Chapter 529: Returning the Sword to the Zhao Family Son of Heaven

In the Imperial Palace.

The young eunuch stood tall like a Demon God.

The acupuncture points within his body opened one by one, erupting with boundless, vast power.

At this moment, he possessed power comparable to the gods of the heavens.

This power originated from the Liyang National Fortune and the Zhao Family Dragon Qi; it was originally the capital he used for "retirement," used to slowly refine his own physical body and ascend to a higher realm, to prove longevity in the human realm.

And all of this was built upon the Liyang Zhao Family.

If the Zhao Family ceased to exist, then he would be no different from an ordinary martial artist.

Of course, if he were willing, he could enter the Heavenly Gate at any time, but how would that differ from the Longhu Mountain immortal who was suppressed by Yu Liancheng with a backhand strike earlier?

It did not matter who became the Son of Heaven of the Zhao Family.

But this Central Plains must belong to the Zhao Family.

The young eunuch radiated a tyrannical aura, shrouding Yu Liancheng like a net of heaven and earth. He was probing his opponent at every moment, discerning where his flaws lay.

Seeing that Murong Tonghuang had not been blasted out of the Imperial Palace by this punch of his, the young eunuch frowned slightly.

The opponent was more troublesome than he had imagined.

And now, this state of his could not last; he had to finish the battle quickly.

Boom!

A scorching, boiling current of air exploded with the young eunuch at its center. He gripped his right hand in the void, and electric fire flowed in mid-air; a long spear composed of thunder and fire suddenly appeared in his hand.

Blinding, flashing thunder and rising flames intertwined, transforming into a long dragon of thunder and fire that coiled around the spear, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

"Crack." With the young eunuch's feet as the center, thunder and fire splashed everywhere; the ground beneath him exploded again, spreading to over a dozen zhang away in the blink of an eye.

The young eunuch's massive aura was vast and mighty like a river or ocean, like a volcanic eruption, covering the entire scene. The next moment, man and spear became one, transforming into a long dragon of thunder and fire that suddenly flew over; the wild dragon surged, and the world roared.

Yu Liancheng had already been locked onto by the aura. Facing this strike, he neither attacked nor dodged, merely waving his hand.

The Imperial Guards and the countless experts in the Capital watching this battle suddenly felt the sky darken. They only felt that the already dim sky had, for some reason, been drifted over by a black cloud.

This patch of black cloud swept across the sky, unexpectedly hanging so low that it drifted to the ground, blocking the path of that Thunder Fire Long Spear.

But soon, a sound of gasping for air arose, and countless people looked at each other in horror.

Because they discovered that it was not a dark cloud, but a long sleeve fluttering gracefully.

In the world today, in the current Edo, few people use sleeves as weapons, but anyone who has stepped into the Edo knows a very famous saying: "The stranger the weapon, the faster you die."

Occasionally, people say that long sleeves are like clouds; if one practices to that stage, one can gather the clear breeze and bright moon into one's sleeves.

They had originally thought it was just an exaggerated description. But under the witness of countless people.

They truly saw such a miraculous supreme art.

One Sleeve Covering the Sky.

There was no great explosion to shake the wind and clouds; the Thunder Fire Long Spear pierced into the cloud-like sleeve and, like a clay ox entering the sea, was annihilated without a sound.

Yu Liancheng looked up at the slightly frowning young eunuch, and his figure suddenly appeared before the latter.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Wuming Broken Sword in his hand thrust out; the sword light flashed suddenly, transforming into lightning that tore through the sky, launching an unparalleled offensive.

So fast!

The young eunuch was startled; his sleeves fluttered as he grabbed a long sword of lightning from the void, exhausting all his ability to engage in a life-and-death struggle with his opponent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With every breath, the two swords collided, blooming with countless sparks.

No one could describe their speed and power.

Although there were many experts present, the vast majority could only see a cluster of brilliant sword light and palace halls and pavilions constantly collapsing. Before that dazzling sword light, no matter how sturdy an object was, it was torn and shattered like thin paper.

Their exchange was simply too fast; the naked eye could hardly capture it.

The only thing that could be certain was that this battle was indeed magnificent, perhaps not inferior to the two duels between Murong Tonghuang and Wang Xianzhi.

Even an expert like Deng Taie could not catch a glimpse of the whole picture; what he could see was extremely limited.

And as the two great experts fought, the Heavenly Phenomenon responded; the ink-colored clouds gathered in the sky were not dispersed by the Sword Qi, but instead, more and more dark clouds surged over, thick and heavy, black as ink, with countless flashes of lightning intertwined within.

The ink clouds presented a highly eerie vortex shape, pressing down over the Capital, causing countless people to feel panic, as if the end of the world had arrived.

With a "Boom," a thunderous sound that shook the world, a bolt of lightning as fierce as a dragon poured down from the sky.

