Lin Qian's words made Nan Wudi tremble with rage, but Zhang Juncheng's soul force held him tightly in place, with sword energy hidden within the soul force that had formed into binding ropes.
If Nan Wudi struggled too much, that sword energy would pierce into his body.
One must understand, Zhang Juncheng was a grandmaster of formations in the past, and during their confrontation, Nan Wudi had also recognized who he was.
"The Sword Formation Emperor of the Human Clan in the past has now fallen to the point of taking orders from a mere child?" Nan Wudi shouted at Zhang Juncheng, attempting to sow discord.
Zhang Juncheng chuckled softly and shook his head. "This young emperor saved my life, which is something I am deeply grateful for. Moreover, he has never exploited this favor to command me arbitrarily, has he? If you don't believe me, why not listen to how this young emperor addresses me?"
"Zhang Qianbei (Senior Zhang) once taught me. Although we don't share the title of master and disciple, we share the essence of that relationship, and he deserves the title of Imperial Mentor," Lin Qian said, looking at Zhang Juncheng with respect in his eyes. Zhang Juncheng's past actions had earned his unwavering respect.
For the sake of humanity, Zhang Juncheng had sacrificed himself, a noble sentiment that commanded respect.
Despair flashed in Nan Wudi's eyes as his cultivation power slowly weakened, and to make matters worse, he was being restrained by Zhang Juncheng.
Time had passed, and Zhang Juncheng's appearance had changed, so Nan Wudi hadn't recognized him immediately.
It wasn't until Zhang Juncheng used the power of his sword formation to completely trap him that Nan Wudi recognized this once-brilliant human warrior, the Sword Formation Emperor Zhang Juncheng.
Zhang Juncheng's rise to fame was rooted in his integration of formations into his combat style, where sword energy formed a sword formation, greatly enhancing his destructive power.
His most terrifying ability was his power to trap and kill.
The sword formation had an extremely strong trapping ability, imprisoning enemies within the formation where they could not escape, and gradually wearing them down with the sword energy inside the formation.
The attacking sword energy took the form of a formation, with sword energy embedded within, making it immediately recognizable to Nan Wudi. He knew without a doubt that this was the Sword Formation Emperor Zhang Juncheng from the past.
The Sword Formation Emperor!
Lin Qian was astonished upon hearing Zhang Juncheng's title. During the ancient war, Yuan Xiang had mentioned to him that there were some humans with extraordinary potential, whose future achievements were limitless, but they were unfortunately affected by the war.
One of these people was a youth known as the Sword Formation Emperor.
Yuan Xiang didn't even know his name, since he couldn't focus on just one person all the time, and those around him only referred to him as the Sword Formation Emperor, with no knowledge of his real name.
Now that Lin Qian knew, he looked at Zhang Juncheng thoughtfully.
In Yuan Xiang's view, integrating formations into attacks was an incredibly genius idea, showcasing a level of insight and skill that was truly astonishing.
In fact, Lin Qian also deeply needed such an ability, as the soul power cannon was also a form of attack that integrated formations.
Allowing accumulated soul power to be unleashed in an attack was not as simple as it appeared. The soul power discharged in an attack contained formations that ensured the attack remained stable and didn't dissipate.
It's important to know that in this world, when soul warriors launched a soul power attack, their soul consciousness remained attached to the attack, maintaining the integrity of the technique.
However, the soul power cannon was a dead object and didn't have this ability.
The essence of the soul power cannon was that during the accumulation of soul power, the cannon's base and barrel imprinted the formation onto the soul power, ensuring that the soul power would remain stable after being fired and wouldn't dissipate.
Moreover, to add various characteristics and attributes to the soul power attack required even more advanced techniques.
The Huaxia Empire possessed such technology, making the soul power cannon a miraculous weapon of war, something that didn't exist in this world.
Even Zhang Juncheng, as the Sword Formation Emperor, had a method of attack similar to the soul power cannon, but he couldn't achieve this level.
This was because his method involved embedding formations into attacks through his own willpower. Without Zhang Juncheng himself, this couldn't be accomplished.
To imprint formations into a soul power attack required a special material known as solidified spirit liquid, extracted from the branches and leaves of the Spirit Confinement Tree.
This substance only grew in the mystical stars within Lin Qian's celestial imprint, and didn't exist in this world.
Thus, the soul cannon technology was monopolized by Lin Qian.
Even the dwarves were strictly forbidden from touching anything related to the soul cannon, as it was one of the core secrets of the Huaxia Empire and a major taboo.
However, in Lin Qian's eyes, Zhang Juncheng was a rare talent, someone who could potentially serve as a weaponry advisor for the Huaxia Empire's Ministry of Engineering.
Although Zhang Juncheng couldn't create a soul power cannon, he could improve the soul power cannon's attack methods.
For example, who said a soul power cannon could only fire a beam of soul power? Could it not fire sword energy instead?
Must a soul power cannon's attack always be lethal? What if, like Zhang Juncheng's sword energy, it could form a trapping formation, preventing the enemy from escaping?
The Huaxia Empire was indeed formidable, but when it came to the soul power of this world, they were starting from scratch.
Lin Qian constantly reminded himself that while the people of this world might seem unrefined, it was important to humbly learn from them.
Only by being open to learning could the Huaxia Empire grow stronger.
"So, what do you plan to do with him?" Zhang Juncheng asked, turning to Lin Qian with a smile.
"Thank you so much for your help, Senior. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to stall long enough for Huaxia Incense Burning to take full effect." Lin Qian quickly stood up from his Nine-Dragon Throne and expressed his gratitude to Zhang Juncheng. "As for him, I will hand him over to the Ministry of Engineering for thorough research, then turn him into a specimen to warn future generations."
"He has slaughtered so many beings in the Ancient Forest World. Death is too easy a way out for him," Lin Qian said with a cold smile as he looked at Nan Wudi. "I'll find a prime piece of land in the Ancient Forest World to preserve his body and build a shrine to display it, so that people will scorn him for millennia. Let them remember that a demon like you once ravaged this land."
Seeing the pale-faced Nan Wudi, Zhang Juncheng nodded with satisfaction. "I must say, that's an extremely satisfying way to deal with him. Such creative thinking, Your Majesty."
"Hmm?" Lin Qian hadn't quite caught on at first, but then he looked at Zhang Juncheng in stunned silence.
"I'm just an old man now with no ambitions left," Zhang Juncheng said with a light smile as he looked at Lin Qian. "When we talked some time ago, I was deeply moved by your dreams, so I wish to follow you and see how powerful the Huaxia Empire you speak of can become."
"So, does the Huaxia Empire welcome an old man like me?"