To defend against the Xiongnu in the north, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the previous dynasty, built the Great Wall.

Jiuyuan, a city built to connect the Great Wall of Yunyang, is now a desolate place, having completely lost its original purpose.

Standing atop the ruins, Zhang Huan looked at the city reduced to rubble, and the veteran general, now in his sixties, showed an unprecedented weariness.

Previously, because he advocated a strategy of appeasing the Qiang people, the Qiang people grew stronger and caused unimaginable damage to western Liangzhou. As a result, Emperor Huan was furious and summoned him back to Luoyang, and then sent Duan Jiong to replace him as Protector of the Qiang.

Now that the emperor has just ascended the throne, he has been appointed as the Protector-General of the Xiongnu. Although he does not understand the emperor's intention, he still led his troops here immediately.

Along the way, there was no sign of human habitation for thousands of miles. The villages and towns destroyed by the Xiongnu had all been reduced to scorched earth. Zhang Huan could no longer remember how many corpses his men had buried or how many homeless orphans they had taken in.

"Could it be... that I was really wrong?"

Looking at the dilapidated city before him and recalling the scenes he had witnessed along the way, the great Han general began to doubt himself, realizing that his appeasement strategy had yielded such an outcome.

"Perhaps Duan Jiming is right!"

“Only a long sword can frighten these barbarians!” Zhang Huan sighed as he recalled Duan Jiming’s words.

Upon learning that Zhang Huan had led an army of 40,000 to Jiuyuan, the small groups of Xiongnu that had been rampaging in northern Bingzhou withdrew one after another. The prestige of this famous Han general was still very intimidating to them.

However, there were still some Xiongnu cavalrymen who were complacent with their fast horses, because the Han army was mostly infantry, and it was impossible for the Han army to catch up with them.

On the official road, a fourteen-year-old boy rode a chestnut horse leisurely towards Jiuyuan.

The young man carried a large bow on his back and a long sword at his waist. His fair face was sharply defined, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding a heroic and valiant aura.

This young man was none other than Lü Bu, who had been studying martial arts under a master in Ji Province for many years.

Lu Bu came from a wealthy family and possessed extraordinary strength from a young age. His father believed he was a rare martial arts prodigy and sought out renowned masters to teach him martial arts, hoping he could make a name for himself in the chaotic Bingzhou in the future.

Just as Lü Bu's father thought, he was indeed a rare martial arts prodigy. Between the ages of six and eight, Lü Bu had almost ten different famous teachers. He learned the skills of each of them in less than two months. He could even learn from some of them and apply them to other situations after seeing them only once.

For a time, Lü Bu faced the embarrassing situation of having no teacher to teach him, and his fame spread from there. People said that Lü Bu was the reincarnation of the Overlord, with immense strength and extraordinary talent.

It wasn't until Lü Bu's tenth birthday that an old man claiming to be from Ji Province heard of Lü Bu's reputation and came to visit him, wanting to take Lü Bu as his apprentice.

At this moment, Lü Bu had become arrogant. He believed that no one in the world could teach him anything anymore, and that this dying old man was unworthy to be his master.

The old man simply smiled at Lü Bu's arrogance and told him that if Lü Bu could make him take two steps back, he would consider it a loss.

In Lü Bu's eyes, the old man's words and attitude were undoubtedly an insult to him. So Lü Bu attacked in anger, but no matter what kind of attack Lü Bu used, the old man easily neutralized it. Lü Bu's self-proclaimed innate super strength was like hitting thin air when he hit the old man.

This immediately astonished Lü Bu, who then knelt and kowtowed three times and nine times to acknowledge the old man as his master.

After obtaining Lü Bu's father's consent, he took Lü Bu to Ji Province to learn martial arts.

Four years passed in the blink of an eye. During those four years, the old man taught Lu Bu according to his aptitude, constantly honing his strength. Although Lu Bu wanted his master to teach him the skills that had defeated him countless times, the old man refused on the grounds that they were not suitable.

The old man once told Lü Bu frankly that the reason Lü Bu was defeated was because Lü Bu's training was not up to par and he had not found a suitable path for himself. In addition to talent, the most important thing in martial arts is to find a path that suits you.

In his view, Lü Bu was best suited to a fierce and aggressive style, and that bold and unrestrained moves were Lü Bu's style.

Lu Bu obeyed his master's orders and started training from the basics again. In just four years, he made great progress. Even when fighting against his master, he no longer seemed so powerless. What amazed the old man even more was that Lu Bu not only had great talent in martial arts, but also in archery.

For four years, the old man imparted all his knowledge to Lü Bu, then drove him down the mountain, making it clear that this was only the beginning for Lü Bu, and that if he wanted to go further, he would have to rely on himself.

So Lü Bu bid farewell to his master and returned to his hometown. Lü Bu had already made his plans. After visiting his parents, he would join the border army, as only in the army could he better hone himself.

After Lü Bu left Ji Province and entered Bing Province, Bing Province was desolate and chaotic, unlike the prosperous and stable Ji Province.

As he traveled, Lü Bu felt that the Bingzhou region seemed even more dilapidated than when he left. Many of the villages and towns he remembered had been reduced to ruins, and crows occasionally circled and landed above those silent villages.

The scene before him made Lü Bu feel uneasy, so he urged his steed to gallop towards Jiuyuan.

As Lu Bu galloped away, he suddenly noticed thick smoke rising from a village not far ahead, and he could faintly hear cries coming from it.

Lu Bu reined in his horse, glanced in the direction of Jiuyuan, hesitated for a moment, and then changed course towards the village.

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