Imperial Power

This was not Xu Yuan's first teleportation, but it was the first time one had lasted so long. The times he had teleported with the giant block of ice and the washboard had basically taken only the blink of an eye before they reached their destination. The price of such an extended teleportation was that Xu Yuan felt as though he were tearing apart— in the literal, physical sense. His body felt as if submerged in a bottomless ocean abyss, violent turbulence from all directions tearing at him ceaselessly. This colossal force pulled outward one moment, threatening to draw and quarter him, and crushed inward the next, as if determined to grind him into paste. Under the crushing pressure, Xu Yuan could feel his grip on the hand of the woman beside him weakening, loosening from a tight clasp until his fingers began to slip away— *Clasp.* Fortunately, just as they were about to be pulled apart, the person beside him twisted her hand and gripped his firmly. His consciousness drifted back and forth between lucidity and chaos. Xu Yuan could only feel his body being shifted about by the person beside him before an unfamiliar surge of Source Qi bore into his meridians. This vast Source Qi coursed through his meridians like an ocean tide along a specific route, ultimately coalescing into a protective film around his body to resist the pressure. It felt like a fleeting instant, yet also like eternity. A flash of white light flared through the pitch-black void, illuminating two figures that abruptly materialized. Feeling the icy stone beneath his feet once more, Xu Yuan's heart finally settled back into place. The real world truly was just like *Cangyuan*. Forcibly destroying the Kunwu Mirror inflicted a certain degree of damage on those being teleported. In the game, however, being able to obtain the Kunwu Mirror meant the player was already capable of slaying Nan Jinxi, that scantily-clad neutral boss. Such teleportation damage was negligible to a player, but to someone with Xu Yuan's currently pathetic cultivation, it could have been fatal. Still, it didn't matter—the chest-bound princess would step in. With him placing so much trust in her, she could hardly let him die mid-transit, could she? In the pitch-black darkness where one couldn't even see one's own fingers, Xu Yuan braced himself against the cold ground and barely managed to push himself to his feet. Just as he was about to survey his surroundings, he heard a faint crackling sound. It was very quiet, yet conspicuous in the dead silence. It sounded like some hard object splintering apart. Frowning, Xu Yuan channeled the remaining Source Qi in his body to circulate his cultivation method and glanced back over his shoulder. It was the armor she wore. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of the formation-inlaid armor until it shattered onto the ground with a crisp clatter. Her fitted red martial attire was likewise shredded by the spatial turbulence, fluttering away in tatters. The spatial pressure during teleportation spared neither man nor object. Fair skin like ice, bones like jade—dazzling and pristine. "..." A silent exchange of gazes. *Snap—* Unable to withstand the strain any longer, the tattered chest wrap snapped open once more, far more thoroughly this time than the last. And so, under Li Qingyan's calm gaze, Xu Yuan shifted his eyes away—and then downward. As a gentleman, one ought to avert one's eyes from impropriety. The problem was that he was a profligate, and profligates had no need for such formalities. Besides, opportunity knocked but once. Even if he couldn't have a taste, appreciating it from an artistic perspective was always worthwhile. Seeing that he had no intention of averting his gaze, not a trace of feminine bashfulness appeared on Li Qingyan's cool face as she stared at Xu Yuan. "The material of that blood-robe of yours is truly remarkable. But Prince Consort, is this palace's body really so pleasing to the eyes?" Xu Yuan grinned, his eyes fixed on her without wavering. Just as he was about to speak— "Hrrk—" "..." Li Qingyan. The teleportation's aftereffects had finally arrived. Tightness in his chest, dizziness, nausea, and a host of other ailments instantly forced Xu Yuan to the ground, dry-heaving. It felt somewhat like a hangover from his past life, though even ten consecutive days of heavy hangovers couldn't compare to the intensity of this one. Xu Yuan managed to lift his eyes, giving her a weak thumbs-up. "Pre... pretty. Hrrk..." "You... you really are something. *Sigh*..." Her eyes full of exasperation, Li Qingyan paid Xu Yuan no further heed, looking down at the shredded remnants of her clothing. Then, her jade hand clenched slightly. *Hum—* A fierce gust of wind erupted around her, tearing away and scattering the remaining tatters of cloth. Xu Yuan instinctively shielded his face. *Rustle—* Fabric whipped in the air. In an instant, Li Qingyan donned an oversized red robe, completely concealing her alluring curves. She then walked slowly over to Xu Yuan, dropping to one knee as she leaned forward, resting a hand against his back. She spoke softly: "Relax." With those words, Xu Yuan felt Li Qingyan's Source Qi flow into his body once again, guiding what little remained of his own Source Qi to circulate through his meridians. After a long while, Xu Yuan exhaled a lengthy breath. Looking at the neatly clad woman in red, he smiled with lingering regret in his eyes. "This ultra-long-distance teleportation is truly not something meant for humans to endure." "It was this palace's first time as well." Seeing that Xu Yuan was unharmed, Li Qingyan slowly stood up and swept her gaze across the surrounding darkness. "So, Prince Consort, can you tell this palace where we are now?" "How would I know?" "You don't know?" Li Qingyan turned her phoenix eyes back