Chapter 195: No matter what happens to you, I’ll be as firm as a rock
It was still relatively easy to deal with street stalls and auctions. Even if Ji Wushang could only become the crown prince tomorrow and not the emperor, Lu Xiaoran could still forcefully control the Great Zhou through that Grand Elder of the Great Zhou and set up a policy to suspend street stalls and auctions.
As for the cliffs and the ancient tombs…
That was even simpler.
The corner of Lu Xiaoran’s mouth curled up slightly as he took out his Auspicious Cloud Divine Lightning.
After all, he was searching for treasures. How could he not have a probing-type Dharma treasure like the Auspicious Cloud Divine Lightning?
There was also that woman, Ling Xinyue.
At this moment, Lu Xiaoran released her from the Martial Monarch Realm weapon. Ling Xinyue immediately roared and brandished her claws as she rushed towards Lu Xiaoran.
“You big liar, I’m going to kill you!”
Slap!
As soon as she arrived beside Lu Xiaoran, she was slapped to the ground by Lu Xiaoran.
“Do you still want to hit me?”
Ling Xinyue was only a soul now. She was so furious that she trembled, but she did not dare to step forward. She only gritted her teeth, clenched her small fists, and kept cursing.
“Liar! Big liar! Shameless! Shameless !…”
Lu Xiaoran :”…”
“Forget it, I’ll just suppress you and put you back in the Martial Monarch Realm weapon.”
As soon as he said this, Ling Xinyue immediately shut her mouth, but her eyes still stared fixedly at Lu Xiaoran, filled with resentment.
A moment later, Lu Xiaoran waved his hand.
“Alright, you don’t have to look at me like that. You were the one who was stupid to begin with. If I said that I was Fang Aotian, then would you also believe that I was Fang Aotian? However, I’m not a heartless person. After all, you’ve also called me ‘Dad’ so many times.”
Ling Xinyue’s entire soul body began to tremble. This huge humiliation made her simply wish to skin and eat Lu Xiaoran in front of her.
Lu Xiaoran ignored her and raised two fingers.
“Now, I’ll give you two options. The first is to listen to me obediently in the future. I’ll help you recover your body and cultivation. Moreover, you still have a Martial Monarch Realm weapon in your hand. The Martial Monarch Realm weapon I gave you is even better than your original Black Lotus. You won’t lose out.”
After a moment of silence, Ling Xinyue asked,
“What about the second option?”
“I think you should choose the first option.”
Ling Xinyue :”…”
Ling Xinyue couldn’t help but tremble with anger.
“What else can I say now that my fate is controlled in the hands of a cheat like you?”
Lu Xiaoran nodded.
“That’s right. You have to be sensible. Here, immediately give orders to your subordinates. Tell them to spread the rumor that the Acacia Faction has colluded with your Demon Sect and is prepared to rebel.”
…
The night passed quickly, and it was soon the second day.
Ji Wushang’s competition officially began.
With all the members of the Imperial Family gathered, almost everyone knew in their hearts that this would be an unprecedented competition that would determine the future of the Great Zhou Imperial Family.
The competition had not yet begun, but the wind and clouds had already surged in the arena.
The Great Zhou Emperor standing on the high platform looked down but yelled for them to begin.
“Before today’s competition, I have something to ask the Purple Peace Imperial Palace.”
Everyone was stunned and did not know what the emperor was trying to do.
Ji Wushang narrowed his eyes.
Looks like Senior Lu’s guess was indeed right. On the emperor’s side, he was prepared to throw away everything to announce the matter of the Grand Imperial Sire, Ji Shangrong, and use this to bring up the death of Ji Shangrong in the Purple Peace Imperial Palace.
At that time, there would no longer be a need for them to continue today’s competition.
It was indeed a good plan.
“Last night, the Grand Imperial Sire had told me that he was paying a visit to the Purple Peace Imperial Palace. I wonder if the Purple Peace Imperial Palace knows about this?”
“What? The Grand Imperial Sire went to the Purple Peace Imperial Palace last night?”
“Why did he go to the Purple Peace Imperial Palace?”
“Could it be that his death last night is related to the Purple Peace Imperial Palace?”
Everyone’s expressions changed drastically, and the scene became noisy.
Everyone was not stupid and instantly understood what was going on.
The Grand Imperial Sire had definitely gone to the Purple Peace Imperial Palace to kill Ji Wushang and sweep away the obstacles for Ji Tianming.
However, he did not expect to end up worse off. He had suffered a double loss and ended up losing his life.
Everyone was furious at the Grand Imperial Sire’s selfishness and shocked at the strength of the Purple Peace Imperial Palace.
Ji Wushang’s gaze met the Great Zhou Emperor’s. He did not dodge the gaze. Although he was not an emperor, he already had the appearance of an emperor.
“Last night, the Grand Imperial Sire indeed went to the Purple Peace Imperial Palace. However, it’s more appropriate to call his visit an invasion. He wanted to kill me but was killed in the end.”
Hearing Ji Wushang admit it, the entire scene was instantly in an uproar.
Although they had long guessed it, it was still completely different from them to hear Ji Wushang officially admit it.
One was a matter of probability, and the other was a matter of certainty.
It also signified Ji Wushang’s courage.
Killing an Emperor Realm expert was not a small crime. He actually dared to admit it in public. Just this courage alone was extraordinary.
The Great Zhou Emperor snorted and emitted his pressure.
