On the side of the sword boat, a definite message finally arrived.

The message from the capital was just a relayed sentence, similar to a verbal decree: “You can proceed.”

It seemed that this was neither a decree from His Majesty the Emperor nor a military order from the Ministry of War in the capital as a result of court deliberations.

From Hanzhou to the Kingdom of Qiu, and then throughout the capital and its surroundings, both on and off the mountains, in the imperial court and the jianghu, within the mansions of powerful families and among the lower classes in the marketplace, things began to stir.

Zhou Haijing asked in confusion, “Besides activating all the spies and dead soldiers within Hanzhou’s borders to infiltrate and lie low in the Kingdom of Qiu, why do they need to transfer and dispatch so many accompanying cultivators? Exaggerating the situation and using them is one thing, but why are they forbidden from interfering arbitrarily and instead only allowed to observe? If you ask me, if they just sent two Jade Purity realm cultivators with a group of Earth Immortal offerings from the Ministry of Punishment, plus a few Far Roaming realm and Mountain Peak realm martial artists to make a few visits, it would probably be all settled within half a day, wouldn’t it? Or they could just send us twelve to the Kingdom of Qiu, and there wouldn’t be any casualties.”

Cao Gengxin smiled and retorted, “If an immortal manor has an immortal or a Ascended being guarding the dao field, what are those lower-level registered cultivators needed for?”

Zhou Haijing said, “Don’t beat around the bush, be direct.”

Cao Gengxin patiently explained, “Firstly, this is an undeclared military exercise, conducted in a special way, but it’s something the Great Li Dynasty, which has returned half of the Cinnabar Continent, will be able to use for decades, even a hundred years, to come. Great Li needs to verify the results first, checking for gaps and deficiencies at various stages. Also, they need to cleanse a wave of enemy spies in the near future. Secondly, it’s a form of inspection of Great Li’s civil and military officials, while also serving as a warning to others, making the southern kingdoms quiet down. Thirdly, it’s a test of hearts, not only of the Kingdom of Qiu, but also of Great Li itself, and those south of the Great River.”

So, it was indeed true that Cao, a minister from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was here on the sword boat to supervise, and General Lu Song of Hanzhou was dissatisfied, thinking he was a censor. It was no surprise that he could be promoted or demoted on the spot.

“Cultivation is doing subtraction, but governing a country is doing addition.”

“Cultivation involves treading on emptiness, with feet not touching the ground, and requires unwavering perseverance. Governing a country requires the patience of both strengthening the military and resting the people.”

“The Leafy Continent is a cautionary tale. When the Barbarian Monster Race army pressed in and swarmed ashore, the countries on the land were completely unable to muster their troops. Some dynasties finally managed to gather soldiers, but they were not battle-worthy, far from elite, and collapsed at the first touch. Those immortal manor sects occupying famous mountains and dao fields instantly found themselves isolated islands. The only exception was Mount Taiping.”

Yellowbrow Immortal arrived at some point, with a rare smile, and corrected, “Minister Cao, in fact, the Jade Gu宗 can also be considered one, it’s just that there were too many great monsters surrounding the Jade Gu宗, which made the resistance below the mountain seem weak. If you carefully examine the records, you will find that the dozen or so countries near the Jade Gu宗’s territory fought very hard.”

Cao Gengxin nodded, “I will take the opportunity to look into it.”

As the sky began to show the first light of dawn, outside the sword boat, a young cultivator suddenly ascended from within the borders of the Kingdom of Qiu, and began to curse the Great Li Dynasty for its tyrannical and perverse actions. He declared that he, so-and-so from so-and-so sect, would demand justice for the Kingdom of Qiu from Great Li today, even if he knew it was like a moth flying into a flame and he would perish on the spot…

His words were impassioned and his momentum reached the sky.

Through the mirror image formed by the rising mist in the hall, Han E recognized the person. Even though he lived deep within the palace, he knew this person’s name. He was a young talent from the Kingdom of Qiu with great cultivation potential, seemingly at the Sea Observation realm. He remembered that during a celebration two years ago, his elder brother Han Jun had even walked hand-in-hand with him?

A surge of heroic spirit rose within Han E’s heart. He wondered if this mountain daoist, who had the potential to form a golden core and become an Earth Immortal, could act in such a way?

Then, thinking of his own choices, compared to this, they were ultimately not upright enough. The young prince lowered his head and silently felt ashamed.

On the sword boat’s side, a “flying sword” as thick as a spear was immediately unleashed. The young cultivator defended with a heavy defensive treasure, a white jade pagoda. With a bang like thunder, a sect’s ultimate treasure instantly turned into dust, and countless fragments scattered like snowflakes into the human world.

