The eunuchs, palace maids, and even his personal guards had long since fled without a trace.
With disaster upon them, who would still care about him, the ruler of a fallen kingdom?
"Your Majesty, forgive us!"
Suddenly, two imperial guard commanders who had originally guarded Xiang Guang returned. They exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and clamped down hard on his shoulders, one on either side.
"What are you doing?! You dare rebel! I am the emperor! Let me go!" Xiang Guang squealed like a pig being slaughtered, struggling desperately.
"The emperor? The Xiang Family is about to be wiped out. What sort of emperor are you!" One commander sneered and kicked the back of Xiang Guang's knee.
With a crack, Xiang Guang's right leg snapped, and the pain tore an utterly harrowing scream from him.
Like dragging a dead dog, the two commanders dragged Xiang Guang, his leg broken, down the stone steps of the city wall and hurried to the square before the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
At that moment, Qin De, mounted on a tall Snow-Treading Black Steed and flanked by Qin Feng and Qin Zheng, slowly came to a stop in the center of the square.
A hundred thousand soldiers of the Fierce Tiger Army surrounded the entire Imperial Palace so tightly that not even a fly could escape.
Thud!
The two commanders hurled Xiang Guang down before Qin De's horse, then dropped to their knees without hesitation and shouted, "We guilty generals bow before the King Who Guards the East! We have captured the tyrant Xiang Guang and present him to Your Highness. We wish to surrender to you and beg for your mercy!"
Qin De did not even glance at the two turncoat generals. His gaze remained riveted on Xiang Guang, who lay on the ground, wriggling like a maggot.
"Xiang Guang." Qin De's voice was soft, yet carried a chill that froze the marrow.
At that voice, Xiang Guang shuddered all over and raised his head with difficulty.
When he saw Qin De sitting on horseback, looking down at him from above, his mental defenses crumbled completely.
"Qin De... no, Your Highness! King Qin! Grandpa Qin!" Ignoring the agony of his broken leg, Xiang Guang desperately braced his hands against the ground and frantically kowtowed to Qin De. The repeated thuds were especially jarring in the quiet square, and after only a few blows, his forehead was a bloody mess.
"I was wrong! I should never have believed those slanders back then! I should never have harmed Jingxiang! It was all my fault! Please, spare me!"
Xiang Guang sobbed bitterly, tears mingling with mucus and blood across his face, looking as wretched as could be. "As long as you spare my life, the throne is yours, and all the gold, silver, and treasures in the treasury are yours! I'll be your dog. I'll do anything you tell me to! Please don't kill me!"
Looking at the emperor of Chu State before him, abject beyond measure and beneath even a dog, Qin De suddenly laughed.
His laughter grew louder and louder, until tears nearly came to his eyes.
"Hahaha... Xiang Guang, oh, Xiang Guang. So this day has come for you too!"
Qin De abruptly stopped laughing, dismounted, and walked toward Xiang Guang one step at a time.
"Back then, when your fear of my Qin Family drove you to send assassins after Jingxiang, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
"When Jingxiang died in my arms, did you ever imagine this day would come?!"
Qin De seized Xiang Guang by the hair and lifted him bodily off the ground, his eyes brimming with savage killing intent. "Do you think I, Qin De, care about this realm or this throne? All I want is your death!"
"No... don't..." Staring into Qin De's bloodshot eyes, Xiang Guang felt the true terror of death, and yellow and white filth spilled into his crotch once more.
"Go beg Jingxiang's forgiveness in the underworld!"
Qin De gave him no further chance to babble. His right hand closed around his sword hilt, and he swung fiercely.
A cold flash of sword light swept past.
Squelch!
Xiang Guang's voice cut off abruptly.
His head flew into the air, and blood spurted more than ten feet from his neck like a fountain, splashing all over Qin De.
The headless corpse swayed, crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and went completely still.
On the head that rolled aside, his eyes remained wide open, his face frozen in utter terror and regret, unable to close his eyes even in death.
Holding his still-dripping sword, Qin De tilted his head back and let the warm blood trickle down his cheeks.
"Jingxiang, did you see? I slaughtered the enemy who killed you with my own hands. The Xiang Family is finished."
Qin De murmured to himself, and the shoulders he had held tense for over a decade finally relaxed completely.
The square was silent. The hundred-thousand-strong army made not a sound; only the battle flags snapped in the wind.
In midair, Qin Chen watched the scene below quietly with his arms folded. With their great vengeance fulfilled, he too felt a sense of release.
He slowly descended beside Qin De and patted his father's shoulder.
