Ch 18: At the Pinnacle of Power, One Person Can Rival a Nation!

“But speaking of which… these gentry, they really are.” Zhao Chu shook his head, but he wasn’t surprised. If these gentry landlords had any sense of shame, they wouldn’t be so shameless…

After scattering a handful of copper coins on the table, Zhao Chu left silently.

Walking on the street, Zhao Chu’s extraordinary perception allowed him to hear the discussions coming from all directions.

Some were discussing trivial matters of life, others were discussing the misfortunes of life, and most of these misfortunes were related to the imperial court, whether it was the oppression of the constables or demons bullying men and forcing themselves on women… Of course, there were very few who mentioned the God of Slaughter in their words.

Finally.

Zhao Chu stopped. He stared at the majestic Forbidden City in front of him, the divine light in his eyes becoming even more intense.

◈◈◈

Forbidden City.

Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Emperor Qianlong sat upright on the imperial throne, his face handsome, his full head of silver hair tied into a demonic braid that hung down to his waist, his crimson eyes possessing a kind of wicked beauty.

No matter from which angle, one couldn’t tell that Emperor Qianlong was an old man in his seventies or eighties. He was still full of vitality!

“Has the army not been mobilized yet?” Emperor Qianlong turned his head to look at his trusted Fu Kang’an.

“Sage Emperor,” Fu Kang’an cupped his hands, looking troubled, “This servant has tried his best to mobilize the army, but ordinary troops simply cannot hinder the God of Slaughter! We must have elite troops! Top-tier elite troops!”

“But such elite troops… are also difficult to mobilize! The best method at present is to organize those descendants of the Sacred Race who have fled to Kyoto into an army. The Sacred Race has a strong physique, and their combat power is far superior to the lowly… far superior to the human race!”

“However, they are all high-ranking and powerful in their local areas, unable to endure hardship, and they fled to the capital feeling wronged… If we forcibly organize them into an army, it will inevitably cause astonishment among the people!”

“Astonishment is astonishment. Do they still have any face left! Abandoning their territories and fleeing collectively without orders from the imperial court! Do they not violate the laws of the country? Just because they acted collectively, does that mean they can’t be held accountable?” Emperor Qianlong’s face was gloomy, his voice hoarse, “Go and execute it! Those who have objections can have a good debate about the crime of abandoning their territories!”

Fu Kang’an’s face lit up with joy, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

Afterward, Emperor Qianlong looked at Liu Yong again, “What do you think, esteemed minister?”

Liu Yong was very old, completely different from Emperor Qianlong. He was even drowsy. Emperor Qianlong repeated himself heavily, and Liu Yong finally woke up with a start, coughing weakly a few times, “This subject… this subject has nothing to say! If that person dares to come, this subject will definitely defend it with his life!”

As a human, Liu Yong could only refer to himself as “this subject.” Although “this servant” sounded much more humble than “this subject”… only high-ranking officials of the Demon Race were qualified to refer to themselves as such when facing Emperor Qianlong!

“Good!” Joy appeared between Emperor Qianlong’s brows. He laughed loudly, “Esteemed minister, your words are worth ten thousand elite soldiers! I often say that the Sacred Race and the human race are one family… I also value the human race immensely, but there are always some who bite the hand that feeds them, trying every possible way to make the Sacred Race and the human race oppose each other!”

As Emperor Qianlong said this, he gnashed his teeth. Everyone present remained silent, knowing that Emperor Qianlong was referring to Ji Xiaolan in Jiangnan.

Half a month ago, there were rumors that Ji Xiaolan had defected to that God of Slaughter… Emperor Qianlong was greatly shocked and immediately sent people to inquire about Ji Xiaolan’s family, only to discover that the entire family had disappeared from Kyoto at some point…

This was simply a confirmation from the side! Ji Xiaolan had really defected to the demon!

This matter had an extremely huge, even disastrous, impact on the Demon Qing. Countless demon officials used this to attack the human race, because Ji Xiaolan’s treatment was truly unparalleled. Even among the demons, only a few could surpass his standards…

Yet even so, Ji Xiaolan still defected cleanly and neatly… In the eyes of the demons, this was clearly proof that the human race was ungrateful!

