Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist-Chapter 317 - 98: Yu Yongnian: Was I Carried By My Disciple?

Three hundred years ago, the Grand Ancestor Emperor of Liang established the Liang Dynasty.

But at that time, the Liang was not stable.

The previous Chu Dynasty’s imperial court was corrupt and incompetent from top to bottom. The entire Liang not only suffered from the chaos caused by demon fiends, but nearby countries were also eyeing it covetously.

"Back in those days, before the Grand Ancestor Emperor raised his army, he visited the Han Kingdom. At that time, the Martial Path of Han Kingdom was extremely prosperous, and many martial artists from surrounding countries would go there."

Jia Nanzhu slowly recounted to Lin Chen the secret history of the founding of Liang.

"The Grand Ancestor Emperor gained mastery in martial arts, returned to Liang, and saw the suffering of the people, exploited by the court aristocratic families and demon fiends. In a fit of rage, he chose to rise in rebellion. Responders gathered like clouds, but at that time, the Grand Ancestor Emperor was not the only one to rebel; the fate of the Great Chu had run its course, leading to several uprising forces."

"Among these forces were some elders with ambitions like the Grand Ancestor Emperor, who later chose to join the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s rebellion in earnest. But more were opportunists and those greedy for power... The Grand Ancestor Emperor was in the worst situation because he was the only one who proposed that no demon race should exist in Liang. He had to face both the suppression from Chu and the assassination by demon race, making his situation extremely dangerous."

Jia Nanzhu’s voice was low as he continued, "Fortunately, when the Grand Ancestor Emperor was learning martial arts in the Han Kingdom, he was apprenticed to a master, who was the State Preceptor of Han. In the early stages, he provided the Grand Ancestor Emperor with ample cultivation resources to raise martial artists under his command and improve his strength."

"Actually, it wasn’t just the Grand Ancestor Emperor who had the support of Han behind him. Other rebellion forces also had backing from other nations. These countries were not genuinely kind to the people of Liang, but rather wanted to take the opportunity to support their forces in Liang to plunder its territory and resources."

At that time, the Great Chu was like a piece of fat meat in the eyes of other nations. Yet because everyone wanted a bite, they were all eyeing this piece of meat and nobody dared to be the first to send troops. In the end, they chose this method of supporting forces.

Jia Nanzhu squinted his old eyes, with a hint of coldness in his gaze: "Including the Han Kingdom, which was the same. After the Grand Ancestor Emperor overthrew the Chu and established the Liang, and was preparing to completely cleanse and encircle the forces supported by other countries and the demon race, the Han Kingdom took advantage of the opportunity to demand that our Liang cede the Three Paths area to them. Of course, the Grand Ancestor Emperor would not agree."

"After being resolutely rejected by the Grand Ancestor Emperor, the Han Kingdom even wanted to send troops against our Liang, trying to forcibly occupy the power of the Three Paths. At that time, Liang’s martial artists were fully committed to dealing with the demon race. If the Han Kingdom sent troops, they would either have to abandon the cleansing of the demon race, or they couldn’t hold onto the land of the Three Paths. In this situation, the Grand Ancestor Emperor made a resolute decision to establish the Martial Arts Academy, and the creators of the Academy were other uprising forces."

Lin Chen’s pupils slightly contracted, and he somewhat guessed what the Grand Ancestor Emperor wanted to do.

"The Grand Ancestor Emperor swore an oath that the Liang imperial court would only establish the Martial Hall and Martial Academy. If martial youth wanted to continue on the Martial Path, they could choose to enter the Martial Arts Academy, and the Liang imperial court would not interfere with any matters of the Academy. All matters of the Academy were to be handled by the Martial Arts Academy Director and instructors. Just this one oath made those gate valve families and the countries behind them restless."

At this point, Jia Nanzhu’s lips slightly curled up: "These people thought the Grand Ancestor Emperor was out of his mind to make such a decision; after all, the entire capital was spreading the rumor that the Grand Ancestor Emperor once privately slammed his fist on a table, saying that if their territory was to be seized by Han, it would be better for Liang to be replaced by other gate valve families. At least, this pot of meat would still rot in the pot and not benefit foreign nations."

"Do you know why those gate valve families and the countries coveting our Liang could not sit still?"

Hearing his teacher’s question, Lin Chen thought for a moment and answered, "In the eyes of these people, the Grand Ancestor Emperor essentially transferred the talented martial artists of Liang to them, letting them establish the Martial Arts Academy to cultivate Liang’s martial talent. Naturally, this could make these martial talents feel no sense of belonging to Liang and follow their orders. In ten to twenty years, when these students grow up and enter the Liang imperial court, it would be like pulling the rug out from under Liang."

"Precisely. The Grand Ancestor Emperor calculated these people’s intentions and decided to establish the Martial Arts Academy. The founders of the United Martial Arts Academy at that time came from these gate valve families. To appease these people, the Grand Ancestor Emperor even gave each of them a first-grade official position."

"Moreover, these internal gate valve factions of various countries, to ensure that our Liang’s talented martial artists would pledge allegiance to them rather than their country, also established some Martial Arts Academies in Liang secretly. In just ten years, the number of martial arts academies in Liang exceeded thirty."

Jia Nanzhu seemed to recall something amusing, his sparse eyebrows twitching: "But they didn’t realize that from the moment they agreed to establish the Martial Arts Academy, they fell into the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s trap. Can you guess what the Grand Ancestor Emperor intended to do?"

"The Grand Ancestor Emperor wanted to borrow a chicken to lay eggs?" Lin Chen pondered for a moment and answered.

"Borrow a chicken to lay eggs, yes, your description is quite apt. It is indeed borrowing a chicken to lay eggs."

Jia Nanzhu couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into laughter: "The name ’United Martial Arts Academy’ originated because the Academy was founded by the union of these gate valve families. These families, to ensure the recruits would be loyal to them, sent a large amount of cultivation resources. To ensure these students had no sense of belonging to Liang, even the countries behind them sent cultivation techniques and resources..."