Ten years of dormancy: Starting as a martial arts master at the pinnacle

When Li Changqing returned to the headquarters of the World Society, he saw Li Changsheng preparing gifts.

"You're back so soon? Did the talks not go well?"

Li Changsheng had too many nobles to visit, and each family had its own taboos.

Therefore, giving gifts to these nobles is undoubtedly a complex matter.

Even with the help of the steward from the Prince of Qin's mansion, Li Changsheng still studied it for a long time before he could produce a preliminary draft.

Seeing Li Changqing return so quickly, Li Changsheng subconsciously wondered if the talks hadn't gone well.

"Two Great Free Spirits, eight Free Spirit Realm cultivators, fifty Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters..."

Upon hearing this list of martial arts masters, Li Changsheng's eyes widened like copper bells.

It was just a hair's breadth away from bursting out.

"How could the Duke of Qi's mansion have so many experts?"

Keep in mind that these were just the people sent to help Li Changqing; the number of powerful figures within their own household and those dispatched throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty was certainly much greater.

Does that mean that the entire Duke of Qi's mansion has dozens of powerful figures at or above the Free and Unfettered Realm?

This was completely beyond Li Changsheng's imagination.

The Beggars' Sect has hundreds of thousands of members, with over a hundred masters at the Grandmaster level, and even seventeen or eighteen Great Grandmasters.

However, they did not have a powerful expert at the Free and Unfettered Realm in charge.

As a result, the entire Beggars' Sect was seen as a second-rate sect by the people of the world.

How could the Duke of Qi's mansion have so many Xiaoyao Realms?

When did the Realm of Freedom become so worthless?

"It must be because of the circle! Having someone to teach you versus not having someone to teach you, having someone to help you versus not having someone to help you—there's a difference! Not to mention, the powerful cultivators in the Qi State Duke's mansion aren't necessarily all direct descendants of the Duke's family; they could very well have been recruited or married into the family."

The Duke of Qi's mansion controls 30 slots in the Great Zhou Armory.

Even Li Changqing only has three spots available right now.

Li Changqing was not surprised that the Duke of Qi's mansion had so many powerful cultivators at the Free and Unfettered Realm.

But it was precisely because of this that he deeply understood that what the Princess Consort of Qin had told him before was not meant to bluff him.

If he doesn't arrange a marriage, the world will never be established. Even the framework that has already been built will slowly crumble.

No matter how strong Li Changqing is, he can't handle so many troubles on his own.

Give the simplest example.

Li Changqing could certainly rely on his strength to dominate the world and intimidate everyone.

But what if a branch of the World Society were suddenly massacred?

After Li Changqing arrived there, his first task was to investigate who had done it.

Whether or not the investigation can be completed is another matter. Even if he does manage to investigate, is the result necessarily correct?

Even if the result was correct, he didn't target the wrong person and executed their entire family.

There will be a second, a third, a fourth, and a fifth time.

Can Li Changqing handle all these troubles on his own until they are completely resolved?

Don't say he can't do it.

Even if Li Changqing could actually do it, he would never do it.

He can't spend all his life doing these things.

Li Changqing is someone who wants to break through the constraints of heaven and earth and reach a higher realm of martial arts.

It's not meant for dealing with these troublesome things.

If Li Changqing really had that kind of thought, he might as well just ascend the throne directly.

His father did not have a 100% chance of winning against the crown prince; he could only say that his chances were relatively high.

But if Li Changqing were to face the Crown Prince, Li Changqing would be certain that the Crown Prince's chances of winning would not exceed one in ten thousand.

Li Changsheng instructed his stewards to prepare gifts and began visiting the nobles one by one.

At first, they all made excuses.

The Realm of Freedom is nothing to the Great Zhou Dynasty, nor to the Duke of Qi's mansion.

But it's different for those noble families; they are their ancestors, important figures who could support the rise and fall of their families.

If they were to suffer losses on the battlefield, their once-powerful noble and aristocratic families might immediately fall into ruin.

No matter what promises Li Changqing makes, they will absolutely not send out a powerful expert at the Free and Unfettered Realm unless the life and death of the Great Zhou is truly threatened.

At most, they would send some grandmasters, as a gesture of respect to the Prince of Qinghe.

This is why Li Changsheng, representing Li Changqing, could not possibly get even a single person to help him from these noble families, unlike any other imperial grandson of the Great Zhou.

Later, upon hearing that the Duke of Qi's mansion was providing strong support, these people finally relented.

Even so, they only managed to gather six people at the Free and Unfettered Realm.

All of them combined don't amount to as much as the Duke of Qi's family.

Instead, it was the carefree Marquis, who was far away in Jiangnan, who sent six experts from the Carefree Realm.

The Nangong family sent four people, plus a Great Free and Unfettered Sword Immortal.

Both the Wang and Cui families sent four representatives.

However, there was no sword immortal at the Great Freedom Realm to hold the fort.

Judging from the attitudes of these families, Li Changqing understood that Princess Qin had probably already given them prior notice.

Li Changqing's previous idea was destined to be nothing more than wishful thinking on his part.

None of these long-established families were fools. They all understood perfectly what the World Society truly meant.

They spared no effort in supporting Li Changqing.

"There are a total of three Great Freedom Realm experts, and a total of thirty-two experts in the Freedom Realm. There are more than three hundred Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters in total."

"How about I go with you? There's too much of a difference in the number of people."

Li Changsheng frowned.

"The World Society needs someone to keep an eye on things. Although some people will help, we can't put all our hopes on others. I'd rather you keep an eye on things, brother."

"As for manpower, don't worry, brother. I'm confident we'll have it..."

Besides the noble families, Li Changqing also sent invitations to all the sects and well-known independent cultivators in the martial arts world.

The first sentence of the post was addressed to "Dear Hero So-and-so".

Li often heard people say that the greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people.

Today, some barbarians from the grasslands, in collusion with traitors from the Jin Kingdom, have led thousands of Grandmasters and hundreds of powerful cultivators at the Free and Unfettered Realm to launch a surprise attack on the border of our Great Zhou.

The Northern Desert City is the gateway to the nation and cannot be lost; now it is on the verge of collapse.

I, Li, humbly request that you all join me in doing our part for the people of our Great Zhou.

We, the martial artists, are welcome to attend this gathering if we possess a chivalrous spirit.

Once the barbarians retreat, the imperial court will reward them.

The Prince of Qinghe promised that the ten righteous men who contributed the most could enter the Great Zhou Armory and study there for three months.

Respectfully presented by Chen Changfeng of the Beggars' Sect.

Golden Dragon Hero Chen Changfeng is undoubtedly the most popular figure in the martial arts world recently.

He leads the Beggars' Clan, the largest gang in the world. Although he became famous late, he is now known to everyone.

His post garnered responses from many martial arts experts.

"Head to Northern Desert City to protect its borders and its people!"

"The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people. Chief Chen has truly spoken the hearts of us martial artists."

……

Li Changqing originally thought that among so many martial artists in the Great Zhou Dynasty, there must be a few who were hot-blooded.

Just gather them together.

But from the messages he received from various places, he clearly sensed something different.

There seem to be a few more martial artists heading towards Northern Desert City than he had anticipated...