The wind and snow danced rapidly, swirling around the blurred figures. They flew horizontally in the air in a clockwise direction, gradually forming countless lines that resembled a ball of yarn knitted in a maiden's chamber, or the silk spun by silkworms in the Jiangnan spring. They transformed into a sphere, completely obscuring the figures within who were caught in a moment of crisis.

This white snow sphere wasn't stationary, but retreating at an extraordinary speed towards the Taiji Hall in the rear. It was unknown how the powerful figures inside managed to keep the rapidly rotating snowflakes from being scattered by the strong winds.

Earlier, when Wang Shisanlang and Haitang had floated out of the Taiji Hall, they had opened two doors. At this moment, the Taiji Hall was like a giant beast formed of shadows, its mouth agape, ready to swallow the round and massive snow sphere in one gulp, its interior shrouded in darkness.

However, the hall doors weren't fully open; the mouth was too small. So, when the snow sphere drifted to the main entrance of the Taiji Hall, its volume was actually larger than the doorway. The snow sphere crashed into the doors, yet miraculously, no sound was produced. The wooden doors, carved with intricate patterns, were instantly destroyed by the killing intent and battle spirit contained within the snow sphere's rounded force. Deep, wood-penetrating wounds appeared in an instant, scattering away in a destructive manner.

Millennia of time might silently destroy everything, yet this object formed of misty snowflakes was producing such a powerful effect. The snowflakes, inherently delicate, had become like countless sharp steel blades in their rapid rotation, severing everything that existed in the space.

Such a terrifying effect was naturally because the Grandmaster within that space was displaying his peak abilities at this moment.

…

…

The snow sphere broke through the air and flew along the long imperial path, crashing into the base of the imperial platform. Another sound erupted. With a deafening boom, the snow sphere exploded, and snowflakes shot out in all directions like sharp arrows, causing the entire Taiji Hall to tremble weakly. The main beams didn't break, but the beautiful interior decorations were all shattered into rubble on the ground!

Several figures shot out. Wang Shisanlang and Haitang fell powerlessly into the debris, spewing blood. Shisanlang's arm, in particular, had long ago been twisted into a gruesome mess of flesh and blood, its meridians completely severed.

The shadow who had thrust out the final sword, dressed in white, lay prostrate before the imperial platform, blood pooling beneath his head, motionless, his life or death unknown. The sword in his hand was weakly grasped, its tip stained with blood.

However, this plain sword had ultimately failed to pierce the Emperor's femoral artery. In this situation, the shadow's assassination attempt, which had clearly pierced the Emperor's flesh, from outside the hall to within, the world shaking, wind and objects flying, the sword tip could not tremble even a thread, could not move even an inch, until it was finally shaken out of His Majesty's body, fruitless!

During that time, the Emperor, relying on his vast sea-like true energy cultivation, and releasing the domineering power with the will of kingship, had suppressed everyone in the space within the round and harmonious boundary. Within this domain, His Majesty's will was the standard for all actions, and no one could resist!

The bright yellow figure stood out so starkly on the messy imperial platform. His Majesty still stood straight, not even glancing at the dragon throne, which had been reduced to a pile of rotten wood behind him. His face was pale, and his hands, visible outside his sleeves, trembled slightly. Though wounded, he remained indomitable and unconquerable.

…

…

The shadow, lying like a dead fish before the imperial platform, suddenly moved. He floated up just like that, his white robes billowing in the wind, blood trickling from the corner of his lips, and with an extremely venomous thrust, he aimed the sword at His Majesty's throat.

The thrust missed, as it should. The shadow's face was pale, and he spat out a single word mixed with blood: "Retreat!"

The moment he delivered that final sword, he had already swiftly retreated. Since the first sword had failed to kill the Emperor, he would have no other chance today. Although the shadow wholeheartedly wanted to avenge Chen Pingping, who had been brutally executed, he was still an assassin. Of the four who had infiltrated the palace today, his judgment was the most discerning, his mind the most steady. If a strike failed, he would naturally retreat gracefully. He was only worried that the two seriously wounded young experts would continue to fight the Emperor to the death, so he shouted that word.