“Alright! Since you’ve already admitted it, don’t blame me for being ruthless. The Purple Peace Imperial Palace has killed the expert of the Great Zhou Imperial Family’s Elder Group without permission and severely violated the interests of the Great Zhou Imperial Family. Now, with my status as the Great Zhou Emperor, I announce that the Purple Peace Imperial Palace is guilty. All the imperial palaces, immediately participate in the capture and kill all members of the Purple Peace Imperial Palace if they resist!”
However, who knew that as soon as he finished speaking, a powerful aura surged over from the direction of the Purple Peace Imperial Palace.
“What high-sounding sentiments! Your Imperial Family was shameless first, and now you want to blame others? Are you even worthy?”
The crowd was in an uproar again.
“Heavens, this aura, isn’t this Zining? When did he step into the Emperor Realm?”
“Damn, isn’t this brat hiding too well?”
The Great Zhou Emperor narrowed his eyes as killing intent surged.
He did not expect King Zining to have also advanced to the Emperor Realm at the critical moment.
“Hmph, you sure hid well. However, do you think you’re qualified to oppose me with your mere first level Emperor Realm cultivation?”
“If a first level Emperor Realm expert is not worthy, then I wonder if a sixth level Emperor Realm expert is worthy?”
As soon as he said this, the entire Great Zhou Imperial Family immediately trembled.
This was crazy!
This was really crazy!
The old king of the Purple Peace Imperial Palace was actually a sixth level Emperor Realm expert!
When did he become one?
First, Ji Wushang had hidden his cultivation, then King Zining had broken through to the Emperor Realm, and now, it was the old king who had stepped into the sixth level of the Emperor Realm.
Could it be that this was all a scheme of the Purple Peace Imperial Palace?
The Great Zhou Emperor clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth.
He had never expected the cultivation of the members of the Purple Peace Imperial Palace to be hidden so deeply.
If King Zining had only broken through to the Emperor Realm by himself, he would not have been so shocked.
This was because two early-stage Emperor Realm experts were not enough to shake the decision of the Great Zhou Elder Group.
However, it would be different if one of them was a late-stage Emperor Realm expert!
After reaching the Emperor Realm, it was extremely difficult to increase each level.
Some people would even be trapped in their current realm for their entire lives.
No, he could not admit defeat like this.
If he admitted defeat like this, then the Imperial Family would have no chance of making a comeback.
“How dare you people from the Purple Peace Imperial Palace disrespect the Imperial Family! For many years, you’ve hidden your cultivation. What are your intentions? Moreover, you killed the expert of the Imperial Family’s Elder Group and committed a serious crime. Now, in the name of the Great Zhou Emperor…”
Before he could finish speaking, an old but extremely dignified voice suddenly descended from the sky.
“Yulin, you’re being a little too much.”
Hearing this voice, the Great Zhou Emperor immediately felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His face was pale as he staggered two steps back. His mouth trembled as he wanted to say something, but in the end, he swallowed it.
At the same time, all the Imperial Family members present, including the kings and Elder Group experts, all knelt on the ground in unison.
“Welcome, Grand Elder.”
…
On that day, the Great Zhou Empire announced that because the Great Zhou Emperor was infected with a disease, he was unfit to rule. It was declared that the Great Zhou Empire’s crown prince, Ji Wushang, would take over and become emperor.
King Zining would assist in the administration.
The entire Great Zhou Elder Group had agreed to this decision.
When the news spread, it immediately shocked the entire Great Zhou.
However, the shock was far from over.
This was because the Great Zhou issued four decrees in a row.
Firstly, the Acacia Faction had colluded with the Demon Sect with the intention of rebelling. From this moment on, all the Acacia Faction cultivators in the entire Great Zhou would immediately be disbanded. Moreover, they would need to go to various prefectures and turn themselves into the top-grade sects. Only by doing so would they be exempted from death. Anyone who disobeyed would be killed without mercy.
Secondly, all the stalls in the Great Zhou would now be completely standardized and were strictly prohibited from being scattered. Of course, the venue would be arranged by the various first-rate sects and various prefecture courts. Moreover, the cost of setting up stalls would be waived.
In this way, all the street vendors would come together and not suffer.
In fact, because all the stalls have been standardized and given protection, the itinerant cultivators were now safer and could avoid being robbed.
Third, all the auction houses in the Great Zhou would now run auctions in batches. They were originally opened every day, but now, they were opened once a month and were opened at fixed locations every time.
Fourth, Nalan Hongyu, Li Liushui, and Fang Aotian would be wanted in the entire country!
When these four announcements were made, the entire country was shocked. No one knew why.
However, everyone vaguely guessed that these few decrees were definitely related to Nalan Hongyu.
This was because everyone knew that Nalan Hongyu was the founder of the Acacia Faction.
For a time, the Acacia Faction became a hot topic for all the cultivators in the Great Zhou.
…
A few days later, with the help of the Auspicious Cloud Divine Lightning, Lu Xiaoran found an ancient Emperor Realm Ancient Tomb.
“Tsk tsk, the level of this array formation is not bad, it is almost at 70% of my current level. This one is much stronger than the one in the previous Supreme Realm tomb.”
This was the 103th ancient tomb Lu Xiaoran had found in the past few days.
It was also the 35th Emperor Realm Ancient Tomb.
In the past few days, Lu Xiaoran had almost found all the ancient tombs in the Great Zhou Empire with the help of the Auspicious Cloud Divine Lightning.
The array formations on those ancient tombs were simply trash to Lu Xiaoran.
The array formations were simply unable to resist Lu Xiaoran’s attack.
Therefore, these experts who had already died thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago had all been robbed. Wherever Lu Xiaoran passed, he did not even leave anything behind.