At the palace entrance.
The silhouette of a woman in a red dress appeared, her figure tall and slender, the hem of her skirt trailing on the ground like flowing clouds, highlighting her graceful form.
Her eyes were like peach pits, her red lips touched with vermilion rouge, smiling even before they opened, with pearls gently shimmering at her ears, enhancing her snowy skin that surpassed jade.
As she walked, she exuded an innate charm, like a mandala blooming in the night.
Is this the Elder of the Martial Arts Garden?
If it weren’t for someone notifying him beforehand of the visitor’s identity, Lin Chen would have thought she was a lady from a prominent family.
If Senior Sister Jiang Qing was pure, Murong Yan was desire, then the woman in the red dress before him was a ripe peach, unparalleled in beauty.
"It turns out to be Elder Zhao."
Hou Zhantian spoke, as he had met Zhao Qianqiu before.
Elder Zhao?
Lin Chen was stunned, as the Elder in Poyang County was also surnamed Zhao, which Senior Yan had mentioned to him.
Was it just a coincidence of the same surname?
"This young woman greets Dean Hou."
Zhao Qianqiu said with a smile, her gaze drifting to the somewhat dazed Lin Chen: "I heard from Yan He’an that you wanted to see me several times. Now that you have, do you have nothing to say?"
Lin Chen, still pondering whether this Elder Zhao was the one he suspected, hesitated no longer, bowing in respect: "This junior greets Elder Zhao."
"This junior has been looked after by the Martial Arts Garden several times. Senior Yan told me it was due to Elder Zhao’s instructions. I’ve wanted to thank Elder Zhao several times, but Senior Yan said you weren’t in Poyang County."
Lin Chen appeared sincere, no matter how different this Elder Zhao was from his imagination, she had shown him kindness.
From initially choosing opponents for him, to rapidly advancing his practice of the Clear Wind Palm, subsequently providing him with the ’Thousand Hammer Map’, and even offering points to exchange for notes during his Opening the Acupoints with True Blood.
"This junior just didn’t expect... didn’t expect Elder Zhao to be so young, which caught me off guard."
Upon hearing Lin Chen’s explanation, Zhao Qianqiu’s red lips curved into a smile, a hint of interest in her eyes: "Oh, how did you imagine this Elder to be?"
Lin Chen was somewhat embarrassed and hesitated to speak; he had imagined Elder Zhao to be as old as Yan He’an.
Hou Zhantian, seeing Lin Chen caught by the question, squinted slightly. This Elder Zhao had recently been promoted in the Martial Arts Garden, and he knew that her promotion to Golden Garden Elder was largely due to Lin Chen.
In this regard, Lin Chen and this Elder Zhao could be considered mutual benefactors.
"Elder Zhao, please have a seat."
Hou Zhantian spoke up to help Lin Chen out of the situation, gesturing invitingly. Zhao Qianqiu nodded, her expression returning to seriousness, walked to the guest chair, gently pinched the side of her skirt, and gracefully took a seat with no wrinkle in her skirt.
"The results of the Martial Arts Academy competition, Elder Zhao must have learned about them."
"Yes, this young woman came here precisely for this matter."
Zhao Qianqiu didn’t keep them guessing, turning to Lin Chen: "Recently, Lin Chen defeated Yu Beichen and his brothers, so the Hidden Dragon List ranking will change."
"Hidden Dragon List?"
Hou Zhantian and Lin Chen both looked toward Zhao Qianqiu simultaneously.
"Today, our Martial Arts Academy will release a list, gathering geniuses under the age of twenty from the Nine Kingdoms, with the top one hundred listed. Before today, Lin Chen’s rank is set as tenth on the Hidden Dragon List."
"Tenth on the Hidden Dragon List?"
Hou Zhantian frowned, not surprised by Lin Chen’s ranking, but by the emergence of this Hidden Dragon List.
"If I recall correctly, the Martial Arts Garden never had such a Hidden Dragon List selection before. Why has this list suddenly appeared?"
