My Cultivation Starting from Archery

The next day.

The Xi River tribe outside the city didn't attack again.

Instead, they dispersed their troops and set up camps in the four directions—east, west, south, and north—around Po Yang County, forming a siege.

If the city could not be taken by storm, a siege would also be useless.

To encircle an enemy must be done with a gap, leaving them a survival path, forcing them to abandon the city and flee was a classic tactic in siege warfare.

The barbarians' relentless pressure would only force the people within the city into a cornered beast's fight.

But at this critical moment, Po Yang City Commander Xiang Tingchun disappeared.

"Mr. Chen, you...what do you think happened?!"

Ji Guangxian paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, "Out of the blue, how could a grown man just vanish?"

At his side, an old slave practicing the refining organs skill quietly waited.

"I do not know."

Chen Sansi speculated in his heart.

The Immortal Treasure matter must have come to light, most likely.

Mr. Xiang, more likely than not, is in grave danger.

However, someone like him, who never cared for others' lives, doesn't warrant any pity.

"My lord, we've found out!"

Dan Yuanzhi hurriedly ascended the city wall: "Last night at midnight, as the darkness fell, someone opened the south gate and fled. Xiang Tingchun rode out alone in pursuit, encountered an ambush by the barbarian tribes outside the city, and Mr. Xiang died in battle. Only Luo Qianhu and a few surviving riders managed to escape back shortly before now."

Luo Dongquan?

This man also took part and managed to come back alive?

A backstabbing?

Well, this person is not only treacherous but also a turncoat.

Chen Sansi sneered in his heart.

He clenched his iron fist, beginning to plan how to dispose of them next.

With Xiang Tingchun gone.

Luo Dongquan would automatically rise to the position of Main General.

How could he sleep at night if the man didn't die?

Mastered in archery and blessed with a Vajra Body, he might stand a chance in a real fight.

And if by chance something were to go wrong...

Chen Sansi lowered his head, looking at the Fire Arrows in the Arrow Bag at his waist.

There was also the Abnormal Fire as a trump card.

But, that move absolutely must not be used lightly.

Especially not in the city, where there are too many prying eyes.

Timing is everything.

Chen Sansi momentarily suppressed his killing intent and went below the city wall to perform a routine headcount of his men.

Two hundred eighty men.

Wang Zhi was absent, having left all his subordinates in Chen's charge before leaving.

Furthermore, every time a Households died in battle, Xiang Tingchun would redistribute the soldiers evenly among the remaining Households, so Chen's numbers only grew.

They had been hardened by battle, with bloodshot eyes, each one as brave as tigers and wolves. Even if some had lower realms, not a single one was a coward.

There was more.

Over five hundred strong and able-bodied civilians also wanted to join the military.

Knowing that whether the city fell or not, they would have to enter the battlefield, why not practice Martial Arts directly, receive some military provisions, and have a formal role?

And not just that.

This group of people also all wanted to follow Chen Sansi.

"Gentlemen, as a Sixth Rank official, I really can't take in so many of you."

"My lord, we will be useful; we won't just eat for free, please take us in!"

The crowd shouted in unison, "With Mr. Chen, we feel secure!"

"Indeed!"

The civilians said, "Following Mr. Chen, at least there will be someone who remembers our names. Even if we die in the future, it won't be in vain."

With the enemy at the gates, it is not a time to strictly adhere to rules.

Chen Sansi commanded, "Wang Li, you are in charge of teaching them cultivation techniques. As long as their talent is good, provide enough medicine for their Blood Refining realm."

"Yes!"

Wang Li accepted the command.

Indeed, ever since the beginning of the siege.

During downtime, they had started teaching civilians Pile Work, some of whom even barely qualified as Martial Artists. With not much time required, they could train a group of Array Soldiers.

During peaceful times, a Households might hide this knowledge, not sharing the Breathing Skill without pay for at least two or three years of hard labor.

But war changed everything.

Chen Sansi continued, "Xu Wencai, Xu Bin, you must train the cavalry formation well, to be prepared for any emergency!"

Recently.

The original cavalry of the Households had to guard the city walls and suffered heavy casualties. The leaderless warhorses they left behind had all been taken by Chen Sansi for his men's training, uniformly following the same Small Car Suspension Array used on the grassland, with ten men in each team.

The Small Car Suspension Array was the simplest and most basic version of the Big Car Suspension Formation.

The true Big Car Suspension Formation could simultaneously control thousands of cavalry. Even when scaled down, at least two hundred men were required to form it up, an amount of men and horses they could just barely muster now.

But any formation needs time for practice.

Especially something as complicated as the Car Suspension Formation, which includes several types of troops such as spearmen, Sword Soldiers, and archers. It required not only flexible movement but also precise coordination among all participants.

Given the dire current circumstances, naturally, the simpler the training of the formation, the better, to ensure its swift deployment.

Having made arrangements, Xu Wencai immediately began to implement them.

It wasn't long before a panel appeared before Chen Sansi, who was on top of the wall.

Due to frequent real combat, his proficiency in Commanding Soldiers had rapidly improved.

Engrossed in breaking through his own realm and defending the city against enemies, he had nearly forgotten that his martial Skill in Commanding Soldiers was also on the verge of a breakthrough.

[Skill: Commanding Soldiers (Proficient)]Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[Progress: 0/1000]

[Utility: Mainstay, Training Soldiers Skillfully]

[Training Soldiers Skillfully: Any military array can be quickly mastered.]

Quick Mastery!

To train an elite troop not only requires funds, provisions, and medicine but also extensive time and effort.

