Chapter 595

Wu Tie donned a full set of prince's robes, a golden sword hung at his waist, he held a jade seal in his hands, wore a sky-reaching crown on his head, stepped in carefree boots, and walked out of the imperial city with an imposing aura.

Standing at the south gate of the imperial city, Wu Tie placed his right hand on his hip, slightly protruding his belly, and laughed to the heavens: "Hahaha, I never thought I, Hu Xiong, would have this day... Hehe, I don't even know where the grave of my Huo clan's founding ancestor lies; I will surely go and repair it properly someday."

As he laughed to the heavens, from the side, a commandant suddenly charged out of the south gate guards, without a word flung himself bodily at Wu Tie, and with a "bang" sound, the commandant directly self-destructed, a large spray of blood mist spraying toward Wu Tie.

On and above the south gate, countless seals flickered and twisted, compressing the lethal force of the commandant's self-detonation into a range of less than three zhang.

This commandant was actually at the Tai Cang realm; a Tai Cang cultivator sacrificing himself in self-detonation, with its power compressed into such a small area, its destructive power can be imagined. Wu Tie happened to be at the explosion's core, wave after wave of violent force surging forth, a layer of dazzling purple-gold divine light flared on his body, leaving him completely unharmed from head to toe.

Huo Clan

Inside the south gate, hundreds of Celestial Fox Guards were shocked; several Celestial Fox Guard commanders shouted and rebuked, the crowd fell into an uproar, and another four Celestial Fox Guards clad in heavy armor charged out, throwing themselves bodily at Wu Tie.

"Shameless traitor, return the life of the First Army's commander!" The four Celestial Fox Guards were also at the Tai Cang realm. Seeing that their comrade's self-detonation could not harm Wu Tie in the slightest, they simply burned their divine souls and essence blood, driving their personal immortal weapons, bringing forth a flash of dazzling cold light, and thrusting at Wu Tie's four vital points.

With a constant "ding-ding" crisp sound, the four Nine‑Refined Immortal Weapons thrust at Wu Tie, spraying large sparks across his skin.

Celestial Fox Guard

Celestial Fox Guard Commander

Celestial Fox Guard Lieutenant

These soldiers, loyal to the First Army or, put another way, to Sima Wuyou as the representative of the orthodox imperial authority of the Divine Jin State… Wu Tie's scalp felt a little numb, his heart a little tremulous; he wanted to say something, but given the situation, what could he say?

He had enough power to stop these fearless loyalists, but if he did intervene…… at this moment, Wu Tie represented more than just himself.

Behind him stood Pei Feng, Old Tie, the Wu Jin brothers, the sons of the Wu clan, and also the Yin-Yang Daoist who had brought from the Triple‑Linked City the Demon‑Chapter King, Old White, Lu Ji, Yan Hanlu, Shi Fei, and the Great Iron Sword, etc.

The four Celestial Fox Guards frenziedly attacked Wu Tie, who let them strike while his Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique operated at its peak, his whole body enveloped in a thick layer of purple‑gold divine light; the light condensed like crystal, and despite the four immortal weapons wildly stabbing, they could not harm him in the slightest.

Great Jin Divine Kingdom

The seals on and above the south gate all activated together; the four Celestial Fox Guards who had staked their lives to assassinate Wu Tie howled in rage, being suppressed by the gate's seals, they watched as four small pagoda‑shaped light shadows appeared above their heads, gradually pressing down until they were forced to kneel on the ground.

Wu Tie looked at the four Celestial Fox Guards, then suddenly grinned wickedly: "Hehe, you want to kill this prince? I haven't yet enjoyed enough of my glory and wealth."

The Black Heaven Cauldron suddenly flung open, expanding from fist‑size to a radius of about a zhang; a stream of black qi spewed from within, sweeping over the four Celestial Fox Guards, with the constant sound of bones shattering, their bodies twisted and deformed as the Black Heaven Cauldron swallowed them whole.

