Chapter 123 - 116: Sharing the Dragon Throne

Chapter 123: Chapter 116: Sharing the Dragon Throne

Yuu Miaolian was pulled by Chen Sha as he leaped from the roof, flashing dozens of yards away in an instant. She looked toward the direction Chen Sha was taking her, hearing Tan Xuanyi’s mad roars fading behind them.

She wondered, "Is it one man against a whole country?"

Her heart pounded wildly. Seemingly realizing Chen Sha’s true goal, she spoke over the roaring wind rushing past them, "Junior Martial Brother, you’re not planning to capture their Emperor, are you?"

Chen Sha merely chuckled. "Why not? He’s just an Emperor. It’s not like our lineage hasn’t done this before."

Yuan Country was a nation with a territory even vaster than Zhao Country. Yet Chen Canxuan had personally marched to their doors and captured their reigning Emperor right in front of everyone. Not to mention... he had recently killed Ancient Transformation Dragon. He was also an emperor, and a First-Grade Great Innate one at that.

"I actually want to see if this Emperor of Zhao Country also has First Grade power," Chen Sha said with a light laugh.

Yuu Miaolian’s heart surged as he held onto her wrist. Hearing him say, "It’s not like our lineage hasn’t done this before," she immediately thought of her late master. Looking at Chen Sha’s silhouette now, she couldn’t help but feel a dazed sense of overlap between him and their master. She wondered if this was considered a son inheriting his father’s legacy.

Chen Sha’s reasoning was actually quite simple. He had come down the mountain this time to establish his dominance in the Jianghu. Since Zhao Country dared to arrest and frame his martial brother, weren’t they just delivering themselves as the perfect target for him to make an example of?

In this world, although an Imperial Dynasty was still considered the most powerful entity under heaven, it was by no means a sacred, inviolable existence. The First-Grade Great Innate realm, a Martial Arts Realm that transcended mortality, had single-handedly caused the overnight collapse of many dynasties throughout history.

If a Martial Arts Grandmaster could still be overwhelmed and killed by sheer military force and numbers, then killing a First-Grade Great Innate would require paying a price ten, or even dozens of times higher than killing a Grandmaster. Just their endless cycle of innate power and their ability to connect with the qi of heaven and earth made the Life Force of a Great Innate stubbornly tenacious to an inhuman degree. That was not even mentioning someone like Chen Sha, a Great Innate among Great Innates who ranked among the very best in the world.

When Martial Arts Cultivation reached the absolute pinnacle of this world, imperial power, status, and everything else were merely things that could be smashed with a wave of a hand.

After realizing that Chen Sha’s destination was the Imperial Palace, Tan Xuanyi radiated a chilling aura, shouting hoarsely, "Quickly! Notify the Imperial City to defend with everything they have! Also, hurry and invite Celestial Master Zhao of Jade Capital Temple to rush to the Imperial Palace and protect the Emperor!"

Celestial Master Zhao was one of the four Celestial Masters of Jade Emperor Mountain.

Historically, Jade Emperor Mountain belonged to the Zhang family, and past Sect Leaders had always come from the Celestial Master Zhang lineage. However, over the years, not every Cultivator on Jade Emperor Mountain was surnamed Zhang. Disciples with other surnames who possessed profound Daoist Merit could still be revered as Celestial Masters. One of the crucial conditions for a Daoist to be crowned a "Celestial Master" was that their Daoist Merit had to complete the Twelve-Story Tower—meaning they had to reach the First-grade Great Innate Level.

In this generation, Jade Emperor Mountain had a total of four Celestial Masters. Sect Leader Celestial Master Zhang Shouren was a Daoist of the same generation as Chen Canxuan. He had ranked tenth on the previous generation’s world expert list, and with Chen Canxuan’s death, he had advanced to ninth. However, this old Daoist, who also held the title of Zhao Country’s "National Preceptor," had always cultivated in seclusion on Jade Emperor Mountain. The title of National Preceptor was merely in name.

But because Jade Emperor Mountain was the National Religion of Zhao Country, even though he didn’t descend the mountain himself, he assigned a Celestial Master with a different surname to oversee "Jade Capital Temple," a Daoist Temple in the Zhao Capital, on his behalf in the Zhao Country Capital City.

This Celestial Master of a different surname was named Zhao Danyang.

When Chen Sha had passed through Jiangzhou earlier and borrowed the carriage drawn by four Smoke Cloud Mirror horses from Lin Qingqing’s uncle, Liu Yichuan’s son, Liu Xiansheng, happened to be apprenticed to one of this Celestial Master Zhao’s disciples. Thus, he was a grand-disciple of Zhao Danyang.

