Chapter 20

Cutting off Zhao Qiying mid-sentence, Jiang Sishui questioned her closely on a few details, and then was completely dumbfounded.

Holy crap! Isn't this just the Hua Country from his previous life, scaled up?!

The Great Song occupies the middle and lower Yangtze plain.

The Great Sui occupies the southeastern hills.

The Great Ming occupies the North China Plain.

The Great Qing occupies the Northeast Plain.

The Great Qin occupies the Loess Plateau, the Hexi Corridor, and the Tanggula Mountains.

The Great Yuan occupies the Inner Mongolian grasslands, Mount Tianshan, the Mount Kunlun range, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Dali and other small and medium nations took the Land of Abundance, the Hengduan Mountains, and so on.

Though not perfectly accurate, that's roughly where they sit.

Aren't the names of those states basically the same as the abbreviations of the many provinces in his previous life's Hua Country?

Of course, this comparison isn't perfectly accurate either. For instance, the Great Sui's Nanzhou is actually the previous life's Yue and Gui.

Even so, with this Jiang Sishui now had the most intuitive impression of this world.

Zhao Qiying went on: "Actually, every imperial dynasty can be seen as a sacred ground of the Wu Lin, and the many first-, second-, and third-rate Men Sect all live within their spheres of influence."

"Of course, even though the dynasties are strong, they haven't reached the point of absolute control. The jianghu is unfathomable, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers everywhere, so there are actually plenty of sects that don't buy into it."

"These sects occupy their own mountains and establish their own lineages. When introducing themselves to outsiders, they won't say something like 'Great Song Wudang Sect,' but will instead call themselves 'Ezhou Wudang Sect.'"

"In other words, these sects' recognition of state boundaries runs far deeper than the dynasties' recognition of them."

"If a certain sect puts a certain dynasty's name in front of itself, it's tantamount to declaring submission to that dynasty."

Hearing this, Jiang Sishui was a bit puzzled: "The Central Domain only has six great dynasties. Don't the other powers have any strong ones above the Heaven-Man level?"

"Naturally there are."

"Then why are there only six dynasties?"

"I heard my father say that the reason dynasties are dynasties is that the six founding emperors of those days each obtained a divine artifact, using it to suppress the nation's fortune. Moreover, these six great divine artifacts are said to possess boundless power."

"Divine artifact?!" Jiang Sishui's heart gave a jolt.

What kind of bizarre thing is this now? Does something like this exist in a Martial Arts World?

No, wait—some Martial Arts Worlds with terrifyingly high combat power really do have heaven-defying, uncanny existences.

For example, the Spirit Mirror from his previous life's TV drama "Spirit Mirror Legend" was eerily sentient.

And then there were the mystical divine weapons in "Feng Yun," and the "Eight-Direction Sun-Shooting Bow" and "Four-Symbol Sun-Shooting Arrows" in "Magic Sword Life-and-Death Chess," and so on.

Thinking of this, Jiang Sishui felt even more that he couldn't afford to act recklessly.

Given Zhao Qiying's strength and status, she knows about these things—so just how enormous is the Bingshan hidden beneath the surface of the sea?

"Because of the six great divine artifacts, the six great dynasties are the transcendent dynasties standing above all?" Jiang Sishui was beginning to understand.

Zhao Qiying nodded.

"Does the Great Song have friction with the surrounding Liao, Western Xia, and so on?"

"The borders of all those nations have never truly been at peace."

"How dare those small and medium nations stroke the dynasty's tiger whiskers? Aren't they afraid the dynasty will grab a divine artifact and crush them?"

"I've had this question too. My father once speculated that although the divine artifacts' power is great and can easily slay a Heaven-Man, they must be subject to some kind of restriction."

Jiang Sishui was taken aback upon hearing this, and after thinking it over carefully, he also felt it made sense.

If divine artifacts could really be used anytime, anywhere, at will, then the Central Domain wouldn't be in its current "six supremes, many strong" situation, and the dynasties wouldn't be unable to even keep the sects within their own territories in line.

Still, this kind of power structure was actually a good thing for Jiang Sishui.

Only a situation of mutual opposition would be more conducive to his rise. If the whole world were a one-voice hall under some single power, then for the time being he'd have to tuck his tail between his legs and keep a low profile.

"Those small and medium nations don't have any existences above the Heaven-Man level, right?"

"Probably not, but they at least possess the power to contend with a Heaven-Man, otherwise they couldn't have established a nation."

Jiang Sishui nodded and fell into thought.

After getting a general sense of this world's overall structure, he asked again: "Miss Zhao, may I ask how you martial artists divide your realms?"

Zhao Qiying had long known he would ask this, and without hesitation replied: "From low to high: Postnatal, Innate, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, Martial Dao Jin Dan, Martial Dao Primordial Spirit, Shattered."

"Martial Dao Jin Dan? Martial Dao Primordial Spirit?" Jiang Sishui was puzzled.

