AGM 540 – To the Qi King Manor
The Eastern Mountain Marquis, a marquis of the ancient Ye Country led a wave of experts to rush over. His fury towered up to the heavens and he was willing to pay any price to slaughter the members of the Battle Sword Sect before fleeing away.
How overwhelmingly powerful was he, considering that he was at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm? One couldn’t help but say the mastermind in the shadows had succeeded. They predicted that the Eastern Mountain Marquis would definitely take revenge for his son’s death. However, what they had never imagined, even in their wildest dreams, was that the Marquis would be slain the instant he appeared.
Looking at the severed halves of his body, the hearts of the crowd pounded violently. Even their breathing was affected.
The Battle Sword Sect of the nine great sects truly deserved their reputation.
Seeing that the Marquis appeared, Qin Wentian used a powerful fifth-ranked divine weapon that had enough strength to threaten low-level Ascendants. Although the Eastern Mountain Marquis had blocked that attack, he had no way to defend against Duan Han’s sword slash.
A beam of light flickered in Duan Han’s palms, there was no way to see clearly what divine weapon that was. The crowd only understood that Duan Han had accurately grasped the timing and right after the Eastern Mountain Marquis blocked Qin Wentian’s attack, he caused darkness to descend while joining forces with the other members from the Battle Sword Sect to unleash his ultimate killing technique. A beam of light sundered the darkness, containing a power even more terrifying than Qin Wentian’s fifth-ranked lightning umbrella, directly killing the Eastern Mountain Marquis.
Duan Han was the ninth personal disciple under Sword Sovereign Ling Tian, how could he not have some tyrannical methods at hand? That technique earlier was imparted to him by Sword Sovereign Ling Tian precisely to deal with Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants. Also, Duan Han’s personality was ruthless and decisive, the instant the Eastern Mountain Marquis had appeared, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest and executed his ultimate technique so quickly that the Marquis didn’t have any time to use his full strength.
“DIE!” Duan Han didn’t pause. He stepped out as his black robes fluttering in the wind. Those dark eyes of his caused despair to appear on the faces of those remaining experts from the Eastern Mountain Manor.
The instant the Eastern Mountain Marquis was killed, how could they still fight against these powerful members of the Battle Sword Sect?
Even if the remaining Eastern Mountain Manor experts ignored everyone else, just Duan Han alone with his cultivation base at the peak of the eighth-level of Heavenly Dipper, his combat prowess could already defeat ninth-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns from the Eastern Mountain Manor.
And in addition to Duan Han, the other members of the Battle Sword Sect were all no pushovers. There was still one at the eighth-level, and several more at the seventh-level. Such a force was already sufficient to annihilate everything that dared to stand against them.
And as expected, Duan Han slaughtered his way into the crowd from the Eastern Marquis Manor. Each sword strike he slashed out netted him a kill. The glow from his black sword resembled a light borne from darkness and everyone finally understood why he wore black. The radiance of his sword was simply unblockable.
In only an instant, everyone from the Eastern Mountain Manor had been completely annihilated, causing the spectators to be so frightened that they involuntarily trembled. How decisive was this decision to carry out this merciless slaughter? Although everyone understood that there would only be one party who survived, the ruthlessness as well as the decisiveness of those from the Battle Sword Sect had acted with truly shocked the entire crowd. This should be the reason why those from the nine great sects were different when compared to others. If their personalities were soft, how could they dominate an area and cause people in the world to revere them?
Qin Wentian’s expression was as cold as ever. He controlled Purgatory and continued on his path with the members of the Battle Sword Sect following behind him. After that massacre of the Eastern Marquis Manor, no one else dared to stand in his way.
In the Qi King Manor, Yan Kongfan was enraged when he learnt of the news. The coldness in his eyes caused his subordinates to be terror-struck.
Such a well thought out plan had actually failed?!
“Why would those from the Battle Sword Sect appear at such a timely moment? Didn’t I order you guys to monitor their movements?” Ye Kongfan icily spoke. After he knew Qin Wentian and Mo Qingcheng had left the royal palace alone, he commanded people to put this plan into motion. His aim was naturally to destroy Qin Wentian and he was quite satisfied with the plan his subordinates had thought up – getting the Eastern Mountain Marquis to be the scapegoat for his purpose.
It was a well-known fact that the Eastern Mountain Marquis was an impulsive fellow which feared nothing. His only weakness was that he doted on that silk pants Dongshan Jin way too much. If Dongshan Jin was slain by Qin Wentian, he would definitely go all out and spare no expenses to hunt Qin Wentian down.
