The consort didn’t want to submit to Feiyun’s intimidation at all but she had no other choice, ultimately choosing to reveal the old man’s ident.i.ty.
Feiyun slightly frowned with glimmers in his eyes: “So that’s the legendary lord of Senluo, the Beacon King, no wonder why I felt such powerful divine intents in him.”
“Feng Feiyun, didn’t you say you would let me go?” She was afraid of him changing his mind.
Feiyun looked at her and smiled: “I only agreed to not rape or kill you, but you think I would actually let you go?”
Her expression darkened as she let go of grace: “Feng Feiyun, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I want to cut you to pieces!”
He ignored her and thought that she was a looming disaster, so leaving her alive was out of the question. Of course, he wouldn’t do it himself.
He crippled her cultivation and put an iron mask on her. He used a formation to keep the mask on before taking her to the army’s camp in the frontier.
Guo Dahai and Strategist Mo quickly greeted him with a bow.
Strategist Mo saw the masked woman next to him and became curious: “Your Excellency, may I ask who this is?”
“An important criminal of the court.” Feiyun said: “I have used a jade talisman to send a message to the empress. You need to order some experts to escort her back to the capital. Any mistake along the way and I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep your head.”
The two glanced at each other before getting on one knee: “We shall follow your order.”
This secret prisoner involved both the empress and the king. This matter was clearly confidential. Any mistake would result in many deaths.
The two of them ordered a group of experts to build a fortified carriage to clandestinely send the prisoner back to the capital.
Feiyun watched with a smirk on his face. The person who wanted to kill Consort Beiming the most wasn’t him but rather Empress Dowager Hua.
This strategy was called using a borrowed knife. In this case, using a woman to kill another woman was even better.
Along the way, Empress Dowager Hua would certainly send a.s.sa.s.sins to kill the consort before she could reach the capital.
The winner takes it all. If the crown prince had won, Feiyun, Long Luofu, and Consort Hua would be dead right now.
This was the result of losing a political struggle.
***
Black Guard was on one knee on top of a hill in Ancient Jiang. He reported everything to the old man in gray, including how Feiyun forced the consort to reveal their ident.i.ty, how he crippled her cultivation and schemed to get her back to the capital. He didn’t miss a single detail.
The old man had the aura of a king while staring at the majestic sceneries with a contemplative glimmer in his eyes: “Black Guard, who do you think is more talented, Feng Feiyun or the young lord?”
The armored man answered: “They’re about even in terms of talents, same with wits, but…”
“But what?”
“But Feng Feiyun is more contemptible with more wretched methods. This guy will do anything, I don’t think the young lord can do so.” Black Guard said.
“Contemptible and wretched, all means necessary, haha. That’s what the young lord is missing.” The old man actually looked impressed.
“I don’t understand.” Black Guard said.
The old man smiled: “If someone insults you as contemptible and wretched, it means that you have taken advantage of them or bested them in some ways. Black Guard, know that in this man-eat-man world, reputation is mere decoration. Only the successful ones besting all of their enemies will become the final victors and get to write history on top of establis.h.i.+ng morality. The historical annals will tell future generations who were contemptible and wretched.”
“The losers are contemptible and wretched, of course. Thank you for your pointer, Beacon King.” Black Guard said.
The smile disappeared from the king’s face, replaced by a serious expression. The leisure temperament went away and this actually affected the overall atmosphere of the land nearby. The old man said: “When the young lord came to Beastmaster for the Golden Silkworm Scripture, he seemed to have left a potential problem.”
Black Guard quietly listened.
“He’s young and isn’t ruthless enough, it’s understandable. Black Guard, go to Beastmaster and quietly kill that pregnant girl. Next, go back and tell the young lord two things.”
“First, tell him that a real king will not have the mercy of a woman. I have taken care of this potential problem for him this time, I hope there won’t be a next time.”
“Second, he represents our Senluo Temple while Feng Feiyun represents Jin. There will be a fight to the death since we wish to take over. I wish to know who is the better of the two before things escalate.”
Black Guard became moved with a slight twitch: “How do you want them to compete, Beacon King?”
“A chess match between two kings, right here in Ancient Jiang, the battlefield will be Endless Land. Let Qian Qiusheng prepare the match!” The old man’s eyes became fiery as he gazes northward with dao laws intertwining in his pupils. They looked like outlines of the land.
He was looking towards the capital.
***
The capital of Jin.
Providence and fortune gathered here with the dragon vein. The place was prosperous despite the battle that caused immense damage one year ago. Now, it looked as extravagant and majestic as ever. Cultivators gathered once more in the strongest location in Jin.
Imperial Palace, Violet Cloud Hall.
Empress Dowager Hua and Long Luofu were sitting down with a ten-meter map placed before them. It depicted the current situation in Jin and had smoke and fire everywhere. Numerous strands of draconic energy were surging in different places, looking quite aggressive. Their goal was the capital.
This was the Dynasty Diagram, containing the fate of Jin. The eight prefectures’ physical features and natural orders were shown in this large painting.
Luofu rolled up the painting before throwing it towards the platform in this hall. It automatically fell down and disappeared from sight.
“Another dragon, that’s the eighteenth.” The Empress Dowager said.
Long Luofu stood there proudly with an amazing aura while wearing her Regal Dragon Robe. She had forty-nine golden strands of draconic energy surrounding her.
After her ascension, she gained the Dragon Spirit Stone and the Imperial Seal. The providence and fortune of Jin have now gathered on her body. Moreover, she had control of the dragon vein, so her cultivation had increased by countless folds - simply unfathomable at this moment.
The combination of fate and resources of the royal clan gave birth to a super master in an extremely short time.
She has been baptized in the Dracomization Pond six times in the last year, absorbing seventy percent of the power that has been acc.u.mulated there for centuries. She was only one step away from becoming an Enlightened Being.
This was a case of a carp successfully climbing the dragon gate and becoming a dragon.
Her aura was stronger; her temperament more dominating. Each of her actions looked like that of a ruler and was in harmony with the dao of heaven and earth. She said: “Dragons devouring the heaven. This is the will of heaven itself, wanting to end our dynasty. It shows that the dynasty is reaching its end, its providence weakened, so the chaos is inevitable. It’s fine to have more dragons, the only thing that matters is Supreme. Whoever is in control of Supreme will grasp the fate of Jin.”
Violet Cloud Hall was protected by seven masters with monstrous aura filling the entire area. They looked like seven stars ready to protect this palace. Any intruder would be killed instantly.
The palace was heavily guarded now unlike before during the political struggle. Prior to this, it was a compet.i.tion between the princess and the crown prince so the real masters here couldn’t get involved. That’s why Giants rampaged the palace.
Now, Long Luofu was completely in charge. The royal clan’s obvious and hidden powers were under her command.
The royal clan was only second to Sacred Spirit Palace, so its real might was something to behold. The four great clans might not be a match against it.
“I will enter the Dracomization Pond again for the seventh baptism for another attempt at reaching Nirvana.” Luofu looked to be above all while standing in the center of the hall, gazing at her kingdom.
A jade talisman came from the horizon, leaving a long trail and looking just like a meteor. A gigantic hand outside the hall caught it.
A skinny middle-aged scholar with his bones almost showing came over. He got on his knees and bowed his head: “A message from Endless Land.”
“From whom?” Long Luofu’s voice carried an oppressive might. The man couldn’t look up at all.
“From His Excellency, the Divine King.” The middle-aged man took a deep breath and channeled violet energy inside his dantian. He barely managed to maintain the kneeling posture because of her aura instead of being pushed to the ground.