Chapter 500
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Undisclosed]
Chapter Title: Sword Slays the Emperor
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In that instant, the entire Tianwu Hall fell into utter silence.
In the vast hall, only a clear sword hum echoed, the sword light blazing bright as it swept forth like a breached flood, an indiscriminate area attack!
The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord had calculated clearly—in that flash of lightning, he couldn't possibly discern which of them was the mysterious Foundation Establishment cultivator who had ambushed him. Thus, he unleashed an indiscriminate strike, enveloping all the officials in Tianwu Hall. Notably, he spared the Jiayou Emperor and the Three Excellencies.
Yet his restraint didn't mean the Jiayou Emperor and the Three Excellencies would stand idle.
After all, every high-ranking member of the Dao Court was present in Tianwu Hall at that moment, and they were on the verge of seclusion. If they all perished, what would become of the Dao Court?
Thus, almost simultaneously, the Jiayou Emperor struck.
"Insolent!"
Before his words faded, the Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations descended, and Tianwu Hall was the very heart of the Dao Court, where the majesty of the Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations was at its thickest.
Consequently, the sword light unleashed by the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord was crushed by the Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations the instant it appeared. Its late Golden Core stature was forcibly downgraded to mid Golden Core, its speed and power both plummeting, finally giving everyone present a chance to react.
Boom!
First came the scattered sword light. The Three Excellencies acted in unison, activating their fruition marvels to shield the officials behind them from the sword light's reach.
But they were already in the midst of seclusion.
Forcing their hands now only hastened the process. With that single strike, their figures shattered one after another, vanishing into formlessness.
Only the Jiayou Emperor endured.
After all, he was at mid Golden Core cultivation, bolstered now by the Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations. His move had already suppressed that peerless sword light.
Even so, the Jiayou Emperor felt a lingering fear.
'Fortunate it was in Tianwu Hall.'
Among the world's four great powers, the Saint Sect and Sword Pavilion both wielded late Golden Core means, while the Pure Land and Dao Court lacked them but possessed their own defenses.
The Pure Land relied on unity of the masses and the World Honored One's prestige.
The Dao Court relied on the Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations. In Tianwu Hall, even a late Golden Core would be suppressed in realm, unable to act freely.
Yet just as the World Honored One's prestige was useful but not universally so, the Dao Court's Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations held sway only in Jiangdong. Beyond it, they reverted to impotence—hence the Dao Court's confinement to Jiangdong, sealing itself off from the world, shunning external strife.
'But this sword light looks familiar... hiss!'
The Jiayou Emperor's mind raced, his face twisting in horror as realization dawned—this was the strike once unleashed by the True Lord of Rigid Form Preaching Dao at the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord.
With the sword light released, memories of it naturally resurfaced.
In an instant, the Jiayou Emperor was stunned: 'The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord? How could it be him? Is the Demon Sect moving against our Dao Court? But why?'
He couldn't fathom the logic behind the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's attack.
His gaze then shifted to Lu Yang kneeling before him, only to see a rippling blue conch of law hovering above Lu Yang's head, shielding him firmly.
The Edict Sea Conch!
The incident was sudden. Though the Jiayou Emperor and Three Excellencies reacted swiftly, bolstered by the Celestial Empire's Dao Regulations, over a dozen officials still fell to the sword light.
Lu Yang was among them.
Unlike the others, however, at the critical moment, the Edict Sea Conch bestowed by the Old Dragon Lord manifested, blocking the sword light for him.
Crack!
The next instant, the fruition true treasure Edict Sea Conch fractured inch by inch before exploding into countless streaming lights!
Beneath the streaming lights gleamed Lu Yang's face, twisted in "utter terror."
The Jiayou Emperor lowered his gaze, thinking to himself:
'What a pity... he survived.'
Had the sword light slain Lu Yang outright, he could have washed his hands of it—simply send a condolence notice to the True Dragon Clan afterward, all while standing on the moral high ground.
But with Lu Yang alive, things grew complicated.
With that in mind, the Jiayou Emperor suppressed the sword light while preparing to speak again. He still had the reserves to briefly outline arrangements for the Dao Court.
Boom!
A thunderous roar rang out, freezing the Jiayou Emperor's expression.
Lu Yang had struck.
Without drawing any attention, Lu Yang lowered his gaze and commanded the banner spirits within his Myriad Spirits Banner to form the Yama Hall, invoking the sword dao fruition.
False possession of an external dao!
Clang clang!
