Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 285 Rewards for Signing In Again

[Check-in successful.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained a Star Jade Tree and an ancient battle formation manual.]

"Starry Jade Tree?"

"Ancient texts on warfare?"

"Double yolks?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked surprised and immediately checked his haul.

[Starry Jade Tree: Formed from the eyelashes of Pangu after he created the world, it is an extremely rare and special innate spiritual tree among the endless stars. It can absorb starlight to form flowers and fruits, blooming once every thousand years, bearing fruit once every thousand years, and taking another thousand years to mature.]

"A weaker, knock-off version of the Peaches of Immortality?" This thought popped into Zhu Jinzhen's mind before he had even finished reading it.

The next moment, Zhu Jinzhen was stunned.

[The Star Jade Fruit is a fruit formed from the boundless power of the stars. Its exterior is as clear as jade, resembling a star, and it contains the Dao of the starry sky. Only those who have attained the Dao can enjoy it. After consuming it, one can obtain the power of a star and live as long as the stars, reaching the same age as the sun and moon.]

"One...one star's worth of power??" Zhu Jinzhen was stunned. What kind of unit of measurement was that?
The strength of a horse, an ox, a tiger, an elephant, or even a dragon or a serpent—given his extensive knowledge from reading countless novels before his transmigration, he considered these things commonplace and had some understanding of them.

Could this power of a star mean that after consuming one pill, one's physical body will possess power comparable to that of a planet?

"I remember that the mass of the Earth is about 60 trillion trillion tons, and the Earth is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the entire universe. Stars are also stars, and the largest known star can even contain hundreds of trillions of suns."

"Even if we only consider the mass of the Earth when calculating power."

"One punch, 60 trillion trillion tons, who can stop it?"

Zhu Jinzhen was completely bewildered. Eating such a fruit was basically equivalent to becoming a walking humanoid planet, a walking humanoid star, and a walking humanoid world. In front of such a person, the so-called terrestrial celestial beings were at best just slightly robust ants.

Let alone martial arts, even in high-level martial arts or worlds like Journey to the West that are imbued with mythology, such power would be astonishing.

"This is true invincibility!"

"If one were to consume even one of these fruits, wouldn't a mere breath from it become a world-ending storm?"

Even with Zhu Jinzhen's boundless imagination, he couldn't fathom how powerful and terrifying the Star Jade Fruit would become after consuming it. It would probably be able to destroy the world and blast stars apart at any moment.

This miraculous fruit can be harvested in just three thousand years.

And it's not just one, but a whole batch.

"If the Gourmet Tablecloth can even replicate such a fruit, then..." A chilling image flashed through Zhu Jinzhen's mind: in the future, he would infinitely visualize this fruit, and then he himself would transform into a walking, radiant sun, with his generals and ministers possessing earth-shattering power in every gesture.

If that day ever comes, the whole world will submit, and all will submit to the will of the people.

But, as things stand at the moment...

Zhu Jinzhen gazed at the dozen or so fruits on the Starry Jade Tree that shimmered with starlight, and thought to himself, "They've already borne fruit, but I don't know when we can harvest them. I can't really wait another thousand years, can I?"

This is obviously impossible.

The fruits on the Star Jade Tree possessed an almost impenetrable stellar power. Zhu Jinzhen could sense the surging stellar power and vitality condensing and transforming simply by entering the system's spatial power.

According to Zhu Jinzhen's estimate, it will take at least ten years, and at the fastest it might take a few months, a year or two, for the Star Jade Fruit to be harvested.

"I can see it, but I can't eat it. It's so frustrating." Zhu Jinzhen took a few deep breaths to suppress the restlessness in his heart. With great willpower, he shifted his gaze from the Starry Jade Tree to the other reward he received for signing in.

[Ancient Battle Formation Manual: Contains the battle formation techniques of a certain world's martial artists. It contains seventeen battle formations, capable of combining the power of the entire army to defy the heavens, slay gods, vanquish immortals, destroy demons, annihilate monsters, and quell all rebellion.] Shed a heart full of passion, use this burning soul to protect this unparalleled land.

