Chapter 476: The Hegemon and the Qin Wang

In Meng Yunbo's mansion, the atmosphere was suffocating.

The imperial physicians came and went, bringing various pills and elixirs, their faces taut with tension.

The maids and servants inside the mansion held their breath, faces pale, walking swiftly without making a single sound.

Thus, the entire Meng Yunbo mansion carried an indescribable oppression.

As if it would suffocate a person to death.

Meng Yunbo remained unconscious; even a Grandmaster's martial arts had been nailed to the Nine Dragon Wall by the Qin Wang's arrow, hanging there for the duration of a pot of wine before being pulled down, then immediately dragged back for treatment, and now his condition was dire.

This family was extremely strict; just now, the old Lady came to visit her son and wept bitterly.

As she left, she swore she would save her son, Lord Mengyun Yunbo—if she failed, she would send all these maids and servants down to join him in death!

Go serve him in the afterlife!

No wonder the maids and servants turned deathly pale, genuinely praying inside their hearts that Meng Yunbo would awaken.

As the head of the Central Plains military officials, Meng Yunbo commanded tens of thousands of troops, possessed considerable Wu Gong talent, and with the aid of miraculous pills and frequent fortuitous encounters, he finally stepped across the threshold at age fifty-nine, barely entering the Grandmaster realm before its time limit expired—but a Grandmaster was still a Grandmaster, even the weakest one.

His Manifestation surrounded him, his force striking in all eight directions.

Since then, Meng Yunbo's demeanor grew ever more haughty.

Relying on his military power and Grandmaster realm, the high officials dared not provoke him—none wished to fight him to the death, for even if both sides were equally ruined, they'd only leave their flesh to be devoured by those watching on the sidelines; why bother? Thus, Meng Yunbo's arrogance swelled, and over the years, he clashed frequently with officials of the rival civil faction, sparking numerous conflicts.

But among those visiting Meng Yunbo today, many were civil officials.

And they were genuinely sincere.

Sighing heavily.

No other reason: in the past, the conflicts between civil and military officials were merely internal affairs—no matter how much they fought, the meat always rotted in the same pot. But now the Qin Wang had suddenly appeared, like a mighty dragon crossing the river, nearly nailing Meng Yunbo to death with a single arrow—this came from outside, a violation of the rules, yet none among them dared defy this man's rules; they could only endure in silence, unable to suppress their inner frustration and bitterness.

The officials who came today were all the younger, vigorous ones.

The old ones all feigned illness to avoid coming out.

Some claimed they'd twisted their ankles, others said they were sick.

Some said stepping in with the left foot first was unlucky, unsuitable for receiving guests.

Every one of them was a seasoned veteran, fleeing faster than anyone else, cowering more thoroughly than anyone else.

Only these young officials came, paid their respects to Meng Yunbo, then gathered elsewhere to rest and discuss the Qin Wang—each felt gloomy, as if their generations of noble families, dukes and marquises, civil and military officials, were all destined to grovel under the Qin Wang's shadow.

Yet no one, not a single one, dared to oppose the Qin Wang.

He was the third-ranked name on the Divine General List, the supreme hero of this age.

We fight the Qin Wang?!

Are you serious?

Have you lost your mind?

Better drop it.

But when so many gathered together, someone would inevitably propose a strategy.

After just a few cups of wine, one man raised his voice with a clever suggestion:

"We cannot confront the Qin Wang—but we also have no need to fight him to the death!"

Everyone turned their puzzled gazes toward the young civil official.

He was from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, skilled in grand trends and public opinion; holding his wine cup, he said: "Right now, His Majesty the Red Emperor favors the Qin Wang—their relationship is extremely close. That's why the Qin Wang, with power sufficient to claim imperial title, still calls himself merely a King—it signifies his Emotionally Weighted nature."

"To deal with an Emotionally Weighted man, one must act through the words 'emotion' and 'loyalty.'"

"We need not confront the Qin Wang."

