Chapter 175: The Pact of All Under Heaven!

When the Regent appeared, the entire grand ceremony spiraled out of control; the Regent's legend had only been ten years past, and many commoners still remembered this man—remembered how he razed the temples of Chen, remembered how his troops faced no equal.

Remembered how he killed the Emperor inside the imperial palace.

The Crown Prince of Ying, Jiang Gao, stared fixedly at the man riding the old horse step by step.

The old man's gaze swept across them, as commanding as a spear's edge—even Jiang Gao and Jiang Yuan, among the most outstanding of the younger generation, felt an indescribable pressure, as if facing their own father.

The Regent of Chen.

His hand instinctively clenched, gripping the chair seat tightly.

Suddenly, the sound of armor rang out.

The intense pressure vanished.

Yuwen Lie, the fifth-greatest general under heaven, had risen to his feet; this peerless divine general extended his hand, and the spectral form of Bai Hu appeared behind him—brimming with fierce battle intent, murderous rage, and swirling inner qi, manifesting visibly.

He reached out, and the Bai Hu spectral form coalesced; his hand grew heavy as he gripped a heavy spear.

During the Regent's reign over all under heaven, Yuwen Lie had been no older than these youths are now—he had truly witnessed the peak postures of these heroes, and so naturally, he now revealed his own strength.

He stood before Jiang Gao and Jiang Yuan, eyes fixed on the man clad in black armor.

"Of course."

He murmured: "Prince Puyang."

"Such a bold man would never die on a sickbed."

Jiang Gao heard it—the faint but trembling emotion in the voice of this usually cold, domineering, ruthlessly strategic general—as if, seeing this general, Yuwen Lie had become once more the youthful commander of old.

He raised his spear, blocking it before Jiang Gao and Jiang Yuan.

Then, instinctively, he glanced beside Prince Puyang.

He saw no longer the young, valiant general who charged at the front.

Yuwen Lie recalled the youthful, spirited Tai Ping Gong—his first meeting, when Tai Ping Gong wore no dark-gold mask, rode no Fire Qilin, was merely a young cavalryman carrying the banner and charging under Prince Puyang's command—yet how spirited he had been.

Yuwen Lie opened his eyes: "We're no longer young, Li Wanli."

He looked at Prince Puyang and felt within the old man's boldness and valor a loneliness he could not name; softly he said: "The Qilin of chaotic times is dead; now, only a lame Yu Langwang remains. Time is truly cruel—unimaginably so."

The Living Buddha closed his eyes, his face twisted in pain.

No one dared stand before Prince Puyang.

He was Chen Dingye's elder brother.

Given the weak name "Fubi," he later crushed that name bestowed by his father beneath his own feet; all fell silent, as only the Imperial Guard continuously rushed in to shield the Emperor.

At that moment, a clear clang of weapons rang out—Crown Prince Chen Wenmian, clad in court robes, strode forward holding a spear.

Chen Wenmian raised his battle spear, pointing it at the man now mounted on horseback, no longer young.

The young Crown Prince shouted:

"Stop!"

The Regent's mount halted.

The Regent looked at this youth with sword-browed, starlit eyes, smiled, then dismounted:

"Crown Prince, Chen Wenmian."

"You… are my son."

Chen Wenmian's body froze, then roared: "Shut up! What are you saying?!!!"

The Regent's cloak billowed; the old cripple stepped forward, his body leaning awkwardly with each step: "You are my son. That year, your so-called 'Father Emperor' got me drunk and sent me into his wife's palace—and that's how you were born."

"Otherwise, look at you. Look at him."

"Does he deserve even a fraction of being your father?!"

The news spread—faces turned pale, some with shock, some with glee, others realizing that once this truth reached the Emperor, his rage would explode. Chen Wenmian gripped his spear, turned, and looked toward the Emperor—his eyes filled with longing and anguish.

But all he saw beneath the twelve-bead crown was Chen Dingye's cold, deep gaze.

The Regent opened his arms, embracing his son; the spear could not be thrust forward. Chen Wenmian was held in the Regent's arms—broad chest, solid back, no concealment whatsoever—his thoughts froze.

His mother's suffering, her self-immolation, the Emperor's reaction—all connected, culminating in the Regent's tight embrace. Chen Dingye roared: "Kill him!"

"His Wu Gong has been ruined by Li Wanli!"

"You—kill him! Kill him!"

"Just one spear thrust—and you are my son, the nation's heir!"

The Regent made no defense.

Chen Wenmian raised his spear—but slowly, slowly lowered it. At last, he seemed to surrender to the whirlpool of chaos; the spear fell to the ground. The superior weapon struck stone with a crisp, clear clang.

Was it struggle against himself? Longing for kinship? Hatred for the Emperor? The obsession to avenge his mother?

