Chapter 780: The Final Danger

Following his call, a feather composed of sunlight fell from the sky, drifting and swaying just like a small boat.

A person stood upon the feather; they were young and had a decent appearance, but they were dejected, looking extremely reluctant and thoroughly uncomfortable.

The Gaoyuan Marquis was one thing, but the Emperor was both shocked and furious, saying, "Prince Shun? How are you still alive? And you dare to come see Us?"

Prince Shun gave a dry laugh; this was why he hadn't wanted to come deliver the message. Although he didn't want to show weakness before the Emperor now and acted as if he didn't care, he had actually been pleading bitterly in the sky just moments ago, saying to the youth on the feather, "Don't do this, I'm not going! If you make me go back, Yuanshengchen will definitely kill me. You saved me, but that doesn't mean you should just turn around and send me to my death, right?"

To this, the youth said, "I saved you because you are, after all, not a Heavenly Demon, nor do you have a heart that serves the demons; you still have the bottom line of a human. Therefore, you should not die together with the Heavenly Demon and the human traitors. It is not because you have any merit worth saving to the end. You were forced to shed blood to harm the Emperor before, which was not your fault, but you also nearly allowed the Heavenly Demon to wreak havoc and harm countless people. Can you not make a little amends? Delivering a message can save more people; you are duty-bound to do so."

Prince Shun was forced into a corner by him and said, "Since that's the case, why don't you come down with me? You are a powerhouse of the Solar Court; he surely wouldn't dare to shout about killing me right in front of you. If you protect me for a moment, I will flee for my life once I've finished relaying the information. That would at least give me a chance at survival; you wouldn't have to escort me the whole way."

Who would have thought that the youth, who appeared kind, would be so heartless, saying, "If I could see him, would I need you to deliver the message? It is precisely because I absolutely cannot meet him face-to-face that I have a use for you. If you keep pushing back and ruin my plans, can't I kill you just as easily as Yuanshengchen can? How about this: you deliver the information I want word for word, and I will give you a Life-Saving Talisman to ensure you return to the Qianxian instantly..."

Prince Shun asked anxiously, "The Qianxian?"

The youth said, "Naturally, the Qianxian. With the major act of rebellion you committed, the Emperor certainly cannot let you go. Do you think you can have a good outcome if you linger in the Human World? No one in this world is obligated to save you. You are the only one who can save yourself. You are, after all, a Sword Guest; why not go to the Qianxian to kill some Heavenly Demons? That would count as doing something meaningful to atone for your sins."

Having said that, the person left, seemingly not afraid at all that he would break his word. Prince Shun thought it over and over, realizing he truly had no other path to take, so he had no choice but to descend while cursing under his breath. He happened to see the might of the Emperor's seal, which scared him out of his wits, and naturally, he dared not defy the youth even more. Hearing the Emperor scold him, he pretended not to hear and said, "Someone just asked me to tell you that he has already succeeded, and the plan is feasible. Sure enough, it is best to just do what one wants to do."

The Emperor frowned and said, "What kind of talk is this? It makes no sense." But seeing Prince Shun's expression, he knew it wasn't meant for him; it was naturally meant for the person by his side, and he couldn't help but sneer.

This rebel, Prince Shun, had no reason to be pardoned, yet he dared to appear before him so brazenly. He would certainly not let him go; as long as this rebel's head wasn't harder than Zijin Mountain, he would soon share the same fate as the Dao Palace.

The Gaoyuan Marquis, however, understood perfectly and revealed a smile.

Prince Shun was startled, feeling that this smile looked somewhat familiar.

Immediately after, he continued with a serious expression to the Gaoyuan Marquis, saying, "He just told me to ask you to protect me for a leg of the journey and ensure I leave safely."

The Emperor barked, "You added that yourself, didn't you? Whose chicken feather are you using as a command arrow? Who can save you today?"

Prince Shun hummed, "The Solar Court."

He actually didn't know about the Solar Court, but he guessed the Emperor might, so he said it directly. Those few characters that could be written upon the sun carried great momentum.

The Emperor was instantly rendered speechless.

He indeed knew what the Solar Court was. As an emperor of the Human World, he always understood such information.

This was the information gap; Prince Shun knew what the Emperor did not, so he came to borrow the tiger's might. And the Emperor knew what Prince Shun did not, so he let him succeed in borrowing the tiger's might.

At this moment, the Gaoyuan Marquis said, "If I don't agree to you, are you going to withhold some important information from me?"

Prince Shun said, "How could that be? But I still hope you can agree."

Even the Emperor understood now; Prince Shun was indeed holding onto important information and refusing to speak, waiting only for the Gaoyuan Marquis to agree to protect him before he would talk. He couldn't help but feel even angrier in his heart, thinking this person was extremely despicable for using such a critical matter as a threat; he was truly the scum of the Yuan clan. Although the Emperor himself could hardly be called noble, that didn't stop him from despising the baseness of others.

The Gaoyuan Marquis's expression was calm as he said, "I agree to your terms. Speak."

Prince Shun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I have long heard that the Gaoyuan Marquis's word is worth a thousand gold; I naturally trust you. He asked me to tell you that you have overlooked one danger. Pay attention to the locations of those mansions that were wiped out!"

The Gaoyuan Marquis's expression shifted slightly, and he was about to fly up to investigate when Prince Shun shouted, "Remember what you promised me! Wait until I'm gone before you go."

The Gaoyuan Marquis glared back at him and barked, "Get lost!"

Prince Shun immediately activated the Talisman, and his figure vanished before the two of them instantly.

From beginning to end, the Emperor did not make a move to stop him.

