From the Ming Dynasty, we will conquer the world

Chapter 52: Breaking the Void, Catching the Cannonball (7000)

Although this venue was built temporarily, the people of the Japanese Kingdom have exhausted all their manpower and resources over the past month.

They even mobilized masters of the grand boxer level to reclaim a piece of flat land on this island covered with thorns and rocks. They then built a large hall from scratch by inserting rows of wooden stakes and laying stones.

When Zhu Tiandu arrived, there was a sudden streak of thunder in the sky, followed by heavy rain. The clear sky suddenly turned dark, with strong winds blowing and heavy rain pouring down, with the sound being extremely fierce.

Even this solid hall, built by the great boxers themselves, seemed temporarily precarious, as if it were about to be completely destroyed by the violent storm.

However, even if the people present were not boxers, they were all people who had seen the world and would naturally not be scared by a small storm.

To them, Zhu Tiandu, the Dragon King, is far more worthy of attention than any changes in celestial phenomena.

After Zhu Tiandu appeared, many daimyos of the Wa Kingdom stood up immediately. Whether it was the "Tiger of Kai" or the "Dragon of Echigo", they all paid tribute to this "Ghost Emperor" and "Shadow Lord".

Even those swordsmen who tied cloth strips on their heads and were determined to seek revenge still had to show the most basic respect in front of the Dragon King. They all stood up and bowed slightly to Zhu Tiandu.

However, compared to the daimyos, the postures of these swordsmen were like sharp blades with extremely great toughness. Even if they were forced to bend for a moment, they were still cold and breathtaking.

Zhu Tiandu nodded slightly and opened his hands to signal to everyone. The daimyos understood and sat back in their seats.

But those swordsmen did not move at all, still keeping their heads bowed.

At this moment, Baozangyuan Yinrong stepped forward and blocked the way of the sword masters. He stood with a gun in hand and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:

"Crocodile Head, Demon Emperor, as warriors, Kamiizumi-sensei and Tsukahara-sensei died on the battlefield, which is a worthy death, but..."

In order to create his own style of spearmanship, Hozoin Yinrong once studied under Kamiizumi Nobunaga and paid homage to the sword master as a disciple.

Now that Kamiizumi Nobunaga has died in battle, he, as a person with the best status and spear skills among all the disciples, naturally has to step out to take the lead and represent his master to demand the culprit and seek an explanation.

Baozangyuan raised his head, looked directly at the two of them, and said in a deep voice:
"After all, they died because of what happened to you two, and the murderer was invited by you two to participate in this alliance openly. Isn't this a bit too much?"

Hearing this, the swordsmen all raised their heads and looked directly at the father and son who had once dominated the Japanese Empire and made this generation almost breathless.

On the way to Aobei Island, they had already learned the whole story of the previous battle.

He knew that the two sword masters were invited by Zhu Polong to deal with Xu Xing who was in charge of Southern Shaolin, and he also knew that this Great Sage Hun Tian was once a disciple of the Eight-Armed Shura.

You know, to this day, Zhu Tiandu has not removed Yue Daohai from his position, nor has he made a final judgment on this "second most powerful person in the world" who rebelled against the thirty-six ships.

As a result, Xu Xing's identity seemed particularly ambiguous in the eyes of these Japanese slaves. Not to mention, the swordsmen were very angry when they saw Zhu Tiandu openly inviting Xu Xing to attend the meeting.

Driven by strong hatred, these swordsmen even abandoned their fear of the father and son, and looked at Zhu Polong with a determination to fight to the death, their whole bodies filled with an extremely tragic temperament.

For this alliance, Zhu Tiandu, in order to show his sincerity, fully handed over the task of arranging the venue to his Japanese subordinates, and even only left a few dozen trusted warriors in the venue.

Therefore, at this moment, when these swordsmen who were determined to die stood up, their momentum was so strong that it even overshadowed the people on the thirty-six ships who were the masters.

The perceptions of those dead soldiers are extremely sharp, just like wild beasts, and they can sense any movement.

Now, facing these swordsmen, they just felt that they were just a group of wild beasts that were grinding their teeth, sucking blood, and killing people without hesitation, and the hair on their bodies stood on end.

Especially the gun-wielding monk who was leading the group!
But who is Zhu Polong? He is a master and has commanded thirty-six ships for several years. How could he be overwhelmed by such momentum?
Seeing this, Zhu Polong's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He did not advance or retreat, but took a step forward, and with a momentum that almost completely overwhelmed the monk, he came to the front of Baozangyuan and said with a fierce smile:

"Why, do you want to ask me for an explanation?"

