Chapter 56

The judgment result of the True Eye of Reality was somewhat beyond Shen Tianxing's expectations; he didn't expect that this old man wasn't testing him—he truly was disappointed with the Great Zhou and genuinely wanted Shen Tianxing to accomplish something.

"Since the old man has been frank, I don't need to hide anything either; if a good opportunity arises, I truly aspire to rule the world, but not just the Great Zhou's world—I want the unification of the Five Nations of the Shenzhou Continent."

"If I could ascend to the supreme throne, I won't bother with empty talk; I will only establish one rule: everything for the people's benefit. I won't say I'll make all the people live in peace and prosperity, but at least I'll ensure they have no worries about food and clothing."

Shen Tianxing wasn't lying either; if he truly could become emperor and unify the Five Nations, he would have to carry out comprehensive reforms according to modern ideas—having received nine years of compulsory education and even attended college, he still knows something about how to reform and develop.

Of course, Shen Tianxing must truly unify the Five Nations and firmly hold power in his hands; he also needs to proceed gradually, step by step, to thoroughly reform the Shenzhou Continent.

Without the system, perhaps it would be hard for a lifetime, but with the system it won't be too difficult.

Yang Tieqiang had no system, but seeing the determination in Shen Tianxing's words and eyes, he also believed him to some extent.

"So frank, aren't you afraid the old man might be testing you or deceiving you?"

"Family doesn't speak two different languages; the old man might use other tests, but not this one, and as for deceiving me, that's impossible—I'm the old man's grandson-in-law!"

"Haha... you're interesting, kid; no wonder Hongyue could take a liking to you. Then listen to the old man and go to Leizhou—Leizhou is the most suitable place, though Leizhou has the Yue Family Army and also the ever-loyal Yue Yunyang!"

Yang Tieqiang spoke decisively. Shen Tianxing hadn't yet decided whether to go, but the system's notification tone already sounded.

"Congratulations, host, you have triggered a side quest: Rise in Leizhou. Please go to Leizhou; upon arrival, you have a one-year deadline to seize the entire Leizhou, build an army of 100,000 (soldiers summoned by the system are not counted), and proclaim yourself king."

Completing the quest yields rewards: 2,000,000 Killing Value, a basic soldier's armory, the special item Blood‑Bugle Horn, three Famous General Summoning Cards, one Divine General Summoning Card, 300,000 dan of grain and fodder, and 100,000 taels of silver.

The system issued such a side quest; to Shen Tianxing it seemed not much different from the main quest, but the quest rewards differed greatly, and these rewards are all applicable to leading troops in battle.

"Could the old man's meaning be that he wants me to win over Yue Yunyang, so that he brings the Yue Family Army to join me?"

Although he was curious about the new item in the side quest's rewards, Shen Tianxing didn't rush to ask Hong Yi; instead he smiled and asked Yang Tieqiang.

"You're thinking too beautifully, kid; you currently have no fame, and although you have some strong troops under you, getting Yue Yunyang to defect to you is impossible."

However, Yue Yunyang has a beloved daughter, Yue Qingxue, who is a close friend of Hongyue; although Yue Qingxue is gentle in temperament, she is both literary and martial, and also somewhat proud and high‑minded.

If you can get her to marry you, the Yue Family Army will be yours, but the old man wants to remind you of one thing: if you want Hongyue to agree to this, you have to work for it yourself—the old man won't interfere.

Yang Tieqiang laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits; he did give Shen Tianxing a clear path, but he was also somewhat irresponsible, wanting Shen Tianxing to take another wife while refusing to help him deal with Yang Hongyue, this potential vinegar jar.

"The old man being both literary and martial isn't the point; the key is whether he's good‑looking. If he isn't handsome enough, it will affect the appearance of our future children, which would be terrible."

Yang Tieqiang was momentarily speechless; he really didn't expect Shen Tianxing to be so shallow, but despite that he still nodded.

"Isn't that nonsense? He's not just good‑looking—he's so beautiful it makes fish sink and geese fall, hides the moon and shames flowers, far prettier than my Hongyue lass."

"Then I can relax; I'll have them change course to Leizhou first to meet my third future wife."

Yang Tieqiang heard this and could only laugh and cry; they had just been introduced, and already this kid had earmarked her as his third future wife—he's even more arrogant than he was in his youth.

After the conversation ended, Shen Tianxing also summoned Yang Hongyue and Qin Mingyue onto the carriage; once aboard, Yang Hongyue immediately asked what Shen Tianxing and Yang Tieqiang had talked about.

Shen Tianxing didn't respond; Yang Tieqiang merely said they were discussing the two's marriage, and Yang Hongyue fell silent.

After the carriage grew quiet, Shen Tianxing re‑entered the system panel; he had one chance to upgrade a mid‑grade divine weapon, and could choose to upgrade either the Dragon‑Slaying Saber or the Black Tortoise Armor. After a moment's thought, he chose the Dragon‑Slaying Saber.

"The system uses mid‑grade divine weapon upgrade, costing 1,000,000 Killing Value points, to raise the Dragon‑Slaying Saber to high grade."

"Congratulations, host, you have successfully spent 1,000,000 Killing Value points to upgrade the Intermediate Dragon‑Slaying Saber to High‑Grade Dragon Slaying Blade."

"High‑Grade Dragon Slaying Blade: increases martial power; main skill Broken Blade ignores weapon level and cuts it off, trigger probability 30% (raising weapon level can increase the probability)."

"Additional skill Armor Break ignores any defense, guaranteeing a defense break, trigger probability 10%."

"Additional skill Dragon's Roar emits a dragon's roar in battle, covering a radius of 5 meters; it dazes any martial artist whose realm is not higher than three major realms above the user for three seconds with 100% certainty, trigger probability 20%."

"Additional divine skill Dragon Slash can unleash a tremendous strike accompanied by a draconic phantom in battle, boosting damage by 100%, trigger probability 10%. It can be equipped."

The upgrade of the Dragon‑Slaying Saber was another qualitative leap in Shen Tianxing's strength; his martial power value has reached point, and in terms of martial power he is already equivalent to an eighth‑grade fifth‑layer expert.

However, he cannot release his internal force externally; in a real fight he can at most crush experts below eighth grade, and against eighth grade or higher he would need a sneak attack, otherwise he might not be able to overcome the opponent.

But as long as Shen Tianxing's own Martial Dao Realm reaches seventh‑grade first layer, he can then release his internal force externally, and with the boost from the Nine Yang Divine Skill he can truly match an eighth‑grade fifth‑layer expert.

Of course this divine skill Dragon Slash is also extremely terrifying; the current Shen Tianxing has point martial power value, and without stacking buffs, if Dragon Slash triggers, the original damage becomes!

Furthermore, with other attribute boosts, he can at least reach over 400,000 damage, which is at least equal to the maximum damage a ninth‑grade fifth‑ to sixth‑layer martial artist can burst out; if he then stacks buffs, it becomes equivalent to the damage of a grandmaster sixth‑ to seventh‑layer.

That's a nice thought, but just as Shen Tianxing got to this point, he heard Hong Yi splash cold water on him.

"Host, you definitely didn't carefully read the small print under every item that can boost power; it all says that once the boosted power reaches ninth‑grade perfection, it cannot be increased further, and such boost‑type special items are ineffective against grandmasters and above."