The heavens seemed to favor them, as the cold moon dimmed and the night deepened. Meng Qi and the other two lay crouched on the wall, silently waiting for any change from the direction of the Qinzheng Hall.
Time passed slowly. Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from the Qinzheng Hall, as if its roof had collapsed and its beams and pillars had shattered. Then came a heavy, muffled boom, like the collision of two powerful palm forces driven by immense internal energy.
Meng Qi faintly saw the window paper of the Qinzheng Hall flying in pieces, and the candlelight flickering violently.
Such a commotion naturally alerted the guards stationed at the Taiji Hall. They gripped their swords and knives, visibly tense and alert. Many were about to rush toward the Qinzheng Hall to assist, causing a brief moment of chaos.
“Halt!” Just as Meng Qi and the others prepared to take advantage of the situation and infiltrate the Taiji Hall, the head guard bellowed, stopping the guards from acting on impulse.
He declared loudly, “Our duty is to protect the emperor. Even if mountains were to crumble before us, we must not abandon our posts! Brothers, do not fall for the enemy’s feint strategy. If the Right Chancellor needs help, he will surely send word through sound transmission!”
As the leader, he was chosen by the emperor and the Right Chancellor precisely for his calmness and ability to maintain composure in crisis.
The guards quickly returned to their original positions, eyes fixed outward, vigilant and not missing even the slightest movement.
Meng Qi’s heart sank. Under such circumstances, even with the power of the Illusory Transformation Art, it would be impossible to sneak into the Taiji Hall unnoticed. After all, these guards were all top-tier experts, with even the weakest among them possessing the equivalent skill of having opened the eye acupoint. If fully focused, unless one could directly interfere with their senses, the subtle mental concealment that relied on “being ignored” would not be effective.
Indeed, one couldn’t treat the enemy as fools… Meng Qi inhaled deeply and secretly transmitted his thoughts to Luo Shengyi—time for Plan B.
When they had discussed their plans earlier, they had not been careless. They had considered various possible scenarios and prepared contingency plans. This situation was, in fact, anticipated.
Luo Shengyi nodded slightly. Using the wall’s obstacles for cover, he slowly distanced himself from Meng Qi. Meanwhile, Meng Qi and Ruan Yushu moved along the wall to the rear of the Taiji Hall.
Taking advantage of a passing dark cloud, Luo Shengyi slid down from the wall, hiding beneath the balustrade. Then he flicked a small stone he had been holding, hitting a water vat used to extinguish fires with a sharp “pa!”
“Who’s there!” The guards turned their gazes in that direction.
Luo Shengyi leapt forward, seizing the moment of confusion to dash straight into the hall, moving as swiftly as a galloping horse, nearly blending into the shadows cast by the torchlight.
“Intruder!” The head guard, calm and composed, had not been entirely distracted by the stone. He immediately spotted Luo Shengyi and shouted loudly.
Amid the clashing of weapons, the guards sprang into action, surrounding him.
Luo Shengyi inhaled deeply, pushed off a pillar with his foot, and turned back toward the head guard. He threw a punch—seemingly simple and unadorned, yet with a force and wind that kept changing unpredictably, making it difficult to grasp or anticipate.
This punch was powerful and overwhelming, filling the head guard’s vision with a sense of impending doom, as if a mountain were collapsing upon him. His legs involuntarily trembled.
Luo’s boxing skills had already reached a minor level of mastery, complete with its own martial intent.
“Whoosh!” A guard captain who tried to draw his saber in front of the leader was struck by the fierce punch wind, spitting blood and flying backward.
Luo Shengyi’s punch did not stop. To him, the head guard seemed to vanish, leaving only this single fist in the entire world.
“Die!” The head guard lowered his stance, twisted his waist, swung his arm, and poured all his strength and true energy into his right fist, launching a counterattack.
Bang!
The two fists collided with a heavy impact, sending shockwaves in all directions. Blood dripped from the corner of the head guard’s mouth, his knuckles were torn and bloody, and he staggered back three steps.
But this very punch slowed Luo Shengyi’s momentum. The guards rushed in, and those on the roof and at a distance began drawing their bows and loading crossbows.
Luo Shengyi had no intention of trapping himself. Using the recoil from the punch, he flew backward, pushed off a beam with his foot, and shot toward the wall. With his left hand, he flipped over the wall and disappeared.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Just as he vanished beyond the wall, a volley of arrows flew toward the spot he had just vacated.
This time, many guards gave chase, fulfilling their duty to capture the intruder. The head guard, his internal energy in turmoil, could do little to stop them.
At the moment the head guard shouted “Intruder!”, Meng Qi sprang into action. He threw a grappling hook, caught it on the eaves, pulled hard, and used the chaos to fly across.
Ruan Yushu left the wall and hid in a nearby garden, waiting to cover Meng Qi. If the guards began searching and Meng Qi hadn’t emerged, she would create another distraction.
Each of the three had their role, exactly as planned.
Meng Qi “flew” to the back entrance of the palace, pressed his left hand against the hidden lock, shattered it, and slipped inside.
Suddenly, two figures appeared before him. Positioned near the door inside the hall, they remained unmoved by the outside chaos, gripping their swords alertly. They had not expected anyone to simply walk in.
Layer upon layer of defense indeed! Meng Qi remained calm, pushed off with his toes, and suddenly accelerated, moving like a ghost.
At this point, he was already very close to the room where the old emperor lay unconscious. His plan was to break through by force—using speed to overwhelm slowness!
