N-A-A Chapter 197 Devastating News! I have the protection of the Dragon Vein!
Chapter 197 Devastating News! I have the protection of the Dragon Vein!
Chapter 197 Devastating News! I have the protection of the Dragon Vein!
From the moment Guo Bujing appeared, Cao Zhengchun's intuition told him that he couldn't win.
So he was torn between whether or not to surrender.
The moment Chu Yang truly made his move.
The shadow of death loomed over Cao Zhengchun.
Without any further hesitation, he obediently knelt down and admitted defeat.
What level of martial arts skill could kill a grandmaster without any chance of fighting back?
Cao Zhengchun did not know.
But he understood that even a grandmaster like Zhuge Liang could not do it.
If the two were to fight, Cao Zhengchun might lose or die, but he would certainly not die as pathetically as an ant.
But when facing Chu Yang, he was like an ant.
The opponent could break through his Vajra Body Protection with just a finger.
His innate inner energy, cultivated over decades of celibacy, was as thin as a sheet of paper.
As the sword was about to strike him, Cao Zhengchun truly felt the immense gap between them.
He realized something.
The emperor cannot turn the tide...
"Eunuch Cao, I underestimated you. You are quite the man of flexibility."
Chu Yang patted Cao Zhengchun's head playfully.
"This servant was blind and failed to recognize the true nature of the place. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Cao Zhengchun, honest and simple, bowed deeply, hoping that Chu Yang would spare his life.
Before Chu Yang could speak, Yu Huatian had already started cursing.
"Cao Zhengchun, you treacherous old dog! You're still the head of the Eastern Depot, I'm ashamed to be associated with you!"
Yu Huatian's hair stood on end in anger, and his cloak fluttered in the wind.
He never dreamed that Cao Zhengchun, his enemy for half his life, would kneel down so easily.
I've become a laughingstock too!
Compared to killing Chu Yang, Yu Huatian wanted to kill Cao Zhengchun more at this moment!
But he didn't have that opportunity.
Now that Cao Zhengchun has obediently admitted defeat, Chu Yang's target is naturally only him.
The moves are exactly the same.
It still uses the finger as a sword.
Yu Huatian was on high alert, gripping his sword tightly and pouring all his true energy into it.
A powerful strike!
With precise fingertips, Chu Yang's sword tip was precisely placed on the broken sword tip. The rain-like sword energy surrounding him all converged on this single point, shining like a brilliant star at his fingertips.
Yu Huatian looked incredulous.
What kind of swordsmanship is this?
Yu Huatian, who had never slacked off in his sword practice throughout his life, believed that his swordsmanship was no weaker than that of Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. He might not be as talented as those two, but no one could match his hard work.
He trained hard through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, never putting down his sword from the moment he first held it as a child.
His efforts and pride were utterly rendered a joke the moment he saw Chu Yang's sword strike.
It was at this moment that Yu Huatian understood why Cao Zhengchun had obediently knelt down and admitted defeat; the difference between him and Chu Yang was like heaven and earth.
The wise king was not a grandmaster!
It's at the level of a Grandmaster or higher!
boom!
The sword in Yu Huatian's hand shattered, and the dazzling starlight grew closer and closer in his vision. He knew his death was imminent, so he simply closed his eyes and made no resistance.
To die by such swordsmanship is an honor for a swordsman.
Chu Yang had no intention of holding back, but the sudden dragon's roar made him stop.
North of the training ground, above the Imperial Study, hovered a golden dragon shadow the size of a mountain, roaring in pain as if foreshadowing something.
Suddenly, the dozen or so red-robed eunuchs who were preparing to besiege Chu Yang in the training ground changed their expressions and rushed out of the battle formation like madmen, rushing towards the direction of the imperial study.
Cao Zhengchun didn't know what had happened, but from the red-robed eunuch's reaction and the direction they left in, he couldn't help but feel a chill.
It's the emperor!
Li Chengliang and the Imperial Guards were also terrified by the golden dragon in the sky, and the deadly battle between the two sides inexplicably came to a halt.
For some reason, everyone felt a sudden pang of sadness upon hearing the golden dragon's roar.
It seemed to be something closely related to them.
Chu Yang sighed, ignoring Cao Zhengchun's plea for mercy and Yu Huatian's desire for death, and walked out of the battle formation step by step.
This time, no one dared to stop them.
"Where are you going, Your Highness?"
"To meet my elder brother, the Emperor."
"Your Highness, could you please spare His Majesty?"
"Lord Guo, he is dead."
Guo Bujing stared intently at Chu Yang, his face extremely grim. "How could this be..."
Chu Yang shook his head. "Let's go, Lord Guo. Maybe we'll still have a chance to see him off."
Meanwhile, Lu Xiaofeng, who was in another part of the palace, also saw the golden dragon phantom. He felt a mix of emotions and guessed what it meant.
He had a chance to stop it, but he gave it up.
A sense of guilt welled up in Lu Xiaofeng's heart.
Inside the Imperial Study.
"The commotion is too loud, what should we do now?"
The Prince of Pingnan, dressed in a dragon robe, watched the golden dragon soar into the sky and was immediately at a loss.
