Chapter 6: Great Zhao

"My dear listeners, you might ask: how can this Heavenly Maiden Sect have male disciples?

"The words 'Heavenly Maiden' actually only point to the source of the cultivation method and have nothing to do with the current practitioners. It is like the Emperor's Daughter Sect, which refers to the sect originating from Nüwa, the daughter of the Yan Emperor; its disciples include both women and men.

"That Su Yunzhang actually comes from a family with deep heritage. His aunt, Su Liudan, was the world's undisputed number one beauty thirty years ago.

"Everyone, as the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums each have their own merits. When busybodies compile the Jianghu Beauty Compendium or the Jade Tree Rankings, there is often much controversy. Who makes the list and who ranks before or after whom—everyone has their own reasons. Those who disagree often attack one another, sometimes even leading to bloody tragedies. Therefore, for a long time now, the rankings have not been ordered; any who command deep public respect can enter the list.

"Since the dynasty's crossing to the south nearly two hundred and sixty years ago, the world has been in turmoil. Only two beauties have been universally recognized by the heroes and heroines of all nations: one was Su Liudan of the Heavenly Maiden Sect thirty years ago, and the other was Feng Yining of the Five Saints Sect ten years ago.

"When Feng Yining was young, she swallowed a phoenix egg. By the time she entered the world at sixteen, she had already reached the Law Realm and become a Grandmaster. She stunned the world for four whole years. Countless knights were infatuated with her, willing to follow her every beck and call. Her final battle before returning to the Five Saints Sect saw her use the 'Spear of Righteousness' and the 'Fist of Faith' to break the 'Godly Art of Changing Heaven and Earth' of the Supreme Sage Path's demoness, Ji Hanyi. This left a flaw in the demoness's heart, preventing her from ever entering the Heaven-Man Realm and joining the ranks of Great Grandmasters.

"Now, you might say: it was just one loss, how could her martial path stagnate because of it? Not so. That Ji demoness was also a peerless talent, only nineteen at the time. She practiced the Scripture of Heavenly Heart Wisdom, one of the three great secret manuals of the Supreme Sage Path. She sought out Feng Yining out of pride, taking the initiative to challenge her. In the end, she lost by more than just a single move. The fundamental art of the Scripture of Heavenly Heart Wisdom, the 'Godly Art of Changing Heaven and Earth,' emphasizes 'impressing one's own heart upon the Heavenly Heart.' If one's own heart has a flaw, how can it harmonize with the Heavenly Heart to achieve the Heaven-Man state?

"If she could have won a match against Feng Yining later, her heart could have returned to perfection. But after Feng Yining returned to the Five Saints Sect, she chose to enter life-and-death seclusion to seek the Heaven-Man Realm. Eight years have passed with no news. According to past precedents, she has likely long since passed away. As they say: 'Pity the infatuated of the martial world, for the phoenix's voice is heard no more.'

"These words aren't my own invention. The orthodox sects love to publicize the techniques and weaknesses of the heterodox paths so our own people can be on guard. Ah, let's stop here for now. Otherwise, if some demon from the Supreme Sage Path passes through our Dingjiang Prefecture and hears this, they might crawl into my home at night and won't even give me a quick death.

"Dear listeners, this business is dangerous. Grant me a hot meal; those with money, give a financial hand, those without, give a hand with your presence. Whether you give much or little, it's all kindness. It's all up to your pleasure!"

Ding Songyan tossed a few copper coins into the accompanying bamboo basket and continued listening to him recount martial arts anecdotes and Jianghu lore.

Hearing this, Xu Chang'an was already lost in yearning. He couldn't help but say to Ding Songyan:

"Brother Ding, do you think I could become a great thief? One who arrives amidst the moonlight and steals treasures from under the protection of layers of experts."

You? Ding Songyan glanced at him sideways and said flatly:

"Straighten your back."

Xu Chang'an looked dazed, but he still followed instructions and straightened his back.

Ding Songyan examined him carefully for a few breaths, a smile gradually appearing. He weighed his words and said:

"Now that looks like the poise of a great thief."

Praising someone didn't cost his own silver, and it earned him goodwill, so why not?