With his natal item destroyed, the young man bled from his seven orifices, his body swaying precariously. The sword boat dispatched a Far Roaming realm martial artist offering from the Ministry of Punishment and an accompanying cultivator to驅逐 this young cultivator. There was another verbal confrontation between the two sides, after which the Far Roaming realm martial artist said he wanted to play with him. The latter faced great danger but never retreated. They fought one-on-one, filling the cloudless area with brilliant treasure light and dazzling spectacle.

Han E watched with boiling blood, his fists clenched, his face flushed red. If he wasn’t on the sword boat, he would definitely cheer for that young immortal master, the pillar of the Kingdom of Qiu, a few times.

Zhao Yao rubbed his forehead. With only a hundred-odd characters, he couldn’t even memorize it well. How did the Ministry of Punishment in the auxiliary capital choose such a person?

There was no other way. In the future, they would have to rely on such people to “secretly” connect with the ambitious individuals within the Kingdom of Qiu, exhausting their efforts to rebuild the country.

They had to let some people who considered themselves “survivors of a fallen nation,” who had been drifting in the jianghu for several years, finally find a few hidden mountain strongholds or factions that were both responsible and reputable, and had a certain degree of strength.

In the three to five years after the Kingdom of Qiu, there would be people playing both good cop and bad cop, both in the court and among the common people. Some of them would be granted posthumous titles and honors, some would gain a smooth path for their family’s descendants to rise in officialdom, and some would simply be doing things for money.

Han E finally noticed the change in Minister Zhao’s expression, and a guess formed in his heart. The young man was instantly dumbfounded.

Zhao Yao didn’t bother to beat around the bush with him and said, “In the court, literary circles, and jianghu of the Kingdom of Qiu, there will be such unyielding leading figures. For example, this one fighting to the death in front of us. Before descending the mountain, he personally struck off his gold and jade registry, courageously facing death in front of everyone, but secretly received a bottom-level ‘No Trouble’ token issued by the Great Li Ministry of Punishment, as well as two Daoist books and secret manuals whose price had been agreed upon in advance, a sum of immortal money, and a nominal Daoist instructor. Forming a golden core within a hundred years is just the minimum condition. Our Ministry of Punishment will also arrange two additional identities for him.”

Han E was stunned.

“Wipe the tears from your face. In the future, when you take your brother Han Jun’s place on that position, you will definitely have the opportunity to truly see people who can be considered the conscience of the Kingdom of Qiu. It won’t be too late to feel sad and shed tears then.”

Zhao Yao said indifferently, “Let’s be clear in advance, the Ministry of Punishment will record all your words and actions. They will be even more diligent than the official historians. However, you don’t need to worry too much. As long as you don’t overstep the bounds in your actions, they won’t care what you think. When you cross the line someday, our Ministry of Punishment will simply punish you according to the regulations, and it won’t be too late either.”

Han E’s face was blank, his eyes unfocused.

Situ Xiguang, the Governor of Hanzhou, had just received intelligence from the Northern Yue Mountain Lord of the Kingdom of Qiu and handed it to General Lu Song of Hanzhou beside him, smiling, “We’ve found the origins of the two assassins who attempted to ambush the cavalry. One is a family dead soldier kept by Zhuang Fan, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Qiu, and the other is a dead soldier who accompanied Liu Wenjin from the Ministry of Rites when he entered the Kingdom of Qiu.”

Of the two assassins, one had even painstakingly set up a formation on a secluded section of the official road, but both were dealt with by the accompanying cultivators directly dispatched by the Great Li Ministry of Punishment. Just here on this sword boat, they watched the entire process of how the formation master and talisman cultivator dead soldier set up his formation. So much so that several high-ranking military officials felt they could recruit him.

But without Zhao Yao’s nod, the assassin’s fate was sealed.

Attempting to intercept and kill a wave of Great Li cavalry first, hoping to gain an advantage?

The Prime Minister’s idea was very simple, but if successful, it would indeed be remarkably effective.

These civil officials, led by Zhuang Fan, were afraid that there would be no war and no casualties at the border, otherwise, they couldn’t stir up public anger within the country.

If the two Great Li cavalry units heading to the border entered the various passes, counties, and prefectures of the Kingdom of Qiu as if entering uninhabited territory and directly reached the capital, how could they negotiate with the Great Li barbarians who sat on horseback and the Hanzhou military officials who killed people like they ate and drank?

A short and lean general with a nickname, standing at the back, felt it was unbelievable and muttered, “Is Zhuang Fan, that bird man, a fool? How did he become the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Qiu?”

A familiar military official standing in front turned around and teased, “Just like you, by family background.”

