Liu Li died with his throat slit, yet Zong Shou’s eyes never blinked. A flicker of sentiment, perhaps, but this was no time for pitying an opponent.

“Still possessed some backbone!” If the man had been utterly shameless, all the words Zong Shou had spoken today would have been wasted. This Xuezhai Hermit, Liu Li, was not a true hypocrite.

Immediately, Zong Shou turned his gaze to Yin Yu, a cold smirk playing on his lips. With Liu Li dead, who remained to protect this sovereign of Da Qian?

With a casual wave of his sword, like white clouds emerging from a mountain peak, it sliced across the void, aimed directly at Yin Yu’s throat. “Stop!” The Cloud Terrace True Man was seized by panic, his hatred for the now-dead Liu Li festering intensely.

This was the way of the Confucian scholars. The more eminent the Grand Scholar, the greater their regard for their reputation and the world’s assessment of their character.

History was littered with those who died to demonstrate their resolve. Liu Li was no different, but didn’t he realize the gravity of the current moment?

Even if he intended self-destruction, couldn't he have waited until after this battle concluded? If Yin Yu died now, both the Daoist and Confucian factions would lose their final bargaining chip against Zong Shou.

Blood-red sword light unfurled and coiled around again, spiraling down to envelop the area, forcing the Cloud Terrace True Man to be utterly unable to extricate himself. Anger, hatred, and despair surfaced in Yin Yu’s eyes.

Just as he braced for inevitable death, the void beside him was violently torn open. A fist suddenly struck through.

The fist was neither too large nor too small; the skin was like white jade, possessing an elegance almost more feminine than a woman's. But as it tore through the void in that instant, it seemed as if the entire heaven and earth had been incorporated within that single blow.

Sword and fist collided, and instantly, a wall of solid barrier energy burst outward, causing a section of the void to begin collapsing. Zong Shou’s eyebrow flickered slightly; without needing to ponder, he knew exactly who this newcomer was.

“Shi Yue?” This fellow had finally shown up after all! Unwilling to stand by and watch Yin Yu perish here!

“It is indeed I! Shi Yue does not wish to oppose the Sovereign, yet I am compelled to do so—” The sword light was repelled almost evenly matched.

The fist retracted, sweeping Yin Yu’s body along with it as they retreated out of the void. “His Majesty bears the fate of the realm; he cannot fall here!” Zong Shou showed neither shock nor anger, his mind still functioning with subtle depth, sending another sword slash across the sky.

“For the sake of my Da Qian, I will not allow him to escape!” The sword energy shot forth for ten thousand zhang, pursuing them into the void. And from the other side came a cold shout.

“Ding Tian Seal!” The fist opened, and a hand seal was formed. It slammed against the sword barrier.

After a moment of stalemate, the sword energy finally dissipated. With a sharp zheng sound, the mid-grade immortal sword, vibrating wildly, was recalled into the Cloud Realm, returning to Zong Shou’s hand.

Looking closely, even this decent quality weapon now bore a nick. This sword had sustained no damage whatsoever fighting against both Cloud Terrace and Xuezhai previously.

Yet, it had been forcibly chipped by this single punch from Shi Yue. And from the void beyond the domain came several sounds of a young man coughing, apparently in great pain.

“A truly devastating sword! After several years, Sovereign, your Swordsmanship has become this formidable!

If time permitted, I truly wish to compete with you in the martial path—” The voice faded as Shi Yue and Yin Yu’s presence swiftly withdrew into the distance. Zong Shou paid them no mind, instead frowning as he examined the weapon in his hand.

In that last exchange, he seemed to have gained the upper hand, inflicting considerable injury upon Shi Yue. However, that strike had incorporated the entire momentum of the Da Qian state into the sword, coupled with the current phase of shifting national fortune, a time of burgeoning prosperity.

Yet even so, Shi Yue had managed to rescue the man and secure his safe departure. It was the Imperial God Fist again!

This Level Twelve World-Ending Grand Law was truly astonishing! Could it still borrow the power of the state even separated by hundreds of worlds?

Using authority as the bone, and momentum as the flesh. The greater the authority, the stronger the momentum!

The fundamental core of it was the two characters: ‘Law and Order.’ Zong Shou’s martial cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, yet Shi Yue seemed to have surpassed him. Indeed, this man took ‘Law’ as his foundation, first establishing his own foundational Dao path and then deriving all subsequent techniques.

Thus, his cultivation followed a path of initial difficulty followed by ease. Zong Shou’s own past learning had been scattered and chaotic; only after stepping into the Spirit Realm did he begin attempting to integrate his multitude of divine abilities and techniques to coalesce his own Dao path—this was initially easy, progressing to difficulty.

In this moment, Shi Yue might not outright surpass him, but he could certainly stand shoulder-to-shoulder! Shame washed over him!

He owed his current realm to countless fortuitous encounters: the world-burning bloodline of the Lu family, his master Xuan Shuang’s Spirit Link Dream Impartation technique, and that Supreme Demon Slaying Sword Diagram. Shi Yue possessed no such inherited bloodline, nor was his luck necessarily better than Zong Shou’s.

Truly worthy of being that hero who once dominated an era, forcing all the foreign tribes of the outer domains to bow down in submission! To have such a formidable opponent was a great fortune indeed!

With a sudden, involuntary laugh, Zong Shou’s surging emotions settled. “Brother Shi, you managed to save Yin Yu, but you cannot save the one hundred and sixty million troops north of the Min River!

Nor can you save the Grand Shang Dynasty, whose national destiny is already on the verge of collapse. Why go to such lengths?” “I thank the Sovereign for the reminder!” Shi Yue’s last transmitted laugh echoed: “A general must understand the path of selection and relinquishment!

