Chapter 266: Jianghu Earthquake

Above Bright Summit, that earth-shattering, history-making great battle that would be recorded in the annals of the Wu Lin.

The news spread like a hurricane with wings, racing in all directions at an unimaginable speed!

Within just a few days, it had swept across the entire Great Ming, Great Song, and even neighboring Mongol Yuan, Western Xia, Bei Li, Li Yang, and other dynasties!

The whole world trembled in shock and uproar!

Whether in bustling cities or remote countryside.

Whether in the council halls of great sects or over tea and after-dinner chatter among ordinary folk.

Almost everyone was discussing the matter, talking about that mysterious existence that had risen like a comet and shaken the world with supreme divine might—the Dragon Island Lord of Taohuadao!

"Extra! Extra! Earth-shattering secret! The aftermath of the Bright Summit battle leaves everyone stunned!"

"Have you heard? That Great Ming Songshan Shaolin, a thousand-year-old temple and pillar of the Wu Lin, was... was burned to the ground by that Dragon Island Lord! Thousands of monks, including three reclusive Shen monks of the Du generation, were all turned to ash! Not one was left!"

"Hiss—! That's too... too brutal, isn't it?! That was Songshan Shaolin! A sacred site of the Fomen! And it's just... gone?!"

"That's not all! I also heard that before that, Iron-Diadem Divine Marquis Zhu Wushi personally led a hundred thousand soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp, carrying countless Break-Gong Divine Crossbows, and marched fiercely to besiege Bright Summit!"

"And then? And then? Hurry and tell us!"

"And then... that hundred-thousand-strong army, under the supernatural powers of that Dragon Island Lord, was... was utterly annihilated in the flip of a hand, like so many ants! Not even a single ripple was raised!"

"Oh my heavens! A hundred thousand soldiers! That was an elite force capable of sweeping across regions and capturing cities! And it's just... gone?!"

"There's even more explosive news! It is said that even Zhang Sanfeng, the founding True Person of Wu Dangpai, who had long withdrawn from worldly affairs and was hailed as a living immortal, personally came to Bright Summit!"

"Three Eight Seven"

"Could it be... could it be that even True Person Zhang was defeated by that Dragon Island Lord?!"

"Not quite! However, it is said that to protect the disciples of Wu Dangpai, True Person Zhang had no choice but to bow and submit to that Dragon Island Lord, even handing over the Paidezhen Sect's supreme art, the 'Tai Chi Fist Classic', before managing to withdraw unscathed!"

Such jaw-dropping, unimaginable rumors and speculations spread and fermented wildly across the entire Jianghu.

Brother Ning Chuan's ferocious might shone like a blazing sun over the whole world!

Causing countless Jianghu people to turn pale at the mere mention of his name and to speak of him with awe and reverence!

Thus, Taohuadao and that enigmatic Mo Ce Dragon Island Lord became an existence filled with taboos and legends!

No one dared to mention them lightly, and even fewer dared to provoke them!

Great Ming Dynasty, Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

A middle-aged Emperor, clad in a bright yellow robe embroidered with nine dragons, with a majestic countenance and deep, sea-like eyes that commanded awe without anger, was quietly reviewing the memorials in his hands.

He was the current Son of Heaven of Great Ming—Zhu Houzhao.

Although to outsiders, this Emperor Your Majesty seemed obsessed with cultivation, neglecting his duties, and had handed over the reins of government to eunuchs and treacherous flatterers.

But only those who truly knew him understood that this seemingly incompetent ruler possessed a depth of scheming and a ruthlessness of method far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

The aura around him was even more ethereal and unfathomable, revealing him to be a top-tier expert hidden in plain sight!