[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starlight-professional":3,"chapter-starlight-professional-starlight-professional-chapter-685":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Starlight Professional",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2309345,4512,"Chapter 685: Two Thousand Years of Rise and Fall","starlight-professional-chapter-685",685,"\u003Cp>In the 300th year of the Great Xia calendar, Emperor Xia Mang passed away!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire Great Xia realm mourned; Mang was revered as the Holy Emperor, the Sage…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For he had brought unimaginable technology and martial arts, and lived over three hundred years!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the rest of his ministers, even the strongest Xia marquises lived no longer than one hundred and ninety-eight years, never breaking the two-century limit!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the common people, however, they preferred to call Mang the Martial Emperor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Black, bowing before the elder!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Zhenwu Talisman’s space, the new Emperor of Great Xia bowed respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face was dark, his features ordinary—he was a great-great-grandson of Mang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no choice; Mang had lived too long, spent his later years solely in cultivation, never married or fathered children—his sons and grandsons had all died… so he had to choose from later generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who would have thought… that at the moment of death, Mang would finally pass on the Zhenwu Talisman as the imperial family’s foundation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the high steps, Fang Xing’s figure materialized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black was stunned—he had not believed such a demonic god truly existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing shook his head and raised his hand; a stone stele stood upright, inscribed with the two effects of the Zhenwu Talisman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he spoke calmly: “I am preparing to enter seclusion—perhaps for ten thousand years, or even hundreds of thousands… what comes next, you decide for yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had enjoyed his time out, and now it was time to re-enter seclusion, to continue his arduous cultivation and ponder the True Martial Dao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, he would wait for the arrival of a new era!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this martial age, where the strongest could live only two or three hundred years, clearly held little value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From now on, he would no longer personally meet each host.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rules were already set; let them figure out the rest on their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps… one of them might surprise me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder? Elder!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Fang Xing’s figure vanish, Black grew frantic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how hard he tried, he could not ascend a single step—as if a vast abyss separated them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, with no other option, Black bowed to the empty stone throne, then entered the cultivation space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His heart burned—he wanted to train, break through, and become as strong as the Martial Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, he could live three hundred years!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing’s seclusion was, in effect, locking out outsiders, granting them only a space the size of a single room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he rejected the temptations of fine wine, gourmet food, and beautiful women, sat cross-legged, and began pondering the True Martial Dao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True Martial… begins within oneself, tortoise and snake entwined, Seven Stars converge… Yin and Yang…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed without measure; when Fang Xing finally felt he was making progress, he smiled inwardly and decided to grant himself a three-year vacation to fully enjoy himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he noticed the Zhenwu Talisman had fallen into an ancient tomb, becoming a burial offering!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve become a burial offering? What happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing was startled and immediately checked the “surveillance footage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since he gained the ability to observe the outside world through the Zhenwu Talisman, he had kept this function active and stored the records.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, scene after scene of history unfolded before him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The second Xia Emperor, Black, was still reasonable—he used the Zhenwu Talisman to reach a realm comparable to Mang’s, suppressed the realm for three hundred years, then passed both the throne and the Zhenwu Talisman to Jiao upon his death…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiao was a martial fanatic, fought countless duels, killed innumerable people—he was a tyrant… yet ruled for three hundred years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The fourth Xia Emperor, Fei, became obsessed with pleasure, abandoned his martial cultivation entirely, and lived only two hundred years… but he patched things up enough to keep Great Xia going…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A thousand years later came Emperor Qing, a hopeless romantic—he revealed the secret of the Zhenwu Talisman to his beloved concubine, Si… and the Zhenwu Talisman was stolen… At this point, Great Xia had ruled the realm for over two thousand years; all accumulated contradictions were held in check solely by the imperial family…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But without the Zhenwu Talisman, the Xia Emperor was no longer an invincible force. After barely holding on for decades, Great Xia collapsed utterly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Zhenwu Talisman was fought over by all sides, but through a twist of fate, one of Si’s clansmen took it away—he had no ambition, reached the peak of Yuan Wu, then retired and built himself a tomb… leaving the Zhenwu Talisman buried with him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Until now… countless years have passed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great Xia… is already gone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing shook his head, unimpressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen sects in the Qingyuan Great Realm that endured for hundreds of thousands of years, civilizations in the Great Xia Universe that remained unchanged for tens of millions, even billions of years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To suddenly encounter such a mortal race that died in mere centuries, a dynasty destroyed in just a few thousand years—this truly stirred his emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wonder how martial arts have developed out there now?” Fang Xing fell into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he could now peer beyond the Zhenwu Talisman to observe the outside world, his vision was limited to a very short range around the talisman itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His detection range had not yet extended beyond the tomb—he had no idea how the outside world had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was not in a hurry; he knew he would eventually emerge again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several years later, within the tomb, the ground suddenly shook violently!