The Same Choice

The Liang Prince's Mansion possesses a top-tier flying magic Law Treasure called the Cloud Sedan Chair.

Many years ago, Zhang Xuezhou followed the King of Liang, lying in the cloud sedan chair telling the King stories and seeing him off.

Years later, Zhang Xuezhou never imagined he would be reduced to carrying a sedan chair.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan carried the cloud sedan chair in front with both hands, while Zhang Xuezhou carried it from behind. Lying on the cloud sedan chair was the Empress Dowager, who was dressed in a golden jade robe.

Knowing that he would be revealing his cultivation level to the Empress Dowager, Zhang Xuezhou did not hide anything. He found an excuse to eat to replenish his body, first treating Yi Shuo's illness and injuries, and then eating a lot of food. Only then did he and Divine Lord Zhenyuan lift the cloud sedan chair and fly west.

From darkness to dawn, and then to the rising sun, more than a thousand miles have been traversed in vain.

"Dongfang Shuo, how are you feeling? Do you need to make some adjustments?"

The Divine Lord Zhenyuan in front let out a shout and slowed down his speed in controlling the wind and waves.

If Zhang Xuezhou agrees, he will descend with the wind.

"Let's run another two thousand miles!"

A voice came from behind, Divine Lord Zhenyuan abruptly stopped his falling body, starting to accelerate again in a whirlwind.

"How can you carry people so far and still talk and converse so easily?"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan's ability to fly freely and gracefully was something the Empress Dowager greatly admired.

However, the Empress Dowager's attention remained focused on Zhang Xuezhou from behind.

She believed that Zhang Xuezhou's Divine Ability abilities limited his flight distance, perhaps reaching its limit at two or three hundred miles, after which he might need to use a powerful flying artifact.

But Zhang Xuezhou flew silently the whole way, causing the Empress Dowager to guess wrong time and time again.

When Zhang Xuezhou mentioned flying another two thousand miles, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone, the Empress Dowager realized how far her guesses were from the truth.

"This cloud sedan chair has levitation power, so lifting people is not difficult," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I've ridden in this sedan chair before, and I know how to lift it more effortlessly!"

"This cloud palanquin is a royal possession, rarely owned by outsiders. Whose cloud palanquin did you ride in before?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"Your Highness Prince Liang," Zhang Xuezhou replied briefly, then added, "Prince Liang Liu Wu, your son, has a better sedan chair than this one!"

"Wu'er?"

Parents always give their children the best, and as his most beloved son, Prince Liu Wu of Liang certainly possessed a better palanquin than the Empress Dowager.

Once Zhang Xuezhou compared the Law Treasure, the information became absolutely certain.

"How could Wu'er bear to let you sit on such a treasure?" the Empress Dowager asked, puzzled.

"Because he was dying at the time, he pulled me along in the sedan chair and told me stories!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked up and glanced at the Empress Dowager.

Every son has a mother. Back then, Liu Wu, the King of Liang, treated Zhang Xuezhou's life like dirt and controlled him like a plaything, burying him directly in the tomb.

The Empress Dowager's temperament before her death was equally unfathomable. Zhang Xuezhou was extremely perceptive, and his powerful mental strength allowed him to sense the Empress Dowager's murderous intent, which she repeatedly raised and then lowered.

The Empress Dowager is not Liu Wu, the Prince of Liang, and possesses greater strength. However, Zhang Xuezhou is also far from his former self. In fact, he is no longer playing away, but has entered his home field. He is not afraid of the Empress Dowager, who is alone.

"He wanted to bury me in the grand tomb back then. Did the Empress Dowager also have such thoughts?" Zhang Xuezhou asked directly.

"Why did he want to bury you in the great tomb?" the Empress Dowager asked in a low voice.

"A person in such a high position doesn't need a reason to crush a lowly cultivator; if he wants to bury me, he can bury me as well!"

Zhang Xuezhou stared at the Empress Dowager, and then he heard her softly murmuring "Wu'er".

Zhang Xuezhou and Prince Liang were clearly getting along terribly. Their brief exchange broke the Empress Dowager's heart as she recalled the past, and her deathly aura inexplicably intensified.

"Since you escaped from the tomb, you should know the cause of Prince Liang's death, otherwise he would never have let you leave there," the Empress Dowager said. "I am already an old, decaying body, and I hope you can satisfy an old man's desire to find out the cause of his son's death. My son should not have died at that time!"

The Empress Dowager, seated in Anle Palace, could order Zhang Xuezhou, but once she stepped out of Anle Palace and away from Chang'an City, she was merely a cultivator.

When the cultivator's most valued strength is removed, the Empress Dowager is already a piece of rotten wood.

She didn't give Zhang Xuezhou a command at this moment, but instead used a pleading tone, even though this tone seemed a bit stiff. But this was probably the most tactful way for those in high positions to express themselves.

"You might not want to hear these things," Zhang Xuezhou replied after a few seconds of silence.

"That must have been Liu Qi who killed Liu Wu," the Empress Dowager whispered. "Liu Qi was bedridden in the Weiyang Palace at the time, and he couldn't go to Suiyang. The only way left was to use magic to decide their fate, but Liu Qi's magic skills were insufficient to start the fight. So Liu Wu used a place with good feng shui to cast a spell, but Liu Wu lost to Liu Qi."

