"Shoot again!" The Imperial Army Lieutenant commanded.
"Peng!" Arrows rained down. At this point, Pei Zi Yun grabbed the arrows with both hands and threw them in all directions.
"Pu, pu, pu!" The sound of arrows piercing flesh and cries of agony could be heard as he passed through the palace.
Imperial Palace, Martial Hall.
The battle cries shook the heavens, but did not disturb this place. Emperor Qi Tai sat on his throne, his face pale. He was still able to maintain his composure and ordered, "The sky is cloudy, light the lamps."
"Yes …"
The sky had already darkened. In the huge hall, only a few eunuchs were left. They were all standing in the corners of the hall. Opposite them was Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun.
From outside, one could see that the garden was filled with spring breeze. The hall was silent. Emperor Qi Tai sat on his couch and looked at the Prefecture Prince. He then said in a low voice, "I did not expect that you were the one who leaked the news. Are you worthy of my father, the ancestors, the Dragon Veins, and the people of the world?"
The Prefecture Prince's legs trembled slightly as he retorted, "Brother, I've looked at the records of the past. When the Dao Monarch was suppressed, it was the combined efforts of the Ten Dynasties."
"But the price we paid?" At this point, the Regional King took a deep breath. "Imperial Brother, the price you paid back then was the collapse of half of the Ten Dynasties' Dragon Vein's blessed land. Such a painful price has led to a series of disasters for many years. It was not easy for us to recover, but Imperial Brother wants to repeat what you did back then. It is not wise."
"Besides, brother, do you really think that when we suppress the True Monarch, the other dynasties will sacrifice themselves to help us suppress him?"
"Since the suppression might not succeed, I'm just giving the Great Xu a way out."
"Good, good, good. You are indeed my good brother." Emperor Qi Tai was so angry that he laughed. He returned to his couch and turned his back to Pei Zi Yun.
"The relationship between me and the True Monarch was forged when we were in the Crown Prince's palace. When I was trapped in the Crown Prince's palace, the True Monarch helped me out and helped me to ascend the throne."
"If it were a favor, why would it be like this? It's just that with the Dao Monarch, the True Monarch would not be able to rule the world."
"I'm not only doing this for the legacy of my ancestors, for this little bit of imperial power, but also for the world." At this point, Emperor Qi Tai paused and coughed intensely. If one asked about regret, the answer was obvious. He would have regrets, but he definitely wouldn't regret what he did.
Since ancient times, it was impossible for Dao techniques to override the imperial power. If there was a Daoist who tried to challenge the imperial power, the Emperor of the empire would definitely kill him without hesitation.
All those years ago, the Daolord had wanted to break this rule, and the entire world had attacked him.
If the Perfected Lord wanted to do the same thing as the Daoist Lord back then, he would definitely not sit idly by. Unfortunately, more than half of the Dragon Vein had been destroyed when the Daoist Lord was suppressed. Otherwise, it wouldn't be like this today. Moreover, this younger brother of his had betrayed him and allowed the Perfected Lord to receive the news in advance.
This was betrayal!
Just as he was about to speak, an eunuch rushed in, "Your Majesty, the traitor has broken into the palace."
"Your Majesty, the Black Tortoise Formation has been broken. Three hundred people have died."
"Your Majesty, the golden-armored defense line has been breached. The 500 golden-armored soldiers are all dead."
"Your Majesty, the archers have been breached. Fifty people have died."
"Your Majesty, the Seven Dragons Absolute Spiritual Formation has been breached. The Perfected Lord is nearing the inner palace."
Reports came in one after another, and the entire Black Tortoise Hall was filled with killing intent. Qi Tai Emperor's heart turned cold as he looked at Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun. His entire being was unusually calm, and he was no longer as anxious as before.
"Men, help me up the stairs." The Emperor shouted loudly. With the help of the eunuchs, he walked up to the highest point of the building.
When he looked up, he saw a man charging towards him from afar. Although there were many layers of obstructions, there were still corpses everywhere. Screams of agony could be heard clearly.
Rain started to fall from the sky, and when it landed on the bodies of everyone present, it felt cold. The Emperor looked at it for a long time before he turned around expressionlessly and ordered, "Call the Imperial Concubine over, and bring the Prince over."
"Also, summon the officials to the hall. I have an edict to announce."
"Slash of Wind and Thunder!" With a flash of his halberd, dozens of imperial guards screamed as they were split into two halves. The white marble pavement in the inner palace was dyed red with fresh blood. Ordinary people would see it as red, but to a Daoist, the blood was tinged with gold. This was the power of the Dragon Veins.
Eunuch Huang stood in front of the hall and pulled out his sword, "That's not possible. Why do you still have powers?"
"When the Dao Monarch was alive, there were only sixty million people under the heavens. Now, there are more than a hundred and twenty million people under the heavens. That's more than double the number of people under the heavens. Even the Dao Monarch would be exhausted by now, and would be captured without a fight. Why do you still have powers?"
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "There are many things that are impossible in this world. It's a pity for these loyal and brave men. Today, I've killed them all. It's all because of your selfishness. Without all of you, there wouldn't be such a calamity today."
How would Eunuch Huang know that his dimension had an endless supply of spiritual Qi? If he knew, his powers would have been depleted long ago, and he wouldn't even have the strength to speak.
Besides, without the endless supply of spiritual Qi from his dimension, he wouldn't have barged into the palace alone. After all, a gentleman does not stand in front of a collapsing wall.
At this point, Pei Zi Yun didn't speak any further, as he swung his halberd towards Eunuch Huang. Eunuch Huang dodged, as a cold light flashed past. He then screamed out in pain, as one of his arms fell to the ground.
