Chapter 558: Zhu Wushi Submits to the Ming Dynasty!

As Zhu Ying's voice fell, a hint of interest appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

"A peak expert of the Divine Ability Realm?"

"In that case, then we shall have a meeting with this Zhu Wushi!"

With that said, Zhu Ying led Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao together to the Dragon Protection Villa.

At this moment, inside the Dragon Protection Villa, the Iron-Fisted Marquis Zhu Wushi was in his room, racking his brains to think of how to deal with the Great Ming Empire.

Gazing at the map of territories on the wall, Zhu Wushi's expression was exceptionally conflicted.

In Zhu Wushi's view, the Great Ming Empire had already consecutively defeated the Jin Kingdom and the Song Kingdom, which meant that both the northern and western sides of the Ming Kingdom bordered the sphere of influence of the Great Ming Empire.

If the Great Ming Empire were to launch an attack from both the north and west simultaneously, the Ming Kingdom would be utterly powerless to fight back.

At this thought, Zhu Wushi felt a significant headache coming on.

Just then, Shangguan Haitang, Guihai Yidao, and Duan Tianya arrived in Zhu Wushi's room at the same time.

"Marquis!"

Zhu Wushi glanced at the three of them and questioned with a solemn expression, "It is so late; why have you three come to see me?"

As Zhu Wushi's voice fell, Shangguan Haitang, Guihai Yidao, and Duan Tianya exchanged glances.

Duan Tianya was the first to speak to Zhu Wushi: "Marquis, we have decided. We hope to join you in assassinating the Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming to avenge the wrongs done to us, and also for the sake of our Ming Kingdom's sovereignty and people."

However, once Duan Tianya finished speaking, Zhu Wushi let out a cold sneer.

Immediately, Zhu Wushi spoke to the three before him with a grim face: "You are truly too naive. Do you really think that even if this King takes action, we could kill the Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming?"

"To tell you the truth, this person's realm has reached the peak of the Divine Ability Realm, even possessing the strength of a half-step Astral Qi Realm. Even if I take action, combined with your three helping, and even if we mobilized the entire martial power of the Dragon Protection Villa, we wouldn't be able to scratch a single hair on that Imperial Grandson."

As Zhu Wushi's voice fell, the faces of Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and Shangguan Haitang instantly turned to panic.

Duan Tianya spoke again: "But Marquis, are we to do nothing and just wait for the Great Ming Imperial Grandson to attack our Ming Kingdom?"

"Is the purpose of the Dragon Protection Villa not to protect the Emperor? If we do not take the initiative, what will we do if that Imperial Grandson truly leads an army to break through the capital?"

Facing Duan Tianya's questioning, Zhu Wushi flew into a rage and slapped Duan Tianya directly.

"Fool!"

Zhu Wushi barked loudly, "Since when did you decide to lecture this King?"

Zhu Wushi continued to scold, "Have I not made myself clear enough? Regarding this Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming, no one under heaven can do anything to him. The destruction of the Ming Kingdom is now an unstoppable event."

As Zhu Wushi's voice fell, Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and Shangguan Haitang looked utterly despairing.

And just at that moment, a sudden gust of wild wind blew through the sky, accompanied by bursts of neighing sounds.

At this time, a guard from the Dragon Protection Villa rushed into Zhu Wushi's room.

The guard shouted in a nervous tone, "Marquis, something bad has happened! There is an anomaly in the sky!"

Zhu Wushi glanced at the guard and said impatiently, "An anomaly? What kind of anomaly? Speak clearly!"

The guard hurriedly replied, "Marquis, your subordinate is not quite sure, but this anomaly is quite large, and it looks like both a cow and a horse, and it can even fly."

After the guard finished, Duan Tianya, who was beside them, grew nervous.

He quickly asked, "Could it be a Pterosaur?"

Zhu Wushi glanced at Duan Tianya again and asked coldly, "Pterosaur? What is a Pterosaur?"

Duan Tianya did not dare to hesitate and quickly explained, "Reporting to the Marquis, your subordinate once saw such an animal in the capital of the Jin Kingdom. I heard the Great Ming soldiers say it is called a Pterosaur."

"These Pterosaurs can fly in the sky and possess incredible combat power. Since a Pterosaur has appeared in the sky above our Dragon Protection Villa, could it be that the Great Ming Imperial Grandson has arrived?"

When Duan Tianya finished speaking, a trace of terror appeared on Zhu Wushi's face.

