Unfortunately, at this time, even Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian could not respond for a moment.
In his heart, he had to be swamped with the shock!
This was the first step for Wu Yu to defeat him.
Instill fear into him!
"Ladies and gentlemen, that's right. I am not Sun Wudao. I am Wu Yu. I was the one who was cut away from the family more than a year ago and sent to the border. The word was that I had been devoured by a snake demon and died. But why am I not dead?"
Wu Yu's voice was clear, confident, and calm. It held the entire city under its spell. There were too many suspicions in their hearts. At this time, everyone bent an ear to Wu Yu's words.
Although more than a year had passed, many wept tears of joy upon seeing him anew.
"Today, in front of Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian, I wish to tell everyone about the farce that happened back then at Imperial Concubine Xi's palace hall. Everyone knew that I was supposed to ascend the throne. And then what happened that night?"
Wu Yu adopted a relaxed pose, calculated to make his opponent even more afraid.
"Silence!" Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian was about to act.
Whoosh!
Wu Yu immediately returned to Yuan Xi and Yuan Hao's side. He leaned against the castle wall, the Demon Subduing Staff propped against Yuan Hao's back. He smiled as he faced Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian. "Hao Tian, if you will not let me say my piece, and enlighten everyone to the truth, then I will skewer both their hearts together."
"You!"
No matter what, Hao Tian would still loath to lose Yuan Xi and Yuan Hao. After all, Yuan Hao was his flesh and blood. That was why he could not act.
"Wu Yu. no matter what happened to you, you will die today without question!" Faced with the hysterical screams of Yuan Xi and Yuan Hao, Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian spat his threat through gritted teeth.
Wu Yu turned a deaf ear. He was also very tense. More than a year of hard work, was it not all for this moment?
He turned to face the crowd of thousands and loudly proclaimed, "That night, in order to ascend the throne early in the morning, I went to bed early. But who knew that a blasphemous presence would bring me to Imperial Concubine Xi's palace hall, remove my clothes, and make me enter a deep sleep? Many members of the court appeared to accuse me of sleeping with my mother concubine. Such a preposterous tale, that I myself scarcely believed. And then Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian appeared. He crippled me and sent me to the border...."
Wu Yu's words naturally caused a huge stir.
"Could Prince Yu mean that Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian and the Empress Dowager allied to betray him and steal his throne from him? And even go as far as to destroy him?"
"But why would Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian do such a thing?"
Immediately, murmurs broke out.
"I know that you might not be able to believe it, but let me tell you a few truths to convince you. Listen well!"
Immediately, a hush fell over the crowd, who again turned to look at Wu Yu, wide-eyed.
"First! Both I and Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian, in terms of ability, are indeed very powerful. But at our core, we are not true gods. We are also human, and subject to our emotions. Although we appear to be immortals, we might very well be sinners as well. This is my disclaimer."
It was exactly because Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian was treated as a genuine god that many granted him their absolute trust. Until even Wu Yu's actions were tarnished by his false tales.
Wu Yu's words would have been rejected outright a few months ago. But in these few months, they had seen many clashes between the immortals, and were starting to realize that the immortals were not that different from mortals.
"Second! And this is sensational news. Do you know why Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian was so anxious today? That's because he and the Empress Dowager Imperial Concubine Xi are lovers. Neither Yuan Hao nor Yuan Chen are the sons of my father, but rather the sons of Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian! Everything else aside, please take a look at their features. Does Yuan Hao resemble my father? Or Hao Tian?"
After he said this, Wu Yu burst into laughter!
"What!?"
This was news even to the likes of Martial Wu. To the Capital Wu citizens, or perhaps the entire Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, this was a huge bomb! The current emperor was the child of the concubine and the Immortal Protector!
"Oh my God!"
The citizens were going crazy.
Just in terms of looks, Wu You and Wu Yu both clearly resembled the previous emperor. The line ran true, and their stature was also slightly bigger.
As for Yuan Hao and Yuan Chen, they were as slim - even petite - as Hao Tian. One look and you could see a certain resemblance between father and child.
Only, no one had dared to think this way before!
"Wu Yu!" Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian was enraged. The leaking of this news was a disadvantage for him! Even the Zhongyuan Dao Sect would come after him.
"Tch!" Wu Yu gently prodded, burning a hole in the back of Yuan Hao's clothes with the Demon Subduing Staff. The tip of the Demon Subduing Staff branded Yuan Hao's back with a mark. Yuan Hao howled pitifully, and yet had to hold his body still.
"Behold. Hao Tian is panicking."
Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian was helpless to respond to Wu Yu's move. Wu Yu held a tight grip on his weakness. At this moment, thousands watched Hao Tian panic and yet be unable to respond.
