135: Chapter 135 Escape to the Jin Kingdom

With the revelation of Li Yuan's true strength, everything finally made sense.

People like Ruan Xingqiao and Meng Guidu, with their negligible skills, how could they have ever dealt with Li Yuan?

Seeking Li Yuan's life could only result in their own deaths.

However, Liu Shengyong still had things he couldn't figure out.

Why would someone with the strength of a Ninth-Grade Supreme come to Yingyang Pass to be a minor corpse-collecting official?

And why had he kept such a low profile and remained in seclusion before?

Could it be that Li Yuan's strength was still weak back then?

Various doubts surfaced in his mind.

But no matter how he thought about it, these doubts didn't add up.

The Ninth-Grade Realm—could someone really leap to such a height in just a year or two?

One must know that for most Martial Artists, it usually takes a year or two just to advance from the Third-Grade Realm to the Fourth-Grade.

And that's for relatively talented Martial Artists.

For those slightly less gifted, it takes five years or more.

There were plenty of people who remained stuck at the Third-Grade Realm for their entire lives.

Who could possibly ascend to the Ninth-Grade Supreme Realm in just a year or two?

The Ninth Grade was an existence known as an Immortal of the Mortal Realm.

Even the Eighth-Grade Elders of Qianqiu Mountain, after decades of cultivation, found it difficult to take that step.

Liu Shengyong pondered for a long time, becoming more and more conflicted the more he thought.

After much agonizing, he shook his head and simply decided to stop thinking about it.

To reach the Ninth-Grade Supreme Realm, who knows what terrifying Opportunity he must have had.

At this moment, Liu Shengyong actually felt a bit lucky.

At least he was still alive.

Although he no longer held the status of City Lord, his entire family was safe and sound.

If he hadn't been stripped of his position as City Lord, Liu Shengyong felt he might not have survived anyway.

Under the pressure from the Yan Family and the Amber Sovereign, he most likely would have compromised.

In the end, he would have met the same fate as Wang Jiuxing.

...

The Capital, Guiyuan Princes Mansion.

This Prince Guiyuan, who wielded immense power in the imperial court, received the scouts' reports immediately.

When he received the first letter, Prince Guiyuan thought the scout had lost his mind.

The letter actually claimed that the Amber Sovereign had been seriously injured, fled of his own accord, and his reputation had plummeted.

Prince Guiyuan didn't believe a word of it.

He found it truly hard to believe this was real.

The Amber Sovereign was Da Shun's number one Supreme; there were few Ninth-Grades in Da Shun who could even fight him to a draw.

Yet this letter said the Amber Sovereign was seriously injured, became frightened, and then fled...

Such a claim sounded like complete nonsense.

But soon, the scouts he had sent out began sending back one letter after another.

The contents of these letters varied, some detailed and some brief.

But they all spoke of the same thing.

The Amber Sovereign was injured and fled; not only was he no match for Li Yuan, but he had even been scared off...

These scouts were all stationed separately and communicated through individual channels.

The scouts did not know each other.

When all the scouts reported the same event simultaneously.

Then the matter was likely true.

Prince Guiyuan suddenly stood up from his chair, feeling somewhat panicked.

He immediately headed toward the Immortal Cave on the back mountain to see if the Amber Sovereign had returned.

If he hadn't returned, he would wait in the Immortal Cave for the Amber Sovereign's return.

Soon, Prince Guiyuan reached the Immortal Cave where the Amber Sovereign resided.

The Immortal Cave was empty; the Amber Sovereign had not returned.

This outcome seemed to further validate the news sent back by the scouts.

The Amber Sovereign was a Ninth-Grade Supreme; his speed should have been much faster than the speed at which those letters were delivered.

If his battle with Li Yuan had ended, he would have returned long ago.

Prince Guiyuan felt more and more uneasy.

The current situation increasingly looked like the Amber Sovereign was indeed injured.

Despite how the Amber Sovereign appeared indifferent to many things and acted casually.

In fact, he could see the situation very clearly.

When the Amber Sovereign held the advantage, he would indeed be very casual.

But when he was injured and felt a sense of crisis, the Amber Sovereign would become extremely cautious.

At such a time, he wouldn't trust anyone.

Someone like Prince Guiyuan was trusted even less by the Amber Sovereign.

After being injured, the Amber Sovereign would hide in a location known only to himself.

The recovery process was the Amber Sovereign's most vulnerable period, and he would not give anyone an Opportunity to strike.

Thinking of this, Prince Guiyuan felt even more certain that the scouts' news was true.

What truly terrified him were the other pieces of news that followed.

Li Yuan's father was Li Guangyi, and it was Prince Guiyuan who had orchestrated that tragedy of family execution and asset seizure.

Others might find excuses, saying they had nothing to do with it or were forced.

But he, Prince Guiyuan, could never distance himself from it; there was simply no excuse.

Li Yuan could injure the Amber Sovereign; with such strength, how was Prince Guiyuan supposed to deal with him?

Prince Guiyuan's body was trembling; he felt the possibility that he might lose his life.

His lips quivered.

Prince Guiyuan did his best to suppress his inner fear, feeling that there was no longer any place for him in the Shun Kingdom.

If Li Yuan defeated the Amber Sovereign, he would gain the status of the number one Supreme.

Many people would try to curry favor, perhaps even handing over Prince Guiyuan just to please Li Yuan.

Furthermore, after the Amber Sovereign's downfall, all interests associated with him would be fought over and redistributed.

Although the imperial family of the Shun Kingdom still had two Ninth-Grade Supremes.

But with only the two of them, it was impossible to hold onto so many current benefits; they would inevitably have to give up a large portion.

Prince Guiyuan had once been immensely powerful.

Many in the imperial family were dissatisfied with him, but previously, there was the Amber Sovereign.

The imperial family needed him to maintain ties with the Amber Sovereign.

Now that this connection was gone, what should Prince Guiyuan do?

Thinking of this, Prince Guiyuan immediately returned to his mansion and began packing his valuables.

He knew he had to leave the Shun Kingdom.

If he didn't leave now, he would become a bargaining chip used to trade with Li Yuan.

Prince Guiyuan's mind worked quickly.

He had already decided on his next destination.

The Jin Kingdom.

Da Shun and the Jin Kingdom had been at war for years, sharing a deep-seated hatred.

If a prince like him defected, he would surely receive a warm welcome from the Jin Kingdom.

To the Jin Kingdom, having a prince of the Shun Kingdom defect to them would be a massive humiliation for Da Shun.

The Jin Kingdom would be very satisfied with such a slap to the face.

Previously at Yingyang Pass, their State Preceptor had suffered a major setback.

Morale within the Jin Kingdom had been low; this Opportunity would surely boost it.

Doing such a thing was naturally very disgraceful for Prince Guiyuan.

Countless people would curse him behind his back.

But this choice could save Prince Guiyuan's life.

While life wouldn't be as carefree as in Da Shun, defecting to the Jin Kingdom shouldn't be too bad either.

Having thought it through, Prince Guiyuan left the mansion half an hour later.

He was going to one of his hidden treasure troves to take some items before heading to the Jin Kingdom to seek asylum.

Meanwhile, more than thirty Ninth-Grade Supremes of the Shun Kingdom were about to gather at the Meifengshan Martial Arts Academy.

With the emergence of a new number one Supreme, they naturally had to come.