Signs of the Struggle for Supremacy Arrive Early

"The weather is so nice today."

As the sun rises, the eastern horizon is filled with swirling clouds and a thin mist, gradually tinged with magnificent golden-red hues.

White Deer Manor, located in Ji Province, is a large Zhuangzi with many people who have built walls and fortified themselves there.

The rooster crowed three times, and the sun had just risen. The night watchmen went home to rest, while the rest of the able-bodied men in the Zhuangzi got up and practiced their martial arts by fiddling with stone locks in various open spaces.

The size of this Zhuangzi is comparable to that of a small town.

The manor owner's family was the most extravagant in the Zhuangzi, with several large brick and tile houses, and martial arts training grounds in front of and behind the main hall.

Behind the house are osmanthus trees, artificial rocks, and round stone tables and benches.

The manor owner, Han Shantong, was in his thirties, with a fair complexion and a light beard. He was dressed in a thick, close-fitting outfit and wrapped in a large black fur coat. He was sitting at the table, reflecting on the weather.

"Brother's skills are becoming increasingly profound; it seems his old ailment is finally cured."

The deputy head of the estate, Liu Futong, had his hair wrapped in a blue headscarf. He was tall and strong with a square face and white teeth, and only had some stubble on his chin. Great Qing, he was wearing only a single layer of clothing and was carrying a pot of hot porridge.

Lifting the lid, you can clearly see some medicinal herbs in the porridge. It has a slightly bitter smell, but also a rich aroma.

He first served Han Shantong a bowl, then served himself a large bowl, not caring about the heat, and drank it directly with one hand.

Han Shantong stirred the porridge with a spoon and sighed softly, "All my other ailments are gone, but I'm still a little sensitive to the cold."

Liu Futong slurped down his porridge and finished it, then said solemnly, "Brother, the rebellion is raging throughout the land."

"Especially that Master Han from Sichuan, who also shares the surname Han and was once known as the White Lotus, but he is not a true member of our White Lotus lineage at all, yet now he has the momentum of the number one rebel king."

"Some of our followers are starting to have second thoughts; they can no longer tolerate the government's arrogance."

Han Shantong shook his head slightly. "It's not the right time yet. Don't be fooled by his imposing presence; isn't it all due to the natural defenses of the mountains and rivers?"

"The Great Yuan is not yet on the verge of collapse. We should wait longer; ten years is not enough, twenty years is fine too."

Liu Futong gasped. "Twenty years?"

"Brother, didn't the old master Master Meng say that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world? The hearts of the people are the most important. Now we can rely on the hearts of the people, but twenty years from now, what will those hearts of the people be like—"

Bite!

Han Shantong tapped his spoon against the bowl, but still shook his head.

"When did Master Kong and Master Meng ever lead a rebellion?"

Han Shantong said, "The Great Yuan is riddled with deep-seated problems. Even if the people's hearts grow old now, there will still be new rebels twenty years from now."

"Besides, putting everything else aside, just take that old monk from Shaolin. He's never come looking for me all these years, but if we raise a flag of rebellion, I'm afraid he'll come and kill me immediately."

Liu Futong said doubtfully, "That old monk was powerful back then, but he only bullied us when we were young. Now that we brothers have greatly improved our skills, do you think he can withstand us working together? I don't believe it!"

Han Shantong remained silent, lost in thought.

The current Yuan Dynasty, although it collectively refers to many restless folk religious sects as the White Lotus Sect and regards them as heretics, still holds them in high regard.

However, in the early Yuan Dynasty, the orthodox White Lotus Sect was highly regarded by the imperial court.

At that time, the high-ranking members of the White Lotus Sect sect were not only able to interact with the high-ranking officials of the Great Yuan and preach in their residences, but also to debate scriptures with Tibetan monks and receive numerous imperial favors.

However, fifty years ago, Du Wanyi, the leader of the White Lotus Sect in Gan Province, brazenly led an uprising. Within a year, he had tens of thousands of soldiers, which even attracted the personal attention of Kublai Khan.

