Jinyang Ancient City—also known as the so-called Taiyuan Ancient City—was the stronghold of the Li Faction and the Longxi aristocratic families. It was from here that the Li Faction originally began, capturing Chang'an and establishing Li Tang.
For the Li Faction and the Longxi aristocrats, they had long believed that they would never again have a chance to return. Who would have thought that, before they had even managed to transfer their enterprises from Taiyuan to Chang'an, they were utterly routed?
Even though, upon returning to their base, they immediately assembled an army of several hundred thousand troops, that force did nothing to give them even the slightest sense of security.
"Gentlemen, does anyone have a sound strategy for defeating the enemy?"
Inside the grand hall of the Taiyuan palace, Li Yuan sat high upon the dragon throne, his expression grim as he surveyed the assembly of ministers below. Strictly speaking, this palace was nothing more than a temporary residence—a structure built by Li Yuan after his conquest of Chang'an so that, one day, he might return to his hometown and have a place to live. As for the ancestral mansion of the Li Faction, it was simply unworthy of his imperial status.
After Li Yuan's words fell silent, the hall was engulfed in quiet. The disparity in strength between Li Tang and Shen Tang had been made clear during the battle for Chang'an; if Chang'an itself could not hold, then how could Taiyuan—despite being their stronghold—do any better?
"Given our current situation, our only option is to first ally with Liang Shidu, Luo Yi, Gao Kaidao, and the others."
After a long silence, Feng Deyi finally spoke.
No one dared oppose Feng Deyi's suggestion. Even if someone harbored a different opinion, none wished to tempt fate at such a critical moment—after all, who could boldly say, "You simply cannot win, Your Majesty; you'd be better off surrendering now"?
A minister might risk surrendering, but Li Yuan was the emperor now. While Shen Tang might tolerate just about anyone, Li Yuan would brook no such insubordination.
Boom.
Just as Li Yuan was about to speak, a sudden, deafening explosion resounded from outside. Immediately, the entire palace hall began to shake, and the assembled courtiers stared in astonishment as the roof of the hall vanished—revealing the sky above.
The abrupt turn of events left everyone in the hall momentarily stunned. In the very next instant, Li Yuan sprang from the dragon throne and, moving with incredible agility, appeared at the main entrance of the hall. His ministers, gathered on the massive stone steps before the door, looked on in shock at the sight of a huge pit—several hundred meters in diameter—now present in the palace square below.
After a light breeze swept away the lingering smoke, a lone figure could clearly be seen slowly emerging from the pit.
"No wonder Kaido—and Nitro—enjoy this kind of dramatic landing. It's really quite something."
Observing the dazed stares of those around him, Duanlang couldn't help but smile. This was the entrance he had meticulously prepared to shock the Li Faction. Of course, it wasn't merely a display of raw physical prowess; he had used true qi to shield his body—after all, it wasn't even his true self but merely a shadow clone.
"Protect the emperor!"
When Duanlang reached the edge of the pit, the imperial guards—already alarmed—immediately surged to attack him. After all, this was Li Tang's palace, and Duanlang's mode of arrival could only be that of an assassin.
"Stand aside."
Seeing the charging guards, Duanlang shook his head slightly and raised both his hands. Two fire dragons burst forth from his palms. The foremost guards didn't even have time to scream before they were incinerated in the flames. Then, the two fire dragons formed towering walls of fire—over ten meters high—on either side of Duanlang, extending all the way to behind Li Tang's sovereign and his ministers who stood before the palace steps.
Soon the fire dragons intertwined in flight, forming a blazing cage that trapped all of Li Tang's officials inside. The guards left outside, after suffering dozens of casualties, finally abandoned any thought of crossing the sea of fire.
"Kirin Demon Duanlang, what do you mean by this?"
The sudden turn of events had thrown Li Tang's officials—and even Li Yuan—into a mild panic. Only on Li Shimin's side did calm swiftly return after the initial shock. Although Li Shimin had never seen Duanlang before, he immediately deduced his identity. After all, aside from the one who had taken down Ning Daoqi and Bi Xuan, no one else could move in such a way as to cause such commotion.
"My purpose here is very simple—to deal with you so that the Central Plains may be unified as quickly as possible."
As he spoke, Duanlang snorted coldly. With a swift movement of his right foot, he covertly attacked the man behind Li Shimin. In an instant, a figure emerged from Li Shimin's right rear, and at that very moment, four men leaped from behind him, lunging toward Duanlang. Simultaneously, on Li Yuan's side, six figures sprang forward to join the assault.
"Yuchi Jingde, Qin Shubao, Pang Yu, Luo Shixin, Shi Wanbao."
