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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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[It had been well over a thousand years since the Central Plains were unified into one.
This meant it had been over a thousand years since the supreme martial arts and formidable imperial army of the successive emperors established their iron-fisted rule over this land. It was also more than enough time for the descendants of the heroes who had risen up for the people suffering in decline to become intoxicated by power and strength, degenerating into the very corruption they had fought against.
The founding emperor’s aspirations for establishing a new empire to counter the tyranny of the Qin ruler had already been thoroughly defiled by the blood of the people and the repulsive greed and sweat of the privileged class, to the point of being unrecognizable.
The absolute emperor who brooked no dissent and the imperial army slavishly following his will had, over this long period, drained countless lives and become a monstrous sight that could not be stomached. The unobstructed roads laid and cities expanded under the mighty imperial authority glittered magnificently at night as if pulling down the stars from the heavens. But the foul puddles around those towering edifices were slick with the viscous blood, tears and flayed flesh of the starving masses.
It may have seemed only natural for the countless martial artists, warriors, hired swords and those with conviction to take up arms against such conditions, having grown up on the legends of the dynasty’s founding hero.
Yet of the myriad such rebels, none succeeded in overthrowing the emperor and his armies.
Perhaps this too was only natural. Those in the imperial martial arts institutes, with the full backing of the state to hone their transcendent skills, not to mention the emperor himself raised as the strongest among them – for such opponents trained alone or in small numbers in the old martial arts tucked away in the mountains, defeating them would be no easy feat.
Even if powerless citizens raised a million-strong force, ten thousand imperial troops needed only swing their blades ten times each to cut them all down. Eventually, the martial arts schools of the Central Plains existed solely to produce future imperial warriors pleasing to the emperor’s eyes.
In the end, the myriad people of the empire were exploited by merchants with great capital and greedy corrupt officials, unable to own even a small plot of their own land or a room in their lifetime from birth to their shallow graves. They merely served as small cogs fueling the bellies of those seated above.
And so in those despairing days that seemed the very depths of hell, one day, a new land was discovered.
It was a vast expanse reached after sailing eastward for scores of days on huge junks across the endless ocean. Sprawling plains and forests, towering mountains and deep ravines, indifferent wastelands and majestic rivers flowing – it was an immense landmass. What’s more, it had flora, fauna and supernatural beings not too dissimilar from those of the Central Plains, as well as people not much different either.
When the exploration party first brought back samples of the new continent’s life and indiginous peoples, slightly different from the empire’s citizens, as well as gold, silver and other rarities, the newly-enthroned emperor at the time seemed utterly indifferent according to eyewitness accounts.
This impassive reaction perhaps befitted the iron-blooded emperor of an empire going stronger with each passing millennium after a thousand years of reign.
However, his apathy did not reflect his true intentions, as the explorers were soon bestowed generous rewards and new ships, along with orders to establish stable sea routes between the new continent and empire.
With the emperor’s full backing – a mere amusement from his perspective – the expeditions quickly completed charts and sea routes. And through these routes and on massive ships, myriad imperial citizens began crossing the ocean.
The indigenous tribes on the new continent numbered in the hundreds, neither farming extensively. Thus, there was no shortage of unoccupied lands, which to the new settlers offered the sole opportunity to finally escape the clutches of cruel officials and cold-blooded patriarchs to acquire their own property.
Over decades, tens and hundreds of millions made the ocean crossing, the emperor not only allowing it but even establishing an imperial shipping company to compete against private merchant vessels in ferrying people over. He even issued an edict granting ownership to any who tilled the new lands themselves.
In this author’s estimation, the emperor likely expected the exodus of even tens of millions from the empire’s billions to be no issue, perhaps even inwardly grateful to have subjects develop new farmlands without expending imperial resources.
And in decades’ time, whether late in his reign or his son’s, once the lands matured, he undoubtedly intended to simply send his cruel imperial armies to seize it all.
