Chapter 211

This palm strike was like the heavens and earth overturned; a surge of palm force blasted out directly. The unfortunate guards and eunuchs swept up in it were slapped by a huge force into flying chunks of meat, while Hongli before him kept kicking his feet and, astonishingly, flew up into the air, riding that immense force to drift backward. "Truly superb Lightness Skill!" Bai Lang exclaimed; just this Lightness Skill alone would be peerless in the present age.

This kind of twisting and turning Lightness Skill—even Bai Lang's own Ten Thousand Miles Solo Journey might not manage it—this emperor before him shows not a trace of mortal effort, it comes naturally. "So it's you, Chu Xiangshuai..." Bai Lang's eyesight is excellent; with just a glance he saw the sideburns under the melon-rind cap... "I'm curious, did you really cross blows with Chen Jialuo, or are you just playing with them?"

I estimate Qianlong didn't catch the first half of that, but he understood the second half, so even in this seemingly wind‑tossed situation he could still laugh. Hongli is indeed like a tiny boat in a raging storm, rising and falling freely with the towering waves. "Although I have never deliberately displayed martial arts, you truly deserve to be called a genius... It's hard to imagine an emperor could cultivate martial arts to this extent, and even innovate—judged purely by martial talent, you are extraordinarily outstanding. I am inferior to you."

Bai Lang simply overwhelms with Internal Force; his Golden Bell Shield Internal Force is immensely robust, now gradually merging into the Southern Dipper Holy Fist, imparting its original heaviness with an unmatched sharp vigor. He now continually cycles his Void‑Palm force, under the control of the Arhat King's Fist supreme technique, the Wind‑Slaying Diamond Fist, stirring up a storm within one zhang before him. It is precisely this that allows Qianlong to try to dodge using the palm wind, but once sucked in he cannot escape.

This, however, is inspiration drawn from the Yin‑Yang Mill; Bai Lang's Martial God's Ward is no fake, and his feeling in battle is no less than Qianlong's usual training. Although Qianlong's martial arts are also quite strong, he dares not receive Bai Lang's punches and palms, for the force is too great. This mighty, sharp, rigid force shatters the fan with a single block. That folding fan is also Hongli's beloved object, but he cannot afford to mourn it now—preserving his life is urgent.

"Guard the emperor! Guard the emperor!" The cries never ceased, while the palace guards kept mustering, but outside more were waving flags and shouting, and not a single one came rushing to guard the emperor. It's not fair to blame them for fearing death; they simply couldn't get through. The clash between Bai Lang and Hongli left no opening for interference; anyone who rashly rushed in would only be throwing away his life or disrupting Hongli's evasion of Bai Lang's fist and palm force, so Hongli ended up shouting for them to stay out.

No matter how you put it, Qianlong is now in a sorry state, yet he doesn't look it. Since he cannot counter Bai Lang nor break through his aura‑impact, the inevitable result of taking blows one‑sidedly is death. "Don't hurt the emperor!"—such cries are basically all from the civilian officials present, and they are utterly useless. No one lacked the will to sacrifice himself, but the outcome was merely being tossed into the storm and turned into flying minced meat.

Even someone as skilled as Chu Liuxiang couldn't manage it; Qianlong also tried to persuade this murderous embryo before him, though wealth and honor would surely be useless—but he had to say it, and after a string of words it indeed had no effect. Talk of abdicating the throne is only fit to deceive ghosts; any sane person wouldn't believe it—who would think the imperial seat is a roadside cabbage that you can just give away? In the end Bai Lang seized his leg, and with a single pull the flesh visibly shrank a segment.

That was the flesh on his thigh being peeled off; the emperor also let out a miserable cry, and the next moment Bai Lang's palm followed through, pinching upward until everything it touched shattered. Bai Lang had no intention of wanton slaughter, so he struck out with his left palm, directly collapsing Hongli's chest; a mouthful of blood spurted out, and Hongli's head lolled, lifeless in an instant. It was just like Ding Guo decisively jumping from a terrace—except that one was saved by an electric wire.

Since the Qing emperor was dead, the Yu Yu on Bai Lang's body twitched slightly, but it did not open a passage for him to return. Bai Lang laughed heartily and strode straight into the inner palace, intending to exit via the Xuanwu Gate—"I pay my respects to the martyrdom of our Ming's martyred emperor; this also counts as avenging a great grudge." Inside the inner palace no one could stop him; the eunuchs had already begun to run, and as for the palace ladies and consorts, Bai Lang couldn't be bothered to kill them, but they were too feeble to flee. On the other hand, the "Holy Mother Empress Dowager" seemed to hear shouts of "I've hanged myself......" from somewhere.

Whether or not to kill Qianlong's offspring no longer matters; at this point nobody can pacify this troubled world. This Manchu‑ruled realm seems to have reached its end. Having left the Xuanwu Gate not far behind, Bai Lang saw Jingshan; on its side he found the crooked‑necked old locust tree. "What a pity—I forgot to bring Hongli's head for the sacrifice; this time I'll just offer a pinch of earth as incense and pray."

As for what memorial words to recite, Bai Lang truly lacks the literary talent, and besides he has hardly ever seen Emperor Chongzhen, so three minutes of silent mourning will suffice. Once that person's silent mourning is over, he proceeds straight to the highest point of Jingshan, the Wan Chun Pavilion, where he settles down. Bai Lang intends to watch the collapse of Qing rule up close here; of course, if anyone tries to pick up the pieces, he doesn't mind continuing to kill. With Qianlong gone, the Qing court is indeed in great turmoil—not for lack of heirs, but because there are too many; Qianlong never got around to secretly naming a successor, and now each of his princes could conceivably ascend the throne.

What's worse, Bai Lang is still on Jingshan right now; this killing star shows no sign of leaving, and who knows when he'll come charging back to unleash a slaughter? The entire Qing dynasty has ground to a halt, the six ministries unattended, left to let this Manchu‑ruled world meet its doom. As for dragging out those red‑coated cannons to bombard the Wan Chun Pavilion—such a notion is fit only for a joke.

Bai Lang practices martial arts on the mountain; the Qing court dare not do anything to him, and even palace eunuchs bring up food from the imperial kitchen...... Naturally it's non‑toxic; if one wanted to poison Bai Lang, they'd have to use a corrosive poison, but his sense of smell and taste are extraordinarily keen, so such a toxin could not escape his notice. Moreover—actually Bai Lang doesn't fear poison; he simply hasn't realized this himself yet. That time on Ling Mountain, when he was drenched and soaked for half a day in the blood of the azure lion, it was far more than just getting his whole body bloody......"

Practicing martial arts, practicing martial arts—it's merely a matter of familiarity. The techniques Bai Lang has grasped these days cannot be developed further here, so he can only sit and watch—he has no interest in the dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony; meanwhile, the southern armies have already crossed the river, advancing like a broken bamboo toward Capital (Jingcheng) (Capital (Jingcheng) (Jingcheng)) City. The realm is now fragmented; even Shandong and Shanxi have seen uprisings, and of course the Shanxi rebels have devoured the great households—those merchant‑officials, each and every one, have had their estates razed and looted clean, even the inhabitants of their homes slaughtered to the last.

The Qing court clings to life by a thread; for several months they could not determine who would occupy the imperial throne, and the conclusion they finally reached was simply to flee spontaneously to the passes beyond, while order inside Capital (Jingcheng) (Capital (Jingcheng) (Jingcheng)) City has completely collapsed......