Chapter Three: Prince Su Zhu Jin Zhen, the Emperor's Desire to Inspect the Frontier
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At night, there was an inn.
The youth who had led the horse by day, after washing away the dust of travel, revealed a complexion fair and delicate, skin radiant like jade, pure and white as snow, bearing the graceful and elegant appearance of a truly exquisite young maiden.
She leaned against the window, watching the Tiance Army patrolling the street below. The doubt and suspicion in her eyes refused to fade.
“Tiance, Tiance!”
“I have fought fierce beasts like tigers and leopards without fear, yet those patrolling soldiers sent chills down my spine with just a glance, nearly forcing me to flee. Such cases might be exceptions, but…”
The military never lacked the strong; this the girl knew well.
But from the moment she crossed the border until now, every Tiance soldier she encountered or glimpsed from afar exuded a sense of extreme danger—one that only those facing a martial warrior of the highest rank, the first grade, could feel.
The Tiance Army—were they all first-grade martial warriors?
The thought struck her like a cat sensing a predator, nearly making her bristle.
Martial warriors have nine grades: Diamond, Finger Profound, Celestial Phenomenon.
Among the nine, the first grade, the innate, is the strongest; the second grade is the perfected acquired; the third is the universal cycle realm.
In this vast martial world, countless warriors exist in the lower three grades—body refining and Qi training. Ordinary farmers practicing for a decade might reach the lower three grades. From the middle three grades onward, one accumulates inner strength and comprehends the wondrous meridians; without a renowned master’s guidance, disciples rarely ascend.
Those who reach the upper three grades—even if only like this girl at the third grade universal cycle realm—have mastered the twelve principal meridians and eight extraordinary meridians, completing the great inner energy cycle. Such martial experts, like plucking leaves or flying petals, are considered masters within a single nation.
The first-grade innate realm requires inner energy to be perfectly harmonized, with all meridians connected; inner energy returns from acquired to innate true Qi, allowing one to gather Qi several meters with a snap of a finger and injure enemies from a hundred paces away.
Beyond that, the Diamond realm requires refining the body with the energy of heaven and earth to achieve an indomitable physique, making axes and swords mere trifles—only then can one be called a great master. Above that, Finger Profound is the contemporary grandmaster.
Celestial Phenomenon is revered as the supreme grandmaster.
They move with the force of heaven and earth; every gesture carries celestial majesty.
They are unparalleled beings.
Hence, a first-grade innate realm warrior is by no means an ordinary person.
“And that old man at the bookstall…”
The girl sighed deeply. Perhaps the old man did not know her, but in her youth, she had once seen him from afar with her grandmother. How spirited and arrogant that man was back then!
One person, one blade, looking down on the world.
Even the four great holy monks of the Great Sui, the current head and elder of the Compassionate Boat Quiet Studio, and the six great masters of the Demonic Sect never earned so much as a glance from him. His mastery of the blade was unmatched in the era, rivaled only by Song Que of the Lingnan Song clan.
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Almost everyone believed he would be the greatest figure in the next hundred years of the Ming dynasty to prove himself as a terrestrial immortal through the way of the blade.
Yet now, the dignified head of the Divine Blade Hall, once a legend of the blade, had fallen to the streets, selling calligraphy and paintings?!
This was not even what shocked the girl most.
What moved her most was that, though the old man at the bookstall—also known as Bai Tianyu by day—spoke with some reluctance about the Divine Blade Hall’s destruction and his own defeat, he bore no hatred.
Instead, he was filled with respect for the one who had defeated him and annihilated the Divine Blade Hall.
“I heard tomorrow is the Tiance selection; I wonder what spectacle it will be?”
The words of the girl with the red tasselled spear from earlier that day echoed in her heart: “To join the army for great righteousness, to guard the nation with a spear—this is the true way of the chivalrous.”