After all, he wasn’t here to assassinate the emperor. He only needed to confirm the emperor’s condition. Whether by throwing a stone or creating a commotion, he had ways to do so and escape before being surrounded.
He flashed past the two guards, sword thrusting in an odd, crooked manner that defied conventional sword principles.
This strike had an unpredictable tip, but relied on speed, arriving before the two guards could even raise their swords to intercept, aiming for their throats.
Instinctively, they dodged and swung their swords, their mouths opening to cry, “Intruder!”
But Meng Qi’s sword suddenly changed from a thrust to a slash. In a flash, both guards clutched their throats and collapsed, gasping, blood gushing from between their fingers.
In less than two moves, they were dead, unable even to shout “Intruder!”
The Solitary Sword truly is a weapon for crushing weaklings… Meng Qi couldn’t help but think. As long as he didn’t encounter experts at or above the quasi-peak level of this world, the Solitary Sword Technique could quickly end battles, without needing the Ananda Precept-Breaking Blade Art.
After the two guards fell, Meng Qi used the “Catching Wind and Grasping Shadows” technique, sweeping through the hall like a storm, flashing into the corridor. Ahead, four experts guarded the entrance to the “Zuji Pavilion,” where the old emperor lay unconscious.
Meng Qi’s mind stirred. Suddenly, he fully activated the Golden Bell Cover, lowered his shoulders, and slammed hard into the wall.
After practicing the Qi Accumulation Chapter of the Bayi Xuan Gong for some time, his strength had greatly increased. With the sixth level of the Golden Bell Cover already mastered, his body radiated a metallic sheen. With a heavy “bang,” bricks and stones flew, and a large, human-shaped hole appeared in the wall.
“Hmph! You guard the door, I’ll go through the wall!”
Save time!
But this style felt a bit off… Like a human tank… Meng Qi flashed into the “Zuji Pavilion,” flicked his toe, and sent a small stone flying toward the emperor’s bed, intending to strike and provoke a reaction to confirm his condition. Then he could escape before the four guards at the door reacted.
The stone flew, about to hit the sleeping emperor hidden in the shadows, when suddenly a pale, jade-like hand, shimmering with a demonic glow, extended from the shadows, flicking the stone away.
A middle-aged scholar in brocade robes smiled as he stepped from behind the screen beside the bed. Handsome and charismatic, with streaks of white in his temples, he exuded an indescribable aura of sinister charm.
“The Evil Monarch…” Meng Qi drew both his sword and saber, narrowing his eyes. He never expected to see him here! He had anticipated traps and enemies, but never him!
The Evil Monarch Guan Ying looked at his right hand, smiling as if he had everything under control. Yet Meng Qi felt an indescribable fear. His fighting spirit surged. He assumed the stances of the Ice Abyss of Evil Calamity and the Ice Abyss of Evil Calamity, extended his spiritual awareness, and harmonized with the surrounding environment.
In this silent clash of energies, Meng Qi dared not flee recklessly. If he did, the Evil Monarch would surely unleash his ultimate strike, and Meng Qi, while fleeing, would be unable to unleash even half his strength.
After projecting part of his spiritual energy into his weapons, Meng Qi felt as if they had become extensions of his body. Through them, his mind reflected a vague awareness of the surrounding area, allowing him to faintly sense the movement of the Evil Monarch’s true energy.
Meanwhile, the four guards at the entrance remained completely unaware of what was happening inside.
It turned out they had already been subdued by the Evil Monarch—silently, without a sound. The Death Seal Art was terrifying, and so was the Evil Monarch himself…
Meng Qi met the Evil Monarch’s gaze without flinching.
Outside, the noise gradually faded. The guards remained unaware that two intruders had already infiltrated the emperor’s sleeping quarters.
“The old fool pretended to be ‘dead,’ setting up a grand scheme, but underestimated human nature. His cleverness backfired, and he ended up truly dying,” the Evil Monarch said casually, as if chatting with Meng Qi, exuding the calm demeanor of a grandmaster.
Don’t you know that most villains die because they talk too much… Meng Qi inwardly muttered, then focused on the emperor’s bed. The old emperor’s face was pale and bloated, blood flowing from his seven orifices. He had clearly been dead for some time.
“A scheme?” Since the situation seemed temporarily safe, Meng Qi wanted to understand the truth.
The Evil Monarch smiled leisurely, “Though the old fool lacked in actual combat, he certainly had no shortage of resources and secret manuals. He was no pushover—how could he have simply collapsed from a stroke?”
That made sense. In a martial world, an emperor didn’t necessarily need to dominate the realm with martial prowess, but he should at least possess some skill. Not only for protection against unexpected dangers and assassination attempts, but also for the benefits of longevity and health, which made martial cultivation an irresistible temptation. Meng Qi found this unsurprising.
“So he faked his coma?” Meng Qi asked gravely.
The Evil Monarch shook his head, “No. The old fool was old but still wanted to enjoy life. He longed for longevity and health. When the peace talks began, the young master of the Jiang Clan had already fled to the capital, found Wang Derang, and sought refuge under the old emperor, revealing the final whereabouts of the Holy Venerable.”
“The emperor obtained a relic from the Holy Venerable—a unique crystal formed by combining the Holy Sect’s essence reversal technique with the Buddhist relic method. But in his eagerness to absorb its power to enhance his strength, improve his body, and delay aging, he overexerted himself and fell into a coma.”
“The young master of the Jiang Clan approached the Right Chancellor long before General Lu entered the capital?” This revelation surprised Meng Qi. Then why had the Right Chancellor pretended to search for him?
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