Chapter 1

Jiangzhou City is located north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It is an ancient city, close to the Yangtze River, which has provided it with the capital for development. However, historically, it has not produced any great figures, so it is not well-known in historical records. Nevertheless, it has a solid history of nearly five thousand years. According to legend, the history of Jiangzhou can be traced back to the ancient battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou.

Legend has it that this place was once a major base built by the Yellow Emperor for his campaign against the Jiuli tribe led by Chiyou. Unfortunately, it was soon destroyed by Chiyou, and the Jiuli army advanced northward, invading the Central Plains. However, Chiyou ultimately failed and retreated, passing through this area again before finally retreating to the south of the Yangtze River.

Of course, these are all legends.

However, the history of Jiangzhou is indeed long and profound.

Therefore, it is a small city with a strong ancient atmosphere, with a population of two million. Cultural and historical elements can be seen everywhere, such as door arches, blue stone pillars on the streets, or land temples at the foot of mountains, and the many old objects on the antique street.

In addition to these cultural and mystical elements, there are also several famous martial arts training places.

Jiangzhou has three major martial arts training places. Besides the Zangding Temple located on Wusheng Mountain in the north of the city, there are also the Liuhe Boxing Hall and the Tai Chi Hall in the city.

The Liuhe Boxing Hall and the Tai Chi Hall both have a history of nearly a hundred years, established during the late Qing and early Republican periods. Many famous figures have come here to exchange skills, leaving behind many beautiful stories.

However, the Zangding Temple is the oldest building in Jiangzhou, and it also teaches some health-preserving martial arts. It is said that this temple has existed since the Three Kingdoms period and was ordered to be built by the martial saint Guan Yu when he governed Jingzhou. This is also the origin of the mountain's name, Wusheng Mountain. There is a huge statue of Guan Yu on the back of the mountain, which, according to the temple's records, was personally carved by a Taoist master during the Tang Dynasty. Despite a thousand years of wind and rain, it still stands, exuding a fierce aura.

This statue of Guan Yu is a rare one without a weapon, showing him in a horse stance with a punch. Many people have questioned the origin of this statue, arguing that it is not from the Tang Dynasty but from the Song Dynasty, or even the late Southern Song Dynasty.

This is because many people say that boxing only became popular during the Song Dynasty, and Emperor Taizu of Song created the Zhao family's long boxing. The great Tai Chi master Zhang Sanfeng also appeared during the Yuan Dynasty.

When Wang Cheng first heard about this, he just laughed it off.

The statue of Guan Yu belongs to the Zangding Temple, and the temple's records clearly state that it was carved by a Taoist named Changsongzi in his forties during the Tang Gaozu period, taking three years to complete. The records also mention that the two famous Tang Dynasty celestial masters, Yuan Tian Gang and Li Chun Feng, once came to observe it.

However, according to the records, Yuan Tian Gang and Li Chun Feng came to observe the statue of Guan Yu only as a side trip because they knew Changsongzi. Their main purpose was to study the huge bronze tripod standing in the square in front of the Zangding Temple.

This is the origin of the Zangding Temple. When the martial saint Guan Yu built this temple, he named it Zangding Temple because of this bronze tripod.

Wang Cheng read the records, which state that Guan Yu had seized this huge bronze tripod from a tribe in Yunnan and transported it to Jingzhou with much effort. However, Jingzhou was not suitable for placing it because it was a borrowed territory, so he placed it in Jiangzhou and built a temple, inviting several Taoists to reside there.

Legend has it that this bronze tripod contains some secrets, but no one has known them for thousands of years. Perhaps Guan Yu, who went to great lengths to seize it from the southern tribes, knew, but he left no written records.

Thus, it remains a mystery of the ages.

This bronze tripod is called Zangding, and the temple is called Zangding Temple.

Wang Cheng is a high school student who works part-time during the summer. Since he is working at the temple, he naturally follows local customs, wearing Taoist clothing and becoming a young Taoist. His job is to clean the temple, organize books and documents, and so on. This job is not easy; initially, dozens of people competed for this position, though not as fiercely as the thousands who compete for government jobs, it still shows the employment pressure.

However, the salary might be a factor. A three-month job with nearly 10,000 yuan in income attracts many young people who do not want long-term work. In the end, the Taoists chose Wang Cheng from among a dozen high school students, which made him very excited. The 10,000 yuan would be enough for his and his sister's expenses for the next semester.

Early in the morning, Wang Cheng carried a bucket of water and a large broom to the square in front of the temple to clean. This is one of his daily tasks. Cleaning the square takes at least an hour, and he also needs to wipe the bronze tripod, which takes up most of the morning. In the afternoon, he goes to the library in the back to clean and organize documents.

For two months, Wang Cheng has been doing this.

