Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The group sat down at the table, and after a whirlwind of eating, the entire table of dishes was completely devoured.

Pigsy ate a third of the food by himself, his belly getting even rounder. He leaned back in his chair and burped contentedly. Zhu Gaoxu was not to be outdone. Although he couldn't eat as much as Pigsy, he still ate quite a lot.

After finishing their meal, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu sat to the side and examined the jade tablets.

Zhu Gaoxu sent all the videos he had just recorded to the "We Are a Loving Family" group chat.

There are breathtaking scenes of Pigsy transforming into a giant to clear the way through mountains, tense scenes of two armies facing off at the gate of Ailiu Pass, and spectacular sights of ice, fire, and thunder on the city walls.

He sent the message while happily waiting to see the reactions of the eldest and third brothers.

Pigsy wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, then, remembering what Zhu Gaoxu had said on the cloud, he leaned closer to Zhu Gaoxi and asked, "Brother, I just heard you say you're Laozi's disciple. Is that true or not?"

Before Zhu Gaoxi could speak, Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing next to him, had already snatched the jade pendant away and patted Zhu Bajie on the shoulder, saying, "Brother, how could this be fake? This matter must start from..."

"Hmm." Zhu Gaoxi didn't want to say more and simply responded.

As Zhu Gaoxu spoke, his enthusiasm grew even stronger, and he pulled Zhu Bajie aside to start the story from the beginning.

The story begins with Empress Xu's serious illness and the fourth prince's intervention to save her, then moves on to flying on a sword... and finally to the grand plan of bestowing titles upon the gods announced today.

He gestured wildly as he spoke, spitting all over Pigsy's face.

Pigsy was stunned, his eyes wide open, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

What? Investiture of the Gods? The Investiture of the Gods List? The Five Emperors?

This kid not only managed to summon him from another realm, but he also holds the power to bestow divine titles.

His head was spinning. Laozi's disciple was already terrifying enough, but this guy was in charge of the Investiture of the Gods? Did that mean that this young man's status was almost as high as that of the Jade Emperor back then?

He secretly swallowed and subconsciously sat up straight.

After finishing his meal, Zhu Gaoxi took out the Human Essence Pills he had just refined and gave a few to Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu, two to Zhu Bajie, and some to the officials of the Prince Rui's residence.

He specifically instructed Zhang Fu and others that if anyone in the army was seriously injured or needed life-saving treatment, they could go to the officials of Prince Rui's residence to request Ren Yuan Dan (a type of pill).

This elixir can not only strengthen the body, but also save lives in critical moments.

Zhang Fu and the others readily agreed, their eyes filled with even more gratitude as they looked at Zhu Gaoxi.

While the army was still resting, Zhu Gaoxi ordered his men to capture some live insects, snakes, rats, and other small animals nearby. Then, he used his beast-taming technique to transform them all into ferocious beast mounts in front of everyone. Rhinoceroses, war elephants, and lions emerged one after another from the ball of light.

He then summoned officials from the Prince Rui's residence and had them pack these newly created ferocious beasts into gourds specifically designed for storing live animals. He then instructed them to distribute these beasts to the elite soldiers selected from the army, according to the previously established standards for military merit.

He had promised to give Qiu Fu a new mount and a jade pendant, and now he could do it all at once.

He took out a jade pendant and an exceptionally majestic lion, and personally handed them to Qiu Fu.

Qiu Fu's hands trembled as he accepted the jade token, and he thanked him repeatedly. He had been itching to ride Zhang Fu and the others around on lions for a long time, and now it was finally his turn.

Qiu Fu circled the lion, becoming more and more satisfied with it, his mouth practically stretching to his ears in a wide grin.

Thinking about it, I, Old Qiu, am also a man with a lion now. After all, his son Qiu Sheng has one too. These past few days, watching his son riding a lion in front of him, he felt that he, as the father, was not as impressive as his son. Now he has finally turned the tables.

Pigsy also got a lion. He didn't lack mounts, but he just thought the lion looked nice and would be nice to ride.

After receiving the jade pendant, he was even more amazed, fiddling with it over and over. Zhu Gaoxu volunteered to take on the teaching task, teaching him step by step how to set a name, how to add friends, how to send voice messages, and how to record videos.

Zhu Bajie first set his name as "Marshal Tianpeng," and then, under the guidance of Zhu Gaoxu, added Zhang Fu, Zheng Heng, Xue Lu and other military generals as friends one by one.

Qiu Fu also followed suit and learned from him, setting his own name as "Loyal to the Emperor and Serving the Country".

When Zhu Di saw this name, the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Zheng Heng and Zhang Fu also saw the name, their expressions quite subtle, and they exchanged a glance.

Thinking about it, Qiu Fu was clearly flattering Zhu Di. But then he realized something was wrong. Right now, the person to curry favor with was the supreme emperor, not someone like Qiu Fu who would fawn over the emperor.

That's really short-sighted.

Zhu Gaoxi then took out several space gourds specifically for carrying ferocious beasts and distributed one each to Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Bajie. He also gave several to the officials of the Prince Rui's residence and set up a special position in the army to transport ferocious beast mounts. He selected several reliable veterans to fill the position and provided them with gourds as well.

In the future, when marching and setting up camp, the handling of wild beast mounts will be managed by designated personnel, eliminating the need to find help on short notice.

After resting, the army broke camp and set off for the next pass – Jiling Pass.

Jiling Pass is the second canyon pass after exiting the mountains south of Ailiu Pass. The terrain is slightly wider than that of Ailiu Pass, but it is still surrounded by dense forests and mountain walls.

There is a small hill outside the pass, while inside the pass it connects to the Qinzhan Mountain Road, which is the only way to reach the heart of Annam.

At a normal marching speed, the journey from Ailiu Pass to Jiling Pass would require traversing vast forests, but this time Zhu Gaoxi did not have Zhu Bajie lead the way; instead, he took matters into his own hands.

He raised his hand and unleashed a beam of light that swept across the land. The towering ancient trees and dense bamboo forests withered, decayed, and turned to dust in an instant. Even the Annamese spies hiding in the forest on lookout duty were reduced to ashes, without even having a chance to scream.

This time, he couldn't let the scouts run back to report the news, nor could he give the other side a chance to surrender.

When they were almost at Jiling Pass, Zhu Gaoxi ordered them to put all their wild beast mounts into gourds, and all the clouds in the sky to descend. Everyone changed into ordinary warhorses and mixed in with Zhang Fu's infantry, disguising themselves as a regular Ming army mixed infantry and cavalry force.

He also put away his cloud chair and rode an ordinary horse, mingling in the middle of the group. The horse was very uneasy about the beastly smell lingering on the people around it, snorting and pawing at the ground. He had to use his magic to calm it down.

The Annamese sentries on the city wall saw a Ming army emerging from the mountain path in the distance. There were quite a few of them, but they were riding ordinary horses and wearing ordinary Ming army armor. They looked like a regular vanguard of the Ming army.

Although the sentries were tense, they did not panic. After all, they already knew that the Ming army was attacking Annam, so the appearance of troops here was not surprising.

What puzzled them was why there hadn't been any news beforehand. None of the spies they sent out had returned with any reports.

As is customary, scouts would constantly report the movements of the Ming army along their marching route, but today it was unusually quiet.