Chapter 528

(Not yet revised; best viewed after 12:30)

Yu Liancheng stood on the Imperial Road.

The young eunuch stood tall above the Imperial Palace.

Their gazes locked onto each other simultaneously.

The moment their gazes clashed, the world fell silent.

Mountains, rivers, sun, moon, the royal city, and the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Guards, the martial arts experts... all seemed to have vanished, leaving only the two of them between heaven and earth.

A faint, indescribable smile suddenly curled upon Yu Liancheng's handsome face. His entire being seemed to radiate a miraculous luster, adding an unspeakable, demonic charm to him, as if a god or demon had descended into the world.

A ripple also stirred across the young eunuch's eternally calm face, and in those eyes that had seen all the vicissitudes of the human world, a rare trace of fighting spirit emerged.

Tens of thousands of Imperial Guards were already waiting in the Imperial Palace.

Even though they had long known that in the hands of this Murong Wudi, even if they sacrificed their lives, it would at most force the opponent to expend a bit more Qi. Beyond that, they could not even make him lose focus in the slightest.

Yet, despite this, their formations remained orderly, and not a hint of fear could be seen.

How could there be any among the Imperial Guards who feared death?

But as Murong Wudi and the young eunuch's gazes clashed, a murderous aura suddenly spread out.

Although these two earth-shattering experts had not yet made a move, the oppressive atmosphere was fully revealed, causing the Imperial Guards to feel an inexplicable, terrifying pressure, feeling stifled as if a great mountain were pressing against their chests.

"The Liyang Dynasty truly has a supreme expert guarding it."

Many spies from various major factions revealed looks of realization.

To be able to face Murong Wudi alone, one was certainly no ordinary person.

Especially those of Deng Taie's caliber; feeling the aura radiating from the young eunuch, no matter how calm they appeared on the surface, their hearts could not help but churn with turbulent waves.

This person was undoubtedly a supreme figure of the Martial Dao, perhaps even ranking among the Land Immortals.

And this kind of Land Immortal was by no means comparable to Three Teachings Saints like Zhao Huangchao or Zhao Xuansu, who were not adept at one-on-one combat.

Especially since this person's Luck seemed to be firmly bound to the Liyang Zhao Family; if one suffered, all suffered, and if one prospered, all prospered. And within the Imperial Palace, this advantage would be exerted to the extreme.

Having returned from visiting immortals overseas, Deng Taie had reached a new level in his Sword Dao cultivation, and after the battle at the Huishan Snow Gathering, he had even ascended to the ranks of Land Immortals. But even so, facing the young eunuch at this moment, he still had no certainty of victory.

If they were to fight within the Imperial Palace, defeat would be certain.

It was no wonder the Zhao Family could sit securely in Taian City; even Cao Guanzi, who treated the Imperial Palace like a corridor, could not harm the Zhao Emperor in the slightest—it turned out such an expert was guarding it.

Yu Liancheng spoke slowly: "You have come."

The young eunuch said slowly: "No, it is you who have come."

Yu Liancheng nodded: "True, for you who have stayed in Taian City for two hundred years, I am indeed an outsider."

The two fell silent for a long while.

The young eunuch spoke again: "I know why you have come, and I am not here to plead for mercy on behalf of the young Emperor, but to speak the truth."

"Let's hear it." Yu Liancheng picked his ear, looking indifferent.

The young eunuch said: "Among the successive emperors of Liyang, the current young Emperor Zhao Zhuan is considered the most magnanimous. Of course, this is only compared to his fathers and ancestors. If you can tolerate him this once, I can guarantee that there will not be a next time. Furthermore, from now on, Liyang will no longer hold back Beiliang, and troops, horses, and provisions will be provided without interruption."

"What does that have to do with me?" Yu Liancheng's tone was flat.

The young eunuch frowned: "Hmm?"

"I have come to return swords." Yu Liancheng shook his head: "The sword owed by Dongyue Sword Pool has been returned. The sword owed by the Qintian Bureau has been returned. The sword owed by Xie Guanying has been returned, and now only Zhao Zhuan is left. As the saying goes, 'debts must be repaid, it is only right and proper'; even if he is the Emperor, he shouldn't think about reneging."

The young eunuch's frown deepened: "No room for negotiation?"

Yu Liancheng shook his head: "No room for negotiation!"

The young eunuch let out a breath: "It can still be negotiated."

"How to negotiate?"