Before the sound of that word had even faded, three figures roared through the air within the now devastated Taiji Hall, rushing towards the outside. Haitang Duoduo, with the lightest injuries, fell to the rear. Her floral cotton-padded jacket unfurled, turning into a flurry of floral shadows, blooming within the hall's dark space.

The moment the flowers disappeared, the three Rank 9 experts vanished from the Taiji Hall. The Emperor remained silently standing on the imperial platform, surprisingly not giving chase. Earlier, with the release of his ultimate, unyielding domain, the three experts had been seriously wounded and could no longer recover. Escaping the hall at this point was already a desperate act. If the Emperor were to strike now, he could probably easily kill them.

The Emperor didn't move. He merely quietly lowered his head, opened his hands, and felt the cold, painful sensation on his neck, looking at the flesh that had been cut open on his chest, the bloodstains seeping out of his bright yellow dragon robe, and the bleeding wound at his thigh.

Clear pain transmitted from the three wounds to his mind, causing the powerful Emperor to be somewhat dazed. How long has it been since *Zhen* was injured? Even three years ago on Mount Dong, when facing Ku He and Si Gu Jian, the Emperor only expended his vast true energy and supreme spiritual aura, nurtured over a lifetime. But today… facing a few mere youths, *Zhen* has been injured?

The Emperor reached out with his left hand and wiped at his chest, looking at the blood on his pure white palm, and frowned slightly. He felt an uncontrollable sense of fatigue, and for the first time, he asked himself inwardly, could it be that *Zhen* is truly growing old?

A chilling glint flashed in his eyes. He knew clearly the identities of the four who had attacked today. An Zhi certainly didn't need to be mentioned; the boy had actually managed to release his sword aura today, his talent and diligence were truly remarkable. And the shadow had always followed that old dog, yet had remained hidden in the Emperor's presence. The number one assassin in the world was indeed impressive.

As for the two closed-door disciples of Ku He and Si Gu Jian, the Emperor was also familiar with them. Although he hadn't met Haitang Duoduo, he understood the saintess of Northern Qi thoroughly, knowing her relationship with Fan Xian. The Emperor had even once considered having Fan Xian marry this woman. Wang Shisanlang… the scene on Mount Dong back then was etched in the Emperor's mind, and he admired the young man.

Apart from the shadow, these three outstanding young people would undoubtedly be the most remarkable figures in the world in the future. Today, they had assassinated the Emperor together, and although they had failed, they had failed so spectacularly that the Emperor couldn't help but admire them and feel a murderous intent.

The Emperor slowly walked out of the quiet Taiji Hall, taking each step deliberately, slowly sorting out the domineering true energy within his body, which had begun to show signs of instability. His face was cold, his eyes unusually frigid, and he quietly looked at the palace gates directly in front of the imperial city, which had been successfully opened by Fan Xian and the others.

He didn't care how Fan Xian and the others had managed to open the palace gates under the noses of the imperial guards and soldiers, nor was he worried that these thorns in his side, these young and proud enemies who reminded him of his aging, would simply disappear into the sea of people.

"Kill them all," the Emperor said calmly, as if stating an everyday matter, confidently and ruthlessly sealing the fate of those young experts who had just escaped the palace. Then, he took a brand new, clean dragon robe from Yao, the eunuch who had just arrived at the hall entrance, and began to change.

…

…

The shadow retreated the fastest. He grabbed the semiconscious Fan Xian in the snow, grunted, and forced down the blood that was surging in his body. Like a bird, he floated towards the palace gates with eerie swiftness. Behind him, Wang Shisanlang followed in an awkward posture, and Haitang Duoduo, who had already taken off her floral cotton-padded jacket and was wearing plain clothes, followed calmly at the rear.

