162 Maligned Influence (1/2)

Although the result was tiny, insignificant almost, it was the result of only a single day's training!

Judging by Emmie’s thrilled reaction, this had to be an amazingly rare occasion.

”To help others is to help oneself. It's a wonder that I only realized this now.” Yun Yang felt strongly about it. It was because he had wanted to help this family of valiance that he finally grasped the meaning of this theory.

People had always said that opportunity was difficult to chance upon, but who would have known that the fate usually walked by one’s side. The birth of a thought would eventually die if not acted upon; he had acted upon his kindness then to enjoy the fruits today!

Although the fruit obtained today was substantial, the bigger benefit was that he acquired an understanding, a realization that many martial artists would never be able to attain.

Somehow, through the mysterious workings of fate and chance, he had obtained enlightenment.

”Going beyond the limits in sole emphasis of physical training will overburden the body and destroy a person’s potential. However, the sole emphasis on mystical Qi cultivation will limit one’s route and restrain one’s future, even though there is still some achievement in this. Expert cultivators have always said that the body is the cultivator’s temple; its true meaning is well contained. Only when the physical strength is guaranteed can the growth of mystical Qi be possible, a growth that will turn stronger by the day, approaching perfection.”

Thinking of this, Yun Yang could not help recalling what Ling Xiaozui had said.

”The human body is a temple, but plenty of people have squandered this gift of god.”

Thinking of his words, Yun Yang went silent suddenly as another thought came to mind.

The old Yun Yang, the old Supreme Cloud, would always rely on his unique illusory cloud skills that allowed him to materialize or dissolve himself at will, rendering him unafraid of any form of physical attack. He was used to being the bait, a temptation to lure his enemies in and defeat them without knowing that such a trick was not an honorable one. If he were actually that mighty, was it not better to face his enemies head on and defeat them fairly?

If his enemies were really skilled, what could he do even if he could change into a thousand shapes?

From then on, he had placed more emphasis on training his physical state.

The attention he had paid to the Shangguan Family of Generals these days was also because the atmosphere in Tiantang City had recently become slightly more bizarre.

Since there were foreign militants staying outside, a strange rumor began to spread within Tiantang City.

Its influence was growing unmanageable as people everywhere began discussing the long forgotten affairs of the Shangguan Family of Generals.

The three Shangguan marshals had already been fighting in the wars then, their valiance and intimidation well on their way to overwhelm the world. Nobody would have imagined that the President of the Board of War, Zhuo Wenlong, was being blackmailed by the enemy nation and had been leaking military secrets. He had sent a fake decree and ultimately caused the three marshals to be ambushed by the four enemy nations’ troops, all of them perishing in the conspiracy.

This issue had long been a matter of the past. A definitive conclusion had been drawn as Zhuo Wenlong had long since been beheaded and sentenced to nine familial exterminations.

Recently though, a malicious rumor had begun to spread. It spoke about Zhuo Wenlong’s descendant who had managed to escape his doom and had brought his death will with him, indicating that the past was not as simple as it had seemed. The story went that the three marshals had been planning to rebel and fight for the throne, to replace the royalty and change the empire; Zhao Wenlong who was the President of the Board of War stumbled upon their conspiracy. He could not bear to see Yutang being threatened, nor could he let the nation and its people suffer. He decided to take the extreme route in snubbing the traitor for the empire. Although he had to conspire with the enemies and join a largely scaled scheme, he had the best of intentions and its consequence had been favorable.

However, the process of the incident had been tortuous. The three marshals had died in the ambush before their treasonous plans could be exposed, causing the entire Yutang to be kept in the dark. Zhuo Wenlong, who was patriotic to the empire and loyal to its people, subjected himself to the execution of his family and a wrongful death.

It was now time to reverse the case for Zhuo Wenlong!

The slogan was – we owe Zhuo Wenlong, the hero of our nation, justice!

This maligned influence started out among the people as a rumor but within a day, it had reached the scholars. All sorts of rumors and debates then began to spring up, like mushrooms.

Amidst the rumors, a large number of scholars had referred to the incident to analyze the situation and had come out with a conclusion – Shangguan Family of Generals’ three marshals had acquired a third of the empire’s military power; their merits were undoubtedly higher than the emperor himself.

This was an absolute fact that no one could deny.

Besides that, the Shangguan Family of Generals had a soaring reputation. Each of them had countless men willing to die for them and to these men, the Shangguan’s orders were the royal decree while the authentic royal decree held no weight whatsoever for them.

The scholars had even pointed out sharply that the soldiers under the leadership of a marshal should be loyal to the empire and the emperor. They should never and could never be loyal only to the marshal. From this angle, the crime of all three marshals was debatable but their intent alone warranted their execution.

Zhuo Wenlong’s deeds had also been unearthed, how he had fought for the people, how loyal and patriotic he was, how he advised the emperor in a frank and direct manner, how righteous and fair…

Zhuo Wenlong’s letters to his friends, his reports, calligraphies, poems…

One of the lines had read – ”forgo reputation, toss away this life; never allow traitors to sway this sovereignty”.

The burning loyalty reflected within him had been proved to the world.

All in all, this treacherous official that the entire Empire of Yutang had been cursing for over a hundred years had suddenly turned into a lion-hearted official who had died a wrongful death!

There were theories and logic, witnesses and evidence. The rumors grew increasingly outrageous as it spread more severely each passing day.

Plenty of scholars had taken to the streets to summon the reversal of Zhuo Wenlong’s case to redress the injustice of the hero. They sought the downfall of the Shangguan Family of Generals who had deceived the world and assumed its glory, to put them in their rightful place!

Following the arrival of the foreign generals and their stay outside of the city, the influence in the city grew increasingly vigorous.

Countless scholars used classics as their examples and condemned Shangguan in both their speeches and writings, their accusations leaving no space for rebuke.