Upon hearing this, Xu Chang'an was exceptionally happy, feeling that Brother Ding was truly the best friend of his life. He maintained his straightened posture and paced back and forth.

Ding Songyan listened for a while longer, intending to go to the storytellers who discussed ancient history to learn about other matters. Throughout this process, he had been quietly observing his surroundings, looking for anyone who might be shocked by his "return."

After walking seven or eight steps, someone suddenly approached him, pulled out a thin book, and lowered their voice:

"Want it? The Jianghu Beauty Compendium. It's the kind with illustrations. The artist's brushwork is excellent. Only three-hundredths of a tael of silver, or twenty-four copper coins."

Ding Songyan glanced at the book vendor but didn't speak.

The young but worldly-looking vendor looked left and right:

"No interest in this one? How about this? The Jade Tree Rankings."

He pulled out another volume.

Ding Songyan pointed at the Jianghu Beauty Compendium with an amused expression:

"Is it authentic?"

The vendor roughly understood his meaning and was about to make something up, but he saw Xu Chang'an beside Ding Songyan glaring at him fiercely, while the questioner wore a faint smile of unknown intent.

He stuttered slightly:

"The artist hasn't seen them with his own eyes; he can only imagine based on Jianghu rumors. If you two want to see the real thing, you can ask someone to buy a volume painted by Scholar Xiaozhang in the Flaming Capital. He has seen two or three of them."

Ding Songyan didn't press him further and asked thoughtfully:

"Are there any books related to the Xiaoming Sect?"

He had already made up his mind to learn martial arts, and the most famous local one seemed to be the Xiaoming Sect. Although joining them would certainly be difficult and the hope was extremely slim, Ding Songyan had always believed that one must aim for the top to achieve the middle. If he aimed for the bottom from the start, the result would only be worse. Therefore, he felt that all his early preparations had to meet the standard of apprenticeship at the Xiaoming Sect.

To that end, he naturally needed to gather more information.

Hearing Ding Songyan's question, the vendor took a sharp step back and shook his head firmly:

"No!"

Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow.

The vendor glanced left and right and quickly explained:

"They're actually in Dingjiang Prefecture!"

So you only bully the experts on the Jade Tree Rankings and Beauty Compendium because they aren't local and can't find you, right? Ding Songyan clicked his tongue and moved with Xu Chang'an to another storyteller.

After listening for a long time, Ding Songyan combined the martial arts anecdotes with what his sister had said about the Zhen Mansion to form a preliminary understanding of the current world.

This place was called the Great Desolation, or the Mountain and Sea Realm.

After Qi, the son of Yu the Great, history seemed to diverge from the world Ding Songyan came from, and the myths were similar yet different.

There was also a Qin dynasty and a First Emperor who unified the Great Desolation and subdued the hundred tribes, but that dynasty had lasted for over two hundred years.

A few lines of poetry familiar to Ding Songyan had actually appeared here as well. Their origin was currently unknown because the storyteller had been focusing on the history of the current dynasty, only mentioning a few lines about previous eras.

The current dynasty was named "Zhao." The imperial family claimed to be descendants of Zhurong and used Hong as their surname. Originally, they held the entire realm, but nearly two hundred and sixty years ago, the Giants, Dwarves, Three-Bodied, Three-Headed, Tiny, Gentlemen, Shouma, Quanrong, and other alien tribes suddenly rose in rebellion. The world subsequently fell apart.

A noble of the Hong surname re-established the dynasty in the Flaming Capital, south of the Great River, turning the tide of the crisis. Through alliances and strategies, he finally stabilized the situation. Meanwhile, the northern tribes fell into internal strife. After years of chaotic warfare, they eventually formed three great nations. One was "Yu," established by the Three-Bodied tribe (who claimed to be descendants of Emperor Shun) in alliance with the Shouma and Tiny tribes; the storyteller called it "New Yu." Another was "Gan," dominated by the Giants, Gentlemen, and Dwarves. The third was "Feng," established by the Three-Headed, Quanrong, and Rong tribes. Feng was separated from Zhao by Yu and Gan, so it shared no border.

Beyond these four nations, there were also countries like Ba and Tiandu, all located in the border wilderness.

