Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 307 Under the Stars, The Complete Book of Kyushu

"Alright," Tong Bo rubbed Tong Zhan's head and said seriously, "The most important thing right now is to break the ice seal. And this ice seal is because of Xue Ruyi, so we can only start with Yujian Manor."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

In the past, they naturally wouldn't have cared.

Isn't it just the Imperial Sword Manor?

Let's go for it!

But now, they overheard Yin Zhong and Zhou Ming's conversation and learned that there was an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years hidden in the Imperial Sword Manor.

Who wouldn't be afraid!
In fact, several hundred years is a short timeframe for them; Yin Zhong's true age is probably over a thousand years.

The Imperial Sword Manor alone has been established for five hundred years.

Five hundred years ago, it wasn't the time when Yin Zhong and General Long Teng fought a great battle, but rather the time when he was resurrected.

You must know that during that great battle, the Spirit Mirror suddenly unleashed its divine power, and the power it released was enough to kill Yin Zhong.

However, Yin Zhong had already cultivated into an immortal demon god, but he got stuck in a bug, in a state between life and death, and lay on the ground for who knows how many years before he was resurrected.

Based on a simple estimation, this period of time is probably no less than five hundred years.

After all, Yin Zhong had used the army of King Zhou of Shang to hunt down the Tong clan in the past.

In other words, that happened at least a thousand years ago.

Yin Zhong stole the Dragon God Skill, had all his skills stripped and was expelled from the Tong clan. He then started cultivating again, eventually reaching a level where he could fight against General Long Teng, who was at the ninth level of the Dragon God Skill, without being defeated. Obviously, this also took some time.

Therefore, Yin Zhong's true lifespan must have been over a thousand years.

Although it makes no difference to Tong Bo and others whether it is five hundred years, a thousand years, or more than a thousand years.

They're all immortal monsters!

The four left Shuiyue Cave and slowly walked towards Yujian Manor.

They walked very slowly.

Although no one said it, everyone knew in their hearts that this would be an extremely difficult task.

They were about to face an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years and had designs on the Water Moon Cave.

They not only have to deal with this old monster, but also figure out the secret of the Blood Jade and find a way to save the Water Moon Cave.

We also need to prevent this old monster from finding the Water Moon Cave.

Such a difficult task naturally makes people hesitate.

Even by nightfall, we had only covered a quarter of the journey.

Looking up at the night sky, the four of them had different thoughts.

Those who remain in seclusion will recover the fastest.

After all, he lived a long life and was old. As an elder of the Tong clan, he had read many books.

He was indeed panicked when he first encountered this kind of situation, but by the end of the day, he had naturally adjusted his mindset.

Dou Dou couldn't fall asleep no matter what, after all, it was she who broke the Blood Ruyi, which led to this disaster.

Not to mention Tong Zhan and Tong Bo.

But compared to that, Tong Bo's feelings were more complicated.

Right now, he has to face not only the fact that the entire Shuiyue Cave is frozen, but also the fact that the family he always thought he had is not actually his biological family.

Under the same starry sky, Yin Zhong was also unable to sleep.

After waiting for five hundred years, he was naturally excited to finally see the Tong clan reappear.

But by comparison, another matter is more urgent.

That's Zhou Ming.

Perhaps he has lived too long, which has made him less sensitive to time. He has not noticed that for ordinary people, a year, or even a month, can bring about tremendous changes.

Zhou Ming, who had only embarked on the path of cultivation a year ago, not only made remarkable progress in that year, but also joined a secret clan that had been passed down from ancient times.

But he still views the other person with the same perspective he had a year ago.

In addition, they finally found the Water Moon Cave.

In his excitement, he made a grave mistake!
For a time, Yin Zhong felt a mixture of love and hate for Zhou Ming.

What I love is his ability to help Yin Zhong find the Water Moon Cave.

What they hated was naturally the affairs of that hidden tribe.

Unfortunately, he couldn't control Zhou Ming.

It's like having a bomb next to you; you don't know when it will explode, or whether it will hit you or someone else.

"Ugh……"

Yin Zhong regretted it.

Very sorry.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have given up everything I had under my previous identity in order to return to Yujian Manor.

This naturally includes Zhou Ming, his son.

If he had been raised from a young age, the bond between father and son would never have been so weak.

But time cannot be turned back, and regret is just that—regret.

The most important thing right now is to find the Spirit Mirror and heal my injuries.

