Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

The three major Buddhist sects are now arrogant and corrupt, and are essentially the same as the likes of Faling. They use their blood and energy to help themselves break through their bottlenecks, achieving two goals at once.

With this in mind, Chen Zhan no longer hesitated, and focused his mind once again on his body to carefully examine his own condition.

An invisible panel quietly appeared in his mind:

[Subject: Chen Zhan]

Age: 40

[World: Northern Song Dynasty]

[Destiny: Heart and Soul Forging (Green), Vitality Like a Tiger (Purple)]

Lifespan: Several hundred years

[Ability: Qi and Blood Martial Arts!]

[Talents: Devouring Fate, Iron Bones, Self-Healing, Refining Spirit, Burning Blood]

[Luck: 100000 points (Can alter fate, can traverse realms - optional!)]

"Wearable World - Selectable!"

Chen Zhan's gaze was fixed on that line of words, and his mind trembled slightly.

He had only known that luck could change one's fate, but he never imagined that with enough luck, one could freely choose to cross realms.

However, he was in no hurry to try, because it was possible that once he tried, it would be irreversible and he would have to leave immediately.

The Song Dynasty is currently at its zenith, and its campaign to suppress Buddhism has not yet begun, with many matters yet to be resolved. It is absolutely unacceptable to leave rashly.

It's not too late to try crossing boundaries once everything has settled down.

Composing himself, Chen Zhan shifted his gaze to the phrase "can change one's fate," having already made up his mind.

With a thought, the luck value in his sea of ​​consciousness began to rapidly dissipate, like flowing water.

At the same time, his blood and qi surged violently within his body, and the divine tiger of blood and qi in his dantian became lifelike, roaring silently within his dantian. The tiger's roar reverberated through his meridians, and his blood and qi surged wildly throughout his body, as if it wanted to break free from the shackles of his dantian.

Each time Chen Zhan altered his destiny, he could clearly feel the change in the quality of his life.

When I first started altering my destiny, I didn't understand what that thing surging within my body—neither blood nor qi, formless and intangible, yet capable of nourishing my body and elevating my state of mind—was.

Now that his martial arts skills have improved daily and his mind is clear, he has already sensed the difference in the unseen world.

It is a leap in the quality of life, a transformation from the mundane to the extraordinary. Each change makes his foundation more solid and his mind more enlightened.

As time passed, the luck value in his sea of ​​consciousness continued to decrease rapidly, while the fluctuations of qi and blood in his body gradually stabilized and ceased to be violent.

A moment later, the luck value completely stopped decreasing.

Chen Zhan slowly composed himself, his gaze once again sinking into his sea of ​​consciousness to examine the state after his fate had been altered:
[Subject: Chen Zhan]

Age: 40

[World: Northern Song Dynasty]

[Destiny: Difficult to discern (Metal), Vital Energy (Dragon and Tiger, Purple)]

Lifespan: Several hundred years

[Ability: Qi and Blood Martial Arts!]

[Talents: Devouring Fate to Forge Life, Iron Bones, Self-Healing, Refining Spirit, Burning Blood, Unfathomable!]

[Luck: 50000 points (Can travel between realms - optional!)]

"Ok?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Chen Zhan's eyes, then he fell into deep thought.

The golden destiny, the word "unfathomable," is concise yet powerful. Coupled with the newly added talent "immeasurable," he instantly understood its meaning.

Difficult to discern, immeasurable.

This means that from now on, no matter which world they are in, no matter how high their martial arts skills or how strong their magic, even those who are divinely gifted and can foresee the secrets of heaven, will not be able to see their fate, measure their cultivation level, or predict their whereabouts.

He was like a hidden dragon shrouded in mist; no one knew his depths, and no one could control his trajectory.

At the same time, the Qi and Blood Divine Tiger within the Dantian also underwent earth-shattering changes.

The once crimson and powerful divine tiger was now surrounded by a faint golden dragon phantom.

Dragon and Tiger in Harmony!

Its aura grew ever more imposing, but the divine tiger's size had shrunk by more than half, and its eyes showed a clear sign of mental exhaustion.

Clearly, this upgrade consumed a large amount of its vital energy.

Changing one's destiny does not forcibly infuse one's blood and energy or elevate one's realm. To break through the bottleneck of the Divine Tiger of Blood and Energy and to completely stabilize the phenomenon of the dragon and tiger in harmony, one still needs to rely on one's own hard work and the accumulation of blood and energy over time. It cannot be achieved overnight.

He stopped thinking about it, sat cross-legged again, closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began to focus on sorting out his own martial arts.

At the mountaintop, snowflakes continued to fall, the cold wind continued to howl, the sun and moon alternated, and the stars shifted.

Time passed quietly, unnoticed by anyone.

In the blink of an eye, half a year has passed.

Chen Zhan remained in seclusion on the mountaintop, oblivious to everything happening outside.

Meanwhile, the Song Dynasty in the outside world had undergone earth-shattering changes.

The once-renowned assassin organization, Twenty-Four Towers.

