Great Zhou

Time flowed on; days and months flew by like a shuttle.

Two Hundred Years Later.

Desert Border City, inside a slightly dilapidated Goulan.

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of Morality, fame and achievement through Xia, Hou, Shang, Zhou."

"The Five Hegemons and Seven Warlords stirred the Spring and Autumn; rise and fall passed in an instant."

"A few names upon the annals of history, countless barren mounds on Northern Mang."

"Those before plant, those after reap—what talk is there of dragons contending with tigers!"

"Excellent!!!"

With the opening poem finished, applause filled the hall.

Upon the Book Platform stood a middle-aged man in a long robe, folding fan in hand. He struck the wooden clapper and began his storytelling.

"Today, this old tale shall be told once more. Let us speak again of the Annals of Great Zhou's Founding Emperor!"

"Our Great Zhou's Founding Emperor, the Open-Heaven, Way-Walking, Epoch-Founding, Pole-Establishing, Great Sage, Supreme Divine Benevolent, Cultured, Righteous, Martial, High Emperor, personal name Qingshan, surname Li. His family had dwelled in Qin Land for generations before later moving to Yellow Mountain. His parents bore three sons, and the Founding Emperor was the eldest!"

"In the fourth year of the previous dynasty's Kangde era, the Founding Emperor was nineteen. Both his parents had died, and he and his younger brother and sister were poor and helpless. Bullied by their clan, they were eventually sold as servants to the influential Lu Family."

"In the seventh year of Kangde, the Li clan rose to prominence, and the Lu clan sought to attach themselves to them. Together with members of the Li clan, they plotted to murder the Founding Emperor to cement the alliance between the two families. To protect his siblings, the Founding Emperor rebelled in fury. Sword in hand and bow at his side, he wiped out the heads of both the Li and Lu Families in a single night, then entered the mountains to raise the banner of righteousness. The prefectures and counties shook; all were terrified."

"Damn!"

"Mr. Su, that introduction is way too long!"

"Exactly! Why don't you start from when Heaven and Earth were first opened?"

"Get to the point already!"

"Right, right! We can recite all that opening part ourselves."

Before the storyteller had even finished, the audience below erupted into noise.

The Storyteller was not angered. With a light smile, he said, "No rush, no rush. A story must proceed step by step before it can bring forth the finest parts."

With that, he tapped his folding fan and continued. "At that time, the Imperial Court was corrupt, influential families ran rampant, and the people of the world could scarcely survive. Hearing that the Founding Emperor had raised the banner of righteousness, all those nearby came to join him. His power swiftly took shape, and none could match his momentum."

"It was precisely because of this that he drew the jealousy of Liang San Jiang, the great bandit of the Green Forest, who sought to raise troops against him. Yet the Founding Emperor struck first, beheading that great bandit and seizing the foundation of what had once been Hundred Broken Mountain, today's Heavenly King Mountain!"

"After gaining Heavenly King Mountain, the Founding Emperor gathered martial arts from every renowned school and devoted himself to martial practice for twenty years. When his cultivation was complete, he emerged from the mountains and defeated every master beneath heaven. Heroes from all directions fell before him, and from then on he was Invincible throughout the world. No one in the martial world failed to tremble at his might. All honored the Founding Emperor as Heavenly King Zhenwu; his authority pressed upon the ten directions, and none dared disobey!"

"In the blink of an eye came the seventh year of the previous dynasty's Jiye era. The Founding Emperor celebrated his hundredth birthday at Heavenly King Mountain, and heroes from across the world came to offer congratulations. Yet celebrating his longevity was false; stirring up trouble was true. The great sects of the martial world joined forces, harboring calamity in their hearts as they launched an attack at the birthday banquet. They wished to exploit the Founding Emperor's old age and failing strength, avenge old grievances, and destroy Heavenly King Mountain!"

"But they never expected that the Founding Emperor's martial arts had already reached Peak Perfection, transcending the mortal and entering the sacred. Not only was he still in his prime, his vigor undiminished, he had also cultivated martial arts that reached divinity. Alone in the Hall of Righteous Gathering, he battled the world's masters. Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Kunlun, four monks and five elders, divine swords flashing in all directions—none could withstand the Founding Emperor's godlike martial power. They suffered utter defeat and perished."

