A Court Full of Loyal Subjects-Who Would Dare Defy Him?

In a secluded chamber within a residence in Great Qi's royal capital,

Seven or eight figures had gathered in secret under cover of night. Even the weakest had reached the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and none had achieved Foundation Establishment by ordinary means. Their strength was considerable.

Flickering candlelight illuminated several faces, some aged, others solemn. All were veteran ministers who remained loyal to the royal family, to whom the emperor had entrusted the crown prince.

At their head was an elderly man, Grand Tutor Jiang Zhong. His hair and beard were white, and his back was hunched, yet his eyes still shone.

Beside him stood Wu Chong, vice minister of war, Zhang Qing, deputy chief censor, and several officials from the Six Ministries, along with some scions of noble and meritorious families.

Over the years, these people had been taciturn in everyday life and had never flattered Sima Ruiming to his face. Back then, they had advocated fighting Cangxuan to the death.

Now, a tattered Foundation Establishment robe lay spread before them, a secret edict written across it in dark red blood.

The handwriting was hasty, yet each stroke had pressed through the cloth. It was unmistakably Crown Prince Li Tian's hand, and the robe was steeped in the spiritual resonance unique to the royal bloodline.

"Everyone." The old eunuch pointed at the blood edict, his voice hoarse.

"His Highness is trapped deep within the palace, his cultivation sealed, and his orders cannot get out. He bit through his fingertip and wrote this with his own Essence Blood."

Every word of the edict wept blood.

[I, of Qi's Wang bloodline, declare to all under heaven: the Sima Clan of Cangxuan has usurped the instruments of state, imprisoned the crown prince, and thrown the court into turmoil. All subjects of Great Qi must heed our ancestors' teachings, uphold loyalty and righteousness, follow the kingly way, and restore the realm. His Majesty once left a Purple Mansion measure in the palace's forbidden grounds, with which the might of the royal capital's imperial sword can be roused. Upon seeing this edict, rise up. Success or failure rests on this one attempt. Strive on, my ministers!]

The room fell silent for a moment.

Wu Chong, the vice minister of war, was the first to speak. His face was resolute, and his hand rested on his sword hilt. "His Highness has suffered! My Wu Household has received Qi's favor for generations. Even if we must stake our lives, we will rescue His Highness."

"Wait." Zhang Qing, the deputy chief censor, frowned.

"Is this... not too suspicious? Sima Ruiming has the palace heavily guarded. How could you have slipped in so easily, Eunuch? And how could you have left the palace safely with His Highness's blood edict?"

Zhang Qing looked at the old eunuch. "Your cultivation may be high, Eunuch, but Sima Ruiming has no fewer than thirty Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators under him. They are all experts from Cangxuan, hailing from Firmament Heaven, and are formidable. On top of that, he monitors the royal capital with formations. How did you do it?"

The old eunuch's expression did not change. "This old servant received the emperor's great favor and cultivated the [Entering the Night with the Wind] Dao foundation.

"This Dao foundation excels at stealth. It lets me move silently and without a trace at night. With the help of loyal old acquaintances still inside the palace, I was lucky enough to succeed."

"Even so," Zhang Qing said, still uneasy, "Sima Ruiming is suspicious by nature. His Highness's residence must be the most closely watched place of all. For you to get in and out, Eunuch, went a little too smoothly."

"Lord Zhang!" Wu Chong said angrily.

"Are you doubting His Highness's blood edict, or a loyal subject? His Highness's handwriting and the spiritual resonance of Wang blood cannot be faked! Are we loyal subjects to stand by and watch His Highness suffer like this?!"

"It is not doubt, but caution." Zhang Qing shook his head.

"What sort of man is Sima Ruiming? Since he was able to strip His Highness of power, how could he leave such an opening? I fear this is a scheme to lure the snake out of its hole!"

At those words, everyone fell to thinking and weighing the matter.

Seeing this, the old eunuch thought, This is bad. Damn Zhang Qing.

After a moment of silence,

The old eunuch suddenly dropped to his knees and kowtowed heavily to everyone, looking pitiful.