Zhao Yao smiled at the young prince beside him, “I heard that this Prime Minister has been well-versed in military classics since childhood. Before succeeding his father as Prime Minister, he held the position of the Ministry of War for twenty years. In recent decades, along with the Minister of Rites Liu Wenjin, who has exquisite swordsmanship, he has been relied upon by Empress Dowager Dou Mi as her left and right arms, known as the ‘Twin Jade of Civil and Military’? Not inferior to the ‘Cao and Yuan’ of the Great Li Dynasty during its revival years? It’s also said that if the Kingdom of Qiu hadn’t suffered from geographical disadvantages, if it were south of the Great River, with the talent of Qiu’s civil and military officials, it could rise to be a behemoth like the old Vermilion Flame and White Frost within thirty years, and after cultivating its strength for another fifty or sixty years, it could challenge the Great Li Dynasty.”

Han E felt as if his gallbladder was about to burst.

He used to feel encouraged listening to these arguments as a young prince. Now, listening to them again, why were they so harsh?

Zhao Yao smiled, “In the early years, when we hadn’t yet broken free from the vassal state of the Lu clan, how many scholars of our dynasty cursed Grand Tutor Cui for his aggressive military expansion, saying the country would perish sooner or later. The few immortal forces like the Changchun Palace that were attached to Great Li, and a few imperial merchants directly managed by the Grand Tutor’s mansion, lost money in the businesses they conducted within the smaller vassal states. They started cursing the Song dynasty court for being a charitable and naive child, calling the Emperor foolish, and calling the officials of the Ministry of Revenue incompetent drunkards. To keep their official positions, they were willing to be a dog for Cui Chan, completely disregarding the national economy and people’s livelihood.”

Zhao Yao said, “Of course, in the end, the victors write the history. If Great Li had lost to the suzerain state, the Lu Dynasty, or later to the Barbarian Monster Race, their curses wouldn’t have been wrong.”

Han E said sadly, “So everything in the books was made up.”

Zhao Yao couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Don’t read books rigidly, and you won’t have read them in vain.”

In the corner of the main hall.

Zhou Haijing squinted at the talisman armor of the Hanzhou Deputy General. It was these well-made, expensive mountain items that made warfare in the southern part of the Cinnabar Continent even more costly now. In the past, the courts of various countries hired immortal cultivators and sought the help of immortal masters who would come down from the mountain for enough money. Not only did the prices skyrocket, but many lower-level Qi Refiners simply didn’t dare to touch the battlefield for fear of being targeted by sneaky immortal devices. The deposit of immortal money they had just received and hadn’t even warmed up turned into抚恤金.

When Zhou Haijing was gaining experience in the jianghu in her early years, she had personally seen an old immortal in the Cave Abode realm, who took money from others and resolved their problems. He flew through the clouds and mist, far from the ground battlefield, chanted immortal spells and incantations, leisurely performing a talisman technique similar to scattering beans to form soldiers. Just as he was feeling complacent, his body was suddenly struck in mid-air by an arrow from an enemy Mohist-style ballista from their inventory, shattering into two pieces and blooming into a flower of blood, along with the two halves of his corpse and his entrails splattering onto the ground.

If even a Cave Abode realm cultivator was like this, lower-level registered cultivators on the battlefield felt even more powerless. It was no longer possible to go out in the morning, perform a few immortal techniques, have a celebration banquet at noon, and return to the dao field to count money in the evening. For a few pieces of immortal money, it was not worth risking one’s life. It was better to honestly cultivate in the mountains. The sect would receive a stable sum of filial piety money and offerings from the lower realm every year. On holidays, they would visit the capital, write talismans for blessing and disaster relief for the generals, ministers, and dignitaries, and give a few bottles of immortal elixirs that wouldn’t kill anyone. This way, they didn’t have to fight and kill, which would harm the heavenly harmony, and could also earn some good karma and incense feelings, which was more stable.

There were also those unscrupulous mountain and swamp cultivators who were indeed willing to take on jobs, but they either took money from both sides, taking two deposits and running away, or set up various traps and scams. They would brag about their lineage and sect’s techniques to the heavens, claiming that they could turn thousands of enemy soldiers into dust with a single breath, which was naturally impossible. They would claim they were not the type who liked to boast, but if they had to retreat from battle, they could use their sect’s secret techniques and unleash a few powerful offensive treasures to kill hundreds of people in an instant… Some even switched sides on the battlefield or took the heads of military commanders to the enemy camp at night to claim rewards.

The registered immortal masters on the mountain were one smarter than the other, and the mountain and swamp cultivators were more resourceful than the other. The people below were not fools. After being cheated once or twice, they also started looking for other ways out, such as purchasing more standardized immortal equipment from the Great Li Dynasty. However, at this critical juncture, the Great Li Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue actually began discussing “buybacks.”

