Imperial Guard Commander

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Only three to five hundred people had gathered, scattered sparsely about.

They were all old, weak, sick, or disabled, and scarcely any even had weapons.

Zhou Yi's roar blanketed the entire military camp. The so-called hundred-thousand Imperial Guards, supposedly defending the capital, had become a joke.

"So these are the Imperial Guards from the Chronicles of Jing Shengzu, the army that swept across the realm and was hailed as the strongest force in a thousand years?"

Crown Prince Li Zhu's face flushed red. Though he was well-versed in literature and knew nothing of military affairs, just looking at these few hundred soldiers told him they could not even compare to stronger bands of mountain bandits, much less defend the capital.

"Yesterday, I asked whether you wished to cultivate or learn the methods of strengthening an army."

Zhou Yi said, "I'll ask you one last time. Are you certain you wish to abandon the path to immortality?"

"Master, this disciple naturally yearns greatly for the path of immortality. But throughout history, who has ever truly attained immortality? Even someone as powerful as you could not save Great Jing, could you?"

Li Zhu said, "I was born into the imperial family and have enjoyed many benefits. It is only right that I give up something in return."

"Fine, then I'll teach you how to strengthen an army!"

Zhou Yi asked the three to five hundred soldiers, "Who holds the most authority in this camp?"

The soldiers exchanged glances. They had only gathered because they heard the roar and were rather timid. Normally, they were merely household slaves farming for various officials.

Zhou Yi carried the imposing presence of a mountain, Li Zhu wore bright yellow brocade, and bloody heads lay on the ground. The two men before them were clearly no ordinary people.

One of the older men cautiously said, "Prince Guangyang?"

"Take me to see him."

"A prince is too exalted to come to the camp. He usually stays in the capital."

Zhou Yi swept his gaze over the soldiers and selected thirty strong young men, dismissing all the rest to return home.

When they heard that Li Zhu was the current Crown Prince and that they could be exempted from military household status and become commoners, every one of them grew wildly excited. They kowtowed repeatedly, tossed aside their weapons, and ran off without looking back.

"Now, each of you find a horse and follow me to Prince Guangyang's Mansion!"

Zhou Yi stomped on a head on the ground. "Anyone who fails to return with both man and horse within the time it takes to burn an incense stick will end up like this!"

"Master, isn't governing the army this way too harsh?"

"In chaotic times, harsh laws are necessary!"

Zhou Yi cast a glance toward the center of the camp, his face filled with icy killing intent.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

More than thirty riders galloped straight toward North City in the capital.

Great Jing's most prosperous place was the capital, and the capital's most prosperous district was North City.

Its streets ran nine north-south and nine east-west, wide enough for five carriages to travel side by side.

The roads were paved with polished Greenstone, while shops lined both sides in neat rows. It was like an entirely different city from the eastern, western, and southern districts.

When Zhou Yi and the cavalry charged into North City, constables tried to stop them and demanded proof of identity.

North City was home to princes, nobles, and high officials. The Capital Prefecture Governor could ignore whether the poor lived or died, but he had to maintain public order in North City.

Li Zhu tossed out the Eastern Palace token, and the constables immediately dropped to their knees and begged for mercy, terrified of being sentenced to death.

After asking for the location of Prince Guangyang's residence, the thirty-odd riders charged straight toward it.

Prince Guangyang's Mansion.

It covered dozens of acres. Other than the imperial palace, there was no second estate like it in the capital.

Among Great Jing's Eight Great Kings, Prince Guangyang was the most trusted and valued imperial prince. His family had commanded the Imperial Guards for generations and protected the capital.

The other seven princes guarded the borders. They obeyed neither summons nor orders, did not honor the king, yet did not openly rebel. They had already become regional warlord forces.

"Who are you people?" The mansion servants were arrogant and overbearing. Before they could drive them away, two heads flew several feet into the air.

A spray of blood, whether by coincidence or otherwise, splashed directly across Crown Prince Li Zhu's face.

"Ah!" Li Zhu's face went pale. When he touched the blood on his face, he nearly fainted.

"Hmph!"

Zhou Yi snorted coldly, the sound piercing directly into his soul.

Li Zhu's soul throbbed with pain, and his face was pale. "Master, even if Royal Uncle is guilty, they are only servants..."

"When an avalanche strikes, not a single snowflake is innocent!"

Zhou Yi's expression was stern. "Great Jing has already become utterly filthy! It needs a Martial Emperor, not a benevolent ruler!"

Li Zhu still argued, "But the Grand Tutor said that the benevolent are invincible..."

"If anyone teaches you that again, tell me. I'll go kill him!"

Zhou Yi declared loudly, "Prince Guangyang has committed treason. His nine clans shall be exterminated!"

His voice carried in every direction, throwing all of North City into chaos.

Prince Guangyang's status in North City was second only to the Emperor's. Even the Eastern Palace fell short of him.

"Kill!"

A palm strike descended through the air, and the gates of Prince Guangyang's Mansion exploded apart.