Chen Wenmian hesitated, then slowly raised his hand and grasped the Regent's cloak.

Chen Dingye gripped his sword; his aura surged violently—the Chen imperial martial scripture was a peerless classic; at his age, with relentless cultivation, his realm was far from low. He roared: "Traitor! You returned—only to seize the throne?!"

"The throne?!"

The Regent burst into loud laughter, dismissing it: "Such a thing—heroes can pick it up with a glance. Why would I want it?!"

"I returned!"

"For my son."

Chen Dingye clenched his fist, staring at the man whose spirit soared to heaven—like a nightmare. Such a hero, such courage and valor surpassing all others, the man he dreamed of every night—why had he returned?!

The Regent helped his son to his feet, lifted him onto his warhorse, then mounted behind him, embracing the young Crown Prince. The boy asked: "... Where are we going?"

The Regent said: "To all under heaven."

The warhorse stepped forward; he raised his gaze to the grand Chen imperial palace, to Chen's officials, still gripping the reins, his gaze sweeping across them, his whip lifting to point one by one:

"Clans, powerful families, imperial kin, bureaucrats. Chen—appears glorious, but in truth, is nothing but rotting flesh!"

"Any hero standing within this rotting flesh will be consumed by it."

I once tried to change, but I failed; later, I realized—

Rather than be this rotten meat of an emperor, better to start anew!

Topple this world! Crush this Chen state!

Liu Zhong, Xiao Wuliang.

The Regent Prince called out two names, and immediately, shouts rose up:

"Your servant is here!"

"I am here!"

Two divine generals streaked across this place with blazing light, then retook their positions behind the Regent Prince; one was Xiao Wuliang, fifteenth on the List of Divine Generals, wielding a divine weapon and bearing the spectral form of a Kui ox.

The other was Liu Zhong, also known as Liu Mannu, the new-generation general who expanded the western frontier by three hundred li, promoted and trained by Dan Tai Xianming; both now stood with utter submission behind this Regent Prince.

Chen Dingye gritted his teeth: "... Dan Tai, Xianming!!!"

The Regent Prince looked at Chen Wenmian and said softly: "Child, where is your mother?"

"That emperor is unworthy of such a fine woman. I spent my life in battle; I had a wife, but all of them perished in war. I am merely an old widower—yet even so, I am the only one in this world worthy of your mother!"

Chen Wenmian said painfully: "She burned herself alive."

The Regent Prince fell silent.

He looked toward Gu Daohui and said: "Xiao Wuliang."

The young divine general stepped forward half a pace: "Your servant is here."

"Bring Gu Daohui back."

"A man of feeling and loyalty should not suffer such humiliation."

"Yes!"

Xiao Wuliang, wielding his divine weapon, manifested his colossal Kui ox spectral form, charged forward with unstoppable might, moving like lightning to appear beside the suppressed Gu Daohui—only ten steps from the Emperor—and scattered the Imperial Guard captains.

He seized Gu Daohui and returned to the Regent Prince's side.

Chen Dingye gripped the Imperial Sword: "Are you rebelling, Chen Fubì?!"

"Will you destroy your ancestors' legacy?!"

"If you return, I will give you the throne!"

These words were sincere—but the Regent Prince Chen Fu burst into loud laughter: "I don't want this pile of rotten meat!"

"So what if the Chen state falls?!"

The aged Yu Langwang raised his battle spear and said:

"The Chen state may fall, but the world must not!"

"Chen may perish, but the people of the world must not!"

"Emperor! Achievements are won on the tip of the spear, not through scheming. True rulers shine with radiant righteousness—ha ha! What of your ancestors' legacy?!"

The old man laughed aloud, wild and unrestrained as a youth:

"We simply start again."

"We rebuild this Shanhe!"

"If our ancestors could do it, why can't I?!"

The Imperial Guard soldiers trembled inside, yet a fierce, unspoken fervor surged within them. The Regent Prince raised his gaze to the ministers and officials, grinned, and said: "Gentlemen, next time I come, each of you will be crushed beneath my horse's hooves."

He had lost his Wu Gong, yet his majestic aura still shook the heart. The Grand Sacrifice ended—but the originally programmed time had arrived. The Mo family's mechanisms activated automatically: the floor at the center sank downward, and with the sound of machinery, the solemn ritual vessels of the Chen state rose from the underground tomb.

The ancestral tablets of the Chen state's forebears rose upward.

They came to the mortal realm to receive the incense and worship of descendants and commoners.

But when they looked, every face froze: the highest tablets of the Chen ancestors had fallen and vanished, replaced by new tablets—everyone's gaze turned to them.

【Li Wanli's Spirit Tablet】!

【Su Changqing's Spirit Tablet】!

【Zhu Ge Qingyun's Spirit Tablet】!

