A quote from Stalin is widely circulated and known to everyone in China.

The saying goes: If you fall behind, you will be bullied!

Throughout history, whenever our nation has been weak, it has inevitably been invaded and plundered by external forces.

Although we are now powerful, many countries are still suffering the same hardships we once endured.

African countries like Sierra Leone, which possess diamond mines, have long been manipulated behind the scenes by large European and American corporations. Workers, paid negligible wages, risked their lives to excavate diamonds that were then used to adorn the jewelry of capitalists.

Poor countries like Ghana, lacking resources, have not escaped being bullied. It has the world's largest electronic waste dump, where hundreds of thousands of tons of waste are transported every year. Nearby residents, due to the toxic fumes from burning waste for a long time, have an average lifespan of only around thirty years old.

The jobs mentioned above, such as miners and garbage collectors, are jobs that Europeans and Americans would never do. They would use their military power and cognitive gap to plunder the wealth of other countries, maintain their hegemonic status, and create a vicious cycle.

The rampant plundering of antiques by companies like Kingboard International in China back then was actually a form of disguised plunder that exploited a lack of understanding.

I wasn't surprised by the story Mr. Wei told at the beginning.

It wasn't until he mentioned those foreign companies robbing tombs in China that I couldn't help but interject, "Sir, feng shui is a unique aspect of Chinese culture. The principles of eliminating negative influences and attracting positive energy are like a foreign book to foreigners. How do they manage to rob tombs in China?"

"It's ridiculous that the idea of ​​foreigners robbing tombs came from the Chinese."

Old Master Wei revealed an expression of exasperation: "Back then, the Sino-Foreign Association had a large influx of foreign capital, which crushed Simen in the art market. Those traitors knew the principle of 'killing the dog after the rabbit is caught,' and seeing that the conflict between the two sides had subsided, they proposed the idea of ​​tomb raiding. With the support of foreign companies led by Jinbai International, they began to organize professional tomb raiding teams to prepare for further plundering of cultural relics."

I took the opportunity to observe the expressions of Song Laosan and Qu Ruilin, and found that they were also staring intently at Old Master Wei, seemingly unaware of this period of history.

Old Master Wei packed another pipe: "Back then, the folk association led by the four families was already demoralized under the suppression of the Sino-Foreign Association, and was only one step away from disbanding. When we four family heads heard that the foreigners wanted to rob tombs, we cheered up again. We may not have the capital, but when it comes to tomb robbing, we are the ancestors of this business."

To curb the arrogance of the Sino-Foreign Association, we decided to continue our fight! So we rallied our forces and prepared to confront them in the field of tomb raiding! This line of work doesn't require much capital; it's all about sharp eyes and skill!

At that time, our generation was already old. After discussing it, we decided to let the next generation take over the position of family head and fight against the foreign devils in place of the four gates!

Therefore, your fathers—Duan Jinyan, Wei Xiong, Song Tongfu, and Qu Yang—became the main force of the four sects, taking over the folk association, with Duan Jinyan and his sister Duan Xiuying as the commanders-in-chief.

"Grandpa Wei, Duan Xiuying is my aunt, right?"

When I heard Old Master Wei mention this name, I sat up straight and asked, "As far as I know, apart from the Wei family, the other three families only have one successor per generation. Why did the Duan family produce two?"

"Strictly speaking, your aunt did not participate on behalf of the four departments, but on behalf of her school! Your aunt is a talented woman who studied at one of the top universities in the country, majoring in cultural relic protection technology."

Grandpa Wei paused for a moment: "The situation back then was very complicated. Those foreign devils were also very cunning. They never participated in the theft and illegal trading of cultural relics themselves. They always used intermediaries. In this way, if problems arose, they wouldn't be implicated. It was difficult to find evidence and it could easily lead to diplomatic disputes."

Your aunt said she joined to gain experience as an intern, but the national archaeological team strictly prohibits active excavation, so I've always suspected she was sent by the school to protect the artifacts. Although your aunt didn't receive the four traditional lineages, she's exceptionally talented, and her knowledge is in no way inferior to ours, these old folks. And your father, Duan Jinyan—your grandfather and I all had high hopes for him back then, believing he and his sister to be unparalleled geniuses in this field.”

"snort!"

Upon hearing this, Qu Ruilin let out a cold snort, expressing his disdain.

Grandpa Wei seemed to realize he had gone off-topic and continued, "No matter what happened later, your fathers' generation was indeed the most capable generation after the Four Gates returned to the martial world! Under their leadership, the Sino-Foreign Association suffered a complete and utter defeat!"

At the time, we also placed informants within the Sino-Foreign Association. Whenever we learned that they were going to a certain place, we would empty the ancient tombs there in advance. The most outrageous time was when we only received information that the Sino-Foreign Association's tomb-raiding team was going to a county town, but without a specific target, so the four of us emptied 23 ancient tombs of all sizes in the county overnight. The donated cultural relics were so numerous that they couldn't fit in two warehouses of the county museum and filled an entire courtyard.

That same incident thoroughly enraged the Sino-Foreign Association, which allocated a special fund of one million to hire thugs in the area where the tomb raiders were located to target the Four Gates. We four old guys also issued a widespread call for help, appealing to reputable sects across the country to jointly protect our national treasures.”

"Old man, this is getting more and more mysterious!"

Old Song gestured to his smartphone: "What era are we living in? Why are you still talking about prestigious sects? This isn't a martial arts novel."

"Isn't the inspiration for martial arts novels derived from real life? Look at the famous mountains and rivers in China, and the martial arts schools in martial arts novels—they haven't disappeared even today. But you're right about one thing: times have changed, and the spirit of chivalry is gone, but it was still there in that era!"

A glint flashed in Old Master Wei's eyes: "At that time, the Four Sects were at their peak. Although their status was not prestigious, they still had some influence. After the call for heroes was issued, responses came from all over the country, and a strange phenomenon occurred that year. Wherever the folk association's inspection teams went, they were accompanied by a large number of Taoist priests, monks, and martial artists. The Chinese and foreign associations did not gain the upper hand in their many clashes with us, and there were even a few gunfights, which resulted in deaths."

The Chinese and foreign associations suffered losses in their fight against tomb raiding, investing tens of millions of dollars without finding even a single large tomb. The foreign investors behind it knew this was a bottomless pit, so they prepared to withdraw from the field and focus on acquiring private collections.

At the time, Wu Liang, the head of the Sino-Foreign Association, was unwilling to give up. To secure his position and win over the foreigners, he decided to pull off another big heist. For that operation, Jinbai International allocated a huge sum of two million yuan to Wu Liang. Upon learning this, Duan Jinyan led the elites of the civilian associations to Lingbi, Anhui, preparing for a final showdown with the Sino-Foreign Association!