I am not a seventh-generation descendant of Lord Wu'an from the Qin Dynasty.

Bai Qi was taken aback. "Right, where are the others? There are forty or fifty people ahead of us."

The veteran who was cooking soup poked at the campfire with his head down, the veteran who was chopping wood continued chopping wood, and the kind-looking veteran stepped forward.

"I was just about to tell the delivery guy that someone was in a hurry and took a short break before continuing on their way."

"Some people were exhausted and went inside to rest early. There weren't enough beds in the house, so the old folks were squeezed out. There were no beds, only haystacks."

Bai Qi's eyes relaxed, and she smiled at him, "It's okay, it doesn't matter where I sleep."

Zhang Han, still uneasy, said, "Take me to see it."

However, as soon as he followed the kind old soldier to the door of the thatched hut, he heard loud snoring coming from inside.

Zhang Han carefully tiptoed inside and circled around twice, and sure enough, he saw a dozen or so Qin soldiers crammed onto the same crossbeam, snoring loudly.

There were two thatched huts and one stable, both filled with Qin soldiers undergoing trials.

Zhang Han breathed a sigh of relief, apologized to the Qin soldiers, and turned back to see Bai Qi already eating his second bowl of mutton stew.

The rough, dry wheat crust from last night's biscuits cut into my mouth and cheeks, and now they twitch slightly.

He clenched his fist, waved it twice in the air, sat down angrily, and swallowed hard.

"Nothing is more important than eating!"

The two of them each ate three large bowls of food, along with the unique dry flatbread made from coarse grains and wheat bran. They broke it open and drank the soup until they were completely full.

The kind old soldier brought over two basins of water for washing feet.

"You two have had a long journey. How about you soak your feet first to relax, and then continue your journey tomorrow morning?"

"Thank you so much, sir!"

Bai Qi directly took off his leather boots with wooden soles and soft padding, and immersed himself in the hot water with a comfortable expression.

The doubt between Zhang Han's brows also lessened considerably. He cupped his hands in thanks, and following suit, immersed his big, smelly feet in the basin of water, feeling refreshed both physically and mentally.

Gradually, both of them looked tired.

They poured out the foot-washing water one after the other, wiped their faces and necks with the icy well water, and then crawled into the haystack next to the side room, lying down sideways with their arms and legs together.

Before long, Zhang Han began snoring loudly.

Bai Qi, who had been sleeping with his eyes closed, suddenly sat up cross-legged and took the Wu An Jun sword, which was wrapped in a strip of cloth, from one side with one hand.

He untied the straps, gripped the cold hilt with one hand, and pressed the scabbard across his knee with the other.

"Sword Spirit, please assist me in my cultivation!"

A surge of crimson energy entered his body from the hilt of the Wu'an Jun Sword, heading straight for his heart.

bang bang bang~

The arteries and veins all over his body began to appear under his skin, like tiny snakes swelling.

The rapidly beating heart slowly pumps out specks of blood-red energy, which are transported through the arteries to all the body's tissues and organs, while the veins are responsible for the return of metabolic waste.

Arteries have thick walls and good elasticity to withstand high blood pressure and flow rates.

Veins, on the other hand, have thinner walls, larger lumens, less elasticity, and lower pressure.

Therefore, the blood-colored energy pumped from the heart flows out of the arteries at a relatively fast speed.

Conversely, when the blood energy flows back to the heart from various tissues and organs through veins, the flow rate is slightly slower.

One goes in and the other goes out, one is fast and the other is slow. One has a pulse-like feel but it is not visible on the surface, while the other has no pulse-like feel but is visible to the naked eye on the skin.

From the moment Bai Qi first visualized the arterial blood vessels in Yue'er's body in his mind, a thought had formed in his heart.

"Could this thing be the legendary martial arts internal energy cultivation method?!"

As for why one is a legendary meridian while the other is a capillary network that extends throughout the body, it can only be explained by the different circulatory systems of cultivation.

Others cultivate internal strength through veins, while he cultivates blood spirit through blood vessels. Both form a complete internal circulation system, which seems reasonable.

After all, in this era, some people practice martial arts, some practice internal energy cultivation, and some raise Gu (a type of insect) to control beasts. His method of cultivating blood circulation to strengthen the physical body is also a path.

As Bai Qi's mind raced with chaotic thoughts, his breathing became rapid and shallow, his breath coming in and out in waves...

Time goes by.

Before long, all his fatigue disappeared, and he was full of energy.

My gaze moved down, and the panel unfolded.

[Da Qin Nong/General: Bai Qi]

Attack: 17

Physical Strength: 17

【Spirit: 14】

【耕地种田·7级：676/700（耕地+70%，种田+70%）】

【射箭矛刺·4级：360/400（射箭+40%，矛刺+40%）】

【骑兵统御·2级：175/200（骑兵+20%，统御+20%）】

[Blood Nerve - Level 1: 3/100 (Killing one is a sin, slaughtering ten thousand is heroism, slaughtering nine million is heroism among heroes. Blood Spirit: 9/Blood Spirit Guard: 1 (Moon: ...)]

