My equipment is designed for cultivation; I started by slaughtering my way through a small world.

Chapter 10 Nine Steps to Protect the Nation

Gu Qing took his second step, and his body surged with vast true essence. Sword energy roared around him, emitting a sword cry that seemed to tear the heavens and earth apart.

Immediately afterward, with each step Gu Qing took, his aura surged, like a peerless divine weapon unsheathed.

Sword energy soared into the sky above the capital.

Layers of sword energy transformed into a massive golden sword, standing behind Gu Qing.

Beside Gu Qing, countless sword shadows layered upon each other, gradually showing signs of solidifying.

With nine consecutive steps, Gu Qing abruptly pushed his sword intent to the level of a supreme grandmaster.

Nine steps in mid-air.

Watching this scene, the all-knowing scholar of martial arts, standing by the window of the Hero's Tower, felt utterly shocked.

"Such cultivation level was unleashed within nine steps!"

"...Who exactly is he?"

The Vajra Monk, who had withstood three blows from a Grandmaster of the Ming Dynasty yesterday, said in a trembling voice:

"This person's talent is terrifyingly extraordinary!!"

At the same time, all the martial artists in the capital looked up at the soaring sword energy in mid-air. Everyone's expression changed, and they all held their breath, looking up at that terrifying figure.

Gu Qing's mental pressure swept across the imperial city. The 20,000 peak-stage Imperial Guards felt their blood surging, sword cries echoing in their minds, and their consciousness dissipating.

Two hundred centurions at the Innate Realm and twenty chiliarchs at the peak of the Innate Realm all knelt on the ground, bleeding profusely from their seven orifices.

The two Grandmaster-level commanders of the Imperial Guards tried to resist, but the martial will emanating from them was like a candle flickering in the wind, and the entire sky seemed to press down on them.

Their martial will shattered instantly, their aura rapidly weakened, and they became like fish on a chopping board, powerless to resist.

Gu Qing unleashed a vast sword intent, and within a few breaths, the once heavily guarded Ming Imperial Palace and the Ming Imperial Guard, which was powerful enough to suppress all sects in the world, collapsed and fell into disarray.

"This person..."

The two Grandmaster-level commanders of the Imperial Guard, supporting themselves with their spears, knelt on the ground, looking up at the figure with their mouths agape.

……

Inside the Ming Dynasty Palace.

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

A dignified man dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe sat at a rosewood table.

Opposite him sat an elderly man with white hair and beard.

"Seventh Master, you've comprehended the Primordial Mystic Pearl and grasped the power of the mind. Combined with the Imperial Guard's Blood Qi Formation, you should be able to deal with a Supreme Grandmaster, right?"

The imposing man was none other than the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The old man with white hair and beard was the emperor's seventh son, the seventh son of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor, and his martial arts talent was the best among all the royal family members.

The Mysterious Pearl of the Great Ancestor that he comprehended was the energy crystallization condensed by the Great Ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, who achieved great feats and used his own blood and sweat to carry his true essence.

This ancestral pearl is guided by bloodline.

Before their deaths, members of the Ming Dynasty royal family would infuse their life's accumulated true energy into their bodies.

With this mysterious pearl, the Ming Dynasty royal family can quickly cultivate martial artists at the peak of the Grandmaster realm and attempt to break through to the Supreme Grandmaster realm.

"Without reaching the level of a supreme grandmaster, how can one have absolute certainty?"

The old man shook his head, but the glint in his eyes was exceptionally bright.

With numerous contingency plans left by the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the old man was confident that he would be able to concentrate his mind and completely break through to the Supreme Grandmaster realm within ten years.

"But Seventh Master, you're already a half-step Grandmaster..."

The Ming emperor sounded somewhat anxious, as the pressure from the Yuan Empire in the north was growing.

News has come from the front lines that the steppe wolf cavalry have crossed the northern border and entered the Central Plains.

