Firmament Sword

With that thought, the Transformation Realm powerhouse let out a furious roar as his Dharma Heaven and Earth rose up behind him!

It was an Ancient Tower, thirteen stories tall and over fifty meters high. Its presence was magnificent, ancient, and imposing. The body of the tower radiated an endless pressure, so tangible that even the various mystical inscriptions on its surface were clearly visible!

”You little beast, die!”

HUMMM!

The Ancient Tower let out a hum, bearing down to crush the father and son, Xu Luo and Xu Ji.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The bodies of the several other people on the execution platform instantly exploded into dust, leaving not even a trace behind.

Xu Ji immediately sprayed blood from his mouth. The pressure was too powerful; even though he was in the Transformation Realm, he simply couldn’t withstand it!

Within Xu Luo, his three Star Souls—Shaking Light, Kaiyang, and Jade Balance—suddenly erupted with blinding light. With a deafening BOOM, his Three-Star Dharma Aspect burst forth from the top of his head.

Boundless Star Power surged forth!

From the top of the Star Hall in the square, a beam of light suddenly shot out, piercing the clouds and reaching for the sky.

Immediately after, three beams of light descended from the sky, landing upon the three great stars above Xu Luo’s head.

”Begone!” Xu Luo roared, unleashing the Jade Balance Demon Sound at the enemy Transformation Realm powerhouse!

RUMBLE!

Like mountains collapsing, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the three great stars directly pulverized the opponent’s Ancient Tower!

Xu Luo’s attack with the Jade Balance Demon Sound caused the Transformation Realm powerhouse to bleed from all seven orifices, leaving him in a dazed stupor.

The Seven Star Sword flew out of thin air, slashing directly at the man’s head.

CRACK!

The head of this High Tier of Transformation Realm powerhouse immediately rolled off, and a fountain of hot blood shot into the sky!

”ROAR!” A yellow shadow flashed by, accompanied by a vortex like a black hole, which directly devoured the Transformation Realm powerhouse.

Xu Luo’s body swayed twice, but he managed to steady himself. He roared, ”Huangfu Haoyue, get out here and die!”

Over there, Huangfu Haoyue and the other two Transformation Realm powerhouses were all scared stupid. Huangfu Haoyue muttered, ”Impossible. Xu Luo can’t be this strong. It must be an illusion. It must be!”

”Illusion my ass, let’s run!” one of the Transformation Realm powerhouses shouted. He tucked Huangfu Haoyue under his arm, soared into the air, tore open the void, and fled!

The other Transformation Realm powerhouse didn’t hesitate for a moment, following right behind. He also tore open the void and fled without the slightest delay.

A dead silence fell over the entire, immense square!

Not a single person dared to make a sound!

The entire process sounds long in the telling, but in reality, it happened in a mere instant. Of the seven Transformation Realm experts, five were dead and two had fled!

Xu Luo was like a terrifying Great Demon King, unstoppable, his battle intent soaring to the heavens. No one dared to challenge him!

As for Wei Feng, he had already collapsed atop the Star Hall. Wang Moxuan was dead. Wang Ziweng, Wei Ziting, and the others all stood there like wooden carvings or clay statues, not moving a muscle, scared out of their wits.

Xu Luo took out two Chaos Peaches, handed one to his father, and said, ”Eat this and recover your strength. We still have things to do.”

Xu Ji ate the peach in his hand without hesitation. It melted the moment it entered his mouth, filling it with a rich, fragrant sweetness that was simply divine!

At the same time, a powerful energy spread throughout his body.

Xu Ji immediately understood that this purple peach was an incredible medicinal treasure. A surge of pride swelled in his heart.

’That’s my son!’

Xu Luo, however, didn’t have so many thoughts. After eating a Chaos Peach, he fixed his eyes on the Star Hall, his gaze toward Wei Feng filled with mockery.

”This is a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! I, the Prime Minister, was only feigning cooperation with the traitor Huangfu Haoyue for the sake of the country and its people! Otherwise, the citizens would have suffered! Young General Xu, it’s a good thing you arrived in time. Otherwise, I would have stopped him even at the cost of my life...” Wei Feng suddenly started shouting.

SLAP!

Before he could finish, Sun Yunpeng, who was not far away, swung his arm wide and slapped Wei Feng hard across the face.

”You damn traitor, I’ve wanted to slap you for ages!” Sun Yunpeng panted heavily. ”I’ve waited decades for this day! You utterly hypocritical scumbag!”

SLAP!

Zhao Wenzhao also swung his arm and slapped Wei Feng’s other cheek. ”I’ve wanted to slap you for decades, too!”

Wei Feng’s cheeks immediately swelled up. Two esteemed officials of the court, both among the Nine Ministers, had completely disregarded their image and were violently beating Wei Feng. The sight stunned everyone.

Even Xu Luo was stunned into a stupor. He glanced at his father and asked softly, ”What’s the history... between them?”

Xu Ji said, ”A feud from the previous generation that carried over to theirs. To be honest... I want to slap him too!”

The corner of Xu Luo’s mouth twitched violently, and he said with a grimace, ”Don’t let them beat him to death. Otherwise, how can we clear the names of the soldiers who died tragically at Wansong Town back then?”

Xu Ji nodded, his voice growing heavy. ”Over all these years, do you think the soldiers of Wansong Town were the only ones to die at Wei Feng’s hands?”

At this point, the two lords, Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao, had already given the order to arrest Wei Feng and all his accomplices.