After Bai Lu returned to Kaifeng, the Twenty-Four Towers quietly disappeared and ceased all public activities. The stronghold that once symbolized the power of the Twenty-Four Towers on Zhuque Street in Kaifeng was quietly demolished, and the ground was smooth as new, as if the building had never existed.

All the masters of the Twenty-Four Towers also concealed their whereabouts and secretly went to Zhongnan Mountain in batches, completely going into hiding.

Over the course of six months, good news kept pouring in from the border.

Four months ago, the various Tibetan tribes, under General Liu's relentless pursuit, were driven to the brink of despair and were no longer able to resist.

They formally submitted a letter of surrender to the Song Dynasty, willingly considering themselves a vassal state, calling themselves subjects of the Song Dynasty, paying huge annual tributes to the Song Dynasty, sending envoys to the court to pay homage, and promising never to rebel.

Meanwhile, the remaining forces within the Western Xia territory were completely wiped out. The Western Xia ruler, Li Bingchang, was found by Dragon God Guard spies in the Western Regions and killed on the spot.

The Western Xia, a state that had confronted the Song Dynasty for decades, was completely destroyed, and its territory was entirely incorporated into the Song Dynasty, becoming part of the Song Dynasty.

Seeing this, the Liao Dynasty was filled with fear and dared not provoke again. It led its remaining forces back to Liaodong to lick its wounds and strengthen its defenses.

They dared not set foot on the border of the Song Dynasty, only hoping to preserve their own place.

Three months ago, the Song Dynasty officially entered the year 1087 AD.

The young emperor Zhao Xu had grown into a twelve-year-old boy, his mind becoming more mature as he watched the Song Dynasty's territory expand and its national strength grow stronger, and the people live in peace and prosperity.

Zhao Xu did two things.

First, move the capital!

The relocation of the capital was not too unexpected, but what was unexpected was that Zhao Xu wanted to move the capital to Yanjing!
This Yanjing was formerly the land of Yan and Yun, and was under the jurisdiction of the Liao Dynasty. It was also called Nanjing Xijin Prefecture. This decision was met with opposition from some people.

Yanjing is too close to the Liao Dynasty, practically at the border of the country. If the Liao Dynasty were to attack, Yanjing would be the first to be hit.

But these dissenting voices didn't cause much of a stir, and the matter was settled once Zhao Qingtan spoke.

The current political situation in the Song Dynasty is not complicated. Zhao Qingtan's lineage holds absolute power. All the civil and military officials were reinstated under her strong recommendation and played a crucial role in the conquest of the world.

This situation of one entity having absolute power would normally be something the emperor would be wary of.

However, Zhao Qingtan also has the identity of a member of the imperial family. According to seniority, she is Zhao Xu's grandmother. Moreover, she is a woman, unmarried, and childless.

Not to mention Zhao Xu's lack of apprehension, no civil or military official could find a single fault with him.

Therefore, moving the capital was a logical step.

Meanwhile, the second thing was to change the era name.

There is little controversy about this.

Given Zhao Xu's achievements during his tenure, changing the reign title would not be an exaggeration.

Zhao Xu did not go too far, but simply issued an edict to change the reign title to "Taichang".

Tai means harmony between heaven and earth and a unified territory; Chang means a long-lasting dynasty and a prosperous people.

This reign title commemorates the Song Dynasty's recovery of Yan and Yun, its sweeping victory over Western Xia, and its deterrence of Tibet. It also expresses the Song Dynasty's hope for a prosperous and peaceful future.

After the reign title was changed to Taichang, the Song Dynasty entered an unprecedented period of prosperity. Whether it was the imperial court, commerce, or the lives of ordinary people, everything was thriving and peaceful.

In terms of trade, the Song Dynasty opened up the Hexi Corridor, and the Western Xia and Tubo were completely destroyed. Dali became a friendly neighbor and brother state of the Song Dynasty. In addition, with the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the territory of the Song Dynasty more than doubled, with a vast territory and convenient transportation in all directions.

The Song Dynasty was a major trading nation, renowned throughout the world for its silk, porcelain, tea, and other products.

Now that trade routes to the Western Regions have been opened up, jade, spices, and fine horses from the Western Regions are being transported in a steady stream to major cities such as Kaifeng and Hangzhou via post roads.

The silk, porcelain, and tea of ​​the Song Dynasty were exported to the Western Regions, Southeast Asia, and even further afield.

Compared to the prosperity of commerce, the world of martial arts presents a completely different picture.

The Buddhist community is unique and extremely arrogant.

Putuo Temple, which once stood opposite Shaolin Temple to the north and even surpassed it at one point, has completely disappeared with the destruction of Faling Temple.

The influence of Buddhism, though seemingly weakened, has actually become more concentrated and prosperous.

Today, Buddhism is led by the Shaolin, Guangyuan Temple, and Huayan sects, which echo each other and are vigorously developing their own power.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, temples were built extensively, and disciples and monks were accepted without exception.

In order to rapidly expand their power, the three sects broke with past rules and recruited a large number of unordained outer disciples. As long as the disciples could pay enough grain fields and silver, they could cultivate the temple's profound martial arts and even receive guidance from the temple's eminent monks.