A second sword hum resounded. The officials below Golden Core naturally couldn't distinguish it from the previous one, their divine senses all veiled.
Only the Jiayou Emperor saw everything clearly—and thus his disbelief.
He simply couldn't comprehend how a mere servant he could crush at will had suddenly become an external dao true lord!
It felt like raising your foot to squash an ant, only to stomp on a tyrannosaurus rex!
And it wasn't just that!
As Lu Yang falsely possessed the sword dao fruition and unleashed his strike, three talents activated in sync upon him, empowering his sword light.
[Never Below Others]!
[I Am the Vanguard]!
[Fortune Never Fills the Eyes]!
Of the three talents, the first doubled the backstab divine ability; the second augmented destiny; the third split destiny into fortune and misfortune before transferring it to others.
In a flash, Lu Yang completed the maneuver. The destiny from [I Am the Vanguard] was divided by [Fortune Never Fills the Eyes]—fortune to himself, misfortune to the Jiayou Emperor. Surging sword qi instantly surrounded the Jiayou Emperor from all sides, the image of swarming assault triggering yet another talent.
[Dragon-Skinning Platform]!
Even a false possession of an external dao, bolstered by four golden talents and the inherently offensive sword dao, yielded power no less than a orthodox true lord!
By contrast, the Jiayou Emperor was still suppressing the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's sword light, on the verge of seclusion, unable to muster even a tenth of his full divine abilities.
"You—" The Jiayou Emperor opened his mouth.
Pfft!
A sword pierced his chest. The peerless sword light detonated with a gale-force blast, snuffing him out like a windblown lamp before he could finish a word, scattering his form.
'It worked!'
Lu Yang exhaled deeply, swiftly dispelling the false external dao state. Even a momentary possession had shaken his Dao foundation.
Excruciating pain from his soul surged through his body from the Dao foundation.
Yet Lu Yang gritted his teeth, swallowing the agony:
'Unless I falsely possess [Covered Lamp Fire] and use Auspicious Fortune Golden Nature to bear the damage, any further false external dao possession would depend on luck to endure.'
The next instant, myriad幻彩 shattered, finally revealing the vast Tianwu Hall in full—but the Jiayou Emperor and Three Excellencies had all vanished. The crowd beheld only the True Dragon envoy, whom the Jiayou Emperor had just praised as "loyal and devoted to the nation," now vomiting blood in furious roar:
"Seize him! Don't let the assassin escape!"
"Someone in the Dao Court colludes with the northern Jiang Demon Sect, plotting to assassinate His Majesty—irrefutable evidence! Take the assassin down at once. This matter must be investigated to the bottom!"
Rising to his feet, Lu Yang's cold gaze swept over the assembly.
"Wait!"
Seeing this, Capital Heaven Department Commander Ning Haohe clenched his jaw and stepped forward: "Does investigating this require the Imperial City Division? This falls under my Capital Heaven Department—"
Before Ning Haohe finished, a massive hand slammed toward his head.
"What are you doing?"
Ning Haohe paled in shock, instinctively activating his official position. Divine abilities emerged to block it—but all halted before that hand.
[Wise Ruler Governance]!
The divine abilities originally aimed at Lu Yang, upon touching the brilliant hues on his hand, were conscripted like surrendered troops. They coiled around his hand instead, not only unweakened but amplified. The palm descended, clamping Ning Haohe's neck in an instant!
In a heartbeat, silence reigned once more.
Then Lu Yang's expression turned icy: "Let the Capital Heaven Department investigate? Bear in mind, the one who assassinated His Majesty was Capital Heaven Department Vice Commander Chen Yuanli!"
"He was your subordinate."
"You're saying this now—are you trying to shield a criminal?"
At those words, Ning Haohe's face flushed crimson. He tried to retort, but with his neck gripped and mana sealed by Lu Yang, not a syllable escaped.
At the same time, auras surged from beyond Tianwu Hall.
Earlier, the Jiayou Emperor had tasked the Imperial City Division with continuing as Nine Gates Supervisors. With the disturbance in Tianwu Hall, the Imperial City Division's incense fire gods naturally arrived first.
"No rebuttal? Then you admit guilt."
With a flick, Lu Yang knocked Ning Haohe unconscious and tossed him to the floor: "Detain him. From this moment, cooperate with the Imperial City Division's investigation."
"His Majesty's assassination demands an accounting!"
Before Lu Yang finished, the Imperial City Division's incense fire gods moved as if of one mind. They stomped in unison, right hands to their temples, roaring as one:
"Loyal! Honest!"