Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 359 The Canglan Sect Appears

When the Zheng state's ruler and nobles set off with the Liang army, they frantically declared to the outside world that Liang was without virtue.

For the Liang state to launch an attack on Zheng at this time is to take advantage of their vulnerability and to bully the weak.

However, the remarks of the Zheng royal family and those nobles did not cause the slightest disturbance in the other states.

The feud between Daliang and Zheng was well known to all the states.

Moreover, not long ago, it was Zheng that initiated the war against Daliang; Daliang is merely retaliating now.

As for the claim that the Great Liang took advantage of the situation, if the Great Liang truly wanted to take advantage of the situation, it could have used this opportunity to annex the other countries, but the Great Liang did not do so.

The opinions circulating within Zheng did not affect the advance speed of the Liang army in the slightest.

Within the territory of Daliang, both martial artists and ordinary people were divided into two factions regarding Daliang's attack on Zheng: the conservatives and the radicals.

The radicals supported the Liang state's attack on the Zheng state.

Conservatives, on the other hand, believed that an army of 100,000 was too conservative and that the best course of action would be for the entire nation to go to war.

Five days later, the state of Zheng was destroyed.

Throughout the entire territory of the State of Zheng, there was not a single living person left.

It wasn't that the Liang army massacred all the ordinary people of Zheng. The ordinary people of Zheng died at the hands of Zheng warriors and demon beasts. Before the Liang army even landed, the nobles of Zheng were arresting Zheng people and forcing them to absorb the blood of demons. Most of the ordinary able-bodied men and young men of Zheng died from their bodies exploding after absorbing the blood of demons.

Those who were successfully recruited were conscripted into the army of Zheng to resist the warriors of Daliang, and the final result was predictable.

As for the old, weak, sick, and disabled, they were used as food by the demons within the territory of Zheng to enhance their strength.

However, after seeing that Daliang had successfully landed on the coast of Zheng, these monsters abandoned Zheng and began to flee on their own. However, Daliang had anticipated this and had surrounded the entire border of Zheng in advance. Except for a few that escaped, the rest were all annihilated.

The grudges of the previous dynasty, which spanned over a thousand years, have finally come to an end.

……

……

Jiangnan Road.

Not long after Yu Yongnian and his wife returned to the Shu residence, the steward rushed in.

"Young master, the Prefect of Raozhou Prefecture heard that you have returned and came to pay a visit. Master is entertaining the Prefect with tea in the front hall."

"The Prefect has come to pay a visit?"

Yu Yongnian's expression was somewhat strange. The reason he and his wife left the Jiangnan Circuit Military Administration Hall was because the officials who had visited him in recent days had been coming in droves and were extremely attentive, which made him very uncomfortable.

He was only a ninth-rank martial artist, not even close to the eighth rank, but the officials who visited him were all eighth-rank or even seventh-rank, which made him very uncomfortable. In the end, he simply left the Martial Affairs Hall and returned to Raozhou Prefecture.

I never expected that no sooner had I returned to Raozhou Prefecture than the Prefect himself came to visit me.

"Pfft, I knew you couldn't escape it."

Shu Suwan walked out of the bedroom and couldn't help but laugh when she saw her husband's appearance.

Everyone in Daliang knew that Lin Chen was chosen and trained by her husband in the Martial Arts Hall, and Lin Chen's gratitude towards her husband also spread throughout Daliang.

Without Yu Jiaoxi, I wouldn't be who I am today.

This was written by Lin Chen in "A Message to My Junior Brother in Jiangnan". With Lin Chen's current status, her husband's status has also risen accordingly. Not to mention the Prefect of Raozhou Prefecture, she would not be surprised if the Daoist Master of Jiangnan and the Director of the Martial and Political Affairs Department came to visit.

"What kind of situation is this?"

Yu Yongnian smiled wryly. As a ninth-rank martial artist, he had to face compliments from martial artists stronger than himself every day. Although it wasn't exactly flattery, the fact that everyone put him at the center of everything made him very uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, you won't feel awkward for long."

"Does my wife mean things will get better after this period of time?"

"Well, it should be back to normal in about a month."

Shu Suwan nodded, but there was one thing she didn't mention: given the current situation, her husband's strength would probably have to increase again, and the Liang side would definitely use every means to enhance her husband's strength.

Only by improving one's own strength can one offer one's husband a higher official position.

"Actually, they should have gone to the Jiang residence next door."

Yu Yongnian sighed, realizing that although he was Lin Chen's tutor, the Jiang family next door, whose head was Lin Chen's future father-in-law, made their relationship much closer.

"I heard that the Jiang residence closed its doors to guests a long time ago and is not receiving any guests."

