Lu Yang, You Lucky Bastard...

... "So, Father, are you planning to continue traveling incognito, or are you coming back to be emperor?" Jiang Qun asked. Emperor Xia recalled his experiences over the past few days. If he wasn't having Lu Yang clamor about executing his nine familial relations, the boy was trying to drag him along to commit rebellion. He felt that being emperor was considerably safer. "I'm coming back. These old bones of mine can't take much more tossing about." Jiang Qun beamed with delight upon hearing this. He hurried forward, gave the imperial throne a few symbolic wipes with his sleeve, and invited his imperial father to take his seat. Yet after reverting to his true appearance, Emperor Xia's physical strength seemed to plunge as well. Walking even a few paces left him gasping for breath. When he sat down in the chair, he could not even hold himself upright and had to lean heavily against the backrest. "Imperial Father, are you alright?!" Jiang Qun jumped in fright. When he moved to support his father, he felt that Emperor Xia's arm was as dry and withered as a corpse's bleached skeleton, utterly devoid of vitality. It was as though the father who had just been joking around with him moments ago was nothing more than an illusion. Emperor Xia took two ragged breaths, waved his hand, and forced a faint smile. "It's nothing. I haven't moved around in a long time, so my old bones are struggling to hold up, that's all." Though words of reassurance left his mouth, his face was terribly pale and his eye sockets were deeply sunken, bearing the unmistakable visage of a dying man. The sight twisted Jiang Qun's heart with dread. His imperial father had already possessed little lifespan remaining to begin with, and pushing his life force to the absolute limit just to enjoy himself over the past few days had worsened his condition even further. "Qun'er, Zhen fears my time is truly running short. In this life, Zhen can face our ancestors with a clear conscience, face the common people without shame, and hold Zhen's head high before the entire realm. But Zhen's energy was limited in the end, and I failed to properly nurture you children. That is why your brothers harbor treacherous schemes. Leaving Great Xia in their hands... even with our venerable ancestors holding the line from behind, Zhen truly cannot rest easy..." Jiang Qun picked up on his father's underlying message and said rather helplessly, "Come on, Dad, you've pulled this trick once already. Why are you running it twice?" Emperor Xia's voice instantly spiked several pitches higher, his whole person bursting with energy. "Hey! Why is your head so thick? What, does being emperor wrong you or something?!" "Fine, fine, get lost!" Emperor Xia waved his hand impatiently, shooing away the First Prince like he was chasing off a fly. "Right away!" Once the First Prince and the Immortal Fairy departed Daming Hall, Emperor Xia slumped right back into that withered, feeble state, dried up like deadwood, the flame of his life flickering faintly on the verge of extinguishing. He leaned against the imperial throne he had occupied for the better part of his life and gazed at Jiang Qun's receding figure. A helpless, bitter smile touched his lips, and his voice was faint and hollow. "Qun'er, Zhen's body really is at its limit..." "Still, Zhen had a truly wonderful time these past few days. Thank you, Lu Yang..." ... Xu Xin, Eunuch Li, the imperial guards, and the others watched in utter shock as Lu Yang and the First Prince walked out of Daming Hall. Those who had gone in were Lu Yang and Xia Tian; those who came out were Lu Yang and the First Prince. Xia Tian's true identity was practically shouting itself out loud. Lu Yang and the First Prince had been suspected of treason, yet they had strolled out completely unscathed. Just how profoundly indulgent was His Majesty toward the First Prince?! Inside the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy stretched and let out a massive yawn. "All that playing tuckered me out. Time for a nap. Little Yangzi, I'm returning this body to you." "Ah—what?" Before Lu Yang could even react, he saw the Immortal Fairy in her imperial robes curl up and tumble straight into a peaceful slumber. Meanwhile, he regained control of his physical body after a long absence. "Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, is something the matter?" Jiang Qun asked, noticing Lu Yang's sudden freeze. "Nothing, nothing at all." "Then we part ways here." Jiang Qun cupped his fists in farewell to Lu Yang. "Until we meet again." Having regained his physical body, Lu Yang noticed something remarkable. His soul had battled the Invincible Nascent Soul in the spiritual space and achieved a tremendous breakthrough; normally, there should have been a slight disconnect between his soul and flesh, yet he unexpectedly felt a seamless harmony between the two. This meant the Immortal Fairy had been assisting him in cultivating his physical body the entire time, keeping its growth perfectly synchronized with his soul. *The Fairy really is reliable after all.