"Damn it, my plan's going down the drain again."
That was Li Junqing's first reaction upon seeing the heaven-piercing sword light.
He didn't know what kind of mess had broken out inside the Chancellor's Manor, but he knew that with an incident like this, tonight's schemes were likely ruined.
Though he was playing the family card tonight by setting the board for his elder brother, the Crown Prince, it certainly wasn't out of any tender brotherly affection.
Ever since he moved out of the Empress Mother's palace and began receiving continuous praise and rewards from Imperial Father, the care and pampering this blood-related elder brother once showed him had turned entirely into wariness.
His elder brother feared that they shared the same pedigree of birth, and feared even more the Imperial Father's fondness for him.
Li Junqing had seen through all of this. He had been dejected over it, enraged by it, but in the end, those emotions had settled into detachment.
Ruler and kin never mixed in an imperial household; he and this elder brother could never return to their childhood.
If they couldn't go back, then so be it. Regrettable as it was, life went on no matter who walked out of it.
And so, Li Junqing learned to wear a mask, learned to disguise himself, and learned to conceal his talents before his elder brother.
Over a decade passed in the blink of an eye.
During those years, Li Junqing had coveted the position his Imperial Brother held, and he knew full well that this elder brother by blood had harbored murderous intent toward him.
Yet after he made the decision to head to Dongying, all of those struggles were laid to rest, dust returning to dust and earth to earth.
The core conflict between the two brothers no longer existed, so Li Junqing wanted to mend the rift in their fraternal bond that had widened over the past decade.
As for tonight's scheme, rather than fulfilling every last ounce of duty to his brother, Li Junqing preferred the word Xu Yuan often used: "investment."
If the scheme succeeded, he would have invested in the Crown Prince, invested in the Chancellor's Manor, and displayed his grasp of the grand scheme before Imperial Father.
Winning three times in a single night.
Down the road, whether his elder brother ascended the throne or the Chancellor's Manor held the reins of power, with tonight's favor in hand, his days on Dongying Island would be all the more carefree.
Yet his plans had been wrecked once, twice, thrice, and again.
The bleak wind blew, and snow filled the sky.
The heaven-piercing sword light waned from peak to decline. The thick pillar of radiance was gradually drawn into a slender thread of sword qi before dissolving into specks of starlight and scattering into the dark night.
Pulling back his gaze, Li Junqing calmed his surging emotions and asked in a low voice,
"Imperial Brother, what was that pillar of light...?"
"Sword light."
Li Yucheng kept staring out the window lattice, heavily uttering the two words.
He was the only imperial son born while Imperial Father was still the Prince of Qin. His age gave him an insurmountable lead over his younger brothers and sisters, and because of this, he had personally witnessed the splendor of the older generation.
This sword strike...
Hearing this, Li Junqing's heart sank slightly.
There was no time to mourn his dead plan; the current situation seemed to be spiraling out of control.
Although he had always suppressed his cultivation at the Flesh Integration Realm, Li Junqing's discernment was sharp as ever.
The sheer power of that sword strike was not something just anyone could unleash.
Even with powerhouses gathered inside the Chancellor's Manor tonight, those capable of delivering such a strike could be counted on one hand.
Yet this was Di'an City, right at the feet of the Son of Heaven, the Imperial Capital where weapons and blades were strictly forbidden!
What was a powerhouse from the Chancellor's Manor doing suddenly unleashing a strike like this?
Were they demonstrating power to issue a warning upon seeing the Crown Prince's carriage parked outside the gates?
Probably not.
Li Junqing dismissed the thought that had risen in his mind.
The Duke Xu he knew was a remarkably pure-minded man; from beginning to end, his goal had been to purge the sects and return the realm to the rule of Great Harmony.
To that end, even when Imperial Father disrupted his grand strategic plans, Duke Xu had quietly continued placing his pieces, maintaining the pact between the imperial clan and the Chancellor's Manor.
Whether it was the war of extermination against the Northern Barbarians or the current internal purge of the Northern Border, it had always been so.
Unless pushed to the absolute brink, Duke Xu would never tear off all pretenses of civility.
In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through Li Junqing's mind, yet all of them were castles in the air, unsupported by any evidence.
Li Junqing reined in his thoughts and looked across the carriage at his elder brother. Seeing an expression that suggested he knew something, Li Junqing deliberated for a moment before asking,
"Imperial Brother, do you know whose sword light that was?"
Li Yucheng clenched his fists tightly, unblinkingly watching the dark wind and snow outside the window.
"Feng Jiuxuan."
"Feng... Feng Jiuxuan?"
Li Junqing searched his memory for the name before gasping in astonishment. "The Sword Saint of the Feng family?"
"Yes."
"What is he fighting tonight for?!"
"..."
Li Yucheng did not answer immediately. His grave eyes fixed upon the boundless, dead silence of the dark sky above, and he said slowly,
"To kill."
With things said to this point, Li Junqing pieced together the general sequence of events. Circulating his cultivation technique, he looked through the window lattice toward the horizon.