Buddhism is inherently easy to spread, emphasizing compassion and universal salvation.

Furthermore, the areas conquered by the Song Dynasty, such as Yanyun, Western Xia, and Tubo, already had a strong foundation in Buddhism, and most of the people there believed in Buddhism. This further fueled the spread of the three major schools of Buddhism.

In just six months, the number of disciples in the three major Buddhist sects surged by tens of thousands, occupying half of the martial arts world and wielding immense power that no one could match.

Traditional sects such as the Beggars' Sect, Emei Sect, Huashan Sect, and Qingcheng Sect gradually declined under the oppression of the three major Buddhist sects. They could only rely on others to keep their sects running and could not make any significant impact.

Although the Beggars' Sect was determined to rebel, it was hampered by the absence of its leader, Qiao Feng, and the passing of Wang Jiantong, resulting in a large number of disciples but a lack of skilled fighters.

In addition, due to the deliberate suppression by the three major Buddhist sects, they could only shrink their power and stick to the Jiangnan area, not daring to easily confront the three major Buddhist sects.

What puzzled people in the martial arts world was that the Dragon God Guards never intervened.

Back when the Song Dynasty had not yet reached its peak, the Dragon God Guard monitored the entire country and exerted great control over the martial arts world. Commander Zhao Qingtan held considerable power.

Zhao Qingtan's current position is not even close to being second only to one person or above ten thousand others.

Zhao Xu's grandson was completely obedient to his orders.

Under his control, the power of the Divine Dragon Guard expanded to the point that no one in the entire court dared to defy him.

Even so, the Divine Dragon Guard did not interfere with the expansion of Buddhism at all.

Two months ago, a sect called Huangting Shengjiao was quietly established on Zhongnan Mountain.

There were no celebrations or ceremonies, no invitations to various martial arts factions to attend, and only a handful of people were present, making it an extremely low-key affair.

However, if martial arts practitioners or court officials were to see the person present, they would be utterly astonished.

Those present were all once renowned masters, including the remaining elites of the Twenty-Four Towers and top masters of the Dragon God Guard.

Even more shockingly, Zhao Qingtan, the Grand Minister of State of the Song Dynasty and the most powerful minister of the empire, who held immense power and commanded a large army, also attended the event in person. He sat at the very front of the side, looking respectful, just like an ordinary disciple.

However, Chen Zhan was in seclusion on the mountaintop at the moment and did not appear. The group did not exchange many pleasantries, but simply met briefly and discussed some basic matters concerning the establishment of the sect.

Afterwards, Zhao Qingtan left behind several tokens symbolizing the privileges of the Huangting Holy Sect, as well as a secret imperial edict.

The imperial edict clearly stated: "The entire Zhongnan Mountain area shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the Huangting Holy Sect. No one from the imperial court or the martial arts world shall interfere with the internal affairs of the Holy Sect."

He then hurriedly left and returned to Kaifeng to continue handling matters concerning the court and the border.

After returning to Kaifeng, Zhao Qingtan did not stop working.

After stabilizing the court and arranging domestic affairs, she once again took command of the army, leading the Song Dynasty's army step by step towards Liaodong, launching a full-scale attack on the Liao Dynasty.

The Song army was in high spirits and well-equipped. The Liao army, already weakened, was unable to withstand the Song army's fierce attack and suffered repeated defeats, losing cities one after another. Many territories were incorporated into the Song army's territory.

The Khitan, Jurchen, Tangut, and other tribes that had once been subordinate to the Liao Dynasty were greatly alarmed upon seeing this.

They sent envoys to the Song army camp to present their surrender documents, willingly accepting a subordinate status and paying large annual tributes, cattle, sheep and horses to the Song Dynasty. They swore never to rebel, only asking the Song Dynasty to spare them and preserve their tribes.

Thus, the territory of the Song Dynasty expanded once again, and its national strength reached its peak.

Its might shook the surrounding regions, and all the neighboring countries and tribes submitted to it, with no one daring to challenge the might of the Song Dynasty again.

Through the changing seasons, a full year has passed since Chen Zhan went into seclusion on Zhongnan Mountain.

The summit of Zhongnan Mountain remains covered in snow, and the cold wind howls.

On the boulder, Chen Zhan sat cross-legged, his posture upright, like an immortal sculpture.

His aura was more composed and powerful than a year ago, and his vital energy was restrained and not exposed, as if he were one with heaven and earth.

Within the dantian, the extraordinary phenomenon of the dragon and tiger in harmony has been stabilized, and the once listless Qi and blood tiger has regained its vigor.

The golden dragon phantom around the divine tiger became increasingly clear, with the dragon and tiger roaring and their blood surging.

His figure flashed.

Chen Zhan disappeared from the spot.

At the foot of Mount Song.

Located in the Central Plains, not far from Kaifeng, Mount Song was originally subject to some restrictions imposed by the capital. However, more than half a year ago, the Song Dynasty moved its capital, and Shaolin Temple was completely freed from these constraints in the Central Plains.

It developed unchecked, reaching its zenith. (End of Chapter)