The Gaoyuan Marquis said with some surprise, "Your Majesty could have taken action. I had already promised him, but you had not. You still possess the power of a Sword Immortal; if you had insisted on attacking, even if I tried to stop you, I might not have succeeded."

The Emperor said indifferently, "How could I fall for the schemes of a thief trying to sow discord? He wants to provoke me into turning against the loyal subjects of the court with just a few words; his heart is punishable. Is he really that important?"

The Gaoyuan Marquis suddenly realized; this was the Emperor showing goodwill:

Since you had already promised to protect him, you would naturally have to take action to protect him when he fled. If I had insisted on stopping him, wouldn't you and I have come into conflict? Although I might have been able to keep him here by force, I decided not to act.

Prince Shun is not that important, so who is the most important?

Naturally, you, the Gaoyuan Marquis, are the most important.

For your sake, I didn't even pursue a traitorous criminal; what do you think of me?

As for how much of the Emperor's decision to let Prince Shun go was due to fear upon hearing of the Solar Court, and thus using the opportunity to go with the flow and return to curry favor with the Gaoyuan Marquis, that remains unknown.

This was a way of winning people over that a smart person could understand. The Gaoyuan Marquis laughed in spite of himself, but he couldn't say anything against it.

Because this was trouble he had brought upon himself; he couldn't blame it on anyone else.

The Gaoyuan Marquis bowed his hands and said, "Many thanks, Your Majesty. Let us go up and take a look together. The people of Jingshi have been waiting for Your Majesty for a long time."

The Emperor nodded. Although he was very exhausted now, having emptied all his energy and wishing he could just collapse and sleep, there was still one crucial thing left to do.

That was to let the people of Jingshi see his battle achievements and feel his majesty.

Admittedly, the people closest to Jindinglou had all been exiled in one go, but the millions of residents of Jingshi should gradually know what had happened, right?

Even if they didn't know, couldn't they see?

The Emperor had just used his seal to suppress a hundred miles, causing the earth to shake and the mountains to sway; that was enough to shock people's hearts. Moreover, there were the Imperial Guards and the Land Inspection Department he had sent to maintain order in Jingshi; they should also be helping him build his prestige. Now that he was ascending into the sky, descending like a god, how could he not have the hearts of the ten thousand people return to him? Having worked so hard for this trip, how could he not reap the rewards?

It was just that he was too exhausted now and could barely muster much lightning power, so he was afraid he wouldn't be able to display much majesty.

So he asked the Imperial Preceptor, "Imperial Preceptor, how can I use the least amount of power to create the most sensational effect?"

"Imperial Preceptor? Imperial Preceptor..."

He called out several times without receiving any response. He turned his head in confusion and saw the Gaoyuan Marquis sighing softly. At that moment, he knew the answer.

The Imperial Preceptor had not forgiven him, nor did he really want to help him; it was only for the sake of the big picture in dealing with external enemies that he had escorted him one last time. Now that the enemy was eliminated, the Imperial Preceptor had finished his mission and would never respond to him again.

There would be no more Imperial Preceptor in the Great Jin.

The Emperor felt a slight sadness and regret in his heart, but he had no remorse—he had just defeated a powerful enemy and his confidence was soaring; how could he regret it?

So he turned to consult the Gaoyuan Marquis. The Gaoyuan Marquis didn't mind guiding him and signaled that the thunderclouds in the sky had not yet dispersed; borrowing lightning from the clouds would be much simpler and more convenient than creating lightning out of thin air.

And so...

Crackle—

In the deep of night, nearing dawn, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, breaking the peace that had just been restored to the vital area of Jingshi.

This Lantern Festival night was not peaceful; the curfew that had been lifted was reimposed, but the small alleys and wards were not actually restricted.

The people of Jingshi were bolder and more fond of joining in the excitement than those elsewhere. Despite the earth-shattering commotion and knowing there would be danger, many people still snuck out to watch. It was already late into the night, yet there were still people poking their heads out.

As soon as they looked up, they saw a person wearing imperial robes slowly descending amidst the lightning, like a god of thunder.

At this moment, the members of the Land Inspection Division and the Feathered Forest Guards who were still patrolling the streets shuddered, immediately knelt, and shouted in unison: "Long live, long live, long live our Emperor!"

There was no need to Ask; this was the Emperor!

The commoners hurriedly followed suit and knelt, shouting "Long live" like a mountain.

The Emperor smiled slightly and said: "Just now, Jingcheng suffered an attack by some Heavenly Demons."

Once these words were spoken, panic spread below, and some people wished they could jump up right under the Emperor's nose to run home and hide under their beds.

The Emperor did not care about their rudeness; at this moment, he used the technique he had just learned to amplify his voice with lightning currents, allowing everyone near and far to hear every word he said. It was just that his voice sounded tingly and numb because of this, somewhat approaching that of the State Preceptor.

"But it does not matter, for I have already eliminated them. With the Son of Heaven Sword, I have swept away all the evil demons!"

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed; the Son of Heaven Sword drew down Heavenly Thunder, descending with brilliant light, truly a miraculous skill.

"You are my subjects, the common people of the Great Jin; I will protect you! The Great Jin will protect you!"

"With me here, you have nothing to fear!"

The commoners were quiet at first, then stirred, and finally, led by the Feathered Forest Guards, they cheered!

All of Jingcheng was in an uproar!

Being a subject of the Great Jin, this was the first time they had felt so proud!

While the whole city was rejoicing, the Gaoyuan Marquis behind him finally looked down from a high vantage point and saw clearly the distribution of all the families that had been wiped out previously:

"Oh no!"