Great Ming Dynasty! I am Zhu Biao's invincible second brother!

The next morning, the family sat together for breakfast.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying sat in the main seats, while their eldest son Zhu Biao and second son Zhu Mu sat side by side.

Nearby, five-year-old Zhu Shuang was eating quietly, while three-year-old Zhu Gang needed a maid to look after him.

Zhu Di, who had just turned one year old, was still held in his mother Ma Xiuying's arms, waving his little hands and babbling.

Zhu Mu finished the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying with a serious expression, and said loudly:

"Father, Mother, I want to become Uncle Xu's apprentice! I want to learn martial arts! I want to become your and my elder brother's future general!"

The childish yet firm words instantly silenced the dinner table.

Zhu Yuanzhang paused, stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, pulling Zhu Mu into his arms and rubbing his stubble-covered chin against his cheek, saying happily:

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! It's a wonderful thing that my son, Zhu Yuanzhang's son, has such ambition! You're both six years old now; it's time for you to start learning martial arts and strengthening your bodies!"

Ma Xiuying's eyes were filled with maternal love and concern. She looked at Zhu Mu tenderly and said:

"Mu'er, it's good that you want to learn martial arts from your Uncle Xu. But you must promise your mother that learning martial arts is very hard, and you can't complain about the hardship. You must persevere, understand?"

"Mother, I will definitely persevere to the end!"

Zhu Mu nodded vigorously, then turned to Zhu Biao.

"Big brother can join me too. He doesn't necessarily have to be an expert, but he should at least get himself in great shape!"

He didn't want his future brother to die young due to health reasons.

Although his time travel would inevitably interfere with history, his brother's good physical condition was the best course of action.

Zhu Biao had always longed to learn martial arts, and upon hearing his younger brother's words, he immediately stood up, bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, and said:

"Father, your son is also willing to learn martial arts from Uncle Xu!"

Seeing his two sons so ambitious, Zhu Yuanzhang was filled with pride and immediately made a decision to take Zhu Biao and Zhu Mu straight to Xu Da's residence.

Upon hearing that the King of Wu had arrived with his two sons, Xu Da hurriedly went out to greet them.

When he heard that his two nephews wanted to train under him, especially his second son Zhu Mu who wanted to become his disciple, the battle-hardened general's face lit up with joy. He immediately agreed and solemnly promised Zhu Yuanzhang:

"Rest assured, Commander, leave Biao'er and Mu'er to me. I, Xu Da, will teach them everything I know and ensure they become successful!"

At that moment, Tang He and Chang Yuchun were also discussing matters at Xu Da's residence. Upon hearing this, they both gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Several battle-hardened generals arrived at the training ground with two little children.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to a row of stone locks of varying sizes at the edge of the field and said to Xu Da with a smile:

"Tiande, why don't we let them try these stone locks first and see how strong they are?"

Zhu Biao was only six years old and his body had not yet fully developed. He tried his best, but he could not budge the smallest stone lock even a little bit. He could only retreat to the side with a red face.

It was Zhu Mu's turn.

He walked up to the largest pair of stone locks, each weighing a full 120 pounds. Even an ordinary elite soldier would have difficulty lifting one with one hand.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Zhu Mu took a deep breath, bent down, and grasped the handles of the stone lock with both hands.

"rise!"

With a childish shout, he actually pulled the two heavy stone locks off the ground and up to his knees!

Although equipped with the Zhou Cang template, this strength was not enough for him to easily lift the stone lock above his head, but simply pulling the stone lock, which weighed a total of 240 jin, off the ground was already terrifying enough!

The entire training ground fell silent instantly.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, Tang He, and Chang Yuchun, these four fierce men who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, were all dumbfounded at this moment, as if they had witnessed some kind of miracle!

After a brief moment of shock came unparalleled ecstasy!

"May God bless the General! May God bless the General!"

Tang He was the first to react, and excitedly cupped his hands to congratulate Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Congratulations, Commander! Congratulations, Commander! The Second Young Master possesses extraordinary strength!"

Chang Yuchun was also beaming with excitement.

Xu Da excitedly walked to Zhu Mu's side and carefully examined his future apprentice. The light in his eyes was even more intense than if he had discovered a mountain of gold.

Just then, the strategist Liu Bowen came to see Zhu Yuanzhang on important business. As soon as he stepped into the training ground, he saw Zhu Mu put down the stone lock, and he was equally astonished.

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and, upon seeing Liu Bowen, immediately waved and said:

"Bowen, come quickly! My son Zhumu is born with superhuman strength!"

Liu Bowen strode forward, calculated with his fingers, and then carefully examined Zhu Mu's face and aura. His expression grew increasingly excited. He bowed deeply to Zhu Yuanzhang and solemnly said:

"General! The Second Young Master possesses such divine strength at only six years old; this is... the sign of the Martial Star descended to earth!"

"The Martial Star has descended to earth!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a surge of electricity run from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and his blood boiled.

He laughed heartily, his laughter filled with boundless joy and pride.

After becoming Xu Da's apprentice, Zhu Mu successfully completed the system's second beginner's task and received a reward of 1000 points. He didn't rush to exchange them for anything, but instead chose to carefully accumulate the points.

……

Days passed by, and seven years flew by in the blink of an eye.

For Zhu Mu, life seemed to be no different. Every day, besides studying with Song Lian, he practiced martial arts with Xu Da.

However, his body underwent a dramatic change.

At thirteen years old, Zhu Mu was already much taller than his peers, even taller than his twin brother Zhu Biao. His body was well-proportioned and strong, full of explosive power.

Under Xu Da's guidance, he had already become skilled at riding warhorses, and even personally killed several roaming bandits during a bandit suppression exercise, showing his initial talent.

However, Zhu Mu knew that this small achievement was insignificant.

He had been waiting for a real opportunity to shine and lay the foundation for his future success.

Now, the opportunity has arrived.

In the twenty-third year of the Zhizheng era, Chen Youliang mobilized the entire nation's resources, boasting an army of 600,000 men, and sailed on massive warships, their numbers blotting out the sky as they marched towards Hongdu.

If Hongdu falls, Yingtianfu will be wide open, and Zhu Yuanzhang's hegemony will suffer a devastating blow.

At this critical juncture, Zhu Yuanzhang overruled objections and appointed his nephew Zhu Wenzheng as the Grand Commander of Hongdu, responsible for defending the city.

Meanwhile, for safety reasons, he arranged for his family to evacuate first, just in case.

The Wu Prince's entourage was about to depart. In front of a large carriage, Zhu Mu quietly lifted the curtain, preparing to slip out.

"Second brother, what are you doing!"

A hand firmly gripped his arm; it was Zhu Biao.