After quickly sweeping the square and watering it, Wang Cheng used a ladder to climb up to the tripod to wipe off the dust. This is the trademark of the Zangding Temple and the most famous cultural relic in Jiangzhou. According to appraisals, it is at least a huge bronze artifact from the Warring States period, listed in the national treasure catalog. Less than 500 meters from the temple, there is a police station that operates 24/7, specifically to guard this bronze tripod, with people constantly watching it.

Wang Cheng's cleaning process is also monitored. The water is specially delivered for wiping the tripod.

In addition to Wang Cheng, a few other Taoists help clean. After all, the tripod is quite large, nearly ten meters high, with nine bronze pillars, each about 50 centimeters in diameter, standing in nine directions. The pillars are about five meters high, each carved with a dragon. The tripod on top has a diameter of about eight to nine meters, with intricate patterns, including images of people and animals, all very fierce and rough, typical of the ancient style. There are also some ancient pictographic characters, describing mountains, forests, and winds.

Not far away, a few police officers patrol the mountain, a daily task of the police station.

"Little Chengzi, go inside and wipe it."

Changxu, a Taoist who has worked at the Zangding Temple for ten years, stood below and said to Wang Cheng. He is the supervisor and the cultural relic custodian of the Zangding Temple, a civil servant in the national system. These days, Taoists and monks are also considered golden bowls.

Wearing a Taoist robe, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a headband, Changxu has a certain demeanor and is well-known in the southern cultural circle, so he usually maintains a high posture and does not interact with ordinary people.

Wang Cheng agreed and climbed into the tripod. For two months, he has been trying to clean inside the tripod himself every day because there are some things inside that interest him.

According to research, this tripod has been confirmed to be from before the Warring States period, possibly from the Shang or Zhou dynasties. The exact age cannot be determined because there are no clear marks to prove which period it is from.

Wang Cheng's greatest hobbies are martial arts and ancient culture. He could say that martial arts are his greatest interest, and ancient culture is something he studies to better understand martial arts. After all, many ancient texts are written in a vague manner, and without some knowledge of ancient culture, it is hard to understand, even the characters.

He came to work at the Zangding Temple during the summer not only for the 10,000 yuan salary but also because the martial arts of the Zangding Temple are quite famous, and he wanted to learn.

Inside the tripod, there are many ancient pictographic characters, corresponding to the nine dragon-carved pillars below. There are nine large characters: Heaven, Earth, Man, Wind, Rain, Mountain, Marsh, Qi, and Fire. Around each large character are dense small characters and images of people or animals.

Because of their age, no one can fully recognize these characters, but archaeologists have made several copies.

Wang Cheng is naturally not as capable as those archaeologists, but he instinctively feels that the text inside the tripod must have some secret. So, he carefully observes and memorizes it every day, looking for answers online or in the documents at the Zangding Temple. So far, he has not found any answers.

Following Changxu's instructions, he carefully cleaned the inside of the tripod. When he wiped the middle part, he noticed a semi-circular protrusion about 50 centimeters in diameter, carved with a fierce beast's head. He quickly wiped it, and suddenly, it seemed to move, with its eyes blinking.

Startled, Wang Cheng paused and looked closely. The beast's head was still quietly on the semi-circular protrusion, not moving at all.

Did he see it wrong?

He looked again, but there was nothing unusual, just as before. Wang Cheng attributed it to the fact that he had practiced boxing too late the previous night and had not slept well. He quickly continued to clean the other areas.

However, at this moment, a group of guests arrived at the Zangding Temple.

"Changxu, I am Liu Qing from the Liuhe Boxing Hall. I have come to your temple to seek some martial arts experience. May I ask if Changhe can come out to teach me?"

A familiar and powerful voice echoed.

Wang Cheng was startled again and muttered, "Why is Master Liu here?"

He turned to look, but his foot slipped on a bronze indentation inside the tripod, and he stumbled, hitting his head directly on the semi-circular protrusion in the middle. There was a dull thud, like the sound of a bell in a Shaolin temple, and the entire tripod shook.

Changxu and the others below were shocked and shouted, "Go up and see what happened." He turned to Liu Qing and said, "Master Liu, if you want to seek martial arts experience, you can directly find my senior brother." Then, he climbed up the tripod himself to check.

He saw the young Taoist Wang Cheng with a gash on his head, bleeding profusely, staining the bronze semi-circular protrusion red.

"Quick, take him to the hospital."

Changxu called out urgently.

The Taoists quickly lifted Wang Cheng, carefully placed him down, and rushed him to the hospital.

Changxu stayed on the tripod, using Wang Cheng's cleaning cloth to wipe the semi-circular protrusion, cleaning off the blood. He was stunned.

"Where did the carving of the beast's head go?"

Changxu stared at the smooth, mirror-like surface of the bronze semi-circular protrusion, his eyes wide open.

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