"The Founding Emperor's Martial Path Reached Divinity; his cultivation shook antiquity and blazed through the present. No one remained in the martial world who could oppose him. Yet vast as the world was, it extended far beyond that one corner of the martial world. The northern False Dynasty and the Jiangnan Demonic Cult both coveted Heavenly King Mountain's foundation. Three days after the hundredth birthday banquet, each dispatched a hundred thousand troops, besieging Heavenly King Mountain from north and south."

"But who was the Founding Emperor? The world's entire situation lay within his breast. How could he not know the ambitions and schemes of the False Dynasty and Demonic Cult? Long before, he had forged weapons through martial arts within Heavenly King Mountain. Three thousand Mysterious Armored Martial Guards surged forth like dragons, each shattering an army of a hundred thousand and beheading countless enemy commanders."

"After the great victory at Heavenly King Mountain, the Founding Emperor led his army north and south. He destroyed the False Dynasty, exterminated the Demonic Cult, swept away all disloyalty, and founded a new dynasty—Great Zhou!"

"Excellent!!!"

Though it was an old story told again, the Storyteller's skill was solid. His vivid narration held everyone enthralled, and they cheered in unison.

"Smack!"

The Storyteller tapped his folding fan and continued. "The Founding Emperor achieved the Dao through martial arts, and our Great Zhou was founded through martial arts. Thus, after the Founding Era began, the Martial Dao became Great Zhou's foundation of state, establishing a system to explore the mysteries of the human body—the Three Realms of Martial Path!"

"The Three Realms of Martial Path: the first, Condense Qi and Blood, generating hidden strength from within; the second, Condense Strength into True Qi, cultivating True Qi; the third, Transform Void into Substance, achieving True Gang. Each realm was a whole new heaven!"

"The Founding Emperor's achievements rivaled creation itself; he had reached Peak Perfection and entered the realm beyond mortal and sacred. Yet he still felt that the Martial Dao was boundless, that a road yet lay ahead. Thus, after founding the dynasty, he compiled all the martial arts he had learned in his life into a peerless tome—the Great Zhou Martial Scripture!"

"The Great Zhou Martial Scripture contained all the Founding Emperor had learned in his lifetime, all the essence of martial arts beneath heaven. With it, he set in motion his plan to spread martial arts throughout the world, wishing to teach the Common People of the World and create an age of martial arts. By gathering the strength of all beneath heaven, pooling wisdom, and innovating from old, they would surely open a path forward for the Martial Dao and glimpse a realm above True Gang."

"However..."

The Storyteller's words abruptly paused. His gaze swept across the crowd, and a trace of amusement appeared in his eyes before he continued. "The people's lives were hard and their wisdom had yet to be awakened. Universal Martial Arts Deployment was exceedingly difficult. Thus, the Founding Emperor first implemented three great national policies: returning land to public ownership, reforming agriculture, increasing production, and freeing the people's labor..."

"Hmph!"

Before he could finish, a cold snort rang out from below the stage. "You make plundering and seizing sound so pleasant. Your shamelessness truly knows no bounds!"

"Hmm!?"

The moment those words fell, the hall went silent. Everyone frowned in shock and uncertainty as they looked toward the speaker. He was a middle-aged man in Confucian robes.

Only the Storyteller's expression remained unchanged, composed as ever. With a faint smile, he asked, "What do you mean by plundering and seizing?"

"Hmph!"

The man showed no fear. In a cold voice, he said, "A family's ancestral fields were earned through generations of blood, sweat, toil, and accumulation. With a single command, you take them away. If that is not plundering and seizing, what is? And you still have the nerve to claim it was to free the people's labor? As I see it, it was plainly to seize the people's profits for the Li Family's realm and stabilize the foundation beneath their own feet!"

"..."

At those words, the crowd grew even more horrified. They stared at the man in uncertainty, none daring to speak.

"Hahaha!"

Only the Storyteller on the stage remained entirely unconcerned. Instead, he asked the crowd, "Do you all know why, throughout every dynasty in history, national fortunes lasted no more than Two to Three Hundred Years before fracturing and collapsing, vanishing like smoke?"

"This..."

The crowd hesitated, not daring to answer.

The Storyteller smiled. "It was because the great clans grew too powerful and influential families became tyrannical, wildly annexing land across the realm. One family occupied the fertile fields of ten thousand families, yet paid none of the taxes owed by those ten thousand families. The people had no land, yet bore crushing taxes. Their lives became unbearable, and with no other choice, they could only raise poles in rebellion and remake Heaven and Earth!"

Having said that, the Storyteller turned his gaze back to the man, his voice cold. "You parasites of the state, devouring every drop of the people's fat and marrow to fatten yourselves, yet you speak of blood, sweat, and toil? You deceive yourselves and others. How utterly ridiculous!"