"Lord Hou, don’t you know?"
Seeing Hou Zhantian’s frown, Zhao Qianqiu pondered for a moment and understood.
Perhaps the Liang high levels haven’t decided whether to publicly disclose the secret found in the snowy region. Although Hou Zhantian is an Upper-Grade Martial Artist, he is merely a Martial Arts Academy Director and hasn’t been involved in the Imperial Court.
The royal family of Liang and the Three Dukes should notify Hou Zhantian and other Upper-Grade Martial Artists only after making a decision.
"Know what?" Hou Zhantian asked in a deep voice.
Zhao Qianqiu glanced at the equally curious Lin Chen, her smile fading: "There is a change in the snowy region. Both your Liang and Xiang Kingdom discovered a Secret Realm in the snowy region, retrieving a bamboo slip that documented a disappeared piece of history from two thousand years ago in the Nine Kingdoms."
"Two thousand years ago?"
Lin Chen was puzzled, while Hou Zhantian’s eyes shone: "Is Elder Zhao referring to the origin of the Martial Path?"
"That’s correct."
Zhao Qianqiu nodded and explained to Lin Chen’s confused expression: "For both Liang and the other Eight Kingdoms, the record of the Martial Path only traces back two thousand years. From the time records began, the Martial Path had already appeared, yet no nation has documented what the true origin of the Martial Path is. It’s as if this technique just suddenly emerged."
"I see."
Enlightened, Lin Chen, while Hou Zhantian pursued: "Does the bamboo slip document the original source and origin of the Nine Kingdoms’ Martial Path?"
"The martial arts of the Nine Kingdoms... or more accurately, only the martial arts of four kingdoms, namely the Xiang Kingdom, Liang Kingdom, Han Kingdom, and Yan Kingdom."
"Why only four kingdoms?"
This time, it was Lin Chen who was pressing for answers.
Zhao Qianqiu didn’t answer; instead, Hou Zhantian explained: "More than a thousand years ago, there weren’t the current Nine Kingdoms, only four kingdoms. The Zheng Kingdom, Zhao Kingdom, and the other five kingdoms emerged from the territories of the original four kingdoms."
"So that’s how it is. I guess I need to brush up on my history," Lin Chen said, feeling a bit embarrassed, realizing his question was quite silly. The world’s power dynamics tend to unite after long division and divide after long unity. Just because there are Nine Kingdoms now doesn’t mean there were Nine Kingdoms a thousand years ago.
"The martial arts of the four kingdoms originally came from a dynasty called the Flame Dynasty."
Flame Dynasty?
Hou Zhantian spoke in a deep voice: "Is this Flame Dynasty the dynasty that was on this land more than two thousand years ago?"
"No, the Flame Dynasty is elsewhere. It was just that a martial artist from the Flame Dynasty came here back then and taught martial arts to the ancestors of the four kingdoms. The reason this history was buried is simply that the mission of that martial artist from the Flame Dynasty was to impart martial arts. After completing the mission, they left."
The hall was silent.
Lin Chen and Hou Zhantian were both digesting the information in Zhao Qianqiu’s words.
That the martial arts of the Nine Kingdoms could have originated from another dynasty; if this news were to spread, it would undoubtedly shock all the martial artists in the Nine Kingdoms.
However, Lin Chen was pondering another issue: why did the Flame Dynasty send someone to teach martial arts here, only to conceal this matter afterward?
Or why didn’t the Flame Dynasty incorporate the Nine Kingdoms into its realm?
No dynasty wouldn’t wish to have more extensive territories. Moreover, why, over two thousand years, has no one from the Nine Kingdoms discovered the existence of the Flame Dynasty?
Zhao Qianqiu, seeing Hou Zhantian and Lin Chen’s contemplative expressions, smiled and asked Lin Chen, "What are you thinking?"
"I have many questions," Lin Chen replied.
"Go ahead and say whatever questions you have, let’s see how much you can think of," Zhao Qianqiu prompted, clearly testing Lin Chen. Without hesitation, Lin Chen laid out his queries.
