86: Chapter 86 The world is in ruins, the Marquis of Zhenguo is patching it up.

After the martial demonstration ended and before the Heaven Class officially began...

Following tradition, the academy gave everyone a day off.

On this day, students could freely enter and leave the academy to relax their frayed nerves.

Chen Shanzhi didn't linger at the academy; he took the mansion's carriage and returned to the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion in a grand manner.

As soon as he stepped through the gates, he ran into a beaming Chen Rou.

This beautiful aunt, who usually had a touch of sickly pallor...

...was now radiant. She took Chen Shanzhi's hand, looking him up and down incessantly while pouring out praises as if they cost nothing:

"Shan'er, I knew you were capable."

"All those people gossiping about you have been slapped in the face now!"

"If your father knew from beyond the grave that you've become so successful, he would surely be very happy!"

Facing Chen Rou's praise, Chen Shanzhi simply scratched his head and sat down in a grand armchair.

He picked up a teacup, took a large gulp, and said:

"Aunt, after these few matches..."

"...although I won, I suffered quite a bit from my lack of Martial Skills."

"I relied entirely on my Physical Body to endure hits and swung my fists wildly like a brawler. Thinking back, it's a bit embarrassing."

"I came back today because I want to learn the Martial Skills of our Zhenguo Marquis Mansion."

"I want to pick up everything I neglected before."

Chen Rou was stunned for a moment, then covered her mouth and chuckled, "You child, you finally know to be ambitious."

"Come with me. It's time for you to see the foundation of our mansion."

Chen Rou led Chen Shanzhi through many twists and turns until they reached a small, isolated pavilion in the deepest part of the mansion.

"This is the mansion's Secret Library Pavilion, protected by a Formation personally set up by the Old Marquis back then."

Chen Rou stepped forward, bit her fingertip, and dripped a drop of blood into a groove on the pavilion's stone door while her hands quickly formed several complex seals.

*Rumble...*

The stone door opened slowly, and the scent of old books wafted out.

The two walked into the secret pavilion, where luminous pearls embedded in the walls emitted a soft glow.

In the center of the room stood several simple red sandalwood shelves, upon which over a dozen Jade Slips of various colors were neatly arranged.

These Jade Slips were the vessels used to record high-level Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques.

"Shan'er, what's recorded in these Jade Slips..."

"...are all the Martial Skills and movement techniques our Zhenguo Marquis Mansion has collected over the decades," Chen Rou said, pointing at the wooden shelves.

Chen Shanzhi's eyes lit up, and he approached while rubbing his hands together.

"Let me see what kind of good stuff is in the treasury of the number one on the heaven Rank..."

He picked up a Jade Slip, pressed it to his forehead, and sent his Mental Energy into it.

A moment later, the excitement on Chen Shanzhi's face froze, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He put down the Jade Slip and picked up another, pressing it to his forehead.

He repeated this several times.

The light in Chen Shanzhi's eyes faded completely.

A disappointed look that said "as I expected" appeared on his face.

In the game, these Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills...

...were categorized by quality using colors: red, orange, purple, blue, and green.

But in this real high-martial world, they naturally weren't categorized that way.

Cultivation Technique Ranks were strictly divided from top to bottom into: Immortal Rank, Saint-Grade, Mystic Rank, Spirit Rank, and Mortal Rank.

As an early-stage stepping-stone villain in an adult game...

...Chen Shanzhi knew the setting of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion in the game very well.

Aside from the Saint-Grade Cultivation Technique "Peerless Divine Marquis" he cultivated at the start, which served as the Family Legacy...

...it seemed the mansion couldn't produce a single decent top-tier Martial Skill at all!

In the game, even if the protagonist didn't choose the Prince Qi route...

...even if he survived to the Late Stage, the highest-ranking Martial Skill he cultivated in his game status panel was only Mystic Rank.

Since his Transmigration, he had always thought this lousy setting was because...

...the original playboy was ignorant and incompetent, so he never bothered to learn the mansion's core Martial Skills.

But today, upon entering the most central secret pavilion, he finally discovered...

Good grief, it turned out this massive Zhenguo Marquis Mansion was actually damn poor!

The residence of the number one on the immortal stele heaven rank and the big shot of the Great Jiang Dynasty's martial world...

...actually had Mystic Rank as its highest-level Martial Skill!

Although a Mystic Rank Martial Skill could cause countless small and medium Schools to fight to the death for it in the outside world...

