"Alright then! I’ll have Hongling check the headcount later!" Liu Yunyao confirmed with Lin Feng.

"No problem, Your Highness. Just wait for the good news!" Lin Fengzhi readily agreed.

Once Liu Yunyao left, she immediately led her entourage straight to the Fang family.

The guards accompanying her were terrified upon hearing the plan.

"Your Highness, just our small squad against the Fang family? That’s like sending sheep into a wolf’s den!"

Even Hongling tried to stop her. "The Fang family is a martial arts dynasty—they have at least thousands of trained warriors! We barely have twenty people here! Even if Your Highness is incredibly strong, we’re no match for so many!"

"Have a little faith in your princess. She’s not the same as before!" Liu Yunyao replied with a confident smile.

After a moment’s thought, she added, "But you do have a point. Sending you all would just be a death sentence. Here’s what we’ll do—Hongling, take the guards and keep an eye on Lin Fengzhi. I’ll head back with just these two." She gestured to the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the Vespera.

"Very well, but please be careful on the road!" Hongling finally relented, reassured by the presence of the two powerful beasts. She knew that with them, Liu Yunyao would be safe returning to the palace.

With that, Hongling led the other attendants and guards to monitor Lin Fengzhi.

"Oh? Back so soon to keep tabs on me?" Lin Fengzhi smirked when he saw Hongling return. "Don’t worry, I’m already mobilizing troops. Not a single one of those lowlifes will escape!" He assumed Liu Yunyao had sent them because she doubted his commitment.

Meanwhile, once Hongling and the others had left, Liu Yunyao donned her invisibility cloak and, along with the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the Vespera, stealthily made their way to the Fang estate.

"You two have been training hard lately—time to stretch your limbs. Today’s target is the Fang family. Go wild, stock up on food, and leave no survivors!" Liu Yunyao instructed them along the way.

"Heh heh, many thanks, Mistress. Don’t you worry—not a single one will slip away!" The two beasts grinned with excitement. Thousands of martial artists would provide them with enough sustenance for a long time.

They devised their strategy: Liu Yunyao and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon would launch a frontal assault, while the Vespera lurked in the shadows, picking off the Fang family’s elite warriors and their tamed beasts.

The moment the trio arrived at the Fang residence, Liu Yunyao and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon shed their cloaks and began slaughtering everyone in sight, drawing the attention of the entire Fang household.

Meanwhile, Xuanwu infiltrated the inner quarters, targeting the clan leader, elders, and other elite fighters. The strongest martial cultivator in the Fang family was merely an old ancestor at the third level of the Celestial Realm, while the rest barely reached the second level. Even when someone unleashed a Dominator-level beast, Xuanwu obliterated it with a flash of black light before it could so much as scratch Liu Yunyao.

The foes Liu Yunyao could handle were nothing to the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, who didn’t even need to reveal his true form. In the heat of battle, he let out a deafening roar—a soul-shaking shockwave—that sent most of the Fang family’s weaker cultivators coughing blood and collapsing, unable to flee.

Seizing the opportunity, Liu Yunyao devoured numerous spiritual essences to strengthen her own soul. The relentless combat also tempered her vital energy.

By the end, the Fang family was utterly annihilated. While the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and Xuanwu collected the corpses, Liu Yunyao looted the family’s treasure vault. Then, donning their invisibility cloaks once more, the three returned to the royal capital before discarding them and striding boldly back into the palace.

Meanwhile, within the capital, Lin Fengzhi led the praetorian in raiding every stronghold Liu Yunyao had provided, leaving no survivors. The purge was thorough.

Once the underlings were dealt with, Hongling hurried back to report to Liu Yunyao.

"Spread the word," Liu Yunyao commanded immediately. "Say that Lin Fengzhi has sworn allegiance to me and helped me wipe out the Fang family!"

"The entire Fang family... gone?" Hongling was baffled.

"Just do as I say! And inform the major factions aligned with us—have them amplify the message."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Though unsure of Liu Yunyao’s intentions, Hongling swiftly relayed the news.

When Lin Fengzhi heard the rumors, he was stunned. He sent scouts to investigate the Fang estate, only for them to return with confirmation: the family had indeed been massacred. The grounds were littered with blood and battle scars, though no bodies remained. The treasure vault had been stripped bare.

Lin Fengzhi was at a loss.

He knew he hadn’t done it—and he certainly hadn’t pledged loyalty to the princess. But no one else would believe that.

All anyone knew was that he had collaborated with the princess to eradicate the Fourth Prince’s influence within the capital. Now, aside from the Fourth Prince’s birth mother, Consort Lin Mengxian, in the palace, not a trace of his power remained in the city.

"Even Lin Fengzhi has pledged allegiance to the princess now. It seems her claim to the throne grows stronger by the day!"

"Indeed! Though she’s a woman, she wiped out the Fourth Prince’s entire faction in the capital with a single stroke—no less formidable than any man!"

Whispers spread among the major factions, and support for the princess swelled.

To further cement her influence, the princess made a grand public visit to Lin Fengzhi, delivering a trove of resources plundered from the Fang family’s treasury as a token of gratitude.

If Lin accepted, it would confirm his allegiance to her beyond doubt. But refusing wouldn’t convince anyone either—after all, how could the princess have annihilated a powerhouse like the Fang family without his help?

Lin Fengzhi wore a pained expression as he addressed the princess. "Your Highness, this double-edged scheme of yours has truly cornered me! Even if I plunged into the Yellow River, I couldn’t wash myself clean of suspicion."

Liu Yunyao merely chuckled. "The innocent need no defense. If Governor Lin truly finds my company so distasteful, you’re free to refuse these gifts. I’d never force anyone’s hand."

At that moment, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the Vespera abruptly unleashed their auras. The crushing pressure of their Dominator-level power—second-tier, no less—forced Lin Fengzhi to his knees, his bones creaking under the strain.

The Vespera, still invisible, transmitted a voice directly into his mind: *"We obliterated the Fang family. Your governor’s mansion is no different. No amount of soldiers can shield you from us."*

Meanwhile, Liu Yunyao watched him with an amused smile, chatting idly. "My fourth and sixth brothers have stirred up quite the mess lately. I merely sought a swift resolution, even if it meant resorting to underhanded tactics. Does this... inconvenience you, Governor Lin?"

Lin Fengzhi’s face flushed crimson under the suffocating pressure. If Liu Yunyao didn’t intervene soon, the two beasts would crush him outright.

Deciding she’d made her point, the princess finally waved a hand, signaling the creatures to relent.

The moment the pressure lifted, Lin collapsed, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath as he struggled to recover.