"Fu Zhong, Fu Ling." After hearing the two young men introduce themselves, Lu Miaozi's face suddenly revealed a meaningful smile. This smile made the two young men, who had introduced themselves as Fu Zhong and Fu Ling, feel a chill run down their spines, and they involuntarily lowered their heads.
Daniel naturally noticed their reaction but didn't pay much attention. Although the two young men were skilled in martial arts, and Lu Miaozi's strength would place him among the top masters in the Qin's Moon world, to Daniel, even top masters were nothing special. Even if they reached the level of Bei Mingzi, Donghuang Taiyi, or Guiguzi, it wouldn't matter to him.
"Old man, could you tell me about the current state of the world?" After a moment of silence, Daniel directly asked. From the actions of the people earlier and the attire of the three in front of him, it was clear that this was a world similar to Qin's Moon.
Even the black-clad figure and the tall figure from earlier, whose martial arts would place them among the top masters in Qin's Moon, were no match for Daniel. While they might not be as strong as Gai Nie or Wei Zhuang, they were certainly stronger than Gao Jianli.
"The current state of the world? The world is in chaos right now. Ever since Emperor Yang of Sui failed in his three expeditions against Goguryeo..." Lu Miaozi carefully observed Daniel before explaining the general situation of the world.
"Emperor Yang of Sui's three expeditions against Goguryeo... How familiar." After listening to Lu Miaozi, Daniel fell silent for a moment before asking, "Who are the strongest martial artists in the world right now?"
"The strongest martial artists in the world are undoubtedly the three Grandmasters: Ning Daoqi, the top master of Daoism in the Central Plains; Fu Cailin, the Sword Master of Goguryeo; and Bi Xuan, the Martial尊 of the Turks. Besides them, there's also Song Que, the head of the Song Clan, whose martial arts are said to be on par with the three Grandmasters."
"This is truly unexpected."
After Lu Miaozi mentioned the three Grandmasters and Song Que, Daniel immediately realized what world he was in—The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang.
The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang referred to two individuals who rose from being street urchins to become revered Grandmasters in the world. Thinking of this, Daniel couldn't help but glance at the two young men who had introduced themselves as Fu Zhong and Fu Ling.
If Daniel hadn't known this was the world of The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang, he wouldn't have paid much attention to these two. But now that he knew, and considering their earlier behavior, it was clear that these two were none other than Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the Twin Heroes.
"Thank you. If I'm not mistaken, Fu Zhong and Fu Ling aren't your real names, are they? I should be calling you Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, right?" Daniel's gaze shifted from Lu Miaozi to the two young men beside him.
Although it was just a guess, Daniel wanted to confirm their identities immediately.
"It seems I guessed correctly. So, the Longevity Scripture and the Treasure of Yang Gong are with you, right?" Although the two didn't respond, the momentary panic in their eyes when Daniel mentioned their real names didn't escape his notice.
"Ziling, run!"
As soon as their identities were exposed, Kou Zhong reacted immediately. The steel sword on his back was drawn, and while telling Xu Ziling to escape, he charged at Daniel with the unstoppable momentum of a battlefield warrior. It was likely the Ten Bloody Strikes taught to them by Li Jing.
However, Xu Ziling didn't flee as Kou Zhong had hoped. Instead, he stepped to Daniel's left, gripping his steel sword tightly and thrusting it at Daniel with the same battlefield momentum.
Having the Longevity Scripture and the Treasure of Yang Gong, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had always been targets for those seeking these treasures. Upon hearing Daniel's words, they immediately assumed he was after the Longevity Scripture and the Treasure of Yang Gong.
"No need to be so agitated." Daniel raised his right hand and, with a seemingly slow but actually lightning-fast movement, lightly tapped the blades of their swords. With two crisp ding sounds, the steel swords in their hands shattered into countless pieces, scattering to the ground. In an instant, all that remained in their hands were the hilts.
This scene left the two dumbfounded, completely stunned. Their escape plan, which hadn't even begun, was now in shambles.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both highly intelligent. When Daniel exposed their identities, Kou Zhong's words, "Ziling, run," might have sounded like a simple command to others, but Xu Ziling, who had grown up with Kou Zhong, immediately understood the deeper meaning.
Their attacks were merely feints, containing no real power. If Daniel had retreated due to their attacks, they would have immediately turned and fled.
However, the shattering of their swords made them realize that their opponent's strength far exceeded their expectations. The two were no longer the inexperienced youths who had first entered the martial world. They had encountered many masters on their journey, such as Du Fuwei, the commander of the Jianghuai region, and experts from the Yuwen Clan. But none of them could compare to Daniel.