Unexpectedly, their tone changed recently, and they no longer talked about “buybacks” at different prices. Instead, it seemed they would directly send relevant officials to inspect, verify, and reclaim items from the warehouses of various countries.

They had no choice but to negotiate repeatedly with Great Li officials, and the explanations were all the same: Great Li only allowed you to restore and establish your country. From beginning to end, all the contracts and handover verifications were very clear, and we did not make things difficult for you in any way. We even lent you various mountain-moving sprites and hundreds of talisman warriors without charge to open up rivers and consolidate territories, and so on. However, the weapons and armor were clearly recorded by the Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue in the auxiliary capital of Great Li. You were only keeping them on behalf. When did we say we were giving them to you for free?

These courts were truly heartbroken and guilt-ridden.

Jianghu people all dreamed of owning a divine weapon that could cut iron like mud.

In the past, this was only possible in beautiful dreams. Now, it was possible as long as you had money. You just had to build good relationships with the officials of various countries or meritorious military officials, negotiate a good price, and the latter would move out the immortal weapons one by one. The former were ambitious. With one hand, they exchanged money, and with the other, they received the goods. With divine weapons in hand, they wanted to stir up a bloody storm in the jianghu. However, when they met their jianghu enemies, they were especially resentful. As they fought, something felt wrong. I have one, hey, you have one too?

In these years, how many children of powerful families in the south suddenly became wealthy through this method? As for women, what were courtesans? They all started sleeping with immortal maidens from the mountains.

Perhaps history is always so murky and full of fog. A batch after batch of people, fresh faces, similar identities and titles, but always the same approach.

Cao Gengxin faced the wall, secretly took a sip of wine, and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He shook his purple-skinned wine gourd and said, “I remember Grand Tutor Cui had a conclusion, roughly meaning that if scholars disrupt the law with literature and knights violate prohibitions with martial arts, then those on the mountain deter those below with immortal arts and influence the human world. How could cultivators merely look down on kings and nobles and disregard the law? The relationship between the Great Li Dynasty and those on the mountain is, and will always be, that of both enemies and friends.”

Cao Gengxin smiled, “Miss Zhou, you haven’t really experienced officialdom, and you haven’t read much history, so you don’t quite understand the drawbacks of literati clinging to power through families and ‘qingyi’ (scholarly criticism) for a long time, especially the formidable power of clerks turning into ‘hereditary families’ at the bottom of officialdom. These are not human affairs that a few Upper Five Realm, or even Ascended Realm, cultivators can manage. Of course, it’s best not to fight, not to kill, and to minimize casualties. But we must also pay attention to the world outside of warfare, for fear of killing people’s hearts invisibly. The accumulated inertia within officialdom and the continuation of people’s hearts outside of it are things we must not ignore, must not fail to manage, and must not mismanage.”

Zhou Haijing found this kind of official language boring and tedious. She usually listened with one ear and let it out the other.

She was observing that heroic female military official of Great Li. Yellowbrow Immortal was also sizing up this martial arts grandmaster who had become famous in the capital of Great Li.

Cao Gengxin muttered to himself, “The Qiu Kingdom’s border army, which is outwardly strong but inwardly weak, has only tens of thousands of soldiers, and most of them are young people who have never killed anyone or been injured by a blade. But the Great Li Dynasty occupies half of the Cinnabar Continent. Every day, how many ordinary people experience joy and sorrow, growth and decline? At this moment, in crowded and prosperous towns, in the countryside and along the coast, how much disappointment, even despair, is there, or how many people harbor hope, with a small expectation for tomorrow?”

Zhou Haijing was startled.

Perhaps the martial arts grandmaster, who was born a fisherman, was touched by the word “coast.”

“Clearly suffering blows every day, and yet still feeling that it has nothing to do with oneself. It seems we are truly capable of enduring hardship.”

Cao Gengxin smiled, “Is the country that Grand Tutor Cui and the Great Li iron cavalry painstakingly built something that a few Ascended Realm cultivators and peak martial artists can defend?”

Zhou Haijing chuckled, “You scholars curse people without using vulgar language.”

Cao Gengxin sighed and retorted, “I said ‘we’.”

Yellowbrow Immortal smiled knowingly.

Cao Gengxin suddenly asked, “Deputy General Huang, Miss Zhou, who is Great Li’s true enemy?”

Zhou Haijing asked, “All the southern kingdoms of the Cinnabar Continent?”

Could it be that they would have to spit it back out and then eat it again?

Yellowbrow Immortal said, “No more major wars, the immortal masters of the continent who have accumulated resentment for a long time and have finally turned against each other?”

Cao Gengxin shook his head and said, “Only Great Li itself.”

Yellowbrow Immortal was thoughtful.

