Chapter 307 - 245: Meeting

Yuan Tianhao of Beidou. Who in the Divine Land—or even the entire world—didn’t know that name?

As the saying goes, scholars have no first, and warriors have no second. For him to be acknowledged by the four hundred million people of the Divine Land as its number one, to be ranked first among the Eight Kings, and to be the nominal leader of the Divine Land today—how could his reputation be unearned?

Ever since he was reincarnated into this world, Zhao Xuanqi had been greatly interested in this man. However, his Martial Dao had yet to return to the peak of his previous life, so he had never met him.

Yet now, the man had sought him out, and under such sensitive and tense circumstances.

’Even if I were to open my Five Dragon Extreme Acupoints, I’d probably be no match for him.’

"The situation in the north is so tense right now. For him, the Grand Marshal of the Divine Land and the Stabilizing Needle of the Beidou Army, to secretly leave the capital at such risk is truly strange. I wonder what his purpose is,"

Li Ping said in a low voice.

"How much do you all know about him?"

Zhao Xuanqi asked.

"To be fair, the man truly possesses transcendent talent and grand ambition. He is a titan of the Martial Dao, a hero of a chaotic age, and has the air of Emperor Wu of Wei about him. Even looking at the entire history of the Divine Land, he is a first-rate figure. It’s just that our paths are different, so we cannot work together,"

Yang Xun said gravely, seemingly lost in memories of the past.

"His achievements shook the world. If not for him, the Qian Dynasty would not have fallen so easily, and the Divine Land would not be in its current state. The threat of the Great Powers would likely be several times worse than it is now. But at the same time, he is a great thief who stole the heavens. He outwardly supported reform, but in reality, he schemed to seize absolute power and swallow the world for himself. If he hadn’t interfered back then, the Thirteen Roads that gathered in Shangjing would have long since formed a United Council, and the Divine Land today would be a very different picture."

"But setting all that aside and speaking only of the Martial Dao, he has truly reached the pinnacle of the Harmony realm and can glimpse the secrets of a Divine General. In the eyes of the Great Powers, he is the greatest threat in the Divine Land,"

Li Ping added.

Despite their differing stances, it was still clear from Li Ping’s and Yang Xun’s words that they held the man in extremely high regard.

"Yuan Tianhao was born into a family of officials; the Yuan Family had served as officials in the Daqian for three generations. And Yuan Tianhao himself was exceptionally talented from a young age. At twelve, before he had even begun training in the martial arts, he could stop a galloping horse with his bare hands. He reached the peak of Cross-Training at fourteen and began Inner Cultivation at sixteen. At eighteen, he reached the Realm of Five Qi and Profound Understanding, and at twenty-three, he achieved Five Qi Chaoyuan, becoming a Half-Step Harmony. He then went to Goryeo with the army. Seven years later, at the age of thirty, he attained the Harmony realm and took charge in Goryeo. He successively foiled invasion plans by the Neon People and the Saint Sha Empire, protecting the Divine Land’s borders and earning brilliant military honors."

"At the age of thirty-five, he was ordered back to the country. He championed policies of reform and advocated for the creation of a new army. He was later tasked with training this new army in Jinmen, partly as a show of force to deter the Great Powers. You could say the foundation of the Divine Land’s various armies today largely stems from that initiative. The three of us were in Jinmen at the time, preparing to form the Martial Arts Association, and that is how we came to know him. We had frequent contact in those days. However, the Daqian’s training of new soldiers was met with fear by the Six Nations, who sent masters to assassinate him. We stepped in during that crisis to help him survive. It was because of that connection that the Martial Arts Association was later able to establish a foothold and grow in Jinmen."

"Afterward, the conflict between the two sides intensified. Not content with their existing gains, the Six Nations jointly launched a second coalition war, intending to completely occupy Jinmen and use it to threaten the Divine Land’s heartland, forcing the Daqian to make further concessions. At that time, Yuan Tianhao led his new army to meet the enemy in a bloody battle for Jinmen. With his supreme strength, Yuan Tianhao himself charged into the enemy ranks single-handedly, cutting down over a hundred masters who used Secret Medicine and delaying the Six Nations’ advance."

"However, the Qianting was weak and feared the might of the Six Nations. Despite holding a slight advantage, they chose to sue for peace, signing the Thirteen Articles of Jinmen. This forced Yuan Tianhao’s new army to withdraw from Jinmen. Later, the court used a pretext to relieve him of his command, which caused Yuan Tianhao to grow disloyal. Soon after, Ma Tao and Li Ke began spreading their theories of reform. With the people’s hearts turning, Yuan Tianhao seized the momentum. With a single call to arms, he initiated the Divine Martial Gate Incident, forcing Emperor Xuan to abdicate and bringing about the fall of the Daqian."

"From our interactions with him, he does indeed possess great ambition and a desire to rejuvenate the Divine Land. However, what he ultimately reveres most is the idea of a nation strengthened by the Martial Dao. He believes the Divine Land has been weakened for too long and that all power must be concentrated in one person to maneuver freely and reshape the world. Only with a Divine General presiding over the age can the might of Emperor Qin and Emperor Han be restored."

"Ten years ago, his Martial Dao had already reached the Ghost God Realm. He defeated all the other titans in Shangjing one after another, and only then was he acclaimed as the supreme master under heaven. Who knows what realm he has reached by now,"

the Heavenly Elder said slowly, giving Zhao Xuanqi a much deeper understanding of the man, Yuan Tianhao.

’This was truly a man who could be called a world-conquering hegemon,’ Zhao Xuanqi thought. ’As the current Grand Marshal of the Divine Land, he is, in effect, its nominal ruler.’

"What do you three think? What is Yuan Tianhao’s purpose in coercing Zhao into a meeting at such a critical time? Could it be that he’s wary of Zhao’s potential and wants to eliminate him to prevent future trouble?"

Zhao Yuan, who had been listening from the side, also spoke up and asked.

"Not necessarily. Yuan Tianhao is a man with the ambition to rule the world, and he has always cherished true masters. He probably believes that if these experts served him, they would be instrumental in his quest to unify the world and rejuvenate the Divine Land. If he can become a Divine General, all the masters in the world will submit to him. Since he established his supremacy in Shangjing, there have been no reports of him personally acting to kill any master from the Divine Land, let alone at a critical time like this,"

the Earth Elder replied.

"That’s because no one else was qualified to threaten him. But Zhao Xuanqi is different. The strength and potential he has displayed are enough to threaten Yuan Tianhao’s position in the future."