"Father, the Xiang Family's upper ranks have all been wiped out. Their remaining defeated troops are beneath notice. From today onward, this realm of Chu State belongs to the Qin."
Qin De took a deep breath, sheathed his sword, and turned toward his three sons, Qin Chen, Qin Feng, and Qin Zheng, a gleam flashing through his eyes.
"Feng, Zheng, immediately take men to seize and search the Imperial Palace, take over the defenses of the major cities, and purge the Xiang Family's remnants." Qin De issued his orders decisively. "Chen, you needn't concern yourself with matters of the mortal world."
Chu State's Imperial City had fallen, Xiang Guang had been executed, and the Xiang Family's ancestor Xiang Yang had been blasted apart by a single punch from Qin Chen.
These three pieces of news seemed to sprout wings, spreading across the entire Qianlong Continent in just a few days.
The various powers that had still been watching from the sidelines instantly fell silent like cicadas in the cold.
The Xiang Family was finished; everyone agreed on that. Even their Nascent Soul stage ancestor had been killed as easily as crushing a chick. What could the Xiang Family possibly use to turn the tables?
Over the following month, the Qin Family Army began taking over with the sweeping force of an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves.
The brothers Qin Feng and Qin Zheng displayed exceptional abilities in military command and domestic administration.
Qin Feng led the Fierce Tiger Army in three columns, sweeping through every Xiang Family loyalist in Chu State who still dared to resist, with the force of thunder.
Upon learning that the Imperial City had fallen, the vast majority of the city lords and generals stationed throughout the land chose to open their gates and surrender.
The occasional stubborn holdout failed to last even half a day against the Fierce Tiger Army's terrifying lineup of Xiantian experts before losing his head.
Qin Zheng remained in the Imperial City, methodically taking over Chu State's treasury, household registers, and military rolls.
Having ruled Chu State for several hundred years, the Xiang Family had accumulated an astronomical fortune.
When Qin Zheng opened the treasury gates and saw the mountains of gold, silver, and jewels and the crates of spirit herbs and ores inside, even he, the King Who Guards the East's second son who had seen many grand spectacles, could not help drawing a sharp breath.
"Second Brother, our Qin Family has truly struck it rich this time." Watching cartload after cartload of supplies being hauled out, Qin Feng smiled and patted Qin Zheng's shoulder.
Qin Zheng rolled his eyes as he rapidly leafed through the ledger in his hands. "Elder Brother, don't just stand there celebrating. Winning a realm is easy; holding it is hard. All of Chu State's territory belongs to us now. Reassuring the people, appointing new officials, reorganizing the surrendered troops-which of those doesn't cost money? This gold and silver may look like a lot, but once we start spending it, it'll just flow through the accounts."
"All right, all right. You have the final say on domestic affairs. I'll just handle the fighting." Qin Feng laughed heartily, then turned to inspect the military camp.
Compared with Qin Feng and Qin Zheng's busy days, Qin De found himself with time to spare.
His great vengeance fulfilled, the boulder that had weighed on his heart for over a decade finally settled, and he seemed ten years younger.
He did not rush to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. Instead, he devoted all his energy to cultivating the Primordial Ancestral Dragon Art.
He knew very well that in this world, secular imperial authority was merely passing cloud and smoke. Only absolute strength could form the foundation of the Qin Family's standing.
Late one night, while Qin De sat cultivating in his secluded chamber, Qin Chen's voice suddenly came from outside.
"Father, you haven't gone to bed yet, have you?"
Qin De opened his eyes, reined in his true essence, and said with a smile, "Come in, Chen."
The chamber's stone door slowly opened, and Qin Chen walked in. Without wasting words, he waved his hand.
Clatter-
A series of clear clinking sounds rang out, and a great heap of items instantly appeared on the chamber's open floor.
Dozens of flying swords and magical treasures radiating different-colored lights, over a hundred jade bottles filled with pills, and small mountains of middle- and high-grade spirit stones instantly filled the once-spacious chamber to the brim. Rich spiritual energy washed over Qin De, making him draw a deep breath.
"Chen, this... what is all this?" Qin De stared wide-eyed at the heap of treasures on the floor, his voice beginning to stammer.
The previous resources had only just been used up, and now another enormous batch had arrived, considerably larger than the last!
Just what earth-shaking deeds had this third son of mine done out there?
Even those great cultivation sects with thousand-year legacies probably couldn't produce these resources, could they?
"Chen, these things are far too precious. Don't you need them for your own cultivation?" Qin De asked with some concern.
He knew Qin Chen was now at the Nascent Soul stage, and the resources his cultivation required were surely astronomical.