As Zhu Jinzhen opened this ancient book on warfare, he was struck by the iron will and sacrifices of countless soldiers, the countless beautiful landscapes forged with blood and bones, and the battle formations summarized from the wisdom of countless people.

[The Eight Desolations and Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation: By linking the blood and qi of eight hundred people, making them of the same life, and by borrowing the power of the battle formation, it can suppress demons and evil spirits across three major realms.]

[The Purple Star Heavenly Battle Formation: A thousand people have a thousand battle tactics, a hundred people have a hundred killing methods, and a dozen people have a dozen ways to die. It burns essence blood and soul, attracting the light of the Purple Star Heaven, granting a temporary but significant boost. Effect: Increases combat power by two major realms. Cost: Death and soul annihilation, nothing remains.]

There are more than a dozen such formations recorded in ancient books, ranging from trapping formations, battle formations, killing formations, and annihilation formations.

What caught Zhu Jinzhen's attention the most was a battle formation called "Suppressing Evil".

With only fifty commanders in charge, the combined strength of an army of fifty thousand can be concentrated into one, unleashing a terrifying killing power. The evil they suppress is singular, determined by the commander's perception of it, regardless of its nature—good or bad, demon, monster, or deity.

All of them were targeted for suppression.

"Such a battle formation is simply terrifying."

"One person's strength may not be strong, dozens of people are not much either, but a hundred people in formation, even if they are all ordinary soldiers who do not know martial arts, could probably crush several Vajra Realm experts with one blow, and severely injure or even kill Finger Profound Grandmasters."

"The stronger the soldiers in the battle formation, the greater the power of the battle formation."

"The combined might of a thousand Vajra Realm experts could probably kill a terrestrial immortal, and even threaten a terrestrial celestial being," Zhu Jinzhen exclaimed repeatedly, marveling at the wisdom of the world in which the ancient texts were written.

This is true collective wisdom and concerted effort; unity is strength.

Compared to the battle formations recorded in this ancient book, the formations in the world of martial arts, such as the True Martial Seven Intercept Formation, the Heavenly Dipper Formation, or other formations like the Nine Heavens Radiance Formation or the Solitary Void Formation, are all trivial matters.

Zhu Jinzhen was also greatly inspired by this.

This ancient book opened up a new world for Zhu Jinzhen.

It gave him a sense of sudden enlightenment.

"With battle formations, they can shake the heavens and the earth, and fight against immortals, Buddhas, and saints. The application and understanding of formations in that world can be described as unparalleled. What is even more valuable is that they can use the power of battle formations to stimulate their own potential and even burn themselves to obtain a substitute for the power of the battle formations."

"A collective version of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique?"

The more Zhu Jinzhen looked, the more shocked he became.

The higher the world's military power ceiling, the more severe the situation becomes where great power resides in one's own hands, and the strong basically dominate everything, while the weak are like ants, trampled and slaughtered at will.

However, the world within the ancient war manual in his hands took a completely opposite path.

While individual strength may be formidable, the power of a group should not be underestimated.

For example, after careful study, Zhu Jinzhen was shocked to discover that the Ziwei Doutian Formation could actually be used in conjunction with other battle formations. This led him to a terrifying conclusion.

"So, if they encounter an enemy they can't even defeat in battle, they can still desperately unleash their full power and turn the tide?"

"Can an ordinary person, relying on recklessness and battle formations, really outwit a terrestrial deity?"

Zhu Jinzhen was also startled by his own conclusion.

However, even knowing it was incredibly unbelievable, according to the records in the ancient battle formation book in his hand, such a thing was not impossible. An ordinary person is naturally weak and at the mercy of others, but when hundreds of people simultaneously unleash their full power and fight desperately, like rivers flowing into a single stream, and this power is further sublimated.

Even with the most conservative estimate, a terrestrial immortal could be killed in a single blow if they're not careful!

(End of this chapter)