Cao Gengxin smiled, “The question wasn’t originally asked by me, and the answer wasn’t given by me either.”

Zhao Yao, the Minister of Punishment, had been paying attention to the activity in the corner.

This Cao Gengxin, the test questions from the Grand Tutor’s mansion were leaked earlier, and he even gave the answers.

It seems that Inspector Cao greatly admired Deputy General Huangbrow Immortal of Hanzhou?

Zhao Yao walked over and smiled, “One world, gathering the power of the entire world, to create a small number of cultivators in the Fourteenth Realm. The Barbarian Race had this idea in the early days. Unfortunately, it didn’t succeed in the end, otherwise, it would be a good reference.”

Han E, the least popular young prince on the ship, was determined to follow Minister Zhao wherever he went.

Zhao Yao called out the name of an official and reported a number. The young official from the Great Li Ministry of Punishment immediately fetched a piece of intelligence, which was related to Han E’s prince’s mansion in the Kingdom of Qiu.

Zhao Yao handed the intelligence to Han E. After reading it, Han E’s face turned pale, his lips trembling. He wanted to curse but couldn’t.

It seemed that the vulgar and harsh words taught in books were not strong enough, completely insufficient to express the anger and resentment in the young man’s heart.

Zhao Yao said, “Originally, according to my personal idea, or the consistent style of the Ministry of Punishment, that palace maid in your prince’s mansion, who was your childhood sweetheart, would have been seriously injured and beyond saving last night, and her body would have been wrapped in cloth and thrown back to the prince’s mansion for you to return to the capital and personally collect her body. But our Ministry of Punishment doesn’t dare to do that now. Instead, we had someone send her a bottle of golden wound medicine secretly made in the mountains.”

Han E raised his head and stared intently at this high-ranking official of the Great Li Ministry of Punishment.

Your secret spies of the Great Li Ministry of Punishment can act so viciously?!

Zhao Yao’s eyes were filled with pity. “Do you hate me and the Great Li Ministry of Punishment more? That’s not right, isn’t Han Jun the culprit who almost whipped her to death?”

He reached out and slapped the young man’s face heavily, one after another, leaving red and swollen handprints on the young prince’s cheeks instantly. “It’s one thing to be foolish, but do you have any shame? Han E, you should be afraid in your bones, not show hatred on your face.”

Han E was beaten by Zhao Yao’s series of slaps until his eyes were full of stars and he was dizzy. Zhao Yao’s last slap even made the young man fall to the ground.

Minister Cao quickly jumped sideways, saying in the capital dialect, “Accidental injury.”

On the sword boat, besides Governor Situ Xiguang, General Lu Song of Hanzhou, Deputy General Huangbrow Immortal of Hanzhou, there was also a group of provincial and prefectural officials.

As well as a provincial examiner and a Daoist official who boarded the ship to make up the numbers and couldn’t participate in the conversation. One was a leisurely official with a high-ranking but idle position, and the other was a Daoist official of low rank.

Today’s morning court in the Kingdom of Qiu was sparse, with only half the usual number of officials in the hall. Some had reported illness, and some didn’t even bother to find an excuse.

The Great Li state letter was clearly written. The list contained nearly 400 names, from Empress Dowager Dou Mi and Emperor Han Jun of the Kingdom of Qiu down to the unofficial scholars who gathered to lecture and stir up trouble, using elegant gatherings to deceive people. All of them were regarded as rebellious subjects and traitors who had taken up arms and provoked border conflicts. The Great Li border army gave them two days to sever ties with these individuals.

As for what “severe punishment” meant for those who didn’t comply and what the specific consequences were, the state letter didn’t elaborate. State letters, after all, were always the most official of official documents.

Unlike the daily morning sessions of the Great Li Dynasty, the Kingdom of Qiu held morning court only three times a month, with officials of rank five and above in the capital participating.

The young Emperor Han Jun sat on the dragon throne. In previous years, there was a bright yellow cushion at his feet, but it had been removed later.

Behind the imperial seat, there was a high platform with a pearl-studded curtain hanging down. Behind it sat the elegant young Empress Dowager.

Han Jun was drowsy and almost yawned. He lowered his head slightly, covering his mouth with a fist, raised his eyelids, and swept a glance around.

In the hall, there were six Langzhong from various ministries, who always attended the court sessions without fail, because they were officials placed here by the Great Li Dynasty.

They were from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War’s Bureau of Military Selection, the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ Bureau of Merit Evaluation, the Ministry of Works’ Bureau of Waterways, the Ministry of Revenue’s Bureau of Grain Transport, and the Ministry of Punishment’s Bureau of Sentence Reduction.