"Keep the Liyang empire; whether the Emperor is Zhao Zhuan or not, it actually doesn't matter." The young eunuch's words were shocking: "At least, to me, it doesn't matter."

As soon as these words were spoken.

To everyone's ears, it was no less than a thunderclap on a clear day.

Especially some of the "Zhao Zhuan faction," who feared that if Yu Liancheng nodded, this trump-card expert would turn around and kill his way into the Imperial Palace to take the young Emperor's head.

"I only return swords, I do not kill." Yu Liancheng's tone was flat.

"You should know that this is not the answer I wanted to hear." The young eunuch shook his head.

"Whether Liyang is in turmoil, or whether the Zhao Family can sit securely on the Central Plains empire, I do not care." Yu Liancheng said calmly: "Still the same words, I have come to return a sword."

The young eunuch sighed: "Then I wonder if you have ever heard a saying."

"Let's hear it?"

"A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake." The young eunuch's tone gradually became calm: "If it were outside Taian City, I would definitely not be your match. But in Taian City, there is me... invincible!"

These words sounded very arrogant.

But having managed Taian City for over two hundred years, especially this Zhao Family Imperial Palace.

He had this confidence.

And he had this strength.

Just like Wang Laoguai of Wudi City or Murong Wudi of Huishan, he possessed the overbearing spirit to dominate the Central Plains alone.

It was unclear if it was because of Murong Tonghuang's "Black Cloud Heaven Blade," but as their conversation grew increasingly tense, large swaths of black clouds gathered over the Imperial City.

Layer upon layer of clouds transformed into a vortex.

Pressing down continuously.

It was a doomsday scene as if the heavens were collapsing.

From time to time, muffled thunder rumbled, yet it was held back and did not break.

But one could imagine that the next moment could be filled with wind, rain, lightning, and thunder.

Yu Liancheng looked straight at the young eunuch, his expression calm, his eyes faintly filled with fighting spirit, and said word by word: "I. Do. Not. Believe. It!"

Boom!

At this very moment, amidst a heaven-shaking and earth-shattering roar, the winds and clouds in the firmament changed color; a surging, whistling thunderbolt tore through the sky and smashed straight down toward the young eunuch.

It was as thick as the Milky Way pouring backward.

The young eunuch's expression was calm; he merely raised a hand lightly to receive the heavenly thunder.

Boom!

Boom-boom-boom!

Lightning flashed, and this thunderbolt, which seemed capable of destroying more than half of the Imperial Palace, quickly dissipated without a trace, yet it failed to harm the young eunuch in the slightest.

Yet in the young eunuch's hand, there was now an extra Purple Thunder Bead.

The thunder bead shone, and electric light flickered.

The young eunuch's expression became solemn, and the earth and firmament seemed to be stained with a layer of murderous intent because of him. That pair of eyes turned pitch-black, like the deepest night, capable of devouring all light.

He suddenly clenched his five fingers, and that heavenly thunder exploded with a bang, yet it did not dissipate; instead, it lingered on his arm, causing the entire arm to present a scene of swirling thunder.

"If you do not believe, I can make you believe."

The young eunuch's black hair flew wildly, and his unparalleled aura impacted the high heavens, causing the firmament to change color.

The next moment, his entire body trailed a stream of lightning in mid-air, suddenly appearing before Murong Tonghuang. He raised his arm high, grabbed with his large hand, and all the air within a Mayor's radius was gathered, transforming into a palm that covered the sky and earth, striking down with a boom. Electric light splashed between his fingers, reflecting the young eunuch as if he were a God or Demon.

Yu Liancheng's aura changed abruptly, rising rapidly; if he had previously been a magnificent high tower, he now seemed like a ten-thousand-foot-tall mountain rising from flat ground, level with the sky.

His punch went out like a dragon.

It was fierce to the extreme.

Fist and palm collided.

The young eunuch frowned.

This punch of his, transformed from the plucked heavenly thunder, was actually blocked in an unbelievable manner. Furthermore, wave after wave of force surged over, continuous and unstoppable.

The Imperial Road beneath Yu Liancheng's feet exploded.

In the instant that debris flew, the young eunuch's other hand transformed into a fist and smashed down toward Murong Tonghuang's chest, likewise wreathed in electric light.

Yu Liancheng did not block this punch, instead backhanding toward his opponent's chest as well.

Bang! Bang!

Two people, two fists, simultaneously struck their opponent's chest.

The Imperial Road beneath Yu Liancheng's feet shattered again, as if bombarded by hundreds of bombs at once, but his expression did not change, as if his opponent's punch was nothing more than a tickle to him.

