"Yes, Master."
Liu Changfeng's face broke into a smile upon receiving Weng Xiaolin's assurance. He genuinely admired Zhao Xuanqi, thinking the kid had extraordinary talent and a personality that suited his taste. He was willing to lend him a hand.
"Regarding the Cang Mountain Gang, I'm afraid the Ghost Elder's side might be stirring up trouble soon. You go handle it. Anything involving the Ghost Elder must be dealt with seriously. If it becomes too much to handle, come find me," Weng Xiaolin said to Liu Changfeng.
"Yes."
After acknowledging again, Liu Changfeng gave Weng Xiaolin a slight bow and slowly exited the room.
Weng Xiaolin watched Liu Changfeng's figure disappear from the study before picking up the newspaper on his desk again. A complex expression gradually appeared on his face. "The Divine Land... a nation no longer a nation. In all these thousands of years, when have the people of our Divine Land ever suffered such humiliation? I only lament that the world has no Divine Generals, allowing these villains to run rampant!"
He, too, once had grand ambitions. He had followed Governor Xu Qingyuan and fought in the war to eradicate opium. But now, he was old and frail, left to guard a small Martial Arts Hall and live out his final years. All he could do was cling to the few principles he once held.
...
...
「The next day」
Liu Changfeng sought out Zhao Xuanqi and told him of Weng Xiaolin's decision.
"A free daily supply of Secret Medicine? There's actually such a good deal?"
Zhao Xuanqi himself was a little surprised. He knew the Hall Master must value him because he had personally killed a Secret Medicine Fighter last night.
He hadn't expected this unexpected turn of events, a fortunate outcome from an unintended action.
'A pity it's only one dose of Secret Medicine per day. My Physical Ability has already improved significantly. I could probably absorb three doses a day now.'
As for the Tri-Hall Tournament, he had heard about it recently. Celestial Sea Prefecture had three major Martial Arts Halls that held a tournament every year. The newly promoted Outer Disciples from that year would represent their halls and compete on stage, a display of each Martial Arts Hall's strength.
Rumor had it that the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall had placed last for three consecutive years, causing Weng Xiaolin to lose a great deal of face.
Originally, Zhao Xuanqi hadn't considered competing. After all, a ring match was not a life-or-death struggle. No weapons were allowed, the arena was limited, and factors like Physical Ability and weight class would have an amplified effect. Moreover, representing the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall meant he couldn't use any techniques other than the Tiger Form Fist. Under these heavy restrictions, his abilities would be suppressed to their absolute limit.
However, he was intrigued by the rumor that winning the championship would make him the fourth True Inheritance disciple of the Martial Arts Hall.
That would mean a massive influx of resources and an extremely high status, saving him a lot of trouble and allowing him to focus on improving his strength.
"You won't be assigned any missions for a while. Focus on your training. When you have time, come over to my place and read."
Liu Changfeng said to Zhao Xuanqi with a smile. The cross-shaped scar on his face bunched up, making the grin look somewhat unsettling.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Zhao Xuanqi gave Liu Changfeng a slight bow. He knew very well that without this Senior Brother's push, such a good opportunity would never have fallen into his lap.
He had always been clear about gratitude and grudges—he remembered favors and never forgot his enemies.
"This is your own accomplishment. No need to thank me. Go on."
Liu Changfeng waved his hand, and Zhao Xuanqi left the study.
「Five days passed in a flash.」
During these five days, Zhao Xuanqi was not assigned any more missions. After completing his basic daily training, he would go to the side hall of Liu Changfeng's study to read the New Edition of Martial History. After five days, he finally finished the entire book and gained a certain understanding of the Martial Dao of the Divine Land in this world.
The history of this world was similar to his previous life on Blue Star, yet different.
The Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Daqian.
In the two-thousand-year history of the Divine Land, not counting periods of feudal fragmentation, a total of six great unified dynasties had been born.
Unlike on Blue Star, no foreign tribes had ever usurped the orthodox rule of the Divine Land since ancient times.
