Calmheart, the capital of the Jin Dynasty…
Compared with the extravagant capital of the Ling Dynasty, this city lived up to its name. It was a green field surrounded by walls thousands of miles long and wide. There were clear waters everywhere—streams and rivers, springs and ponds, lakes and deep pools. The waters were all lined with bodhi trees that did not catch a speck of dust, whose green leaves were edged with gold. Whenever the breeze blew past, the city was covered with waves of gold and green.
Wooden buildings of no more than three stories were scattered between the waters. There were no streets in the city except for a few main roads used by the army, and all the houses had no walls. Everyone walked freely, and could go anywhere in the city by any path.
Even the imperial palace was like this. The palace, which covered no more than a thousand acres, looked more like a grand temple than an emperor’s residence. It had the tallest building in the city—an eighteen-story pagoda carved out of a single chunk of jade, with numerous precious Buddhist artifacts such as pearls and relics inlaid on its surface, as well as tens of thousands of carvings of Buddhas. The name of the pagoda was ‘Calmheart Pagoda’. Not only was it a very powerful magical artifact of the Buddhist League, but it was also the core of the city’s defense.
The emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Wugou, usually dressed as a monk. He often walked around the city wearing a linen cowl. When men, women, and children saw him, they did not have to kneel or bow, but just put their hands together and chant the Buddha’s name.
In the center of Calmheart was a cluster of antique-looking wooden buildings, the busiest commercial and entertainment district in the city. Although the Jin Dynasty was founded on Buddhism, it did not abandon normal commercial activities. There was only a little less distraction in the minds of the people here than people in other places, and they still had the same emotions and desires that normal people had. In this area, there were at least a hundred high-class brothels, all of which were patronized by the rich. People who were not wealthy enough would never set foot here.
On the third floor of a restaurant called White Lotus, Jing Ke sat at a table, drinking wine and stuffing chunks of fat beef into his mouth. In the span of a single meal, he had drunk thirty jars of wine and eaten fifteen kilograms of beef.
Qin Wuyang sat in a window seat, habitually hiding half of his face behind the window while quietly looking at the pedestrians outside. In his hand he held a small bowl the size of a child’s fist, half full of wine. From time to time, he raised the bowl and smelled the wine, but never drank it.
When Jing Ke’s eyes were red with alcohol, Qin Wuyang finally cried out in a low voice, “Here he comes!”
Jing Ke gently set the jar on the table, then opened his mouth and exhaled a puff of white air, expelling all of the alcohol from his body. After that, he rose to his feet steadily and leaned over the window, looking into the distance.
A nine-feet-tall young man, with a dignified face that was as flawless as the finest jade, dressed in a yellowish linen cowl and a string of lilac-colored beads on his left hand, was coming this way, stepping on the lotus blossoms floating in the pond. The flowers in the pond were sparsely arranged, each separated by at least thirty to fifty feet. And yet, every step of his landed precisely on the next flower. Also, the flowers did not move at all, as if he was weightless. Soon, he arrived in the city’s busiest commercial district.
Many people recognized him, and they saluted him by putting their palms together and saying, “Praise the benevolent Buddha! Good day, Your Majesty!”
Some even simply called him ‘Master Wugou’, as if they did not regard him as the monarch of a kingdom, but an eminent monk.
The young man was none other than Emperor Wugou. With a smile on his face, he returned every salute he had received. A middle-aged woman came up to him, bringing a child. She put her palms together and bowed at him while the child giggled and stared at him. He smiled and nodded, then placed his hand on the child’s head and said, “He feels joy when he sees a Buddha, which means that he has a very high affinity with Buddhism. Congratulations, lady benefactor, your family is blessed!”
The woman was so happy that she grinned from ear to ear, bowing and thanking him constantly. The child bowed at him like an adult as well. Emperor Wugou laughed and thought for a brief moment, then handed the child the string of beads which was an unusual artifact. “It is fate that brings us together. This thing has followed me through three reincarnations. Keep it properly, and come to see me in the imperial palace the day when you can gain enlightenment from it!”