The thirty-odd soldiers stood dumbfounded. How could they dare charge into Prince Guangyang's Mansion? For three hundred years of Great Jing, Prince Guangyang's family had commanded the Imperial Guards.

"You followed this Grand Tutor here, so there is no turning back! Either Prince Guangyang's clan is exterminated, or Prince Guangyang retaliates and exterminates your clans!"

Before Zhou Yi finished speaking, he snapped the reins and charged directly into Prince Guangyang's Mansion.

The first people he saw were dozens of household guards, each clad in armor. They carried swords and sabers, and there were even archers among them.

A general wearing bright silver armor shouted, "This is Prince Guangyang's Mansion! Are you rebelling?"

"I am the current Grand Tutor and Imperial Guard Commander! Prince Guangyang has rebelled. Tell him to come and receive his punishment at once!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of arrows turned the horses into pincushions.

Zhou Yi rose into the air. The Dark Gold Dharma Sword swept through the crowd once, leaving behind nothing but severed limbs and mangled corpses.

The general who had shouted earlier lowered his head to look at the bloody hole in his chest. Even in his dreams, he had never imagined anyone would dare kill people inside Prince Guangyang's Mansion.

Seeing the ground covered in blood, the thirty-odd riders knew clearly that there was no retreat. They leaped from their horses and charged into Prince Guangyang's Mansion, killing everyone they saw and leaving no one alive.

Fortunately, the current Crown Prince Li Zhu was present. Otherwise, they would not even have had the courage to risk their lives.

No matter how formidable Prince Guangyang was, he still had to obey the Emperor.

Zhou Yi stepped through the air and spotted a man in a python robe surrounded by a group of household guards in the distance.

"Prince Guangyang, come forth and die!"

Zhou Yi's voice carried for miles, and all of North City heard it.

The soldiers who tried to block him could not even get close. Like grass being cut down, their lives were taken by the Golden Crow Dharma Sword.

Dozens, even hundreds, died miserably. Yet the rest continued fighting to the death without retreating. Compared to Great Jing's army, Prince Guangyang's Mansion's Jiading Guards resembled elite soldiers far more closely.

Prince Guangyang had a square face and broad ears, his expression dignified and imposing. "This king has received imperial favor for generations. This treacherous villain falsely accuses me of rebellion. I wish to see His Majesty and plead my case!"

Zhou Yi nodded. "Fine. This Grand Tutor will take you to see His Majesty!"

Hearing this, Prince Guangyang's face showed delight.

As long as he could survive this crisis, there would be countless ways to preserve his life. Prince Guangyang's influence in court was not something an empty-titled Grand Tutor could compare with.

At worst, he could seek refuge with Imperial Preceptor Pu Du Ci Hang. Perhaps his power and influence might even rise further.

"Don't close your eyes after you die. When you see His Majesty, make sure he knows you died unjustly!"

After Zhou Yi spoke, a strand of Purple Sun Sword Qi severed Prince Guangyang's head.

Prince Guangyang's eyes truly remained open in death, and a faint confident smile still lingered on his face.

On a distant pavilion.

The nobles who had heard Zhou Yi's voice and watched from afar were all stunned.

The high officials tied to Prince Guangyang's faction were utterly silent, drenched in sweat as they desperately considered how to sever all ties.

"Butcher! He's a butcher, utterly unreasonable!"

"We are civilized people. Quickly distance yourselves from him..."

"Wasn't the Grand Tutor supposed to be a Confucian master? How can he kill without even blinking!"

Zhou Yi floated in the air above Prince Guangyang's Mansion, watching the cavalry charge back and forth below. Whenever an expert tried to resist, endless flying swords instantly sent them into reincarnation.

After the cavalry passed through, not a single living person remained. They were even more ruthless than Zhou Yi. They intended to wipe out Prince Guangyang's bloodline completely and leave him without the slightest chance of rising again.

Whether they had been young masters, young ladies, servants, or maids, once the steel blades fell, there was no difference in how they died.

In a corner of the imperial palace, atop a pavilion.

Two elderly men with long beards watched the blood-soaked scene. Rather than finding it cruel, they wore expressions of delight.

"What a Grand Tutor, what a Guardian Sword Saint! This ruthlessness is even more direct and decisive than that Demonic Monk's corruption of the nation! Has the three-hundred-year destiny of my Li family truly reached its end?"

"Wrong, utterly wrong! Prince Guangyang turned the hundred-thousand Imperial Guards into bandits. His death was no great loss! I think this man is quite good!"

"Prince Guangyang harmed the nation, and the imperial family should have punished him. What authority does a mere Grand Tutor have? How is this any different from monopolizing power and throwing the government into chaos?"

"When the great building is about to collapse, who cares about all that? Anyone who can kill is a good official!"

"Absurd, utterly absurd..."

"..."

As the two old men continued speaking, their disagreement grew ever greater.

Their paths differed, and they could not work together.

They flicked their sleeves and left, declaring that they would never associate with each other again!