The sun had risen to its zenith, and the spectators outside were sweating profusely.

The big man scrutinized Chu Chengji from head to toe and snorted disdainfully, “You? Just based on you?”

Chief Ma also sneered, “Lin, I see this brother here probably can’t even lift a knife. If something goes wrong and there’s bloodshed, don’t blame me, Lin.”

He glanced at the onlookers and continued to provoke, “If we’re going to revolt, then it’s survival of the fittest. Today, the Qi Yun stronghold has indeed shown that they don’t accept me, Ma.”

Lin Yao exchanged a glance with Chu Chengji, and the latter gave him a reassuring look.

In front of the leaders of the various mountain factions, Lin Yao couldn’t lose face for the Qi Yun stronghold.

He immediately said in a deep voice, “Chief Ma, then you may try.”

There was a wild and fierce look in his eyes.

For a moment, Chief Ma couldn’t help but hesitate.

Besides having Zhao Kui’s fierce and invincible support, he had also heard rumors about Lin Yao’s injury.

But Lin Yao was so confident now.

Could that pretty boy really have some skills?

Chief Ma’s gaze swept over Chu Chengji. Seeing that his stature was insufficient compared to Zhao Kui’s and considering Zhao Kui’s natural strength, he felt a bit relieved.

He said, “Then I’ll wait and see.”

Chu Chengji stood in the middle of the arena, holding his sword, his long hair and robes gently fluttering in the light breeze.

The big man, Zhao Kui, on the opposite side, cracked his neck and made a series of cracking sounds with his bones.

The disdain in his eyes couldn’t be more obvious. “Kid, with one swing, I’ll turn you into minced meat!”

Chu Chengji raised his eyes slightly and said only one word, “Come.”

Zhao Kui picked up the sledgehammer at his feet, roared, and charged towards Chu Chengji.

Chu Chengji was already considered tall, but Zhao Kui was even taller by a head and much more muscular.

He was shirtless, and with every step he took, his fat and the muddy ground beneath him trembled together.

As the sledgehammer, carrying tremendous force, came crashing down towards Chu Chengji, he agilely dodged it.

But although Zhao Kui seemed clumsy, his movements were extremely agile.

Seeing Chu Chengji evade, he dragged the sledgehammer on the ground, leaving deep scratches, and continued swinging it towards Chu Chengji.

This time, Chu Chengji didn’t dodge.

As the sledgehammer was dragged, he stepped on it, causing it to sink halfway into the mud.

Zhao Kui felt a sudden force pulling down on the hand holding the sledgehammer, dislocating it.

Before he could react, Chu Chengji used the sledgehammer as leverage, leaped up, and kicked him hard in the chin.

Zhao Kui staggered backward several steps, his entire lower jaw seemingly numb.

He spat on the ground and unexpectedly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

A chorus of gasps erupted from the spectators outside the arena.

No one had expected that the seemingly gentle and refined man would injure Zhao Kui as soon as he entered the arena.

“I didn’t expect it. The strategist from the Qi Yun stronghold is quite skilled in martial arts!” someone exclaimed from the sidelines.

“His martial arts foundation is indeed good, but after all, his physique is there, and in a head-on collision, Zhao Kui is still likely to win.

The strategist from the Qi Yun stronghold may be skilled, but he may not be able to match three-quarters of Zhao Kui’s strength.

As the fight progresses, he might easily exhaust himself,” remarked someone who seemed knowledgeable, shaking their head with some regret.

Zhao Kui looked at Chu Chengji, who stood immaculate on the other side.

He used his tongue to touch the inside of his mouth, which had been cut by his teeth earlier.

The wound was burning, but the taste of blood in his mouth only excited him more.

“Good lad!” he laughed heartily.

Holding his limp right arm with his left hand, he exerted force, and with a sour “crack,” he forced his dislocated right arm back into place.

Without the sledgehammer, he clenched his fists.

Just by adopting a boxing stance, he exuded a ferocious aura.

With no weapons in their hands, when Chu Chengji faced off against Zhao Kui again, he didn’t use his sword either.

Instead, they traded blows with fists and feet, testing each other’s instantaneous explosive power.

Zhao Kui’s thick and muscular arms swung punches in a continuous stream, leaving no room for respite.

His Boxing Skill, when paired with his massive back muscles, exerted several times more force than ordinary boxing techniques.