Most of them were young, around thirty years old. Although they participated in the court sessions of the Kingdom of Qiu, they rarely spoke. Year after year, they stood on the golden bricks like wooden figures. They had different temperaments. During office hours at their yamen, they didn’t have many taboos and had social interactions with their colleagues. Besides the Great Li official language, which had become the common language of the continent, they were also fluent in the former official language of the Kingdom of Qiu.

As the suzerain state, Great Li’s capital and auxiliary capital would “station” a batch of young officials in the yamen of various vassal states each year to gain experience in governance. The period of time was typically three to five years, after which they would return to officialdom in Great Li.

Han Jun always had an impulse. If he dragged out a few and killed them, would the heads of Liu Wenjin and Han E be left in the Great Li capital?

Zhuang Fan, the current Prime Minister, came from a family of officials for generations, with sons succeeding their fathers for several generations.

He was both a great poet and a calligrapher, as well as a connoisseur and book collector.

At this moment, the Prime Minister was engaging in verbal warfare, speaking in front of those Langzhong about how the Kingdom of Qiu should first fight at the border, then in a certain prefecture, then in the area around the capital with fortified walls and cleared fields, and finally fight in the streets within the capital and outside the palace… step by step, clearly and logically.

It was just slightly different from the usual court sessions. Before, there would be quiet but firm cheers of approval in the hall, one after another, or some officials with flushed faces and even trembling bodies would cooperate with the Prime Minister, like chanting and responding in poetry.

Today, the hall seemed a little deserted.

General Dou Man, the undisputed leader of the imperial relatives, was the Empress Dowager’s younger brother. He had a face like a jade coronet and a slender figure. After the war in the Cinnabar Continent ended, he was busy with the search of the mountains within the Kingdom of Qiu. He wore armor and personally led troops, capturing many remnants of the Barbarian Monster Race hiding in the mountains and fields. Their heads were hung on the city gates of major prefectures, which was very satisfying.

Fu Xian, the Protector of the State, who did not wear court robes but a greenish-blue Daoist robe, with the Daoist name “Ling Pei,” was an expert in water spells.

Fu Xian was the contemporary head of the largest immortal sect in the Kingdom of Qiu. There was also a Nascent Soul realm ancestor in the mountains who had been in seclusion for many years. It was said that he was seriously injured in the battle at the auxiliary capital in the past, when immortal masters’ lives were like grass. He had made great military achievements on both sides of the Great River. His final battle was a fierce fight with an Upper Five Realm great monster, almost perishing together.

Behind the curtain, the young Empress Dowager Dou Mi leaned her head on her hand lazily.

An elderly instructing嬷嬷 and a slender sword-holding palace maid stood below the steps.

Dou Mi had the instructing嬷嬷 put down the jade hook and another layer of pearl curtains to obscure her vision. Liu Lang was not here, and some of the old men were truly hideous, nothing but filthy things to look at.

Thinking of Liu Lang, her pair of autumn water eyes, already enchanting and captivating, became even more moist.

The young Empress Dowager turned slightly and extended her leg forward, pointing her toe, reaching towards the sword-holding palace maid who was both her personal guard and confidante. She lifted her skirt and gently brushed her feet between her legs, then slowly moved her toes upwards.

Seeing her back tremble slightly, the young Empress Dowager chuckled inwardly, cursing her as a pretentious little slut, wondering how long she could endure.

The old woman turned slightly and stared at the pearl curtain. In the main hall, the civil and military officials of the Kingdom of Qiu were gathered.

Just at this moment.

The palace maid, who was also looking straight ahead, slightly loosened her arms. The long sword she was holding slid towards the ground. She reached out and grabbed the sword hilt, letting the scabbard fall to the ground, and drew the sword from its sheath. With one strike, she beheaded the instructing嬷嬷 on the spot.

The old woman was also a cultivator with considerable Dao power. She abandoned her physical body and activated a secret technique, instantly turning into a rolling black smoke, intending to envelop the despicable servant who dared to commit treason and regicide and flay her alive. The palace maid twisted her wrist, and the talisman sword in her hand instantly burst into sword light, stirring up hundreds of golden threads, easily shredding the rolling black smoke mixed with curses. The black smoke hissed upon contact with the sword light, falling to the ground as pus and blood, extremely foul-smelling.

From drawing her sword and killing to breaking the spell, it took the palace maid but a blink of an eye. With another sweep of her sword, she cut off the young Empress Dowager’s head. The palace maid sheathed her sword, stepped onto the steps, reached out and grabbed the woman’s hair bun. The young Empress Dowager’s cheeks were still flushed, her eyes alluring.

Holding the head and lifting two layers of curtains with the tip of her sword, she walked slowly towards the imperial seat and threw the head into the young emperor’s arms.

Han Jun instinctively reached out to catch the object. He lowered his head and exchanged glances, then the young emperor was startled. He threw the head forward and fainted on the spot.