After a few words with the child, Emperor Wugou flicked his sleeves and started toward White Lotus. On his way, a tea vendor offered him a bowl of tea. He quickly took it and downed it with a gulp, then thanked the vendor with a bow and recited a long prayer for him.
Jing Ke smiled coldly while Qin Wuyang whispered, “What a pretentious bald donkey! How does he have time to handle the state affairs when he salutes and prays for every person he meets?”
Jing Ke narrowed his eyes and said, “Too bad we are not here to kill him…Otherwise, I’d really like to see if I can truly kill him. I can’t believe he left the palace on his own, and is so bold as to make contact with strangers. Although he is the reincarnation of the Buddha, I have many ways to kill him and destroy his soul.”
A grim smile came to Qin Wuyang’s face. He slowly stroked the bowl in his hand, and soon the wine turned into white mist and drifted away.
With a cold snort, Jing Ke said faintly, “I’m going to talk to this bald donkey now. Watch my back, Wuyang! If you find something wrong, just throw out the life-saving talisman that kid Wu Qi made and kill this bald donkey!”
Qin Wuyang nodded.
But, before Jing Ke even walked down the stairs, a handsome man wearing a black robe and a black jade crown had walked out of a brothel opposite the restaurant, saluting Emperor Wugou with a bow and speaking gracefully, “Zhang Yi, the envoy of Great Qin, offers greetings, Your Majesty!”
Jing Ke’s face twitched. “Why is this old rascal here too?” he cursed in a low voice. “When it comes to fighting, I alone can beat three of him combined. But when it comes to talking, thirty of you and me combined are no match for him alone! Now we’re in big trouble!”
While smiling, Emperor Wugou put his palms together and bowed at Zhang Yi, then said in a calm voice, “Welcome. Great Qin…Could it be that Great Qin who has captured eight hundred cities and military towns from the Ling Dynasty over the past two years?”
Zhang Yi stroked his beard and smiled. “The Great Qin Your Majesty mention is exactly where Zhang Yi comes from.”
Emperor Wugou squinted at Zhang Yi, then nodded and said, “Your words are full of Zen, Mister Zhang. Apparently, you have a predestined relationship with the Buddhist League!”
That made Zhang Yi laugh. “Your Majesty must be teasing me. I’m nothing but a layman struggling in the mortal world, hustling day and night trying to make some living. I don’t deserve Your Majesty’s praise.” He paused for a brief moment, then went on in a deep voice, “His Majesty Ying Zheng, the emperor of Great Qin, sent me here to discuss something with you.”
“If Mister Zhang have important matters to discuss, you should see me at the palace.”
Zhang Yi sighed and shook his head helplessly. “Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I dare not go there.”
Emperor Wugou burst into laughter. He beckoned to Zhang Yi and sat down on the grass by the side of the road. “You are an honest man, Mister Zhang. Are you afraid of being killed when you visit the palace, given your background and purpose?”
“Your Majesty is wise.”
“Speak frankly, Mister Zhang…What is your purpose for the visit?”
“I am here to discuss with Your Majesty about the future of the Jin Dynasty and Great Qin.”
A faint smile crept up the emperor’s face as a ring of Buddhist light emerged from behind his head, emitting a bright light that blanketed the entire city. Meanwhile, the voices of chanting rang out from everywhere, and tendrils of incense smoke rose in every corner. A moment later, hundreds of Buddhist figures appeared from the Chengxin Tower, and a stream of Buddhist Zen power swept over. Zhang Yi stiffened as the rushing power almost knocked him away.
Emperor Wugou glanced at Zhang Yi and shook his head. “What ability does Great Qin have to influence the future of my kingdom?”
Zhang Yi thought for a brief moment, then bowed to Emperor Wugou and said, “I beg Your Majesty’s pardon…Can I demonstrate what Great Qin can do?”
