Beast

What Zhou Yi said was seven parts true, three parts false.

It was true that Pu Du Ci Hang had close ties with the Buddhist Sect.

It was true that the civil and military officials had been devoured.

It was true that he was refining Dragon Qi.

As for whether he intended to eat Li Yu, Zhou Yi could only say there was no evidence for it.

With a thought from Zhou Yi, True Essence enveloped the area within thirty feet around him, ensuring that no sound from within could reach outside.

"Since Pudu Cihang wishes to refine Dragon Qi, we can raise a dragon for him to devour. Then Your Majesty will naturally be safe."

Li Yu's face went pale. He was now exceptionally sensitive to words like eat, swallow, and chew.

"Grand Tutor, Dragon Qi is blessed by fate. None but an emperor may possess it."

Li Yu shook his head. "Great Jing is in turmoil now. If a dragon truly rose in rebellion, I would rather die at the hands of that demonic monk."

Zhou Yi said in a deep voice, "What if this dragon is a member of the imperial family?"

"Who?"

Li Yu's first thought was that someone in the imperial clan intended to seize power.

"Among the many imperial relatives, only the Crown Prince is suitable... The Crown Prince is already a hidden dragon. With proper cultivation and guidance, it would be extremely easy for him to develop Dragon Qi with popular support."

Zhou Yi spoke slowly. "Moreover, the Crown Prince was personally chosen by Your Majesty. He will naturally inherit the throne in the future, so there is no danger of rebellion."

"But the Crown Prince is my most valued son. How can I let that demonic monk... let that demonic monk..."

Li Yu could not bring himself to say the rest. Yet his heart skipped a beat, and he felt that this method was not bad.

"Your Majesty has seven sons and six daughters, and you are still in the prime of life..."

"Grand Tutor, say no more. How could I sell my own son!"

Li Yu waved his hand irritably. "Grand Tutor, withdraw. I am tired."

"This minister takes his leave."

The corner of Zhou Yi's mouth curled upward as he turned and departed.

Li Yu sat blankly upon the dragon throne, lost in thought. No one knew what he was thinking.

At the side, Chu Xiu felt uneasy for the first time. He secretly hated Zhou Yi. How could he discuss such a matter in front of him?

Not long afterward, a palace eunuch broke the silence.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience."

"Summon him!"

Li Yu's voice had become far firmer.

An hour later.

News spread from the palace.

Prince Guangyang had plotted rebellion.

After the Crown Prince was assassinated, he led troops and exterminated Prince Guangyang's entire household.

The Emperor praised the Crown Prince for possessing both courage and martial prowess, bearing the air of the Great Ancestor, and appointed him to jointly command the Imperial Guard with the Grand Tutor.

Three pieces of news in succession shook the capital.

Prince Guangyang was one of Great Jing's eight hereditary princes. His family had guarded the capital for generations, yet suddenly his entire household had been wiped out.

Those sensitive to such news had already begun seeking ways to leave the capital. Yet when they reached the city gates, they found them tightly shut.

Patrol Camp soldiers stood guard and warned that anyone who came within thirty feet of the gates would be killed without mercy.

At this time.

Zhou Yi and Crown Prince Li Zhu led a thousand Patrol Office soldiers straight toward the Imperial Guard Camp.

With Prince Guangyang dead, his remaining followers would surely incite the Imperial Guard into rebellion to save themselves.

Li Zhu had received praise from his imperial father, and his emotions surged.

The air of the Great Ancestor was already the highest honor that could be bestowed upon imperial kin.

"Master, the Imperial Guard is said to number a hundred thousand. Are only a thousand of us going?"

"Afraid?"

Zhou Yi said, "Tell the truth."

Li Zhu obediently answered, "...Yes. The Imperial Guard is said to number a hundred thousand. Even if the ranks are depleted, there are still at least thirty or forty thousand soldiers. We only have a thousand."

"An emperor must possess unshakable faith in his own invincibility!"

Zhou Yi said, "There was once a great emperor in history who, while still Crown Prince, broke a rebel army of a hundred thousand with only a hundred cavalry..."

Li Zhu listened with rapt attention, his heart stirred so greatly that he wished he were the man in the story.

"Master, I understand. On this campaign to suppress the rebellion, I am willing to lead the vanguard!"

Zhou Yi glanced at Li Zhu. A perfectly good person had been ruined by a group of great scholars. He had no understanding of worldly ways at all.

"Who said we were going to suppress a rebellion?"

Zhou Yi said, "Among the Imperial Guard, certain generals under the rebel princes intend to revolt. We only need to seize them, and everything will be easily resolved."

They traveled all the way to the Imperial Guard Camp.

From afar, Zhou Yi saw that its gates, normally open to welcome visitors, were now tightly shut.