"You...!"

"Smack!"

The man flew into a rage and tried to retort, but the Storyteller cut him off with a strike of the wooden clapper.

"The Founding Emperor returned all land beneath heaven to public ownership and divided it evenly among the people, so that tillers had fields, weavers had looms, dwellers had homes, the old and young had those to rely upon. The common folk were no longer ignorant; the people had warmth and full bellies, with no worries over food or clothing. Only then did they have the strength left to study and practice martial arts, receive enlightenment and awaken wisdom, strengthen their foundations and fortify their bodies!"

The Storyteller cast a cold glance downward at the Middle-aged Confucian Scholar, whose shock and fury mingled on his face. "This was a fundamental strategy for the state, an act of Obeying Heaven and Responding to Humanity. Those who tried to stop the chariot with mantis arms had long since turned to ash and scattered smoke. Yet you remnants still refuse to abandon your bandit hearts. Did you not know that Heaven's net was vast, its meshes wide, yet nothing slipped through?"

"You...!"

"Hmph!"

The man was so enraged that his face turned iron-blue, but the Storyteller ignored him and continued. "Agriculture was the foundation of the realm, and land was the root of farming and sericulture. As the Founding Emperor implemented this policy, the people's labor was gradually freed. He then selected great farmers, craftsmen, and artisans from beneath heaven, gathering species from the four seas to develop agriculture and sericulture, before using their strength to advance commerce and industry..."

"Thus, the four seas enjoyed abundance, and the people became prosperous. No more were there worries over livelihood or hardship over food and clothing. At last, the Founding Emperor's great plan to spread martial arts throughout the world could be carried out. The Great Zhou Martial Scripture spread across the realm. From elders with white hair to children with locks hanging down, all knew the wonders of the Martial Scripture and gained its benefits. The people's strength surged, and the nation's strength soared."

"It was precisely through this policy, meritorious in the present and beneficial for a thousand autumns, that Great Zhou remained in its prime and flourished ever upward after two hundred years of statehood. Externally, it opened territory and expanded the soil, with the ten directions submitting. Internally, the four seas were peaceful, the nation prosperous and the people secure. In this age of martial arts, Everyone is like a dragon. Could such a sight ever be attained through the petty scheming of you fly-chasing, dog-scurrying wretches?"

The Storyteller smiled and addressed the crowd again. "The Great Zhou Martial Scripture is the foundation of our Great Zhou. It was first compiled by the Founding Emperor and united all he had learned in his life. After martial arts spread throughout the world, countless extraordinary talents emerged in succession, drawing inferences from one instance to another and innovating from old."

"By now, the Great Zhou Martial Scripture is no longer merely the life's work of the Founding Emperor alone. It is the work of Great Zhou's hundreds of millions of citizens, countless martial artists, scholars, grandmasters, masters of every school, and peerless prodigies. Gathered wisdom and painstaking effort created it. It can be called the greatest extraordinary book beneath heaven throughout all antiquity and the present."

"This scripture now contains twelve scrolls. Its fundamental canon and general outline is the Merit Scroll. As its name suggests, it is the foundation of cultivation methods. In the past, the Founding Emperor's attainments rivaled creation itself. He achieved Mastery Through Comprehension over the martial arts of every school: Nine Yin Nine Yang, Tai Chi Primordial Chaos, Heavenly Gang, Earthly Fiends, Five Elements, Four Methods—the foundations of martial arts cultivation methods beneath heaven were all contained within this single scroll. Moreover, yin and yang were harmonized, flawless and whole. Not only was there no danger of conflict, they complemented one another, wondrous beyond measure."

"Today, all eighteen thousand three hundred and sixty-five True Gang grandmasters recorded in Great Zhou's registers had used this scroll as the foundation of their Martial Dao cultivation!"

After saying this, the Storyteller looked again at the middle-aged man from before and asked with a light smile, "Do you know how many Martial Artists entered the realm of True Gang grandmaster two hundred years ago, before the Founding Emperor spread martial arts throughout the world?"

"..."

The man remained silent in response.

The Storyteller did not mind and continued on his own. "In the open, only two: the Founding Emperor and the Lord of Divine Sword Manor. Even if one counted the hidden foundations of major sects such as Shaolin and Wudang, the number would not exceed ten!"

