Forging the Sacred Court

Late Warring States period:

The Divine Land was unified, and heroes submitted. The first emperor in history, Ying Zheng, styled himself the "First Emperor," also known as... Qin Shi Huang.

Seeking immortality, Qin Shi Huang wished to elevate the Great Qin Empire into the Great Qin Celestial Dynasty. He entered secluded cultivation and issued a decree to the realm:

Cast the Twelve Golden Men to end warfare across the realm; refine the Nine Divine Land Cauldrons to guard the vast Divine Land;

Raise the imperial capital of the Nine Provinces to protect the fortune of all living beings; gather the people's faith in the state to break through the Nine-Nine Limitless!

Open the Gate of the Infinite!

Let Great Qin flourish for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations; let his own cultivation become divine, granting him eternal life and deathlessness.

Thus, the Great Qin Empire's court affairs fell under the control of Empress Dowager Zhao Ji, eunuch Zhao Gao, false father Lao Ai, Left Chancellor Lü Buwei, Right Chancellor Li Si, and others. They acted recklessly and purged dissidents.

The imperial order collapsed, bandits ran rampant, living beings suffered misery, and the people could no longer survive.

This drew the Four Directional Tribes—the Eastern Yi, Western Rong, Southern Man, and Northern Di—to attack together, plotting to seize the Divine Land. The Heavenly Dao was on the verge of collapse.

Heaven pitied the suffering of the people. Among the Three Sages, Three Sovereigns, and Eight Loose Immortals were Undying God of Slaughter Bai Qi, Immortal Divine Mechanism Zou Yan, Undying Immortal Elder Mo Di (Mozi), Violet Star Great Emperor Han Fei, Tianyan True Person Wang Xu (Guiguzi), Heaven-Defying Sage Lü Buwei, Heaven-Wielding Venerable Xu Xing, and Eternal War Saint Sun Wu. The eight Loose Immortals joined forces to summon countless Otherworldly Outsiders from beyond the heavens and call back the heroic souls of the Warring States, using them to resist the barbarians, uphold the state, and save the people from fire and water!

Great Qin issued a decree: Lü Buwei, Li Si, Shang Yang, Zhang Yi, Shen Buhai, Lin Xiangru, Su Qin, and others were appointed as the Eight State Commissioners to assist in court affairs; Lord Mengchang Tian Wen, Lord Chunshen Huang Xie, Lord Pingyuan Zhao Sheng, Lord Xinling Wei Wuji, and the other Four Lords were to stabilize the four directions; Sun Bin, Pang Juan, Wu Qi, Zhao She, Yue Yi, Tian Dan, Meng Ao, Sima Cuo, and others were appointed as the Eight Divine Generals to guard the eight directions; God of Slaughter Bai Qi, War Saint Li Mu, War God Wang Jian, Army God Lian Po, and the other Four Divine Marquises were to face the barbarians from all directions as warfires scorched the heavens.

That year came to be known in history as...

The first year of the Genesis Era!

Ji Province of Yu's Nine Provinces was the foremost of the Nine Provinces, vast in territory. The Tang, Yu, Xia, Yin, and other dynasties had all established their capitals there. It was the earliest birthplace of the Chinese people.

Ji Province, Dai Commandery, Lingqiu County, Shizhuang.

Within the Great Qin Empire, Shizhuang was a town-level population center with more than six thousand residents. Shops and inns stood in rows, and life was peaceful and prosperous. It was on the verge of developing into a small-city-level settlement. Around it stood stone walls nearly one zhang high and three chi thick. Once it advanced into a small city, it would possess the lowest-grade city walls, three zhang high and nearly one zhang thick.

Space rippled, and a young man dressed in coarse cloth pants and straw sandals, with long hair cascading to his waist, appeared on the bustling street. He stared in shock at the antique buildings lining both sides and felt the rich breath of everyday life.

He looked up to see blue skies and white clouds, the clear heavens stretching for miles. He breathed in fresh air, carrying a faint scent of soil.

"Forging the Sacred Court? This is the Forging the Sacred Court online game? There wasn't even a character-creation process. Don't tell me I've transmigrated?"

He pinched his waist. It hurt. Feeling environmental factors no different from reality, the young man was both startled and shaken.

He examined himself. Compared to before, his clothes had changed, his hair had changed, and even his skin seemed much rougher...

By Earth's calendar, the so-called 2012 end of the world predicted by the Maya Prophecy, hailed as humanity's most accurate prophecy, had already passed ten years ago. Nothing had happened!

And the Forging the Sacred Court online game was a cross-century virtual reality online game created over ten years by scientists, experts, and professors from around the world, using a meteorite that had fallen from beyond the heavens in 2012 as its base material.

In this high-tech age where game helmets and gaming pods were everywhere, the medium for entering Forging the Sacred Court was a simple ring. Its full name was... the Game Dragon Ring.