"We only need to drive a wedge between the Qin Wang and His Majesty the Red Emperor!"

"Then, when the Qin Wang is forced to leave, won't that great mountain be lifted from atop our heads?!"

Everyone pondered, then all exclaimed: "Brilliant strategy!"

Immediately they asked:

"But how do we do it?!"

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau official, usually on the fringes of the civil bureaucracy, had never before faced so many high officials staring at him; under these eager gazes, his face flushed crimson, and the part of his mind focused on self-preservation seemed thrown away—he thought long, then said:

"Let us appeal to the traditions of the Red Emperor's lineage."

"Who is the greatest enemy of our Red Emperor's dynasty?!"

Everyone fell silent, then exchanged glances: "The Western Regions, the Steppes, and the Hegemon."

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau official shook his head and frowned at the first two names, indicating they were wrong, insufficient—but when he heard the last name, his eyes lit up and he cried out:

"Yes! Precisely—the Hegemon!"

"Is not the Hegemon the greatest, oldest adversary of our Red Emperor's dynasty?"

He grew excited: "The Hegemon is the Bai Hu Da Zong. The Qin Wang is also the Bai Hu Da Zong."

"The Hegemon wields the Mighty Tiger Roaring Heaven Spear. The Qin Wang wields the Mighty Tiger Roaring Heaven Spear."

"The Hegemon and the Qin Wang have never appeared simultaneously."

"There is no evidence proving the Qin Wang and the Hegemon are connected."

"But neither is there proof they are not connected."

"Let us claim the Qin Wang is the reincarnation of the Hegemon from eight hundred years ago—or that he is the inheritor of the Hegemon's ancient will. Either way, we tie the Qin Wang to the Hegemon! We must make His Majesty the Red Emperor believe the Qin Wang is an enemy—a fundamental enemy—not the friend he is now."

"Then the matter is settled!"

Someone hesitated: "Will His Majesty believe such a claim?"

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau official said: "Whether he believes it or not is irrelevant. What matters is creating a rift between His Majesty and the Qin Wang."

"Human relationships are not as solid as they seem."

"Once a crack is sown, it will widen gradually until the two are irrevocably parted."

These young officials, carried away in their discussion, forgot all decorum and surged out together, wearing their court robes, heading for the palace. They inquired of the Feathered Forest Army, intending to pay homage to the Red Emperor Your Majesty—never daring to challenge the Emperor's dignity, they merely waited humbly outside the palace gates, awaiting the Red Emperor's summons, all the while.

Suddenly, distant sounds reached them.

Making their hearts tremble with dread.

Boom—boom—boom—as if two mighty torrents clashed, or thousands upon thousands of war drums thundered in unison.

The crowd stared in shock, utterly bewildered, turning their heads this way and that—but saw nothing. Only the strange, overwhelming aura grew fiercer by the second; even the vast palace floor seemed to shudder beneath them. Without reason, a dull, nameless fear rose in their chests.

Like animals sensing an impending celestial or terrestrial calamity.

What is happening!?

How could the Red Emperor's palace be like this!?

The ministers were all stunned—but the Astronomical Bureau official, who for years had spent his life observing celestial patterns and terrestrial shifts, his mind filled entirely with such matters, knew that throughout dynasties past, such heavenly and earthly anomalies were always interpreted as omens tied to human affairs.

Add to that the wine he had drunk, and whether his mind had sharpened or grown cloudy, he suddenly shouted out loud:

"It is an anomaly of Heaven and Earth! An anomaly of Heaven and Earth!"

"Beneath the Red Emperor's palace, the Earth Dragon turns over, stirring peace into chaos! This is a warning from our ancestors!"

"It is because that Qin Wang is the reincarnation of the Overlord from eight hundred years ago—he is preparing once more to stand against our Red Emperor's realm!"

"Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, to befriend the Qin Wang is to defy ancestral law! This is why the wrath of past kings has been stirred—this is why the Red Emperor's palace in the Central Plains trembles without cease, Your Majesty!"

