Zhu Tian: Starting from the Laughing Proud Yue Buqun

Chapter 324 Lingnan to be Reclaimed, Control of Li Shimin

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Tang and his son have arrived."

The old eunuch walked up to Xu Qing, bowed, and said...

Xu Qing looked up: "Let them come over."

"Yes."

The old eunuch went out and brought Li Yuan and his son in.

Both of them saw the unprocessed remains of the three grandmasters on the ground, their eyelids twitching wildly, their heart rates soaring, and they were terrified.

The three grandmasters were reduced to skeletons, a truly terrifying sight.

"Your humble servant Li Yuan pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Li Shimin pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Li Yuan and Li Shimin glanced at the pile of bones and quickly looked away, then hurried to Xu Qing and performed a deep kneeling bow.

Logically speaking, they don't need to perform such elaborate formalities in informal settings.

But now, seeing that the three grandmasters had all turned into skeletons, and knowing full well the formidable strength of the Sui Emperor, he realized that the Sui Emperor was incredibly powerful.

The father and son's legs were a little weak at this moment, so they knelt down.

"Rise," Xu Qing said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan and his son bowed again in gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two of them stood up with difficulty, very restrained, not daring to look up at Xu Qing.

"Does the Duke of Tang know why I summoned you?" Xu Qing sized up Li Yuan and his son for a while before slowly speaking.

"I do not know." Li Yuan shook his head slightly; he was also puzzled.

The most puzzled person was Li Shimin. It was understandable that His Majesty wanted to see his father.

But surprisingly, even he came along.

This really confused him.

"The Duke of Zhennan plotted a rebellion and attempted to assassinate me. It's time to reclaim the Lingnan region!"

On the surface, the Lingnan region belonged to the Sui Dynasty, but in reality, it was the territory of the Lingnan Song Clan.

When Emperor Wen of Sui was in power, he wanted to take back this land, but due to Song Que's obstruction, he was forced to cede the Lingnan region to the Song clan.

Now, Song Que attempted to assassinate Xu Qing in the street, and was killed on the spot.

The Lingnan Song Clan, this rebellious force, should also be eradicated and should not continue to exist.

Li Yuan suddenly realized what was happening and excitedly said, "Your subject requests permission to send troops to recover Lingnan and annihilate the Song clan rebels!"

“Very good, I’ll leave this matter to you.” Xu Qing nodded.

Xu Qing has already dealt with Song Que, the biggest obstacle to the reconquest of Lingnan. Now, he has no interest in personally eliminating the Song clan.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will surely take over Lingnan within a month and eradicate all the Song clan rebels!"

Li Yuan spoke with a strong voice, eager to demonstrate his value.

Destroying the Song clan suited his wishes perfectly.

Xu Qing nodded slightly. Li Yuan was quite capable, but the most capable member of the Li clan was Li Er, Li Shimin.

This person led troops in battle in the original timeline, achieving almost no defeats, and brought the dynasty to its zenith.

Such a figure can be called one of the greatest emperors of all time.

Such people are very ambitious and difficult for ordinary people to tame.

However, Xu Qing is no ordinary person, and he will not use ordinary methods.

"I have heard that you are exceptionally intelligent and have outstanding military talent, and that the Turks have been defeated by you several times."

Li Shimin lowered his head and said, "Shimin's abilities are nothing in front of Your Majesty."

"Indeed, at such a young age you've managed to conceal your brilliance; you truly are a great talent." Xu Qing smiled and beckoned.

"Come here and let me take a look."

Li Shimin swallowed hard, nervously took a few steps forward, and stood in front of Xu Qing.

He still dared not look directly at Xu Qing, whose imposing presence was simply too overwhelming.

Even though he had concealed his aura, the impact and shock that today's battle had brought to Li Shimin was too great.

Even though Xu Qing didn't release any pressure, Li Shimin's heart was still pounding, and he remained in awe.

Xu Qing raised his hand and placed it on Li Shimin's body, saying, "Your talent is outstanding, but it's a pity that your physique is a little weak. As a general of my Great Sui, you must have a strong enough body."

"Come, I will teach you a body-refining technique."

