Chapter 27: Zhu Jinzhen's Stance, Zhang Sanfeng's Observations

"Your Highness, Commander Changsun has successfully invited Master Zhang Sanfeng back, and they are currently on their way."

"I see. You may withdraw."

The fact that Changsun Wangqing had managed to "invite" Zhang Sanfeng was somewhat unexpected to Zhu Jinzhen. However, he quickly deduced her intentions and, while deep in thought, turned to Li Chengen beside him. "How long has Yiyan been gone with the troops?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, it has been over an hour."

"Once he has 'invited' the Divine Marquis of Iron Gall, have him brought directly to the Tiance Mansion." Zhu Jinzhen emphasized the word "invited," a rough plan already forming in his mind.

"Understood. I will send orders for him immediately."

Li Chengen nodded and at once instructed a Tiance soldier to convey Zhu Jinzhen’s intent with the utmost speed.

Once the Tiance Mansion was clear of outsiders, Yan Yimei quickly returned and bowed, asking, "Your Highness, Pang Ban and his cohorts have all been captured as ordered. How shall we deal with them?"

Zhu Jinzhen frowned at the mention of them. They would provide no useful intelligence. The Great Ming and the Mongol Empire were mortal enemies; he considered keeping them alive—even as fish on a chopping block—to be foolish. But to extort confessions from several Grandmasters of the Celestial Phenomena? Zhu Jinzhen was not that naive. Those who reached the realm of Celestial Phenomena were individuals whose mental states had transcended the mundane; in terms of endurance, no hundred mortals with iron-willed resolve could compare to them. Conventional methods of torture would be useless. Yet, he hesitated to simply execute them.

In the end, Zhu Jinzhen thought of his system and that woman. He shook his head. "Keep them for now. They may still have some use."

"As you command." Yan Yimei nodded.

When Lian Chengbi and the others helped capture Pang Ban, they had already shattered his scapulae, sealed his sea of qi, and severed three of his primary meridians. In such a state, let alone a Grandmaster of the Celestial Phenomena, even an Earth Immortal would be reduced to half a cripple. Without rescue, they would never set foot outside the Cangyun prison for the rest of their lives.

Seeing that Yan Yimei had not moved, Zhu Jinzhen asked in surprise, "Is there something else?"

Yan Yimei dropped to one knee with a thud. "Your Highness, this time, Xuemei and the others acted on their own initiative and defied your instructions, nearly jeopardizing your grand plan. It is a failure of my command; I ask for your punishment."

Zhu Jinzhen, upon hearing this, was neither surprised nor angry; rather, he was unexpectedly calm. "What is the motto of Cangyun?"

"Your Highness..." Yan Yimei’s body trembled.

Zhu Jinzhen remained silent, watching her with an incredibly calm gaze.

Shuddering inwardly, Yan Yimei recited, "All members of Cangyun are comrades, brothers, and sisters, bound to protect one another to the death. Those who betray the nation, break faith, act unjustly, or harm the people for selfish gain shall be the targets of the Cangyun blade. Regarding matters that conflict with the Cangyun creed, we only distinguish right from wrong, with no room for compromise. The movement of Cangyun is not for the opening of the heavens, not for the rumbling of thunder, and not for the stillness of frost."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded with satisfaction. "This is also the motto of the Black Armored Secret Guards."

"I have said that the safety and the mission take precedence in all actions taken by the Secret Guards, but I have never said that I cannot tolerate them taking risks or making mistakes."

"I thank Your Highness for your magnanimity on their behalf."

"Hmm." Zhu Jinzhen nodded, giving Yan Yimei a smile. "However, I still need to give you a slight reprimand."

"They can be soft-hearted, and they can be impulsive. A prefect is merely a man; kill him if you must, and it does not matter if the method is cruel or if their identities are exposed. But if they are constantly swayed by emotion, it will lead to disaster sooner or later."

"Understood, I shall obey." Yan Yimei nodded heavily, realizing that although his Highness was magnanimous, this mission by the Secret Guards had clearly left him dissatisfied.

Zhu Jinzhen shook his head helplessly. "You still don't understand my meaning."

"I am not afraid of them causing a scene or a mess; if a mission fails, it fails. I fear that if they continue to act on emotion, they will eventually fall into an enemy's trap and be used by those with ill intent. That is what would be troublesome."

"Eh?" Yan Yimei stared in astonishment.

Zhu Jinzhen glanced at her sidelong and bluntly admitted, "Don't 'eh' me. I am indeed playing favorites. It wasn't a mission of critical importance; whether others live or die is none of my concern. Not a single one of my people is allowed to be lost."

The Tiance Mansion generals nearby, who had been observing with a detached air, shared a knowing smile.

Yan Yimei, realizing this belatedly, broke into a grin. "Yes, Your Highness. I will certainly relay this and properly admonish them."

"They have been traveling for months on their trip to Jingzhou; they must be exhausted. Let them rest for two days first."

"Very well, Your Highness." The smile on Yan Yimei's face grew even broader.

A Tiance soldier came to report. "Your Highness, Master Zhang has arrived outside the Tiance Mansion."

"Invite them in." Zhu Jinzhen stood up and walked toward the reception hall of the Tiance Mansion.

...

The Tiance Mansion and the Cangyun barracks were adjacent, and the two often visited each other.

The moment Zhang Sanfeng stepped through the gates of the Tiance Mansion led by Changsun Wangqing, he finally understood what it meant to be a powerhouse of the world. Looking around at the heavily guarded Tiance Mansion, with its soldiers stationed every five steps and sentries every ten, he was stunned.

None of the Tiance soldiers that appeared before Zhang Sanfeng were below the Upper Three Grades of cultivation. Every five steps, there was at least one soldier at the Vajra Realm. Within ten steps, there were at least two, and within fifty steps, there was bound to be a master of the Finger-Mystic Realm.

"Hiss!" Zhang Sanfeng gasped as he looked at the line of dozens of Finger-Mystic masters. "The rumors from the outside world that every Tiance soldier possesses the strength of ten thousand men—it seems that is no exaggeration."

Along the way, he had seen at least five hundred Vajra Realm soldiers and over sixty Finger-Mystic masters. The number of Tiance soldiers of the Upper Three Grades was, at a rough glance, at least in the hundreds or thousands. If he hadn't known for certain that he hadn't been affected by any mental arts, Zhang Sanfeng would have thought he had fallen into an illusion or was still dreaming.

"Who is so extravagant as to use Vajra Realm soldiers as gatekeepers and Finger-Mystic masters for garrison duty?" Zhang Sanfeng couldn't help but complain. Even when he attended the Great Sacrifice at the invitation of the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, he had never seen such an exaggerated lineup.

When he accounted for Changsun Wangqing and the other three Earth Immortals who had intercepted him outside the Jiayu Pass, along with the thirty-plus Grandmasters of the Celestial Phenomena and the numerous Finger-Mystic masters, his heart couldn't help but tremble.

Holding millions of elite troops and possessing the foundational martial might of a newly founded dynasty—Zhang Sanfeng suddenly understood exactly what Zhu Jinzhen wanted to do, would do, and could do.

Zhang Sanfeng climbed the steps, looking back at the path he had traveled. The solemn and quiet Tiance Mansion gave him the impression of a tiger crouching and a dragon coiling, an overwhelming force ready to swallow the world. Only one thought remained in his mind: "The heavens of the Great Ming are about to change."