“Please!” The emperor nodded with a smile as he reached out his right hand and made a gesture.
Without hesitation, Zhang Yi pulled out a spirit talisman. It was made from a leaf plucked from an innate divine tree in Yuan Ling Dark Realm, and drawn with a spell called ‘Three-corpse Thunder’ by Wu Qi using his natal energy. Then, he sent a stream of energy into the talisman and activated it.
A loud rumble exploded in the void, and then countless fireballs, each about a mile in circumference, plunged from the sky like broken charcoals, smashing the city’s defenses. Meanwhile, three thunderbolts—purple, red, and blue— fell from the sky. They were each as thin as a thumb, slamming straight onto Emperor Wugou’s head. A Vajra Wheel had already flown out of the emperor’s forehead, emitting beams of light to protect his body. But, the power of the talisman drawn by Wu Qi with his cultivation base of a Dao Breaking expert was too mighty to resist.
In just the blink of an eye, the thunderbolts blew the wheel into pieces and struck Emperor Wugou. He uttered a miserable cry and was knocked flying more than a hundred feet away with black smoke rising from all over his body. Almost half of his flesh was scorched by the thunderbolts, and he was barely alive because of his strong natal Zen power.
Bright light flickered and swayed around them, and soon countless buddhas and bodhisattvas swarmed over, armored and armed.
Zhang Yi laughed proudly with his hands clasped behind his back, while Emperor Wugou stood up trembling and shouted, “Stop! This man is my guest of honor! Open the state guest house immediately and escort Mister Zhang there so he can have a good rest!”
He coughed out a puff of black smoke and asked, “If I may ask, what is His Majesty Ying Zhang’s plan for the future of Great Qin and the Jin Dynasty?”
Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes and smiled like a fox. “It’s simple. The Jin Dynasty provides the money and resources, and Great Qin sends armies against the Ling Dynasty. This is a plan that will benefit both of us! Of course, as Great Qin has lost too many soldiers, the compensation will be slightly more expensive!”
Then, he laughed smugly.
Calmheart, the capital of the Jin Dynasty…
Compared with the extravagant capital of the Ling Dynasty, this city lived up to its name. It was a green field surrounded by walls thousands of miles long and wide. There were clear waters everywhere—streams and rivers, springs and ponds, lakes and deep pools. The waters were all lined with bodhi trees that did not catch a speck of dust, whose green leaves were edged with gold. Whenever the breeze blew past, the city was covered with waves of gold and green.
Wooden buildings of no more than three stories were scattered between the waters. There were no streets in the city except for a few main roads used by the army, and all the houses had no walls. Everyone walked freely, and could go anywhere in the city by any path.
Even the imperial palace was like this. The palace, which covered no more than a thousand acres, looked more like a grand temple than an emperor’s residence. It had the tallest building in the city—an eighteen-story pagoda carved out of a single chunk of jade, with numerous precious Buddhist artifacts such as pearls and relics inlaid on its surface, as well as tens of thousands of carvings of Buddhas. The name of the pagoda was ‘Calmheart Pagoda’. Not only was it a very powerful magical artifact of the Buddhist League, but it was also the core of the city’s defense.
The emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Wugou, usually dressed as a monk. He often walked around the city wearing a linen cowl. When men, women, and children saw him, they did not have to kneel or bow, but just put their hands together and chant the Buddha’s name.
In the center of Calmheart was a cluster of antique-looking wooden buildings, the busiest commercial and entertainment district in the city. Although the Jin Dynasty was founded on Buddhism, it did not abandon normal commercial activities. There was only a little less distraction in the minds of the people here than people in other places, and they still had the same emotions and desires that normal people had. In this area, there were at least a hundred high-class brothels, all of which were patronized by the rich. People who were not wealthy enough would never set foot here.
On the third floor of a restaurant called White Lotus, Jing Ke sat at a table, drinking wine and stuffing chunks of fat beef into his mouth. In the span of a single meal, he had drunk thirty jars of wine and eaten fifteen kilograms of beef.
