Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

Inside the imperial city of Lin'an.

The commander of the imperial guards knelt on the ground. He was a Grandmaster, a powerful figure in the martial arts world.

At this moment, he knelt in front of the palace gate, his forehead touching the ground, his whole body trembling like a leaf.

Beside him, dozens of imperial guards lay sprawled on the ground, their swords and weapons scattered about.

Before the Golden Palace, officials prostrated themselves.

The official's hat rolled to the ground, and no one dared to pick it up.

The general's armor clanged loudly, and no one could stand firmly.

The eunuchs and palace maids knelt down, their foreheads touching the ground, not daring to lift their heads.

Emperor Huizong of the Southern Song Dynasty sat slumped on the dragon throne.

He looked up and saw the enormous human face covering Lin'an through the skylight of the Golden Palace.

The face was so handsome and so enormous that for a moment he felt it was an illusion, a nightmare.

The Emperor's lips trembled; he wanted to speak, but couldn't utter a single word.

Deep within the imperial city, in a secluded Taoist temple.

An elderly Taoist priest with white hair stood with his hands behind his back.

Huang Shang.

A scholar who once achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, he comprehended the Daoist principles by organizing Daoist classics and became a grandmaster who reached the highest realm of martial arts by compiling the Daoist canon.

He was the true pillar of the Southern Song Dynasty and the last source of strength for the Southern Song imperial family in the face of the martial arts world.

His cultivation level was comparable to Zhang Sanfeng's.

But at this moment, Huang Shang looked up at the sky, his face as pale as paper.

His fingers trembled slightly inside his sleeve.

"Such internal strength?"

Huang Chang muttered to himself. As one of the few grandmasters in this world, he noticed the giant face in the sky that was made entirely of internal energy.

But his next words carried a deep sense of powerlessness and bewilderment.

"Is this person... an immortal? A demon? Or a visitor from beyond this world?"

His gaze passed through the eaves of the Taoist temple and landed on the corner of the mouth of that huge human face.

The face wore a smile, a lazy, nonchalant smile, like someone extremely bored who wanted to see a good show.

Grandmasters live for five hundred years, and Huang Chang has lived for nearly three hundred years, having seen countless masters in the martial arts world.

He thought he had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, that he stood at the summit of this world. But at this moment, the face in the sky shattered all his preconceived notions.

Huang Shang closed his eyes, then opened them again.

He strode out of the Taoist temple.

Above the sky, Shen Jue's enormous face finally spoke.

"Lin'an City".

The sound came from the giant face that covered dozens of miles.

The voice was like the heavens themselves speaking; every word vibrated the air, the earth, and the heart of everyone in Lin'an City.

"Your true emperor has returned."

The martial artists in the city trembled violently.

The real emperor?

This self-proclaimed authority...this imposing presence...is this person aiming to seize the world?

"ha!"

"That's Brother Shen Jue!" shouted a young martial artist from the Sun Moon Sect who had received his skills from Shen Jue at the Blackwood Cliff and had arrived in Lin'an.

"Brother Shen Jue has arrived in Lin'an; he must be determined to single-handedly defeat the entire martial arts world! And the imperial court, too!"

The young martial artist, who was at the top level, was moved to tears.

"If Brother Shen Jue does something like this, then no one will go hungry, right?"

In the Golden Palace, Emperor Huizong, Zhao Ji, who was slumped on the dragon throne, finally regained his voice.

He asked in a trembling voice, "Who...who is this?"

No one could answer.

Only the giant face in the sky continued to speak, its voice echoing in every corner of Lin'an City.

"Ten days later, outside Lin'an City."

"A Gathering of Heroes from All Over the World"

"I, Shen Jue, will become the number one martial artist in the world and unify the martial arts world."

"Whether it's the Southern Song imperial power or the military men of various countries, I don't care what you think or what you do."

The smile on that face deepened.

"I'm just informing you."

Within the imperial city, Huang Shang remained silent for a moment before striding towards the Golden Palace.

With each step he took, his expression grew more serious.

He stopped in front of the Golden Palace. He glanced back at the giant face in the sky, his white beard trembling slightly.

Then he pushed open the palace door and went inside.

When Zhao Ji saw Huang Shang, it was like a drowning man seeing a piece of driftwood.

"Master Huang...who...who exactly is this person?"

Huang Shang nodded slightly, his face grave, and said, "Your Majesty."

"I do not know who this person is, but I do know one thing."

"This person's martial arts skills have reached an unimaginable level."

"Whatever he wants to do, why not just go along with him for now and see what he does?"

For a moment, Zhao Ji was lost in thought. The emperor's authority seemed as insignificant as an ant under Shen Jue's terrifying power.

The carriage remained suspended high in the air.

Shen Jue withdrew his inner force, and the giant human face covering Lin'an City in the sky slowly dissipated.

The pure white light receded like the tide, and sunlight shone down again.

Lin'an City regained its color, but it could not restore its former order.

Some people remained kneeling on the spot, unable to get up for a long time.

Shen Jue sat back in the carriage and lowered the curtain.

"Old Taoist priest, it's all taken care of. Now we don't need to notify everyone one by one."

