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

Chapter 293 Betrayal Under the Shadow, Blood Feud

Overnight, the secret guards destroyed more than a dozen important strongholds of the Heavenly Scar.

And nipped Qianqiu's proposed plan in the bud.

The Demon Lord could not remain indifferent and immediately found the leader of the Sky Scar.

Heavenly Emperor.

The Demon Lord moved like a ghost, and in a flash, he sat down in front of the Heavenly Lord. Looking at the chessboard in front of him, he frowned and said, "The world outside has changed, how can you still be so leisurely?"

"Those outposts?"

The Heavenly Emperor held a book in one hand and a chess piece in the other, smiling faintly as he lowered his eyes: "They are nothing but ants. We can summon them again. If we can find out some of Zhu Jinzhen's trump cards, then their deaths will have been worthwhile."

"Your Excellency said that there is a traitor within the organization."

"traitor?"

The Heavenly Lord revealed half of his face, a half-smile playing on his lips, and looked at the Demon Lord before him, sneering, "Isn't he the biggest traitor? Feigning compliance while secretly plotting, did he really think he could fool my eyes?"

Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord showed no surprise, but simply shook his head and said, "You know I'm not talking about the Thousand Years Old."

When they recruited Qian Sui into the Heaven's Scar, they knew he couldn't be truly loyal. However, since both of them possessed the power and confidence to suppress everything, they let him be.

The Heavenly Lord succinctly revealed the answer: "Dao Yu?"

"Ah."

The Demon Lord nodded slightly. Although the Thousand-Year-Old had ruled out the possibility of the Great Brahma Dao Yu's betrayal, after careful consideration, the Demon Lord realized that apart from Dao Yu, no one else had the possibility, motive, or time to betray him.

"Why?"

"If it weren't for Dao Yu, could it be that you or I betrayed the organization?" The Demon Lord asked in silence, revealing his thoughts: "The Martial Emperor is far overseas and never interferes in the internal affairs of the organization. Although the Three Officials are ambitious, they have little involvement and are most closely connected with us. Betraying the organization is undoubtedly betraying themselves."

"Even if Long Jun and Ziwei have some possibility, they are no longer in the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Jinzhen is too far away to help them."

"As for Zhenwu?"

"We both know his situation. If he were to betray us, we would rather believe that it was you or me who sold out the intelligence about those strongholds to Zhu Jinzhen's Xuanjia Secret Guards."

"Although it is hard to believe, after eliminating all the impossibilities, the remaining result, no matter how unbelievable, must be the truth."

The Heavenly Lord, holding the book, was taken aback. He stared at the Demon Lord before him for a long time before slowly shaking his head: "Your guess may be correct, but would Dao Yu really betray us?"

"If he really betrays us, the first person to kill him will be Prince Su, Zhu Jinzhen."

"Don't forget, back then when he stormed the palace, he used a seven-story pagoda to ambush that woman, causing a flaw in Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Shenwu Canon. It was he who caused the internal demons to grow."

"No matter what, Zhu Jinzhen is a descendant of the Zhu family."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord sighed and rubbed his forehead in pain. He knew, of course, that the possibility of Dao Yu betraying him was not high.

After all, Dao Yu made a significant contribution to the formation of the Heaven's Scar, and he was one of the earliest veterans. Dao Yu was the one who made the greatest contribution to eliminating Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

If it weren't for his use of the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Classic to kill Empress Ma and the Crown Prince Zhu Xiong Ying in succession, thus revealing a flaw in Zhu Yuanzhang's arrogant and domineering nature, who dared to challenge even immortals, demons, and saints.

The Ming Dynasty today might not be like this.

If we take into account the series of actions taken against the Zhu family afterward, including the sudden death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao and the attack on Emperor Taizong Zhu Di in Yumu River, it can be said that they had an insurmountable blood feud with the Zhu family.

If Dao Yu were to betray Tian Zhihen and seek revenge against the Prince of Su's mansion, they wouldn't even need to lift a finger; Zhu Jinzhen would be the first to grind him to dust. "If it wasn't Dao Yu who betrayed them, then who was it?"

