"I suddenly realized that you're quite good-looking," Zhao Min said with a smile.
Ling Yi pursed his lips. "If you didn't have a -100 Affection above your head, I would believe you."
"Everyone knows I'm handsome, do you need to tell me? And then what?"
"And then? And then you're still just as annoying, ugh!"
Zhao Min jumped up and kicked Ling Yi, then skipped away.
"Only twelve years old, tsk tsk."
With everything arranged, Ling Yi began to wander around Liuliu.
Outside the manor, the arena had been set up, and many Jianghu practitioners had begun to appear around it.
In this era of impassable roads, many people arrive early to avoid any unforeseen circumstances that might delay this grand martial arts event.
When Ling Yi reached a pavilion, he saw three old monks dressed in bright red robes walking towards him. Behind them were more than a dozen young monks, all carrying monk knives or staffs.
"Amitabha!" The old monk approached Ling Yi, stood still, and uttered a Buddhist chant.
"Is something the matter?" Ling Yi asked.
"Benefactor Ling, this humble monk Kongwen, and this is my junior brother Kongzhi, Kongxing."
"I know who you are!" Ling Yi said impatiently.
Kongwen said, "The death of Junior Brother Kongjian back then still requires an explanation from you."
Ling Yi curled his lip. It was Cheng Kun's past misdeeds that made him take the blame now.
But where did these three old monks get the audacity to demand an explanation from him?
"Monks, I don't know where your Shaolin Temple gets the audacity to oppose me, Ling Yi. You should all know what the consequences are for those who are my enemies."
"A life-or-death battle. If you win, there will be an explanation; if you lose, Shaolin will be wiped out of the Jianghu. Don't you understand the principle that power determines everything in this world?"
"Benefactor Ling, please don't make a mistake for yourself. The current chaos and turmoil in the Jianghu are all your doing. Don't be so stubborn."
Kongwen spoke with great passion, but Ling Yi saw a deep sense of helplessness in his eyes.
Ling Yi's heart skipped a beat. This old monk probably didn't come to find him voluntarily. He must have been driven by someone or some force.
The only force capable of compelling the Shaolin Temple to confront its power is the Southern Song.
"Your mission is complete, you can leave." Having understood this, Ling Yi no longer intended to target them. He waved his hand and turned to walk away.
Kongwen a sigh of relief and clasped his hands together in thanks to Ling Yi, saying, "Amitabha, thank you!"
After Ling Yi left, Kongzhi asked with a bitter face, "Senior Brother Abbot, what should we do now? The Brocade Guard is being aggressive. If we go back like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to explain ourselves."
"If Ling Yi is willing to take action, all these problems can be easily solved," said Kongxing.
"Enough with the talk. Let's see how Ling Yi and Zhao Min plot next. They have grand ambitions; they're after much more than just the Jianghu. The imperial court will be thrown into disarray first."
"Furthermore, Shaolin has a rich heritage and profound foundation. The newly appointed commander of the Brocade Guard should think twice before attacking Shaolin Temple. If we suffer heavy losses, the emperor will be the first to behead him."
Kongwen watched Ling Yi's the Back, sighed, and said, "A storm is brewing!"
"Senior brother, should we fight for that Dragon-Slaying Saber or not?" Kongxing asked again.
"Let's wait and see." Kongwen shook his head. Compete? What's there to compete for? This Dragon-Slaying Saber is just the trigger; Ling Yi is using it to make a bigger move.
As time went by, more and more Jianghu arts practitioners arrived Wudang Sect, including major sects such as Kunlun Sect, Kongtong Sect, Kunlun Sect, Emei, Mount Heng, and Ming Cult.
There are also many other gangs Xiaoxiao, including those that are not even considered respectable.
The pavilions and corridors surrounding the arena, and the plaza outside, are filled with martial arts practitioners carrying swords, spears, and Jianghu.
With so many people, their food, drink, and daily necessities constitute a huge expense.
Fortunately, Zhao Min was not short of money. Although the Prince of Ruyang did not know what Zhao Min's ultimate goal was, he knew that his extremely intelligent daughter had great ambitions.
In the eyes of the Prince of Ruyang, his daughter's schemes were actually his own schemes, so he spared no expense during this period, sending cartloads of money to express his support.
As for the deaths of the Xuanming Elders, the Prince of Ruyang merely wrote a letter of condemnation and that was the end of it.
That noon, Ling Yi once again freeloaded lunch at Zhao Min's place.
Zhao Min had no appetite at all; she just mechanically shoved food into her mouth bit by bit.
Ling Yi, on the other hand, ate with great relish, devouring almost half of the delicious food on the table.
"Still worried about your father?" Ling Yi asked after taking a sip of soup and letting out a satisfied burp.
Zhao Min shook her head, her small face showing some fatigue, and said, "There's more news from the Ming Cult rebels. They attacked Yangcheng this morning, but although they didn't capture Yangcheng, the Yuan army suffered heavy losses."
"If Yangcheng weren't so easily defended and difficult to attack, Yangcheng would probably have fallen."
"At yesterday's court assembly, several ministers jointly petitioned to strip my father of his military power, and his position in the court is now extremely precarious."
Ling Yi shook his head, tapped the table with his chopsticks, and said, "You still haven't broken free from your preconceived notions."
Seeing Zhao Min's puzzled look, Ling Yi said, "A ruler should have the world and its people in his heart, but only the Yuan and Han people in your heart."
"What do you think we're doing? Are we destroying the Yuan and Song dynasties, or rather, ending a chapter of history and creating a completely new world order?"
"All the old rules will be discarded. The country will be ruled by force, and military power will be above the state. Do you know what this means? It means that countless people will die."
