Chapter 28

When the news of Han Jin's death reached the Capital City, seven days had already passed.

That night, rain fell on the Capital City.

Spring rain should be gentle, but as it struck the green tiles of the Imperial City, it sounded like countless fine drumbeats, making everyone in Zichen Hall uneasy.

The Emperor sat on the Dragon Throne, his face pale.

The Dongling Navy was defeated.

The Prince of Xichuan died.

The Prince of Nanyue died.

The Three Kings had attacked Jiang Che, expecting a thunderous crushing, yet Jiang Che shattered them one by one.

Inside the hall, civil and military officials knelt everywhere; no one dared to speak.

Wei Chong lay prostrate on the ground, not even daring to breathe heavily.

The Emperor suddenly laughed.

"Good."

"What a Jiang Che."

The laughter grew colder and colder, finally turning into a roar.

"Two hundred thousand troops! Three Feudal Kings! And yet they could not kill a border child!"

An old minister spoke with a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, Jiang Che now occupies Han Zhou and has recovered White Bone Pass; both the people's hearts and the army's morale have submitted. If we continue to use force, I fear..."

The Emperor stared at him.

"Fear what?"

The old minister gritted his teeth: "I fear the hearts of the world will change."

The Emperor suddenly grabbed the Jade Paperweight from the table and smashed it against the old minister's forehead.

The old minister fell to the ground, blood streaming down.

"Hearts?"

The Emperor stood up, his eyes full of madness.

"I am the Heavenly Son!"

"The hearts of the world should naturally belong to me!"

From behind the hall, the gray-robed National Preceptor slowly walked out.

He glanced at the fallen old minister, his expression showing not the slightest fluctuation.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger."

The Emperor said coldly: "National Preceptor, you said the Three Kings could destroy Jiang Che."

The gray-robed National Preceptor smiled: "The Three Kings were defeated, but this is not a bad thing."

The Emperor narrowed his eyes: "What do you mean?"

The gray-robed National Preceptor said: "The Three Kings have held armies for many years and were already too powerful to control. Now that they have died at Jiang Che's hands, Your Majesty can just take their fiefs and seize their military power."

The officials in the hall felt a chill in their hearts.

The Emperor's expression relaxed slightly.

The gray-robed National Preceptor continued: "As for Jiang Che, although he won, he has also exposed his foundation."

"The Northern Border Sword Vein."

The Emperor said in a deep voice: "Hasn't the Sword Vein already been awakened by him?"

"Precisely because of this, it can be used."

The gray-robed National Preceptor looked up, a faint golden light flashing in his eyes.

"Although the Heavenly Gate is shattered, the Upper Realm behind the Heavenly Gate has not been severed."

"I have already contacted the Remnant Envoys of the Upper Realm."

"They are willing to bestow upon Your Majesty a Nation-Suppressing Heavenly Seal."

The Emperor's eyes shifted: "Nation-Suppressing Heavenly Seal?"

"Using the National Fate of Great Yin as a guide, it can suppress the Northern Border Sword Vein."

The gray-robed National Preceptor said softly: "Once the Sword Vein is suppressed, Jiang Che will lose his greatest reliance. At that time, if Your Majesty leads a personal expedition, combining forces from north and south with the National Fate, Han Zhou will surely be destroyed."

An Imperial Censor could not help but look up: "National Preceptor! National Fate is the foundation of the state; how can it be borrowed from external forces to suppress the Human Sword Vein? If there is a backlash, the people of Great Yin..."

Before he could finish speaking, the gray-robed National Preceptor flicked his finger.

The Imperial Censor's brow exploded, and he fell dead.

A deathly silence filled the hall.

The Emperor did not stop him.

He simply asked: "What is needed?"

The gray-robed National Preceptor smiled.

"It requires Your Majesty to sacrifice to Heaven."

"With three hundred thousand Living Souls, to summon the Heavenly Seal into the world."

The faces of the ministers in the hall turned deathly pale.

Three hundred thousand Living Souls.

This meant slaughtering a city to sacrifice for the Seal.

The Emperor remained silent for a long time.

So long that the sound of rain almost filled the entire hall.

Finally, he slowly spoke:

"Where is the sacrifice to be held?"

The National Preceptor in the grey robe said, "Luo'an City."

The ministers were horrified.

Luo'an is a major city in the Beijing Capital Region, with a population of hundreds of thousands.

The Emperor closed his eyes.

A moment later, he opened them.

"Approved."

In that instant, many old ministers collapsed completely to the ground.

They suddenly understood that this court had gone mad.

That same night.

In the Jiang Manor of Han Zhou, Jiang Che woke up startled from a dream.

He dreamed of a city weeping.

Countless commoners knelt before a blood-red Altar, while a golden seal slowly descended from the sky.

The Green Bamboo Sword trembled violently beside the bed.

Xie Tingxue pushed the door open and entered.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Che's face was extremely cold.

"The Capital City is to be sacrificed."

Xie Tingxue's pupils contracted.

"Are you sure?"

Jiang Che gripped the Green Bamboo Sword.

"The Sword Vein is giving warning."

He walked out of the room and gazed south.

The rainy night was pitch black.

Yet he seemed to see the blood-red light about to fall over Luo'an City.

"Issue the order."

"Summon the troops."

Xie Tingxue said, "You are going to Luo'an?"

Jiang Che nodded.

"If the Emperor is willing to sacrifice his own people just to kill me,"

"Then I will go and ask him,"

"Whether he can still sit firmly on that Dragon Throne."