Chapter 2: Tian Gang Boy
Xuzhou.

Fu'an Marquis Mansion.

Although he is the eldest son of the current queen, before Zhu Chengwu came of age, the court had already established that the eldest son of the first queen, Zhu Chengwu's eldest brother, Zhu Chengye, would be the crown prince.

Therefore, after Zhu Chengwu turned 16, he had no choice but to be conferred a title and leave Beijing.

But after all, he was the eldest son of the current queen, and the place where Zhu Chengwu was granted was Xuzhou, a famous fertile land in the Ming Dynasty.

This was also thanks to the previous Marquis of Xuzhou, Zhu Chengwu's uncle, who was ignorant of the consequences and tried to compete with Zhu Chengwu's father for the throne. After his failure, he was poisoned and deprived of his title.

Otherwise, Zhu Chengwu would never have the chance to get a good place like Xuzhou.

The Ming Dynasty was established for more than 300 years, and there were too many princes, grandsons of kings, and nobles who were enfeoffed.

Every wise king, for the sake of his sons and supporters, would try his best to seize a large number of titles and take back a large number of fiefs, so that he would have titles to be conferred and land to be divided.

Otherwise, if there is no benefit, who would follow you?
What is power?
Power is the way to gather people!
You only have power when others believe in you and follow you.

Otherwise, even if you are the king in name, but have no one under you, what's the difference between you and a commoner?

The backyard of the Hou Mansion.

A large vat stands in the center of the yard.

There was a raging fire underneath.

Servants were busying around one after another, some were adding ingredients, some were adding water, and some were pouring some medicinal herbs into it.

After all the herbs were poured in, the boiling water in the vat turned scarlet red.

Take a closer look.

A shirtless man was soaking in the vat filled with smoke.

The man's eyes were closed, but his sword-like brows showed his nobleness.

With his upper body naked, his muscles are like jade stones carefully carved by God, breathtaking and fascinating.

At first glance, you can tell that he is not someone you can easily deal with.

As the Golden Crow sets in the west, the Jade Rabbit rises in the east.

Servants were replaced one after another.

In the blink of an eye, three days have passed.

During these three days, the man in the jar did not leave the jar for a moment, and the scarlet color in the jar gradually turned into colorless.

Tap tap tap~~~~~
Outside the Marquis' Mansion, the sound of horse hooves was heard.

"Manager Dai, you're back!" The gatekeeper recognized the man.

"At last, I have lived up to the Marquis' trust!" The middle-aged leader dismounted and smiled slightly.

"Uncle, this means that our mansion will really have a mistress soon?" The servant moved slightly closer to the middle-aged man and asked in a low voice.

The middle-aged man glared at the servant and did not answer.

"Don't care about things you shouldn't care about! Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about!"

"You wait here first. I will go report to the Marquis and see if he summons you!" The middle-aged man ignored the servant and gave instructions to the people following him, then strode into the Marquis' Mansion.

"The Marquis is practicing martial arts, Chief Steward Dai, please wait a moment!" When they entered the main hall of the Marquis' Mansion, a maid was already waiting.

"No problem! Please pass the message on, Miss Chunhua!" Dai Fayan bowed and said politely.

Although Dai Fayan is the manager of external affairs of the Marquis's mansion, he always has to give consideration to the attendants around the Marquis.

……

Another long while passed.

The man in the tank in the backyard finally opened his eyes.

"Master Hou!"

When the man stood up, the maid standing beside him handed him the white shirt that had been prepared long ago.

This man was none other than the owner of this mansion - Zhu Chengwu, Marquis of Fu'an.

"My lord, Butler Dai has returned and is waiting in the hall!" another maid reported in a low voice.

"You're back! Let's go see Fayan first!" The man smiled slightly, ignored the water in the jar behind him that had become transparent, and walked towards the hall.

Several attendants followed in an orderly manner.

"By the way, serve the meal!" Zhu Chengwu ordered on the way.

"Yes, Lord Marquis!"

After taking a bath for three days and three nights, Zhu Chengwu was really hungry.

In fact, everyone in the Marquis' Mansion was already prepared without Zhu Chengwu's instructions.

After all, it only happens once every three months, and the people in the Marquis' Mansion have become accustomed to it.

When Zhu Chengwu stood up and left the tank, someone had already gone to notify the kitchen.

"Fayan, you've worked hard!" Seeing Dai Fayan, who was exhausted in the main hall, Zhu Chengwu walked up to him and said kindly.

"Working for the Marquis is not hard!" Dai Fayan replied modestly.

"What's going on? Did the Cui family agree?" Zhu Chengwu smiled and continued to ask.

"The Cui family has agreed, Lord! The one marrying in will be Cui family's second daughter - Cui Shuyun!"

"Second wife?" Zhu Chengwu frowned. "Where is Cui Zongji's first wife?"

"Cui Zongji's first wife doesn't have a daughter of the right age!" Dai Fayan explained softly. Dai Fayan didn't want to give Zhu Chengwu the impression that he was incompetent.

"What are the conditions?" Zhu Chengwu continued to ask. Dai Fayan raised his head and glanced at Zhu Chengwu, and said, "The Cui family hopes to send 10 children from the family to the Marquis' Mansion for further study every year, until the Marquis' Mansion has trained 3 top-notch people for the Cui family!"

"It's a very fair deal!" Zhu Chengwu thought about it, relaxed his brows, and then agreed to the Cui family's request.

"I'll have to trouble you to go back to the Cui family. I've agreed! In addition, it's time to prepare a memorial to my father and mother! If I want to marry, I still need their consent first. Fayan, I'll have to trouble you to pick some Xuzhou specialties for me and submit them together with the memorial."

Zhu Chengwu's main purpose in marrying into the Cui family was the fire lotus, and everything else was just details.

"My lord, do we need to wait for the king and queen's consent before replying to the Cui family? Otherwise, I am worried..." Dai Fayan hesitated slightly.

As a subject or subordinate, you should check for omissions and fill in the gaps for your lord.

"It's okay. The Cui family got its start as a merchant. They have almost no connections in the military, and the highest-ranking civil servant among the family members is only Cui Zongyan, a fourth-rank official. My father won't object. As for my mother..." At this point, Zhu Chengwu frowned.

My father is a man who cares about the overall situation and the country. After establishing the crown prince, he will only be happy to see Zhu Chengwu's marriage with the Cui family succeed.

But Zhu Chengwu's mother had always hoped to dethrone the current crown prince and have her own son take over. To this end, she had persuaded him more than once.

As the eldest son, Zhu Chengwu once carried most of her hopes.

Unfortunately, Zhu Chengwu was not interested in this and chose to accept the title. The current crown prince was also cautious and did not get caught. Zhu Chengwu's father had no intention of abolishing the crown prince, so in the end, she could only let Zhu Chengwu leave the capital with regret.

But Zhu Chengwu knew that his mother never gave up.

"When the time comes, I will write a separate letter to my mother!" Zhu Chengwu thought about it and finally decided to reveal some of his cards to his mother in order to gain her support and consent.

Zhu Chengwu also believed that his mother would agree.

Because this world is different from the Earth in Zhu Chengwu's previous life.

In this world, there are martial artists who can fly high and low, strange people who are unpredictable, and rare treasures that can bring the dead back to life...

Some martial artists and extraordinary people at the top of the world can even look down on kings and princes.

The fire lotus of the Cui family is related to Zhu Chengwu's future in martial arts.

Although the world is different, the rules of survival are the same, that is, to survive and to have dignity, you need strong strength.

In Zhu Chengwu's previous life, power and money represented strength.

In this world, martial arts and power represent strength.

Ever since he learned that martial arts existed in this world, the insecure Zhu Chengwu decided to focus on martial arts and supplement it with power.

Because martial arts strength belongs to oneself, while power lies in gathering people.

Feelings change with circumstances!

People's hearts are changeable!

People's hearts may change, but their own strength will never betray them.

