I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 445 He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.

There was something that Wuming was unaware of, but the Sword Saint knew.

Ying Xun is the sixteenth person on the list of those who are in a state of panic—that is, me.

In other words, Ying Xun's strength is already on par with theirs, or even surpasses theirs.

Otherwise, based on his understanding of Ying Xun, he wouldn't have put himself on the list of those in alarm.

Given Ying Xun's current strength, it's not surprising that he could defeat Jian Chen. However, the fact that Ying Xun grasped the essence of the Mysterious Sword Technique after only seeing Jian Chen use it once was quite unexpected for the Sword Saint.

At this moment, Wuming suddenly gasped.

"This is……"

The Sword Saint frowned slightly: "This... doesn't seem to be the Mysterious Sword Technique."

"No, it's a mysterious sword technique!"

As the inheritor of the Nameless Sword Technique, it can be said that no one in the world understands the Nameless Sword Technique better than Wuming. Although Ying Xun's sword moves have never been seen before, they must be from the same source as the Nameless Sword Technique.

Therefore, there is only one possibility.

—Ying Xun deduced new sword moves based on the mysterious sword technique.

Already shocked by Ying Xun's swordsmanship talent, Wuming now didn't know how to describe his feelings.

The match between the two players is now nearing its end.

With a crisp clang, the Hero Sword in Jian Chen's hand was pushed aside by the sword energy, and the sword finger was pointed directly at his throat.

The sharp aura emanating from Ying Xun's fingertips made Jian Chen swallow hard.

Clearly, if the two had fought to the death, Jian Chen would already be dead by now.

"I lost."

At this moment, Jian Chen was truly convinced.

He knew that his strength was inferior to Ying Xun's, and his talent was also inferior to Ying Xun's.

After all, he had practiced the Mysterious Sword Technique for many years before he grasped its essence, while Ying Xun had only seen him use it once and was already more skilled than him, clearly having grasped the true meaning of the sword technique.

Ying Xun withdrew his hand from Jian Chen's throat and said calmly, "It's normal for you to lose to me. You and I are not on the same level. Not to mention you, even your master Wuming might not be my match."

He wasn't showing off; he was simply stating a fact.

However, Jian Chen clearly could not accept this statement.

“Young Master Ying, I admit that I am no match for you, but my defeat is only due to my lack of skill, not because my master is inferior to you.”

“No, Jian Chen, you’re wrong. I am indeed inferior to him, at least in terms of swordsmanship talent. So you don’t need to be so discouraged.” Wuming walked over, patted Jian Chen’s shoulder to comfort him, and then looked at Ying Xun, exclaiming, “Brother Ying’s talent is truly amazing. A new generation is replacing the old.”

Ying Xun was speechless: "Brother Ying is Brother Ying, why do you have to add the word 'little' to it? I'm not little."

Wuming was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"It was my fault, Brother Ying. Was that last move something you deduced from the Mysterious Sword Technique?"

"Not bad, but it's a pity your disciple's martial arts are not up to par, which has cut off my inspiration. How about we have a match? I feel there are more sword moves to come."

Wuming fell silent.

In the end, he shook his head and sighed, "Without a sword in hand, how can one compete with swords?"

Ying Xun stared at Wuming for a long while before speaking: "The sword intent is still there, but the sword heart is dead. You are no longer the martial arts legend Wuming, but just a restaurant owner. Boring, go to sleep."

"Brother Ying, it's still early, how about we have a drink together?"

The Heavenly Sword is nameless, crippled yet not useless.

Wuming, whose childhood name was Wei Yingxiong, was sold by his biological father to General Mu Long as his adopted son at birth, and was called Mu Yingming.

From a young age, he was cursed by a cursed star, and before the age of eleven, he had already caused the deaths of two wet nurses and eight masters. Before his death, his most respected foster mother, Madam Mu, told him not to bow to fate, and from then on, he rose to become a hero.

Later, Mu Long betrayed his country for personal gain, and changed his name to Wuming (meaning "nameless").

In his youth, he single-handedly defeated the ten major sects of the martial arts world and defeated the Sword Saint Dugu Jian, who was the number one swordsman at the time. He was unparalleled in fame for a time. However, after the death of his beloved wife Jieyu, he became depressed and faked his death to retire from the martial arts world.

