Chapter 1 The Qingdu City

Qingdu City, the majestic imperial city.

The grand hall where the palace examination was held.

Hundreds of scholars were focused on answering the exam questions, some deep in thought, some frowning, some with smiles, and some with solemn expressions.

Several bursts of turbulent air currents in the sky and the changing celestial phenomena seemed to have no effect on them.

Sa Wuling was among them, writing according to what Yan Xiake had instructed, but his mind was focused on the surroundings.

The palace examination was halfway through.

Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he saw many civil and military officials kneeling on the ground, shouting "Long live the Emperor" three times.

Then, a young man in a dragon robe walked out.

He walked with the stride of a dragon and the pace of a tiger, tall and with long black hair. Looking at his appearance alone, no one would have guessed that he was an old man over 150 years old.

Sa Wuling glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and was shocked.

He sensed an indescribable aura of resentment and balefulness from this old emperor.

This aura of resentment was so strong that it seemed to have turned into substance, enveloping him. Even in this palace, where the dragon energy and national fortune converged and all evil was repelled, it was still clawing and baring its fangs.

He could hardly imagine what kind of sins one had to commit to attract such heavy baleful energy.

With a thought, the white bone pendant on his wrist buzzed.

Yan Xiake's divine will slowly awakened from absolute silence:

"He's here..."

At this moment, Yan Xiake's heart was unprecedentedly calm. All thoughts disappeared, and there wasn't even a trace of killing intent.

There was only absolute tranquility.

The old emperor slowly sat on the dragon chair covered with yellow silk. Before and behind him were four middle-aged Taoists in Taoist robes.

After the assassination attempt last time, he had become even more cautious.

Scanning the hall, he waved his hand and said:

"Rise..."

He was a little absent-minded.

Even though it was only a short distance from the back palace to here, he always felt a sense of unease in his heart, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem even when he tried to sense it carefully.

He just assumed that the changes in the celestial phenomena outside were making him uneasy.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The officials thanked him in unison.

The old emperor scanned the hall and yawned lazily. Compared to the scholars in the hall, his thoughts were more on the Myriad Dharma Assembly.

Unfortunately, even though he was the supreme ruler of the country, he was not qualified to watch the Myriad Dharma Assembly.

He had hinted at it a few times in the past few days, but he had been rejected every time.

At this time, feeling the changes in the celestial phenomena outside, he was quite envious.

Having infinite power gathered in one body was more appealing to him than the throne. Unfortunately, the royal family couldn't cultivate. Even with such a great price, he had only gained longevity.

He was slightly distracted and absent-minded. The officials didn't dare to disturb him, and they all kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, as silent as clay sculptures.

The supervising officials also tried to slow down their steps, fearing that they would disturb the emperor.

At this moment, a discordant voice suddenly came:

"This student has finished answering the exam questions, please correct them, esteemed sirs."

The officials were all stunned.

They saw Sa Wuling get up from his seat and walk forward with his test paper.

"You've finished already?"

One of the officials frowned.

Although the Daqing Palace Examination didn't require the provincial examination, the government examination often took three to five days. Especially after the old emperor canceled the on-the-spot question setting, it only took half a day.

But it had only been a little over an hour since the start. He had already submitted his paper?

Was he a prodigy?

However, his ranking in the provincial examination seemed to be very low...

"Oh?"

On the dragon chair, the old emperor also became interested. Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, he chuckled:

"You finished the paper so quickly? It reminds me of someone...

Bring the test paper up."

With a wave of his hand, an eunuch walked forward to take the test paper.

Generally, palace examination papers had to be reviewed by many examiners before selecting the ten best to present to the emperor. However, the old emperor had broken the rules, so naturally no one dared to speak up.

The scholars were even more envious.

They knew that at most only ten test papers in the palace examination could be personally reviewed and annotated by the emperor. Most people present didn't have this opportunity.

"Forget it, I won't read it."

The old emperor yawned, feeling somewhat bored:

"Little Linzi, read it to me."

The day of blood exchange was approaching, and his energy was obviously insufficient.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The eunuch bowed slightly and was about to read.

But when he saw the test paper, his body suddenly trembled, and his face turned pale:

"This, this, this..."

"Hmm?"

The old emperor raised his eyebrows slightly:

"Why aren't you reading?"

"This servant, this servant, this servant dares not..."

The eunuch's body trembled, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down like rain:

"Utterly rebellious, utterly rebellious!"

"What?"

The officials in the hall were shocked. The scholars also trembled upon hearing this and couldn't help but look up.

How could it be rebellious?

The policy essays tested in the palace examination were nothing more than writing about governing the country and bringing peace to the world, mixed with flattery of the emperor. Even if someone relied on their talent and pointed out the shortcomings of the current dynasty, it wouldn't be considered rebellious.

