Further Chaos

Such a young Perfected Person...

Li Mu sported the look of a middle-aged man.

However, his jet-black hair engendered by his brimming aura and the lustrous sheen on his skin said otherwise.

He looked a lot younger than the other man.

Despite the fact that this was the first time these men had met, the killing intent in their eyes was unmistakable.

"You have some guts indeed, daring to take on the Xuan Sect."

"I initially had no intentions of making enemies out of you people. It was just that you people forced my hand after slinging threats after threats at me."

"That is still not a viable reason for killing my disciples."

"Well, well, well, it's that I-can-kill-you-but-you-have-no-right-to-resist mentality again. Don't you think that you're being the bully here?"

Li Mu spread his hands in false consternation.

He contacted the System in secret and cranked up his powers to the maximum.

The sect master continued glaring at Li Mu, waiting for an opening.

The two seemed to be chatting, but they were actually trying to get on each other's nerves, waiting for the other to fail to suppress his emotions and falter.

"Heh! Seems like you don't care for your loved ones then. Given that you've offended the Xuan Sect, you've forfeited their right to live."

"Oh, you're getting it all wrong. Me being daring enough to mess with you people means that I'm not gonna let you lot do as you please anymore. You lot won't be around for long."

Li Mu narrowed his gaze as he answered with brimming confidence.

The sect master narrowed his gaze as well.

Both parties were threatening the loved ones of the other.

Seemed to him that the Xuan Sect would be done for due to having gotten on the wrong side of a formidable one like him.

The option of surrendering and asking for peace?

Not an option.

The only thing left to do is to kill him.

Li Mu made his move, breaking out a sword.

Now!

Kill!

The sect master made his move at the same time that Li Mu moved.

Clang~

The clash of their swords reverberated throughout the entire Mount Yan area.

"Heh, do you really think that I, a sect master of a sect, wouldn't have backup? A disciple of the Xuan Sect would only get a chance to become a candidate vying for the position of sect master after experiencing the world out there firsthand for years."

Flashes of the sword dazzled.

"18th Stroke."

Li Mu drew a cross with his sword.

Years of experience out there, so what?

No trick could withstand the brunt of absolute power after all.

"Breaking Air!"

Clang~

His attack was stopped.

"19th Stroke!"

Li Mu attacked with the Saint Spirit Sword Techniques, bringing slashes upon slashes down on the sect master.

"Breaking Divinity!"

"22nd Stroke!"

"Breaking Spirit!"

Flashes of the swords dazzled as both of them tore at each other all the way north.

"That broken sword technique of yours is indeed better than what it seems."

In a forest somewhere...

All the trees had been cut down, leaving green detritus all over the ground.

"The techniques I'm wielding are the Breaking Mystic Sword Techniques, the supreme sword techniques of the Xuan Sect. What are your techniques called? They are actually on a par with the number one techniques of the Xuan Sect," the sect master asked in surprise.

"These are the Saint Spirit Sword Techniques, and you've yet to see the best of them. You must have earned quite a bit of fortune in your past life to be able to die under this set of sword techniques."

"Heh, never heard of them. I bet it's just something you picked up from nowhere. Kill, Breaking Mystic!"

The sect master's mental powers burst forth.

"23rd Stroke."

Li Mu's moves left his body.

The clash between the two of these Perfected People lit up the entire northern sky.

...

Back at the front lines at the Tianlong River...

"We shall give it all we've got this time. We'll move in groups of three and shall never separate from each other no matter what. Whatever happens, light up a signal right away."

The Xuan Sect had suffered severe losses.

The inner-circle disciples had begun to reflect on their mistakes, and they'd reorganized their offense.

They were dealing with the two princes with 200 percent of what they had.

That very night...

The assassination teams consisting of the Xuan Sect's inner-circle disciples headed straight for the central tent of the royal army.

At that very moment...

The men who served the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince were fighting among themselves.

Liu An had no need to worry about his brothers taking command.

They were at each other's throats, fighting for the supreme leadership of the army.

"Sixth brother, I'm the older one here, and you should listen to your elders."

The Third Prince naturally was unwilling to let go of the army's command.

