Mi Yue was no ignorant little woman. Born a princess of Chu, she had seen much of the world since childhood. After marrying into Qin, she had been deeply impressed by the might of the Qin soldiers—they were in a league of their own compared to the Chu army.
Yet at this moment, in Mi Yue's eyes, the speed and agility of these hundred men were even more formidable than most Qin soldiers she had seen.
In her judgment, these hundred men were comparable to Qin's renowned Iron Eagle Elites—the only forces in the Seven Kingdoms that could match them were the royal guards of each state.
Mi Yue turned to look at her son, suddenly feeling like she barely knew him. He had secretly built such an elite force right under her nose.
What shocked Mi Yue was not only the strength of this elite unit, but also their weapons—all forged from hundred-refined steel.
Ever since the master swordsmith Ou Yezi forged the famous sword Longyuan, iron-smelting techniques had spread throughout the land. Weapons made of iron were sharper and sturdier than those made of bronze.
However, iron-smelting technology was still immature, and this was the peak era of bronze weapons, which were widely used. Thus, only seasoned veterans, fierce battlefield generals, or sons of wealthy families could afford iron weapons. Weapons forged from hundred-refined steel were even rarer—only mid-to-high-ranking generals in the armies of various states possessed them, speaking to their immense value.
Yet now, Mi Yue saw that every member of her son's elite force wielded weapons made of hundred-refined steel. Considering their rarity and value, it would cost no less than five thousand gold to arm such a unit—how could this not shock her!
But this also meant her son had truly grown up, no longer the little eagle who needed his mother's protection. Thinking this, Mi Yue's heart was filled with comfort.
Ying Ji, meanwhile, looked at the fifty Luo Wang assassins and fifty Shadow Secret Guards kneeling before him with surging blood. These men were usable—especially now, when he was short of hands, they were even more precious. Ying Ji nodded in satisfaction, then began to check the information of these ordinary Shadow Secret Guards and Luo Wang members.
Name: Shadow Secret Guards
Number of Members: 50
Loyalty: 90
Cultivation: Mid Flesh Tempering Martial Student
Talent: Ordinary
Cultivation Manual: Tian Ying Jue (Heavenly Shadow Secret Art)
Evaluation: Like maggots on bones, like shadows following form. Flawless coordination, deep friendship, sharing life and death, unparalleled guardianship. The bond between Shadow Secret Guard members is extremely deep—they will lay down their lives for their brothers. They have an innate advantage in protection and can be trained as a personal guard unit!
...
Name: Luo Wang (Net of Luo)
Number of Members: 50
Loyalty: 90
Cultivation: Mid Flesh Tempering Martial Student
Talent: Ordinary
Cultivation Manual: Luo Wang Jing (Net of Luo Scripture)
Evaluation: They believe in the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest. All members of the Luo Wang Assassin Group only trust themselves, but they possess excellent assassination talent and can be trained as the empire's killing weapon!
...
Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable! Ying Ji never dreamed that even the ordinary members of the Shadow Secret Guards and Luo Wang would be at this level—each one was a Mid Flesh Tempering Martial Student, possessing hundreds of jin of strength. Every single one of them could rival the world-famous Iron Eagle Elites!
What's more, the Shadow Secret Guards and Luo Wang members present were only the most ordinary ones; no elite members had been summoned, let alone super experts like Jing Niao (Osprey), Yan Ri (Covering Sun), Xuan Jian (Black Scissors), or the Six Swordsmen. This filled Ying Ji with even greater shock and satisfaction.
However, Ying Ji soon felt relieved when he remembered that these men were not from an ordinary historical plane, but from a martial arts world.
Don't think there were no powerful beings in ancient times. In ancient times, there were special methods to temper one's body and enhance strength. For example, Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, who left a name in history, possessed a thousand jin of strength.
Xiang Yu was so powerful he could lift a cauldron, of course, such people were extremely rare. A being like Xiang Yu was among the strongest in thousands of years of Chinese history.
"System, do I have my own exclusive cultivation manual?"
Ying Ji asked eagerly in his heart. Moreover, when Ying Ji communicated with the System, time in the outside world stood still—a function he had only just learned about, otherwise he would not have been in such a hurry to ask.
Seeing that all the characters he had summoned so far had their own cultivation manuals, and their manuals came from extremely powerful sources—either from endless time and space or the ancient Heavenly Court—while he was still a nobody, how could Ying Ji, their leader, not feel embarrassed!
The System replied: "Your Highness, as someone destined to rule over all realms, how could you not have an exclusive cultivation manual? When you wandered through countless realms, worlds, universes, planes, and eras, the System integrated cultivation manuals from all these worlds to create a cultivation manual specifically suitable for emperors—the Eternal Emperor Scripture."
