Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Meanwhile, just as Xuanyuan Qingfeng swallowed the Flame-Flame Fruit, a massive wave suddenly surged up on the sea near a mysterious island at the end of the Grand Line in the One Piece world without any warning. Giant waves thousands of meters high, as if the sea was in a rage, hurled huge sea kings into the air. Then, a huge whirlpool appeared on the sea surface, and countless sea kings caught in the whirlpool were torn to pieces by the violent currents.

The whirlpool on the sea surface spun faster and faster. In the center of the whirlpool, which led straight to the depths of the seabed, a mysterious spatial rift sealed by countless law runes faintly appeared. The rift emitted black energy to resist the impact of the law runes. Behind the rift, a dark red space appeared. At this moment, angry roars rang out from the rift.

As the roar emanated from the crack, all the law runes near the crack became dazzling, resisting the attack contained in the sound. However, several sound waves still managed to travel out, and immediately the sea surface within a radius of a thousand meters around exploded as if it had been hit by a nuclear explosion. Countless streams of water shot into the sky, creating a spectacular scene.

A moment later, the angry sounds from behind the crack disappeared, and a crimson light flashed through the crack, ignoring the surrounding law runes and disappearing into the sea. At the same time, a fruit on an unknown island quietly changed, transforming back into the shape of a scorching fruit.

In the snowy world, after Xuanyuan Qingfeng ate the Flaming Fruit, the fortune of the entire world immediately changed, presenting a brief spectacle of countless stars twinkling and the sun and moon shining brightly. However, this spectacle only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing.

However, in the snowy world, any expert whose cultivation has reached the Celestial Phenomenon Realm can feel that the world has undergone a slight change. Although they do not know exactly what it is, they can briefly feel that heaven and earth are conveying a joyful mood.

If there were any Qi cultivators in Yuezhou, they would immediately be able to sense that Xuanyuan Qingfeng was blessed by destiny and his fortune was like a dragon.

Meanwhile, the changes in the snow also caught the attention of the so-called immortals in the upper realm. They keenly sensed an unknown change in the lower realm, making it more difficult to descend from the upper realm to the lower realm.

Countless powerful forces in the upper realms began sending people to search for the cause, while others used secret methods to communicate with the Snow World to investigate, hoping to find some clues.

----

Outside Kuaiji City, Huang Qing was secretly shocked as he looked at the sea of ​​martial artists near the arena. This was a scene he had never seen in Northern Mang. Northern Mang had very strict control over martial artists and would never allow so many martial artists to gather together. Otherwise, they would definitely send out a large army to suppress them.

After bidding farewell to Taiping Ling that day, he headed from the capital of Beimang towards Liyang. Along the way, he witnessed the suffering of the people of Beimang. In some grassland tribes, several families might only have one iron pot. He saw entire tribes wiped out by snow disasters, saw tribal slaves on the grasslands who risked their lives to steal horses and escape, only to be killed, and saw bones exposed in the wild, devoured by wolves and vultures.

After crossing the border of Liyang, he witnessed the might of the Northern Liang army and the prosperity of the Southern Dynasty. Of course, he also saw the suffering of some border people. However, compared to Northern Mang, Liyang was generally more prosperous. In particular, the sight of the Northern Liang army frequently venturing deep into Northern Mang to raid for supplies caused countless families in Northern Mang to be torn apart, which deeply pained Huang Qing.

He was unwilling to accept that Northern Mang was born impoverished, unwilling to accept that it was suppressed by Northern Liang and Li Yang, forced to cower in the harsh, cold lands beyond the Great Wall. Therefore, he wanted to use his sword to help the Taiping Order and the Empress open up the prosperous world of the Southern Dynasty. He wanted the people of Northern Mang to live a relatively affluent life like those in the Southern Dynasty, so that they wouldn't have to pay dozens of times more for a needle, a kitchen knife, or an iron pot. He wanted the people of Northern Mang to be able to afford fine silks and satins and use exquisite Southern Dynasty artifacts.

