Chapter 223: Earth Sect Builds Cities, Monarch Guards the Gates

The fading night is coming to an end...

Gongliang City has been bustling for most of the night, yet the target, Du Yan Lu Zhigang, has vanished like a stone cast into the sea, leaving no trace.

The Qi-Blood warriors have been busy for a long time, but with nothing to show for it, their hot-blooded fervor has finally calmed down.

Du Yan Lu Zhigang, with his Poison Palm that can pursue souls and seize spirits, has even dealt heavy losses to Martial Masters.

Such a vicious person is not easy to deal with; one might end up bitten instead of catching the snake! People have been withdrawing one after another, and the figures on the streets have been flitting about, becoming increasingly sparse as time passes.

As dawn approaches, the city has rarely returned to tranquility, no longer as chaotic and noisy as last night.

Amidst a patch of ruins, Captain Chang begins to recount a secret story from the past...

"Zhou You, do you know how many cities there are on this earth?"

Zhou You shakes his head decisively upon hearing this; he doesn't know, how could he possibly know?

Cities of all sizes are scattered across the world like the countless stars in the night sky, and Gongliang City is just one of them.

Whether in official announcements or recorded in books, there is no unified consensus on the number of cities.

"I know!"

Captain Chang says indifferently, "Since the Celestial descended to the world, how many Earth Sects have been born, and that is how many cities there are in the world."

From Martial Master up to Strong Martial, and further up is the ancient and brilliant realm of the Supreme Grandmaster.

Grandmasters are also divided into three realms: Heaven, Earth, and Human; the Earth Sect is the second level of this realm.

After the Earth Sect cultivates the physical body to perfection and develops the human body's limits to the extreme, they begin to pursue the mysteries of heaven and earth.

They tread across mountains and rivers, explore dangerous lands and secret realms, and verify the infinite possibilities of the Martial Dao.

At the Earth Sect level, one can erupt with terrifying power using a flesh-and-blood body, leveling mountains and rivers and tearing apart the earth.

They can even use Qi-Blood as a bond to knead soil, wood, sand, and stone together, building cities of miraculous creation on flat ground.

Such cities can withstand various natural and man-made disasters and isolate large-scale invasions by bewitching creatures.

Su Cheng, Gongliang City, and even Fucheng were all built by the hands of the Earth Sect.

Descendants living in these cities, having received the great grace of the Earth Sect, must pay a city-building tax from birth until death.

This city-building tax is collected by local noble families and handed over to the Earth Sect periodically; even if the Earth Sect is not present, it is passed on to their descendants.

"Can you imagine that, while soil and stone are heartless, once a city is built, it can shelter thousands of commoners?"

"Without city walls, Gongliang City would be just like Su Cheng, destroyed under the ravages of refugees, bewitching creatures, and the Plague."

Captain Chang reveals the true reason for the destruction of Su Cheng.

This city, also built by the Earth Sect, was destroyed due to a certain incident and could no longer provide defense and shelter.

Hunger, the Plague, bandits, and bewitching creatures ravaged it in turns, directly destroying the city.

The commoners either died or fled, becoming refugees like rootless duckweed.

"In ancient times, the terms 'city' and 'state' were mentioned in the same breath, meaning one city was one state."

"The City Lord was the local king, holding the power of life and death over the villages and countryside surrounding the city."

"Nowadays, there are no kings or city lords; they have been replaced by the self-governance of noble families and clans, who have multiplied from the Seventy-two Ancestral Tribes of the ancient times, whose ancestors were all heroes who had seen the Celestial."

"They have monopolized the source and interpretation of the Martial Dao, and what's more..."

"Ninety percent of the Earth Sect members in the world are born into noble families, and the massive city-building taxes ultimately flow into the private treasuries of these families, becoming tools to exploit the Commoners."

Zhou You discovers a key point: if that is the case, what is the relationship between the City Gate Guard and the noble families? The noble families stand at the top of the food chain, relying on the city-building tax to exploit the struggling Commoners, monopolizing the Martial Dao, and suppressing resistance from below.

But judging from the operation of the City Gate Guard, this force maintains a clear-cut attitude toward the noble families.