As for those one hundred and sixty million soldiers, Shi Yue is powerless, and I know Commander Kong already made arrangements. However, I do have means to preserve the integrity of my Grand Shang!” As the word ‘Shang’ fell, Shi Yue’s presence vanished completely.

It took a full dozen heartbeats before Zong Shou could lock onto his true location. With Yin Yu gone, the Cloud Terrace True Man was overcome with relief.

Then he saw Zong Shou’s gaze turn coldly upon him. A jolt of alarm struck him; he realized he was still in mortal peril.

He attempted a desperate struggle, but saw that cold, bleak sword-light cleaving through the void with irresistible force. The Heavenly Dao?

The Cloud Terrace True Man subconsciously recalled the Seven Swords of the Common People. It was similar, still bearing the absolute, killing intent of the Demon Slaying Sword, yet subtly infused with a trace of Heavenly Dao power.

This was—punishing evil on behalf of Heaven? He glanced at Zong Shou, discovering that even the wielder of the sword seemed unaware of this anomaly within it!

So that’s how it is! So that’s how it is!

Zong Shou possessed the Body of the Sainted Emperor, endowed with the will of heaven and earth. Normally, there was nothing unusual.

But when confronting someone hated by heaven and earth, or an object envied by the cosmos, his combat power could multiply! This was what was meant by acting in the name of Heaven!

Any ‘demon’ rejected by the heavens would be unbearably fragile beneath Zong Shou’s blade. Very well!

For the sake of my Daoist sect, I shall offer up this body! Though I wonder if what I do today is right or wrong for the Daoist sect, whether it brings blessing or disaster— With all thought of resistance utterly extinguished, the Cloud Terrace True Man simply closed his eyes.

He allowed the sword light to consume him, grinding his physical body and primordial spirit into dust! So easily?

A measure of surprise touched Zong Shou’s eyes. He had anticipated that even joining forces with Chu Xue, eliminating this man would require at least five or six exchanges, all while guarding against a desperate last stand from the opponent.

He hadn’t expected this man to possess zero will to resist. Strange!

Zong Shou shook his head, momentarily lacking the inclination to dwell on it. Perhaps the man had seen the error of his ways, or perhaps he was simply unable to process the outcome—it was impossible to say.

He glanced downward. The battle before the Wine Pool Palace was nearing its end.

Most of the Grand Shang army had already submitted. Only the elite Daoist soldiers raised by the various powerful noble families were still resisting.

As for the tens of thousands of Demon Cavalry, they had already withdrawn. It was a pity that the passages were too narrow, and nearly a third of the Celestial Demon Warhorses had perished under the swords of the Azure Dragon Warriors of the Common People.

Furthermore, a large portion dared not wait at the tunnel entrances, scattering in all directions, plunging into the surrounding swamps and dense forests. From this scene, one could tell that even if one-tenth of those demon cavalry managed to escape, it would be considered fortunate.

Fleeing without a fight had certainly caused the total collapse of the Grand Shang forces, but had it managed to preserve a sliver of the Demon Sect’s vitality? Zong Shou smiled, causing a chill to run through all who witnessed it.

A subject who attempted to assassinate him, a populace he ruled, how could he possibly let the Demonic Sects off lightly? How could he grant the Demon Sect a chance to breathe?

He strode through the void to the side of the Blood Saint Demon Lord, who was currently standing opposed in the void against Ao Kun. Ao Kun smiled yet did not strike, but this peak Saint Realm expert of the Demonic Sect dared not flee easily.

Zong Shou approached a distance of a hundred zhang, looking with amusement at this Demon Lord who stood second only to the supreme leader within the Demonic Way. “I recall that a month ago, you claimed that within this month, you would eat without taste, sleep without peace, and live in constant fear.

And that a month later would be the death of me, Zong Shou!” The Blood Saint Demon Lord’s face turned ashen. “Do you think you have won?

That you can slay me today?” Zong Shou paused, scrutinizing the situation closely before finally realizing. He shook his head faintly.

“It is an external manifestation, then.” The figure before him was not his true body, but an avatar possessing at least ninety percent of the main body’s combat power. But that was fine; the higher the combat strength, the more expensive the avatar.

To destroy this avatar of the Blood Saint Demon Lord here would still cause him agonizing pain. The Blood Saint Demon Lord sneered, and without waiting for Zong Shou to move, a layer of blood-colored flame ignited across his entire form, slowly consuming his body piece by piece.

Zong Shou knew that this self-immolation was not an unwillingness to resist or a lack of courage to fight. It was to prevent Ao Kun from damaging the foundation of his separated Dao body, which would consequently affect the main body.

He watched quietly from the side, making no move to intervene. “Our enmity is established and cannot be undone.

Today, I will also give you a word: after today, I will ensure you cannot sleep soundly, living in perpetual dread! Until the day you die beneath my sword!” The Blood Saint Demon Lord started, then seemed to recall something, his expression changing drastically again.

He reached out a hand, attempting to seize Zong Shou, but his entire body had already turned to ash. “He is a decisive man!

He gave me no opportunity to engage him closely.” Ao Kun let out a dry laugh and looked at Zong Shou. “Are you truly prepared to pay such a price for this man?” “If not like this, my hatred cannot be resolved!” Zong Shou nodded.

Even if it meant forfeiting the opportunity to completely absorb the Central Plains this time, he was determined to eradicate all the Demonic Sects within his borders! Besides, with Shi Yue present, his chances were slim to none.

With that man’s ability, he would surely find a way to impede Zong Shou’s progress. When Zong Shou returned to his imperial carriage, he saw Kong Yao standing in deep contemplation over a piece of talisman paper.

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, snatched it over, and then relief washed over him. Just two hours prior, one hundred and thirty airships and seven hundred thousand troops had landed in Nanfeng.

Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao—attacking the enemy’s vital point?