Chapter 45

Chapter 44

The great family that protected the Central Plains amidst the relentless advance of the new foreign army led by the Ice Queen has reappeared in the martial world after several hundred years.

Could it be that those who live on the land protected by the Sima family have already forgotten their gratitude?

Even if the curiosity about the new things displayed at the Zhaojia Grand Fair is overwhelming, how could they ignore the Sima family's procession?

Sima Jiang looked at the martial people gathered, engrossed in their leather clothes, and felt more bewildered than angry.

Who would have thought the Sima family would be treated like this!

"Hmm..."

Sima Jiang decided to think as positively as possible.

After several hundred years since the Sima family stopped operating the martial world alongside the Nine Sects,

it might be that the Sima family is so sacred and renowned that it is hard to approach easily.

However, such a positive attitude of Sima Jiang did not last long.

Alliance (盟).

A single character embroidered in gold on a huge banner.

This symbol of the Wu Lin Alliance, shining brilliantly in the sunlight, was overwhelming.

Clap, clap, clap.

Leading the way, the flag bearer of the Alliance entered, followed by the Supreme Martial Guard, the most powerful force of the Wu Lin Alliance, armed in heavy silver armor, escorting the Martial Emperor.

On either side of the Martial Emperor stood the Alliance's Chief of Staff, Zhuge Zan Hui, the Alliance's Grim Reaper, Inspector General Duan Bai Wu, and the Chief of the Supreme Martial Guard, Jin Jiang Tian, among other prominent figures of the Alliance.

What was peculiar was that the Wu Lin Alliance was entering alongside the Huashan Sect's procession.

The huge plum blossom banner (梅花旗) embroidered in red entered alongside the Alliance's banner, its grandeur reaching the heavens.

A sect that could stand alongside the Wu Lin Alliance!

This alone clearly showed the position of Huashan in the contemporary martial world.

At Sima Jiang's signal, the Sima family's flag bearer raised the White Tiger banner even higher.

The Sima family could never bow its head before the reputation of the Wu Lin Alliance and the Huashan Sect.

However, as the voice of the Martial Emperor gradually became audible, Sima Jiang was once again taken aback.

"Chief of Staff! That's the cart I was talking about!"

"..."

The Martial Emperor was extremely excited upon discovering the event venue set up in various places of the Zhaojia Grand Fair.

As he kept looking around with a delighted face, Chief of Staff Zhuge Zan Hui felt like he was about to die.

"Can't we just buy one with the budget of the Military Department...?"

"Lord of the Alliance. Those are luxury items. There will be records of the expenses, how can you talk about using the Military Department's budget? And you're saying this with the Inspector General right here."

The Inspector General Duan Bai Wu, standing beside him, smiled bitterly.

"That's right, Lord of the Alliance. Private expenses for the comfort of the Alliance command are subject to inspection."

"Comfort? Did you just say comfort?"

The Martial Emperor burst into anger.

"They call it a cloud cart (雲車) because it's as soft as floating on clouds! Do you know that I suffer from severe back pain every time I move around in a cart?"

"Lord, Lord of the Alliance."

"Every day, they say, 'Stay healthy, take care of yourself, the Alliance will be peaceful if the Lord is strong.' Hmph! If I can't even speak, they'll be unhappy, these harsh people."

Having experienced a cloud taxi (雲車出租) once at the Poyang Lake, the Martial Emperor could not forget the ride quality of such a cart.

"Inspector, haven't you tried it? Do I have to suffer from back pain for the rest of my life? Speak up if you have a mouth!"

"Lord of the Alliance..."

Watching this, Chief of Staff Zhuge Zan Hui sighed helplessly.

"Hmm, then let's go for the Heavenly Cloud Cart. The cost of the Earthly Cloud Cart is too burdensome for the Military Department's budget."

"Ah!"

The Martial Emperor recalled Nan Gong Shu, who subtly boasted about the elegant appearance of the Earthly Cloud Cart when he visited the Nan Gong family.

Even if he is the Lord of the Wu Lin Alliance, to be inferior to the Nan Gong family!

It's disappointing.

At such times, these righteous and narrow-minded juniors of the orthodox sect are so unbearable to look at.

"Fine. I'll save up my monthly salary and buy it personally."

Duan Bai Wu, looking at Zhuge Zan Hui with a sympathetic eye.

When the Lord of the Alliance gets angry, it lasts quite a while.

The probability of him being uncooperative in the Alliance's events and schedules, using the excuse of being unwell or refining his martial arts, was almost a hundred percent.

Zhuge Zan Hui, shuddering at this, bit his teeth and spoke again.

"I'll buy it for you."

Duan Bai Wu was greatly surprised.

Given the stern character of Zhuge Zan Hui, he would not misuse the Military Department's budget.

He must be using the Nan Gong family's wealth or his personal funds to buy it.

To have his property stripped by the Lord of the Alliance, Duan Bai Wu, who was looking at the distant mountains, could not contain his bitter feelings.