At this moment, all four of them had suffered injuries of varying degrees, and crossing the palace walls had become an almost impossible task. Their only option was to rush towards the palace gates. However, everyone knew that the palace gates directly in front of the Taiji Hall were the most heavily guarded place in the entire imperial city. But the shadow coldly rushed forward, without the slightest hesitation. This wasn't because of Fan Xian's instructions, but because he was from Dongyi City. He knew what the Sword Sanctum had the most of.

Earlier, the trump card used by the people of Northern Qi was the giant city-defense crossbow in a corner tower of the imperial city. When that muffled sound rang out, the imperial city's guards and soldiers finally realized that assassins had entered the palace today. However, the life-and-death struggle inside and outside the Taiji Hall had started too quickly and ended too quickly. By the time the four experts rushed towards the palace gates, some of the top experts among the imperial guards were gathering towards the corner tower of the imperial city. The imperial guards who remained at the palace gates had only just managed to organize themselves into a formation, like a large net.

However, this net, barely woven, was torn apart by the sword light that soared into the sky. Four soaring, frigid sword lights rose from who knows where, twisting the imperial guards' formation at the palace gates into utter chaos. Limbs flew, blood sprayed, and screams erupted!

The thirteen disciples of the Dongyi City Sword Sanctum, apart from those whom Fan Xian had dispatched to Jiangnan to protect Su Wenmao and Xia Xifei, and apart from the few who remained in Dongyi City to maintain the morale, a total of four Rank 9 swordsmen had arrived!

No one knew how these Rank 9 swordsmen had secretly infiltrated the palace, but people knew that the Sword Sanctum disciples terrified the world with their murderous intent. At the Rank 9 level, they carried out assassinations. Apart from the Sixth Bureau of the Overseeing Department, which was under the control of the shadow, no other force in the world could resist them.

In just a moment, the imperial guards, caught off guard, were thrown into great disorder. The heavy palace gates were also pulled open a crack. Amidst the angry howls of the imperial guard generals and the on-duty soldiers, the four Sword Sanctum disciples coldly controlled the deep palace gate avenue, carving out a tiny space, protecting Fan Xian and the other three, who had fled from the snow and the Taiji Hall, like wisps of ghostly souls, flashing out of the palace gate gap and rushing towards the vast, desolate, and cold plaza in front of the imperial city.

Fan Xian had suffered a finger strike from the Emperor, his index finger shattered, and his body was being ravaged by that powerful, domineering true energy. If his meridians hadn't been different from ordinary people and he hadn't been cultivating true energy of the same nature as Qing Emperor, he would have been blown up by that finger strike, which was as heavy as Mount Dong.

But even though he had survived, he still felt countless ruptures had formed in his meridians. Inside and outside his body, it was as if countless red-hot thin wires were moving around, and his mind was crackling. That unbearable pain pierced his mind, and the human instinct for self-preservation made it easy for him to pass out from such intense pain.

However, Fan Xian couldn't pass out, because he knew that he hadn't yet escaped the palace alive. He had vaguely seen the clear and violent sword intent released by the Sword Sanctum disciples, and his brows furrowed in pain, because these Sword Sanctum disciples weren't arranged by him. He had never thought of dragging the Sword Sanctum into this mess.

The shadow was a former official of the Overseeing Department, Haitang was his woman, and Shisanlang was his friend. The three people who had participated in the assassination today were all Fan Xian's personal connections. After all, this was a gentleman's fight with His Majesty. His Majesty could tolerate Fan Xian finding these people to help, and he could guess it too. However, if Fan Xian had used the power of Dongyi City or even Northern Qi, things would probably become even more troublesome.

And what was even more troublesome was the silence outside the palace at this moment. The plaza in front of the imperial city, amidst a stretch of white snow, was so quiet that it seemed like there wasn't a single person there. When the four Sword Sanctum disciples also turned into ghostly shadows, escorting Fan Xian and the other three onto the snowy ground of the imperial city's outer plaza, it seemed that only the sound of their footsteps could be heard in the entire world, which seemed so desolate.

