"Who exactly are you?"
If Lu Miaozi had initially thought of Daniel as an unknown young master who had suddenly emerged, he now completely dismissed that idea. The terrifying killing intent and aura Daniel exuded far surpassed even Ning Daoqi, the number one master of the Central Plains.
Not just Ning Daoqi, but even compared to the Evil Emperor Xiang Yutian, Daniel's presence was overwhelming.
As the world's greatest craftsman, Lu Miaozi had a wide circle of acquaintances, including Zhu Yuyan, Bi Xiuxin, and even Shi Zhixuan, the Evil King. He was also close friends with Ning Daoqi and even had a deep friendship with the Evil Emperor Xiang Yutian.
Lu Miaozi was a polymath, proficient in martial arts, medicine, gardening, architecture, military strategy, disguise, astronomy, calendar calculations, and mechanisms. If there had been a Ghost Valley in this era, Lu Miaozi would have been a perfect fit as its successor.
Despite spreading his talents so thin, Lu Miaozi was still a master-level martial artist. For others, mastering just one of these fields would have been enough to earn the title of a grandmaster.
The appearance of such a terrifying figure sent shockwaves through Lu Miaozi's heart.
"It seems my temperament still needs work. But then again, if I remained calm in the face of such a situation, wouldn't that make me unworthy of being a descendant of Huaxia?"
Seeing Lu Miaozi's pale face, Daniel took a deep breath and reined in his killing intent. He rarely unleashed his aura and killing intent, even when he was deeply dissatisfied with the actions of the Celestial Dragons. But the name Ning Daoqi had truly ignited his killing intent, as did the so-called Cihang Sect and the Pure Mind Temple.
As the number one master of the Central Plains, Ning Daoqi had not intervened when Emperor Yang of Sui launched his three expeditions against Goguryeo, allowing the Sword Master Fu Cailin to act freely. If that had been all, Daniel wouldn't have felt such intense killing intent. After all, everyone had their own path, just like Bei Mingzi and Guiguzi, who also stayed out of worldly conflicts.
But Ning Daoqi's later collaboration with the Cihang Sect to "choose the emperor on behalf of heaven" was a different matter altogether. He didn't act against foreign powers but repeatedly intervened in internal affairs. In truth, without Ning Daoqi's interference, Kou Zhong and Song Que might have been able to unify the world.
Moreover, considering that Ning Daoqi had given Li Shimin the name "Jishi Jiumin" (Save the World and Rescue the People) shortly after his birth, it was clear that this had been part of a long-standing plan.
"Who am I? Let me think about that for a moment."
Daniel's words made Lu Miaozi frown. He had never heard of someone needing to think about who they were. In truth, Daniel wasn't lying. After realizing he was in the world of The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang, he had decided to take action to change the fate of the Huaxia people.
To be honest, if given the choice between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin as emperor, Daniel would support Li Shimin, even though he had a favorable impression of Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong was a great friend, loyal and righteous, but he was utterly unfit to be an emperor.
His statement about conquering the world and then handing the throne to someone else showed just how naive he was. The saying "An emperor must be ruthless" might be an exaggeration, but it highlighted the kind of person an emperor needed to be.
If Kou Zhong had become emperor, his relationship with Fu Junyu might have prevented him from taking action against Goguryeo. But look at Li Shimin—didn't he eventually launch expeditions against Goguryeo, just like Emperor Yang?
But that was just a hypothetical. In reality, Daniel wouldn't support either Kou Zhong or Li Shimin. If he had to support someone, he might as well support Emperor Yang. With his current strength, helping Emperor Yang suppress the entire world would be effortless.
Unfortunately, Emperor Yang was no Ying Zheng, and Daniel couldn't support him in the same way. Rather than supporting Emperor Yang, Daniel might as well take the throne himself.
Li Shimin, the "Heavenly Khan," was indeed a remarkable emperor in history, but that was all. Many people hailed him as one of the greatest emperors of all time, but in Daniel's view, he didn't deserve that title.
The so-called "Heavenly Khan" was a reputation bought through concessions, and he had given away many of the Central Plains' technological advancements to foreign powers. For example, Princess Wencheng's marriage alliance was a disgrace, despite some people glorifying it.
Many of Li Shimin's achievements were inherited from the Sui Dynasty. In fact, if Li Jiancheng had taken the throne, he might not have done any worse.
