Origins

"Miss Su Xue, you must not be from this area, right?" Lin Ming said after Su Xue finished eating.

When Su Xue asked where this place was, Xiao Yi Xian replied that it was the eastern edge of the Monster Mountain Range, Su Xue looked bewildered.

Su Xue had just appeared bewildered, so either she was faking it, or she was genuinely showing her true feelings after waking up. Therefore, the chances of Su Xue feigning bewilderment were slim.

Since Su Xue was unlikely to be feigning ignorance, it meant she genuinely didn't know about the Monster Mountain Range.

The Monster Mountain Range spans the Jia Ma Empire and connects with several neighboring countries, so even if people from these Monster Mountain Range haven't been there, they've certainly heard of it.

Therefore, Su Xue's current act of not having heard of her makes her background more plausible. This is why Lin Ming asked, "Su Xue shouldn't be from this area."

"Um... Young Master Lin, I am indeed not from this place. I come from Huang Yan City." Upon hearing Lin Ming's question, Su Xue originally wanted to call him her benefactor, but remembering what Lin Ming had just mentioned, she changed her address to Young Master Young Master Lin.

"Huang Yan City?" Lin Ming murmured, frowning, upon hearing Su Xue's reply.

After all, in Lin Ming's memory, there was no place called Huang Yan City in the Jia Ma Empire. So, after Lin Ming for a moment, Lin Ming still couldn't recall such a place in the Jia Ma Empire. He then turned to Su Xue and asked again, "Miss Su Xue, is the Huang Yan City you're talking about not a city in the Jia Ma Empire?"

"The Jia Ma Empire?" Upon hearing Lin Ming's words, Su Xue looked bewildered again. However, Su Xue then explained the country to which Huang Yan City belonged and its location, "Young Master Lin, Huang Yan City is a city in the northeastern part of the Jin Huai State."

"A nation?" Lin Ming murmured after hearing Su Xue's words, and at the same time, the doubts in his heart were answered.

In the Dou Qi Continent, only the large and powerful nations are called empires. There are also some smaller nations that, while not strong, are adept at maneuvering and know how to attach themselves to these larger nations. Thus, they can also establish themselves as states, but they can only be called vassal states. Furthermore, they must pay a large tribute of wealth to the empire they are attached to in exchange for the empire's protection.

Although Lin Ming knew that Su Xue came from a state, Lin Ming didn't know its location. So he asked again, "Miss Su Xue, what is the name of the empire that your Jin Huai State pays tribute to?"

"The Zong Lun Empire." As soon as Lin Ming finished speaking, Su Xue's voice came through.

Upon receiving Su Xue's reply, Lin Ming instantly recalled the information he had previously browsed about neighboring countries surrounding the Jia Ma Empire.

There are four empires bordering the Jia Ma Empire: the Chu Yun Empire, the Luo Yan Empire, the Mu Lan Empire, and the Zong Lun Empire, which Su Xue mentioned.

However, whether it's the invasion of the Jia Ma Empire mentioned in the original work or the Jia Ma Empire's own annual border defenses, there are only three empires: the Chu Yun Empire, the Luo Yan Empire, and the Mu Lan Empire.

The Zong Lun Empire did not appear. The reason is that although the Zong Lun Empire borders the Jia Ma Empire, there is a Monster Mountain Range separating them.

The Monster Mountain Range is not lacking in Tier 6 Magical Beast, and there may even be Seventh Order Demonic Beast. So although the Monster Mountain Range is nominally divided between the Jia Ma Empire and the Zong Lun Empire, neither of these countries has the power to deal with the Magical Beasts in the Monster Mountain Range, let alone invade the other empire by crossing the Monster Mountain Range.

So although the Jia Ma Empire and the Zong Lun Empire are nominally bordering each other, neither of them is on guard against the other.

After all, if the other side really has the ability to cross the Monster Mountain Range and invade our empire, then defense is useless. If they have the absolute power to annihilate you, then resistance will only lead to death. In that case, it would be better to surrender and at least reduce casualties.

If one does not possess the strength to sweep through the Monster Mountain Range, then the Monster Mountain Range is the best and strongest defensive line, and there is no need to send anyone to guard against it.

After all, this vast Monster Mountain Range is beyond the reach of anyone below the Dou Wang. Even if they could, who knows how far they would have to travel and how much time they would waste.

Of course, even Dou King Expert would have to be extremely careful if they wanted to fly across, since there are quite a few Flying Magical Beast in this Monster Mountain Range.

If they are discovered in their airspace, a battle is inevitable.

Even a powerful figure like Dou Wang has to be extremely careful to get through this, so it's even more difficult for others. That's why, although the Jia Ma Empire and the Zong Lun Empire are neighboring countries, there has never been any friction between them, let alone war.

Actually, there was another reason why Lin Ming understood the Zong Lun Empire.

After arriving in this world, Lin Ming became quite interested in strange and unusual things. When Lin Ming was reading medical books, he would occasionally look at those curious objects and try to learn more about them.

At that time, Lin Ming saw that besides humans cultivating Dou Qi, in the north of the continent, there were Barbarian Race who could merge with Beast Soul, thus gaining immense strength. In the south, there were many Monster Beast Clan capable of transforming into human form. There were also some Dark Race, and so on...

Lin Ming had some knowledge of the Monster Beast Clan from the original work, but he knew nothing about the Barbarian Race and Dark Race. So Lin Ming spent some time searching for information about them.

After some research, Lin Ming actually obtained some information about the Barbarian Race's geographical location. According to the book, Lin Ming knew that the Barbarian Race was located not far to the north of the Zong Lun Empire.

Hearing Su Xue's words, Xiao Yi Xian also knew that Su Xue was not from the Jia Ma Empire. So, seeing Lin Ming deep in thought, Xiao Yi Xian asked with curiosity, "Su Xue, since you are from Huang Yan City of the Jin Huai State, why were you seriously injured in this Monster Mountain Range?"

Although Xiao Yi Xian didn't know where Jin Huai State was, Xiao Yi Xian did know about kingdoms and empires. The Jia Ma Empire didn't have any vassal kingdoms, so Su Xue Kingdom was probably quite a distance from the Monster Mountain Range.

Now, Su Xue, a woman, is alone and severely injured in this Monster Mountain Range. If Lin Ming and I hadn't discovered her, Su Xue would probably be dead. So, Xiao Yi Xian asked with curiosity.

Upon hearing Xiao Yi Xian's question, Su Xue's face immediately showed a troubled expression.

"Miss Su Xue, if you have any difficulties, you don't need to say anything. We were just a little curious to see you alone in this Monster Mountain Range, seriously injured and on the verge of death!" Lin Ming said immediately upon seeing Su Xue in front of him.