The aura of the Mars Sword burned brightly, its red edge illuminating the world.
In the golden palace, the loyal ministers were crying. They raised their arms high and exclaimed that this was an auspicious omen from the heavens. This was the manifestation of the previous emperors. The ancestors of Houtu had personally appointed the new Fire Radiance Sword Saint.
It was roaring, it was falling, it was something that everyone wanted to invest in.
Therefore, it was normal to ask His Majesty to move to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Originally, the Seven Luminaries Sacred Sword was an important weapon of the country. It was a saint descending from the heavens for such a divine weapon to choose its master. Its significance was so great that it was equivalent to creating a new type of nuclear weapon. Even the General Secretary had to personally consecrate it.
Moreover, the sacred sword chose its master in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
The Imperial Ancestral Temple was the ancestral temple of the imperial family. It worshipped the previous emperors and the famous ministers who were worthy of the temple. As the saying went, the Emperor ruled the world through filial piety. Under the main theme of the imperial court advocating filial piety, the Emperor also had to set an example. Therefore, places like the Imperial Ancestral Temple became more and more sacred, covered with a sacred and solemn color.
Under such circumstances, the Emperor would eagerly go to the ancestral temple to report to his ancestors during festivals and even the slightest breeze to show his filial piety and morality.
Let alone the current situation.
The sacred sword chose its master and descended from the heavens to protect the country. Moreover, all of this happened in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which meant that the previous emperors were protecting it. It was decided by the ancestors of Houtu. Was the Emperor qualified?
Of course, he had to be qualified. Not only did he have to be qualified, he had to be fast enough to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to learn from his ancestors' speech and posture.
That's probably it. That's probably it.
In short, when the light of the Fire Radiance Sword rose from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, this matter took precedence over everything else. Sun Lang skipping the morning court, Shentse General looking down on the imperial court, Chi Lianyan's death, the chaos at the Copper Sparrow Terrace — all of them had to be put aside!
That was because the Empire advocated filial piety.
This was etiquette, order, and a tool of ruling. It was something that a powerful traditional centralized country would inevitably advocate in order to maintain the ruling order and fool the people.
Filial piety meant filial piety. Filial piety meant filial piety to one's parents at home and filial piety to one's emperor and father at court. This was the so-called emperor, minister, father, father, son. That was how it was. A son had to listen to his father. A minister had to obey the emperor. Disobedience was a great crime. Being unfilial was no different from being a beast. You had to do what you were told.
The Emperor was the role model of the world and had to lead by example.
Therefore, he had no other choice.
After understanding this point, many of the ministers were speechless.
They all stole a glance at His Majesty's gloomy expression, and their feelings were very complicated. Among the officials in the Golden Palace, some were familiar with Sun Lang during the Battle of Tianyuan. Some had heard of his deeds and temperament, but had never met him. Some had only heard of such a good fighter.
But at this moment, at this very moment, the Sun Lang in their hearts became real.
A common thought emerged in their minds. They were all thinking — what the hell, is this possible?
They had heard that the Commander Of War was unruly, but they had not expected him to be so unruly. To think that he could think of a way to break out of this situation … this was great. Not only was he not coming to court, but he also wanted His Majesty to go.
Could he not go?
The Emperor's gloomy expression had already explained everything.
There was only one answer.
The palace gates opened wide. The officials filed out. The order was issued. The guards gathered. The mighty army was organized as quickly as possible. The Emperor had arranged his carriage and was about to arrive at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
But there was a problem here.
Although it was the fastest speed, it was still the Emperor's honor guard gathering. Moreover, there were hundreds of officials present. It was impossible for thousands of people to ride public bicycles out of the Imperial City gate. They had to clear the streets, restrict traffic, and seal the roads. Even if the situation was urgent and everything was simple, they would not be able to get through in less than an hour.
In this period of time, which was neither long nor short, it was enough for the news to spread.
Sun Lang was in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
This meant that the defense of the Copper Sparrow Terrace was now empty. The biggest obstacle no longer existed.
The men of sacrifice guarding the Copper Sparrow Terrace were suddenly energized. Their eyes lit up with a fierce light. They were carefully cultivated killing tools. Long periods of training, brainwashing, and taking drugs had made their way of thinking different from normal people. They had become paranoid, cruel, and stubborn. The meaning of their lives was to complete the mission at all costs. Their mission was to complete the mission until death.
And today was the day of their death!