However, even this iron-blooded emperor and his forces failed to foresee one thing:
That it was not only the powerless masses crossing the ocean.
Evading the imperial eye, martial artists painfully keeping their traditions alive, hermits awaiting their chance in the deep mountains, remnants of fallen dynasties, and those hiding their power under the emperor’s reign – dreaming of a new kingdom and world, they too set sail across the seas.
Of course, not only the aspiring journeyed across.
From the cities’ underbellies came criminals escaping justice, opportunists seeking fortune on the new continent, and insane evil cultivators of sinister arts – all manner of wicked and selfish sorts made the crossing as well.
At the time, the literati worried all those gathered in one place would be like water poured into boiling oil – explosive, a catastrophe of mass death.
But it was an unfounded fear. In this author’s view, there were various reasons, but chiefest was how immense the new continent was compared to how few people occupied it at first.
…Surveying the current state, I know many literati are producing writings as numerous as themselves on the subject. Among them, I wish to add my own meager perspective:
That the emperor’s designs to conquer these lands are doomed to fail.
In antiquity, the policy of “humaneness rejected” forbade teaching martial arts to those unrelated by blood. Thus, in the Warring States period and under the Qin tyranny, it was largely wandering martial artists who rose up.
But after the founding emperor defeated the Qin and its ruler, establishing the current empire was far from what those martial artists had envisioned. Under its might and surveillance, they could only survive underground, furtively passing on their arts.
Here, however, was different – far from that same empire, emperor, and imperial armies.
This place overflowing with martial artists, villains, and cultivators both virtuous and sinister – I dare say, it is a return to the ancient martial realm of a millennium past.
Countless creeds and aspirations, selfishness and greed, the martial arts of all under heaven – each will strive to impose their will through force. The sparks and sweat from their clashes will be the lifeblood of the new martial realm, growing tough and resilient, contrary to the emperor’s expectations.
Free of imperial suppression, the martial artists’ struggle for their respective beliefs will rekindle the lost spirit of yore.
And so the rekindled flame of the martial realm after a thousand years cannot be easily extinguished by the emperor’s might across the ocean…]
The book’s remaining text was too soaked in blood to make out.
“What era is this story from?”
The crouching man flipped through the book aimlessly a couple times before tossing it to the ground. It landed on the gaping wound of a body lying face-up, the remaining intact portions slowly soaking in blood thanks to the large slice across the chest.
“And this ‘romance’ business, my friend – true romance is lounging on a cozy bed munching snacks while reading martial arts fiction. The very reason that so-called human nation lasted over a thousand years was precisely because of that ‘martial realm’ and ‘martial arts’ – why seek romance there of all places?”
After chiding the dead man, the living one scrunched his mouth in a thin line, turning his head toward the harsh reddish sunset stinging his eyes.
Over the lengthy horizon of the vast plains, the descending sun cast its last rays for the day. Light wisps of clouds stretched overhead, clearly divided into sunlit and shaded portions displaying a vivid contrast.
The same held true for the scattered corpses around the man as well.
Some eight men and women, elderly and otherwise, were strewn about haphazardly with gaping wounds, a broken wagon with one wheel knocked off lying canted nearby. Its disordered contents and lack of horse carcass suggested it had been robbed.
The disheveled man gazed at the rapidly cooling bodies with his lopsided pupils before slowly rising. His gaze fell upon the messy piles of clothing scattered about the wagon, rummaging through them though ultimately finding nothing of use. A few child-sized garments remained, suggesting the bandits had likely abducted any young ones to raise as fellow criminals or sell cheaply.
“…What a pity.”
Muttering to himself, the man spat lightly before putting on the battered hat in his left hand and letting out a short whistle. His horse jojo came ambling over, and after adjusting the sword at his hip, the man nimbly mounted with a tap of his boot heel to its flanks.
jojo understood the signal and set off at a trot, kicking up dust as horse and rider left the grim scene bathed in the setting sun’s ruddy light.
It was a late afternoon on the new continent.
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