He raised his eyes again, and with a grim gaze, he scanned the faces of the sword masters one by one, sneering:

"Your master came here to seek the truth, and died a worthy death. I admire him, but you..."

As he spoke, Zhu Polong raised a finger, shook it, and sneered:
"It's easy to get an explanation. If you don't agree, stand up and I will beat you to death right now!"

The situation was on the verge of breaking out. Even the samurai standing behind many daimyo, and even the daimyo themselves, felt a strong sense of crisis and stood up suddenly.

The air in the entire conference hall seemed to have suddenly solidified into pig iron, oppressing everyone to the point that they could hardly breathe.

No one expected that the will for revenge of these swordsmen would be so strong, and no one expected that this crocodile head, who had a hideous appearance but was always good at handling things and smooth in his dealings, would be unwilling to give in at all.

As a result, this alliance aimed at gathering all forces to jointly govern the Central Plains had not yet officially begun, but it was already facing an internal split and a brutal battle of life and death.

Although things have not really developed to this point, many smart daimyos have already smelled the faint smell of blood in the air, and have felt the determination of the two leaders.

From the very beginning, they decided to eliminate all the noise!
No matter who it is, or for what reason, wants to disrupt the alliance, neither of them will show the slightest mercy.

Oda Nobunaga's feelings about this were even more obvious. When he looked at those swordsmen, there was an indescribable pity in his eyes, as well as disdain for their stupidity.

He picked up the wine glass, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, hiding the light in his eyes.

——These people are the sacrifices chosen by the crocodile to be sacrificed.

Seeing that these sword masters still had no intention of retreating, Zhu Polong gave a thumbs up, wiped the corner of his mouth, and sneered:

"Very good, although you are stupid, at least you are not a coward. Who wants to be the first to die?"

The Nichiren Sect Master, who had always been silent, could no longer remain silent. He took a step forward and came to the front of Hozoin. He held all the Buddhist beads that were stuck to his skin in his hands and said in a deep voice:
"Crocodile Head, is it too much for an outsider? All Yinrong and the others want is an explanation.

As long as the Crocodile Head or the Ghost Emperor says in person that this person has nothing to do with the Thirty-Six Ships, we can continue to cooperate."

Although this Nichiren leader was the leader of the sect, he was more eager to cooperate than most of the daimyo present.

However, what he sought was not worldly power, but rather the authority to rule over the Buddhist community in the Central Plains like a chakravartin.

Ever since his defeat at the hands of Kamiizumi Nobunaga, the leader of the Nichiren clan realized that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to catch up with this amazing swordsman.

Therefore, he chose another way to spread the Dharma and preach.

The leader of the Nichiren sect was also well-versed in the history of China and knew the deeds of the Yuan Dynasty's imperial tutor, Phagpa.

He wanted to use the military force of Zhu Tiandu and others to spread the Nichiren tradition throughout the Middle-earth, just as Phagpa promoted the Sakya sect.

It is precisely because of this kind of thinking that the advice given by the Nichiren Sect Leader can be said to be sincere and heartfelt.

Being an ambitious person, he really did not want to see such a split within his family before great things were accomplished.

However, Zhu Polong didn't care about these things at all, but acted arbitrarily and arrogantly. He rolled his eyelids and laughed strangely:
"Explain? Since you are a warrior, you can only speak with your mouth?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Zhu Tiandu suddenly looked at Shanfu and said with a smile:

"My friend, have you seen enough?"

Since Zhu Tiandu showed up, Yamabushi had not shown any signs of madness again, and his eyes were always fixed on him, not moving at all, not even blinking.

The tall and thin old man seemed to have suddenly turned into a stone statue, motionless and lifeless, except for his eyes that were like ghostly fire, which became brighter and even terrifying.

After hearing Zhu Tiandu's question, Shanfu slowly withdrew his gaze. His old face twitched, and he sighed deeply, saying:
"I have been away from the world for a long time, but I never thought that there would be a person like you in the world? The title of Ghost Emperor is too insulting to you.

When the Dragon King is born, he will be with you through wind and rain. The Dragon Kings in myths are all fake. How can they compare to you? You are the real Dragon King."

This old man, who had such a terrifying tone and compared himself to a great demon like the Heavenly Dog, felt inferior to Zhu Tiandu after meeting him, so he simply gave him the title of a god.

In Yamafushi's eyes, Zhu Tiandu's footsteps, breathing, the opening and closing of every pore, and even the changes in his entire vitality, all coincided with the sudden storm and became one.

He even felt that Zhu Tiandu was not a body of flesh and blood, but a lonely shadow formed by wind and rain.