In fact, even Lu Miaozi, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but gasp in shock. His insight was far superior to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's. With just that one move, Daniel had proven himself to be a master of the Grandmaster level.
What was even more astonishing was how young Daniel looked. At such a young age, achieving such strength—if Daniel had been a woman, Lu Miaozi would have thought he was the successor of one of the two great families.
"Don't be so nervous. I mean you no harm. I'm just curious about one of the Four Great Mystic Books, the Longevity Scripture, and would like to take a look."
Since Daniel was now in the world of The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang, he naturally wanted to see the Four Great Mystic Books if given the chance. Aside from the War God's Illustrated Manual, the other three—the Longevity Scripture, the Heavenly Demon Strategy, and the Cihang Sword Codex—could all be obtained in this world.
"The Four Great Mystic Books? What are those?" Perhaps sensing that Daniel meant no harm, Kou Zhong immediately became curious about the Four Great Mystic Books Daniel mentioned, especially since the Longevity Scripture was one of them. This was a secret of the martial world, known to very few in the Great Tang world.
Even Lu Miaozi became curious. He had heard of the Longevity Scripture before but, like many others, had initially thought it was a fraud. It wasn't until Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling successfully cultivated it that many martial artists were left in shock.
"The so-called Four Great Mystic Books are martial arts manuals said to allow one to reach the realm of Shattering the Void. The first is the elusive War God's Illustrated Manual, followed by the Longevity Scripture you two are cultivating, the Heavenly Demon Strategy of the Demonic Sect, and the Cihang Sword Codex of the Cihang Sect."
When mentioning the Cihang Sword Codex, Daniel's face showed a hint of mockery. Although the Cihang Sword Codex was indeed a powerful manual, in Daniel's opinion, it didn't deserve to be ranked among the Four Great Mystic Books.
After all, no one who cultivated the Cihang Sword Codex had ever achieved Shattering the Void. Even the founder of the Cihang Sect, Di Ni, had only achieved a state of deep meditation before her death. In contrast, the other three mystic books had examples of practitioners achieving Shattering the Void.
This made Ning Daoqi seem rather pitiful.
"Shattering the Void? What's that?" Kou Zhong asked curiously. For Kou Zhong at this stage, even reaching the level of a Grandmaster seemed like an impossible dream, let alone the even more elusive Shattering the Void.
"That's not something you need to worry about now. You should only consider it once you've reached the level of a Grandmaster."
"Grandmaster?" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's eyes gleamed with ambition. They had always known the Longevity Scripture was powerful, but now they understood why—it was a manual that surpassed the Grandmaster level.
"Alright, now that you know what you wanted to know, let's make a deal. I'd like to borrow the Longevity Scripture for a look. A copy will do."
Although the Twin Heroes would later become quite troublesome, at their core, they weren't bad people. Their later issues stemmed largely from their lack of education and being misled by others. In fact, they weren't the only ones who were misled—even Song Que, Kou Zhong's future father-in-law, fell into the same trap.
This father-in-law and son-in-law duo ended up causing each other a lot of trouble. But now that Daniel was here, there was no need for them to continue down that path. Since he had arrived, those who claimed to "choose the emperor on behalf of heaven" would have to pay the price.
"We don't have the Longevity Scripture with us." After exchanging glances, Kou Zhong spoke up.
"That's fine. We can discuss it when you have it. I'm in no hurry. However, there's something I need to apologize to you two for." Daniel truly wasn't in a rush for the Longevity Scripture. Even the War God's Illustrated Manual wasn't a priority for him. After all, could the War God's Illustrated Manual really compare to the Sword Control Technique?
"What is it?" Kou Zhong asked cautiously.
"It's about the Treasure of Yang Gong." Upon hearing Daniel mention the Treasure of Yang Gong, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately became wary. While they didn't care much about the Longevity Scripture—after all, they had even agreed to give a copy to Bi Xuan's disciple later—the Treasure of Yang Gong was a different matter.
Martial arts manuals depended on talent. The Longevity Scripture had only been successfully cultivated by the two of them after all these years, and even they couldn't fully explain how they had done it. In fact, strictly speaking, they hadn't truly mastered the Longevity Scripture—they had only cultivated one of its diagrams each.
In this regard, the Longevity Scripture was somewhat similar to the War God's Illustrated Manual, which also consisted of diagrams, though it had seven times as many as the Longevity Scripture.