...compared to the title of "number one on the heaven Rank," it was truly underwhelming!

As if sensing Chen Shanzhi's inner disappointment...

...Chen Rou walked to his side and explained softly:

"Shan'er, do you feel that the Ranks of our mansion's Martial Skills are too low?"

Chen Shanzhi curled his lip and said nothing, but his expression said it all.

Chen Rou sighed and said patiently:

"Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques are the foundation for any power's survival and their most core strategic resources."

"From ancient times to the present, whether it be great noble families or top-tier Sects..."

...they all treat these core martial arts as absolute taboos, guarding them jealously and never easily passing them to outsiders.

"Once an outsider is found to have secretly learned them, it becomes a blood feud that ends only in the destruction of one's clan!"

Chen Rou pointed to the Jade Slips on the wooden shelves:

"Although the Marquis is number one on the heaven Rank, our Zhenguo Marquis Mansion, after all, rose to power through military merit."

"We rose too quickly, and our foundation ultimately cannot compare to those noble families and Schools that have been passed down for thousands of years."

"Furthermore, the Marquis has spent most of his life stationed at the border, guarding against the chaos caused by the Demon People."

"He simply had no time or energy to specifically scour the Jianghu for martial arts."

"The Martial Skills you see now, as well as the 'Peerless Divine Marquis' you Cultivate..."

...are already the best things the Marquis and your father brought back after narrowly escaping death in the Academy Secret Realm."

After listening, Chen Shanzhi silently put down the Jade Slip in his hand.

He felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Indeed, with the terrifying strength of his "cheap" grandfather, the number one on the heaven Rank...

...if he really wanted to act like a bandit and plunder martial arts...

...while those top-tier Sects guarded by the top ten of the heaven Rank were not to be trifled with...

...robbing a few first-rate noble families or Schools to get a set of Saint-Grade Martial Skills to bolster the mansion's facade would definitely be as easy as drinking water.

But he didn't do that.

This old man, since following the Late Emperor to conquer the Great Jiang territory...

...had dedicated his entire life to this land.

Aside from his early years in the capital, where he and the Late Emperor endured immense pressure...

...to break the knowledge monopoly of the noble families and Schools and found the Four Seas Academy...

...leaving a glimmer of hope for the children of humble families across the world...

...he had almost always been like a nail, firmly driven into the border.

...defending against those Demon Dynasties that viewed humans as food.

In the memories of Chen Shanzhi's body, he hadn't even seen his grandfather's face once.

Establishing the Four Seas Academy indeed gave countless humble Martial Artists a Heaven-Defying chance to change their fates.

It also gave the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion immense prestige among the common people.

But this undoubtedly touched the core interests of the noble families and Sects throughout the world.

Consequently, the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion was deeply resented by various Schools in the Jianghu.

In the imperial court, they were also marginalized by officials from noble backgrounds.

Even worse, after the Late Emperor passed away, the current Emperor...

...felt deep apprehension toward the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion for holding heavy military power and having achievements that overshadowed the throne.

Chen Shanzhi sometimes really couldn't understand what this grandfather he had never met was actually after.

In this high-martial world where a Profound Gate Realm Martial Artist could easily slaughter dozens of ordinary people...

...were these powerless commoners really that important?

As the world's number one, wouldn't it be better to just be a tyrannical noble clan?

Why insist on having no friends in the court or the Jianghu...

...and stubbornly turning himself into an isolated island?

No wonder in the original game plot, when the protagonist Tang Liu raised his arm and called for a crusade against the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion...

...the nobility, the imperial Family, and the righteous Sects were all too happy to fan the flames or even kick them while they were down.

"Dammit..."

Chen Shanzhi couldn't help but curse silently in his heart.

If he wasn't mistaken, his grandfather was definitely an extreme idealist, a pure hero.

Such a person was worthy of respect, but following him meant getting no benefits and facing danger at every turn.

But he had no choice; as the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, he was part of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion lineage from birth.

It was no wonder that in the early stages of the game, the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion was schemed against by various forces.

Even when he, the only Bloodline descendant, was killed by the protagonist, no one spoke up for justice.

"No one can help me with this mess."

"It seems I have to rely on myself for everything!"

Chen Shanzhi sighed to himself.

The world is tattered, and the Marquis of Zhenguo is patching it up.

But the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion is tattered, and it's up to me to patch it up.

Dammit, I just wanted to lie flat as a noble scion and have a girl in each arm.