Qing Xuan’s expression was ferocious. When he first saw the Twelve Town-Guarding Bronze Statues, he knew things were dire, yet he never expected Wei Xu to temporarily set aside Li Biexue and attack the two of them first.

And his opening move was a supreme divine ability-level sword technique of the thirteenth grade! Tai Huang, standing beside him, was merely a separated projection, possessing only sixty percent of the main body's strength.

Further suppressed by the Twelve Town-Guarding Bronze Statues, caught completely off guard, he was slain by this single sword strike from Wei Xu! "Immeasurable Beginning and End, Supreme Sword Art—" Qing Xuan’s eyes were suddenly filled with bewilderment.

He knew Wei Xu practiced the 'Mirror' Character Divine Art. His inherent 'Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique' was only eleventh grade, barely brushing against the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

However, it could mirror any divine ability, any cultivation technique. Thus, it grew stronger against the strong and weaker against the weak.

But where did this copied supreme sword art originate from? It contained the Immeasurable Beginning and End Great Law; this should only be wielded by Zong Shou.

Yet, as far as he knew, before Zong Shou attained the Saint rank, it was impossible to evolve such a divine ability to the supreme thirteenth grade. With no time for further thought, Qing Xuan instinctively prepared to escape through spatial translocation, fleeing far from this area veiled and obscured by chaotic divine arts.

But the moment this thought arose, he felt the infinite power of Yuan-Ci suddenly envelop him. His body felt a million times heavier, as if a hundred Mount Sumerus were pressing down upon him.

The immense tearing force not only required his full attention to prevent being ripped apart but also remotely controlled his body, making arbitrary flight impossible; he was nearly pinned in place. "Xu Fu!" A roar of anger erupted, laced with a violent warning.

Xu Fu let out a soft laugh, standing in place and bowing with a placid expression. "Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan, you take offense!

My life is in the hands of another, how dare I not exert my utmost? If Fellow Daoist understands later, please do not blame me." As he spoke, even more Yuan-Ci power erupted, layering upon layer, permeating the void.

And precisely as the words fell, Zong Shou's sword followed. It was also a division of black and white, impossibly fast!

Qing Xuan’s white eyebrows flickered upon seeing this, but his heart seized; he finally understood. "Thirteenth-grade Supreme Sword Art!

What Li Biexue desired was the artifact on your person that enhances the Xuan-Holding Dharma!" Was this to prevent their main bodies from knowing? No wonder Wei Xu prioritized slaying Tai Huang over Li Biexue first.

Zong Shou’s expression remained cold upon hearing this, unmoved. "Too late!" The black and white sword light remained sharp and inscrutable.

It struck straight at the whisk Qing Xuan waved, the weapon tangling with the golden threads. In an instant, those seemingly unbreakable, supple threads were torn apart.

However, because Qing Xuan managed to obstruct it, it couldn't pierce Qing Xuan's primordial soul, only striking his shoulder. But the power of the Black and White Beginning and End burst forth along with it.

Qing Xuan's entire arm, along with the flesh and blood on his left chest, was devoured by this single strike! And Wei Xu's second sword followed immediately after.

This sword was also a supreme thirteenth-grade sword art, but wielded by a peak Saint Venerable, it was several times stronger! Qing Xuan was already severely wounded and simultaneously restrained by Xu Fu.

The golden-threaded whisk offered only token resistance before being forcibly shattered by Wei Xu's sword. Then, his entire body was cleanly and swiftly cleaved in two by the black and white sword!

At this moment, Wei Xu burst into loud laughter: "Brother Biexue, you think you can just leave? I fear that wish will not be granted.

For how many years has Wei Xu truly looked forward to this day—" Another sword rose into the sky, ascending high above. At seven thousand zhang, it abruptly charged downward with an exceptionally cold and sharp momentum.

The sword intent was vast and heavy, indescribably domineering! It precisely blocked Li Biexue, who was preparing to escape the void.

It was still the Primordial One Beginning and End! With a single strike, it completely severed one of Li Biexue's hands!

Although the Mirror Flower Water Moon Divine Art could mirror all phenomena of heaven and earth, the same divine art could only be mirrored three times within a certain period, not copied infinitely. After all, the reflection in the mirror was only momentary.

Thus, when Wei Xu raised his second sword, the blade already displayed a color of dead ash. It was still the thirteenth-grade supreme art: Styx Declares Death!

That dead-ash sword light traversed the void along a path that was strangely light and agile. And in Li Biexue’s eyes at this moment, the color of dead ash also appeared.

Behind him was Yuan Jing Sanren Lin Xuanjing, engaging in close-quarters entanglement, yet he could unleash a fatal blow at any moment. In front of him was Wei Xu’s sword—a supreme sword art that disregarded rank, capable of injuring even a newly born infant or an established peak Saint Venerable!

Furthermore, the Taiyi Donghua Emperor deployed countless golden silk vines, filling the entire void, hindering his every move and making progress arduous. In addition, Xu Fu was about to strike.

And the Twelve Town-Guarding Bronze Statues had, from beginning to end, been using their giant jewel eyes to remotely lock down his vital energy. The twenty-four bronze giant fists and the twelve bronze great swords all possessed the ability to wound him!

An indescribable despair was quietly spreading in his heart. He thought he was the hunter, but in the end, he had become the prey?

Everything he had arranged here would become the Shura graveyard burying him— At this time, Zong Shou had already sheathed his sword and, carrying Jin Buhui’s primordial spirit, walked before the Imperial Study once more. Now, no one could impede his steps.

Almost all the Saint-ranked Venerables within this Fenghua Palace were being silently strangled by the green vines of the Taiyi Donghua Emperor! No one could escape the Vastness Sword Array, nor could they escape the containment of the outer Heaven-Shattering Earth-Annihilating Floating Spirit Sword Array.

