Chapter 478: Spreading Martial Arts

After bidding Jiang He farewell, Wang Hou flew off to Jingdu City.

He was still a little blank when he arrived.

What he had seen today was just like a dream.

And he felt as it this world seemed to be feeling potent hostility toward him!

F*ck!

He had diligently trained and introspected Martial Dao every single day, and yet that did not hold up against Jiang He’s half a day’s worth of cultivation?

Sigh!

He exhaled lengthily.

Beside him, Secretary Zhou could not help asking, “What’s wrong, Minister Wang?”

Wang Hou smiled bitterly and said, “It’s frustrating to compare yourself with others. I’ve cultivated for 110 years to gain my current accomplishments, and was quite gleeful about it. However, when I compare myself to Jiang He…”

Secretary Zhou was dumbstruck.

Though the resources of the Martial Arts Department (MAD) were increasing and his authority was sufficient for him to take those resources at will, Wang Hou usually did not care much and left most MAD issues to Secretary Zhou’s concern. That was why the secretary did not have much time to cultivate, leaving him stagnated at divine-tier after he had ascended.

In fact, being Divine-Tempest was thanks to him basking at the light that Wang Hou had released when he drew upon Earth’s Fortune Qi for Martial Dao.

He looked at Wang Hou with slight grief and muttered, “Minister Wang, you’re going to get mobbed if those Golden Immortals who remain at the same level after cultivating for thousands of years hear this.”

Don’t you have any idea how things are with you?

Cultivating for 110 years…

He had counted in the accelerated time he spent in the Star Map as well, did he not?

That said, your 110 years caught up to the 11,000 years of cultivation others had, and you’re still complaining?

As for Jiang He…

Secretary Zhou smiled. “Let’s not compare ourselves to Jiang He, Minister Wang. He cannot be judged according to common sense, and his talent…”

Finding that description not quite right, Secretary Zhou changed his tone and rambled, “His circumstances are exactly identical to those overpowered protagonists’ depicted in novels.”

“This is reality and not a novel. What, does Jiang He have the Midas touch or something?”

Wang Hou could not help laughing.

Being a man of the modern age, would he not have read some novels?

Waving off Secretary Zhou and killing the thought, he said seriously, “Contact every divine-tier martial artist for a meeting here at the MAD.”

“Moreover, we will be implanting an encrypted broadcast of this meeting, and every martial artist above rank-seven would be allowed to attend this meeting.”

“In addition, military elites and various MAD elites stationed elsewhere, hence unable to leave their post to attend this meeting, can take part online as well.”

There was a twitch in Secretary Zhou’s expression then.

Such a major move… something major must be going on.

Nonetheless, he did not ask about the reason and quickly left Wang Hou’s office instead. Finding his own assistant, he said, “Get some people to decorate the conference room with you. A vital meeting will be held later.”

Having issued his instructions, he headed straight to Intelligence and said, “Everyone, stop what you’re doing for the moment and contact every martial artist across the country ranging from rank-seven to rank-nine, and inform them to take part in an online conference punctually… Oh, and contact the Awakened of equivalent ranks too.”

“Section Chief Li, Xiao Wang, Xiao Zhou, Xiao Liu—all of you are with me. Contact every divine-tier elite.”

Secretary Zhou was swift and decisive in his work, never once dragging his feet.

The intelligence department could basically contact most martial artist of rank-seven to rank-nine, along with various Awakened and divine-tier elites. As for those they could not reach, Secretary Zhou himself had most of their contact details.

Soon, streaks of powerful auras tore through the air as they flew toward Jingdu City.

Elder Lin.

Dong Haichuan, founding master of the Eight Trigrams School.

Yang Luchan of the Taiji School.

The patriarch of the Guo-clan who had ascended to Zero-Void just recently, and even elites from the Five Holy Grounds of Martial Arts rushed to the scene.

By evening, most martial artists above divine-tier arrived at the Jingdu City MAD.

Within the vast conference room, Wang Hou took the main seat while Secretary Zhou sat nearby, saying, “Minister Wang, aside from elites guarding critical areas and unable to leave, as well as elites training overseas remaining out of reach, every elite above rank-nine within Hua Nation borders have arrived.”

Wang Hou nodded.

The many martial artists in the conference room appeared puzzled as to why Wang Hou would gather everyone, however. Despite appearing to be sitting silently, they were actually chatting endlessly via secret acoustics.

There were also those who asked questions in their confusion.

Wang Hou slowly stood up then.

The air in the room seemed to change right then, and even the acoustics conversation stopped. Every martial artist and Awakened were looking at Wang Hou with worship and a fiery gaze in their eyes.

Wang Hou was a legend and an idol in the hearts of Hua Nation martial artists.