"His Highness is in the palace, able neither to live nor die. If you fear death, withdraw now and go to Sima Ruiming to exchange your loyalty for status and riches. This old servant will not stop you.

"But His Highness the crown prince is the emperor's only son. This old servant received the emperor's great favor. How could I dare repay kindness with ingratitude? Only with blood can I call upon the glorious kingly way of Great Qi and nourish my sword's might to slay the evil fiends."

The old eunuch's kneeling shook the resolve of several who had been hesitating, and they all looked toward Jiang Zhong at their head.

"Lure the snake out of its hole?" Grand Tutor Jiang Zhong finally spoke, his voice aged but steady. His deep, melancholy eyes seemed to hold many worries.

"Even if it is a scheme, so what? The blood edict is here. Even if mountains of blades and seas of fire lie ahead, how can we, as subjects, shrink back?

"For a thousand years, the Li Household, the royal family, has guided us in the kingly way. To repay its favor, we would not shrink from ten thousand deaths!"

Jiang Zhong slowly rose and bowed to the blood edict. "This old minister, Jiang Zhong, is willing to obey Your Highness's command."

"Grand Tutor!" Zhang Qing said urgently.

"Say no more." Jiang Zhong raised a hand.

"I know well the importance of the royal bloodline. The spiritual resonance of this edict is pure; it is no forgery. Even if it truly is a trap..."

A trace of determination flashed in his eyes. "Great Qi has supported its retainers for a thousand years. Today is the day to die for righteousness and loyalty!"

At these words, everyone grew solemn.

Wu Chong knelt on one knee. "This general is willing to follow the grand tutor!"

The others exchanged glances and bowed one after another. "We are willing to go."

Zhang Qing let out a long sigh and finally bowed as well. "...As you command."

"On behalf of His Highness the crown prince, this old servant thanks you loyal ministers..."

With a look of tragic resolve, the old eunuch knocked his head heavily against the floor.

After their secret meeting, they dispersed, each contacting trusted aides and secretly gathering men. They would rise that very night and catch him off guard!

The old eunuch watched the last person leave. The tragic resolve slowly faded from his face, replaced by indifference.

He took out a communication jade talisman and infused it with spiritual power.

A moment later, the jade talisman lit up, and Sima Ruiming's cold voice came through:

"How did it go?"

"The fish have taken the bait." The old eunuch bowed.

"Seventy-seven households in the royal capital, thirty key figures, plus the cultivators under them, their mortal descendants, relatives, and old associates. Nearly a hundred thousand people can be implicated."

He transmitted a densely packed list of names through his divine sense.

There was a moment of silence at the other end of the jade talisman, followed by a soft chuckle.

"Well done. Proceed according to plan."

"Yes."

Night had yet to end in Great Qi's royal capital.

Spiritual light faintly flowed through the Qi palace, and formations rumbled to life.

In an instant, many of the cultivators patrolling the imperial palace who had pledged themselves to Sima Ruiming turned to ash.

Within the palace's forbidden grounds, a pillar of blood-colored light shot into the sky!

The pillar was as thick as a man's embrace, piercing straight into the azure heavens and staining the night sky dark red.

The faint sounds of a dragon's roar and a phoenix's cry came from within it, while the vast presence of the kingly way swept across the city!

"It's begun!"

"The contingency in the palace's forbidden grounds-a Purple Mansion measure!"

"Follow me into the palace and rescue the crown prince!"

In the darkness, thousands of figures soared into the air from all corners of the royal capital and charged toward the palace like moths to a flame.

Grand Tutor Jiang Zhong was at their head. All were armored and armed, their presences unleashed.

The palace guards were thrown into chaos, caught off guard.

The formation's existing light barrier rippled violently under the blood-colored pillar's impact, and several cracks appeared.

"Charge in!"

Seeing this, everyone's spirits soared, and they rushed forward faster.

Just as the first group was about to pass through the cracks,

"Hummm-!!!"

The entire palace suddenly blazed with light!

The formation's light barrier, which had seemed riddled with openings, abruptly solidified, turning into a gigantic cage covering ten li!

