Chapter 571: Naadam (4)
The North is an ambiguous land.
At least, to those accustomed to the Ming Empire, it is.
That’s because it was a region relentlessly sealed off by the absolute authorities of the imperial administration—like Emperor Gunreung, the Three Great Generals, and the Three Imperial High Protectors.
In other words, aside from a minuscule number of martial sects with long-standing ties to the imperial family, there was no reason for anyone from the central martial world to cross paths with the northern martial realm.
Internal strife and external threats.
The Ming Empire entrusted the internal trouble—its martial world—to Ipwang Fortress, while it directly faced the northern foreign powers that posed an existential threat to the empire’s survival.
And thus, it became a wall.
The imperial power, once built on uniting countless martial families and major sects, poured all its might into the North, again and again.
To such an extent that the scale of it could be considered the most grandiose chapter in the Ming dynasty’s history.
Naturally, most martial artists in the Ming realm knew very little about the customs, martial arts, dispositions, or power structure of the Yozoku.
That’s why even high-level masters seeking the secret manuals of the Zhongnan Sword Immortal had rushed recklessly into the North.
Because they were painfully ignorant.