"Um!"

"Liu Wu wouldn't risk killing his brother without an 80% chance of doing so. He would have launched his killing spree as soon as he started planning, leaving Liu Qi no chance to struggle. Someone must have intervened to buffer the conflict!"

"..."

"Liu An, the King of Huainan, is renowned throughout the land and possesses the bearing of an emperor. Liu Qi's tolerance of him must be due to his need to leverage his power. However, Liu Qi's strength is too weak; even with the addition of Liu An, who is slightly inferior to Liu Wu, they cannot kill Liu Wu!"

The Empress Dowager's deduction almost perfectly recreated the battle situation of that year, but she couldn't see a way to break the deadlock.

She couldn't see why Liu Wu lost, or why Liu An was able to survive the contest of tactics.

This was where she couldn't make sense of things, and in the end, she had no choice but to ask Zhang Xuezhou for help again.

"His Majesty Emperor Jing led the recitation of the 'Tomb Classic' and raised the Crimson Sky Sword!"

Only after Zhang Xuezhou pointed out the key point did the Empress Dowager belatedly realize what had influenced this life-or-death situation.

She resented Liu Qi's meticulous planning, which left Liu Wu with no chance to inherit the dynasty. When Zhang Xuezhou revealed his choice of the Crimson Cloud Sword, the Empress Dowager felt a sense of loss.

No matter how much she valued her youngest son, or how outstanding the Prince of Liang was, it couldn't compare to the choice made by their ancestor, the Crimson Sky Sword.

Just as the Crimson Sword chose Liu Che, the Empress Dowager had no more distracting thoughts. The Crimson Sword's killing of Liu Wu also freed the Empress Dowager from the injustice and resentment that lingered in her heart.

"Liu An, the King of Huainan, has participated in the campaign and witnessed Liu Qi wielding the Crimson Cloud Sword. He must harbor murderous intent towards Liu Che, who also wields the Crimson Cloud Sword, and will inevitably become his adversary!"

The Empress Dowager invited Divine Lord Zhenyuan to protect the new emperor, but she hadn't really considered competing in terms of magical abilities.

This is a conflict that Divine Lord Zhenyuan cannot easily get involved in, and it also concerns the life and death of the new emperor.

She considered countless possibilities, but she never considered this inevitable confrontation.

Those skilled in manipulating energy possess the protective aura of the Great Han Dynasty. As long as the Great Han Dynasty exists, this aura will not diminish and will have a significant impact on those who do not practice manipulating energy. Even if she were to request Divine Lord Zhenyuan to kill Liu An, there would be a 99% chance of failure.

Unless Liu An foolishly runs into Divine Lord Zhenyuan's hands, or leaves the territory of the Great Han Dynasty and loses the protection of its fortune, Liu An is unlikely to be killed by Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

As for the Empress Dowager herself, let's not even talk about her. Not only was she corrupt and incompetent, but her skill in using magic was probably inferior to that of the King of Huainan, who controlled a whole region. She couldn't kill him by relying on either brute force or magic.

How did you witness Liu Qi wielding the Crimson Cloud Sword to kill Liu Wu?

The Empress Dowager felt there were many difficulties involved and was unable to effectively target the King of Huainan.

She thought about the trouble the King of Huainan might bring, and also about this oversight despite all her careful planning. She felt that all her schemes were useless and would ultimately be in vain.

In her moment of resentment, the Empress Dowager suddenly remembered something.

That is because Zhang Xuezhou, who accompanied King Liang to his tomb, knew the details of the events very well and saw things that would never have happened under normal circumstances.

If Zhang Xuezhou had witnessed this contest, given the temperament of the King of Huainan, he would never have spared Zhang Xuezhou's life until now.

Looking back at the events, the Empress Dowager realized that there was a fourth party involved in this contest of skills, a fourth party that Liu An and the others had not noticed.

To achieve this, Zhang Xuezhou would need to have also practiced the art of manipulation, perhaps even to a certain level, and to have a good relationship with Emperor Jing, who controlled the entire scene, in order to leave gracefully without attracting the attention of Liu An, the King of Huainan.

"Dongfang Shuo actually defied fate by relying on luck. He was neither an emperor nor a feudal lord, and he never gathered the faith of the people. How could he possibly change the fate of the Divine Ability Realm? Could it be that Liu Qi's luck before his death did not protect Che'er, but was instead bestowed upon him?"

After a belated realization, the Empress Dowager finally understood why Zhang Xuezhou had been able to enter the Divine Ability Realm, and also why he was able to associate with a top expert like Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

She even found help for the new emperor in resisting the attack by Liu An, the King of Huainan, in a short period of time.

What Divine Lord Zhenyuan couldn't do, Zhang Xuezhou might indeed be able to do.

These were the people chosen by Emperor Jing, and the Empress Dowager also made a second selection.

Even though Zhang Xuezhou's tactics had many shortcomings, he was still better than the new emperor who completely lacked experience in warfare.

If the new emperor has enough time to experiment and can obtain the assistance of the Crimson Sky Sword in the contest of divination, he will win this inevitable contest of divination.