The two of them, however, did not move against Leng Mengde. But at this moment, Leng Mengde’s heart had already sunk to rock bottom. He knew very well that this time, he was completely finished!

Perhaps he wouldn’t die, but his political career and his family would be utterly ruined by this. To make a comeback would require a miracle.

Leng Mengde couldn’t help but look at Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao with immense jealousy. He truly didn’t understand. ’Why did those two have the guts to oppose Huangfu Haoyue? Don’t tell me... they already knew Xu Luo was coming back?’

But this was a question he could only keep to himself. Even if he asked, they wouldn’t give him any explanation.

Leng Mengde’s mind raced, calculating if he had one last chance to gamble... His gaze involuntarily fell upon Xu Ji.

’The National Guardian General King!’

’A Prince of this stature is virtually unprecedented! It’s the absolute pinnacle of enfeoffment!’

’Even a Prince of the Royal Family would have to bow his head before the Grand General King!’

’Any higher... and the only position left is... Emperor!’

With that thought, Leng Mengde gritted his teeth, suddenly fell to his knees in Xu Ji’s direction, and shouted, ”The nation cannot be without a ruler for a single day! We implore the Grand General King to ascend the throne and preside over the court!”

His shout stunned nearly everyone.

Even Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao were frozen in place, staring blankly at Leng Mengde, wondering if the man had gone mad.

Leng Mengde, however, completely ignored their gazes and shouted again, ”The Grand General King is of noble character and high prestige! His ascension to Emperor is what the people desire! We implore the Grand General King to ascend the throne!”

This time, the nobles and great families in the square finally reacted. In a great wave, more than half of the tens of thousands of people present fell to their knees.

”The Grand General King is of noble character and high prestige! His ascension to Emperor is what the people desire! We implore the Grand General King to ascend the throne!”

The shouts of over ten thousand people shook the heavens and the earth, like a thundering tsunami.

”We implore the Grand General King to ascend the throne!”

More people dropped to their knees, their blood boiling with excitement as they shouted the same words.

Xu Ji was dumbfounded. He hadn’t processed what was happening and didn’t know how he should react.

Xu Luo was also in a daze. He had never considered this. It wasn’t that he looked down on secular imperial power; to be honest, if it weren’t for the Eldest Prince, Xu Luo couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be tempted.

But he was like a blood brother to the Eldest Prince, Huangfu Chongzhi, and he and Qiqi were childhood sweethearts. How could he possibly seize the Huangfu Family’s throne?

Even if Huangfu Chongzhi had no interest in the throne, Xu Luo would never do such a thing.

Xu Ji was even less likely to do so. Once he came to his senses, his expression darkened, and he roared, ”Are you trying to force me to rebel? All of you, get the hell up! What is the meaning of this?! The Royal Family’s line has not been severed! The Huangfu Family still has the pure-blooded Eldest Prince! And there is Princess Huangfu Shishi! You are forcing me into perfidy!”

In the square, the expressions of the nobles changed. They hadn’t expected the Grand General King to be so upright that he remained completely unmoved by such a golden opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step, by a throne that was his for the taking.

Such a hero was truly a man among men!

The most terrified of all was none other than Leng Mengde, who was still on the Star Hall.

Just now, when he had made his move, Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao had been surprised, but neither of them had followed the crowd and knelt to implore Xu Ji to take the throne.

For one, they understood Xu Ji and knew he would never agree. For another, even if Xu Ji had agreed, they would not have been in any danger.

After all, at Xu Ji’s most perilous moment, they were the only two high-ranking ministers who had stepped forward to speak a word of justice for him.

”I... I...” Leng Mengde collapsed to the ground, the corners of his mouth twitching violently, completely unable to speak.

If, before shouting those words, he had merely ruined his political career and the Leng Family was only facing decline, then now... he needed to consider how to preserve the Leng Family’s bloodline.

Leng Mengde looked at the faint traces of pity in the eyes of Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao, and his heart filled with dead ashes.

Meanwhile, Wei Feng, who had not yet been taken away, looked at Leng Mengde and burst out laughing. ”Finally, someone to keep me company! HAHAHAHA! After all these years, you still don’t understand what kind of person Xu Ji is. Asking him to take the throne... you’d have better luck asking his son! HAHAHAHA!”

”Take him away!” Sun Yunpeng ordered coldly, then muttered, ’A man at death’s door, and he’s still trying to stir up trouble. What’s the point?’

Once everyone was gathered, Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao both bowed to Xu Ji. Then they looked at Xu Luo, their eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions, chief among them endless envy. Both were thinking the same thing: ’If only he were my son... how wonderful that would be!’

”First, stabilize the situation. Then... we will welcome the Eldest Prince’s... return to ascend the throne!” Xu Ji glanced at the two men and said slowly.

”The Grand General King is righteous! The two of us have no objections!” Sun Yunpeng and Zhao Wenzhao breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief and said in unison.

Xu Ji nodded slightly and glanced at the towering Star Hall. He recalled a familiar face—the Monarch of the Cangqiong Empire, and his, Xu Ji’s, dearest friend. It felt as if they were just sharing drinks yesterday, but now they were separated by death forever.

His heart was a maelstrom of emotions. This iron-willed man, who could face death without flinching, now found his eyes reddening as he fought back tears.

In the vast, starry sky, time flows like a river.

The waves of ages wash away countless heroes.

Right and wrong, success and failure—all vanish in a blink.

The Cyan Mountains remain, as does this cup of coarse wine.

This grief is hard to bear; I pray you visit my dreams.

I see you off on your long journey, for which there is no return.