“Esteemed minister, I wonder, how far are you from that legendary Heaven-Human Realm?” Emperor Qianlong suddenly added, inquiring.

Liu Yong’s face showed bitterness, and he sighed softly, “Close at hand, yet worlds apart! Difficult to surpass.”

Emperor Qianlong nodded slightly. Liu Yong was one of the very few people whom Emperor Qianlong trusted as much as, or even more than, Ji Xiaolan and even Heshen. Moreover, he was a human… The key reason he could gain such trust was his grandmaster cultivation, which was arguably the best in this world, as well as the merits he had established!

Liu Yong had done too much for the Demon Race’s world… He had too many honors on his shoulders! But he was too old… He had originally resigned and returned home, but this time, because of Ji Xiaolan’s betrayal, the Demon Qing court was facing internal conflicts and external pressure, swaying in the wind and rain. He could only come out of retirement again, serving as a binding agent between demons and humans.

Emperor Qianlong was just about to continue speaking when his expression suddenly changed drastically.

Liu Yong’s body also stiffened.

◈◈◈

They both looked towards the palace gate almost simultaneously. Fu Kang’an was the third to notice something was wrong, and the remaining court officials were the last to look over one by one.

Terrifying.

Astonishing.

As if a ten-thousand-foot tsunami had risen from nowhere, it crashed towards the entire Forbidden City at this moment.

A leisurely and peaceful voice, containing terrifying sound waves, echoed within the Forbidden City, lingering for a long time. Even these terrifying sound waves gradually spread, clearly audible for dozens of kilometers outside the Forbidden City…

“The Lord of the World Society, Zhao Chu from Jiangnan, has come to pay a visit to the Demon Emperor!”

Half of Kyoto fell into silence, countless people widening their eyes.

Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, there was a deathly silence.

Demon Emperor?! Emperor Qianlong’s face twitched slightly. How many years had it been since he had heard these two words?!

The word “demon” was a word that the Demon Race had been extremely hostile to ever since entering the pass.

They called themselves the Sacred Race… In the imperial court, all public titles for the demon emperors were Sage Emperor!

Publicly calling him Demon Emperor was no different from pointing at his nose and cursing his ancestors, insulting his ancestors, and questioning him and his race, saying that they had obtained their position illegitimately and oppressed the human race… There was no difference at all!

“This kind of power?!” Liu Yong only felt his scalp tingle. It was precisely because his cultivation was strong that he could better appreciate the depth of skill contained in this ordinary sentence… Especially when combined with the feeling of facing a raging storm earlier…

“…Domain? Heaven-Human!”

Liu Yong’s face turned pale.

With a thud, he knelt down and kowtowed to Emperor Qianlong, “I hope the Sage Emperor will quickly retreat north. This subject… this subject will buy time for the Sage Emperor with his life!”

When Liu Yong straightened his back again, his temperament was completely different from before. His eyes were deep and sharp, as if glowing, and his long-dormant qi and blood were boiling, actually forming terrifying smoke that rose thread by thread from between his strands of hair.

“…It’s too late!” Emperor Qianlong said with a gloomy face.

Liu Yong didn’t continue speaking, because he also felt it…

Just like a tsunami, approaching them step by step, the speed at which the source of that aura arrived was suffocatingly fast.

Finally, footsteps echoed within the magnificent hall.

The demons and humans present all had different thoughts, their faces extremely solemn.

But when they truly saw the person who had come, all of them slowly widened their eyes, and some even subconsciously reached out to rub their eyes, suspecting that they were hallucinating.

Because a tender child with a smile on his face came into their view.

That child, at most, couldn’t be more than eleven or twelve years old…

But it was this young, even youthful, human child who, despite looking out of place in this hall no matter how one looked at it… nevertheless, with his hands behind his back, calmly and unhurriedly walked step by step into this pinnacle of Divine Province’s power.

Just a short distance away, one person could suppress a nation!