I Have A Martial Dao World

Hebu, upon hearing the words of Bishop Faville, realized that their lines of thinking were not on the same page and thought to himself: "High-ranking clergy really have issues with their psyche."

At that moment, the fleet commander suddenly sensed animosity. Turning his head toward the distance, he locked eyes with Count Spee from Jiade.

Hebu's expression suddenly turned icy cold!

It was this man who had signed a military sales agreement with the Shun Dynasty, equipping them with the latest 303mm cannons, which led to his own crushing defeat!

Moreover, he had spearheaded the purchase of ironclad warships, giving the Shun Dynasty a true navy!

"Idiot! Turn to ashes under the scorching sun!"

"Your soul will wail in a silver box for a thousand years!"

The two exchanged a cold gaze and then looked away from each other.

~~~~~~~

Apart from the two of them, another two groups were also full of hostility, as if they wished to slay each other on the spot.

Nakajima Masao's hand rested on his katana, his fingers gently tapping the hilt.

In the distance, Count Vladimir from Rakshasa had eyes that were a bright, bloodshot red.

The two faced off for a short moment before turning their bodies away. Everyone was no fool; they knew the purpose of their visit today and how it would be foolish to fight and become a laughingstock on the spot.

To a straw man about the size of a palm resting on his shoulder, Nakajima Masao said, "Minister Komura, the Western countries have all sent Earl-level combatants, that is, Innate Realm."

And incredibly, the crudely made straw man began to speak:

"That's normal; the Shun court wouldn't allow Duke-level individuals to enter. But be careful, these are all famous strongmen from their countries, and they definitely have their trump cards prepared."

Nakajima Masao frowned and said, "Minister Komura, I'm just the head of a newspaper office, after all. You should be dealing with such matters."

The Minister Komura he mentioned was "Kotaro Komura," who had just taken over as Minister to the Shun Dynasty.

Kotaro Komura's voice became faint as though it was being interfered with:

"You don't need to be humble. The newspaper you started has been very useful; the intelligence you've gathered has allowed me to quickly establish a foothold in the Capital of Shun Country...

I have a more important mission in the Capital of Shun Country and cannot get away...

Remember, your mission is not to fight; rather, you should find out the secret of Hong Renkun...

The shikigami I gave you..."

The Mind Force within the straw man slowly dissipated, and Kotaro Komura's voice went from intermittent to completely silent.

But Nakajima Masao understood his meaning crystal clear!

As a country facing the Shun Dynasty across the sea, Izumo had benefited greatly from this teacher and had a far better understanding of the Shun Country than other powers.

Izumo had been planning the "Shun Country Conquest Strategy" for decades, hoping to swallow an elephant like a snake, and had established numerous intelligence agencies within the Shun Dynasty.

The newspaper founded by Nakajima Masao was one of them.

By bribing a maidservant who served Hong Renkun's close, he had obtained an important piece of intelligence—

Hong Renkun had inadvertently entered an Immortal Qin ruin years ago and had an extraordinary adventure, which allowed him to transform from an ordinary person into an out-of-body strongman in just five short years.

This "Immortal Qin Ruin" was exactly what the cabinet and military were eager to obtain!

~~~~~~~~~

At this time, the crowd of onlookers outside the city was growing, including international figures as well as martial artists from the Shun Dynasty itself.

The gathering of powerful figures from various countries had different goals. Countries like Einheit and Frandi sought the "Divine Manifestation of God in the Mortal World";

Shun Country martial artists yearned for Hong Renkun's Spirit Refining Method, especially the method of inducing Divine Manifestation right after reaching the Innate Realm.

Everyone watched the city wall rigged with explosives with eager anticipation.

Before long, a thunder-like explosion sounded out of nowhere, and the explosives laid by the Government Forces were detonated!

With the violent tremors of the earth, a section of the Jinling City wall transformed into bricks and dust, shooting up into the sky mixed with soil.

As the dust settled, a passage wide enough for four cars to drive abreast appeared.