Li Shimin was stunned. He never expected that the Sui emperor would value him so much and want to pass on his martial arts skills to him.

Li Yuan was also surprised, but he reacted quickly. Seeing that Li Shimin was still in a daze, he urged, "His Majesty has bestowed this gift upon you. Why don't you quickly express your gratitude!" This is a great thing!

The Sui Emperor's martial arts skills were absolutely unparalleled in the world.

The martial arts he teaches must be absolutely top-notch.

It is truly a great opportunity that his son was able to catch the eye of the Sui Emperor!

"Shimin, thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin came to his senses and quickly knelt down to express his gratitude.

Xu Qing smiled faintly, placed a finger on Li Shimin's brow, transmitted the Body Refining Manual to him, and casually planted a divine imprint in his mind.

A man of such great talent as Li Shimin should naturally be put to use.

Talented people are always ambitious and difficult to control. The only way is to use divine power to influence their minds and gradually transform them into one of our own.

Only in this way can you use it with peace of mind.

Li Shimin was completely unaware of the divine imprint, as he was entirely drawn to the body-refining method.

All sorts of ingenious body tempering methods and the power one would gain after completing each step appeared in his mind.

Such methods made Li Shimin even more aweful, feeling that the Sui emperor was incredibly powerful, like a god.

Xu Qing withdrew his finger, gently patted Li Shimin's shoulder, and said, "Don't disappoint me."

"I will certainly study the methods bestowed by Your Majesty diligently and will not dare to slack off!" Li Shimin said excitedly.

Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Li Yuan and said, "I have heard that the Duke of Tang has a son who is born with superhuman strength and is a rare and fierce general. I wonder where he is now?"

"The one Your Majesty heard about is my youngest son, named Li Yuanba, who is not at home at the moment."

Several years ago, a Taoist master took in the young Yuanba and took him away; he hasn't returned for several years.

Li Yuan said.

"Oh, I wonder who that Taoist master is?" Xu Qing's heart stirred slightly. It seemed that Li Yuanba's master was also a reclusive master.

His strength is certainly no less than Ning Daoqi's, and may even be stronger.

After all, this person was extremely mysterious, with very little description, and seemed to have lived for a very long time.

"That master's Taoist name was Ziyang. He was incredibly skilled and possessed profound martial arts abilities, far beyond the reach of ordinary people." A hint of reminiscence flashed in Li Yuan's eyes.

When he first met Master Ziyang, he thought the other party was a celestial being.

He was truly unlike an ordinary person, and his demeanor was extraordinary.

"Master Ziyang? I've never heard of such a person in the Daoist sect. He must be a reclusive master."

"Does the Duke of Tang have a way to invite the other party here for a meeting?" Xu Qing was somewhat interested in Master Ziyang.

"This... I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness. Master Ziyang's whereabouts are elusive. My communication with him was entirely through my son who sent me a letter. I was unable to contact him proactively."

Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, then told the truth.

At this moment, Li Shimin spoke up: "Your Majesty, my younger brother wrote to me some time ago, saying that he has completed his studies and will soon return."

When he returns, he will surely find a way to locate Master Ziyang.

Xu Qing nodded slightly. Since Li Yuanba had not yet returned, he could not force him.

After chatting for a few more minutes, he told the two to go back and prepare to reclaim the Lingnan region.

The two knelt down, took their leave, and departed.

"Has Pei Qing ever heard of the Daoist Master Ziyang?"

Xu Qing looked at Shi Zhixuan, who had been silent all along, and asked.

"Your Majesty, I have never heard of this person before."

Shi Zhixuan shook his head slightly and answered truthfully.

With his knowledge, there were few people in the martial arts world who didn't recognize him.

However, many Taoists retreat to the mountains and forests, not caring about fame or fortune, and few venture into the martial arts world.

It's normal that he hasn't heard of it.

Seeing this, Xu Qing didn't ask any more questions and asked Shi Zhixuan to clean up the bones in front of him.

He, on the other hand, needs to digest the day's achievements.

It takes considerable time to fully integrate the martial arts techniques and wisdom accumulated by numerous grandmasters into one's own martial arts path.

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(End of this chapter)