In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Page 556

As a result, even Emperor Ying Zheng, after carefully reading the secret letter, couldn't help but look solemn.

This contained the information the Dragon Emperor was most concerned about—the supreme divine weapon. It turned out to be nothing more than a black stone spear, weighing a thousand catties.

However, divine weapons choose their masters, which is not something that divine weapons acknowledge. Even Zhao Gao could only wield them for a maximum of a quarter of an hour.

In addition, the story also focuses on Zhang Xiaoshan's ruthlessness, as he actually slaughtered the Penglai Dojo.

In addition to recent news from the martial arts world, all six major demonic forces in the Nine Provinces have been wiped out and destroyed by Zhang's assassins.

..... .. .......

At this time, all seven major forces that attacked Peach Blossom Island were punished by the Zhang family.

The Penglai Taoist temple, in particular, suffered an undeserved disaster.

It was simply because Zhang Xiaoshan was worried about the future proliferation of Japanese pirates, so he was clearing them out in advance.

"Zhao Gao has confirmed that this supreme divine weapon is actually a black stone spear, but its power should not be underestimated."

However, Zhao Gao's letter also mentioned the materials for forging a supreme divine weapon: the four divine stones left behind by the ancient goddess Nuwa. Bai Lu had already forged a sword, Bing Po might be the protective stone of the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor, and only one piece of Black Cold was suitable for forging a divine weapon, and specifically, a supreme divine weapon.

"Does Your Majesty intend to collect the Black Frost Divine Stones?"

"Not bad!"

Ying Zheng nodded. Zhang Xiaoshan had forged a black stone spear, and he naturally didn't want to fall behind.

Even if he were given a spear weighing over a thousand pounds, he wouldn't be able to use it. It would be better to find the Black Frost Divine Stone and forge a supreme divine sword comparable to the legendary Xuanyuan Sword.

"Minister Meng, you are to write the reward notice for Hei Han's capture."

"Whoever presents the Black Frost Divine Stone to the Empire will be rewarded with 100,000 gold coins and promoted to Imperial Noble."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Meng Yi was naturally aware of the emperor's ambition, so he was not surprised at all.

"Furthermore, I would like to invite Young Master Zhang to Xianyang City for a chat. I want to see just how domineering this divine weapon is, and whether it can truly break my sword, Tianwen!"

Moreover, since Japan is so despicable, why would the Empire want to conquer this tiny island?

Chapter 645 Shintoism: A Thousand-Year-Old Heritage of Japan

To conquer the tiny island of Japan, one needs sufficient naval power.

Even though the empire has a shipyard on Yizhou Island, its main task is still to oversee the construction of the Mirage, a floating city. In terms of the number of large ships and naval combat experience, the Zhang family is the true maritime hegemon.

Therefore, knowing that the Zhang family had completely fallen out with Japan presented an opportunity for Emperor Ying Zheng.

With the help of the Zhang family, destroying Japan shouldn't be difficult.

Even a small place is still a piece of meat.

Therefore, upon receiving the news, Zhang Xiaoshan immediately learned of Emperor Ying Zheng's plans.

However, Zhang Xiaoshan did not refuse the offer, believing that it was better to address the problem of Japanese pirates at its root.

Once the Japanese are destroyed, the threat of Japanese pirates will naturally be eliminated.

Moreover, by taking advantage of Japan's geographical location, they could spy on Goguryeo, and then launch a pincer attack on the Jin Dynasty, unifying the area beyond the Great Wall.

The Zhang family doesn't interfere in the internal affairs of Kyushu, but this is no longer an internal matter.

At least Japan is outside of Kyushu.

"Young master, they have already left Ghost Street!"

After returning from Peach Blossom Island, the returning ships went back to Ghost Street.

For the grandmasters, the gains from sitting and discussing the Dao were considerable, and each of them prepared to go into seclusion for arduous cultivation, delving into the Dao of the Primordial Spirit "527".

They used to think that the Grandmaster level was the ceiling, and that breaking through the void was the ultimate goal.

Zhang Xiaoshan's realm told them that they were all a whole realm away from breaking through the void—the Primordial Spirit realm!

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan has reached the realm of breaking through the void, and he is only forty years old. He will surely reach even greater heights in the future.

As for the realm they have attained? Primordial Spirit is just a general term.

