Chapter 1023: The Hundred Qiang Alliance

While Chen Xi was busy with his alliance meeting with the aristocratic families, in the north, the Xianbei tribes also began gathering toward their central regions. The snow on the grasslands had been falling endlessly, and the nomadic people once again found themselves in need of huddling together for warmth.

"Chieftain, aren't we going to attend the Hundred Qiang Alliance?" A member of the Qiang tribe, west of Jiuyuan in Bingzhou, asked his chieftain in the Weizhou Qiang tribe. It was once again time for the recurring event of the Hundred Qiang Alliance.

"No need. It's useless. No one can fight through a hundred battles and still defeat the four—oh, now it's five—elders guarding the ancestral land," the chieftain of the Weizhou Qiang tribe replied disdainfully. "Since we can't elect a Qiang King, there's no point in going. Let’s just wait for the Xianbei to attack Jiuyuan and grab some benefits to strengthen our tribe instead."

The warrior of the Weizhou Qiang tribe, hearing his chieftain's words, understood a bit more. The Hundred Qiang Battle was truly impossible for anyone to complete. Each time, someone would attempt the challenge, but most were stopped after a dozen or so battles. In the history of the Hundred Qiang Battle, the highest anyone had ever reached was not even ninety fights.

That individual had been considered one of the greatest warriors in the history of the Qiang tribe. Even though there was no internal energy (nei qi) during his time, he would still be considered a top-tier warrior by today's standards.

At this moment, Ma Chao, armed with his spear, began his Hundred Qiang Battle. His goal was to become the Qiang King. Although the title held supreme honor among the Qiang, it meant little to him. What he needed was to stabilize the Qiang and Hu people to protect the Ma family in Xiliang.

The early convening of the Qiang and Hu alliance was triggered by similar reasons as the Xianbei's. The primary reason was that the snow this year was too heavy, and the disaster was severe. They needed to venture into Zhongyuan to recover from the losses.

Unlike the Xianbei, however, the Qiang and Hu were not impoverished to the point where they had to plunder Yongzhou, thanks to the construction in Yong and Liang. But the Xianbei, suffering from severe hardship, invited the Qiang and Hu to join forces. Additionally, with Li Jue and his cohorts having left, the Qiang and Hu also sought to vent their long-harbored grievances.

Thus, the alliance meeting was convened a bit earlier. However, not all the Qiang tribes attended this time. Only around sixty to seventy tribes from Yong, Liang, and near Bingzhou showed up. Many other tribes either benefitted enough from the construction in Yong and Liang to avoid this dangerous activity, or they simply deemed the meeting pointless.

In any case, the Qiang and Hu tribes did not assemble in full force this time. The tribes most eager to cooperate with the Xianbei were those that had been weakened by Li Jue’s forces before his departure or those too far away to reap the benefits from the construction projects in Yong and Liang. The rest were mostly present to see if they could snatch some easy benefits.

"General Dian, you’re here for the alliance meeting too?" Ma Chao, on his way to the meeting site, spotted the towering figure of Dian Wei and hurried over to greet him.

"Master sent me to protect Military Advisor Xun and observe the situation," Dian Wei said, scratching his head. "Doesn't seem like there are any particularly strong fighters here."

"Hmph," a cold snort suddenly echoed in Dian Wei's ears, carrying a force that would have left most people dizzy and disoriented. But Dian Wei merely scratched his ear. "Who’s trying to pick a fight with your granddaddy, Dian?"

"Such arrogance," sneered a muscular Qiang man who looked to be in his thirties as he glared at Dian Wei.

In the blink of an eye, Dian Wei appeared in front of the man as though he had teleported. His rough hand, large like a bear’s paw, grabbed the Qiang man by the face and lifted him into the air. The Qiang man struggled fiercely, kicking his legs in a futile attempt, but no sound escaped his throat. His kicks landed on Dian Wei’s chest with no more impact than a feather hitting a steel plate, not even making a sound.

Then, with a look of terror in his eyes, the Qiang man was slammed into the ground, his entire body buried several dozen feet deep by Dian Wei’s brute strength. The sudden bulging of Dian Wei's arm, doubling in size, combined with the small, pot-sized hole left in the frozen ground, made Ma Chao estimate that the man must now be several dozen feet below the surface.

Grinning foolishly, Dian Wei calmly patted the hole flat with his large foot. Under Dian Wei's stomping, the once frozen ground was flattened as if it were made of soft clay.

With simple and brutal efficiency, Dian Wei had erased all traces of the man’s existence. Without even bothering to learn the man’s name, he had disposed of a newly ascended warrior of the internal energy realm.

"Ma Chao, what was it you said earlier? Who knew we’d still have pests like this in the dead of winter?" Dian Wei continued to scratch his ear, entirely indifferent to the fact that he had just killed an internal energy warrior from the Qiang.

"...," Ma Chao glanced at the now-flattened pit beneath Dian Wei’s feet. After some thought, he decided it was best not to pursue the matter further. The guy was already dead, and when Dian Wei threw him, his brain had already been liquified.

"General Ma, are you also here for the Hundred Qiang Alliance? You should go up when it starts," Xun You remarked. Truth be told, he had hardly seen what happened before, as Dian Wei had erased the Qiang warrior in an instant. But Xun You didn’t think it was a big deal; after all, it wasn’t one of their own who had been killed. He’d let Dian Wei handle it.

"I do plan to go up. In fact, I intend to take the position of Qiang King," Ma Chao openly declared his ambition. "Let’s hope my opponents aren’t too strong."

"Don’t worry. I just did a quick scan. The strongest one here is about on par with you," Dian Wei said dismissively.

"Thanks for the encouragement," Ma Chao cupped his fists respectfully. He had a lot of respect for Dian Wei. "I’ll head to the meeting now."

After Ma Chao left, Xun You turned to Dian Wei and asked, "Erlai, what are his chances of taking the title of Qiang King?"

"It depends on the suppression of his qi. If the suppression is too strong, he might not even make it through a hundred battles," Dian Wei remarked with a smacking of his lips.

"Erlai, be cautious here. I know Master gave you a mission, but in my view, you are more important than the mission," Xun You nodded and began walking forward, speaking as he went.

"...," Dian Wei scratched his head, "Master’s mission was pretty simple. That guy from earlier was actually the target."

Cao Cao’s mission for Dian Wei had been straightforward: If he could ensure his own safety, he was to eliminate the internal energy warriors of the Qiang and Hu.

That warrior from before had been one such internal energy warrior. Dian Wei had taken him out in an instant. Although part of it was due to the man’s carelessness, even if he had been more careful, it would have only taken Dian Wei a couple of punches to finish him off.

"Ma Chao, let’s fight one more time. This time, we’ll settle everything." Yan Xing muttered to himself as he watched the gathering. Under the pressure from Ma Chao, Yan Xing had also broken through to the internal energy realm. After all, he was the man who almost killed Ma Chao in this very year.

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