Although this person was wiped out, the seeds of rebellion were sown in the hearts of the White Lotus Sect followers in various places. Every year, there were uprisings led by followers in different places, which could not be stopped despite repeated attempts.

However, Kublai Khan was tolerant, yet unwilling to allow Tibetan monks to become too powerful in the future.

Therefore, the leader of the White Lotus Sect at the time was only punished for dereliction of duty and lax management of his subordinates, and was demoted and exiled to another place, but the White Lotus was not completely banned.

Until thirty years ago, the third emperor of the Yuan Dynasty ascended the throne.

Having only been on the throne for a month, the emperor had already ordered the construction of Buddhist temples in various places, including Shangdu, Dadu, and Mount Wutai, and was also building Zhongdu. He invited many foreign monks to preach the Dharma and at the same time completely banned the White Lotus Sect.

As a result, under the crackdown by the imperial court and the Buddhist monks, the White Lotus Sect was completely reduced to a synonym for "heretical heretics."

Han Shantong's grandfather was the White Lotus Sect leader who was exiled back then.

Under his grandfather's tutelage, he became well-versed in various classics from a young age and harbored aspirations to revive the White Lotus tradition.

However, when he grew up and reflected more on his own, he realized that his grandfather had taken the wrong path.

It is virtually impossible for the White Lotus Sect to return to the Yuan Dynasty court within a few generations.

The power of the people should not be underestimated. True revival can only be achieved by relying on the people, accumulating strength slowly, and waiting for the right opportunity.

However, if we rely solely on the poor and needy, when an uprising breaks out in the future, if the court takes it seriously and sends skilled warriors to attack, we can easily crush them.

Therefore, it is also necessary to cultivate many highly skilled individuals who can serve as pillars of the organization.

Han Shantong's attitude was quite different from his grandfather's, who cherished his family's secret martial arts. He included his family's secret martial arts in the rules of reward and punishment, and taught them not only to his close brothers and friends of the same generation.

He also strictly judged merits and passed on his teachings to capable subordinates.

In this way, he attracted many minor sects to join him, and he had quite a few talented people under his command.

Liu Futong was selected in this way, and was highly valued because of his exceptional talent.

However, the White Lotus Sect's martial arts skills were ultimately limited.

After much thought, Han Shantong came up with the idea of the place where masters of all ages stole secret manuals—the ancient Shaolin Temple.

He sent people several times to try to steal the secret manual. After succeeding, he had a keen eye and could appreciate the wonders of the manual. He loved it so much that he couldn't put it down.

Finally, he went to Shaolin in person, hoping to obtain the two secret manuals that Shaolin Temple had continuously improved over the generations: the Yi Jin Jing and the Xi Sui Jing.

But this trip led to an unexpected turn of events.

Han Shantong unintentionally disturbed the monk who was still of good health but whose heart was like withered wood and who was trapped in his own Monk Busha.

It turns out that Busha once followed ancient Buddhist rituals, using a golden needle to prick his fingertip and draw blood, leaving his own insights and annotations on the original copy of the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic.

The moment Han Shantong touched the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, Busha noticed.

Thousands of blood-stained characters on the scripture detached from the pages, flew into the air, and nearly killed Han Shantong.

Fortunately, at that time, the Monk Busha had no interest in leaving Shaolin to hunt down this petty thief.

Han Shantong fled and hid in various places. Several months later, he dared to return to his old lair in the White Deer Manor, but he contracted a strange illness.

They fear wind, water, and thunder; they fear rain, night, and scorching sun.

He also suffers from a condition where his soul leaves his body, causing him to often wake up in the middle of the night to find that his soul has left his body and is already floating outside the village.

But Han Shantong was a stubborn man. Having read the Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing to verify what he had learned, he insisted on forging his own path and actually mastered a set of extraordinary skills.

Liu Futong had good aptitude but poor comprehension and was not good at analyzing martial arts. However, he learned readily available martial arts very quickly. Although he did not master Han Shantong's extraordinary skills, his solid foundation was only slightly inferior to Han Shantong's.

"Based on the annotations in the scriptures, the Busha I saw at Shaolin was his form after his martial arts had deteriorated."

