118: Chapter 118 Minister's Bloodshed

The face of Minister of War Leng Jiangchan was as gloomy as the thickest storm clouds before a tempest, almost as if ink could be wrung from it.

His teeth ground together with a rattling sound, which was clearly audible in the deathly silent hall, like a trapped beast sharpening its final fangs.

His knuckles were taut from extreme exertion, turning a bloodless, deathly white.

His blood-red eyes, as if quenched in the most poisonous liquid in the world, were locked tightly onto Xuanyuan Zhanxian. The hatred in his gaze was almost tangible, like sharp blades ready to slice the other person into a thousand pieces.

"Good... very good!"

He squeezed these words through his teeth, his voice hoarse and laden with an icy chill, each syllable seeming to be scraped raw from the depths of his throat:

"I presume you are that... First Prince Your Highness who disappeared for nearly ten years?"

As he spoke, the sinister malevolence and cruelty in his eyes surged, like a volcano about to erupt, ready to incinerate everything before him.

"Do you really think that with a few guards of the Void Refining Realm by your side, you can act recklessly and run amok in the territory of the Great Wu Dynasty?!"

His chest heaved violently, and muscles bulged beneath his scarlet official robes, as if suppressing a monstrous rage:

"My Leng family has worn armor for three generations, bled dry for the Imperial Dynasty, and our loyal bones can shine as bright as the sun and moon! This blood debt today—we are not! Finished!"

He turned his head abruptly and glared at the iron-clad guards nearby, who were already pale with fright and trembling like chaff. His gaze lashed out at them like a whip as he roared:

"A bunch of trash! What are you still standing there for?! Don't you see the Young Lord is critically injured?! Immediately! Right now! Carry your master back, and get the best physician! Hurry—!!"

The guards woke as if from a dream, their souls terrified by the roar. They hurriedly tried to step forward, but when their eyes touched the invisible yet mountain-heavy pressure in the hall, and the figure of Commander Yingsha standing still as an abyss, their steps involuntarily hesitated and cowered, as if ahead lay a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, a deep abyss of death.

"Hmph!"

A cold sneer, like the crisp sound of ice shattering in the depths of winter, was squeezed out from Xuanyuan Zhanxian's nose.

His body, which had been leaning back slightly and resting lazily against the back of the chair, suddenly straightened at this moment!

Every wrinkle in his black brocade robe seemed to tighten, radiating an awe-inspiring and inviolable majesty.

Deep in his eyes, the calmness that had been hidden and almost indifferent suddenly faded, replaced by an awakening, naked ferocity and violence. It was like a vicious Dragon lurking in the abyss, slowly opening its vertical golden pupils that overlooked all living beings, locking onto the prey that did not know death.

"Something that has no regard for the law and commits crimes against superiors."

Xuanyuan Zhanxian's voice was not loud, but every word was like an ice pick, carrying a condescending and unquestionable tone of judgment, clearly piercing into everyone's eardrums:

"In broad daylight, under the bright sky, you dare to threaten this Prince?"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze like a knife, scraping across the ferocious face of Minister of War Leng Jiangchan.

"Truly ignorant of life and death."

The last four words were understated, yet carried the coldness of a death sentence.

"Commander Yingsha."

He spat out two words, the command extremely concise.

"For me, slaughter him."

The moment the three words "slaughter him" fell—

The figure of Commander Yingsha, which had stood like a shadow, had already silently dissipated from its original spot.

There was no sound of wind breaking, no ripples of spiritual power, and not even a remnant image left behind. He simply "disappeared" into thin air, as if he had never existed.

Only a faint, extremely cold Aura, like a cold wind blowing from the deepest part of the Yellow Springs of the Nine Underworlds, permeated the air—it was the final warning before death descended.

The pupils of Minister of War Leng Jiangchan contracted to the size of needle points in that instant!

Every hair on his body stood on end in a frenzy, sending out the most shrill alarm!

An Aura more terrifying and heavier than before, as if coming from a higher dimension, descended with a roar like an ancient mountain of billions of tons. It turned into countless invisible shackles, tightly binding his limbs and bones, sealing every inch of space around him, and even... imprisoning the surging spiritual power within his body!

Although he was in the Middle Stage of the Void Refining Realm and had experienced many battles, in front of this absolute pressure from the Late Stage of the Void Refining Realm, with an Aura as condensed as an abyss, his cultivation and Killing Intent, which he was so proud of, instantly became as ridiculous and fragile as a wooden sword wielded by a child.