Filled with resentment as a member of the Northern Barbarians and determined to expand his territory with his sword, Huang Qing's first stop was Wudang Mountain, the closest mountain to him. He wanted to use his sword to subdue Wudang, one of the former leaders of the Taoist sects, and declare to the Jianghu of Liyang that the swordsmanship of the Northern Barbarians was no less than that of Liyang. But his imagination was beautiful, while reality was cruel. His trip to Wudang gave Huang Qing a harsh slap in the face.

Even facing Wudang Mountain, a place so low-key it had fallen out of the limelight, Huang Qing was still forced out of the mountain gates by Li Yufu, the newly appointed leader, all the way from the summit of Great Lotus Peak. This made him realize the vast difference in value between his status as the number one swordsman of Northern Mang and that of the major sects of the Central Plains. If the relatively unknown Li Yufu could leave him helpless, imagine the power of renowned figures like Deng Tai'a, Cao Changqing, and Wang Xianzhi.

Huang Qing's confidence was shaken, and he felt somewhat lost, which even eroded his optimism about the war between Northern Mang and Liyang.

Before setting foot on Wudang Mountain, he was confident that the Northern Barbarians could crush the Northern Liang army with overwhelming force and take control of the Central Plains. However, his trip to Wudang Mountain made him realize that Li Yang was full of hidden talents. He feared that the war might not go as expected by the Northern Barbarians. In fact, the Northern Barbarians might repeat the same mistakes and be defeated by Li Yang.

With a mix of trepidation and gloom, Huang Qing, after leaving Wudang, did not follow his planned high-profile challenge to the renowned swordsman of Liyang to build momentum for Beimang. Instead, he quietly headed towards Yuezhou, intending to see what kind of person King Zhao Kai of Yue was for Lord Taiping. Afterward, he planned to return to Beimang to cultivate in seclusion, striving to improve his cultivation further before the great battle.

On the arena outside Kuaiji City, a swordsman defeated another martial artist wielding a staff. Just as he was about to deliver the fatal blow, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and his skin tighten. He immediately stopped and let his opponent scramble off the arena in a sorry state. Only then did Han Shengxuan on the high platform withdraw his cold gaze.

After the arena was built, the number of martial artists gathered around Kuaiji City increased significantly. To exhaust these martial artists and divert their attention, Zhao Kai allowed them to compete on the arena to settle personal grudges. However, during one competition, a martial artist was killed, leading to a brawl involving hundreds of people among the relatives and friends of both sides. After Zhao Kai led his men to suppress the fight, he ordered Han Shengxuan to guard the high platform next to the arena, ensuring that neither side would kill the other. Anyone who disobeyed this order would be severely punished by the Yue Prince's Mansion. With the infamous Han Shengxuan in charge, the subsequent competitions indeed resulted in no more casualties. Instead, it became a popular place for martial artists to enhance their reputations, and some shrewd individuals even secretly opened gambling dens.

What do people at the bottom of the martial arts world pursue? Isn't it fame and fortune? Before, when they encountered opponents in the martial arts world, they might have been hesitant, but now, with the human-cat in charge, their minds immediately become active. Every day, people go up on stage with this idea in mind, looking for someone to fight, all in order to make a name for themselves.

Zhao Kai was unaware that his helpless action would give countless low-level martial artists a chance to make a name for themselves. However, such a martial arts competition frustrated Han Shengxuan. He, a renowned top expert, had become the referee for a group of novice martial artists and had to ensure their safety. Countless times, Han Shengxuan wanted to reach out and twist these guys' necks.

Despite his reluctance, Han Shengxuan patiently compromised on this matter concerning Zhao Kai's future, acting as a referee on the stage.

It wasn't until Li Yibai arrived with the inner disciples of the Dongyue Sword Pool that he felt more at ease. He no longer needed to keep an eye on every arena every moment; he only needed to occasionally glance at the arena where the fighting was intense to ensure that they wouldn't dare to overstep the rules of the Yue King's Mansion.