Imperial Guard Commander

A stick of incense later.

A sparse crowd of three to five hundred had gathered.

All were old, weak, sick, or disabled, with barely a weapon among them.

Zhou Yi's roar had shaken the entire camp, yet the so-called hundred-thousand-strong Imperial Guard, tasked with defending the capital, had become a laughingstock.

"Is this the Imperial Guard from the Annals of Jing Shengzu—the army that swept the realm, hailed as the mightiest force in a millennium?"

Crown Prince Li Zhu's face flushed red. Though he was well-versed in letters and ignorant of military matters, even he could see that these few hundred soldiers were not fit to guard the capital, let alone stand up to a band of fierce mountain brigands.

"Yesterday I asked you whether you wished to cultivate or to learn the art of forging a strong army,"

Zhou Yi said. "I ask you one last time: are you certain you want to abandon the path to immortality?"

"Master, I deeply yearn for the way of longevity, but from ancient times to the present, who has truly achieved it? Even one as mighty as you—could you not save Great Jing?"

Li Zhu replied. "I was born into the imperial family and have enjoyed its many privileges. It is only right that I must give something up."

"Very well, then I will teach you how to forge a strong army!"

Zhou Yi turned to the three to five hundred soldiers and said, "Who is the highest authority in this camp?"

The soldiers exchanged glances. They had only come because they heard the roar and were too timid to ignore it. On ordinary days, they were nothing more than household slaves tilling the fields for the nobles.

Zhou Yi's presence loomed like a mountain, Li Zhu's bright yellow brocade marked his status, and the bloody head on the ground made it clear that these two were no ordinary men.

One of the older soldiers ventured cautiously, "Prince Guangyang?"

"I'll go see him."

"A prince of the blood stays in the capital—he doesn't come to the camp."

Zhou Yi swept his gaze over the soldiers, picked out thirty able-bodied men, and dismissed the rest to go home.

When they heard that Li Zhu was the Crown Prince and that they could be released from military household status to become common citizens, they kowtowed frantically in gratitude, threw down their weapons, and fled.

"Now, each of you find a horse. We ride for Prince Guangyang's Mansion!"

Zhou Yi stomped on the severed head at his feet. "If any man or horse isn't back within a stick of incense, this head will be your fate!"

"Master, isn't this too harsh for training an army?"

"In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary."

Zhou Yi shot a cold glance toward the center of the camp, his face icy.

A stick of incense later.

Over thirty riders charged straight for North City in the capital.

The most prosperous part of Great Jing was the capital, and the most prosperous part of the capital was North City.

Nine avenues running north-south, nine running east-west, wide enough for five carriages to pass side by side.

The streets were paved with polished greenstone, and shops lined both sides in a dense row, making the east, west, and south districts seem like a different city entirely.

When Zhou Yi and his riders burst into North City, yamen runners tried to block them, demanding identification.

North City was home to the nobility and royalty. The Capital Prefecture Governor might ignore the lives of the poor, but he had to ensure order in North City.

Li Zhu tossed out his Eastern Palace waist token, and the runners immediately fell to their knees, begging for mercy, terrified of being executed.

After asking for directions to Prince Guangyang's Mansion, the thirty-plus riders galloped straight there.

Prince Guangyang's Mansion.

It covered dozens of acres—second only to the imperial palace in the entire capital.

Among the Eight Great Kings of Great Jing, this was the most trusted and favored prince, whose lineage had commanded the Imperial Guard for generations, defending the capital.

The other seven kings guarded the borderlands, answering neither summons nor decrees, neither rebelling nor paying homage—they had become warlords in all but name.

"Who are you?" The mansion's servants swaggered forward to drive them off, but two heads flew several feet into the air.

A jet of blood—whether by chance or design—splashed across Crown Prince Li Zhu's face.

"Ah!" Li Zhu's face went pale. He touched the blood on his cheek and nearly fainted.

"Hmph!"

Zhou Yi let out a cold snort that pierced straight into his soul.

Li Zhu's spirit stung with pain, his face ashen. "Master, even if my uncle is guilty, these were only servants..."

"When an avalanche falls, no snowflake is innocent."

Zhou Yi's face was stern and unyielding. "Great Jing is utterly corrupt! It needs a Martial Emperor, not a benevolent ruler."

Li Zhu still tried to argue. "But the Grandmaster said that the benevolent have no enemies..."

"Whoever teaches you that again, tell me, and I'll go kill him."

Zhou Yi declared loudly, "Prince Guangyang, for the crime of treason, your entire clan deserves execution!"

