Chapter 441: Chapter 267: Luo Ying’s Abnormality, The Ninth Prince’s Change, Python to Dragon, The Empress Enters the Game

She arrived at the Dragon Wall Plaza of the Great Yan Imperial Palace.

Luo Ying landed and began walking, heading deep into the Imperial Palace without a backward glance.

This was a no-fly zone.

Even though she was one of the new Emperor’s most trusted confidantes, she could not act discourteously.

Without rules, there can be no order.

On the flat, intricately carved stone path leading to the Deep Palace, one could still faintly see artisans everywhere, repairing the walls.

Standing in this plaza, one could still see the scars left from the past battle in the Capital City—the corners of the walls, long since mottled from the clashes between Qi Cultivators and Martial Artists.

Luo Ying produced a Dragon Pattern Golden Order, the symbol of an Imperial Envoy, and passed through layers of palace guards. The Divine Senses of countless masters swept over her.

「Upon entering the grand hall.」

Memorials were piled high like a mountain. Beaded curtains hung low. On the imperial desk sat a palm-sized Incense Burner shaped like a Piyao, its mouth emitting wisps of blue smoke. The fragrance in the air was incredibly soothing to the Heart Spirit.

A young Emperor, who appeared to be in his twenties, sat cross-legged on a soft couch, his eyes closed in rest. His face was like fine jade with serene features, his handsome looks unadorned yet naturally divine.

Red Martial Dao Primordial Qi pulsed around him, and a powerful aura swept outward.

This aura was no weaker than Luo Ying’s.

And Luo Ying realized that this young Emperor’s Cultivation had, in fact, long surpassed her own.

This inwardly astonished her.

’Given enough time, could he truly challenge the Martial Saint Realm, a feat unseen for hundreds of years?’

’If that’s the case, is my decision the right one?’

"What is it?"

Just as Luo Ying’s thoughts were wandering and she hesitated, Lu Mingyuan opened his sharp eyes and looked directly at her.

Smoke from the Piyao Incense Burner drifted for a moment.

Luo Ying’s expression turned solemn. "I have come to tender my resignation," she said with great gravity. "I beseech the Holy Emperor to allow me to step down from my position as the Infinite Party Leader of the Imperial Capital."

Lu Mingyuan frowned upon hearing this.

"Why?"

’Luo Ying is doing just fine. Why would she want to resign as leader?’

’Wasn’t this her ambition not long ago?’

’Now is the perfect time for the Infinite Faction to spy on the Six Kingdoms, and a time when we are short on people.’

’Only with Luo Ying there can I be at ease.’

’If Luo Ying leaves, the other leaders of the Infinite Faction might develop ulterior motives.’

’Regardless, there must be a reason for this.’

’I have to get to the bottom of it.’

"Because I have discovered that the path of cultivation is long and endless. If my heart isn’t in it, I’m afraid I will forever remain stalled in the Eleventh Realm."

Luo Ying explained, her head lowered.

In her mind, the conversation from her meeting with the National Preceptor began to play out.

「In the boudoir.」

"So, Lord State Preceptor, you don’t intend to leave me a way out?"

A Confucian Scholar in voluminous white robes said with a gentle smile, "I have, it just depends on how you choose. Right now, there are only two paths before you: get out of the way, or die. As a member of the Infinite Faction, you should know what happens when a Heart Demon Seed erupts."

"Why torture me like this? Why not just kill me?"

"If I killed you, wouldn’t the one on the dragon throne grow suspicious?"p>"Fine, I understand..."

...

Returning to the present, Luo Ying looked up again at the young Emperor, who was slowly rising from behind the imperial desk and walking toward her.

Lu Mingyuan met her gaze and said in a low voice, "If it is for the sake of your cultivation, I respect your choice."

"I approve."

"However..."

Lu Mingyuan’s eyes grew sharp, and his tone became light as he said, "If you turn around and join someone else to oppose me, I will kill you, no matter the reason."

"Yes..."

Luo Ying handed over her Golden Order and the Seal issued by the Court, then slowly turned to leave the grand hall.

’My life has been full of hardships, full of disgrace.’

’I don’t want to be anyone’s pawn ever again.’

"Where do you plan to go?" Lu Mingyuan called out from a distance.

Luo Ying turned back and bowed. "I don’t know either. I’ll take it one step at a time."

He watched until Luo Ying’s back disappeared from view.

Lu Mingyuan returned to his desk, tapping his fingers on its surface. "Xun Yu," he said, his eyes narrowed, "it seems you haven’t given up yet."

He wasn’t a fool.

He didn’t believe for a second that nothing was behind Luo Ying’s unusual behavior.

The founder of the Infinite Faction was, after all, that Elder National Preceptor from Nan Zhou.

He had thought Xun Yu had learned his lesson, but he didn’t expect him to dare make a comeback.

But this time, he wouldn’t give the man a chance to escape.

...

「Jiangling Royal Mansion.」

In the courtyard, a white-robed Confucian Scholar with a phantasmal figure sat across from Lu Yunhuang, playing chess. Though just a sliver of a Divine Soul, his aura was like a surging river, boundless and vast.

The white-robed Confucian Scholar pointed to the Chessboard and said to Lu Yunhuang with a grin, "You see? Just like that, a dead game has been brought back to life, has it not?"

Lu Yunhuang nodded thoughtfully. "Sir, this move of yours is truly brilliant. On the surface, it presented two paths, but in reality, there was no choice at all. The only way out was merely the next link in a preconceived plan."

The white-robed Confucian Scholar nodded in satisfaction. "With the Celestial Destiny and Fortune now manifest, how could the new Emperor stand idly by? This past month, he has pacified the factional strife and, through various means, has already begun raising funds for war. He clearly wants to meddle in the affairs of the Six Kingdoms. This is our greatest opportunity."

