Chapter 441: Intercepting Luck

The river water surged endlessly, and the waterfall cascaded down with a booming roar.

Yet, the people on the large ship felt their heads buzzing, their gazes filled with shock and dullness, as if they had been turned into fools. After a long while, only then did some experts react, shaking their heads and sighing, though it was unclear what they were sighing about.

Imperial Prince Zhao Kai looked dejected. After a long while, he watched the Master of Huishan walk over step by step, now within arm's reach, and said with a calm yet seemingly hysterical tone, "Murong Tonghuang, do you really dare to kill me? Are you trying to rebel?"

Yu Liancheng said calmly, "Things have reached this point; does Your Highness truly think there is still a possibility of turning it around?"

Zhao Kai suddenly knelt on the ground, his face streaming with tears, unable to speak for sobbing.

"It shouldn't be like this. I shouldn't die here. I should become the Emperor; I want everyone in the world to kneel before me."

Suddenly, he looked up and roared at Yu Liancheng, "I carry the Luck of the nation; if you kill me, you will suffer a calamity in the future. It would be better if you let me go..."

Yu Liancheng shook his head.

Zhao Kai was instantly devastated, like a deflated balloon.

Yu Liancheng kicked a blade on the ground toward Zhao Kai and said calmly, "Will you do it with dignity yourself? Or shall I help you be dignified?"

Zhao Kai's eyes suddenly brightened, as if a drowning man had grabbed the last straw of hope: "You don't dare to kill me! You fear the backlash of the Luck! Don't you..."

Swish!

A faint flash of sword light streaked past.

This Imperial Prince, who dreamed of being Emperor, had forged the Son of Heaven Sword, and had suffered all his life, fell down unwillingly, his eyes still filled with fear and suspicion.

The moment Zhao Kai fell, it was as if some heavenly secret was bestowed upon Yu Liancheng from the void, though what it brought was certainly not good luck.

Killing such a person who carried the Luck of the nation was by no means a good thing.

Of course, Yu Liancheng did not care much.

He looked at Zhao Kai's corpse, his gaze seemingly igniting with a brilliant light that could penetrate all mysteries, faintly seeing a streak of purple energy rising from Zhao Kai's body, about to head straight into the firmament and vanish.

Yu Liancheng flicked his finger, and a pale golden lotus bud floated out, extremely magnificent. If an expert from Longhu Mountain were here, they would surely recognize this as the most precious Purple Gold Lotus of Luck from the Dragon Pool of Longhu Mountain.

However, the Luck within this purple gold lotus had already been mostly extracted by Yu Liancheng, which was why it had turned into a bud.

Yu Liancheng held his finger upright, capturing the purple energy and letting it enter the lotus bud.

As the lotus bud gained the massive amount of Luck, it bloomed layer by layer, gorgeous and beautiful, with brilliant golden light.

However, a single lotus bud was far from enough to absorb all the purple energy, so Yu Liancheng took out another lotus bud.

Unfortunately, although these last two lotus buds turned into brilliant golden lotuses, a remnant of the purple energy remained, eventually dissolving into the firmament—perhaps merging back into the national destiny of the Liyang Dynasty, or perhaps attaching itself to someone else; it was impossible to know.

After examining the Purple Gold Lotus of Luck once more, Yu Liancheng nodded with satisfaction and flicked his sleeve, causing the purple gold lotus to vanish. He looked around at the large ships and, seeing that the soldiers on board had no will to fight, felt at ease and tapped his toes, flying toward Huishan.

Seeing Yu Liancheng depart, both the ordinary soldiers and the experts who had not yet managed to leave let out long sighs of relief.

An expert like this posed too great a threat to them. Even if they knew the other party had no malicious intent, they still needed to be on edge at all times, as if sleeping on the same mat as a fierce tiger.

But soon, everyone was suddenly startled again.

Because that black-clad figure had returned, his toes lightly tapping on the great river, a smile on his face: "Zhao Kai is dead, and Yang Taisui is also dead, but you are all still unscathed. If someone were to interrogate you, it would be hard to explain, and you would inevitably face punishment."

