A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother-Chapter 88: The Mastermind Behind the Curtain

Golden Armor Guards, the imperial guards supported for generations by the Zhao royal family of the Daxia Dynasty.

They weren’t many in number, but each of them was above the Spirit Transformation Stage.

The Zhao royal family funded them, and their mission was to protect the royal family.

Zhao Lu returned to the palace, and her mother, missing her dearly,

couldn’t wait and left the palace to greet her daughter.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Lu found her first and explained the current crisis in Panlong City.

So the Golden Armor Guards, who originally protected the Empress, showed up here instead.

As for how Zhao Lu knew all this in advance and had already gone for help several days earlier—well, you’d have to ask Old Sixth Li.

Not only the palace, but Li Xuanxiao also had Zhao Lu send a message to Mount Shushan for support.

Li Xuanxiao instructed Zhao Lu to describe the situation like this:

Known enemy cultivation is at the Spirit Transformation Stage.

【Cultivation levels: (Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Body Fusion, Tribulation, Great Ascension)】

Then it’s initially judged the enemy might be stronger than the Body Fusion Stage.

Since this is their territory, a powerhouse at the Tribulation Stage should be enough to resolve the issue.

However, for safety (because the number of enemies is unknown), please send Great Ascension Stage powerhouses.

And since sending only one might leave openings and risks of being outmaneuvered,

after thorough consideration, the final request is for the sect to dispatch five Great Ascension Stage powerhouses to Panlong City to handle this matter smoothly.

“.........”

At this moment, the Sect Leader who had just received Zhao Lu’s flying message was stunned.

(ΩДΩ)!!!

Fi... five Great Ascension Stage powerhouses for backup!?

What is this… the end of the world!?

“........”

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner truly had the ability to challenge opponents of a higher cultivation level.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

And it really was a powerful magical artifact that could upgrade without limits.

But for a Spirit Transformation cultivator to think he could rely on this artifact to fight several Body Fusion Stage cultivators—that was pure delusion.

“Yue Tianqi, City Lord of Panlong City, has committed monstrous crimes. By decree, he is to be arrested and brought to the capital. Do not aid the wicked!”

Zhao Lu exuded the full majesty of a princess.

The Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators who had helped the City Lord surround Lu Ziyin earlier quickly fled upon seeing the shift in momentum.

City Lord Yue Tianqi watched the scene, eyes nearly bursting with rage, blood oozing from his seven orifices.

Apparently, using the Ten Thousand Souls Banner did come with side effects.

“Capture him—alive.”

Zhao Lu heard her senior brother’s voice transmission.

She immediately ordered, “Capture him alive!!”

Several Body Fusion Stage Golden Armor Guards closed in swiftly.

No matter how the City Lord struggled with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, it was just a dying gasp.

One of them took the opportunity to sever the City Lord’s arm,

another restrained him with a magical artifact,

and another chanted a Buddhist mantra to temporarily suppress the restless Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

“Young one, surrender now and you can live!”

The City Lord struggled with all his might, still trying to control the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

“I... I refuse to accept this...”

A torrent of demonic aura suddenly erupted from his body!

The City Lord’s body suffered unprecedented damage from the impact.

His once-tall, upright figure now looked like a fragile porcelain doll,

shattering instantly into pieces!

His limbs, torso, and head flew apart in a grotesque fashion,

each part trailing a mist of blood as it crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The whole scene was bloody and bizarre, sending chills down the spine.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner had turned on its master!!

Using an evil artifact always came with the risk of backlash.

After devouring its master, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner suddenly shot toward the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it was about to vanish from Panlong City.

Just as the City Lord died,

a small hand reached out from the ground and grabbed the City Lord’s jade token.

With the token in hand, Li Xuanxiao quickly took control of the defensive formation,

trying to intercept the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

But the banner suddenly vanished mid-air,

as if it had entered another dimension.

Li Xuanxiao’s expression darkened.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner... disappeared!?

Not long after, reinforcements from Mount Shushan also arrived.

“.........”

In Panlong City, City Lord Yue Tianqi was dead.

The news spread quickly through every street and alley, and eventually reached the court of the Daxia Dynasty.

The entire imperial court was stunned, unable to believe such a horrifying tragedy had occurred under their governance.

Yue Tianqi had long colluded with political allies in secret to pursue personal gain.

Worse, he had gone mad and used a mysterious, evil soul artifact to slaughter innocent citizens in Panlong City.

According to incomplete statistics, over 200,000 people had gone missing.

It was an atrocity that shocked gods and men alike, enraging both heaven and earth!

Such crimes—utterly unforgivable!

The Daxia Emperor immediately issued a decree for harsh punishment. Though Yue Tianqi was already dead, his entire clan would be executed.

At the same time, a massive purge swept through the Panlong City bureaucracy.

Because Yue Tianqi and his cronies were deeply entangled,

over 500 officials were dismissed and investigated, and more than 50,000 people were implicated.

In an instant, Panlong City’s entire political structure was reshuffled.

Those once in power and abusing their positions were now either in prison or fleeing like stray dogs.

Newly appointed officials acted with extreme caution, terrified of repeating their predecessors’ mistakes.

Mount Shushan launched a full investigation into the missing magical artifact known as the “Ten Thousand Souls Banner.”

For something to eliminate over 200,000 people without a trace—

it was simply too terrifying.

“..........”

Su Wan and Lu Ziyin returned to Mount Shushan first.

This mission had originally been about resolving the disappearance of disciples.

Who would’ve thought it would uncover the shocking case of over 200,000 missing civilians from Panlong City.

After returning to Mount Shushan, Lu Ziyin was immediately commended.

“Senior Brother Lu is truly amazing. You must’ve noticed something was off from the start.”

“Without you, who knows how many innocent people would've died!”

“Senior Brother Lu is indeed Mount Shushan’s youngest Sect Leader!”

“Our generation’s role model!”

“Totally worthy of being the number one of our generation!!”

“That’s right. From now on, I’ll use Senior Brother Lu as my standard.”

“..........”

Lu Ziyin could barely hold back a smile.

During this mission, Lu Ziyin had first uncovered the truth that the City Lord was the true culprit.

Then he fought five Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators alone,

even killing one, despite lacking the advantage in time, terrain, or support.

Later, Yue Tianqi used the Ten Thousand Souls Banner to defeat Lu Ziyin.

Fortunately, Zhao Lu arrived just in time...

But come to think of it—why had Zhao Lu appeared with reinforcements at exactly the right moment?

After soaking in the praise, Lu Ziyin returned to his cave dwelling to replay the entire chain of events.

He felt something was off, though he couldn’t say what exactly.

It was just a vague sense,

like an unseen hand behind the scenes was moving him like a chess piece!!

Lu Ziyin had asked Zhao Lu about it.

But Zhao Lu only said it was a coincidence—nothing intentional.

Lu Ziyin shook his head and muttered to himself.

“I’m really overthinking it.

How could I doubt my own brilliance?

A mastermind behind the scenes? Ridiculous. Who could possibly control me!!”