In the afternoon, Lin Zhao stepped onto the Fusu Great Wall. The moment he stood on the battlements, he felt an immense pressure on his shoulders. The dense martial arts aura was beneficial for martial artists’ cultivation; it was a divine favor. However, the denser the martial arts aura, the stronger its positive suppression on martial artists. To cultivate continuously on the Fusu Great Wall, one had to constantly endure this suppression.
Moreover, the wind was filled with chaotic sword intent. Sword cultivators reveled in it, but martial artists and spiritual cultivators found it less agreeable.
…
Lin Zhao stood still in a stance on a section of ruined crenellations, clad in a green robe and carrying a long sword. His fist intent flowed around him. However, in this Fusu Great Wall, a sixth-realm martial artist like him was not much to speak of. The man he passed earlier, who was cracking melon seeds, was a Sea-Crossing realm martial artist. The woman who flew past on her sword across the battlements, wearing a small skirt, was an eleventh-realm True Return realm sword cultivator, a true sword immortal!
Within the Fusu Great Wall, a place where dragons and tigers hid, such sword immortals and martial artists of the upper five realms were numerous and uncountable.
"Oh?"
As Lin Zhao was practicing his punches, an old man lying on the crenellations and sipping wine nearby looked over and chuckled, "Young friend, practicing your punches?"
"Yes!"
Lin Zhao nodded.
"Want some wine?" The old man shook his wine gourd.
"No, thank you…"
Lin Zhao cupped his fists. "Many thanks, senior!"
"So polite…"
The old man squinted at the young man and chuckled, "Your name is Lin Zhao, from the Snow Region Heavenly Pool, a descendant of the Great Chen Dynasty?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao nodded. A thought struck him, and he walked up to the old man. "May I ask your name, senior?"
"People in the city call me Old Dragon Head."
"Then… Senior Old Dragon Head?"
"That works too."
Old Dragon Head smiled slightly. "Your boxing technique is quite interesting. What is its origin? Who is your master?"
"Farmer's Three Punches."
Lin Zhao felt a bit awkward. "The name is very ordinary, but the technique is profound? You can see that, senior?"
"Profound or not, what's the use of boasting to yourself?"
"Senior."
Lin Zhao pursed his lips. "May I ask you a question?"
"Ask."
"Why do the people within the Fusu Great Wall… seem to reject descendants of the Great Chen Dynasty? Why?" Lin Zhao frowned. "I don't quite understand."
"Simple."
Old Dragon Head pointed at the ground below and chuckled. "Do you know what kind of people inhabit this Fusu Great Wall?"
"I heard they are criminals, refugees, and their descendants," Lin Zhao replied.
"Precisely."
Old Dragon Head nodded. "Furthermore, they are the criminals and refugees of the defeated Great Xia Dynasty. When the founding emperor of Great Shang, Emperor Bai, unified the entire territory, he made a promise. All those of the Xia race who were willing to surrender would be allowed into the passes and granted land and seeds. Those unwilling to surrender would never be allowed to leave the Fusu Great Wall in their lifetime. Therefore… the people on this Fusu Great Wall are all members of the Xia race who refused to surrender!"
Lin Zhao was stunned. He turned to look north, and his heart stirred with emotion!
The Xia race.
The heroic spirits of millions of soldiers guarded the vast land for thousands of miles, and their descendants who refused to surrender all guarded the Fusu Great Wall!
In that case, did the Great Shang truly win the war against the Xia race?
At this moment, Lin Zhao felt it was difficult to say.
Old Dragon Head seemed to perceive the young man's wavering thoughts and chuckled, "So, the people within this Fusu Great Wall are all descendants of the Xia race, and they all deeply resent Great Shang. As for why they despise the Great Chen Dynasty…"
"Why?" Lin Zhao asked.
