Chapter 131: A Strange Land

"Once you understand the extraordinary treasure known as the Azure Origin Pot, it is not difficult to understand the current power structure of the realm. The five major aristocratic clans, including the imperial family, each possess at least one superior-grade Azure Origin Pot. The prefectural city noble families each possess at least one middle-grade Azure Origin Pot. The commandery city powerful clans each possess at least one inferior-grade Azure Origin Pot. As for the prominent families down in the counties, they attach themselves to the commandery cities and offer medicinal herbs in tribute in exchange for the Azure Origin Liquid mother fluid."

The five major aristocratic clans! The prefectural city noble families! The commandery city powerful clans! The prominent county families! Together, they formed an extraordinary power structure that monopolized the martial Dao with the Azure Origin Pot at its core!

At that moment, Zhuang Jin finally saw through the true nature of the Great Qian Dynasty.

"As a powerful clan of the commandery, my Shen family has independently dominated Diannan Prefecture for hundreds of years. The Medicine King Sect's sudden rise was precisely because they managed to acquire an Azure Origin Pot... As I mentioned earlier, Commander Zhuang should have also noticed that the number of Azure Origin Pots does not match the number of extraordinary factions. Some of them are scattered among the common folk, and the Medicine King Sect happened to obtain one of them."

Shen Xuchen said in a cold voice, "Our Shen family monitors the commandery city. Since the Medicine King Sect's main business was managing medicinal herbs, our attention was somewhat lacking... After obtaining the Azure Origin Pot, the Medicine King Sect secretly accumulated strength, grew in the shadows, cultivated martial artists, and amassed a batch of experts... Of course, the most crucial factor was that Medicine King Sect Master himself..."

"By the time our Shen family detected the clues and moved to crush them with thunderous force, we never expected that the Medicine King Sect had already grown to such an extent in secret... That led to the great turmoil in the summer of the forty-eighth year of Qianyuan, two years ago..."

Listening to this, Zhuang Jin experienced a moment of sudden realization. He finally understood the root cause of the upheaval that had destroyed his predecessor's family, and a quiet sense of tragedy welled up within him.

*When colossal entities like the Shen family and the Medicine King Sect clash and stir up the winds and clouds of the commandery city, ordinary commoners are nothing more than a speck of dust in the grand era. A moment of inattention brings about total destruction... They live without knowing whence they came, and die without knowing the cause!*

*Even now, when all is said and done, I am merely an important chess piece unable to master my own destiny... Strength! Strength! Strength, I need strength!* he sighed inwardly.

"Commander Zhuang, do you know how the Medicine King Sect acquired that Azure Origin Pot?"

Shen Xuchen asked, looking at him with a half-smile. Without waiting for Zhuang Jin to inquire, he continued, "It was because a disciple of the Medicine King Sect advanced too quickly and thus drew attention..."

Hearing this, Zhuang Jin felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. A flash of insight crossed his mind, and combining it with his earlier suspicions, he asked for confirmation, "Because I advanced a bit too quickly, they suspected that I possessed an Azure Origin Pot, which is why Liu Licheng approached and investigated me?"

Indeed, that was the case. It was precisely because Mu Mingxi, the Director of the General Affairs Department, had submitted a note to investigate Zhuang Jin that Shen Xuchen had completely abandoned the idea of selecting Zhuang Jin as his personal guard.

However, faced with this question, Shen Xuchen gave Zhuang Jin a deep look, but smiled without answering. Some things Zhuang Jin could deduce on his own, but they could not be spoken directly from his lips.

"My advancement was slightly faster simply because I have some talent and worked a bit harder than others... Be that as it may, this ordeal has at least proven my innocence," Zhuang Jin said with a bitter smile, feeling a lingering fear in his heart accompanied by deep apprehension.

Shen Xuchen did not mention what the fate of that Medicine King Sect disciple had been, but such a matter... could be easily imagined.

*If not for the golden finger that grants me a lack of bottlenecks, belonging solely to myself—which can also be attributed to natural talent, diligence, and self-discipline as proof... If I had transmigrated and acquired a physical golden finger instead, I probably would have been spotted and reported by Liu Licheng long ago, with the head of the Shen family personally stepping in to ruthlessly crush and plunder me, right?*

Thinking of this, a chill crept into Zhuang Jin's heart. *One could call the Shen family rigid, inflexible, and decadent, or call the Medicine King Sect excessively competitive and wolf-like; yet neither can achieve even basic fairness. The two are merely competing to see which is worse when viewed as a whole... But applied to individuals—like the head of the Shen family or the Medicine King Sect Master—they don't even need to reach those dizzying heights; anyone who manages to enter the upper echelons of either faction is absolute no fool. Every single one of them is shrewd and seasoned. If one acts without thoroughness and caution, they would die without even knowing how it happened!*

"Haha, indeed. Commander Zhuang's talent goes without saying. Back when your vitality was depleted, you still broke through to become a formal martial artist in seventeen days. Your reputation as a martial fanatic is deeply rooted in people's hearts... Now that you've passed the investigation, cleared the misunderstandings, and truly integrated into our Shen family, this is a joyous occasion!"

