Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

The morning light shines on the blue bricks, casting a shadow.

When Hong Lang arrived at the martial arts school, many disciples were already there, half of whom were new faces, each with eyes full of enthusiasm.

His master's wife and Tanya stood in the shadows, practicing with the Mountain and River Halberd. He stepped forward, greeted them, and then began his own training.

As darkness fell, Hong Lang finished his practice and walked out of the martial arts hall, when a shout came from behind him.

"Brother Hong!"

Hong Lang turned around and saw a familiar figure—Xia Ping, the second-in-command of the Chang Le Gang.

"My guild leader specifically instructed me to wait for you, saying that thanks to the monster meat you sent, he has broken through to the minor stage of Blood Refinement and would like to invite you to have a simple meal today to catch up."

Hong Lang nodded slightly: "Since Chief Cao is so kind as to refuse, I will go with Brother Xia."

The two arrived at a private room in the gambling den, where Cao Jin was already sitting at the table waiting for them.

"Brother Hong, you've finally arrived! Please have a seat!" Cao Jin immediately stood up to greet him. "Thanks to the monster meat you sent me the other day, I was able to break through!"

Hong Lang knew in his heart that this was just an excuse Cao Jin had come up with. He figured that even without the monster meat, Cao Jin would still break through.

Cao Jin poured Hong Lang a full bowl of wine, then poured one for himself, raising his bowl and saying, "Come on, Brother Hong, let me toast you!"

Hong Lang raised his bowl in response, the strong liquor went down his throat, and a warm feeling spread through his body.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the atmosphere at the table became lively.

Upon learning that Hong Lang had broken through to the Great Perfection of the Blood Refining Realm, Cao Jin put down his wine bowl and slowly said, "Brother Hong, you've reached the Great Perfection of the Blood Refining Realm at such a young age. What are your plans for the future?"

"In the future?" Hong Lang was completely confused. "Why did Chief Cao bring this up? We haven't made any plans yet."

Cao Jin smiled, picked up a piece of meat and chewed it: "Brother Hong, you haven't been in the martial arts path for long, so you may not understand the intricacies of it yet. It seems that there are countless paths for martial artists in the world, but in reality, there are only two paths to take."

You either join a sect or a family and use their resources to break through your cultivation level, or you enter the government and rely on the imperial court for support.

If they choose neither path, reaching the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm is the limit; then all the advanced cultivation techniques and high-level resources will be in their hands.

Hong Lang poured Cao Jin a bowl of wine, gesturing for him to continue.

He had only been in this world for a short time and knew nothing about its operating rules.

Seeing this, Cao Jin started talking, slowly recounting the details of this world while drinking.

Hong Lang listened quietly, nodding occasionally, and gleaned a lot of useful information.

This world is vastly different from the ancient world of his previous life.

In this world where individual strength is paramount, the level of a martial artist's skill directly influences the格局 (geju, a term encompassing overall situation, dynamics, and overall dynamics) of a region.

Therefore, the entire world revolves around martial artists and resources.

Currently, the highest-ranking cultivator within the Great Chu Kingdom is Emperor Tian Ce Wu Sheng, under whose rule there are eighteen military governors.

Each military governor governs several prefectures, each prefecture governs several circuits, each circuit governs several prefectures, each prefecture governs several counties, and each county governs several counties.

The administrative system of the Great Chu Kingdom consisted of prefectures, circuits, counties, commanderies, and counties.

Cao Jin took a sip of wine and continued, "The county magistrate, though only a minor official, is essentially a local emperor. The appointment of officials is entirely up to the magistrate, and every year he only needs to pay resources and taxes to his superiors, and no one interferes with his jurisdiction."

"Are there any rules for the allocation of resources?" Hong Lang asked curiously.

Cao Jin replied, "There are rules, of course. The county keeps 20%, and 80% is handed over to the prefect. The prefect then hands over 80% to the governor. This process is repeated layer by layer until the military governor hands over 80% to the emperor, which then belongs to the Heavenly Strategy Martial Saint."

