Central Province, Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Hall.
Jason Duke, commander of the Thousand-Mechanism Guard, hurried in and went straight to the Imperial Study Hall. He knelt before the middle-aged man behind the imperial desk, whose aura was calm and whose face was square-jawed: "Your servant Jason Duke greets Your Majesty."
This square-faced middle-aged man was none other than Ji Qian, the emperor who ruled the Grand Zhou Empire and its thirteen provinces.
The Grand Zhou Empire had three elite guards. First was the Purple Thorn Guard, the emperor's personal troops, whose main duty was protecting the sovereign. Second was the Black Dragon Guard, responsible for monitoring all officials across the realm, with the authority to directly imprison them—so officials often turned pale at the mention of the Black Dragon Guard.
Third was the Thousand-Mechanism Guard. Their duties were more mysterious, serving only the emperor and mainly handling covert and unsavory affairs. Thus, among the three guards, only the Purple Thorn Guard had a good reputation; the other two were not viewed favorably.
"All of you, withdraw!"
Ji Qian addressed the eunuchs and palace maids attending in the Imperial Study Hall.
"Your servants obey!"
Soon, the eunuchs and palace maids withdrew from the Imperial Study Hall. Only then did Ji Qian say to Jason Duke, "You may rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Jason Duke replied, expressing his gratitude.
"Have you come to see me because there's news about that matter?" Emperor Ji Qian's eyes flashed with a hint of expectation.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to news relayed by the Thousand-Mechanism Guard's spies embedded in the Three Great Holy Lands, the three Holy Lords have jointly divined the time and approximate location of the Divine Temple's descent!"
"Good." Emperor Ji Qian could not help but reveal a look of excitement.
Jason Duke continued, "The Divine Temple is predicted to descend in about twenty-eight months, and the location will be within Yuet Province!"
Emperor Ji Qian declared loudly, "Heaven truly favors Grand Zhou! This time, the Divine Temple will descend within our borders!" As he spoke, a thoughtful look flashed across his face. After a moment's pause, he continued, "Set out for Yuet Province immediately and begin preparations. I will issue you a secret imperial edict. If necessary, you may have Qi Mingdong mobilize large armies to assist you."
Jason Duke quickly replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will not disappoint you!"
"Very well." Emperor Ji Qian nodded. "But remember, the descent of the Divine Temple is no trivial matter—it could even affect the national destiny of Grand Zhou. You must exercise the utmost caution."
"Thank you for the reminder, Your Majesty. I will proceed with great care," Jason Duke assured.
"You have my confidence. Go now!"
"Your servant takes his leave!"
After Jason Duke left the Imperial Study Hall, Emperor Ji Qian fell into memories. A hundred years ago, the world was in chaos, and the Ji clan was merely a powerful local family. But that year, a Divine Temple suddenly descended from the sky.
The appearance of the Divine Temple shook the world.
Forty-nine people entered the Divine Temple; only nine emerged.
But all nine became legendary figures. Ji Jichang founded the Grand Zhou Empire and became master of thirteen provinces.
Liu Zhan founded the Great Han Empire, ruling fifteen provinces.
Xiang Yunlong founded the Great Chu Empire, ruling twelve provinces.
Fan Shijun founded Clearheart Holy Land; Jiang Yunyan founded Battle-War Holy Land; Sima Tianji founded Jade Pool Holy Land.
The remaining three, though their achievements were less, each founded their own sect, now counted among the nine great sects.
The Divine Temple remains in the mortal world for only ten days before flying back to the heavens.
Since the first descent of the Divine Temple, everyone has awaited its return. The three Holy Lords who once entered the Temple spent years calculating and finally predicted its next descent.
Thinking of this, a trace of worry appeared on Ji Qian's face.
The Divine Temple's descent is both a blessing and a curse for the Grand Zhou Empire. If someone from Grand Zhou gains an opportunity inside, the nation will grow stronger. But if someone else, especially an ambitious one, seizes it, the world may fall into chaos again.
After all, those who gain opportunities in the Divine Temple are favored by Heaven. Otherwise, Ji Jichang could not have so easily founded Grand Zhou and divided the world with the Liu and Xiang dynasties.
Meanwhile—
The emperors of the Great Han and Great Chu empires also learned that the Divine Temple would descend in Yuet Province, within Grand Zhou, in two years.
After a century of peace, undercurrents began to stir across the land.
............
After snatching Du Heng, Song Yan led Qi Ling'er back to Clearwind Stronghold.
As soon as they returned, Old Stick came to report: Lone-Blade Gideon, the dragon-head chief of all 108 bandit strongholds in the Blackwind Mountains, had invited him to a banquet tonight.
Song Yan was puzzled and asked Old Stick, "Is there some reason why Lone-Blade Gideon invited me?"
Old Stick said, "Chief, you forgot—every year Lone-Blade Gideon gathers all the chiefs to redivide territory."
Reminded by Old Stick, Song Yan recalled that this was indeed the case.
The stronghold's income comes from two sources. One is the tribute from villages near the Blackwind Mountains.
Simply put, every month, villages within the stronghold's territory pay a protection fee. Once paid, the stronghold won't rob its own villages. If other bandits attack, the stronghold will defend them.
The other source is tolls from merchants and escort agencies passing through the stronghold's territory.
Merchants and escort agencies who travel these roads regularly pay the toll, so the stronghold doesn't rob them. Only those who rarely pass through are targeted.
Of course, even among those, some merchant groups have powerful guards, and the stronghold doesn't dare rob them.
So, life in a small stronghold isn't easy.
Take Clearwind Stronghold, for example. Its territory includes five villages, each paying twelve taels of silver per year—sixty taels in total.
From regular merchant and escort traffic, the stronghold collects roughly one hundred taels.
Then, from robberies, about two hundred taels per year. Altogether, Clearwind Stronghold's annual income is about three hundred sixty taels.
But those three hundred taels must support over sixty people.
If each person eats two jin of grain per day, that's sixty jin per day, or 3,600 jin per month. Converted to silver, that's eighteen taels, so food alone costs 216 taels a year. People need more than grain; vegetables and meat push the annual food expense over three hundred taels.
The remaining silver must pay for weapons repairs—after all, you can't send men to rob empty-handed.
So, life in Clearwind Stronghold used to be very tight.
After Song Yan remembered, Old Stick continued, "Chief, many strongholds know our old chief died, and our territory is pretty good. Someone will definitely try to take it. So, when dividing territory, be careful—don't let anyone steal our land!"
Old Stick, don't worry. This time, I won't just keep our territory—I plan to seize more!" Song Yan said confidently.