Even blocking a few punches caused excruciating pain in the hands.

But Chu Chengji dodged with ease, as if he knew Zhao Kui’s moves by heart.

He even managed to counterattack when he spotted an opening in Zhao Kui’s defense, hitting him hard in the elbow joint.

As the fight progressed, it was Zhao Kui who suffered, grimacing in pain as he shook both his arms, trying to shake off the waves of pain enveloping them.

“Damn it! No one has ever broken my Boxing Skill! Who are you?” Zhao Kui’s eyes were filled with shock and confusion.

Chu Chengji continued to spar with Zhao Kui using just his fists and feet, and even those who hadn’t formally studied martial arts could tell that the strategist from the Qi Yun stronghold was no ordinary fighter.

Chief Ma, fearing defeat on his side, shouted with a stern face, “Zhao, finish it quickly!”

Zhao Kui happened to return to where he had abandoned the sledgehammer earlier.

Upon hearing Chief Ma’s command, he gritted his teeth, pulled out the sledgehammer that was nearly half-buried in the mud, and pointed it at Chu Chengji.

“If you dare, don’t dodge. Take this sledgehammer blow head-on!”

This time, Chu Chengji didn’t dodge.

He used his internal force to raise his sword to block.

The tremendous impact caused the sword to crack, and the shattered pieces grazed Chu Chengji’s cheek, leaving a shallow cut.

In an instant, he kicked with full force at the handle of the sledgehammer.

The force from his foot was even greater than that from his hand.

Zhao Kui felt a sharp pain in his tiger’s mouth, and as he staggered backward, he couldn’t even hold onto the sledgehammer anymore.

Upon closer inspection, his tiger’s mouth had split open, and blood was oozing out.

Without waiting for him to recover, his kneecap was forcefully kicked again.

It felt as if his knee bone was about to be shattered by the blow.

His knees went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.

A sword with a chilling gleam was pointed directly at his throat.

Zhao Kui hurriedly said, “I concede, I concede! I’m no match for you!”

After Chu Chengji steadied himself, he also felt a surge of blood in his throat.

The functions of this body were not comparable to those of his previous life’s body.

This battle had been too strenuous.

He forced back the blood in his mouth, pointing the sword at Zhao Kui’s throat, his face appearing somewhat pale in the sunlight.

The arena fell into a deathly silence, and it took a while before bursts of cheers erupted.

“A mere strategist from the Qi Yun stronghold has such skill. There must be many hidden talents and masters around!”

“Otherwise, how could they snatch those imperial weapons from the Panlong Gully? There must be extraordinary abilities involved!”

“The Xia Kou stronghold has relied on someone like Zhao Kui to dominate for many years. This time, they’ve really met their match!”

Chu Chengji’s battle against Zhao Kui had indeed been perilous.

Even Lin Yao, watching from the sidelines, had sweated for him.

Now that Chu Chengji had emerged victorious, Lin Yao immediately turned to the Xia Kou stronghold’s leader and asked, “Chief Ma, what do you say?”

With a face alternating between green and red amid the discussions of the crowd, Chief Ma bowed to Lin Yao and said, “I am ashamed. I will follow the orders of Chief Lin.”

Lin Yao’s voice was cold. “According to the usual rules of the martial world, Chief Ma should have to sever an arm to appease the crowd.

But since our Qi Yun stronghold has decided to take action, we will follow military regulations.

Chief Ma and Zhao Kui will each be punished with one hundred strokes of the military cane.

After being incorporated into our ranks, Chief Ma will be demoted to a common soldier!”

The people from the Xia Kou stronghold, who had once been imposing, had all witnessed Zhao Kui, who possessed extraordinary natural strength, being defeated under the strategist’s hands.

The remaining lackeys didn’t dare to cause trouble anymore and obeyed the orders of the Qi Yun stronghold.

This was a warning to others. Having seen the fate of the Xia Kou stronghold, the other mountain strongholds dared not object to the subsequent formations.

Chief Ma and Zhao Kui were punished by being tied to punishment stools and beaten with military canes.

The people from the Qi Yun stronghold, who had been holding back their anger earlier, now delivered blows to them. After a dozen or so strokes, the executioner’s head was covered in sweat.

Chief Ma couldn’t bear the pain and cried out for mercy, losing all his dignity.

On the other hand, Zhao Kui, perhaps because of his thick fat and sturdy physique, didn’t utter a word despite the punishment.

