A magnificent landscape of ice and snow slowly unfolded across the northern lands.
As far as the eye could see, the earth stretching thousands of miles away was covered in a thick layer of ice, like an enormous silver mirror reflecting the cold light of winter.
Yet Lin Hanzhou had not the slightest mood to admire this foreign scenery.
His figure streaked across the boundless snowfields like a bolt of black lightning.
In just half a day, he had crossed an immeasurable distance and arrived near Hertu, the capital of Great Qing.
The closer he got to this mighty city built upon the frozen plains, the more clearly he sensed that something was amiss.
"So dense with spiritual energy. Could there be a high-grade spiritual vein here?"
Lin Hanzhou felt the spiritual energy in the air growing ever denser and couldn't help marveling.
The spiritual energy here was so dense it was almost tangible.
A faint layer of spiritual mist drifted through the air.
Even the highest-grade spiritual vein in the capital of the Great Gan Dynasty couldn't begin to match the density here.
"Sure enough, I came to the right place. There's definitely some great secret here."
He didn't hesitate any longer and barged straight into Great Qing's imperial city.
Inside the imperial city, everything was still peaceful and tranquil.
Clearly, news of Great Qing's defeat on the front lines hadn't reached here yet.
Before long, Lin Hanzhou entered the imperial palace.
At that moment, a grand banquet was underway throughout the palace.
It seemed they were so certain that their ten Grandmasters would defeat Great Gan that they'd already popped the champagne to celebrate.
"Such a grand banquet, and you didn't invite me. Looks like you've already earned yourselves a death sentence."
The corners of Lin Hanzhou's mouth curled up into a wicked smile.
"Who are you? This is the Great Qing imperial palace. Do you think a piece of trash like you belongs here?"
"Oh, why waste your breath on a lowly commoner? Where are the guards? How did they let someone like this in?"
"Hmm? He doesn't look like one of our Great Qing people. He doesn't even have a Queue Tail Rat. He's a Han from Great Gan!"
As the nobles chattered among themselves, the imperial guards rushed over and surrounded Lin Hanzhou.
"Foolhardy Han, you dare make trouble in the Great Qing imperial palace! Do you know how grave a crime this is?"
An old man in splendid clothes approached at an unhurried pace. His gaze was sharp, and his aura unmistakably belonged to a Grandmaster.
"Sorry about that. I forgot to conceal my presence when I came in. Do me a favor and cooperate, would you?"
Lin Hanzhou waved a hand, his tone casual.
In the next instant, an invisible, terrifying pressure erupted from him and spread in every direction!
Every guard surrounding him, whether a Grandmaster or a Martial Master, was struck as if by lightning. They spat blood and were hurled through the air.
The nobles with the weakest cultivation turned into clouds of blood on the spot, not even leaving behind their bones.
With a mere lift of his hand, Lin Hanzhou had suppressed the entire crowd.
"How dare you! Do you think being a Grandmaster means you can do whatever you want?"
"This is the seat of Great Qing's supreme power! This is My palace!"
As he spoke, the aura of a Great Grandmaster surged forth. The man was none other than the current emperor of Great Qing.
"Hmm? A Great Grandmaster—and another defective one. No, wait. He seems a little better than those ten defective ones."
Feeling the aura of a Great Grandmaster, Lin Hanzhou considered it for a moment before giving his assessment.
Then, before the Great Qing emperor could react, he threw a punch with the Great Sun Divine Fist.
The punch blazed like the great sun, its light shining through the ages. In an instant, it pressed the Great Qing emperor to the ground, leaving him unable to move.
"How is this possible? I'm a Great Grandmaster! How could I be so helpless?!"
Realizing he couldn't move, the Great Qing emperor stared at Lin Hanzhou in terror, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Nothing is impossible. Now, it's time for me to ask the questions and you to answer."
"Tell me, what's going on with the spiritual energy in Great Qing? And what about those ten Grandmasters?"
Lin Hanzhou sat cross-legged on the ground, propped his chin on one hand, and questioned the Great Qing emperor sprawled before him.
"I... I don't know... I really don't know anything!"
When the Great Qing emperor heard the question, his expression visibly shifted.
But he immediately hid it, putting on a terrified, babbling act as if he'd wet himself.
"Looks like you won't cry until you see the coffin, huh?"
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