Especially for large or complex formations, if they are not practiced day and night, with every detail finely tuned, they can't be used effectively in combat.

But with the ability for Quick Mastery, the nature of training changes completely!

"There's no need to practice the small arrays anymore."

Chen Sansi immediately went to the base of the city walls, which had been temporarily transformed into a Martial Arts Arena, "Switch to training the 'Big Car Suspension Formation.' If there aren't enough people, scale it down proportionally!"

"The big formation?"

Xu Wencai was slightly puzzled, "Are you sure, Mr. Chen?"

"I'll do it myself!"

Chen Sansi mounted his White Swan Horse and took personal command of the training.

Under his direction,

in just six days, the Car Suspension Formation was trained to operate smoothly, and in another five days or so, taking it to the battlefield would be no problem at all.

From among the several hundred civilians, two hundred Array Soldiers and ten military soldiers were reselected. The rest who did not master the techniques still benefited from the training in terms of fitness, gaining the strength in their arms.

As a result,

the defensive force inside Po Yang City grew more robust amidst the barbarian siege. Facing six thousand barbarians, holding the city was entirely feasible.

"Greetings, Mr. Chen!"

Arriving at the space that served as a temporary Martial Arts Arena, hundreds of people shouted in unison.

"Hmm."

Chen Sansi nodded, looking over the neatly organized ranks, he felt what it meant to have "united wills as strong as fortified walls."

Just then,

his skill in Commanding Soldiers surged once more.

[Sinking Formation Death Will: Having fought in bloody battles for more than a month, always leading the soldiers from the front and being the first to shed blood in every encounter, you have inspired your subordinates to the extent that they are all willing to follow you to the death.]

Follow to the death?!

Chen Sansi was involuntarily taken aback.

As he looked again at the steadfast gaze of the hundreds before him, for a moment, he didn't quite know how to describe his feelings.

These people...

were willing to follow him unto death?

And the [Sinking Formation Death Will] entry clearly wasn't just due to proficiency levels on his panel, but rather, it was the result of his own lead-by-example approach, coupled with the life-and-death experiences they shared over time.

It was effective only with this group of people.

That meant,

from this moment on,

Chen Sansi had his first batch of fiercely loyal subordinates.

But in his heart, there wasn't much excitement, more a sense of responsibility.

These were all human lives.

They were willing to die following him; therefore, as their General, each command he gave had to be the utmost within his abilities, in order to be worthy of the trust placed in him and to have a clear conscience.

"Xu Wencai, continue to train them,"

After laying the groundwork, Chen Sansi continued to delegate the command to Xu Wencai. The Formation's progress wasn't delayed at all, proving that the old scholar indeed had some skills.

He approached Sun Li, "Senior Sister Sun, could I borrow your Red Lotus Saber Technique to study?"

Now,

he had reached Bone Forging Perfection, but lacked a refining organs skill.

Sun Buqi was still far from Refining Internal, not even knowing the follow-up content of his own Flying Snake Wind Gun Technique, let alone the Undying Golden Snake Spear.

Trapped within the city, there was no telling when he would be able to leave and acquire a new technique.

Better to practice the saber technique for now.

It's better than doing nothing.

"Saber technique? I don't have the technique with me, but I can teach you, however..."

Sun Li didn't refuse; she looked at the bow on Chen Sansi's back, the spear in his hand, and the sword at his waist, teasingly asked, "Are you sure you can handle it all?"

"Do I have anything else to practice?"

Chen Sansi said helplessly.

Sun Li reminisced, "There was a time when my father was like you, practicing all kinds of cultivation techniques every day."

Chen Sansi asked, "Did Supervisor Sun ever mention what the use was in practicing different cultivation techniques?"

"No."

Sun Buqi took over, "Back then, my sister and I were very young. We just followed him around everywhere, saw a lot, so it left a deep impression."

"If I remember correctly..."

Sun Li pondered, "That period was just before father was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison."

Before imprisonment in the Imperial Prison.

That was also before the breakthrough to Martial Saint!

Chen Sansi's interest was piqued, "Did you guys ever ask him later what was the point of practicing so many techniques?"

"We asked."

Sun Buqi spread his hands, "He said he was bored."

"…"

Chen Sansi knew further inquiry was a waste of time, but he felt even more that there was a connection between reaching Above Martial Saint and cultivating various techniques; his enthusiasm thus increased. He immediately sought Sun Li's instruction, memorizing all the Pile Work and moves, and then began practicing.

Another exhilarating quick training session followed.

Five days later.

The saber technique also rapidly progressed to Bone Forging Perfection.

His Qi-Blood was still slightly stronger.

Other than that, if forced to say, it was getting to understand another type of weapon, which would allow him to handle enemies proficient in saber use more effortlessly in the future.

It was on this day that Wang Zhi returned.

He was covered in blood, of the eight people he led out, only two remained. Clearly, they had encountered small barbarian cavalry forces on their way back to the city.

"How did it go?"

At the city gate,

everyone gathered around him.

"The barbarians have circled around to Hengkang Prefecture and started laying siege,"

Wang Zhi, looking much thinner, took a large gulp from the water bag handed to him, "But Commander Ma has still sent a thousand horsemen. I took a shortcut back; they will need another five days to arrive. In five days, the siege of Po Yang will be lifted!"

Upon hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Five days.

Chen Sansi looked out at the barbarians in all directions outside the city,

feeling increasingly that something was amiss.

Surrounded but not attacking.

It felt like they were waiting for something.

"Mr. Chen."

Han Cheng approached, "County Magistrate Xue requests your presence."