With a light flick of his fist, the fist hurtled past with a deafening roar, shattering the air and producing a terrifying sonic boom.
"My physical fitness seems to have improved slightly!"
Standing still, Xiao Ning frowned and muttered to himself.
He noticed the change in himself with just a thought.
"This is terrifying! I only performed one punch, and it had such a miraculous effect. No wonder it's a mysterious technique of unknown level!"
"If I practice diligently every day without ceasing, over the years, to what extent will my physical strength improve?"
"No wonder that after mastering the third level, it is said that one can possess the strength of a dragon's ten thousand tons. It is truly terrifying!"
Thinking of this, Xiao Ning felt extremely pleased, but at the same time, he felt a pang of regret, realizing that all his hard work over the past year had been wasted.
"I should have thought of this sooner. What's the point of creating achievements? It's much more enjoyable to be a cheater. With a system cheat, Mom won't have to worry about my martial arts skills anymore!"
"Now that I have such a divine skill in my hands, I cannot waste any time. I must strive to break through as soon as possible and become a martial arts grandmaster, or even a great martial arts master!"
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Chapter 68 Returning to the Mountain to Seek Reinforcements
Time flies, and once gone, it never returns.
Since receiving the "Dragon Elephant Body Refining Technique" as a reward from the system's daily check-in, Xiao Ning has never left the back mountain of Wudang Mountain, becoming so engrossed in cultivation that he cannot extricate himself.
Zhang Sanfeng had already reached the pinnacle of the Grandmaster realm. After receiving the Tai Chi Classics from Xiao Ning, he felt that a breakthrough was possible and entered seclusion.
The turbulent winds of the outside world may blow across the land of China, but they cannot reach Wudang Mountain.
Since assuming the leadership of the Ming Cult, Zhang Cuishan has worked diligently to reorganize the scattered Ming Cult. He then secluded himself on Bright Peak to recruit soldiers and train elite troops, implementing the nine-character mantra taught by Xiao Ning: "Store up grain, build high walls, and delay declaring yourself king."
During the Dragon Boat Festival in the sixteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty's Zhizheng era, disciples of various branches of the Ming Cult rose up in rebellion, raising their banners to resist the Yuan. People of Chinese descent responded to the call. Although the Yuan soldiers were brave and skilled in battle, they were overwhelmed and unable to control the situation.
Often, just as things settle down on the east side, trouble arises on the west side.
As time went on, it became unsustainable. In addition, at the Ming Cult headquarters, leader Zhang Cuishan ordered a large number of martial arts experts to assassinate high-ranking Mongol generals, thereby controlling the world and intimidating all.
In less than three years, the Ming Cult had conquered most of the Central Plains.
The land south of the Yangtze River has all fallen under the control of the Ming Cult.
When the time was right, Zhang Cuishan established his own government and military headquarters in Wuhan, proclaimed himself King Ming, and changed the era name to Shenwu, which became the first year of Shenwu.
The Emperor issued a decree to the world:
From this day forward, wherever the Ming Prince's territory is located, regardless of whether they are martial artists, Mongol nobles, mountain stronghold leaders, or Jianghu sects, anyone who commits arson, murder, looting, or violates the laws of the Ming Prince will be dealt with according to the law. Even the Ming Cult's main forces will be no exception!
The various factions in the martial arts world reacted differently after receiving the Ming King's decree.
Some scoffed in disdain, some panicked, and some gladly accepted the order…
Most people, however, did not take the Ming King's decree seriously, treating it as if it did not exist, and continued to do as they pleased, lawless, and committing evil deeds.
Unexpectedly, after learning of this, the Ming King Zhang Cuishan immediately took swift and decisive action to deter the villains.
The Beggars' Sect, the largest gang in the world, was forced to disband, an event that shocked the entire nation.
Later, people learned that Zhang Cuishan, the Ming king, once said: What use is a group of beggars? They can neither protect the country nor suppress evil and maintain order. They only know how to beg and do not engage in production. They also harbor filth and evil. What use are they?
If it weren't for the sake of the Beggars' Sect's predecessors, Hero Guo and Heroine Huang, they wouldn't have let them go so easily.
Not killing them is already the greatest act of kindness!
Subsequently, the various sects of the martial arts world realized that the Ming King's Decree was no child's play, and it was far more powerful than any previous laws and regulations.
At this moment, the situation in the world is gradually becoming clear. If nothing unexpected happens, the land of China may soon belong to the Zhang family.
Seeing this, many martial arts sects curbed their arrogance and restrained their members, while secretly sending their elite disciples to join the Ming Cult and extend goodwill to Zhang Cuishan.
For example, Mount Emei, Mount Shaolin, Mount Kunlun, Mount Kongtong, Mount Hua, and so on.
Of course, many sects remained unchanged and did not become more restrained despite the disappearance of the Beggars' Sect.
The Ming Cult then immediately took action.
At the beginning of the month, Sun Qingxiong, the leader of the Funiu Sect, was shot dead on the spot by Ming Cult law enforcement officers for indiscriminately killing innocent people.
In the middle of the month, the Wan Du Valley, Bai Hua Sect, Qing Xu Palace, Qing Yang Sect, Wu Niu Temple, and other sects were attacked by the Ming Cult's Left Envoy and two Dharma Kings for disobeying the Ming King's orders. They broke down the sects' gates, killed their leaders, and then left.
After that, the Ming Cult swept across the land, and in any territory under its control, any martial arts sect that refused to submit was killed by the Ming Cult members.
Within a month, twenty-three martial arts sects in Jiangnan had been forcibly disbanded by the Ming Cult. Their members and disciples were scattered and assigned to various branches of the Ming Cult. The young and strong were conscripted into the army, while the elderly and children were sent to care facilities for retirement.
In the spring of the third year of the Shenwu reign, Ming King Zhang Cuishan officially raised his army and banner in Hankou, Hubei, and issued a proclamation to attack the Mongol Yuan dynasty. The eight-character slogan, "Northern expedition to the Central Plains, return our rivers and mountains," spread throughout the world.
The world was shaken!
Half a month later, Zhang Cuishan, the Ming King, personally led his army of 300,000 Ming Cult troops northward to attack the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.
The prefectures and counties along the way surrendered without resistance, and the common people took the initiative to kill Mongol officials, opening the city gates for the Ming army to welcome the royal army.
The Ming army marched north, sweeping across the Mongol Yuan forces south of the Yellow River, and various places in Henan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Sichuan, and Shandong were liberated.
The Mongol forces suffered repeated defeats and offered no resistance.
In the spring of the fourth year of the Shenwu reign, the army approached the gates of Dadu, the capital of the Mongol Yuan dynasty. At this time, most of the Central Plains belonged to the Zhang family.