"Is there more?"
"For now, these are all the questions I have."
"The reason you can only think of these is that you don’t know many of the secrets," Hou Zhantian interjected. As a top martial artist, he knew far more secrets about the Nine Kingdoms than Lin Chen and had gleaned many answers from Zhao Qianqiu’s revelations.
"Is the Flame Dynasty related to the legend of the desolate lands?"
That Hou Zhantian could guess this did not surprise Zhao Qianqiu, who nodded: "In the eyes of the Flame Dynasty, the land of the Nine Kingdoms is a desolate place. According to the rules of the Flame Dynasty, desolate lands are given a thousand years to develop martial arts. Although we don’t know why no martial artists from the Flame Dynasty came a thousand years ago, it at least confirms that the legend is true."
"I see; no wonder the Five Clans of Guan would suddenly arrange their descendants to appear, and it explains why your garden would launch the Hidden Dragon List."
Having received confirmation, Hou Zhantian clarified his recent doubts.
"Dean, Elder Zhao, I’m completely in the dark," Lin Chen said, feeling somewhat exasperated as he watched the two engaging in a cryptic exchange. Couldn’t they explain things more plainly?
"There has always been a legend circulating on the lands of the Nine Kingdoms, that these lands are actually desolate, but the desolation refers not to the land but to the martial path."
Seeing Lin Chen’s anxious appearance, Zhao Qianqiu softly explained, "The bamboo scrolls in the Snow Region Secret Realm were left by people from the Flame Dynasty. According to the scrolls, they specifically sought out desolate lands to teach martial arts techniques and gave them a thousand years to develop independently without interference."
"After a thousand years, if the land has not developed its martial path, the Flame Dynasty will send people to take all martial artists from the desolate lands. As for what happens to them, the scrolls do not specify."
Lin Chen contemplated this. Although the scrolls didn’t mention why they would be taken, it certainly wasn’t anything good.
"Don’t worry; according to what’s recorded in the scrolls, the martial path in the Nine Kingdoms has developed sufficiently, so there’s no risk of being taken away."
Zhao Qianqiu, understanding what Lin Chen was thinking, reassured him, relieving Lin Chen considerably. Indeed, with so many upper-grade martial artists in the Nine Kingdoms, calling it a martial arts desolate land seemed a bit unfair.
"Still, once developed, as it ceases to be a desolate land, it also loses the protection of the ’independence’ rule of the Flame Dynasty, allowing forces from the Flame Dynasty to come here."
"According to the bamboo scrolls, those who came to impart martial arts in the Nine Kingdoms were considered only average within the Great Yan. Any second-class sect in the Great Yan Dynasty could easily wipe out the Nine Kingdoms."
Maintaining a silent Hou Zhantian added, "If we wish to safeguard ourselves, there’s only one way: nurture martial arts geniuses."
Seeing Lin Chen’s puzzled expression, Hou Zhantian recited, "When the millennium of the Flame Mandate ends, the desolate will not remain alone. To protect the domain, you must support those who soar like dragon and phoenix."
These lines are a ballad from the legend of the desolation.
In Lin Chen’s eyes was a thoughtful look. Without Elder Zhao’s previous explanation, these lines of the ballad would be hard to comprehend, but with Elder Zhao’s words, their meaning became clear.
After a thousand years, once the protection period of the martial arts desolate land ends, if they wish to preserve their nation and territory, there is only one solution: the emergence of "dragon and phoenix," or so-called geniuses.
"The contents of the bamboo scroll are already known to the upper echelons of each kingdom. Although it’s unclear why the forces of the Flame Dynasty have not yet appeared, it’s a sword hanging over the heads of the Nine Kingdoms. In response, our Martial Arts Garden has decided to issue the Hidden Dragon List."
Zhao Qianqiu’s eyes sparkled; this time, the Hidden Dragon List would not merely be renowned. Each individual who makes the list will receive abundant martial arts resources.

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