Since the crossing to the south, the current dynasty had prospered and then declined. Sects and aristocratic families fought for profit, and heterodox demons stirred up chaos. It wasn't until the late Emperor Chenzu, the Cultured Emperor, reconciled with the top sects, suppressed internal revolts, reformed systems, and governed with diligence that the scenes of a prosperous age appeared once more. The current Emperor was even more determined and enterprising, training his troops and using "Jianwu" as his era name, hoping to recover the lost territories in his lifetime.

Regarding martial arts, there was no power on the level of gods or immortals. The Law Realm produced Grandmasters, the Heaven-Man Realm produced Great Grandmasters, and the Spiritual Terrace Realm produced Perfected Persons. As the saying went: a Grandmaster guards a prefecture, a Great Grandmaster protects a province, and a Perfected Person blesses a nation. In the current world, there were only fourteen Perfected Persons: ten orthodox and four heterodox.

The distinction between orthodox and heterodox had nothing to do with nationality. Those who took throwing the world into chaos as their duty, found joy in spreading disaster, or practiced bloody and cruel techniques were all considered heterodox. They were hunted in all nations, though some countries collaborated with them to incite turmoil in enemy lands.

Only those with a Great Grandmaster were considered top-tier sects or great aristocratic families. In the current Great Zhao, there were the Six Sects and Four Schools, Two Cults and Three Clans, Two Great Holy Lands, Two Hidden Gates, the Dangkang Agriculture Office, the Body and Mind Heterodox Sect, and the Xingtian Clan. Gan, Yu, and Feng were roughly the same. The Changliu School and the Heavenly Maiden Sect were top-tier sects in the nation of Gan.

The same applied to the heterodox paths. Those that could be considered top-tier were collectively known as the Twenty-one Paths of Demonry—the Upper Nine and Lower Twelve. The Supreme Sage Path was one of the Upper Nine.

The local Xiaoming Sect had once been a top-tier sect, but it suffered heavy losses during the chaos two hundred years ago and lost part of its key heritage. Relying on a few disciples who struggled to survive, it was rebuilt in Dingjiang Prefecture, Ning Province, south of the Great River. After many generations, it had barely recovered some vitality and now possessed several Grandmasters.

The Old Master of the Zhen Mansion, Zhen Qianfan, was a Supreme Elder of the Four Waters Gang. This gang mainly influenced the internal waterways of Ning Province. It had declined somewhat in recent years, with only two Grandmasters remaining; Old Master Zhen was one of them, and he commanded great respect in Dingjiang Prefecture.

Every year, Great Zhao would publish a version of the "Compendium of Worldly Excellence" to rank the heroes of the four directions. This was unrelated to cultivation realms or official ranks; it consisted of short appraisals based on demonstrated strength. The storyteller had only mentioned that Grandmasters were divided into two ranks: the lower being "Micro-perception" and the higher being "Divine Communion." Perfected Persons and Great Grandmasters were few enough to be known by name and were not included in the compendium...

As Ding Songyan pondered this, he prepared to move to the next storyteller.

He had just turned his body when he suddenly saw a pair of eyes.

Those eyes had more black than white. They were positioned on the left and right sides of a bronze-colored chest. Below them, the navel was enormous, opening and closing to form a mouth. The upper lip slanted upward, featuring a prominent mole that seemed intended to mark where a nose might have been.

Uh... Ding Songyan's gaze slowly traveled upward, seeing the raw stump of flesh at the neck. Where a head should have been was completely empty.

A man can live without a head? Wait, the Xingtian Clan?

The headless man—wearing an open blue-black short coat, his muscles knotted like coiled snakes, standing nine feet tall—had already been planning to leave. He glanced back at Ding Songyan, turned his body, and walked toward the Dangkang Temple.

"That is a Headless person from Qiaoqian Province. The current Emperor wants to use the Xingtian techniques in coordination with the School of Military to strengthen the soldiers. He sent such a Cavalry Lieutenant to Dingjiang Prefecture to reorganize the military camp," Xu Chang'an whispered to Ding Songyan. "These Headless People dream of fighting their way back to the north."

Xingtian techniques? That's not out of the question... Ding Songyan felt his heart race with excitement.

It was a unilateral excitement.

Excitement required action; he intended to go and strike up an acquaintance with that Headless Cavalry Lieutenant.