"Utterly rebellious?"

The old emperor's face turned cold as he looked coldly at the bowing Sa Wuling:

"Read!"

"The name of my policy essay is 'Ten Crimes'!"

The eunuch trembled like a sieve, but Sa Wuling slowly raised his head. The words that Yan Xiake had spoken emerged in his mind again, and he felt indignation that was hard to suppress.

He had performed funerals and Buddhist rituals for decades and had seen life and death countless times. The more he saw, the more he revered them.

He was extremely disgusted by the act of wantonly trampling on the lives and souls of others.

Ten Crimes?

The officials' expressions changed, and many of them immediately began to loudly reprimand him.

But the old emperor slammed his hand heavily on the imperial desk, silencing the civil and military officials in the hall, and looked indifferently at Sa Wuling:

"I'd like to hear what you have to say."

Between life and death, he was a mortal. But in this court, he was an unquestionable king. At this time, his indifferent gaze carried an imposing aura of majesty.

The officials were somewhat frightened and didn't dare to say more.

But in Sa Wuling's eyes, it was nothing more than that. With his body surrounded by bloody resentment, he felt even more disgusted and hateful.

"You are unworthy of being a king, trusting treacherous officials and poisoning the world, this is the first crime!"

"You are greedy for power, refusing to abdicate for a hundred years, and forcing your descendants and grandchildren, this is the second crime!"

"You are obsessed with the path of longevity, neglecting state affairs, allowing treacherous officials to run rampant, and the people to live in misery, this is the third crime!"

...

Sa Wuling shouted loudly, his momentum growing stronger as he spoke, and his indignation growing in his heart.

On his way to Qingzhou, many demons and ghosts had killed people, but even more had died from bandits, famine, and slaughter by officials and gentry.

Scenes of tragic events appeared before his eyes, and his blood boiled, and he forgot his worries for a moment.

In fact, he had been practicing martial arts under Mu Longcheng's guidance for several years.

Imperceptibly, his spirit had undergone a tremendous transformation. He was no longer the timid, greedy, and petty country Taoist priest he once was.

Cultivation was not only a change in strength and physique, but more importantly, a transformation and sublimation of spirit and character!

"Bold! Bold!"

The expressions of the officials in the hall changed drastically, and they shouted loudly.

But how could their voices compare to Sa Wuling's? The scolding of dozens of people was suppressed by Sa Wuling's roar.

The scholars were dumbfounded, looking at Sa Wuling as if they had seen a ghost.

They had never seen such a bold person in their lives, daring to point fingers at the current emperor during the palace examination.

Did he not want to live anymore?

"Guards! Guards!"

One of the supervising officials, Murong Yi, was pale as earth and almost fell to the ground.

He was Yan Xiake's classmate, and it was because of him that Sa Wuling was qualified to participate in the provincial examination.

He had only intended to do a favor for an old friend, but who would have thought that something like this would happen?

He was utterly devastated.

The sounds of the hall were all suppressed by Sa Wuling's voice.

Many people's expressions changed, but the few Heavenly Will Sect Taoists around the old emperor had normal expressions, with a hint of mockery in their eyes.

In their view, this scholar was just a fool who had been blinded by bloodlust.

He thought he was loyal to the emperor and loved his country, but in reality, he was nothing but trash.

"Enough!"

At first, the old emperor had listened indifferently, but when he was continuously pointed out for his crimes, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted:

"Drag him out of the Meridian Gate and behead him to show the public, no, execute him by slow slicing!" (Ling Chi)

Whoosh~

A large group of armored soldiers rushed into the hall, and the blades flashed, enveloping Sa Wuling.

These soldiers were all highly skilled in martial arts. Looking at the world, they were all experts who could fight a hundred men alone. Their attacks were extremely fast, and they were about to cripple his hands and feet first.

"...The world reveres you as their ruler, but you feed on the flesh and blood of the people of the world, this is the tenth crime!"

Sa Wuling faced the approaching blades without fear. He spat out the ten crimes, and his heart was filled with joy:

"With all ten crimes combined, you old dog truly deserve to die!"

His voice rumbled, as if he had a sacrificial and righteous attitude, but at the moment when the blades were about to strike, he suddenly stomped his foot, shattered the blades, and slapped two soldiers to death.

He was about to escape!

"An expert?"

Seeing this scene, the Heavenly Will Sect Taoists in front of and behind the old emperor sneered at the same time.

Two of them attacked one after the other, their sword lights whistling like dragons, about to kill Sa Wuling on the spot.

Buzz~

At this moment, a calm and stirring sound of a sword rang out.

