Chapter Fifty-Nine: Subjugation

Although Zhu Yu had no real understanding of military affairs in his previous life, he had watched all kinds of war films. The power of the Tiangang Five Thunder was not much different from the heavy snipers in those movies, and it even fired pellets. Yet, it was merely a handgun! Of course, it had its flaws: its effective range was only ten meters. Within ten meters, even if faced with an iron wall, Zhu Yu was confident he could blast it apart. But if you stood more than ten meters away, sorry, you’d hear a bang and nothing more. If you were actually grazed by the Five Thunder from that distance, congratulations—you should buy a lottery ticket.

Because of this, the Tiangang Five Thunder was relegated to gathering dust. For true experts, ten meters was no distance at all; you would have no chance to even pull the trigger. As for ordinary martial artists, there was hardly any need to use such a weapon against them. Later, it was used for ambushes or assassinations, but for stealth, the Five Thunder was far too large; using it for a sneak attack meant relying on your enemy being blind. As for assassination? Firing it was like causing an earthquake. Assassination depended on subtlety, but every time the Five Thunder was used, the mission turned into a head-on assault. Though the targets were always eliminated, the ultimate strategic goals of these missions were always a complete failure.

Zhuge Zhengwo had been the last to use the Tiangang Five Thunder. He loathed it so much that when he returned it to the late emperor, he even made up an official-sounding excuse, claiming its immense power was an affront to heaven’s will.

This was the first piece of black technology Zhu Yu had encountered since arriving in this world. And now, as he gazed at the second marvel before him, his eyes gleamed with excitement. Instead of asking about its principles, he posed a serious question to Little Fish.

“Little Fish, let me ask you once more—will you come work for me?”

Little Fish glanced at the still-moving wooden figure, twisting comically in its dance, then looked at the emperor’s grave expression and thought, Something’s off here. Isn’t this funny? Why does His Majesty look so serious?

Though countless questions whirled through Little Fish’s mind, when faced with Zhu Yu’s inquiry, he knelt and offered a formal salute. “I am grateful for Your Majesty’s favor. I am willing to serve Jing Nation to the best of my ability.”

With this affirmative reply, Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief—a delightful surprise. His gaze at Little Fish became even more fervent than when he had first met Huang Shang. Organizing his thoughts, Zhu Yu began asking the questions most pressing on his mind.

“Can the wooden figure be replaced with iron?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, it can.”

“To what extent can you control it? How much strength does it have? Can it be increased? Can it wield weapons? Can it…” A torrent of questions poured from Zhu Yu’s mouth.

Hearing these questions, Little Fish finally realized that Zhu Yu had instantly seen possibilities that had never crossed his own mind.

If that wooden figure was transformed into a tireless, weapon-laden killing machine, how terrifying would it be on the battlefield?

Realizing Zhu Yu’s intentions, Little Fish was filled with dread. It became clear that had he refused the emperor’s offer, he might not have lived to see another sunrise.

Now that he had agreed to enter government service, his words could no longer be as casual as before. His answers to Zhu Yu’s questions were mostly uncertain but could be researched.

Little Fish grew much more cautious, while Zhu Yu’s tolerance for him grew exponentially. He immediately appointed Little Fish to an official post and promised to provide whatever resources were needed—be it money or manpower.

Zhu Yu even entrusted the Tiangang Five Thunder to Little Fish for self-defense, instructing him to study it as well.

Back in his temporary palace, Zhu Yu checked his mind for the system prompt he’d heard earlier.

Two messages appeared:

First: Congratulations, host. You have recruited a new grandmaster—reward: 50 destiny points.

Second: Congratulations, host. You have recruited a new special talent—reward: 100 destiny points.

Zhu Yu hadn’t expected that recruiting talent would also earn him destiny points.

His current system status was as follows:

Host: Zhu Yu

Identity: Emperor of Jing Nation, Head of Blackstone

Status: Healthy

Martial Arts: Northern Sea Divine Skill (Proficient), Nine Yin Manual (Proficient), Rama’s Divine Art (Beginner)

Dynasty Destiny Points: 1005

Seeing his current destiny points, Zhu Yu’s eyes shone. He knew he could now allocate more points.

With a thought, Zhu Yu focused his attention on the Nine Yin Manual. In an instant, his proficiency changed from “proficient” to “mastery,” just as he had imagined, and his destiny points dropped to 605.

Feeling the changes in his body, Zhu Yu was overjoyed, but then he realized a problem.

He hadn’t yet broken through to the grandmaster realm, and his internal energy was still at full capacity—he couldn’t cultivate any further.

Would he need to upgrade it again? He had thought breaking through to grandmaster would be simple, but now he understood what it meant to be poor.

Since becoming emperor in this world, Zhu Yu had nearly forgotten what poverty felt like, but now those old memories returned.

Nevertheless, Zhu Yu wasn’t too anxious, for the destruction of the Flower Palace was imminent—a great bounty of destiny points awaited him.

There was no rush. After all, his martial arts had improved significantly. With Little Fish and Hua Wuqie now serving him, Zhu Yu felt this was his lucky day.

To reward himself, he indulged in a long-missed game of cards.

…

The next morning, in the imperial court, Princess Taka, before all the officials, recited the same lies as Little Fish had the day before.

Zhu Yu picked up the thread, proclaiming that the incident was understandable, that the Jing Nation displayed the magnanimity of a great country, and so on.

In short, the message was clear: Jing Nation was the Celestial Empire, supremely benevolent, unwilling to see the people of the Kunlun Tribe suffer, and thus the annual tribute would be waived this year.

Princess Taka, naturally, thanked him profusely. She had become friends with Little Fish and the others, and after completing her business, she stayed in the capital for several days with Hua Wuqie and Little Fish before returning to the Kunlun Tribe.

After seeing Princess Taka off, Hua Wuqie, eager as ever, took Little Fish to search for Tie Xinlan near the Broken Heart Cliff by the Flower Palace.

But something dramatic occurred. That morning, Little Fish and Hua Wuqie set out, and by afternoon, Yan Nantian had regained his memory.

Just as in the original story, once Yan Nantian recovered his memories, he took up his sword and headed straight for the Flower Palace to seek vengeance against Yao Yue and Lian Xing.

Cao Zhengchun, leading the elite of the Eastern Depot, followed close behind. To Zhu Yu’s surprise, Liu Xi was among them as well.

When Zhu Yu received the news, he was somewhat displeased, but after thinking it over, he understood. With Yan Nantian, Yao Yue, and Lian Xing—all true grandmasters—involved, it was only natural that Cao Zhengchun feared a three-on-one fight.

Who knew what the situation was now?