Dongshan Jin died as expected. Even though Qin Wentian clearly knew it was a trap, given his character as well as how important he regarded Mo Qingcheng, he still went ahead and killed Dongshan Jin. Everything was proceeding according to plan, yet the only mistake Ye Kongfan had made was that he underestimated the strength of Qin Wentian as well as the other members of the Battle Sword Sect.
“Duan Han from the Battle Sword Sect sensed something was wrong. He ignored our attempts to block him and directly sped away in search of Mo Qingcheng and Qin Wentian.” One of the subordinates lowered his head and replied. Duan Han was calm and decisive, an extremely tough-to-deal with character. They tried various plans to impede him yet Duan Han had ignored everything.
“Kongfan, since this Duan Han is a personal disciple under Sword Sovereign Ling Tian, it’s only natural he’s extraordinary in some aspects. Also, that trump card he used to kill the Eastern Mountain Marquis must have been bestowed by Sword Sovereign Ling Tian. This time around, we have really underestimated our enemies.” A person standing at the side of Ye Kongfan spoke. Ye Kongfan’s countenance turned heavy but he still nodded his head lightly as he commented, “It’s fine. But aren’t they arrogant? They are storming their way to my Qi King Palace to settle this debt with me? Since that’s the case, we shall teach them a lesson.”
“That’s right, if they dare to show up here, things would definitely be interesting.” The person at the side laughed. Ye Kongfan stared at him as he coldly commanded, “Hurry and summon back the peak-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns of our Qi King Manor. Since Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants aren’t suited to join in the battle, we will use the strongest force we can muster at the Heavenly Dipper level to crush them.”
“Roger that!” That subordinate instantly went to spread the command. Ye Kongfan stood up, he flicked his sleeve and spoke in a casual manner. “Move out, we will go out and await their arrival.”
…………
In the chamber of the Human Emperor, the Human Emperor was currently resting in his bed with the Empress and his concubine accompanying him. However at this moment, the Human Emperor who was resting suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flickered within and after which, he turned to the Empress as he spoke, “Summon Shi Xuan here, get Lingshuang to come over as well.”
The gaze of the Empress flickered as she stared at the Human Emperor. The Human Emperor nodded in assurance as the Empress tarried no longer and carried out his orders. A while later, a male radiating a baleful aura and hot-bloodedness entered the Human Emperor’s chamber together with Ye Lingshuang.
“Human Emperor.” Shi Xuan bowed in greetings.
“Summon the Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns from the Ironblood Camp and Divine Arrow Camp and hand over the command authority to Lingshuang.” The Human Emperor stared at Shi Xuan as he commanded. A glint of sharpness flashed past Shi Xuan’s eyes but he didn’t hesitate and bowed low. “Your subordinate hears and obeys.”
After speaking, he retrieved two tokens from his robes. One of the token depicted the picture of an arrow while the picture depicted on the second one was a blood-colored image.
“Princess Lingshuang.” Shi Xuan handed the command tokens over to her. Ye Lingshuang glanced at the Human Emperor only to see him nodding to her. She accepted the tokens yet her heart was still filled with bafflement, even as the princess she hadn’t heard of the Ironblood Camp or Divine Arrow Camp before. These must be some of the hidden forces arranged by her royal father and were undoubtedly extraordinary. However why did her royal father hand the command tokens of these two army camps to her?
“Your subordinate takes his leave.” Shi Xuan respectfully stated. Yet, the Human Emperor relayed another command, “As for you, I want you to lead the Dragon-Elephant Army and hide in the shadows to provide reinforcement. Do not show yourself until the time is right.”
“Roger.” Shi Xuan nodded as he retreated.
“Human Emperor.” The Empress had a worried look on her countenance. She knew what sort of character Shi Xuan was and also understood what the Dragon-Elephant Army implied. Was the Human Emperor finally going to reveal their existence?
“Don’t worry. The Qi King no longer has me in his eyes. In that case, I want to see just how well has he prepared.” The Human Emperor’s eyes flashed with sharpness as he turned to Ye Lingshuang. “Wentian encountered a plan to sneak attack him orchestrated by Ye Kongfan. In addition to that, Ye Kongfan spread rumors to defile Mo Qingcheng’s reputation. Right now, Wentian and the members of the Battle Sword Sect are heading back to the royal palace but before that, they are heading for the Qi King Manor first. Ye Kongfan would surely command his men to clash against those from the Battle Sword Sect. I need you to lead the two camps over and issue a decree from me: The Crown Prince of Qi King, Ye Kongfan is found guilty of spreading rumors to sully the Holy Maiden’s reputation and attempted to kill my foster son. He is to be captured and brought back for questioning. If the Qi King Manor dares to resist in any manner, they shall be labeled as rebels.”
