56: No matter which lineage they belong to, they'll all die if they come, that's what I said, Senior Brother!

"Dare to block this King?"

"Get lost!"

The person had not yet arrived, but the voice had already fallen.

Only the Martial Temple entrance was sealed.

Xia Qiankun walked over with the stride of a dragon and the step of a tiger, his hands behind his back. In one hand, he continuously kneaded two crystal-clear walnuts. Between his brows, the aura of a superior being was fully displayed. On his black python robe, an eight-clawed golden flood dragon was outlined in gold thread, looking lifelike and truly domineering.

"Your Highness is truly brilliant!" The steward, bowing and walking behind him, wore a fawning, sycophantic smile.

"By deliberately appearing late and acting at the critical moment, first using a strong stance to make the Martial Temple open the Dragon Transformation Pool for that Disciple of the Xuan Guang Cave, you not only beat the Martial Temple into submission but also win the favor of the Azure Light Cave Master. For this move, this lowly one can only say one word."

"Brilliant!"

Xia Qiankun smiled indifferently and said, "Your brain is good; you truly haven't followed me for nothing. However, you missed one point."

"Oh?" The steward feigned surprise and hurriedly whispered respectfully, "May I ask Your Highness to enlighten this lowly one?"

"Heh."

"I appeared late precisely so that our Princess and the Disciple of the Azure Light Cave Master would meet first," Xia Qiankun chuckled.

The steward was shocked, then continued, "With the Princess's temperament, upon learning that someone had forced their way into the Martial Temple, the two of them would definitely have a fierce conflict. It's been so long, they might have already started fighting. Does Your Highness intend to..."

"Heh."

"Correct."

"The Azure Light Cave Master's Disciple is clearly an arrogant person, and that stubborn donkey Xia Youyue is just as obstinate. One of them will surely be injured!"

"If there isn't some resentment or estrangement, I would truly worry that the throne wouldn't be secure in the future," Xia Qiankun sneered with a calculating expression, his eyes full of coldness.

At the time he agreed to the people from the Azure Light Cave, he had been considering this problem.

What if Xia Youyue and Nalan Ming took a liking to each other? If they really became a loving couple, could he still live his life securely?

What he needed was time—time to ascend the throne. Once he merged with the national fortune of the Great Xia, which of the Three Sects could do anything to him? However, this required an incredibly long time, and there could not be the slightest mistake. For this, he had been a dog for the Xuan Guang Cave for so many years.

Just as he was pondering this, good news arrived. That brat didn't know what madness had gotten into him, wanting to go to the Dragon Transformation Pool and even clashing with the people of the Martial Temple?

Coincidentally, Xia Youyue had also returned!

This was simply Heaven helping him!

Therefore, there was Xia Qiankun's belated appearance.

"Brilliant!"

"Truly brilliant!"

"Your Highness is truly calculating and leaves nothing to chance. My admiration for Your Highness is like the surging river, endless and continuous. As long as Your Highness gives the order, even if it's a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, this lowly one will not refuse!" The steward spoke with flying colors, spittle flying everywhere.

"Eh?"

However, Xia Qiankun let out a sound of surprise. A corpse wearing only a vest lay on the ground, unrecognizable, its features impossible to distinguish.

"Go take a look."

The steward was very sensible. He walked up, squatted down, looked carefully at the face, and then returned to Xia Qiankun's side.

"How is it?"

"It won't do; it's already cold, can't be used." The steward shook his head very seriously.

Xia Qiankun's face sank as he said, "This King is asking you if you've figured out his identity!"

"Oh, oh, this lowly one overthought it, thinking Your Highness's temperament was acting up again." The steward realized and then thought for a moment before answering, "He looks a bit like a pig demon; I'm not very familiar with him."

Hearing this, Xia Qiankun raised his eyebrows slightly, staring at the corpse and feeling a bit familiar with it.

However, he didn't think much of it and continued to walk away.

After arriving at the entrance of the Martial Temple, he was a bit bewildered by the situation on the scene.

Beside him, the steward gasped, whispering, "Your Highness, the atmosphere doesn't seem right."

After he saw the golden-robed corpse at the feet of the man in white, he almost lost his footing.

"I suddenly remembered that the two spirit flowers Your Highness loves most haven't been watered yet. Your Highness knows, these flowers aren't like people; if they don't eat for a day, they won't look good. How about this lowly one goes back first?"

The steward's teeth were chattering. Having followed the highest-ranking Qian King of the Great Xia for so many years, he knew too well how strong the Cave Master of the Xuan Guang Cave was.

But now, he was lying there, no different from a dead dog.

This meant that the person who did it had strength far surpassing his!

The water was too murky today; staying for even one more minute could be fatal.

At this moment, Xia Qiankun's expression was shocked to the extreme.

"What's the situation?"