Afterwards, the martial arts world in the Central Plains suffered another calamity. Nameless returned to the martial arts world to fight for the common people, defeated Godless, fought against Fist God, and repelled the Japanese Emperor, etc. In the end, he ended his heroic life at the ruins of his sect, Sword Sect.

Of course, his greatest skill is playing the erhu at full health and then rampaging across the entire map while at low health.

Ying Xun held Wuming in high esteem, so when he heard Wuming suggest having a drink, he stopped in his tracks.

"I don't like drinking, but I wouldn't mind having a drink with you."

"Brother Ying, please!"

Just as everyone was about to go inside for a drink, the Sword Saint suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, you seem to know everything about the martial arts world. Do you know who killed the nameless wife?"

Upon hearing this, Wuming paused, somewhat amused and exasperated, and said, "I've been investigating for so many years and haven't been able to find any information. How could Brother Ying, at his age, possibly know?"

Ying Xun said calmly, "I actually do know."

"you know?"

Seeing the astonished Wuming, Ying Xun nodded: "I do know, but I can't give you the information for nothing."

For Wuming, his only obsession now is probably to avenge his beloved wife.

After years of searching for the murderer without any success, he was suddenly shocked to learn that someone knew who killed his wife, and of course he didn't want to miss the opportunity.

Without a second thought, Wuming blurted out, "Brother Ying, whatever your conditions are, I'll agree to them."

"I want the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin of your Sword Sect."

The Return of Ten Thousand Swords is the unique skill of the Sword Sect, a supreme skill that countless swordsmen dream of.

Even among the disciples of the Sword Sect, only the sect's heirs can learn it, but Ying Xun is not a disciple of the Sword Sect, so Wuming hesitated.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"I can teach you the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect, but you must first become a disciple of my Sword Sect."

Ying Xun shook his head: "I have a master, and it is impossible for me to become a disciple of another. If you give me the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin Manual, I can promise you that I will not pass it on to others."

Wuming remained silent, but soon he made a decision.

“Brother Ying, the Return of Ten Thousand Swords to One is a closely guarded secret of my Sword Sect. If you do not join my Sword Sect, I will not pass on this information to you.”

Ying Xun was not surprised by this.

"Understood, but if you have other advanced sword techniques, I don't necessarily need to use the Ten Thousand Swords Return to One technique."

If he remembered correctly, Nameless should have already comprehended the supreme sword path.

This is a technique he created himself after studying the twenty-one forms of the Holy Spirit Sword Technique, a method of controlling the sword with his mind.

If you can't get the Myriad Swords Return to One path, the Supreme Sword Path is also a good choice.

"Thank you, Brother Ying. I happen to have a self-created sword technique, which is the art of controlling the sword with the mind. Please wait a moment."

As he spoke, Wuming slipped into the house and handed a secret manual to Ying Xun.

The moment he acquired it, the system's cultivation technique stirred, making Ying Xun nod in satisfaction: "The one who killed your wife was your senior brother—Po Jun!"

Wuming seemed not to have heard him clearly and asked blankly, "Who did you say?"

"Po Jun, he should be in Japan now, or he may be on his way back to the Central Plains."

Now that he heard it clearly, Wuming was dumbfounded and muttered to himself.

"So it was him. I should have known it was him, but why, why? He clearly loves Xiaoyu too..."

“It seems we won’t be able to drink this wine for now.” Ying Xun glanced at Wuming and sighed, “Old Sword Saint, why don’t you comfort him? I’m really bad at comforting people. I’ll take You Ruo to rest first.”

The Sword Saint nodded: "Yes, you can go ahead."

In the following days, Wuming locked himself in his room, with only the sound of the erhu occasionally coming out.

At first, the melody was filled with overwhelming anger and murderous intent, but as time went on, the anger and murderous intent in the music gradually calmed down.

It felt strange, like the calm before a storm, or like letting go of hatred.

Clearly, Wuming was also struggling with this decision.

This is a matter that no one else can interfere with, and Ying Xun has no interest in getting involved.

In his view, there's nothing to agonize over in this matter; it boils down to one word.

kill!

Wuming's inner turmoil only made him look down on him. So after staying for three days, comprehending the supreme sword path, and discussing things with the Sword Saint, he left Muming Town with You Ruo.

……

……

Tianshan.

The world will meet.

