Chapter 15: Struggle for the First Rank

“You mean, the Emperor is dead?”

When he received this news, Su Chen was reading in the courtyard; he was shocked at the time.

Of course.

He was still shocked now.

After all, it was only the first day of the fifth lunar month in the twenty-fourth year of Tianwu. This Seventh Prince had sat on the throne for a total of only four months, and the new era name for the new dynasty had not even been decided.

The commoners in the remote territories likely had no idea that the old Emperor, Emperor Tianwu, had passed away.

“Yes.”

“The Emperor is dead.”

Xu Xiaohan’s eyes were filled with terror, and his voice was trembling.

This immediately made Su Chen realize something.

Xu Xiaohan’s extreme fear clearly indicated that this matter was not simple.

“Is it related to Zhang Gui?”

Su Chen asked tentatively.

In an instant, Xu Xiaohan’s knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud. He scrambled forward rapidly, clutching Su Chen’s leg, and recounted the story in terror.

“The new Emperor is secretly trying to win me over. He wants me to secretly collect evidence of my godfather's crimes for him.”

“There is so much evidence against my godfather, there is no need to collect it.”

“When I reported this to my godfather, he told me to feign cooperation with the new Emperor. But when I went to report to the new Emperor that day, I was hiding in a wooden cabinet and saw with my own eyes as my godfather killed the Emperor...”

Zhang Gui had committed regicide?

How did he dare?

Even Su Chen felt a jolt of trepidation.

With Xu Xiaohan incapacitated by fear, Su Chen had no choice but to step out of the Library once more and head toward the Imperial Study as if it were second nature.

With the Martial Bureau pass personally signed by Zhang Gui, no eunuch or even the Imperial Guards dared to obstruct Su Chen in the slightest; they even avoided him in panic.

Clearly, the fact that the eunuch Su from the Library was Zhang Gui's brother was common knowledge throughout the palace.

“It is only right that His Majesty ascends the throne.”

Before he even reached the Imperial Study.

Su Chen heard a burst of hearty, humble laughter.

It was none other than Zhang Gui.

In the next instant.

The doors of the Imperial Study were opened from the inside.

Zhang Gui pushed the door open humbly. Behind him stood a young man in white robes embroidered with dragons, with slightly dark skin and cold eyes. This person looked vaguely familiar.

“I want to see my Imperial Mother,” the white-robed prince said coldly.

Su Chen remembered.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the twenty-fourth year of Tianwu, during the battle in the deep night, there were two princes. One was handsome with bright eyes, dignified and extraordinary—the Second Prince, the elder brother of the Seventh Prince.

The other was plump with small, piercing eyes—the Fifth Prince, born to Consort Zhang.

“The Fifth Prince is actually still alive?”

Su Chen was stunned.

Had it not been for that night's princely rebellion, the old Emperor would likely still be alive, and Zhang Gui would still be just one of many subordinates under the Fifth Prince, rather than possessing such overwhelming power today.

Though he had tanned significantly and become much thinner, the traces of the Fifth Prince's features could still be discerned.

Furthermore.

When it came to the succession of the throne, Zhang Gui naturally could not have mistaken him.

“What is the opinion of the Supreme First Monitor in the Purple Robe...”

Before this thought could even fully form in his mind, Su Chen saw it.

Boom!

Above the Imperial Palace, clouds surged and winds howled. Two figures in purple robes—one aged and withered, the other a youth with white hair—clashed in mid-air like streaks of lightning, fighting with incredible speed.

“Two Purple Robe First Monitors?”

Su Chen understood.

The old Emperor had once deposed the current dynasty's Purple Robe First Monitor, suspecting his loyalty. Using the Blood-Enhancing Longevity Pill as bait, he had requested this second Purple Robe First Monitor to emerge from the Tianwu Tower...

Clearly.

Not only had the Fifth Prince, who had escaped death, gained the recognition of the missing former First Monitor.

“You are ruthless...”

The white-haired Purple Robe First Monitor, like a stray dog, continuously coughed up blood and fled back to the deepest part of the palace, into the Tianwu Tower that was perpetually shrouded in mist.

“Old servant Song Yu pays respects to the new Emperor. Long live the Emperor!”

The white-haired youth, the Purple Robe First Monitor, knelt heavily, using an exceptionally humble ritual to elevate the Fifth Prince to the throne.

In this year, the dynasty changed.

A new era was established!