"Don't worry, Father. I've kept enough resources for myself." Qin Chen smiled without explaining further.
Of course he did not need these things. What he needed were the things the system rewarded him with.
[Ding! Detected that the host has gifted his father, Qin De, a batch of cultivation resources (flying swords, pills, spirit stones, etc.). Tenfold return triggered!] [Congratulations! The host has obtained: one hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones! One thousand jin of Star Sand! One hundred bottles of Nine-Turn Purple Gold Pills! One supreme-grade spirit artifact set: Star Cloud Armor!]
Hearing the notifications in his mind, Qin Chen's heart blossomed with joy.
"Father, matters here in Chu State have essentially stabilized. Next, I'm going into seclusion for a while." Qin Chen gathered his thoughts and grew serious. "This seclusion may take several months, or even longer. If you encounter any trouble you can't resolve, crush the jade slip I gave you, and I'll come out immediately."
Qin De nodded solemnly. "Go into seclusion without worry. Now that the Xiang Family has been destroyed, no one on the Qianlong Continent can threaten our Qin Family anymore. Focus on your cultivation. Your eldest brother, your second brother, and I will handle things outside."
"All right."
Qin Chen said nothing more, turned, and left the chamber.
He went straight to a secluded hall deep within the Imperial Palace. Qin De had already designated it a forbidden area and placed layers of formations around it. No one besides the father and his three sons was allowed near.
Qin Chen entered the hall, sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, and with a thought, took the resources he had just received as returns out of the system space.
A hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones lay piled together, giving off intoxicatingly rich spiritual energy.
A thousand jin of Star Sand glittered with points of starlight, as though a miniature starry sky had been brought into the hall.
"Phew..."
Qin Chen let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and began circulating the Heavenly Cycle Star Body cultivation method.
As the cultivation method circulated, the surrounding top-grade spirit stones began dimming at a rate visible to the naked eye, turning into pure spiritual energy that surged into Qin Chen's body.
The Star Sand transformed into specks of starlight, entering his meridians through his pores before finally gathering in his dantian.
A faint layer of starlight hazily emerged over Qin Chen's body. His breathing grew long and deep, and he seemed to become one with the surrounding heaven and earth.
His seclusion had officially begun.
On the third day of Qin Chen's seclusion, a travel-worn figure riding a giant black eagle landed in the Imperial Palace's square.
It was Qin Yu and his spirit beast, Little Black.
The moment he jumped off the eagle's back, he eagerly ran toward Qin De's study.
"Father! Father!"
Before Qin Yu arrived, his voice had already reached the study.
Hearing him, Qin De, who had been handling state affairs, set down his writing brush, an affectionate smile appearing on his face.
"Yu, what brings you here? Have you finished your training at Cloudmist Manor?" Qin De asked with a smile as he watched his youngest son run inside.
Qin Yu ran to the middle of the study and asked urgently before he had even caught his breath, "Father, I heard Third Brother came back? And that he killed the Xiang Family's ancestor? Where is Third Brother? I want to see him!"
Qin Yu's eyes shone with admiration.
During this time, he had practiced the Tongtian Diagram day and night at Cloudmist Manor. Though he had suffered every hardship, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. He had come back this time precisely to show Third Brother the results of his cultivation and ask him some questions about cultivating while he was at it.
Seeing his youngest son's excitement, Qin De smiled somewhat helplessly, walked over, and stroked his head.
"You're a step too late. Your third brother went into seclusion three days ago."
"Huh? Seclusion?" The excitement instantly drained from Qin Yu's face, leaving it full of disappointment. "Why did Third Brother go into seclusion so soon...? I wanted him to see how strong I am now."
Qin De patted Qin Yu's shoulder and comforted him. "Your third brother's current realm is already beyond our imagination. He went into seclusion to pursue an even higher realm. If you truly want to make him happy, you should work even harder at cultivating and strive to catch up with him as soon as possible."
Hearing those words, Qin Yu's gaze grew resolute again.
He clenched his little fists and nodded firmly.
"Father, don't worry! I definitely won't disappoint Third Brother!"
Qin Yu took a deep breath, turned, and headed outside.
"Wait, Yu, you've only just returned. Won't you rest a few days before leaving?" Qin De hurriedly called.
"No resting!" Qin Yu waved without looking back. "I'm going back to Cloudmist Manor to keep cultivating! Third Brother is already so powerful, and he's still in seclusion. What right do I have to rest!"
"I swear, by the time Third Brother comes out of seclusion, I'll have cultivated the Tongtian Diagram to full mastery and show him!"
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