Chapter 31: Chapter 21: Great Zhou_l
Translator: 549690339
Time flies, and years pass in the blink of an eye.
Two hundred years later.
In the border city of the desert, within a slightly dilapidated brothel.
“The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were virtuous, their names enduring through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.”
“The Five Hegemons and Seven Warring States stewed in their own spring and autumn chess game, their rise and fall but a flick of the wrist.”
“How many lines in the annals of history bear their surnames, as countless mounds lay desolate in Northern Mang.”
“The seeds sown by our forebears are reaped by those who follow, what’s the use of fussing over dragons and tigers clashing!”
“Bravo!! ! ”
With the finishing verse set, applause filled the room.
Atop the storytelling platform, a middle-aged man in a long robe, holding a folding fan, gave a rap on a wooden block, opening the tale.
“Today, I, the veteran, will share once again, the annals of Grand Ancestor of Great Zhou!”
“Our Grand Ancestor of Great Zhou, the Most Sacred and Divine Renwen Yiwu High Emperor who established the heavens and the doctrines, named Qinshan, of the Li Clan, originally from the lands of Qinshan, later moved to Yellow Mountain, born eldest of three sons to his parents!”
“In the fourth year of the preceding dynasty’s Kangde era, at the age of nineteen, Grand Ancestor’s parents passed away. He and his siblings were left in poverty without support and were furthermore bullied by their clan, forcing them to sell themselves to the powerful Lu Family as servants.”
“In the seventh year of Kangde, Li Clan rose to prominence, the Lu Family sought their alliance, and wished to kill Grand Ancestor to secure a tie between the two families. Enraged in defense of his siblings, Grand Ancestor rebelled with sword and bow in hand, exterminating the heads of both Li and Lu families overnight, he then fled to the mountains to start an uprising. The local governments were shaken and all were fearful.” “Oh, come on!”
“Mister Su, you’re making too long of a head start!”
“Really, you might as well start from the creation of the world!”
“Get to the main point already!”
“Exactly, we’ve all memorized this beginning part.”
Before he could finish, the crowd below erupted in commotion.
The storyteller was not annoyed but instead chuckled, “Don’t rush, don’t rush; in storytelling, we must proceed in an orderly progression to bring out the excitement.”
After speaking, he rapped with his folding fan and continued, “At that time, the court was unjust, and the powerful were arrogant, ordinary people could hardly survive. Hearing of Grand Ancestor’s uprising, countless from the surrounding areas flocked to his cause, rapidly achieving a force to be reckoned with, unmatched in notoriety.”
“Thus, it incited the jealousy of the bandit overlord, Liang Sanjiang. Wishing to lead an army to attack, but before he could, Grand Ancestor took preemptive action, beheading this great villain and seizing the former Hundred Broken Mountains, the current foundation of Heavenly King Mountain!”
“After obtaining Heavenly King Mountain, Grand Ancestor collected various martial arts from renowned homes, dedicated himself to cultivating martial arts for twenty years, and eventually emerged victorious against all the experts of the world, all the great heroes, thereby becoming invincible under the heavens. People of the Martial World trembled at his might, and all proclaimed Grand Ancestor as the Defence Heavenly King, his power subdued all, with none daring to disobey!”
“Time flew, and by the seventh year of the prior dynasty’s successor era, Grand Ancestor reached his centennial celebration on Heavenly King Mountain. Heroes from all over came to offer their congratulations, yet congratulations were a pretense, the real intent was to cause trouble. The major sects of the Martial World conspired at the birthday feast to take advantage of Grand Ancestor’s old age and waning strength to avenge past grievances and annihilate Heavenly King Mountain!”
“What they failed to anticipate, however, was that Grand Ancestor’s martial arts had reached the pinnacle of perfection, surpassing the extraordinary and entering sainthood. Not only was he in the prime of spring and autumn, brimming with vitality, but he had also cultivated martial arts that could communicate with the divine. In the Hall of Righteous Gathering, he single-handedly battled against the world’s finest, Shaolin, Wudang, E’mei, Kunlun, the four monks, and five veterans, the divine swords crisscrossing in combat, all falling before Grand Ancestor’s divine martial power, miserably defeated.”
“With Martial Path Communicates with God, Grand Ancestor’s Cultivation was awe-inspiring, unmatched in the Martial World. However, the world was vast, extending far beyond the Martial World. To the north, the Fake dynasty; to the south, the Demon Sect; both coveted the foundation of Heavenly King Mountain. Three days after the centennial feast, both sides launched an army of a hundred thousand soldiers, attacking Heavenly King Mountain from the north and the south.”
“But who was Grand Ancestor? The whole world’s situation was within his understanding; how could he be unaware of the Fake dynasty’s and Demon Sect’s ambitions and plots? Long before, within Heavenly King Mountain, he had forged an army through martial arts. Three thousand Mysterious Armor Warriors emerged like dragons, easily defeating the formidable armies, taking countless enemy heads.”
“After the victorius battle of Heavenly King Mountain, Grand Ancestor led his forces north and south, overthrew the Fake dynasty, eradicated the Demon Sect, pacified the traitors, and established a new era – that is ‘Great Zhou’!”
“Bravo!!!”
Though these were oft-told tales and history repeated, the storyteller’s skill was solid. Under his vivid narration, the audience listened with relish and applauded unanimously.
“Snap ! ”
The storyteller rapped his folding fan and continued, “Grand Ancestor attained the Martial Path through strength, and likewise, Great Zhou was established by martial might. Hence, after the founding, the Martial Path became Great
Zhou’s national foundation, pioneering a system that explored the mysteries ot the human body—the Martial Path Three Realms!”
“The Martial Path Three Realms: first realm to condense and cultivate Qi Blood, generating internal hidden strength; second realm to solidify this energy into True Qi; third realm to turn the intangible into tangible, achieving True Gang, each realm symbolizing an ascent to a new dimension.”
“Grand Ancestor’s skills were profound and he reached a peak of perfection, entering a realm beyond mortals and into sanctity, but he still felt that the Martial Path was infinite and there was journey ahead. Therefore, after founding the nation, he compiled his lifelong martial arts knowledge into an unparalleled scripture – the Great Zhou Martial Scriptures!”
“The Great Zhou Martial Scriptures encompassed all of Grand Ancestor’s knowledge, capturing the essence of martial arts from all over the world. Grand Ancestor used this to set up martial arts across the realm, desiring to enlighten the people and create a world of martial arts. By harnessing the wisdom of the world for collective progress, and constant innovation, he sought to carve a path forward for martial arts and glimpse the realms beyond True Gang.”
“However…”
The storyteller’s voice paused mysteriously, sweeping his gaze across the audience, a hint of playfulness in his eyes, he continued, “Though the people endure hardship and their wisdom is yet to be enlightened, spreading martial arts across the world is a formidable challenge, Thus, Grand Ancestor established three major national policies: centralized land ownership, agricultural reform to enhance production, and the liberation of the people’s energies…”
“Hmph!”
Before he could finish, a cold snort sounded from below, “This blatant confiscation and exploitation are made to sound so appealing, truly the epitome of shamelessness!”
“Hmm!?”
With that, the mood chilled instantaneously. The audience turned with puzzled frowns toward the source of the voice, a middle-aged man dressed in a scholar’s gown.
Only the storyteller remained composed, smiling calmly at the man as he queried, “What do you mean by ‘blatant confiscation and exploitation’?”