She took out a Great Li ‘No Trouble’ offering token from her sleeve and hung it on her waist. Leaning on her sword with both hands, she said indifferently, “The demoness Dou Mi has been executed.”

With a thunderous crash, the main hall doors suddenly closed.

A young attendant from the Kingdom of Qiu, originally a local, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, shook it, and began to “call names.”

“Those whose names are called must leave their heads. Their bodies may leave.”

On a high mountain shrouded in immortal mist, inside a patriarch’s cave on the summit, the Nascent Soul realm ancestor had the immortal maids and beautiful servants temporarily withdraw. He knelt alone on the ground, trembling as he said, “I am willing to be at the disposal of the superior immortal master and will now clean up the sect.”

A handyman disciple took out a list from his sleeve and threw it on the ground. “You have one stick of incense to clean it all up.”

The old cultivator, who was said to be in the Nascent Soul realm but was actually at the Golden Core bottleneck, quickly shuffled on his knees and grabbed the paper. Several names were shocking. With great reluctance, the old immortal’s face twisted and his expression changed constantly.

The handyman disciple, who had been in the mountain for many years but was completely unknown, said, “I am in the Cave Abode realm. Feel free to kill me.”

The old cultivator stood up and chewed the list into his mouth. “I would never dare to have such a thought. I will go kill them now.”

Not far away, ripples appeared, and a round-faced girl in a Daoist robe appeared. She hovered on her sword and praised, “Though your realm is not high, you have some ability to seek good fortune and avoid disaster.”

The ancestral master cultivator glanced out of the corner of his eye. The unknown female sword immortal, whose Daoist robe attire seemed to be from the Divine Edict Sect?

Before attending the morning court, a high-ranking official in charge of seals was enjoying a mountain medicinal meal prepared according to an immortal recipe. As he ate, he began to bleed from his seven orifices.

A carriage attending the court session drove into a secluded dead-end alley. Lifting the curtain, the passenger frowned and asked why they hadn’t arrived yet.

In the capital’s busiest brothel, the courtesan huddled in a corner, her face tear-streaked, wrapped in a silk quilt embroidered with golden threads and mandarin ducks. On the bed lay an official with blood seeping from his forehead. The hole in his chest was made later with a dagger. The assassin, who didn’t even bother to cover his face, was a young man she vaguely remembered as a “teapot server” in the brothel, with the lowest status there. At this moment, he smiled, held a finger to his lips, and gently shook his head, signaling her not to make a sound.

She had never seen such a bloody scene before, but she had heard some storytelling. If you accidentally saw the face of a villain, you would be killed to silence you. The courtesan, with a face full of tears, her hands trembling downwards, revealed a scene that was also trembling.

The assassin felt helpless and waved his hand.

In an instant, a bright light flashed towards the man’s neck. The man was horrified and unable to evade. He had just silently wiped out three officials from the Kingdom of Qiu who had come here together for a horse battle. The previous two, even the five or six women sleeping together in the same bed, hadn’t noticed anything until this room… He shouldn’t have been careless.

A sharp sword qi directly shattered the window, destroyed the hidden weapon, and killed the woman who was about to rush forward. The courtesan’s body went limp on the bed. The man who survived the disaster quickly turned around and saw a man with a clear and graceful appearance through the window crack. The other party walked straight along the corridor outside the door and said in a secret message, “My name is Su Lang, a fellow traveler. I am responsible for cleaning up here. You should be careful in the future.”

As dawn broke, in the courtyard of a mansion, a Ministry of War official in his prime, dressed in court robes, walked along the corridor, lost in thought. A thin maidservant stopped early to the side, and when the two approached, she timidly called out “master.” The official nodded. Just as they were about to pass each other, a dagger slipped from her sleeve. She stabbed it into the official’s chest, drew it out and stabbed again, not forgetting to slash his neck. After drawing out the dagger, she wiped the blood on the official robe on his shoulder, put the dagger back into her sleeve, and continued walking slowly, finally leaving through the side door.

In a study, an old man who had resigned from office many years ago looked up and saw the middle-aged man with an unfamiliar face who gently opened and closed the door. The old man was neither startled nor did he question him. His demeanor was gentle, and he asked with a smile, “From where have you come?”

The old man was a famous old hand in the officialdom of the Kingdom of Qiu, with a mixed reputation. However, his firm stance against the suzerain state, the Great Li Dynasty, and his wish for the Kingdom of Qiu to break free from its vassal status had never changed. He sought neither fame nor fortune, nor did he seek wealth for his descendants. The old man sighed. He had clearly ordered increased security, but it was still useless. The man just nodded and didn’t speak.

The old literati hummed and asked, “Besides me?”

