Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Zhu Di sat on his throne, looking at the officials kneeling on the ground, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

"Does anyone else have any objections?"

No one answered.

Duke Zhang Fu of England was the first to stand up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask. Just now, His Highness Prince Rui descended from the sky, and before we could even see him clearly, he sheathed his sword. We are too foolish to witness such a divine figure. I wonder if Your Highness could demonstrate it once more?"

Duke Zhu Neng of Cheng also took a step forward, his voice booming:

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have fought in countless battles throughout my life, and this is the first time I have ever witnessed such a scene. It all happened so fast, I haven't had enough of it yet!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi's eyes lit up immediately. He quickly jumped out from the ranks of military officials and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Yes, yes, yes! Fourth brother, even second brother didn't see it clearly just now! Why don't you fly again and let these old guys have a good look!"

As he spoke, he glanced back at Zhu Zhanji. Zhu Zhanji stood behind Zhu Gaochi, looking expectantly at his fourth uncle, his little face flushed red, wishing he could agree for his fourth uncle.

Zhu Gaosui didn't speak, but just looked at his fourth brother quietly, his eyes full of expectation.

Zhu Gaoxi glanced at his father, the Emperor. Zhu Di nodded slightly, his eyes holding a hint of amusement.

Zhu Gaoxi turned around and said to the assembled officials, "Alright. It's not convenient to display this inside the hall, so please move outside."

Zhu Di rose first and strode towards the palace gate. Civil and military officials filed out and lined up on both sides of the square in front of the Fengtian Hall.

The square was spacious, paved with bluestone, and could easily accommodate thousands of people. The morning light shone on the square, casting long shadows of the crowd.

The military officers stood at the front, their eyes full of anticipation; the civil officials stood at the back, their expressions varied—some curious, some apprehensive, and some unable to hide their suspicion.

Zhu Gaoxi walked to the center of the square, looked around, and nodded in satisfaction: "This will do, it's quite spacious."

He turned around, faced the assembled officials, and slowly raised his right hand.

Zhu Gaoxu stared wide-eyed, afraid of missing a single detail. Zhu Zhanji stood on tiptoe, his small hands tightly gripping the hem of Zhu Gaochi's clothes. Zhu Gaosui narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Zhu Gaoxi pointed his index finger towards the sky.

"Sword—Come—" The sword control technique was activated instantly, and divine sense enveloped the entire Yingtian Prefecture.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, exploding in front of the Fengtian Hall and spreading throughout the entire imperial city and the entire Yingtian Prefecture.

In an instant, the world changed color.

On both sides of the plaza in front of the palace, the embroidered spring knives and swords at the waists of the Imperial Guards on duty were the first to tremble. Hundreds of swords were drawn simultaneously, shooting into the sky, densely packed, blocking out the rising sun in the east.

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard stood at the bottom of the steps, instructing his men on the day's duty arrangements. Halfway through his sentence, the sword at his waist suddenly vibrated violently. He looked down, and before he could react, the sword had already flew out of its sheath with a clang, soaring straight into the sky.

"What's going on?!" Baihu looked up abruptly and saw his sword hanging in mid-air among hundreds of other swords, its tip pointing towards the small figure in the center of the square.

"Your Highness Prince Rui?!" The Imperial Guard beside him exclaimed in surprise, pointing to the sky, his whole body trembling.

The centurion opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He had been a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for twenty years; what scenes hadn't he seen? But hundreds of swords and blades flying into the sky at the same time, hovering motionless in mid-air—he had never seen anything like it.

On the walls of the imperial city, the soldiers were changing shifts. One soldier was handing his spear to his comrade when, just as he reached out, the sword at his waist suddenly flew out of his hand.

He was stunned for a moment, then looked up and saw that all the soldiers' swords on the city wall had flown away, hanging densely in mid-air like a flock of silent birds.

"What the hell!" A veteran was so frightened that he took two steps back and bumped into the wall behind him.

"It's not a ghost, it's over there—" another soldier pointed in the direction of Fengtian Hall, his voice trembling, "all the swords are flying that way!"