The formation of the army proceeded smoothly. After ensuring stability, Chu Chengji left without attracting attention.

Lin Yao noticed that something was wrong with him when he was on the field and hurriedly went to see him.

Chu Chengji, after avoiding the crowd, did indeed spit out a mouthful of blood.

Lin Yao was greatly shocked. “Brother Cheng!”

Chu Chengji wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips with the back of his hand. “Chief, don’t worry, it’s just a bit of stagnant blood.”

Lin Yao regretted, “That Zhao Kui from the Xia Kou stronghold possesses boundless strength. When you faced him, you must have suffered internal injuries. Shall I have Uncle Zhao check your pulse?”

“It’s nothing serious. I’ll recover after a couple of days of rest.” Upon hearing the name of the big man, Chu Chengji’s eyes narrowed slightly. “His name is Zhao Kui?”

Lin Yao knew that Chu Chengji valued talents. “Exactly. I’ve had a couple of brief encounters with him. In terms of brute force alone, he’s probably unmatched.

Although he’s fierce, he doesn’t kill unarmed civilians.

He joined the Xia Kou stronghold because, as the story goes, when he first came down from the mountain, he couldn’t find any food and couldn’t bear to rob refugees.

Chief Ma gave him a meal out of gratitude, and he joined the Xia Kou stronghold to repay the kindness.

Brother Cheng, to defeat him today is truly eye-opening for me! If our Qi Yun stronghold can recruit such a person, we’ll have an additional fierce general in the future.”

Chu Chengji nodded. “To make him wholeheartedly serve the Qi Yun stronghold, I think it will require the chief to persuade him.”

Lin Yao, always adept at dealing with people, immediately said, “I’ll take care of this matter.”

As he was about to leave, he remembered another matter. “By the way, Brother Cheng, if we’re going to take action, we need a legitimate reason, and our military also needs a name for convenience in making flags.”

Chu Chengji replied, “We won’t publicize our actions yet. The imperial army of thirty thousand is besieging the bandits at the foot of Liangyan Mountain.

Despite the urgent call for reinforcements from Minzhou, the imperial army remains unmoved. If news of our uprising were to spread at this time, it would only give the imperial army a reason to accuse us of defying their orders.”

Once again, Lin Yao admired Chu Chengji’s strategic thinking.

By taking advantage of the siege of the bandits, they could unite the forces of various mountain strongholds.

When both the imperial army and the Shens clashed, they would raise their banners.

At that time, they would be the ones attacking the court, rather than being subject to its control.

Lin Yao couldn’t conceal his excitement. However, although the forces of the various mountain strongholds had been incorporated, the issue of provisions had not been resolved.

He said, “Zhao Zhen heard about the plan to repair the ropeway for transporting provisions on the back mountain and mentioned that the old man who helped repair the pontoon bridge in the village had suggested it.

He said that while repairing a ropeway is time-consuming and labor-intensive, it’s more convenient for transporting goods. However, ordinary iron cables won’t suffice for transporting heavy objects between two mountain cliffs.

It’s difficult for us to come down from the mountain now, and it’s probably too late to find a blacksmith to make them.”

Chu Chengji listened to Lin Yao’s words, feeling a little strange, but he quickly returned to normal and said, “I’ll think of a solution for the provision issue.”

Lin Yao nodded. “Alright, then. I’ll have Uncle Wu cover for you in today’s military training. You go back and rest properly for a day.”

After Chu Chengji left, Lin Yao returned to the training ground to check on the formation.

The one hundred strokes had been completed, and Chief Ma had been beaten into a bloody mess, screaming in agony as he was dragged away.

On the other hand, Zhao Kui remained silent throughout the punishment.

To win over hearts, Lin Yao took an old doctor to treat Zhao Kui’s injuries.

However, as soon as Zhao Kui saw him, his first words were, “Chief Lin, does your stronghold’s strategist lead troops?”

Lin Yao’s eyelids twitched. “Of course.”

Those ruthless thugs would all be placed under Chu Chengji’s command.

These people couldn’t be kept, but after training them, they would become the most sharp weapons on the battlefield.

Zhao Kui grinned.

The pain from the kick he received from Chu Chengji’s jaw was still burning.

He said, “I followed Chief Ma for three years, repaying his kindness for that meal. Now I want to go under your strategist’s command. I won’t respect anyone else except him!”