This deathly silence was too eerie, and everyone knew that there was a problem. Although Fan Xian had no intention of using the Sword Sanctum disciples, the route he had arranged to leave the palace was the same as the shadow's choice, which no one would have thought of: the main gate of the imperial city. The reason for choosing the main gate of the imperial city was also because Fan Xian had predicted in advance that he would enter the palace to negotiate with His Majesty, and the matter of him poisoning He Zongwei in Kyoto should have already erupted. Those civil officials would definitely come to knock on the palace gates to voice their grievances, and those stubborn censors would kneel in the snow, putting endless pressure on the Emperor.

This had already been confirmed in Yao’s report last night. Therefore, when Fan Xian and the others escaped through the main gate of the imperial city at this moment, they should have seen a ground full of officials with faces of grief and indignation, heard noisy discussions, and the white snow had been trampled into a patch of mud. The servants and attendants from the various residences would be hiding in the distant streets and carriages. The people escaping would be able to take advantage of the chaos to flee. Fan Xian had even thought of how to seize the carriages from the various residences and had already planned a retreat.

However, there was nothing, only a vast expanse of white, utterly clean. The only thing they could see were the footprints and faint shadows left by their group on the snow, and the only thing they could hear was their heavy breathing.

Everyone had noticed the abnormality. The palace gates behind them had already slowly closed again, and the imperial guards inside surprisingly didn't chase after them. However, the shadow still wore a cold expression and flew forward. Even though he knew that something was amiss right now, and that this might be a trap, what else could they do? Other than rushing forward and breaking through.

The plaza in front of the imperial city was extremely majestic and vast. It had once accommodated a crowd of 100,000 during military parades. Three years ago, during the Kyoto rebellion, the Qin and Ye families led large armies to surround the palace, and tens of thousands of troops had gathered here. But today, on a thick blanket of snow, only this group of people who had struggled out of the imperial palace could be seen. They looked so lonely and pitiful.

A series of slight noises came from the rear right of this lone team. The sporadic fighting at the corner towers of the imperial city seemed to have ended, and the spies and assassins whom the people of Northern Qi had planted in Southern Qing for the longest time had probably been wiped out by the imperial guards. But at this moment, two figures fell from the vermilion palace walls at the corner tower!

The imperial city was extremely high, and the two figures fell at an extremely fast speed. It looked like they would fall into the snow and suffer broken bones and death. Unexpectedly, a burst of fierce shouts was heard in the air. One figure drew out a scimitar from his waist and slashed seemingly randomly, but in fact, with exquisite skill, on the palace wall. Each slash left deep marks on the newly repaired vermilion palace wall.

The person was using a pair of scimitars, and his strength was extremely powerful. He could actually maintain his shape in the air. The other person's cultivation was obviously weaker, and he could only use the sword in his hand to insert into his companion's scimitar chain.

In just a few ups and downs, the two figures heavily fell to the ground below the palace wall. The burly expert was not injured and grabbed his partner and ran towards the center of the snowy ground, looking like he wanted to join Fan Xian’s group.

These two people were the few remaining Rank 9 experts in Northern Qi. One of them was the closed-door disciple of Grandmaster Ku He, the number one expert in the Northern Qi imperial palace, Lang Tao. The other was He Daoren!

At this time, Fan Xian’s group had already run to the center of the vast snowy ground and suddenly discovered the inexplicably extra companions. They couldn't help but pause.

In order to cooperate with Fan Xian’s actions, the Little Emperor of Northern Qi was willing to let his two most powerful generals sneak into Southern Qing, which could be said to be a huge investment. However, Lord Lang Tao had just entered Kyoto and didn't have time to display his true abilities. He only had time to cooperate with the spies hidden in the palace and fire a shot with the city-defense crossbow. He could only watch the assassination in front of the Taiji Hall begin and end.

