Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Future We Hope For—Whose Idea Was It?

Changsun Wangqing and Cao Xueyang sat upright, listening intently.

"Is Your Highness concerned about those old monsters hidden within the Great Ming?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked at them, shaking his head calmly. "Those who reach the Celestial Realm connect their essence with heaven and earth; barring any accidents, they can live for a millennium. I do not believe they have all perished, but the Great Ming imperial family should no longer possess such foundations."

"From the moment I stepped into the Land Celestial Realm, there has been no one in the same sphere who could cause me worry."

"To me, one celestial or several make little difference."

"I simply do not wish for my soldiers to sacrifice their lives in vain."

Zhu Jinzhen’s face was filled with intense confidence. Since entering the Land Celestial Realm, he was like a hidden dragon ascending from the abyss, a trapped dragon returning to the sea, finally able to fully unleash the unparalleled power of the Ethereal Sword Technique.

With a single thought, his sword intent surged like a tide, overwhelming and pervasive.

He could wield the eleventh sword strike with the force of a billion, rendering any "earthly immortal" unable to withstand his assault.

Cao Xueyang felt a tremor in her heart. "But Your Highness, didn't you often say..."

"That mercy does not govern an army, is that it?"

Zhu Jinzhen knew what she was about to say and replied with a smile, "Naturally, I understand that principle. But by the same logic, if I only need to wait a short time to avoid many unnecessary sacrifices, why rush for a moment's impulse and waste lives?"

"Xueyang, on the battlefield, opportunities are fleeting."

"Being soft-hearted is indeed a great taboo for a commander."

"However, to plot for the world is like cooking a delicate fish; one must not be impatient."

"If we rise abruptly—setting aside the lack of a proper name or cause—if we fail to take the Great Ming in one strike and instead drag it into a whirlpool of war, the surrounding wolves and tigers will surely seize the chance to take a bite."

"The recent letter from the Mongol-Yuan has made me even more vigilant."

At this point, Zhu Jinzhen narrowed his eyes, revealing a dangerous light. "Although Zhu Houzhao is a wise monarch, for the sake of his ancestors' legacy and the Great Ming's prosperity, who can guarantee he won't compromise with the Mongols and the Liao to form an alliance against us?"

One Great Ming, or even a Mongol-Yuan or Great Liao—Zhu Jinzhen feared none of them alone.

But if the three nations joined forces, a regional prince like him would struggle to resist the power of the entire world.

Could the Tiance and Cangyun armies, no matter how formidable, withstand the combined efforts of the Great Ming, the Mongol-Yuan, and the Great Liao?

Wait...

Zhu Jinzhen paused, re-evaluating his own forces.

A thought bloomed in his mind: "Perhaps, I actually could?"

Two hundred thousand Cangyun soldiers, every one a martial artist of the third rank or higher, with countless masters at the Vajra and Zhixuan realms, and nearly five hundred Great Masters of the Celestial Phenomenon. In terms of pure combat power, there was no one in the world who could stop them.

The Tiance Mansion, while slightly inferior, was not far behind.

Three hundred thousand Tiance soldiers, an army composed entirely of martial artists; once clad in armor, each possessed the courage to face a hundred men.

Combined, even if they were not invincible, perhaps they didn't need to act so timidly.

Nevertheless, Zhu Jinzhen still preferred to be certain of victory. "We need only wait patiently for a while longer. Once the Tiance and Cangyun armies are fully equipped and every soldier possesses a Vajra-like physique, we will be able to sweep across the world with no rivals. Even if all nations unite against us, I can still crush them with the momentum of an avalanche."

"And our soldiers will not need to suffer many casualties."

"Isn't that better?"

Zhu Jinzhen knew clearly what he wanted.

He had already entered the Land Celestial Realm and, barring accidents, could live for eight hundred to a thousand years. Furthermore, he possessed the heaven-defying item known as the Gourmet’s Tablecloth.

Given time, cultivating both the Cangyun and Tiance armies into forces consisting entirely of Vajra or even Zhixuan realm warriors was merely a matter of time.

There was truly no need to rush.