He grew agitated, leading the officials, determined to petition the Emperor, hoping to plant even the faintest seed of suspicion against the Qin Wang in the Emperor's heart.

Even a single thread would do.

Court censors petitioning the throne—the Qin Wang would hardly kill them for it.

Riding the wine's momentum, the young officials sprinted en masse toward the source of the commotion.

They faintly heard the Emperor's voice.

They shouted again and again—"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"The Qin Wang is connected to the Overlord!!!!"

And moments earlier,

Within the Mystical Realm,

Li Guanyi seized Ji Zichang and bolted outward, snatching up valuable items along the way.

Ji Zichang stared, dumbfounded: "You—you—you—why are you taking these things now!?"

Li Guanyi's expression didn't change: "If I don't take these valuables, am I supposed to wait for them to explode!?"

"Aren't I doing this for my daughter?"

"If I take more here, won't I need to take less over there?"

Ji Zichang was speechless.

A thousand thoughts churned in his belly, finally collapsing into a single curse: "Damn it, are you born poor!?"

Li Guanyi replied with perfect conviction: "I've bet my entire thirty-year fortune!"

Ji Zichang eyed him skeptically: "There are people like that? I don't believe it."

Li Guanyi spoke with deep anguish: "You don't have to believe me—it's true."

Ji Zichang said: "True? Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

"You just don't have fortune yourself—don't blame it on others."

The Emperor said: "If you're so capable, let that person try taking away thirty years of fortune from me, the Red Emperor, the Great Emperor!"

Li Guanyi looked at Ji Zichang strangely: "I've never met someone who makes such a demand."

The two of them chattered as they moved at high speed—yet their pace never slowed.

Li Guanyi's speed was extraordinary.

In his youth, he had found the military's martial stances too crude and direct, so he tried learning the lightness techniques of martial artists, thinking their qinggong was ethereal, free-spirited, and swift.

Later, he understood.

Back then, he had been too young, deceived by flashy tricks.

Greater strength means greater speed!

Greater strength means fiercer stances!

Greater strength! Nothing is an obstacle! No dodging or evading is needed!

He had simply smashed his way through.

He needed stances? Strength. Speed? Strength. Evasion? Strength.

Even this Mystical Realm, crafted by one of the Shiwaisan Sect, could not withstand the Overlord's full power. Remember: the Overlord, who commanded four hundred thousand elite heavy-armored troops, existed in history for only a brief one or two years. Afterward, he was outmaneuvered, stripped away layer by layer. Yet during the time he led four hundred thousand troops, he never deployed his full force.

He needed only tens of thousands to defeat armies ten times his size.

It was perhaps the greatest marvel in all of thousands of years of warfare.

Many forgot: the Overlord finally slain by the Red Emperor and the realm's warlords was reduced to only one hundred thousand troops.

No enemy ever let him unleash the full command of his four hundred thousand.

Thus what Li Guanyi witnessed was, essentially, the Overlord's peak and limit—something existing only in theory.

And Li Guanyi himself was no calm, obedient soul.

He directly went all-out against the Overlord.

Their brutal clash within the Mystical Realm was, to the Shiwaisan Sect's Star Observation lineage, like the most destructive Bai Hu Da Zong ever known had stormed into their home and gone berserk.

If there was a worse piece of news than that, it was this:

Two Bai Hu Da Zong had come to wreck and brawl here.

Not a single bit better.

The entire Mystical Realm, under extreme overload and violent clashing of military might, tore apart. Li Guanyi's speed was already astonishing—but the rate of the Mystical Realm's destruction was faster. In the instant of its collapse, an indescribable, terrifying force erupted outward.

Li Guanyi reached out and grabbed the back of Ji Zichang's robe.

He spun around, extending his arm with the motion.

The mighty Emperor Ji Zichang was flung away.

Li Guanyi's feet stepped on the Mystical Realm's steps, and under the force of this immensely powerful surge, he shot upward at high speed, left hand gripping the Chixiao Sword, right hand holding the Tiger Roar Heaven Spear; sword thrust, spear slash—his moves were brutal and unceasing, each strike tearing and shattering the lingering waves of energy surging behind him.

