At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao's rebel army breached Chang'an. They celebrated amid the ruins of the thousand-year-old imperial capital, thrilled to have seized the great city, never knowing they'd broken more than its gates: deep underground, they had shattered an ancient seal.
From then on, tainted energy spread across the mortal world.
Most of those who came into contact with it died horribly, until the first survivor appeared. He possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary people.
Thus, the Martial Way was born.
Its ranks ran from Ninth to First, with strict divisions between them. The regional military governors who carved out their own domains were mostly First-Rank masters. People thought this was the pinnacle of the Martial Way...
Until the Khitan ruler Yelü Abaoji broke through the legendary realm and became a Martial Venerable.
A Martial Venerable could kill a First-Rank master as easily as a First-Rank master could kill a Ninth-Rank one, without lifting a finger.
Shi Jingtang, military governor of Hedong and governor of Youzhou, named Abaoji his imperial father to secure Khitan aid, and voluntarily offered him the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!
Once more, the land of China fell beneath the shadow of the northern tribes' iron hooves.
This story began when I came across video clips of Bai Yu's TV drama "The Peaceful Era" on Douyin. The words "Surrendering the Land to the Song" made me realize for the first time that history could have outcomes that weren't zero-sum games. So many people throughout history had nothing to their names and kept waiting for a "miracle" to happen, only to put up a futile resistance that left the people soaked in blood and tears.
And so this book was born.
The historical framework remains unchanged; I've only added a little tainted energy and a little martial arts. As for the characters, I'll use the names of historical figures. Their stories deserve to be told again, more than any fiction.
This is the second book. The protagonist has already reached the Martial Venerable realm, but the first great trial lies ahead: can he protect civilization from the Khitan Martial Venerable?
The second part is still very interesting, with a fierce conflict at the beginning. It turns out that many of the author's previous plots are foreshadowing the plot of this banquet. In fact, many things do not need to be written in such detail, and should be deliberately avoided, but the author still gave a big explosion, and the final solution was so resolute and decisive. Highly recommended!!!