Zhang Sanfeng opened his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

"Your move has likely alerted even the spies from the surrounding countries."

"That's even better." Shen Jue leaned against the carriage wall, closed his eyes, "It saves me the trouble of introducing myself when I go to their door."

"Now that I'm back in Lin'an, I can finally see why I'm being hunted down by these Southern Song court officials from the Imperial City Guard."

"It can't be that my Shen family is guilty of possessing a treasure, or that we're hiding some divine martial arts manual or a supreme martial arts artifact, can we?"

The carriage began to descend slowly.

Outside the car, Lin'an City was getting closer and closer.

As the carriage passed through the gates of Lin'an, the guards at the gates were still kneeling on the ground, trembling, and no one dared to look up at the carriage suspended in mid-air.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs with a dull rumble, and ordinary people had already retreated into their houses, only daring to peek out through the cracks in the windows.

The carriage drove straight to the imperial city.

All the shops on both sides of the Imperial Street were closed. Occasionally, a vendor who hadn't had time to pack up would drop off his goods and run away, leaving the fruit in his baskets scattered all over the ground, untouched by anyone.

The main gate of the imperial city was wide open.

Most of the guards inside and outside the gate had already fled, leaving only a few slumped against the wall, their faces ashen.

Shen Jue lifted the carriage curtain and glanced inside. A slight smile appeared on his lips. The carriage did not slow down at all and drove straight past the palace gate, heading towards the Golden Palace.

In the square in front of the palace, the officials remained kneeling in place.

Upon hearing the sound of the carriage, someone couldn't help but look up, then hurriedly lowered their head again.

The carriage stopped in front of the Golden Palace.

Shen Jue jumped out of the car, stretched his neck, and looked up at the majestic Golden Palace.

With its yellow tiles, vermilion pillars, flying eaves, and bracket sets, it truly exudes the aura of an emperor.

He smiled, and walked forward shirtless.

The palace gates were tightly closed.

Emperor Huizong of Tang had just sat up from his throne when he heard footsteps outside. He trembled and instinctively shrank back into the throne.

The officials lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to move. The only sounds in the hall were Zhao Ji's rapid breathing and the rustling of his robes.

Shen Jue walked to the palace gate and extended his right hand.

He placed his palm on the palace door, then gently lifted it upwards.

Boom!

The entire roof of the Golden Palace was blown off.

Yellow tiles scattered like rain in all directions, and the loud crash of breaking sandalwood beams and pillars shook the entire imperial city.

The vermilion gate, along with its frame, was ripped off, flew backward, and crashed into the square, raising a cloud of dust.

The sunlight shone into the Golden Palace without any obstruction.

Emperor Huizong of Song sat on the dragon throne, looking up at the sky.

With the roof gone, he could see the clouds drifting by and feel the coolness of the wind on his face.

But he froze, his pale face contorted with emotion, his lips moving but unable to utter a single word.

Shen Jue stepped over the threshold and walked to the dragon throne.

He lowered his head and looked at the Southern Song emperor who was slumped on the dragon throne.

Zhao Ji finally managed to regain a voice, and said in a trembling voice, "You... what do you want to do?"

"I am the Son of Heaven...I..."

Shen Jue smiled.

"I, I, I, dog-footed I."

"The emperor's throne rotates, and today it's my turn."

He bent down, reached out and grabbed Zhao Ji by the back of his collar, lifting the Daoist emperor from the dragon throne as if he were a frightened chick.

Emperor Huizong lifted his feet off the ground and kicked wildly a few times, causing the jade belt on his dragon robe to come loose and dangle down.

Shen Jue turned around, picked up Zhao Ji, and walked out of the palace gate.

Upon seeing this, one of the officials outside the hall finally couldn't help but call out "Your Majesty," but the sound caught in his throat as Shen Jue turned around and glanced at him.

There was no murderous intent in that glance, just a casual look, yet it sent a chill down the man's spine, his forehead slamming heavily to the ground, and he dared not lift it again.

Shen Jue walked up the stone steps in front of the hall and loosened his right hand.

Emperor Huizong fell onto the stone steps, rolled twice down the steps, his crown tassels scattered on the ground, and his hair fell loose.

He tried to sit up, but Shen Jue gently nudged him with her foot, causing him to flip over again, lying face up on the bottom step of the stone steps.

His dragon robe was covered in dust, and his usually dignified and solemn face was now blank and helpless. His lips trembled, but he could not say anything.

"You think you're worthy to be emperor?" Shen Jue stood at the top of the stone steps, looking down at him.

"Martial arts skills are only first-rate, but the means of maintaining balance are truly ingenious."

"But the Zhao royal family's story ends here today."

"There will be no more royalty, from this day forward."

"Only I, Shen Jue, remain as emperor."

Emperor Huizong of Song did not answer, or rather, he could not answer.

Huang Shang came out and saw the emperor collapsed on the stone steps. His white eyebrows trembled slightly.

He didn't move, he just stood there quietly, his fingers slowly closing inside his sleeve.

Unable to defeat him, the closer Huang Shang got to Shen Jue, the more he could sense the fundamental difference in their lives.

