Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The rebel army charged into the Imperial Palace, and the guards continually retreated, not even daring to oppose them.
This caused the rebels to become especially smug. They were far too powerful, so powerful that even the imperial guards fled upon catching wind of their arrival.
Although the elites from the five sects didn’t believe that the Imperial Palace was genuinely this weak, they didn’t give it a second thought. After all, they had sent their most powerful forces this time, with their army consisting of 37 elites at the Immortal level.
What could Helian Tianyun do about them? If they sent 30 elites after him, they would be able to defeat him no matter what, right? In the meantime, the remaining seven elites would be able to sweep through the Imperial Palace. Were it not for the fact that they needed more than just a few people to rule the empire, the five sects definitely wouldn’t have allied themselves with so many other forces—these forces didn’t even have cultivators at the Shattering Void Tier.
One side was advancing with irresistible might, and one side was collapsing into a disastrous heap. Ding Ping naturally knew that this was Ling Han cooperating with them. His aim was to destroy all of the rebels in one fell swoop. This time, they definitely had to exterminate all future threats.
It wasn’t long before the rebel army advanced into the depths of the Imperial Palace, arriving before the “Hall of Righteous Harmony”.
This was the heart of the Imperial Palace—the hall where officials discussed affairs, and above which the totem of the empire was placed.
This hall signified the power and rule of the Great Ling Empire. If it collapsed, the power of the nation would suffer a critical blow.
Thus, even if Ling Han was trying to lure them into a trap, he couldn’t retreat any more once they reached this hall.
Feng Po Yun, the Rain Emperor, Murong Qing, and Helian Tianyun all appeared before the hall. Meanwhile, the guards of the Imperial Palace stood behind the four of them, drawing their sabers and wearing expressions of firm determination.
“Hehe, bunch of pushovers!” an elder from the five sects said with a chuckle. His name was Situ Jian, and he had been sealed away for several thousand years. He hadn’t been awoken even when Ma Duo Bao had charged into the five sects. This was because quite a number of them hadn’t been “buried” in the five sects.
He had only been awakened after arriving in the Immortal Realm, and thus he naturally didn’t know how powerful Ling Han was. He simply felt that the younger generations were too weak, not even being able to defeat this small country b.u.mpkin.
“Dog, tell me your name!” Helian Tianyun roared. His tongue was the most toxic out of everyone present.
“Heh, so what if you’re a descendant of the True Dragons. Your battle prowess can surpa.s.s four stars at most. Don’t tell me that you’re a five-star genius of the legends?” Situ Jian waved his hand, and continued, “Follow the plan and suppress this sinful dragon first! He’s got the bloodline of a True Dragon! That’s incredibly nutritious!”
29 people immediately stepped forward to stand together with Situ Jian. They had naturally devised a plan already; these were the people tasked with dealing with Helian Tianyun.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. 30 powerful cultivators at the low extreme of the Mountain River Tier!” Helian Tianyun chuckled coldly, and said, “However, you guys have mistaken something. Because… I’m not the only elite at the Immortal level.”
Feng Po Yun, the Rain Emperor, Murong Qing, and the Rock Spirit all stepped forward, no longer suppressing their own auras. Might that was unique to Immortals instantly enveloped the entire area.
‘What!?’
The five sects, along with their lapdogs, all cried out in astonishment. When had the Great Ling Empire suddenly gained four more elites at the Immortal level? This completely ruined their plans.
“Humph, you people, how has the Great Ling Empire mistreated you?” the Rain Emperor questioned. “If it weren’t for Fourth Brother opening the sky, you people would’ve only been able to await death in the small world, suffering the fate of being refined into a pill. However, you people are actually siding with the five sects now? Does your conscience not hurt?”
Looks of embarra.s.sment appeared of the faces of many people. However, many more people replied with cold chuckles.
As the saying went, he who understood the times was a wise man.