Duanlang instantly recognized the men who had rushed out from Li Shimin's side. He had long been curious about Daniel Davis's Tian Ce Mansion—after all, it was said to harbor many renowned figures.
"As expected, the Tian Ce Mansion has no shortage of brilliant minds."
Combined with Yuchi Jingde's earlier attempt to ambush him with a whip, this time a total of five of Li Shimin's men attacked. Before they could fully engage, Duanlang clearly observed Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, Zhangsun Wuji, and others subtly retreating a short distance. Their cautious withdrawal was perfectly natural; the key was Cheng Yaojin, who—though appearing reckless—was, in fact, extremely clever, at least far more so than Qin Shubao, who was eager to strike.
Duanlang was not surprised by their attack. He understood that their intent was hostile—in such circumstances, an assault was inevitable. Even with his illustrious record, superior strength did not guarantee that an opponent would refrain from attacking. If it were truly that simple—that superior might always deter an attack—then what would be the point of fighting? A mere comparison of strengths would easily secure peace throughout the land.
Just like in One Piece, where the Four Emperors are immensely powerful yet challengers continue to appear in endless succession.
"Why come at all?"
Duanlang shook his head in exasperation as he clasped his hands together. A blood‑red Tai Chi symbol blossomed between them. In the next instant, dozens of crimson palm prints shot out in all directions, surging toward the eleven attackers—each one struck by at least a dozen of these blood‑red imprints.
When everything finally settled, eleven corpses lay around him, their bones shattered to pieces. Such terrifying power made everyone who witnessed it gasp in shock—even hearing about it could never compare to seeing it with one's own eyes.
"Shall I continue?" Duanlang asked, beckoning with his blood‑red right hand toward Li Shimin and the others. But he received only silence. Truth be told, at that moment the strength of Li Tang's court was formidable. Aside from a few civil officials of modest martial ability, nearly everyone present was a top‑tier master. Among them, several elite experts from the Tian Ce Mansion had assembled—everyone except Hong Fu.
After the loss of Chang'an, even Li Yuan had no choice but to rely heavily on Li Shimin's Tian Ce Mansion.
"Now, tell me—what are your conditions?"
After glancing at Li Yuan and receiving his silent nod, Li Shimin immediately inquired. The situation was dire; even if he felt reluctant, he had no option but to first deal with Duanlang. In that instant, Li Shimin couldn't help but inwardly curse the meddling of the Ci Hang faction. Had it not been for their scheme of selecting an emperor by divine mandate, fearsome enemies like Duanlang and Daniel Davis would never have been conjured.
Even so, Li Shimin was not yet ready to concede defeat; his thought at that moment was simply to first dispatch Duanlang and then deal with what came next.
"The conditions are very simple: you have two choices. I'll give you the time it takes for one incense stick to burn to decide."
With that, Duanlang strode into the palace hall—the very hall whose roof he had shattered—reclined casually on the dragon throne, and tossed a scroll to Li Shimin.
Upon seeing Duanlang so nonchalantly reclining on the dragon throne, a peculiar gleam flashed in Li Shimin's eyes. If Duanlang knew what Li Shimin was thinking at that moment, he would have burst into laughter. Just moments earlier, Li Shimin had contemplated inciting discord between Daniel Davis and Duanlang—after all, that was the dragon throne, and in this era, anyone who sat on it casually could incur the wrath that might condemn their entire clan.
"This is impossible. How can you expect us to abandon the legacy of the Central Plains?"
After Li Shimin read aloud the contents of the scroll, someone immediately leaped up in protest at the very idea of forsaking the legacy of the Central Plains to journey to far‑off barbaric lands—a notion that the vast majority simply could not accept. Yet, quite a few nodded thoughtfully; among these was Li Shimin himself.
"I wonder what the second option is?" After a long silence—and noticing that the incense stick by Duanlang had already burned halfway—Li Shimin promptly asked.
"The second option is simple: I will kill every last one of you here."
At these words, those who had been clamoring about never relinquishing the legacy of the Central Plains immediately fell silent.
"Isn't that essentially no choice at all?" someone complained indignantly.
"It isn't that there is no choice; you do have one. After all, death is also a choice, isn't it?" Duanlang replied, his gaze fixed on Cheng Yaojin. Those were, indeed, his own words.
"Alright, time's up. Now tell me—what is your choice?"
"We choose to leave."
无一错一首一发一内一容一在一6一9一书一吧一看!
On one side lay total annihilation; on the other, survival. In truth, this was not a difficult decision at all. In the end, Li Yuan naturally yielded—he did not wish to die. Even if he were to go to the barbaric lands, his status would spare him from hardship; indeed, he could even take the opportunity to court some beautiful barbarian women.
