Chapter 27: Emperor Taizu of Liang

Who was the reigning Emperor Jianwu?

Looking at the corpse of the Fourth Prince of Tianwu, Su Chen fell into silence, his suspicions faintly being confirmed.

Perhaps the former Emperor Tianwu was still alive.

After all, he had never seen the former Emperor's corpse.

"If it truly is the former Emperor Tianwu, he really can live a long life. To survive two assassination attempts, impersonate the fifth son, and reign as Emperor Jianwu for nine years... he must be in his sixties by now..."

Having achieved his goal, Su Chen prepared to leave the Imperial Study and retreat back into the library of his Martial Pavilion.

Before leaving.

He performed a final inspection of the Fourth Prince's corpse. Finally, as if discovering something, he paused in front of the completely unrecognizable First Prince, whose head had been severed.

Not only had the First Prince's head been removed, but his heart and internal organs had been gouged out, leaving behind dense, intricate incisions, as if someone had been searching for something inside his body.

Su Chen suddenly remembered Huang Yi; she was the one who had hidden the secret treasure within her viscera.

Those details were unimportant.

What mattered was that Su Chen vaguely saw an anomalous glow near the First Prince's second right rib.

Longevity?

No!

It should be described as the aura of life...

"Something is hidden inside the rib."

Su Chen snapped the second rib, and a cyan, ring-like object, resembling a copper band, fell to the ground.

"The Void-Absorbing Ring?"

Su Chen raised an eyebrow.

It looked similar, but it likely wasn't it.

After all, this world seemed to be a "low-martial" world inhabited by demons, where martial prowess was slightly elevated, but it wasn't a "xianxia" world where people could fly through the heavens or possess power that pierced the sky. How could something like a Void-Absorbing Ring exist here?

The strongest being Su Chen had encountered in this world was a First-Rank expert who could turn a blizzard into a single sword strike! Although his combat power was high, making him seem non-human, those from the Second to Fifth Rank were still considered normal.

How could this be Immortal Martial arts?

In this world, even in the ancient texts, he had never seen anyone live beyond one hundred and ten years!

Human lifespan has an upper limit.

Even for a Grandmaster, the limit of longevity was a mere century.

Even if one gorged themselves on Longevity Pills made from blood soaked in slaughter, they would at most extend their life by a few years.

In such a world, how could it possibly be a realm of high-level immortal cultivation?

"It should be something good."

"Emperor Jianwu, or perhaps the former Emperor, is searching for this very thing..."

Su Chen tucked it into his robes, left the underground ice cave, and departed the Imperial Study.

At this very moment.

Countless flames illuminated the Imperial Palace; fires raged everywhere, amidst the silhouettes of people engaged in slaughter.

Rebels!

And the Imperial Guards fighting back in a chaotic melee!

The scene was chaotic to the extreme.

The palace was filled with martial heroes from the Jianghu, agents of the Eastern Depot, Imperial Guards, the Shadow Guards, the Demon-Ghost Sect, and even many death squads from unidentified factions.

Many powerful entities within the Imperial City, and even certain noble clans from the nine provinces of the Great Liang Empire, sought to grab a piece of the spoils amidst this chaos!

However, among these people, regardless of their faction, the Second-Rank experts had a tacit understanding not to intervene.

The First-Rank of the world stood at the absolute pinnacle.

Second-Rank experts were the strongest combatants walking the earth; each had a name and was known to the world. Anyone who revealed themselves would inevitably expose their identity through their martial techniques.

Those Second-Rank experts, much like the five Great Managers, valued their lives above all else! Consequently, aside from the Black Lotus Saint who fell at Su Chen's hands, no other Second-Rank expert had appeared.

The strongest participants tonight were merely Third-Rank experts!

"The true decider of tonight's outcome has never been these numerous fighters, but rather the clash of the First-Rank Minor Grandmasters within the Tianwu Tower..."

Su Chen rushed back to the Martial Pavilion library and glanced toward the adjacent Tianwu Tower.

It was the same as when he left.

Enshrouded in mist.

The Tianwu Tower was swallowed by white fog, making it impossible to see any details inside.

In the Great Liang Imperial Palace, nothing else mattered.

The Emperor could die!

Even the Martial Pavilion library, which housed countless secret cultivation manuals, could be burned to ashes.

But the Tianwu Tower alone could not be lost!

It held the foundation of the Great Liang Imperial Family's First-Rank Minor Grandmasters. No one knew how many First-Rank Minor Grandmasters remained within the tower whose lifespans had not yet expired...

"But considering that seven Minor Grandmasters have joined forces, along with the Chief of the Depot—the number one on the Martial Rankings—with two peak First-Rank experts present, there is no longer any doubt that the foundation of the Tianwu Tower will be wiped out!"

"Is that so! Friend of the Demon-Ghost Sect!"

A voice rang out.

In front of the Martial Pavilion library, a figure had appeared at some unknown time. He wore exquisite red robes, a token of the Eastern Depot hung from his waist, and he possessed a feminine, delicate countenance with an unmistakable, lingering ruthlessness in his eyes.