"Martial arts spread throughout the world, Everyone is like a dragon. Over two hundred years, True Gang grandmasters sprang up without end like bamboo shoots after rain. Martial Artists of Inner Force and masters of True Qi became too numerous to count. Such a flourishing age of martial arts, such grand strategy and far-reaching vision from the Founding Emperor—how could rats and parasites like you possibly understand it?"

The Storyteller shook his head and continued. "Beyond the Merit Scroll, the foundation of cultivation methods and general outline of the scripture, the Martial Scripture also has the Soldier Scroll, for cultivating arms and armor and combining weapons with martial arts; and the Life Scroll, which fuses medical principles with martial arts, able to prolong life and eternal youth, purge poison and corruption, heal wounds, and save lives."

"And there is the Combat Scroll, concerning striking arts, techniques, battle, and killing; the Divination Scroll of Plum Blossom Numerology and Mystical Gates and Eight Trigrams; the Formation Scroll of Heaven and Earth, nature, the cosmos, and hidden mysteries; even the Dao Scroll, which brings together spiritual wandering through the great void, meditative Zen, the cultivation of vast righteous qi, and the classical teachings of the Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions..."

"In short, it encompassed all things and lacked nothing. It was not merely a sacred canon of martial arts, but a peerless work in such fields as arms, weaponry, medicine, herbs, combat, techniques, Dao, principles, craftsmanship, formations, divination, and numerology. No citizen of Great Zhou had not benefited from the Martial Scripture, while barbarians from the four directions begged bitterly for even a single scroll and could not obtain one."

When he finished, the Storyteller rose to his feet and looked coldly at the Middle-aged Confucian Scholar. "You remnants still wish to become a centipede that remained stiff even after death, opposing this great tide of martial arts and Heaven's vast majesty?"

"The great tide?"

"Heaven's majesty?"

"Ha!"

Before the Middle-aged Confucian Scholar could speak, a burst of soft laughter sounded from outside the door.

Following the sound, the Storyteller saw a Green-robed Daoist, a White-browed Old Monk, and an Old Beggar in ragged clothes enter the Goulan together and approach the Book Platform.

The Green-robed Daoist held a banner inscribed with Iron Mouth Divine Divination. Smiling lightly, he said, "Whom the great tide favors remains too early to say!"

The White-browed Old Monk nodded as well. "Heaven has eyes. Karma turns in its cycle; there will surely be retribution!"

The Old Beggar, dressed in tattered patches and bearing nine sacks, shook his head and gave a sinister smile. "They say Great Zhou's Martial Ancestor possessed a heart as broad as the sea, that he spread martial arts throughout the world and was an unparalleled grandmaster of extraordinary martial virtue. Then why did he exterminate every great sect back then, not even sparing our Beggar's Gang?"

"Could it be..."

The Old Beggar stared at the Storyteller. "Great Zhou's flourishing age of martial arts Cannot tolerate filthy beggars like us? Did we offend the eyes of His Majesty the Martial Ancestor?"

His words dripped with mockery, every phrase concealing a blade. It was obvious at a glance that the newcomers meant trouble.

"The Beggar's Gang?"

"Ha!"

The Storyteller was utterly fearless. Standing on the Book Platform with his hands behind his back, he sneered, "What kind of things you are, perhaps others do not know, but do you not know yourselves? Swindling, cheating, abducting children and mutilating them—your profits were so vast they were horrifying to behold. Had you been tolerated, where would the majesty of national law have remained?"

"Hehehe!"

The Old Beggar gave a cold laugh. His expression did not change; he remained utterly composed. "The victor became king, the loser became bandit. If you say so, then so it is!"

"A king walks the King's Path and succeeds; a bandit walks the bandit's road and fails!"

With hands behind his back, the Storyteller stood firm, brows drawn as he faced them coldly. "Therefore, the likes of you shall forever be defeated bandits!"

"Silver-tongued sophistry!"

This time, the Old Beggar did not refute him. Instead, the Middle-aged Confucian Scholar rose to his feet and said angrily, "When that Tyrant raised his army to seize the realm, our Confucian Sect gave him its full support. Many great Confucian scholars and students helped him secure his empire, yet he turned around and destroyed the lineage of our Confucian Sect. He was truly a Tyrant without equal since ancient times."

"What a joke!"

The Storyteller laughed. "You rotten Confucians knew only how to form factions for private gain and contend for power and profit. When The Realm Declining and the state was no longer a state, you turned to a new dynasty to enjoy wealth and rank again. Yet you speak of welcoming the king's army with baskets of food and jugs of drink? You were plainly boneless, kneeless wretches. Great Zhou was founded through martial arts—why would we need you to stabilize the realm?"