toward him, a hint of surprise in them. Sitting on the ground, Xu Yuan spread his hands, answering bluntly, "An ultra-long-distance random teleportation—how am I supposed to know where we ended up?" Li Qingyan went quiet for a moment. Taking a deep breath as her chest rose and fell, she leaned down and sat beside him. "Then how did you know the properties of that small ancient mirror?" "That thing is the Kunwu Mirror." Xu Yuan had no intention of hiding it. "The key to entering the Kunwu Realm. But if destroyed, the formation arrays inside will teleport everything in the vicinity away before shattering completely." Hearing this, Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow. "A key?" "Don't even think about it." Xu Yuan grinned, pointing at the saber in her hand. "The Kunwu Mirror that served as the key has already been destroyed by you. That so-called Kunwu Realm probably won't see the light of day until it faces its own destruction." Unless one possessed the outrageously explosive luck of someone like that giant block of ice, an ordinary secret realm could only be discovered by the outside world when the levitation stone within degraded to the point of collapse, triggering spatial anomalies in the surroundings. Li Qingyan gave a slight nod and asked with interest, "Yet you seem remarkably familiar with these things, Prince Consort. And you appeared to recognize that vixen earlier?" "Lou Ji told me." "..." Li Qingyan. Shifting the blame onto the big succubus, Xu Yuan paid no mind to whether she believed him and continued on his own: "One of the Three Kings of the Fox Clan, the Heavenly Snow Spirit Fox, Nan Jinxi. But I truly didn't expect her to come assassinate us." Li Qingyan's willow brows furrowed slightly as she said in a clear voice, "For Guyuan to choose such a crucial juncture to intervene in Great Yan's war..." Xu Yuan gave her a slightly strange look. "Didn't you suspect earlier that Nan Jinxi came to carry out an assassination for the sake of the person she loves?" With an equally strange look in her eyes, Li Qingyan chuckled softly. "The person she loves? This palace acknowledges that there are those in this world who would sacrifice themselves for love, but the probability is minuscule. Besides, Prince Consort, words spoken by an enemy can only serve as a reference at best. What if what she said was a lie meant deliberately to mislead us?" Xu Yuan considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "Guyuan has no reason to intervene in the war between Great Yan and the Barbarians right now. Guyuan is far stronger than the Barbarians. With so many demonic beasts gathering intelligence within Great Yan's borders, in addition to those high-ranking figures who have assumed human form to infiltrate our lands, they have no reason to provoke Great Yan at this moment." Li Qingyan pondered briefly, then looked up at the pitch-black ceiling of the cavern. "It was indeed an oversight on this palace's part. If Guyuan were truly behind this, Nan Jinxi's target should have been you alone." "..." Xu Yuan was momentarily taken aback, but after a second of thought, he immediately understood. Li Qingyan's line of reasoning differed from his. He relied primarily on his former omniscient perspective to extrapolate future trends, deducing that Guyuan would only choose to step in and reap the benefits once Great Yan's internal conflicts had concluded. Li Qingyan, on the other hand, focused on the delicate balance between the various factions. Especially between the imperial family and the Chancellor's Manor. If Nan Jinxi had targeted only Xu Yuan, Guyuan would have had ample motive. As long as he, serving as a political hostage, was killed within the Beifeng Army, the Second and Third Princes—who were also hostages—would most likely succumb to the harsh environment and perish of illness in the Northern Border. The relationship between the Chancellor's Manor and the imperial family was already fraught with tension due to Li Yaoxuan's failing health; an incident of this magnitude would inevitably drive an irreversible rift between them. However, taking out both Li Qingyan and Xu Yuan together changed the entire equation. Though Xu Yuan was privately designated as the Chancellor's Manor's heir, that remained beneath the surface. As the sole imperial family member holding military authority, Li Qingyan's overt importance far surpassed his. The imperial family would never sacrifice her just to trade pieces with a profligate. In other words, the mastermind was someone else entirely. While deep in thought, Li Qingyan habitually rubbed the Sumeru ring on her finger with her thumb and forefinger, asking in a slow voice, "Prince Consort, who do you think was behind this strike against us? Could it truly be that beloved person the vixen spoke of?" At that point, Li Qingyan shook her head with a faint smile. "Never mind. Even if she was acting on instructions from her beloved, we have no way of knowing who that is. Pointless speculation here won't yield any answers. We can find a way to capture and interrogate her in the future." "..." Xu Yuan turned his head to look at her smiling profile without speaking. She made rapid decisions based on available information and held firm conviction in her judgments. After deliberating for a long while in his heart, Xu Yuan chose to speak directly: "I think it's your second brother." "..." His voice echoed faintly within the silent cavern. Li Qingyan slowly turned her gaze toward him. "Second Brother? He does indeed have the motive, but where is the evidence?" Such a response showed that Li Qingyan had already harbored suspicions about the Second Prince. Meeting Li Qingyan's calm, dark gaze, Xu Yuan's mind raced as he thought about how to explain his deduction. He had pointed to Li Zhaoyuan. The vast majority of that information