Chapter 98: Chapter 77: Interfering with Imperial Power (Part 2)

"My aptitude is poor. Third Grade is my limit. Even more Treasure Pills couldn’t help me reach a higher realm..."

"The Western Depot is about to fall."

"Eunuch Xu Ge, for Lord Xu’s sake, I advise you to find a chance and flee the Imperial Palace. Otherwise, after the Western Depot falls, you will certainly be sentenced to death..."

Yu Zhong shook his head, his interest waning. He pushed the brocade box back and turned to leave.

He had to gather his men and continue the search for Lord Su.

He didn’t have time to waste on this mediocre leader of the Western Depot.

"You’re just like him."

"Why not open it and take a look?"

"Back then, if he hadn’t overthought things and had just accepted my brocade box, perhaps he wouldn’t have died so soon."

Su Chen sighed.

Who was this "he" that Eunuch Xu Ge spoke of?

Yu Zhong didn’t know.

But he stopped in his tracks nonetheless. He had to at least show him that much respect.

"I appreciate the kind gesture."

"But Captain Xu, I really... I really..."

Still, Yu Zhong opened the brocade box.

In that instant.

His breath caught, and his eyes froze. Even the hand holding the brocade box began to tremble. His gaze was filled with utter disbelief.

BAM!

He slammed the brocade box shut, clutched it to his chest, and glanced around frantically.

Seeing no one else around, he looked back at Su Chen, trembling.

"This is..."

"Such a treasure..."

"Captain Xu, how could I possibly deserve this..."

Yu Zhong clutched the brocade box tighter, his voice trembling.

This treasure was too precious.

Forget Second Grade or First Grade—it could even help one reach the Peak, or perhaps even beyond...

This was no longer just a Treasure Medicine. It was a Divine Medicine spoken of only in legends, one that could grant heaven-reaching creation for Mortal Cultivation!

If word of this got out, it would undoubtedly stir up a storm of blood.

The entire Great Zhou Imperial City would be plunged into a whirlpool once more. It wouldn’t just be a matter of Old Liang and New Zhou; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every First Grade expert in the world would flock here to fight for it.

"It doesn’t matter anymore."

"Zhong, protect the Western Depot well."

"After all, this is what Han cherished most, what he left for me. Although... I don’t think I need this kind of power..."

"But it was a token of his heart, and it shouldn’t just vanish into thin air..."

Thinking of his old friend, Su Chen grew melancholic.

"Besides,"

"I don’t need this thing anymore."

He looked up toward the top of the Library Pavilion, his expression complicated.

’There’s a scent of the immortal about her.’

’I was originally saving it for her.’

’But...’

’Why did she start cultivation?’

As Yu Zhong walked out of the Library Pavilion, his expression was still dazed. He clutched the brocade box, then suddenly whipped his head around to look back at the pavilion.

A question suddenly struck him.

’What did he just call Lord Xu?’

’Han?’

’Aren’t the rumors that Eunuch Xu Ge is Chief Eunuch Xu Han’s illegitimate son?’

’Could it be... he’s...’

At that moment, Yu Zhong’s body and mind trembled. He stared at the Library Pavilion, unable to turn away for a long, long time.

In a daze, he remembered.

When he first met Xu Ge.

At the Palace Gate.

He had said,

"Power is like a fleeting cloud to me."

"I returned only because, as vast as the world is, I have nowhere else to go. Only here do I feel a sense of familiarity."

"That’s all."

In that instant, he understood.

So that was it.

Lord Su, the man the entire world was searching for, had been right under the Western Depot’s nose the whole time, back in his old haunt from ten years ago—the Library Pavilion.

"No wonder, no wonder..."

Tears streamed down Yu Zhong’s face. He, a man in his forties, had been worn down by toil and worry these past days, his hair already graying. Now, he fell to his knees and kowtowed heavily.

He swore an oath.

He would never fail the trust Lord Xu had placed in him before his death.

"Lord Xu, your kindness to me, Zhong, was as heavy as a mountain, and I have never forgotten it. After we parted at the Jinjiang River, I thought I would never again have the chance to look after Lord Su."

"I will take good care of Lord Su for you!"

The brocade box opened.

Inside was an old ginseng root shaped like a human figure, placed casually within. Many of its rootlets had been clipped, giving it a disheveled look.

The Thousand-year-old Treasure Medicine King.

It could allow a First Grade expert to step directly into the Grandmaster realm!

「That night.」

Clad in a great red robe, a new First Grade expert was born. He entered the Eastern Palace, swept aside three thousand armored soldiers with a flick of his sleeve, and sat beneath the moon to debate with the Crown Prince.

They spoke of Liang and Zhou, arguing the great trends of the world.

During this time, First Grade experts from Great Zhou continuously arrived upon hearing the news, but not a single one was ever seen walking out alive.

The night passed in silence.

When dawn broke, the Crown Prince rose to his feet, still laughing.

"Zhou’s Destruction of Liang is the prevailing trend of the world!"

"The Western Depot will survive if it submits."

"This is the Great Zhou Imperial Palace! I don’t know how you reached First Grade, but you would never dare to kill me! I am the Regent Crown Prince!"

But it was to no avail.

The First Grade expert walked out, carrying the Crown Prince’s head.

A Peak expert, seething with killing intent, arrived in a fury.

