Chapter 178 - 207: Confucian Scholar, Swordsman, Old Monk, The End of Rules Is Power
Inside the Emperor’s Hall, the lamplight flickered.
An occasional breeze rustled through, making the candle flames dance.
The young guard’s clear report, punctuated by the sound of hurried footsteps, echoed throughout the Emperor’s Hall.
Upon hearing the guard’s words, the faces of both Emperor Xia and King Wu turned grim.
"Present it!"
The next moment, Emperor Xia composed himself and spoke in a low voice.
"Yes!"
After bowing, the young guard respectfully stepped forward and presented the urgent report from the border.
Emperor Xia reached out and took it.
The streaks of blood staining the square report were like blades, stabbing deep into his eyes.
His gaze rested on the congealed blood for a moment before he unfolded the stained paper and read it with rapt attention.
The report was brief, but Emperor Xia read it for a long time in silence.
King Wu’s expression was grave as he looked down at it.
A few moments later,
His fists clenched, his aura roiled, and his eyes turned crimson!
Then, he spoke, his voice filled with fury.
"Damn that White Bone Hall!!"
The urgent report from the border read...
The Bai Gu Great Saint of the White Bone Hall had used a special Secret Technique, causing the Blood Sunflowers to stir. Their fragrance spread for thousands of miles, attracting numerous Elders from Outer Realm Demon Sects who fought to the death over the flowers.
To defend the territory of Great Xia and protect its people,
The Great Xia Border Defense Army—thirty-two officers and 39,823 soldiers—
all fell in battle. There were no survivors.
After reading the report from the border, both Emperor Xia and King Wu fell silent, a towering rage burning in their hearts.
Their fists clenched!
But soon, they unclenched their fists, a deep sense of powerlessness washing over them.
This incident at the border was different from the last one with the East Sea Dragon Palace.
This time, no matter how powerful Great Xia was, it could not possibly contend with so many Outer Realm Demon Sects at once.
In fact, hidden powers like the White Bone Hall and Rashomon were hoping that Emperor Xia would react as he had last time.
To once again raise an army and attack the Demon Sects of the Outer Realm!
That way, even if the Great Xia Dynasty ultimately achieved victory, its overall strength and national fortune would plummet. It would be left utterly weakened, perhaps even teetering on the brink of collapse.
It was a classic case of the fisherman profiting while the snipe and the clam fought.
Emperor Xia had sat on the throne for a long time; he was naturally far-sighted and always considered the bigger picture. He understood this point perfectly.
"King Wu!"
Suddenly, Emperor Xia spoke, his face devoid of expression.
"I am here!"
Seeing Emperor Xia’s expression, King Wu bowed slightly and responded in a low voice.
"All the officers and soldiers who fell in battle at the border must be compensated with the highest honors. Make arrangements for their families!"
"You will have full authority over this matter."
"Yes!"
As soon as he spoke, the Emperor’s Hall fell completely silent.
Neither man spoke for a long time.
Only the constantly dancing candle flames seemed to reflect the tempestuous emotions raging within their hearts.
A moment later, the hot-tempered King Wu’s expression was full of unwillingness.
He spoke, his voice laced with killing intent, "Brother! How could the White Bone Hall act so brazenly!"
"Are we just going to let this go?"
King Wu naturally understood the principle of the ’snipe and the clam’.
But the Border Defense Army was one he had personally raised, and his feelings for it ran deep.
And for him, emotion often trumped reason!
"No. They will pay the price."
Emperor Xia fell silent for a moment, then lifted his head, his gaze fixed on a certain direction.
In the quiet of the night, the dancing candlelight resembled the dying embers of war on the border battlefield, vanishing on the wind, stained with thick, hot blood.
It drifted within the hall.
And though his words were calm, they were laced with a profound killing intent!
...
「Deep within the prison, inside a Cyan Hall.」
Longbo Hai sat cross-legged on the ground, his gaze slowly sweeping over the people before him.
Before him stood a Confucian Scholar, a Swordsman, a woman, a young boy, and, in the very center, an old monk with white eyebrows dressed in coarse linen.
Four of these five were Sect Elders from Righteous Sects within Great Xia.
Like him, their Cultivation was at the Ninth Level of Spirit Transformation Realm, only a single step away from the Divine Platform Realm.
The white-browed old monk, however, was special. He was the patriarch of the Outer Celestial Sea Sect, a peerless expert of the Dao Palace Realm!
Even Longbo Hai had to respectfully address him as ’Senior’.
All of them had heard that chaos was about to erupt in Xia Imperial City and had come specifically to help maintain stability by guarding the prison.
’Heh...’
’These people... their words sound so righteous, each more pleasant than the last.’
’But in reality, isn’t every one of them just after the Celestial Net Sword and the Mingfeng Saber, those two great Sacred Artifacts?’
Longbo Hai sneered inwardly as he looked at the five people before him.
But he was old and crafty. Despite his inner thoughts, the facade he presented was impeccable.
For the past two days, he and the five of them had gotten along splendidly.
An unknowing observer might have thought them long-lost friends, finally reunited after many years.
"Back then, King Bohai was confined to this prison for a grave mistake he made in his youth."
"It has been over a hundred years since that incident, hasn’t it?"