"Don't panic! You are the emperor now, act like one!"
Ye Gucheng's rebuke brought the Prince of Pingnan back to his senses.
"Someone should be arriving soon. You guys better get ready and make it look convincing!"
Manager Wang quickly reminded them.
No sooner had the words been spoken than a dozen red figures burst open the door of the Imperial Study. Some landed beside the Prince of Pingnan, while others charged directly at Ye Gucheng and Chief Steward Wang.
Knowing who these people were, Chief Steward Wang quickly shouted, "We've come to protect Your Majesty! The thieves have been executed, Your Majesty is safe!"
The Prince of Pingnan's heir shouted, "Yes, those two are here to protect the Emperor!"
The red-robed eunuchs all stopped what they were doing, knelt down facing the Prince of Pingnan's heir, and said in unison, "Your Majesty, we are late in coming to your aid. Please forgive us."
The prince was overjoyed by the repeated calls of "Your Majesty."
Ye Gucheng breathed a sigh of relief; he had almost gotten into a fight with these red-robed eunuchs.
Don't be fooled by the fact that none of these red-robed eunuchs are grandmasters; each of them possesses secret techniques and is a ruthless individual willing to risk their life for another. In a real fight, even a grandmaster would have to avoid their sharp edge.
Steward Wang pointed to a mangled corpse on the ground and said, "The assassin's body is here. Please drag it away and dispose of it."
The eunuchs in red robes looked at the prince, who nodded and said, "Let's do as Eunuch Wang says."
The red-robed eunuch, having received the order, approached the corpse, preparing to carry it out to feed the dogs.
A sword aura burst through the window, piercing the knees of two red-robed eunuchs, and screams of agony immediately filled the room.
"Stop it, all of you!"
Guo Bujing appeared at the door of the imperial study and stopped the eunuchs from acting.
"What does Guo Aiqing mean by this?"
Having grasped the essence of the performance, the prince looked at Guo Bujing indifferently. He had already memorized the information of most of the high-ranking officials in the court and was not afraid of showing any weakness.
"I advise you not to speak to me in His Majesty's tone."
For the first time ever, murderous intent appeared in Guo Bujing's eyes.
The prince's expression changed, and he subconsciously looked at Ye Gucheng and Steward Wang.
Steward Wang roared, "Guo the Disrespectful, are you trying to rebel?"
Guo Bujing did not answer, but stepped aside, and Chu Yang's figure slowly appeared.
He ignored everyone present, silently walked to the corpse, and smiled.
"Brother, how could you die?"
In the past, if Cao Zhengchun and the others had seen Chu Yang calling out "Royal Brother" to the corpse on the ground, they would have thought that His Highness the Prince had gone mad again.
But things are different now.
Chu Yang's attitude can change many people's minds.
So, when everyone looked at the disfigured corpse, they actually felt a sense of familiarity.
but……
The emperor stood perfectly fine before them.
If the corpse was the emperor, then who was standing in front of them?
The imperial study suddenly fell silent, with only Guo Bujing glaring angrily at Ye Gucheng and the other two.
Chief Steward Wang's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he forced a smile onto his wrinkled old face. "Your Highness, His Majesty is right here. Why are you spouting nonsense about an assassin's corpse?"
"This old servant knows that you and His Majesty have a grudge, but you shouldn't have spoken like that."
Chu Yang ignored him, silently looking at the corpse on the ground, feeling a little regretful. "You like to manipulate others, but in the end, when you're about to die, you're the one being manipulated. In your next life, be an honest person."
"However, to be honest, the Zhu family didn't leave behind anything of value. For the emperor to be unable to even save his own life, brother, you really are a disappointment."
"Your head is for me to collect."
Seeing Chu Yang's erratic behavior, Chief Eunuch Wang panicked and shouted at the red-robed eunuchs, "Didn't you hear the Prince's treasonous words? Quickly deal with this rebellious traitor!"
The Prince of Pingnan, who was disguised as the emperor, also sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Quickly take action to kill the traitor!"
Upon hearing the imperial edict, the red-robed eunuchs did not hesitate. Strange black flames erupted from their bodies as they charged towards Chu Yang fearlessly.
They had already witnessed Chu Yang's methods, so they used all their might from the very beginning of the battle.
They felt that their lives belonged to the emperor, and they didn't care how they returned them to him.
"Your Highness, please be careful."
Just as Guo Bujing was about to make a move, he suddenly saw Chu Yang, who had his back to him, waving his hand.
Chu Yang looked indifferently at the group of blindly loyal eunuchs, stretched out his finger and drew a line in the air, and at the same time, a cold voice rang out.
"cut!"
The bodies of more than a dozen red-robed eunuchs were struck by Su Nuo's slashing spell at the same time.
The body and head were separated.
More than a dozen heads flew high into the air.
Blood flowed like a river in the Imperial Study.
A chill ran straight to the top of everyone's head in the room.
Completely crushing everything in its path!
Ye Gucheng's eyes widened, revealing an expression of disbelief.
What kind of martial art is this?
Sword energy?
Knife skills?
