143: The power of tyranny!

Overbearing aura, perfectly integrated into Chengqian's body, transforming into a towering black pillar of light that shot straight into the sky!

"Boom—!"

The black Imperial Qi, and the golden Great Sun jointly activated by Kong Boyuan and Li Daoxuan, violently collided!

There was no stalemate as imagined.

The golden Great Sun, which was enough to purify all things and suppress heaven and earth, upon contact with the black Imperial Qi, was like paper!

"Crack!"

A crisp sound clearly entered everyone's ears.

A crack appeared on the surface of the golden Great Sun!

Immediately after, a second, a third... countless cracks, like a spider web, instantly covered the entire Great Sun!

"Pfft!"

Duke Yansheng Kong Boyuan was struck as if by a heavy blow, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood; his face, which had been flushed red from activating the secret technique, instantly turned ashen white!

"This... what kind of power is this?!"

He cried out in alarm, his eyes filled with shock and incomprehension.

His Righteous Qi was the most yang and rigid power between heaven and earth, an existence specifically designed to counter all evil demons and crooked ways!

But why... why was it so vulnerable in front of this black Imperial Qi?!

This power was filled with slaughter and destruction, clearly the Devil of Devils, yet, amidst that destruction, he also felt a sense of... rebirth!

A kind of order that was grander than his Righteous Qi, and more in line with the "Heavenly Principle"!

"Your 'Principle' is corrupt, built upon the bones of the common people."

Chengqian's voice seemed to come from the Nine Heavens, carrying a sense of judgment.

"And My 'Dao' is to smash all this corruption and return a bright and clear world to the Empire!"

"I am the Mandate of Heaven!"

He stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion towards the golden Great Sun, which was about to shatter.

"Shatter for Me...!"

"Boom!"

A earth-shattering roar!

The golden Great Sun, condensed by the Confucian millennium's Luck and the Li Tang Dynasty's Imperial Dragon Qi, shattered with a bang under Chengqian's grasp!

It transformed into countless golden light spots, dissipating into the air!

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Kong Boyuan and Li Daoxuan were both struck as if by heavy hammers at the same time, their bodies flying backward like kites with broken strings, heavily falling to the ground, spitting out blood!

The Righteous Qi gathered from all over Chang'an City was instantly cut off.

Inside the Imperial Academy, within the Confucian Temple, countless Confucian scholars who were closing their eyes and contributing their power all trembled, their faces turning pale, and some even spat out blood on the spot and fainted!

The Dao tradition was broken!

With just one strike!

Chengqian used only one strike to completely defeat the two leading figures representing "rites" and "orthodoxy"!

In the sky, Daoist Qingwei and the five Elders looked at the towering black pillar of light and the young Crown Prince who was like a god or demon, their faces showing immense reverence and fanaticism.

"This... is this... the power of the new era?"

Daoist Feng murmured, her voice trembling.

They chose to follow Chengqian because they saw the "Heavenly Secret" in him, and the hope of resolving the Demon Lock Tower crisis.

But they never imagined that Chengqian's own power had reached such a terrifying level!

This was no longer the power of a Mortal!

This was... the Dao!

A brand new, overbearing Dao that created the future through destruction and forged new life through slaughter!

In front of Xuanwu Gate, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone was so shocked by this god-like scene that their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Su Dingfang and the one hundred thousand troops behind him, who had just tightened their lances, once again dropped them with a "clang" sound.

They looked at the figure bathed in black Imperial Qi on the city gate tower, their eyes filled only with the most primitive... fear and worship.

And on the city gate tower, Li Shimin's frantic laughter also came to an abrupt halt.

He stared blankly at Duke Yansheng and his Imperial Uncle, who were lying on the ground spitting blood, and then looked at his son, who was like a Devil God descended to the world.

His last spark of hope, which had just ignited, was completely extinguished by this scene, not even a wisp of smoke remained.

He understood.

He completely understood.

He did not lose to political maneuvering, nor did he lose to betrayal.

He lost to... an overbearing Dao that he completely could not comprehend or resist!

Chengqian slowly withdrew his hand, and the black Imperial Qi around him gradually receded into his body.

He looked down at Kong Boyuan and Li Daoxuan, who were lying on the ground with weakened Qi, his eyes indifferent.

"Now, who else has any objections?"

His voice was not loud, but it was like heavy hammers striking everyone's hearts.

No one dared to answer.

No one could answer.

In front of Xuanwu Gate, there was a deathly silence.

Kong Boyuan and Li Daoxuan struggled to get up from the ground, supporting each other, looking at the young Crown Prince standing with his hands behind his back on the city gate tower, their eyes filled only with boundless shock and... confusion.

They lost.

So completely, so decisively.

Their proud Dao tradition, their "principles" and "rules" upon which they relied for their existence, were as fragile as a joke in the face of the opponent's absolute, unreasonable overbearing Dao.

"Why... why..."

Kong Boyuan clutched his chest, blood still on the corner of his mouth, he spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse.

He couldn't understand.

Confucianism educated the Empire, conforming to the Heavenly Principle, so why was it restrained by a "Devilish Qi" full of slaughter and destruction?

Could it be that this heaven really changed?

Could it be that the Dao they had upheld for a thousand years was really wrong?

"Because your Dao is too small."

Chengqian seemed to see through his thoughts and spoke indifferently.

"In your eyes, there is only the imperial court, only the aristocratic families, only the so-called cardinal guides and constant virtues. You cannot see that beneath these magnificent robes, this Empire is already crawling with maggots, rotten to the core."

His gaze turned to Daoist Qingwei in the sky.

"Daoist Qingwei, I think it's time to let these two old gentlemen, who live in a dream, see this real, collapsing world."

"As Your Highness commands."

Daoist Qingwei bowed respectfully to Chengqian.

Then, he turned around and looked at Kong Boyuan and Li Daoxuan, whose faces were ashen.

He sighed, seemingly also feeling that if he didn't make them completely give up, today's matter would ultimately leave endless troubles.

He stretched out his finger and lightly tapped the Void Realm in front of him.

"Om—" Space rippled, and a huge mirror, condensed from water vapor, appeared above Xuanwu Gate.

Within the mirror, light and shadow flickered, and finally, it settled on a towering, pitch-black giant tower that reached into the clouds.

The giant tower seemed to be cast from some unknown metal, its surface covered with countless ancient and complex runes.

Visible black Qi, like poisonous snakes, coiled around the tower, emitting a chillingly evil aura.

"This... this is..."

Li Daoxuan's pupils suddenly contracted; from that tower, he felt a Demonic Qi that was even purer and more ancient than Chengqian's Devilish Qi!

"Demon Lock Tower."