Chapter 5

As the spring breeze gently caresses, the warmth of spring invades the senses.

All things come back to life, and the flowers bloom in the warm spring.

Unconsciously, the earth has taken on a new look.

The grass is green, the leaves rustle, and it is a time of great vitality.

In the backyard of Zhongmu County.

Half a month has quietly passed.

The flowers and trees in the courtyard have changed day by day, now lush and blooming.

Spring is in full swing, full of vitality.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

In the center of the courtyard, a nimble figure darts and dodges, bare-handed, creating a strong wind with each punch, causing the air to whistle.

After a while, he completed the set of boxing three times before stopping.

Once he steadied himself, it was clear that he was not old, with long arms and a narrow waist, standing tall at 1.80 meters, or eight feet. He wore a scholar's robe, making him appear even more tall and upright, though his build seemed somewhat slender.

From a distance, his face appeared delicate, with a typical square jaw, arched eyebrows, fierce eyes, a high nose, and red lips, with a mustache. His skin was a healthy wheat color.

His eyes were deep, seemingly clear and empty at first glance; but upon closer inspection, they were like a deep pool, impossible to fathom.

Most strikingly, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, always wearing a sincere smile, easily making people feel good, giving a sense of warmth like a gentle spring breeze, approachable and friendly.

This is Li Zhengfeng now, also Li Li after recovering from his injuries, and even more so, Li Li who has been reborn and integrated with the Li family.

The set of boxing he just performed is the military boxing from the future, used for physical fitness, but not for combat.

In the age of cold weapons, martial arts were prevalent. It was not until the advent of firearms that martial arts gradually faded from the public eye, transforming into dance.

In fact, early dancers were all skilled in martial arts, using martial arts as the foundation to perform various beautiful dance poses. The higher the dance skills, the more proficient their martial arts.

The ordinary military boxing that Li Li performed now was of little use, far from true martial arts, only serving to strengthen the body.

However, Li Li had learned true martial arts, and not just one, but two.

One set was a secret technique he learned from a military leader in the future navy, which allowed him to adjust his breathing underwater, extending his diving time.

This breath-holding technique was his unique skill that made him stand out among hundreds of thousands of navy personnel, earning him numerous promotions and eventually becoming a real colonel at the age of thirty.

The breath-holding technique has five levels. Li Li had been stuck at the initial third level for five years, making no progress. The first three levels are called Nourishing Breath, Concealing Breath, and Accumulating Breath, each divided into early, middle, and late stages.

The breath-holding technique is essentially a method of adjusting breathing frequency. Adjusting breathing frequency requires the coordination of all organs and the functions of various parts of the body, essentially a method of mobilizing the meridians through special breathing techniques.

According to the leader, the breath-holding technique originated from Daoism, a method for Daoists to extend their lives; as for its authenticity, there is no way to verify it.

Since such techniques are not easily revealed, most people have no way of knowing, let alone verifying their authenticity.

The other set of martial arts Li Li learned was the Li family's ancestral martial arts.

The current head of the family, Li Jue, is the second of the five great generals under Dong Zhuo, not by chance or favor, but by merit.

As the third-generation eldest son, Li Li naturally learned the family's ancestral martial arts.

Moreover, all direct male descendants of the Li family can learn the ancestral martial arts. The quality of their skills depends entirely on their personal talent, and others can do little to help.

The Li family's ancestral martial arts are essentially methods for developing physical strength and combat techniques.

There are no shortcuts to learning them; only through diligent practice over time can one develop strength and refine combat techniques, becoming more skilled and improving combat ability.

This set of martial arts is similar to those of other families in the Han Dynasty, with a common hierarchy.

Beginners are like ordinary soldiers, only understanding basic combat skills. After that, they are divided into third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate martial artists. Above first-rate martial artists are top generals.

Third-rate martial artists are like ordinary troop leaders and minor officers, not very strong, and not considered among the strong, also known as lower third-rate martial artists.

Second-rate martial artists, based on their strength, can be called generals. They are skilled, capable of fighting ten at once, and in later stages, even a hundred.

First-rate generals are considered strong among generals. In the early stages, they can fight a hundred at once, and at their peak, they can fight a thousand.

Top generals are extremely rare in the world. Among ten thousand martial artists, it is rare to find one or two top generals.

In Dong Zhuo's nearly 400,000 troops, there are only five top generals, and Li Jue is one of them.

However, he is slightly inferior to the Tiger General of the Central Army, Lu Bu, who is a top general at his peak, with the courage of ten thousand, and few can match him in the world.

Li Li is currently at the initial stage of a first-rate general, entering this rank at an age before he has reached adulthood, which is truly remarkable.

For this reason, Li Jue values his potential highly, believing he may be the only one in the Li family in nearly a hundred years to reach the peak of a top general.

...

After careful verification over the past few days, Li Li finally figured out what year it was.

It is now the second year of Chuping, or March 191 AD.

In the past year, Dong Zhuo's army has been in conflict with the various warlords for several months. Eventually, Sun Jian, the Tiger of Jiangdong, broke through the Sishui Pass and entered the imperial city of Luoyang.

With no choice, Dong Zhuo looted Luoyang, burned the ancestral temples, excavated the imperial tombs, and plundered extensively. He then burned the 200-year-old city of Luoyang and forced the young emperor to move the capital to Chang'an.

Seeing Dong Zhuo and his forces move west, the various warlords hesitated, began to plot against each other, and eventually dispersed, returning to their territories to expand their territories.

By the end of the year, after the warlords had dispersed, Dong Zhuo gradually took control of the various commanderies in the Sili region. However, he still feared the warlords in the Guandong region, so he reduced his forces, leaving only a small number of infantry to guard the Sili region, while the main army remained in Guanzhong.

Unexpectedly, the famous general Zhu Jun began to organize a large militia in the Henan region, attacking the various commanderies and counties in the Sili region, and even recaptured the eastern capital of Luoyang from the Xiliang army.

For this, Dong Zhuo was extremely angry. At the beginning of this year, he ordered his son-in-law, Niu Fu, to lead several tens of thousands of troops to attack Zhu Jun.

Li Jue, as a commandery officer under Niu Fu, was sent to the front lines to fight Zhu Jun in Zhongmu County. Niu Fu remained in the rear, taking the opportunity to recapture the commanderies and counties that Zhu Jun had taken, and plundering extensively.

Before the battle with Zhu Jun, Li Jue had also led his troops south to plunder, cleansing the large families in Yingchuan, and reaping significant gains.

Originally, he planned to defeat Zhu Jun and then move to Yanzhou to raid Chenliu. However, Zhu Jun proved to be very stubborn, recruiting refugees to form a militia, and despite several defeats, he continued to fight, refusing to give up.

Now, Li Jue's army has been resting for over half a month. In the past two days, they have been preparing their equipment, planning to eliminate Zhu Jun's militia in one fell swoop and then advance to Chenliu.