Chapter 769: Gu Yue Qingji

Outside the Imperial Capital, upon the formation, a thick, bloody stench permeated the air—the scent of slaughter clinging to these soldiers.

It was incredibly dense, settled into their armor, their skin, their flesh, and their souls, gathering together to spread in all directions, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The firmament changed color, winds rose and clouds surged; the sky was stained by their aura at this moment, turning dim, while bolts of lightning and thunder emerged from thin air, tearing across the horizon.

For a fleeting moment, it overlapped with the tolling of the Imperial Capital's bell, echoing within everyone's minds.

Among this returning army, even the weakest cultivator was at the Nascent Soul realm, and every single one of them was no ordinary person, each possessing astonishing kill counts, having spent years at the human frontier guarding the Human Race's Heavenly Gate.

Their lives were different from most cultivators within the Imperial Capital; too many cultivators inside had not returned for sixty years.

Thus, years of constant warfare and indifference toward death gave every one of them a look of numbness on their faces.

Yet, the more this was the case, the more astonishing their killing intent became, turning into instinct; even standing before the Imperial Capital, they could not suppress it.

It seemed... that even Imperial power was not that important in their hearts; the only thing that could stir ripples in them was... the battle flag fluttering at the front of the army.

There were two flags, one golden, embroidered with the characters "Gu Yue".

It was the Fourth Imperial Prince; he walked over, shaking his head, and stood side-by-side with the Fifth Imperial Prince.

"Enter. Father, all the ministers, Heavenly Marquises, Heavenly Kings, and Domain Venerables are all inside."

As the words were spoken, the great hall fell into silence, the ministers each harboring their own ripples of thought; in truth, news regarding the frontier was usually classified as top secret, and few people knew the full details.

Behind him, the army moved in unison, all kneeling down.

After the Fifth Imperial Prince finished speaking, he raised his head, took large strides, and walked toward the Imperial Palace.

The Fourth Imperial Prince said softly.

"Looking at the big picture, the Yanyue Xuantian Clan is busy with the Great Hunt, so their intent to hunt surrounding clans is much less than in the past."

"Gu Yue Qingji, receive the decree."

"Father is waiting for you; why don't you go and thank him for his Imperial grace?"

A trace of sorrow appeared in his expression.

A gentle voice came from behind the Fifth Imperial Prince, the tone filled with regret.

As the Fifth Imperial Prince murmured softly, the ninth toll of the Imperial Capital's bell rang out. Following this, the East Gate of the Imperial Capital slowly opened, and most of the officials from the Five Lower Xuan Palaces appeared, heading out to welcome him, bowing toward the Fifth Imperial Prince before the gate.

"Now bestowing a reward upon the Fifth Imperial Prince Qingji: you may establish official posts in the Prince's Mansion, with ten thousand guards added. Respect this."

According to normal procedure, he should return to his position in the great hall at this moment, but after this bow, the Fifth Imperial Prince did not leave, instead speaking softly.

"The first disadvantage is that the subsidiary clans of Yanyue, for some reason, have seen an overall increase in combat power, and it is not just one clan improving, but all of them growing stronger at an incredible speed."

The Human Emperor nodded slightly.

"The Fifth Imperial Prince, the first disciple of the First Heavenly King, is the only disciple of the First Heavenly King still alive. He has spent years following the Heavenly King to guard the border. To the human race, he is the imperial prince with the greatest contributions."

"Looking at it long-term, it is very disadvantageous to our clan, and this matter has suspicious signs; it requires the Special Command Division to investigate."

"Compared to the past, both the number of incursions and the number of sacrificed cultivators have dropped by more than half. This is enough to show that the Sun of Dawn, which Father has planned for many years, has formed a certain degree of deterrence."

"The death of the Seventh was a surprise to all of us. At the time, he had requested to prove his innocence with the Asking Immortal Bell, but..."

Xu Qing's eyes were without ripples, looking on calmly.

"Under the garrison of the Suppressing Flame King, it was all resolved."

