Chapter Thirty-Three: Why Do You Rebel?

Ji Chengqian’s question caused the Wei Emperor’s expression to stiffen.

"Father, what is the stance of the Left and Right Prime Ministers and the civil and military officials of the court? If the great clans of the capital were to bring forth their family foundations, the peasant uprisings and my second brother’s rebellion would be no issue at all. Why is it that not a single one of them is to be seen?"

"And Father, why has the imperial dragon aura dissipated? Where is the Imperial Jade Seal now?" He fired off several questions in succession.

The Wei Emperor roared in fury, "Enough! It is not your place to question how I conduct my affairs. Today, you must succeed to the throne; that is final."

This stern command did not intimidate Ji Chengqian; instead, it ignited his long-suppressed rage.

"Father, you have committed so many absurd acts, and now you throw this mess onto me while you prepare to wash your hands of it? I have long heard that you invited evil gods into the temple and used living humans to refine blood pills to extend your life. You are not fit to be Emperor."

"Obsessed with power and immortality, you know full well that an Emperor cannot cultivate. If you sought immortality, why not relinquish power? By wanting both, you have created this situation. You should have died long ago, Father. Can you sleep at night? Are you not afraid of vengeful spirits coming to claim your life?"

"Refreshing! Truly refreshing! Father, issue the order to execute me. Hahaha, I shall wait for you in the underworld."

With that, Ji Chengqian stormed out in a fit of madness, leaving the Wei Emperor stunned and trembling, his finger pointing toward the direction in which his son had departed.

"Wickedness! Have I truly been wrong? No, I cannot be wrong. How could I be wrong? It is this heaven and earth that are at fault for forbidding an Emperor from cultivating. If I could cultivate, it would not have come to this. Yes, that is it." The Wei Emperor, too, began to lose his grip on reality.

Inside the residence of the Left Prime Minister, Zhao Yuan stared at the shattered Imperial Jade Seal, his complexion ghastly.

"Why has it come to this? Why? I have plotted for so long, finally obtained it, and now it is shattered. Just like that. Ah—"

The entire room turned to dust under the pressure of Zhao Yuan’s roar, and everyone within the Left Prime Minister’s residence cowered on the ground, shielding their heads in terror.

A young figure flashed into Zhao Yuan’s presence to report the intelligence gathered from the outside world.

"My time is near. You must look after the young master; do not let him go out and cause trouble. Oh, and before that, have him consume this half of the blood pill." Zhao Yuan pulled the blood pill from his sleeve and handed it to the young man.

"As you command," the young figure replied, vanishing in a blink.

Time shifts back to Black Cloud City.

Ji Huai’s army was stationed outside the city. He entered Black Cloud City and proclaimed that he would not harass the commoners, while simultaneously purging the corrupt officials and powerful clans within the walls. He distributed grain to the impoverished to win over their hearts, and families with cultivators were granted preferential treatment: they were to surrender and serve the Prince of Yan.

The subsequent war was like child’s play—completely one-sided. Every time the Prince of Yan’s army arrived at a city, the gates were thrown wide open to welcome the royal forces.

Officials and commoners lined the streets to welcome the Prince. In Ji Huai’s original plan, the war was to last a year; yet, not even two months since he raised his banner, he had already reached the imperial capital.

The Prince of Yan’s initial force of thirty thousand had expanded to one hundred and fifty thousand, with a hundred cultivators in its ranks, bolstered further by his eldest son, who had summoned two seventh-realm cultivators to hold the line.

Liu An and Jian Yi were quite dejected.

"Senior Brother, you call this a war? Ever since Black Cloud City, they just surrender one after another. How cowardly can they be? And those peasant insurgent groups are a joke; a single cultivator resolves them," Liu An grumbled.

"Say no more. This world is as it is. Unless one encounters an exceptionally foolish monarch—like the current Wei Emperor—who has lost the support of the people and the dragon aura of the dynasty, how can you expect cultivators to risk their lives for free? You don't even need to look; I suspect the gates of the capital will open from within before long."

"Do not let the Prince of Yan’s current arrogance deceive you. If he cannot obtain the recognition of Heaven and the people to manifest the Golden Dragon of Fortune, it will all fall apart like a collapsing tree, and the cultivators will simply turn to serve another until a 'Heaven-ordained Emperor' appears to claim the throne."

"A person ordained by Heaven is protected by the divine and possesses great fortune, heralded by auspicious omens."

"Then, Senior Brother, does this Prince of Yan look like he could be Emperor?" Liu An asked.

"I do not know. I only know that those who practice the art of Qi-gazing can discern those who possess the Mandate of Heaven."

Their conversation was interrupted by the horns of war.

"Soldiers! Success and fame are within reach this day; wealth and glory are right before your eyes!" the general encouraged his troops before the battle.

"Fellow cultivators, join me in breaking the Great National Defense Array," the seventh-realm assistant to the Prince of Yan commanded.

The hundred cultivators agreed, each unleashing their most powerful techniques.

As the hundred unleashed their arts simultaneously, the common soldiers below watched with burning fervor and envy. Wind, rain, lightning, earth, wood, fire, and metal—a kaleidoscope of spells crashed against the protective barrier.

The defenders behind the barrier, watching the sky erupt with a bombardment of sorcery, were so terrified their legs turned to jelly.

"Go tell His Majesty! The Prince of Yan is about to enter the city! We cannot hold them off!" the garrison commander ordered a messenger.

"There is no need. Open the gates and welcome the new Emperor." The Left Prime Minister, Zhao Yuan, stood suspended in the air above the city wall. He formed a seal with his hands, and the Great National Defense Array slowly dissipated.

With a wave of his hand, countless talismans flew from his sleeves, freezing all one hundred cultivators in mid-air, including the seventh-realm experts.

"Prime Minister, what strength! Truly the pillar supporting Wei. I wonder, do you intend to stop me from entering, or to kill me and present my head to the Emperor?" The Prince of Yan, Ji Huai, stared unyieldingly at Zhao Yuan in the sky.

"Prince of Yan, enter the city. We shall see if you can truly claim the title of Emperor."

As he entered the imperial capital, the Prince of Yan felt a deep sense of trepidation. If he could not obtain the recognition of Heaven, all of this would be but a reflection in a mirror, a flower in the water.

"I must risk it. There is no turning back now," Ji Huai thought, straightening his back as he sat in the saddle, showing no signs of his fifty years of age.

The Wei Emperor was a hundred years old, lingering on through the use of blood pills. He never expected his own son to rebel.

When the Prince of Yan rode his steed into the Imperial Palace and walked into the Xuanzheng Hall, looking at the bowing courtiers and his father upon the Dragon Throne, Ji Huai remained calm.

"Audacious! To ride a horse into the hall—do you have no respect for your Sovereign and Father?"

"Kill him." The Prince of Yan did not waste words, commanding his men to spill blood right there on the floor.

The Wei Emperor, Ji Jingshuo, was filled with horror. For a moment, he could not even steady himself on his throne, his imperial cap sliding to one side.

"Huai'er, why do you revolt?" the Wei Emperor asked, mustering his strength.

"Father, you are senile. I am here to purge the traitors of the court, not to revolt," the Prince of Yan retorted righteously.