His voice carried in all directions, throwing North City into chaos.

Prince Guangyang's status in North City was second only to the emperor himself, even the Eastern Palace fell short by a notch.

"Kill!"

A palm strike from midair shattered the gates of Prince Guangyang's mansion with a thunderous boom.

Over thirty soldiers stood dumbfounded, none daring to charge into Prince Guangyang's residence—for three hundred years, the princes of Great Jing had always commanded the Imperial Guard.

"You've followed this Grand Tutor here with no way back. Either Prince Guangyang's clan is wiped out, or you're annihilated by his vengeance!"

Before Zhou Yi's words faded, he shook his reins and charged straight into Prince Guangyang's mansion.

The first thing he saw were dozens of household guards, all clad in armor, bearing not only blades and swords but also crossbowmen among them.

One soldier in Silver Armor shouted, "This is Prince Guangyang's mansion! Are you rebelling?"

"This Seat is the current Grand Tutor and Imperial Guard Commander! Prince Guangyang has rebelled—tell him to come and confess his crimes at once!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Dozens of arrows turned the horse into a pincushion.

Zhou Yi soared into the air. His Dark Gold Dharma Sword swept through the crowd in a single pass, leaving nothing but a field of severed limbs and broken bodies.

The soldier who had shouted earlier looked down at the bloody hole in his chest, never dreaming anyone would dare kill inside Prince Guangyang's mansion.

Seeing the pool of blood, the thirty-odd cavalry knew retreat was impossible. They spurred their horses straight into the mansion, slaughtering everyone in sight, leaving no survivors.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince Li Zhu was also present, or they wouldn't have had the nerve to fight to the death.

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

Zhou Yi trod on empty air and spotted a man in a python robe surrounded by a cluster of household guards from afar.

"Prince Guangyang, come die now!"

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

The soldiers blocking his way couldn't even get close; they were mowed down like grass by the Golden Crow Dharma Sword.

Dozens, then hundreds died horribly, yet the rest fought on without retreating. Compared to Great Jing's army, Prince Guangyang's Jiading Guards were more like elite troops.

Prince Guangyang had a square face and broad ears, his expression full of authority: "This Prince has received the sovereign's grace for generations. A treacherous villain slanders me with rebellion—I demand to see His Majesty and argue my case!"

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement: "Fine, this Grand Tutor will take you to see His Majesty!"

Hearing this, Prince Guangyang's face lit up with joy.

As long as he survived this calamity, there were plenty of ways to stay alive. How could Prince Guangyang's influence at court compare to that of a figurehead Grand Tutor?

At worst, he could defect to Imperial Preceptor Pu Du Ci Hang and perhaps even rise higher in power.

"When you die, don't close your eyes. When you see His Majesty, let him know you died unjustly!"

With that, Zhou Yi unleashed a Purple Sun Sword Qi and severed Prince Guangyang's head.

Prince Guangyang's eyes were indeed wide open in death, a faint, confident smile still lingering on his face.

On a distant tower.

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

The high officials of Prince Guangyang's faction fell silent, sweating profusely, frantically thinking how to distance themselves.

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

"We are civilized men—cut ties with him quickly..."

"Wasn't the Grand Tutor supposed to be a master of Daoist learning? How can he kill without blinking?"

Zhou Yi hovered in midair above Prince Guangyang's mansion, watching the cavalry charge back and forth below. No expert put up a fight; in an instant, endless flying swords sent them to reincarnation.

After the cavalry passed, not a single soul remained. They were even more ruthless than Zhou Yi, determined to wipe out Prince Guangyang's bloodline so he could never rise again.

Whether they were young masters, ladies, servants, or maids, the steel blade made no distinction in death.

In a corner of the palace, on another tower.

Two long-bearded elders watched the bloody scene, not finding it cruel at all. Instead, they smiled with satisfaction.

"What a Grand Tutor, what a Guardian Sword Saint! This ruthlessness is even more direct and decisive than that Demonic Monk throwing the state into chaos! Could it be that our Li family's three-hundred-year reign has truly reached its end?"

"Wrong, wrong! Prince Guangyang turned the hundred-thousand Imperial Guard into bandits—death is too good for him! I think this man is fine!"

"Prince Guangyang harmed the state; the royal family should have punished him. What right does a mere Grand Tutor have? How is this different from monopolizing power and disrupting governance?"

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

"Absurd, utterly absurd..."

"... "

The two elders argued, their differences growing wider.

Different paths, no common ground.

They flicked their sleeves and left, vowing never to see each other again!