Chapter 55

Very soon, Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu arrived at the center of the Great Ming Kingdom, the Great Ming Imperial Palace.

"Your Majesty, this subject (humble servant) pays his respects!" In the majestic and splendid imperial study, Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu simultaneously bowed to the man sitting on the dragon throne, wearing a dragon robe.

"Rise." Zhu Yuanzhang, seated on the dragon throne, looked straight at Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu with his sharp eyes and extended his hand majestically.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The two straightened up and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang was only in his fifties this year. Although he was not handsome, his imperial aura was so imposing that even the two supreme grandmasters, Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu, felt a bit intimidated and oppressed.

Moreover, they knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was not just an emperor with an imperial aura; his martial arts were also not weak. As the founding emperor of the Great Ming Kingdom, with the support of the "momentum" of the Great Ming, his cultivation speed was many times faster.

Although his martial arts were not very high due to his limited talent, with the support of the "momentum" of the Great Ming, he was not to be underestimated.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang was clearly not very happy, and his naturally imposing face was tinged with anger.

It was understandable; someone had dared to rescue prisoners from the imperial prison right under his nose and had succeeded. How could he not be angry?

"Tell me what happened!" Zhu Yuanzhang's piercing gaze turned to Xu Ruowu. In terms of handling affairs, he trusted Xu Ruowu more.

Xu Ruowu bowed again and slowly recounted what he knew. Then, Zhu Wushi also recounted what he knew.

"Bang!" Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the table in front of him. Although he already knew the entire process, he still put on a look of extreme anger and shouted loudly, "By my imperial decree, search every household for these bandits. Those who dare to harbor them will be arrested. You two are responsible for this. I will send Zhan Yu and Liu Xi to assist you."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this subject (humble servant) obeys the imperial decree." Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu responded simultaneously, their eyes thoughtful.

Watching Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu leave, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger vanished instantly, and a cold light flashed in his eyes: "This is a good opportunity to clean up the court and the city of Jinling. I wonder what deal Yunwen made with Dongfang Bubai? Dongfang Bubai, truly despicable."

"Someone, summon the Crown Prince."

"Yes!"

In the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yunwen was sitting in the main seat with a bad expression. Cao Zhengchun stood respectfully at his side, also looking unhappy. They had not expected that Dongfang Bubai would dare to rescue prisoners from the imperial prison, which was clearly a challenge to the Great Ming Kingdom.

However, many people probably knew about their contact with Dongfang Bubai. Now, someone would surely use this incident to make trouble, which was why they were unhappy.

At that moment, the two began to discuss how to deal with the situation. Before they could reach a decision, Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial decree to summon Zhu Yunwen arrived. Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to go see Zhu Yuanzhang, cursing Dongfang Bubai in his heart.

Meanwhile, the "despicable" Dongfang Bubai was still lying in bed, and no one had entered this side room.

After another hour, Dongfang Bubai gradually regained consciousness, slowly opened his eyes, and looked around. Seeing that no one had entered, he gathered his strength and began to sense the condition of his body.

The next moment, his brows furrowed. At least four or five of his bones were broken, and his internal injuries were the most severe. Half of his meridians were damaged to varying degrees, and his thick, pure internal energy had been scattered throughout his body. Moreover, the internal energy of Shangguan Jinhong and the others had invaded his body and was constantly fighting with his remaining internal energy.

Without external help, such injuries would take Dongfang Bubai at least five to six months to recover, even with his cultivation level.

Of course, as the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Sect, how could Dongfang Bubai not have external help?

He struggled to sit up, crossed his legs, and took out a small, exquisite box from his chest. Inside were three pills emitting a faint fragrance.

These were healing pills refined by Ping Yizhi and his brother using the best medicinal herbs of the Sun Moon Holy Sect. There were only three pills, and Dongfang Bubai always carried them with him in case of emergencies. Now was the perfect time to use one. He took one pill and slowly swallowed it.

"Shangguan Jinhong, Xu Ruowu, Zhu Wushi!" Dongfang Bubai murmured these three names, his tone indifferent but with a chilling coldness.

Dongfang Bubai never forgot any grudges and would always seek tenfold or even a hundredfold revenge. This time, he had almost died at their hands, which he would never forget.

Calmly, he gathered his thoughts, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the Sun Moon Nine Transforms, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth to heal his injuries with the help of the healing pills.

Instantly, the essence of heaven and earth entering Dongfang Bubai's body increased tenfold or even a hundredfold. This was the result of his deliberate control, as his body and meridians were severely injured and could not withstand the full power of the Sun Moon Nine Transforms.

Moreover, Dongfang Bubai was not clear about the situation here. When he entered last night, he only saw the words "Li Garden" on the gate.

If he absorbed too much essence of heaven and earth now, the commotion would be significant, and if there were any experts in Li Garden, they would easily discover him.

So, he could only proceed slowly and recover a bit at a time.

Outside.

The entire city of Jinling was bustling with activity following Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial decree. Soldiers were everywhere, searching house by house.

