Zuzuo was stunned for a full moment before Kong Yao regained her senses. Her first reaction was disbelief; such a thing was utterly impossible.

Yet, upon careful reflection, that strike just now was undeniably real. She had truly witnessed an immaculate crimson-and-gold sword qi, the purest white dragon shadow!

Imperial Martial Arts are formed by momentum and gathered through it. However, because the hearts of the populace are often chaotic, the sword qi borrowed from the might of a nation tends to be equally fragmented—primarily crimson and gold, mixed with other hues. Only under a particularly wise and capable enlightened ruler would the quality of the sword qi show a difference.

But purity to the extent that Zong Shou possessed? From the Ancient Cloud Barrens until now, she had never even heard of such a thing.

It was rumored that only the Sage Emperors from the early era of the Ancient Cloud Barrens could possess such pristine Imperial Aura.

This represented the monarch’s virtue: integrity, steadfastness, supreme sincerity, and flawless character. Not only was he deeply loved by his subjects, but his methods of governance also subtly aligned with the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

For a moment, she felt the unfairness of the Heavenly Dao. His Majesty, though working tirelessly and diligently, had spent seventy years on the throne, promoting countless capable scholars and upright gentlemen into the court. Since his accession, he had practically dragged the chaotic Great Shang Dynasty back from the brink of collapse.

Now, under his rule across twenty-four continents and over three hundred provinces, while it might not be an era of grand prosperity, the people were certainly secure, with no worries over food or clothing. He was hailed by countless great scholars as an Emperor of Revival, a truly enlightened ruler.

Yet, even so, that Emperor's Martial Art was only marginally purer than that of his predecessors.

She had witnessed it once herself: the sword qi was crimson and gold, but heavily mottled with other colors. Compared to Zong Shou’s, the difference was immense.

By what right did Zong Shou possess such pure Imperial Aura?

Within the Qiantian Realm, the populace’s support was undeniable. But in her eyes, it was merely the lingering effect from a year and a half ago.

If she was correct, Zong Shou was destined to lose the hearts of his people within a few years.

She had never imagined that the loyalty of the people of Qiantian Mountain could be consolidated to such an extent, showing not the slightest dissatisfaction toward this Demon King who appeared only occasionally, once every six months or so.

Could it be that the rulers described in Confucian legends from ancient times—the Three Sovereigns and Seven Emperors—the so-called Sage Emperors, were all like Zong Shou in virtue?

Impossible. Something must be profoundly wrong. Or perhaps there was a flaw in the secret arts passed down by her family!

Entrusting all affairs to his subordinates, never managing governance daily. Establishing that so-called Deliberative Hall, allowing his subordinates to fight amongst themselves, utterly lacking in decorum—this was completely contrary to the Confucian Way.

And there were other utterly absurd decrees: extravagant without restraint, ignorant of frugality. How could such a person deserve the title of ‘Sage King’?

This Azure Heaven must truly be blind!

Recalling that strike once more.

The divine might was contained within, concealed but not leaking, yet it was firm and powerful—where was the slightest sign of decay?

White represented the Metal Element, symbolizing slaughter. Zong Shou and the future of the Qiantian nation were surely destined for countless battles. Zong Shou, however, remained entirely oblivious to Kong Yao’s astonishment. He had studied many forms of Imperial Martial Arts in his previous life, but he had never known about this concept of ‘Imperial Aura’ or classifications of quality. Without specialized spiritual eye secret arts, he couldn't perceive it anyway.

He fully collected the Nine Yin Mother and Child Thunders. Afterward, Zong Shou turned his gaze back to the floor.

There, lying quietly on the floor paved entirely with genuine ‘gold bricks,’ was a talisman paper torn to shreds.

"Puppet Spirit Descent, a Sixth-Rank Talisman? No wonder it evaded my spiritual sense..."

With a beckoning gesture, he drew the pieces of talisman paper from the floor into his hand. Zong Shou identified it with his spiritual sense for a moment, then shook his head in disappointment.

That paper figure just now must have been transformed by this spirit talisman. And that Yang Fan was likely just a wisp of Yuan Soul attached to the talisman; even destroyed, it would only cause a minor drain on its vitality, not harm its essence.

The Puppet Spirit Descent Art is a very high-grade spiritual technique for a Spirit Master upon entering the path to Immortality. It can generate a paper puppet, equivalent to an external avatar. However, its combat prowess is merely average.

This was only because Yang Fan’s cultivation was insufficient. If a Spirit Realm expert descended using this talisman, the paper figure would be a true Spirit Realm powerhouse. Naturally, the duration it could be sustained would differ based on the quality of the spirit talisman.

The one in his hand was clearly high-grade, crafted by a Talisman Master, capable of sustaining itself for seven days. If transformed into a combat-ready talisman figure like before, it could last for four hours.

But it was truly unexpected that the City Lord of Dragon-Elephant City was so profoundly hidden; he was actually an Eighth-Rank Spirit Master! To possess a talisman of this caliber, along with the Nine Yin Mother and Child Thunders, his assets must be considerable.

Zong Shou immediately let out a cold sneer. Although the thing that approached him was merely a talisman resembling an external avatar, its master must certainly be nearby—not exceeding a hundred li!

With a slight flick of his sleeve, a gust of chilling wind flashed through the hall, as if something had suddenly vanished from this side chamber. The dozen or so Nine Yin Mother and Child Thunders he had just collected in his voluminous sleeves disappeared without a trace.

Zong Shou then turned his head to look at Kong Yao. Only then did he notice the woman seemed lost in a daze.