If one simply believed Wu Yu's account, then one could also understand why Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian and Imperial Concubine Xi would betray Wu Yu in order to make Yuan Hao the emperor.
"I always said that Prince Yu was focused on his martial way since young. It's not as though he never saw beauties before. Why would he suddenly commit such a sin? Who knew that there was actually such a conspiracy!?"
"It was actually Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian and Imperial Concubine Xi conspiring to do him in! Back then, Prince Yu was not as strong as he is now. Poor thing.... But how did he hold on to life and return back today...."
Quickly, the entire Capital Wu, and even the entire Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, knew the truth of the matter!
But that was not all!
Wu Yu laughed. "Everyone, back then, this 'upright' Heavenly Immortal destroyed me. It was not enough that he sent me to the border. He even sent a snake demon to murder me on the way. I'm sure none of you believe me. Why would a demon-slaying heavenly immortal be rearing a snake demon? But Hao Tian did. When the snake demon took human form, its name was Wan Qing. Many people in the palace recognize her. In all these years, Wan Qing must have eaten more than a thousand people in Capital Wu. Hao Tian had never kept her in check. I wonder if you all remember that I destroyed a snake demon in Capital Wu not long ago? That's right, it was Wan Qing!"
This news was equally sensational.
Their trust for Wu Yu grew. This matter showed them Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian's true colors even more clearly. They would never have thought that the Immortal Protector was actually such a person!
Out of the tens of thousands, many had lost family members to the snake demon. Now they finally understood the cause behind their losses. They broke down wailing.
"Hao Tian, a pity that Wan Qing had not managed to eat me. Your snake demon met with the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Feng Xueya! And now, I, Wu Yu, have returned to Capital Wu after much hardship, for revenge! I will take your life! I am now Feng Xueya's personal disciple! I bet you didn't know, did you!? I was rendered broken by your Spirit Severing Powder, but I have godlike powers. In this year or so, I turned from a cripple to what I am today. Know that in all this time, I thirsted for your blood and hungered for your flesh each and every day!"
The last sentence was merely Wu Yu bragging!
At this time, there was none who doubted Wu Yu's words.
Many of the details were impossible to falsify.
Besides, Hao Tian, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Hao all had rigid expressions now, with no denial. The matter was brought to light now, and all their denials would merely be excuses!
"Who would have thought that Prince Yu has actually gone through such terrible times? And he actually came back with new life and became an immortal!"
"He has been back under the guise of Sun Wudao for a long time, only revealing his identity after so long. What a painful time it must have been!"
They were all moved.
Thinking of the terrible time that Wu Yu must have had climbing back from the brink of death, hot tears began to flow of their own accord.
All that needed to be said had been said.
He had held back for so long. Wu Yu was unsatisfied. No matter how today ended, at least the whole world knew Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian for who he truly was.
He had succeeded.
Actually, the people favored Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian, but from now on, Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian's words would be ignored. If not for the fact that his power was still to be feared, they would beat him in the streets like a rat!
The tens of thousands of people in Capital Wu wished dearly for the miraculously-returned Prince Yu to defeat Hao Tian and take revenge!
As for Yuan Xi and Yuan Hao, they never had the hearts of the people. Now, they were hated even more than ever!
"Wu Yu, are you done?"
Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian watched the people's hearts stolen from him, but he was helpless to do anything. Faced with the unimaginable return of Wu Yu, the only thing that he could do was kill him.
"Done." Wu Yu waved a hand.
Today was the most historically significant day in Capital Wu.
Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian's face was cruel. "Who would have thought that when I broke you down back then, I would trigger such a huge transformation? And the personal disciple of Feng Xueya no less, it's a miracle! In truth, you should thank me."
Wu Yu laughed. "I am, of course, grateful to you. If not for the harm you did me, I would not be where I am today. However, I will still see you dead here, reduced to ash and smoke."
"Then we will just have to see if you have the ability...."
The sparks that crackled between the two caught into flames.
"Wu Yu, you will die a horrible death. And I will give your sister, Wu You, to thousands!" The pain on his back had driven Yuan Hao beyond the point of reason.
"Is that so? Then I'll begin with you." The Demon Subduing Staff in Wu Yu's hand prodded forth, pushing Yuan Hao. Yuan Hao screamed as he fell, even while Wu Yu held Imperial Concubine Xi back.
Kacha!
The rope around Yuan Hao's neck went taut.
Emperor Yuan Hao was hung on the city gates. In just three short breaths, his wails grew faint, and then he died in abject despair and misery.
The corpse's eyes were wide, swinging freely from the imperial city’s walls.
"Hao Tian. If you have balls, come and fight."
Even as Wu Yu leapt up, Hao Tian was already charging in fury.
...