"If I remained silent, I would be ashamed of my own heart, and our Human Race values bloodline inheritance and places extreme weight on family affection, which is why we formed a clan."

"Put away your thoughts." The Fifth Imperial Prince spoke calmly.

"Things are different now."

"I am not returning in triumph, and Father is in his prime; he will not easily harbor suspicion. Whether it is you or others, these little tricks are beneath your status."

"Born of the same mother."

"As for the subsidiary clans that came to invade, they were also mainly practicing their troops and probing; there is no major harm."

"You have worked hard."

"In terms of casualties, our Yanyue frontier has lost over 370,090 people in seventeen years; the list is here."

The moment he finished reading, the Fifth Imperial Prince stood up, and the soldiers behind him stood up as well, standing in silence.

This was the first time he had spoken to the Fourth Imperial Prince since returning to the Imperial Capital.

"My return this time is also to request that Father increase our troop strength. The Esi Clan, one of the three strongest subsidiary clans of Yanyue, is suspected of being restless, intending to draw Yanyue's attention to our Human Race."

And while the ministers were lost in their own thoughts, the Fifth Imperial Prince finished his report and bowed to the Human Emperor once more.

"The third disadvantage is that the heterogenous matter within Yanyue has increased threefold compared to recent years. After the Suppressing Flame King took notice, he said it was suspected that... Yanyue is brewing a fourth god!"

That was the meaning of the third stage of Void Returning.

"Congratulations, Fifth Brother." The Fourth Imperial Prince's face was no longer solemn, but revealed a warm smile.

As the Fifth Imperial Prince spoke, he took out a jade slip and handed it to his personal guards, who then submitted it to the Human Emperor.

All the guards along the rainbow bridge lowered their heads slightly upon seeing the Fifth Imperial Prince, showing their respect.

Until he finished walking the rainbow bridge and stood before the Imperial Palace gate, the Fifth Imperial Prince looked at the eleven huge burning incense sticks standing there, especially looking at the area in the middle where one stick was missing.

"During this period, there were a total of ninety-seven small-scale battles; the Yanyue clan itself did not appear, and those who caused the incidents were all its subsidiary clans."

One was pitch black, as if painted with fresh blood, with the characters "Suppressing Flame" written on it.

And at this moment, inside the Imperial Palace great hall, the Human Emperor sat upright, the thirteen Heavenly Kings had also arrived and sat below him, and all the Heavenly Marquises in the Imperial Capital were also in attendance.

His upright posture, handsome face, and black armor made the person walking over look exceptionally heroic, especially the fluctuations of his cultivation base, which were even more obvious.

"Father, for these seventeen years, the Yanyue frontier has been generally stable."

"It seems he is also at odds with the other Imperial Princes."

"Father, the Seventh committed evil and was slain by the Imperial Sword. Because he made a mistake, he deserved to die!"

The Fifth Imperial Prince stood up, his gaze falling on all the Heavenly Kings, then looking at the Heavenly Marquises, and even at Xu Qing, he only swept past without revealing much fluctuation, continuing to bow toward the Human Emperor.

However, no one had any change in expression because of this, as if they hadn't heard it at all.

The title of the Human Race's First Heavenly King is Suppressing Flame.

"The second disadvantage is that after every Great Hunt, Yanyue chooses subsidiary clans to promote. I fear that some subsidiary clans will start wars to gain opportunities and attract attention."

Those who didn't know the situation would definitely think it was an army returning in triumph, or perhaps the Crown Prince traveling; that sense of popular support was very obvious.

As soon as these words were spoken, the Fifth Imperial Prince, sitting on the two-headed black dragon, moved his gaze away from the Imperial Capital and landed on the Fourth Imperial Prince. His body flickered, he left his mount, and knelt on one knee.

"As for arranging for the commoners under the bridge to cheer, that is even more childish."

As soon as these words were spoken, most of the ministers around revealed smiles.

The Fifth Imperial Prince was expressionless, without any response, and walked forward. When passing by the Fourth Imperial Prince, he didn't even look at him, entering the East Gate and stepping onto the rainbow bridge.