He never expected that the Great Ming Imperial Grandson would begin attacking his country so soon.

Without hesitation, Zhu Wushi rushed out of the room.

Meanwhile, in the void above.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao sat on the back of the Pterosaur, speaking to Zhu Ying, who was flying through the air beside them, "Xiong Ying, is this the Dragon Protection Villa?"

"Father, Imperial Father, that's right. Below us is the Dragon Protection Villa. This villa is the number one martial institution in the Ming Kingdom."

"Within the Dragon Protection Villa, experts are as numerous as clouds, especially the Iron-Fisted Marquis Zhu Wushi, who can be considered the nation's number one combat power."

As Zhu Ying's voice fell, Zhu Yuanzhang said with anticipation, "Good. In that case, let us go to the Dragon Protection Villa and meet this Zhu Wushi."

Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang patted the back of the Pterosaur, and in the next second, the Pterosaur dove directly into the Dragon Protection Villa.

*Bang!*

With a gust of wind blowing past, the Pterosaur successfully landed in the courtyard of the Dragon Protection Villa.

At the same time, Zhu Wushi, Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, Shangguan Haitang, and other martial experts quickly surrounded the area.

Terror was visible on everyone's faces.

At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao slowly jumped down from the back of the Pterosaur.

"Who is this Zhu Wushi?"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted loudly.

Instantly, everyone's gaze converged upon Zhu Wushi.

Even though Zhu Wushi was the Iron-Fisted Marquis and a Prince of the Ming Kingdom, when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang, he still felt a massive wave of imperial majesty sweeping toward him.

Zhu Wushi even felt an uncontrollable urge to kowtow to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Fortunately, Zhu Wushi was, after all, a peak Divine Ability Realm expert; he forcibly used the true qi within his body to control himself.

Then, Zhu Wushi slowly walked up to Zhu Yuanzhang, swallowed hard, and asked nervously, "Who are you?"

Zhu Wushi had heard Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and the others say that the Great Ming Imperial Grandson was quite young, so when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang, he naturally knew this person was not the legendary Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the Zhu Wushi before him and continued, "You don't even recognize me? Hmph! And you actually have the surname Zhu?"

Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Zhu Wushi's face showed confusion and incomprehension.

He looked closely at Zhu Yuanzhang and the Zhu Biao beside him.

Subsequently, Zhu Wushi vaguely felt that the two before him were somewhat familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

At the same time, Zhu Wushi suddenly sensed a surge of extremely strong true qi approaching.

In an instant, Zhu Ying descended from the sky, suddenly appearing before the crowd.

Standing behind Zhu Wushi, Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and the others hurriedly shouted upon seeing Zhu Ying, "Marquis, this person is the Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming!"

To be honest, when Zhu Wushi heard this sentence, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

He quickly prepared for battle.

However, Zhu Ying had no intention of fighting Zhu Wushi; instead, he turned to Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Old man, how is it? Did they recognize you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and couldn't help but mock himself, "Sigh, these unfilial descendants actually don't even recognize their own ancestor."

"Xiong Ying, could it be that they are all descendants of Old Fourth as well?"

Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's inquiry, Zhu Ying nodded and said with a smile, "Old man, you are right. They are indeed the descendants of Fourth Uncle."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed again, "No wonder. Old Fourth's descendants are simply a bunch of fools."

At this time, Zhu Wushi could finally not hold back any longer. He said coldly to the Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying before him, "Who exactly are you? Why have you come to this King's Dragon Protection Villa?"

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer Zhu Wushi's questions. Instead, he slowly walked up to him and said, "Look at me closely. Do you really not recognize me?"

Although Zhu Wushi did not know who Zhu Yuanzhang was, he still followed Old Zhu's command and observed Zhu Yuanzhang seriously and from a close distance.

Suddenly, Zhu Wushi's face turned pale with shock, and he took several steps back, as if he had seen a ghost.

"You? How is this possible?"

"Could it be...?"

"You are the Hongwu Emperor?"

Zhu Wushi was, after all, a clever man, and being of the Great Ming royal family, he had looked at portraits of Zhu Yuanzhang since childhood. Thus, after observing Zhu Yuanzhang closely, he recognized him instantly.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer hid his identity and spoke, "You are quite a clever one. That's right, I am the founding emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang."

As Old Zhu revealed his identity, the martial experts of the entire Dragon Protection Villa were greatly shocked.

Of course, the most surprised was Zhu Wushi.