Just as Sima Jiang, observing the situation from afar, was about to approach the Martial Emperor to greet him,

the Martial Emperor's gaze suddenly turned to another event venue.

"What rare item is there that has gathered so many people?"

"Lord, Lord of the Alliance?"

Zhuge Zan Hui, noticing Sima Jiang approaching, stiffened awkwardly.

The Lord of the Alliance had already moved far ahead and mingled with the crowd.

"Ah..."

Truly, an extremely challenging job!

Just as Zhuge Zan Hui was barely calming down and showing respect to Sima Jiang, the Martial Emperor was staring at a rider jacket with wide eyes.

"Hmm? What kind of clothing is that? It has a unique style."

Some martial experts recognized the Martial Emperor and were startled.

"Lord, Lord of the Alliance!"

"Greetings, the Heaven of the Martial World!"

After waving his hand to acknowledge the greetings of the experts, the Martial Emperor moved on.

Zhao Hui, who was enthusiastically taking pre-orders, noticed the approaching Martial Emperor and his eyes lit up.

'Hmm.'

Zhao Hui, encountering a super expert who could not be discerned beyond the veil of intent for the second time.

Indeed, he is worthy of being called the Heaven of the Martial World.

"Hmm, I've never seen a style with pockets attached to the outer fabric. Moreover, to handle rough leather so intricately is truly remarkable craftsmanship."

The Martial Emperor poked around the pockets of the rider jacket and looked at Zhao Hui.

"Is there a specific reason for placing the pockets on the outside?"

"It's for practicality. Most clothing styles in the Central Plains are inconvenient for taking out items. However, this leather clothing allows you to store different items in separate pockets and retrieve them very conveniently."

"Wow! The idea is truly amazing! But if you move vigorously, won't the items fall out?"

Zhao Hui slightly opened the pocket of the rider jacket to reveal the buttons.

"These buttons can fasten the fabric together."

"Are these buttons?"

Until then, buttons in the Central Plains were mostly made of animal bones, metal, or jade, and were attached to both sides of the fabric to be interlocked.

The style of round buttons, where one side of the fabric is torn and finished with a knot, and then sewn into the fabric itself, only appeared after the Middle Ages.

Given the simple yet innovative form, the Martial Emperor's eyes inevitably widened.

The buttons did not hang in clusters but naturally blended with the original fabric, making them even more appealing.

"Amazing! Truly a wondrous technique! I can feel the remarkable wisdom of the person who thought of these buttons!"

Martial arts (武學) only enrich a person's body and mind, but such innovations enrich the entire world.

The Martial Emperor had always highly regarded this aspect of the Zhaojia Grand Fair.

"Who came up with such a grand idea for clothing?"

In response to the Martial Emperor's question, a lady at the event venue answered politely.

"It was all the wisdom of the Chairman."

The lady's gesture pointed to Zhao Hui.

"You?"

"Hmm, for now, yes."

For some reason, Zhao Hui felt a bit guilty. It felt like he was copying the intellectual property of modern civilization.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Zhao Hui felt a massive intent transform into a blade, piercing through his veil of intent.

A vast and boundless aura, making his back damp with sweat in an instant!

But the astonishingly powerful intent, upon breaking through his veil of intent, transformed into a gentle breeze, teasing the surroundings.

A blend of heat and cold, a mix of life and death, truly a bizarre and wondrous aura.

How could such completely incompatible qualities harmonize so well? As this thought crossed Zhao Hui's mind, the voice of Sword Deity faintly echoed in his head.

-It is truly the pure realm of the Mixed Origin Taiji. Indeed, a Wu Dang Taoist worthy of being called a True Person (眞人).

Mixed Origin Taiji (混元太極).

Along with Shaolin's Prajna (般若) and Huashan's Purple Mist (紫霞), it is one of the three great martial principles (武理) of the martial world.

Just by lightly accepting the aura, one could clearly feel such a profound martial principle.

The soft and gentle aura is truly profound and mysterious.

It was easy to understand why Wu Dang has been called the Southern Venerable (南尊) and respected by martial people.

Experiencing a martial person with absolute power firsthand left a deeper impression than a thousand days of cultivation.

Now Zhao Hui could understand why so many martial people yearned to see the Seven Martial Seats just once.

-Until now, I never thought that anyone could be below the level of Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wu Dang. If he had not hesitated to step into the world, he would have engraved the will of the divine on his body.

Zhao Hui, startled, repeated to himself.

'Zhang Sanfeng is that level? On par with the Three Immortals?'

The voice of the Martial Deity echoed.

-That's right. His martial arts left in Wu Dang are enough to feel the true depth of his realm. His Mixed Origin Taiji is the martial theory that best understands the natural realm.

'Hmm...'

Zhao Hui usually thought of Zhang Sanfeng as just a famous ancestor of the Wu Dang Sect.

His image in the Central Plains was closer to a Taoist who