Star Sky Professional

In the Year 300 of the Da Xia calendar, the Xia Emperor 'Mang' passed away!

The entire Da Xia mourned, and Mang was honored as a Sacred Emperor, a Saint...

Because he not only brought incredible technology and Martial Arts, but also lived for over three hundred years!

Yet among the other ministers, even the strongest among the Da Xia nobility, the longest-lived one only survived up to 198 years, never breaking the two-century limit!

And among the populace, they actually preferred to call Mang—the Martial Emperor!

...

"Black, I pay my respects, Senior!"

Within the True Martial Talisman space, the new Human Emperor of Da Xia bowed respectfully.

His complexion was dark, with ordinary features, and he was a great-grandson of Mang's generation.

There was no choice, Mang lived too long; in his later years, focused solely on cultivation, he neither married nor had children, and his sons and grandsons had all passed... naturally, they had to select from later generations.

"Unthinkable... Mang, in the end, handed over the True Martial Talisman before his death, as the Royal Family's foundation?"

High above on the steps, Fang Xing's figure appeared.

"Senior."

Black was shocked, not expecting such a Demon God to actually exist.

Fang Xing shook his head and, raising his hand, a stone tablet stood upright, inscribed with the two main effects of the True Martial Talisman.

Then, he spoke calmly: "I am preparing to enter closed door cultivation; perhaps I'll remain in seclusion for tens of thousands of years... what comes next, you decide on your own."

He had enjoyed the pleasures and was satisfied; it was time to retreat once more into seclusion and continue the arduous cultivation and enlightenment of the True Martial Dao.

Meanwhile, he would wait for a brand new era to dawn!

After all, this Martial Arts era, where the strongest can only live two or three hundred years, evidently holds little value.

Afterwards, he would no longer personally meet with each host.

In any case, the rules are there, and the rest should be left for them to explore on their own.

Perhaps... among these people, someone might surprise him?

"Senior? Senior!"

Watching Fang Xing's figure disappear, Black was suddenly greatly anxious.

But no matter how he advanced, he couldn't take a single step up the stairs, as if a chasm separated them.

In the end, Black was helpless, and could only bow towards the empty stone throne, then enter the cultivation space.

His heart burned with desire; he also wanted to cultivate and break through, becoming a powerful figure like the Martial Emperor.

At least, he could live for three hundred years!

...

Fang Xing's secluded cultivation actually meant sealing the outsider's space permission, leaving them with only a room-sized free space.

Then, he refused the temptations of fine wine, fine food, and beauties, sitting cross-legged to begin the enlightenment of the True Martial Dao.

"True Martial... begins with oneself, the intertwining of the turtle and snake, the gathering of the Seven Stars... Yin and Yang dual rites..."

Time passed unknowingly, when Fang Xing finally felt a slight understanding, he was immediately pleased and prepared to give himself a three-year break to enjoy life.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, he discovered the 'True Martial Talisman' had already fallen into an ancient tomb, becoming a funerary object!

"I've become a burial item? What's going on?"

Fang Xing was taken aback and immediately looked at the 'surveillance footage.'

Since being able to observe the situation outside the True Martial Talisman, he had always kept this function on and had it recorded.

Now, scenes of history unfolded before him:

"The second generation Xia Emperor 'Black' was relatively normal, using the 'True Martial Talisman' to cultivate to a realm comparable to Mang, suppressing the world for three hundred years, then passed on the throne and the True Martial Talisman to 'Jiao' before dying..."

"Jiao was a Martial Arts maniac, dueling countless times in his life, with countless kills, a tyrant... But he still ruled for three hundred years."

"The fourth generation Xia Emperor 'Fei' indulged in pleasures and neglected his martial arts, only living to two hundred years... But after patching things up, the Great Xia Dynasty managed to continue..."

"Then a thousand years passed, reaching the Xia Emperor 'Qing,' who was a passionate lover and revealed the secret of the 'True Martial Talisman' to his beloved concubine 'Si'... then the 'True Martial Talisman' got stolen... By this time, Da Xia had suppressed the world for over two thousand years, and various contradictions piled to the limit, solely relying on the Royal Family's suppression..."

"But without the 'True Martial Talisman,' the Xia Emperor could no longer be the master of everything; after barely holding on for decades, Da Xia collapsed with a bang..."

"The 'True Martial Talisman' was contested by various factions and by a twist of fate, was taken by a clan member of 'Si,' who bore no ambition and retired after reaching the 'Primordial Martial Peak,' even building a tomb for himself... to let the True Martial Talisman be buried with him?"

"Until now... it's been unknown how many years have passed."

"Da Xia... is gone?"

Fang Xing shook his head, indifferent.

Having seen sects in the Qing Yuan Great Realm with heritages lasting millions of years, and the unchanging civilizations of the Da Xia Universe lasting tens or even hundreds of millions of years.

The sudden sight of mortal races perishing in hundreds of years, or dynasties collapsing in a few thousand, truly made him feel quite emotional.

"I wonder how the martial arts in the outside world have developed by now?"

Fang Xing pondered deeply.

Although he could currently project the True Martial Talisman to observe the situation outside, it was limited to a very short distance where the talisman was located.

The detection range had not yet extended beyond the ancient tomb, naturally making it impossible to know how things were developing outside.