In truth, Mu Mingxi, the Director of the General Affairs Department, also knew that it was unlikely Zhuang Jin had obtained the Azure Origin Pot. However, as long as there was the slightest possibility, such a matter was worth probing. After all, to him, it was merely a matter of saying a few words—whether the tree bore dates or not, he would still swing the pole twice.

Shen Xuchen knew that such an affair might make Zhuang Jin uncomfortable, but clearing the air now was far better than hiding it and letting Zhuang Jin discover it on his own one day in the future, which would only breed resentment. Taking the initiative to be honest now could be considered a way to resolve the issue. "Commander Zhuang, do you have anything else you would like to ask?"

Zhuang Jin thought for a moment and posed another question: "I heard that the mutated beast meat on the merit ranking list is mostly transported from the commandery city. Is there a specific reason for this?"

"Ah, you speak of this. That matter is also related to that immortal from eight hundred years ago."

Shen Xuchen recounted leisurely, "No one knows precisely when it started, only that ever since the immortal descended, within each of the nine provinces of our Great Qian—Cang, Qiong, Ze, Luo, Yuan, Han, Yun, Lan, and Jiao—there appeared a region spanning hundreds or thousands of li where the Qi of Heaven and Earth converged. These places possess an immense attraction for beasts; ordinary beasts find it much easier to transform into mutated beasts there, and medicinal herbs grow much faster as well..."

"These nine miraculous places are: the Funiu Mountain Range in Cang Province, the Miasmic Gray Marsh in Jiao Province, the Maple Leaf Wetland in Ze Province, the Flowing Light Snowfield in Yuan Province, the Donghua Misty Plain in Lan Province, Dragon Marsh Lake in Yun Province, Pine Ridge in Luo Province, the Eastern Coastal Islets in Han Province, and Golden Sand Island in Qiong Province. They are located near the respective prefectural cities of each province, or rather, the prefectural cities of each province were built near these nine regions..."

Hearing this, Zhuang Jin felt as though a grand and vast picture was slowly unfolding before his eyes. *Mountains are high and waters are long, and the universe is boundless. Today I finally realize I was merely a person in a corner, and looking back at the past, I truly was like a frog at the bottom of a well.*

And all of this was connected to that immortal from beyond the Eastern Sea, which undoubtedly cast another layer of mystery over that figure.

"Among the nine miraculous places, with Pine Ridge in Luo Province as its center, the area is the most vast and the Qi of Heaven and Earth is the most concentrated... Yong'an, the capital of our Great Qian, was built near this location."

As Shen Xuchen spoke, a trace of yearning emerged in his expression. "The prosperity of Yong'an surpasses all under heaven. There is a saying that goes, 'The young do not enter the capital, the old do not leave their hometowns.' If I am fortunate enough one day in the future to achieve great success in the martial Dao, I must make a trip to the capital Yong'an."

"Indeed!" Hearing this, Zhuang Jin also felt a stirring of yearning for the colorful and splendid world outside. However, he instantly suppressed it, knowing that now was not the time for such daydreams; he still needed to remain cautious, steady, and keep a low profile.

He asked a few more questions and learned that ever since that immortal from eight hundred years ago had left, they seemed to never have returned, nor had any other immortals ever appeared.

*That immortal who came from beyond the Eastern Sea is regarded as an immortal by all living beings in Great Qian, but they might not truly be an 'immortal'; perhaps they were merely a person of a higher realm? I wonder how great their lifespan was and whether they are still alive today... Speaking of which, that immortal founded the martial Dao, making them the source of martial cultivation, but what kind of cultivation system did they practice themselves? Is it another kind of extraordinary power?*

*If there truly is another extraordinary system, based on the immortal's various miraculous deeds—founding the martial Dao as an extraordinary system, forging mystical treasures, and creating nine regions of converging heavenly and earthly Qi spanning hundreds or thousands of li... I'm afraid that immortal had also reached an immensely high and extraordinary level within that other extraordinary system.*

*I wonder if my future...*

Thinking up to this point, Zhuang Jin shook his head slightly. *I must not aim too high. The martial Dao created by this immortal is also a smooth path. Reaching the peak and summit of the martial Dao might not be inferior at all.*