Zhongshan Kingdom.
A bitterly cold land in the eyes of Central Province's people, yet in truth, it was wealthier than any other region. Golden-inlaid pavilions and towers could be seen almost everywhere.
Moreover, Zhongshan Kingdom received abundant sunlight and consisted largely of plains. Surrounded by the sea on three sides and bordering an inland sea, it produced bountiful seafood and grain. Its people rarely went hungry.
Thus, only a small portion of the population needed to labor to support a vast number of people. Over time, an exceedingly strict class system formed within Zhongshan Kingdom.
At the top were the Buddhist cultivators under Vajra Temple, followed by the imperial clan and nobility, then the owners of various landlord estates. At the very bottom were the common people engaged in production.
What was more, the kingdom had written this class system into its laws.
Fortunately, the commoners at the bottom could change their fate through worshipping Buddha, neatly completing the perfect closed loop of the hierarchy they had established.
Vajra Temple.
Located in the central region of Zhongshan Kingdom, it stood beside one of the few great mountains in Hushan Kingdom—Golden Summit Mountain. Vajra Temple had been built along this mountain range. A broad river encircled the mountain body, reflecting the resplendent pavilions and towers in its waters until it shimmered with golden light. Thus, it was named the Golden River.
The Golden River connected the inland sea east of Zhongshan Kingdom with the strait to its west. It and its tributaries sustained more than ten million people in Zhongshan Kingdom. Countless Buddhist cultivators also comprehended Buddhist teachings along its banks, granting the Golden River an exceptionally important place in the kingdom's myths and legends.
A magnificent city surrounded Golden Summit Mountain and the Golden River. There were no fewer than