37: Chapter 37 The Panic-Stricken Emperor of Dayuan

Although the Qingyun Sect was located deep within the mountains, it was less than three hundred li from 'Tianwan City', the capital of Dayuan.

At this moment, the fire rising into the sky from the direction of the Qingyun Sect quickly caught the attention of the 'Tianwan City' garrison.

Less than an hour later, inside the Imperial Garden of the Dayuan Imperial Palace.

The Dayuan Emperor, Yuwen Chan, was lying lazily on the lap of a maid, eyes closed, mouth slightly open in contentment, enjoying grapes fed to him by another maid.

Nearby, an old eunuch knelt on the ground, reading memorials submitted from various places within Dayuan.

As the Emperor of Dayuan, a nation whose power was only slightly stronger than Daxia among the Seven Kingdoms of the Eastern Region, Yuwen Chan lived a far more comfortable life than many neighbor emperors like Emperor Xia Yu.

There was no other reason than the fact that his own uncle was the powerful Grand Elder of the Qingyun Sect!

With the behemoth that was the Qingyun Sect as his backer, Dayuan was as stable as if it had a pillar of the ocean.

As long as he did not actively provoke the truly top-tier powers in the Eastern Region—whether it be Dayuan's neighbors, the Fenglin Kingdom, or Daxia; or the resistance forces within the country—none were anything to fear.

Therefore, Yuwen Chan's daily "government affairs" consisted of listening to memorials in this Imperial Garden, tasting fine wine and delicacies, and teasing the beauties presented from various regions, living an incomparably carefree and happy life.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside.

The commander of the Imperial Guard rushed in, fell to his knees with a thud before Yuwen Chan,

"Your... Your Majesty! It's bad! Something terrible has happened!"

Yuwen Chan frowned, opened his eyes in displeasure, glanced at the anxious Imperial Guard commander, and reprimanded, "Commander Zhao, look at you, what kind of decorum is this! Can the sky really fall? Speak slowly, what exactly happened?"

Commander Zhao raised his head, his expression shifting uncertainly. After taking a deep breath, he slowly spoke, "Your Majesty... the Qingyun Sect... the Qingyun Sect is gone!!"

"What?" Yuwen Chan didn't react for a moment, or rather, he couldn't believe what he had heard. He suspiciously picked at his ear and leaned forward slightly,

"What did you say? I didn't hear clearly, say it again."

Commander Zhao gritted his teeth and said loudly, "Your Majesty! The Qingyun Sect is gone! The entire Sect... flames are soaring into the sky. The scouts we sent out returned to report that... that the entire Qingyun Sect is now a ruin, and not a single person survived!"

"The Qingyun Sect... has been wiped out!"

"Boom!"

Yuwen Chan felt his mind go blank, and a chill surged straight from the soles of his feet to his crown.

He sprang up from the maid's lap, rushed to Zhao Chuang in a few steps, his eyes bloodshot, and grabbed the man by the collar,

"Say it again?! How could the Qingyun Sect be gone? Who has such great ability? Did they see wrong?"

Commander Zhao, choked for air, could only swallow hard and continue, "Your Majesty... it is absolutely true! How would we dare to deceive Your Majesty about such a thing!"

Yuwen Chan let go, stumbled back a few steps, his face turning pale.

"Gone... really gone... the Qingyun Sect is just gone like this... how is this possible?"

With the fall of the Qingyun Sect, what did it mean? He knew very well.

Dayuan's neighbors, the Fenglin Kingdom and Daxia, might take advantage of the chaos! And those Sects and aristocratic families within the country that he had always suppressed...

His throne, the empire of Dayuan, became precarious with the fall of the Qingyun Sect!

"No! I cannot panic! I must not panic!" Yuwen Chan bit his tongue hard. A sharp pain surged, causing him to calm down instantly.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes. At this moment, preserving the capital and protecting his throne was the most important thing.

Yuwen Chan turned to look at Commander Zhao, who was standing to the side,

"Zhao Chuang, hear my order!"

"This general is here!" Commander Zhao jolted and quickly responded.

"Transmit my decree, with an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch! Order all border armies immediately to withdraw half of their elite troops and rush back to the capital overnight to defend the safety of the capital! There must be no mistakes!" As Yuwen Chan spoke, he unhooked the military tally from his waist and solemnly handed it to Commander Zhao,

"Go with my military tally and imperial decree. If any general hesitates or disobeys... you may execute them first and report later!"

"Your Majesty, this..." Commander Zhao frowned immediately,

Although he had relied on connections to sit in this position, it did not mean he was an idiot.

Withdrawing half of the border troops would inevitably leave the border defense lines empty. If those two neighboring countries invaded at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I am counting on you! Commander Zhao!" Yuwen Chan patted Commander Zhao's shoulder.

This pat made Commander Zhao cast all his concerns to the back of his mind.

"This general obeys the decree! I will complete the mission even if I die!" Commander Zhao gritted his teeth, grabbed the military tally, took the decree, and rushed out of the Imperial Garden.

Watching the direction where Zhao Chuang disappeared, Yuwen Chan's hands behind his back clenched tightly into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

In a single day, how could the situation in Dayuan turn into this?

...

Commander Zhao hastily handpicked over a hundred Imperial Guards to accompany him. Not long after the group left the imperial palace, a white dove quietly flew out from a restaurant in Tianwan City.

At the speed of Commander Zhao's group, after just three hours, the horses they were riding began to feel a hint of fatigue. They were just preparing to find a place to rest for a while.

However, Commander Zhao suddenly frowned, pulled the reins tight, and waved his hand towards the Imperial Guards behind him.

"Commander, what is it?" A personal guard asked, a hint of confusion in his eyes as he couldn't help but move forward.

Commander Zhao did not answer, but his gaze was fixed firmly on the pavilion ahead.

There, in the pavilion, a figure sat with their back to the official road, clutching a sword, wearing a bamboo hat.

That person made no movement, yet it caused Commander Zhao, who was at the third level of the Grandmaster Realm, to inexplicably feel a chill.

"At this time, there is actually someone in this godforsaken place, miles from anywhere! Is it a coincidence or..." Commander Zhao looked up at the darkening sky, his right hand resting unconsciously on the hilt of his saber.

"There is someone in the pavilion ahead! Go and check!" After a moment of silence, Commander Zhao gave a wink to the personal guard beside him.

Several personal guards nodded and rode forward directly,

One of them jumped off his horse, walked into the pavilion, and looked the figure up and down.

Although he couldn't see the person's true face clearly, from their figure and the faint floral scent wafting from them, he could roughly guess that the person wearing the bamboo hat in front of him was actually a woman.

This also made him relax his vigilance involuntarily.

"Hey! Hurry up and take off that bamboo hat! Let me see who you really are!"

As he spoke, his hand was already reaching out towards the person.

"I'm afraid... you won't have the life to see this Sect Leader's true face."

A flash of sword light lit up. The Imperial Guard's body suddenly stiffened, and a thin line appeared on his neck.

A gentle breeze blew up the black veil under the bamboo hat, revealing a cinnabar mole at the corner of that person's lips.