Inside Yingtianfu City, the iron gate of the armory was smashed open by an invisible force, and the swords and knives stored inside flew out like a flock of birds, merging into the torrent in the air.

The weapons of the soldiers guarding the city walls, the swords hanging in the blacksmith shops in the streets, the ancient swords collected by wealthy families, and even the wooden swords played with by children all flew into the sky.

In the south of the city, a blacksmith was forging iron. The furnace was burning brightly, and as he swung his hammer to strike, a dozen swords hanging on the wall suddenly flew up, smashing open the shop door and flying out. The blacksmith stood there, hammer raised in mid-air, not bringing it down for a long time.

"My sword!" He chased to the door and saw his sword mixed in with thousands of other swords, flying towards the imperial city. He looked up, collapsed to the ground, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit a fist.

In the north of the city, an old man with white hair was doing his morning exercises in the courtyard, wielding an ancestral ancient sword.

The sword suddenly flew out of his hand, and the old man stumbled and almost fell. He looked up and saw his ancient sword flying into the sky, mingling in the rain of swords. His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground.

"A deity... truly a deity..."

On the Qinhuai River, a boatman on a pleasure boat looked up and saw a rain of swords flying overhead, causing him to drop his bamboo pole into the water. A passenger leaned out of the cabin, saw this, and was so frightened that he collapsed onto the bow of the boat.

"Heavens..." the boatman murmured, then knelt down on the deck with a thud.

Outside the city, the scene is quite different.

Outside the city gates of Yingtian Prefecture, early-rising vegetable farmers were carrying their loads into the city. An old farmer looked up and saw a dense, overwhelming rain of vegetables flying overhead, so frightened that he dropped his carrying pole and scattered his vegetables all over the ground.

"What...what is this?" His lips trembled, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel on the muddy ground.

"Swords! Swords everywhere!" The young man beside him craned his neck, his eyes wide as saucers. "How can there be so many swords in the sky?"

An old man driving a donkey cart suddenly knelt on the cart, kowtowing repeatedly towards the direction of the imperial city: "The gods have appeared! The gods have appeared!"

In a teahouse outside the city, several traveling merchants were resting. One merchant was drinking water from a bowl when he looked up and saw a hail of swords fly by. His bowl fell to the ground and shattered. He stared, mouth agape, before finally managing to utter, "I've traveled far and wide for thirty years, and I've never seen anything like this..."

The tea stall owner ran out from behind the counter, looked up at the sky, his legs gave way, and he sat down on the ground, muttering, "God has opened his eyes, God has opened his eyes..."

On the official road outside the city, a caravan of merchants stopped in their tracks. The guards looked up at the rain of swords, forgetting to sheathe their blades.

The caravan's owner was an old merchant in his fifties who had seen a lot of the world, but at this moment he also knelt down by the roadside, his hands clasped together, tears streaming down his face.

"A deity... truly a deity... a deity is about to emerge in the Ming Dynasty..."

A scholar carrying a satchel stood by the roadside, gazing up at the sky. He didn't kneel, but the scrolls in his hands fell to the ground. He murmured to himself, "Flying on a sword... Ten Thousand Swords Returning to Their Origin... This is the legendary art of the Sword Immortal..."

In the villages outside the city, farmers working in the fields put down their hoes and knelt on the ridges. An old woman and her young grandson knelt at the gate of their courtyard, kowtowing towards the direction of the imperial city.

"Grandma, there are so many swords in the sky..." the grandson pointed to the sky.

"Don't speak, quickly kowtow." The old woman pressed down on her grandson's head, "When gods pass by, kowtow for protection."

A rain of swords converged from all directions, obscuring the sky and the sun. Above Yingtian Prefecture, thousands upon thousands of swords, like a giant black dragon, tumbled and coiled in the air, finally hovering together above Fengtian Hall.

A rain of swords obscured the sun. The square darkened, as if night had fallen prematurely. The countless blades gleamed coldly in the sunlight, their points pointing downwards at the assembled officials in the square, yet not a single one fell.