Qin Wuyang sat in a window seat, habitually hiding half of his face behind the window while quietly looking at the pedestrians outside. In his hand he held a small bowl the size of a child’s fist, half full of wine. From time to time, he raised the bowl and smelled the wine, but never drank it.
When Jing Ke’s eyes were red with alcohol, Qin Wuyang finally cried out in a low voice, “Here he comes!”
Jing Ke gently set the jar on the table, then opened his mouth and exhaled a puff of white air, expelling all of the alcohol from his body. After that, he rose to his feet steadily and leaned over the window, looking into the distance.
A nine-feet-tall young man, with a dignified face that was as flawless as the finest jade, dressed in a yellowish linen cowl and a string of lilac-colored beads on his left hand, was coming this way, stepping on the lotus blossoms floating in the pond. The flowers in the pond were sparsely arranged, each separated by at least thirty to fifty feet. And yet, every step of his landed precisely on the next flower. Also, the flowers did not move at all, as if he was weightless. Soon, he arrived in the city’s busiest commercial district.
Many people recognized him, and they saluted him by putting their palms together and saying, “Praise the benevolent Buddha! Good day, Your Majesty!”
Some even simply called him ‘Master Wugou’, as if they did not regard him as the monarch of a kingdom, but an eminent monk.
The young man was none other than Emperor Wugou. With a smile on his face, he returned every salute he had received. A middle-aged woman came up to him, bringing a child. She put her palms together and bowed at him while the child giggled and stared at him. He smiled and nodded, then placed his hand on the child’s head and said, “He feels joy when he sees a Buddha, which means that he has a very high affinity with Buddhism. Congratulations, lady benefactor, your family is blessed!”
The woman was so happy that she grinned from ear to ear, bowing and thanking him constantly. The child bowed at him like an adult as well. Emperor Wugou laughed and thought for a brief moment, then handed the child the string of beads which was an unusual artifact. “It is fate that brings us together. This thing has followed me through three reincarnations. Keep it properly, and come to see me in the imperial palace the day when you can gain enlightenment from it!”
After a few words with the child, Emperor Wugou flicked his sleeves and started toward White Lotus. On his way, a tea vendor offered him a bowl of tea. He quickly took it and downed it with a gulp, then thanked the vendor with a bow and recited a long prayer for him.
Jing Ke smiled coldly while Qin Wuyang whispered, “What a pretentious bald donkey! How does he have time to handle the state affairs when he salutes and prays for every person he meets?”
Jing Ke narrowed his eyes and said, “Too bad we are not here to kill him…Otherwise, I’d really like to see if I can truly kill him. I can’t believe he left the palace on his own, and is so bold as to make contact with strangers. Although he is the reincarnation of the Buddha, I have many ways to kill him and destroy his soul.”
A grim smile came to Qin Wuyang’s face. He slowly stroked the bowl in his hand, and soon the wine turned into white mist and drifted away.
With a cold snort, Jing Ke said faintly, “I’m going to talk to this bald donkey now. Watch my back, Wuyang! If you find something wrong, just throw out the life-saving talisman that kid Wu Qi made and kill this bald donkey!”
Qin Wuyang nodded.
But, before Jing Ke even walked down the stairs, a handsome man wearing a black robe and a black jade crown had walked out of a brothel opposite the restaurant, saluting Emperor Wugou with a bow and speaking gracefully, “Zhang Yi, the envoy of Great Qin, offers greetings, Your Majesty!”
Jing Ke’s face twitched. “Why is this old rascal here too?” he cursed in a low voice. “When it comes to fighting, I alone can beat three of him combined. But when it comes to talking, thirty of you and me combined are no match for him alone! Now we’re in big trouble!”
While smiling, Emperor Wugou put his palms together and bowed at Zhang Yi, then said in a calm voice, “Welcome. Great Qin…Could it be that Great Qin who has captured eight hundred cities and military towns from the Ling Dynasty over the past two years?”