A hero couldn’t display his talent, which was the most depressing thing. Lang Tao, with pure and extremely thick cultivation, didn't even manage to strike the Qing Emperor once before being forced by the imperial guards to escape from the imperial city, and He Daoren next to him had injured his leg and could only be held in his hand.

…

…

“Don’t run.” Fan Xian, who had been held in the shadow’s hands, looked at Lang Tao, who was gradually about to join them, and said coldly. His pupils shrank slightly, and in his heart, there was not only surprise but also a ridiculous anger. Why did the people in the world always think that they could coordinate all the things they wanted to happen? The appearance of both the Sword Sanctum disciples and Lang Tao made Fan Xian's heart turn cold. He had arranged things for so long, and planned for so long, but at this moment, he suddenly lost his foundation. He couldn't help but feel sad.

What made Fan Xian even more sad was the quietness of this world. The group gathered in the snowy ground in the center of the plaza, not very far from the houses in front, and even closer to the T-junction on the right. However, everyone knew that there must be some unknown dangers waiting for them in those places.

Fan Xian had once again been defeated by the old Emperor, completely defeated. The appearance of the Sword Sanctum disciples and the Northern Qi people, Lang Tao, made him lose even the last excuse to save his life. He didn't know that the Emperor had issued a death order in the palace, and he didn't know that his mental war had ultimately failed. A faint sense of exhaustion flashed in his eyes.

The shadow silently stopped. In this snowy world, Haitang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, smiled slightly, walked to Fan Xian, who was sitting on the snow, squatted down and said, "I said long ago, someone like you who is indecisive, wanting to please both sides, is really a very naive idea."

"I just wanted to kill fewer people. After all, these are some personal matters," Fan Xian smiled very reluctantly, sat on the snow, felt the coldness of the ice and snow coming from under his buttocks, and said, "If you are shameless to the extreme, there will be thousands of people to worship you. But I can't do it, otherwise, how could I have made such a scene in the palace today?"

Wang Shisanlang walked to his side with his bloody arm drooping, and said in a hoarse voice, "At least you tried. Although you failed, it's not bad."

Fan Xian spat a mouthful of bloody saliva on the snow next to him and said, panting, "But I'm really afraid of death." Although he said that, there was a very rare tranquil and peaceful light in his eyes.

"It looks like you don't like my arrival very much," Lang Tao walked to Fan Xian's front and said calmly, "It's just that your personal revenge is actually the personal revenge of people like us. So my arrival has nothing to do with you… Of course, I have to admit that I realized for the first time that killing people doesn't have much to do with martial arts cultivation. In this matter, I seem a bit incompetent."

Lang Tao glanced at his junior sister, Haitang Duoduo, and then frowned at Fan Xian and said, "If Duoduo was willing to tell me your plan, maybe the ending would be different today."

"Oh, maybe the ending was destined long ago. People have to believe in fate… But if you can carry me out later, I won't say you're incompetent," Fan Xian smiled miserably, revealing his teeth, and looked at Lang Tao.

In such a vast, quiet snowy ground, this group of assassins, who concentrated the most elite forces in the world today, chatted casually in the middle of the snow, as if no one thought that once the Qing Kingdom's powerful and terrifying state machine began to encircle and suppress them, who could escape?

Countless imperial guards on the imperial city turned into layers of black lines, holding bows and arrows, coldly staring at the assassins in the snow below, ready to fire their arrows at any time. Gong Dian squinted and stood in the middle, looking at the people in the snow, and felt a little heavy in his heart. He didn't know why Lord Fan could still laugh at this time.

At the same time as Fan Xian and the others were talking, the situation in front of the imperial city had already changed. He didn't know how many crossbows and arrows had probed out from the seemingly ordinary houses, and the arrows with a cold gleam, like dense, murderous grass, were aimed at the group of people in the center of the snow!

And at the nearest T-junction, thunderous hooves slowly rang out. More than 2,000 elite cavalry soldiers in iron armor blocked that place to death, leaving no available passage.

