Chapter 1333

The door was kicked open, a ferocious-looking Guard appeared outside, Hu Xiaotian looked up at him and saw that the Guard was extremely burly, his clothes torn in several places, revealing bluish-gray skin underneath, his face also a horrifying bluish-gray, his eyes completely turned blood-red, his body stained with specks of blood, the Guard stepped toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed his bad luck, never expecting to die in such a confused manner at the hands of an unnamed foot soldier.

The Guard grabbed Hu Xiaotian, raised his saber, trying to slash his throat in one blow; Hu Xiaotian, thinking quickly, shouted loudly, "Don't you want to know where the Yongyang Princess is?"

The Guard hesitated slightly, and from outside came Long Tingzhen's voice saying, "Hold on!"

The blade was only half an inch from Hu Xiaotian's throat, truly a hair's breadth from death.

Long Tingzhen walked in from outside; if not for hearing that fellow's voice, Hu Xiaotian would hardly have recognized him—Long Tingzhen's stature seemed to have increased by a whole size, his face shrouded in a bluish aura, his eyes blood-red, bearing a resemblance to the Guard who had first burst into the room.

Hu Xiaotian's first thought was that this gang had been poisoned, though he had never heard of poison making a person grow a size larger in a short time, with skin color noticeably altered, as if they had become a different race.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian, Long Tingzhen's expression grew more ferocious; he lunged forward in a flash, his speed reaching that of a top expert, his large hand landing on Hu Xiaotian's throat as he growled grimly, "Where is she? Tell me!"

Hu Xiaotian glanced at Long Tingzhen's palm, as large as a cattail fan, noticing its skin had turned pale green; he remained unfazed and said, "First help me unlock these shackles, then I'll tell you."

Long Tingzhen nodded, then suddenly seized Hu Xiaotian's body and hurled him forward; Hu Xiaotian's body smashed through the window and flew outside, Long Tingzhen roaring, "What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me?"

Hu Xiaotian's body hit the ground hard, leaving him dazed; he tried to circulate his inner energy, but his dantian remained lifeless, showing no reaction at all.

A Guard rushed forward, grabbed Hu Xiaotian, and delivered a fierce punch to his abdomen; the blow was strong enough to split stone, nearly making Hu Xiaotian vomit up last night's meal.

Long Tingzhen twisted his body and leapt out of the room, truly moving like a spiritual ape; after undergoing drug‑enhanced body refinement, his martial arts had increased manifold.

At that moment a frightened shout came from the right—it was the old emperor, Long Xuan'en, being dragged back by two Guards; Long Tingzhen's attention was diverted, and he temporarily let Hu Xiaotian go.

Dragged before Long Tingzhen, the emperor who had ruled Dakang for decades had never looked so disheveled; his crown had fallen during his flight, his nose was bruised and his face swollen, abrasions covered his body, his dragon robe torn in many places—yet despite this, Long Xuan'en remained relatively composed, for as a sovereign he could stay calm even at death's door; he clutched his chest, his expression pained as he gazed at Long Tingzhen before him, his heart also filled with shock, for his royal grandson, usually handsome and graceful, a jade tree in the wind, had vanished only a short while ago—how could he have become like this?

Long Tingzhen let out a strange, grating laugh and said, "Foolish ruler, I never thought you'd have a day like this."

Long Xuan'en, only after hearing the voice dared to confirm it was Long Tingzhen, and he forced himself to stay calm, saying, "Tingzhen, why are you doing this? I… I will immediately issue an edict naming you heir apparent, all right?"

Hearing this, Long Tingzhen felt no relief but only greater fury; he lunged forward and kicked the old emperor flying, gritting his teeth, "Old fool, if you had known this would happen, why did you act as you did back then?"

Long Xuan'en could not withstand that kick, flying over three zhang away before crashing to the ground in a humiliating heap, landing face‑first and breaking his two front teeth; he landed right beside Hu Xiaotian, who silently cursed his bad luck—having just been overlooked, he was now dragged into trouble by the dog‑emperor. Hu Xiaotian lowered his head, hoping the man hadn't seen him, and kept his focus on Long Xuan'en.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian, Long Xuan'en latched onto him like a lifeline, pointing at him and saying, "I… I had long intended to make you heir apparent; it was all him… he urged me to reconsider… it's all because of him."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed Long Xuan'en's shamelessness; now that we all shared the same misery, even if we weren't comrades in the same trench we shouldn't betray each other—the old emperor, in order to save his own life, had lost all shame, let alone selling out others.

Long Tingzhen gazed at the blood‑smeared Long Xuan'en, a cruel smile curling his lips: "Very well, issue the edict now and hand over the throne to me." He waved his hand; several Guards surged forward, seized Hu Xiaotian and lifted him up—some grabbing his head, some his hands, some his feet.

Long Tingzhen said, "Hu Xiaotian, you have always opposed me, aiding that lowly wretch in her delusional bid to seize the throne from me—utter foolishness; if I don't kill you, I can never appease this hatred."

Hu Xiaotian sighed, "Do you have any brains? Kill me, and you'll never find Qiqi's whereabouts."

Long Tingzhen said, "I'll give you one chance—I've counted to three; if you still won't tell me where she is, I'll tear you apart limb from limb."

