Chapter 80 - 77: The Fall of Great Yong
He was still wearing that Yellow Robe, his face devoid of expression. He simply looked calmly at the Mu Family Ancestor.
"All of you, stand down. You are no match for him."
"Your Majesty!" Wang Xing said anxiously.
"Stand down," Chen Ye repeated, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Though reluctant, the Personal Guards gritted their teeth and slowly retreated to either side, clearing a space for the two men.
At the same time, the Mu Family Ancestor raised his eyes, gazing at Chen Ye from a hundred zhang away.
Immediately after, the Mu Family Ancestor shot into the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow.
While he was still in mid-air, the simple, ancient longsword at his waist was already unsheathed!
HUM!
A soft hum of the blade rang out, as if even the Moonlight was drawn to this single strike.
The Sword Light was too fast to describe with words. It wasn’t so much a slash as it was a shimmering reflection of Moonlight on water—ethereal and unpredictable, yet utterly unavoidable.
PFFT!
A spray of blood bloomed abruptly beneath the moon.
"Your Majesty!"
Wang Xing cried out in alarm.
However, when everyone focused their eyes on the scene again, they were all stunned.
Chen Ye stood steadily in his original spot. The tip of the sword was barely an inch from his brow, yet it could advance no further.
Because the blade was clutched tightly by two hands.
Blood dripped continuously from between Chen Ye’s fingers, but the hands gripping the blade were like cast iron, completely unmoving.
For the first time, a look of utter horror appeared in the Mu Family Ancestor’s eyes.
’This one strike condensed my entire life’s understanding of the Sword Dao. It was a blow powerful enough to cleave mountains and sever rivers, yet now it has been caught by a man’s bare hands?’
’What terrifying physical strength!’
But he was, after all, a top-tier expert renowned for a century. His Heart Spirit faltered for only an instant before he immediately made the correct decision.
Abandon the sword!
He released the hilt and, instead of retreating, advanced. Forming the fingers of his right hand into a sword, he stabbed swiftly toward Chen Ye’s throat!
He had abandoned his sword.
But he himself had become an even sharper blade!
This finger-strike seemed slow, but it was a hundred times more terrifying than the sword strike from before!
Because this was a killing blow that condensed the very essence of his entire life’s work.
Chen Ye’s pupils contracted slightly.
At this moment, he too felt a fatal threat.
’This old fellow is far stronger than that Xue Hanjiang who tried to assassinate Bai Yuge. The offensive power of a Swordsman is truly no empty boast.’
But just then!
The Mu Family Ancestor’s expression changed drastically!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure, as vast as mountains and seas, crushed down on him from all directions without any warning, enveloping him completely!
In that instant, the flow of his qi and blood became incredibly sluggish, as if he had sunk into a swamp.
His once incomparably sharp Sword Pointing now became weak and powerless.
He couldn’t understand what was happening.
But in reality, this pressure came from the hundred-thousand-plus Soldiers in the camp.
Their will, their killing intent, their loyalty—at this moment, it all converged into a single, powerful force.
Dragon-Commanding Army!
When the army’s formation coalesces and ten thousand men become one, its martial aura can suppress high-Level experts!
Although the Mu Family Ancestor was revered by the Martial World People as a Land Immortal, he was not, after all, a true Immortal.
Faced with the majestic martial aura formed by the convergence of over a hundred thousand troops, his pride and joy—his Cultivation—was forcefully suppressed!
This was the moment.
A cold glint flashed in Chen Ye’s eyes; he had been waiting for this very opportunity.
He took a sudden step forward, his fan-sized hand directly seizing the Mu Family Ancestor’s striking arm.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of a bone fracture rang out.
Chen Ye had forcibly bent the Mu Family Ancestor’s arm to a grotesque angle.
The Mu Family Ancestor’s face paled. He tried to retreat, only to find that Chen Ye’s other hand had already clamped around his neck.
That hand was like a giant iron pincer, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
"You... you..."
The Mu Family Ancestor used all his strength but couldn’t break free in the slightest. His face gradually turned a deep purple.
Chen Ye just watched him, expressionless, as the muscles in his arm bulged violently.
SNAP!
The Mu Family Ancestor’s neck was snapped. His head lolled lifelessly, his eyes still holding a thick residue of disbelief.
A Land Immortal of his generation had fallen.
On a distant mountaintop, Mu Jianqing—who had been brimming with confidence, ready to witness his ancestor take Chen Ye’s head—was completely dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at the scene in the military camp, his mind a complete void.
’How could this be?’
’The Ancestor... is dead?’
’Killed by that peasant rebel general, his neck wrung like a chicken’s?’
After a brief stupor, a monstrous wave of hatred and fear surged into his heart.
His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared fixedly at Chen Ye’s figure, wishing he could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
’But he knew even more clearly that if even the Ancestor was no match for him, rushing up there myself would just be throwing another life away.’
’Run!’
’I have to run, now!’
Without the slightest hesitation, he turned to use his Qinggong to escape.
But just then, Chen Ye moved.
In truth, Chen Ye had long since noticed Mu Jianqing and recognized him.
But none of that mattered now. Chen Ye raised his hand and threw the longsword he had taken from the Mu Family Ancestor.
WHOOSH!
The longsword transformed into a streak of black light, tearing through the night sky.
Mu Jianqing, who was just about to flee, only felt a chill in his back. He looked down and saw a bloodstained sword tip protruding from his chest.
He opened his mouth, but ultimately collapsed, unwilling to accept his fate.
The news that the Mu Family Ancestor’s assassination attempt had failed and that he had died within the army camp completely crushed the Great Yong Court’s last shred of hope.
With no further obstacles, Chen Ye’s army marched eastward, its vanguard pointing directly at the Capital City.
Prefectures and counties along the way surrendered without a fight. Some Garrison Commanders even personally opened their city gates and led all the city officials ten li out to welcome him.
「In Zichen Hall.」
When Cao Xun tried to summon his ministers again to discuss countermeasures, he discovered that the once-packed hall of the Court was now completely empty.
All the officials had called in sick for various reasons.
He knew then that all was lost.
Cao Xun sat alone on the cold Throne, his ears seeming to ring with the echoes of his ministers shouting "Long live Your Majesty!"
In the end, Cao Xun, completely dejected, hid himself away in the rear palaces. He ordered all the finest wines to be brought and drank himself into a stupor.
On this day, the sky-shaking sounds of battle finally reached the Imperial Palace.
Chen Ye had arrived.
The assault on the city took less than half a day. The tightly sealed gates were opened from within, and countless troops flooded like a tide into the heart of Great Yong’s power.
Listening to the clamor outside, Cao Xun knew that everything was beyond saving.
He gave a bitter smile, picked up the cup of poisoned wine that had long been prepared on the table, and drained it in one gulp.
In his daze, he seemed to see his father, the former emperor, glaring at him with a face full of fury.
He also saw his younger brother, covered in blood, reaching out to him, demanding his life back.
"Father! Spare me! I truly didn’t mean to kill you, Father..."
He rolled and shrieked on the ground in terror, until his voice grew weaker and weaker, and then fell completely silent.
And so, the Great Yong Dynasty, which had lasted for more than two hundred years, was finally extinguished.
Above the Imperial City, the dragon flag symbolizing the imperial power of the Cao Family was slowly lowered. Under the watchful eyes of countless people, a new, large banner bearing the character for "Chen" rose slowly to take its place.
But after ascending the throne, while ruthlessly purging the remnants of the previous dynasty, Chen Ye also issued a decree.
All Martial World Sects within the borders of Great Yong must submit a pledge of allegiance within one month.