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Mu Qingrou was a sword grandmaster in the Saint Realm, and a formidable presence even among those of her realm.

With her clearing the way, those waiting along the border between the two nations to stop Pei Wanyu from returning home met gruesome deaths.

Only after Pei Wanyu returned did she learn what had happened.

Her imperial father had once been a formidable cultivator. Before becoming emperor, he had traveled far and wide, fighting his way out of encirclements in all sorts of secret realms.

After inheriting the Imperial Throne, he had personally led troops into battle, quelling the threats around his country.

Taking such a hands-on approach made injuries and ailments inevitable. They might have gone unnoticed in his youth, but as he aged, they began to exact their toll.

Originally, if her imperial father had simply stayed in the palace and quietly recuperated, he could have lived another ten-odd years, perhaps even several decades-long enough for Pei Wanyu to come into her own.

With his prestige, the Heavenly Martial Dynasty had remained fairly stable.

But Pei Wanyu's imperial father was not a man content to sit idle. When the Sea Clan attacked the eastern waters-a region where they had not appeared for centuries-he chose to lead the campaign himself.

A powerful Sea Clan warrior attacked him, leaving him gravely wounded and unconscious.

That Sea Clan warrior was said to possess Saint Realm strength.

He already suffered from numerous old ailments. With this grievous injury added to them, he never recovered.

When he returned to the Imperial Palace, the Empress Dowager and the ministers claimed his life was not in danger. But the ambitious vassal kings did not believe them and saw this as their opportunity. After all, the emperor had lost troops and commanders on the eastern battlefield