"Martial Dao Jin Dan is the Heaven-Man. The specifics I don't know, and my father doesn't either."

"Martial Dao Primordial Spirit is the Half-God. It's said they can send their primordial spirit out of the body—terrifyingly powerful."

"As for the final Shattered Realm, that's a Realm within that exists only in theory. Throughout the ages, no one has ever been heard of reaching it."

"Moreover, the six great realms below Shattered each have nine layers. The first three layers are the early stage, the middle three are the mid stage, and the last three are the late stage."

Jiang Sishui suddenly understood, then promptly poured out all the questions in his heart: "Then how are martial arts Grade divided? How are depth of comprehension and mastery distinguished?"

"Inner and outer cultivation methods that can be cultivated up to Great Grandmaster, and martial techniques corresponding to Great Grandmaster, are collectively called 'Divine Art.'"

"By that logic, Heaven-Man corresponds to Holy Scripture, and Half-God corresponds to Heavenly Art."

"Anything below Great Grandmaster is just called Wu Gong secret manuals—no special name."

"As for depth of comprehension and mastery of martial arts, from low to high they are: Beginner, Initiate, Minor Completion, Major Completion, Perfect Completion."

As Zhao Qiying's voice fell, Jiang Sishui's eyes lit up, and a flash of sudden insight crossed them.

He thought of his own "Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique."

The "Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique" is a Heavenly Art, corresponding to Half-God-level killing power.

And based on what he had previously guessed—that one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, and one million experience points were each a watershed—and combined with what Zhao Qiying had said, that each great realm has nine layers…

Jiang Sishui couldn't help but suspect that when the "Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique" reaches the full-level experience of nine million, could it cut down any Half-God?

And one million—is that actually the leap from Major Completion to Perfect Completion?

Based on this logic, a million perfected kills can slay a half-god, a hundred thousand great completion kills can slay a Heaven Man, and ten thousand minor completion kills can slay a Grandmaster.

A thousand is exactly entry level; with his current experience of one thousand two hundred, can he kill a Grandmaster First Layer?

At two thousand, it's Grandmaster Second Layer.

At three thousand, Grandmaster Third Layer…

If calculated this way, the system's rewards aren't bad at all!

He, an ordinary person, gained the power to slay Grandmasters in just three short days—this is almost unbelievable.

The only drawback is that he currently has no Internal Energy or true qi.

But once he reaches Leigushan, all these problems will be resolved effortlessly.

Wu Wu Ya Zi's full body of skill is enough to lift him straight to heaven; even if the system offered true qi rewards, could it be faster than directly "stealing the account"?

Suddenly understanding all his previous confusions, Jiang Sishui's heart cleared like dawn.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again: "Miss Zhao, which Men Sects and masters are well-known in this martial world?"

He was trying to guess how many Wu Xia Works this world had fused together, based on Zhao Qiying's answer.

Zhao Qiying paused, then said: "The martial world is filled with countless factions, but the three most famous are Shaolin, Wudang, and Gai Gang."

"Shaolin has the longest lineage, founded earliest, with countless masters within its temple and lay disciples spread across the land."

"Wudang was founded only a hundred years ago, yet its prestige is no weaker than Shaolin's; the Supreme Zhang Sect Zhang Zhenren is said to be among the strongest of this age, comparable to Shaolin's founder Bodhidharma."

"Moreover, whether Zhang Zhenren's disciples he took on behalf of his master, or the second and third generations, all have produced outstanding talents."

"Zhang Wuji, Geng Geng Yujing, Zhuo Zhuo Yihang, Yun Yun Feiyang—all young, yet their names shook the world; the martial world calls them the 'Four Little Kings' of Wudang's third generation, said to have the potential to become Heaven Men."

"As for Gai Gang, its overall strength is the weakest of the three, and it was founded latest—only seventy years ago—but it has the largest number of members."

"Gai Gang's leader Zhuang Yifang is a true Heaven Man; at the sect's founding, he created the Two Divine Arts: the 'Dog Beating Staff Art' and the 'Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms,' which terrified the martial world for decades."

"Zhuang Yifang has not appeared in the martial world for many years; Gai Gang is now jointly governed by a deputy leader at headquarters and four Great Chieftains of the four regional branches."

"By the way, the chieftain of the Eastern Azure Dragon branch, Helmsman Qiao Feng, is a peerless hero, with extraordinary talent, equal in fame to Murong Fu of Taihu's Swallow Pavilion."

"Someone once observed their bearing and said one resembled a lion, the other a phoenix."

At this point, Zhao Qiying unconsciously glanced at Jiang Sishui.

She didn't know if Murong Fu resembled a phoenix, but she felt the bookish Jiang Sishui before her bore some resemblance.

Jiang Sishui did not notice the oddness in her gaze; at this moment, he was completely stunned.

The Four Little Kings of Wudang… what a formidable title!

Zhang Wuji—the male lead of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber."