Chapter 3: The Ambition of an Ant

  Zhang Emperor Xin had not yet had time to carefully investigate the matter of the Huilongchi water fall when he was informed by others of another major piece of news: Wen Taishi had achieved a great victory in suppressing the rebellion and was on his way back!

  Hear of Taishi? Hear Zhong! This name made Zhang Emperor Xin even more convinced that the Shang Dynasty he was in seemed to be not the historical Shang Dynasty, but a world of gods and monsters like "The Investiture of the Gods", if Wen Zhong came back and saw through his own tricks, he would probably get into trouble!

  How can this be good? Now I am Zhou Wang, and later I will be Emperor Xin of Shang. If I were to be seen through by a great divine being like Wen Zhong who intercepts and explains the teachings, and disregards my own royal position, then the history of Yin and Shang may change because of me, for the original Emperor Xin has long since died...

  Even if the "Investiture of the Gods" has records of King Zhou's substitution of Liang, the great war at Wu Gate with Huang Feihu and one person occupying all the vassals, and the latter two were completed by King Zhou in a state of wine and meat pool, night after night, it can be seen that King Zhou is indeed not an ordinary person. Moreover, he himself has traveled through time and space, his own strength has not retreated, but has strengthened, if it is an ordinary Shang Dynasty, relying on his advanced combat theory and the smelting technology he has mastered, keeping the Jiangshan of Cheng Tang is absolutely no problem.

  Even if Zhang Emperor Xin is braver than King Zhou, he can hold off a single pass, but cannot withstand the attack of ten thousand men. Ordinary people will still be troublesome after all, and when they encounter the magical treasures of those immortal beings, they might get beaten to the point where not even dust remains. Those so-called hundred million fierce lions are nothing but ants in the eyes of immortals! And what he is about to face are still those earth-shattering immortals, and even transcendent saints beyond the ordinary!

  At this moment, Zhang Di Xin felt as if he was a grain of sand in the vast universe, a drop of water in the ocean, a kind of unprecedented powerlessness, like a flood, surging and overwhelming him, in an instant, drowning him without a trace.

  Is it that I have traveled through time, only to become a mediocre emperor for over a decade, indulging in the finest delicacies and beauties of the world, only to end up as a mere heavenly star with no power or position?

  Where should I go and where should I come from, Zhang Di Xin had such doubts for the first time...

  Just after seeing the good emperor, suddenly again in the palace dazed, this is frightened the servants serving Emperor Xin, Emperor Yi said, if Shou Wang did not serve well... This is a life-threatening disaster, in the eyes of the aristocratic families, the servants are only an ant, wanting to let San die, you will not live until Wu!

  When others see this, who dares to be slow anymore? They hastily rush out...

  After a while, two beautiful women rushed to the Shouwang Palace and saw that Emperor Zhang was still in a daze. They walked over cautiously: "Your Highness, are you unwell?"

  "Ah? No... nothing..." Zhang Di Xin suddenly came back to his senses, smiled at the two of them, and in these days, he had already learned about their identities. The slightly taller one was Jiang Wenchu, with a face as white as jade, a clear and elegant expression, giving off an air of noble purity from afar, like a plum blossom in winter. The one behind him, wearing a pale blue silk robe, was Yang Jiu. His appearance didn't need to be described further, although he wasn't stunningly handsome, he still had a unique look that stood out among the crowd.

  Yang Jiu's elder brother was Yang Ren, a high-ranking official of the imperial court. In "The Investiture of the Gods", it is written that Yang Ren had his eyes dug out and died after being discarded for speaking out about the matter of the Deer Platform. His resentful energy dispersed and collided with the cloud under the feet of the True Lord of Morality, who saved him by placing a golden elixir in his eyes, causing hands to grow from his eyes and eyes to grow from his hands.

  Unfortunately, Yang Ren followed Wen Taishi to conquer the rebels and had not yet returned, so Zhang Emperor Xin had not seen such a strange person. Jiang Wenchu's father was the Duke of Eastern Bo, Jiang Hengchu, from the Yin Shang Dynasty, with an extraordinary identity background. To know that in the Shang Dynasty, a feudal lord was equivalent to a local emperor, even the Son of Heaven had to give three points of face to a major duke, and there were even some who had one point of fear.

  Seeing Zhang Di Xin was calm, Jiang Wenchang and Yang Jiu finally put their minds at ease. Just as the two were about to take their leave, they were stopped by Zhang Di Xin: "Madam, may I ask you to accompany me to the Imperial Garden?"

  "This is..." Jiang Wenchu and Yang Jiu had never been called by the Shouwang in such a manner before, so they were overjoyed at heart. Normally, it was already very good that the Shouwang did not keep them at arm's length, but now he actually took the initiative to ask them to go to the Imperial Garden with him. Although they often went to the Imperial Garden, this time it was rare for the Shouwang to accompany them, so they were delighted in their hearts and hastily replied "Yes."

  Zhang Di Xin in the palace, always surrounded by people, really felt uncomfortable, and even more so, as soon as he lost his temper, he would be asked repeatedly "Is Your Highness unwell?" In modern terms, it means "Are you sick?", being asked like this all the time, no matter who, can't help but feel annoyed.

  The two of them were Jiang Wenchu and Yang Jiu, after all, they were his wives, although it was a nominal relationship, it was still necessary to maintain some emotional connection with them.

  The imperial garden is not far from the Shouwang Palace, and Emperor Zhangxin doesn't like to ride a sedan chair anyway. He simply walks on foot, with Jiang Wenchu and Yang Jiu accompanying him, already overjoyed, naturally not making any more demands.

  But all the way, Zhang Di Xin was worried about the "fate" and had no mood to appreciate the scenery. He just kept his head down and moved forward alone. Jiang Wenqiao and Yang Jiu could only follow behind him, unknowingly already opening up a considerable distance between them.

