2 A World That Values Martial Arts

Lin'an City, where the Dragon Gate Escort Agency was located, was only a remote small city under the jurisdiction of the Great Zhou Empire.

Zhang Xuan did not have a specific concept of how big the entire Great Zhou Empire was, but he knew one thing very well. The Great Zhou Empire was a country with valiant people.

Moreover, the Great Zhou Empire respected martial arts, and there were many martial arts sects in the empire.

All the martial arts sects that could be named had experts presiding over them.

There was constant friction between the various martial arts sects, but it was rare for big battles to break out.

After all, where there was Jianghu[1.Jianghu ('rivers and lakes') is a term that generally refers to the milieu, environment, or sub-community in which many Chinese wuxia stories are set. The term is used flexibly, and can be used to describe a fictionalized version of Historical China (usually using loose influences from across the ~1000 BCE–280 AD period); a setting of feuding martial arts clans and the people of that community; a secret and possibly criminal underworld; a general sense of the "mythic world" where fantastical stories happen; or some combination thereof.], there would be grudges and entanglements, and there would be competition for benefits.

However, the various sects were also restraining each other and would not let any one sect dominate.

Moreover, above the various sects was the Great Zhou Empire.

The Great Zhou Empire that ruled the endless territories was the true overlord!

The dynasty had recruited many hidden experts and it had countless experts that the dynasty had nurtured themselves.

No matter what sect it was, it was nothing in front of the Great Zhou Empire.

However, as long as the various martial arts sects did not cross the Great Zhou Empire's bottom line, the Great Zhou Empire would not ask about the matters of the martial arts sects.

Take Lin'an City as an example. Even if it was only a remote small city in the Great Zhou, there were more than 10 large and small sects within a radius of 5,000 kilometers of Lin'an City.

In the entire Great Zhou Empire, there were countless sects in the pugilistic world.

Although the Dragon Gate Escort Agency was considered an overlord within a radius of 5,000 kilometers in Lin'an City, the influence of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency was very small in the entire Great Zhou Empire. It could not even be ranked.

After all, Lin'an City was only one of the many intermediate cities of the Great Zhou Empire. It was a small city with a population of less than a million. It could not be compared to other large cities.

Even if a famous expert was born in Lin'an City, it was impossible for him to stay here forever.

As for the hidden experts, since they had all hidden themselves, what could they do?

This was also the reason why the chief escort of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, He Yushan, could lead the Dragon Gate Escort Agency to become an overlord of Lin'an City even though he was only a first-rate expert.

However, the reputation of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency was only limited to the vicinity of Lin'an City. It could not spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Empire.

Furthermore, according to Zhang Xuan's understanding, it was said that there were even more powerful dynasties outside the Great Zhou Empire. That was something that mortals could not see in their entire lives.

After all, mortals had limited abilities and were busy with their livelihoods. For example, most mortals in Lin'an City had never walked out of Lin'an City in their lives. They did not even know how big the Great Zhou Empire was, let alone other countries.

Zhang Xuan was the best example. He had transmigrated to this world for a year and had almost never left Lin'an City.

He had only heard about the Great Zhou Empire. As for what the empires outside the Great Zhou Empire were like, he had no idea at all.

After all, he had only transmigrated to this world for a year and had been working as a long-term worker at the escort agency. There was a limit to the number of people he could come into contact with, so he naturally did not know much.

However, this was not important to Zhang Xuan.

It was also because the Great Zhou Empire respected martial arts that the development of Great Zhou's martial arts was thriving. It could be described as everyone in the empire practicing martial arts.

Since the Dragon Gate Escort Agency could become an overlord of Lin'an City, it was naturally not weak. Even long-term workers could learn some basic martial arts, such as the Martial Ancestor Long Fist.

Although the Martial Ancestor Long Fist was only a basic martial art that anyone could cultivate, there was still a huge difference between the level they were cultivating and the level they could eventually reach.

For example, most of the long-term workers in the Escort Agency were ordinary people without talent. Apart from strengthening their bodies, their martial arts ancestor's Long Fist did not improve much. This also caused many people to not be able to persevere in cultivating every day like Zhang Xuan.

They had all come to the escort agency to work as long-term workers. This meant that these were all people at the bottom of the society who had to work hard to survive.

These people did not have any ambitions. They were satisfied just to have something to eat. How could they waste more time on martial arts?

However, Zhang Xuan was different from the others. He was filled with curiosity and anticipation for this exciting world. He would leave the escort agency to broaden his horizons sooner or later.

In a wuxia1-like world, there were many sects in the martial arts world. There must be many heroes who wielded swords and traveled the world. There were also many evil people who had done many evil deeds. This world must be very exciting!

Since he had transmigrated to this world and had an endless lifespan, wouldn't it be very boring if he kept hiding?

Not to mention making a name for himself, he had to at least experience this colorful martial arts world.

Not only did he have to travel through the Great Zhou Empire, but he also had to visit other empires that mortals could not go to in their entire lives.

However, in a world where martial arts were respected, one could not protect themselves without martial arts.

There was no right or wrong in this world. There was only a difference in strength.

No matter what the strong did, it was right. No matter how reasonable the weak were, their deaths would be in vain.

Martial arts were respected. Strength was the reason!

Zhang Xuan, who knew this very well, was not in a hurry to walk out. He planned to slowly practice the Martial Ancestor Long Fist.

Only when one was strong would they have the ability to protect themselves. Only then would they have the capital and confidence to experience the great rivers and mountains and witness the love and hatred of the children of the martial arts world.

However, martial arts was not something that could be done overnight, especially for a mortal like Zhang Xuan who did not have talent or background. It would take an unimaginable amount of time to master a martial art.

With the martial arts system that Zhang Xuan understood, there were a total of 13 levels. It was basically impossible for ordinary people to cultivate to the 13th level.

Martial arts were different from other arts. Different people could cultivate the same martial arts, but there was a huge difference between their own improvement and the martial power they could exert.

Moreover, the further one cultivate, the greater the difference. Many self-proclaimed geniuses improved at lightning speed when they first practiced martial arts, but they often could not improve themselves afterwards for a few years or even decades.

Especially the 13th level of martial arts. Every level needed a lot of time to improve.

The more profound the martial arts, the more difficult it was to cultivate. Moreover, talented people disdained to cultivate basic martial arts.

After all, mortals had limited lifespans and energy. No one would be stupid enough to waste their time and energy on cultivating basic martial arts when they had the chance to cultivate profound martial arts.

Everyone knew that there was a limit to basic martial arts. In the opinion of most people, they would not achieve much even if they cultivated their basic martial arts to the extreme.

On the other hand, profound martial arts were often even more obscure and difficult to understand. Even talented people needed to spend countless time practicing them.

How long could a person live? How much time did they have to practice?

This was also the reason why very few people could cultivate martial arts to the 13th level.

However, Zhang Xuan was different. He had time and lifespan!

Besides that, Zhang Xuan also had the system.

This was his greatest trump card!

It was also his confidence to remain calm no matter what environment he was in!