Apart from that, no matter what happens in the county on ordinary days, the higher authorities will not easily intervene. Only when there are disturbances such as evil spirits causing trouble or monsters disturbing the people will they send people down to deal with it.

Hong Lang understood. So this is how powerful the counties in this world are, they are practically states within a state!

Cao Jin suddenly looked out the window, his tone somewhat worried: "Brother Hong, don't be fooled by the fact that Hengjiang County has been peaceful and quiet these past few years without any war. I predict that within a year, war will inevitably break out again!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Lang immediately became interested and asked curiously, "Brother Cao, what makes you say that?"

"There are only so many resources in the world, but there are more and more martial artists. Everyone wants to break through their realm and needs resources to sustain them. If this continues, resources will inevitably become scarce, and people will inevitably fight for resources." Cao Jin was already a little drunk.

"The Heavenly Strategy Martial Saint sat in the palace, deliberately letting the various military governors fight each other, letting the warriors of the world kill each other incessantly, in order to reduce the number of warriors. In any case, no matter who seized the territory, they dared not pay less resources, and they still had to pay what they were supposed to pay."

Moreover, this would allow the power of the military governors to be balanced among themselves, preventing any one power from becoming too dominant.

Cao Jin continued, "What the superiors do, the subordinates will follow. Since the superiors do it this way, the subordinates will naturally follow suit. Those military governors have also relaxed their management of the prefectures, circuits, counties, and districts under their jurisdiction."

No matter how the fighting goes on below, or who occupies which territory, they don't care at all. They only care whether you can pay your taxes and resources on time every year.

As long as you pay enough taxes, they'll turn a blind eye even if you conquer a neighboring county. But if you threaten their position, you'll face swift and decisive action.

At this point, Cao Jin's expression became even more solemn: "I have received reliable information that there has been a lot of activity in the neighboring Longxiang County recently. The county magistrate, Mo Wentian, has broken through to the Qi Gathering Realm and has ambitions to become the prefect."

A martial artist at the Qi Gathering Realm has their body strengthened by true qi, making them impervious to blades and spears, and no one in the mortal world can stop them.

Our prefect of Tianmu County, Fan Qingya, is quite wary of him and will likely devise a countermeasure soon.

Hong Lang took a sip of wine, his heart sinking slightly. The original owner was just a lowly woodcutter, and he had no memory of these things.

Cao Jin's words opened a new world for him. If a war broke out, what could he do with his Blood Refining Realm cultivation?

After a moment of contemplation, Hong Lang asked, "Isn't there anyone who rebels against this system? Is the emperor and the military governors allowed to act as they please?"

Cao Jin shook his head with a wry smile: "Resist? Not only the emperor, but even those twenty-eight military governors are all Martial Saint level experts, capable of killing ordinary martial artists with a single breath."

Moreover, every military governor is backed by a powerful sect. If you dare to rebel today, your head will be hanging on the city wall tomorrow.

Cao Jin poured Hong Lang another bowl of wine and whispered, "Brother Hong, you're so young yet you've already reached the Great Perfection of the Blood Refining Realm. There's a great chance you'll reach the Qi Gathering Realm in the future. You should start planning ahead!"

Hong Lang nodded, but he couldn't help but wonder how Cao Jin knew all this.

Cao Jin noticed his confusion and explained, "I've had a lot of dealings with people in the county government, and I learned all these secrets from them."

That's it!

The two opened another jar of wine and drank until late at night before Hong Lang got up to bid farewell to Cao Jin.

Walking back to the village, Hong Lang felt a little heavy-hearted.

The Yellow Heaven Sect, the current emperor, the Martial Saint of Heavenly Strategy, Fan Qingya, the prefect of Tianmu County, Mo Wentian, the magistrate of Longxiang County, war... these words swirled in his mind.

"Strength... we still need to improve our strength as soon as possible! If war comes, let alone protecting others, even protecting ourselves will be difficult!"