Chapter 808: Retribution (Part 2)

Long Xuan'en said: "Did you kill him?"

Ji Feihua sighed and said: "Do you think I killed him?"

Long Xuan'en retorted: "What difference does it make whether he's dead or alive? He's nothing but a puppet."

Ji Feihua said: "The Retired Emperor seems to have already seen through life and death, but if you've already seen through, why do things that implicate your descendants?"

Long Xuan'en said: "I don't understand what you're saying."

Ji Feihua said: "Wax pellet!"

Long Xuan'en lowered his head.

Ji Feihua said: "You used the imperial seal and the so-called secret treasury to incite the Crown Prince, intending to overthrow Dakang's state; indeed, your treacherous heart never dies."

Long Xuan'en angrily said: "Dakang is my Long clan's Dakang; to overthrow Dakang's state and bring chaos to its court is you, this eunuch traitor. You bewitched my worthless son, urging him to harm his brothers, plot treason against his father—do you not fear retribution?"

Ji Feihua said: "The victor is king, the loser is bandit; throughout history there has never been such a thing as retribution! Since you ascended the throne, how much blood stains your hands? Because of your foolish tyranny, how many innocents have perished, how many officials died resentful? You dare speak of retribution? You are not worthy to speak of retribution!"

Long Xuan'en said: "I am the Mandate of Heaven's master; you dare to exceed your station and throw the court into chaos—are you not afraid of infamy for ten thousand years?"

Ji Feihua stepped forward step by step and said: "The chaos in the court is you; the foolish tyranny is you; the harsh levies are you; employing villains to persecute the loyal is still you. You constantly claim to be the Mandate of Heaven's master, yet everything you do defies heaven. Under your rule, Dakang declines daily, war beacons rise everywhere, the people cannot survive. Do you not see heaven is punishing you? Do you not understand Dakang's fate is exhausted, heaven will end your Long dynasty? Dakang's centuries of foundation are destroyed in your hands as a foolish ruler. What face do you have left to meet your ancestors?"

Long Xuan'en chuckled: "What righteous indignation! Even if I have faults, I don't need you to blame me; what qualifications do you have to judge my merits and faults?"

Ji Feihua sneered: "I have no interest in evaluating your merits and faults, but you only need to know: I can decide your life or death."

Long Xuan'en fell silent upon hearing this, his silence not from fear. His calm gaze fixed on Ji Feihua as he said: "To plot to seize my realm, you have schemed for some time, controlling the capital's 100,000 Feather Forest Army, using your influence to threaten civil and military officials, not shying away from eavesdropping, espionage, and poisoning—these underhanded means—and even threatening ministers' families to force their submission."

Ji Feihua softly sighed and said: "I must admit, in this regard you are my teacher."

Long Xuan'en said: "You came to see me today. If it's only to kill me, then go ahead and act; if not, I advise you not to waste your efforts—you'll never get what you want from me."

Ji Feihua said: "Long Yelin refuses to be a puppet. Believing he can restore the realm, he has gone mad!"

Long Xuan'en chuckled: "He deserves it! He deserves it! When you first bewitched him to plot and usurp the throne, he should have anticipated this outcome."

Ji Feihua said: "Do you want to know who subdued him?"

Long Xuan'en said: "Naturally, it's the one who wants to sit on the throne sooner!"

Ji Feihua said: "Father and son slaughter each other, husband and wife turn against each other, right and wrong indistinct, loyalty and treachery unclear—thus the Long clan is doomed to perish! If you still hold a shred of reverence for your ancestors, if you still retain a shred of pity for the common folk, you ought to know what to do."

Long Xuan'en said: "Don't think that controlling the 100,000 Feather Forest Army lets you dominate the heavens; this world remains my realm, the subjects remain my subjects. Don't think that using vile means can make them submit."

Ji Feihua smiled and said: "Although you are a tyrant devoid of Dao, you still have some backbone; it's a pity your descendants are all worthless, lacking even a shred of spine. I will make you watch your offspring die one by one—you are not daydreaming that you might someday regain control of Dakang's power, are you? Then I will help you face reality and shatter all your hopes."

Long Xuan'en chuckled: "You cannot threaten me; even if I cannot regain freedom, I can still choose to die." Saying this, he revealed his emaciated hands from his sleeves; both his pulse points were severed by a blade, blood flowing freely.

Ji Feihua's heart startled; seeing no movement from him, his body suddenly appeared before Long Xuan'en, leaving afterimages behind him.

Long Xuan'en raised his arms; from his severed pulse points, two puffs of blood mist sprayed like a fountain, enveloping Ji Feihua's whole body.