"If your father, the Prince of Ruyang, doesn't get out of this mess, his end will definitely not be good. You'd better make arrangements as soon as possible, and of course, be mentally prepared. If you can't handle this, you might as well give up now!"
"Why did I create the Tianxia Society? Why did I issue Kill Order and Kill List? I only hope to change this world at the lowest possible cost."
Zhao Min lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. After all, she was only a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl. Although her mind was already far beyond that of ordinary people, she still lacked experience.
But it is precisely because of this that Ling Yi's ideas are easier to accept; an adult, on the contrary, would find them very difficult to accept.
This era limited people's vision; those in the Jianghu world only saw the martial arts Jianghu, while the imperial family and nobility only saw their current imperial power and status.
The more limited a person's knowledge and experience, the more stubborn their views will be, because they can only see the Xiaoxiao world in front of them, and it is very difficult to reason with such people.
In ancient times, any method other than force was practically a pipe dream to change the world.
Like Wang Mang of the Western Han Dynasty, his insights were ahead of his time, and some even said he was a time traveler.
Did he successfully usurp the Han throne? Yes, but then what?
He nationalized the land and distributed it uniformly by the state. He changed the monetary system, established a national bank, and even created a management system similar to a parliamentary system.
From a modern perspective, is this person awesome or not? Of course, they are awesome.
The result was that things got increasingly chaotic, the people suffered, and mutinies broke out in various places...
Why? Because in the prevailing opinion at the time, Wang Mang was an outcast, someone who was bringing chaos to the world.
Of course, Ling Yi didn't explain these things to Zhao Min. Ling Yi wouldn't instill too many new ideas in her, because it would be pointless.
Ling Yi's choice to oversee the country through military force is a clear indication that he intends to dominate the game.
You're not convinced? If you're not convinced, then I'll beat you up. I'll beat you down first, and then whatever I say goes. You guys just have to do it obediently.
"I'll have the Tianxia Society make arrangements for your father in advance, so you can focus on preparing for the performance three days from now."
"Yes!" Zhao Min nodded. She knew that Ling Yi was only doing this because of her. Otherwise, given Ling Yi's temperament, he wouldn't care about the life or death of the Prince of Prince of Ruyang.
"A lot more people from the Jianghu died today. Were the Two Elders of Kongtong Sect killed by the Tianxia Society?" Zhao Min asked, changing the subject.
"Well, a bunch of idiots who don't know how to live or die. This is my territory. Whoever makes trouble will die. When dealing with these people in the world, death is the best rule."
"You seem to look down on people in the Jianghu?" Zhao Min asked curiously.
" The Jianghu you speak of is different from the Jianghu I understand. The Jianghu is everywhere; wherever there are people, there is the Jianghu."
"The imperial court has its own power struggles and intrigues, that's the court's own 'Jianghu' (martial arts world); the martial arts world has its own sword fights and shadows, that's the martial arts world's own ' Jianghu '; and among the common people, there's scheming and intrigue, that's the common people's own ' Jianghu '. Jianghu is everywhere."
"But the Jianghu in the minds of those outsiders is too small."
A light shone in Zhao Min's eyes; at this moment, Ling Yi had taken on a radiant aura in her heart.
This is a breakthrough in thinking, which is of great help to Zhao Min.
Even if Ling Yi doesn't deliberately guide anything, his words and actions will gradually influence Zhao Min.
Just then, the two suddenly heard a loud bang, followed by a scream filled with sobs coming from the backyard.
"Let's go see what's going on." Ling Yi stood up and walked out, Zhao Min quickly followed.
In the small courtyard where Zhang Cuishan and his friends lived, a large hole had been punched in one of the walls, and a fair-skinned boy was lying on the ground, wailing loudly.
Five more middle-aged men appeared in the courtyard; they were Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou, and others from the Seven Heroes of Wudang Sect.
Zhang Wuji was bowing his head when Zhang Cuishan scolded him.
"How could you be so ruthless? Don't you know your own strength?" Zhang Cuishan said angrily.
"He called his mother a witch," Zhang Wuji retorted.
Zhang Cuishan immediately stopped talking and looked at Song Yuanqiao.
Song Yuanqiao frowned as well. He walked up to Song Qingshu, who was still wailing, grabbed him, and scolded, "Stop acting like a little girl."
"Father, Zhang Wuji actually dared to hit me..."
"Shut up!" Song Yuanqiao shouted angrily, his eyes filled with disappointment.
Seeing that his father was really angry, Song Qingshu immediately shut up, only twitching and looking ridiculous, like Joker.
"Let me ask you, is what Wuji said true?"
"I... I didn't say anything wrong," Song Qingshu retorted stubbornly.
Song Yuanqiao slammed him to the ground with considerable force, causing Song Qingshu to let out another miserable howl.
"Fifth Brother, Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. I've failed in raising my son and caused you trouble. Please forgive the Qingshu for my sake. When we return to the Wudang Sect, I'll have him secluded in seclusion for a month as punishment."
Zhang Cuishan remained silent. He was an extremely intelligent man, and only now did he truly realize that a rift had formed between him and his former fellow disciples.
Song Qingshu was just a child. If someone hadn't whispered these things in his ear before, how could Song Qingshu have possibly repeated them?
Furthermore, a month-long seclusion as punishment? Do you think I don't know what a seclusion place in Mount Wudang is like?
"Insulting someone's parents? Only a month of seclusion? Oh, that's quite a harsh punishment, Ling Yi. What would you do if someone insulted your family?" Zhao Min's voice rang out from the doorway.
"Kill!"