“And also, Prince Su…”
The girl gazed at the bright moon, as if seeing that proud young prince who turned his back on the world, unmatched in might, able to rival three terrestrial immortals united before the age of twenty.
What extraordinary talent and wisdom was this?
Compared to him, the so-called Evil King Shi Zhixuan, or the Heavenly Monk and Earth Nun of the Great Sui Zen Sect, were mere trifles.
“Perhaps tomorrow I shall see that Prince Su.”
The girl tossed and turned, only drifting to sleep deeply as the night waned.
….
Prince Su’s Mansion.
This place was the most heavily guarded in Lanzhou, known far and wide as a place where even a flying insect’s trace could not be concealed.
Every three steps a post, every five steps a sentry.
To serve as a guard for Prince Su’s mansion, one must at minimum surpass the ninth grade of martial warriors—the Diamond realm. Within the mansion’s guard division, Finger Profound and Celestial Phenomenon practitioners stood watch.
A true dragon’s den and tiger’s lair.
In recent years, there had been fearless souls who dared to breach Prince Su’s mansion.
More than one Celestial Phenomenon realm warrior had come.
As for the outcome…
The flowers bloomed vividly at the mass grave outside Jiayuguan.
Reception Hall of the Mansion.
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Zhu Jinzheng sat upright at the head seat, flanked on both sides by the military and political ministers of Shaanxi.
If this scene had occurred before Zhu Jinzheng ascended to the throne, once news leaked, the court officials in the capital or ears in other noble mansions would have surely accused him of factionalism, even treason.
But Zhu Jinzheng was different.
A living terrestrial immortal, the foremost prince of Ming with a million troops under his command in Lanzhou—no one dared utter a word of criticism, even if the news reached the court.
Because anyone who dared to recklessly slander Zhu Jinzheng was dead.
In the past few years, one grand councilor and several officials from first to fourth and fifth rank had learned this bloody lesson, making the censors and talkative officials finally understand the danger of careless speech.
Zhu Wushi, the iron-willed divine scout of Hulong Manor, held authority over supervising court officials.
Ask him if he dared reach into Lanzhou or utter a word against Prince Su’s actions in the court.
The Eastern Depot wielded power over court and state, corrupting governance, acting as the emperor’s white gloves, yet they too remained silent about Zhu Jinzheng, never daring to speak recklessly.
Shen Bing, the Lanzhou magistrate appointed by the court, rose and saluted, saying, “Your Highness, the emperor sent an imperial edict half a month ago, announcing his inspection of the nine border regions. How should we respond?”
Though Shen Bing was court-appointed, since Zhu Jinzheng inherited the throne of Prince Su, his various acts benefiting the nation and people—leading troops to repel the Mongol and Liao incursions five years ago, securing Ming’s peace—had completely won Shen Bing’s loyalty.
To him, the imperial court was lofty and detached; even the emperor could not truly empathize with the people, nor bring such flourishing life to Lanzhou’s populace.
Therefore, the emperor’s inspection brought no joy.
Only deep worry.
He feared that when the emperor toured the border, he might grow wary of their prince.
Perhaps even…
“Within the court, the Eastern Depot and Hulong Manor vie for power; the civil officials restrain imperial authority; the emperor is already overwhelmed. He would not dare, would he?” Shaanxi Commander Yang Qingyi hesitated.
He sensed Shen Bing’s subtle implication but was pessimistic.
Court factional strife had become the norm.
The Eastern Depot, Hulong Manor, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Six Doors all checked each other, with the civil officials and various martial forces entangled. The emperor’s troubles were not to be resolved overnight.
Even if the emperor wished to deal with them, he would first have to settle the court’s issues.
Zhu Jinzheng held his teacup, the mild fragrance of the brew suiting his taste. Hearing their conversation, he smiled faintly and shook his head, “The emperor’s usual inspection of the nine borders, though probing in intent, can only offer reassurance. He is not yet strong enough to move against Prince Su’s mansion.”