…………

One by one, they were the spirit tablets of Tai Ping Gong and his wife, and the Twenty-Four Generals—now brazenly displayed at the Chen state's Grand Sacrifice, the very altar meant for Chen Dingye's ancestors. The Emperor nearly fell to his knees; seeing this, he nearly exploded in rage, spitting blood.

It was as if the two shadows of the past had reappeared before his eyes!

Who?!

Who did this?!

The nation's ancestral worship had become worship of these traitors and rebels!

But Gu Daohui burst into laughter, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, wailing uncontrollably.

The change of these tablets alone was enough to strike terror into the heart.

But another corpse left everyone stunned.

Chen Wenmian blurted out instinctively, face ashen:

"Grandfather!!!"

He leapt from his horse, nearly stumbling to the ground, forgot all decorum, eyes red, staggering toward it—his mind blank, his heart pounding wildly.

Grandfather was gone.

He, now, truly had only this uncertain, possibly false father left.

Chen Dingye gritted his teeth: "Dan Tai Xianming..."

Tu Shengyuan, guest advisor of the First Tower under Heaven, nearly crushed his brush in his fist, his face shifting colors; after a long while, he exhaled slowly, feeling as if the final moments of this Grand Sacrifice had battered his skull with one shock after another, murmuring:

"We've truly encountered something monumental..."

The top ten scholars and strategists of the world sat here, their heads bowed forward.

His body bore wounds left by a battle spear.

His neck had been severed by the war sword of the Jinwu Guard; Chen Wenmian wept bitterly, but then discovered writing inside the old man's sleeve. His hand trembled as he reached for it, reading a single line: 【The one who killed me is Li Guanyi, assassin under Yue Pengwu!】

A stifling rage surged in Chen Wenmian's chest; his body shook violently, nearly coughing up blood, as he roared:

"Li Guanyi!!!"

………………

Boom!!!

Lei Ting surged as, at the very moment the grand ceremony opened, Zhao Da Bing drove the monstrous beast-drawn chariot, smashing through hundreds of li of road to return to Yicheng. The city gate blocked his path; Zhao Da Bing shouted: "Xue family! Brothers! Open the gate!"

The Xue family held immense power here, and Zhao Da Bing was a familiar face.

Naturally, no one had the audacity to block them; the carriage raced into the Xue estate. Li Guanyi clenched his lips tightly. The Young Lady had awakened. On the journey, Li Guanyi had explained the general cause of events, omitting details she need not know. She sat quietly, saying nothing.

She said nothing.

The carriage raced straight to the Xue estate. Li Guanyi leapt down and rushed into the courtyard, but found no trace of his aunt. His face changed; he urgently asked others, who replied curiously: "Huh? You don't know?"

"Yesterday afternoon, a young girl with silver-white hair, very beautiful, arrived."

"She drove a carriage, carrying two enormous bundles. Your aunt went out with her. We thought it was your order."

"That girl even gave me a sack of steamed buns."

"The buns were good, just a bit charred—wasteful."

A girl with silver-white hair?

Li Guanyi froze. The tension that had gripped him since his frantic ride suddenly released. He nearly staggered back, gasping for breath.

It was Yao Guang!

That girl—

Li Guanyi exhaled deeply, as if he could see the girl, expressionless, convincing his aunt to flee ahead of time. Of course—back then, he had still been in the imperial palace, where the Shiwaisan Sect could hardly penetrate.

"Oh, by the way, that girl told me to give you this."

A Xue family woman handed him a letter. Inside was a map drawn in ink.

Clearly, Yao Guang had sensed something was wrong but could not contact Li Guanyi, so she raced back at full speed, taking his greatest weakness—his aunt—and delivering her to safety.

So that Li Guanyi could act without hesitation, without fear.

This crude, scribbled map on the parchment must be where Yao Guang and his aunt were.

Li Guanyi thanked her, tucked the map away. Zhao Da Bing burst in, seized Li Guanyi, and dragged him to Tingfeng Pavilion. The driver seemed unconcerned, lifted the curtain, led Li Guanyi inside, and pointed to the war bow.

Divine Weapon · Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow.

"Guanyi, the old patriarch said, take this with you."

Li Guanyi pressed his lips together, reached out, and grasped the war bow. The divine weapon trembled slightly, emitting a clear, resonant hum, then settled steadily in his hands. He seemed to see the old man still before him, his spirit soaring.

"Take it—and conquer this world!"

From ancient times to now, the spirit of heroes never fades.

Li Guanyi gripped the divine weapon, ready to leave the place where he had lived for months—when suddenly, the sound of armor and weapons erupted outside. The Yicheng garrison stormed in, clad in armor, armed with weapons. At their head stood a Captain and a General.