The entire Imperial Palace trembled because of it.

Amidst the electric light, experts like Deng Taie vaguely saw two figures flash and cross, touching and separating.

Bang! A figure was smashed away like a cannonball, crashing into a pavilion.

His clothes were tattered, there was a wound on his chest, and his habitually indifferent face carried a trace of surprise and helplessness.

Life is full of disappointments, eight or nine out of ten.

Not long ago, he had said that in the Capital, he was invincible.

But in the blink of an eye, he had become this disheveled mess.

Even with the young eunuch's state of mind and cultivation, ripples could not help but arise in his Xinhu.

He looked with deep, weary eyes at the Murong Wudi who held the short sword.

This fellow's sword technique was indeed profound and subtle, worthy of being called peerless in the world.

But what was even more surprising was the speed and power carried by the Broken Sword.

First, it was fast.

Unparalleled in speed.

Like lightning, like an aurora.

Ignoring space and distance, arriving in an instant.

The young eunuch had never seen such a fast sword technique.

Compared to this person's sword technique, many previous masters of sword technique in Taian City, including that pair of enemies Qi Jiajie and Bai Jiangshan, all seemed as slow and ridiculous as snails.

Often, a single word "fast" is enough to traverse the world.

Following that was the incredible power of Sword Mountain.

Fierce, overbearing, and invincible.

Every time the sword was swung, it appeared light and airy, like willow catkins in the wind,

but in reality, it carried a terrifying force of ten million jun; even a low hill, if it took such a sword strike, would likely collapse.

If it were any other First-Rank Expert, even if they could catch this sword strike, their physical body would likely collapse.

"Stop, you are no match for me."

Yu Liancheng held the Wuming Broken Sword and shook his head.

No matter how strong the young eunuch was, could he really be stronger than Wang Xianzhi at the Great Snow Meeting?

"This is Liyang cutting off its own path, it has nothing to do with others, there is no need to be buried with it. For an expert like you, ascending to the Dao and entering the Heavenly Gate is as easy as turning over one's hand."

If there were two great arrays suppressing him, the young eunuch would still have a glimmer of a chance.

But the Qintian Bureau had already been destroyed; without the suppression of those arrays, Yu Liancheng's combat power could be described as inexhaustible.

Looking at the young eunuch, he could not continue to erupt like this. Once the Dragon Qi stored over two hundred years was exhausted, he would fall into a state of weakness.

And at that time, death would not be far away.

The young eunuch regained his gentleness, smiled, and shook his head: "Attaching oneself because Liyang is prosperous, and fleeing because Liyang is declining. Although I am a rootless person who has lived for more than two hundred years, my face is not yet that thick."

Yu Liancheng said: "In order to survive, sometimes one's face can be a little thicker."

The young eunuch smiled: "That is true, but if I were to retreat and let you succeed in returning the sword, causing Liyang to decline, I probably wouldn't live much longer either. So... I have decided to give it one last try."

The young eunuch looked up at the ink-cloud-covered sky, waved his sleeves, and the dark clouds gradually dispersed. Sunlight poured down, shining on his face, as he seemed to mutter to himself.

"Xu Xiao, Zhang Julu, Cao Zhangqing, and those elders of the previous Liyang dynasty who were forgotten long ago, are actually all the same kind of people; I do not like any of them. But asking myself, the reason I do not like them is actually envy."

"It is not envy of their wealth and status, nor envy of their fame throughout the world, but that they all did what they wanted to do and had the courage to pay everything for it, even their own lives, without regret even after nine deaths. In my eyes, they are gentlemen; the wind and rain are bleak, the wind and rain are whistling, the wind and rain are gloomy, having seen the gentleman..."

The young eunuch came back to his senses and looked at Murong Tonghuang with a smile: "This time, let me be a gentleman for once."

As the words fell, a majestic and vast, almost boundless aura rose from his body and merged into the Liyang National Fortune.

And the original young eunuch rapidly aged; his smooth and firm skin became withered and sallow, revealing a sense of decay. His jet-black long hair also became like dry, yellowish weeds. His waist, which had always been straight, became hunched without him noticing. Only those eyes remained pitch-black and deep, just carrying an undisguised weariness.

Immediately after.

An even more incredible thing happened.

Streaks of long rainbows fell from the sky.

They landed in front of Yu Liancheng, surrounding him completely.

And within these long rainbows were figures with extraordinary auras.

Looking around, most of them were extremely familiar.

There was the White-Clad Military Saint Chen Zhibao, the Spring and Autumn famous general Gu Jiantang, the green-clad Cao Zhangqing, the white-clad Luoyang, the Peach Blossom Sword God Deng Taie... one by one, a line of top-tier experts appeared before Yu Liancheng.

Not only were there living experts of the current dynasty, but also many deceased Spring and Autumn experts, such as the Sword Emperor of Western Shu, and Wang Xianzhi, whose soul was split into three.