The five top-tier Mystic Weapons belonging to the Overlords' generals also moved rapidly within this violent, outward-spewing surge of energy.

It was as if five master-level Wu Gong experts had truly launched a coordinated assault on Li Guanyi, piercing through from all sides.

"Come on!"

"Let's see if I can subdue you? Fine weapons—truly not far from divine status."

"Then, all at once!"

Li Guanyi wielded his divine weapons, sweeping left and right, deflecting and shattering each weapon; the Tiger Roar Heaven Spear in his hand whirled like a dragon, and his own aura was stained with the black-red flame of iron and blood—the Overlord's essence—until the martial spirit of slaughter and frost surged skyward; Li Guanyi felt the energy erupting from the Mystical Realm grow even more furious.

The Bai Hu and Chi Long phantoms appeared beside Li Guanyi.

Li Guanyi let out a long roar, and the Wooden Sword Dragon Chart materialized in his hand.

Right hand gripping the sword, left hand brushed along the blade's spine—the blade glowed with a deep, quiet radiance; as sharp, chilling sword hums echoed, the Wooden Sword Dragon Chart spat forth a blade of light; Li Guanyi stared at the surging waves before him, as if they would engulf the entire Chi Emperor's palace, and slashed—

【Slice Bai Di】!

A single blade, sharp and chilling, instantly severed the powerful energy escaping as the Mystical Realm shattered.

That boundless, expansionist force—threatening to overturn the entire palace complex—was cut off, halted from spreading further; yet within this brief span, it reached its peak destructiveness; Li Guanyi fully subdued the five Mystic Weapons, and faintly, he heard the Overlord's voice echo in his ears, settling calmly.

"Hold your weapon."

"Protect well… your Yaoguang…"

Li Guanyi thought of the silver-haired girl, but now, the Mystical Realm was about to be utterly destroyed.

Boom!!!!

Li Guanyi grabbed Ji Zichang with one hand and stomped downward with his right foot.

The void rippled.

The Xuan Gui phantom appeared.

Solemn, majestic—it was a battle stance!

Limbs spread, light streamed from its carapace; it roared loudly.

Then it was stomped squarely on.

The Xuan Gui's majestic roar changed pitch: "Roar—Gaaah?!!!"

The Master Siming's secret technique: the Phantasm-level movement art "Ultimate Skill"!

Li Guanyi stomped on the Xuan Gui's carapace, using its force to launch himself upward.

His body shot skyward at extreme speed; the Xuan Gui phantom instantly dispersed, its pea-sized eyes filled with bewilderment.

Then it was absorbed into Li Guanyi's body.

Li Guanyi and Ji Zichang, carried by the outward-spewing momentum, hurtled violently toward the ground, closing the distance instantly.

Break open!!!

Just then, the court ministers outside arrived before the cold palace, their faces filled with loyalty to the state and sovereign, shouting: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! We, your ministers, observed the heavens last night and saw the Bai Hu constellations in the northwest blazing brightly—ominous, presaging slaughter and war, a dire omen, a dire omen!"

"It must be that Qin Wang… has deep, inextricable ties to the Overlord from eight hundred years ago…"

Before their words could finish, an even greater roar erupted, drowning out their pleas entirely.

Boom boom boom!

The ground cracked open in jagged fissures; before them, the largest and oldest palace in the entire Chi Emperor's Central State complex—the palace that had stood as the heart of power since the early days of the Chi Emperor eight hundred years ago, through the peak of his dynasty five hundred years ago—

Collapsed!

The officials of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau stood frozen, their words stuck in their throats, unable to utter a single syllable.

Vast swathes of palace buildings collapsed, crashing heavily onto the ground, shattering on impact; then the once-flat earth sank downward, as if plunging into an endless abyss.

