The Ming Dynasty.

The Imperial Palace.

A quiet little courtyard was guarded by dozens of imperial guards. There were not only a dozen eunuchs and palace maids around it, but also nearly a hundred imperial guards who surrounded the courtyard with eyes as sharp as eagles when they moved their gazes.

This caused the palace eunuchs or maids passing by the courtyard to look somewhat nervous when they came into the sight of these imperial guards.

Inside the room, Zhu Wushi was sitting at his desk, with several piles of memorials in front of him.

While reviewing memorials, Zhu Wushi would occasionally dip his brush in red ink and then draw annotations on the memorials.

Perhaps due to the dragon robe he wore, Zhu Wushi's imposing aura had become even stronger over the past few months.

Especially when he frowned while annotating memorials, his aura of authority became even stronger.

Suddenly, the brush holder hanging on the desk, from which a row of calligraphy brushes were suspended, sank about an inch.

Noticing this, Zhu Wushi narrowed his eyes, put down his pen, and slowly got up and walked to one of the walls in the room.

As Zhu Wushi waved his right hand, two bursts of energy landed on either side of a piece of wood on the roof beam almost simultaneously.

As the energy surged, both ends of the wooden beam gradually dented inwards.

At the same time, after two "click" sounds, the wall in front of Zhu Wushi suddenly moved back three inches and slid to the side, revealing a secret passage leading downwards.

Only after Zhu Wushi entered the secret passage did the wall behind him close again.

As Zhu Wushi walked through the narrow passage, he easily passed through a series of hidden doors and entered a secret room completely covered with refined iron.

Inside this secret room, Tang Jun stood with his hands behind his back.

After Zhu Wushi entered the secret chamber, Tang Jun shook his head and said, "Although this is not the first time I have been to this secret chamber, I am still amazed every time I think that there is a passage from outside the capital that leads directly to the palace. I wonder how many years the Divine Marquis has secretly spent on this passage?"

In response to Tang Jun's question, Zhu Wushi replied in a cold and slightly deep voice, "Cao Zhengchun is also a member of the Azure Dragon Society. If I hadn't been prepared in advance, Cao Zhengchun would have seen through my every move."

Tang Jun shook his head and said, "So, since ancient times, none of you who usurped the throne and became emperors have been simple-minded. It seems that you always have a backup plan, making you unpredictable. I just don't know if Your Majesty has made many arrangements for me in the past few years."

Zhu Wushi glanced at Tang Jun and said, "Although I like to plan ahead, what do you have left that I can use?"

Tang Jun thought for a moment and said, "That's true. After all, I'm all alone, and everyone I care about has become my enemy. It's really not easy to start with me."

After giving a soft snort to himself, Zhu Wushi asked, "How's it going with what I asked you to do?"

Tang Jun said, "It's almost done! Lang Fanyun of the Angry Dragon Gang, who just broke through to the early stage of the Celestial Realm, has already agreed. In addition, your adopted daughter persuaded the Divine Sword Manor. With the remaining Celestial Realm experts in the palace and me, we are more than capable of dealing with the Azure Dragon Society."

"In addition, I have secretly eliminated some martial arts forces in the past few days and framed them for the Green Dragon Society. Now, quite a few forces in the martial arts world are starting to worry that they will become the next ones targeted by the Green Dragon Society."

"After we eliminate a few more forces, and make the various Jianghu forces in the Ming Dynasty believe that the Azure Dragon Society is still the same as it was a hundred years ago, still adhering to the style of 'those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish,' then let Lang Fanyun secretly invite people from various Ming forces on Nu Jiao Island. At that time, we can catch them like turtles in a jar and wipe out the Azure Dragon Society in one fell swoop."

Hearing Tang Jun's words, Zhu Wushi finally felt relieved.

Then, looking at Tang Jun, he said, "After this is done, I will arrange for several experts at the Celestial Realm in the palace to accompany you to the Tang Clan. Furthermore, all the taxes collected east of the Great Ming Dynasty, within the Tang Clan's sphere of influence, will belong to your Tang Clan for the next ten years."

At this point, Zhu Wushi suddenly fell silent for a moment, and then asked, "Among the Tang Clan members, the strongest one right now is Tang Tianqing, whose cultivation level is only at the late Grandmaster stage."

"With your strength, taking my place would be an easy matter. Why do you insist on using someone else, making me mobilize troops and experts at the Celestial Realm?"

Hearing Zhu Wushi's question, Tang Jun sneered, "For me, killing Tang Tianqing or even the elders of the Tang Clan would be an easy task."

"But what I want is not simply to kill them. What I want is to stand in front of those people from the Tang Clan in glory, to let everyone in the Tang Clan see how glorious I, Tang Jun, am after leaving the Tang Clan."

Upon hearing Tang Jun's words, Zhu Wushi narrowed his eyes slightly, but immediately returned to normal.

For someone like Zhu Wushi, it is perfectly clear that there are some people in the world who value dignity even more than anything else.

Including one's own life.

Tang Jun, who was once thoroughly humiliated and expelled from the Tang Clan, was clearly such a person.

After giving Tang Jun a few more instructions, Tang Jun finally left.

After Tang Jun left, Zhu Wushi did not rush to leave. Instead, he waited for a while before passing through the door to the side and entering the secret passage again.

Fifteen minutes later.

Just as Zhu Wushi returned to the room where he had been reviewing memorials through the secret door and sat down, a voice came from outside.

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