Ten thousand arrows pointed at them, who could survive? The iron cavalry charged, where could a physical body resist? Everything seemed to have reached a dead end, and there were no more variables that could change what was happening, delaying the arrival of death.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the mighty cavalry at the T-junction, looked at Ye Zhong, who personally led the troops in front of the cavalry team, looked at the solemn and terrifying arrowheads on the second floor of the houses, and looked at the dozens of men who walked out of the houses, gradually approaching the center of the snow, those dozens of men wearing bamboo hats, extremely cold and indifferent, but with extremely fanatical hearts, he finally couldn't help but sigh.

Back then, it was his arrangement that the Grand Prince's purge of the imperial guards began in those houses, and the Overseeing Department's various departments cooperated with the Black Knights, going along Zhengyang Gate all the way to the T-junction, cutting off the rebel cavalry and nailing Qin Heng to death in front of the imperial city, causing the Old Qin family to be cut off from future generations.

And today, the Emperor’s arrangement was the same as his own three years ago, blocking any chance of survival for him. It was really like history was repeating itself, and he didn’t know if there was something called retribution in the dark.

Surrounding and attacking reinforcements, luring the enemy out of the cage, sweeping away all the forces that dared to resist him, this was a routine that the Emperor had been using for a long time. However, with Mount Dong’s shining example in front, what was today’s lineup? But no matter how often the routine was used, with the support of Qing’s powerful strength, no one could break the Emperor’s strategy.

"There's really nothing new," Fan Xian's pupils were a little distracted, and he muttered vaguely with blood, and then simply tilted his head and fainted in Haitang Duoduo's arms. Today, he had fought with Qing Emperor several times, and finally forced out his fingertip sword energy, but he still couldn't beat the Emperor’s supreme true energy. He was miserably defeated by a finger strike, and the loss of his spiritual energy had already reached the point of exhaustion. It was very remarkable that he could endure until this time before passing out.

The sound of footsteps around the plaza rang out slowly and steadily, and the sound of horses' hooves didn't slow down either. He didn't know how many Qing Kingdom elite soldiers were approaching from all directions of the plaza, gradually bringing the area in the center of the snow into the range of arrows. And those dozens of ascetic monks wearing bamboo hats stood in front of the army, looking at these people coldly. If the long-range attack couldn't completely eliminate the assassins, it would naturally be the time for the iron cavalry and the ascetic monks to take the stage.

At this time, among the group, except for Lang Tao and the four Sword Sanctum experts, there were no more intact people. Faced with such powerful force suppression, everyone knew that they couldn't escape at all. However, having already entered the Rank 9 level, except for Fan Xian, these people had long seen through life and death. There wasn't a trace of fear on anyone’s face.

Lang Tao and the four Sword Sanctum experts looked at each other, each understood what they should do, nodded lightly, and then this Northern Qi imperial palace’s number one expert looked back at Haitang Duoduo with pity, and found that his junior sister’s face didn't have any sad emotions of parting, but just quietly held Fan Xian and smiled slightly.

Lang Tao also smiled, looked at Fan Xian in Haitang’s arms, shook his head and exclaimed, "At this time, he actually fainted so simply. How can people not admire him?"

…

…

The Emperor, who had changed into a clean dragon robe, silently walked up the stone steps of the imperial city. The imperial soldiers who passed by along the way all half-knelt and saluted. No one dared to look directly at the bright yellow color. Eunuch Yao closely followed the Emperor, and suddenly heard the Emperor ask in a deep voice, "Why hasn't there been any movement yet?"

“This…” Eunuch Yao’s heart skipped a beat and he didn’t know how to respond. Of course, he knew that the Emperor hated Lord Fan at this time, but he also knew that His Majesty had been doting on Lord Fan to the bone in recent years. Especially after the death of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, the entire palace knew how much His Majesty loved and cherished Lord Fan. If he had to order to release a volley of arrows now, if Lord Fan died in the chaotic arrows like this, he didn't know how to explain it to His Majesty.