"Why are the people of the Martial Temple looking at this King with such eyes?"

"Who is this white-clothed youth? Why does this King feel a bit of a tremor just from glancing at him?"

"The corpse at his feet looks so familiar..."

"Azure... Azure Light Cave Master??"

"He is dead??" Xia Qiankun almost shouted out loud, immediately associating it with something, his pupils slightly contracting.

Snap!

The two walnuts he loved most were crushed into powder by him.

Opposite him, Xia Youyue just looked at him coldly, without speaking.

For this uncle who only knew how to gnaw on royal resources and even had murderous intentions toward her, she had long ago lost any feelings.

Once upon a time, how good was her father to him?

Without cultivation talent, he was allowed to switch to body cultivation. If he couldn't endure hardship, she would find ways to get resources for him; even the Dragon Transformation Pool had been opened for him more than once or twice.

And then?

The day after her father died, she saw Xia Qiankun actually smiling, and he had even assassinated her multiple times for the throne.

This kind of beast should have been killed long ago!

Over the years, she had been planning how to get rid of the Qian King. This trip to Yunzhou was originally for something in those ruins, which was meant to be used to trap and kill Xia Qiankun.

However, a series of changes happened too quickly, and the demon infestation was resolved faster than she had expected.

The ruins hadn't reached the time to open yet, and with her Senior Brother, she had returned to the Great Xia first.

Yuan Hong spoke coldly, "Xia Qiankun, what do you mean by that?"

"Does the Princess's Senior Brother count as an outsider?"

"Besides, Lord Shen is a heaven-defying Prodigy. At nineteen, he can kill a Soul Transformation expert. He is the supreme Prodigy of our Human Race. Does he not have the qualifications to enter the Dragon Transformation Pool?"

"Do you?"

After his words were spoken, Xia Youyue became a bit nervous, not daring to look at Shen Nian's expression, her red lips slightly pursed.

How could she not know the Temple Keeper Yuan's thoughts? Xia Qiankun had always been a tumor of the Great Xia. Besides his own strong strength, he also controlled many forces in the Great Xia, where strong experts were as numerous as clouds, and he also had friendships with the Xuan Guang Cave and the Sunset Valley. He wanted to use Shen Nian's momentum to resolve this tumor today.

But since her father died, she had never relied on anyone. Now, having to borrow her Senior Brother's momentum made her feel extremely ashamed.

Especially since Shen Nian seemed to be extremely good to Junior Sister Qinger, but seemed not to care much about her, she felt even more embarrassed.

Furthermore, would her Senior Brother really help her?

The next second.

Xiao Qinger silently walked behind her and touched her shoulder.

"It's okay."

After hearing Yuan Hong's words, Xia Qiankun's expression changed drastically. The previous domineering and indifferent air was gone, leaving only a look of terror. He turned his eyes to look at the indifferent white-clothed man who was looking at him.

"What a terrifying aura!"

This is her Senior Brother?

Nineteen?

The person who killed the Azure Light Cave Master is actually her Senior Brother!

What kind of monster is this?

This level of Prodigy cannot possibly be from the Great Xia. Could it be from the Eastern Profound!

Even in the Eastern Profound, he is likely already a top Human Race Prodigy on the profound dragon ranking. How is this even playable anymore!

Thinking of this, Xia Qiankun suddenly felt a bit broken.

It's over, it's over!

All these years of scheming are all over!

"You... didn't you once say that you would never have any relationship with any forces in the Eastern Profound??" Xia Qiankun looked coldly at Xia Youyue, his voice hoarse, his heart furious to the extreme, and his eyes filled with resentment.

If you wanted to do this, you should have said so earlier!

What were you doing earlier!

If you had softened your stance earlier back then, would I have dared to do this?

Wouldn't I still be your good uncle?

"I..." Xia Youyue wanted to explain that she was actually a Disciple of the Ninth Mountain of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and her Senior Brother was the head Disciple of the Ninth Mountain, not an Eastern Profound force at all. But thinking about it, why should she bother explaining?

"Why do you care?" Xia Youyue sneered.

"You!" Xia Qiankun almost vomited blood from anger.

"Fine, fine, fine!"

"Then I'll leave!"

Xia Qiankun sank his face and turned to leave. Although he was panicking inside, on the surface, he still appeared furious.

However, Shen Nian suddenly spoke slowly from behind Xia Youyue.

"If you are angry, do whatever you want. Even if you turn this Great Xia upside down, it doesn't matter."

"However, there is one point: I will not intervene in battles within the same realm. You are at the Peak of the Golden Core; perhaps you can find an opportunity for a Breakthrough at the moment of life and death."

"But if there is anyone who wants to bully you with a higher realm, whether it is the Great Xia or the Eastern Profound, no matter which Daoist lineage it is, if one comes, one dies. Your Senior Brother said so."