"A mere drop of Blood Spirit Energy will fully restore my vitality. Nine points left, shall we continue killing?"

Bai Qi shook his head, secretly warning himself that this kind of bloody technique that could strengthen oneself by killing was even more sinister than the system panel on his body.

If he doesn't want to completely degenerate into a murderous tyrant, he should just honestly farm and train his troops!

At least, he felt at ease!

Bai Qi opened his mouth and silently yawned.

"Your physical strength has recovered, but your spirits are gone?"

He glanced at the sky outside the haystack; it was full of stars, and the dawn had not yet broken.

He crossed his arms, tilted his head, and lay down with his hands clasped together. Soon after, his breathing became slow and steady.

A short while later.

A faint light appeared on the horizon.

Zhang Han suddenly opened his eyes.

He first gripped his armor with one hand, then gently stood up, looked up at the outside room, and frowned.

"Brother, why haven't you arrived yet? Did something happen? Or were you discovered by the patrolling Qin cavalry?!"

Zhang Han glanced at Bai Qi, then sat up and tiptoed out of the haystack.

Outside, the veterans who had cooked soup the night before were already simmering three large pots of steaming millet porridge side by side.

Noticing the look he was getting, the veteran who was cooking soup smiled kindly at him.

Zhang Han's pupils constricted, and with his excellent vision, he could see clearly that the old soldier who cooked porridge had his tongue severed at the root—clearly a punishment for slander.

How can a criminal from Qin be allowed to serve in the army!

Zhang Han looked at his thin, aged body, his lowered eyes slightly cold.

Just then, Bai Qi emerged from behind the haystack, yawning with one hand and fastening his belt with the other.

He raised his hand to greet Zhang Han, then moved closer to the old soldier cooking porridge and spoke naturally.

"Old man, I'm hungry, how about a bowl of rice first?"

The veteran who was cooking porridge smiled at him, opened his tongueless mouth, and waved his hand.

Having lived with his mute wife Tian for some time, Bai Qi immediately understood that the porridge wasn't cooked properly and nodded.

"Then you should cook it first, and give it to me later."

The old soldier cooking porridge squinted and nodded with a smile, while Bai Qi went to fetch water to wash up.

Zhang Han suddenly stepped forward, "Hey you, there's something wrong here!"

Only then did he realize that he still didn't know the name of the person who had saved him.

"My brother hasn't returned all night. The person who cooked the porridge just now had a severed tongue and must be a criminal. The new recruits in Shanglin slept soundly all night and haven't gotten up yet. This place is suspicious!"

Almost as soon as Zhang Han finished speaking, the clanging sound of armored figures getting up came from the nearby thatched hut.

Bai Qi blinked.

Before long, a dozen or so tall, imposing men in full armor rushed out from inside.

Then came another thatched hut, a stable, and finally, three more people emerged from another haystack where Bai Qi and Zhang Han had rested the previous night.

Clearly, apart from the seven or eight eager to compete for first place last night, these forty-odd burly men from Guanzhong were the best among the first batch of a thousand men.

Bai Qi shrugged at him, when a tall, imposing man, standing nine feet tall, rushed over and shoved him aside.

"Well, even washing my face gets me a fight over it."

Zhang Han's face stiffened.

Bai Qi took a step back, making room for the group of humanoid animals to quickly wash up.

"Hey, tell me, could it be that your younger brother is just reluctant to kill the family's sheep...?"

Zhang Han's face darkened, and Bai Qi moved an inch away. "Or perhaps you went to the wrong place during the night? Or maybe you fell into a ditch along the way? Or were you unfortunately caught by a patrol?"

"After all, sibling rivalry is often..."

Zhang Han turned his head away, not wanting to pay him any attention.

Bai Qi shrugged and took another step back.

As the Qin soldiers rushing to and fro by the well gradually thinned out, Bai Qi was about to step forward when Zhang Han hesitated and asked, "Then tell me, what happened to that Qin soldier with the severed tongue?"

Bai Qi's smile slowly faded, and his eyes darkened as he said, "The selection of Qin's elite soldiers is not limited to prisoners!"

Shang Yang's reforms have been condemned by the world for thousands of years, but it cannot be denied that in this great era where beheadings and nose cuttings were commonplace, and feudal kingdoms and slavery coexisted.

He provided a path for the lower classes—slaves, prisoners, commoners—to climb the social ladder.

Compared to the six states in Shandong, at least he didn't just offer a little bit of empty reward as a token of gratitude.

The Qin state said, "Qin doesn't need a perfect system; it just needs to be stronger than the other six states."