Taoism is about being a celestial being, Buddhism is about being an Arhat, and military strategists are about being a butcher... They rely entirely on their own enlightenment to comprehend their own supreme realm.

Only after that does the void shatter!

"Young master, should we send someone to keep an eye on them?"

After all, if these grandmasters were to harbor any wicked intentions, we would be in the open while they remained in the shadows, making it impossible to guard against them.

"Ignore them. There is no cultivation method that surpasses the Grandmaster level. If one out of ten of them wants to reach the Nascent Soul realm, that would be good enough."

As for the threat?

None of the masters who can cultivate to the Grandmaster level are reckless.

To provoke the Zhang family is tantamount to suicide. It's better to monitor the empire than to monitor them; the only network that can unite them lies within the empire!

"Yes, son!"

This time, both grandmasters and five peerless masters failed.

Even if they wanted to target the Zhang family, they would have to consider their own strength.

The only chance is when the Empire and the Zhang family are both severely weakened. Therefore, if they want to take a piece of the Zhang family, they need the Empire to contact them at least once.

Of course, the group that left Dongxie Xiaozhu did not include the Golden-Faced Buddha Gu Jianhun.

At this moment, Gu Jianhun was studying the Black Stone Spear. He was extremely curious about this domineering divine weapon.

Moreover, he didn't believe that the cunning Zhang Xiaoshan would actually fully reveal the ingenious uses of the Black Long Spear.

However, he was not the owner of the divine spear, so no matter how much he studied it, he could not possibly uncover its hidden secrets.

"Thank you very much for your help this time, senior."

The reason why no other experts made a move when the treasure was born was that, apart from the first wave of the Japanese Emperor and the Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Desire Demon Palace, the Golden-Faced Buddha held the situation in check.

With a single move, he directly repelled the combined attacks of several grandmasters and peerless experts.

The domineering aura of a top-tier grandmaster, coupled with Ghost Yama's sudden advancement to the grandmaster realm, brought everyone's apprehension to its peak.

After all, if a Ghost Yama can reach the Grandmaster level, who knows what other trump cards the Zhang family might be hiding?

Otherwise, it would not be impossible for a group of grandmasters to force Ghost Yama.

"Hmph, if it weren't for past grievances and Xuehua's sake, I would be doing you a favor by not taking action against your Zhang family."

Gu Jianhun casually tossed the black stone spear to Zhang Xiaoshan.

This thing doesn't recognize him as its master, so it's basically unusable. And seeing Zhang Xiaoshan, he just wanted to gather people together.

Over the years, how could he not see that Tu Xuehua had long been deeply in love with him? Even the few "young talents" he introduced to her, Tu Xuehua didn't even glance at them.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan was so cunning that he had three burrows: one at Yihua Palace, another at Blackwood Cliff, and there were probably other places where he had also left behind romantic entanglements.

Therefore, his feelings towards Zhang Xiaoshan were absolutely disgusted.

"You'd better keep this divine spear safe. If it falls into the wrong hands, it will be extremely detrimental to your Zhang family."

"Don't worry, senior, this divine spear has already recognized me as its master."

As long as they are not too far away from me, the younger generation can sense their specific direction and location.

Moreover, this divine spear will be guarded by bronze-armored warriors. Whether it's a junior or a bronze-armored warrior, anyone can use it; it's impossible for anyone else to obtain the spear from the bronze-armored warriors.

"What a plan!"

Bronze-armored warrior?

Even though Gu Jianhun is already a top-tier Grandmaster, he wouldn't dare say he could defeat a bronze-armored warrior.

Moreover, the bronze-armored warrior and Zhang Xiaoshan are essentially one entity, and he can also use the Black Stone Divine Spear, which greatly increases his attack power, making him even more invincible.

"By the way, senior."

"The Empire wants me to go to Xianyang City soon. If you're interested, you can come along."

"Xianyang City? No way!"

Not only are there countless experts in Xianyang City, but there is also an absolutely terrifying existence within the Forbidden Palace.

Aside from Zhang Xiaoshan having the confidence to take it at will, most grandmasters, except those from Taoism and Buddhism, would generally avoid it, even someone as powerful as Gu Jianhun.

"That's it!"

Zhang Xiaoshan originally wanted to take the Golden-Faced Buddha to intimidate Ying Zheng, but he didn't expect that the Ancient Sword Soul would not fall for it.