If he were to make a move here today, even if Lin'an were destroyed, he wouldn't be able to harm Shen Jue in the slightest.

The carriage stopped at the edge of the square. Zhang Sanfeng lifted the curtain, glanced at the messy Golden Palace, then at the disheveled Zhao Ji on the stone steps, and shook his head after a moment of silence.

"Benefactor Shen, isn't this a bit too much noise?"

Shen Jue turned around and grinned at Zhang Sanfeng.

"Is it big? I haven't even used much force yet."

He turned around and looked at the white-haired figure at the entrance of the Taoist temple in the distance.

Huang Shang was also looking at him.

The two faced each other across the entire square.

Shen Jue's smile deepened slightly.

"Old Taoist priest, is that Huang Shang you mentioned to me?"

Zhang Sanfeng lowered the carriage curtain and said calmly, "Yes, benefactor, Huang Shang's martial arts are no less than my own."

"There might still be skilled individuals within the Southern Song imperial family."

Shen Jue waved his hand and strode towards Huang Shang.

"Who knows, there might still be some old eunuchs who have practiced martial arts for hundreds of years still alive."

"The fact that these old eunuchs didn't jump out shows that they also know that jumping out would only be a pointless death for them."

"I'm going to gather my underlings, give them a boost, and get the existing administrative system to cooperate with me in holding this heroes' gathering."

When Huang Shang saw Shen Jue approaching, he was about to greet him with clasped hands as a martial artist, but Shen Jue flicked his finger, and the message "Breathing Technique 2.0" entered Huang Shang's mind.

Upon receiving this message, Huang Shang, the highly respected Grand Master of the Southern Song Dynasty, exclaimed, "Ah?"

Meanwhile, in a street in Lin'an City, five people were heading towards the imperial city.

These five martial artists were inconspicuous and unremarkable among the many experts heading to the imperial city.

But they all share a common identity.

Shen Jue was teaching his skills to the peasant disciples at the top of Blackwood Cliff of the Sun Moon Sect.

In the silence of their running, there was something almost fanatical about the five people.

That was the mental will that was forcibly distorted after practicing the "Breathing Technique 2.0" and being optimized and modified by Shen Jue!

What Shen Jue means to them is hard for outsiders to understand.

That night atop Blackwood Cliff, when Shen Jue infused that cultivation technique into their bodies, enabling them to rise from the lowest level of tenant farmers to the first-class realm.

The young man stood on the cliff top, the wind blowing his disheveled hair, and Shen Jue said something to them.

"Martial arts are not something lofty and unattainable."

"If you train well, you won't be bullied."

"I won't let others be bullied either."

"That's also chivalry."

"It's the simplest and purest form of justice."

Those hundreds of men and women may have had different thoughts before.

However, after practicing the "Breathing Technique 2.0", their minds and thinking were forcibly distorted by this technique.

These people idolized Shen Jue and regarded him as the highest example of justice and chivalry.

When the five men rushed to the gates of the imperial city, the gates were wide open and the ground was in a mess.

The guards at the gate had already fled, leaving only a few eunuchs slumped on the ground, still trembling.

These young martial artists didn't stop; they crossed the threshold and rushed into the square.

Then they saw it.

The Golden Palace has lost its roof, and the dragon throne is exposed to the light of day.

Emperor Huizong of Tang, Zhao Ji, lay slumped at the bottom of the stone steps, his dragon robe covered in dust.

Shen Jue was standing in the center of the square, shirtless, and waved to the five of them.

"You're here?"

All five people stopped at the same time.

They looked at Shen Jue, at the figure standing amidst the ruins of the imperial city.

The afternoon sun fell on Shen Jue's shoulder.

"Brother Shen Jue!"

"So you really are rebelling!"

"Brother Shen Jue! We can't wait to go and save all those suffering in this world!"

"Great! I'm so excited I could raise a flag!"

"Brother Shen Jue! Please lead us in a fierce battle against those bad guys!"

"To witness Brother Shen Jue rebel and become emperor with my own eyes!"

"Even if I die, it'll be worth the price of admission!"

Shen Jue laughed heartily, and Liu Da and Liu Er jumped out of the carriage at that moment.

The five people were stunned at first, then overjoyed.

"Wow!"

"It's the Liu brothers, Da Liu and Er Liu!"

"When did Brother Shen Jue find them?!"

"It is said that Liu Da is both fierce and cunning! Liu Er is both cunning and fierce!"

"The two brothers' sense of justice is among the best in our society!"

Hearing this praise, Liu Da and Liu Er laughed proudly and quickly walked over to the five martial artists.

In just a short while, the group began to utter all sorts of strange verbal tics and noises.

Those are very distinctive verbal tics like "quack!", "ya!", and "hee!"

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the square changed abruptly.

Shen Jue, however, thought it was pretty good.

After all, he added a lot of good stuff to "Breathing Techniques 2.0".

It naturally contains the mindset and will of many powerful magnetic field beings from the classic Hong Kong comic "Sea Tiger".

He, Shen Jue, is determined to turn this martial arts world upside down!