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

Chapter 445 Sorting Out the Gains: The Xuanyuan Sword, Discarded Like Worn-out Shoes
Inside the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Jinzhen meticulously organized the spoils of the campaigns abroad, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Among the pile of items, the most valuable things that Zhu Jinzhen, Changsun Wangqing, and Yan Yimei had selected were presented to the group, while the rest were martial arts techniques and the like.

The upper limit isn't too high; it's generally around the terrestrial celestial realm.

The few special cultivation techniques do have a high upper limit, according to Du Zi's classification of the realms of refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao.

One of them even surpasses the Dao Integration Realm.

"The Art of Slaying My Enlightened Path..."

"Which 'genius' created this technique?"

"Starting by cutting yourself a thousand times will allow you to get started. The greater the pain you suffer, the faster you improve. Take pain as your source and self-destruction as your principle. Do not avoid any obsessions or delusions. Instead, focus on being in love without forgetting your feelings."

Zhu Jinzhen held the technique, his eyes twitching slightly. Even the more sinister Evil-Repelling Sword Technique and Sunflower Manual from the Martial Arts World, whose first principle is to castrate oneself, and the Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique which requires self-greening, are not as sinister as this technique.

As long as you keep hurting yourself, your cultivation level will increase rapidly.

There are no bottlenecks, and no qualifications are required.

From the physical pain of self-inflicted wounds, to seeking true love, to falling in love, and then to losing true love, including but not limited to self-cuckolding, giving away one's true love, killing one's true love, and everything else that causes pain, all can be transformed into motivation to become stronger.

To advance further, one must also suffer the loss of a loved one, including but not limited to self-funded cultivation, or forced into begging or child molestation.

Is this something a human can train for?

Zhu Jinzhen only glanced at it a few times before feeling that his mind had been polluted by what he saw.

"Your Majesty, what has happened?"

Seeing Zhu Jinzhen's constantly changing expression, Changsun Wangqing and Yan Yimei inquired with concern.

"nothing."

Zhu Jinzhen shook his head. Although this "Slaying Myself and Enlightening the Dao Technique" was extremely evil, the path to improvement within it had broadened his horizons and given him considerable insights.

To enter the path through emotion, amidst extreme emotion and suffering.

Use worldly desires and emotions to elevate yourself.

The "Slay Myself to Understand the Dao" technique, which is completely different from the martial arts world, greatly inspired Zhu Jinzhen.

It's not about martial arts, but about the understanding of the flow of fortune and destiny.

This gave him some insights into other areas.

At this moment, Changsun Wangqing's voice rang out, tinged with embarrassment and oddness: "Your Majesty, is this sword formed from the fragments of the Xuanyuan Sword too...?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked over upon hearing this.

Upon discovering that the longsword formed from the fragments of the Xuanyuan Sword in Changsun Wangqing's hands was as soft and limp as noodles, it was clear that the enemy would laugh themselves to death if they even drew the sword, let alone use it against an enemy.

As Changsun Wangqing absorbed the new information in his mind, he murmured the origin of the sword in his hand, "The sword is named Fifteen. It was forged from a fragment of the Xuanyuan Sword that was accidentally broken."

Xuanyuan Sword, Chapter Fifteen?

A scene suddenly flashed through Zhu Jinzhen's mind.

The Xuanyuan Sword, facing the Demon Lord alone, emitted a sword cry and said with a disdainful look, "To show my respect, I can do without the Earth Emperor."

"Sword Fifteen from the Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Scar of the Sky world?" A look of surprise flashed in Zhu Jinzhen's eyes, but it quickly faded. In the process of sorting through his gains, he had already encountered more than ten items from familiar film, novel, or anime worlds. Sword Fifteen from the Xuan-Yuan Sword world was utterly insignificant.

If it were the complete Xuanyuan Sword, he would be very interested in having another sword.

Zhu Jinzhen reached out and gestured, his sword intent brushing across the blade of Sword Fifteen through his fingertips. However, despite being the ruler of the dynasty and the strongest swordsman in the martial arts world, he could not make it shine. He shook his head in disappointment: "It is timid and cowardly, without any of the sharpness of an ancient artifact."

"Its only purpose is to complete the Xuanyuan Sword in its world."

"It's useless, just leave it aside."

After saying that, Zhu Jinzhen discarded Sword Fifteen like a worn-out shoe and threw it directly into the pile of things that he, Changsun Wangqing, and Yan Yimei had sifted out as not very useful.

Changsun Wangqing and Yan Yimei exchanged a glance, both somewhat disappointed.

They thought that the longsword formed from the fragments of the Xuanyuan Sword would be superior to all the famous swords of the time.

But I never expected it to be so terrible.

"Zheng!!"

As if sensing Zhu Jinzhen's disgust and disdain, and the disappointment of Changsun Wangqing and Yan Yimei, Jian Shiwu began to tremble violently on its own, and sharp sword energy and majestic imperial aura burst forth continuously.

It was as if it was telling Zhu Jinzhen, Changsun Wangqing, and Yan Yimei that it was not useless.

Even though it's broken, it was the sword of the ancient Yellow Emperor, and it's the foremost divine sword in the world.

Yan Yimei's beautiful eyes flashed with surprise as she looked at Zhu Jinzhen, "Your Majesty, this sword actually possesses such spirituality!"

"A sword is originally made of ordinary iron, but it becomes spiritual through wielding, moves with the heart, lives with blood, and dies without thought! It is ultimately a fragment of the Xuanyuan Sword. If it doesn't even have this much spirituality, it is just a piece of scrap iron."

Unfortunately, Zhu Jinzhen only glanced at it and didn't take it seriously.

The sword intent and imperial aura displayed by the fragment of the Xuanyuan Sword, Sword Fifteen, were not worthy of his attention, even though it possessed certain extraordinary abilities, such as the ability to fly on a sword.

But Zhu Jinzhen didn't need this kind of spirit sword that was all flashy and had nothing to offer.

Seeing that her own emperor truly disapproved, Yan Yimei stopped trying to persuade him and began to tidy up the clothes carefully.

Changsun Wangqing quickly picked up the Holy Spirit Sword Technique and studied it carefully for a moment. Then, she frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, this Holy Spirit Sword Technique is quite peculiar. After the twenty-two sword techniques of ruthlessness and death, it seems that there is still more to it than meets the eye. There should be a red flower after the green leaves."

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded calmly. The Holy Spirit Sword Technique he obtained from beyond the realm was incomplete, containing only the first twenty-two moves and lacking the later moves such as the Heaven-Destroying and Earth-Shattering Sword Twenty-Three, the Sentimental Heaven and Earth Sword Twenty-Three, and the Six Annihilation Selfless Sword Twenty-Three.

He had already reviewed it before and found it inspiring. He just needed some time to deduce the subsequent sword moves.

Then the group found many more valuable items.

"Shennong Cauldron: It comes from a certain world. As long as energy is injected, it can refine pills on its own. If enough materials are collected, it can even refine immortal pills, longevity pills, and three-turn resurrection pills."

"Secret Techniques for Spiritual Masters: A secret technique developed and comprehended by a spiritual master on Earth in a starry world."

"Blood Bodhi: A rare fruit born from the land where the blood of the Qilin fell in the world of Fengyun. It has the miraculous effects of curing serious injuries and increasing power without injury, and can detoxify deadly poisons. It is the undisputed holy medicine for healing injuries in the martial arts world."

"Golden AK: A product from a certain game world, made entirely of gold, a special weapon with pseudo-infinite ammo that absorbs free energy in the air and continuously converts it into bullets."

(End of this chapter)