Pei Zi Yun's eyes flashed with astonishment. Although he had chopped off an arm, the fact that Eunuch Huang was able to dodge Pei Zi Yun's attack proved that he was an expert. Eunuch Huang didn't seem to feel any pain, and didn't seem to care about his own life or death. He thrust his sword forward, and heard a 'pu' sound as sparks flew. Seeing that he had struck his target, Eunuch Huang shouted out, "Ancestor, former Emperor, this servant is here to serve the country."
"Hm!"
Pei Zi Yun snorted coldly, as the cold light flashed past again. A line of blood appeared on Eunuch Huang's neck, as blood spurted out like a fountain. With a 'pu' sound, his head fell to the ground.
Pei Zi Yun walked through the corridors and arrived at the outer hall. This time, there were no soldiers lying in ambush. Instead, there was a civil official. When he saw Pei Zi Yun approaching, he stopped him, "Stop right there!"
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "And who are you?"
As soon as he said this, a thirty year old fifth ranked civil official shouted out, "Pei Zi Yun, you're a scholar, a Top Scorer of the dynasty, and yet you've become a traitor! So what if your Dao Arts are profound? You will never be able to escape the word 'traitor'. "
Pei Zi Yun glanced at him, and couldn't help but smile. His halberd flashed, and the civil official stopped moving. A red line had appeared on his waist.
Half of his body then fell to the ground.
This civil official was extremely tough. Although he was rolling on the ground in pain, he refused to cry out. His upper body wasn't dead yet. He then dipped his finger in his own blood and started writing on the ground.
Pei Zi Yun looked at him and saw that he had written 'traitor traitor traitor traitor'. When he reached the seventh word, he finally stopped breathing and died.
Pei Zi Yun shook his head and sighed, "The rise and fall of a generation depends on its fate. When the dynasty was at its peak, there were many people with lofty ideals. What a pity, what a pity."
As he said this, he walked to the door of the inner hall and asked, "Emperor, do you still want to escape?"
The inner hall was silent for a moment. After some time, the Emperor's hoarse voice could be heard, "Invite the True Sovereign in."
Pei Zi Yun flicked his robes, and the blood on his body disappeared. He then walked into the inner hall calmly, and immediately attracted the attention of many.
Pei Zi Yun did not seem to care. Although there was a huge change, the yellow curtains were still there. The eunuchs were pale, but they were still standing respectfully.
On his left and right were three ministers – Prime Minister Zhang Yunke, Minister Hai Jia and Shi Zhishan.
There was also a woman, who was crying and hugging a child.
Prince Cheng Shun was standing by the side.
"Subject Pei Zi Yun greets the Emperor." Pei Zi Yun's eyes swept across the crowd before he bowed to the Emperor. There was no killing intent in him, as though nothing had happened. If it weren't for the many holes on his robes, everyone would have thought that this was just an ordinary meeting with the Emperor.
"You still bow to me, don't you hate me?" The Emperor asked calmly.
"Your Majesty, this is the last time I bow to you." Pei Zi Yun said plainly.
Hai Jia was enraged. This person was not tall, and looked ordinary. However, he was a famous minister, and was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. He had an unyielding character, and was about to stand up and scold him, but was stopped by the Emperor's glare.
The Emperor waved his hands, "Stand up, there's no need to bow. Come, sit with me, and let me take a good look at you."
Pei Zi Yun stepped forward, but did not really sit with the Emperor. Instead, he sat down on a stool. The Emperor looked at Pei Zi Yun carefully, and realized that he was even more outstanding than before.
He could still remember the time when they first met.
The Emperor sighed, "We've known each other for many years, and this is the first time I've looked at you so seriously. You're really out of this world."
"It's just that when I was in the East Palace, my father said that you're too talented, and I'm too soft and kind. I'm afraid that you'll become a threat to the country. There were many times when I wanted to kill you, but I couldn't bear to do so."
"Now that I think about it, my father was right. It's just that I'm too cold, and didn't listen to his teachings. That's why I've come to this stage." The Emperor said plainly. When the Imperial Concubines and ministers heard this, they couldn't help but cry.
Pei Zi Yun was not angry, but laughed, "Your Majesty is not soft and kind. You're unyielding, even more so than the Founding Father. If your Majesty is considered soft and kind, who else can be considered unyielding?"
"Your Majesty has hidden this from the world. But if you had listened to the Founding Father, I'm afraid you could have killed me. It's just that your Majesty wouldn't have been able to ascend the throne."
When the Emperor heard this, he nodded his head and said, "What you've said makes sense. I was in a precarious situation in the East Palace, and couldn't think of any other way. I could only read some books and write some poems for my father, hoping that he would like it. But I knew that these things wouldn't save me."
"It was you who saved everything."
"We knew each other all those years ago. Now that I think about it, it's like a dream. This is what True Sovereign wrote, 'Heaven and Earth, the journey of all living things. Time, the journey of a hundred generations. Life is like a dream, how joyful can it be? "
The Emperor spoke as he felt a sense of melancholy. Pei Zi Yun didn't speak for some time. To be honest, Emperor Qi Tai was a good Emperor. Although he hadn't been on the throne for long, he was always concerned about the suffering of the commoners. He also paid attention to the farming and irrigation works. Every time something happened, he would do it himself. Recently, he even quelled the rebellion of King Lu.
It was a pity that Pei Zi Yun had revealed his true intentions.
The Emperor then turned around and asked softly, "Up until now, True Sovereign wouldn't lie to me. I would like to ask True Sovereign, do you have any intentions of coveting the throne?"
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