The leader of the men of sacrifice took out a sealed wax pill from his pocket. After crushing it, the green pill was held in his hand. The 20 men of sacrifice did the same. "After taking this pill, we have two hours. At the end of our lives, what awaits us is a feast full of blood and cruelty. Liberation is at hand. We should let more people feel our happiness, passion, and ecstasy … only by killing!"
He suddenly swallowed the pill. This pill would make him fearless of pain and greatly increase his strength. On the other hand, after two hours, his body would rot and turn into ashes. But it didn't matter. His soul would be free, leaving this filthy and dark mortal world and welcoming complete freedom.
"Only by killing!"
The men of sacrifice swallowed the pill together. Their faces were full of fanaticism and bloodlust.
The leader was about to do a brief pre-battle mobilization. But at this moment, the door was violently pushed open.
The person in charge did not care about the secret signal. He roared in a low voice, "The plan is canceled!
The plan is canceled!
Sun Lang went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He might have made arrangements and taken precautions … "
The men of sacrifice looked at him gloomily.
The person in charge swallowed. "You … you …"
The leader showed an extremely strange smile. There was anger, cruelty, ridicule, and madness that was about to destroy reason. "So, the plan is canceled?"
The person in charge of the person in charge looked panicked. He took a step back and looked like he wanted to reason with the leader. "Well … Well, yes. My master means that we can't do anything now, because …"
But in the next moment, his body was easily torn apart. Blood and organs splashed in the air and then fell to the ground. A few men of sacrifice let go of the broken body in their hands. The blood had stimulated their ferocity.
Damn it. What do you mean by canceled? I have already taken the pill and you are telling me this.
They roared in a low voice, "Kill!"
The blades of slaughter that had been destroyed by reason showed their sharpness in the early morning light.
From the leader to the other men of sacrifice, everyone was immersed in the upcoming Blood Feast. No one cared about what the person in charge had not finished saying.
I am about to die. I am going to kill to my heart's content. What Imperial Ancestral Temple? Do whatever you want.
The leader grinned hideously. He did not care about the bodies on the ground anymore. He opened the secret door on the ground.
The soldiers in charge of guarding the Copper Sparrow Terrace were the elite soldiers of Heaven's Origin. Although all the generals and leaders had gone to attend the Imperial Court meeting, the soldiers who stayed were all experienced soldiers of Heaven's Origin. They were not to be underestimated. A head-on battle would only lead to death. Once the enemy set up a military formation, no matter how many lives they had, they would be killed in vain.
However, although these soldiers had surrounded the Copper Sparrow Terrace tightly, they would never have thought that there were many secret passages under the Copper Sparrow Terrace. Even if they found out from the map of the Copper Sparrow Terrace and the mouth of the manager and sealed some of them, they would not know about some of the secret passages.
For example, the path they were taking now would lead them to the interior of the Copper Sparrow Terrace without anyone noticing. When everyone was not on guard, they would show their deadly blades and reap a large number of lives …
The men of sacrifice were scurrying underground.
The passageway was very hidden, but the price was that it was designed to be very winding, and the journey was not short. They moved quickly and silently. The passageway was very dark, but their eyesight was enough to see in the dark. Soon, they felt a slight vibration above their heads, as if there were many people above.
The leader said in a low voice, "We should have arrived at the Copper Sparrow Terrace. Those people up there are the guards who are patrolling and changing the guard. We are about to reach the end. Continue …"
At this moment, there was a loud boom as the tunnel collapsed.
The walls of the passageway in front and behind collapsed with a loud bang. Large amounts of stone bricks and soil fell down. The air suddenly cleared up. It was the connection between the top and the bottom. Fresh air rushed in, and the clamorous voices of the people outside also came in. It was a mess, and their voices were full of shock, anger, and surprise.
— Not good!
The men of sacrifice suddenly felt their hearts tighten. They had all taken the drug of madness. They would die in an instant. Moreover, they were all lunatics whose minds had been twisted. How could they just wait to be killed? Now that they had been discovered by the enemy, they had to kill them all!
The leader of the men of sacrifice was a decisive person. Seeing that the passage in front and behind had collapsed, and only the exit above was the only way out, he knew that it was a trap waiting for him. It was a hopeless situation where they were doomed to die. However, they were already dying. How could they be frightened by such a scene?
He shouted angrily, "Now that things have come to this, we must make them pay!"
