The dagger was revealed once the map was unrolled.
None from the previous generation would remain, and that inevitably included the Prime Minister of Great Yan.
Faced with this murderous intent, Xu Yinhe did not lash out. Having walked this far, he had long since cast thoughts of life and death aside, yet he still asked in a slow, even voice:
"Do you believe Wen Xinyun can kill me?"
After breaking through,
he understood all too well the gulf between a Saint and the realm beyond the Saint Realm.
And numerous telltale signs pointed to a single reality—
that woman, who had lived for a millennium, had never truly broken through to the realm beyond the Saint Realm.
As the foremost figure in the world today, Xu Yinhe did not believe anyone could cross realms to defeat him, not even at the cost of trading their life to gravely wound him.
Hearing this, Li Zhaoyuan seemed surprised as well, but he soon caught on to the reason behind it and spoke softly:
"It seems Imperial Father's sword strike truly wounded that 'Heaven' grievously."
"..."
Xu Yinhe's profound eyes narrowed slightly.
Reaching out, Li Zhaoyuan picked up a blood-stained booklet from the stone platform and tossed it to his elder nearby, saying, "I wonder if you sensed it back then—Imperial Father's strike severed not physical form, but rather the soul imprints that exist within all things."
Xu Yinhe caught it in silence, sweeping his intent soul rapidly across its contents. When he finished taking in the densely packed characters, an instinctive flicker of admiration and sorrow passed through the unruffled depths of his eyes—marvelling at and lamenting the genius of his late bosom friend.
Li Zhaoyuan, meanwhile, slowly turned his gaze aside, looking through the frost-rimed lattice window toward the snow-swept vault of heaven:
"This allows us to confirm one thing: that 'Heaven' is merely a forerunner on the path of cultivation. It is just that this forerunner appears exceedingly petty—petty enough to sever the ascending path for all who follow."
Xu Yinhe understood his meaning and said, "You mean to say the reason I am still alive right now is that that thing is nursing its wounds and gathering its strength."
"Yes."
"Why are you so certain?"
"Because of Wen Xinyun."
"..."
Silence fell over the hall.
Toying with the pulsing mold in his hand, Li Zhaoyuan asked conversationally, "I wonder, Duke Xu, what is your view of Wen Xinyun as a person?"
Xu Yinhe gave it serious thought and answered, "A talent of heaven-sent genius in her day, a schemer, and a seeker of the Dao who holds steadfast to her own path."
Li Zhaoyuan's brow twitched involuntarily, and he smiled. "I did not expect you to hold such a favorable opinion of her."
"I merely stated a fact."
Xu Yinhe would never judge a person merely by opposing allegiances, much less personal likes or dislikes. His voice was tranquil as a still lake: "The contest over the grand trend is nothing more than individuals each holding a torch to illuminate a different path ahead. To slander them would only demean oneself."
"..."
At those words, Li Zhaoyuan seemed to be struck by some realization. After remaining quiet for a long while, he murmured faintly, "You are a man worthy of admiration. And just as you said, she has always held steadfast to her own path, and she has always been that heaven-sent genius from a millennium ago.
"Duke Xu,
"heavenly punishment is not like the thunder tribulations found in storybooks.
"You are not the first person to break through the Saint Realm in the past thousand years. She was."
"I see."
Xu Yinhe slowly closed his eyes, murmuring softly, "A thousand years is indeed far too long for someone of her caliber."
Though the words were not spelled out completely, both understood the meaning.
Li Zhaoyuan did not mean that the current Wen Xinyun was beyond the Saint Realm, but rather that she had once attained that realm in the past—only for that version of her, existing beyond the Saint Realm, to be slain by 'Heaven.' And now, Xu Yinhe found himself in the very same predicament Wen Xinyun once faced.
Heavenly punishment could descend again at any moment.
And it would be even more tempestuous than before.
The budding morning light illuminated the Eastern Palace, yet it was shut out by the austere, chilly hall.
Xu Yinhe broke the silence: "By telling me this, are you not worried I might use military arrays to resist it?"
As if having anticipated the question, Li Zhaoyuan gave a crisp, blunt reply: "You must go.
"This is not offering you a choice.
"My future cannot accommodate a colossal buddha like you. If you do not die, I will have neither peace nor rest."
At this point,
Li Zhaoyuan looked at the man beyond the Saint Realm standing right before him. As if recalling something else, he said slowly, "You can choose to try and strike me down here, but Imperial Father truly left me many legacies aimed at you before he died. He prepared so many means to help me kill you, only to choose betrayal right before his death—yet leave them behind he did.