"Third brother, I called you my brother back in the palace, but, out here, whether in terms of ability or in number of followers, I'm clearly above you. You have but three Spirit Manipulation Realm warriors at your side, while I have five, with two of them being at the late stages of the realm. What makes you think that you're qualified to fight me for supremacy."

"Sixth brother, you're disrespecting your elders again right there."

The Third Prince glowered at his brother.

The Sixth Prince was indeed the one with greater connections. He had a great many followers outside.

"Both of our mothers were high-ranked concubines. It was just that you were born two years earlier than I was."

The Sixth Prince was not about to back down.

"Hee, hee, hee, these two idiots actually are busy fighting at a time like this. The way I see it, these two can fight all they want in the underworld."

Swoop~

Figures were heading in their direction.

The intruders surrounded the two princes and their men.

"Who are you people?"

"People who are here to kill you!" A disciple from the Xuan Sect said.

"Protect His Highness!"

"Kill them!"

Clangs of blades could be heard right away.

The faces of both princes went ashen.

Neither of them had expected the enemy to strike at such a time.

Worse still, they'd come in such huge numbers.

We're screwed!

Shouts were heard all over the place.

The next morning...

The camp was being cleaned up.

"Haul the bodies of the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince back to the capital city."

The general wore a bitter expression.

Liu An, the Fourth Prince, came up and said, "Send the bodies of the assassins back to the capital as well. It shows the results of my brothers fighting hard after all, and we don't want to wipe away their work just like that."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The news of both the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince being assassinated was sent back to the capital city.

Both the civilians and the combatants, who had been suppressing their frustration for a long time, couldn't take it anymore.

Two of the emperor's sons had died.

They had died on the front lines just like many other soldiers and generals out there.

"Kill Clan Zhao and beat the rebels!"

"I wonder how much pain the emperor is in, having lost two of his sons."

The raging emotions of the citizens of the capital city only lasted for half a day, before another voice took over.

"This is Clan Liu's regime, no? Are we going to protect it for them? Isn't it their duty to be at the front lines in the first place?"

"The emperor has so many sons, no big deal having two dead, right? I wonder if he is actually in any pain having lost his sons."

"I heard that the two princes were fighting each other for command of the army, a chance that Clan Zhao used to their advantage. Clan Zhao wasn't the one being brutal here."

...…

That other voice gradually shrouded the first voice that had been speaking generally and became the mainstream mindset that permeated the capital city.

"The Black Dragon Order is spreading bad news again!"

In the Imperial Study Room...

The emperor's face was as sullen as a face could get.

He had yet to recover from the pain of having his sons assassinated, when such rumors were flying all over the palace.

It was indeed like rubbing salt on his wounds.

"Those two sh*ts were actually fighting for command of the battlefield."

He thought of how Clan Zhao had taken advantage of the situation because his sons were busy fighting each other.

He felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a needle.

Pfft~

He spit blood right away.

"Your Majesty, you need to take care of yourself."

"They are really out to p*ss me off to death. Ask the remaining princes, who among them would be willing to head to the front lines."

"Your Majesty, there are none."

"They really are a bunch of good-for-nothings."

The emperor sighed.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your health is of utmost importance."

"So many princes and none can put me at ease like Ruirui."

He thought of his daughter.

The look in his eyes softened for quite a bit, before turning cold and pointed again.

"Relay my orders. Find and arrest the seventh son of Clan Zhao. Catch him, cut off his limbs, and send them to the front lines. I want Clan Zhao to see what happens to one of their own."

"Your Majesty, this…"

The ministers and the eunuchs were troubled by this order.

The emperor could do whatever he wanted with the other members of the clan.

However, everyone knew that this designated man was the emperor's son-in-law.

It was difficult for them to do such a thing, and they dared not do so either.

"I have to do right by Ruirui. It's thanks to the news that she gathered at Clan Zhao that we have a fighting chance. I'm going to get her a better husband once this is all over."

The formidable ones from the palace headed to Clan Zhao's estate right away.

The place had long been deserted.

There were no signs of the eldest princess.

In a brothel somewhere in the capital city...

Ruirui's lips were ashen as she stared at her husband.

She had found out a secret like no other about him.

If it hadn't been for her almost being lynched at the estate, she wouldn't have even dreamed that her husband commanded such a force.

"You're the leader of the Black Dragon Order?" Ruirui probed.