Crossbow bolts were already nocked. A voice shouted loudly: "By order of General Lu Youxian!"

"The Xue family's chariot returned from the imperial palace. Li Guanyi is armored, entered the city at night. The General fears a palace coup, that the Xue family is fleeing. Therefore, he invites you all to his residence for a discussion!"

"If you are wrongly accused, the General will personally apologize!"

"Gentlemen, please come."

Li Guanyi and Zhao Da Bing froze. Lu Youxian was a famed general of the Chen Kingdom.

Both Xue Lao and General Yue Qianfeng had cursed him like a turtle.

Such a man might not possess high Wu Gong, but he was utterly calm, ruthlessly logical. When he saw the Xue family's beast-class chariot return before the grand ceremony, he suspected foul play—and would never let an unstable element remain unchecked.

If Li Guanyi went to Lu Youxian and was detained,

the moment news from Jiangzhou arrived, he would be dead.

But if he broke out, it would mean the Xue family and the city governor's mansion had openly torn apart. The Xue clan had many members—not all were skilled warriors. If they clashed, how many would die?

Li Guanyi and Zhao Da Bing's hesitation caused Lu Youxian's personal troops to draw their weapons, their aura brimming with malice. At that moment, Xue Shuangtao suddenly staggered, colliding into Li Guanyi, then seized his hand and pressed a dagger into it.

In the next instant, it appeared as if Li Guanyi had seized the girl's throat.

Li Guanyi's body stiffened. The Young Lady gripped the back of his hand and whispered: "Hold me hostage…"

"Only this can save you. Only this can save the Xue family…"

The girl's voice trembled with tears.

Li Guanyi clenched his lips, then seized the girl. The Young Lady was no longer merely the Xue family's heir—Chen Dingye had granted her the title of National Princess, a rank of Third Rank nobility. The city garrison knew this. Now, they hesitated—neither advancing nor retreating.

In that instant of hesitation,

Zhao Da Bing quietly untied the chariot's steed. The monstrous beast let out a long, piercing roar, its body wreathed in Lei Ting. Zhao Da Bing shouted: "Oh no! The beast is going berserk! Get out of the way! Get out!"

Li Guanyi seized the Young Lady, leapt onto the horse. The warhorse screamed, hooves crushing Lei Ting.

A soldier moved to fire his crossbow—but the deputy general turned pale and blocked him: "Are you mad?! That's the Xue family's Young Lady, the National Yunmeng Princess, a Third Rank noble! You want to die? I still want to live!!"

In that instant, the beast smashed through the blockade and bolted away. The deputy general glanced at Zhao Da Bing, who yelled: "Chase them! That's a beast! Oh no, our Young Lady's been kidnapped by this heartless bastard! If you can't protect her!!"

"Even Lu Youxian won't escape!"

The deputy general's face turned white with rage, but he gritted his teeth: "Chase them!"

He left a contingent behind, while another group followed the trail—but the beast's speed was too great. They could not catch up. Li Guanyi broke through the encirclement, widened the distance, yet did not leave the city, for he knew exiting would mean certain battle.

Such a tactic could not outwit the famed general Lu Youxian.

He dismounted. The city remained silent. He released his grip. The Young Lady gripped his hand, then suddenly bit down hard on his palm. Tears fell, splashing onto the boy's palm.

The girl gently, carefully kissed his palm.

Then she tore off the most valuable jade pendant from her waist and shoved it into his hand, pushing his chest with all her strength. Even his dragon-tiger physique was shoved backward. The Young Lady's tears fell, but she wiped them away frantically, shouting: "Go!"

"Go! Go as far away as possible!"

"Never look back."

Li Guanyi staggered two steps; the beast roared. He turned and walked two steps to stand beside the beast, looking back at the Young Lady, tears streaming down her face. A surge of impulse rose within him—he suddenly turned and strode toward her.

The Young Lady cried urgently: "Why have you come back? Go away!"

Li Guanyi reached out and pulled the Young Lady into his arms.

He held her tightly, as if trying to crush her into his body, embracing her with all his strength, gently inhaling the scent at the ends of her hair, as if imprinting this moment deep into his soul—then he turned, leapt onto his warhorse, seized the battle halberd hanging from its side, and looked at the Young Lady.

The battle halberd rose, pointing to the sky. The young hero's gaze blazed like stars. He shouted: "I will return!"

"Xue Shuangtao!"

"Remember this: I will come back. Behind me will be a thousand armies and ten thousand soldiers. I will become the hero of the world, raise weapons, lead countless troops, and return!"

"Wait for me!"

The youthful vow and farewell were like a dream—he said he would become the hero of the entire world and return with a vast army to find her. Yet her tears fell even more fiercely. Then he seized his weapon, mounted his warhorse, and rode into the chaos of war, never looking back.