Chapter Eighteen: Reward

  In the grand hall of the imperial palace, Zheng Chenggong's face changed with a smile several times before suddenly opening his mouth to say in the empty and desolate court: "Black Shadow."

  "The old slave is here." Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Zheng Chenggong like a ghost and bowed.

  "What do you think of Zhang Huaming?"

  "Hei Ying hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice: 'To answer Your Majesty, this child is by no means simple.'"

  "Ah!" Zheng Cheng's expression changed slightly, a look of puzzlement on his face. He knew Black Shadow's temperament and it was extremely difficult to hear such words from him. After all, his evaluation of Qin Xiao Tian back then was just ordinary. Could it be that this newly risen Zhang Hua Ming would achieve even greater things than Qin Xiao Tian in the future?

  "What do you mean by that?" Zheng Chenggong asked after a moment of contemplation.

  "In every aspect." The dark figure responded without hesitation.

  "Ah!" Zheng Cheng's expression changed again, and a look of shock appeared on his face. He hastily asked: "Tell me your opinion, could it be that this child's cultivation has already reached the high-ranking Wu Zong?"

  "In response to Your Majesty, this child has already reached the high-level Wu Zong cultivation and is even in a peak state. If I'm not mistaken, he will definitely break through within these few years."

  "What?" Zheng Chenggong couldn't maintain his imperial composure this time, and he involuntarily exclaimed. Perhaps because he knew he had lost his temper, after a brief moment of silence, he put away the shocked expression on his face and said: "Heiying, tell me your opinion about this child."

  "As for Your Majesty's words, this child gives me a very mysterious feeling."

  "Oh! What did you say?"

  "This child, although not yet sixteen years old, gives me the feeling as if he has lived for countless months. Just take his performance in the imperial court today, I really can't see what thoughts are in his heart. This is one thing, and secondly, there is a kind of inexplicable feeling among the subordinates."

  "What's with the sudden interest?" Zheng Chenggong asked, his face showing a curious expression. It was unusual for Hei Ying to be so chatty, as he usually responded with brief and simple words when questioned. This new little guy had somehow managed to get the normally taciturn Hei Ying to speak at such length, which was quite an extraordinary thing.

  "His subordinate thought that if he were to fight this son, he would probably not be his opponent."

  "What?!" Zheng Chenggong exclaimed in surprise, losing his composure to the point of standing up from his dragon throne, his open mouth wide enough to fit an egg inside.

  "How is this possible?" Zheng Chenggong sat down on the dragon chair with an incredulous expression, repeating this sentence in his mouth. He was facing a black shadow that had reached the initial stage of Wu Wang's cultivation, which could be said to be the highest among the four major families in Xia Guo, except for those four old monsters. Now, someone who could match him appeared, and it was even a cross-level opponent. It's worth noting that the gap between Wu Zong and Wu Wang is not ordinary, and fighting within the same level is not unusual, as everyone's cultivation methods have their strengths and weaknesses. However, cross-level battles seem to be unheard of in the Wulin continent.

  "At the age of sixteen, Gongzong is already comparable to a Martial King, this is really hard for me to believe!" Zheng Chenggong was shocked and muttered with an incredulous expression.

  "Shadow, are you certain?" Zheng Chenggong asked with a glint in his eye.

  "Trust your instincts."

  Zheng Chenggong got a definite answer and his facial expression changed several times before saying: "Shadow, do you think I can subdue his mother?"

  The shadow heard the emperor's words, slightly stunned, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, I think this possibility is not great. This child is now like a Jiaolong transforming into a dragon, he only needs to transform, once he transforms, he will be like a real dragon soaring into the sky."

  Zheng Chenggong's face turned gloomy as soon as he heard his subordinate's words, and his expression kept changing, occasionally revealing a hint of murderous intent.

  The shadow felt a hint of murderous intent from his master and immediately changed his expression, hastily opening his mouth to say: "Your Majesty, you must not."

  "Oh! Why? If this child cannot be subdued, if I don't kill him, won't he grow up to threaten me?" Zheng Chenggong's face showed a hint of discontent.