"As for me, I am a very understanding person, so I don't mind helping you all out."

Yu Liancheng chuckled, tapped his toes on the water surface, and the entire river surface suddenly churned, followed by water spouts rising into the air.

"I learned this move from a scholar; was it called 'Shaking Kunlun' or 'Dragon Drawing Water'? Never mind, there's no need to care about such trifles, just enjoy it."

With a thought from Yu Liancheng, the water spouts swept toward the large ships, followed by another round of wailing.

Imperial Prince Zhao Kai entered Jiangling with great fanfare along the way, enjoying infinite glory and receiving the attention of both the Imperial Court and the Wulin.

If he had pacified Huishan and destroyed Murong, not only would it have greatly boosted the prestige of the Imperial Court, but he could also have taken over Huishan, a Wulin Holy Land, significantly increasing his power. The other Imperial Princes were inevitably jealous and wary in secret, even hoping he would return in defeat. But for such a mighty and grand procession, defeating a Wulin force seemed almost effortless.

The result, however, was shocking.

Imperial Prince Zhao Kai, the black-clad Yang Taisui, and the Human Cat Han Diaosi were all killed, the grand fleet was overturned, and the Imperial Court was left in a wretched state, losing all face. In a short time, this news spread throughout the Liyang Dynasty; the world was in an uproar, the Wulin was shaken, and everyone found the matter unimaginable.

In the Imperial Court, the current Emperor was furious, breaking his favorite porcelain cup, and several officials involved in the matter were exiled.

But beyond that, the Imperial Court dared not act rashly, and even the Zhao Gou organization restrained itself significantly, no longer secretly targeting Murong Tonghuang, doing little more than putting on a show.

The Master of Huishan had once again demonstrated a cultivation level that could rival Wang Xianzhi, capable of acting as an army of one. Without full preparation, the Imperial Court would definitely not act rashly. Otherwise, if the other party were to kill his way to the Capital, being targeted by such an expert would be a headache for anyone.

In reality, the Imperial Court was indeed in an uproar over Yu Liancheng.

Some believed the matter should be suppressed, while others thought a large army should be dispatched; if Huishan could not be eradicated, where would the face of the Imperial Court be? Some even suggested inviting the Master of Huishan and offering him great rewards, so that the Imperial Court would have another trump card in its hand.

This really made one have to sigh, "To become an official, one must kill and set fires to be granted amnesty."

Of course, this proposal was absolutely impossible for now; it would be too damaging to the Imperial Court's face.

"Hahaha, well killed, well killed! This is a masterstroke; he deserves a reward, he deserves a reward."

On Wudang Mountain, beside the Washing Elephant Pool, the Prince Xu Fengnian laughed heartily upon receiving the news.

After a period of cultivation, his aura was indeed much more fierce than before.

Hearing that the two masterminds of the "Capital White Clothes Case" were dead, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction in his heart. It was a pity he hadn't killed them himself, but it was satisfying enough. He picked up a wine pot and poured several gulps of Green Ant Wine into his mouth.

A young girl who looked like a maid beside him muttered, "Something is wrong with his head."

The "good-for-nothing" Prince felt satisfied and ignored the maid named Jiang Ni. He practiced his blade technique once more, feeling increasingly comfortable. With a leap, he slashed his blade at the waterfall; the blade still slipped from his hand, but he had managed to carve out a gap several inches wide.

He had not wasted his time these past few days.

In a reed marsh, there were scattered cottages.

An old man with a graying beard sat in front of a thatched cottage, using a dozen copper coins to select the largest fresh fish from a vat, handing it to the hostess to steam.

Suddenly, the old man dressed as a Confucian scholar felt something and looked toward the horizon, a rare trace of doubt appearing between his brows.

He casually grabbed a handful of grass to perform divination; this was a lost ancient art of divination. The stalks could be picked at will, yet not everyone could divine the secrets of heaven.

The old man, looking like a Confucian scholar, seemed to toss the stalks on the ground carelessly, but when he looked at the ground, his brows furrowed even tighter.

"A variable, a variable—a variable not written in the books."