Old Dragon Head smiled. "Back then, Great Shang marched north, joining forces with the demon and devil races to attack the last of Xia's military might. At that time, the last pillar of the Xia race, Duke Xing Chu, personally visited the Great Chen Dynasty, which was holding firm in the northern territory. However, he still couldn't persuade the royal family of the Great Chen Dynasty to agree to dispatch troops south to reinforce the Xia race. Therefore, the Xia race was utterly disappointed with the Great Chen Dynasty, a vassal state. Everyone believed that the Great Chen Dynasty had lost its righteousness and the hearts of the people. Thus, although your Great Chen Dynasty was the last to be conquered by Great Shang, it was still looked down upon by everyone. Moreover, in the end… the twenty thousand armors of the Great Chen Dynasty surrendered to Great Shang without a fight, and were incorporated into the current twenty thousand armors of Yanzhou. A complete disgrace!"
"I understand now."
Lin Zhao frowned. "No wonder they were so indignant."
"You're not wrong, actually," Old Dragon Head grinned. "Cultivate well on the Fusu Great Wall, and don't stir up trouble. People from the Great Chen Dynasty are not welcome to make a name for themselves here."
"Yes, thank you for the reminder, senior."
…
Lin Zhao continued to practice his punches and swordplay. In the evening, he took a stroll through the market within the Fusu Great Wall and replenished some golden, silver, and azure talismans. The consumption of writing soldier talismans was too great, and these needed frequent replenishment. Afterward, except for time spent sleeping and eating, he spent all his time on the battlements honing his fist intent and sword intent. In the Sword Cultivation Lake, the "Bright Moon" seemed to become sharper and sharper. In a place like the Fusu Great Wall, the "Bright Moon" was like a fish in water, growing at an astonishing rate!
Several days later, Lin Zhao began to get used to life on the Fusu Great Wall.
One day, Lin Zhao was warming his fist intent on the battlements when several young people from the city walked over, their faces full of youthful immaturity. Among them, a young man in purple frowned and said, "Lin Zhao, you're a descendant of the Great Chen Dynasty?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao nodded.
"Then you should immediately get out of the Fusu Great Wall!"
The young man said with hatred in his eyes, "People of the Great Chen Dynasty are spineless bastards! What qualifications do they have to cultivate on the Fusu Great Wall? Do you all agree?"
A group of young men nodded in unison. Among them, a young girl frowned and said, "Lin Zhao, if you're smart, you should get out of the Fusu Great Wall. A remnant of the Great Chen Dynasty, what right do you have to absorb the fortune of our Xia race's Fusu Great Wall?"
Lin Zhao turned to look at them. "Is the Fusu Great Wall yours, the Xia race? I've never heard of that. Even if we take a step back, the Great Chen Dynasty was a vassal of the Xia Dynasty back then. I am also of the Xia race, so why should I be kicked out?"
The young man in purple retorted angrily, "Because you are not qualified to be here!"
"Why am I not qualified?"
Lin Zhao frowned and raised his fist. "These two fists of mine have also killed demons before, so why am I not qualified? Who made these rules?"
"In short, you are not!"
"It doesn't matter."
Lin Zhao, by himself, assumed a stance for Farmer's Three Punches and chuckled, "Anyway, what you say doesn't count."
"Hmph!"
The group of young men were so choked with anger that they eventually left with resentment.
…
At dusk, Lin Zhao came down from the battlements to eat. He saw a group of youths writing something on the wall below with white ink –
"Lin Zhao, get out of Fusu Great Wall!"
Upon seeing this, Lin Zhao was not angry. He slowly took out his "Thousand Cavalry Rolling Snow," dipped it in red cinnabar, and wrote a line below it –
"If I say I won't leave, I won't leave."
For a time, this young man from the Great Chen Dynasty had become a topic of conversation within the Fusu Great Wall.
…
While a group of young elites from the Fusu Great Wall were discussing Lin Zhao, others were also talking about him.
In a simple, almost shabby inn, several elders carrying wine gourds from the Fusu Great Wall were also conversing.
"What do you think?"
An old man in a gray and white robe smiled faintly. "This Lin Zhao… was sent by Chu Huaixi?"
"Most likely."
