The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 85 - 82: The Secret of Xin

Chapter 85: Chapter 82: The Secret of Xin

"This is, of course, the Holy Ancestor was dissatisfied with the tyrannical and unprincipled predecessor, Emperor Zhou Ai, who levied heavy taxes and acted violently. Thus, he followed the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people, fought against the unprincipled Zhou Ai, creating the foundation of our Daqian Dynasty for three hundred years. Truly, he was an Emperor of great sagacity and holiness for all eternity." Qing Yu’s face was full of admiration, appearing to have long adored the Grand Ancestor of Daqian.

Those unaware would think Qing Yu held great admiration for the Grand Ancestor of Daqian.

In reality, Qing Yu had only known of the Grand Ancestor Ji Muqing for over a month, and these words of praise were borrowed from a moment of curiosity about this "do as I please" legendary Emperor, taken from books purchased within the Daqian Realm.

"Er... cough cough..." Lu Qifeng coughed several times, "Your reverence for the Holy Ancestor pleases me greatly."

"The Grand Ancestor in his early years was the leader of the Humanity Lineage in the Confucian family, practicing the Confucian Divine Skill ’Peaceful World.’ Later, as his resistance to the previous dynasty conflicted with the original intentions of the mental method, the Grand Ancestor altered the Confucian ’Peaceful World’s’ intention of ’making peace throughout the world’ into ’pacifying the world,’ turning it into the ’Emperor Martial Art.’" Lu Qifeng spoke.

"Emperor Martial Art? Is it a Martial Art exclusive to the Emperor?" Qing Yu inquired.

"Yes. The Emperor leads the world, holding the world in hand—this Emperor Martial Art can only be practiced by one who ascends to the pinnacle of the world.

Three thousand years ago, the first Emperor, Emperor Shi of the Qin Dynasty, burned the books of Hundred Schools and all the Emperor Martial Arts were set ablaze, leaving only his one line of Emperor Martial Art, hoping to eternally secure the realm for eternity. Since Qin, there has been no trace of ’Emperor Martial Art’—it had become extinct.

However, our Daqian Grand Ancestor was truly Heaven sent; he altered the Confucian Divine Skill into an Emperor Divine Skill, and with it, pacified the world and established Daqian. If it weren’t for old sentiments, Meng Shanhe would have been unable to stop the Grand Ancestor’s might.

Alas, three hundred years ago, the Grand Ancestor led his troops to defeat the Southern Border, cutting off its land and naming it ’Qing Province.’ On the journey back to the capital, he encountered a combined attack by high-level masters of the Righteous and Demonic paths. Though he repelled them, soon after returning to the capital, the injury proved incurable, and the Grand Ancestor ascended to the dragon throne in heaven."

When speaking of the Daqian Grand Ancestor, Lu Qifeng also showed a look of longing, much stronger than Qing Yu’s exaggerated display of loyalty.

"No wonder, while Meng Shanhe from the same era as Ji Muqing still lives, maintaining his position in Northern Zhou, Daqian is already on its fourth generation Emperor. It turns out he died from a joint assassination by the Righteous and Demonic. However, why would the Righteous and Demonic join forces to kill the Grand Ancestor of Daqian?"

With such thoughts, Qing Yu voiced his questions to Lu Qifeng.

Lu Qifeng laughed, having anticipated Qing Yu’s doubts, and said: "The Grand Ancestor came from the Confucian family, and the Confucians have always despised those worldly society folks who do not abide by laws and act arrogantly.

The ancestors of Confucianism said: ’Martial Artists challenge the forbidden.’ Those of the worldly society, who do not heed the way of the king and commit brutal acts, act merely according to their own likes and dislikes, without regard to the laws. In the Grand Ancestor’s eyes, both the Righteous and Demonic paths were the same.

The Grand Ancestor practiced the Emperor Divine Skill, and although he reached the Divinity Realm later than those geniuses of Righteous and Demonic paths, with the divine effect of the Emperor Divine Skill, his improvement in force far exceeded his peers, and reaching the level of the previous generation was simply a matter of time.