And when the last long rainbow fell, even Yu Liancheng's eyelids twitched.

—The Dual Leader Murong Tonghuang.

"These people are all experts I have seen over the years, and they have all been to Taian City. Of course, when some of them came, it was still called Sui An Cheng."

The young eunuch—no, more accurately, the elderly eunuch—could no longer stand steadily and sat cross-legged on the ground, his tone becoming increasingly weak: "He was remembered by me, and also remembered by the Liyang National Fortune. I dissolved my own fortune into the Liyang National Fortune, and then took them out from their imprints at a certain moment."

"They are all formed by the Liyang National Fortune, they cannot last long, and they do not have their peak level. But you must also be careful, because each one is a world-class top expert, not easy to deal with, especially that fellow named Murong Tonghuang."

Seeming to find it funny to have Murong Tonghuang deal with Murong Tonghuang, the elderly eunuch chuckled, then couldn't help but cough twice; his breath was already like a candle in the wind, about to be extinguished at any moment.

"Alliance Leader Murong, you fought all the experts in the world alone on Huishan, very majestic. Today, let me let you be majestic once more. Fight the experts from the Spring and Autumn period to the first year of Xiangfu alone. How about it? Any interest?"

Yu Liancheng held the Wuming Broken Sword in his palm, pointing it obliquely at the ground, his wrist turned, his fighting spirit erupted like a volcano, and he grinned.

"Come."

After the morning court session was dismissed today,

the young Emperor first summoned the Shangyin Academy Grand Libationer and National Master Qi Yanglong, and then had the Chief Eunuch of the Ceremonial Secretariat summon the Left Cavalier Attendant Chen Wang.

Chen Wang was from Beiliang.

However, unlike the kind of Beiliang person Jin Sanlang was, Chen Wang rarely spoke on matters concerning Beiliang and remained silent. Even when he did, he was impartial and would never be a sycophantic villain for the sake of wealth and status.

Therefore, when he first entered the capital for the imperial examinations, even though his essays were extraordinary and his talent was overflowing, he still failed to make the list.

Later, due to various reasons, he was valued by the young Emperor, promoted step by step, and finally ascended to the imperial court.

"I know that there is a Edo outside the temple, especially in the last hundred years, after Huang Longshi introduced the remaining fortune of the eight Spring and Autumn kingdoms into the Edo, it has been very exciting, and top experts are as numerous as bamboo shoots in spring. In the early years, there was Li Chungang who fought with a sword in green robes, later there was Wang Xianzhi of Wudi City who was invincible in the world for sixty years, and then there was that person, who alone dominated the Edo; what great spirit, just hearing about it makes one feel it is overbearing."

Chen Wang was playing chess with the young Emperor.

The young Emperor was rambling while playing chess.

Chen Wang just listened, with a smile on his face, occasionally echoing a few words.

He knew that His Majesty just wanted him to be a listener.

Some words, if kept in the belly for too long, can make a person sick.

"He assisted Beiliang, defeated one hundred thousand Beimang cavalry alone, and even blocked that sword for Xu Weixiong... although he destroyed my arrangements in Beiliang, I do not blame him for these things, each serving their own master, there is nothing to say. Even if he were willing to defect to my Liyang, I would be willing to use the strength of the entire country to be on good terms with him. But he still did things he shouldn't have done, things that made me very angry. Especially, he shouldn't have gone to the Qintian Bureau and destroyed the hard work accumulated by countless people; that is the place where my Liyang's Dragon Qi rose."

The young Emperor clenched his fists and glared fiercely outside the window: "Listen, he has probably already killed his way to the Imperial Palace by now. With his arrival, I don't know how many Qi Practitioners, how many Imperial Guards, and how many armored soldiers have died..."

"My Liyang canal transport brings eight hundred thousand shi of grain into the capital every year. I originally planned to open one million shi for Beiliang Dao every year, plus the military merits and death compensations from the first Liangmang War, his Beiliang now possesses more than three million shi of canal grain. But for every person of mine he kills in Taian City, I have to leave one thousand shi of canal transport for the Liyang Imperial Court."

There was one thing he did not say.

Although it was also made very clear.

The grain of the Central Plains can buy the heads of Beimang, and it can also buy the lives of Beiliang.

Chen Wang wanted to speak but hesitated.

The young Son of Heaven gradually regained his composure, but his expression remained somewhat gloomy.

"He still wants to return My sword? I am right here. As the Son of Heaven, am I not worth one million in water transport taxes? If he has the ability, let him come and return it."

No sooner had these words been spoken.

A sudden bolt of lightning from a clear sky seemed to resound above the Imperial Palace.

Immediately following, a Willow Leaf Broken Sword flew in from afar, its sword light soul-stirring.

"Murong Tonghuang returns the sword to the Son of Heaven of the Zhao Family."