It was as if Zhu Tiandu was originally a part of this storm, or rather, he was the one who brought about this storm.

This kind of mysterious feeling cannot be felt at all unless one's boxing skills have reached the highest level and the spirit has surpassed the state of "ultimate emptiness".

The gods rule the sky, the immortals rule the earth, and the immortals rule the wind and rain!
After saying this, the light in Yamabushi's eyes immediately dimmed. This dimness did not disappear, but was an extreme concentration and refinement, as if trying to gather the pure light into sparks that could ignite the grass and trees.

He spoke very quickly, asking questions like a string of cannonballs:

"Is this the spiritual realm of 'breaking the void' in the Central Plains boxing? You don't have the body of an immortal, but you have the will and fist power of an immortal. How on earth did you endure it?"

Even for a master who has blazed his own trail, this kind of question seems too presumptuous, let alone the fact that Yamabushi is facing an unparalleled strong man like Zhu Tiandu?
Zhu Tiandu didn't care and just smiled. There was no pride or arrogance in his tone, only a sense of indifference as if it was a matter of course.

"Just taking advantage of the situation. To 'break the void', you can't just practice hard, you also need to be in harmony with the great trend.

My path is to make China sink into the sea, shatter its mountains and rivers, completely cut off the Ming Dynasty's national destiny, and then comprehend a boxing technique from it that will overturn the world and shatter everything.

Although I haven’t completed my work yet, I have shown some signs of progress. Given your level, it’s normal that you can’t see it.”

The old man's eyes suddenly shrank to the point of a needle, and he sighed deeply:

"The greater your spirit, the higher your boxing skills will be. You can use the entire Central Plains as a stepping stone for martial arts. No wonder you can reach this level.

Unfortunately, I don't have the courage to do such a big thing. I am only curious about one thing: what does the blood of a master like you taste like? "

At the end of his speech, the old man chuckled a few times, just like a hungry beggar who suddenly saw a table full of feast and naturally found it difficult to endure.

Zhu Tiandu just smiled.

"Your ninjutsu was born for killing people, so you can't accomplish such a big thing. It's too secretive, but not powerful enough. It's hard to achieve great success. Even if it can kill me, it won't help. Besides..."

Zhu Tiandu raised his head and glanced at him.

"You can't kill me. I'm only giving you one chance, so make the most of it."

He turned around again, facing Baozangyuan and others, and said calmly:

“I still retain Yue Lao Er’s position. Since his apprentice has submitted his visiting card according to the rules, I will naturally not stop him.

However, challenges are not allowed within the Thirty-Six Ships. If you want revenge, you can challenge him at any time, and I will not stop you."

After receiving Zhu Tiandu's assurance, both the Hozoin, the Nichiren clan leader, and the sword masters all breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, they were not afraid of Xu Xing. After all, even though he was a master, he was still a mortal. As long as they were well prepared, they could definitely deal with him.

What they were afraid of was that there really was some hidden connection between Zhu Tiandu, Zhu Polong and this Great Sage Hun Tian.

They were even more afraid that Zhu Polong arranged this action in order to take the opportunity to eliminate the only two remaining master-level fighters in the Wa Kingdom and lay the foundation for completely controlling the Wa Kingdom.

Fortunately, it now seems that this is not the case.

Even Zhu Polong himself looked at Zhu Tiandu in surprise.

He didn't know why his adoptive father didn't follow the original plan and kill a few swordsmen to establish his authority, but instead let this group of people go easily.

Could it be because of the upcoming Great Sage Hun Tian?
-

One stick of incense ago, outside Aobei Island.

There was a raging storm, the sky was dark, the inky black sea seemed to be boiling, huge waves were surging, sweeping back and forth, and many ships anchored on the shore were floating in the waves, colliding with each other, making a teeth-grinding creaking sound.

A group of pirates were gathered on the beach, looking out at the sea in the distance. A pirate with his hands wrapped in sackcloth wiped the rain off his face, opened his eyes with difficulty, and complained:

"In this kind of weather, how dare those lackeys in official guise come here?"

An old pirate with a pipe on his waist shook his head. Even though it was raining heavily, he still faced the sea without looking back and sneered:
"You entered the industry late and have never met Qi Hu's Qi Family Army. That's why you can say such nonsense."

Where the young pirate couldn't see, a barely perceptible trace of fear flashed across the old man's face.

Behind the two men, there were dozens of pirates. The place they were guarding had a wide view and not many rocks blocking the view. It was one of the few beaches on Aobei Island suitable for ships to dock.

Therefore, Zhu Polong sent a large number of them. Each time, there were dozens of pirates on duty, who were specifically responsible for guarding this place.