Dense black runes appeared on the cage's inner walls, each flowing with the vast power of water. It was the [Mystic Nether Dragon-Trapping Formation], a secret passed down in Firmament Heaven!

"This is bad! We've been tricked!"

"It's a trap!"

"Damn it, there's a traitor!"

"Retreat! Retreat, quickly!"

But it was too late.

On the rooftops and walls throughout the palace,

Densely packed ranks of black-clad cultivators appeared without a sound. All held bows or crossbows made from flood dragon sinews, their arrows flashing with a vast, icy blue light.

Those were Mystic Nether Law-Breaking Arrows, made specifically to pierce the protective Law Power of Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"Loose."

A single, indifferent word came from deep within the palace.

The next moment, arrows fell like a torrential rain!

"Pffft-"

"Pffft-!"

The whistling of arrows, screams, and the shattering of protective spiritual light rang out together.

Dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators at the front fell from the sky like birds with broken wings. Their bodies were riddled with arrows, and blood stained the palace walls red.

"Form up! Form a defensive formation!"

Wu Chong, the vice minister of war, roared and summoned a massive tortoiseshell shield. A phantom image of the eight trigrams appeared on its surface, protecting more than ten people around him.

But the next instant, three figures appeared behind him like ghosts.

It was Zhang Qing, the deputy chief censor who had argued so desperately that night, accompanied by two Foundation Establishment experts under Sima Ruiming.

The three had infiltrated the group raiding the palace that night.

One wielded a saber, its blade-light white as snow. With one slash, he severed the tortoiseshell's spiritual light.

Of the remaining two, one wielded a hammer as heavy as a mountain and smashed the phantom image of the eight trigrams.

The last, Zhang Qing, brought two fingers together to form a Sword-Ray. Mystic Origin Heavy Water gathered at his fingertips and pierced straight through Wu Chong's back and heart.

"Agh-!"

Wu Chong's eyes widened. He looked down at the water sword protruding from his chest, his words muffled and indistinct, as though he were saying,

"Why!?"

But Zhang Qing did not answer.

The prepared had struck the unsuspecting; an ambush had met a hasty attack.

In mere moments, more than half the loyal subjects were dead or wounded.

The survivors were split up and surrounded, trapped in several cramped areas, where they fought desperately with their backs to the wall.

The palace's main gates slowly opened.

Clad in a black robe embroidered with gold, Sima Ruiming strolled out with his hands behind his back.

His robe was immaculate and not a hair was out of place, as though he were merely taking a leisurely stroll to admire the scenery.

The old eunuch followed behind him, his face so hateful.

There were also more than ten Cangxuan cultivators with deep, steady presences.

"Those who kneel and surrender may keep their corpses intact."

Sima Ruiming did not raise his voice, yet every person heard him clearly.

"Pah! Cangxuan fiend!" A man dressed like a military officer spat out a mouthful of bloody foam.

"I'm a military man. I can't read, and I've never known how to write the word 'surrender'!"

"Kill him!"

Sima Ruiming merely gave him an indifferent glance.

A subordinate at his side raised a hand. A blade of water flashed past, and the officer's head flew off.

"Who else wants to be a loyal subject?" Sima Ruiming surveyed the dozens who remained.

No one answered. Only heavy breathing could be heard.

"Very well." Sima Ruiming nodded.

"Since they are all loyal subjects, nail them to death on the Qi palace walls and let them fulfill their loyalty and righteousness."

"Yes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cultivators behind Sima Ruiming stepped forward and drove restriction-breaking spiritual nails through their collarbones, hands, and feet.

They nailed them to the palace walls.

When the last person, Grand Tutor Jiang Zhong, was nailed up, the first light of dawn was rising.

His deep, melancholy eyes, filled with unspoken worries, slowly closed, leaving a single crystalline tear.

Sima Ruiming turned to the old eunuch. "Clean it up. Before daybreak, I want not a drop of blood visible on the palace walls."

"As for those people's lineages..."

Sima Ruiming paused.

"Leave none alive!"

"As you command."

At the hour of the dragon, the grand court convened.

The officials stood in their ranks, but none dared speak loudly.

On their way to court, everyone had seen the gruesome sight of those nailed to death on the palace walls.