The young man dressed as a Confucian Scholar smiled and spoke, "When I return to my sect, I will certainly plead with my patriarch to have this ban lifted!"
"And allow King Bohai to regain his freedom."
The Swordsman beside him chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Indeed!"
"A hundred years of confinement should be enough to atone for any mistake, no matter how great."
"When I return, I will also mention this to my patriarch."
"Then I must thank you both."
Longbo Hai smiled, expressing his gratitude to the two of them.
’Motherfuckers,’ he thought, ’I don’t know if I should say that out loud or not!’
’You were the ones who pressured Emperor Xia to lock me in this prison in the first place.’
’And now you’re the ones talking about letting me out.’
’Even the professional face-changers in an opera troupe can’t switch as fast as you, can they?’
’Besides, I’m about to die of old age. What am I supposed to do if I get out?’
’Dig up your ancestral graves?’
Longbo Hai cursed furiously in his heart.
Outwardly, however, he continued to exchange pleasantries with them.
Just then, a woman in a black robe spoke up unexpectedly, "Since King Bohai has been in this prison for so long,"
"you must be quite familiar with its layout, correct?"
Longbo Hai’s eyes flickered. His expression was placid as he said, "Elder Yue, what do you mean by that?"
"If you have something to say, please speak plainly."
"What I mean is..."
The woman in the black robe stared at Longbo Hai with a burning gaze and said bluntly, "The rumors are running rampant outside that the Celestial Net Sword and the Mingfeng Saber, two peerless Sacred Artifacts, are hidden deep within this prison."
"Since you, King Bohai, have been in this prison for so long,"
"I assume you must know some clues about these two great Sacred Artifacts, don’t you?"
After the woman in the black robe finished, the others also watched Longbo Hai with faint smiles, all seemingly awaiting his response.
Longbo Hai’s expression remained unchanged. He shook his head and sighed, "Elder Yue, you may not be aware, but while I have resided in this prison for a long time, I have spent most of it immersed in my Cultivation."
"Any leisure time has been spent repenting for the mistakes of my youth."
"My knowledge of this prison is truly not as detailed as you all imagine."
"As for this Celestial Net Sword and Mingfeng Saber, I have never even heard of them before."
"Hah..."
Hearing this, the others sneered to themselves.
’Do you even believe the words coming out of your own mouth?’
"King Bohai, there’s no point in saying that."
"Who could stay in a prison for over a hundred years and not know it like the back of his hand?"
"One must be reasonable in one’s words and actions."
The young Confucian Scholar said coolly, "I suspect King Bohai has known the whereabouts of the two Sacred Artifacts all along and merely hid the clues when we arrived. Is that not so?"
"Fellow Daoist Feng is absolutely right!"
The others nodded slightly in agreement.
But Longbo Hai just shook his head. "The strength of your Divine Thoughts is no less than my own, and you have all been in this prison for some time now."
"You must have scanned the entire prison, inside and out, multiple times with your Divine Thoughts, have you not?"
"Did you find any Sacred Artifacts?"
At these words, the others frowned and fell silent.
Suddenly, the white-browed old monk, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "There is one place we have not yet investigated."
Hearing this, Longbo Hai’s expression turned cold. "I have already told you. You are not to enter the area deeper than the Cyan Hall."
"I have my reasons."
"And what if I insist on entering?"
Elder Bai Mei’s eyes narrowed.
A powerful aura pressed down on Longbo Hai!
He was trying to force him to yield.
Longbo Hai lowered his head, remaining silent for a long moment.
The pressure on his body was like a great mountain, and his Heart Spirit grew heavy.
After a while, he spoke slowly, "If Senior wishes to enter, with this junior’s Cultivation, I am naturally not qualified to stop you."
"But..."
"That one’s temper... is not the best."
’That one?’
Elder Bai Mei’s brow furrowed.
An image of a certain figure surfaced in his mind.
A moment later, a glint in his eye, he smiled faintly and said, "I have long heard of the peerless style of the Great Xia Boxing Saint!"
"Now that such a master is here, how could I not pay my respects?"
As he spoke, he strode forward, his figure a blur.
In the space of a breath or two, he had already stepped with his right foot into the deeper region of the prison.
And then, in the next instant...
All anyone saw was a blinding golden Sword Aura flash before their eyes!
Elder Bai Mei, the Dao Palace Realm expert, had no time to react before his right arm was instantly severed!
Blood sprayed into the air as the veins on his forehead bulged!
Immediately after, a deafening CRASH resounded in their ears.
Stunned, they couldn’t help but turn toward the sound.
They saw the old monk’s body embedded deep within the prison wall, chunks of broken stone tumbling down around him.
His body was covered in a web of terrifying cracks, large and small, like a shattered porcelain vase that had been crudely pieced back together.
He was coughing up blood incessantly, his aura weak and fading.
He was clearly like a fish on a chopping block, having lost all power to resist.
The remaining four stared blankly at this scene.
Their eyes were filled with utter shock!
When they turned to look back toward the depths of the prison, from where that monstrous Sword Aura had come, any thought they had of venturing deeper was completely extinguished.
And at that moment, a single phrase surfaced in everyone’s mind.
Where rules end, power begins!