A prophecy come true.
At the end of July, they had barely seen Prince Chu's entire household off when, at the beginning of August, news broke that Prince Han had attempted an assassination.
Emperor Yongxing flew into a rage, and the Imperial Guards surrounded Prince Han's residence.
The imperial uncles of the Court of the Imperial Clan could not even get an audience with Emperor Yongxing. The Brocade Guard kept Shangyang Palace under airtight guard.
It would have been one thing if Prince Han had obediently surrendered, but he actually led his retainers in resistance and was ultimately killed by the Imperial Guards' encirclement.
The court officials, imperial clansmen, and meritorious nobles linked this matter with Prince Chu's case. It was hard not to suspect that Emperor Yongxing had staged it all himself, using it to eliminate the three princely households.
That suspicion was swiftly dispelled when Emperor Yongxing had two fingers severed.
Even the selection of court officials judged people by appearance, allowing no bodily disability whatsoever—let alone for an emperor!
"Exterminate everyone in Prince Han's residence!"
The hundred officials fell silent.
Heavenly Prison.
Cries of injustice, wails of grief, curses, and noisy sobbing rang out without end.
Prince Han had led men in battle against the Imperial Guards, confirming the charge of treason. Anyone with even the slightest connection to him had to take a trip through the Heavenly Prison.
The prison had its ways of dealing with prisoners. Guilty or innocent, they all had to sign and leave their handprints!
Captain Lu led his men in interrogations until the latter half of the night. Exhausted to the point of collapse, he obtained a thick stack of confessions.
"Old Zhou, that mouth of yours—talk less in the future!"
"Sir, there must be something fishy going on here!"
Zhou Yi had deeply cultivated the Theory of Nurturing the Spirit, and his Spirit Soul's senses had become increasingly keen. He had just gone to see Prince Han's heir, and the grievance he sensed did not seem false.
At this moment.
A jailer hurried over and reported in a low voice, "News has just arrived. Not long after the convoy escorting Prince Chu left the capital, it encountered bandits on the road. Only a few Imperial Guard captains escaped back alive."
Captain Lu asked, "What about the brothers traveling with them?"
The jailer said in terror, "They're all dead."
Captain Lu muttered, "Counting those who escorted Duke Who Pacifies the Nation last time, more than twenty jailers have died in just two months... Old Zhou, even the Heavenly Prison isn't safe, is it?"
"I only deliver meals. I don't accompany prisoners on escort duty."
Zhou Yi shook his head slightly. Where in the world was there any place of absolute safety?
Even delivering meals in the Heavenly Prison could be dangerous. Back then, Li Wu had used the Azure Sky King as bait to lure and kill martial world experts. Those Imperial Guards and jailers who died had known nothing beforehand.
The schemes of great figures never took the lives of little pawns into account!
Personal interests had to submit to the interests of the whole, after all. He could not say any more than that.
October.
Prince Jing rebelled.
A genuine, undeniable rebellion. In broad daylight, he led men in an assault on the eastern gate of the imperial city.
The Imperial Guards' arrows fell like rain, and the rebel forces suffered grievous casualties.
"I am Emperor Zhongzong's own son! I would rather die fighting than sit here and await slaughter!"
Prince Jing shouted loudly. He still fought to the death without retreating, and in the end, he died after being struck by more than a dozen arrows.
The matter shook the capital!
The officials and nobles all said in private that the current emperor was harsh and devoid of mercy, and did not look like a ruler at all!
A new prisoner entered the Heavenly Prison: Prince Jing's chief Attendant.
A supreme expert with two hundred years of inner force, the master of Jiangnan's Limitless Temple, whose Daoist name was Xuan Ling.
"Limitless Temple, Xuan Ling—why have I never heard this name before?"
Zhou Yi became quite interested upon learning of it. A Marrow Cleansing Realm expert, or one with two hundred years of inner force, would be renowned in the martial world. There were fewer than a hundred such people in the entire Fengyang Kingdom.
Having spent nearly thirty years in the Heavenly Prison, he had spoken often with experts captured from every region.
Without leaving the prison gates, Zhou Yi knew all the heroes under heaven!
Cell A-2.
Zhou Yi pushed open the door and saw an old man in tattered Daoist robes. At first glance, he appeared to be over sixty.
His hair was white as frost, and his face was covered in wrinkles.
"Greetings, Senior Xuan Ling."
Zhou Yi cupped his hands and said, "I have long heard of your great name. Today, I finally have the chance to meet you."
Xuan Ling raised his eyes at the visitor. "Who are you?"
Zhou Yi said, "Blood Prison Old Demon, Zhou Yi."
Xuan Ling said coldly, "An unknown junior. Never heard of you!"
