Jiankang Palace

Zhu Yuanzhang furrowed his brows.

He vaguely remembered that when the second act at Yinglong Temple began, the monk Mingshan had expressed his intentions quite clearly: he wanted Minghe to go to the Tiantai Temple in Hao Prefecture to meet a man named Shi Yibiao.

And this person was suspected to be one of the creators of the Mountain-Shrinking Fist.

Considering that Mingshan had coincidentally urged him to cultivate the Mountain-Shrinking Fist to save his life, the connections grew increasingly suspicious.

The doubts are piling up.

What exactly are the monks of Yinglong Temple plotting?

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

Outside the window, the shouting of the Hao Prefecture Escort Agency guards clearing the path suddenly ceased.

The voices of the martial artists from the escort agency tangled together, sounding exceptionally chaotic.

"What happened?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snuffed out the candle, stood up by the bed, pushed open the window, and looked out at the street below.

He saw the Chief Escort of Hao Prefecture hurriedly leading his men out of the gate. They stood respectfully on the north side of the street, the Chief's usually imposing eyes now filled with anxiety, his gaze involuntarily sweeping toward the end of the blue-brick street.

The rhythmic clatter of hooves striking stone slabs echoed from the distance as a group of over twenty riders appeared, all dressed in white robes with sabers slung across their backs.

Five or six of them were riding double, their faces deathly pale, gasping for air as if their time was running out.

"Everyone!"

Though middle-aged, the Chief Escort, with his long, slender sword-like brows and piercing eyes, cupped his fists toward the crowd.

"My brothers from the agency were ambushed while on a mission and struck by the enemy's fire poison. If anyone here has a way to treat them, our agency is willing to offer one thousand taels of silver as a reward!"

"Many thanks, Chief Lu!"

The young man leading the riders on horseback expressed his gratitude.

"No more words! Young Master Zhou, please, quickly take your brothers inside!"

With that, the Chief Escort gestured, and the many martial artists who were preparing to depart immediately set down their work, clearing a path for the riders to pass.

Inside the guest room, Zhu Yuanzhang watched the group of riders quietly.

Trouble has arrived.

This so-called "Young Master Zhou" must be the leader of the famous Yuan Prefecture Incense Soldiers, Zhou Ziwang.

Although his cultivation is far inferior to Mingguang's, he has clearly already manifested the second strand of true fire from the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique and is close to condensing the third.

Relying on his superhuman understanding of the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a jolt in his heart.

Having experienced the white-robed monks of Imperial Awakening Temple, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer dared to underestimate any practitioner of the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire.

Even though the white-robed monk had failed in his ritual, the fate of the Mahavira Hall and the other monks had left a profound impression on Zhu Yuanzhang.

He asked himself: even with the aid of the Mountain-Shrinking Fist, which allowed him to almost ignore the drain on his lifespan and vitality caused by a single strand of true fire, achieving the same effect as the white-robed monk was nearly impossible.

"Dingguang Divine Mantra."

Even cheating shouldn't be this powerful.

He watched Zhou Ziwang, who was surrounded by the crowd as he entered the Hao Prefecture Escort Agency.

This was the prototype for the father of "Zhou Zhiruo" from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him, memorized his physical features, and then closed the window, cutting off the view.

In that fleeting moment, Zhou Ziwang, who was riding his horse and leading his Incense Army followers into Hao Prefecture, seemed to sense something. He turned his head and glanced back at the inn.

The man beside him, known as Chief Lu, leaned over and asked in a low voice, "What is it, Your Highness?"

"Nothing." On horseback, Zhou Ziwang withdrew his gaze and shook his head. "Perhaps it is just the exhaustion of the journey; I had a hallucination."

As the gates of the escort agency closed, Zhou Ziwang dismounted. The surrounding guards and followers immediately knelt, their eyes filled with fanaticism, calling out, "Prince of Zhou!"