Ji Feihua's body shot straight up, spiraling upward; he loved cleanliness and would not let Long Xuan'en's filthy blood touch him. Boom! A tremendous roar sounded from above; the roof of Lingxiao Palace was pierced, and a thin, withered old man descended from above—none other than the supposedly ill Senior Eunuch Wang Qian. He struck Ji Feihua's celestial crown with a palm; though his hand was thin and withered like a bird's claw, his invisible palm force extended over a radius of two zhang, expanding as he descended, like Mount Tai pressing down, its immense pressure sealing off all possible escape routes for Ji Feihua.

Ji Feihua felt astonished; he had never imagined Wang Qian possessed such profound martial arts—this palm could split mountains and rocks, shocking the world. Those who could stay by Long Xuan'en's side to serve had already been repeatedly vetted by him; even if Wang Qian concealed himself well, he could not escape his notice; the most likely possibility is that the person before him is not Wang Qian at all.

All of Ji Feihua's retreat routes were blocked, yet he felt no panic, for he had never thought of retreating; though his life was short, he had never yielded; the stronger the opponent, the more it aroused his fierce fighting spirit and killing intent. Ji Feihua raised his hand, softer and whiter than a woman's; in the void his five fingers transformed, like orchids drifting in the wind; each finger's swift motion formed a white-light phantom; among the myriad phantoms, a white light shot straight up to the heavens—if the opponent's palm were a flood engulfing the world, his finger would be the divine needle that stabilizes the sea.

The finger force shot straight up, yet moving in rotation, it collided head-on with the opponent's invisible giant palm, like a frenzied spinning drill tearing apart the palm's core, attempting to pierce and shred that invisible palm.

The palm's center was successfully pierced, rapidly enlarging. Within the area the palm's force covered, a void of missing power was torn open. Ji Feihua's body floated like a ghost in that narrow space; he turned his fingers into a fist, his white fist thrust straight up from the void, colliding with Wang Qian's descending palm; though fist and palm did not meet directly, it was as if winds and clouds converged—two invisible forces collided like a comet striking earth, sending a heaven-shaking qi explosion; Ji Feihua's body remained unmoving in the void, while Wang Qian, due to the recoil, flew backward from the broken roof.

In their initial clash, Wang Qian was clearly at a slight disadvantage; Ji Feihua's lips curled with a hint of cold smirk, but when his gaze fell upon Long Xuan'en, the smile instantly froze.

At this moment Long Xuan'en was soaked in blood, a shocking sight; his blood-stained dragon robe bore wisps of black qi that coiled around his body like a demonic serpent; his formerly frail frame swelled instantly, his once dull eyes flashing deep, icy blue light; he proclaimed loudly: "Enroll the brave in the rolls, no private considerations; sacrifice life for national crisis, regard death as homecoming!" Blood mist surged from his pulse points, turning into black qi which he inhaled into his lungs; in a short time his body grew from a gaunt old man into a mighty giant, nourished by blood and qi.

Blood-Prajna Art! Blood transforms into sweet rain, nourishing the physique; in a short time it can increase one's power tenfold. Such a nefarious martial art Ji Feihua had only heard of, never seen; he never imagined that this twilight-year Retired Emperor actually possessed such astonishing martial arts—Wang Qian is not Wang Qian, and Long Xuan'en is no longer Long Xuan'en.

In Ji Feihua's mind flashed the image of Ding Wanqing hurrying away; he finally realized that, clever all his life yet foolish for a moment, he had made such a rash mistake, allowing Long Xuan'en to slip past right under his nose. If Long Xuan'en had already used the Golden Cicada Sloughing stratagem to depart, then who is this Retired Emperor before him? There's no time to ponder; whether or not this person is Long Xuan'en, he may be the toughest opponent Ji Feihua will ever face. He shouted angrily, thrusting his palm outward, an invisible palm blade slashing toward the Retired Emperor's waist.

Long Xuan'en's body had grown to over a zhang in a short time; he seized the five-hundred-catty dragon throne with his right hand and hurled it skyward; the invisible palm blade struck the throne, cleaving the symbol of his former glory and supreme authority into two pieces.

The invisible palm blade's momentum did not wane; it split the space in two, instantly arriving before Long Xuan'en, attempting to cleave his flesh in half.

Long Xuan'en clenched his fists; the black qi and blood mist around his body suddenly expanded, pressing the surrounding air back like a retreating wave; nearby objects were blown aside as if by a strong wind, radiating outward.

Long Xuan'en's blood-soaked dragon robe, amid the sound of tearing fabric, shattered into countless pieces, revealing his deep-brown skin; his burly frame showed no sign of age, his muscles solid as bronze and iron; upon his broad, sturdy back four large characters gleamed like golden scales—"Serve the country with loyalty!"

The guaranteed first update is posted; I've been busy this morning, my noon nap with Zhangyu wouldn't budge, so I'm only now posting the first update—sorry for the wait, but this doesn't mean there will be fewer updates today! Hey hey, brothers and sisters, use your monthly tickets to wake up Zhangyu so I can get into shape quickly! (To be continued~^~)