Chapter 539: Absolute Confidence

“Divine Marquis, what exactly happened? Why is the Emperor so anxious for you to go to the Imperial Palace?”

Duan Tianya, the leader of the four great secret agents, pressed the question in a hurry.

The Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis, Zhu Wushi, glanced at the four men before him and said in a low voice, “The Emperor has issued an order for the Dragon Protection Villa to dispatch an expert to the Great Capital.”

As soon as the Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis finished speaking, expressions of shock appeared on the faces of the four secret agents.

Among them, Duan Tianya immediately spoke up, “Divine Marquis, to the Great Capital? What for?”

The Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis spoke to the group in a cold tone, “Currently, the Great Ming Empire has stationed troops at our Ming Kingdom's borders!”

“Therefore, His Majesty deduces that the Great Ming Empire to the north is very likely to send troops southward!”

“Judging by the current strength of the Ming Kingdom, once the Great Ming Empire's army marches south in a massive wave, our Ming army will not be a match for them at all!”

“Thus, in these extraordinary times, we must employ extraordinary means.”

After the Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis finished, Duan Tianya had clearly guessed the Emperor's intention. He immediately spoke, “Divine Marquis, do you mean to say the Emperor wants us to go to the Great Capital to assassinate the Great Ming Imperial Grandson?”

Duan Tianya looked at the Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis with a face full of shock.

Zhu Wushi nodded slightly and said, “You are correct. The Emperor has made it very clear, specifically naming the Dragon Protection Villa to send an expert to assassinate the Great Ming Imperial Grandson...”

“I also believe this is indeed the best solution at present.”

For the Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis, he also wanted to know exactly how strong this so-called Great Ming Imperial Grandson was.

Therefore, Zhu Wushi hoped to send a top-tier expert to the Great Capital to test the strength of the Great Ming Imperial Grandson.

But.

When Zhu Wushi finished speaking, the faces of the four great secret agents—Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang—standing before him were filled with panic and fear; there was even a hint of dread in their eyes.

One must know that only a month ago, these four secret agents had gone to the Northern Capital to gather intelligence, and at that time, they had all experienced the power of Zhu Ying!

Furthermore, these four secret agents had personally witnessed Zhu Ying kill the top-tier Grandmaster Ouyang Feng with just a single move.

So... upon hearing this, naturally, no one wanted to go.

Cheng Shifei immediately said to Zhu Wushi, “Divine Marquis, please spare us! With our level of skill, we are no match for the Great Ming Imperial Grandson at all!”

“Looking at the entire Ming Kingdom, I'm afraid only if you personally come out of seclusion would there be a chance to fight him.”

Cheng Shifei's meaning was quite obvious; he had no desire to go to the Great Capital to assassinate Zhu Ying.

Of course, it wasn't that Cheng Shifei was refusing to obey Zhu Wushi's orders, but rather that he had a clear understanding of his own personal abilities.

He knew very well that he was no match for the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!

If he truly went to the Great Capital, there would be only one outcome: a miserable death at the hands of the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!

At this moment.

The Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis, Zhu Wushi, cast a glance at Cheng Shifei and said sternly, “You must go whether you want to or not!”

“This is the Emperor's command. Do you intend to defy an imperial decree?”

Zhu Wushi's tone was extremely resolute, leaving almost no room for negotiation.

Zhu Wushi continued, “I was just thinking about which of you four should go, but there is no need to consider it anymore. I'll just send you.”

Zhu Wushi spoke coldly to Cheng Shifei.

However... as soon as Zhu Wushi finished, he was met with direct refusal from Cheng Shifei!

“Divine Marquis, please spare me! My strength is nowhere near enough to kill the Great Ming Imperial Grandson! I won't even have the chance to get close to him!”

“Please, Divine Marquis, plead with the Emperor for me! Don't make me go to the Great Capital!”

Upon hearing Cheng Shifei's response, Zhu Wushi's face instantly turned ashen. Without a doubt, this was not the result Zhu Wushi wanted to see.

“Cheng Shifei.”

“This time, you go whether you want to or not. It is not up to you!”

To be honest.

For Zhu Wushi, he valued the four secret agents immensely. After all, whether it was Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, Shangguan Haitang, or Cheng Shifei, they were all top-tier experts of the Dragon Protection Villa.