The man said matter-of-factly, “They are not on the list.”

The old literati no longer spoke, just looked at the man, probably fearing that the assassin wouldn’t tell the truth even to a dead person.

The man said, “The Ministry of Punishment did not order to cut the weeds and root them out. I dare not violate it in the slightest.”

As if he had a poker face, he hesitated and forced out something that might have been a smile. “I have carefully read your works. Apart from criticizing the Great Li court, everything else is written very well.”

The old literati was a little surprised, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled, “I’m getting old and I’m still afraid of pain. Can you not use sharp objects to kill me? Choose a different way to die, like using poison?”

Seeing the man shake his head, the old literati was about to express a few regrets, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his body and died.

An old minister of the Ministry of Rites, known for his slender appearance and vigorous character in the court and among the people, was hailed as the literary backbone of the Kingdom of Qiu. Before the Kingdom of Qiu became a vassal state of Great Li, he was the most zealous and cursed the Great Li barbarians the most fiercely, using harsh words. After the Kingdom of Qiu became a vassal, he recuperated for several years. A few years ago, he started serving as an official again. It was the young Empress Dowager who personally asked the Prime Minister to invite him out of retirement. At this moment, the old man’s beard was covered in tears and snot. He choked and said to the assassin who was standing in his bedroom, “Brave warrior, honestly, I was originally from Yi Province in Great Li. I moved here with my family when I was young. It was just that I was possessed and talked nonsense. In fact, in the depths of my heart, I sincerely hope that the Great Li Dynasty can flourish forever. That is the country of my ancestors…”

The assassin nodded and said, “The secret files are all written. I have read them many times.”

The last sentence this old minister heard before he died was, “I am also from Yi Province.”

On an immortal ferry leaving the capital, two accompanying cultivators, both seriously injured, sat leaning against the wall facing each other. One of the family offerings who served the Duke narrowed his eyes. One of them said with a sinister smile, “Oh, you are also a fellow traveler? I really couldn’t tell before. You were so glib during our daily interactions. You are really ruthless. You even twisted off the head of the dignified Duke.”

As he spoke, he covered his mouth with his hand. Blood seeped through his fingers, and he said bitterly, “I couldn’t stop you from suddenly killing, and I didn’t stop you from leaving. Why did you want to trade lives with me?”

The other Great Li dead soldier, who was responsible for acting according to the list, sat on the ground, covering his neck with his hand, and said, “Because you are on the second list.”

A spear roared through the wall and then through the skull, killing the foreign spy on the spot. Someone outside the wall said with a silent voice, “After a simple bandaging, can you get up and leave?”

The man nodded and said, “Yes.”

Throughout the Kingdom of Qiu, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, civil and military officials, powerful families and nobles, registered cultivators, and jianghu masters, as long as they were on the list, over 300 names, all died one by one. Besides those on the list, none of the dozens of military commanders in the Qiu Kingdom’s border army or the soldiers died, not to mention the common people on the road from the Qiu Kingdom’s border to the capital. The county yamen were still holding court, the schools were still reciting texts, the fields were still busy with farming, and the temple fairs that were starting to become lively were still the same.

A yellow oriole wind blew through the mountains.

A convoy that secretly left the capital for a secluded county was thrown into chaos, with people and horses falling over. An assassin had already succeeded with one strike and disappeared into the morning mist.

As dawn faintly broke, a Daoist’s figure was like a lone crane, slowly flying across the Great River.

Since the capital was definitely not a place to stay for long, he sought a barren wilderness to avoid the storm.

At this moment, the Daoist thought he had succeeded, but he was unexpectedly killed by a sword light rising from the reeds on the riverbank without any warning.

The common people of the capital of the Kingdom of Qiu only knew that today’s morning court was still held, although there were fewer officials. However, Emperor Han Jun abdicated in favor of his younger brother Han E. It was said that it was an imperial decree personally issued by Empress Dowager Dou Mi, perhaps she thought Prince Han E was more talented. It was also said that in the Golden Throne Hall, the Prime Minister requested to retire, and the newly enthroned monarch granted it. The Protector of the State, the old Daoist Fu, seemed to be returning to his mountain dao field for seclusion. The troops at the border had also withdrawn as ordered. The merchants and peddlers who specialized in doing business with court officials during morning court and those waiting at the city gate to set up stalls for small businesses also started packing up. Many storytellers appeared overnight inside and outside the capital. Under the overpasses, in restaurants, and at temple fairs, they started telling stories. They were about to strike the gavel and tell new stories.

Thus, the day broke.

On the peaceful official road, a young woman and a young man, who had heard a lot of vivid rumors along the way and were now leaving their hometown, complained, “The Kingdom of Qiu didn’t fall into chaos.”