Because he was never the one who needed to be anxious.

"Your Highness possesses profound foresight and a broad vision; it is I who was dull-witted."

Changsun Wangqing and Cao Xueyang exchanged a glance, their eyes falling upon the Gourmet’s Tablecloth. They deeply understood the implications of Zhu Jinzhen’s words; with this heaven-defying artifact, they did not need to be impatient. They only needed to let time flow.

Achieving the state their Prince envisioned was enough.

Reflecting on his words, Changsun Wangqing, the Marshal of Yan, could not help but show a look of longing. "If twenty thousand Cangyun soldiers were all to reach the Zhixuan realm, we could sweep through any nation and conquer the world on our own, couldn't we?"

An army of two hundred thousand Zhixuan masters, and well-trained Cangyun soldiers at that. Changsun Wangqing could not imagine what could possibly stop them.

Cao Xueyang felt the same. Although she was not the head of the Tiance Mansion, she led the eight-thousand-strong Dragon Riding Cavalry.

"Eight thousand Zhixuan masters is a terrifying number."

"If such a day truly comes..." A scene appeared in Cao Xueyang's mind: she leading the eight thousand Zhixuan-level Dragon Riders, trampling through the dust of history, their horses galloping across the world, invincible and unopposed.

Just thinking about it made her heart race.

The Cangyun and Tiance soldiers working nearby were also high in spirits, their morale soaring, their pace of work quickening. They too looked forward to the day when the two great armies would be entirely composed of Zhixuan masters.

Zhu Jinzhen was waiting as well.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

What he most looked forward to was the surprise his system would bring him next.

...

Cangyun base.

Yan Yimei was listening to the detailed mission reports from Huang Xuemei and the others.

"My apologies, Commander Yan."

"It was my own decision, and I nearly hindered the Prince's grand plan." Huang Xuemei lowered her head. The commotion she caused in Jingzhou was significant, almost an open defiance of the imperial court. She didn't fear the consequences, but she dreaded disappointing her Prince.

Yan Yimei looked at Huang Xuemei calmly, as if she could see through her thoughts. "Rest assured, the Prince was neither angry nor disappointed; on the contrary, he felt you did very well."

"Ah?" Huang Xuemei looked up in surprise.

Yan Yimei repeated Zhu Jinzhen’s reaction and words from when she had reported and sought punishment earlier.

"That puts my mind at ease." Huang Xuemei felt a sense of relief. She had seen Zhu Jinzhen several times today, and her heart had been filled with trepidation, fearing his blame or disappointment.

Her life had been saved by Zhu Jinzhen.

The blood feud of the Huang family had also been avenged by Zhu Jinzhen, who led her to ride through the martial world and exact justice.

For Huang Xuemei, it mattered not if her hands were stained with blood or if she killed countless people; as long as her Prince did not look at her with disappointment and did not abandon her, it was enough.

As the Deputy Commander of the Secret Guard, Yan Yimei naturally understood Huang Xuemei's feelings and felt a pang of envy.

However, admonishment was still necessary.

"Although the Prince did not blame you, you were still too impulsive in this matter."

"I..."

Huang Xuemei hesitated.

Behind her, a woman with long, arched eyebrows and sharp, murderous eyes spoke up for her.

"Commander Yan, this was not Sister Xuemei's fault."

"The Prefect of Jingzhou was truly cruel beyond words. Not only did he destroy Ling Shuanghua's face, but he also intended to bury her alive to force Ding Dian to reveal the location of the treasure of Emperor Liang."

"That is why we..."

"And so what?"

Yan Yimei’s brows furrowed, her natural authority imposing. "Killing a Prefect of Jingzhou and making it known to all—if you couldn't bear it and acted out of righteousness, even if you had sliced Ling Tuisi into a thousand pieces, neither the Prince nor I would blame you."

"But you fed him aphrodisiacs, threw him into a pigsty, and caused a city-wide scandal. And that’s not all—afterward, you sliced him into a thousand pieces, left him barely alive, sealed his acupoints, and threw him into a latrine to drown in filth."

"Whose idea was that?"