A gleam flashed through Zhou Yi's eyes, and his interest in Xuan Ling deepened. The other man did not seem like a martial world expert.
Blood Prison Old Demon's reputation was even greater than that of an ordinary supreme expert.
After all, more martial world experts had died at Zhou Yi's hands than at the hands of demonic sect leaders.
Even if Xuan Ling usually cultivated in seclusion and did not fight others, leaving his reputation obscure, how could anyone who had spent time in the martial world not know the Old Demon's name?
"You're not from the martial world!"
As Zhou Yi spoke, he carefully observed Xuan Ling's reaction. Sure enough, a flicker of astonishment crossed his face.
"So, you deliberately infiltrated Prince Jing's residence..."
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Zhou Yi. He continued, "Not only did you incite Prince Jing to rebel, but Prince Han's and Prince Chu's deaths also had something to do with either you or the people behind you?"
"Nonsense!"
Xuan Ling denied it flatly, closed his eyes, and ignored him again.
"I have been puzzled these past days. Prince Chu and Prince Han were not fools either. Looking through all the dynasties of history, how many emperors ever ascended the throne through assassination? Yet this happened once, then again."
"So the assassinations were not the two princes' intent. You wanted to use their failed attempts to kill with a borrowed knife!"
"As for Prince Jing, he was provoked by the extermination of the other two princes' clans. Believing himself to have no way out, he simply rebelled outright!"
"All three princely residences became discarded pieces. Your only target could be that seat!"
"The Emperor Hongchang had six sons. Four are now dead, leaving only... that Deposed Crown Prince!"
Zhou Yi's thoughts raced faster and faster, and countless doubts suddenly cleared away. He raised his head toward the imperial palace. "Previously, the Deposed Crown Prince had failed to understand the situation and secretly plotted with the Li family. With such a temperament, he absolutely lacked the ability to direct this scheme!"
"The only one capable of controlling the entire board is... Chancellor Zhang!"
"Who exactly are you?"
Xuan Ling abruptly opened his eyes and stared at Zhou Yi with a face full of horror.
"There is still one problem. Where did Chancellor Zhang find so many dead warriors and expert fighters? If they truly were martial world drifters, they would not simply obey his every command."
Zhou Yi frowned slightly and flicked a finger. Mana entered Xuan Ling's body.
The Mana traveled once through his meridians, clearly sensing that Xuan Ling's internal organs had aged. Without any torture, he was already not long for this world.
"I have also cultivated Daoist techniques. Inner qi that is upright and harmonious is best at nourishing the meridians and internal organs, making one sturdier with age. At the highest depths of cultivation, it can delay aging, leaving crane-white hair and a childlike face."
"Yet your organs have declined to this extent. It is more like..."
Zhou Yi pried open Xuan Ling's mouth and examined the degree of aging in his teeth. They were white as a young man's.
"The Heaven Devouring Demon Art!"
Just as Zhou Yi had guessed, Chancellor Zhang had used the Heaven Devouring Demon Art to create experts.
"Most of the experts recruited by the three princes were Chancellor Zhang's men. That is why they so madly attempted to assassinate the emperor... No, many martial world experts were also recruited within the palace. Could they have been Chancellor Zhang's people as well?"
"A few months ago, the value of martial arts experts in the capital suddenly surged. Could Chancellor Zhang have been manipulating the market too?"
Zhou Yi would not assume himself smarter than ancient people merely because he had transmigrated. In terms of schemes and intrigues alone, he could not even compare to the corrupt officials and petty criminals in the prison.
The only thing he trusted himself to surpass them in was a more scientific method of logical thinking.
Now that he had witnessed Chancellor Zhang's methods—starting from inconspicuous details, stirring up turmoil that shook the foundations of the state—he lowered his estimation of his own proud logical thinking a little further.
If not for the Longevity Dao Fruit, Zhou Yi would have remained firm in lying low without wavering. Otherwise, he too would have unknowingly fallen into Chancellor Zhang's snare!
"A figure like this, in my former life, I could probably only comment on through trending searches."
Zhou Yi had no evidence that all these plans originated with Chancellor Zhang. Yet by the conviction of his own heart, whoever gained the most in the end was the culprit.
"This is only the situation within the capital. Chancellor Zhang's plans surely go far beyond this..."
"Two months have passed since Fengyang and Dayong began peace negotiations, yet there has been no progress whatsoever. The armies of the various prefectures remain stationed on the northern frontier and cannot return to the capital. Emperor Yongxing's final life-saving straw is gone as well!"
"The best warriors achieve no dazzling merit—this must be the sort of man they meant!"
"Looking at it this way, I'll have to request leave and go out again..."
Before you continue