The sixth day of March is the day of departure.
The Xingyun Sect's formation for the martial arts competition this time was quite large: the leader Lu Chaohuan personally led the team. In addition to the more than forty disciples of the inner courtyard and the head of the courtyard Yang Lin, there were also five elders of the Dancing Elephant Courtyard and two retirees. A veteran of the sect for many years.
In the past few months, all the top twelve disciples in the inner courtyard have been practicing hard.
Zhao Lin was no exception. He almost forgot to eat and sleep, and felt as if he had returned to the days when he was sprinting for the college entrance examination in his previous life.
After all, the stakes are high. The military competition is not only related to personal future, but also closely related to the rise and fall of the sect, and even the fate of Dai Viet.
There will be five parties participating in the court: Dayue from the Central Plains, Wushu from the north, Wuche from the northwest, Weizi from the west, and Xiuzhao from the south.
In terms of performance over the years, Dai Viet is undoubtedly the strongest, but its strength has declined in the past two hundred years. Now ranked in the first echelon are Wu Shu and Wei Zi.
Dai Viet and Wu Cha followed, and Xiuzhao was the weakest.
However, Xiuzhao had the smallest territory and the fewest people. The competition dynasty would allocate resources according to the results of the battle, but there was still a surplus.
In the early days, martial arts competitions were always held in Dai Viet, but later it was changed to countries taking turns to host. This year's host is Xiuzhao.
The Dai Viet Dynasty had already mobilized manpower and material resources to make proper arrangements for food, clothing, housing and transportation on the road. Every time they arrived in a state, local officials would pick them up and drop them off.
As we headed south, the weather gradually warmed up, and we arrived at the border between the two countries in mid-March.
There is a white marble platform at the border junction. On the platform is a huge copper pillar about three feet high, with two people hugging each other.
The copper pillars look very old, with ancient seal characters engraved on their mottled surfaces.
"It's such a big pillar. Is it a boundary monument?"
"It doesn't look like that. How can the boundary monument be so big?"
"Could it be a watchtower..."
The disciples discussed curiously.
Without saying a word, Lu Chaohuan rode his horse to the stone platform, dismounted, climbed the stone steps, and bowed three times to the copper pillar.
Yang Lin, five elders, and two senators also looked solemn and stepped forward to pay homage.
The disciples didn't know why, but since the seniors of the sect did this, they all followed suit and bowed down.
When everyone stood up, Lu Chaohuan asked, "Do you know what this copper pillar is?"
"Disciple doesn't know."
"It must have an extraordinary origin, right?"
All the disciples replied one after another.
"This copper pillar is indeed of extraordinary origin..."
Lu Chaohuan stroked his beard, his expression was lost in memories, and he slowly explained the reason.
It turns out that this copper pillar was erected by Ma Ling, the famous Zhennan general in the history of the Central Plains.
More than two thousand years ago, turmoil broke out in the Central Plains, and Xiuzhao took the opportunity to launch a rebellion.
The rebels invaded the border, burned and killed all the way, and destroyed more than thirty cities in a row. They were extremely arrogant and claimed that both Guangnan and Guangnan provinces were Xiuzhao lands.
The emperor ordered Maling to lead the army south to quell the rebellion, so Maling marched more than a thousand miles and defeated the rebels, beheading more than 10,000 people and countless people who begged to surrender.
Taking advantage of the victory, Maling attacked and entered the royal court of Xiuzhao. He beheaded the rebel leader and spread the news to the Central Plains. The court then named him Pingyuan Marquis.
Twenty years later, another rebellion broke out in Xiuzhao. Marquis Pingyuan, who was over sixty years old, put on armor and went on a crusade. He once again invaded the royal court, killing heads and leaving rivers of blood.
When Banshi returned to the court, Ma Ling erected a copper pillar at the border, with an inscription: "When the copper pillar breaks, the imperial edict of Xiu is destroyed."
After hearing this, the disciples all stepped forward to take a look. They saw these six characters engraved under the copper pillar, and they couldn't help but stand in awe.
"The old general is mighty."
"Awesome, promote our country's prestige in the Central Plains."