The Divine Land—why was it called "Divine"? Because since antiquity, it had been the strongest in the world.
The legacy of the Martial Dao had also been passed down from the Pre-Qin period to the present day.
Within this sprawling two-thousand-year Martial History, one term shone with extreme brilliance.
"One who conquers the self is divine (神). One who conquers others is a general (将). One who can conquer both the self and others is a 'Divine General (神将)'!"
Zhao Xuanqi repeatedly whispered the description of a Divine General from the Martial History, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
The Divine General was the pinnacle of the Martial Dao's realms as recorded in Martial History.
'Perhaps this so-called 'Divine General' is the realm I was chasing in my past life.'
In his past life on Blue Star, this realm was known as 'Celestial Being'!
It was ethereal and untouchable. Even in history, it only left behind a string of unverified legends, with no definitive records to confirm their existence.
In his previous life, Zhao Xuanqi had embarked on the path of challenging the world's strongest experts precisely to pursue this legendary Martial Dao realm.
Unfortunately, Blue Star was technologically advanced, and the Martial Dao had long since declined. Experts were hard to find, and even when found, they often held high positions. His appearance disrupted the established order of individual combat power across the world, ultimately leading to a joint encirclement by multiple nations. He died before his quest could be completed.
'But in this life, there seem to be real historical figures corresponding to that higher realm. Perhaps in this world, within those massive Martial Arts Schools, there are records of that realm?'
But after finishing the Martial History, he couldn't help but sigh.
Setting aside the legendary ancient Divine Generals of the Pre-Qin period, the first Divine General with a definitive record in Martial History was the founder of the Great Qin Dynasty. He was the first peerless figure to unite the Divine Land, who called himself the "Primordial Dragon Emperor." In Martial History, he was known as the "Qinling Divine General" and hailed as the first Divine General of the modern era.
Once the chaotic era was settled, to strengthen his rule and prevent experts from using martial arts to break the law, the Primordial Dragon Emperor collected all the bronze and iron in the world to cast twelve bronze men and burned the martial treatises of the hundred schools. This caused a great number of Martial Dao texts and legacies to be lost forever. He also ruled with tyranny, causing the people of the world to become disloyal.
Later, the Primordial Dragon Emperor attempted to reach an even higher Martial Dao realm, but died suddenly when his Primordial Dragon Secret Technique went berserk. Afterward, heroes rose up and a host of Divine Generals emerged. The Great Qin Dynasty collapsed in its second generation. Only then did the world realize that while a Divine General could pacify the world, they could not necessarily govern it. The position of monarch should be given to a wise and virtuous ruler, and the affairs of the world were no longer something a Divine General could control. Thus, all subsequent monarchs were not Divine Generals.
However, the power of Divine Generals was too formidable, and they were feared by monarchs. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, there were two more "Mie Wu," or suppressions of martial arts. After the Great Song, no more Divine Generals appeared in the world. The power of the monarchs thus reached its zenith, a state that lasted for over a thousand years.
By the time of the Daqian Dynasty, thousands of years of glory had made the monarchs of the Divine Land incredibly arrogant. They closed off the country, isolating it from the outside world. Ultimately, they were invaded by the Six Nations' Great Powers, and thousands of years of pride were shattered in an instant.
"If a Divine General were here to pacify the world, would the Divine Land be the Divine Land it is today?"
This sentence was written at the end of the Martial History. Zhao Xuanqi scoffed after reading it.
'Even a Divine General is still just a person, and a person's strength has its limits. It's just like Theravada Buddhism: you can only save yourself, not others. These people still don't know where they truly lag behind. Perhaps the National Salvation Association's proposal is correct. Only by destroying the old world and welcoming the new can the Divine Land's decline be completely reversed.'
Zhao Xuanqi thought to himself. But this had little to do with him. His demands were simple; he only sought to save himself. If he had strength to spare, he might save those around him.
'Since there are records of Divine Generals, there must be clues left behind. I'll need to pay more attention to this in the future.'
Besides the term "Divine General," there was another noun in the entire Martial History that caught his attention.
That was "Rare Beast."