The No. 1 building under heaven.

Xiong Ba is reviewing a booklet.

As the overlord of the martial arts world who ruled over most of the land, Xiong Ba was by no means just a martial artist. He was also adept at handling political affairs, and probably even the current emperor was far inferior to him.

As the Grand Steward of the World Society and Xiong Ba's personal attendant, Wen Chou Chou has not yet betrayed Xiong Ba. After Xiong Ba finishes processing a batch of files, Wen Chou Chou will take the files out of the World First Building and hand them over to the various branch halls below to carry out Xiong Ba's orders.

When Wen Chou Chou came out carrying the first batch of files, he ran into You Ruo and Ying Xun, who were returning to the Tianxia Society from Muming Town.

"Miss, son-in-law, you're back."

Before the two could speak, Wen Chou Chou hurriedly returned to the main hall and happily shouted, "Chief, the young lady and the young master are back!"

Xiong Ba was secretly delighted, but on the surface he remained calm.

"Let them in."

Before she finished speaking, You Ruo had already led Ying Xun into the main hall.

"Dad, I'm back."

Now that You Ruo has learned Xiong Ba's true colors, she is not close to him anymore, but rather distant.

Upon hearing Wen Chou's scandalous words, he knew things were going badly, so he decisively bowed and hurriedly left the No. 1 Restaurant.

Not only that, he also dismissed the guards outside.

All I can say is, he truly is a man who has lived alongside Xiong Ba for so many years!

Xiong Ba sneered, "So you still know how to come back?"

"Then I'll leave!"

You Ruo also had a fiery temper, and she tried to pull Ying Xun away as she spoke.

Xiong Ba slammed his fist on the table and stood up angrily, saying, "You Ruo, what nonsense are you spouting!"

You Ruo looked up at Xiong Ba, her tone icy: "On this trip, I ran into my eldest brother. Father, tell me, how did my mother die?"

If You Ruo hadn't met Long Teng, Xiong Ba could still have lied to her by saying he was being hunted down by his enemies. But the reality was that the two siblings had already met, and Xiong Ba knew he couldn't fool his daughter.

And so, Xiong Ba fell silent.

"Speechless now? It really was you. You killed my uncle and caused my mother to die of grief. You've been lying to me all along!" You Ruo's voice rose higher and higher until it was almost a shout.

This time, Xiong Ba spoke up and explained, "It was your uncle who betrayed me first."

Unfortunately, such an explanation seemed weak and unconvincing to You Ruo. She didn't want to say anything more to Xiong Ba and tried to pull Ying Xun away, but she couldn't move him.

"You stinky Taoist priest, are you leaving or not?"

"I can't leave yet. I've come to propose marriage, but I haven't given the betrothal gifts yet."

You Ruo was furious and wouldn't listen to Ying Xun's words. She angrily said, "If you don't leave, I will!"

“Father-in-law, You Ruo is not able to accept it yet. I will go and persuade her later.” Ying Xun said with a smile, then took out a booklet and used his internal force to place it on the table in front of Xiong Ba.

Xiong Ba glanced down and asked, "What is this?"

"bride price."

"The betrothal gift list?"

"No, this is the betrothal gift, Father-in-law. As you know, I am a poor Taoist priest with nothing of value. The only thing I can offer is my martial arts skills. The Holy Spirit Sword Technique is the betrothal gift I have prepared."

Regarding the betrothal gifts, Ying Xun had thought about many things on his way here. He considered using gold and silver, and also considered giving rare and precious materials, such as the Blood Bodhi, but in the end he decided to use the Holy Spirit Sword Technique.

Using a peerless martial art like the Holy Spirit Sword Technique as a betrothal gift would be considered a high-class affair even in the entire martial arts world.

"The Sword Saint's Holy Spirit Sword Technique?"

Xiong Ba was startled, raised his hand and took the booklet into his hand, and began to read it.

"Indeed, I heard that my father-in-law is going to fight the Sword Saint, so I specially prepared this as a betrothal gift. Is my father-in-law satisfied?"

Xiong Ba put away the Holy Spirit Sword Technique manual and asked in return, "I've heard that you have a close relationship with the Sword Saint. Aren't you afraid that he will die by my hand?"

"You can't beat him."

The Sword Saint's reliance now is no longer on Sword Twenty-Two, but on the Heavenly Sword Realm and Sword Twenty-Three.