  After walking for a long time, Zhang Disin suddenly stopped in his tracks. On the ground below, a small black dot was slowly moving. Curious, Zhang Disin bent down to take a closer look. The small black dot turned out to be a piece of meat left behind by someone, and it had become an offering to the ants. A small ant lifted its head from beneath the meat, its two front claws constantly wiping its antennae, just like a tired person wiping the sweat from their forehead.

  The minced meat seemed too heavy, and the ants had to rest for a while after walking a short distance. Even so, in just a moment, the minced meat had already moved half a meter away. Zhang Dexin had heard stories about ants moving insects before, but he didn't pay much attention to it at that time. He didn't expect to see it in this strange world, and it gave him a different feeling. If even small ants could do so, what more could humans achieve? A person living in the 25th century could live very well!

  Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the minced meat rolled out more than a meter away with the ants. Zhang Disheng's heart tightened, and he hurried to follow. The ants that were hit by the strong wind were dizzy and turned around for a long time before picking up the minced meat again and moving forward along the previous trail.

  In the eyes of the immortal, Zhang Emperor Xin was no different from this ant. That piece of flesh was the Shang Dynasty. With just one breath, he could change the entire world and destroy the great Shang Dynasty. Yet, this ant never gave up and continued to move forward towards its own goal!

  If life is like this, what regret is there! Zhang Emperor Xin's originally depressed mood had actually brightened up. Since heaven wants to go against me, then I'll go against heaven. Even if it means losing the kingdom and the imperial court, so be it! At least, being like an ant, going against heaven, if even ants can do it, how can emperors not?!

  "The clouds drift away, embracing the mountains, a feather fan gently sways the small boat's sail. Drunken eyes still take in the beautiful scenery, alone drinking clear wine to await the true immortal! Haha, good poem, good poem!" As he heard someone reciting poetry, Zhang Emperor Xin couldn't help but look up and see that by the Imperial Dragon Pool, a lazy Daoist had appeared out of nowhere. He wore a dark green tattered Daoist robe, holding a small purple-gold calabaza about the size of a child's fist, leaning against the water's surface, drinking with abandon.

  "Clouds enfold the true immortals, immortals enfold clouds, no boat, no leaves, swimming in the water. If the world is still clear and bright, a gourd of clear wine awaits to drown my sorrows!" Seeing that person so carefree in the water, naturally as if floating like an immortal, Zhang Emperor Xin happened to have a melancholy mood and expressed it, immediately also responding with a poem.

  That person heard someone reciting a poem, and with a single hand gesture, Zhang Emperor Xin felt a white mist rising under his feet. In an instant, he was already standing by the Imperial Dragon Pool. Zhang Emperor Xin looked at that person, who was close yet seemed distant, as if separated by mountains. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be right in front of him, but with an air of mystery. Knowing this person was no ordinary being, he paid his respects and said: "Zhang Emperor Xin's eyes are dull, I don't know which immortal abode you come from, sir?"

  "Escaping the three realms, not within the five elements, there is no immortal abode, why bother with a Taoist name?" The Taoist spoke in a calm tone, but his words were extraordinary. Despite this, Zhang Emperor Xin's heart did not rise with even a hint of disdain, instead, he felt even more reverence for the Taoist.

  "Seeing Daozhang so carefree, if I add this outfit, it's even more unbridled!" Zhang Emperorxin already saw the heavens as having no way, and he himself wanted to go against the heavens, so in his heart he wouldn't pay attention to this Daoist. At that moment, he only felt thirsty, and with one hand he took over the Daoist's wine gourd, opening his mouth to drink!

  With one gulp down, he felt that the wine jug seemed to be empty, but a clear air directly connected his lungs and diaphragm, making him feel even more refreshed. It was as if there were thousands of pounds of strong liquor, straight to his heart, making him feel like his body was on fire, and yet it was painful and itchy. In just one jug, he had such an experience, which made Zhang Emperor Xin extremely surprised.

  That man saw Zhang Emperor Xin like this, but did not expect that this person would be so, and could not help but look at him a few more times. He opened his mouth and laughed: "Meeting is fate, it's okay, I'll give you a chance, and it's also a thank you for giving me the name."

  The Taoist said, pointing his hand lightly, and Zhang Emperor Xin saw a clear air flying out of the man's hand. The clear air took the shape of flames in the air and slowly entered his brow, and in an instant, Zhang Emperor Xin felt that the world was clear and bright, and his heart felt even more open and refreshed. He knew that what he had received was extraordinary, and immediately paid homage: "A teacher of one word can be a teacher, but a teacher of one breath is an even higher teacher!"

  Zhang Di Xin originally wanted to bow down, but felt his body was difficult to move. The Taoist said: "You give me a name, I'll return you an energy, just as fellow Taoists interact, why use the word 'master'?"

  "Is it unbridled, or is it in the word 'master'?" Zhang Emperor Xin asked back, but that person just smiled and didn't speak, got up and left, and with one step, he was already unknown where he went. In mid-air, the sound of that person's voice echoed: "The Heavenly Way has fifty, the Heavenly Extension has forty-nine, escape from one, one is ruthless, one is affectionate..."

  One was ruthless, one was sentimental. Zhang Emperor Xin knew that in his heart there were things he couldn't understand, but he also firmly remembered them. It's just that in his hand, he didn't know when a jade hairpin appeared, with a bloody bone piercing through it. When touched, his whole body felt cool and refreshing, feeling even stranger.

  "Your Highness! Your Highness!" Just then, someone outside shouted, and Zhang Emperor Xin suddenly remembered that Jiang Wenchu and Yang Jiu, who had come with him, also didn't have time to appreciate the scenery, so he put away his hairpin and headed out...