Simultaneous Transmigration: The Re-merging of 99 Selves

The wind in Lin'an gradually carried a hint of the chill of early spring in Jiangnan, but in the study of the Prince's mansion, warm silver charcoal burned, and not a trace of cold air could penetrate.

Zhao Yu stood by the window, his fingertips holding a newly delivered report from the imperial court.

It was clearly written above that Shi Miyuan had roughly finalized the terms of the peace agreement with the Jin envoy, and the two countries' official letters would be exchanged within half a month before being formally discussed in the court.

The Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty will be downgraded from being uncle and nephew states to being elder and younger brother states.

This was humiliating enough, not to mention that the terms included an additional 300,000 taels of silver as annual tribute, 3 million strings of cash as military reward money, and the cession of several prefectures in the Huai River region.

The humiliation of the Jingkang Incident is not even a century old, and the blood and tears of that time have not yet dried. Now, we are about to sign such a humiliating peace treaty that would cede sovereignty and national humiliation.

Zhao Yu slowly clenched the report in his hand, crumpling the Xuan paper into a ball, and the coldness in his eyes almost overflowed.

He absolutely could not stand by and watch this happen.

Shi Miyuan wanted to betray his country for personal gain, and Zhao Kuo wanted to live a life of ease and comfort, but Zhao Yu could not let this vast land be ruined by these people.

Time is running out for Zhao Yu.

He must act quickly and lay the groundwork before the peace agreement is formally signed.

Xia Zhen was the key step in breaking the deadlock for him.

This man held the power of the Three Imperial Guards and was the core of military power in Lin'an City. Since he was able to betray Han Tuozhou and join Shi Miyuan during the coup in the third year of Kaixi, he could naturally be used by Zhao Yu as well.

If we can completely control this person, coupled with his unparalleled martial arts skills and the forces he has secretly cultivated, the world of Lin'an City can be turned upside down at any time.

As for wearing a mask when sneaking into the Xia residence that day, it was simply for the sake of caution.

Zhao Yu was, after all, a prince of the current dynasty and the emperor's younger brother, so his identity could not be revealed too early.

If Xia Zhen is a stubborn person who would rather die than submit, and turns around and reports him to Shi Miyuan and Zhao Kuo, it will inevitably cause complications.

With his face covered, even if Xia Zhen wanted to report him, he wouldn't know who he was and wouldn't know where to start.

Once Xia Zhen's life and death are completely in his hands, the rest will be much simpler.

Zhao Yu snapped out of his daze, threw the report in his hand into the charcoal brazier, and watched as the Xuan paper curled up and turned to ashes in the flames. The emotions in his eyes gradually calmed down.

He turned and walked to the desk, where a booklet was placed. The cover was neatly written with the four characters "Evil-Repelling Sword Manual," which Wang Huai'an had copied by hand.

The ink had long since dried, and every stroke was precise, without the slightest error.

Zhao Yu picked it up casually, flipped through it, and nodded secretly.

The sword manual has been copied. Next, it's time to urge those people to practice harder.

The most terrifying aspect of this Evil-Repelling Sword Manual is its rapid mastery.

Once you harden your heart and endure that blow, eliminating all desires, your internal strength and swordsmanship will improve at an astonishing rate.

In the original novel, Lin Pingzhi's martial arts skills were only those of a third-rate disciple on Mount Hua. After only a month and a half of training, his swordsmanship became so fast that even Linghu Chong was shocked.

After only three months of training, he was able to kill Yu Canghai and Mu Gaofeng, two masters who had been famous in the martial arts world for decades.

Such incredible progress is unparalleled in the entire martial arts world; there is no other martial arts technique that can match it.

Zhao Yu had calculated it clearly in his mind: in just two months, the hundreds of self-castrated people he had gathered would be able to develop considerable combat power using the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.

Hundreds of skilled swordsmen, adept at swift swords and moving with ghostly agility, might not be a match for a thousand troops on an open battlefield, but within the narrow alleyways of the imperial city, there was simply no space for soldiers to form a battle formation.

These people are his sharpest blade, enough to be worth thousands of elite soldiers.

When the palace coup occurs, these people can quickly take control of all the gates of the palace, capture Empress Yang and Shi Miyuan's cronies, and cooperate with the imperial guards under Xia Zhen's command, and the great cause can be accomplished.

For the next few days, Zhao Yu spent almost every day in a secluded villa outside Lin'an City.

This was a place he had specifically designated for those people to practice their skills. The courtyard walls were high, and the location was secluded, so no one would pay attention to it.

Early that morning, just as dawn was breaking, the martial arts training ground in the villa was already packed with people.

More than 300 men dressed in tight-fitting clothes, holding long swords, practiced the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique move by move.

The sword flashed, fast as lightning, and the sound of it cutting through the air was incessant.

Zhao Yu, dressed in a blue robe and holding a thin willow twig in his hand, walked slowly in the middle of the group, his sharp eyes scanning the movements of everyone.

These people were of varying ages, ranging from their teens to their thirties, and were all commoners who had castrated themselves but failed to enter the palace.

Before this, they were pitiful people abandoned by the whole society, living at the bottom of the city, suffering contempt and humiliation, and unable to even get a full meal.

It was Zhao Yu who gave them the opportunity to have enough to eat and wear, gave them the hope of learning martial arts to turn their lives around, and gave them a path to stand tall and proud in front of others.

That's why these people practice their skills like they've gone mad.

He would get up before dawn to practice swordsmanship and wouldn't rest until late at night. Even if his hands were blistered and his arms were too sore to lift, he would not complain at all.

They knew all too well that this was their only chance in their lives.

If they miss the path Zhao Yu offered, they will be stuck in the gutter for the rest of their lives, with no hope of ever getting ahead.

Zhao Yu was never worried that these people would defect after they mastered their martial arts.

For a mere sliver of a chance to enter the palace, they were willing to stab themselves in the back, driven by an intense yearning for advancement.

What Zhao Yu offered them was a real future of wealth and honor, a path to success.

Moreover, given their physical disabilities, they had no other choice but to follow Zhao Yu.

If we're talking about ambition, these people are probably among the most proactive in the world.

"You, raise your wrist three inches higher! The sword must move in a straight line. The Evil-Slaying Sword Technique is about speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, not about showing off your skills here!"

Zhao Yu stopped behind someone, looked at his crooked sword moves, frowned, and lashed out with the willow branch in his hand without mercy.

With a crisp "snap," the willow branch struck the man's arm, leaving a faint red mark.

The man trembled, his face twitched, but he didn't utter a sound. He gritted his teeth, suddenly raised his wrist, and his swordplay instantly became much sharper and more precise.

Zhao Yu nodded in satisfaction and continued walking forward.

Although he himself had never practiced the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, his martial arts skills had already reached a state of perfection. The Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand and the White Rainbow Palm of the Free and Unfettered Sect were both top-notch martial arts in the world.

Not to mention that he had also thoroughly studied the Nine Yin Manual, and was already very familiar with the key points and principles of martial arts.

The core of the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique is nothing more than speed. It uses speed to overcome all techniques, and when combined with specialized internal energy cultivation methods, it pushes the speed of movement and sword strikes to the extreme.

This little trick was no secret to him at all.

It is more than enough to guide these beginners who are just starting out in martial arts.