As for the young eunuch, his body flew backward, returning to the top of the Imperial Palace, collapsing a section of buildings; his face was pale, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Clatter!

The heavy rain began to pour down.

But neither Murong Tonghuang nor the young eunuch was dampened by the rain in the slightest.

Their entire bodies' Qi expanded, causing the curtain of rain to roll away.

Yu Liancheng began to walk toward the Imperial Palace.

With every step taken, the rainwater on the ground automatically parted to both sides, which was extremely miraculous.

Just when Yu Liancheng was less than ten zhang from the Imperial Palace, the young eunuch raised his arm and wiped it casually. The rainwater filling the sky was pulled, and a three-foot sword made of rainwater appeared before him.

The young eunuch began to wield the sword.

His sword was sometimes like the vast Heavenly River, and at other times ethereal and unfathomably high; the rainwater filling the sky was forced away by the Sword Qi.

Yu Liancheng still did not stop walking forward.

He walked toward the Imperial Palace step by step.

As for the so-called Sword Qi, it dissipated completely before it could get within three feet of him.

The young eunuch's expression became grave; he held a finger upright, and the rain in all directions transformed into small swords. He walked toward Murong Tonghuang again, stepping down from the air toward Murong Tonghuang on the Imperial Road, as if there were invisible stairs in the void, descending step by step. But with every step taken, it was with the momentum of the earth shaking and mountains quaking.

And when the young eunuch began to run, it was even more as if he were carrying the mountains and rivers upside down; the rainwater filling the sky became mountains, rivers, and swords, with an aura that was frighteningly large.

But unfortunately, his opponent was Murong Tonghuang.

Murong Tonghuang wielded his sword.

The Sword Qi covered the sky and blocked the sun, vast and mighty, reaching the peak of grandeur.

One sword, toppling the city.

Boom!

The rainwater filling the sky shattered.

The young eunuch flew out backward, crashing through the Imperial Palace gate and shattering palace buildings one after another; dust and smoke flew, and there were countless fragments and rubble.

Step! Step!

The sound of footsteps was not covered by the sound of rain in the slightest, ringing out clearly in everyone's ears.

Yu Liancheng finally stepped into the Imperial Palace.

He looked at the surrounding Imperial Guards as if they were nothing, staring straight at the young eunuch who was staggering to his feet amidst the ruins: "Stop playing these flashy tricks, let's get serious, otherwise it would be a bit too boring."

Everything under the sky was silent.

Only the rain continued to pour down incessantly.

"Fine, I will let you see my foundation of over two hundred years."

When this voice fell, the winds and clouds changed color, and the massive Imperial Palace seemed like a giant ship drifting on the sea, trembling incessantly.

Countless fragments and rubble were swept into the sky by the gale, ground into sand and dust that scattered down in a flurry.

And all of this was merely because the young eunuch had released all the Qi within his body.

The human body is a small universe with infinite potential. In these two hundred years, this young eunuch, who was like a divine dragon that shows its head but never its tail, had absorbed no one knew how much Dragon Qi and national destiny into his shell.

At this moment, every acupuncture point within his shell exploded, completely detonating his foundation of two hundred years; it was a power more terrifying than a volcanic eruption, a mountain flood, or a bursting river, with blood-Qi like a vast tsunami, surging in all directions.

"What a truly intoxicating power." The young eunuch sighed leisurely.

At this moment, he felt his own power and will gushing forth like a tidal wave, seemingly endless, giving him the feeling that he could turn the world upside down with a mere gesture.

Of course, this state could not last.

Every moment was a massive drain on his "Human Realm Proving Longevity."

Therefore, he had to finish the battle quickly.

He moved.

A blur of afterimages flashed, and he arrived before Murong Tonghuang like a bolt of lightning.

One punch.

He did not use any of the heavy Martial Dao techniques that bordered on divine abilities; his body was already more formidable and terrifying than any divine weapon in the world, and every strike possessed the terrifying power to topple mountains and overturn rivers.

Yu Liancheng crossed his arms to block.

But his defense was broken in an instant, and the fist slammed heavily into his chest.

Bang!

Yu Liancheng's chest caved in, and his body flew backward like a meteorite falling from the sky, carrying immense force; the floor and soil behind him offered no resistance, plowed into a trench.

Murong Tonghuang, exited the palace.

"A good punch, the force is sufficient, and the accuracy is also sufficient; I just don't know if it is durable enough."