The people from the Imperial Observatory were dead.
Not one of them had returned.
They didn't even know who their opponent was.
A Mid Void Breaking cultivator was someone who, in the Great Gan Dynasty of today, could command the same esteem as the Imperial Preceptor!
Who could have silently slaughtered so many people—and apparently dealt with them long ago, when the news had only just reached them now?
Wang Jingzhong's expression stiffened.
As expected, there was someone in the Great Gan Dynasty with immense power!
To kill Void Breaking cultivators so easily, the person had to be at the Eighth Realm, the Celestial Phenomenon Realm. But how could a mere Great Gan Dynasty possibly have someone like that?
The old eunuch had no way back now.
He had come to the Great Gan Dynasty to sever its dragon vein. He couldn't let anything disrupt the Great Zhou Dynasty's path to unifying the world!
If the person really was at the Boundless level, he was absolutely confident he could kill someone in the early stage.
Against someone in the middle stage, he was confident he could inflict serious injuries, but not kill them.
Against someone in the late stage, he was confident he could escape.
Wang Jingzhong narrowed his eyes and slowly rose to his feet.
"Send someone back to inform Your Majesty: if I die in the Great Gan Dynasty today, immediately seek peace and an alliance with them. If I survive..."
The other cultivators nodded at once. They already understood what the outcome would mean.
If even this eunuch died, it meant the Great Gan Dynasty had a powerhouse beyond the Boundless level. Their only option would be to form an alliance.
If he survived, it meant he had severed the Great Gan Dynasty's dragon vein, and his mission there had gone smoothly!
"It's no crime to be poor, but it is to possess a treasure. Since you've discovered that these people belonged to my Imperial Observatory, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Inside the imperial palace, Chu Ning looked down over the entire capital and smiled as he watched the figures hurrying toward him.
Countless cultivators stood guard within the palace as well.
But they didn't seem to be a match for that old fellow.
Hmm... people from the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Chu Ning smiled and slowly stood up.
He was about to have his Grand Wedding. His wife was about to truly become his wife, and someone had chosen this moment to target her. What could he do?
He had no choice...
A sudden downpour swept over the city. Amid the rumbling thunder, it drowned out countless sounds.
Tap, tap, tap...
Footprints appeared every few dozen steps across the flooded ground, but their owner remained invisible. He moved at tremendous speed, soon locating Ye Qinglian in Qianqing Palace.
Whatever had caused the Dragon Qi to rise,
it would certainly implicate the emperor.
The Great Gan Dynasty's capital could not stop someone of his caliber.
Red walls and golden tiles glimmered as the lightning flashed, now and then illuminating the entire world.
At the end of the road lay Wang Jingzhong's destination.
Then, in a moment of overlapping thunder and shifting shadows, a figure appeared without warning in front of the old eunuch.
BOOM!
Wang Jingzhong's expression remained blank. Millions of red threads fluttered from his crimson robe, filling the world around him.
He stared at the man before him, dressed in a golden Dragon Robe, as if he had guessed his identity.
"Are you the Great Gan Dynasty's newly appointed Emperor Consort?"
Chu Ning grinned.
"Congratulations, you got it right. No prize for you!"
"But what brings an honored guest to the imperial palace so late at night? You could've at least given us a heads-up."
The old eunuch sneered.
"There's no need to guess anymore. The Great Gan Dynasty's Dragon Qi rose because of you, so don't blame me for using ruthless methods!"
At his words, countless threads shot toward Chu Ning. They didn't just come from the space in front of him; the very space around him shattered, spilling out millions upon millions of threads that instantly ensnared him.
The Heavenly Dao was Boundless. The old eunuch's methods harnessed the power of the Heavenly Dao and space. Even between two cultivators at the Boundless level, the outcome would be uncertain!
"I thought you were someone important. You guessed I was coming and waited here for me, yet this is all you've got?"
He grinned viciously and shattered that space in an instant. As thunder boomed, its rumble drowned out the sound.
Just as Wang Jingzhong was about to move again, a hand suddenly settled on his shoulder.
"We have no grudge against each other. The Great Zhou Dynasty and the Great Gan Dynasty aren't even on the same level, so why target us? Even if our Dragon Qi is flourishing, why can't we be allies? Why resort to fighting and killing? What's the point?"
The old man froze.
How had this man gotten away?
Without the slightest hesitation, countless threads erupted from his body again!
That strike pierced straight through Chu Ning's body!
A fatal hit—and it had struck him in the head!
But just as Wang Jingzhong came to his senses, another hand rested on his other shoulder.
His heart sank into despair!
Only then did Wang Jingzhong realize that he might have been under surveillance ever since the Imperial Observatory began investigating the palace's Dragon Qi!
This man wasn't at the Void Breaking level, nor the Boundless level!
He was at the Celestial Phenomenon level!
The most powerful cultivator under heaven—the Celestial Phenomenon Realm!
This had been nothing but a game of cat and mouse. His opponent had merely been toying with him!
How could the Great Gan Dynasty possibly have a Celestial Phenomenon cultivator protecting it?
"Tell me, don't you think I have a point?"
At that moment, Wang Jingzhong was utterly despairing. He had no thoughts of resisting.
Perhaps the moment he set foot in the imperial palace, his death had already been inevitable.
Wang Jingzhong's heart trembled. Shaking, he stammered, "I... If I beg for mercy now, is there any chance I'll live?"
Chu Ning smiled at the eunuch in red.
"Nope."
"Then... why say all that?"
"Because those are my lines. If I don't say them, how will you think I'm easy to bully?"
Chu Ning smiled and reached out, plucking Wang Jingzhong's head from his shoulders.
It was over in a casual motion. His expression froze in shock and indescribable terror as a column of blood erupted from his body.
Blood soaked Chu Ning's golden Dragon Robe.
Chu Ning furrowed his brow slightly.
"You died without any style at all. You could've at least blown up your Spirit Mansion and taken me with you. And instead, you thought about begging for mercy..."
Chu Ning raised a hand and shattered Wang Jingzhong's body and the blood, turning them into spiritual energy that scattered across the world. He kept the head in his hand.
Hmm...
Unifying the Five Great Dynasties wouldn't be a problem, but if he unified them, his wife wouldn't have much left to strive for. If she focused on cultivation instead of governing, how would he get more chances to talk with her and build their relationship?
Besides, Chu Ning wanted the Great Gan Dynasty to develop in an orderly manner, gradually expanding into the most powerful force, while he earned some achievement points along the way. It was a bit like playing a management game, watching the faction he had built grow ever stronger.
He hadn't wanted to interfere, but the Great Zhou Dynasty had gone too far...
So he had no choice but to visit their imperial palace, just as Wang Jingzhong had visited his that day.
He took a single step, shattered the void, and crossed straight to an even grander and more magnificent imperial palace!
Several cultivators sensed him, only to be reduced to dust in an instant. Chu Ning strode boldly into Ying Dang's bedchamber.
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