The sudden intrusion caused some changes in the space before them. The white-clad man who had been standing still on the bridge turned around, revealing himself to be the dashing Prince of Jiangling.
But Shen Qian unconsciously frowned.
Although the appearance of the Jiangling King before me was almost identical to that of the Jiangling King I had seen before I sank, there was a huge difference in his temperament.
In short, the Prince of Jiangling before us seems to be lacking something.
"Some people build roads, some build bridges, and some fill mountains with their bones and boil the sea with their blood, all to overcome an insurmountable chasm."
Jiangling King's gaze seemed to fall on Shen Qian, yet also seemed to be looking at a very distant place. "What is the end of martial arts? This question has remained unsolved for billions of years."
"Humanity has exhausted the efforts of countless ancestors, and their initial wish was simply to have a place to settle down in this vast starry sky."
"Young people, I hope you will always remember that the greatest threat is never right in front of you."
Jiangling Wang's seemingly cryptic and meaningful opening remarks sent a shiver down Shen Qian's spine, giving him a bad feeling.
“Prince Jiangling, do you still remember me? I am… Shen Qian… You were the one who personally taught me how to enter the River of Time!”
Shen Qian didn't bother to interrupt the other person and asked directly.
But King Jiangling seemed not to hear him, and continued, "The other eight kings either left behind supernatural techniques or the gateway to enlightenment. My knowledge in this life is diverse, and I don't know what is appropriate to leave behind in this secret realm."
"After much deliberation, I've decided to bestow upon you a mark, hoping you will make good use of it!"
Jiangling Wang's reaction greatly disappointed Shen Qian.
Clearly, the Jiangling King before him was no longer the Jiangling King who had given him the Time Conch. He did not have an independent consciousness, but was just a fragment of consciousness, like the other eight kings he had encountered before he sank.
The purpose is simply to leave behind a legacy, just as the Nine Kings Secret Realm itself is.
I couldn't understand it before I sank in.
Where did the Prince of Jiangling go?
Could it be that the Jiangling King's mission was to tell him the secret of the River of Time, and he disappeared once the mission was completed?
Or perhaps, the King of Jiangling was not an independent clone, but merely a remnant of consciousness, which is why he could not return before sinking.
But regardless, Shen Qian knew that many of his inner doubts were destined to remain unanswered at this moment.
As his thoughts raced, the present moment finally returned to what lay before him.
Since the answer was not yet available, these questions could only be kept to himself. However, the "special mark" mentioned by the King of Jiangling attracted Shen Qian's attention.
The Nine Kings' Secret Realm must be worthy of its name if all nine kings leave behind treasures.
Before the sinking, the treasures of the other eight princes had already been obtained. Now that I think about it, the only thing I haven't seen is the legacy left by the Prince of Jiangling.
It seems as if everything was predetermined.
The significance of Shen Qian's second entry into the Nine Kings' Secret Realm was as if it were to complete the last piece of the puzzle.
The other eight princes either possessed supernatural powers or had insights into martial arts, but the mark of the Prince of Jiangling sounded quite unique.
As Chen Qian focused on the present, he heard the Prince of Jiangling, standing with his hands behind his back, continue, "This mark is actually about some of my youthful fantasies about martial arts..."
As Jiangling Wang spoke, a smile suddenly appeared on his lips. It was unknown whether Jiangling Wang had actually recalled some amusing incidents from his youth when he left behind this projection of his consciousness.
Shen Qian found that compared to the other eight princes, Prince Jiangling was already considered a "chatterbox," but Shen Qian did not feel impatient. On the contrary, he felt that this kind of Prince Jiangling was more down-to-earth.
"You didn't experience that chaotic era of diverse schools of thought and the shift from ancient to new martial arts, so you wouldn't know how much sectarianism existed among martial artists in that time..."
As Shen Qian listened to the sighs of Jiangling Wang, he seemed to be deep in thought.
Admittedly, he did not experience the era of ancient martial arts, nor did he fully understand the development of martial arts among humankind. However, by combining some recorded historical facts with the oral account of the King of Jiangling, Shen Qian was able to roughly sort out some things.
Let alone martial arts, even in all walks of life, according to the traditional Chinese mindset, there has always been the idea of master-disciple and father-son transmission.
Even in the ancient times he had just visited, although the human race was incredibly united with the outside world, it was impossible for the five major races to share their core martial arts techniques.
The Yan Clan excels in alchemy, the Da Xia Clan is unparalleled in swordsmanship, and the You Clan is proficient in incantations...
Yet there has never been a single person who could gather all the martial arts knowledge of humankind into one person.
The ancient martial artists who existed before the revival of spiritual energy were extremely wary of each other during the long years when all external enemies had retreated, and they would not easily pass on their martial arts to outsiders.
Even after the revival of spiritual energy, during an era when ancient martial artists once served as the mainstay, most of the powerful still cherished the idea of keeping their brooms to themselves.
Having lived through that era of transition, the Prince of Jiangling possessed a fervent passion for martial arts.
He was dissatisfied with the strong men keeping their secrets, but on the other hand, he wanted all martial arts inheritances to proceed in an orderly manner, so that no genius would be buried.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qian roughly understood why the Prince of Jiangling had single-handedly established a modern martial arts education system.
It was he who single-handedly created the era where everyone is involved in martial arts. As long as you stand out in the martial arts college entrance examination, you can enter a martial arts college and have access to more advanced martial arts resources.
Although even in modern society, it is impossible to avoid the situation of keeping secrets, some unique skills or more advanced techniques are only passed down between masters and apprentices.
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