Even in the realm of Heavenly Sword alone, Xiong Ba might not be a match for the Sword Saint, let alone Sword Twenty-Three, which does not belong to the category of human martial arts.

"How do you know I can't beat you if we haven't even fought?"

"Let's give it a try!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Xun's sword energy suddenly burst forth, rushing straight towards Xiong Ba.

Indeed, it is the Sword Saint's Sword Twenty-Two.

Amidst the dazzling sword light, Xiong Ba unleashed his Three-Part Returning Origin Qi for defense.

After a series of clanging sounds, the water shield formed by the Three-Part Returning Qi shattered with a loud crash.

Under the impact of the sword energy, Xiong Ba slumped back into his seat, his face filled with utter horror.

Because he was surrounded by longswords formed from sword energy, which were so real that they seemed ready to pierce him into a beehive at any moment.

"Half a year has passed, and your martial arts... have reached such a level?!"

"Not bad, I've made quite a bit of progress in the past six months." Ying Xun rolled up his sleeves and withdrew the sword energy, then smiled and said, "The Sword Saint has now reached the Heavenly Sword Realm, but Father-in-law, even at your peak, you might not be a match for the Sword Saint, let alone now that you are injured."

Xiong Ba was not surprised that Ying Xun could sense his injury. He straightened his posture and asked, "And you, are you a match for the Sword Saint?"

“If he doesn’t use his twenty-third sword strike, he’s no match for me.”

"Sword Twenty-Three?"

“That’s right, Sword Twenty-Three, annihilates the six realms, annihilates the self, kills gods and Buddhas, it can be called the strongest sword in the world today. I am not confident that I can withstand it. But father-in-law, don’t worry, with my friendship with the Sword Saint, he will not kill you.”

Xiong Ba snorted coldly and continued to ask, "Why did you create a list of terrifying experts? Is everything on that list true? Are there really that many masters in the world?"

“It’s true, of course. As for why we created the Panic Ranking,” Ying Xun paused for a moment and then smiled, “it was just something I did out of leisure. Of course, it was also to draw out some people and to give you a heads-up, Father-in-law.”

"Remind me of what?"

"A reminder that you can't have your cake and eat it too."

"what for?"

"If you want to be invincible and dominate the world, even immortal gods, demon lords, and emperors who have been plotting for hundreds or even thousands of years can't do it, let alone you, father-in-law."

Ying Xun shook his head and said seriously, "Father-in-law, it is not wrong for you to want to dominate the world, but you are using the wrong methods. As the saying goes, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. If you blindly follow the principle of 'those who obey me prosper and those who oppose me perish,' even if you sit on that position, it will ultimately be nothing more than a flower in a mirror and the moon in the water."

"You mean to practice benevolent governance?" Xiong Ba asked thoughtfully.

"Benevolent governance is only one aspect. In addition to benevolent governance, one must be domineering on the outside and cultivate the rule of law on the inside. By governing the world according to law, one can naturally receive the blessing of Heaven." Ying Xun said calmly, "Ten years of Heavenly Fortune have allowed you to unify the martial arts world. This is a sign that you can become a dragon of the nine heavens."

"Then why is there the saying, 'The dragon's roar in the heavens shakes the world, and the wind and clouds gather to swim in shallow waters'?"

"Didn't you ever think that this prophecy was actually a warning? A warning that if you don't change, you will end up like the prophecy said. I've already reminded you to treat Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng well, but in the end you still... Alas, whether you can receive the blessing of heaven again now depends on whether you can win the hearts of the people."

Looking at Xiong Ba, who was still sitting there in a daze, Ying Xun sighed: "Father-in-law, let me remind you one last time: the people are the foundation of the nation, and the will of the people is destiny."

"The will of the people is destiny..."

Xiong Ba murmured several times before looking up at Ying Xun: "You can go now. I need to be alone for a while."

"Then I'll take my leave."

"Wait a moment."

"Does my father-in-law have any further instructions?"

"In half a month, it will be an auspicious day. You should prepare to hold your wedding with You Ruo."

It's clear that Xiong Ba wants to use You Ruo to quickly bring him onto the Tianxia Society's ship.

Ying Xun didn't mind, cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you, Father-in-law. I'll take my leave now."

(End of this chapter)