Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Hahaha! I've figured it out. You actually know very little about masters of internal energy!"

I really don't know how you developed such internal strength!

That secret manual you released as bait, it couldn't be real, could it?!

"Ghost's Bane" laughed heartily.

"I am a dying man, and these things mean nothing to me anymore."

Since you want to know about masters of internal martial arts, I have no problem telling you!

Over the years, I have dealt with many masters of internal martial arts, and even fought with several of them.

If we're just talking about internal strength, these people are indeed superior to me, and their moves are also more fancy.

Some people channel their internal energy into their legs, resulting in unparalleled and bizarre movements. Others can release their internal energy through their palms or fingers to attack opponents several steps away.

If one uses internal energy in their fists and feet, they can indeed split rocks and shatter internal organs when they strike a person.

However, these guys all have one major weakness: their ability to fight head-on is far inferior to mine!

No matter how fancy their moves are, they dare not directly confront my Mountain-Splitting Blade.

Once, a foolish martial arts master tried to block the attack with his two-handed greatsword, but I cut him and his sword in two with a single stroke!

This sword of mine, the Broken Mountain Blade, was forged from fine steel by a skilled craftsman ten years ago. It weighs twenty-seven pounds, and ordinary swords crumble at the slightest touch.

Several times I was ambushed by masters of internal martial arts, and I always managed to break through their encirclement with this sword.

Haha, I finally figured it out!

What you just used was not internal energy cultivated through internal martial arts techniques!

Although those masters of internal martial arts have many techniques, and their internal energy can be projected outwards and attached to their fists and feet to injure enemies, their improvement on physical fitness is very limited!

It's simply impossible for me to wield my Mountain-Splitting Blade as easily as you do!

However, your internal energy can attack me from two feet away and even block that mouthful of blood out of thin air. This is something that external internal energy cannot do!

No wonder you asked me about external and internal martial arts techniques; you don't know a single one!

What you're practicing is neither an external nor an internal martial arts style, but a style never before heard of in the martial arts world!

"If you didn't know your time was up, you probably wouldn't have dared to say these words in front of me."

Lu Chen didn't care about the dying man, but instead reached for the Broken Mountain Blade stuck in the ground.

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts!"

In return, I'll let you witness my true abilities before you die!

As soon as he finished speaking, the Broken Mountain Blade, which was still two feet away from Lu Chen's right hand, began to tremble.

The next second, the long sword, weighing twenty-seven pounds, rose from the ground out of thin air, its blade slicing across the shoulders of "Ghost's Sorrow," before the hilt was firmly gripped in Lu Chen's right hand.

A head flew into the air, and blood spurted from the headless neck all the way to the top of the cell.

A moment later, Lu Chen walked out of the prison carrying the Broken Mountain Blade.

"The notorious bandit 'Ghost-Fearer' is dead. Send his head to Chief Sun of the Eastern Depot!"

. . .

Two months later, in the study of the Lu residence.

"Sir, look at this glass cup. Not only is its shape almost identical to your Western glass cup, but its texture is also much more crystal clear."

Gao Ruopu placed a crystal glass, fresh from the glass workshop the day before, in front of Lu Chen.

"It can definitely be called crystal glass."

"What did the owner of the curio shop say?"

Lu Chen picked up the glass and looked at it. Although the quality was not comparable to the Swarovski crystal he had seen before he transmigrated, it was already much clearer than the Venetian glass he had bought.

Before arriving at the Lu residence, Gao Ruopu, at Lu Chen's request, also stopped by a curio shop, pretending to want to sell the Western glass cup, to test the shop owner's reaction.

"Reporting to the Commander, the shopkeeper had no idea that this glass cup was made in Linqing."

Gao Ruopu laughed.

They only thought I was a spendthrift who stole the family's Western treasures to sell.

He's willing to pay one hundred taels of silver for this glass cup.

"The merchant buys these items to make a profit, and you look like you're stealing from your home. No wonder he's trying to lower your price."

Lu Chen also chuckled softly.

"In this situation, the fact that he was still willing to pay 100 taels of silver means that he could sell it for at least 200 taels, or even 300 taels."

Great, our glass workshop can finally start shipping.

What is the current production level?

"For the first two months, we were mainly building the workshop and kiln, as well as purchasing all the necessary raw materials. We only started trying to fire the kiln according to the adults' secret recipe a month ago."

Gao Ruopu was clearly also very happy.

"The craftsmen were also experimenting with the material ratios repeatedly. The products fired in the first half of the month were not satisfactory. Only in the last half of the month have they started to produce a few batches of transparent crystal glass and made some glassware."

As per your orders, all defective products have been smashed and recycled. There are only a little over a hundred pieces left in the warehouse.

I worked with the master craftsmen in the workshop to estimate that we could produce about four or five hundred exquisite pieces a month.

If each item could really sell for a hundred taels of silver, that would be tens of thousands of taels a month!

"It's impossible. Linqing only sells a few dozen pieces of Western glassware a year. If we dared to sell that many in Linqing in a month, the price would be driven down to less than ten taels of silver per piece."

Lu Chen waved his hand.

"The cost of this glassware is less than five taels of silver, but it can now be sold at such a high price, which is largely due to the fact that it is an imported product from the West."

If people knew it was made locally, its value would plummet.

We can't ship goods under the guise of local products; it's best to directly pass them off as imported Western goods!

"Does the Commander mean we should open a specialty shop in Linqing and claim that these glass artifacts are Western goods?"

Gao Ruopu thought for a moment and asked in a low voice.

"No! If we open our own store and do retail, although the profit per item is high, the volume cannot be large. In order not to disrupt the entire market, we can only sell a few items per month at most. Even if the unit price is high, the profit will be limited."

Lu Chen stood up.

"More importantly, if someone were to investigate the origin of the glassware, this shop would be the biggest flaw."

I've thought about this carefully over the past few days, and the best solution is to turn these glass artifacts into genuine "Western imports"!

"My lord, this method is certainly excellent."

Gao Ruopu looked puzzled.

"But how can we transform our workshop's glassware into 'Western imports'?"

"If you're going to do it, do it thoroughly!"

Lu Chen picked up the Venetian glass.

Do you know how this glass cup came to be in Linqing?

"Naturally, it was transported by Westerners across thousands of miles of ocean."

Gao Ruopu thought for a moment,

"Does Your Excellency want to know where the merchants in Linqing purchased their goods?"

"That's easy. I'll go and invite a few antique shop owners to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters for a cup of tea. I'll be able to get all the information I need there."