Several Guards grabbed Hu Xiaotian's body and pulled outward; he felt a ripping pain, and a surge of inner energy stirred naturally in his dantian—Hu Xiaotian felt both shock and joy: shocked that he might at any moment be torn apart by these frenzied, mutated Guards, pleased that his dantian's qi sea finally responded to the external force.

Long Tingzhen said, "One!"

Several Guards increased their force simultaneously, two of them locking onto Hu Xiaotian's pulse points and exerting strength; Hu Xiaotian tried to mobilize his inner energy, but after the earlier faint ripple, his dantian's qi sea sank back into stillness.

"Two!"

The Guards' grip grew tighter still; Long Xuan'en lay to the side, watching Hu Xiaotian held high, almost unable to bear the sight—Hu Xiaotian's present state might well be his own fate.

Hu Xiaotian said, "She is hidden in the secret passage beneath the well of Zilan Palace!" He was simply making it up, hoping to buy some time.

Long Tingzhen chuckled, nodded, and said, "Smart move." Then he bellowed, "Tear him apart!"

As the Guards exerted force together, the brink of death can unleash a person's full potential, enabling them to summon every ounce of strength to cling to life; Hu Xiaotian refused to die like this, and while the Guards pressed, his dantian's qi sea—once as if frozen in ice—sent a tearing pain, the icy sheath around it beginning to crack; his limbs regained some strength, and his body strained to contract inward against the external force.

The Guards increased their force; first, the two who held Hu Xiaotian's hands felt something abnormal—their inner energy surged away like a river bursting its banks.

Had it not been a life‑or‑death crisis, Hu Xiaotian could not have broken free and activated the Void Great Law; initially the Guards struggled against him, but soon they began to fear, each trying desperately to shake off Hu Xiaotian's body and fling him away—yet their hands seemed glued to him, unable to break free, and five or six of them, together with Hu Xiaotian, toppled to the ground and rolled into a tangled mass.

The surrounding Guards still thought Hu Xiaotian was desperately struggling; seeing their comrades unable to subdue him, they came to help, but the moment their hands touched a companion's body, an invisible force pulled them in, sticking fast and making escape impossible.

Long Tingzhen watched the scene, utterly astonished that Hu Xiaotian still possessed such formidable combat power on the brink of death; yet the wails of his own Guards made him sense that something was amiss, someone crying, "Save me… save me…"

In the rolling mass, one figure tumbled out—Long Tingzhen's Guards, all recommended by Hong Beimo and trained in drug‑enhanced body conditioning, were normally hulking, but this one that emerged resembled a wind‑dried corpse, skin clinging to bone, face wrinkled, his large hands turned claw‑like, weakly reaching toward Long Tingzhen and gasping, "Save me…"

Long Tingzhen was also startled by what he saw; he had meant to step forward, but after taking a step he halted, his gaze falling on the old emperor Long Xuan'en; he lunged, seized Long Xuan'en, and, bearing the emperor, swiftly fled the Storage Excellence Palace.

A ceaseless flow of inner energy surged into Hu Xiaotian's dantian's qi sea; the ice that had sealed it, under the continual pressure of the expanding qi sea, gradually cracked and finally shattered; Hu Xiaotian let out a great shout, his inner energy finally breaking free, rushing in like the Yangtze River into his body's eight extraordinary meridians; his tiger‑like frame shuddered, and, due to the Void Great Law, the dozen or so Guards clinging to his body were shaken off like fluff in the wind, screaming as they fell to the ground.

Amid the dust and smoke, Hu Xiaotian's clothes were tattered yet he stood tall like a deity, his tiger eyes blazing, coldly surveying the Guards around him who had lost all combat ability; his inner energy raced through his body unhindered, and, using the Tendon Changing Bone Shifting method, he altered his bone structure to free his hands and feet from the shackles.

Having regained his freedom, Hu Xiaotian felt as if he had been reborn; he strode out of the Storage Excellence Palace, spying Long Tingzhen in the distance dragging Long Xuan'en toward the Tianhe Dian, and he shouted angrily, "Traitor! Where do you think you're going?!"

Just as Hu Xiaotian stepped through the gate of the Storage Excellence Palace, a surge of force came from the right—a Guard lying in wait there swung his longsword down at Hu Xiaotian's head.

Hu Xiaotian's body flickered; his movement exceeded the attacker's expectation—he dodged the blade, moved behind him, seized the man's head with both hands, and twisted hard; with a crack, the large head was turned completely backward, the cervical vertebrae shattered, obviously killing him.

Hu Xiaotian did not pause; he tapped the tip of his foot, his body rising more than three zhang, then launched forward with the Art of Soaring in a diving rush.

Long Tingzhen turned and saw Hu Xiaotian pursuing him, panic-stricken, he bellowed, "Stop him! Stop him!"

A palace Guard raised his spear, shook out a flourish in the air, then angled upward to thrust at Hu Xiaotian's groin; Hu Xiaotian drew a breath while airborne, lifted his body three chi, evading the strike, and arrived above the Guard's head; he sank down, driving his right foot hard onto the man's crown—a heavy, forceful blow that smashed the Guard's skull to pieces.

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