Ever since Liu Xiansheng found out that the cousin he had fancied since childhood was traveling with a "master" barely older than himself—and sharing a carriage, no less—he had been consumed by jealousy and furiously rode his horse in pursuit toward the Capital City. However, the horsepower of the four Smoke Cloud Mirror horses was incredibly robust. Although Liu Xiansheng was riding one of his family’s fine steeds, he had set out half a day late. By the time he reached the Capital City, he had completely lost track of them.

He wondered, "What is happening in the Capital City? It looks as if the Emperor has been assassinated."

Leading his horse into the city, Liu Xiansheng frowned as he watched the gates of the Capital City rapidly close shut not long after his arrival. Looking down the main street, he heard the clattering of armor. Men from the various Government Offices in the Capital City were rushing about, sending the terrified and anxious crowds scattering to get out of their way.

He was completely bewildered. Ever since Liu Xiansheng had apprenticed under Daoist Qian Qian at the Jade Capital Temple in the Capital City, he frequently visited his master during holidays and festivals, but he had never seen the city under such strict martial law.

Just as he was leading his horse, planning to pay his respects to his master at Jade Capital Temple and ask for help in finding the three master and disciples from Dao Yi Mountain, he arrived at Black Tortoise Avenue and spotted the carriage drawn by the four Smoke Cloud Mirror horses parked in the courtyard of an inn in the distance. Pleasant surprise flashed across his face. Approaching the inn, he indeed found Lin Qingqing and an unfamiliar young man sitting in the lobby, having a meal.

"Cousin Qingqing, I’ve finally found you!" Ignoring his horse, Liu Xiansheng dropped the reins and strode into the inn, stopping right in front of Lin Qingqing. "I chased you for a full seven days."

After Chen Sha told them to wait where they were, Lin Qingqing and Qii Zhengyi had simply found a nearby inn, planning to eat while waiting for his return. She hadn’t expected to see her cousin walk in right in the middle of their meal.

"Cousin Xiansheng..." Lin Qingqing was extremely surprised and quickly asked, "Why did you follow us to the Capital City?"

Liu Xiansheng, however, scanned the surroundings first before asking the question he cared about most. "Didn’t my father say you were traveling with a master barely older than you? Where is he?"

Slightly puzzled, Lin Qingqing replied, "He went to handle some business. Why are you looking for my master?"

Liu Xiansheng answered straightforwardly, "I heard this master you apprenticed to is about my age. What could he possibly teach you? Since I’ve followed you all the way to the Capital City, I might as well take you to meet my master and Elder Celestial Master Zhao. Jade Emperor Mountain currently has four Celestial Masters standing guard. How could it not be better than the Dao Yi Mountain Gate you joined?"

Lin Qingqing furrowed her brow tightly. "The four Celestial Masters you mentioned probably couldn’t even take a single punch from my master combined. For the sake of you being my cousin, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. But if you dare say something like that again, don’t blame me for attacking you!"

Liu Xiansheng looked at Lin Qingqing in disbelief, completely unable to understand why she was so angry. "Cousin, the four elder Celestial Masters are four First-Grade Great Innates! How can you talk about them as if they’re four flies you could swat to death with a wave of your hand!"

Lin Qingqing couldn’t be bothered with this cousin anymore and turned her head away, ignoring him. It was the honest and simple-minded Qii Zhengyi who spoke to Liu Xiansheng, "Because our master is also a First-Grade Great Innate."

Liu Xiansheng’s expression froze.

Right at this moment, several people walked into the inn, conversing in shocked tones.

"Rumor has it that the Dao Yi Sect Leader headed toward the Imperial Palace. Do you think he’s going to..."

"If he really kidnaps the Holy Emperor, the whole world might fall into chaos."

Another person spoke with lingering fear, "I think it’s highly possible. The First-Grade God of Capture couldn’t even last three moves against him, and when a thousand cavalrymen of the Imperial City Department fired a volley of arrows at him, they didn’t even scratch his skin! With that kind of Power... I reckon even if Elder Celestial Master Zhao of Jade Capital Temple went after him, it would be a meaningless death."

At Lin Qingqing’s table, Liu Xiansheng’s expression grew even more rigid. He stiffly turned his head to look at the two Jianghu Wanderers who had just walked in while conversing, then turned back to look at Lin Qingqing and Qii Zhengyi. He saw that the two of them were also so surprised they couldn’t close their mouths.