Some places were strongholds of first-class or higher forces, which the Great Ming government usually could not control. However, at this moment, these strongholds were very cooperative, allowing the soldiers to search.

They could all see the anger of the Great Ming government and the legitimate reason it had provided. If they did not want to openly defy the Great Ming government, they had to cooperate.

"Search thoroughly! But be gentle and do not touch anything, understood?"

"Yes!!"

In a large mansion, a eunuch in his forties was directing over a hundred soldiers to search. However, his tone revealed that he was wary of the force and did not dare to be too bold.

"Eunuch Liu, my Nujiao Gang will never harbor anyone," a powerful man beside the eunuch said steadily, his tiger-like eyes revealing wisdom.

"Of course, I believe you, Hall Master Ling. However, the Emperor has given an imperial decree, and I have no choice. Please understand!" Eunuch Liu said politely.

"Of course, Eunuch Liu, you are too polite! I will not interfere with your work." The man, Hall Master Ling, bowed and replied politely, then walked to the front of a group of men and fell silent.

This Eunuch Liu was sent by Zhu Yuanzhang to assist Zhu Wushi and Xu Ruowu, and he was also a grandmaster-level expert. The person he spoke to so politely was not just anyone.

He was Ling Zhantian, the hall master and military strategist of the first-class force, Nujiao Gang, and this was also Nujiao Gang's stronghold in Jinling.

Ling Zhantian had come to Jinling on business and encountered this situation. Naturally, he would not openly defy the Great Ming government and cooperated politely.

The Great Ming government also gave Nujiao Gang face by sending the grandmaster-level expert Liu Xi to search personally.

Not just Nujiao Gang, but every powerful first-class or higher force was personally visited by Zhu Wushi, Xu Ruowu, Zhan Yu, and Liu Xi, grandmaster-level experts. This was a mutual show of respect.

As for the forces below first-class or weaker first-class forces, they did not have the privilege of being visited by Zhu Wushi and the others.

Nujiao Gang was undoubtedly a powerful first-class force.

After a while, after the search was complete, Liu Xi walked to Ling Zhantian and said politely, "I have disturbed you. Please forgive me, Hall Master Ling!"

"Eunuch Liu, you are too polite. Would you like to stay a while?" Ling Zhantian smiled and bowed in response.

"I have official duties to attend to, so I will not stay. I will take my leave." Liu Xi waved his hand and said.

"Then, I will see you off." Ling Zhantian did not insist and led his men to see Liu Xi out.

Watching Liu Xi and his men leave, Ling Zhantian's face showed a hint of amusement, and he said softly, "The Great Ming government is really serious this time! Hahaha!"

"Hall Master, you are right. But Dongfang Bubai is truly remarkable. He managed to break through the encirclement of Shangguan Jinhong, Xu Ruowu, and Zhu Wushi before reaching grandmaster level. And it is said that he put Zhu Wushi at a disadvantage with a single sword strike. I wonder how he trained?"

A man of high status beside Ling Zhantian frowned and exclaimed in amazement.

The others also nodded, their eyes filled with admiration.

"There are always people or things in this world that you cannot understand. Dongfang Bubai is one of them." Ling Zhantian put away his smile and sighed.

"I wonder what would happen if Dongfang Bubai's sword met Brother Lang's sword?" Suddenly, Ling Zhantian seemed to think of something and laughed aloud.

Everyone else's eyes also lit up at this, imagining the scene of the two extraordinary men facing off. What a brilliant moment that would be!

As for Liu Xi, after leaving Nujiao Gang, he immediately rushed to the next target. The same was true for Zhu Wushi and the others. There were still many powerful first-class or higher forces.

Like the Emei Sect, Kongtong Sect, Huashan Sect, Songshan Sect, Baiyun City, Xue Family Manor, Divine Sword Manor, Zunxin Gate, Ganluo Mountain City, and Shenshui Palace, these forces were not to be trifled with, and Zhu Wushi and the others had to visit them personally.

The most troublesome were the Taoist temples, as the strongest force in the Great Ming Kingdom, the Wudang Sect, was a Taoist sect. Ninety-nine percent of the Taoist temples in Jinling were related to the Wudang Sect, and they could not be careless.

After all, this involved the face of one of the strongest people in the world. Even if the supreme grandmaster did not care, others in the Wudang Sect would.

Facing the person on Wudang Mountain, not just Zhu Wushi, Xu Ruowu, and the others, but the entire Great Ming government would have to kneel.

Of course, although it was troublesome, this was also a good thing for the Great Ming government. It could take the opportunity to investigate all the forces in Jinling, large and small, and strengthen its control over the city. This was also Zhu Yuanzhang's intention.

The search was carried out in an orderly manner, and everyone in Jinling who had free time talked about one person, one name.

...

This book has its first hall master, thank you to "Ren Yao Jiejie."

Thank you all for your support! (Request for recommendations, collections, donations, and reviews) This novel's QQ group: 528134281

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