The night sky over the Imperial Capital was clear with neither stars nor moon.
Myriad lights on the ground flickered so brightly that it was no different from day. It was as though no one had noticed the mysterious changes to the vast sky, or the deep darkness shrouding it.
On the roof of the main hall of Prince Greensun’s manor, a person was seated in a half-lotus position, pouring a jar of wine into his mouth.
This type of drinking was extremely satisfying, sending the scent of alcohol wafting out in all directions—it was strong, crude, and pungent. The wine was a northern local product called Mouthburn. The ingredients were crude, the taste was strong, and it would burn on contact with a flame. Low-ranking soldiers would usually use it to suppress the cold of winter or wash their wounds.
A different figure appeared quietly on the eaves across from him, yet no one in the entire residence was alarmed of his arrival.
Zhao Boqian finished the last drop of wine before tossing the jar to the ground and looking up at the guest.
He had spread his perception throughout the entire city after returning to the residence. However, he still found that Xitang was no longer there. Other people might not have sensed it, but it was impossible for the ruler of the entire capital to not notice. After that, Zhang Boqian sent no message to the Unending Palace to explain, nor did the Emperor send people to investigate.
However, the Emperor himself had arrived.
The two exchanged no words for a good while.
Zhang Boqian’s expression was as still as an ancient well, his aura devoid of its usual sharpness and no different from an ordinary person’s. The Radiant Emperor’s aura was vast and mysterious, almost as though he was one with the boundless mountains, rivers, and the earth itself. Both of them had improved since the battle at the Hidden Palace.
The Radiant Emperor sat down with a sigh. “Teacher has left.”
With his understanding of Lin Xitang, the Emperor had figured out what had happened the moment he sensed Zhang Boqian’s consciousness wash over the entire capital. There was no gap in the way the Radiant Emperor oversaw his subjects, and he surely had a firm grasp on all key locations and personnel. Yet, he had not discovered anything wrong. Every scout and spy reported nothing out of the ordinary.
“He never went anywhere, nor did he leave any word. He left just like that.” The Radiant Emperor’s tone sounded a bit confused, almost like a lost child who had been separated from his parents, at a loss about what to do.
At this point, the two clearly understood why Lin Xitang had gone straight from the Divination Pavilion to the heavenly monarch’s residence. The moment he was confirmed to be missing, the last place he had appeared would be strictly investigated. The only place where he wouldn’t implicate anyone was at Prince Greensun’s residence.
Zhang Boqian was silent. He only listened and made no comment about being used as a shield.
The Radiant Emperor put his hand over his eyes and said with a wry smile, “Nobody has ever been able to change his mind on something he has decided.”
His voice became gloomy and even a bit hoarse toward the end. “All benefits are negligible before the future of the human race. If and when required, even this Empire doesn’t necessarily have to exist. Yet there are millions of people, so many divination specialists and experts. Since the sacrifice could be anyone, why must it be him?
“Teacher has saved countless orphans and raised countless geniuses to power, but was he ever sincere? How does he expect his friends to watch as he turns himself into a chess piece, putting himself in danger every time?”
Toward the end, the Radiant Emperor looked like he was muttering to himself. Zhang Boqian, on the other hand, was gazing over the yonder horizon, one hand on his knee and the other on the roof below. Who knew if he had heard what was said or not?
After the Emperor finished speaking, the rooftop became silent for a moment. The lull was finally broken by Zhang Boqian’s sneer. “Too many whats and whys. The reason one cannot make the rules is that he’s not strong enough, there’s no other reason.”
Zhang Boqian stood up with a gloomy expression. “The void outside of the Qin Continent has been locked down?”
Neither the stars, asteroid belt, nor the two moons could be seen in the sky. Naturally, it wasn’t a change in the continent’s trajectory or the cloud layer being too thick. It was a visual aberration caused by the origin field that the dark race fleet and experts had deployed.
The Radiant Emperor stood up as well. “Yes, Royal Uncle Riverglance has just returned to the capital.” At this moment, there were no more emotions showing on his face. There was not a hint of hesitation or confusion.
“How about the other continents?”
“They’ve encountered some probing attacks around sundown. The heavenly monarchs are overseeing their own positions.”
There really was no need to say. Both of them understood very well that the current peace on the Qin Continent was temporary as the highlight of the “Sanguine Funeral” was there.
After some thought, the Radiant Emperor couldn’t help saying, “The Art of Heaven’s Mystery should have no problem evading the dark races under the great monarch realm…”
The void ultimately wasn’t like the continents. Placing a blockade in the vast space might stop Lord Riverglance’s fleet, but there was no guarantee that a small airship couldn’t sneak away. If a void blockade could be water-tight, there wouldn’t be such a thing as smuggling.
Zhang Boqian glanced over and responded calmly, “It’s not a problem to evade the great monarchs, either. Only the Sacred Mountain…”
The Radiant Emperor felt a chill creep into his heart as he met Zhang Boqian’s eyes, even though the latter’s expression was calm and there was no fluctuation in his eyes. Zhang Boqian clearly wasn’t referring to the Spider Queen’s projection that he had encountered.
The heavenly monarch said, “Since unwelcome guests are at the door, why haven’t you issued the order to fight, Your Majesty?”
The Radiant Emperor was distracted for a moment. Civilian life looked normal at the Imperial Capital, but the entire Qin Continent had been mobilized at the highest level and all warzones could be plunged into battle at a moment’s notice. But Zhang Boqian was suggesting that they sally forth and attack?
