words struck like a thunderclap in the hearts of these pitiful people who were used to being subservient and submissive.

Standing? Brothers and sisters? Equals...as part of the group?

These words are as distant as Arabian Nights.

Many people looked blankly at Chen Wen, and then at the upright militia men around him.

An unprecedented and unfamiliar thrill sprouted deep within my heart.

"I...I understand!" The young man was the first to react, struggling to stand up, even though his legs were still a little weak.

"Understood……"

One by one, the others, with hesitation and a hint of indescribable excitement, straightened up.

Chen Wen said no more. He turned around and looked at the crimson flag.

"Shirong! Liang Kuan!" he shouted in a deep voice.

"exist!"

"Raise the flag!"

Lin Shirong and Liang Kuan were already prepared. Together, they pulled the thick rope with the blood flag attached around the mast pulley.

Heavy cloth soaked in the blood of enemies and patriots.

Under the solemn gaze of the crowd, it slowly rose higher and higher.

The flag was fully unfurled in the rising morning breeze, its intense, dark blood-red color exuding a breathtaking solemnity and grimness under the approaching dawn.

Chen Wen looked up and stared at the blood-red flag that was slowly rising.

At the same time, in the eastern sky, the thick clouds were torn apart, and the first ray of blazing sunrise suddenly leaped over the horizon.

The sky was dyed a magnificent and blood-red hue!

The rising sun was like blood, and the blood-red flags were like torches.

Chen Wen withdrew his gaze, turned around, and scanned everyone.

Huang Feihong, Yan Zhendong, Lin Shirong, Liang Kuan, Yacha Su, Ling Yunkai, former members of the militia, newly recruited yamen runners, and those pitiful people.

His voice, bathed in the rising sun, resounded clearly and firmly throughout the entire dock:

"From this day forward, we are the 'Blood Flag Army'!"