"Haaah—!!"

At the critical moment of life and death, Minister of War Leng Jiangchan suddenly let out a wild roar like a wounded tiger!

In this roar, there was no fear, only the fierce courage and ferocity carved into his bones from decades of military career and countless fights in mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

Decades of dancing with death made his combat instincts far exceed those of Cultivators at the same level.

Facing this fatal blow, he did not choose to retreat and defend, but instead hardened his heart, exerted force with his feet, and stomped heavily on the ground!

"Crack!!!"

The several thick bluestone slabs beneath his feet shattered in response, and the rubble shot out in all directions like concealed weapons!

Borrowing this immense recoil force, his sturdy body advanced instead of retreating, like a mad bull, and like a meteorite from a cannon, carrying an unstoppable momentum, he took the initiative to crash into that void filled with the Aura of death!

"I have spent half my life on the battlefield, the heads of enemy chieftains I have cut down could build a mound! How can a hidden guard like you fathom this?! Breaking Army Fist—!!"

Amidst the roar, he threw both fists out! On the fist tips, an intensely scorching blood-red Protective Aura suddenly erupted!

This Protective Aura was not formed by pure spiritual power; it was mixed with countless tiny, crimson specks of light that seemed to possess life, emitting an unresolvable, thick Aura of iron-blooded slaughter and a chill like the wailing of vengeful spirits!

This was exactly the secret technique of military combat passed down through the generations of the Leng family, which could only be refined to Major Achievement in mountains of corpses and seas of blood—Breaking Army Fist! Where the Fist Intent reaches, there is only advance and no retreat, only death and no life!

The fist wind whistled, as if carrying the roar of thousands of troops charging, carrying the killing atmosphere of metal weapons and iron horses, fiercely tearing through the air, and with the momentum of collapsing mountains and splitting the earth, it slammed toward the void where he perceived Commander Yingsha to be!

"Boom—!!!!"

Two forces, completely different yet equally terrifying to the extreme, collided head-on and solidly in the center of the spacious hall of Zuixian Tower!

The loud noise in this instant was as if the sky had cracked and the foundations of the earth had severed!

The visible, terrifying wave of air, mixed with blood-red Protective Aura and pitch-black Evil Qi, was like a world-destroying tsunami, sweeping and spreading frantically in a ring from the collision point in all directions!

"Crack! Crash—!!"

The intricately carved pear wood door frames were easily torn into dust filling the sky like rotten wood!

The gold-painted railings and screens were like fragile pieces of paper, breaking inch by inch, with fragments splashing like rain!

The exquisite porcelain, jade, and antiques placed everywhere fell to the ground with a clatter, shattering into pieces!

The guests near the center of the collision did not even have time to scream before they were fiercely blown away by the wild, unparalleled air wave, like kites with broken strings, slamming heavily against the surrounding walls and pillars, making teeth-aching "thud" sounds, and then sliding down softly, their lives unknown.

Blood seeped from their mouths, noses, and ears, quickly painting large, shocking patches of scarlet on the white walls and clean floors.

Shrieking screams, desperate wails, and painful groans... instantly replaced the previous silence and oppression, turning this magnificent Zuixian Tower into a human Hell!

However, the result of this seemingly earth-shattering collision had been determined from the very beginning.

Minister of War Leng Jiangchan's Breaking Army Fist Protective Aura, which was enough to split mountains and crack stones and contained his lifelong cultivation and Killing Intent, could not even hold a stalemate for a single breath in front of Commander Yingsha's palm, which had reached out at some unknown time and shone with an eerie cyan-black luster.

"The strength of an ant."

Commander Yingsha's voice, cold and devoid of any human emotion, sounded softly, as if coming from the depths of the Nine Underworlds of Hell.

Before the voice faded.

"Crack—!!"

A crisp sound, as clear as glass shattering completely!

The scorching blood-red Protective Aura, as if meeting its nemesis, or rather, like an egg hitting an anvil, began to crack inch by inch from the point of contact with the cyan-black palm, turning into countless tiny specks of light, instantly collapsing and annihilating in the air, without even leaving a ripple.

And Commander Yingsha's palm did not hesitate in the slightest, as if merely brushing away a trivial speck of dust.

