Regicide

"The Hall of Mental Cultivation, this must be it."

Si Ming gazed into the distance, glanced at the plaque at the palace gate to confirm he hadn't gone to the wrong place, and then observed for a moment. He noticed two guards standing at the palace gate, both with Internal Cultivation Level Ten. They were experts whose rhythm couldn't be disrupted by using Sound of Broken Harmony; at most, they could only be disrupted, causing their movements to become unbalanced. After careful observation and analysis, he might be able to achieve the same effect as when he dealt with Su Yingtao, making them unable to stand up.

"Forcing your way in through the wall instead of the main entrance is one option... but it's far too brutal, a completely reckless approach, utterly devoid of elegance, and shows a complete lack of understanding of the Paramārtha of stealth."

Si Ming quickly made a decision, took the knife box from his back, opened it and took out the weapon inside. It was an evil weapon like a venomous scorpion. The blade was black, except for the edge which was bright red like blood. The whole body was made of overlapping blades, but there were no visible signs of riveting. The blade was covered with sharp hooks like scorpion legs, and the blade edge drew a huge arc like a scythe, as if the scorpion's tail was raised, ready to strike a fatal blow at any time.

Ferocious, evil, and bloodthirsty—that's the first impression this evil blade, named "Crimson Scorpion," gives. It seems as if it could transform into a living creature at any moment and launch a fierce attack.

The Crimson Scorpion Evil Saber doesn't quite reach the level of the Nine Great Ominous Weapons, but it does possess the characteristics of driving its user mad, bloodthirsty, and belligerent. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; at least it can enhance combat power. Even a cowardly wielding it would instantly become a fearless warrior. Furthermore, the evil blade is also inherently poisonous, capable of causing the blood in the injured person's body to boil and evaporate.

Although it wasn't one of the Nine Great Ominous Weapons, this evil blade was still enough to satisfy Si Ming. Putting aside the side effects, in terms of the weapon's inherent attributes alone, it was no less powerful than Murong Qing's Moon God's Tear —since the Moon God's Tear had no side effects, it was superior in terms of value.

Rather, if it were truly Nine Great Ominous Weapons, Han Hao would never have given it to Si Ming. Even with its many hidden dangers, the mere name "Nine Great" is enough to give it extraordinary value. Moreover, given Han Hao's status, unless he obtained it through a fortuitous encounter, he would never have come into contact with the Nine Great Ominous Weapons.

The moment Si Ming reached out and grabbed the blade, he felt a fanatical will emanating from it, as if it were infecting his spirit, causing him to roar like an orc and fight madly.

However, he immediately channeled his Asura Divine Power, and the burning fighting spirit brewing in his bloodline suppressed the mad sword intent. For a martial artist of his level, maintaining rationality was more effective than acting recklessly and madly.

Under the influence of the Asura Divine Power, Si Ming's appearance changed, becoming more ferocious, and his physique also became stronger, becoming powerful and muscular, exuding a strong Hong Kong comic book style.

With the evil weapon and malevolent power combined, even a fool could sense something was amiss. The two guards naturally noticed this fierce and menacing aura, and their expressions changed.

Who is it?

"Thousands of monks and ten thousand Buddhas perished in bloodshed, the exorcism and punishment were opened to the world. Demonic Buddhas, Strange Monk, every sound and every word Ghost Tathagata!"

Si Ming rushed in through the main gate. Although the two guards put up a resistance, that was all they could do. They didn't even have time to shout a warning before they were swallowed up by the flood-like force and lost consciousness in the Torrent.

"As the saying goes, things reach their extremes and then reverse. Once you've mastered stealth to its highest level, you must enter through the main gate with dignity."

Si Ming burst into the Hall of Mental Cultivation and rushed straight into the inner room without regard for anything else. He soon saw an extremely luxurious bed, on which lay a pale-faced old man, none other than the current Emperor of France.

"Come on, let's see if it's real or fake, you'll know the difference after trying it!"

Si Ming didn't bother to investigate further and simply slashed with his sword.

Chapter 506 King Murder

As soon as Si Ming stepped into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he brandished his sword at the emperor on the bed. Such a decisive and swift action immediately made the hearts of those secretly lurking waver, and their originally Golden Core aura began to fluctuate.

I've found you!

Just as the blade's energy was about to touch the master on the bed, Si Ming suddenly spun the blade, and the energy changed direction like a puppet controlled by threads, attacking the ceiling beams.

With a loud clang, a figure was forced to fall from the roof. It was an old man with a tortoise-shell and crane-like appearance, an extraordinary demeanor, and piercing eyes. He was dressed in a Daoist robe and held a whisk.

"Good lad, that last stab was actually meant to lure this old man out. Alas, if I were young, I would never have fallen for it, but as people get older, they can't handle stimulation, and their Zisi becomes slower. I couldn't even see through such a simple trick to lure the snake out of its hole."

Si Ming sized up the other person, matching his appearance with descriptions of people in his memory, and asked suspiciously, "Are you Song Taiping, the Celestial Master of the Mysterious Capital?"