"Even a half-step can be an insurmountable chasm, you don't understand..."

The old man sighed.

The closer one gets to the Supreme Grandmaster realm, the more one can feel the enormous gap between them.

This is still based on the fact that the founding emperor left behind many contingency plans.

The old man himself didn't have much confidence that he could take the final half-step and break through to the Supreme Grandmaster realm.

The old man sighed softly, and seeing the emperor's anxious expression, he comforted him:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. In the present world, with the strength of my half-step Supreme Grandmaster, coupled with the Blood Qi Formation, even a Supreme Grandmaster cannot forcibly enter the capital..."

The elderly man, with his white hair and beard, spoke slowly, his tone full of confidence.

call……

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty breathed a sigh of relief.

however.

Before the Ming emperor could speak again, terrifying sword intents descended from the sky, as vast as the sea, instantly engulfing the Ming palace.

As the sword intent surged forth, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty felt his mind waver, the world spinning before his eyes, as countless sword energies attacked him.

Deep within his pupils, endless sword energy was reflected.

My consciousness went blank for a moment.

Compared to the Ming emperor, the old man who had already comprehended the power of the mind was even more miserable.

The Ming emperor could faint.

The old man, with his white hair and beard, had come to understand the power of the mind and felt the terrifying mental pressure emanating from the sky. The more he resisted, the more terrifying the oppression became.

"This...this...this..."

"Such immense mental pressure is even more terrifying than the supreme grandmasters my father recorded?!"

"What level of mental cultivation is this?!"

The old man, with his white hair and beard, stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Can you immobilize someone simply through psychological pressure?

Who exactly is this person?

Even a powerful figure like the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who reached the late stage of the Supreme Grandmaster realm, did not possess such mental pressure.

……

Gu Qing, relying on the vast true energy within his body, soared through the air.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people in the capital, Gu Qing slowly spoke:

"My name is Gu Qing, and I wish to view all the books in the Imperial Armory."

Gu Qing's voice resonated throughout the capital, causing everyone to gasp in astonishment.

As soon as the words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze, both inside and outside the capital.

Would the Ming imperial family agree?

Jianghu Baixiaosheng stared intently in the direction of the palace, awaiting the choice of the Ming Dynasty royal family.

Countless citizens and warriors in the capital held their breath, staring in horror toward the imperial city, awaiting the final outcome.

After a while.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people in the capital.

The Ming emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, and an elderly man with white hair and beard strode out.

Behind the two were several Imperial Guard generals.

These figures, who were once high and mighty, all appeared listless, but the aura they exuded as they walked was still unmatched by ordinary martial artists.

The Ming emperor, who was at the head of the group, soon saw the terrifying figure that had come to the outside of the palace.

"Greetings, Sword Immortal Gu..."

The Ming emperor was inwardly bitter, but still spoke respectfully.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he encountered a terrifying mental pressure and thought it was the arrival of the supreme grandmaster from the Great Yuan Empire in the north. He wished he could escape immediately.

but……

The old man beside him blocked the famous emperor.

As a half-step Grandmaster who had comprehended the power of the mind, the old man was well aware of Gu Qing's strength. Gu Qing's power had probably surpassed that of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor.

Such strength is unparalleled in history.

How can one escape from such a powerful opponent?

I fear that in this vast world, there is no place for royalty to reside.

in contrast,

After realizing Gu Qing's terrifying strength, he felt that this was an opportunity to confront the Northern Yuan Empire.

If we could win over this suddenly appearing supreme grandmaster...

On the old man's advice, the Ming emperor reluctantly went to the outskirts of the imperial city.

"My name is Gu Qing, and I wish to view all the books in the Imperial Armory."

When the person in charge of the Ming Empire appeared, Gu Qing spoke directly.

"That's easy!"

"Please come in, Gu Jianxian..."

Seeing that Gu Qing only wanted to view the royal armory, the Ming emperor's tense mind relaxed slightly.