Wu Tie slapped the Black Heaven Cauldron with his palm; from inside came a mournful wail, a faint flash of black lightning flickered, and the cauldron's interior was empty save for a viscous, heavy, boundless black mist—nothing else remained.

Wu Tie pointed at the blood‑vomiting Celestial Fox Guard commander and unleashed a torrent of curses; the Celestial Fox Guards at the south gate of the imperial city stared at one another, unable to utter a word for a long while.

Wu Tie gave the Celestial Fox Guard commander a sideways glance, then delivered an overbearing slap to his chest.

At this moment Wu Tie's cultivation was only Tai Cang realm, yet his combat power definitely reached the Divine Clarity realm; a single palm strike blasted out, shattering the commander's Six‑Refined Immortal Weapon‑grade armor, his chest ribs breaking apart, and he was hurled over a hundred zhang away by the blow.

"Hah… what are you, daring to question this prince? Well, these remnants of the former dynasty, recklessly bold, came to the imperial city gate to assassinate this prince… if we don't kill them, should we keep them for the New Year? Or is it that you have a daughter who fancies them, wanting to take them as sons‑in‑law?"

Wu Tie pointed at the blood‑vomiting Celestial Fox Guard commander and unleashed a torrent of curses; the Celestial Fox Guards at the south gate of the imperial city stared at one another, unable to utter a word for a long while.

If one were to ask what place in the world has the most impossible‑to‑keep secret, it would probably be the imperial palace.

Wu Tie was still in the Qingqiu Palace when the news that Linghu Qingqing had enfeoffed him as Prince An and granted him the Nine Provinces as his fiefdom had already spread across half of Anyang City. As the Celestial Fox Guards were the personal bodyguards personally assembled by Linghu Qingqing, the information naturally reached them a hundred times faster than ordinary folk.

The freshly minted, red‑hot, purple‑tinged Prince An 'Huo Xiong' dyed his official cap red with the brains of the First Army's father and son and the lives of countless soldiers under its command.

Divine Realm

Azure Dragon Swallowing Moon Blade

Wu Tie pointed at the blood‑vomiting Celestial Fox Guard commander and berated him, then glanced around at the surrounding Celestial Fox Guards: "Ha, haha, hahaha, interesting, interesting, truly interesting. The Celestial Fox Guards personally established by His Majesty, the elite among the elite, actually harbor remnants of the former dynasty."

"Hehe, hehe, you… hehe, interesting, interesting!" Wu Tie raised his right hand and firmly patted his own neck, declaring arrogantly: "Indeed, the First Army was slain by this prince; the Peerless First and Invincible First were also slain by this prince… this prince's head is right here, you remnants of the former dynasty—who can sever it?"

Qingqiu Palace

Nine Provinces

A Celestial Fox Guard commander clad in gold armor let out a piercing, prolonged howl, wielding a Heaven‑Path Divine Weapon that transformed into a blood‑colored flood dragon, like the heavenly river pouring backward, he leapt down from the high imperial city wall and slashed a blade at Wu Tie's neck.

This Celestial Fox Guard commander was indeed at the peak of the Tai Cang realm; his Heaven‑Path Divine Weapon was further forged by a senior expert distilling his own Grand Dao principles, its power formidable, chasing after innate spirit weapons; the blade's light was solid and substantial, striking heavily upon Wu Tie's neck.

With a tremendous boom, a large spray of fire erupted from Wu Tie's neck; the purple‑gold protective divine light formed by his Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique flickered slightly, the Heaven‑Path Divine Weapon shaped like the Azure Dragon Swallowing the Moon blade cracked open with dozens of fissures, and the Celestial Fox Guard commander spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Bold!" battalions upon battalions of Celestial Fox Guards came rushing madly from within the imperial city toward the south gate.

Although the entire imperial city's seals had been activated, even though the Celestial Fox Guards were Linghu Qingqing's personal bodyguards, they could only hasten at a quick run and would not reach the south gate for a while; a Celestial Fox Guard high‑ranking general, obviously of great stature, pointed here and roared hoarsely: "Bold, you lot, are you planning to rebel?"