However, pirates are just pirates after all. Even if Zhu Polong is very majestic, without a systematic discipline, he still cannot completely restrain them.

So, seeing that the weather today was so bad, with strong winds and heavy rain, like the end of the world, these pirates gathered together consciously, hiding behind a big rock to avoid the wind for the time being.

They all had similar views as the young pirate. Now that Yu Long and Qi Hu were both dead, even if Taizhou wanted to take this opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop, who could they send?
Just relying on that old eunuch Lu Fang? !

Hahaha!
In this relaxed atmosphere, only the old pirate, even though he was hiding behind a rock, was still "doing his duty faithfully".

After a while, he really found something wrong. He saw something that was floating in the waves but still standing firm.

The old pirate opened his eyes wide and concentrated very hard. After a long while, he could see clearly that it was a large flag embroidered with gold patterns and with five large characters written on it.

——Loyalty from all corners of the world!

He was an old man of the Thirty-Six Ship, so he naturally recognized this flag.

The old pirate also knew that the Golden Roc Flag, which once belonged to the "Eight-Armed Shura" Yue Daohai, now had another owner who was more famous and more vicious.

——The Great Sage Hun Tian, ​​Xu Ta Fa!
The moment he saw the flag clearly, the old pirate fell to the ground with his buttocks. His hands and feet were cold and his body was numb. He just shouted:

"It's the Great Sage, the Great Sage is calling!"

The three words "Great Sage" were like some kind of magic spell, making these originally lazy pirates jump up all of a sudden. They ran everywhere in a hurry to inform their colleagues as if they were being chased by a tiger.

The bloody legend of the Great Sage Hun Tian had spread throughout the southeast in the past two months, especially among the thirty-six ships.

Who doesn’t know now the great things that the Great Sage did in Southern Shaolin?
He walked alone up the mountain, killing everyone he saw, male or female, old or young, without sparing any one. He turned this thousand-year-old temple into a hell filled with wronged souls, mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

Everyone also heard that this Great Sage was an expert at catching enemies with his eagle claws, and he liked to tear his opponents apart alive. In the battle at Southern Shaolin, there were dozens or even hundreds of monks who were torn in half by him.

These pirates have lost all empathy and humanity in a long life of burning, killing, looting and robbing. They are cold-hearted and do not treat people as human beings.

But hearing about such cruel means still makes one's hair stand on end and one's heart shocked.

So, when they heard that Xu Xing was about to dock, the pirates immediately took action. In order to prevent the government from sending a small group of elite troops to launch a surprise attack, Zhu Polong also made preparations in advance.

On the beaches of his Aobei Island, which were suitable for ships to dock, heavy iron cannons looted from the French were set up.

In addition, the alchemists under Zhu Polong also prepared more powerful gunpowder based on the secret recipe of Wudang Alchemy, filled it into the gun barrel, and bombarded the target within five miles, which was almost unstoppable.

The old pirates built five of them on this beach!

Now, upon hearing that the Great Sage Hun Tian had arrived, the pirates immediately used an iron cart to push the iron cannon hidden in the forest to the beach. They lifted the waterproof cloth to reveal the gun barrel as thick as an elephant's leg. The blue-black iron sheet looked even more hideous under the rain.

Although these pirates have a casual style, they are extremely skilled. Even the debugging and moving of these heavy cannons are done extremely quickly. In less than a moment, they have adjusted the angle and fired.

Boom boom boom boom! ! ! !

In the surging sea, columns of water suddenly exploded. Even the noisy sound of the tide and the sound of wind and rain were suppressed by the roar of artillery. Five smoke streaks that spanned the sky broke through the rain curtain and stretched across the sky.

In the raging waves, the right side of Xu Xing's ship had been shattered into thousands of waves, and the water column shot up several feet high, capsizing towards Xu Xing like a collapsing wall.

Behind him, the big boxers who were selected to carry out the mission of landing on the island all turned pale. These people did not expect that the artillerymen under Zhu Polong would have such eyesight and accuracy.

Even though they were several miles apart and there was wind and rain blocking the way, how could they hit the target so accurately?
Xu Xing, however, was completely unmoved. He just stood at the bow of the boat, stretched out his hands, and tore the water curtain into pieces.

Before he could finish his sigh, the next round of volleys arrived. Xu Xing moved his nose and smelled the extremely strong smell of gunpowder.

An extremely accurate shell was falling right on his head!

Xu Xing's eyes focused, and he touched the bow with his toes. He flew into the sky like an eagle. The whole boat trembled, and the bow sank sharply towards the sea as if a thousand-pound weight had fallen on it.