The new dynasty: the Jianwu Dynasty!

“I am the Jianwu Emperor of Great Liang!”

In the Golden Throne Hall.

The Fifth Prince was high-spirited as he officially declared himself Emperor, proclaiming it to the world.

It was no wonder Zhang Gui dared to assassinate the Seventh Prince, that puppet emperor.

The princes in white dragon robes were all equivalent to Crown Princes—those who had entered the Tianwu Tower and received true recognition.

Even a First-Rank expert of the current era would not dare to act insolently toward them.

This time, Zhang Gui had truly achieved the merit of "ascending the dragon." He was the true mastermind behind it all, whether it was finding the amnesiac Fifth Prince or bringing in the former First Monitor, Song Yu.

Zhang Gui's power reached its zenith.

The Martial Bureau was officially renamed in the new dynasty, becoming the Eastern Depot! Holding the supreme authority to oversee the officials and hunt martial artists across the world.

Zhang Gui became the Director of the Eastern Depot.

In comparison, the title of Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Palace seemed somewhat lacking in weight.

“Overseeing officials, hunting martial artists across the world...”

“The world is about to fall into chaos!”

“Great Liang is finished.”

Su Chen sighed as he returned to the Library, never stepping out again, regardless of the storms and rivers of blood flowing outside.

The fact that the old Emperor did not die at Zhang Gui's hands was a massive error.

At this moment, Zhang Gui, possessing dual peak Third-Rank cultivation, was venting all his hatred upon the Great Liang dynasty. He wanted to see Great Liang crumble and its fields covered in corpses...

Su Chen's prediction was correct.

On the second night after Emperor Jianwu's investiture of Zhang Gui, a palace coup erupted within the Imperial Palace.

“The brat Jianwu is incompetent and immoral, treating a eunuch thief as a confidant! The state is lost!”

“Kill the eunuch to restore the law of the state!”

“The eunuch Zhang Gui is unforgivable!”

The voices were like thunder, roaring through heaven and earth, audible throughout the entire thousand-mile imperial city.

On this night, another First-Rank expert of the current era stormed the palace.

No!

It was not just one First-Rank expert, but also a massive amount of elite border troops who had somehow infiltrated the imperial city, launching an assault on the palace tonight to assassinate the Emperor and declare themselves kings.

The Prince of Zhenbei had rebelled.

“If they rebel, let them rebel.”

“If they want to kill Zhang Gui, let them kill Zhang Gui. Why come for me...”

Night.

The air grew cold.

Su Chen, half-asleep, put on his outer robe and looked out from the Library. He watched in silence as a troop of elite border soldiers, their eyes filled with murderous intent, surrounded his courtyard.

“You are the eunuch's brother, and thus, you are part of the eunuch faction!”

“In that case.”

“You must die! Kill!”

The leading general radiated a violent aura, his bones and muscles resonating. He was actually at the peak of the Fourth Rank, dual cultivation of Qi and Physique. Judging by his profound true Qi and bloodline foundation, he was a genius of martial arts.

However, even with his full power unleashed, he was only in his early thirties, making him among the weakest of the martial geniuses.

The rest of the soldiers were all at the Fifth Rank.

They raised their long spears high, their gazes fierce, charging forward behind their general. Their military formation was set, and their momentum was unstoppable.

Even a weaker Third-Rank expert would likely feel their spirit shaken, feeling the desperate urge to flee.

“When I was at the mid-Fifth Rank, my bloodline was three times that of a peak Fifth-Rank martial genius. At that time, I killed a Fourth-Rank Explosive Qi expert. Now, at the peak of the Fifth Rank, my bloodline is like flame, ten times that of a genius. It is time to test my true strength.”

That night, within the Library, a soaring flame of blood swept through the surroundings.

That night, deep within the Imperial Palace, the former First General in Red, a First-Rank expert, was startled awake from his dream, staring in disbelief at the streak of firelight reflecting in the night sky.

“The rumors are true... the Blood-Flame Invincible Realm, which lies above the peak of the Fifth Rank, actually exists. This is something only the elite among Grandmasters have a slim chance of achieving...”

That night, a peak dual Fourth-Rank expert fell in the Library, along with over a dozen soldiers.

That night, dressed in simple green robes, Su Chen ascended to the ninth floor of the Library, once again watching the shifting clouds of the Imperial Palace and the life-and-death struggles of the era's First-Rank experts.