Zhang Yi stroked his beard and smiled. “The Great Qin Your Majesty mention is exactly where Zhang Yi comes from.”
Emperor Wugou squinted at Zhang Yi, then nodded and said, “Your words are full of Zen, Mister Zhang. Apparently, you have a predestined relationship with the Buddhist League!”
That made Zhang Yi laugh. “Your Majesty must be teasing me. I’m nothing but a layman struggling in the mortal world, hustling day and night trying to make some living. I don’t deserve Your Majesty’s praise.” He paused for a brief moment, then went on in a deep voice, “His Majesty Ying Zheng, the emperor of Great Qin, sent me here to discuss something with you.”
“If Mister Zhang have important matters to discuss, you should see me at the palace.”
Zhang Yi sighed and shook his head helplessly. “Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I dare not go there.”
Emperor Wugou burst into laughter. He beckoned to Zhang Yi and sat down on the grass by the side of the road. “You are an honest man, Mister Zhang. Are you afraid of being killed when you visit the palace, given your background and purpose?”
“Your Majesty is wise.”
“Speak frankly, Mister Zhang…What is your purpose for the visit?”
“I am here to discuss with Your Majesty about the future of the Jin Dynasty and Great Qin.”
A faint smile crept up the emperor’s face as a ring of Buddhist light emerged from behind his head, emitting a bright light that blanketed the entire city. Meanwhile, the voices of chanting rang out from everywhere, and tendrils of incense smoke rose in every corner. A moment later, hundreds of Buddhist figures appeared from the Chengxin Tower, and a stream of Buddhist Zen power swept over. Zhang Yi stiffened as the rushing power almost knocked him away.
Emperor Wugou glanced at Zhang Yi and shook his head. “What ability does Great Qin have to influence the future of my kingdom?”
Zhang Yi thought for a brief moment, then bowed to Emperor Wugou and said, “I beg Your Majesty’s pardon…Can I demonstrate what Great Qin can do?”
“Please!” The emperor nodded with a smile as he reached out his right hand and made a gesture.
Without hesitation, Zhang Yi pulled out a spirit talisman. It was made from a leaf plucked from an innate divine tree in Yuan Ling Dark Realm, and drawn with a spell called ‘Three-corpse Thunder’ by Wu Qi using his natal energy. Then, he sent a stream of energy into the talisman and activated it.
A loud rumble exploded in the void, and then countless fireballs, each about a mile in circumference, plunged from the sky like broken charcoals, smashing the city’s defenses. Meanwhile, three thunderbolts—purple, red, and blue— fell from the sky. They were each as thin as a thumb, slamming straight onto Emperor Wugou’s head. A Vajra Wheel had already flown out of the emperor’s forehead, emitting beams of light to protect his body. But, the power of the talisman drawn by Wu Qi with his cultivation base of a Dao Breaking expert was too mighty to resist.
In just the blink of an eye, the thunderbolts blew the wheel into pieces and struck Emperor Wugou. He uttered a miserable cry and was knocked flying more than a hundred feet away with black smoke rising from all over his body. Almost half of his flesh was scorched by the thunderbolts, and he was barely alive because of his strong natal Zen power.
Bright light flickered and swayed around them, and soon countless buddhas and bodhisattvas swarmed over, armored and armed.
Zhang Yi laughed proudly with his hands clasped behind his back, while Emperor Wugou stood up trembling and shouted, “Stop! This man is my guest of honor! Open the state guest house immediately and escort Mister Zhang there so he can have a good rest!”
He coughed out a puff of black smoke and asked, “If I may ask, what is His Majesty Ying Zhang’s plan for the future of Great Qin and the Jin Dynasty?”
Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes and smiled like a fox. “It’s simple. The Jin Dynasty provides the money and resources, and Great Qin sends armies against the Ling Dynasty. This is a plan that will benefit both of us! Of course, as Great Qin has lost too many soldiers, the compensation will be slightly more expensive!”
Then, he laughed smugly.