It followed a strange and sinister trajectory that surpassed visual capture, ignoring the three layers of solid spiritual power barriers that Minister of War Leng Jiangchan had hastily set up in the moment of terror when his Protective Aura was broken. It pierced through layers of water curtains, precisely, steadily, and coldly, imprinting onto the Dantian and Qi Sea of Minister of War Leng Jiangchan.

The force carried by the fingertips was not a rigid, domineering power, but a sinister, vicious, yet even more domineering hidden force, like the deadliest poisonous snake, having already locked onto the prey's vital point.

"No—!! Impossible! I am the Minister of War of the current dynasty!! A second-rank official!! How dare you... how dare you kill me—!!"

Minister of War Leng Jiangchan's eyes were splitting, his eyeballs covered in bloodshot veins, almost popping out of their sockets!

The roar of shock, anger, fear, and despair only managed to rush halfway out of his throat before being choked off by a deeper sense of suffocation, turning into a hoarse, rattling sound.

He wanted to retreat, but his body was pinned down by that mountain-like pressure; he wanted to block, but his arms were as heavy as if filled with lead, unable to be raised.

He could only watch helplessly as that cyan-black palm, representing death and the end, rapidly enlarged in his pupils; every moment of approach was like slicing at his already collapsed nerves.

"Puchi..."

A muffled sound, not loud, but making one's scalp numb and bone marrow cold, sounded softly.

This was the despairing sound produced when the sinister palm force penetrated his body and precisely, thoroughly pulverized the Yuan Core inside his Dantian, which had condensed his lifelong cultivation and life essence.

"Ugh... ahhhh—!!!"

Minister of War Leng Jiangchan's bear-like sturdy body suddenly shook violently, and then, as if all the bones and tendons in his body had been pulled out, all his strength and all his Aura were instantly completely drained and disintegrated!

The terrifying, excruciating pain of his Meridians breaking inch by inch was like thousands of red-hot, barbed files simultaneously churning and cutting wildly within the finest Meridians of his body!

The pain forced a shrill, incoherent scream from his throat, and his muscles spasmed and twitched violently and uncontrollably, like a fish out of water.

"Pfft—!"

A large mouthful of black blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs, sprayed out from his mouth like a fountain, staining the scarlet official robe on his chest, which symbolized his power, into a shocking dark red.

Droplets of blood, like broken strings of red agate, fell in strings and drops onto the cold, smooth bluestone floor, blooming into desolate and desperate flowers of blood, emitting soft "patter, patter" sounds, like a funeral bell tolling for him.

He lay collapsed on the ground like a puddle of completely melted mud, limp and lifeless.

His fingers were still scratching the ground futilely, relying on the last bit of residual instinct; his nails were torn, leaving faint, blood-stained scratches on the stone slab, but he could no longer muster even a shred of strength.

Those crimson eyes that were once filled with majesty, Killing Intent, and ambition were now fading rapidly and irreversibly, all their luster stripped away, leaving only boundless, bone-deep resentment, and... a desolate, utterly despairing emptiness.

His cultivation was completely destroyed, and his energy core was shattered.

He, the Minister of War who wielded power over the entire imperial court and commanded the one hundred thousand Imperial Guards, had become a complete cripple from this moment on.

His past power, glory, and ambition had all become illusions, castles in the air.

What awaited him was a tragic end: falling from the clouds into the mud, to be devoured by countless former enemies and even the lackeys under his command.

Commander Yingsha slowly withdrew his palm.

That palm, which had just easily crippled a Void Refining Middle Stage, second-rank official, remained wrapped in its black glove, as clean as before, without a single speck of blood, as if everything he had just done was truly just brushing away an insignificant grain of dust.

With a slight flicker of his figure, he returned silently to the back of Xuanyuan Zhanxian like a ghost, standing with head bowed in solemnity, his posture as respectful as before, silent as if he had never left that position.

Only the turbulent air currents that had not yet fully subsided, still carrying the pungent smell of blood and scorched energy, and Minister of War Leng Jiangchan, who lay limp on the ground in the center of the hall, gasping his last breath like a dying dog, were silently and bloodily recounting what a cruel and overwhelming execution had just occurred in that flash of lightning.

Xuanyuan Zhanxian did not even cast a glance at the ground.

It was as if he had not crippled the Minister of War who wielded power over the entire court, but merely swatted a fly that had accidentally flown in.

