Chapter 44

Half a month after Shen Tianxing and Yang Hongyue set out, Sun Zhongquan in the capital also received the news, learning of the military report from Humen Pass and that Sun Tiejun had died.

There was also news about Yang Hongyu arranging forty thousand Yang Family Army troops in four routes to search for the remaining four imperial family members and protect their safety.

"When did Yang Hongyue become so clever, actually coming up with such a scheme? But if that's all she's doing, it's not of much use; the Prince of Rong and the Prince of Fu can survive the succession struggle only because they're useless and pose no threat to the throne."

"The third and fifth princes need to be sent out for experience, because their abilities are too poor to ever inherit the throne; they're expelled under the pretext of training, so they'll forever have nothing to do with imperial power."

Sun Zhongquan was discussing state affairs in the study, and had just settled on letting the ninth prince ascend the throne in ten days when he received the report from below.

Just because Sun Zhongquan didn't mention his son's death in a single sentence, and he has more than just this one son, doesn't mean he doesn't hate.

"Everything Yang Hongyue does is futile; the entire capital is under the general's control, and indeed over half of the prefectural cities in the Great Zhou obey the general's orders."

The one flattering him is the Minister of Revenue, Qian Youcai, who is also one of Sun Zhongquan's most loyal lackeys.

"That said, we can't be careless; in my opinion, we should still kill Yang Tieqiang and the Yang family members as soon as possible, cutting off Yang Hongyue's retreat. Originally we kept their families alive so the Eldest Young Master could win the beauty, but now it's unnecessary."

More cautious is the Minister of Punishments, Zhao Jianghai, who is likewise one of Sun Zhongquan's most loyal lackeys, but he is relatively opinionated and possesses some strategical ability.

"The Emperor's edict has been issued; on the day of accession, those treacherous ministers and rebels will be dragged out together to the Meridian Gate for execution. The sovereign does not jest; as Protector General, how could I allow the Emperor to change orders from morning to evening?"

"Moreover, Yang Hongyue doesn't have such a scheme; surely someone gave him the idea. He will surely return to the capital to rescue Yang Tieqiang and the others, and by then we can still net them all."

Sun Zhongquan took a sip of tea, his tone very nonchalant, as if he didn't take this matter at all.

"What the general says is quite right, but we don't now know Yang Hongyue's situation; if she sneaks into the capital on the day of the emperor's accession to rescue the Yang family, it will surely cause some trouble."

The Minister of Personnel, Lin Boyuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, and Sun Zhongquan immediately laughed.

"The 80,000-strong army at Humen Pass hasn't moved, and that 40,000-strong force has gone looking for those four good-for-nothings; what makes you think Yang Hongyue can enter the capital? Do you consider the Imperial Guards, the Xuanji Camp, and the Tiger Guard Camp to be trash?"

"What's more troublesome now are the Yue Family Army and the Lei Family Army; Yue Yunyang has already declared his stance, absolutely refusing to recognize the emperor's accession, and will come to the capital to demand an explanation."

"Lei Wufeng is a deep-thinking person; although he has ostensibly submitted, it's uncertain what he will actually do. If he joins forces with Yue Yunyang, that will be the major trouble we face."

In Sun Zhongquan's eyes is the whole picture, not some insignificant little girl like Yang Hongyue; yet it is precisely his remarks that left the three ministers present speechless for a moment.

"All right, go back; I have some family matters to attend to. You just need to handle court affairs well and prepare everything for the accession; the rest can wait for now."

"Yes, General!"

The three ministers replied in unison, then rose, bowed respectfully, and promptly withdrew from the study.

After those three left, Sun Zhongquan kicked the table in front of him flying, smashed the vase beside him with a palm, his face full of hatred and anger; yet once he'd vented, he instantly returned to normal.

"Go investigate Shen Tianxing completely; once you find out, exterminate his entire clan, and also capture Shen Tianxing—I will use his head to offer sacrifice to the spirit of Tiejun in heaven."

His voice devoid of fluctuation, his face without expression; after Sun Zhongquan finished speaking, a shadow appeared behind him, clad in a black robe with a black hood attached.

"This subordinate obeys your command."

The black-robed person merely answered those four words, then flickered and vanished from the study.

At this moment, Shen Tianxing, who was in Furong City, Jiangzhou, suddenly heard the system's notification tone in his ear.

"Detected that the host is about to encounter an assassination by the assassin Yemo of the Black Kill Tower; issuing a counter-beheading mission, to counter-kill the Black Kill Tower assassin Yemo."

"Completing the mission yields a reward of 300,000 Killing Value, one-third of a Blood Kill Tower token, the special skill Stealth, a special mount gift box, the first volume of the Divine Craft Manual, and ten thousand taels of silver."

After hearing the mission reminder, Shen Tianxing also felt a mix of laughter and tears; he hadn't even reached the capital yet and already assassins had set their sights on him, but this time the rewards are quite interesting—two special items, one skill and one gift box.

"Plus there's one-third of a token; most importantly, the first volume of the Divine Craft Manual feels incredibly powerful."

"The special skill Stealth is a kind of assassin's ability; its exact effects you'll see after completing the mission. The special mount gift box may contain mount equipment or mount evolution cards, and possibly even a mount itself."

"One-third of a Blood Kill Tower token is a summoning token for an assassin organization; once gathered, you can summon that assassin organization, and the token can be upgraded, after which the strength of all members of the assassin organization will also increase."

"The Divine Craft Manual can be understood as you gathering materials to craft any item; during the crafting process there is a certain probability of awakening a talent skill, and any special items produced will have various miraculous effects."

Hong Yi conveyed the explanation via thought; Shen Tianxing became even more interested, seeing that after the system upgrade it is indeed extraordinary—this is still the elementary system, and if it later upgrades to intermediate, advanced, or even higher levels, there will surely be more surprises.

"Whether I can live until then is still unknown; this Yemo is an eighth-rank ninth-layer expert, and in a head-on fight I definitely couldn't beat Qiao Yinxiang, but in an assassination, Qiao Yinxiang might not have time to save you."

"Of course you have the Grandmaster Peak Experience Card, but there's a fear you might die before you even get to use it; you need to find a way to survive his strike, only then could you possibly have Qiao Yinxiang deal with him, or you could use the Grandmaster Peak Experience Card yourself."

Shen Tianxing also froze; an eighth-rank ninth-layer expert has a martial value of over twenty thousand, and he is certainly no match for him now—even with all buffs stacked, he couldn't win.

"Alright, stop scaring me; you're a radar—if he gets close to me and you don't detect him, could it be that you still wouldn't detect him?"

Hong Yi stood to the side with hands on hips, pouting, looking thoroughly displeased.

"How boring; I originally wanted to see you flustered, but you figured it out right away. However, to counter-kill an eighth-rank ninth-layer expert, with your current ability, without using the Grandmaster Peak Experience Card, you basically can't complete the mission."

Shen Tianxing was about to reply when a cold voice from Yang Hongyue came through his ear.

"What on earth are you thinking about? The fish are all burnt."