Lu Yin was dissatisfied. "I'll answer whatever you ask me, but you won't answer whatever I ask you. That's too much."
White Knight was cold and arrogant. "Did you answer?
I don't know. It's just a coincidence. Is that your answer any different from not answering at all? "
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "It's better for women to be cute."
There was a thump as a rock smashed into the mountain wall. Lu Yin was furious, and he glared at White Knight. "Woman, don't think that I won't retaliate. What are you trying to do?"
White Knight coldly replied, "Forget everything that happened today, and forget everything about me. Also, I told you not to call me that."
Lu Yin snorted. "I'll be crushed to death if I stay with you. Goodbye. No, never." He then turned to leave.
"You're not allowed to leave."
"Why?"
"That's an order."
Lu Yin was so angry that he laughed. "I told you that no one can order me around."
"I can order anyone who belongs to the Ten Arbiters Council, the Council of Astral Academy, or the Outerverse Youth Council. You are no exception," White Knight said indifferently.
Lu Yin's face twitched. Why did these words sound so familiar? She must have said them before!
In the end, Lu Yin was unable to leave.
In White Knight's words, if a Realmling came, then he could be considered a good scapegoat and could be used to buy some time.
Lu Yin wanted to resist, but he thought about it and decided against it. He didn't dare to do so, as that palace could directly crush him. Even if he used the Yu Secret Art and the Dream Finger, he would only be able to unleash a single attack at most. However, that would be an all-out attack. They were not mortal enemies, and they could be considered comrades, so there was no need for him to risk his life.
This place was so secretive that he planned to wait until the time was right before leaving. He would never interact with this woman again, which was a little unreasonable.
On the Shenwu Continent, ever since Ming Zhaoshu had replaced Ming Zhaotian as the emperor, things had not been going well for him. He was constantly busy with government affairs, and he had to think of ways to help his own people ascend the throne. He had to deal with Ming Zhaotian's people, and there were occasional rebellions in various places. Coupled with the fact that the continent's commoners already hated the outsiders, the Shenwu Continent was in chaos.
Ming Zhaoshu had long since thought of this. The solution was simple: completely merge with the outer realm and shift the conflict.
During this period of time, he had suffered a total of 126 assassination attempts. Although they were all like moths to a flame, it still showed that many people wanted to kill him. Especially in the past few days, there had been rebellious armies raising the flag of the former Crown Prince Ming Hao. Ming Hao was already dead, and these people were obviously fake. But fake was fake, and ordinary people did not know about it, so it attracted a large number of people to join.
The Shenwu Empire's army continued to suppress the rebellion.
In Shanhai City, the Reverent King's Residence had already been expanded. Before the Mingdu Imperial Palace was restored, this place would be the core of the entire Shenwu Empire.
In the study of the Reverent King's Residence, Ming Zhaoshu put down some memorials and rubbed his aching head. There was a pile of memorials on the table, all of which were reports on the rebel armies in various regions. Even the isolated islands overseas refused to acknowledge his rule and wanted to divide their territories.
Right now, Ming Zhaoshu urgently needed help from the outside world. The best way to resolve the internal conflicts was to form the Great Eastern Alliance. Soon, soon!
Ming Yan had already packed up and was ready to leave for the Great Yu Empire.
As long as they formed a complete alliance with the Great Yu Empire and brought in some technological products from the universe, they would be able to effectively alleviate the rebellion. The cultural impact was far more invasive than a violent regime.
Suddenly, Ming Zhaoshu spat out a mouthful of blood that stained the table and the floor. This blood had come out of nowhere, and even he did not know why.
What's going on?
Ming Zhaoshu clutched his chest. There was nothing wrong with his body, and he had not been injured. There were no signs of poisoning either, so why had he spat out blood?
"Someone, summon an imperial physician!" Ming Zhaoshu shouted.
Not long after, an old man entered the study. "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
"Mm, take my pulse," Ming Zhaoshu said. The blood in the study had already been cleaned, and aside from the smell of blood in the air, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.
The imperial physician raised his hand, but his pupils shrank the moment he saw Ming Zhaoshu. "Y-Your Majesty, what happened to you?"
Ming Zhaoshu's heart sank when he saw the imperial physician's frightened expression. He looked at the mirror, but what appeared in it was not the majestic and high-spirited emperor of the Shenwu Empire. Instead, it was an old man with white hair and withered skin. Ming Zhaoshu could vaguely tell that it was Ming Zhaoshu himself.
Ming Zhaoshu's expression changed. "How can this be?
How can this be? "
The imperial physician trembled in fear and stood in place, not daring to move.
Ming Zhaoshu looked at himself in the mirror in disbelief. How had he become like this?
This is fake, fake! He casually shattered the mirror and took out another one. It still looked the same, but he had changed. In just a short moment, he had become an old man with one foot in the grave.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to take a look at you," the imperial physician said in fear.
Ming Zhaoshu sat in his chair and clenched his fists, still in disbelief.
The imperial physician approached Ming Zhaoshu in fear and placed a hand on his wrist. He frowned, and after a while, he said, "How can this be?
Strange, strange. "
"What's wrong?" Ming Zhaoshu asked in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, your body is fine, but your life force is constantly slipping away. It's as if something is stealing your life force," the imperial physician said.
Ming Zhaoshu's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that I've been poisoned?"
The imperial physician nodded. "It should be. This subject has never heard of such a poison. It can steal life force without harming the body. How can such a poison exist?"