Of the three parties involved in this whole affair, Zhou Ming was probably the only one who wasn't bothered by these matters at all.

After I got back, I had a good night's sleep.

Not to mention Yin Zhong's little matter, even the countless classic books and treasures he obtained from Shuiyue Cave Heaven could not affect his daily routine at all.

After all, these things can all be left to Ai to handle.

The next day, Zhou Ming took his leave.

Before the former manor lord Yin Hao and the current manor lord Yin Tianqi could express their opinions, Yin Zhong exclaimed in surprise, "Nephew, why are you in such a hurry to leave?!"

His attitude towards Zhou Ming is now very complicated.

They were wary of that secretive clan, yet they needed Zhou Ming's help.

Even though we've found the location of the Water Moon Cave, what's the use if we can't break through the barrier?

Zhou Ming, who has already reached the level of a witch priest in terms of magic cultivation and has awakened his innate abilities, is very likely to become his helper.

I thought about it all night yesterday, but I still couldn't figure out how to deal with Zhou Ming.

So Zhou Ming is leaving this morning?

This is not possible!

“This place is so far from the Ming Kingdom. My dear nephew, you have come all this way with great difficulty. It has only been a few days. Why are you leaving now? You should at least rest at my Imperial Sword Manor!” Yin Zhong said, holding Zhou Ming’s hand.

Yin Hao quickly stood up and said, "Nephew, if you leave, I'm afraid we'll never see each other again in this life. We've only spent a few days together, it would be such a pity to leave now. Please stay a little longer."

Zhou Ming had no intention of leaving now; he had only come here under the pretext of the succession ceremony. Therefore, after the ceremony, he needed to find another excuse to stay openly.

This is one of them.

Secondly, he sensed Yin Zhong's complex thoughts and his hidden wariness, so he used this opportunity to put pressure on him. Since both of them had spoken, Zhou Ming declined slightly before agreeing to stay.

Because the succession ceremony was successfully held, Yin Tianqi became the new head of the manor.

Naturally, all affairs of the Imperial Sword Manor were handed over to Yin Tianqi to handle.

Yin Zhong assisted from the side, while Yin Hao took charge of everything.

This gave Yin Hao some free time, so he decided to give Zhou Ming some pointers on his sword qi finger technique.

Then... he became depressed.

In just a few days, Zhou Ming had already entered the master level of Sword Qi Finger and taken a big step forward.

If Yin Hao hadn't had decades of expertise in this area, his impulsive guidance this time would probably have made him lose face instead.

Even so, Zhou Ming's terrifying comprehension still greatly surprised him.

After that, they never mentioned giving him any more guidance, but instead gave Zhou Ming better treatment in various aspects.

After all, this genius has such enormous potential... no, even though some of this genius's potential has already been realized, he still seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

Such a prodigy deserves to be befriended.

Zhou Ming didn't stand on ceremony and accepted whatever benefits were offered.

At the same time, Tong Bo and the others had already arrived at Yujian Manor and begun their operations.

Yin Zhong, however, did not come away empty-handed.

Tong Xin, who had come out with Tong Zhan but was left behind, came into contact with Yin Zhong. Yin Zhong saw Tong Xin's clothes and knew that he was a member of the Tong clan, so he immediately seized the opportunity.

Overall, however, the time was too short, and both sides were still in the preparation stage and did not engage in direct confrontation.

Zhou Ming did not pay particular attention to this.

He had achieved his main objective on this trip. He had obtained both the treasured books collected by the Tong clan over the years and the Dragon God Technique, which he had wanted most.

Although there are other treasures in the Yujian Manor area, having achieved these two goals, Zhou Ming is no longer particularly concerned about anything else.

It would be best if I could get it, but if I can't, so be it.

His most important task right now is to work with Xiao Ai to organize the entire Tong clan's treasures.

Inside the personal space, a building tens of meters high has been built. The interior is circular, and the walls are bookshelves, filled with countless books.

Although it is tens of meters high, it is not divided into floors; the entire building is a single floor.

In the middle of the ground, there is a specially built platform with tables and various facilities for reading and resting.

The platform is a single, integrated structure, adorned with numerous mysterious patterns that give it the ability to float.

This is the Kyushu Complete Library that Zhou Ming specially built.

As its name suggests, it aims to collect all the books in the world into this library.

To date, almost all the publicly available books in the entire Kyushu region can be found here.

