37: Losing both wife and army

*Slap!*

Just as the Undying Evil King was about to strike Li Qingyue...

Li Qingyue raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap.

It landed squarely on the Undying Evil King's cheek with a crisp sound. A massive force surged through, sending the Undying Evil King flying back instantly until he slammed heavily into the ground.

He stared at Li Qingyue with a face full of disbelief.

He had just been hit.

"How is this possible?"

One had to remember, he was the Undying Evil King.

Li Qingyue was also slightly stunned.

The Undying Evil King's reputation echoed throughout Great Qian. Aside from the three Grand Martial Arts Masters, he was hailed as the number one Martial Arts Grandmaster, having once remained undefeated even when besieged by four Martial Arts Grandmasters.

At this moment, she had seemingly only stepped into the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm a few days ago, yet she had easily defeated him.

However, she quickly regained her composure.

A profound confidence instantly erupted from her. With the Empress's majesty, she said coldly, "Undying Evil King, I wonder if you have anything left to say now."

"Breaking into the imperial palace late at night is a crime punishable by death, but I know you are a man of talent."

"Unrivaled in both civil and martial arts, I now give you two choices: submit or die."

"Heh heh heh."

The Undying Evil King gave a cold snort and launched another attack.

He refused to believe this absurdity—that he would lose.

He must have been careless just now.

The Undying Evil Seal was something he had created by combining the strengths of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, and it far surpassed the secret techniques of ordinary Grand Martial Arts Masters.

Even when facing three Grand Martial Arts Masters, he would not feel the slightest bit of fear.

How could he back down now?

He struck out with another palm.

Having the experience from the first strike, Li Qingyue was already brimming with confidence.

She immediately performed the Great Universe Primordial Hand.

Slap.

The same position, the same slap.

But this slap was even harsher and faster, sending Liu Wen flying on the spot. He crashed heavily onto the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You are clearly only at the Early Stage of the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm, yet you can defeat me. How exactly did you do it?"

Li Qingyue said, "Didn't you just ask me that? You asked if I had met an Immortal. Now, I can tell you quite responsibly that I really did meet one."

"Undying Evil King, have you considered? Submit to me, and I can teach you the methods of an Immortal."

The Undying Evil King was clearly somewhat unwilling to believe it. He shook his head and said, "How precious is an Immortal fate? You would actually teach it to me?"

Li Qingyue said calmly, "Why not? To your eyes, an Immortal fate is incomparably precious, but to me, it is not worth mentioning at all. As the strategist for the Prince of Zhenbei, you should also know that I schemed against the Prince of Zhenbei with a single potion. Logically, given the Prince of Zhenbei's caution, how could he be so easily outmaneuvered?"

"Perhaps you all had your suspicions about that prescription. Indeed, it truly was given to me by an Immortal."

The Undying Evil King was clearly tempted.

He held a secret deep within his heart.

The reason he collaborated with the Prince of Zhenbei was to use the Prince's power to find traces of Immortals and thereby obtain an Immortal fate.

Now that an Immortal fate was right before him, how could he not be moved?

Li Qingyue continued, "The secret technique I used to defeat you just now is also an Immortal method. What does the Evil King think of its power?"

The Undying Evil King took a deep breath and said, "Fine, I can cooperate with you."

Li Qingyue shook her head. "It is not cooperation, but submission."

"What? You want me, the dignified Undying Evil King, to submit to you?" The Undying Evil King's expression changed instantly.

Li Qingyue snorted coldly. "You have no choice right now. Either submit or die. Choose for yourself."

"Undying Evil King, although you are known as the number one Martial Arts Grandmaster of my Great Qian Dynasty, your methods are nothing in my eyes, and they are even less than nothing in the eyes of an Immortal. The opportunity has been given to you; it is up to you to cherish it."

Finally.

The Undying Evil King slowly knelt before Li Qingyue.

He said respectfully, "Undying Evil King Liu Wen pays his respects to Your Majesty the Empress."

Li Qingyue hurried forward and personally helped Liu Wen up.

She said, "With the Evil King's help, our chances of winning the upcoming martial arts competition against the Foreign Tribes have increased by several points."

Her previous gloom was completely swept away.

In the competition with the Foreign Tribes, it was the best of three matches.

At the very least, with the Undying Evil King present, one victory could be guaranteed.

The Undying Evil King was clearly somewhat surprised as he asked, "Your Majesty does not plan for me to return to the Prince of Zhenbei's side to act as an inside agent?"

Li Qingyue shook her head. "There is no need for that."

"Brother Changsheng once said that all schemes and intrigues are paper tigers in the face of absolute strength. When facing the Prince of Zhenbei, one only needs enough strength to simply sweep through everything."

"The Prince of Zhenbei missed his chance to deal with me before. Now, he won't have that chance to move against me again."

"You should just stay by my side."

"Yes."

The Undying Evil King said.

Li Qingyue also noticed that he opened his mouth several times as if he wanted to ask something, but the words were swallowed back down.

Li Qingyue asked, "If there is something on your mind, feel free to ask."

The Undying Evil King asked, "Is the Brother Changsheng Your Majesty mentioned the Immortal you encountered?"

Li Qingyue nodded. "There is no harm in telling you. His name is Li Changsheng, and he is the chief senior disciple of Misty Peak from the Primordial Immortal Sect. The so-called Immortals you speak of are actually Cultivators, and the path of cultivation is divided into Realms such as Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul."

"Among them, Qi Refining is divided into twelve levels. The Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm we Cultivate is merely equivalent to the fifth level of Qi Refining for a Cultivator, and a Grand Martial Arts Master is only at the sixth level. It is laughable that we were but frogs at the bottom of a well; with the methods of a Cultivator, one at the fourth level of Qi Refining can easily kill a Grand Martial Arts Master."

Clearly.

Li Qingyue's words completely shocked Liu Wen.

If Liu Wen's submission just now had carried a hint of hesitation and dissatisfaction...

Of course, it was mostly a case of the circumstances being stronger than the man—to be the meat on someone else's chopping block.

But now, he truly held the hope that by siding with the Empress, he might actually encounter an Immortal fate.

Li Qingyue said, "Help me take control of the court and suppress the Prince of Zhenbei, and I shall grant you an Immortal fate. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the Undying Evil King said with a nod.

Li Qingyue asked, "Evil King, you are adept in both civil and martial arts, possessing high martial skills and extraordinary intelligence. It can be said that without your assistance, the Prince of Zhenbei would not have been able to grasp full control of the court. During tomorrow's morning court session, I shall appoint you as the Grand Preceptor of the First Rank."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu Wen's entire body trembled slightly.

Although...

Becoming an official was not his wish.

But he still had to admit that on this point alone, the Empress's boldness far surpassed that of the Prince of Zhenbei.

Li Qingyue asked, "Grand Preceptor, there is one more thing I do not understand. Was the martial arts competition with the Foreign Tribes, using five cities as the stakes, your handiwork?"

"It was indeed," Liu Wen said.

"I know what Your Majesty is thinking. However, I also advised the Prince of Zhenbei to migrate all the civilians from those five cities. Even if we lose, what the Foreign Tribes receive will only be five empty cities."