The speech from the Human Emperor had stunned everyone. The countenances of the Empress and Ye Lingshuang changed dramatically. Currently, the Qi King had already gained control of the majority of the royal authority. The reason why he hadn’t acted to steal the throne yet was because he feared the fact that the Human Emperor wasn’t dead. After all, the combat prowess of the Human Emperor was as high as the heavens, unrivalled in Ye. Until the Human Emperor died from poison, the Qi King didn’t want to take the risk. However currently, the Human Emperor’s decision would cause a storm of blood, wasn’t he just forcing the Qi King to rebel?
“Royal Father!” Ye Lingshuang called out, she was visibly shaken.
“Lingshuang, just follow my instructions. If the Qi King rebels, he would surely lead the way and become the shining beacon for the other traitors to band together. We can use this chance to see clearly who our enemies are.” The Human Emperor calmly replied.
“If the Qi King led his force over in attack, do we have sufficient strength to defend?” Ye Lingshuang was still worried.
“Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare to.” It was as though the Human Emperor understood everything about the situation, returning to his glory of the past. Seeing the resolute and confident expression on the Human Emperor’s face, the Empress’s heart involuntarily trembled with emotions. She then nodded and spoke, “Lingshuang, listen to your Royal Father.”
“Lingshuang, Shi Xuan will settle all other matters. What you need to do is to protect Wentian. I also wish to see how Wentian would kill Ye Kongfan.” The eyes of the Human Emperor flashed with sharpness, radiating an invisible pressure that unconsciously forced people backwards. For a moment, it seemed as though he had returned to the height of his former power.
When the news of the command spread, experts gathered outside the Human Emperor Hall, and for some of them, their killing intent even reached the clouds. The hearts of everyone were pounding violently; those from the Human Emperor’s bloodline were all worried for him while those from the Qi King Manor laughed coldly in their hearts.
Was the Human Emperor dying soon? Wanting to stake it all on a last-ditch gamble. But could it be so simple?
As they thought of this, sinister smiles appeared on their faces. The instant the Human Emperor died would be the moment when the destiny of Ye changes.
…………
The Qi King Manor was an imposing and well-guarded location in Ye. The pathway outside leading to the Qi King Manor was paved with gold and right now at this moment, a group of silhouettes appeared as they advanced forward. The aura these people were releasing towered up the heavens as they radiated an unmasked killing intent.
“Who dares barge into the Qi King Manor?” On the walls lining up by the Qi King Manor’s gate, a cold voice thundered out, shaking the entire space. Duan Han slowly stepped out as he coldly replied, “Ye Kongfan of the Violet Thunder Sect actually dared to do such a despicable thing. Scram out for me.”
“Scram out… scram out…” The heavens and earth reverberated with Duan Han’s voice, echoing throughout the Qi King Manor, causing the countenances of members of the Manor to change. There were actually people so bold to directly challenge the prestige of the crown prince?
Ye Kongfan stood atop a balcony in the Manor staring at the scene outside. How could he go out like this? If he didn’t hang the blame for the crime of barging into the Qi King Manor on the Battle Sword Sect, how could he deal with them?
“This isn’t a place you all can enter. Get lost.” Ye Kongfan roared, his voice rumbling the air, colliding with the soundwaves of Duan Han’s shout.
A cold gleam appeared in the dark pupils of Duan Han. How could he not know what Ye Kongfan was planning? But even so, he stepped out and commanded, “Slaughter a path in.”
“Hold on.” A voice rang out from afar. Duan Han and the rest turned their gaze over only to see Ye Lingshuang clad in armor, exuding a valiant aura and was currently leading two great camps over. Not long later, they arrived outside the Qi King Manor.
Ye Lingshuang stood in the air as she hollered in rage, “The son of Qi King Ye Kongfan has sullied the reputation of the Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Valley and is suspected to be the mastermind of a sinister plan that caused those from the Eastern Mountain Marquis Manor to perish in an attempt to kill the foster son of the Human Emperor, Qin Wentian. Now, the Human Emperor has decreed: Ye Kongfan is to be captured. If there’s any sign of resistance, the entire Qi King Manor shall be treated and dealt with as traitors.”