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

Chapter 294 Final preparations
Is it really impossible?

The Heavenly Emperor didn't explain much, but simply asked a question in return.

There are countless martial artists in the world who, by defying the heavens and fortune, possess the talent and strength to leap over the dragon gate.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with so many peerless generals, and Zhuge Liang who sensed something was wrong and created the Eight Trigrams Formation by combining the right time, place, and people, could it be that there was really no possibility of a breakthrough?

How many of the future hidden dragons and true dragons vying for control of the Central Plains are truly easy to defeat?
Are those legends of 'shattering the void' in the human world just false?

The Demon Lord felt uneasy under the Heavenly Lord's gaze, his face twitched, and he sighed helplessly, "Perhaps, you are right."

"So what do we do now? If Zhu Jinzhen has really broken through, even if we use that method, we can barely take half a step towards the peak of the terrestrial celestial being, plus the brief awakening of the Martial Emperor's past life."

"I'm afraid the chances of winning aren't very high."

The sword master is ruthless, and Zhu Jinzhen is the youngest land-based sword immortal. At his age, he broke through to the realm above the celestial level. Just thinking about facing such an enemy makes the Demon Lord's scalp tingle.

"Everyone has weaknesses."

"Emperor Guangwu of Han's weakness was that the common people were the life and death of the Han Dynasty. Famous generals and strategists at the end of the Han Dynasty were willing to risk their lives for fame and fortune, and for the country. The weakness of Yan Fei, Master Sun En, Chuan Ying, Ling Donglai and others was that the path of martial arts was to break through the void."

"Zhu Yuanzhang's weakness was his family, Empress Ma, his grandson Zhu Xiong Ying, his crown prince Zhu Biao, and his Ming Dynasty. Temujin's weakness was immortality, death, and his ambition to conquer all the countries under heaven."

"Which of them is easier to deal with than Zhu Jinzhen?"

"Once we find his weakness, dealing with Zhu Jinzhen will be a piece of cake!"

After the Heavenly Lord finished speaking, he and the Demon Lord stared at each other for a full half hour without either of them speaking first.

In the end, it was the Demon Lord who couldn't hold on any longer and asked helplessly, "Then, may I ask, Your Majesty, what is Zhu Jinzhen's weakness?"

"I have no idea!"

The four words uttered by the Heavenly Lord nearly petrified the Demon Lord, causing him to overturn the chessboard in front of him.

So, what were you showing off for?

The Heavenly Emperor couldn't help but smile wryly: "In terms of power, Zhu Jinzhen is a young prince, but now, with the Jingnan Rebellion underway, the Ming Dynasty is in his grasp. In terms of martial prowess, he was known as the strongest swordsman in the Ming Dynasty at a young age, and now he seems to have broken through to that level."

"For Zhu Jinzhen, wine, women, wealth, and power were readily available."

"Although I don't know much about the secret guards, I do know that although Zhu Jinzhen only married one wife and had a few concubines, he had no fewer than ten beautiful women around him who were infatuated with him."

“His wife, Changsun Wangqing, should have been his weakness, but as you know about what happened in Taiyuan, Changsun Wangqing has at least ten terrestrial immortals and two terrestrial celestial beings as her bodyguards, and she herself is suspected to be at the terrestrial celestial realm.”

"Zhu Jinzhen's mother is also a weakness, but breaking into the Prince Su's mansion would be no easier than us directly assassinating Changsun Wangqing or Zhu Jinzhen."

"The common people are indeed a weakness of Zhu Jinzhen, but I can't figure out his personality. Although he loves the people like his own children, he is not the kind of person who is willing to die for the country and the people. Targeting him with this might backfire."

"so……"

The Heavenly Emperor shrugged helplessly. He had lived for nearly a thousand years and this was the first time he had seen someone so flawless, with almost no weaknesses. What was even more despairing was that the other party was not an elderly emperor or a powerful ruler over fifty years old.

He's just a young man in his early twenties!
The Demon Lord also felt a sense of powerlessness. Dealing with such a person, if they were not careful and made a single wrong move, they might not only fail to outmaneuver him but also be devoured by the tiger: "Then there is only one last method left?"

"You are also aware of the situation at the Prince Su's residence."

"With the fighting strength of Cangyun and Tiance under Zhu Jinzhen's command, he will definitely launch a war against foreign powers and reunify the country that has been divided for hundreds of years after he ascends the throne of the Ming Dynasty at most five years."

"If the higher-ups don't want to see another human emperor comparable to Emperor Wu of Han, or even the First Emperor Ying Zheng, leading humanity in a global war against Heaven..."

The whole world is attacking Heaven?

The Demon Lord's pupils contracted as he recalled the ancient event of Emperor Zhuanxu severing the connection between heaven and earth.

If we could really do it all over again...

