The eastern gate of the imperial city of Wei.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the air still carried a hint of night's chill.
On the city wall, the Imperial Guards Armored Soldiers, fully armed and wielding weapons, stood solemnly, and the air was thick with the impending storm.
The most eye-catching feature is the two decorative objects hanging high on either side of the city gate tower.
It was the corpse of Li Feitian, the Young Master of the Crimson Blood Sect, and Li Shan, the protector.
Beside the corpse hung two huge white banners, on which were written in bold ink the shocking characters:
"Li Feitian, the Young Master of the Crimson Blood Sect."
"Li Shan, Protector of the Crimson Blood Sect"
The handwriting is strong and bold, exuding a resolute and chilling aura.
"Hissing sound--"
A slightly urgent roar from Demon Beast broke the silence of the early morning.
At the end of the official road, four snow-white Snow Wolf Demon Beast were pulling an extremely magnificent gilded carriage, slowly making their way towards the Imperial City.
The Snow Wolf Demon Beast's eyes gleamed with intelligence, clearly indicating it was no ordinary creature. The fact that the carriage owner could tame such Demon Beast as his driver spoke volumes about his extraordinary status.
The carriage was simple and grand in style, with flame emblems carved on its body, exuding a faint aura of heat. It was the symbol of the powerful Blazing Sun Dynasty, the overlord of the Blazing Sun Domain, one of the Thirty-Six Domains of Yuhua Prefecture.
The driver was a middle-aged man with an ordinary face and a calm demeanor.
He saw the tightly closed city gates and the grim guards on the city walls from afar, and his brows furrowed slightly.
As the carriage drew near, he subconsciously looked up, his gaze sweeping over the city gate tower...
"Hiss--"
The coachman gasped, his pupils suddenly contracting.
He saw the two hanging corpses, and the incredibly arrogant banner beside them.
"Crimson Blood Sect... Young Master... Guardian..."
The groom was filled with turmoil.
Crimson Blood Sect!
That was a notorious and fearsome Demonic Dao sect in Yuhua Prefecture. Its Young Master and one of its protectors were actually murdered and their bodies brazenly displayed on the city gate of the Wei Kingdom, a small border state?
Has the Wei royal family gone mad?
Aren't they afraid of the wrath of that Feathered Ancestor of the Crimson Blood Sect, who might wipe the Wei Kingdom off the map?
He dared not delay and quickly reined in the Snow Wolf Demon Beast, bringing the carriage to a steady stop a hundred feet away from the city gate.
The coachman turned slightly to the side and reported respectfully, yet with a hint of urgency, into the carriage:
Your Princes Your Highness!
There was a moment of silence in the carriage, followed by a gentle and refined young male voice. "What is it?"
Your Highness,
The coachman's voice was low, tinged with barely concealed surprise, "You... you should see for yourself."
"Oh?"
The voices inside the carriage carried a hint of surprise, as if they were puzzled by the coachman's lapse in composure.
His coachman was a veteran carefully selected from the Imperial Guards of the Blazing Sun Dynasty. He was used to seeing all kinds of things and would never act like this in ordinary matters.
"Swish--"
A delicate beaded curtain hanging at the front of the carriage was lifted by a slender, fair hand, and a figure bent down and stepped out.
The newcomer appeared to be in his early twenties, and was exceptionally handsome.
It was none other than Lie Wushuang, the eighth Princes of the Blazing Sun Dynasty.
His Cultivation was also quite high; at a young age, he had already reached the Innate Peak, making him one of the best among the younger generation in Yuhua Prefecture.
His trip to the Wei Kingdom was naturally for the sake of Hu Qingxuan, the legendary pearl of the Medical Immortal Valley, who was rumored to be trapped there.
Lie Wushuang stood on the carriage shaft and looked up in the direction the coachman was pointing.
The next moment, the gentle smile on his handsome face froze, replaced by an undisguised look of astonishment.
"That's... Li Feitian from the Crimson Blood Sect?"
Lie Wushuang frowned deeply, his eyes filled with disbelief. "How... how could they have died here? And been... hung up like this as a public spectacle?"
"That Feathered Ancestor of the Crimson Blood Sect is notoriously protective of his own and vindictive... Has this tiny Wei Kingdom lost its mind?"