"You seem to have misunderstood something. Did you really think you were the only ones who knew the secret of the Treasure of Yang Gong? Don't forget, the Treasure of Yang Gong is a treasure of the Central Plains. If a woman from Goguryeo could know its location, do you really think no one in the Central Plains knows about it?"
Daniel's words immediately made Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's faces turn pale. This was something they had never considered.
"The treasure is near Yuema Bridge, am I right, Lu Miaozi, the world's greatest craftsman?" Daniel's gaze shifted to Lu Miaozi, who had remained silent until now.
"The world's greatest craftsman? So that's why the name sounded familiar." Kou Zhong immediately realized where he had heard Lu Miaozi's name before.
"Not only that, he's also the designer of the Treasure of Yang Gong. The mechanisms inside were all designed by him."
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stared at Lu Miaozi, speechless. With the treasure's designer standing right there, any claim that the Treasure of Yang Gong belonged to them now seemed laughable.
"So, you two should stop thinking about the Treasure of Yang Gong."
"Then wouldn't we be at a huge disadvantage? Isn't it said that those who see it should share in it?" Realizing that the Treasure of Yang Gong might be out of reach, Kou Zhong's eyes darted around as he spoke.
"How about I give you half of the treasure's wealth?" Daniel truly didn't care about the wealth in the Treasure of Yang Gong. The wealth he carried with him far surpassed anything the Treasure of Yang Gong could offer. What he wanted from the treasure was the Evil Emperor's Sacred Pearl.
The Heirloom Seal and the Evil Emperor's Sacred Pearl, two of the Twin Heroes' greatest opportunities, would no longer be theirs now that Daniel was here.
"Really?" Kou Zhong's face lit up with excitement. For him at this stage, getting half of the treasure's wealth was already beyond his expectations.
Given the current situation, even if Daniel took the entire Treasure of Yang Gong for himself, Kou Zhong would have no way to stop him. Although the Treasure of Yang Gong was originally Kou Zhong's trump card for raising an army, the current circumstances left him no choice. As a former street urchin, Kou Zhong understood the reality of the situation.
"Of course. I always keep my word. Once I retrieve the treasure, I'll give you half. Alright, it seems you two don't want to stay here any longer, so I won't keep you."
"Until we meet again." After exchanging a glance, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling quickly ran off into the distance.
"What a pity I arrived too late."
Watching the Twin Heroes disappear into the distance, Daniel shook his head slightly. If he had arrived before Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling met Fu Junyu, he would undoubtedly have taken them under his wing, perhaps even taken them as disciples and trained them.
For example, he could have taught them the Frost Fist, Cloud Palm, Wind God's Leg, Proud Cold Six Techniques, and the Xuanwu True Art. This might have turned them into another version of Wind and Cloud in this world.
Unfortunately, this was all just a hypothetical. Having already recognized Fu Junyu as their godmother, the two no longer met Daniel's requirements. Later, Daniel would definitely kill Fu Cailin, the Sword Master of Goguryeo, and given Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's relationship with Fu Junyu, they might even become his enemies.
Now that Daniel was here, the so-called three Grandmasters wouldn't escape unscathed, especially Ning Daoqi. As the top Daoist master of the Central Plains and a Grandmaster, he had colluded with the Cihang Sect to "choose the emperor on behalf of heaven." For this alone, Daniel would make sure this so-called top Grandmaster of the Central Plains died a miserable death.
What Daniel found most detestable about the Cihang Sect wasn't their "choosing the emperor on behalf of heaven." In this era of competing for the throne, such actions were merely a form of political maneuvering.
What truly disgusted him was the Cihang Sect's attitude. They spoke of how Emperor Yang's three expeditions against Goguryeo had caused great suffering and loss of life in Goguryeo, but they never mentioned that the Central Plains had suffered even greater casualties—nearly a million soldiers had died. If the Cihang Sect were a Goguryeo sect, that would be one thing, but they were a sect that enjoyed immense privileges in the Central Plains.
While enjoying the offerings of the Central Plains' people, they sided with foreign powers. They deserved to die.
No wonder some people called the Cihang Sect the "Cihang Brothel Sect." They relied on their beauty to manipulate others. Fan Qinghui was like this, Shi Feixuan was like this, and only later figures like Qin Mengyao were slightly better.
"Ning Daoqi." As Daniel thought of Ning Daoqi, the top Grandmaster of the Central Plains, his killing intent surged to its peak. The murderous aura he released caused Lu Miaozi, who was standing nearby, to pale and involuntarily retreat dozens of meters, looking at Daniel in terror.
(End of Chapter)
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