"Daoist Heavenly Sect's Shen Fei greets Master Lu Miaozi." After a moment of silence, Daniel finally chose to reveal himself as a member of the Daoist Heavenly Sect. Although the Daoist sect wasn't prominently mentioned in the original story of The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang, its strength couldn't be underestimated, especially since it had produced figures who achieved Shattering the Void.
Before aligning himself with the Buddhist sect, Ning Daoqi had been a Daoist.
"Daoist Heavenly Sect?" Lu Miaozi was stunned. He was well-versed in the major sects of the Central Plains but had never heard of a Daoist Heavenly Sect.
"The Daoist Heavenly Sect is a hidden sect, inheriting the Daoist teachings of the pre-Qin era's Hundred Schools of Thought. Under normal circumstances, disciples of the Heavenly Sect would not reveal their identities when entering the world. But this time is different. Some people need to be dealt with." As he spoke, a cold smile appeared on Daniel's face.
Many of the sects in The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang, such as the Demon Sect's Two Sects and Six Paths, were actually inheritors of the Hundred Schools of Thought. It was only after the policy of "Dismissing the Hundred Schools and Honoring Confucianism Alone" that they evolved into the current Demon Sect.
"These matters aren't urgent. What about you, Master Lu Miaozi? You're dying, aren't you?"
"That's correct."
Lu Miaozi didn't deny it. Poisoned by Zhu Yuyan's Heavenly Demon Art, even after so many years, Lu Miaozi hadn't been able to cure himself. The only reason he had survived this long was due to his exceptional medical skills.
"I can save you, but I have one condition."
"What condition?"
No one wants to die if they can avoid it, and Lu Miaozi was no exception. Even if he didn't care about himself, he had to think about his daughter, Shang Xiuxun.
"Swear allegiance to me. I intend to unify the world and end this era of chaos."
At the same time, he would put an end to the later An-Shi Rebellion, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and foreign invasions. These were things Li Shimin could never achieve, but Daniel could.
"Unifying the world is no easy task." Lu Miaozi was about to refute Daniel's words when he suddenly froze, staring at Daniel in shock. The words died in his throat as Daniel's feet suddenly rested on a floating sword, and he rose into the air.
"A sword immortal?" After a long pause, Lu Miaozi finally managed to whisper in awe.
"Correct. The Daoist Heavenly Sect is a hidden sect of sword immortals. Where is the Flying Horse Ranch? I'll take you there." With a wave of his hand, Daniel lifted Lu Miaozi onto the flying sword.
"That direction." The sudden turn of events left Lu Miaozi no time to wonder how Daniel knew about his connection to the Flying Horse Ranch. With a stiff expression, he pointed in the direction of the ranch.
"This is truly..."
As they entered the pavilion at the back of the Flying Horse Ranch, Lu Miaozi's expression was still dazed. The speed of the flying sword had left him no time to process his shock before they arrived at their destination.
"I'll heal you first. After that, you can think things over."
Lu Miaozi was a polymath, especially skilled in mechanisms, which was exactly what Daniel needed. He could use Lu Miaozi to spread the Mo Family's mechanical arts in this world. Of course, it wasn't just the Mo Family's arts—the Gongshu Family's mechanical arts would also be included.
With an army of mechanical beasts, Daniel would be unstoppable in this era. If he combined mechanical arts with modern firearms, they could rival modern tanks and armored vehicles.
Of course, this was just a thought for now. Technological development needed to be gradual. After all, Daniel hadn't interfered much with the development of the Qin's Moon world, only providing ideas.
In terms of strength, Daniel could easily kill Ning Daoqi, Fu Cailin, Bi Xuan, and others, destroy the Cihang Sect and the Pure Mind Temple, and unify the world with his overwhelming power. But governing afterward would be a challenge.
This was similar to the advice Daniel had given Dragon in the One Piece world. Simply overthrowing the top layer of society would only result in a change of leadership, not a transformation of the social system.
The late Sui and early Tang periods were similar to the late Warring States period. The power of the aristocratic families was immense. When Kou Zhong's power grew, why did Shi Feixuan firmly oppose him? Part of the reason was that Kou Zhong, coming from the lowest rungs of society, wouldn't make political compromises. If Kou Zhong took the throne, many of the Buddhist sect's plans would be thwarted.