came from trivial subplots in *Cangyuan*. Though the Kunwu Mirror was useful, Nan Jinxi's character portrait had been gorgeous and scantily clad. When Xu Yuan had first encountered her in the game, he had once assumed she was a romanceable heroine, even putting considerable effort into it. Yet it seemed *Cangyuan*'s developers weren't into NTR—or at least, whoever wrote Nan Jinxi's storyline wasn't. Even after completing her entire storyline, she remained impossible to romance. Setting aside the convoluted dialogue, the useful information boiled down to three or four points in hindsight. First, Nan Jinxi held a grudge against the Chancellor's Manor. Second, Nan Jinxi had very little connection with Guyuan. Third, the person Nan Jinxi loved had once held a very high status. As for the fourth point... Xu Yuan wasn't entirely certain about it, as his memory was somewhat hazy. He wasn't one of those prodigies who could remember every minute detail after playing through a game once. He only vaguely recalled that across all the world lines where the Second Prince ascended the throne as emperor, Nan Jinxi had never once appeared in the plot. From these pieces of information, one could roughly deduce that Nan Jinxi was indeed a demon who would sacrifice herself for love, and that the person she loved was very likely the Second Prince. Now came the problem: how was he supposed to explain all this to Li Qingyan? Tell her straight up that he possessed divine foresight? After a long silence, Xu Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground, his clasped hands resting over his lap, speaking in a measured, unhurried voice: "Actually, I deduced this from the perspective of who stands to benefit." As he spoke, he glanced at Li Qingyan's expression. She nodded, signaling him to continue. Xu Yuan let out a breath and lowered his voice: "First, Qingyan, you know as well as I do that given the current situation in the Northern Border, neither of us is needed anymore. A batch of the Barbarians died in your ambush, another batch died assaulting Beifeng City, and yet another died in the decisive battle against the sects. With Mr. Zong presiding over the final showdown, it's impossible for the Barbarians to win." Li Qingyan nodded. "That is indeed true. And then?" "Second..." Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment. "Second, if the current situation continues to unfold, with the northern sects wiped out and the Barbarians eliminated, the remaining sects won't be foolish enough to push their luck at such a critical juncture. Hmm... the contradiction between your imperial family and my Chancellor's Manor is very likely to escalate into the primary contradiction." "That is a fact. Why has the Prince Consort suddenly become so guarded?" Li Qingyan seemed completely unbothered by such topics. Turning her phoenix eyes toward him, she smiled softly. "Imperial Father's ambition to eradicate the sects was entirely to consolidate our imperial family's imperial power, to safeguard the imperial family's rule over the world. To that end, he did not even hesitate to foster and tolerate the rise of a powerful chancellor like Duke Xu in the court." "That's essentially the idea." Xu Yuan fell silent for a second, his impression of this remarkable woman deepening even further, and he became more direct with his words: "If your Imperial Father—well, that Imperial Father surnamed Li—were in good health, the conflict could be temporarily suppressed. Until the sects are completely annihilated or forced to compromise, both sides could continue walking forward together. But the problem is that this is no longer an option. "Before your Imperial Father dies, he will inevitably make a move. Given his formidable talent, I don't believe he would leave a chancellor who holds both military and fiscal authority for his heirs to deal with." A flicker of imperceptible emotion flashed through Li Qingyan's eyes, and she nodded. "So what does this have to do with my second brother?" "Killing you weakens the forces available to your eldest brother. Killing me eliminates the heir of the Chancellor's Manor." "Rather foolish," Li Qingyan remarked softly. "Though we share blood, this palace wouldn't necessarily support Eldest Brother." Xu Yuan grinned. "But you cannot be used by him, so he must kill you." Li Qingyan rubbed the space between her eyebrows. "The sects, is it... Looking at it that way, this palace truly could not be used by him." Pausing for a moment, Li Qingyan turned back to him, asking with keen interest, "But most crucially, would doing this allow him to survive?" "Yes." Xu Yuan answered with absolute certainty. "Under these circumstances, if he succeeded, your Imperial Father would personally protect him and cover up everything he had done upon returning to the Imperial Capital, even if Li Zhaoyuan were exposed." Resting her chin on her hand, Li Qingyan tapped her slender index finger against her cheek. "He has ties to the sects, you know." "Qingyan, you just said it yourself: everything your Imperial Father has done was to consolidate imperial power." "..." Li Qingyan's eyes narrowed slightly. Xu Yuan pressed his knuckles against the space between his brows, tightening his clasped hands slightly. "If we can see that the Second Prince has ties to the sects, there is no way your Imperial Father cannot see it. "With the Chancellor's Manor threatening imperial authority, wouldn't colluding with the sects to eradicate my Chancellor's Manor be an excellent option? "If he confirms this path is viable, not only will your Imperial Father refrain from killing him, he will even use his final days to actively help the Second Prince integrate the Crown Prince's faction, pushing him onto the throne. "Don't forget, "your second brother is the one who resembles your Imperial Father the most."