Wu Tie expressionlessly watched the blood‑vomiting gold‑armored commander hanging in the air; the Black Heaven Cauldron spewed a stream of black qi that wrapped around him, with a piercing crackling sound, his golden armor shattered, and that Heaven‑Path Divine Weapon was also ground to powder.

Everyone saw the Celestial Fox Guard junior's body twist, his bones emitting terrifying cracking sounds, as the Black Heaven Cauldron swallowed him whole.

Wu Tie slapped the Black Heaven Cauldron with his palm; a series of sharp whines rang out, faint black lightning flickered at the cauldron's mouth, and then the great cauldron fell silent.

"Come on, come on, it was this prince who killed the First Army, it was this prince who killed the First Army's commander and his lineage, it was this prince who did it!"

Wu Tie pounded his chest and roared loudly: "This prince is utterly loyal to His Majesty, with a sincere red heart; you remnants of the former dynasty… whoever comes to kill me will merely serve as nourishment fed to this prince's Black Heaven Cauldron!"

The Black Heaven Cauldron hovered above Wu Tie's head; black qi rose and surged, shaking the imperial city's south gate to the point of near collapse, the gate tower almost toppling over.

Finally, battalions of Celestial Fox Guards came running, they encircled Wu Tie in a tight ring, each face grim to the extreme.

They didn't really care whether Wu Tie lived or died, but the fact that he was publicly assassinated by their own Celestial Fox Guards at the imperial city gate, in front of so many people, was undoubtedly a huge blot on the Celestial Fox Guards, and would likely directly affect their standing in Linghu Qingqing's eyes.

The Celestial Fox Guard commander who had just shouted took a deep breath, bowed his fists to Wu Tie, and said: "Prince An, please, Prince An… cease your noise."

Wu Tie was about to speak when Linghu Jian had already brought a large group of trusted generals and walked over quickly.

「Hehe, no problem, no problem, Prince An is utterly loyal to my Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, hehe, this, utterly loyal…… with the Black Heaven Cauldron protecting him, no assassin can do anything to Prince An, right? 」 Linghu Jian laughed brightly, his tone full of mockery.

Linghu Jian still remembered what had happened back then; he ran to the Eastern Garden to find Wu Tie, but ended up being badly beaten by Wu Tie and fled injured, and he has kept this grudge in mind all along.

Wu Tie gave Linghu Jian a sideways glance, then spoke with a hollow smile: 「Heh, it turns out to be…… the newly appointed Left Minister in person…… alas, I heard the elder brother of the Left Minister has already passed away…… emotionally and rationally, the Left Minister ought to be addressed as…… Your Highness…… especially, the Left Minister should take up residence in…… the Eastern Palace……」

Linghu Jian's face went 'whoosh' and turned extremely unsightly.

He trembled as he raised his finger, pointing fiercely at Wu Tie's nose, but for a long time he couldn't utter a word.

Wu Tie looked at Linghu Jian and smiled: 「It turns out the Left Minister isn't the Eastern Palace Crown Prince…… hey, then he should at least be given a princely title? Could it be that Left Minister Linghu Jian hasn't even managed to earn a prince's fief? In that case, he's not even as good as this king. 」

Wu Tie threw his head back and laughed loudly, then strode out of the city gate with his hands behind his back, swaggering.

A large group of Five Elements Spirit masters surged forward, quickly surrounding Wu Tie from all sides; then the party shot up into the sky, boarded the Four Spirit Warship, and headed straight out of the city.

Linghu Jian stood at the city gate, trembling with rage.

Gongyang Sanlü, who had just left the Qingqiu Palace, led a large group of disciples and officials, standing silently in the distance and gazing this way.

They witnessed the entire process of Wu Tie's assassination.

Only after Wu Tie had left did Gongyang Sanlü nod thoughtfully: "This isn't a law-abiding subject... Hey, Your Majesty is indeed wise and mighty; this balancing act, the art of ruling subordinates, is practically self-taught, and I'm applying it to myself."