26 Can't Return
Soon the capital was full of forces from the great clans, neighboring empires and some members of the imperial family. None of them could believe the current condition of the imperial capital even after seeing it with their own eyes.
Zhen Han's grandfather Zhen Ling also reached the capital using teleportation portal. He couldn't be worried about the cost now that his only grandson's life was at stake. He didn't even know if he survived.
He did feel sad for the death of his imperial father. The bond between them wasn't strong due to the imperial politics but at the end, he was still his father. When he first learned the news he cried.
Now tough his worries were directed towards his grandson. Unlike his own father who didn't care much about his family, Zhen Ling was opposite. For him, his family is everything.
From the information, Zhen Han has got, he knew the chances of Zhen Han and Lin Li surviving were very few. Even Divine King experts died due to shock waves so how can a Golden Body realm cultivator and her mortal son survive.
A part of his heart hoped for a miracle. His hopes were on the mystic violet bead his grandson was born with.
As soon as Zhen Ling reached the capital, he activated the mother-child tracking talisman he has given to Lin Li.
Mother-child tracking talisman consists of one mother talisman and one child talisman. If one has a part of the mother-child talisman, he/she can track the location of another part.
To his pleasant surprise, the tracking talisman worked. The signal was coming from the ninth zone!
He soon reached the location of the signal. A camp was made for giving the emergency medical care for survivors. The camp was jointly managed by the great clans.
The great clans spared no efforts in saving the injured. They weren't acting magnanimous. The reason was simple: they want to find out any possible information about the incident.
Zhen Ling noticed his daughter-in-law and grandson getting medical treatment. They both were severely injured but their lives were not in danger.
Lin Li's eyes were full of tears when she saw Zhen Ling.
"Li'er, don't cry. Han'er is alive that's what important," Shi Xiong comforted her. He also noticed the arrival of Zhen Ling.
"Father..." Lin Li said. She usually addresses her father-in-law as just 'father'.
Zhen Ling's face was pale when he saw the state of his grandson. He sighed a relief seeing that there would be no permanent injuries.
"Shi Xiong, thank you." Zhen Ling bowed down deeply. He thought most likely he saved Li'er and Han'er.
"You don't need to thank me. I feel sorry for your Divine King realm treasure. I was surprised you gave such a treasure to your daughter-in-law for her and her son's protection," Shi Xiong said. His voice has a tinge of regret for the loss of Divine King realm treasure.
"Huh?" Zhen Ling sounded surprised. What treasure did I give to them? He never had a Divine King realm treasure in his entire life!
"Father, I'm sorry but the treasure was destroyed during our escape. Even my cultivation degraded from the peak of Golden Body to initiate stage," Lin Li said. In truth, her cultivation degraded due to the loss of violet radiance.
It is a usual occurring in cultivation world for cultivation base to degrade if one uses a treasure which is more powerful than them.
"You..." Zhen Ling's brain finally ringed. He understood Lin Li and her son escaped through the help of violet bead.
Perhaps she made the story of Divine King realm treasure to avoid suspicions. Most likely she fooled Shi Xiong as well.
He understood why she didn't use divine sense to warn him in advance of the story. Powerful experts of Divine King and above would be inspecting every message through their perception.
Zhen Ling internally gave sighed with relief. He understood most likely Lin Li wanted to bring out a surprise reaction from him by speaking about the treasure which didn't even existed, to begin with. He helped her without knowing.
Now that he knew he has to help her.
"It is fine as long as you both are alive. I only gave if someone tried to make another assassination attempt on Han'er," Zhen Ling said though his voice was filled with regret at the destruction of his treasure.
Three years ago, Zhen Ling has made the story of an assassination attempt in order to divert attention after killing the nurses since they have seen the violet bead.
He never thought he could use the assassination attempt again in order to fool others.
"Everyone has secrets. Besides my love for grandchildren is well-known so it would not be surprising if I gave away my most precious treasure for his protection. Hopefully, it would divert the suspicions of others," Zhen Ling thought.
The great clans send a team of representative for asking questions to survivors. They asked more questions to Shi Xiong and Lin Li as they were in the first zone when the incident started.
Lin Li told she escaped with her child just after the barrier broke. She was able to protect them with the Divine King level treasure. Though the treasure broke when she second zone after the arrival of tree and gray sword.
The representative didn't find any loopholes from her story. They questioned Zhen Han as well, but he only said he was unconscious throughout.
The Great clans let them and other survivors leave.
"Grandpa Shi, thank you," Zhen Han deeply bowed to Shi Xiong. He was a child but the recent dealings have helped him understand how the world worked. They might have died if Shi Xiong hasn't helped them.
"Take care kid. You should grow up soon so that your mother doesn't have to worry," Shi Xiong ruffled Zhen Han's hairs before leaving.
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After Shi Xiong left, the expression of Zhen Ling fell. He no longer had any smile on his face.
"Grandpa, let's return to the castle," Zhen Han told his paternal grandfather.
"Father, what happened?" Lin Li noticed the expression of Zhen Ling.
"We can't return," Zhen Ling said. It seemed as if he has aged after saying the words.
"What do you mean?"
"My imperial father is dead. The entire imperial court is destroyed with very few survivors. Almost all resources and personnel of imperial family are now wiped out."
"Don't tell me?"
"Yes. If I was from great clan then I will think this as a perfect opportunity for taking away the control of 108 states of Empire. The clan who can take away more states would have more chances for the throne. I might be a Divine Manifestation Realm cultivator but what can I alone do against the great clans? I am afraid the great clans have already started attacking Yue State by now."
Usually, rebellion against the imperial family is full of difficulties. Even if one has the power to rival the imperial family, one can't directly attack without having any good cause.
The cause is more of propaganda. For any Empire to become stable and prosperous, the image of Emperor has to be good. The Emperor might be cruel but the public will must be manipulated.
The reputation might sound useless for a cultivator but the same can't be said for an organization.
How can an empire survive for long if its people hate it? Perhaps the Emperor might not fear the public but the prosperity and stability depend on the public in long run.
If in ordinary times, the great clans wouldn't be able to find a good reason for opposing the imperial family much less betraying them. But now it was different!
The great clans have a very good cause for rebellion! The Heavens don't want Zhen Family to rule otherwise why would Celestial Tribulation destroy the entire imperial capital?
Crimes of Skyrise Emperor were so horrifying that even Heavens have to intervene!
This can be used as a propaganda tool for justifying the rebellion. Plus the great clans can add some spice to the story by letting the public know of the horrendous crimes the imperial family has done for thousands of years!
The imperial family was full of scandals. Any scandal regarding the abuse of power can now be used to great clan's advantage.
"We can't return to Yue State..." Lin Li was horrified. She did expect the things to get chaotic but not this soon.
"We are now on run?"