The gathered powerhouses were reinvigorated; what was coming up was the main event!

~~~~~~~~

After the city wall collapsed, the Government Forces swarmed in, and it wasn't long before they cleaned up the remnants of the enemy.

The battle wasn't intense, and had it not been for the Corps Commander of the Government Forces' notorious reputation for "shaving heads and killing those who surrender," and allowing his troops to loot after capturing each city, the defending army would have surrendered long before.

However, the Government Forces ceased their advance after occupying the city walls because the situation inside the city was too peculiar.

Since the siege began, only the lower rank followers of the sect had put up a fight, not a single high-ranking member had been seen.

Even if something had gone wrong with Hong Renkun, the other titled kings couldn't just turn away and cavalierly give up Jinling.

As for where the titled kings had gone, these lower rank followers knew nothing when asked, as they hadn't seen their own titled kings for a long while either.

Only one Corps Commander of higher status confessed:

After the last time the Eastern King, Yang Qing, returned from chasing the "Heavenly Kingdom Imperial Tutor," he suddenly, along with the other titled kings, stormed into the Heavenly King's Mansion in anger and then there was no further news of them.

The generals looked at each other after hearing this news. Could it be that the leaders of the sect had been wiped out in internal strife?

At that moment, the commanding censor, Zeng Boquan, issued a strange military order with a cold expression:

"Move the massive cannons to the city wall, aimed at the 'Heavenly King's Mansion.' Withdraw all our men. Let the foreigners and samurais outside the city go up to explore first."

A hesitant subordinate inquired, "Sir, capturing the enemy leader is a great accomplishment. The men have risked their lives without regard, determined to exhaust Hong Renkun to death..."

Zeng Boquan sneered, "No matter. As my brother said, the mistake Hong Renkun has made is not a small one, it's uncertain whether this bunch will survive."

No one dared to say more. This person was the younger cousin of Grandmaster Zeng, who had slaughtered tens of thousands after capturing Anqing, earning himself the nickname "The Barber."

~~~~~~~

The Government Forces began to scour the city for silver, money, and treasures but purposefully left the "Heavenly King's Mansion" untouched, even clearing the way into the city.

The people outside were quite pleased, although some realized they were meant to test the waters. But with opportunity comes danger, and how could they seize the benefits without taking risks!

Under the indifferent watch of the Government Forces, the crowd eagerly entered the city, heading straight for Hong Renkun's Heavenly King's Mansion.

~~~~~~~~

Lu Yao and two others were hiding in a small grove beside Xuanwu Lake, operating a drone to observe.

They saw countless locals and foreigners surrounding the Heavenly King's Mansion, but not a single one daring to enter.

Because the outside of the Heavenly King's Mansion was piled with firewood and cannons were set up, ready to set fire and bombard it.

The crowd was somewhat prepared for this spectacle, as occasionally there were martial artists who, in practicing Spirit Refinement, went mad, going insane. It seemed that the sect's followers desired to kill their crazed leader.

But Hong Renkun was a powerful practitioner who had achieved both the "Spirit Refinement" and the "Innate Realm". Most present wouldn't be able to withstand even one of his blows, so the merit of being the "first mover" was not easy to claim.

After waiting a while, it was the clergy who grew impatient. Bishop Faville, praising the sacred words of the Lord, was the first to enter!

Such matters often required someone to make the first move, and seeing someone enter, those behind, fearing the benefits would be snapped up by others, instantly unleashed their divine skills and swarmed in.

The Heavenly King's Mansion was grand in scale, spanning over ten li and was built lavishly.

However, there were pockmarks and dilapidated ruins here and there, as if there had been intense fighting.

The crowd searched cautiously, but only found countless silver coins.

But this group that went straight for the Heavenly King's Mansion were certainly not there just for the money.

Someone questioned, "Could it be that Hong Renkun has already fled?"

"Impossible! Various covert investigations have confirmed that after repelling Grandmaster Zeng, Hong Renkun has never left the Heavenly King's Mansion!"

Just then, someone shouted, "Hong Renkun is sitting on the Dragon Throne in the grand hall!"

The crowd rushed to look and indeed, on the Dragon Throne in the grandiose great hall of the Heavenly King's Mansion sat a person.

"Strange, so many people have been searching for several rounds, but right under our noses, we didn't notice him!"

"He really does seem to have gone mad."

"Look at his hands!!!"

Hong Renkun sat rigidly, his eyes vacant and unblinking, on the Dragon Throne.

But the crowd's attention was now drawn to the Lead Box in his hands!