Zhou Ziwang seemed accustomed to everything around him. He pulled a scroll from his robes and handed it to the White Lotus Sect guard beside him, saying:

"This is the portrait Master Peng drew with his own hands of the man who murdered Brother Xiang. I ask that the brothers of the agency help us search for him in Hao Prefecture."

"No problem."

The middle-aged man with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, known as Chief Lu, unfolded the scroll and examined the portrait of the delicate-looking monk.

After confirming he had memorized the face in the painting, he handed the scroll to one of his disciples, instructing him to keep it safe.

He patted his chest and said confidently:

"Your Highness, please rest assured. While our agency may not be much in the grand scheme of Henan-Jiangbei Province, finding someone in Hao Prefecture is an easy task."

"However, there is one thing this subordinate does not understand. Although the person in the painting is refined in appearance, there is no name or place of origin listed."

Hearing this, Zhou Ziwang smiled slightly.

"This was not an oversight by Master Peng, but rather because this person is a native of Hao Prefecture. His name is Chongba, and his surname is untraceable. In the third year of Zhizheng, due to a drought that destroyed his family, he was one of the refugees forced to flee to Imperial Awakening Temple for sanctuary."

Suddenly, flickers of golden light ignited within the eyes of Zhou Ziwang.

Countless dense, shimmering phantoms of figures with varying expressions emerged.

"Before fleeing, he sold his family property to bury his father, right beside the land owned by the Liu family in Taiping Township."

"This person possesses great fortune and is not easily captured. Chief Escort Lu, you may first go to Taiping Township to retrieve the remains of 'Shizhen.' Once Master Peng arrives, he will set up an altar to perform rites. By relying on the method of [Severing Kinship] to confirm this person's location, we shall then devise a plan to apprehend him."

The crowd voiced their agreement.

They loudly praised the brilliance of the Prince of Zhou, claiming he would surely unify the world before long.

However, from the dismissive look in Chief Escort Lu's eyes, those familiar with him could easily tell he had no intention of waiting for Peng Yingyu to arrive in Hao Prefecture before taking action.

After all, the command came from the Prince of Zhou! Success would mean a merit of heaven-reaching proportions!

Furthermore, the clues were all in place! How could he possibly yield this achievement to that demonic monk, Peng Yingyu!

"Damn it... I didn't expect the Incense Army to arrive so quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

The balance of power between the two sides had already reversed.

Now, his only remaining advantage was that the enemy was in the light while he was in the dark.

But since the opposition had arrived so swiftly and accurately, they clearly possessed some method to track him.

It seemed a battle here was unavoidable.

As things stood, the only way to increase his strength was through the two fragments of secret history in his possession.

"First, break [Green Silk White Horse Comes to Shouyang] to obtain the Dingguang Demon-Subduing Divine Incantation!"

"Then, explore Yinglong Temple! Attempt to break through that certain-death scenario!"

Thinking this, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated no longer.

He sat cross-legged and shouted toward the void.

"Activate!"

The world spun and turned upside down.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes, and five large characters came into view.

[Jinling] [Jiankang Palace]

"Your Majesty, why not appoint General Xinwu as commander, entrust him with a heavy force, and station him at Danyang?"

Zhu Yuanzhang followed the voice, which originated from an old monk standing at the very front of the officials.

He wore a monk's robe inlaid with gems, gold, and silver; his frame appeared slightly bloated under the weight of the jewelry.

Looking at the icon above his head, it clearly read [Abbot Fahui of Tongtai Temple].

"Where is Patriarch Bodhidharma?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked around.

Yet, he could not find the figure of that living Buddha from the documentary among the monks and officials.

"It seems he anticipated today's situation long ago."

Recalling the performance of Patriarch Bodhidharma in the cutscene, Zhu Yuanzhang was lost in thought.

"If persuasion fails, he finds an excuse to slip away early."

Upon hearing the proposal to appoint a member of the Southern Liang imperial clan as commander, Emperor Wu of Liang, who sat behind the jade steps and bamboo curtains in a bright yellow monk's robe with a blurred face, revealed a look of contemplation.

He was faintly moved.