Looking at the fervent admiration in Zhao Kui’s eyes, Lin Yao suddenly felt that he didn’t need to do anything more to win this guy over.

---

In another part of the stronghold, Qin Zheng was making roof tiles in the threshing ground.

The elderly, women, and children in the village heard that green tiles were going to be burned and came over to help.

Qin Zheng personally taught them how to make roof tile molds.

This was a laborious task.

The yellow clay had to be evenly wrapped around the tile molds. If it wasn’t done properly, the molded tiles would easily crack or become loose when removed.

It seemed simple, but it required some experience and patience.

Qin Zheng guided the women for the whole morning.

Such craftsmanship might not seem like much, but down in the valley, it was a skill passed down through generations, and outsiders couldn’t learn it without apprenticing under a master tilemaker.

The people in the stronghold weren’t so much there to help as they were there to learn.

Each of them put in great effort to learn, and by the end of the morning, they had all made molds that looked quite decent.

They were reluctant to leave even when it was time for lunch.

Since Qin Zheng had casually mentioned her surname to Lin Zhao, the women making the roof tiles felt that calling her “Madam Cheng” was too distant, and calling her “Mrs. Cheng” didn’t show enough respect.

Therefore, they unanimously addressed her as “Master Qin.”

In ancient times, “Master” was a term of great respect for craftsmen.

To Qin Zheng, regardless of what people called her, it was just a name.

She wasn’t bothered by it at all. Whether others called her “Madam Cheng,” “Mrs. Cheng,” or “Master Qin,” she responded with a gentle smile.

What surprised Qin Zheng was that the girl from the Wang family mentioned by Aunt Lu also came to make roof tiles.

Before this, Qin Zheng was not very familiar with most people in the stronghold.

Through teaching them how to make roof tile molds today, they had become more acquainted.

Perhaps out of a woman’s instinct, the girl surnamed Wang kept her head down the whole time, only sneaking glances at Qin Zheng occasionally, but Qin Zheng noticed anyway.

She didn’t know the other party, so when He Yunjing came over to put down the tile molds, she glanced at the girl surnamed Wang and whispered mysteriously to Qin Zheng, “That girl has been hanging around outside your courtyard since the day you and Zhao got captured by the river bandits. She probably has her eye on your husband. Be careful.”

Qin Zheng and He Yunjing had only met briefly before, so Qin Zheng was quite surprised by her sudden remarks.

Seeing Qin Zheng’s silence, He Yunjing also knew that their previous encounters hadn’t been pleasant, so she felt a bit awkward as she kneaded the clay in her hands.

“You saved the people in the stronghold, and I still have a conscience.

I can’t stand her pretending to be gentle and timid, but always talking behind your back about how you were taken into the bandit’s den and abused by those scum.

She used to fawn over Brother Lin, but I had to slap her a few times before she behaved herself.”

Qin Zheng thanked He Yunjing, who looked at her beautiful eyes and suddenly felt embarrassed. “I misunderstood your intentions towards Brother Lin before. I’m sorry.”

After the He Laozhi died, she had experienced the warmth and coldness of human relationships firsthand.

Everyone in the stronghold seemed to be able to bully her, a lonely girl.

During her hardest times, it was Wang Dannie, who had always protected her, and He Yunjing slowly realized how annoying she had been in the past.

This apology came a bit late, but Qin Zheng looked at the girl in front of her and felt that she was quite adorable.

She smiled and said, “Since it was a misunderstanding, it’s all in the past. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Seeing Lin Zhao approaching, He Yunjing didn’t say anything else to Qin Zheng and hurried away.

Worried that Qin Zheng had been bullied, Lin Zhao’s first words were, “Sister Aizheng, did she give you a hard time?”

Qin Zheng shook her head. “No, I see that Miss He has changed a lot.”

Talking about this, Lin Zhao’s expression also became somewhat complicated. “After the He Laozhi died, she did have a hard time, but she’s become even fiercer than before. Anyone who annoys her, she’ll just slap. If it weren’t for Aunt Wang protecting her, she would have been bullied by a lot of people.”

Qin Zheng hesitated. “Her and your brother…”

Lin Zhao shook her head. “After the He Laozhi died, she never came to see my brother again.”

For a moment, Qin Zheng felt a twinge of sadness.

That girl who had been cherished by the Second Master He Laozhi had grown up overnight.