"You...!"

"Shut your mouth, shameless old thief!"

A cold voice cut him off. No longer paying attention to the iron-faced Middle-aged Confucian Scholar, the Storyteller turned to the Green-robed Daoist and White-browed Old Monk. "And you? What gods are you pretending to be, what ghosts are you trying to conjure?"

"Heaven's Way is Unrighteous; humanity has selfish desires!"

The Green-robed Daoist's expression was indifferent. "That Tyrant acted against the natural order, trampled ethical bonds and social norms, destroyed the lineages of our faiths, and used evil laws and the butcher's blade to forcibly suppress human nature. He would surely suffer the world's backlash. The realm would boil in rebellion in an instant!"

"Evil laws?"

"What a joke!"

The Storyteller gave a cold laugh. "Great Zhou took martial arts as its foundation and law as its guiding principle. Even if the Son of Heaven broke the law, he would be punished alongside commoners. Over two hundred years, three emperors, seven kings, and a hundred members of the imperial clan who tested the law with their own bodies had all bowed their heads beneath the executioner's blade. Utterly impartial and just—how was that evil law?"

The Green-robed Daoist sneered as well. "Defying human nature and acting against the natural order—if that was not evil law, what was? Li Qingshan could suppress it for a time, but could he suppress it for all ages? The human heart possessed selfish desires; it was natural. With his perverse conduct, not to mention people across the realm, even members of his own Li Family were surely filled with resentment and longing for his death!"

The Storyteller's brows rose, and he roared, "Human nature, human nature! It is because there are too many people like you that such human nature is allowed to run rampant. With such shamelessness, you still dare call yourselves a lineage of faith? If the common people were taught by the likes of you, I fear the world would never again see bright Heaven and Earth, shining sun and moon!"

"You..."

"Enough!"

The Daoist still wished to argue, but the Old Beggar beside him impatiently interrupted. "Why waste so many words? Quickly uproot this nest of Hunting Dogs and Hawks, lest the night grow long and dreams multiply."

"The great tide has already been decided. Why rush?"

Yet the Middle-aged Confucian Scholar shook his head, his eyes fixed upon the Storyteller on the stage. "That Tyrant established the two secret guards of Eagles and Hounds. As the Eagle Guard Leader of this place, you ought to know What is the purpose of our four coming here?"

"Naturally, I know!"

Though his identity had been exposed, the Storyteller showed no fear. "You rebel scum conspired and linked yourselves together, dragging this region's Regional Commander into the water. You wished to open the border gates and let foreign barbarians enter the passes. Ha! Kneeling to serve barbarians—this is the integrity of your faiths? You have truly opened my eyes."

"Hmph, it is merely a temporary expedient to save the Common People of the World!"

The Middle-aged Confucian Scholar snorted coldly. His eyes remained fixed on the Storyteller, studying every shift in his expression. "Two hundred years have passed. No matter how powerful that Tyrant's demonic arts were, he ought to be dead by now, should he not?"

"Whether he is dead or not no longer matters."

The Old Beggar smiled sinisterly. "He forcibly suppressed the realm for so many years. How many people hate him to death? Let me tell you: for us to build our current power, no small number within the Imperial Court have contributed their strength. Even members of his Li Family have helped us greatly!"

The Green-robed Daoist stepped forward as well. "Those who follow the Dao gain many allies; those who lose the Dao gain few. That Tyrant acted against the natural order and has already suffered the world's backlash. With cultivation like yours, why be buried alongside him? Join us instead and help accomplish this great undertaking. When it succeeds, you and I can share that Tyrant's method of immortality and longevity. Would that not be wonderful?"

"Hmph. A pack of frogs at the bottom of a well. Death stands before you, yet you do not realize it!"

The Storyteller snorted, hands behind his back. "Come at me together. Let me see how much you have improved all these years!"

As he spoke, True Gang qi surged forth in abundance, driving the atmosphere to an extreme in an instant.

"Hmm!"

The Green-robed Daoist's gaze tightened as he looked around. The audience members who had been seated below the stage moments earlier had now vanished Without Trace. His heart sank, and he immediately said to the other three, "Move! End this quickly!"

"Good!"

"Kill!"

"Lackey, surrender your life!"

At his command, the three acted without hesitation. They instantly unleashed their attacks upon the Book Platform, joining forces to besiege the Storyteller above.