All Living Beings

The Capital City of Zhao Qin was bustling with traffic and woven thick with streams of people. Prosperity could be seen everywhere.

Under the strenuous restraint of the imperial family and Prince Yan, the civil war remained confined to the Immortality Cultivation World, and the turmoil had not spread into the mortal realm. The pedestrians traveling along the streets had no idea that a game deciding who would rule Zhao Qin was being played on Tianzi Mountain.

They knew even less that Crown Prince Jiang He, missing for several months, had returned to his loyal Capital City, only to be turned away at the gates of the Imperial Observatory because his entry documents had expired.

Rumble, rumble~~~

Before the hour of Si had arrived, the celestial phenomena changed drastically. Rolling thunder came from the distant sky.

Just a moment earlier, the weather had been clear for thousands of miles. Suddenly, black clouds pressed down and shrouded the entire sky above the Capital City.

In an instant, everyone in the mighty city—from cultivators down to commoners, and even horses and livestock—felt a heavy oppression.

"What happened? Have the rebels reached the Capital City?"

"Don't spout nonsense. Zhao Qin has had wise rulers throughout the generations, with Prince Yan protecting the realm. It possesses a vast land of ten thousand miles and three thousand years of national fortune. They're merely bandits and thieves. Calling them rebels would be giving them too much credit."

"That's true, but I heard Prince Yan and His Majesty have been at odds lately. His Majesty was so angry that he hasn't attended court for several days."

"I heard that too. But His Majesty isn't attending court because he's diligently cultivating."

"You two, stop gossiping. Clearly, something has gone wrong in the imperial harem..."

The oppression came swiftly