"Just as in your Imperial decree, Father, you said that I am very close to my siblings. If I ignored family affection, I would have no clan relatives, which does not match the philosophy I have held since childhood."

This information came partly from Princess Anhai and partly from Xiang Ningyan. While Xu Qing was pondering this, cheers came from outside. The sound entered the ears of everyone in the great hall.

And under the rainbow bridge, a large number of Imperial Capital commoners had gathered, each looking at the Fifth Imperial Prince walking on the bridge. I don't know who cheered first, but soon there were many voices, very loud, spreading in all directions.

This scene made the Fourth Imperial Prince frown slightly, but soon a smile appeared on his face again. He simply followed behind the Fifth Imperial Prince with a smile, heading toward the Imperial Palace.

The Fifth Imperial Prince was silent, moving his gaze away from the place where his younger brother's incense stick had disappeared, looking toward the great palace at the end of the square inside the gate, atop the steps.

The Fifth Imperial Prince paused, looked at the crowd, and after a few breaths of silence, bowed to the commoners before continuing.

Under the gaze of all, he walked past the ministers step by step, appeared in front of the steps, knelt down toward the Human Emperor sitting high above, and spoke in a deep voice.

There was also the Fourth Imperial Prince, wearing a four-clawed yellow robe, walking out from the center.

Such a relationship, within the Imperial Clan, to a certain extent surpassed everything, and even parental affection was sometimes not as good as this sibling bond.

"His combat power among the Imperial Princes is second only to the First Imperial Prince, who possesses half of the Yanyue bloodline; he is equally brave and skilled in battle..."

He was acting on the Human Emperor's decree to welcome his Fifth Brother back to the capital on behalf of the Imperial Clan. At this moment, with a solemn expression, he came to within a thousand feet of the Fifth Imperial Prince's army and spoke loudly.

"Greetings, Father."

"Welcome, Fifth Imperial Prince!"

"The death of the Seventh is my business; you don't need to stir up trouble."

Before walking, there were threads of rules and laws faintly visible around him, pulling in all directions, turning into the sound of wind and thunder; it was the Fifth Imperial Prince.

"But, I am his own brother!"

For most people, they only knew the general idea at most; this was the first time they had understood everything in such detail.

"But... there is also unfavorable news."

Not long after, a figure was reflected in his eyes, and also in the eyes of everyone in the great hall.

Below, the Grand Chancellor and the officials of the Five Upper Xuan Palaces were arranged in an orderly manner, each solemn.

Xu Qing was also in the great hall, sitting in his own position, expressionless, his gaze falling on the gate.

Under the battle flag, the Fifth Imperial Prince in black armor had a calm expression, looking at the Imperial Capital from afar. He had left this place seventeen years ago.

As for the soldiers behind him, they set up camp directly on the formation.

"The Fifth Imperial Prince Qingji has made meritorious service in guarding the frontier, possesses martial virtue, embodies the spirit of Si Xuan, is handsome and studious, and possesses outstanding talent. In serving the country, he is very respectful; in serving his parents, very filial; in serving his siblings, very close; in serving his children and nephews, very upright; in serving his ministers and servants, very majestic. He has much of his father's demeanor, the evening shadow of the Emperor."

He had received the Imperial decree last night and came to the morning assembly early this morning. He already knew about the Seventh Imperial Prince's return, and through Xiang Ningyan, he had a better understanding of the relationship between the Fifth Imperial Prince and the Seventh Imperial Prince.

The Fifth Imperial Prince spoke in a deep voice.

The Fourth Imperial Prince nodded slightly, raised his right hand, and took out an Imperial list.

"Therefore, Father, your child wishes to challenge Domain Venerable Xu. Regardless of victory or defeat, my heart will be at peace!"

After speaking, the Fifth Imperial Prince swept his gaze, instantly landing on Xu Qing.

A cold, sharp light erupted in his eyes in an instant.

"Domain Venerable Xu, please!" ===== CHAPTER 770 =====