  "Your Majesty, do you really believe that this young man does not have a powerful and wise master guiding him from behind? Your Majesty, have you ever thought about it, if by chance you could silently get rid of this young man, then so be it. But what if you are not careful and fail to succeed? What would the consequences be? And another thing, Your Majesty, do you want to ask the ancestors for help?"

  "Damn it, how could I not have thought of this?" Zheng Chenggong heard his subordinate's explanation and felt a slight surge in his heart, silently scolding himself. Yes! In the Martial Continent, it is possible to cultivate a 16-year-old with cultivation equivalent to that of a Martial King, and the master behind him must be at least a Martial Emperor, or possibly even a Martial Reverend. If such a person finds out that their disciple was killed, wouldn't they face the disaster of national destruction? Zheng Chenggong thought of this and couldn't help but shiver all over his body. Luckily, luckily!

  "Do you think he will threaten me in the future?"

  "It's impossible." The shadow responded directly without even thinking about it.

  "Oh! What did you say?"

  "Your Majesty, think about it, this young man has reached such heights at an age of less than 16, his future achievements can be said to be boundless. Would he set his sights on a small country like ours? If Your Majesty could show some kindness, perhaps when this young man grows up, he will be extremely beneficial to our country, or perhaps..." The Shadow stopped speaking and left the rest of the sentence unspoken.

  "What perhaps?"

  "The Shadow hesitated for a moment before speaking: 'Perhaps in the future our country will become the fifth great nation because of this child.'"

  "The Fifth Great Nation?" Zheng Chenggong's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he exclaimed, then calmed down and pondered for a moment before asking again: "Do you think this possibility is great?"

  "Your Majesty, think about it, you've seen this child's natural talent. Setting aside other factors, I believe that this child's future achievements will absolutely not be limited to being a Martial King or Martial Emperor. What if this child reaches the realm of a Martial God? I'm sure Your Majesty understands the impact a Martial God can have on a country."

  "War God?" Zheng Chenggong's eyes lit up, and a look of envy appeared on his face. He knew what the concept of War God was. To be specific, the four major empires in the Martial Continent were called the four major empires because each of them had a War God, a super expert who sat in town, protecting the empire like an enormous fortress.

  "You said that if I treat this child well, when he grows up, will he remember the kindness I have given him?" Zheng Chenggong asked after a moment of contemplation, after all, this temptation was too great, so great that any emperor would be moved.

  "Your Majesty, I observe this young man's appearance and see that he is a person who values relationships. Just look at his behavior in the imperial court today. In my opinion, he must be someone who values relationships. Therefore, I think it would be better to provide him with timely help rather than lavish praise."

  "Adding flowers to brocade, sending charcoal in snow?" Zheng Chenggong's face showed a hint of puzzlement.

  "Yes, Your Majesty, this child is currently in a period of growth. Think about it, what does one remember most during their growing years?"

  "During growth?" Zheng Chenggong's eyes flickered for a moment, and the next moment a smile appeared on his face as he waved his hand, and the latter immediately disappeared in the great hall.

  "Little rascal." Zheng Chenggong shouted at the gate of the palace.

  "See Your Majesty."

  "By imperial decree, Zhang Huaming of the Ferocious Tiger Corps has achieved countless merits in this battle of Yunzhong City. He is hereby appointed as General of the Ferocious Tigers, and rewarded with a noble mansion, one hundred maidservants, ten thousand taels of gold, one thousand taels of silver, and a Qilin warhorse."

  The eunuch standing below listened to every reward that came out of his master's mouth, and his eyebrows twitched slightly. He was more shocked by this new rising star because in the over ten years he had followed his master, he had never seen such a heavy reward. It could be said that it was the first time in history that someone was rewarded so heavily.

  Zheng Chenggong listened to the reward and thought for a moment, wondering if there was anything else he could give. After thinking about it, he found that it was almost enough. If he were to reward more, there would be nothing good to give away. So he waved his hand and said, "That's all, you can start doing it now."

  "Yes, Your Majesty."