But he wasn't in a hurry, knowing that he would eventually see daylight again.

...

Rumble!

Several years later, within the ancient tomb, there was suddenly a violent shaking!

"Oh? Is it an earthquake?"

Inside the True Martial Talisman, Fang Xing nodded.

Natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods were the easiest to be influenced by the 'Heavenly Dao.'

It was destined that this 'True Martial Talisman' would reveal itself.

Crash!

A rock wall collapsed, rendering most of the ancient tomb's mechanisms and traps useless, and a giant cauldron rolled and crashed out.

A few days later.

A few agile people, resembling big macaques, snuck into the ancient tomb.

"Big brother? How much do you think we can get from this shady business this time?"

A man with triangular eyes and very pale skin in black looked to their leader.

The "Jiangchuan Three Dogs" made a living by tomb-raiding, and the three sworn brothers each had their own unique skills.

For example, the eldest, Ma Long, known as the 'One-Eyed Dog,' had an exceptionally sharp eye. Any netherworld artifact and burial item he inspected was guaranteed to not be missed.

The second brother was Du Sha, the 'Grave-Digging Dog,' who cultivated a pair of 'Earth-Breaking Hands,' incredibly adept at grave digging and tomb raiding.

The youngest, Gou San, the 'Howling Celestial Dog,' though the youngest in age, had the highest martial arts skills and the art of 'Wind Sensing.' No matter what mechanism was inside a tomb, he could easily detect and dismantle it...

Upon hearing Du Sha's question, Ma Long, wearing a pitch-black eye patch with one eye full of lustrous light exposed, shook his head: "Hard to say… Our Jiuzhou customs have martial artists accompanying their burials with divine weapons or secret martial arts manuals - finding those makes a fortune, and that's how the three of us started our careers, no need to elaborate… But in the dynasties before Jiuzhou, noble and wealthy people liked to bury themselves in dragon veins with loads of gold and silver, and unearthing even one such tomb also brings wealth…"

"But that bronze cauldron outside doesn't seem like the style of the Dayuan or Dakang… looks a bit like it's from the Ancient Times instead."

"Ancient Times before Dayuan? That's from tens of thousands of years ago, right?"

Gou San sneered, "The Ancient Times were the era of primal living; if we dug up such a tomb, we'd be at a loss. Maybe only that bronze tripod outside would sell for iron prices..."

Indeed, graves from the Ancient Times had very little value, as agreed in the Tomb Raider World.

After all, those predecessors were very poor! Extremely poor!

Even an iron artifact was considered a treasure.

Not accounting for archaeological and literary value, digging up such a tomb was simply a loss each time.

"Third brother, let's not be so rude in other people's domain."

Although Ma Long thought this way, he still admonished, "After all, the Ancient Times was the era when the Martial Emperor lived… we of Jiuzhou's major sects theoretically all have to acknowledge this 'Martial Dao Ancestor.'

"I've been hearing Martial Emperor stories since I was a child, but they just sound like fabrications… The Martial Emperor being born knowledgeable, taught by a celestial god, mastering iron forging, animal husbandry, agriculture, weaving, martial arts without a teacher—what else, even procreating?"

Gou San sneered, "And the Great Xia Dynasty, where each emperor happens to awaken a 'Heavenly Martial Vein,' to suppress the strongest of the era… such exaggerations. I've also seen a few of those ancient martial arts codes; they're impossibly crude, needing special 'flesh and blood elixirs,' long obsolete…"

Low ceiling, high consumption… that's the impression ancient martial arts give today's martial artists.

Ma Long nodded, his eyes still able to discern objects clearly in the dark, disarming a few remaining mechanisms: "Almost at the main burial chamber, let's stay alert, can't let there be a big storm outside only to trip in a little puddle within… Even if it's an ancient tomb, most of them are typical; this time, let's just earn some hard-earned money."

Ma Long spat on the ground, tossing out a fire starter.

Seeing that the flames still flickered within the main burial chamber, he nodded: "Very good… The earth dragon's turn dissipated the tomb's miasmic air, no need to maintain 'breath-holding skill,' we can move freely…"

The three entered the main burial chamber, using the firelight to see the various carvings and murals on the walls, all shaking their heads: "Indeed it's from the Ancient Times, and still from the Great Xia Dynasty's ancient tomb… we've taken a big loss this time."

However, such burial murals would typically narrate the life of the tomb owner.

As cultured, skilled, and insightful tomb robbers, they would generally take a look.

"It should begin from here…"

Ma Long found the first mural: "The tomb owner came from noble birth, presumably from a princely family of the Great Xia Dynasty… Then, selected into the court? No, rather, someone from the family was selected into the court?"

This mural and carving, having endured thousands of years, were already dilapidated beyond recognition.

Even with Ma Long's eyesight, he could only grasp the general idea: "Then there was battle, slaying a fierce beast…"

"Someone took something from the palace… Damn, why is this part of the mural gone?"

Gou San looked around: "Likely the earth dragon's turn earlier destroyed these few pieces…"

"Sigh, let's move the coffin and get rich."

Du Sha went to the center of the chamber, looking at a stone coffin, his hands suddenly shot out, grasping the lid: "Open it!"