Ling Cangqiong's Indignation

They fought side by side, reaping considerable gains, but the Fifth Prince's figure remained constantly close to the Ninth Prince's side.

For a time, the entire Tianyan City seemed to have been drained empty, leaving only the remaining civil and military officials, the anxious populace, and the Imperial Lord deep within the palace.

However, the news from the front lines was far from optimistic.

Although the First Guardian (Ninth Level Dharma Idol peak) and Shadow One (Ninth Level Dharma Idol) sent by Ling Cangqiong had once severely wounded the infamous deputy leader of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group and killed one of its members, they ultimately could not withstand the ferocity of the group's leader and the surprise attack of the Yantian Sect's Sect Master wielding a King Artifact.

In the fierce battle, the First Guardian and Shadow One were both gravely wounded, narrowly escaping with their lives and fleeing in disgrace.

Even holding Ling Cangqiong's imperial decrees, they barely managed to escape.

After all, a King Artifact was a top-tier treasure; the current imperial family possessed only three, and every top-tier force had one!

They corresponded to existences at the Cave Reality Realm.

The loss of these two top combatants under Ling Cangqiong's command struck his heart like two heavy hammers, finally shattering the composure he had maintained until now.

He slammed his palm onto the desk, and with a crisp "crack," the originally fine jade table, adorned with beautiful carvings, was shattered into pieces by his palm force, fragments flying everywhere!

"What does King Zhenbei say?" Ling Cangqiong's voice was low and strained, carrying a barely perceptible hint of anger.

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Li Fan's face flickered with helplessness. He sighed softly, bowed, and reported: "Your Majesty, King Zhenbei has replied. He says that the Northern Imperial Dynasty is currently stirring restlessly. To prevent unforeseen circumstances, he must fully deploy defenses on the border, has no time for other matters, and cannot divert troops south to suppress the rebellion."

He paused, then added: "As for King Zhenyao, Your Majesty knows he is fully engaged in resisting the demon king forces in the south. A few days ago, King Zhenyao was even wounded by the Peerless Demon King. Now he cannot even take care of himself, let alone dare to move a single soldier, lest his rear become unstable."

Li Fan bitterly laughed to himself, but his face remained expressionless.

His Majesty's steps were indeed too big, too fast. If it weren't for the earth-shattering "Edict of Grace," those princes and marquises, in order to protect themselves and their interests, might have still stepped in to maintain the situation, or at least not openly taken sides against him.

But now?

With the Edict of Grace issued, it directly touched their cheese. Now that there was trouble at the front, he expected them to contribute?

This was... wishful thinking!

Not to mention the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group exploding like a bomb, and the Yantian Sect directly jumping out to oppose him, instantly worsening the situation.

Li Fan actually understood this Imperial Lord's ambition well—it was to truly unify the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty with an iron fist, leaving no dissidents.

Unfortunately, this appetite was a bit too big.

At the very least, he should have stabilized these sect forces first, broken them one by one, and then slowly dealt with those princes. That would have been the proper way to proceed step by step.

But now? He had thoroughly offended both sides. Even with a powerful ally like Xinghui Academy joining, this chess game was getting harder and harder to play.

"Taking steps too big always risks straining something," Li Fan thought to himself. This world couldn't be swallowed in one gulp.

Even the imperial family was far from possessing the strength to completely suppress all directions.

At least in the current generation of His Majesty Ling Cangqiong, accomplishing this feat of unifying the world was probably a fantasy.

At the very least, they would need to wait another two generations for the imperial family's foundation to truly take root in people's hearts and its power to fully grow.

And the foundation of all this was the people's will.

The support or opposition of the people was the true foundation of the realm.

But now, if the imperial family wanted to win the people's hearts, they had to do things that truly benefited the common people, such as opening up paths for talent and gathering geniuses from all over under the imperial family's wing.

Only with the people's support could the world be truly stable.

But looking at the current situation, it was truly laughable.

Take the Yantian Sect, for example. They lowered their recruitment standards, and suddenly two paths lay before the young: one was to become an official, serving the imperial family; the other was to join the Yantian Sect as a disciple.

And the result?

Many chose the latter.

After all, at the Qi Condensation stage, one could enter the sect and receive free cultivation techniques from the Yantian Sect, which even accounted for differences in various family techniques!

In comparison, the path of officialdom not only had a high threshold but also an uncertain future, naturally losing its appeal.

With this contrast, could the hearts of the local people not lean toward the Yantian Sect?

The people's will was slipping away, unnoticed.

Of course, Li Fan dared not say this now. Wasn't it obvious that this Imperial Lord was becoming more and more dictatorial...

Of course, if the Imperial Lord had mobilized the imperial family's full strength from the start, it wouldn't have been so turbulent.

But he feared a Cave Reality cultivator self-destructing, which would invite foreign forces to invade...

Unless there were two pillars to bear the burden, but the reality was there was only one, and it couldn't afford any mishap.

Upon hearing this, Ling Cangqiong snorted coldly, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes: "The mere Northern Imperial Dynasty? What could King Zhenbei do even if he sent some troops? Hmph, it seems he is unwilling to send troops and intends to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

"Once these rebels and traitors are cleaned up, I'll settle accounts with him."

"If I hadn't elevated him, how could he have attained the position of King Zhenbei today? In the end, it was his rise to prominence that I created!"

Listening to the Imperial Lord's words, Li Fan's heart was filled with mixed emotions, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He knew this history all too well.

Back then, when His Majesty first ascended the throne, the northern neighbor took advantage of the chaos and repeatedly raided the borders.

His Majesty dispatched many seasoned generals to repel the enemy, yet they could never completely crush the foe, barely managing to hold the line.

In the end, it was that King Zhenbei—hailing from humble origins, starting as an ordinary soldier, fighting bloodily on the battlefield, rising step by step—

It was he who led his army deep into enemy territory, striking as a surprise force to slay the enemy commander-in-chief, thus turning the tide of war!

If not for his heroic intervention, the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty would have paid a far heavier price.

Later, he even pioneered the formation of the now-renowned King Zhenbei Army.

One could say that King Zhenbei was a true military talent, a genius!

At that time, although the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty still boasted elite forces like the Divine Guard Army and the Nantian Army, many were eventually consolidated into the two pillars: the King Zhenbei Army and the King Zhenyao Army.

Thinking of this, Li Fan could only lower his head helplessly.

"By the way, what about the Divine Guard Army?" Ling Cangqiong suddenly seemed to recall something, his tone shifting sharply as he asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Fan nearly buried his head in his chest, not daring to meet the emperor's eyes, which heralded an approaching storm.

"Your Majesty, the former Great General, Zhou Jueshi... he has secretly taken control of the Divine Guard Army." Li Fan's voice was somewhat hoarse. "He has now split his forces into two: one route heads south to support King Zhenyao; the other goes straight north to participate in quelling the rebellion here."

"Zhou Jueshi!" Ling Cangqiong slammed his hand onto the already battered desk, fury nearly erupting from him.

But he could not act now, nor could he immediately replace or suppress Zhou Jueshi—the urgent priority was to quell the rebellion before him. Everything else had to be endured first, settled later.

Ling Cangqiong took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rage in his heart, yet a glint of cold calculation flickered in his eyes.

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