Chapter 196: Chapter 145: Repayment (Part 2)

South City was just a small city within the Qiling Governor’s Mansion’s territory, far from the border front lines. Only if the Governor’s Mansion fell, followed by North City and Jin City, would South City be next.

Even if South City fell, the Turkic army would have to charge through several counties before it could affect the people of Baiyang County.

In the original owner’s memory, although he was familiar with the term “Turkic people,” he had never actually seen them in person.

Now that the Great Yuan and the Turkic people had established diplomatic relations, Turkic cargo ships often appeared on the Canal and at sea. But this was the first time Chu Lingguang had ever seen them.

He saw that they all had black-and-white tattoos on their faces. Their brow ridges were prominent and their noses high-bridged. On average, they stood half a head taller than the people of the Great Yuan, and their arms were thicker than an ordinary person’s.

On the battlefield, men like that could wield an axe over two meters long with explosive, lethal force, even without any training.

It was easy to imagine what would happen if the border soldiers, without sufficient Qi Blood, had to fight them on the battlefield.

Chu Lingguang now understood why the crowd that had surrounded Teng Qingshan and Lin Yuanfu, screaming that they would tear them limb from limb, had suddenly gone silent.

It wasn’t that they were cowards who only picked on the weak.

Rather, every single one of these Turkic people overflowed with vigorous Qi Blood. With their furious glares, they exuded an intimidating aura. How could ordinary folk with no martial arts training possibly withstand such an oppressive presence?

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

There were seventeen Turkic men in total.

When they boarded, the merchant ship’s waterline sank noticeably. All the vendors on board immediately fell silent. The ship’s owner frowned but could only brace himself to deal with them.

The Great Yuan and the Turkic people now had diplomatic relations and traded with each other.

It wasn’t as if the Turkic men refused to pay, so the owner had no choice but to serve them carefully. He was terrified of angering them and worried they might start a fight with the other passengers, so he simply told everyone to be patient.

Chu Lingguang saw them all sit down on the lower deck.

The merchant ship was primarily for transporting cargo.

The ship’s cabins had been built to the scale of the Great Yuan’s people. To save weight, the ceilings were low; inside, Chu Lingguang and his companions had to stoop slightly to walk around. As a result, whenever the weather was clear, everyone preferred to be out on the deck.

Right now, Chu Lingguang, Guo Wei, and the others were on the upper deck.

There was adequate space here.

No cargo was piled up here.

It was the perfect amount of space for Chu Lingguang to practice his spear forms.

Watching them now, Chu Lingguang saw the seventeen Turkic men on the lower deck drive away the vendors and boatmen who were resting there. Each one of them took up a large area as they sat down to rest.

Chu Lingguang watched them.

Some of them were looking around and soon noticed Chu Lingguang and his party.

One of them gestured to his companion, pointing up at Chu Lingguang’s group. As if on cue, the rest of the lounging Turkic men suddenly scrambled to their feet. All of them looked up at Chu Lingguang, Hei Hu, and Guo Wei, who was seated in his bamboo chair.

They began speaking in their native tongue, their eyes fixed mostly on Guo Wei. After a torrent of unintelligible words, they seemed to reach a consensus and all sat back down.

From then on, their gazes would only occasionally flick upward; other than that, nothing else happened.

“Master, what were they muttering about? I got the feeling they were cursing at us?”

Hei Hu inquired.

When the dozen or so Turkic men had stood up and stared at them in unison, Hei Hu had instinctively taken a step back, his courage failing him. Now that they had settled down, he asked his question in a low voice.

“They have sharp instincts,” Guo Wei explained. “They could tell we’re all Martial Artists. People have been harassing them lately, and they suspect we’re involved. But since they have no proof and don’t want to start trouble, they’ve just assigned two men to watch us.”

“Master, you can understand their language?” Chu Lingguang asked in shock.

“I’ve dealt with them before.”

Guo Wei nodded noncommittally.

“Master Guo, they’re the ones who knocked us out and left us on the docks,” Lin Yuanfu said.

“I don’t think they’re here to trade with us,” Teng Qingshan said, his voice full of resentment.

“As long as they don’t cause trouble Within the Great Yuan Territory, we can’t just go and bother them,” Guo Wei warned with deep meaning. “You boys are young and hot-blooded. You must not let nationalistic feelings lead you into a reckless conflict. If you undermine the nation’s greater interests, the Court will hold someone responsible, and not even I will be able to protect you.”

“Understood.”

Teng Qingshan and Lin Yuanfu understood Guo Wei’s meaning.

“Master, how is their Breathing Technique different from ours?”

Chu Lingguang carefully observed the Turkic men below. With his enhanced senses, he could clearly tell that their Qi Blood was far more potent than that of Great Yuan Martial Artists of the same generation. ’But where does that strength come from?’

“They’re more or less the same,” Guo Wei said simply. “However, unlike the people of the Great Yuan, they are bloodthirsty by nature. They enjoy drinking raw Beast Blood and often form cavalry units to hunt and kill beasts in the forests. Over time, their bloodlines have become different from ours, making it easier for them to awaken Dragon Elephant Power.”

“What?”

Chu Lingguang was stunned.

’That phrase, “easier”… I have a feeling there’s more to it than that.’

“They do indeed have a special cultivation Skill that allows them to absorb a great deal of power from Beast Blood. It makes them as strong as oxen, with Qi Power that far surpasses that of Great Yuan Martial Artists their age,” Guo Wei added.

“Consuming Beast Blood? Master, don’t we have a Skill like that?” Hei Hu asked curiously.

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