"You're just making trouble for yourself."

The Heavenly Emperor remained calm and composed, his expression unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him. "Why is it always this either/or? You and I both know how terrifying Zhu Jinzhen's Xuanjia Secret Guard's intelligence capabilities are. They are probably not much inferior to the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard at its peak."

"Moreover, the secret guards are composed of absolute elites from all walks of life."

"From the imperial palace to aristocratic families, from various martial arts sects to gangs in the Jianghu, the Xuanjia Secret Guards were almost everywhere, even in the lowest of professions."

"We have been cautious enough in our actions."

"But what if the secret guards send out a large number of celestial beings or terrestrial immortals to keep watch?"

Unlike the Demon Lord, the Heavenly Emperor is not arrogant and thinks there are no flawless actions in the world. Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which was developed to its peak under Zhu Di and claimed to be able to monitor everything in the world, could not be all-encompassing.

Let alone a gangster organization like theirs?
The fact that traces of the deed were found was not a particularly unacceptable thing to the Heavenly Emperor.

"Fine, since that's your opinion, I won't argue with you."

The Demon Lord let out a long sigh, looked at the Heavenly Lord, and asked the question that was on his mind most: "Do you really think your plan can succeed? The battle outside Dongsheng City the other day, and the overwhelming killing aura that seemed to destroy the world yesterday, all show that Prince Su, Zhu Jinzhen, has already reached an extremely terrifying level."

The Heavenly Emperor's hand holding the scroll trembled slightly.

For the Demon Lord to describe it as 'extremely terrifying', it's clear that the other party has long since abandoned all contempt, and is even somewhat...fearful out of awe?
After a long silence, the Heavenly Emperor finally put down the book in his hand and placed the white chess piece he was holding between his fingers into the last position of the Dragon-Slaying Formation on the chessboard in front of him.

With a 'snap', all the black pieces on the chessboard were reduced to dust, while the white pieces were also pulverized, leaving only a few pieces.

“If you had asked me three days ago, I would have told you that I was more than 80% confident about that plan.” Tianjun looked at the final outcome on the chessboard and closed his eyes helplessly: “But now, even I am not sure.”

"Is the chance of winning uncertain, or is success uncertain?"

"It's both."

The Heavenly Lord abruptly rose, clad in a plain-colored robe, its fabric as soft as clouds, the sleeves drooping slightly, exuding elegance. His black hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin, meticulous yet not at all restrained.

He walked to the window, gazing at the rising sun on the horizon and the direction of the capital, his eyes somewhat blank: "His growth rate is too fast. Our original plan already overestimated Zhu Jinzhen's strength. Even if he is a peerless sword immortal of the terrestrial celestial realm, it's not like we haven't killed him before."

"If the human realm is not enough, then force him to shatter the void and kill him in the heavens."

"But the destruction outside Dongsheng City and the boundless killing intent that overwhelmed the heavens and earth yesterday made me waver."

"He... has very likely surpassed the level of a celestial being on land."

"They have reached the realm of immortals."

The realm of immortals?!
The Demon Lord's body trembled suddenly, and a look of horror appeared on his face.

The next moment, however, his brows furrowed in worry, revealing a look of doubt:
"impossible?"

"Back then, Emperor Wu led a million-strong army to trample Kunlun, intending to open the road to heaven. He acted against the will of heaven, but ultimately failed. The dragon energy of the Han Dynasty was scattered and mixed into the mortal energy by the higher powers using the method of locking the spirit. It is now a thousand times more difficult than before to break through to the level of a celestial being on land."

"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty's dragon vein made a desperate counterattack, gathering countless energies in an attempt to transform into a dragon and fight again. For a time, generals and geniuses emerged like clouds and rain. Afterwards, heroes rose up all over the world, and true dragons and hidden dragons fought in chaos across the nine provinces, vying for the world. They exhausted most of the world's energies, but no one was able to surpass the celestial beings on land."

"Zhu Jinzhen, he's only in his early twenties, how could that be?"

(End of this chapter)