It was obvious that the attack on the Copper Sparrow Pavilion had been discovered by the defenders of the Heaven's Origin Sector. The fact that the tunnel had collapsed at the right time and blocked the way was the best proof. The reason why they did not bury their own people directly was that they wanted to capture them alive to interrogate them and extract evidence … How could it be so easy?
The leader shouted. He clenched the weapon in his hand and rushed out of the dead end above.
He raised his saber and shouted, "Come on!"
— But the next moment, he was stunned.
The leader of the men of sacrifice felt that it was a scheme of the guards of Tianyuan. They wanted to capture them alive. He thought that after he came out, he would be surrounded by well-prepared elite soldiers with unsheathed weapons. He thought that he was about to face the hopeless situation where he would be killed. Those well-trained and battle-hardened soldiers of Tianyuan might look at him with a mocking look as if they were looking at a prey.
And he, at the last moment of his life, would let those guys know who the prey was!
It was supposed to be like this.
However, the leader of the men of sacrifice found that the people in front of him seemed to be even more surprised than he was.
Other than that, the people around him were not the aggressive elite soldiers with sabers and swords.
Instead, they were a group of people wearing official uniforms and official hats.
What he saw was either crimson or purple. Some of them had white hair and beards, while some were young. They were all looking at him in a daze.
Wait …
Official … official uniforms?
The air was silent for a moment.
"What a thief! How dare you assassinate the emperor!"
The heavenly official of the Ministry of Personnel, who had met the leader of the men of sacrifice, was infuriated.
The white-haired, kind-looking minister raised his right hand and launched a Wind Thunder Transformation. The officials of the Ministry of Personnel behind the old minister also realized what was going on. For a moment, their palms were everywhere, and their fists were shining. The violent attacks were all over the place!
The Great General of the Right Imperial Guard, who happened to see all of this, wanted to come over and help, but the assistant ministers, doctors, minister counsellors, managers, and managers of the Ministry of Appointments had all taken up the positions. There was no room for him to intervene at all. The Great General could only shout at the top of his lungs, "Capture him alive!
Don't kill them! "
When the Dragon Spear Army in front of the palace heard the news and rushed over, the scene was already surrounded by the officials of the Six Ministries. The assassins who had come out from underground to "assassinate the emperor" had already been beaten up by the civil officials. They were all lying on the ground, and no one knew how many restrictions had been hit by the heavy hand.
The general of the Dragon Spear Army in front of the palace was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly ordered the assassins to be taken into custody, and then quickly rode to the emperor to beg for forgiveness. His Majesty ordered them to leave the palace and go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. After a few miles, several assassins came out from underground. If they did not happen to bump into the group of officials, but directly appeared in front of His Majesty … many of them would have lost their heads.
However, His Majesty seemed to be in a good mood today. Perhaps it was because of the previous emperor's appearance in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He just scolded them with a few words, fined them three months of salary, and sent them away. The group did not slow down because of this small incident. His Majesty did not seem to care much about this matter.
However, his subordinates would definitely investigate the background of these twenty or so assassins clearly.
The civil officials of the Ministry of Appointments had a good time beating them, but they still wanted to continue. The Minister of Appointments walked forward silently. The assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments beside him was softly flattering him, saying that he was still as brave as before. However, the old man just shook his head.
The timing of the tunnel's collapse was too coincidental …
He raised his head and looked at the hazy night sky, shivering slightly.
For the rest of the journey, the Imperial Guards of the Imperial City were on guard against all movements. Their nerves were stretched taut, but in the end, the accident did not happen again. The towering buildings of the Imperial Ancestral Temple came into view. This was the temple of the Imperial Family, built to worship the God Ancestor.
At this time, the light of the Sacred Sword of Fire had already been withdrawn. The sky was still dark, and most of the majestic and magnificent Imperial Ancestral Temple was hidden in the darkness. The officials guarding the temple and the temple attendant came forward to greet them anxiously.
The officials looked at the tall main gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and looked back and forth several times.
There was no one.
That person actually did not come out to greet them. This was simply …
The temple attendant trembled with fear and said, "Your … Your Majesty, the general was fully armed and had the Two Luminaries Sacred Swords of Fire and Metal. He said that he was here on behalf of Old Master Bai to have an audience with the previous emperors. We did not dare to stop him and were blocked by the general at the door … then, then …"
The Emperor slowly said, "What did he say?"
"He said …" The temple attendant swallowed. "He said that he wanted to invite Your Majesty in alone because he had something important to report …"