Even some families and sects, whose secret techniques are not recorded in books but passed down orally, have their secrets recorded in books and added to this library.

After the Tong family's treasures were organized, they were also sent to this library, greatly enriching the library's cultural heritage about ancient civilization.

Zhou Ming had always felt that the runes on the Demon God of War were being deciphered too slowly, but with the Tong family's treasures, the deciphering speed could be increased by at least ten times!
Because in this respect, the Tong family has never stopped celebrating the New Year.

Their powerful and mysterious multi-layered barriers, the Bagua formation capable of spatial teleportation and fulfilling various other needs, all utilize these rune techniques.

Besides, there are many other things in Shuiyue Cave that utilize rune technology.

Some of them were passed down from ancestors, but they still need to be repaired frequently.

Some were even made by younger generations.

Rune technology has not only been passed down in the Water Moon Cave, but has also seen many new developments in the past five hundred years.

In addition, those volumes of ancient classics completely filled a series of gaps.

Because in the early stages of practicing the Dharma, one usually needs to read many books to cultivate one's spirit.

Therefore, the ancient sages, whether for the sake of fame or for the sake of inheritance, preferred to write books and biographies to expound their understanding of heaven and earth and the world.

In ancient times, these sages were equivalent to the various schools of thought in modern times.

However, unlike other schools of thought, many of the philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thought preferred to focus on the structure of human society and the study of human nature.

Ancient sages generally enjoyed studying the universe.

Although human nature and the universe are eternal topics, the latter is clearly more useful to Zhou Ming than the former.

The former, once thoroughly studied, will enhance his ability to control his subordinates.

The latter, once thoroughly studied, could genuinely enhance his strength.

On the other hand, if you have great strength, why would you be afraid of not being able to control your subordinates?
"With these books, my Seven Swords Plan can finally take another step forward..."

Zhou Ming had wanted to perfectly replicate the Seven Swords for a long time.

It's not just about the seven swords themselves; it also requires matching internal energy, swordsmanship, profound techniques, and the combined power of the seven swords.

This is clearly a massive undertaking.

In fact, this project could have started after Zhou Ming opened the Sword Realm.

But not long after it started, Zhou Ming suddenly realized that although the Sword Realm was powerful, it only began to appear after the Ancestral Sword was born.

That was during the great battle between Yanhuang and Chiyou, which was the end of the ancient era.

Therefore, many powerful ancient techniques cannot be found in the sword world.

If Zhou Ming wants to replicate the Seven Swords, then the power of the Seven Swords technique must be guaranteed to a certain extent.

I don't demand the legendary Celestial level, but at the very least, I should reach the Grandmaster level.

If it were any lower, Zhou Ming himself would not be able to accept it.

Because of this standard, Zhou Ming kept delaying.

Currently, his mark is spread throughout the land, and he has collected almost every martial art that can be found in the open.

Now, with the addition of countless treasures from the Tong clan, the gaps of the ancient era have been filled.

So this project can finally begin.

"The Rainbow Sword symbolizes a clear sky and the bright sun, and also represents the rainbow that appears after the rain. It signifies the light that breaks through all obstacles and darkness. The corresponding Rainbow Sword Technique should naturally be able to reflect these characteristics... Hmm, are there too many conditions?"

Zhou Ming thought about it and realized that the Rainbow Sword was indeed somewhat special, and since it was the sword technique he used, he had to be even more cautious.

Creating one's own martial arts, especially one at least at the Grandmaster level, is no easy task.

Let's use other sword techniques as a prelude first...

"However, in order to complete the Seven Swords Combination, in addition to the formation, the seven sword techniques must cooperate and complement each other, and most importantly, they must be able to generate a huge amplification."

If that's the case, then it would be best to use the Sword of All Living Beings from the Three Swords of Xuan Yang as the base color, and use the Sword of Protection and the Sword of Justice as assistance.

The Guardian Sword can protect the sword master, while the Justice Sword is used to counter the Xuan Yin Su Sword. By using both methods, the sword master can be prevented from being affected by the Xuan Yin Su Sword.

Correspondingly, I can incorporate more elements of the Mysterious Yin Constellation Sword into the Seven Swords Technique, thereby reducing the difficulty of creating the Seven Swords Technique..."

Zhou Ming muttered to himself, and with a wave of his hand, he took out a bamboo slip and began to read it.

(End of this chapter)