Genichi dragged the half-dead General straight into the Golden Throne Hall.
The palace doors burst open behind him with a thunderous crash. The night wind swept into the hall carrying the stench of blood, making the curtains hanging between the pillars snap violently.
Candle flames swayed wildly in the wind, casting the silhouettes of the assembled civil and military officials across the polished golden tiles, twisting them into shapes like ghosts crawling out of hell.
The Emperor sat high upon the Dragon Throne. The jade beads hanging from his ceremonial crown swayed faintly in the candlelight, concealing his expression, but his eyes were filled with shock and fury.
The civil and military officials stood in two rows. Some clutched their court tablets, some rested their hands on their swords, while others were already trembling, their legs threatening to give out beneath them.
No one had imagined that someone would dare storm into the Golden Throne Hall like this.
This was the heart of the Dynasty's power, the sacred hall where the Son of Heaven deliberated affairs of state with his ministers, a forbidden place protected by layer upon layer of Imperial Guards.
From the founding Emperor's reign until today, several centuries had passed.
Never had anyone dared barge into this place so brazenly.
Never had anyone dared act with such arrogance before the Emperor and the entire court.
Genichi had.
Dragging the Martial Saint who had once shaken the entire realm behind him like a dead dog, he passed through gate after gate, crossed the long imperial avenue, climbed the towering steps, and trampled the dignity of the entire court beneath his feet.
"Who are you?! How dare you trespass into the Golden Throne Hall!"
The Chief Censor was the first to step forward. His voice was sharp and trembling as he pointed his court tablet at Genichi, the tips of his fingers visibly shaking.
The hem of his official robe dragged across the floor and swayed with his movements.
His face was flushed crimson. Whether from rage or fear, no one could tell.
Genichi looked at him, tilted his head slightly, and let the corner of his mouth curve into a faint smile.
It was a small smile, yet it carried a cold indifference that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Me? I'm just here to help an idiot fulfill his final wish."
With that, he swung the General forward and tossed him onto the golden floor like a discarded rag.
The General's body rolled several times before crashing into the base of a pillar and coming to a stop.
His limbs were twisted unnaturally. Blood covered his entire body, and his once-white prison robe had been completely soaked through, turning dark red.
He lay face-down on the floor, his body still twitching faintly like an insect that had been crushed beneath someone's foot.
A chorus of sharp breaths sounded throughout the hall.
Someone recognized that mangled face.
Although it was swollen almost beyond recognition, those eyes that had once been as sharp as a hawk's were still open, reflecting the candlelight of the palace.
"The General...?"
The Minister of War's voice was filled with disbelief.
"That's the General? How... how did he end up like this?"
Genichi ignored the whispers around him.
He simply raised his head and looked toward the Emperor seated upon the Dragon Throne. There was no trace of reverence in his eyes, only calm, almost indifferent scrutiny.
"This idiot wanted to see his Ruyan, so I brought him here."
His voice was quiet, yet it carried clearly through the vast hall.
"So hurry up and call out this Ruyan of his. I want to see for myself just how breathtakingly beautiful she is, to make an idiot ruin himself this badly over her."
The Emperor's expression instantly turned livid.
His fingers clenched around the armrests of the Dragon Throne until his knuckles turned white. Beneath the hanging beads of his crown, fury burned in his eyes.
Ruyan was his Empress.
His lawfully wedded wife.
The most exalted woman in the entire Dynasty.
Yet this insolent madman had dared speak the Empress's given name openly in the throne hall. He even spoke about her in such a frivolous tone, as though his Empress were some courtesan who could be summoned at will and dismissed just as easily.
"Impudent!"
The Emperor's voice exploded through the hall like thunder.
"Ruyan is the Empress of this Dynasty! You dare insult the Empress? Guards! Drag this traitor away and hack him to pieces!"
His voice echoed through the vast hall.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then silence.
There were no footsteps.
No sound of swords being drawn.
No guards rushing inside.
The night wind still blew outside the hall. The curtains still fluttered. The candle flames still flickered.
But no one came.
The Imperial Guards who should have been protecting the Golden Throne Hall, the warriors who should have charged in the instant the Emperor gave the order, the guards who should have been everywhere...
They were all gone.
The Emperor's face changed from livid to deathly pale.
His Adam's apple bobbed. His lips trembled slightly, and fear filled his eyes.
Only then did he finally understand.
This young man was no ordinary person.
He was not an assassin.
He was not some reckless outlaw.
Someone who could enter the imperial palace without a sound, ignore the Imperial Guards entirely, and reduce the once-invincible General to a mangled wreck was not normal at all.
He was a monster.
An unbeatable, despair-inducing monster wearing human skin.
Genichi tilted his head slightly.
A mocking smile appeared on his sharply defined face, his eyes filled with amusement.
"How do you think I got in here?"
No one answered.
The hall was as silent as a grave.
Only the faint crackle of burning candles and the heavy breathing of the civil and military officials could be heard.
Some had already collapsed to the floor.
Some could only remain standing by leaning against the pillars.
Others shut their eyes, not daring to look at Genichi's face.
They were afraid.
Terrified from the depths of their bones.
The young man radiated something they had never experienced before.
It was not killing intent.
It was not bloodlust.
It was something far more fundamental, something that existed on a higher level and made their very souls tremble.
It was the natural suppression a Mahayana cultivator exerted upon ordinary mortals.
The instinctive domination of a higher life-form over lower ones.
"Hurry up and bring out this Ruyan."
Genichi's voice remained calm, but the smile had vanished from his eyes.
"Otherwise, every ten numbers I count, I'll kill one person. I'm curious how long everyone in this hall will last."
He raised one finger.
No one moved.
"Two."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
Someone began to tremble.
"Three."
Someone started backing away.
"Four."
Someone began to cry.
"Five."
"Enough!"
An elderly minister stepped forward.
His hair was completely white and his face covered in wrinkles, yet stubborn fire still burned in his eyes.
He had served three Emperors.
He had been one of the late Emperor's trusted ministers entrusted with safeguarding the throne.
He was one of the pillars of the Dynasty.
Leaning on his cane, he slowly walked up to Genichi and lifted his head to look at him.
"You madman. If you've got the guts, kill me first!"
The old man glared at him.
"This old man has lived seventy-eight years. What haven't I seen? You think I'm afraid of you?"
(End of Chapter)
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