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? An earthquake?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the Zhenwu Talisman, Fang Xing nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natural disasters—earthquakes, windstorms, floods—were most easily influenced by “Heaven’s Dao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was destined: his Zhenwu Talisman was meant to emerge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRASH!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wall collapsed; most of the tomb’s ancient traps were ruined; a massive bronze cauldron rolled out with a thunderous crash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several lithe figures, resembling giant monkeys, slipped into the tomb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Big Brother, how much treasure do you think we’ll find this time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black-clad man with triangular eyes and pale skin looked at the leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the “Jiangchuan Three Dogs,” tomb robbers by trade—three sworn brothers, each with a unique skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, the eldest, “One-Eyed Dog” Mai Long, had an eye so sharp that no burial artifact or offering could fool him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second, “Grave-Digging Dog” Du Sha, cultivated “Earth-Breaking Hands,” devastatingly effective at digging up tombs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youngest, “Howling Dog” Gou San, though the least experienced, was the strongest in martial skill and possessed the “Wind-Sensing, Scent-Detecting” art—he could easily spot and dismantle any tomb trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Du Sha’s question, Mai Long, wearing a black eye patch with only one piercing eye visible, shook his head: “Hard to say… In the Nine Provinces, martial artists often bury their divine weapons or martial manuals with them—find one, and you’re rich. That’s how all three of us started—no need to explain. But before the Nine Provinces, there were earlier dynasties, where nobles preferred to be buried in dragon veins, surrounded by vast amounts of gold and silver—unearth one, and you’re set for life…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that giant cauldron outside doesn’t resemble the style of Da Yuan or Da Kang… it looks more like something from ancient times.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ancient times before Da Yuan? That’s ten thousand years ago, isn’t it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Howling Dog Gou San sneered: “Ancient times were the age of raw meat and blood—digging up such tombs would be a total loss. The only thing worth anything might be that bronze cauldron outside—maybe we can sell it for a decent iron price…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ancient tombs indeed had little profit—this was a universally accepted truth among tomb robbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, those early people were poor! Extremely poor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a single iron tool was treated as a treasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Excluding archaeological and literary value, such tombs were pure losses—dig one, lose one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Three, don’t be so disrespectful inside someone’s resting place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Mai Long thought the same, he still scolded: “After all, ancient times were the era of the Martial Emperor—our Nine Provinces’ major sects all theoretically recognize him as the First Ancestor of Martial Arts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard stories of the Martial Emperor since childhood, but they sound like pure fantasy… how he was born knowing everything, taught by heavenly gods, mastered iron smelting, animal husbandry, farming, weaving, martial arts—all without a teacher, even knew how to give birth!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gou San sneered: “And Great Xia—each emperor was said to awaken the ‘Imperial Martial Vein’ to suppress the strongest of their age… they don’t even bother to make up decent lies. I’ve seen a few ancient martial manuals—they’re crude and shallow, require special ‘flesh and blood elixirs,’ long since obsolete…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Low ceiling, high cost—that was how modern martial artists viewed ancient martial arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mai Long nodded; even in darkness, his eyes saw clearly as he disarmed several remaining traps: “We’re almost at the main burial chamber. Stay alert—don’t let a big storm pass, only to drown in a puddle. Even ancient tombs, though mostly worthless, sometimes hold… well, mostly they’re still worthless. This time, we’re just earning a bit of hard-earned coin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mai Long spat, then tossed a fire starter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the firelight still burning inside the main chamber, he nodded: “Good—the recent earthquake cleared out the tomb’s foul air—we don’t even need to maintain ‘Breath-Sealing Art’ to move freely…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three entered the main burial chamber; by the flickering light, they saw carvings and murals on the walls and shook their heads: “Definitely ancient—definitely a Great Xia tomb… we’re screwed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But such burial murals usually depicted the tomb owner’s life story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As cultured, skilled, and experienced tomb robbers, they always took a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It should start here…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mai Long found the first mural: “The tomb owner came from noble birth—likely from a marquis family of Great Xia… then selected for the palace? No—someone in his family was selected?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The murals and carvings, aged ten thousand years, were now heavily damaged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with Mai Long’s sharp eyes, he could only make out the general outline: “Then came battle, slaying of ferocious beasts…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone took something from the palace… damn, why is this mural gone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gou San glanced around: “Probably destroyed during the recent earthquake.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah well, let’s dig up the coffin and get rich.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Sha stepped to the center of the chamber, stared at the stone coffin, and swiftly extended his hands to grip the lid: “Open!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1749,"2026-06-20T11:03:23.251Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f5c9c335839d56266f1a175fcdf50c7a721a3ed49d26ccc119dab4fc45972488","starlight-professional-chapter-686","starlight-professional-chapter-684",726,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarlight-professional-cover.jpg"]