If any one of the four were injured or killed, it would be a massive blow to the entire Dragon Protection Villa and even the entire Ming Kingdom!

But now, the situation had become quite critical.

For Zhu Wushi, there was almost no way back.

Once the Great Ming Imperial Grandson of the north led his army south, the Central Plains Ming Kingdom would be utterly powerless to resist.

Furthermore.

Currently, all the nations in the world had already sent experts to the Great Capital to assassinate Zhu Ying.

Naturally, the Ming Kingdom could not simply sit and wait for death.

And among the four secret agents, the one Zhu Wushi liked the least was actually Cheng Shifei.

Thus, Zhu Wushi simply decided to send Cheng Shifei to the Great Capital...

And at this moment, the pressure fell upon Cheng Shifei.

“Divine Marquis, must I go to the Great Capital? Is there no other way?”

Cheng Shifei spoke in a low voice.

Hearing this, the Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis nodded slightly and said, “That is a given. Currently, the Song Kingdom, the Mongol Yuan, and the Dali Kingdom have all sent experts to the Great Capital. Since that is the case, the Ming Kingdom must also dispatch an expert.”

“And you are the most suitable candidate.”

Then.

The Iron-Fisted Divine Marquis patted Cheng Shifei on the shoulder and added, “Cheng Shifei, I am not demanding that you kill the Great Ming Imperial Grandson. I am well aware that with your current strength and realm, you are no match for him.”

“But, no matter what, you must go to the Great Capital this time!”

Having said that.

Zhu Wushi gave Cheng Shifei no room to argue; he simply turned around and vanished from before the group.

After Zhu Wushi left, Duan Tianya approached Cheng Shifei and whispered, “Cheng Shifei, the Divine Marquis has actually made himself quite clear.”

“This time, you only need to go to the Great Capital. You don't actually have to fight the Great Ming Imperial Grandson; you only need to gather intelligence in secret. It's essentially just for show.”

After Duan Tianya finished, Shangguan Haitang also hurriedly added, “Exactly! Cheng Shifei, I see you're usually quite clever, why are you being so stubborn about serious business?”

“Don't worry, the Divine Marquis definitely won't let you die. Perhaps he will even protect you in secret!”

Hearing Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang say this, Cheng Shifei could only nod slightly and agree to go to the Great Capital.

...

A period of time later.

Inside the Imperial Palace of the Great Capital.

Guo Zhen, Liu Lei, and others had come to report recent developments to Zhu Ying.

“Reporting to the Imperial Grandson, all the armies have arrived at the border according to your decree!”

After Commander Wang Wei's subordinate, Liu Lei, finished speaking, Zhu Ying nodded.

Immediately, Zhu Ying said with a serious expression, “Very good. And how have the various countries reacted?”

Liu Lei hurriedly replied, “Reporting to Your Highness, the reaction of all countries has been one of panic. In fact, many countries have already sent envoys to the Great Capital!”

“They will arrive in a few days.”

“Additionally, these countries have also sent some martial arts experts, seemingly intending to assassinate Your Highness.”

To be honest, when Zhu Ying heard Liu Lei's report, he burst into laughter.

Because Zhu Ying knew very well that in all the world, aside from those few peerless experts at the half-step Gangqi Realm, no one else was his match.

“The monarchs of this Wuxia world are simply a bunch of useless fools. They actually think they can send people to assassinate me? Pure fantasy.”

Zhu Ying said with disdain, “However, since these people want to die, I shall fulfill their wish!”

“When these martial arts experts arrive, the guards will intentionally let them in. I want to see exactly what kind of strength they possess!”

As Zhu Ying finished speaking, Liu Lei immediately responded, “As you command!”

Then.

Zhu Ying inquired with the Imperial Guard Commander, Guo Zhen, regarding the construction.

“How is the construction of the Great Capital progressing?”

In the next second, Guo Zhen hurriedly said, “Reporting to the Imperial Grandson, the Great Capital has been built into a city of copper walls and iron bastions. Even if an army of a million attacks, they will not be able to break through!”

Clearly, Guo Zhen was very confident in the Great Capital's defenses.

Hearing this, Zhu Ying nodded, then inquired about the matter of the Jin people.

“I said before that all the Jin people within the Jin Kingdom should be sent to the Great Ming Main Realm to serve as slaves. How is the progress currently?”