"But if we rebel, and our martial arts techniques are discovered and reported back to Shaolin, piquing his interest, I'm afraid he might regain his former glory."

Han Shantong frowned and said, "Even if we deliberately kill him, it will still lead to this outcome."

Han Shantong Han Shantong not afraid of Busha those who had degenerated, but he was not confident in Busha those who were at their peak.

Moreover, if they were to rebel, the pressure they would face would not be limited to Shaolin alone.

This is the real reason why Han Shantong has been hesitant to rebel.

"Master Han, Han Rui, Han Rui, he's changed so many names, rebelled so many times, and each time he narrowly escaped death. How come he's not worried?"

Han Shantong muttered to himself, sighing, "I don't have children yet, and I have to take care of the family business."

"I heard that Han Rui has a daughter, and he actually dragged her into the rebellion too. What a heartless man."

Liu Futong had only come to deliver some porridge and sound out the situation, but he managed to hear his elder brother sigh three or four times, which made him frown.

"Brother, we followed you to Hebei Province back then, not to suffer in silence and die here."

"This is a good place. We've climbed back up, and with our current abilities, we can live comfortably. But the higher we climb, the more we feel the discrimination."

"The imperial court may allow many Han Chinese to become masters, but the discrimination has not disappeared; it's just that those spineless people don't feel it."

Liu Futong said bitterly, "But we have backbone!"

"I won't urge you anymore, brother. I just want to tell you that when you really decide to do something, don't hesitate. Many of us are determined to rebel, even if it means the death of our entire families."

Han Shantong's expression was complicated.

If he had five hundred Liu Futong under his command, he would have been willing to take the gamble long ago, but unfortunately he didn't.

A jet-black pigeon suddenly flew down from the sky.

Han Shantong turned his head, reached out and caught the letter in the bamboo tube on the pigeon's leg.

Liu Futong recognized the markings on the letter. "Is it someone keeping an eye on the Beggars' Sect' Daming Branch? What happened?"

Han Shantong's eyelids twitched a few times, he closed his eyes, and handed over the letter.

Liu Futong took it and looked at it.

"The Daming Branch fled back to the main branch, abandoning his family and business, taking only his valuables and family with him. Rumors are circulating in his residence—"

Liu Futong gradually revealed a look of surprise.

"The Beggars' Sect ' Yang Muren, Yang Muren, Busha the Shaolin Abbot but died in battle in Suzhou and Hangzhou?"

"Dying at the hands of the same person?!"

Han Shantong was deeply agitated. His breathing was slightly heavy, and he moved his lips, saying, "Many people from Shaolin and the Beggars' Sect have fled back to their respective places. This news will probably spread very soon."

"Such a major event, and in the strategically important Suzhou and Hangzhou area, will definitely elicit a clear response from the imperial court. It's impossible for them to drag things out and rely on local authorities to stall for time, as they have done before."

Liu Futong was momentarily confused about what his elder brother meant.

Han Shantong continued, "Rumor has it that Heavenly Maiden Han is also on the battlefield."

Liu Futong then continued reading the letter and indeed found two more lines of smaller characters.

"So, that person might be an ally of Master Han?"

Then we, the true White Lotus lineage, are probably no match for them.

Liu Futong swallowed his words, "Then let's wait and see how the court and the other side respond?"

Han Shantong remained silent.

"The situation is far more severe than anticipated."

Han Shantong remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "If we continue to wait idly until they determine a winner, and the victor sweeps across the world with overwhelming power—"

If Suzhou and Hangzhou, and Central Shu win, they will naturally sweep across the land; if the imperial court wins, it will probably not be satisfied with just that.

In the past, the imperial court would not have taken any major, sweeping actions unless it was worthwhile, for fear of disrupting the balance of power within the court.

However, in order to deal with Suzhou and Hangzhou, and Central Shu, a major operation is necessary. Since it has been launched, it would be even more unwise to interrupt it, so it will inevitably be carried out.

"If this great victory or defeat has nothing to do with us, will we still have a place in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Futong asked, "Then, brother, what do you think—"