Shu Suwan knew about the Jiang family's situation, but she knew that her father was looking to take this opportunity to increase the Shu family's influence in Raocheng, and would not close his doors to guests like the Jiang family.

……

……

Linhu Village, Poyang County.

The situation remained calm. Jiangnan Dao had specially arranged for several rank-3 martial artists to guard the area around the village, prohibiting anyone from entering without permission.

Apart from the Jiangnan Dao Daoist Master and the Director of the Military Affairs Department leading a group including the Prefect of Raozhou Prefecture and the Director of the Military Affairs Department of Raozhou Prefecture to visit Lin Chen's parents once, no outsiders have been allowed to enter Linhu Village since then.

The court made this arrangement because it knew that Lin Chen's parents were just ordinary people, so as not to disturb their lives too much.

Although outsiders cannot enter, many families have maintained good relations with the Lin family over the past two years. Lu Yongfeng's four families have always kept in touch with the Lin family, and they will naturally come to the village to offer their congratulations on this occasion.

Even those who are wealthy in remote mountains have distant relatives.

In the past two years, some distant relatives who had not been in contact with the Lin family before have started to visit the Lin family and have come to visit one after another. The Lin family has been busy entertaining these guests and relatives.

Zhao Zanghu would walk around the village with his hands behind his back, especially in the back mountains and some open spaces.

"Village chief, are you looking for any vacant land in our village that you can sell? This time we can definitely get a high price for it."

Some villagers saw Zhao Zanghu strolling around and spoke up with a smile.

"You scoundrel, all you care about is money. You're even willing to take over the village's land, aren't you afraid of angering our ancestors?"

Zhao Zanghu glared at them, and his reprimanding words stunned the villagers. Anyone could say such things, but coming from the village chief, it felt incredibly incongruous. In the past, whenever Lin Chen had any good news, the village chief would arrange an ancestral worship ceremony, regardless of whether Lin Chen was present. First, he would sell the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall, and then he would sell land. Why had he suddenly changed his tune this time?

“Let me tell you, our Linhu Village is a treasure land and cannot be sold. I remember when I was young, a wise man once said that our Linhu Village is a feng shui treasure land, called a dragon-raising land, which is destined to produce a real dragon. This land cannot be sold no matter how much money is offered.”

Zhao Zanghu is now uncertain. In the past few days, he has been looking through some notes left by the village elders, afraid of missing any important records.

In the past, he boasted to others that Linhu Village was a place of auspicious feng shui, but that was in order to sell the land at a high price.

But Lin Chen has reached this level now. A few days ago, I heard from an adult that Lin Chen is now the number one person in the nine kingdoms.

The number one person in the nine kingdoms.

What is this concept?
Her status is even higher than His Majesty's.

Of course, Zhao Zanghu was not being disrespectful to the current emperor; the emperor of Liang still holds a very high position in the hearts of the people.

He just didn't expect Lin Chen to reach such heights.

Only a few years have passed, and the fisherman boy from back then has become the number one person in the nine kingdoms.

Could it be that Linhu Village is truly a place blessed with good feng shui?
Now he was starting to believe it, otherwise how could he explain Lin Chen's situation?
In any case, the land in Linhu Village can no longer be sold. He's even thinking about whether he should take back the land that has already been sold. As for the money he received back then, he can just return it to those people.

When those officials arrived this time, the newly appointed magistrate of Poyang County, who was at the very back, specifically told him in private that if Linhu Village had any needs, they could contact the county government, and the county government would provide assistance.

If you don't have enough money, just ask the county government.

……

……

East China Sea.

The Great Yan Dynasty bordered the sea area.

At that moment, a giant ship sailed out of the dock and headed towards the vast sea at a terrifying speed.

"Why has the Dragon King ship been deployed?"

"The annihilation storm has dissipated; it's time to search for those desolate islands."

"Those desolate islands that are worth the Dragon King's ship to send out are only of interest to scavenging sects and martial artists, aren't they?"

At sea, many people who saw this giant ship, which was nearly thirty feet tall, showed surprise on their faces.

There are only ten Dragon King ships in the entire East China Sea, and they may not be deployed even once every few decades.

"Who knows? This annihilation storm has lasted for over a thousand years. Those islands at sea have accumulated a lot of treasures over the millennia, which may have even tempted the powerful figures of the East Sea Divine Palace."

The East Sea Divine Palace is a top sect in the East Sea region, and the ten Dragon King ships also belong to the East Sea Divine Palace.

"Gentlemen, this annihilation storm has lasted much longer than usual, resulting in more sects setting sail." Several middle-aged men stood on the deck, and the middle-aged man in the middle pointed to the passing ships and explained with a smile.