Several generals atop the camp walls spotted the Patrol Office soldiers and shouted from afar.

"Halt! This is the Imperial Guard Camp. What are you doing here?"

Zhou Yi called out, "I am the Grand Tutor, appointed by His Majesty as Imperial Guard Commander. I have come to take up my post."

One general shouted arrogantly, "You are the murderer who killed the prince! You still dare come to the camp? Brothers, avenge the prince!"

Zhou Yi snorted coldly and took a powerful bow from a soldier.

He drew the bow into a full moon, coating the arrows with True Essence.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three arrows flew in succession, and the three generals atop the wall fell backward from it.

"This Grand Tutor has limited patience. Any who dare defy orders will be treated as intending rebellion and have their nine clans exterminated!"

The remaining generals did not dare show themselves, but neither would they surrender. Instead, they incited the soldiers under their command.

The law did not punish the masses. If the Imperial Guard made a fuss, the Emperor would never dare kill them all. He would even issue extra pay to reward the troops.

"Hmph! You truly do not fear death!"

Zhou Yi rode his sword into the air and flew high above, looking down upon the entire camp from dozens of feet up.

A large number of soldiers were gathering in the camp. The generals leading them were all remnants of Prince Guangyang's faction.

After generations of management, the Imperial Guard had nearly become Prince Guangyang's private army.

Once their numbers exceeded ten thousand, they stretched as far as the eye could see.

The Imperial Guard Camp had originally been built to the standards of a secondary city and was said to accommodate two hundred thousand soldiers.

Zhou Yi swept his gaze around casually. At least ten or twenty thousand Imperial Guard soldiers had assembled. Even if their combat strength was poor, they would have no problem breaching the capital.

At this moment, soldiers had already noticed Zhou Yi flying through the air.

Ancient people often believed in gods and ghosts. Some soldiers had already fallen to their knees in worship, praying for protection.

"Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Zhou Yi's voice descended from the sky.

The leading generals were Prince Guangyang's trusted subordinates. They feared immortals, but they feared death even more.

"Do not be afraid! He must be some demonic sorcerer causing trouble. Prepare the bed crossbows for me!"

Swish!

Before the words had even fallen, a flash of golden light streaked past.

The general's head rolled onto the ground.

"Prince Guangyang rebelled. Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Zhou Yi's voice came again, and nearly half the soldiers had already thrown down their weapons.

"Hm? They are actually this stubborn!"

Zhou Yi frowned and swept his gaze across the soldiers, spotting several furtive figures.

"They deserve execution!"

Each descent of the Dark Gold Flying Sword took another life.

No matter how they hid, none could escape beneath Divine Sense.

The soldiers watched helplessly as every general was killed. Faced with an immortal, they did not merely lack the courage to fight—they lacked even the courage to shout.

"Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who kneel will not die!"

When the third declaration fell, the clatter of weapons hitting the ground rang out everywhere, and more than ten thousand soldiers dropped to their knees.

The remaining soldiers reacted too slowly. Dozens more were immediately cut in two, and in an instant, the entire camp was kneeling.

Not one person dared offend the might of heaven.

Li Zhu led the thousand Patrol Office soldiers into the Imperial Guard Camp.

The endless sea of Imperial Guard soldiers all knelt upon the ground. It was so quiet that not even a sound could be heard.

Zhou Yi sat atop the stone platform where the generals had stood, his foot planted on several corpses as he coldly watched the kneeling Imperial Guard.

"Bind them all."

The Patrol Office soldiers found ropes and tied them together one after another, driving them along like cattle and sheep.

Of the twenty thousand Imperial Guard soldiers, not one resisted. Some even helped bind their fellow soldiers before allowing themselves to be bound.

Li Zhu sighed despondently. "These are the Imperial Guard who swept across the world with the Great Ancestor and fought to the death without retreating? What a disappointment. They might as well go back to the countryside and become farmers."

"You are mistaken. They cannot be released."

Zhou Yi's expression darkened as he swept his gaze over the Imperial Guard tied together in long chains. "Come with me!"

Li Zhu was puzzled, but he followed closely behind.

The Imperial Guard Camp had more than walls. Inside stood rows of neatly arranged barracks.

Zhou Yi casually pushed open one door. Inside, people were actually chained up—men and women alike, all seemingly young and strong.

When the men and women in the barracks saw Zhou Yi and Li Zhu, they shrank back into the corner in terror.

They opened barracks after barracks, and every one of them contained humans being raised in captivity. There were mostly women and fewer young, able-bodied men. There was not a single elderly person or child.

Zhou Yi had a Squad Leader from the Imperial Guard dragged over and pointed at the barracks. "What is this?"

"They are... livestock we captured..."