Ling Han had been taken away as a hostage, leaving the Great Ling Empire with only one Immortal level elite— okay, fine, there were five now. However, this was still nothing compared to the five sects.
So, should they choose to die alongside the Great Ling Empire, or should they choose to prosper alongside the five sects?
This was the Immortal Realm, after all, so they didn’t need to worry about being refined into a Realm Pill any longer. As such, they had no fundamental conflict with the five sects, meaning that there was naturally room for mutually beneficial cooperation.
“This is slightly beyond my expectations. However, you people have only just advanced into the Immortal level. Hehe, sending out five more Immortal level elites will suffice.” Situ Jian was taken by surprise, yet he quickly regained his composure.
He wasn’t the strongest elite in the five sects, but he was the oldest. Thus, he became one of the leaders of this rebellion.
“Is this all of you?” The Rain Emperor swept his gaze over the rebels. He had noticed the turmoil hiding beneath the surface of peace in the Imperial Capital since long ago. Meanwhile, the rebellious forces that had appeared were largely within his expectations. In fact, there were a few who had hidden themselves extremely well and not left any clues at all.
However, was this all of them?
“We’re more than enough to deal with you weaklings!” Situ Jian chuckled coldly, and said, “However, before this, I still need to kill one disobedient person!” He looked toward Ding Ping.
The Great Ling Empire actually had four other Immortal level elites, yet Ding Ping hadn’t told them anything about this. It was clear that he had purposefully withheld this information.
“Kill him!” Situ Jian ordered coldly. “He’s just the sacrifice we need for our flag!” He was a hawk, and believed that they should directly change the flag of the empire after annihilating the Rain Emperor and the others. There was absolutely no need for them to use a puppet emperor as a buffer.
However, he was only one of many leaders, so he couldn’t act as he pleased. Now that Ding Ping had tricked them, he saw an opportunity to advance his case.
Peng!
Ding Ping was tossed out. Although his battle prowess was impressive, he was still helpless against strength at the Immortal level.
“Kneel!” Situ Jian said coldly. He was going to behead Ding Ping before everyone else.
“Pei!” Ding Ping spat, not afraid of Situ Jian in the least.
“I’m telling you to kneel!” Situ Jian raised his voice, his eyes sinister and radiating with might that was unique to Immortals. He was going to break Ding Ping’s mind and force him to submit.
“Heh, are you threatening my disciple?” Ling Han’s voice traveled into their ears.
“Yi?”
“En?”
“Ya?”
The Sword King, Azure Phoenix Divine Empress, and others were all astonished. They had suffered greatly at Ling Han’s hands, so they were naturally familiar with his voice. Their minds instantly became numb with fear.
Meanwhile, Situ Jian looked toward the source of the voice, and roared, “Who is it?”
Ling Han walked out, a faint smile on his face.
“Who are you?” Situ Jian asked.
“Ling Han!”
The Sword King and others of the older generation, as well as Zhang Mo and the others of the younger generation, all yelped in shock. They had developed fear of Ling Han, and their minds had already gone numb with fear upon hearing his voice. Now that they saw him in person, they couldn’t help but tremble in terror.
Even those at the Shattering Void Tier and Immortal level were terrified upon seeing him. This highlighted just how huge an influence Ling Han had on these people.
Situ Jian looked toward Ling Han, and asked, “You’re Ling Han?” He hadn’t experienced the “Ling Han era”, so he naturally didn’t know just how terrifying Ling Han was—nor could he imagine it.
Pa!
There was a flash and a punch, and Situ Jian’s head instantly exploded like a blooming flower. He became a headless corpse.
There was deathly silence.
Although Situ Jian wasn’t the most powerful Immortal level elite of the five sects, he was still an Immortal level elite no matter what!
Yet his head had actually been obliterated with a single punch?
Gasp!
Was this some kind of sick joke?!
Ling Han smiled widely as he retracted his fist, and said, “Since you’ve all arrived, it’s time to settle the score!”