Now a grandmaster-level powerhouse, the darkness of the snowy night could no longer impede his vision.
As he raised his gaze, he faintly made out a man radiating brilliant light high in the sky above Di'an City.
That sword strike just now seemed to have been aimed at him.
The moment he saw the man, Li Junqing connected the peculiar attire and the golden hair spilling from beneath the cowl to that blond princess of ethereal bearing.
*Is this person here to rescue Orenli?*
Upon realizing this, Li Junqing's rapidly turning brain momentarily seized up.
The implications behind this piece of intelligence were simply too immense.
First of all, for this person to survive Feng Jiuxuan's world-shaking sword strike, he had to be a Saint-level expert.
If so,
why would Orenli, a mere princess, possess such a formidable Dao protector?
Furthermore,
since he had already slipped into Great Yan territory, why hadn't he struck to rescue Orenli that night, choosing instead to act inside Di'an City?
Besides, by taking action right in Great Yan's capital, wasn't he afraid of igniting a full-scale war between Great Yan and Sien?
While his thoughts raced, a rumbling sound echoed from the high heavens. Yet this was not Feng Jiuxuan and the visitor from Sien clashing again; rather, the various city defense bureaus of Di'an City had reacted.
As the undisputed heart of Great Yan, Di'an City was peerless throughout the empire in its garrison troops, city defense formations, and high-ranking cultivators.
The moment that heaven-piercing sword light blazed, the city defense array belonging to Great Yan's imperial capital lit up. Several streaks of escape light soared into the sky from across the city, each terrifically terrifying and ripping through the air like thunder.
Under the organization of officers at every rank, the armored Imperial Guard on duty was already preparing to mobilize, marching along Di'an City's crisscrossing beast-drawn thoroughfares toward the entrance of the Chancellor's Manor.
The Crown Prince's carriage parked before the manor's inner gates now looked as frail and tiny as a lone leaf adrift on the sea.
Li Junqing surveyed the sky and whispered, "The Imperial Guard and the City Defense Bureau are arriving, along with senior figures from the sects."
Li Yucheng paid no attention to those streaks of light, for his eyes were already locked onto a third figure up in the sky.
The disparity in cultivation prevented Li Junqing from detecting this person, but Li Yucheng had spotted him.
It was a burly old man with flowing hair and beard, clad in white martial robes and bearing a massive greatsword on his back. His garments danced wildly in the wind and snow as his calm gaze fixed upon the two men in the void.
As a fellow Saint, he was undoubtedly the first to arrive on the scene.
Yet seeing that figure, Li Yucheng's brow knitted deeper:
"The Imperial Preceptor is here as well."
"..."
Li Junqing, who had already begun preparing to make a run for it, turned around in surprise at those words, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"The Imperial Preceptor? Why would he wade into these muddy waters at the Chancellor's Manor?"
Although he did not know the Great Yan Imperial Preceptor's temperament well, from a factional standpoint, no matter how catastrophic a disaster struck the Chancellor's Manor, it would bring nothing but benefits to the Sect Alliance behind him.
Watching quietly from the sidelines was by far the best choice.
Could showing up now mean he was here to lend a hand?
Inside the elegant pavilion atop Nine Dragons Mountain, silence reigned.
The old man draped in imperial dragon robes still reclined on the couch by the window. His gaze was still fixed on the drifting snow outside, but a strange, contemplative look now showed in his turbid eyes.
Li Yaoxuan saw the man clad in the peculiar robe and radiating holy brilliance, and the other man seemed to see him as well.
Their gazes collided across a hundred li.
Though it lasted only an instant, Li Yaoxuan caught sight of something familiar.
He had seen this feeling in the Demon Emperor of Guyuan, and he had seen it in himself.
Yet compared to him and the Demon Emperor, there was an extra touch of something else in the newcomer's eyes.
Overbearance.
An imperious overbearance that looked down on all creation.
A dominance that claimed sole supremacy above heaven and below earth.
An absolute condescension.
There was not the slightest anger in Li Yaoxuan's murky eyes, only an added layer of pensive amusement.
Most prodigies possessed an arrogance unique to them—a privilege bestowed by the heavens. Yet there were countless prodigies in the world, and the difference between prodigies could be even greater than that between a man and a dog.
Only after witnessing the magnificence of those who truly suppressed entire generations would such pride naturally recede, forcing them to realize that they were merely ordinary mortals after all.
And the visitor tonight clearly had never had such an experience.
Li Yaoxuan wore an intrigued expression.
He did not know why the man who appeared to be the Emperor of Sien dared come to the Imperial Capital to provoke Xu Yinhe, but he found himself looking forward to how his old friend would respond—and looking forward to the shock and horror the Emperor of Sien would feel when his overbearing pride was crushed to pieces by his old friend.
Lurking to the side, Eunuch Nie cautiously watched the Emperor's expression.
Having accompanied him for decades, he could read a trace of reminiscence in the sovereign's calm face.