Although he felt that the old man before him indeed looked very similar to the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, he still could not believe this person was Zhu Yuanzhang.

After all, in Zhu Wushi's knowledge, Zhu Yuanzhang had died over a hundred years ago.

How could he be in the living world now!

Thus, Zhu Wushi asked with a trembling voice, "The Hongwu Ancestor passed away over a hundred years ago, how could it be..."

Before Zhu Wushi could finish, Zhu Ying, who had been silent, walked up to him.

"I know you have thousands of doubts in your heart, but this person is indeed Zhu Yuanzhang."

Then, Zhu Ying slowly explained to Zhu Wushi, "The myriad heavens and worlds naturally consist of more than just the world you reside in. Although in this Wuxia-integrated world, the founding emperor of the Ming Kingdom passed away long ago, in another world, Zhu Yuanzhang is still alive."

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang continued from Zhu Ying's words, "Xiong Ying is right. I have come this time to unify this world."

Even though Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang had explained clearly enough, for Zhu Wushi, it was still difficult to believe.

"How is this possible? How did I not know other worlds existed?"

"Who exactly are you?"

Seeing that Zhu Wushi still did not believe him, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed helplessly and turned to complain to Zhu Ying, "Xiong Ying, Old Fourth's descendants are too dim-witted."

"Even now, they still don't believe I am the founding emperor of the Great Ming."

At this time, Zhu Ying spoke to Zhu Wushi again, "I know it is hard for you to understand, but this person is indeed Zhu Yuanzhang. In the world we come from, the Great Ming has long since unified the world. I have accompanied my Imperial Grandfather here to unify your Wuxia-integrated world."

After saying this, Zhu Ying gave a light wave of his hand.

Instantly, a vision of the Great Ming Empire unifying the world was presented before Zhu Wushi, along with scenes of the Great Ming Empire's armies entering the Wuxia-integrated world through spatial portals to conquer the Jin and Song Kingdoms.

After watching this, Zhu Wushi finally understood everything.

Immediately, Zhu Wushi hurriedly knelt before Zhu Yuanzhang and bowed, "Descendant Zhu Wushi pays respects to the Hongwu Emperor. May the Hongwu Emperor live for ten thousand years!"

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face lit up with joy, and he said with a smile, "Rise."

"Thank you, Hongwu Emperor."

Once Zhu Wushi stood up, he quickly asked, "Since you are the Hongwu Emperor, does that mean the Great Ming Empire will not attack the Ming Kingdom?"

However, after Zhu Wushi finished this sentence, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying exchanged a glance, and both fell into silence.

A moment later, Zhu Yuanzhang questioned in a cold tone, "If we were to attack this Ming Kingdom, what would your choice be?"

Without hesitation, Zhu Wushi quickly replied, "Reporting to the Hongwu Emperor, I am willing to surrender to you!"

"Very good. In that case, then go and persuade the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom to surrender to us as well!"

With that said, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao once again rode the Wind God Pterosaur into the void, while Zhu Ying also vanished from everyone's sight in a flash.

...

Meanwhile, within the Shaolin Temple.

The current number one martial arts sect of the Song Kingdom was in a state of ruin following the looting by Lan Yu.

Only the Sweeping Monk stood alone at the entrance of the Shaolin Temple, slowly sweeping fallen leaves with a broom.

After the Sweeping Monk finished clearing the leaves in front of the gate, he silently walked to the top floor of the Sutra Pavilion.

He spoke to a set of withered bones, "Grandmaster Bodhidharma, this disciple has decided. I must still avenge our Shaolin."

As the Sweeping Monk's voice fell, the withered bones before him suddenly spoke, "Since you have made your decision, then follow your heart."

"In this life, the most important thing is to have no regrets."

Hearing this, the Sweeping Monk muttered, "Amitabha, this disciple understands."

Afterward, the Sweeping Monk left the Shaolin Temple, carrying a worn-out broom, and slowly headed toward the capital of the Song Kingdom.

Clearly, for the Sweeping Monk, he intended to avenge the Song Kingdom and the disciples who had died in the Shaolin Temple.

...

At this moment, within the capital of Song Province, after Zhu Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Biao returned to the imperial palace, they did not immediately send troops to attack the Ming Kingdom, but instead waited for Zhu Wushi's response.

During this time, Zhu Ying went to a secret cultivation chamber, attempting to utilize the Great Ming's national destiny to break through his realm.