This sound of the sword didn't have the slightest clang. It was like a gentle spring breeze and drizzle, like the rising sun, like the full moon in the sky, soft and harmonious, and natural.

But Daoist Chang Qian, who was standing behind the old emperor, changed his expression drastically:

"Not good!"

Buzz buzz buzz~

The sound of the sword instantly filled the hall, illuminating everything like light.

At this moment, the expressions of everyone in the hall froze.

No, not just people, everything in the hall seemed to have fallen into absolute stagnation at this time.

Even the four Taoists of the Heavenly Will Sect, as well as the sword lights in the air, and the drifting air currents and dust!

Everything was frozen in mid-air!

It was as if time had stopped at this moment.

In a trance, a sword light was born from nowhere. As soon as it appeared, it occupied everyone's eyes and became the only thing in their world.

Its sword was brilliant, without a trace of killing intent, but it contained endless killing intent!

In the sword light, there seemed to be two will-o'-the-wisps burning.

They were clearly just two will-o'-the-wisps, but the old emperor's heart exploded, and he couldn't help but think of the assassin three years ago:

'It's you again?!!'

That time was the closest he had ever come to death.

He would wake up countless times in the middle of the night during the past three years. At this time, he recognized Yan Xiake even before Daoist Chang Qian.

That fiend, his heart to destroy me is not dead!

After three years, he came back again.

Through the cold sword light, a single glance turned thousands of repressions and endless anger into the shortest four words:

"Old dog, prepare to die!!!"

...

And at this time, it was also when the Heavenly Will Daoist in the Western Mountains changed his expression!

The Heavenly Will Daoist's face turned cold, his sword-like eyebrows stood on end, and his momentum erupted.

Boom!

In an instant, thunder exploded in the sky, and the air waves rolled and spread in layers, unknown how far.

The entire Western Mountain range shook, and countless plants and trees were broken and bent. The ground rippled, and snowflakes flew into the sky.

"This is!"

Everyone's expression changed and they looked towards Qingdu City.

They saw a dragon of national fortune roaring in the sky above Qingdu City, which had been extended by the great formation by an unknown amount of space. A sword light, unknown from where it arose and where it was heading, suddenly rose!

A divine sword slays the dragon!

In a trance, everyone felt a sword intent that was pure to the extreme!

This sword was pure and cold, containing the cold and resolute determination to kill.

Even many real people couldn't help but feel amazed. With such pure sword intent, the person who made the move was definitely not an ordinary swordsman.

Slaying the dragon?

There was actually such a great cultivator who wanted to assassinate the emperor?

Was it difficult to kill a mortal emperor?

For ordinary people, assassinating the king was naturally extremely difficult. With the protection of the Heavenly Will Sect Taoists, ordinary cultivators had no chance to assassinate the old emperor.

But for real people above the stage of becoming True Ones, perhaps it was possible to kill him. However, not to mention the threat of the Heavenly Will Sect.

The backlash of the humanistic dragon energy alone was enough to make them avoid it for fear of being too late.

Although the saying of national fortune was mysterious, it was actually real. Perhaps it was not enough to achieve the effect of invulnerability to all laws in the legend.

But a backlash was enough to hinder one's cultivation.

Moreover, it was said that the Daqing Dynasty had the hand of the Underworld Monarch, and there might be other backup plans. No great cultivator would risk killing a mortal emperor.

"You have angered me!"

The Heavenly Will Daoist suddenly stood up, looked coldly at An Qisheng, and his expression was furious.

He was proficient in innate calculation and felt deeper than ordinary real people.

At this moment, he faintly felt the death aura of the old emperor. He was really going to die!

This was the reason for his anger.

Boom!

His aura soared into the sky, and a vast aura cut through the dome of the sky. The heaven and earth spiritual energy within thousands of miles rolled in like a tornado rising from the ground, devouring the clouds for thousands of miles!

When a Yuan Shen was enraged, the weather within tens of thousands of miles would change.

In the vast Qingzhou, it seemed that there were wind and clouds roaring above thousands of cities, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth raged.

Boom!

Before the Heavenly Will Daoist could finish his words, and before his furious finger could point out.

An Qisheng, who had been sitting quietly for a long time, slowly stood up. The aura he had accumulated for a long time also soared into the sky.

It was just a simple act of standing up.

The expressions of many real people and tribulation-transcending real people changed.

In a trance, they only felt as if the earth and mountains were standing up together, the vast seas were inverted, and it was like the great sun rising in the sky, and the divine dragon soaring in the four seas.

The brilliant light instantly filled the mountains, illuminating the Myriad Dharma Platform and illuminating this world.

"What can you do to me?!"