He was a eunuch!

A Third-Rank expert of the Eastern Depot!

The Martial Pavilion was adjacent to the Tianwu Tower; no one, not even the Second-Rank experts lurking in the shadows, dared to approach the very center of tonight's turmoil too closely, but this man dared.

"A friend of the Demon-Ghost Sect? You mean me?"

Su Chen was somewhat taken aback.

But he quickly remembered that he was wearing the mask of the Third-Rank Shura Ghost; the other party had clearly misunderstood.

"That's right."

"I am the Shura Ghost, a member of the Demon-Ghost Sect."

"The Great Liang Imperial Family will surely perish tonight!"

Su Chen played along.

However.

He had an ill omen in his heart.

It was too quiet inside the Tianwu Tower! It didn't sound like a life-and-death struggle at all! If this was the case, the situation inside was likely nothing like what outsiders imagined.

I hope Zhang Gui is alright!

Still, with two peak First-Rank experts, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Zhang Gui the strongest person below the Grandmaster realm.

"You don't recognize me?"

The feminine eunuch frowned at Su Chen.

"Should I?"

Su Chen's tone was indifferent.

Seeing this, the eunuch's frown deepened.

Just as he was about to speak.

In the next instant.

A terrifying anomaly erupted violently from the hundred-meter-tall Tianwu Tower.

The Tianwu Tower exploded!

In an instant.

The heavens collapsed and the earth split!

Massive fissures appeared around the giant Tianwu Tower, as if the earth dragon were turning over; a terrifying scene akin to the apocalypse manifested at that moment.

Boom!

Even Su Chen and the feminine eunuch, two Third-Rank experts, were terrified out of their wits by this sight, fleeing frantically into the distance.

The hundred-meter structure collapsed!

Never mind Third-Rank experts like them; even a peak Second-Rank or a First-Rank Minor Grandmaster, if caught in the blast, would likely be reduced to bloody dust and scattered souls.

"Roar!"

An inhuman, demon-like howl echoed through the night sky.

A monstrous arm, three zhang long and covered in dense, pitch-black scales, burst from the billowing dust and the collapsing Tianwu Tower, striking heavily toward a fleeing purple figure.

Simultaneously.

Broken corpses and fragments of bodies rained down from the sky like rain.

"The Celestial Master Mansion, the Destitute Taoist!"

"The Void Sect, the Wuji Mage!"

"Mr. Shadow!"

"The Bladeless Sword Lord!"

"Purple robes and white hair—that is the former First Overseer!"

"..."

The feminine eunuch turned to look and recognized the shattered remains instantly. His face turned deathly pale with terror, his soul nearly leaving his body as he nearly stumbled into the nearby Taiye Lake.

First-Rank experts!

All these remains were First-Rank experts!

Looking around, he could recognize five or six of them just by sight.

Further away, more corpses fell.

By rough estimation, more than ten Minor Grandmasters had fallen!

These were the First-Rank experts of the current era, the absolute pinnacle of the world, the invincible Minor Grandmasters! To have over ten fall in a single night meant that half of the Great Liang's court and half of its martial world had collapsed instantly.

Countless factions would vanish because of this, and the world would surely undergo a massive upheaval!

"The one who killed ten Minor Grandmasters!"

"Must be a Grandmaster!"

"Is this a terrifying demon of Grandmaster level?!"

"Why is there a Grandmaster-level Great Demon in the Great Liang Tianwu Tower!!!"

Countless terrified screams rang out.

In an instant.

No one cared about fighting anymore. Whether they were Imperial Guards, Shadow Guards, or the invading rebels, everyone fled toward the outskirts of the palace like madmen.

Below a Grandmaster, all are ants.

Even the First-Rank is no different.

Much less them.

"Die!"

From the ruins of the Tianwu Tower, the inhuman roar of a monster could faintly be heard.

Boom!

The three-zhang giant hand struck again, crashing down in an attempt to execute the fleeing purple-clad figure.

"Hahaha!"

"Emperor Taizu of Liang! It really is you!"

Facing this Great Demon, the purple-clad figure's qi and blood burned fiercely like raging flames or signal smoke, illuminating the entire night sky. Drawing strength from the stars and the bright moon above, he unleashed a palm strike infused with starlight and moonlight to clash with the demonic hand.

Bang!

The purple-clad figure, his robes stained with blood, was sent flying, but he used the momentum to retreat, leaving only his unrestrained laughter behind.

"A so-called Great Demon is nothing more than this. Emperor Taizu, you have lived for three hundred years, so why can you still not kill a mere dual-peak First-Rank like me? You are old, you are dying, and this Great Liang is reaching its end..."

"Hahaha!"

The purple figure under the moon, having fought a Grandmaster, had not died in defeat but had retreated with composure.

Tonight.

The name Zhang Gui would echo through the nine provinces of Great Liang and shake the world, becoming a true First-Rank pinnacle, the number one expert under heaven.

In the future.

He would surely reach the Grandmaster realm!

How could a dual-peak First-Rank in his early thirties fail to become a Grandmaster?