Lie Wushuang's mind raced, filled with surprise and uncertainty.
His first thought was that the Wei Kingdom had gone mad, but then he realized something was wrong.
The Wei royal family has survived to this day; they are no fools. If they had no powerful backing, how could they dare to act in this way?
This is practically an open provocation and declaration of war against the Crimson Blood Sect and that Feathered Ancestor!
Is it a trap?
Or is the Wei Kingdom truly hiding some unknown Trump Card?
Or rather, what's this Zhang Yu?
Lie Wushuang's mind was filled with doubts.
"Your Highness, this matter is far too strange and bizarre."
Inside the carriage, a calm, aged voice slowly drifted out. It was the protector that Lie Wushuang had brought with him on this journey, an old retainer of the Blazing Sun Dynasty:
"The Wei Kingdom must have something to rely on to act in this way."
Given the unclear situation, entering the city rashly could lead to unforeseen consequences.
It would be better to hold back for now, wait for the others who have also received the news to arrive, observe together, and then make a decision.
Upon hearing this, Lie Wushuang nodded in deep agreement.
The impact and warning conveyed by the two corpses on the city gate were far too strong.
With the Young Master of the Crimson Blood Sect dead, Lie Wushuang, despite his noble status, doesn't necessarily consider himself more feared by the Crimson Blood Sect than Li Feitian.
The situation in the Wei Kingdom is too complicated; it's best to be cautious.
"What you say is absolutely right, Senior."
Lie Wushuang sat back in the carriage, lowered the beaded curtain, and spoke in a gentle voice, yet with a hint of solemnity:
"We will set up camp here for the time being and observe how things develop."
In addition, send someone to find out what exactly happened in the Imperial City yesterday.
Also, let's see which other 'friends' will come.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The coachman respectfully agreed, then directed his guards to find a place with a good view outside the city to set up camp, and sent out clever scouts to gather information.
A magnificent gilded carriage stood silently outside the capital of Wei, facing the two gruesome corpses on the city gate.
Lie Wushuang lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and took another deep look at the white cloth with black characters, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
Things seem to have taken a bit unexpectedly!
He muttered to himself, his previous ease and comfort gone, replaced by a solemn and thoughtful expression.
[Ding! Host has checked in for the Nine Heavens in the Heavenly Prison. Rewards are being distributed...]
[Congratulations, host! You have received One Year of Cultivation boost!]
Inside the Heavenly Prison, as the notification sound faded, One Year of Cultivation credited to the account once again.
"Boom--!"
A deep rumble seemed to resound within Zhang Yu's body, and his aura uncontrollably surged, causing subtle ripples to spread through the surrounding air.
Having already reached the Late Grandmaster Cultivation, he instantly broke through the bottleneck and climbed to the Grandmaster Peak after being infused with "One Year of Cultivation".
"Grandmaster Peak..."
He muttered to himself, his tone not filled with joy, but rather with a hint of solemnity and contemplation.
"Nine years of Cultivation allowed me to rise from First-Rank Martial Artist to the Grandmaster Peak, a speed that can only be described as heaven-defying."
Zhang Yu looked inward at himself, feeling the powerful True Essence surging like a river in his meridians, and the almost tangible Soul Power:
"But the leap from Grandmaster to Great Grandmaster is a major leap, involving the condensation and sublimation of Martial Dao will."
Whether the system's One Year of Cultivation reward will help me break through tomorrow remains to be seen.
He couldn't guarantee that he would be able to smoothly advance to the Great Grandmaster level when the tenth reward arrived.
"But..."
Zhang Yu's gaze sharpened slightly, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. "Tomorrow will be the tenth day."
According to the system's initial instructions, serving ten days in prison will grant a special reward— Martial Dao Divine Ability.
This is what he's most looking forward to right now.
"What kind of Divine Ability could it be?"
Zhang Yu couldn't help but feel curious.
"Products from our system are guaranteed to be of high quality."
"The rewards for the first ten days have been so generous; I'm sure the Martial Dao Divine Ability on the tenth day won't disappoint me."
Zhang Yu suppressed his expectations, closed his eyes again, and focused his mind on consolidating his newly achieved Grandmaster Peak Cultivation.