Lin Qingqing looked at Qii Zhengyi and said, "Master really intends to attack the Emperor of Zhao Country. I thought I was just blindly guessing earlier..."

At this, Liu Xiansheng swallowed hard, his throat dry. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. The God Catcher of Six Gates didn’t last three moves... A First-Grade Great Innate didn’t last three moves?!

Liu Xiansheng said with a stiff face, "If I didn’t mishear... did those two just say that the reason the Capital City is under martial law is because of your master? And that he’s preparing to slaughter his way into the Imperial Palace right now?"

Lin Qingqing and Qii Zhengyi turned their heads in unison. Looking at Liu Xiansheng’s extremely colorful expression, they nodded and said, "It seems so."

It was exactly noon in the Zhao Country Imperial Palace, within the Imperial City known as Ziwei City.

Suddenly, the thundering footsteps of the Imperial Army echoed throughout the Imperial Palace, directly alarming Emperor Zhao Yi inside Qingtian Hall. His expression changed involuntarily. "Quickly go investigate. Why is the Imperial Army making such a commotion?"

He subconsciously wondered if someone was launching a palace coup or a political rebellion. But as he ran through a list of possible candidates in his mind, none of them seemed likely.

The eunuchs quickly rushed out and returned in an instant, kneeling in the grand hall as they reported in alarm, "Your Majesty, disaster has struck! The Imperial City Department reported that Dao Yi Sect Leader Chen Sha has arrived in the Capital City. He successively defeated God Catcher Wan Qingtao as well as the Nine Great Divine Hunters under his command. Now, he is heading straight for the Imperial City! The Imperial Army is rapidly gathering their forces and rushing to Qingtian Hall to protect you!"

Zhao Yi’s expression darkened. "Even if his Martial Arts are unmatched in the world, he is still but one man. Setting aside whether he can even enter the Imperial City, even if he does, what are the chances he can get anywhere near me? For the Imperial Army to react like this... they’ve been frightened out of their wits! What an absolute disgrace!"

As he spoke, he stepped down from the dragon throne with his hands clasped behind his back and strode toward the outside of the hall. "Pass down my decree. The Imperial Army is to strictly defend the outer city and nothing more."

Emperor Zhao had already stepped out of the hall as he spoke, only to see that over a thousand soldiers had actually gathered on the plaza outside. He watched the eunuch beside him step forward to announce his decree.

"His Majesty has issued a decree! The Imperial Army is to..."

But the very moment the eunuch’s high-pitched, shrill voice rang out...

WHOOSH!

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a black blur flashing across the distant sky. It vanished in a flash, only to reappear dozens of yards closer. Moving at a speed of hundreds of yards per breath, it cut straight through the Imperial Army on White Jade Plaza...

Some soldiers merely felt a slight weight on the tops of their heads, as if someone had stepped on them.

By the time they looked up, two figures had already cleared the distance of a thousand yards from the gates of Qingtian Hall to this very spot, appearing a mere three feet in front of Emperor Zhao Yi.

Before Zhao Yi could even react, a handsome young Daoist exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura had materialized before him. His expression changed drastically. "You are the Dao Yi Sect Leader?"

Chen Sha simply patted his shoulder and replied, "I am. Don’t just stand outside the hall. Let’s go sit inside." With that, he grabbed Zhao Yi’s shoulder and hoisted him halfway into the air.

"Your Majesty!!" Only then did the eunuchs realize what was happening, instantly letting out hysterical screams. "The Emperor is being assassinated! Protect His Majesty! Quickly protect—"

However, before the second half of the sentence could leave his mouth, Yuu Miaolian frowned in annoyance and delivered a palm strike, sending the eunuch flying backward. She then followed Chen Sha into the most prestigious place in Zhao Country.

Chen Sha carried Zhao Yi by the collar as if he were carrying a cloth sack. Striding directly into the grand hall, he casually tossed the Emperor onto the dragon throne.

"I’ll say this once: bring my martial brother who is locked up in the Celestial Prison to me. If he is unharmed, you will remain unharmed."

Having said that, Chen Sha sat down right next to the Emperor, sharing the dragon throne with him. It was as if he had also sat the entire empire of Zhao Country beneath him.

The very next moment.

CLATTER!

The Imperial Army rushed in like a tidal wave, but they froze halfway into the hall. Staring up in utter disbelief, they saw a young Daoist and their Emperor... sharing the dragon throne as equals.