Throughout Chinese history, only one emperor had risen from the lowest class. All other peasant uprisings had ultimately been co-opted by the aristocratic families.
The failure of Emperor Yang's three expeditions against Goguryeo was largely due to the interference of the aristocratic families. Otherwise, no matter how powerful Fu Cailin was, he couldn't have threatened Emperor Yang.
In the world of The Twin Heroes of the Great Tang, martial arts could determine the rise and fall of a nation, the outcome of a battle, and the strength of a family.
Look at the four great clans—each of their leaders was a master-level martial artist. Song Que of the Song Clan was even a Grandmaster, which was why the Song Clan dominated Lingnan. Even Emperor Wen of Sui could only appease and recruit him.
In this world, a Grandmaster might not be able to single-handedly defeat an army, but they could break through an army's formation. If a Grandmaster chose to flee, no amount of soldiers could stop them. This was why Li Shimin never took action against Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling later.
"So this is the Heavenly Demon True Qi? It's like a maggot clinging to bone. No wonder even a master like Lu Miaozi couldn't cure it and could only delay his death."
After healing Lu Miaozi's injuries, Daniel prepared to leave. Although he intended to recruit Lu Miaozi, he didn't have a faction yet, so Lu Miaozi's skills weren't immediately needed.
"Old man, are you there?" Just then, a clear and elegant voice came from outside the pavilion. The voice suggested its owner was a rare beauty.
Hearing the voice, Lu Miaozi's expression changed, and he glanced nervously at Daniel.
"Shang Xiuxun?" As Daniel thought this, he stepped onto his flying sword and left the pavilion, hovering in the air and looking down at the graceful, youthful beauty below.
Shang Xiuxun, the mistress of the Flying Horse Ranch, was one of the most beautiful women in the Great Tang world. In fact, her beauty rivaled that of Shi Feixuan and Wan Wan.
Shang Xiuxun's initially tense expression turned to shock when she saw Daniel standing on a flying sword in the air. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Daniel nodded at her, and with a flash of light, he disappeared without a trace.
"Old man, who was that?" After Daniel vanished, Shang Xiuxun immediately broke her own rule and entered Lu Miaozi's pavilion.
Due to her strained relationship with Lu Miaozi because of Zhu Yuyan, Shang Xiuxun usually avoided his residence. But Daniel's appearance was too shocking, and she couldn't help but investigate.
"He is a man who will bring great changes to the world." Seeing Shang Xiuxun enter his room, Lu Miaozi felt even happier than when the Heavenly Demon True Qi that had plagued him for years was removed.
"What should I do next? Emperor Yang isn't dead yet, and the world hasn't completely descended into chaos. Should I go see him?" Thinking of Emperor Yang, Daniel felt conflicted.
The difference between Emperor Yang's early and later behavior was stark. Before the three expeditions against Goguryeo, he had appeared ambitious, far-sighted, and every bit a wise ruler.
But after the failure of the three expeditions, he quickly became a tyrant, indulging in wine and pleasure in the palace, resembling King Han An.
The contrast was so great that it was hard to believe they were the same person. After all, an emperor who could dig the Grand Canal and even move the capital couldn't possibly be so foolish.
In fact, even after the failure of the three expeditions, if Emperor Yang had maintained his earlier ambition, he could have turned things around.
Some said that digging the Grand Canal caused countless deaths, but this was an exaggeration, much like the claims about the deaths during the construction of the Great Wall by Qin Shi Huang.
"Before he dies, I'll find a chance to meet him. For now, I'll go find the Twin Heroes."
Rebellion and building a faction couldn't be done overnight. Since that was the case, why not make use of the Twin Heroes? After all, they were being manipulated by others like puppets. It might as well be Daniel who manipulated them.
Moreover, the Twin Heroes hadn't yet met Shi Feixuan and been swayed by her. Before that happened, Daniel could guide them and prevent them from being used as pawns.
"Shen Luoyan is quite a remarkable figure. It's a pity she became disillusioned later. Perhaps I can recruit her."
Even though Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had left long ago, Daniel easily found them. However, the timing wasn't ideal. The Twin Heroes, along with Qin Shubao, had been captured by Shen Luoyan—literally caught in a net.
The net they were trapped in was none other than the "Immortal-Catching Net," a creation of Lu Miaozi that had spread far and wide.
(End of Chapter)
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