This man was also one of the France Spirit Transformation Grandmaster Legalist School. He combined the strengths of Daoist School and Daoism to establish the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sect. He was a reformer in Daoism, advocating the elimination of witchcraft and superstition, the prohibition of worshipping gods and immortals, and the development of Daoist School doctrines. He was determined to bring Daoism back to its original Daoist School after it had deviated from Daoist School. Therefore, he required his disciples to actively engage in worldly affairs and cultivate themselves in the secular world.

Among all the Spirit Transformation Grandmaster in France, Song Taiping was not the strongest, but he was the most prestigious, after all, in addition to being a martial artist, he also had the identity of a Daoism Master.

In addition, he is the oldest, now 116 years old. Putting aside everything else, his internal Internal Cultivation alone is truly unfathomable. It should be known that Daoist School Internal Cultivation emphasizes long-lasting power, and the longer it lasts, the more extraordinary it can be.

"This old Daoist bows in reverence," Song Taiping said, carefully examining the other man. "Young hero, your martial arts are strange. Although you have a Buddhism background, you exude a fierce and malevolent aura, which greatly contradicts the compassionate and righteous teachings of Buddhist School. It seems more like demonic magic."

Si Ming was startled. This Daoist priest had sharp eyes. He had such insight even in the Sea Continent, where Buddhism was not prevalent. Fortunately, he had not seen what he looked like when he broke him out of prison. Otherwise, his disguise would not have been enough to cover it up.

"The Daoist priest is also one of the Second Prince's men? So Qi Tailai isn't the only Spirit Transformation Grandmaster following him."

"It's not so much about following him, but rather about having aligned interests. He promises us what we want, and we help him achieve his desires. Aren't you the same, young hero?"

"You said 'we,' so the Second Prince has other experts?" Si Ming curled his lip. "He's quite the actor, isn't he? He's got a lot of bombs in his hand, but he manages to make it look like he's dealt a terrible hand."

"Isn't the Third Prince the same? He clearly has a young and powerful figure like you, yet he claims to the outside world that he doesn't even have a single Spirit Transformation supporter? But for politicians like them, it's only natural to keep something in reserve and not let their opponents see their true strength. If they don't even have this much shrewdness, they might as well withdraw early."

"That makes sense," Si Ming nodded, then pointed to the dragon bed, "Is the person lying on the bed the real emperor? Is he still alive?"

"He is indeed the current Dharma Emperor. Although he is still alive, he is no different from a dead man. The old injuries he sustained while practicing martial arts half a year ago have flared up, causing him to lose his five senses. He is unable to move, speak, or even perceive any changes in the outside world. He can only live in his own world of consciousness, essentially a living dead. In a sense, death has actually brought him liberation."

Song Taiping answered without hesitation, not knowing whether his words were true or false.

Si Ming attempted to use logical dialectics, hypothesizing both scenarios: Song Taiping told the truth and Song Taiping lied. He then considered the underlying intentions in each case and ultimately arrived at his conclusion—

"I'm not here to reason with you today. Are you prepared to fight?"

Si Ming raised the Crimson Scorpion Evil Saber, channeling his inner energy. The blade trembled and shone with fierce battle intent. The crimson hue on the blade became even more dazzling, as if it could drip blood. The evil blade also continuously emitted a bloodthirsty aura, as if urging Si Ming to fight his enemy.

"Young hero, why are you in such a hurry? With our strength, we have no need to pledge allegiance to anyone. Now that the Third Prince's power is waning and the Second Prince has victory in his grasp, why not choose a better tree to perch on? The conditions the Third Prince agreed to for you, the Second Prince can also grant you."

Sensing Si Ming's true combat strength, Song Taiping didn't want to fight. After all, in a battle between two Spirit Transformation cultivators, regardless of victory or defeat, injuries were inevitable. Si Ming was young and strong, and could be back to his old self after a couple of days of rest. Song Taiping, on the other hand, was getting old; a broken bone would take a hundred days to heal. Even if he was skilled in health preservation, it was best to avoid injury if possible. There was no deep-seated hatred between them, so why risk his life for someone else's sake?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone sat down to chat and drink tea, get through the "work hours," and then go about their business after "get off work"?

That's why he was so cooperative and answered every question just now, just to buy time.

However, Si Ming shook his head and said, "If you take someone's money, you have to do their bidding. I have a lot of professional ethics. Since I've received the payment, I have to get things done for them. What famous assassin would abandon a mission and betray their employer just because the target offered a higher price? Unless they're done with this job and then quit—but people with that kind of thinking usually don't come back alive."

Seeing that the other party was about to make a move, Song Taiping hurriedly said, "Besides this old Daoist, the Second Prince still has three Nascent Spirit Transformation under his command. Young hero, do you think the Third Prince still has a chance of winning?"

Si Ming frowned. "Since you dared to leak this information to me, does that mean the Second Prince will make his move today?"

Calculating the time, the other party wouldn't be able to return in time. Even if the information was leaked, it wouldn't matter. Song Taiping nodded and said, "Today's situation is to draw out the last trump card of the Third Prince. The Second Prince should already be leading three Spirit Transformation Grandmaster into the Third Prince's residence, clearing the final obstacle on his path to the throne—even in the assassin profession, if the employer dies, the mission is considered canceled. Why would you risk your life for a dead man?"

Si Ming fell silent, as if considering Song Taiping's suggestion.