"What? Is this true? System, is this really my exclusive cultivation manual?"
Ying Ji asked in disbelief. He had originally thought he would have to choose between the Bull Demon Strength Fist and the Tiger Demon Bone Tempering Fist—after all, even in the Yang Shen world, these two manuals were extremely famous and widely spread.
But Ying Ji never imagined that the System had really prepared an exclusive cultivation manual for him—the Eternal Emperor Scripture! Just the name sounded extraordinary, and according to the System, it was the most suitable cultivation manual for emperors, integrated from countless worlds and time and space!
"Your Highness, as the supreme being born from the primordial chaos, please do not casually doubt the System. The Eternal Emperor Scripture is indeed specially prepared for you!"
Hearing the System's slightly indignant tone, Ying Ji felt a little embarrassed. But this was understandable—who wouldn't be overwhelmed by such incredible luck, even if Ying Ji had been one of China's hidden tycoons in his past life.
Nor was Ying Ji surprised by the System's high intelligence. After all, according to the System, it was the supreme being born from the primordial chaos, the origin of all things. It would be strange if it didn't have such high intelligence.
"Uh, sorry, System. Can you tell me what's special about the Eternal Emperor Scripture, this cultivation manual specifically for emperors?"
Ying Ji asked the System eagerly!
"Your Highness, the Eternal Emperor Scripture was integrated by the System from the emperor's cultivation manuals of countless worlds. It is divided into six stages. The first stage is the Immortal Ascension Stage, which is equivalent to you cultivating to the Acupoint-Refining Human Immortal and above!"
"The second stage is the Immortal Perfection Stage, which allows you to cultivate to the Golden Immortal realm, comprehend the laws of the universe. Unless you are forcibly killed or destroyed by a heavenly tribulation, you will be an immortal being that cannot be killed!"
"The third stage is the Sage Stage, which allows you to place your primordial spirit in the void, survive countless tribulations without being destroyed. As long as heaven and earth exist, the sage will not die—a supreme realm!"
"As for the latter three stages of the Eternal Emperor Scripture, they are classified. Moreover, with your current state, even if you knew about them, it would be useless and would only add unnecessary worries. Therefore, the System has specially classified the latter three stages of the Eternal Emperor Scripture, which will be unlocked when you reach the Sage Stage!"
"The Eternal Emperor Scripture you are cultivating now is in the first stage, the Immortal Ascension Stage, which can allow you to cultivate to the immortal realm of eternal life. To unlock the next stage, you must first complete the previous stage, after which the System will automatically unlock the cultivation content of the next stage of the Eternal Emperor Scripture!"
After hearing the System's explanation, Ying Ji was truly shocked. Putting aside how to cultivate the Eternal Emperor Scripture, the first three stages alone made this manual one of the top cultivation manuals in all realms.
After all, the third stage was the Sage Stage! As a Chinese person, he had grown up hearing legends of the Primordial Flood. Ancestor Hongjun founded Taoism, taught the Three Thousand Great Daos, and took disciples including Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue, Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning, Heavenly Lord of Tongtian, Nüwa, and others—all supreme beings in the Primordial Flood world. Ancestor Hongjun taught his disciples the Dao and the Three Thousand Great Daos!
After taking four direct disciples, Ancestor Hongjun also took Zhunti and Jieyin from the West, taught them the Eight Hundred Side Paths, and even established Buddhism. In the end, Buddhism competed directly with Taoism. Even the Fengshen War and the Journey to the West were the results of the struggle between Buddhism and Taoism!
All these extremely powerful beings were Sages. The Six Sages of the Primordial Flood plus Ancestor Hongjun—these powerful beings who were eternal in the Primordial Flood world, using heaven and earth as a chessboard and all living beings as chess pieces, were all Sages. One could imagine how terrifying a Sage was.
Ying Ji never imagined that the third stage of the first three levels of the Eternal Emperor Scripture, which the System had unlocked for him, could allow him to reach the Sage Stage. It was truly terrifying! After all, the Eternal Emperor Scripture had a total of six stages. If the first three stages were already so terrifying, what would the latter three stages be like?
Ying Ji dared not imagine. He even had a feeling that all realms might not be the end—they might even be just the beginning.
Because in his past life, Ying Ji knew deeply that even in all realms, Sages were probably among the top existences. Yet this was only the highest realm achieved in the third cultivation stage of the Eternal Emperor Scripture.
Moreover, the careful Ying Ji also noticed that the System said the Eternal Emperor Scripture was integrated by the System after traveling through countless worlds, universes, eras, and time and space, integrating countless cultivation manuals suitable for emperors. This meant that there might be even higher-level and more terrifying existences above all realms.