“Mr. Mo, I of course know this, but who could have known that old guy would choose to strike at Spirit Sword Valley, needlessly losing a Grandmaster Level fighter.”
Mo Xiao’s expression remained unchanged, “It’s only important that you, Valley Master, are unharmed. People in the front lines are meant to be sacrificed. According to reports, it’s not just our Great Grandmasters and those from Heavenly Saber City who have been killed; other forces have suffered the same fate, except for Zhou Wutong, the Border Army, and Stargazing Valley, which were not targeted!”
How could the Master of Destiny only strike at two houses?
In reality, a total of six forces had their public Grandmasters killed, it’s just that only Spirit Sword Valley and Heavenly Saber City announced it.
“Less than twenty Grandmasters in the world, and yet six were killed in one stroke, truly befitting of a Master of Destiny.”
Wu Qingfeng wanted all the more to reach that realm.
Besides longevity, that absolute power filled him with insatiable desire.
“Send orders, we can reveal part of our strength openly now, to avenge the Valley Master’s open slaying, we need to show our strength to deter the petty!”
“Yes, Valley Master!”
In the year 535 of the Great Zhou calendar, the Master of Destiny passed away.
Spirit Sword Valley, Heavenly Saber City, Yuelai Inn, Divine Lady Mountain, Linghai City, and even the Scholarly Palace all displayed immense power, with the number of Grandmaster Level Martial Artists greatly exceeding double digits.
Imperial City, Imperial Palace.
Perhaps Wang Sheng never expected that the first to fall into chaos would be the Imperial City, which he thought least likely to rebel.
In a matter of days, the rebel forces of Zhongzhou reached the outskirts of the Imperial City, seeming to regard the royal power as inconsequential.
“Sovereign, the rebels have reached the city walls of the Imperial City,” reported Commander Wang Long to Zhou Tianyuan with utmost respect.
Zhou Tianyuan’s expression didn’t change.
His plan to defy destiny and change fate had failed, and more quickly than he had anticipated; it was merely the kind of ending he’d expected.
“Commander Wang, if it’s beyond our capabilities, just let it go. With your Grandmaster level power, you can go anywhere in the world!”
“Sovereign, my life was saved by you, and if I am to die, it will be in your presence.”
Those who wanted to flee had already done so; those left were all fiercely loyal.
“Then come with me to meet someone.”
It wasn’t long before Zhou Tianyuan, accompanied by Wang Long, arrived at the location of the Imperial City’s walls where two armies were engaged in battle.
It seemed this place had long been awaiting their arrival.
At the front was a middle-aged man, with a youthful face and white hair, looking very refined.
Behind him were quite a few people.
“Minister of Rites, Prime Minister, what are you doing here?”
Wang Long immediately recognized several people.
All of them were people from the court, thought to be in their residences at this time. Now it seemed that might not be the case, and even the royal family’s swift defeat might not be without their influence.
Zhou Tianyuan did not look at these people, but rather focused on the middle-aged man in the front.
“Scholarly Sage, you’ve orchestrated all this, haven’t you?”
The man leading them was Shen Xuan, one of the nine Great Grandmasters from the Scholarly Palace.
Wang Longshu instantly became alert.
Even as a fellow Grandmaster, facing one of the renowned nine Great Grandmasters, he most likely wouldn’t stand a chance.
He knew the rebel forces had backers, but he never expected it to be the seemingly dispassionate Scholarly Sage, known for his renunciation of desires. To think that the Sage, famed for benevolence and righteousness, would drive war.
Shen Xuan did not answer directly, saying, “Sovereign, do you truly believe those rebels can be controlled by me at whim?”
Zhou Tianyuan looked toward the fighting armies in the distance.
One was the Imperial Guards, and the other was the rebels.
The rebels were commoners from Zhongzhou, outnumbering the Imperial Guards by ten to one. Most were without armor or decent weapons, yet not one person retreated, trading life for life.
The experts of the Imperial Guards were held back, unable to exert their full strength.
Each of these commoners’ faces bore a look of determination, as if their only options were success or martyrdom, carrying an endless resentment towards the Imperial City.
“See that? Even if we did not incite this, these people would eventually rebel because they can no longer survive. Perhaps changing heaven and earth seems to them the only choice.”
Shen Xuan’s words slowly penetrated Zhou Tianyuan’s ears, his face darkening.
He suddenly had a realization; perhaps the fall of the Great Zhou wasn’t simply because the elderly Master of Destiny had died.
But he quickly came to his senses.
“Shen Xuan, don’t act so noble, look at the people behind you, some of them are the very instigators of these events. They are the ones who have preyed on the people, riddled with corruption. Now they’ve even forgotten loyalty and patriotism. You, as the Scholarly Sage, should know the Scholarly Palace was never meant to be like this…”
Shen Xuan appeared indifferent, saying, “Sovereign, we have not betrayed Great Zhou, we simply want to replace a decaying ruler with a new one.”
“Hahaha, is that your goal? Shen Xuan, you think you can leverage the nation’s fate to become the Master of Destiny that easily? You, sanctimonious person, you’re even more despicable than they are! And perhaps nobody has guessed your true intentions!”
Zhou Tianyuan saw through it; Shen Xuan wasn’t planning to compete with those others.
He aimed to directly leverage Great Zhou’s national destiny to become the Master of Destiny, and though his confidence’s origin was unclear, if successful, all the others’ efforts would be in vain.
“So what if it is?”
“Then it simply won’t happen as you wish!”
In September of the year 535 of the Great Zhou calendar, a great battle erupted in the Imperial City, followed by a shocking strike. Scholarly Palace Great Grandmaster Shen Xuan fell, and both Sovereign Zhou Tianyuan and the head of the Imperial Guards, Wang Long, perished.