He answered.

"Lord Su does not wish for the Western Depot to be destroyed. I came here to persuade the Crown Prince with good words. Alas, the Crown Prince was stubborn, leaving me no choice but to kill him."

"I came this time. Next time, it will be Lord Su."

The Peak expert trembled in fear and dared not block his path again.

When this matter came to light, the Imperial City was shaken, and the world fell silent.

The second Regent Crown Prince had been slain in less than seven days, and by an ordinary eunuch no less.

The world looked toward the Jinjiang River, awaiting the thunderous wrath of Great Zhou’s powerful sovereign.

And in the face of that thunderous wrath, they awaited the reaction of the Wind Snow Sword Immortal, the one who had achieved the status of Grandmaster as a First Grade expert.

Everyone was waiting for the day the Western Depot would be annihilated.

They couldn’t deal with Lord Su.

But could they not even kill a petty First Grade eunuch who had committed such gross insubordination?

However, the imperial edict arrived.

It made no mention of the event. It was plain and concise, merely appointing the third prince to the position of Crown Prince and to act as Regent.

The world was shaken.

「Thereafter.」

This First Grade expert took control of the Western Depot, became Chief Steward of the Military Supervision Bureau, and wore the great red robe of Old Liang. His name was Yu Zhong, and all the world knew it.

「On this day, inside the Library Pavilion.」

Su Chen was carving a wooden tablet for the Flame Emperor.

’For the sake of the world’s common people.’

’Utterly unrepentant.’

’Flame Emperor, it seems you must die.’

At Su Chen’s feet lay a multitude of wooden tablets: Grand Ancestor of Liang, Tianwu Emperor, the Deposed Emperor, Emperor Jianwu, the Little Emperor, and the Xuanlong Emperor.

Now, it was the Flame Emperor’s turn.

Others didn’t know what lay beneath the Jin and Nujiang Rivers, but he knew perfectly well.

When he had split the river with a single sword strike, rescued the Cyan Sparrow, and sped away, it wasn’t a case of him simply leaving after the job was done. He had been startled away.

Beneath the Jinjiang River, there was a great serpent and a Copper Coffin sunk at the bottom, bound by countless thick chains.

Having fused with some of Tianwu’s remnant memories, Su Chen knew very well that the Grand Ancestor of Great Zhou possessed a Spiritual Root and walked the cultivation path of Beast Taming.

Qi Cultivation Immortal Tier, Sixth Layer.

Equivalent to Acquired Grandmaster Perfection.

The Grand Ancestor of Liang was able to seize the Immortal Whale’s Longevity Blood and, supplemented by a Secret Skill, survive for over three hundred years. So, could the Grand Ancestor of Zhou, who had once divided the world of Great Yu with him, truly be dead?

In the one hundredth year of Great Liang, the Grand Ancestor of Zhou passed away. The Grand Ancestor of Liang, who had by then become Emperor Wen of Liang, personally entered Great Zhou, wanting to refine his old friend’s corpse into a Demon Corpse.

He followed the funeral procession all the way, watched the Zhou Imperial Mausoleum being sealed, and then went inside to search, but he could never find that Copper Coffin!

Within the Great Zhou Imperial Mausoleum, there is a surging river that runs from north to south, connecting Zhou and Liang. It is called the Nujiang River, also known as the Jinjiang River.

In the third year of the Great Zhou’s Xuanlong Dynasty, at the end of the ninth month.

Su Chen shouldered his Sword Box, packed his belongings, and prepared to head for the Nujiang River.

The little turtle, hearing they were going to the Nujiang River, thought of that great serpent, and drooling, it secretly climbed into the Sword Box.

「At that moment.」

The sky was dim.

A chilly autumn wind blew withered yellow leaves across the sky, adding a touch of desolation to the Human World.

Outside the Library Pavilion, an uninvited guest arrived.

The young man had sword-like brows that slanted toward his temples, and his eyes were covered with a black cloth. He could only walk with assistance. This was an old acquaintance from years past.

But in just one short year, things had changed, and people were no longer the same.

The boy who had once hidden in the Library Pavilion to escape his pursuers, the one he had met in a ruined temple in the rain, was now dressed in a Black Dragon Robe. He was already the third Regent Crown Prince.

The General Lei supporting him was no longer a Second Grade expert.

He was First Grade.

Moreover, his True Intent had reached Perfection, and he had one foot in the Peak realm.

"Eunuch Xu, are you not going to come and pay your respects?"

Seeing Xu Ge remain motionless, General Lei frowned and couldn’t help but remind him.

"His Highness is now the Crown Prince."

"You should come and greet him!"

General Lei didn’t understand.

Why would Prince Jie, upon rushing here to act as Regent, not go to see the court officials first, but instead come to this Library Pavilion to see a thirty-year-old cripple who hadn’t even started cultivation.

"So you’re the Crown Prince now."

Su Chen brushed the fallen leaves from the table. He was about to pour tea for his old acquaintance but found the kettle was empty.

"It’s been a while, Eunuch Xu."

Crown Prince Jie sat at the stone table. He summoned fire in his palm and gathered water with a raise of his finger, boiling it to make tea for Su Chen. He poured the first cup.

"For the sake of the world’s common people."

"You."

"Will you support me in becoming Emperor?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.