“Forget about her for now; our priority is to rescue the Zhang family. Let these people fight until they’re both crippled, and then we’ll come back to reap the benefits.”
Seeing Zhang Yuge halt because of Li Yuluo, Yun Lan earnestly advised.
“Big brother, we can’t break through Li Yuhan’s shield!”
“Keep bombing, keep attacking! I refuse to believe it—keep bombing!”
Yun Hai roared.
Failing to eliminate Li Yuhan immediately was extremely disadvantageous for both the Feng and Yun families.
The longer they delayed, the more they risked total defeat.
“Damn it, that brat from the Li family actually dares to cultivate secretly. Could it be that he’s been pretending to be useless all along?”
Yun Hai muttered to himself.
Li Yuhan stood motionless, silently defending, leaving only his back to Li Yuluo and Zhang Yuge.
Li Yuluo trembled uncontrollably.
She desperately wanted to do something to help her imperial brother, but none of those attacking Li Yuhan were below the Qi Refinement Stage.
This scene was observed keenly by Zhang Yuge.
“Master, I remember you said you wanted me to practice the Dao of the Emperor, right?”
Zhang Yuge asked.
“You said that, but given the current situation…”
“The more retainers I have, the stronger my forces. That means I’ll grow stronger too. That’s the Dao of the Emperor, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, but you know the relationship between Li Yuluo and Li Yuhan. Is it wise to keep a retainer who might betray you at any moment?”
While they spoke, the Yun family patriarch unleashed a True Treasure, releasing a fierce, blinding light.
“Zhang Yuge, it’s a True Treasure! Get out of the way!”
Yun Lan warned him.
Zhang Yuge sprinted.
He dashed toward Li Yuluo.
“Master, even so, I don’t want to give up on anyone. Especially not my woman.”
Under the massive explosion, a wave of flames engulfed the entire Sacrificial Platform.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
To keep the assassination secret, even Empress Yun Zhiruo was kept in the dark.
The women sent by the family to become Imperial Consorts were mostly those with no affinity for cultivation.
They stood there dumbfounded and helpless, while the maids and eunuchs behind them scattered, fleeing in panic to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Seeing her own clan mercilessly bombarding the Sacrificial Platform, Yun Zhiruo’s heart stopped.
The moment she obeyed the clan’s orders and falsely claimed pregnancy, she had an inkling—the family was about to act, and Li Yuhan’s life was nearing its end.
Though she felt guilt toward Li Yuhan, when faced with family interests, personal feelings had to be abandoned.
It was like over a decade ago when she was forced to give up her long-time love, her cousin in the clan, to marry into the imperial palace.
Her cousin was extraordinarily gifted, and Yun Zhiruo knew she wasn’t worthy of him; their relationship had no future.
Yet she never expected that after sacrificing so much for her family over the years, they wouldn’t even inform her of the timing of the assassination.
Fragments from the blasted Sacrificial Platform flew toward her and the other Imperial Consorts.
Just as the debris was about to hit them, a somewhat familiar voice rang out nearby.
“Cousin, watch out!”
A silver light flashed, shattering the massive stone block midair into tiny pieces.
“Cousin?”
Standing before Yun Zhiruo was her childhood crush, Yun Shan.
Though she was now nearly thirty and a married woman, he still looked like a young boy.
Cultivators who reach the Qi Refinement Stage gain the ability to preserve their youth; their aging is much slower than ordinary people.
Several outstanding young members of the Yun family followed behind Yun Shan.
“Cousin, come with me. I’ll take you out of here.”
After speaking, Yun Shan and several Yun family youths fought back the palace guards who had come to support the emperor, escorting Yun Zhiruo away.
The other clan Imperial Consorts were left behind.
Before leaving, Yun Zhiruo glanced instinctively toward the Sacrificial Platform.
Thick smoke obscured Li Yuhan and the others, only the sounds of fighting and screaming coming from that direction.
The plaza was already in chaos, with multiple clans battling each other.
The powerless civil officials were completely helpless, becoming human punching bags.
The military officers barely managed to defend themselves but suffered heavy casualties amid the turmoil.
“Cousin, get out of the way!”
As the group retreated, a sudden shout caught the empress’s attention.
She turned to see someone lunging at her with a sword.
Just as Yun Zhiruo thought her end was near, Yun Shan appeared swiftly, blocking the fatal strike and then counterattacking the assailant.
However, he was wounded in the process.
“Damn it, the Ji family is ambushing us!”
Yun Shan grit his teeth.
“Cousin, cousin, I’m sorry—it’s my fault you got involved.”
The empress apologized anxiously.
Yun Shan shook his head.
“It’s okay, as long as you and the child inside you are unharmed.”
Yun Zhiruo was stunned.
“You said… child?”
“Yes, you’re carrying the emperor’s Imperial Descendant. This is our Yun family’s most important trump card.”
Yun Zhiruo’s feelings were complicated.
She wanted to speak but held back.
In fact, her cousin and the others didn’t know she wasn’t really pregnant; it was a lie.
But now was no time for second thoughts; she had to retreat and protect the nonexistent child in her belly.
True to his reputation as a leading talent of the Yun family’s younger generation, Yun Shan had entered the top-tier sect Wanjian Mountain at fifteen and broken through the Qi Refinement Stage by twenty.
Even facing a host of enemies blocking their escape, he remained unstoppable.
Just before the Sacrificial Platform was completely destroyed, Zhang Yuge leapt while holding Li Yuluo in his arms, successfully escaping the battlefield’s center.
“Imperial Brother!”
The girl in his arms screamed in terror as Li Yuhan’s figure was swallowed by the explosion’s heatwave.
Though the Feng and Yun families claimed to be assassinating Li Yuhan, it was actually the two family heads and a few powerful elders who had attacked.
The rest were merely tasked with blocking the guards.
No one had paid much attention to Zhang Yuge, the so-called mystic, but when Li Yuluo suddenly shouted, all eyes turned toward them.
“What did that palace maid just shout? Did you hear it?”
“She seemed to be shouting ‘Imperial Brother’…”
By the time Zhang Yuge covered Li Yuluo’s mouth, it was too late.
He quickly scanned their surroundings, realizing there was no easy escape route through the crowd.
Adhering to the principle of ‘better to kill three thousand by mistake than let one escape,’ the group immediately surged toward Zhang Yuge and Li Yuluo.
“Master, hurry, lend me your power!”
“Got it, got it, don’t rush me—what’s the hurry?”
Yun Lan said impatiently.
“If I don’t hurry, we’ll die!”
Just as the young noble sons of the great families were about to stab Zhang Yuge into a hornet’s nest, the Transferring Power was complete.
“Bang—!”
A powerful pressure descended, and a huge palm appeared out of nowhere, pressing down.
Almost all the Qi Refinement Stage disciples from the noble families were flattened onto the ground.
Instantly, everyone’s attention was captured by this overwhelming force.
In the National Teacher’s arms, he gently retracted his palm and theatrically said,
“Amitabha.”