At the training grounds of the Hollow Jade Temple.
This was a vast plaza, and the ground was paved with bluestone. The blue sky seemed to be right beside him. When he raised his head, he could only see the sapphire blue ceiling that was almost transparent. The feeling of boundlessness made his heart open. At the edge of the square, there were fences made of the same bluestone material. The style was simple and quaint, with only some simple patterns. From here, it was as if he was in the immortal world. Everything seemed unreal.
At this time, the disciples of the Hollow Jade Temple had gathered on the training ground again. It was the same as the day Fang Ziyu returned, but there were more people than before.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, the sect leader led Bai Li, Bai Jie, Bai Cao, Bai Nan, and Bai Du to the front stage. Bai Hao wasn't among them, but he didn't know if the incident with Qingyu had dealt a huge blow to him.
The sect leader stepped forward and gestured for the disciples to not speak. The martial arts field was instantly silent.
"I believe everyone already knows about Qingyu," the Sect Leader said in a deep voice.”Although his voice wasn't loud, it was clearly transmitted into everyone's ears.
The crowd nodded continuously.
The sect leader continued after saying some polite words,"I was delayed by Qingyu last time, so I didn't announce the list of five people who will be participating in the once-in-a-century martial arts tournament. I've gathered everyone here today to announce the list of five people again.”
"Xu Aotian."
Xu Aotian stepped forward and knelt down.”
"Wang Canghe."
"Disciple is here."
"Liu Hai."
"Disciple is here."
"Qingyuan."
"Disciple is here."
The sect leader looked at the crowd below the stage and finally shouted,"Fang Ziyu."
The audience instantly erupted into an uproar.
Fang Ziyu's reputation spread the fastest in the cultivation world, and some busybodies even placed him in the top ten young masters. He had been missing for four years, and when he came back, he was already in the late stage of the original level. With only six years of cultivation, he was able to resist a master of the crossing tribulation stage. Under the full strength of the master of the crossing tribulation stage, he was only seriously injured and did not die. Such a prodigy had long been famous among the cultivation sects.
Amidst the women's praises and screams, and the men's envy and jealousy, Fang Ziyu slowly walked forward and stood beside Xu Aotian and the others."Yes."
The sect leader and the elders couldn't help but frown, while the crowd below the stage went crazy. Fang Ziyu was just like the rumors said, a man of pride and unyielding character who would never lower his head to the Sect Leader and the others.
After finally suppressing everyone's madness, the sect leader coughed dryly to cover up his embarrassment and said to Xu Aotian and the others below the stage,"Nine and a half years after the five of you have been selected, you will have to participate in the cultivation world's once-in-a-century martial arts competition. Now, the five of you will have to leave the mountain for nine and a half years of cultivation. After nine and a half years, no matter what you have on hand, you must return to the mountain to participate in the martial arts competition.”When the Sect Leader said this, his eyes were fixed on Fang Ziyu, who was still standing there. Fang Ziyu, on the other hand, did not want to be outdone and stared back at him. If it wasn't for the issue of face, the sect leader would definitely have gone berserk.
After talking a lot of nonsense, the sect leader said,"Alright, the five of you will now follow me to discuss the details of this expedition. The rest of you can go back and cultivate.”
Fang Ziyu and the others left with the sect leader amidst the noise.
When they arrived at the Jade Palace, the Sect Leader and the five elders sat down, while Xu Aotian, Fang Ziyu, and the others stood in the hall.
"Do you know the current situation in the world?" the Sect Leader asked in a deep voice.”
Other than Xu Aotian and Fang Ziyu, Wang Canghe and the other two disciples shook their heads and remained silent.
"Aotian, tell them."
"Yes, Master." Xu Aotian said," The world is in chaos now. Heroes are everywhere, and the people are homeless."”
Seeing everyone's surprise, the Sect Leader smiled and said," Apart from Aotian and Ziyu, none of you have left Kunlun for decades. It's not surprising that you don't know that the world is no longer as peaceful and prosperous as it was before." Aotian, start from the beginning and be more detailed.”
"Yes."
From Xu Aotian's words, everyone knew what had happened.
It turned out that the current emperor of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang, was dissolute and tyrannical. Relying on the strength of the country, he built the Great Wall, opened the canal, built Luoyang, built the West Garden, repaired the Li Palace, and built large-scale projects, abusing the people's strength. He often brought a large number of soldiers, officials, and palace maids to patrol far away and squander wantonly. In order to show off his martial arts, he conscripted more than one million soldiers to attack Koryo on a large scale, exhausting the people's financial resources. Due to the heavy labor and military service, the farming season was lost, the fields were barren, and the people were in dire straits. The Shandong and Hebei regions were even more severely damaged. Coupled with the continuous occurrence of floods and droughts, the peasant uprising first erupted in this area.
