Past Delusions

Somewhere in the sky above the Tianchi Kingdom.

"This child, it seems like he is about to end up as a sacrificial lamb."

A hooded figure spoke to itself. It was standing there with no support at all floating in the air, no different from a person may stand on the ground as if it was natural.

"But what can I do, I can't inte-."

The figure looked closer at the Luo Chen who was sitting in the throne room and probed him with divine sense.

"It seems there is an option yet."

…

"I hereby welcome the honored Zhang and his friend Zhishi Wu into the throne room." Luo Chen said as the humongous double door opened to receive the two individuals.

The throne was majestic it was adorned in all luxuries that life had to offer, the throne was lined with precious gems and the glorious marble columns lined up leading to it.

The room had chairs in between each column and currently only three of them were taken.

Luo Chen sat in one, prime minister Chen sat across from him and the first prince sat in another chair.

"Luo Chen I have waited long enough, where is Zumo Tian? If he has the time to call me here he should give me the courtesy of being on time." Shi Tian said with an annoyed expression.

"Indeed, this is unbecoming of a prince." Minister Chen said as he tapped his fingers on the chair slowly.

Luo Chen finally stood up and walked to the middle of the room.

"Thank you coming here in such a timely manner." he slowly walked towards his father.

"I want you all to know that this is not personal, I merely share the same greed that you all do that being the throne." He tapped the floor with his foot twice and a fluctuation spread out in the room.

"LUO CHEN WHAT IS THIS WHY CAN'T I MOVE??!!" The minister's voice resounded throughout the room.

Zhishi Wu and old man Zhang were both speechless, the prince also had a pained expression.

"Luo Chen be mindful of what you do, I am now also a disciple of the Spirit Sundering Sect."

"The chamber of commerce can raze this entire subcontinent you brat." Zhang chimed in.

"HAHA." Luo Chen laughed before carefully slipping a blade through his father's chest.

"You BAST-!" Minister Chen said as his eyes turned lifeless.

Zhishi Wu was surprised that a child could murder its own father so easily, he had read about succession wars in books but seeing it with his own eyes was far different.

"Your backing will only attack me if they suspect me." he slowly walked towards the prince.

"Are you delusional Luo Chen, if you kill us all who else will they suspect."

Suddenly all three of the remaining people in the room came to the same conclusion. Old man Zhang shouted.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU WON'T EVEN SPARE CHILDREN!?" Zhang shouted at the top of his lungs.

Zhishi Wu attempted to move but he realized that he couldn't.

"Don't even try it, this entire hall has been covered with a paralyzing formation courtesy of our good friends over at the Divine Union Sect."

He grabbed the prince's throat and slashed it open, the blood flew out violently and soaked his clothing.

"Tsk! Maybe I should have left his throat alone." he turned his attention to the last victim Zhang.

Zhishi Wu was violently struggling to escape the formation, he had no idea what it was but it had a grip on him like a vice, he was actually more concerned about his lack of knowledge on the subject rather than the situation he was in.

"Damn it, if I had knowledge of this thing called a formation I may have had a way to get out of it." he berated himself internally.

"To be honest I should probably thank you old man, since you found that kid I was able to come up with this plan. A 13-year-old kid with no history just happens to end up in the capital, it's an easy sell as a spy that wanted to assassinate the royals causing some collateral damage."

Zhang frowned at the man and spit in his face.

"Your greed will not go unpunished, may karma claim your life." he said as the blade passed through his chest quickly.

Old man Zhang's lifeless body fell to the floor and Luo Chen stood in front of Zhishi Wu as he wiped the spit off his face.

"You, you're a QI condensation cultivator." Zhishi Wu said with no warning.

Luo Chen had a rare look of surprise on his face "it seems your talents aren't exaggerated, too bad you'll be too busy being executed to do anything with them."

Zhishi Wu had discerned some sort of energy emanating from him that he had not seen before, his perception seemed to be supernatural.

Luo Chen positioned the sword he had been using and put it into Zhishi Wu's hand.

"Any moment now the princess will walk in being fashionably late as usual and see all these dead people here with the murder weapon in your hand."

Zhishi Wu had never faced true adversity since he came to this world but now reality was setting in for him, he had not truly understood that this world was his new reality, this was actually his life.

"He has to free me when she walks in, at that point I might as well stab him, I'm not petty but I don't like to leave debts unpaid." he thought to himself.

Just as he was preparing to stab him a strange aura covered the entire area Zhishi Wu saw as Luo Chen's expression literally froze, the blood that was spreading across the floor also stopped moving it was as if everything came to a halt.

"You seem to be in a difficult situation child."

Zhishi Wu realized the paralyzing formation had stopped working and he turned to look at his side.

The girl he had met in the library and the Café was standing there with a nonchalant expression as if the scene in front of her was nothing special.

"What have you done?" Zhishi Wu wasn't as surprised at this point he had come to a fundamental understanding that this world was fantastical in nature.

"Oh this, It's nothing much I just stopped time in this palace." The girl shrugged it off as if it was no big deal.

Zhishi Wu was unsure of how to respond for now he buried his curiosity, there was no way he would understand this concept at the moment, he knew that cultivation was a process that had an order to it and no good would come of trying to attain knowledge which he did not earn.

"Why have you done this?"

The girl walked forwards towards the first prince.

"I am still quite naive, although I've been taught that cultivators should treat mortals as non factors and ignore them, yet I still would like to see them flourish in the short life they possess."

She raised her hand and a small pill floated out of the first prince's pouch.

"If this Luo Chen was to gain monarchy of the kingdom or control it I would dislike it, I have observed all potential rulers and he does not have the qualities, no one in this kingdom does other than the princess."

"And why is the princess worthy?" Zhishi Wu asked as tried to grasp a handle on the situation.

The girl continued to slowly pick up important belongings from the corpses.

"While everyone here was running around and scheming up a way to get the throne she procured a guide to grow crops with a lack of water and helped with the farming process. She truly possesses empathy for the people."

Zhishi Wu walked over to old man Zhang's corpse and closed his eyes, although he had not known him for long this man was truly deserving of his respect.

"If you truly dislike the current monarch why can't you just change it as you please, everyone here seems helpless in front of you."

"I am not allowed to directly interfere with mortal affairs, the only reason I have shown up now is because the one named Luo Chen is a QI condensation cultivator while simultaneously not being the current monarch this means I can interfere with him specifically."

Zhishi Wu's eyes lit up.

"So that means you can kill him right?"

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"For a 13-year-old child you don't seem to be hesitant to send someone to death."

Zhishi Wu smirked and looked at the girl.

"Did he seem hesitant to send a 13-year-old child to death?"

Zhishi Wu covered up old Man's Zhang's body with the external part of his robe which hung around him.

"It's not that simple, sure I can kill him but I am not permitted to alter the scene other than that, you would still be apprehended and executed. Not to mention if I really do kill him I'll have to do a pile of paperwork after." she said with a sigh.

This girl never surprised to amaze Zhishi Wu, from her time stopping abilities to trying to avoid killing someone not for some moral or other reason rather the threat of paperwork.

"Who even are you?" Zhishi Wu realized that he had not asked the most crucial question till now.

The girl let down her hood and revealed her flowing golden hair. This was the third time she had amazed him in this interaction alone, although this wasn't the time to appreciate it Zhishi Wu really couldn't help it.

"I am the enforcer sent forth by the union of 10,000 swords responsible for overseeing the succession of Tianchi Kingdom."