Especially since His Majesty had personally ascended the imperial city at this time, Eunuch Yao felt even more uneasy. If it was just to surround and kill the assassins outside the palace, His Majesty’s arrangement would have been completely sufficient. Why did he have to come to see it himself? He was probably still reluctant in his heart...

"I want to see that rebellious son die before my eyes," the Emperor said coldly, not knowing if he had seen what Eunuch Yao was thinking in his heart, "Release the arrows."

With the Emperor's command, it was impossible to go back on his words. With a command to release the arrows, when the Emperor was still walking on the wide stone steps ascending the imperial city, the soldiers in the plaza released the arrows in their hands. The dense, whistling arrows that broke through the air came like locusts, covering the sky and the sun, shooting directly at the snowy ground in the center of the plaza for about dozens of feet.

If Fan Xian was still in good shape at this time, perhaps he could rely on the mind method he had just comprehended to glide dozens of feet in a straight line and avoid this dense, soul-devouring rain of arrows. But he had already fainted. No one in the world could avoid such a rain of arrows.

At the moment before the Qing army released the arrows, Lang Tao shouted violently, his eyes filled with a fierce light. He grabbed Fan Xian’s body from Haitang's arms, held the iron chain between the two scimitars with one hand, and wielded the two scimitars into a impenetrable light, courageously charging towards the nearest ascetic monks!

…

…

Emperor Qing's slow steps stepped onto the imperial city. The dragon robe was bright yellow and compelling. His hands were behind his back, unusually stable, without a trace of trembling. His eyes were slightly sunken, unusually cold and indifferent, without a trace of emotion.

He looked at the blood red color on the snowy ground in front of the imperial city, and the scattered arrows on the ground, without the slightest emotion. His gaze shifted slightly, and then he saw Fan Xian, who was protected behind the crowd and was dead or alive. His brows furrowed slightly.

In a dense rain of arrows, the four Sword Sanctum experts guarded the four directions. Relying on their powerful Rank 9 cultivation, they weaved a net of swords, protecting the rest of the people within the net. He didn't know how many arrows were cut off and shattered. However, human power was limited after all. This was different from when Master Sanshi was shot to death by random arrows outside Kyoto back then. Today's Kyoto had thousands or tens of thousands of arrows, falling like rain on the earth. Who could avoid getting wet, who could avoid death?

After the rain of arrows, the four Sword Sanctum experts had been shot by several arrows, but they still stood powerfully in the four directions, blood flowing all over their bodies. He didn't know if these disciples, who inherited Si Gu Jian's violence and ruthlessness, would fall down in the next moment.

And He Daoren, who was on the edge of the sword net, had already been shot into a hedgehog. He was dead and couldn’t be more dead. Back then, this Rank 9 expert of Northern Qi was so glorious, but today, in the face of the powerful imperial power, he was so vulnerable.

No matter how powerful an individual was, in front of a prosperous dynasty, they were still as helpless as ants, unless this person was so powerful that they were no longer human, such as a Grandmaster.

The rain of arrows stopped, and Lang Tao, covered in blood, also retreated. Earlier, he had intended to protect Fan Xian and break out, but ultimately, he couldn't break through the dense rain of arrows. The two soul-devouring scimitars still had to retreat after killing two ascetic monks. Two arrows that pierced into the bone were still stuck in his right shoulder, and blood flowed down.

Haitang glanced at him. Lang Tao didn’t turn around and said silently, “His Majesty has ordered to keep him alive.”

At this time, the group was either injured or dead. Although they were all experts who could dominate one side, from the beginning, they couldn’t form a force and break out bravely, because looking at the Qing Dynasty’s formation, from the beginning, they didn’t leave them any possibility of surviving.

…

…

The Emperor calmly looked at the bloody scenes on the city and said softly after a moment of silence, "Continue."