While other children were distracted, chasing birds and fighting dogs, Zhu Chengwu had already calmed down and was practicing horse stance and martial arts!

Zhu Chengwu's precocity and love of martial arts made him a "genius" of the Ming royal family. Even when it came time to name him, his father named him Zhu Chengwu, hoping that he could inherit the martial arts of the Ming royal family.

As a royal family, the Zhu clan was also the largest martial arts family in the Ming Dynasty.

In every generation, there are strong people who stand at the top of martial arts.

This ensured the Zhu family's rule for more than 300 years.

Fortunately, Zhu Chengwu was reincarnated into the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, no matter how precocious Zhu Chengwu was and how much he liked martial arts, he would not have had the foundation of medicinal baths laid from birth, nor would he have the conditions to choose any martial arts.

Maybe you have to work hard every day to make a living!

How can I have the energy to practice martial arts?

God is helping, and Zhu Chengwu has lived up to this unique condition.

What's more, as a reincarnated person who did not drink Meng Po soup, Zhu Chengwu still has a golden thigh.

Jade edict!

It is invisible and intangible, and exists in Zhu Chengwu's consciousness.

The reason why it is called Jade Book is because its effect is similar to the Jade Book of Creation in mythology and legends.

However, it is limited by the strength of Zhu Chengwu's own consciousness and cannot deduce the Three Thousand Great Ways like the Jade Book of Creation in mythology and legends.

However, after Zhu Chengwu read all the books in the Ming Dynasty Armory, it also helped Zhu Chengwu deduce a magical skill book that was most suitable for Zhu Chengwu - "Tiangang Tongzi Kung Fu".

When he was a child, Zhu Chengwu chose Tongzigong as the foundation of his martial arts from the many martial arts in the Ming Dynasty arsenal.

One reason is that the most powerful martial arts legend in the history of the Ming Dynasty - Wudang Zhang Sanfeng is said to have started out by relying on his boyhood skills.

Second, in Jade Butterfly's perception, Tongzi Kungfu is the most inclusive and has the best foundation. Zhu Chengwu's martial arts roots were just average at first, and the so-called genius was nothing more than precocity and diligence! In order to go further, Tongzi Kungfu, which has the best foundation effect, is the best choice.

The third reason is that as a member of the royal family, he is subject to too many temptations. Zhu Chengwu wants to use the virgin skills to restrain himself at all times and prevent himself from falling into temptation.

With unique conditions and the martial arts deduction from the Jade Book, the rest is just a matter of hard work!
In order to keep working hard, Zhu Chengwu must ensure that he does not fall into temptation.

At the age of 8, Zhu Chengwu successfully used the Jade Book to deduce and optimize the "Tongzi Gong (Jade)", which can improve both internal and external cultivation and also enhance the root bone. However, the "Tongzi Gong (Jade)" can only be cultivated to the peak of the entry level, and can only barely improve the root bone to the superior level.

At the age of 13, as Zhu Chengwu's martial arts knowledge and consciousness increased, he successfully upgraded the "Tongzi Gong (Jade)" by a large step and renamed it "Hunyuan Tongzi Gong (Jade)". "Hunyuan Tongzi Gong (Jade)" can support cultivation to the peak of the first-class level and barely upgrade the root bone to the peerless level.

At the age of 16, before being crowned, Zhu Chengwu used various means to memorize all the martial arts in the Ming arsenal.

At the age of 22, as Zhu Chengwu's martial arts knowledge and consciousness were further improved, Zhu Chengwu combined the martial arts in the Ming Dynasty arsenal with the spiritual theories of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, and once again upgraded the "Hunyuan Tongzi Gong (Jade)" and named it "Tiangang Tongzi Gong (Jade)". "Tiangang Tongzi Gong (Jade)" can support the practice to the peak of the Grandmaster, and in theory it can improve the root bone to the super peerless level.

Although it has been constantly renovated, it still remains the same.

In addition, there is no shortage of resources for spiritual practice.

Zhu Chengwu, who was 25 years old at the time, had already reached the middle to late stage of first-rate cultivation, and was ranked among the best in the entire Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)