When Ming Ji was very young, Nanqi was invaded by foreign tribes. As one of the four great families of Nanqi, the Ming Royal family naturally lent their full support. Her parents died in that battle, and her younger sister was struck by a foreign tribe's supernatural power, and from then on could only maintain the body of a child.
With the pillars of the family gone, in the Ming Royal family, their direct line of royalty was left with only one old man and three children. Ming Ji's older brother was a vulgar person, and he was born without much potential. The clan had once poured resources into him, but in the end, he barely managed to step into the Life Fire realm.
The clan elders were extremely disappointed in Ming Ji's older brother and prepared to choose another heir in the clan. They even planned to transfer a descendant from another branch to Ming Ji's lineage in order to compete for the position of patriarch of the Ming Royal family in the future.
In the end, the older brother committed suicide because he could not accept his mediocrity, leaving behind Ming Ji, her younger sister, and their elderly grandfather.
Without a pillar of support, their lineage's position in the Ming Royal family plummeted. And the grandfather relied on doing hard labor to slowly raise Ming Ji and her sister.
Until Ming Ji was three years old, she showed amazing talent in swordsmanship. It was also from that time that the elders of the Ming Royal family knew that there was a child with a natural sword bone in the clan. Resources and power poured towards Ming Ji like a tide.
In this succession of great waves, the young Ming Ji became accustomed to the power struggles of the world. Her temperament became more and more indifferent, and her swordsmanship also improved rapidly.
Many young people in the clan who considered themselves geniuses could not withstand a single sword from Ming Ji.
From the moment she gained the approval of the clan elders, Ming Ji understood. Only if she was strong enough could she protect her grandfather and sister.
She came here, to Shennong Mountain. Coming to participate in this Martial Arts Assembly was for her sister. Ming Ji had heard people say that the Heavenly King had a way to heal her sister's injuries, allowing her sister to no longer live in the appearance of a child. She wanted to win the championship of the Martial Arts Assembly and get a promise from the Heavenly King. She wanted her sister to grow up normally and live happily in the world.
After arriving at Shennong Mountain, Ming Ji met a person. That person was very unfamiliar, but gave her a very familiar feeling. It was like a throbbing in her bloodline, as if they had been of the same lineage ten thousand years ago.
Ming Ji once thought that this was just her illusion, but when that person's hand stroked her forehead, she felt the warmth of her parents by her side. This made her a little lost and a little surprised.
"Sorry, I was a little presumptuous just now," Jiang Wen said apologetically.
"It's okay," Ming Ji nodded expressionlessly. She touched the top of her head, held her sword, and stood up. Then she slowly walked towards Martial Arts Mountain, ignoring Jiang Wen behind her. Only her heart was volatile, and she couldn't figure out what she was thinking now.
Seeing Ming Ji leave alone, Jiang Wen gently patted the back of his hand. Then he followed behind her and went towards Martial Arts Mountain.
"I really didn't mean to just now," Jiang Wen defended.
"Yes, I know."
"Which branch of the Ming Royal family are you from?"
"...Wen lineage," Ming Ji replied flatly.
"Wen lineage?" Hearing this, Jiang Wen felt that the world was too coincidental. After all, he was once from the Wen lineage of the Ming Royal family. The clan elders had also wanted him to serve as the patriarch. Unfortunately, Jiang Wen refused. Later, the Ming Royal family would send people to Tianyuan City every year to pay tribute to him.
He didn't expect to meet a descendant of the same lineage again after returning. It was really a coincidence in the world, always caught people off guard.
"I also know the elders of the Wen lineage, but I don't know if they are still around," Jiang Wen said with a smile. "I just saw that you are good at using swords, but your mana is insufficient. Could it be that the clan doesn't have any good techniques for you to practice?"
"Well...I'm not very suitable for the clan's techniques," Ming Ji replied.
"Without profound skills, your talent will be wasted. I have a technique here, why don't you try it?" Jiang Wen said with a smile, he really wanted to pass on several of his techniques to Ming Ji.
"...Is that okay?" Ming Ji asked in a low voice.
"Of course, you can come to me after this Martial Arts Assembly is over. Don't worry that I'm lying to you, your body's sword intent can naturally detect the truth," Jiang Wen said, and Ming Ji nodded. She knew that what this person said was true, and the sword intent in her body did not show any hostility towards this person.
"My name is Taixu, you can call me Jiang Taixu. I know your elders, so I'm considered your elder. You might as well call me Uncle Jiang."
"Uncle Jiang," Ming Ji said after a moment of silence after hearing Jiang Wen's words.
Jiang Wen was very happy to be called Uncle Jiang, and he began to give Ming Ji pointers.
Although Ming Ji's swordsmanship was superb and had already reached its peak, there was no end to the world's swordsmanship, and there was always one mountain higher than another. Jiang Wen had been in the Dao Palace for a long time and had experienced many battles. His feelings and understanding were beyond Ming Ji's ability to compare. Even in the matter of swordsmanship, he could give her pointers.
The two walked and talked, and Ming Ji felt that she had gained a lot after being guided by Jiang Wen.
When they arrived at the foot of Martial Arts Mountain, she took a deep breath. She bowed seriously to Jiang Wen: "Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Jiang."
"You're welcome, I just like smart children like you," Jiang Wen said with a smile. He looked up at the ten-thousand-foot-high Martial Arts Mountain, pointed to the top of the mountain, and said, "Once you get up the mountain, we will have no seniority. There will naturally be a battle at that time, don't show mercy."
"I naturally won't," Ming Ji replied solemnly.
"Haha, good!" Jiang Wen smiled and took the lead in climbing towards the top of the mountain.
Although Martial Arts Mountain was high, ten thousand feet at its peak, and endless, it was nothing more than that to Jiang Wen. The strong wind in the mountains blew in his ears like a gentle spring breeze. There was also the harsh winter, but Jiang Wen remained unmoved.
Wind, rain, snow, and falling rocks. Even though he experienced all kinds of things on the way up the mountain, Jiang Wen still walked on flat ground.
He reached the peak without getting wet. His face was calm, and he smiled as he looked at the huge Martial Arts Platform.
This platform was big enough to compare to the Heavenly Fire Palace in the Pure Yang Cave.
There were chess carvings on it, which was the Xiangqi game invented by Jiang Wen that year. I don't know who put the Xiangqi on this huge Martial Arts Platform.
Although the Martial Arts Assembly does not stipulate what realm can participate, most Dao Palace real people will not participate in this assembly. After all, at their level, the Heavenly King's promise is not of much use. On the contrary, exposing their cards is a real loss. If they are defeated by a Life Fire realm genius in this, they will lose face even more. Because of these various situations, there are much fewer Dao Palace realms participating in the Martial Arts Assembly.
But it is not that there are no Dao Palace realms participating. Many Dao Palace cultivators from small sects also want the Heavenly King's promise and the treasures that can be obtained after winning the championship.
Just as Jiang Wen was thinking, he felt a sharp sword aura attack. The cultivator occupying the chariot chess piece changed his face and turned to fly towards the ground.
And Ming Ji behind him jumped onto the chess piece with her sword, looking expressionlessly at the crowd on the Martial Arts Platform.
The atmosphere was tense at this moment.