The one who replied was Old Dragon Head. He rubbed his brow. "Chu Huaixi really knows how to stir up trouble for our Fusu Great Wall, sending a fifteen-year-old sixth-realm youth to Fusu Great Wall. Is he trying to tell us old fellows that the Great Chen Dynasty has descendants?"
"Hmph, how interesting!"
A middle-aged man in a green robe chuckled. "I think this Lin Zhao might not be able to defeat a few of the top young talents in our Fusu Great Wall, perhaps not even those in the middle ranks. What do you think, Brother Lu?"
The old man in white was "Brother Lu" he mentioned, Lu Xinghe, the son of the last emperor of the Xia race, a thirteenth-realm sword cultivator, and the master of the Fusu Great Wall, a true old sword immortal in people's eyes.
Lu Xinghe narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "What does it have to do with me… If the children want to fuss, let them fuss. I can't be bothered. If you, Han Fang, want to manage it, then manage it, but don't go too far."
Han Fang said, "Be more specific."
"This child Lin Zhao is good. There's no need to target him everywhere. If he wants to temper himself on the Fusu Great Wall, let him. As for our local children of the Fusu Great Wall wanting to spar with him, then spar. It's not that I'm saying…"
The old sword immortal chuckled. "Those few innate sword seeds and innate general seeds in our Fusu Great Wall, who achieved early success and are now young and arrogant, looking down on everyone. If this Lin Zhao can help to dampen their arrogance, it would be a good thing."
"Mm!"
Old Dragon Head also nodded. "Indeed. I've long found those brats Qin Yu and Liu Xilong displeasing!"
…
Night.
Mingyue Tower, the best inn in Fusu Great Wall.
In a private room on the second floor, several young men were drinking and eating, their faces filled with indignation.
Among them, the purple-clad youth frowned and said, "That Lin Zhao kid! He doesn't take our Fusu Great Wall seriously at all, just silently absorbing our Fusu Great Wall's martial arts fortune. Who agreed to let him? A descendant of a Great Chen Dynasty traitor, what qualifications does he have to cultivate on our Fusu Great Wall?"
Beside him, a young man in white chuckled, "So? Do you want to challenge Lin Zhao one-on-one?"
This white-clad youth was none other than the seventh-realm sword cultivator Lin Zhao had seen in the mountains, who had slain two mid-fifth-realm demons. He was Qin Yu, the only innate sword seed of the entire Fusu Great Wall, destined to be a sword immortal from the moment he was born.
The purple-clad youth said indignantly, "Brother Qin Yu, why aren't you angry at all? That Lin Zhao clearly doesn't have you few in his eyes!"
Qin Yu smiled and looked at the burly young man opposite him. "Liu Xilong, what do you say?"
Liu Xilong was the burly young man Lin Zhao had met twice before. He was a seventh-realm martial artist, an innate general seed, hailed as the number one young martial artist on the Fusu Great Wall. His fists possessed innate divine strength, and he rarely found equals.
"What else can I say?"
Liu Xilong chuckled, "Lin Zhao… I might have misjudged him earlier. These past few days, he's been standing on the battlements, his fist intent is dense, and his martial artist's aura is quite solid. This sixth realm is probably very robust. If we really want to spar with him, there's nothing wrong with it. But if we really want to hate Lin Zhao, there's no need."
"Sparring is fine too!"
Qin Yu laughed. "Such a martial artist with a solid foundation at the sixth realm, even I want to meet him. What do you say, Ye Lin?"
Beside him, a young man with much more handsome features than the others, dressed in luxurious clothing, blinked in surprise. "You're calling me?"
"Damn!"
Liu Xilong chuckled. "I'm asking if you want to go find that kid Lin Zhao to compete. He's really not putting us few local young talents in his eyes."
"You want to fight?"
Ye Lin waved his paper fan and chuckled, "I'm one of the three innate seeds of the Fusu Great Wall, the Innate Romantic Seed. I'm good at charming girls. Don't ask me about fighting!"