When it came to matters of lust, Li Yuan was by no means inferior to anyone.
"Congratulations—you have made the right choice. In the spirit of brotherhood among compatriots, I can offer you some recommendations. Here is Japan. Although earthquakes are frequent, its territory is vast and rich in mineral resources. Being relatively weak, it is very suitable for you."
"So you want us to take the lead?"
"Don't put it so harshly—I'm earnestly recommending this to you. Just because you're not interested doesn't mean others won't be. And, by the way, if you go to Japan, we can help with transportation and even provide you with shipbuilding techniques."
Seeing that Li Shimin wasn't interested in Japan, Duanlang immediately recommended it to Li Jiancheng and the others. Li Shimin, ever the clever one, was indeed tempted by the idea—but alas, between the Central Plains and Japan lay an endless, unobstructed sea. He did not want his hard work to end up benefiting someone else; therefore, even though Duanlang's side promised considerable assistance, he rejected that option.
"The remaining matters will naturally be discussed with you later. But remember: you have only one month. After one month, anyone still in the Central Plains, don't blame me for unleashing a massacre."
As he spoke, the Huolin Sword behind Duanlang suddenly unsheathed, flitting wildly across the palace hall. Then Duanlang leaped onto the Huolin Sword, slicing through the sky and leaving a long red trail in his wake before vanishing without a trace.
"Sword Immortal."
After Duanlang departed on his sword, the entire assembly in the palace hall fell silent. Many had originally planned to brush him off and consider other strategies, but after witnessing his sword maneuvers and aerial display, every such thought quickly vanished.
"With the Tian Ce Mansion at his back, Li Shimin should be able to carve out a considerable territory elsewhere, right?"
To ensure Li Shimin retained a solid base of support, Duanlang this time completely severed the temptation among many in the Tian Ce Mansion to defect. Those who did not wish to leave the Central Plains might stay—but Shen Tang's faction would not make use of them; not even Li Jing would be retained.
At this point, Daniel Davis's side had long passed the stage of desperately needing talent. As circumstances create heroes, Li Jing—the genius military strategist—had once been hailed as a "God of War" in later generations, but now all his achievements had vanished, much like Han Xin, the Soldier Immortal of the Qin era.
"Tong Yeh Hu—you actually plan to take advantage of the situation and annex DTZ? I'm sorry, but I didn't plunge DTZ into chaos for your sake."
Over in DTZ, following the deaths of Xieli and Tuli, complete chaos had erupted. The various tribes acted independently, and until a powerful figure emerged, this state of affairs would persist for quite some time—by the time a strong individual rose, it would already be too late.
For the common people, a life of basic comfort was all they yearned for. Even the residents of the grasslands preferred the stability of their homes—who would willingly uproot themselves, or in winter, even drive the elderly away over food shortages?
On the Eastern Turkic front, the assault was progressing very smoothly; however, upon seeing DTZ in chaos, the Western Turks immediately sought to take advantage. Naturally, Duanlang would not allow that chance—he directly took to the skies on his sword, dealt with them, and consequently, the Western Turks were thrown into disarray as well.
"So, if we wish to shatter the void, our only hope lies in finding the Jingyan Palace."
"Indeed. As far as I know, that is the case."
After the world gradually returned to peace, the ambitions of Song Que, Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, and the others were immediately fixed on the Jingyan Palace. Although Zhu Yuyan had not yet attained Grandmaster status, having absorbed the power of the Evil Emperor's Shieli to compensate for her previous shortcomings, it would be only a matter of time before she rose to that rank.
For Zhu Yuyan, shattering the void had become her greatest pursuit. Under her command, the Yin Kui Sect had flourished, and she had exterminated the Ci Hang Jingzhai—personally slaying Fan Qinghui.
"Then concentrate all your strength and find the Jingyan Palace."
With the disappearance of Li Tang, in the north—aside from Liang Shidu, that guy who had been defeated under Bi Xuan's banner and was annihilated by Shen Luoyan—everyone else surrendered immediately, leading to the unification of the Central Plains.
After leaving the Central Plains, the Li Tang faction split apart: Li Shimin took the Tian Ce Mansion along with some aristocratic families to the north, while Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, Li Xiuning, and several other aristocrats went to Japan.
"Next, we should bring Tian Yan over. Unfortunately, Yan Lingji is a bit too naive—she isn't skilled in these matters."
Governing the world is far more troublesome than conquering it. Dark organizations—networks like the one of the Seven Kingdoms—are indispensable. What is the Seven Kingdoms' network compared to what he intends to build? He plans to establish a global network.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]