The scene was awe-inspiring, creating the illusion that the legends of emperors and generals, scholars and beauties, the very nexus of power and tangled love and hatred, had been utterly shattered.

All wealth and splendor.

All imperial authority and rulership.

Ten thousand palaces turned to dust.

Yet in this moment of grand destruction, weapons screamed aloud.

Zzzzzz!!!

Two figures shot into the sky, then plummeted downward.

One of them clearly lacked martial skill.

He was gently lowered by a soft force, his luxurious robes now dusty and ragged, looking like a beggar or rogue from some back alley—but upon closer look, it was unmistakably the current Lord of Central State, the Chi Emperor, the Great Emperor himself.

He landed hard, plopping onto his rear, grimacing in pain.

The other surged violently upward.

In his hand, he swung a dark-gold weapon, tearing through the void with sharp, chilling whistles, clashing against other weapons with crisp, martial clangs; then, as if concluding, he plummeted sharply downward.

The civil officials led by the Astronomical Bureau did not recognize the figure above as Qin Wang.

They all rushed to Ji Zichang's side, crying: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"We, your ministers, observed the heavens last night—Qin Wang's fate aligns with the celestial stars, presiding over slaughter and chaos; he is unmistakably akin to the Overlord of eight hundred years ago, both masters of chaos and war."

"We suspect Qin Wang is connected to that Overlord."

A sharp, piercing sound cut through their words again.

They noticed the strange expression on Ji Zichang's face.

The battle in the sky ended.

The figure in the air suddenly pivoted, plunging downward, tearing out a gust of violent wind. A massive dark-gold war-halberd slammed into the ground first, its force shattering and ripping open trench after trench. The figure then stood before the utterly destroyed, collapsed great hall of the old Red Emperor's palace. He wore a close-fitting combat outfit, with a dark outer cloak draped over it. Standing there, his dark sleeves billowed like dragons.

The expressions of everyone present froze.

Qin Wang??!!

Amid the ringing, murderous howl of weapons.

Fully five streaks of flowing light fell from the sky, stabbing into the earth before Li Guanyi, all emitting the same sound.

Each one radiated a murderous might approaching that of a divine weapon.

Radiating flowing light.

The Red Emperor's palace had collapsed, and Qin Wang stepped into the mortal world in such a manner.

Li Guanyi had just led a great army and contended head-on against the most flourishing overlord who existed only in theory, battling countless times. A domineering aura, dense to the extreme, clung to Li Guanyi. Standing there, he seemed as if he were the true sovereign of this realm, his expression indifferent and imperious.

The young generation of officials and noble scions of great houses turned deathly pale.

Everyone within the entire Red Emperor's palace saw, above the vault of heaven, the starlight of the full sky flowing and shifting. The White Tiger constellation, representing the lord of chaotic slaughter, blazed brilliantly. Then over ten thousand weapons plummeted from the sky, and amid their whistling, they stabbed into the surrounding ground in unison, grim as a forest, their baleful aura piercing the heavens. A low tiger's roar sounded, and the Dharma Aspect of Bai Hu Da Zong stood tall and imposing.

Yuwen Lie had lost his qualification, the Overlord had fallen into slumber and dispersed, and Xue Shen had only one chance to make a move.

In this era, there were a full four Bai Hu Da Zong.

At present, only one remained in their prime.

The starlight of the White Tiger's Seven Mansions, far more majestic than in days past, descended upon this body.

The bright stars above, the massive White Tiger Dharma Aspect, and Qin Wang with his billowing sleeves all lowered their gazes together.

"You say that I have a connection with the Overlord."

Everyone's minds went blank, already battered into incapacity to think by this extreme, murderous, bone-chilling aura.

They stammered: "N-no, this, this is just…"

They exerted all their strength to try to erase the connection between Qin Wang and the Overlord, but at this moment, that Qin Wang flicked his sleeves and said slowly:

"Yes, there is a connection."

"And then?"

The two sides faced off; one side admitted it.

Yet heaven and earth were utterly silent, no one speaking.

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