His gaze, like two sharp blades tempered in ice springs and radiating cold light, crossed the mess and blood on the floor, and fixed directly on the entrance of Zuixian Tower, firmly locking onto Second Prince Wu Yuanchen, who was standing there with a complexion that had already turned extremely ugly.

The latter stood there, his body seemingly stiff, his face shifting violently between pale and blue, his fingers gripping the warm jade pendant at his waist so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his fingertips almost cracking the pendant.

The corners of Xuanyuan Zhanxian's mouth slowly curled into an arc.

This smile was cold, without a trace of warmth, carrying a sense of mockery like a cat playing with a mouse, and an indifference that held the power of life and death.

His voice was not loud, yet it strangely pierced through the noise and groans that had not yet fully subsided, clearly reaching the ears of Second Prince Wu Yuanchen and everyone else present who still had consciousness:

"Second Prince Wu Yuanchen."

He called him by his name directly, without any trace of brotherly affection.

"Do you find this play... exciting?"

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen's heart was struck hard as if by a heavy hammer, and he trembled violently!

A bone-chilling cold uncontrollably shot up from the soles of his feet, rushing along his spine all the way to the top of his head, making the hairs all over his body stand on end, and he couldn't help but shiver noticeably.

He forcibly swallowed the terror in his throat, the muscles on his face stiffly pulled, squeezing out a smile ten times uglier than crying, his voice carrying a slight tremor that he could not fully conceal:

"Big... Big Brother, your methods are thunderous, and your actions are decisive. Younger brother... is amazed, I admire... I admire you."

"Is that so?"

Xuanyuan Zhanxian slowly took a step forward.

The hem of his brocade robe, inlaid with dark golden cloud patterns, fluttered gently with his footsteps, inadvertently brushing across a small pool of uncongealed, dark red blood on the ground, leaving a faint yet glaring red mark, like the trail dragged by the Grim Reaper, silently announcing the approach of death.

He walked very slowly and steadily.

But every step he took seemed to land on the tip of Second Prince Wu Yuanchen's frantically beating heart.

The "tap, tap" sound of his footsteps echoed in the deathly silent hall, like a drumbeat urging for his life, making Second Prince Wu Yuanchen's breathing more and more rapid and difficult, fine cold sweat oozing from his forehead, and the clothes on his back had already been thoroughly soaked by cold sweat unknowingly, sticking stickily to his skin.

"Then I will let you see,"

Xuanyuan Zhanxian stopped just a few steps away from Second Prince Wu Yuanchen, his gaze calmly fixed on his instantly contracting pupils, his tone as flat as if he were reciting tonight's menu,

"What is truly... ruthless."

The moment he finished speaking, his gaze, like a precise pointer, suddenly turned to a figure that had been standing silently in the shadows beside him.

This was the only woman among the Shadow Guards.

Dressed in a fitting mysterious black outfit, it outlined her neat and upright figure; unlike the soft beauty of ordinary women, her standing posture was like a drawn short sword, carrying an awe-inspiring sharpness.

Her face was cold, as if covered in frost, and a short sword with a simple style hung from her waist; the scabbard was engraved with intricate dark patterns, and under the flickering candlelight and the light of the night-luminescent pearls, it emitted a cold and ominous luster.

"You," Xuanyuan Zhanxian spoke, his gaze falling on her face, "what is your name?"

The woman's figure moved slightly, without any hesitation, she took a step forward and knelt on one knee before Xuanyuan Zhanxian. Her movements were crisp and neat, without any drag, showing absolute professionalism and obedience.

She raised her head, and on her cold face, there was no trace of sycophancy or fear, only a calmness and loyalty like ice and snow.

"Replying to Your Highness," her voice rang out, like ancient jade in a cold pool striking against each other, clear and cold, "this subordinate is named, Shadow Guard Ying Yue."

"Shadow Guard Ying Yue." Xuanyuan Zhanxian repeated the name, his gaze lingering on her cold, frost-like face for a moment.

In this gaze, there was no unnecessary hint, because its meaning was already as clear as a drawn sword, placed openly before everyone.

This was to use the sword of the law to establish authority. It was to use the most "legitimate" and "irrefutable" way to nail the power and face of the Leng family, along with their lives, onto the pillar of shame.

"Heir to the Marquis of Zhenbei Leng Wufeng and Minister of War Leng Jiangchan, father and son, just now in this Lanyue Tower, wantonly insulted and threatened this Highness."