He couldn't help but frown slightly and said blandly, "Marshal Kong, you claimed to have come on the order of the Great Shang Emperor with something important to report. What is it?"

As he spoke, he deliberately infused a bit of true energy into his voice to shake her mind. Kong Yao jolted awake abruptly, looking at Zong Shou with an expression of intense complexity.

After a long pause, she forcefully suppressed her emotions and spoke: "Does Your Highness know of the Spirit Tide? And are you aware that outside our Cloud Realm there are countless spatial rifts?"

Seeing Zong Shou nod, Kong Yao dispensed with further preamble and got straight to the point: "In the time of the Ancient Cloud Barrens, the recession of the Spirit Tide was actually man-made. Several Supreme Realm Venerables personally acted, compressing and sealing all the spiritual energy from the four directions. Because of this, they were able to seal the rift channels through which alien races from other realms invaded our Cloud Realm. They also established the Five Great Vault Realms to suppress the Boundary River..."

Zong Shou smiled; this was something he knew too well. Half of these 'rifts' were the fault of those external alien races, and the other half were blasted open by the people of the Cloud Realm themselves. After a moment's thought, he understood why the future 'God of War' of Great Shang had come.

Kong Yao's tone immediately shifted, becoming exceptionally solemn: "Then does the Sovereign know that once the Spirit Tide surges, and the spiritual energy of the Cloud Realm peaks, all the Heaven and Earth spirits sealed for ten thousand years will erupt? This pressure from both sides of the rift-boundary river will cause many channels sealed millennia ago to become unblocked again? At that time, even the Five Great Vault Realms will be unable to suppress them all."

She paused, then stated her true purpose: "This subordinate comes under imperial command. On behalf of His Majesty, I ask if the Sovereign is willing to become a vassal state of my Great Shang Dynasty? To jointly resist the foreign enemies with us? If willing, the Great Shang Dynasty will certainly treat you with the rank of Commandery King, and further grant you a million high-grade talisman armors and talisman soldiers to assist Your Highness in unifying the East Lin Continent."

Zong Shou thought to himself, As expected. Without much deliberation, he shook his head: "Resisting foreign enemies, yes! Vassalage, no. I have no desire to serve another man!"

He grumbled internally: a million high-grade talisman armors and soldiers sounded like a lot, certainly sincere enough, but did he need to tell this Grand Marshal Kong that Qiantian Mountain had already surpassed that level of equipment? In just half a year, the lowest standard in his army would be Tier One Spirit Soldiers and Armors.

Furthermore, the matter of title was critical. Once established, if Qiantian Mountain belonged to the Central Imperial Dynasty, they would be constrained in many ways, unable to act freely on numerous matters.

He was the second-generation legitimate successor of the Cang Sheng Dao, truly a member of the 'Demonic Sect.' He was destined to be an enemy of the 'Great Shang Dynasty.' To become one of its subjects and then rebel against his liege would mean losing the true path.

Since they were currently enemies, he could rebel against the imperial throne in the future with a clear conscience.

Kong Yao’s delicate eyebrows furrowed again. She wasn't entirely surprised; after seeing Zong Shou’s crimson-and-gold Imperial Sword Qi, she had already assumed this mission would likely end empty-handed. Nevertheless, she hadn't given up and spoke again: "The Sovereign may not know, but once the Spirit Tide is abundant, the various sects and schools of the Cloud Realm will certainly grow strong along with it. They will inevitably exert pressure on the dynasties of this world. It was the same during the Cloud Barrens era when the sects became overly complacent. His Majesty's intention is that only by nations uniting their strength and working together can they resist. I implore the Sovereign to reconsider!"

Zong Shou shook his head, offering no commitment, and directly changed the subject: "Marshal has traveled far and must be weary. Why not rest here at Qiantian Mountain for a few days?"

Kong Yao opened her mouth, intending to persuade him further, but ultimately fell silent. She understood this was Zong Shou’s subtle dismissal, an invitation to leave.

As she stood in thoughtful silence, a cold snort sounded from behind her: "On the verge of having his nation destroyed, yet he remains ungrateful! A lifeline is before him, and he refuses to grasp it. Truly muddle-headed..."

Zong Shou’s brow twitched. He glanced coldly over his shoulder. Standing behind Kong Yao was another figure, a man in his thirties, clad in armor, with features sharp as a blade, radiating disdain.

"Who is this?"

Kong Yao felt a headache coming on and said helplessly, "This is Li Zhile, an external subordinate general, serving as a battalion commander under my command. I beg Your Highness to forgive his rudeness."

"I certainly won't blame him!" Zong Shou chuckled coldly, a sliver of sharp light flashing in his eyes. "But I have no fondness for insolent behavior. Tell him to get out of this Hanyan Palace immediately!"

Li Zhile's face instantly turned pale, his eyes blazing with fury.

※※※※

At that exact moment, about seventy li from Qiantian Mountain City, within a dense thicket of woods.

Yang Fan let out a soft breath and awoke from his meditation. He wiped the corner of his mouth, feeling stickiness there, and saw several drops of blood on his hand upon closer inspection.

This was the result of his spirit sustaining damage just now.

Beside him stood three others: one was a beautiful and gentle maidservant of sixteen or seventeen, named Tanxiang. The other two stood a bit farther back; both were clad in iron armor, each holding a long spear. One was Feng Guang, the other Zhou Wen—both his Dharma protectors, Seventh-Rank experts, the closest men to him. All three now looked over with worried expressions.

Yang Fan smiled, shook his head to signal he was fine, and then stood up, gazing remotely toward the direction of Qiantian Mountain City.

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