This matter was also handled by Guo Zhen. Upon hearing Zhu Ying's inquiry, he naturally did not dare to hesitate and immediately spoke, “Reporting to the Imperial Grandson, during this period, the Imperial Guards have been transporting the Jin people to the Great Ming Main Realm every day through the [Spatial Portal].”

“But because the number of Jin people is simply too large, currently, only five hundred thousand Jin people have entered the Great Ming Main Realm!”

After Guo Zhen finished, Zhu Ying suggested to him, “Do not be so rigid about certain things; you can use your brain when necessary.”

“You can call in transport planes from the Great Ming Main Realm, and you can also deploy a large number of trucks, cars, and so on. You could even simply build railways within the Jin Kingdom!”

“Once transportation is convenient, you can naturally gather all the people within the Jin Kingdom into the Great Capital in a short amount of time, and then use the [Spatial Portal] to transport them to the Great Ming Main Realm!”

It must be said that once Zhu Ying informed Guo Zhen of the solution, the latter was instantly enlightened. Guo Zhen hurriedly bowed to Zhu Ying and said, “This general understands!”

“This general thanks Your Highness for the guidance. Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will immediately transport all the people of the Jin Kingdom to the Great Ming Main Realm!”

...

After Zhu Ying finished processing the reports from Liu Lei and Guo Zhen, he went to the hall of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Since the spiritual energy within this [Wuxia World] was extremely abundant, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao had decided to stay in this [Wuxia World] for a while longer.

They intended to make as much use of the characteristics of this [Wuxia World]—namely the abundant spiritual energy—to raise their realms.

When Zhu Ying arrived in Zhu Yuanzhang's hall, he found that both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were actually meditating and training, which took him somewhat by surprise.

“Grandpa, Father!”

“Why are you two working so hard?”

As Zhu Ying spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao quickly opened their eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang was the first to speak to Zhu Ying, “Xiong Ying, you don't know. We have been wasting time in the Great Ming Main Realm; we usually have no desire to cultivate at all.”

“Most of the time, we are just watching television in the Wenyuan Pavilion. But in this Wuxia World, there is no television to watch in the Great Capital's Imperial Palace, so we have no choice but to cultivate.”

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished, Zhu Biao, standing beside him, also spoke, “Actually, this is mainly because the spiritual energy in this [Wuxia World] is so abundant.”

“Neither Father nor I want to waste such abundant spiritual energy, so we are making the most of our time to cultivate.”

After Zhu Biao finished, Zhu Ying said slowly, “Grandpa, Father, it is good that you have this idea.”

“If you two use this time to cultivate more, you could completely raise your realms to the Divine Ability Realm!”

Upon hearing Zhu Ying's words, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were instantly filled with excitement!

At this time, Zhu Biao added, “By the way, Grandpa, Father, there is one more thing. According to intelligence, all the countries have successively sent experts to the Great Capital!”

“It won't be long before I believe all the experts in the world will gather in the Great Capital. When that time comes, Xiong Ying, you should test the strength of the experts from various countries and engage them in battle.”

As Zhu Ying finished speaking, a hint of panic appeared on Crown Prince Zhu Biao's face.

He hurriedly said to Zhu Ying, “Xiong Ying, all the countries have sent experts? Then... is it possible that some experts will also be at the Divine Ability Realm?”

“Or even at the peak of the Divine Ability Realm?”

The reason Zhu Biao asked this was primarily because he was concerned about Zhu Ying's well-being; if Zhu Ying were to be injured, it would undoubtedly be a massive blow to the Great Ming Empire.

Zhu Ying said calmly, “Father, please rest assured. These countries cannot command experts at the Divine Ability Realm; at most, they will only send some Martial Arts Grandmasters!”

“To deal with these people, I can defeat them with just a single finger!”

After Zhu Ying finished, it was actually Zhu Yuanzhang who suddenly became interested!

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly spoke, “Xiong Ying, why don't you tell me, how is my strength?”

“How would I fare against a Grandmaster Realm expert from this [Wuxia World]?”

Clearly.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, he was also feeling quite eager to try.

After all, ever since Zhu Yuanzhang began his martial arts cultivation, he had never had the opportunity to actually demonstrate it!

Now that he had finally arrived in this [Wuxia World], he naturally wanted to show off a bit.