"Is it that serious?" the Demon Lord asked solemnly.

The Heavenly Emperor remained silent. There was no need to calculate the combat strength of the Heavenly Strategy Palace's high-level officials. Just that army of hundreds of thousands of Vajra Realm experts was enough to make any country in the mortal realm stand against them.

In addition, there are the lifespans of terrestrial celestial beings, which can easily reach thousands or hundreds of years.

If Zhu Jinzhen were given a few more years, the world would surely be unified. And the most interesting thing about humanity is that we imitate the ancients and then surpass them.

The Heavenly Emperor could not imagine that any man could remain unmoved by the temptation of being able to reshape the world, surpass all others throughout history, become the greatest emperor of all time, or even the greatest emperor of all time, and leave a lasting legacy in history.

Seeing this, the Demon Lord realized that things had gotten out of control and asked in a deep voice, "What do you need me to do?"

The Heavenly Lord gave the Demon Lord a deep look, and said in a resolute tone: "Summon the Six Gods and persuade Emperor Wu to come to the Great Ming to discuss important matters. At the same time, my original plan will continue to be implemented."

"Use the power of the entire martial arts world to open the Heavenly Gate and force him to ascend?"

"Ok!"

The Heavenly Emperor nodded firmly: "The mortal realm is his home ground. He has more experts under his command than the combined experts of the Heavenly Scar and the various forces we have recruited. The only way is to force him to break through the void and ascend to the upper realm."

"Only then will we be able to get rid of him."

The Demon Lord nodded solemnly and calculated with his fingers: "You and I are both at the peak of the Land Celestial Realm. If the Martial Emperor is willing to go all out, his combat power will not be weaker than that of a peak Land Celestial Realm. In fact, if he awakens his innate wisdom and takes back some of his past life's power, he will be even stronger."

“That old bastard Zhang Fuyao is a Confucian sage, clinging to the little things of Confucianism, he will definitely not make a move.”

"The Three Officials, Ziwei, Dafantian Daoyu, Longjun and others can barely be considered as two terrestrial celestial beings in terms of combat strength."

Are there enough of us?

"not enough!"

The Heavenly Lord shook his head decisively, looked up at the now clear and calm sky, and said, "We need at least two more combatants at the Land Celestial Realm to have a 50% chance of forcing Zhu Jinzhen to shatter and leave, given that we can open the Heavenly Gate."

Three peak-level terrestrial celestial beings, plus two terrestrial celestial beings with combat strength.

Does the Heavenly Emperor still feel uncertain?

Considering what happened the day before yesterday and yesterday, and recalling the many rumors about Zhu Jinzhen in the world, the Demon Lord knew that this was not making a mountain out of a molehill, but rather the best result after careful consideration by the Heavenly Emperor.

"I do have someone in mind."

"Who?"

"The Evil Emperor Xiang Yutian".

"he?"

The Heavenly Emperor looked at the Demon Lord in surprise.

"It is true that he was shattered, but he did not ascend. Instead, his ascension was abruptly interrupted for some unknown reason, and he disappeared without a trace. He is still in the mortal realm. When the matter of the Heavenly Sword was making a great fuss, someone in the Sui Dynasty discovered what appeared to be his traces."

"Xiang Yutian is unruly and has an eccentric personality. It will be quite difficult for him to deal with Zhu Jinzhen."

"But not by much." The Demon Lord smiled confidently.

After a moment of silence, the Heavenly Emperor said, "I also have two candidates on my side."

"Who?"

"Supreme Alliance Leader Guan Yutian, and Zhongxin Hall Master Shangguan Yun."

"Them?" The Demon Lord looked suspicious. As far as he knew, both Guan Yutian and Shangguan Yun seemed to be just terrestrial immortals. The latter might even be just a Grandmaster of Celestial Phenomena.
The Heavenly Lord seemed to see the Demon Lord's doubts and explained, "The former already possesses the cultivation of a terrestrial immortal, and his innate qi has reached a state of perfection, making him exceptionally powerful. With the addition of certain items, it's not too difficult for him to briefly unleash combat power comparable to a terrestrial celestial being. The latter covets the dragon pearls of Qilian Mountain. If we help him obtain three more, there's at least a 60% chance that he can unleash combat power comparable to a celestial being by relying on the power of the dragon pearls."

After thinking it over, the Demon Lord agreed with the Heavenly Lord's recommendation of the two people.

Although it was only a temporary display of celestial-level combat power, and it still required external force and objects, their aim was not to kill Zhu Jinzhen, but merely to force him to ascend. Therefore, their celestial-level combat power should be roughly equivalent.

"Actually, there is one more person. If he is willing to help, we can increase our chances of winning by at least 20%."

"Who?"

"A demigod, for now, a demigod."

(End of this chapter)