"Right?! The ring?"

Remembering the game medium, the young man could not help looking at his left hand. Strangely, the game ring that should only have existed in reality had also appeared in the game.

It was worth noting that each nation's game ring differed. Huaxia Nation's ring was shaped like a dragon.

Name: ???

Merit: 0;

Fruition Rank: Commoner, unranked;

Prestige: 0;

Command: 10, Martial Might: 6, Intelligence: 0, Politics: 8.

Wealth: One gold.

"Seriously? I don't even have a name? No levels, no equipment, no class—does this even count as an online game?"

Through the Game Dragon Ring, the young man saw an attribute panel. He could confirm that he had not transmigrated; he truly was inside the Forging the Sacred Court online game.

The helpless part was that before Forging the Sacred Court launched, there had been no related materials apart from a brief background introduction. Now there was not even an explanation for the elements found in other online games, including attribute panels and equipment.

In short, everything had to be explored on one's own. Anything was possible!

"Eh? Another Otherworlder has descended. He doesn't look very strong!"

"Exactly! Look at that frail build of his. He's not even as sturdy as I am!"

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense. They say the Otherworlders were summoned from beyond the heavens by the Eight Loose Immortals. They're the hope for resisting the barbarians and restoring the state!"

"With him? Resisting the foreign tribes? Restoring the state? Don't let him run away in fright the moment he sees the barbarians!"

"Yeah! A few days ago, an Otherworlder descended and went weak in the knees as soon as he saw the barbarians. Yet he talked about resisting them!"

"I heard that because Otherworlders come from beyond the heavens, they're immortal and indestructible! Fortune changes hands. Who knows whether hidden dragons and crouching tigers are among them, or what they may achieve in the future? Don't speak carelessly!"

As the young man wondered, the surrounding passersby who were pointing at him and chattering caught his attention. There were even burly middle-aged women among them, the sort of women who were genuinely sturdier than him.

"Are these NPCs? They're practically living, breathing people!"

Hearing their discussion and seeing their expressions and gestures, the young man was once again astonished and confused.

"Ding! Congratulations, player, on descending into the Forging the Sacred Court interface. Please name yourself first. The name must be one to four Chinese characters long and may not contain symbols, Arabic numerals, letters, or other such characters. Simply think it silently!"

At the same time, a clear and resounding voice suddenly sounded in the young man's mind.

He looked around and realized that he seemed to be the only one who could hear the voice in his head. He let out a great sigh of relief. Now this was more like an online game.

"What name should I choose..."

The young man silently thought...

"Ding! Capturing the first four characters... 'What Name.' This name has already been taken. Please rename yourself! Choose carefully. Once a name is chosen, it cannot be changed unless you commit suicide!"

Before his thought had even finished, the clear, resounding voice immediately sounded again in his mind. The young man secretly broke into a cold sweat and gained some understanding of the system's mechanical nature. Its intelligence was probably inferior even to those passerby NPCs.

Fortunately, the name had already been taken. Otherwise, if he had used that name...

He truly did not know which brother or sister had been lucky enough to claim it...

"Huaxia First Emperor!"

"Ding! This name has already been taken..."

"Yue Yun..."

"Ding..."

"Cao Mengde!"

"Ding..."

"Xuanyuan Sword!"

"Ding..."

"Jian Shang!"

"Ding! Congratulations, player. You have successfully named yourself 'Jian Shang.' If you wish to change your name, you may commit suicide and re-enter. May your journey through this other world be pleasant!"

After several names in a row had all been taken, it was easy to imagine how many players had already entered. Jian Shang began surveying his surroundings, pondering how he should proceed.

Walking slowly along the crowded, antique street, Jian Shang discovered that after the initial commotion, no one paid him any further attention or discussed him. They neither showed hostility nor friendliness, simply treating him as another passerby.

Moreover, Jian Shang believed he was not the only player to have "descended" here. Yet judging from external factors such as faces, appearances, and clothing, he could not distinguish players from NPCs.

"Perhaps I really can't treat Forging the Sacred Court as an ordinary virtual online game, but as another world that has undergone mass transmigration?"

Heading south, Jian Shang unknowingly arrived at the village entrance while deep in thought. A massive boulder over a zhang tall stood there, engraved with the two ancient seal-script characters: "Shizhuang." They were not difficult to recognize.

"Shizhuang?! I've never heard of it. Where is it? Could all the natives here be surnamed Shi? I wonder whether I descended here out of thin air or whether I have some sort of identity attached to me?"

Having finally confirmed his location, Jian Shang stood to one side and watched the seven or eight young men and women gathered at the village entrance, hesitating over whether to approach them and first learn about the world of Forging the Sacred Court.