After all, the Golden-Faced Buddha represents a power on par with Zhang Jian. Even though it has now been surpassed by the Zhang family, it is still a force that even the empire dares not easily provoke, and in the martial arts world, only the Holy Gate can rival it.

Therefore, if the Golden-Faced Buddha were to walk around Xianyang City, it would definitely be able to intimidate Emperor Ying Zheng.

It should be known that the Tathagata Palm, when mastered to a superb level, is definitely no less powerful than a master at the Nascent Soul stage.

···

"Have you heard? With the emergence of the Nine Provinces' most precious treasure, the Heavenly Desire Demon Palace, the Heavenly Sect, the Xuanming Sect, and the Heavenly Demon Sect actually took advantage of Young Master Zhang's journey to the deep sea to refine the divine weapon to launch a sneak attack on Peach Blossom Island, preparing to 'use the emperor to command the princes'!"

"This matter has already spread throughout Ghost Street, and it wasn't just the demonic forces involved; even the Emperor of Japan took action and lost his life on Peach Blossom Island."

"What power does such a small place, such a tiny nation of people, possess?"

"Hey, that's just ignorance..."

I heard that this time the Emperor of Japan mobilized the entire nation's resources, sending out one Grandmaster, three peerless masters, ten top masters, and hundreds of Jonin who are equivalent to renowned figures in the martial arts world.

However, most of the Japanese samurai and ninjas were killed by a super cannonball fired by the Zhang family before they could even reach the shore, and all of them perished at sea.

Later, the demonic masters who managed to reach the shore were killed by the Zhang family's mechanisms, and their heads were hung on the doorframe of the Heavenly Mystery Sect on Ghost Street to intimidate the assembled heroes!

"Hiss hiss hiss... Is this for real? A small country like Japan, not to mention peerless grandmasters, even great grandmasters?"

···

The situation has escalated beyond the empire's control and is growing increasingly serious.

First, it concerns the Zhang family, making it the top trending topic in the entire Kyushu city; second, the birth of a supreme treasure is an extremely popular topic in itself.

With these two factors combined, there are at least a hundred versions of Kyushu City folklore.

Without exception, they all condemned the demonic forces that attacked Peach Blossom Island.

Stealing from someone's home is a despicable act, especially when it ends in failure. In the world of the victors and the vanquished, such behavior is naturally despised by everyone.

However, this battle also made everyone realize that Japan, a small island nation, actually had such a profound foundation, with a Grandmaster-level emperor and Shintoism having some deep roots.

After all, Shintoism has been around for at least a thousand years.

From the first Emperor Jimmu onwards, he was the supreme leader of Shintoism. Combined with his connection to supreme power, there were few families or sects in the Central Plains with a thousand-year-old lineage.

Unfortunately, he remained in the Central Plains and offended the Zhang family, who didn't think Zhang Xiaoshan was at a disadvantage.

Xianyang City!

The day after Zhao Gao returned to the capital, Zhang Xiaoshan arrived in Xianyang.

However, Zhang Xiaoshan did not go to Xianyang Palace immediately. Instead, as before, he went to the top floor of the Empire State Building and found the head manager, Miss Su Chan.

Moreover, during this period, the Zhang family's situation was still developing.

Whether it's Zhang's Restaurant in Xianyang or in the capital city of Shendu and Jiangnan, business is booming.

　2.0 Even the business within the mall was almost described as a frenzy of buying, with the aim of hoarding goods.

They feared that one day the Zhang family might suddenly disappear again, just like before, at which point the prices of Zhang family goods would skyrocket.

After all, there have been several examples of this before.

Once the Zhang family makes a move, they will inevitably have many concerns and will tighten their business.

Therefore, high-priced and easily preserved items such as soap, perfumes, and glassware are the key items to stockpile.

Even if the Zhang family is fine, there's no fear that goods that can be stored for a long time will rot in their home.

"Young master!"

"Ba Jia Zhu'er greets Young Master Zhang!"

The boudoir and pavilion, surrounded by a hundred flowers, was not merely a place where Su Chan, dressed in a light gauze robe, quietly burned incense and sipped tea. Opposite her stood a stunningly beautiful woman in a flowing red dress, her embroidered palace gown exuding grace and charm.