As stewards of the East Sea Divine Palace, they looked down on the islands at sea. The reason they set sail this time was because of the stewards from the top sects in other domains.

The Canglan Sect has the Canglan Token as a way to recruit disciples, and other sects have similar methods. However, even if some lucky individuals from the islands are selected by these sects in previous years, at most these lucky individuals would take the initiative to go to the location of each sect.

But this time, five top sects actually went to the East Sea to welcome the disciples they had their eyes on.

This situation was unprecedented. Hu Yunhua understood that it was very likely that the annihilation storm had lasted too long, and a few promising talents had indeed emerged.

"Brother Hu, how many of these overseas islands have been discovered in total so far?"

"So far, 1,372 islands have been discovered. In the past, after each annihilation storm receded, about 100 more islands would be discovered. This time, the annihilation storm lasted longer, so the receding distance will be greater. It is estimated that about 200 islands may be discovered."

Hu Yunhua explained the situation to everyone, saying that the so-called dissipation of the Annihilation Storm did not mean that it had truly disappeared, but rather that it had retreated from the depths of the sea.

Since the establishment of the Yan Dynasty, the Annihilation Storm has always existed. At first, it appeared directly on the coast, but like the tide, each time the Annihilation Storm disappeared, it would retreat a distance of 100,000 miles. When it reappeared, there would be no Annihilation Storm within those hundreds of thousands of miles.

Over the years, with the repeated retreat of the annihilation storms, the waters of the East China Sea have reached a terrifying depth.

"The reason why sects that go out to sea in the East China Sea are called scavengers is very similar to the behavior of fishermen picking out their catch on the beach after the tide recedes. The only difference is that after the tide recedes, it will rise again when the tide comes in, but after the storm recedes, it will not return to this area."

Hu Yunhua explained the situation of the Annihilation Storm to several deacons from other sects.

"In other words, no one knows exactly how deep the entire sea is."

Hu Yunhua nodded: "Even those at the sixth level of the Innate Realm dare not easily step into the most concentrated area of ​​the Annihilation Storm. As for those who go to these desolate islands hoping to try their luck and inherit martial arts, they are all in the outer areas of the Annihilation Storm."

"The outer area of ​​the Annihilation Storm extends for 100,000 miles. As long as the Innate Realm experts are careful, they can still enter. For example, now that the Annihilation Storm is retreating, it is at its weakest. Apart from the exposed islands, some Innate Realm martial artists will risk entering the outer area of ​​the Annihilation Storm, but they can only stay there for a maximum of 30 years. After 30 years, the Annihilation Storm will strike again, and the annihilation energy in all the outer areas will be several times that of the original."

After listening to Hu Yunhua's explanation, the deacons of the various sects present nodded. They had heard of the overseas islands in the East China Sea and the Annihilation Storm, but they did not have a very detailed understanding of them.

Given the location of their sect, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would never come to this East China Sea in their lifetime.

“Brother Gao, your Canglan Sect is so far away from the East Sea Region, for you, a steward, to come here in person, it must be because you have discovered an extraordinary genius.”

Gao Zeming smiled as he listened to the man beside him: "It's nothing special. It just so happens that I'm near the East Sea, so I picked up these disciples on the way."

Gao Zemin didn't want to expose Lin Chen's situation, and those present were all from top sects, with competition among themselves in the Yan Dynasty.

Before coming to the East Sea this time, he had made a special trip to the main hall of the sect where the Canglan Tokens were kept to find out. According to the location, the sect had seven Canglan Tokens in the East Sea.

In other words, besides Lin Chen, there are six other people who have also mastered the Canglan Finger and are qualified to go to the Canglan Sect to participate in the sect entrance examination.

The others on deck smiled knowingly when they heard Gao Zemin's words. What a coincidence!
As a Xiantian martial artist, even if Gao Zeming really had something to do in the East Sea, he couldn't possibly go to pick up these people. He had only obtained the qualification to enter the sect, and it was uncertain whether he could become a sect disciple. How could a dignified Xiantian expert lower himself to pick them up?

"Brother Gao is really modest. To be honest, our Tianyang Palace has indeed discovered a few promising talents this time. They are only nineteen years old and have already reached the second rank."

The words of the steward from Tianyang Palace, one of the twenty-four super sects, immediately surprised the others.

At only nineteen years old, he has already reached the second rank, which is already the standard for inner disciples of various sects. Considering that he is on a desolate island and the martial arts resources are not as good as those of the Yanhuang Dynasty, his martial arts talent is even higher.

One disciple who meets the standards for an inner disciple is not enough to warrant a personal escort from a steward, but if there are three or more, then it is worthwhile.

P.S.: I had some urgent business to attend to today, so this is only one chapter. I'll post two long chapters tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)