Xuanyuan Zhanxian's voice rang out steadily, as if he were stating a public matter unrelated to himself.

"According to the laws of my Great Wu Dynasty, what is the crime?"

Shadow Guard Ying Yue felt a chill in her heart, instantly understanding all of Xuanyuan Zhanxian's intentions.

She did not hesitate at all, suddenly stood up straight, her waist and back as straight as a javelin.

Her voice, clear and cold like ice striking jade, rang out again. This time, infused with spiritual power, it clearly echoed in every corner of Zuixian Tower, which was as dead silent as a grave and filled only with the smell of blood:

"Replying to Your Highness!"

"According to the 'Great Wu Law: Palace Guard Chapter', it is clearly stated: If a commoner insults the royal family, for a minor offense, they shall be slapped fifty times and caned thirty times; for a major offense, they shall be exiled three thousand li, sentenced to hard labor, and shall not be pardoned even if an amnesty occurs!"

She paused, her voice colder by a degree:

"If a person holding an official position in the imperial court knowingly violates the law, the crime is increased by one degree! They shall be stripped of their position and their family property confiscated, to serve as a warning to others!"

Finally, her voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolute determination, every word like an ice cone, fiercely chiseling into everyone's heart:

"And those who openly threaten the life of a prince with words or actions—"

Her gaze, like two icy lines, swept over Minister of War Leng Jiangchan, who was gasping his last breath on the ground, and Heir to the Marquis of Zhenbei Leng Wufeng, whose life or death was unknown outside the building.

"It is equivalent to treason!"

"According to the law—"

"They shall be beheaded!!!"

The two words "shall be beheaded" were like two blood-colored thunderbolts falling from the Nine Heavens, booming in everyone's ears, shaking them to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

"Hiss——!!"

A chorus of gasps rang out like a tide.

Everyone felt their scalps explode instantly, a chill shooting straight from their tailbone to the top of their heads, and the blood throughout their bodies seemed to freeze at this moment!

They covered their mouths tightly, holding their breath, their eyes darting back and forth in extreme terror between Xuanyuan Zhanxian, Shadow Guard Ying Yue, and that "cripple" on the ground, their hearts pounding frantically, almost breaking through the constraints of their chests!

Minister of War Leng Jiangchan, who was limp like mud, at the moment he heard the words "shall be beheaded", as if crushed by the last straw, suddenly raised his head, which felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead.

In his murky and unfocused eyes, the last bit of unbelievable, extreme fear erupted, and a hoarse and desperate strange sound like a broken bellows came from his throat "he... he he...", but he could no longer utter a complete plea for mercy or curse.

The last trace of blood on Second Prince Wu Yuanchen's face also faded away completely at this moment.

The anger in his eyes could no longer be suppressed, he suddenly stepped forward, his voice somewhat distorted due to extreme shock and anger, attempting to make a final obstruction:

"Big Brother! You cannot!"

He pointed at Minister of War Leng Jiangchan on the ground and said urgently:

"Minister Leng is a pillar of the imperial court, a second-rank official! He has been in charge of the Ministry of War for many years; if he has no merit, he at least has hard work! How can... how can you take his life because of a few words spoken under the influence of alcohol?! This... this is not in accordance with etiquette, and it is also unfair according to the law! I ask you, Big Brother, to think twice!!"

"Rules? Fairness?"

Xuanyuan Zhanxian interrupted him directly, not even looking at him.

His gaze remained on Shadow Guard Ying Yue, but in that flat tone, there was an absolute majesty, unquestionable, like an emperor issuing a decree.

This was both an order to Shadow Guard Ying Yue, and more importantly, a final warning to everyone present, especially to Second Prince Wu Yuanchen.

"What Shadow Guard Ying Yue said just now, every sentence comes from the 'Great Wu Law', and every word is the ancestral law of the nation."

He slowly turned his head, his gaze finally falling on Second Prince Wu Yuanchen's pale and panicked face, that gaze as cold as a ten-thousand-year cold pool:

"Since the national law is such, and the statutes are clear..."

He paused, and uttered the last sentence, drawing a period to this bloody establishment of authority.

"Then, execute according to the law."

His gaze turned back to Shadow Guard Ying Yue, his voice calm and waveless, yet carrying the weight of deciding life and death:

"Shadow Guard Ying Yue."

"You go."

"Take—Minister of War Leng Jiangchan's head."