Chapter 168: Chapter 167: The Disheartened Tugged Down by Reality
Translator: 549690339
Pei Xuanjing raised an eyebrow, puzzled, “But isn’t Tie Qianshan highly praised by many for his exceptional talent, which allowed him to elevate the ordinary martial studies of the Tie Sect to a superior level?”
Upon hearing Pei Xuanjing’s doubt, Bai Xiaosheng smiled, “Those people simply judge heroes by their achievements. If Tie Qianshan indeed had such extraordinary talent, then why would he initially be accepted into Tie Sect?”
He continued, “However, he was genuinely fortunate. At the age of twenty, he entered a cave left by predecessors and received an exceptional inheritance. More coincidentally, the martial arts master who left the inheritance was also adept at palmistry.”
“With this fortunate encounter, his progress soared and he quickly broke through to the Third-grade Grandmaster Realm. Back then, Tie Qianshan gained quite a reputation quickly, and made a number of friends, one of whom, you are likely very familiar with, Zhao Baiyang, the leader of the Mire Sect.”
“Huh?” Pei Xuanjing was taken aback, finding it hard to believe that these two had such a relationship.
When he heard Bai Xiaosheng continue to say, “However, afterward, for certain reasons, these two became strangers, with no more interactions.”
“Oh?” Pei Xuanjing asked curiously.
Bai Xiaosheng answered, “These men are all rising figures. Their rise naturally implies the interests of many other forces were affected. Some enlisted people from the underworld to ambush them. Despite failing, they were all dispersed and were no longer as they originally were.”
Great Ming has been established for 600 years. Apart from the rise of forces during the founding of the nation, only some individuals benefited immensely from Emperror Taizong•s opportunity and quickly became the top forces in the Great Ming.
As of today, the current power structure has become stagnant. The beneficiaries of existing interests simply do not allow any new forces to join and share their benefits.
For newcomers who truly want to set foot in this realm, their options are either to challenge an existing force, take over everything they have, and become a member or to disrupt everything with endless power, shatter all existing rules, and establish a new set of rules.
At that time, both Tie Qianshan and Zhao Baiyang were unwilling to bow to the old forces. They selected the latter path.
However, the strength of the conservative forces exceeded their imagination. Their alliance was easily dismantled. Some died, some succumbed, some chose to hide, some decided to retreat, while others sought new paths.
After this setback, Zhao Baiyang and Tie Qianshan went their separate ways; Zhao Baiyang joined the Mire Sect while Tie Qianshan decided to return to Northwest Dao, dedicating himself fully to the development of the Tie Sect.
It can be said that many people believe that Tie Qianshan no longer harbors his initial ambition. What was left of him now is simply a disillusioned man defeated by reality.
The two continued their conversation until dawn.
A month later, Pei Xuanjing returned to Shenxiao Mountain with Pang Hong.
By then, Shenxiao Mountain was no longer in ruins. Although it did not compare to when Shenxiao Sect was still around, at least it was no longer a shell of its past.
Soon after their return, they received news from Bai Xiaosheng. It was about Wang Boan.
With 100,000 troops, he defeated Ning King Zhu Chenhao’s 500,000-strong army, quelled the rebellion in Yangzhou, and saved the citizens from devastation. This was indeed a great merit.
All were under the imoression that Wang Boan would receive a great deal of recognition. and his career in Jie Xi Lei would be smooth sailing, shooting straight to the sky.
But to everyone’s astonishment, the imperial court did not reward Wang Boan in any way despite his tremendous achievement. It was as if nothing had happened, leaving it unresolved.
Moreover, when Wang Boan asked for a leave of absence due to his illness, the emporer casually accepted.
Such an unreasonable incident surprisingly caused no objections. Apart from a few scholars who felt sorry for Wang Boan, most officials at the court chose to remain silent, even Wang Boan’s patron, Minister of War Wang Qiong, turned a blind eye.
‘High merit incites the sovereign’s apprehension, eh,’ sneered Pei Xuanjing.
How sad this was. It indirectly proved that the current emperor was a tyrant who didn’t tolerate outstanding merits.
He initially thought this emperor who recruited people to compile and distribute martial classics throughout the world was ambitious, even if they would inevitably become opponents and enemies. But after watching how he dealt with Wang Boan’s quelling of the rebellion, he completely overturned his previous idea, and his evaluation of the emperor dropped significantly.
As a qualified ruler, if he is truly strong and ambitious, then he should display the grandeur of a monarch in the face of a minister such as Wang Boan.
Even if he doesn’t like it, how could a high-ranking king be so indifferent to the merits of his subjects? This would surely dismay many.
A tyrant driven by grand ambition, but intolerant of others, that is his evaluation of this emperor.
As for such an emperor, Pei Xuanjing is certain he has nothing to worry about.
After this incident, Pei Xuanjing dropped all other matters and started to seclude himself on Shenxiao Mountain. He began to refine the Shenxiao Command token and the acquired skills, accumulating taoyun, preparing to initiate his next life simulation as soon as possible.
Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
A lot had happened throughout the Great Ming during this half year.
First was the pacification of the Northwest Dao revolt.
Moreover, because of the Mire Sect’s timely withdrawal, exposing other powers that had been plundering with them, these forces became the primary targets of the Great Ming imperial court.
For a while, the whole of Northwest Dao was in turmoil, with everyone fearing the imperial court would seize the opportunity to eradicate them all.
Fortunately, the Great Ming court was still rational. It knew that these major and minor powers were partners in maintaining the stability of Northwest Dao. So, they primarily attacked those who had followed Mire Sect in the upheaval.
Nonetheless, nearly half of the powers in the entire Northwest Dao were eradicated, leaving behind a large vacuum, leading to fierce competition between the remaining powers and some smaller suppressed forces.
It can be said that after this Northwest Dao revolt, apart from the top few powers in the Northwest Dao, most of the remaining forces underwent a reshuffle.
Besides the happenings in Northwest Dao, the most talked-about event in the whole Jianghu was Bai Xiaosheng’s three-fold announcement. This grabbed the attention of almost the entire martial arts world..