By closely observing their words and behavior, players and natives could still be roughly distinguished. At the very least, native women would certainly not inspect themselves with such narcissistic vanity, play with the long hair hanging to their waists, or lack the natives' rich ancient charm.

"Welcome to Shizhuang, brother. May I ask what you are called?"

While Jian Shang hesitated, the men and women glanced at him and discussed him for a moment before walking over together. The handsome young man leading them, around 1.75 meters tall with a fair, beardless face, reclining brows, and star-like eyes, greeted him first.

"Welcome to Shizhuang?! Is this place owned by players? From his tone, he doesn't sound like an NPC!"

Hearing the host-like greeting, Jian Shang pondered in confusion. He smiled and was just about to answer.

"Looks like you're a player too, brother? This online game is really damnable. It's hard even to tell players and NPCs apart. I'm Wu Xu, the public relations supervisor of Golden Roc Group. This is Ye Caiyun, our department manager. What should we call you, brother?"

Before Jian Shang could answer, the handsome young man warmly continued as though they were already familiar. It was obvious that Wu Xu was probably a handsome and eloquent man in reality as well.

As for Ye Caiyun, she was a mature beauty nearly 1.7 meters tall, with cloudlike hair and a lovely face, and a graceful, delicate figure. It was difficult to guess what she looked like in reality, but before him she was indeed a breathtaking beauty who made Yun Feng's eyes light up and drew everyone's gaze. In particular, her waist-length ponytail, tied behind her, along with her pale green silk robe and skirt, gave her an elegant yet approachable air.

Along Jian Shang's way here, even the antique native women had not compared to Ye Caiyun's beauty.

"Hello, I'm Ye Caiyun!"

Unlike Wu Xu's overly familiar manner, Ye Caiyun was polite without losing her warmth. Smiling sweetly, she extended a fair hand in greeting, without deliberately mentioning her identity in reality.

"Hello, I'm Jian Shang!"

Getting to know more players was precisely what Jian Shang wanted. He immediately smiled politely, shook her hand, and replied, while secretly muttering to himself:

"Golden Roc Group seems pretty famous, but unfortunately, I've never heard of it. I didn't expect players to already be forming factions from the very beginning. By that logic, this town should be occupied by Golden Roc Group. Otherwise, Wu Xu would not have specifically introduced his background and acted like the host!"

"Cheap wound?!"

Wu Xu and the others froze, unable to react for a moment!

"Sword wound? What does that mean?"

Ye Caiyun, who appeared calm and steady, showed a slight change in expression. She studied Jian Shang from head to toe with interest and slowly asked.

"The sword of 'sword,' and the shang of 'national mourning.' As for what it means..."

Jian Shang also studied Ye Caiyun with interest. Raising his thick brows, he answered with a half-smile. After a pause, his thoughts raced as he continued:

"When the sword leaves its sheath, heaven and earth darken; when love is wounded, this hatred never ends... thus, Jian Shang!"

Ye Caiyun was clearly the leader of the group. It was not merely because she was beautiful; her status was likely not low either.

If he could win Ye Caiyun's favor, he should be able to avoid plenty of trouble and save himself a long struggle. Jian Shang's calculations might be despised and provoke resentment from many people, but that was reality.

Opportunities had to be created and pursued personally, not waited for like pies falling from the sky, waiting for others to recognize one's true worth. Even a pearl could be covered in dust!

How much time did one have in life to waste? To wait like a fool by a tree stump for a discerning patron?

"When the sword leaves its sheath, heaven and earth darken; when love is wounded, this hatred never ends... Not bad! Why not call yourself Qing Shang? Wouldn't that have more flavor?"

Ye Caiyun pursed her lips, gave Jian Shang a deep look, and murmured with a smile. Her voice was not loud, but it was just enough for everyone to hear.

"Qing Shang! Good! What a fine name, Sister Yun! As expected, you're truly talented!"

The moment Ye Caiyun finished speaking, Wu Xu's eyes lit up. He raised his thumb with exaggerated admiration and praised her, while the others revealed looks of admiration and worship.

It was far too obvious, making the flattery and attempt to curry favor even more apparent.

"Qing Shang is the tender romance of men and women. It suits a woman like you, but not a man like me!"

Jian Shang deliberately sneered and curled his lip in mockery. Ye Caiyun, Wu Xu, and the others all stiffened. Wu Xu even widened his eyes, about to rebuke him. But Jian Shang ignored them, rolled his eyes, and looked meaningfully at Ye Caiyun before rapidly continuing:

"One Sword Slays Immortals, severing the threads of love; doomed beyond redemption, she is already gone! That is shang; wielding a sword to sever the threads of love, one sword seals the rites of ascension! That is jian..."

Gathering my courage to start a new book once more, I hope all brothers and sisters passing by will lend your support! Thank you!!