He guesses that Captain Chang has not yet reached the main point.

Sure enough... "The changes in the world are, in the final analysis, a process of constant division and unification."

"From the past model of one city, one lord, to the current local self-governance, the noble families all respect a common ruler of the world."

"The common ruler of the world is called the Monarch; the outstanding ones among the noble families take pride in being enfeoffed as a Marquis."

"The Monarch-Marquis Dual System is the top-level structure of power in the world."

"The distant Dijing, the center of the earth, is the most magnificent city in the world and also the hub where the Monarch and Marquises discuss affairs and jointly rule the world."

"Monarchs are divided into two types: the Enfeoffed Monarch and the Abdicated Monarch; the Enfeoffed Monarch is elected by the Marquises of the noble families of the world, while the Abdicated Monarch is the one designated by the previous Monarch to inherit; both hold the power to command the world."

"The one currently entrenched in Dijing is the thirty-sixth Enfeoffed Monarch, and also the master to whom our City Gate Guard owes allegiance."

Captain Chang says this and then says to Zhou You, "Join our City Gate Guard, sacrifice yourself, have no self, and serve the Enfeoffed Monarch wholeheartedly."

"So, the duty of the City Gate Guard is to monitor all the cities in the world for the Enfeoffed Monarch?"

Zhou You asks.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Captain Chang is choked.

He guessed right, but this matter cannot be stated explicitly, as it is not conducive to local unity.

"The hundreds of millions of commoners in the world suffer from the harassment of bewitching creatures; our City Gate Guard is ordered to be stationed in various places to secretly eliminate these creatures and protect the peace of the region."

Understood, that is how it should be said—solemn and righteous! Captain Chang says again, "The cities across the world belong to the Earth Sect and their descendants, and the Enfeoffed Monarch does not interfere."

"However, during the time of the tenth Abdicated Monarch, an agreement was made with the noble families: the cities belong to the noble families, and the city gates belong to the Monarch."

"We, the City Gate Guard, are the loyal guards who watch the gates for the Enfeoffed Monarch."

"As long as the city exists, the city gate exists, and we, the City Gate Guard, protect the commoners in the city from being harassed by bewitching creatures."

Therefore, once bewitching creatures cause trouble, the City Gate Guard steps forward to encircle and annihilate them, reacting quickly.

Also because of this duty, they draw a clear line with local forces of all sizes; once one joins the City Gate Guard, they have no connection to the martial arts circles.

The Monarch-Marquis duality is binary; once a side is chosen, there is no way to play both sides.

Zhou You was originally from a martial arts school, and his mentor Wang Laohu had ties to the Qi Family, which also belongs to the noble family camp.

Now that he has left the martial arts school and become a discarded disciple, the City Gate Guard has extended an olive branch to him.

The City Gate Guard only selects elite troops, not just any riffraff.

If he hadn't killed three Transformation Ghouls with such stunning methods, there wouldn't have been this recruitment offer.

The Martial Dao system of the City Gate Guard is different from that of the martial arts halls; all methods are aimed at killing Ghouls.

Zhou You, with his mid-stage Qi and blood strength, killing one large and two small Transformation Ghouls, is exactly the top-tier talent the City Gate Guard is desperate for.

Captain Chang spoke quickly, seizing the initiative, leaving the remaining Captains filled with regret, wishing they could start over.

Talent is hard to come by; Captain Chang already has Zheng Qing under his command, yet he is still not satisfied and wants to "add wings to a tiger."

Captain Ye's expression was complex; he is the foster father of Zhang Shiyu, and he is the least likely person to be able to recruit Zhou You.

He also knew that after today, it would be impossible for Zhang Shiyu to seek revenge.

"Forget it, I will write a letter and send him away to another place to lay low."

"If things continue like this, sooner or later he will be beaten to death by Zhou You."

Everyone was waiting for Zhou You's answer, as time ticked away bit by bit.

Before they knew it, dawn had arrived, and the first ray of morning sunlight shone on the ruins, bringing a glimmer of light and hope amidst the decay.

"Captain Chang, I apologize, I cannot agree."

(End of this chapter)