Chapter 313: The Curtain

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Another volley of arrows poured down.

Yu Liancheng's body gave a jolt, and Ice Profound Energy erupted from his entire body, instantly shredding the pouring rain of arrows.

And he himself moved, striding toward Yuwen Huaji.

"Archer battalion, retreat." Yuwen Huaji's heart trembled, and he shouted repeatedly: "Xiaoguo Army soldiers, form up!"

While the archers retreated rapidly, several commander-level figures led their respective battalions, gathering over a thousand rebel soldiers. Their footsteps were like a landslide, shaking the earth, and they had already densely surrounded Yu Liancheng. The astonishing killing intent permeated the air, chilling one to the bone marrow.

Deeply trapped within an army's battle formation, even the Three Great Grandmasters would have to be extremely cautious and must use their full strength to break out from a weak point, otherwise, there would be a danger of falling.

But Yu Liancheng did not.

Gold light flickered in his eyes, and the Qi and Blood throughout his body transformed into a furnace, making the area within ten zhang extremely scorching; his whole person seemed to be advancing while holding up a great sun.

Bang!

Yu Liancheng took a sudden step down, his foot making contact with the ground, erupting with powerful explosive force. Mud splashed, the ground cracked, and his entire person transformed into a black line, charging toward the battle formation with thunderous speed.

Without any flashy techniques, he swung his arms casually, carrying peerless giant force as he struck out horizontally.

Everything blocking in front of him, whether it was men, warhorses, or various weapons like blades, spears, swords, and halberds, shattered one after another, flying backward and colliding with the rebel soldiers behind, causing their bones to break and tendons to snap, with screams echoing incessantly.

Just a single charge through the formation had already killed or injured nearly a hundred people; severed limbs and broken arms, fresh blood flowing, and the sounds of screaming and wailing were incessant, as if it had transformed into a human purgatory.

The soldiers blocking the front had never seen such a figure; their pupils dilated instantly, and they retreated in a hurry, as if facing a hellish demon. The soldiers behind did not know what had happened and kept charging forward, resulting in another clash and riot.

This could not affect Yu Liancheng's advance in the slightest.

His whole person had transformed into an existence representing death and ominousness. Wherever he passed, the rebel soldiers fell like harvested wheat, blood gathered like a small stream, and the intense, bloody stench diffused, enough to make one feel nauseated and want to vomit.

"General Yuwen, how are you?"

Amidst countless screams, Yu Liancheng moved freely, like an ink-colored dragon, tearing the entire military formation apart, until he appeared before Yuwen Huaji.

He looked at Yuwen Huaji with cold eyes, a sneer lifting the corners of his mouth, revealing a set of grim white teeth.

"How is it possible... you..."

Even with Yuwen Huaji's temperament, he was cold in his hands and feet at this moment, his whole body trembling. The height of the opponent's martial arts was far beyond his imagination, already worthy of being called transcendent and holy.

Yu Liancheng smiled slightly: "You have seen Yuwen Shiji's corpse; are you curious how he died?"

"Go to hell!" Yuwen Huaji's face was twisted, his eyes revealing despair, like a wild beast driven into a dead end. He shouted loudly, his palms striking out, pushing his Ice Profound Energy to the peak, with chilling cold air permeating out—a desperate, final strike.

Yu Liancheng's figure remained motionless. In the blink of an eye, the shadow under his feet suddenly flickered like a candle flame in the wind, and it suddenly projected toward Yuwen Huaji like lightning.

Yuwen Huaji only felt a black shadow strike over, filling his entire field of vision. Immediately after, his neck felt a pain, the world spun, and all color faded, turning into black and white.

"So... so it was shadow killing..." This was the last thought in Yuwen Huaji's mind.

Yu Liancheng held Yuwen Huaji's head and rose slowly, landing on the roof ridge of Taiji Hall like a flying immortal.

"Yuwen Huaji is dead; why do you not surrender quickly?" His black robe moved without wind, snapping loudly, and his gaze looked down from a high vantage point, indifferent as a God.

When Wanwan finished dealing with the rebellious officials in Taiji Hall and arrived outside the main hall, she saw a scene she would never be able to forget.

She saw Yu Liancheng standing on the roof ridge of Taiji Hall, holding Yuwen Huaji's still-dripping head in his hand, looking down from a high position, his whole body emitting a Qi that surpassed all material things in the human world, giving people a powerful sense of oppression.

A bright moon quietly rose behind him, and together with the deep night sky and the magnificent Imperial Palace, it became his silhouette.

The brilliance of the bright moon projected his shadow outside Taiji Hall, extending and expanding infinitely, as if shrouding everyone in shadow.

And below, blood flowed like a river, with corpses everywhere. The remaining rebel soldiers had all dropped the weapons in their hands and were half-kneeling on the ground, showing expressions of panic and reverence on their faces.

It was as if what stood before them was not a man, but an evil God capable of making mountains and rivers weep and the sun and moon lose their light.

On this day, the news that the "Yuwen Clan" had launched a mutiny and was quickly annihilated, with Daxing as the center, stirred up violent turmoil throughout the entire Central Plains.

Dynasties change, but the status of the aristocratic clans is deeply rooted.

Back then, Yang Jian forced the Jing Emperor to abdicate, and the Northern Zhou's Yuwen-surname world was thereafter replaced by the Yang surname.

It was not that Yang Jian had not thought of cutting weeds and eliminating the roots, but the Yuwen Clan had deep roots and great power, and pulling one hair would move the whole body. After Yang Guang became Emperor, the Yuwen Clan became powerful again, ranking among the Four Great Sects.

But now, the leading figures of the Yuwen Clan had all died in the mutiny, and the entire behemoth was destroyed overnight, which was truly sigh-inducing.

And the person who brought all this about was none other than Yu Liancheng.

—Imperial Tutor Yu Liancheng.

This person had once again become the focus.

At the same time, all the anti-Sui forces in the world could not help but sigh secretly. If the Yuwen Clan's mutiny had succeeded this time, the Great Sui would have been completely finished and fallen apart.

But this person had made wild claims, wanting to continue the heavenly mandate for the Sui, which was absolutely impossible, and he had become the target of public criticism.

Wei Lianxiang pushed open the side door of the bedchamber softly and, seeing the figure wearing the Nine Dragon Robe, hurriedly bowed to the ground: "This servant greets the Emperor."

"Eunuch Wei, no need for formalities, rise." Yang Guang's voice sounded, very calm.

"Yes..." Wei Lianxiang climbed up from the ground obediently, but his heart skipped a beat.

The emotion in the Emperor's words seemed to be getting less and less, revealing a trace of indifference; upon careful reflection, it made one feel cold to the bone marrow.

"Eunuch, do you know why I wanted to see you today?"

Wei Lianxiang said with lowered eyebrows and a submissive look: "This servant does not know."

"You have been with me for ten years. I originally thought you were loyal and devoted, but I did not expect that you were a spy sent by the Yin Gui Sect."

Yang Guang sighed leisurely: "In reality, I do not care whose spy you are; I only care that yesterday, when Yuwen Zhiji assassinated me, you were actually able to stand by and watch, watching me be killed with your own eyes. Sigh, Demon Sect evildoers, indeed have not a shred of emotion."

Wei Lianxiang hurriedly knelt down again, extremely terrified, and kowtowed: "This servant would not dare, this servant would not dare."

"Betraying the Emperor should be a capital crime, but at present, the Imperial Court lacks talent; your capital crime can be pardoned, but your living punishment cannot be avoided." Just at this moment, another person walked out from the inner chamber.