Crown Prince Li Tian sat in the regent's seat, his face pale and his body trembling slightly.

He kept his head lowered, looking at no one.

"Chief Minister Sima arrives-"

At the herald's call, the officials turned their heads in unison.

Sima Ruiming walked slowly into the great hall.

He had changed into a brand-new red robe, but several dark red dragon patterns stood out on its hem, as though placed there deliberately.

He walked very slowly, his footsteps silent. With every step, vast power surged around him, and misty water vapor gathered into barely visible phantom dragons that coiled about him.

Each step seemed to land on the tip of every heart in the court.

He went straight up the imperial steps to Li Tian's side and patted him on the shoulder. Li Tian seemed to tremble even harder.

Sima Ruiming smiled in satisfaction. An attendant at the side had already brought over a jade chair.

He sat down.

"We ministers... pay our respects to Chief Minister Sima!" Zhang Qing, the deputy chief censor, was the first to kneel and bow.

"Greetings, Chief Minister!"

"May the chief minister enjoy boundless peace!"

The cries of obeisance spread like a tide. In an instant, everyone in the hall had bowed their heads.

Only one person had not: Li Tian.

He sat there, his whole body rigid.

Sima Ruiming looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Your Highness Li Tian, why do you not bow?"

Li Tian trembled all over, then slowly rose and bowed. "G-greetings, Chief Minister Sima."

His voice was as faint as a mosquito's whine.

At that moment, Sima Ruiming seemed to recall something and shook his head. "Your Highness is the crown prince of Great Qi. How could you bow to a minister? Here in Cangxuan, I, the chief minister, should be the one to pay my respects to Your Highness."

He rose and cupped his hands toward Li Tian, without a trace of respect in his eyes. "Sima Ruiming greets Crown Prince Li Tian."

Li Tian's lips quivered, and he could not speak.

Sima Ruiming looked around at the officials, his voice turning cold. "Last night, rebellious ministers and traitors used His Highness's name to forge a blood edict, intending to assassinate me and throw the court into chaos. Fortunately, with heaven's blessing, the traitors have all been put to death."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the hall like a blade:

"Yet I do not understand. After the traitors were put to death, why did not a single civil or military official in the court pay his respects to His Highness?"

"Why, when His Highness sits here, do you all bow only to me?"

At that thought, Sima Ruiming abruptly raised his voice:

"The treacherous ministers have been slain, yet all the Qi officials in this court show no loyalty to the crown prince. Could there still be disloyal men among you?!"

Once again, it was Zhang Qing, the vice censor-in-chief, who reacted first. He kowtowed heavily to Crown Prince Li Tian. "We are slow-witted! We, your ministers, pay our respects to Your Highness the crown prince! May Your Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"

"May Your Highness live a thousand years!"

"Your Highness, forgive us!"

The officials hastily turned and knelt before Crown Prince Li Tian.

Li Tian looked at the ministers and nobles of the entire court kneeling at his feet and forced a smile. "Y-you may all rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Sima Ruiming nodded in satisfaction and sat down again.

"Now that the court is at peace, let us discuss the matter at hand."

He took out a command arrow he had prepared long ago. "I, the chief minister, issue this order: from this day forth, all of Great Qi shall prepare for war. Select elite troops and assemble them at the royal capital."

"One month from now, we shall launch a campaign against Great Yin in the Northern Region."

"In this war, we shall set the realm in order, follow the kingly way, strike down the hegemonic way, and forge the force of the King-Observing Emperor Sword."

"We obey!"

The thunderous cries rose again.

Li Tian lowered his eyes, concealing the dark glint that flashed through them.

Using the blood edict, I had so many loyal ministers killed as sacrifices. I hope my lord did not deceive me...

Sima Ruiming, do you think you have everything under control?

Just wait until you and Ye Jinyu fight each other bloody and leave both sides gravely wounded!

How could the sword of the kingly way, the King-Observing Sword Force, be so easily obtained?

Inner sagehood and outer kingship, the kingly and hegemonic ways advancing together-the day the Emperor Sword shines once more...

Even the exalted lords high above the nine heavens should marvel...