An Emperor practicing Emperor Martial Arts only needs peace throughout the land to be the number one person in the world. Moreover, the Grand Ancestor had conquered a whole province of the Southern Border, and if he had just turned back to conquer Northern Zhou, Daqian would have had ten provinces. The Grand Ancestor would have reached the peak of Emperors of all times.

The Righteous and Demonic feared the Grand Ancestor, and thus set aside their grievances to commit such a heinous act of treason."

"It seems Mr. Lu is quite the learned scholar, no wonder he enjoys wearing a Confucian robe and exaggerates the scholar’s attire."

From Lu Qifeng’s words, Qing Yu understood that he held great affirmation for the Grand Ancestor’s actions and policies. Moreover, considering his usual attire, along with his wide-ranging references and extraordinary conversation just now, Lu Qifeng must have read widely in poetry and literature—saying he was versatile in letters and martial arts would not be an exaggeration.

It’s just that one wonders why this well-read Mr. Lu would enter a violent institution like the Six Gates.

"Then, does my mission on this trip have to do with Emperor Martial Arts?" Qing Yu asked. After so much talk, if Qing Yu couldn’t guess the purpose of his trip, he might as well smash his head against tofu.

"Indeed," Lu Qifeng nodded, "The Grand Ancestor left suddenly, and the Emperor Divine Skill ’Peaceful World’ was not fully passed down; the last state of ’Peaceful World’ is only known in its original Confucian version before it was altered."

"And before the Grand Ancestor left for his personal expedition, he had a secret meeting with Meng Shanhe. Afterwards, Meng Shanhe closed off in seclusion and rarely appeared. Thus, we suspect that Meng Shanhe may know the secret of the Emperor Martial Arts ’Peaceful World.’"

"Meng Shanhe knows the secret of Emperor Martial Arts. How is that possible?" Qing Yu said in surprise.

He couldn’t help being shocked; it is well known that it was due to Meng Shanhe’s intervention that Grand Ancestor Ji Muqing failed to complete the great undertaking of unifying the Nine Provinces. If he had unified ten provinces before the assassination and pacified the world, he perhaps wouldn’t have died by the hands of Righteous and Demonic.

"Regarding the only remaining Emperor Martial Arts, even if there’s a sliver of possibility, we cannot give up. Over the years, there haven’t been a thousand spies entering Mountain River Academy, but there have been eight hundred, yet none could truly infiltrate. The aura of vast righteousness at Mountain River Academy is too restrictive for sneaky individuals. If you fail, we will send another."

"Moreover..." Lu Qifeng’s tone shifted, and he sneered, "It’s not just us who suspect Mountain River Academy and covet Emperor Martial Arts. Why do you think the Emperor of Northern Zhou favors Eighth Prince Feng Qiwu so much? It’s not just because Feng Qiwu is talented in both literature and martial arts, but also because he is a disciple of the current head of Mountain River Academy, Yu Qian, and is cultivating the Confucian Vast Righteous Qi."

When it came to Martial Arts, Qing Yu suddenly thought of a problem and immediately asked: "Sir, I possess Martial Arts skills, but if I want to gain the trust of Mountain River Academy, I fear it might be difficult."

Taking Martial Arts into the Academy for study is a common affair, but only those who can truly cultivate Vast Righteous Qi are trusted and recognized by the instructors, as only the achievement of Vast Righteous Qi proves one has an open heart and is not a person of ill-intent.

"No matter, I have a way," Lu Qifeng took out a book from his bosom, "This is ’Heavenly Principle Inner Saint Method’ of Daqian philosophy, personally written by the current master of philosophy, Song Mingli. By cultivating this method, your True Qi will appear similar to Vast Righteous Qi. The rest is up to your acting skills, which I believe should not pose a problem for you."

Qing Yu took the ’Heavenly Principle Inner Saint Method’ handed over by Lu Qifeng, and smiled: "Of course."

With that remark, Qing Yu’s disposition underwent a dramatic change, becoming gentle and refined, a picture of scholarly grace.

A Heavenly Person reborn, pure and natural, with creation infinite. Altering one’s temperament was, to him, as easy as a flick of the wrist.