When Xu Aotian and Fang Ziyu first went to Kunlun, it was the seventh year of the Sui Dynasty.
It was also this year that Wang Bo, a native of Zouping, Qi County, gathered the peasants to revolt against Changbai Mountain. He called himself "Zhishilang" and wrote "The Song of Death in Liaodong", calling on the people to resist the expedition to Koryo. Most of the people who avoided the levy went to submit. At that time, Liu Badao of Pingyuan occupied Douzi, Zhang Jin of Yu County claimed to be in Hequ, and Gao Shida of Yu County was in Qinghe. They all gathered together to revolt. Dou Jiande, a native of Zhangnan, led 200 people to join Gao Shida's uprising army. Weicheng people Zhai Rang also gathered in Wagang uprising. The rebel army captured the city. Emperor Yang ordered the pursuit and suppression, but could not stop it.
Eight years later, the Sui army attacked Koryo and returned.
In the spring of the ninth year, Emperor Yang conscripted troops to attack Koryo for the second time, and the peasant uprising expanded accordingly. In the north and south of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, there were also Meng Haigong, Meng Rang, Guo Fangyu, Hao Xiaode, Ge Qian, Sun Xuanya and other uprisings. Each rebel army has tens of thousands of people and more than 100,000 people.
In June of the ninth year, Yang Xuangan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Sui Dynasty, rebelled against the Sui Dynasty in Liyang. His army reached 100,000 and besieged Luoyang, the eastern capital. Although the uprising was quickly quelled by Emperor Yang's troops, there was a split within the Sui ruling group, which was beneficial to the development of the peasant uprising.
Between nine and twelve years, uprisings spread throughout the country, and peasant wars swept across the country. The peasant armies that had revolted numbered in the millions, numbering in the hundreds. They captured many counties and wiped out a large number of Sui soldiers. Emperor Yang continued to send troops to suppress them, especially after the third attack on Koryo in the tenth year of Daye, he mobilized the main force of the Sui army to attack. The rebel army suffered setbacks. Wang Bo, Meng Rang, Guo Fangyu, Xiang Haiming, etc., who rebelled in the early days, were defeated by the Sui army. Liu Yuanjin, Zhang Jincheng, Ge Qian, etc. were defeated and died one after another. However, the defeated peasant army did not yield. They recovered after being defeated, scattered and gathered again, and gradually moved from scattered to united.
Today, three powerful uprising forces have been formed, namely the Wagang Army in Henan, the Dou Jiande Army in Hebei, and the Du Fuwei and Fugong You Army in the Jianghuai area.
After Xu Aotian finished speaking, everyone let out a long sigh. They didn't expect the world to be in such a mess.
"Entering the world to cultivate is a necessary experience for us Jade Mirage Palace disciples," the sect leader continued. Every disciple must enter the mortal world to cultivate for a period of time after they have achieved success in their cultivation, so that they can break through the mortal world and ascend to immortality in the future. The significance of entering the world is quite great."
Taking a sip of tea, the sect leader continued,"Now that you know the situation of the world, Jianghu is not as peaceful as it was in the past. Battles and bloodshed often occur. I don't care what you do after you enter the world, but you must remember the following points: First, do not kill innocent people in vain. Second, he could not call himself a cultivator. Instead, he had to enter the world as a member of the Kunlun Sect's martial arts world. Third, they were not allowed to casually reveal their Dao techniques in the secular world, especially shocking techniques such as sword kinesis flight. Fourth, without the consent of the teachers in the palace, you are not allowed to teach others cultivation techniques at will. You must remember the above four points. If any of you do not abide by these four points, you will be punished for the crime of treason.”After a pause, the Sect Leader continued," It doesn't matter if you guys form a group or a few of you. I don't care what you do in the world this time, nor do I care what you do. If you want to establish your own faction, join any faction, or watch the world from the sidelines, it's up to you. However, after nine and a half years, the five of you must put down everything in your hands and return to the Hollow Jade Temple. If you can't give up your power and refuse to return after nine and a half years, you will be punished for treason and be expelled from the sect.”
Sweeping his gaze across the faces of the five people, the sect leader asked,"Do you still have any questions?"
Seeing that everyone was shaking their heads in silence, the sect leader said,""Go back and pack up. You can enter the world immediately after that.”
After the crowd dispersed, Xu Aotian put his hand on Fang Ziyu's shoulder and said,""Ziyu, what do you want to do after you enter the world?”
Fang Ziyu shook his head and said nothing.
"Do you know what I want to do?" Xu Aotian laughed again.”
"You want to eat all the delicacies in the world?" Fang Ziyu smiled.”
Xu Aotian threw his head back and laughed. He hugged Fang Ziyu's shoulders tightly and said,"As expected of my good brother."
Xu Aotian and Fang Ziyu stood at the stairs, looking at the mountains in the distance. Xu Aotian shouted,"The secular world! We're here!"
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]