At the moment when the assassination in the Taiji Hall ended, the Emperor finally felt relieved. The invisible shackles that were pressing on him were gone, so he regained his former confidence and elegance, and began to arrange everything in an orderly manner.

After Mount Dong, no, more precisely, after the incident at the Taiping Villa twenty years ago, what the great Emperor Qing was most wary of in this world was the young man covered in black cloth and the missing box.

And at the Taiji Hall, Emperor Qing had pushed Fan Xian to a dead end, but the box still didn't appear, and Wu Zhu still didn't show up. Emperor Qing’s last vigilance finally disappeared. He could finally be sure that the box was not on Fan Xian’s body, at least not now, and Old Wu...must be trapped in the temple and could no longer come out.

The Emperor squinted slightly, looking at the struggling experts under the imperial city, but he didn't have any big waves in his heart. Just as Fan Xian had thought earlier, it was the same on Mount Dong, let alone these small Rank 9 figures? The Emperor didn't have any proud emotions in his heart, because such trivial matters couldn't make him proud. He just quietly looked at Fan Xian, who was dead or alive, and a faint feeling of fatigue rose in his heart.

With the imperial order on the imperial city, the Qing Kingdom elites who surrounded the entire plaza raised the longbows in their hands again, and the stable arrows once again aimed at the bloody experts in the snow. They didn't know what kind of amazing people these assassins were. They only knew that as long as the arrows in their hands were released, those assassins would have only one way to die, no matter how powerful they were.

Perhaps some military generals or smart soldiers guessed the existence of Lord Fan, saw his existence, and felt a little trembling in their hearts, because Fan Xian's existence in the Qing Kingdom was originally a legend, but this legend was about to be killed by their own hands. As long as they were Qing people, they would probably be shaken.

Just like Ye Zhong, who was lying across the T-junction, Shi Fei, who was behind the archers, and Gong Dian, who was on the imperial city, these three Qing Kingdom military officials felt a slight sadness in their hearts at this moment.

However, the Emperor's order was difficult to disobey, and the military order was difficult to disobey. All the soldiers still raised the longbows in their hands and aimed at that side.

The Emperor's eyes squinted even more fiercely.

…

…

However, the Emperor didn't notice, and no one could notice that on the roof of the Zhaixing Tower, which was a bit far from the imperial city plaza, there was also a person aiming at him on the imperial city.

The Zhaixing Tower was the third tallest building in Kyoto. It was originally an old place for astronomy officials to observe celestial phenomena, but later, when the Ye family’s lady entered the capital, she rebuilt an observatory on the mountain outside Kyoto. Therefore, the Zhaixing Tower was gradually abandoned. No one would pay attention to this place except for the servants who cleaned it daily.

In the cold snow of the first month of Qingli Year 12, there was a thin person lying on the roof of the Zhaixing Tower. A very large white precious fur coat was covering his body, and it matched the white snow on the roof around him, concealing the color of the green servant clothes he was wearing.

This person was extremely well hidden. Under the cover of the wind and snow, he seemed to blend with the snow-covered roof of the Zhaixing Tower.

In front of the precious white fur coat, a cold metal tube stretched out. It was the heavy sniper that had killed Yan Xiaoyi on the grassland!

The person under the white fur coat gently breathed out a breath of heat, warmed his frozen hands, and reattached his eyes to the optical sight, adjusted his breathing, used true energy to recover his somewhat nervous heartbeat, and fixed the view in the mirror on the imperial city, on the Emperor.

The imperial city was very far away, but the Emperor was close at hand. He was very familiar with this feeling, and he was also very adaptable to today's environment, because the snow in the Cangshan mountains at night was actually more difficult to endure than today's snow in Kyoto.

The muzzle under the fur coat moved slightly and made the final adjustment. The finger steadily touched the cold metal, without trembling at all, paused slightly, and then gently pulled the trigger.

There was a soft click, which turned into a muffled sound, which turned into a thunder, and finally turned into a strange wail that tore through the air. Beautiful and terrifying sparks sprayed open.