My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

The remnants of the defeated Cangyunling army continued to arrive at Yuyang City, and Zhou Xingzhan also fled to Yuyang City with serious injuries.

The human race suffered heavy losses in this battle, with three centurions killed in action, and the battalion commanders, centurions, and platoon leaders also suffering heavy losses.

Yuyang City is a county town located in the heart of the border region. Its city walls are high and it is relatively safe. It was also the last stop for the remnants of the breakout army.

Zhou Xingzhan took over command of Yuyang County and ordered the army to garrison the city walls.

Li Xuancang was assigned to the city defense squad and continued to serve as a squad leader.

His merits were enough to earn him a promotion to general, but this special period was clearly not the time to reward those who had made contributions.

More than a thousand wounded soldiers, their armor tattered, their faces etched with exhaustion and bewilderment at surviving such a catastrophe.

The three thousand elite troops who once guarded Cangyun Ridge are now reduced to this state.

The possibility of barbarians attacking at any moment cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

Taking advantage of his several days off and his shift, Li Xuancang walked out of the military camp alone and onto the streets of Yuyang City, where he witnessed firsthand the stark contrast between two different worlds in this chaotic era.

Having been in this world for several months, he has been staying in the military camp and hasn't had time to properly understand this world.

Not far from the military camp was the city's slums.

The narrow streets were full of potholes, and the low, dilapidated mud houses on both sides swayed precariously in the cold wind.

The streets were crowded with ragged, emaciated people.

Most of them were refugees fleeing from disaster, as well as impoverished people from the lower classes.

The starving dead huddled in the corner, groaning weakly, while the children cried loudly from hunger, yet they couldn't even get a bite of wild vegetables.

The people, dressed in patched and tattered coarse cloth clothes, shivered in the cold wind.

"Give us some food!"

"Sir, please give me some!"

"Please, please give me some food!"

"..."

For a bite to eat, they are willing to humble themselves and beg on their knees.

Living in the border region, it is very difficult for ordinary people to survive.

Now, the barbarians have launched a large-scale invasion. The imperial court has abandoned some territories, and the barbarians have swept through, looting many villages. The surviving people are homeless and have no choice but to flee to Yuyang City to survive.

The grain shops on the street were closed, and the grain prices were shockingly high.

Even so, the wealthy and powerful snapped them up, leaving ordinary people to eat tree bark and clay, struggling on the brink of life and death.

The more intense the war became, the heavier the taxes and levies became, crushing families one by one.

The yamen runners, like fierce demons, went from house to house demanding taxes. People who couldn't pay were forcibly dragged away, their property confiscated, and it was common for families to be torn apart and for families to be destroyed.

People collapsed everywhere on the roadside due to hunger and illness.

No one cared, no one offered help; human life was worthless, and simply being alive was a luxury.

Li Xuancang clenched his fists, looking at this scene of hell on earth, his heart heavy.

He thought of his family in Qingxi Village, and worried that they, like the people before him, were being bullied and living in constant fear in this chaotic world.

"I'm already a squad leader, so my parents, older sister, and younger sister can be protected. You must all live well."

Li Xuancang slowly loosened his clenched fist. He was now a member of the imperial court, and his family would receive its protection, be exempt from all exorbitant taxes, and be able to live a better life.

Leaving the slums and walking towards the city center, the scene before me was like a completely different world.

The wide and flat bluestone avenue is lined with pavilions and towers on both sides, with carved beams and painted rafters, making it magnificent and splendid.

Wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials rode in magnificent carriages, speeding through the streets.

The driver arrogantly berated the people who couldn't get out of his way, displaying his overbearing attitude.

The restaurants and teahouses along the street were filled with singing and dancing all day long, and the sounds of string and wind instruments were endless.

The sons of the powerful and wealthy, dressed in fine silks and satins, with precious jade and jewels adorning their waists, would call upon their friends and indulge in drinking and merrymaking.

The table was laden with delicacies, with mountains of chicken, duck, fish, and meat piled up. Uneaten food was carelessly dumped away, a wasteful display of extravagance.

The phrase "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie" became a vivid image in Li Xuancang's eyes at that moment.

The city's official residences and mansions were surrounded by high walls and large courtyards, with servants everywhere. The courtyards were planted with precious flowers and plants, and the stoves were burning warmly.

The master and mistress of the mansion, dressed in brocade robes and adorned with gold and silver jewelry, indulged in revelry day and night, completely disregarding the war raging on the border outside the city and the starving people scattered across the land.

They hoarded goods, inflated grain prices, and made a fortune during the war.

They colluded with officials, oppressed the people, seized land, and enjoyed extreme luxury and privilege.

The life and death of ordinary people are nothing more than topics of conversation over tea or dinner, and are not even worth mentioning.

There were no refugees or beggars in the central area, not because they didn't know there was food there, but because they dared not or could not get close.

Officials patrolled the area constantly, and any vagrants or beggars who approached were immediately driven away.

At best, they would beat and scold; at worst, they would be arrested and forced into labor. It was a world where people devoured each other.

The city of Yuyang is a living hell of hunger and cold, where people live hand to mouth, and a paradise of extravagance and debauchery on the other side.

The class divide, like an insurmountable chasm, lies between the two, glaring and cruel.

Standing in the middle of the street, Li Xuancang looked at the two completely opposite scenes, feeling a mix of emotions and a strong sense of obsession.

"I must become stronger."

He must become stronger, he must climb the ladder step by step, in order to protect his family in this chaotic world.

"Halt! Who are you?"

Li Xuancang was not wearing his military uniform today, but rather the coarse linen clothes of an ordinary person. Immediately, a patrolling officer stopped him.

The patrol quickly surrounded him.

Ordinary people would have been terrified and at a loss upon seeing such a spectacle.

Li Xuancang remained calm and faced the crowd without showing any fear.

"Who are you? Why are you looking around suspiciously on the street?"

The head officer, looking fierce, questioned them in a stern voice.

When Li Xuancang strolled around the county town for the first time, he was inevitably attracted by some things, which the patrolling officials saw as suspicious and scheming.

Li Xuancang took out his squad leader's token from his pocket and said calmly, "Li Xuancang, squad leader of the lakeside post station at Cangyun Ridge."

Upon hearing this, the official's face froze, staring intently at the token in Li Xuancang's hand, his body trembling involuntarily.

"My...my lord...I was...I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness...I offended you...my lord...please...please forgive me..."

The group was terrified, their hearts trembling, and they immediately begged Li Xuancang for mercy, barely able to speak.

They and the soldiers were both government officials, but the status of these clerks was vastly different from that of the soldiers.

They were not eligible for exemption from corvée labor and taxes, nor could they receive the protection of the imperial court.

They couldn't afford to offend even an ordinary soldier, let alone a platoon leader.

"Step down!"

Li Xuancang did not make things difficult for the group.

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir..."

The group felt as if they had been granted a pardon and fled as if they were escaping.

After taking a stroll around, Li Xuancang returned to the military camp, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

The daily increase in strength by 1% continues silently. The stability of Yuyang City is only temporary, and the barbarian pursuers could arrive at any time.

Only by becoming stronger can one survive in this chaotic world of stark class differences and constant warfare, and protect those one wants to protect.