Fortunately, everyone on the boat was an expert in boxing, so they were able to keep their bodies steady and avoid being thrown out by the sudden change.

When he jumped up, Xu Xing shrank and turned his body, and had already gotten out of the outer robe. He held the outer robe in his hand and shook his arm like waving a flag, bringing wind and rain to the sky.

The water droplets gathered into a stream and spread out along the edge of the cloth, like a thick water curtain blocking the shells.

With a puff, the water curtain was evaporated by the high heat carried by the shell, turning into wisps of white mist. Xu Xing twisted his wrist again, and his robe suddenly fluttered open, like a suddenly blooming lotus, covering the entire shell.

The robe was stretched taut by the impact of the shells, and each thread of fabric had been stretched to its limit. Looking from the back, one could clearly see a circular spiral trying to break through the fabric.

Xu Xing could hear the sound of cloth tearing, and he could also smell the burnt smell of the cloth after being baked at high temperature.

However, after numerous loads of force, this incredibly powerful shell was finally restrained in Xu Xing's hands.

When the pirates saw this scene, they all lost their voices, stared in astonishment, and felt as if their souls had floated out of them, and their whole bodies were numb as if they had suffered a stroke.

——Using clothes to catch a cannon, is this person still a human being? !

Even as they were horrified, Xu Xing did not stop his movements. He shook his shoulders and used his elbows and wrists to exert force.

At this moment, Xu Xing's hands and robes together formed a simple slingshot, and the projectile was the cannonball wrapped in the robe!
The shells spun in a spiral, carrying with them white mist and water vapor, whistling through the rain curtain from the sky and earth, and hitting a cannon with incredible precision.

With a loud bang, the sand that had entered the water was lifted up like waves, and the beach ground shook, just like a giant fish turning over.

The iron cannon was actually blown to pieces by the cannonball, and the surrounding pirates were covered in blood and their bones and flesh turned into mud.

The entire artillery position was in chaos, and Xu Xing took this opportunity to land on the rough sea, which was less than a mile away from the beach.

Xu Xing stepped his feet into the surging waves, but his body did not sink, but rose and fell with the waves.

Just to keep your body steady in the calm lake water and not fall in, you need at least the skills of a great boxer.

To be able to walk on water and cross a turbulent river is something that only a master can do.

But what Xu Xing was facing was not lake water or river water, but almost boiling and turbulent sea water!
Today, the sea is surging with waves, stirred by strong winds and rushed by heavy rains. In terms of undercurrents and changes in water flow, it is hundreds of times more complicated than that of lakes and rivers.
But he was able to keep steady by just using his ten toes and two calves, maintaining his balance and supporting his body in such violent waves, as if he was walking on the waves.

This is because, after becoming indestructible, Xu Xing has been able to grasp every change in his own strength, and can extend this sense of touch, so he can do such a shocking thing.

Stepping on the waves, he walked slowly and arrived at the beach in just a few rises and falls. He broke through the smoke from the exploding cannon, picked up the wreckage of the cannon with his feet, and fired into the air.

boom!
Another cannon exploded.

Seeing how ferocious he was, the old pirate opened his eyes wide, let out a strange cry, and immediately flew backwards, trying to hide behind the big rock.

He hadn't run a few steps when he heard the whistling of the wind again. He felt something flying up from behind his head and pressing down on him. Dense goose bumps spread from his back to his neck.

——That is the body's spontaneous warning before being hit by something heavy.

The old pirate had faced artillery bombardment when he was looting at sea, but even artillery had never given him such a strong and direct sense of threat.

With a loud bang, a huge black shadow fell from the sky.

The old man's body deflated like a piece of plasticine, and countless blood, bones, and internal organs pierced his skin and shot out.

Bang!
Sand and gravel flew everywhere, blood spurted everywhere, and it turned out to be a large iron cannon with a dented barrel and twisted body.

In just a short while, Xu Xing had completely killed dozens of pirates on the beach and destroyed five cannons.

Only a young man with dull eyes and stiff legs was left.

He gently shook his clothes, took out a visiting card that was not yet wet from his arms, handed it to the young man, and said in a gentle voice:

"My friend, I have a visiting card here. Could you please give it to Zhu Laolong for me?"

To those young people, Xu Xing's gentle and elegant appearance was ten or even a hundred times more frightening than the most terrifying and creepy sea demons in pirate legends!
Even though he was so scared, he still didn't dare to refuse Xu Xing. His hands were shaking violently, and it took him a very long time to hold the visiting card in his hand.

The young pirate didn't even dare to raise his head. After accepting the visiting card, he immediately turned around and fled.

(End of this chapter)