The heavenly monarch’s next words confirmed that the Emperor hadn’t misunderstood him. “Since the Sanguine Funeral is a heavenly monarch battle, why not just fight? Why the need to begin with cannon fodder?”
Zhang Boqian’s tone was calm, but his intent to fight rose sharply.
The Radiant Emperor was shocked. “Now?”
“Do we really need to pick a good time to fight?”
The Emperor remained silent for a while, then broke into sudden laughter. “You’re right.” His expression relaxed, no longer as burdened and stressed as he was when he had arrived. His majestic aura was suffused with the transcendent qualities of a true ruler.
“Since Monarch Zhang wishes to do battle, I shall bring up the rear for you.”
“I’ll trouble Your Majesty then.”
The Radiant Emperor took to the air with a sweep of his sleeves. The entire city of Revelation came alive with his movements, sending streams of dark energy soaring into the air.
Above the Unending Palace at the center of the Imperial Capital, a hazy dark mist rose into the air and condensed into the shape of a giant rifle. The almost tangible weapon gradually stood up, moving its muzzle upward and its stock down. After rotating to a certain firing angle, it shot a long stream of black flames toward the sky.
The black clouds scattered to either side, much like the curtains on a stage, revealing the dim glow of the void and a black sun!
Entirely unmoved, Zhang Boqian shot into the air and made straight for the void like a warship.
…
Void continent, Whitetown. The sound of gunfire never ceased.
It looked like Zhao Jundu couldn’t sense Heartgrave’s consumption at all. His focus was entirely on cutting down the sword-bearers one-by-one. The gun’s massive firepower coupled with Trueshot meant that every hit would hit the enemy’s vitals. He was an indefensible force on the battlefield, killing even a marquis with a single shot.
In the blink of an eye, all but two of the higher-star sword-bearers had been reaped. The remainder were all counts.
Every thunderous gunshot would shake the Evernight experts’ heart. The sword-bearers weren’t fearless of death. On the contrary, none of them really wanted to die because they were outstanding people with great future prospects. When the seventh high-ranking sword-bearer fell, their morale collapsed entirely, and all of them began to scatter.
Zhao Jundu didn’t stop firing. A count had already fled a thousand meters away when the gunshot blasted him to oblivion!
In the very end, only a handful of sword-bearers managed to escape. The group that had arrived with great momentum and fanfare was almost wiped out in Zhao Jundu’s hands!
Gun in hand, the fourth young master looked around him and said in a clear voice, “Trading my life for all your sword-bearers, you guys have finally become smart.”
The entire battlefield was quiet. No one had recovered from the battle that had lasted mere moments but shook everyone to the core.
The sword-bearers made up the core strength of Evernight’s younger generation. There might not be anyone among them who could be compared to Zhao Jundu, but most of them were famous geniuses like Eden. Now that Zhao Jundu had wiped out most of their entire squad, it would surely come as a great blow to the Evernight Council.
What he had killed wasn’t just counts and marquises but future dukes and council members, maybe even princes and council chairmen.
No one would be willing to make this trade, no matter how much they wanted Zhao Jundu’s life.
Doer had fled with grave injuries, leaving the dark races without a leader. The only one who could keep things together was Digger, but considering Doer’s situation, it wasn’t hard to guess that the vice-duke wasn’t faring much better, either. Even if he could fight in the field, there was little hope of him beating a powerful enemy.
Digger couldn’t tell what he was feeling right now as he gazed at Zhao Jundu hovering in the air like a god and looking down at the world. No one dared approach him, even though they knew he would collapse any moment.
Digger sighed inwardly. The human race would always erupt with unimaginable power when pushed into dire straits. Countless people had ignited themselves to take the enemy down with them throughout the years. That determination was an important reason why they had managed to build a stable foothold in the midst of dark race territory.
And now, Zhao Jundu was joining their ranks.
The fourth young master was young, handsome, and his background was also flawless. He himself was an outstanding talent and only waiting in leisure to cross into the divine champion realm. Even becoming a heavenly monarch before Zhang Boqian’s age was a possibility.
Such a young man possessed boundless future prospects. Yet, he had never thought about running away from this critical battle, fighting to the bitter and bloody end. In the end, he burnt his life force and met death with great calmness, turning Evernight’s most outstanding geniuses into his gravestone decorations.
How could one throw away such a brilliant future so easily?
Evernight had held the absolute advantage, to begin with, and the proud sword-bearers had their own future interests in mind. Who would really fight with their lives on the line? If only half of them had charged forward when Zhao Jundu’s sniping began and fought him to the death, the situation wouldn’t have deteriorated so badly.
In the end, no one had imagined that the Zhao clan young master would be so determined, sacrificing his own body to turn the tables.
Digger couldn’t help but wonder what this young man was thinking. How could he make such a decision so easily?
As long-lived races, the vampires indeed enjoyed long lifespans, but that was also the reason why they were so afraid of death. Digger himself had experienced very vividly the terror between life and death.
Seeing that there were no more opponents, Zhao Jundu finally landed calmly and arrived beside Qianye.
The bindings of the Omniscient Seal loosened at this point, but Qianye remained motionless like a statue. He opened his mouth and uttered a word with great difficulty, “You…” He couldn’t say anything beyond that.
Zhao Jundu laughed out loud. “With me around, how can I let my younger brothers and sisters put their lives on the line?”