"Of course, considering your breakthrough in cultivation, the chances of those means succeeding might now be less than ten percent. But do you care to try?
"If you strike with your full might, you will inevitably die by the hand of that thing above.
"And whether I survive or not,
"the Crown and the Prime Minister will inevitably go to war—before the immortal sects are even extinguished!
"Therefore, I implore you, Duke Xu: kill Wen Xinyun."
"..."
Faced with this bare threat, Xu Yinhe chose silence.
He did not simply follow Li Zhaoyuan's line of reasoning. Drawing on his own knowledge, he swiftly projected one possible future after another in his mind, assessing whether the Prime Minister's Manor could bear the fallout of regicide.
In the end,
his answer was no.
The likelihood of slaying Li Zhaoyuan right here was very high—so high there was virtually no possibility of failure—but Di'an City, the heart of Great Yan, would be reduced to ruins, and he himself would very likely perish beneath the heavenly punishment that followed immediately after.
When that time came, no one would be left to deal with Wen Xinyun and the Pavilion Master of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion.
Furthermore, war between the Crown and the Prime Minister would instantly turn the current favorable war situation into a catastrophic rout. The Sect Alliance would gain time to rearm; areas north of Hongnong and several surrounding provinces would be invaded on a massive scale, and Jingjiang Prefecture, stranded out in the southwest, would fall as well.
More importantly,
the moment the Prime Minister's Manor lost the Imperial Clan's supply of raw materials, its munitions production system would suffer a devastating blow!
And in the very end,
whichever side emerged victorious in this bid for supremacy, this land would be left desolate, nine out of ten homes deserted, powerless to resist the Western Desert and Guyuan—or even an invasion from the unknown empires across the sea.
The turning of karmic cycles.
Just as the stratagems he and Li Yaoxuan had once devised had caused the Imperial Court to rise and left the Sect Alliance helpless, Li Zhaoyuan was now stepping in time with the drumbeats of the grand torrent of history!
Xu Yinhe sighed quietly, and then smiled.
"Your father chose that ideal on his deathbed; naturally, I am also willing to die for it.
"I accept your request, New Emperor of Great Yan."
"..."
His status was acknowledged; his request was accepted.
Yet as Li Zhaoyuan looked at Xu Yinhe, no trace of joy appeared in his eyes; instead, there was only boundless desolation.
If it were possible,
how he wished the man before him would strike him dead right here.
Because that way, he would no longer have to keep solitary watch over this pitch-black imperial throne.
Because that way, he could use Xu Yinhe's hands to destroy Imperial Father's original ideal.
"An ideal unyielding until death is truly something to yearn for..."
Murmuring under his breath, Li Zhaoyuan walked slowly up to this figure of his father's generation. He offered a formal bow, presented the pulsing mold with both hands, and said respectfully, "Duke Xu, this is Wen Xinyun's newly spawned true body. Through it, you will be able to sense where her other true bodies reside."
"..."
Xu Yinhe accepted it in silence. Seeing the boundless self-destructive urges in the young man's eyes, he wanted to say something to comfort this new ruler chosen by his old friend. Yet rather than consoling others, he had always defaulted to silence, and in the end he merely said in a low voice, "Look forward. A new purpose will always reveal itself."
"..."
Quiet descended all at once.
Li Zhaoyuan looked up with a touch of surprise. Sensing the emotion in the other man's eyes, he let out an instinctive soft chuckle. "Thank you for the reminder, Duke Xu."
With those words,
just as Xu Yinhe nodded and turned to depart in silence,
Li Zhaoyuan asked suddenly, "Has Xu Yuan left the capital again?"
Xu Yinhe paused in his tracks without looking back. "Yes. He found a map and set off alone."
Li Zhaoyuan leaned back against the edge of the stone platform, his hands resting in front of his legs, fingers lightly tapping against one another. "He is very unusual. He would not leave without reason; he must be scheming something again."
"Perhaps."
"In such turbulent times, that you are still willing to let someone as important as him venture out truly surprises me."
"He found the path he wants to walk, so I let him go."
"...Not yours, but his own?"
"Yes."
"You trust him that much?"
"Yes."
"..."
Li Zhaoyuan slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again after a long while, the figure clad in black robes was already gone.
Staring at the open palace doors for who knew how long,
Li Zhaoyuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and murmured, "Letting Xu Yuan walk his own path..."
With that,
his lifeless, silent eyes glanced toward the vacant imperial throne inside the Golden Chime Hall, the corners of his lips curving in self-mockery.
"...That is the greatest difference between you and Duke Xu, Imperial Father."
Chapter 791