Ming Zhaoshu lowered his head so that the imperial physician could not see the madness in his eyes. "Is there any way to treat it?"
The imperial physician replied, "With the conditions of the empire, we can only use some medicine that can replenish life force to delay the loss of life force. Your Majesty, please ask the outsiders to think of a way. Perhaps they can treat it."
Ming Zhaoshu grunted. "I understand. You may leave."
The imperial physician sighed. "This subject will take his leave." He then walked out of the room.
Suddenly, a pressure descended and crushed the imperial physician into a puddle of blood. Ming Zhaoshu's cold gaze was in the background. How could he let anyone know about his situation?
His life force was slipping away, and he had been poisoned. Who had poisoned him?
It could not have been someone from the Shenwu Continent, as this continent did not have such a terrifying poison that could rob a Martial Sovereign of his life force. Even the outsiders should not be able to treat him, let alone the Shenwu Continent. Ming Zhaoshu's understanding of the universe was no less than that of the trialtakers.
At that moment, Tang Si's voice rang out from outside the study. "Your Majesty, the princess requests an audience."
"Have her wait for me in the courtyard," Ming Zhaoshu said.
"Yes."
Ming Zhaoshu looked at his old self in the mirror with a sorrowful gaze. He had exhausted his entire life to obtain everything that he wanted, but was this the end?
No, he could not give up. The universe was too big. Perhaps there was a way to treat him, perhaps there was!
What he knew was just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, perhaps there was a way — no, there was definitely a way, and there had to be one!
He had a crazed look in his eyes. He had just enjoyed everything, and he did not want to die yet. He still did not have an heir.
Back then, in order to avoid suspicion, he had not even had a son and had only given birth to a daughter. Now, he wanted a son to inherit the throne, and he could not die before that.
In the courtyard of the Reverent King's Residence, Ming Yan was looking at the river from a pavilion. Her gaze was filled with both apprehension and anticipation, as well as a trace of longing for the future.
In the river, fish continuously leaped out of the water before falling back down, causing droplets of water to fall into the pavilion.
"Do you guys want to leave this lake as well?" Ming Yan squatted down and muttered to herself as she looked at the fish.
"Yan 'er, what are you looking at?" Ming Zhaoshu asked as he arrived outside the pavilion. He had used his star energy to change his appearance so that he no longer looked old.
Ming Yan was startled, and she quickly stood up. When she saw that it was Ming Zhaoshu, she shyly whispered, "I-I'm looking at the fish."
Ming Zhaoshu nodded and sat down. "Are you ready?"
Ming Yan knew what her father was asking, so she lowered her head and whispered, "I'm ready."
"Tell Father the truth. Do you want to leave?" Ming Zhaoshu looked at his daughter with a complicated gaze, and his tone was somewhat gloomy.
Ming Yan did not notice her father's tone, and after a moment of hesitation, she said, "I want to go out and take a look."
"Look at the universe outside, or look at Lu Yin?" Ming Zhaoshu asked.
Ming Yan's face turned red, and she thought that her father was teasing her. She lowered her head and shyly said, "Father, don't say that. I'm just … just …"
Ming Zhaoshu sighed when he saw how flustered his daughter was. "I'm sorry, but you can't leave for now."
Ming Yan looked up in surprise. "Why, Father?"
Ming Zhaoshu fell silent. He could not tell her that his life was about to end. Even though he still had hope that there would be a cure in the universe, his hopes were not high. Once he died, the entire empire would have to be handed over to Ming Yan, so she could not leave until he was certain that there was a cure.
He had to be prepared for the worst.
"Father will explain the situation to the people of the Great Yu Empire. You can stay here for now," Ming Zhaoshu said as he stood up. He then left without looking back, clearly in a bad mood.
Ming Yan was confused. Going to the Great Yu Empire had been arranged by her father, and he wanted her to be with Lu Yin more than anyone else. Why had he suddenly changed his mind?
"Right, from tomorrow onwards, you will learn how to handle government affairs from your father," Ming Zhaoshu said as he walked out of the pavilion.
Ming Yan was puzzled. "Handle government affairs?
But I've never come into contact with that before, and I don't have any thoughts about it. "
Ming Zhaoshu was in a bad mood, and he frowned. "There's no need to say anything else. Come to my study in the morning." He then left, leaving behind a confused Ming Yan.
Within a valley in the ruins of the Daosource Sect, White Knight rested for an entire day before opening her eyes.
Lu Yin calculated that there were still two or three days before he had to leave.
"Let's go." White Knight stood up and moved her body. Although she was still in pain, she had recovered quite a bit, and her strength was gradually recovering as well.
Lu Yin was puzzled. "Where?"
"To the place where I descend," White Knight replied coldly.
Lu Yin did not understand. "What place where you descend?"
"If I tell you to go, then go. Follow me."
"Go out?
There's probably chaos outside right now, and as soon as we leave, we might run into one of the Ten Arbiters or a Realmling. You won't be able to protect yourself against anyone. "
"With you here."
"You think too highly of me."
"I'm saying that you can help me buy some time to escape," White Knight said coldly.
Lu Yin was speechless. "If you want to go, then go. In any case, I don't want to leave. I'm planning to stay here until my time is up."
White Knight frowned and looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin glared back at her, unwilling to be outdone. He had already made up his mind not to leave, and he would have to wait for a period of time the next time he came. This was probably the most intense period of fighting.