If they couldn't do it when they still possessed Saint-level strength, how could they manage after being suppressed by the Twelve Town-Guarding Bronze Statues? No action was needed; merely the pressure of intent caused the still-intact Imperial Study to collapse, disintegrating into motes of dust swept up into the sky by the sudden gale.

Yin Yu was still seated upon the Imperial Throne, his face ashen, yet his body remained ramrod straight, bearing a stubborn inflexibility, meeting Zong Shou's cold gaze, seemingly not yielding an inch, maintaining his last shred of dignity. However, both his hands were gripping the armrests of the throne with all his remaining strength, equally pale and devoid of life.

"I, Yin Yu, have always stood by my word. If I said I would take your life, Zong Shou, I would never go back on it!" Zong Shou paid no mind to Yin Yu’s gaze.

With a faint expression, he glanced at the ruler and his minister, Yin Yu and Zuo Xin, "I wonder how future generations, thousands of years hence, will evaluate today's events?" He was not asking the two before him, but his close confidant beside him. Jin Buhui subconsciously touched his nose, then realized he was merely a soul form.

He stopped the habitual gesture and smiled slightly shyly: "Oh my, with this slip-up, I've accidentally become a loyal and righteous minister. Thanks to you, my name will be recorded in history.

I never thought I, Jin Buhui, would see this day; I'll probably even receive an posthumous title. I wouldn't dare dream of 'Wenzheng' or 'Wenzhen,' but 'Wenzhong' or 'Wenlie' will surely be unavoidable." He then looked at Yin Yu with complicated eyes—containing hatred, anger, regret, and pity, yet also hating his lack of struggle.

In the end, all of it faded away. "I don't know either!

Since the Confucian school can no longer hold the brush for Spring and Autumn annals, when you, Zong Shou, unify the Cloud Realm, your Great Qian officials will certainly sing praises for today. They will say His Majesty was virtuous and benevolent, caring for the common people, unwilling to let them suffer.

Thus, he risked extreme danger in the guise of a monarch, single-handedly storming the Imperial Capital to take the head of this dissolute ruler. Yin Yu colluded with the demonic path, viewing the lives of the eighteen million citizens of the Imperial Capital as nothing more than grass.

Naturally, his crime deserves death." He then chuckled coldly, "As for myself, I will surely be recorded as a loyal and upright minister mistakenly executed by the aged and foolish Emperor Yuanchen. History must record it extensively.

Otherwise, how would it highlight Yin Yu's lack of virtue? How would it contrast with the benevolence and sagacity of you, Zong Shou, the living Saint Monarch?

Then, upon final judgment, Emperor Yuanchen, though brave and intelligent in his youth, adept at statecraft, and who brought about the rejuvenation of the Great Shang, became decrepit and muddle-headed in his old age, trusting corrupt officials, becoming the ruler who caused the downfall of Great Shang." Yin Yu’s expression grew even dimmer. His facial muscles twitched, and he could no longer support himself, utterly drained of strength, collapsing onto the golden imperial chair.

He never sought immortality; what mattered most to him was his posthumous reputation. Yet, at this very moment, a lifetime's fame had dissolved into running water.

In his peripheral vision, Jin Buhui spotted Zuo Xin. This man possessed a degree of integrity; standing fixed in place, he was already dead, having extinguished his own vitality and destroyed all the circulation meridians within his body.

Jin Buhui had long ceased to care about Zuo Xin, not taking him to heart, but even he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, If only he had known this day would come, why bother? "It seems we have both been painted too favorably." Zong Shou rubbed his forehead with his finger, his expression odd: "It seems rather too shameless.

Will later generations truly write it this way?" "They will only go further!" Jin Buhui sneered, laced with sarcasm: "Your disciples of the Vastness Path will naturally praise you to the skies; only that way can the failures of Confucianism be exposed, and your own orthodoxy proven. Many of your future officials will also largely embellish it.

Once the Tathagata arrives and Great Qian unifies the Cloud Realm, it will be legitimate, blessed by Heaven and Earth. As for Confucianism—" He snorted a few times and stopped speaking.

After all, he originated from the Confucian school and found it inappropriate to speak ill of them further. However, he knew that Zong Shou was already the Saint Monarch and wise ruler whom even a portion of the Confucian school could not deny.

Any further slander would only cause the entire foundation of the Confucian school to shake again. If those Great Confucian scholars were slightly smarter, they would cite scriptures and doctrines, finding any relevant or slightly relevant teachings, and apply them to Zong Shou.

A Saint Monarch surpassing the Three Sovereigns of antiquity, co-governing the world with the scholar-officials, not punishing men for their words, the King being subject to the Law— If one set aside the strange declarations about exterminating Confucianism, abolishing the imperial examinations, and electing officials by popular vote, Zong Shou was, in fact, the ideal Saint Monarch for some within Confucianism. After pondering for a moment, Jin Buhui finally concluded: "In short, the winner is king, and the loser is a bandit!" "The winner is king, and the loser is a bandit?

What a fine phrase, the winner is king, and the loser is a bandit—" Yin Yu struggled with the sentiment, finally sighing weakly, "Your Majesty is benevolent. Before death, I, Yin Yu, ask for nothing else but that the twenty-seven imperial tombs of my Yin family be allowed to remain undisturbed by grave robbers in the future." "Agreed!" Zong Shou severed Yin Yu's head with a single sword strike.

While Yin Yu still possessed the last vestiges of consciousness, Zong Shou added coldly, "But I also have a vow: I will ensure that the bloodline of your Yin family becomes extinct in this domain!"