"Without Luo Ying, the Infinite Faction is nothing to fear. For Great Yan to triumph over the Six Kingdoms is nothing but a fool’s dream."

"This time, should we join forces with the Seventh Prince?"

Lu Yunhuang asked.

"Him?"

Xun Yu scoffed and shook his head.

"He’s had more than enough chances. Some might say he should take another gamble—’a horse doesn’t get fat without night fodder; a man doesn’t get rich without a windfall.’ But after Lu Yunwan’s great fall, his heart, once a lake, rotted into a swamp. How could he possibly have the ambition to vie for supremacy? The poor man’s will to pursue the Dao has long been shattered. All he thinks about now is self-preservation. After all these years, I doubt he even has the spirit left to fight for the throne."

Lu Yunhuang remained silent.

After a long while, he finally managed to say, "Sir, do you think that the higher a person’s Realm, the more that spirit in their heart fades away? Does one’s humanity turn to smoke and dust along the long, hazy path of the Dao?"

’Everyone is born with the illusion that they are the protagonist of this world.’

’But as they grow and witness all the facets of the world...’

’...they discover that there are many people more outstanding than themselves.’

’And they are just one among the countless masses of this world.’

’Like a single duckweed on the water, a lone boat between heaven and earth.’

’Gradually, their spirit is worn down, and they find themselves with no affinity for the Dao.’

Xun Yu glanced at him. "Look at you, so promising," he said sarcastically. "That statement only applies to the mediocre, to those mid-level Cultivators who are better than some but worse than others."

He held up his thumb and forefinger, showing a tiny gap, and sighed. "If a person has only that much talent yet dares to call themselves a genius, they’re actually just a nobody."

Then, he raised one finger. "But if their talent reaches that supreme level, the kind that appears only once in an era, and their vision is broad enough, they won’t let their spirit be buried. Instead, they will bide their time and wait for the opportunity to become a dragon."

"Do you understand now?"

Lu Yunhuang mused, "Can talent truly measure a person’s achievements?"

"Destiny and opportunity are also vital. With only talent and not enough Destiny to support it, the slightest misstep can lead to one’s downfall, becoming a stepping stone for others."

"Among those so-called mediocre people, aren’t there any who maintain their spirit?"

Xun Yu nodded. "There are, but the idea is contradictory. If a person can accept their own mediocrity, how can they be mediocre? There is a Dao to be found even in the ordinary; after all, ’all things are the Dao.’ That’s just a method those Taoist Sect folks use to comfort the masses."

At these words,

a speck of light appeared in Lu Yunhuang’s mind.

「Suddenly.」

A light breeze brushed past.

The aura around Lu Yunhuang suddenly surged, and his entire being transformed. His eyes shone with a brilliant light as he said in pleasant surprise:

"Sir, I’ve had an epiphany."

Xun Yu smiled and shook his head. "If you could have had this epiphany sooner, this old man wouldn’t have had to waste so much breath."

In his view,

Lu Yunhuang was exactly this type of person—his fate was like dust, yet he was born into an imperial family.

And still, his spirit had not diminished.

Compared to the Second Prince, Lu Guangjing, such a person, if he were to attain the Dao, would often go much further.

...

「As a storm brewed over the Great Yan Capital City.」

「Beneath the Imperial City Gate.」

A cloaked woman looked up at the words "Imperial Capital," written in ancient seal script, before slowly stepping into this bustling metropolis, which was still in the midst of a prosperous and glorious age.

Below the bridge, flower boats were as vibrant as brocade, and the cries of vendors echoed endlessly from the hundred wards of the east, west, south, and north.

Inebriated patrons crowded into inns and taverns, listening to storytellers recount the various strange and bizarre tales of the Central Plains World.

’So this is the Imperial Capital, the place where the new Emperor resides.’

A cold gleam appeared in the cloaked woman’s eyes. Beneath her gaze, a dark light swirled within her Demon Eyes.

’I don’t sense the Divine Pearl’s aura. Where did Emperor Yong’an hide it back then?’

In the past, she had entrusted the Celestial Demon Divine Pearl to Emperor Yong’an as collateral for her departure from the Imperial Capital.

But unexpectedly, Emperor Yong’an broke their agreement and used the power of the Celestial Demon Divine Pearl without permission.

Her primary objective for coming to the Imperial Capital this time was to retrieve the Celestial Demon Divine Pearl.

This item was extremely important to her.

It was one of her key sources of power. Losing the Celestial Demon Divine Pearl was equivalent to losing the ability to communicate with her direct Divine Beings at will; she could only wait for them to contact her.

To reshape the Six Paths of Reincarnation, she had to become a god.

The importance of the Celestial Demon Divine Pearl was self-evident.

’Right now, to infiltrate the Imperial Palace, I need to find a suitable identity.’

Witch Palace Language scanned her surroundings, searching for a suitable candidate.

At that moment, a clamor erupted from a tavern near the market entrance.

"Did you hear? The position of Empress has finally been decided!"

"Really? We’ve been waiting for a month! I’m curious to see what kind of woman a role model like the Sixth Prince will marry. Who will the title of Empress fall to?"

"Is there even a need to ask? It’s bound to be that famously talented lady from the Qi Family, Qi Muxue."

"You mean Princess Consort Qi, right? Indeed, no one is more suitable for the position of the official consort."

This conversation happened to be overheard by Witch Palace Language.

She was seen pondering for a moment before she murmured to herself:

"Qi Muxue..."

"The descendant of that Saint? How interesting. She should be a good candidate."

Her Divine Sense swept across the Capital City, searching for the location of the Qi Mansion.

...