They were respectful and reverent even if some of them were divine-tier or Void-tier.

Looking around him, Wang Hou’s somber look suddenly changed to a smile. He then announced, “It has been more than eleven years since the Revival of Qi, and it has been a difficult journey for our nation since the start. In fact, it is thanks to everyone working as one that we have now ridded our country of the plague of Ferals.”

Back then, the Hua Nation did not have any martial elites.

In fact, just a year ago, there were not many divine-tier elites across the nation, even counting in the secluded clans, sects, and the Five Holy Grounds of Martial Arts, for there were less than forty of them no matter how they tried to bloat the numbers.

Now, however, the MAD itself had over fifty divine-tier martial artists and over a thousand martial grandmasters.

The military’s martial elites were just a little fewer in number than the MAD, but they still have over forty divine-tier elites.

Moreover, there were over twenty divine-tier civilian martial artists and over a thousand martial grandmasters. Along with the secluded clans, sects, and the Five Holy Grounds of Martial Arts, the Hua Nation now had over two hundred people who had reached divine-tier and above, while grandmasters reach up to five thousand people.

And this number was still increasing.

This had to do with Jiang He’s rise and his pacifying of the Feral threat, as well as his defeat of the Sky Demon legion, the legion of the Hundred Races alliance, along with donation of substantial resources to the country.

Of course, the chief reason was Wang Hou’s establishment of Martial Dao so that Earth’s Fortune Qi linked to martial arts. His activation of the Twelve Bronze Men residing at the pulse of the planet restored Dao to the world, hence starting the Second Revival of Qi.

After some motivating and courteous preamble, Wang Hou’s tone changed and suddenly became solemn as he spoke solemnly, “Every martial artist may have cultivated immortal arts recently as well, but you would likewise notice that now, cultivating immortal arts on Earth is harder than training in martial arts.”

“It was less than two thousand years since martial arts was founded.”

“Though I have developed my martial arts up to a level that could match Golden Immortals… that is how far martial arts could go at the time!”

“But now, things are different!”

“After days of introspection and enlightenment behind closed doors, Mister Jiang He had created a new martial arts cultivation method and system which surpasses those shackles. If successfully cultivated, it is not impossible for us to become martial elites who would be a match against Grand Luo, Demi-Saints, and even Saints!”

Today is the dawn of a new era for martial arts.

Wang Hou then demonstrated the first five tiers of Martial Scripture to the other martial elites.

On the next day, he called for a press conference to announce the technique for cultivating the first four tiers of Martial Scripture, even abolishing the previous assessment system for martial artists…

Right now, one could only be considered a real martial artist after reaching the third level of Postnatal tier.

As for the cultivation technique beyond the fourth tier of Martial Scripture…

That could be obtained with merit points redemption.

The world was shocked.

The cultivators were stunned!

They began to ask around, and once they learned that Jiang He was the one who had created the Martial Scripture and had reached the twelfth-tier himself, and was a match for Golden Immortals…

They knew that the rise of martial arts was now unstoppable.

Starting today, immortal arts were fated to fall on the homeworld…

Hence, the major immortal sects remaining on Earth began to discuss the possibility of moving their sect.

After all, Wang Hou and Jiang He were not letting them spread their teachings even if they stayed on the planet…

***

Time flew, and it was now summertime, the first of June.

Jiang He, having goofed off for a long time, was living carefreely through that period. Right now, he was sunbathing on the beach in his farm, while nearby, Boa Hancock, Sora, Hu Mei, his willow tree and the Seven Fairy Maidens were all playing beach volleyball, dressed in bikinis…

Tut, tut.

He lifted his shades and glanced over there, and could not help clicking his tongue in wonder…

Truly…

What a bust!

Still, he became pensive after exclaiming in awe.

For some recently, he felt as if his quality of sleep was declining again.

He could hardly doze off even at night, and would have to play around with his maids until four or five in the morning before he could fall asleep… and woke up around two or three in the afternoon. After lunch, he would fail once more if he tried to take a nap.

“Oh!”

Jiang He sat up and looked out into the distance.

He had found the reason why his sleep quality was falling apart…

“The Yuan Killer Sword, the Nether River Patriarch… and the Green Hill Foxes…”

“I must be worried that they would come for revenge, which is why I became anxious, subconsciously degrading my sleep…”

As for the real reason… who cares!

Either way, being both a full-fledged Grand Luo cultivator and a Grotto-Heaven martial artist, Jiang He believed that his own physique was incredible, and was as stalwart as it was robust.

And since he was healthy, his insufficient sleep had to be a psychological problem.

After thinking for a long while, Jiang He muttered, “Should I take the time to visit the celestial battlefield, then look for the Nether River Patriarch and the Green Hill Foxes to make things clear?”