Zhao Lin remained silent. Whenever he heard about these heroic deeds, he would always feel overwhelmed and excited.
"The Xiuzhao people hate this pillar so much that no one dares to touch it."
Lu Chaohuan said calmly, "The seniors are so heroic, the juniors can't lose their reputation, right?"
"yes!"
The disciples responded in unison and spontaneously bowed to the copper pillar again.
When Yuanjing warriors cross the border, it is a rule to inform the other party in advance. The officials stationed at the border send someone to pass the message. Within half a day, the elders of the Xiuzhao Lotus Sect came to greet them.
"Master Lu, I haven't seen you for a few years, but you still have the same style."
Elder Ruan of the Lotus Sect was an old acquaintance with Lu Chaohuan, Yang Lin and others. They met to reminisce and chatted for a while before leading everyone on their way.
Entering the territory of Xiuzhao, Zhao Lin observed silently and found that the appearance of Xiuzhao people was somewhat similar to that of people from the Central Plains of Dayue.
The difference is that the face is flat, the bridge of the nose is collapsed, the mouth is big, the face is wide and the cheekbones are protruding, the body is thin and short, and most people have darker skin.
Apart from the few differences mentioned above, they look almost the same.
The language and customs are basically the same as Dai Viet.
This incident is not surprising. Xiuzhao was originally a vassal state of Dai Viet. It had been under the rule of Dai Viet for thousands of years and used to call itself the "Little Central Plains".
Since the recovery of vitality and the flourishing of martial arts, Xiuzhao finally broke away from the shackles of Dai Viet and established a country on his own.
But also because of this relationship, Xiuzhao was the most hostile to Dai Viet compared to countries such as Wushu Wuche.
A few days later, everyone came to Xiuzhao's capital: Nanluo.
"I feel sorry for you to stay here for a few days. When the people from the other two sects in your country have arrived, we can go to Lianhua Mountain together."
Elder Ruan led everyone to a mansion in the south of the city and said very politely.
"Thank you, Elder Ruan, for your hospitality."
Lu Chaohuan laughed when he heard this and said: "I didn't expect that my Xingyun Sect is the farthest from here, but I am the first to arrive."
The mansion is beautifully and luxuriously furnished, with pavilions and pavilions in the ancient style of the former Dai Etsu Dynasty. There is also a school ground and a training room for martial arts practitioners to practice.
The servants and maids have been strictly trained and serve attentively. They don't say a word that shouldn't be said. The food is also similar to Dai Viet cuisine and tastes quite delicious.
It was the first time for the disciples to come to Xiuzhao, and they could still manage to practice with peace of mind during the day, but after all, the young minds were unable to restrain themselves at night.
A few brave people came forward to discuss with Lu Chaohuan and Yang Lin, saying they wanted to go out for a walk.
Lu Chaohuan followed his good will and agreed to let him go. He just warned: "Don't cause trouble when you go out. You must not fight with others. Come back early."
"yes!"
"Thank you, Master!"
The disciples were overjoyed and rushed out of the mansion in droves, wandering around the city in groups of three and five.
Zhao Lin, Xiang Bao, Zhong Yewu, and Li Liang from the outer courtyard entered the inner courtyard in the same year and became familiar with each other, so they came together this time.
Xiang Bao suggested: "I heard that Jianhu Street in Nanluo is the busiest. Let's go there and have a look."
The Xiang family is a martial arts family, and the elders in the family know a lot about places outside the Central Plains. Xiang Bao has already found out.
Zhao Lin and others had no objection, so they asked someone for directions and headed to Jianhu Street.
Nanluo is a thousand-year-old city. In terms of prosperity, it is slightly inferior to Yongning City, but the exotic style has its own differences.
The climate in Xiuzhao is hot, and March is not yet the busy farming season. Although it is getting dark, the streets are full of people and the lights are brightly lit, making it very lively.
Zhao Lin, Li Liang, Xiang Bao, and Zhong Yewu were all tall, strong, and powerful. When walking among the crowd, they stood out like chickens.
It is rare to see such a heroic man in Nanluo City. Many young women stopped to watch, and even the bold ones looked at him like water.
(End of chapter)