Eunuch Nie knew what His Majesty was thinking.
Ever since coming of age at twenty, His Majesty had relished the pain and dread when proud, arrogant talents had their pride thoroughly shattered.
It was just that arriving at where he stood today, there was no longer anyone capable of bringing His Majesty that satisfaction.
Yet tonight, there seemed to be another.
"Sire, that Saint seems to be from Sien. Should we do something?" Eunuch Nie's voice chimed in at just the right moment.
Li Yaoxuan slowly looked back, glancing at his senior attendant, and pondered briefly.
"Mm... what do you think we should do?"
Eunuch Nie lowered his brow and bowed his head.
"This servant believes this matter is likely orchestrated intentionally by Chancellor Xu, and he almost certainly does not want us interfering. However, we cannot simply do nothing. At the very least, we should order the Imperial Guard to mobilize, and dispatch the Director of the Imperial Clan to oversee them."
As the rulers of Great Yan, when someone acted so boldly in the imperial capital, the Li imperial clan doing nothing would carry severely negative political fallout.
The Commander of the Imperial Guard was the supreme commander of the military inside Di'an City.
The Director of the Imperial Clan was the supreme powerhouse overseeing the imperial lineage.
His cultivation was immensely high, though no one knew just how terrifyingly deep it went.
Sending both would demonstrate the imperial clan's stance.
Even if they chose to watch the fire from across the river, their military might would still intimidate any onlookers lurking tonight.
Li Yaoxuan lowered his eyelids, seeming to weigh the matter, before letting out a soft chuckle.
"Then pass down my oral decree: keep the city-protecting array on standby, and have the Commander of the Imperial Guard immediately lead three battalions of the Imperial Guard to take over the defenses of the Chancellor's Manor and protect the Chancellor's safety."
"..."
Hearing this, Eunuch Nie's heart trembled, and he did not dare reply.
Li Yaoxuan chuckled softly.
"Rest assured. Though Zhen's time on this earth draws near, Zhen has not yet grown senile. Before the Imperial Guard arrives, he will definitely have resolved this matter."
This was his absolute trust in Xu Yinhe.
Eunuch Nie let out a long breath of relief, then seemed to remember something and whispered,
"Sire, the Imperial Preceptor seems to have already arrived over there."
"Ran Jianli is only there to pick up his precious disciple; he won't intervene in this affair."
Li Yaoxuan waved his hand to extinguish the lamps in the pavilion, lying on his side upon the couch. His deep voice drifted slowly:
"Zhen is tired. Zhen hopes they do not disturb Zhen's rest tonight."
***
"Master, you're here..."
A cool, crisp voice rang out in the quiet night. The young girl clad in pitch-black robes looked up at her master, who stood more than a head taller than her.
The vast wetland lake had frozen over with a thick sheet of ice in the bitter winter night. In the pavilion standing solitary at the center of the lake, two figures stood before the window.
Ran Jianli grinned, raising his large hand and pressing it onto the young girl's head, rubbing her hair.
"Haven't seen Master for so long. Did you miss me?"
Ran Qingmo lowered her head at the question, answering honestly,
"I've been cultivating the whole time."
Disappointment flashed in the old man's eyes, but recalling his disciple's temperament, he quickly let it go. Still, he couldn't resist asking one more thing:
"What about that brat?"
Ran Qingmo fell silent for a moment, her head sinking lower as she replied in slight dejection,
"Xu Yuan... he still hasn't returned to the manor."
"I mean, did you miss him?"
"Xu Yuan... when cultivation is over, I occasionally think of him."
"Hmph, I knew it!"
"..."
Standing quietly where she was, Ran Qingmo looked at her master in bewilderment, her beautiful eyes blinking as though failing to understand why he was upset.
Meeting his disciple's gaze, Ran Jianli sighed softly.
"Forget it, forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything."
"Oh."
Ran Qingmo answered softly. Lifting her eyes to the horizon, she asked in a low voice, "Master... is the person up there Xu Yuan's uncle?"
"It's him."
Hearing this question, Ran Jianli reined in his mood. "I came tonight specifically to let you see a life-and-death battle between those who stand at the pinnacle of this world, Qingmo."
Hearing that, Ran Qingmo blinked her clear, dark eyes.
"A life-and-death battle?"
"Yes." Ran Jianli's expression turned solemn.
"Master, aren't you going to help?"
"He doesn't need it."
"Oh."
Ran Qingmo responded with a vague understanding, though she could roughly guess it was due to the stances of the Sword Sect and the Chancellor's Manor.
"Focus!"
Ran Jianli barked out in a low voice. Reaching behind his back, he gripped the greatsword and plunged it into the floor with a sharp clang.
With this motion, the pavilion at the lake's center was instantly enveloped by an obscure sword intent, making it appear indistinct and shimmering from the outside, like a mirage.
Having done this, Ran Jianli broke into an excited grin.
"Watch closely, Qingmo. They're about to begin."
Chapter 507