As one of the few top figures in the entire martial arts world, Ye Gucheng was quite knowledgeable, but he had never seen such a bizarre martial art before.
If Ye Gucheng was like this, the others were even worse.
The head of the Eastern Depot, Eunuch Cao, knelt obediently on the ground once again, his head bowed in fear and unease. This time, however, Yu Huatian also knelt down willingly.
After they knelt down, a large number of people followed suit and knelt down one after another.
Of course, Chu Yang didn't care whether they knelt or not.
His gaze first swept over the Prince of Pingnan, who bore a striking resemblance to the emperor, before settling on Ye Gucheng.
"You should have died at the top of the Forbidden City."
"Ye Gucheng".
Chu Yang's eyes held a hint of regret, as if he were looking at an old friend who had lost his integrity in his later years.
"Perhaps..."
At this point, any further explanation would be pointless in Ye Gucheng's eyes. He was simply puzzled as to why Chu Yang could tell at a glance that the corpse lying on the ground was the emperor.
Shouldn't these two brothers be irreconcilable enemies?
The death of the red-robed eunuch greatly shocked Chief Steward Wang. It took him a while to remember to call for help, "Guards! Come quickly to the Emperor's rescue! Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian, what are you two good-for-nothings doing? Hurry up and come to the Emperor's rescue!"
"Hold the Prince back and let the Imperial Guards surround and annihilate him!"
No one cares about him.
Manager Wang was screaming and yelling hysterically, like a madman.
"waste!"
Ye Gucheng impatiently turned around and swung his sword, severing Steward Wang's head.
dong dong dong.
The head rolled to the feet of the Prince of Pingnan's heir, scaring him so much that he turned pale.
He abruptly took a few steps back, distancing himself from Ye Gucheng, and pointed at him with a trembling hand, "Are you crazy?"
Ye Gucheng gave him a disdainful look.
To conspire with these two good-for-nothings like this, what else could I be but insane?
I originally thought the heir of the Prince of Pingnan had the makings of a remarkable person, but now it seems he's just a good-for-nothing.
Ultimately, it was Prince Pingnan who was ruthless enough to be willing to sacrifice his own life and the lives of everyone else to pave the way for his son.
"Your Highness, the situation is hopeless."
"Ye Gucheng, how dare you call me 'Young Master' in front of them?!"
"Fool, I'm just letting you down out of pity. Even if you were the real emperor, you'd still die at the hands of the Wise Prince today. Does it even matter if you're real or not?"
"I have the blood of the Zhu family. I killed the emperor, seized the founding imperial seal, and I am the new emperor!"
The heir apparent of the Prince of Pingnan burst into laughter, "What right does he have to touch me?"
"I am protected by the dragon vein..."
A flash of sword light appeared, silver light like a dragon, tearing through the golden dragon aura that the Prince of Pingnan relied on, and beheading him with a single sword strike.
Heads fell to the ground.
The resentment in his eyes was exactly the same as that of the previous emperors.
"Noisy."
Chu Yang glanced at him with pity and then took the jade seal from his arms into his hand.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, he crushed it into powder with a look of disdain.
"Useless things".
Golden light shone brightly in the imperial study, and the golden dragon aura manifested from the dragon vein hovered above everyone's heads. Cao Zhengchun and the others revealed greed in their eyes.
The dragon vein is connected to the fate of the nation. Just one breath of it can greatly enhance one's power. That's how those red-robed eunuchs were trained. After they die, they will naturally return the dragon energy to heaven and earth.
Chu Yang opened his palm and did nothing. The dragon energy obediently landed in his palm and turned into a ball of golden light. There was no need for any jade seal as an aid.
I don't care about your national destiny or dragon veins. If you don't obey, just disappear completely!
Unlike previous emperors who treated him with courtesy, Chu Yang was filled with naked murderous intent from the inside out.
Dragon veins possess a spirit, and naturally they can sense these things.
"Cao Zhengchun, come and collect the Emperor's body."
"This old servant obeys the decree."
"Eunuch Cao, I am not the emperor yet."
"Your Majesty, a country cannot be without a ruler for even a day."
Chu Yang shook his head and chuckled. This old dog really knew how to flatter; even he found it somewhat pleasant.
"Your Highness, let me handle the burial of His Majesty's body."
Unlike Cao Zhengchun, Guo Bujing did not change his way of addressing Chu Yang.
In his view, as long as Chu Yang has not officially ascended the throne, he is still a wise king.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Guo."
Chu Yang took one last look at the emperor's corpse before leaving the imperial study, followed closely by Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian.
"May I ask, Your Highness, how do you intend to deal with me?" Ye Gucheng asked.
"I've already said it, you should die at the top of the Forbidden City."
Afterwards, Ye Gucheng returned to the decisive battle location and, as agreed, faced off against Ximen Chuixue.
All the previous farces are no longer important.
All that remained in everyone's eyes was the duel itself.
Chu Yang witnessed the entire process of Ye Gucheng's defeat and death, and also saw the unparalleled celestial being descending from the heavens.
The next day.
News of the emperor's death spread throughout the land.
(End of this chapter)