* With his overall strength elevated yet another step, Lu Yang returned to the Meng Residence in high spirits. But the moment he pushed open his room door, he saw the trio of Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and Jin Caiwei snap their gazes toward him in unison, their eyes practically glowing green as if looking upon fresh prey. Lu Yang suddenly remembered that three ancient half-immortals were still residing in his room! *Fairy, how about you take control of my body again? I can't handle a scene like this!* "Senior Brother is back?" Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi keenly sensed the shift in his demeanor. It seemed Elder Sister Immortal had returned the body to Senior Brother Lu Yang. "You came back so fast." Jin Caiwei looked at Lu Yang in astonishment. The three of them had just been discussing which faction Lu Yang should join in order to obtain diplomatic immunity. To be precise, Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had been discussing it while she listened in. To be even more precise, Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had nearly come to blows over it. Now, it appeared no fight was necessary. Lu Yang had returned safe and sound, clearly off the hook. "Where is Xia Tian?" Jin Caiwei wondered why only one person had returned. Lu Yang had no choice but to explain the whole story, emphasizing that Xia Tian was actually Emperor Xia, and that their trip to the Imperial Palace wasn't stealing the throne, but merely helping him move house. "So it was Emperor Xia. No wonder several Tribulation Transcendence cultivators were tailing him in secret; that makes complete sense." Jiang Lianyi nodded, unfazed by Xia Tian's true identity. Neither Ao Ling nor Jin Caiwei had sensed the presence of those Tribulation Transcendence cultivators hiding in the shadows; only Jiang Lianyi had detected them, as her rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit allowed her to perceive beings weaker than herself. Meanwhile, Meng Jingzhou emerged from a brief bout of secluded cultivation. A mere seven days of seclusion had yielded substantial gains for him. "What?! That brat Lu Yang reported the Fourth Prince for treason?" When Meng Jingzhou came out of seclusion to ask about what had happened over the past few days, the very first thing he heard was a piece of earth-shattering news. Regret flooded Meng Jingzhou's heart. Why had he foolishly chosen to go into seclusion back then, missing out on such a glorious spectacle?! "The Fifth Prince's household was raided too?" Meng Jingzhou chuckled with amusement. Although there was no concrete proof, his intuition told him that the Fifth Prince's misfortune was likely tied to Lu Yang as well. "The imperial throne was stolen by Lu Yang, and he even claimed he was going to rebel?!" Although the theft of the throne was supposed to be confidential, the Ministry of Justice had arrested the culprits right from the Meng Residence, so there was no keeping secrets from the Meng Family. Hearing this news hit Meng Jingzhou so hard that his head spun. Had he been in seclusion for seven days or seven years? How could so many things have happened in that time? That brat Lu Yang truly dared to do anything! "What? You're saying that before our family could even pull any strings, Lu Yang already came back safe and sound?!" After hearing so much wild news about Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou could no longer hold back from seeking him out. Lu Yang lived right next door to him. Meng Jingzhou pushed open the door to Lu Yang's room and let out a hearty laugh. "Old Lu, I heard you wanted to rebel?!" Then he froze, greeted by the sight of Lu Yang blessed with boundless fortune among women, surrounded by three peerless beauties—two tall, one petite. Meng Jingzhou had just started to turn green with envy when a thought struck him. Having only just ended his seclusion, his mind hadn't been fully clear, but with the blood rushing to his head at this sight, he quickly snapped back to his senses. He remembered that Lu Yang was currently possessed by the Immortal Fairy, and a wave of relief instantly balanced out his jealousy. "Don't talk nonsense! None of that happened, it's all just rumors!" Lu Yang hurriedly denied it. Meng Jingzhou realized in a flash—that tone was unquestionably Lu Yang himself! "Lu Yang, you lucky bastard, your luck with women—" Lu Yang instantly lashed out with a kick, sending Meng Jingzhou flying out the door and cutting off the rest of his words. If Immortal Kirin heard that, the consequences would be catastrophic!