Simultaneous travel: Starting from returning to the main god space.

Chapter 393 Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River... Respect for the Dead (Seeking monthly votes! Seeking follow-up subscriptions!)

Jianzhou, the Martial Arts Alliance.

Xu Qi'an slowly woke up and saw an unfamiliar ceiling, his eyes filled with a sense of disorientation.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Just as Xu Qi'an was asking himself three questions, a torrent of memories surged in, giving him no chance to react. It forcefully entered his brain and flowed rapidly.

Xu Qi'an, courtesy name Ningyan, was jilted by his fiancée due to his family's decline. Later, during his exile, he met Cao Qingyang, the leader of the martial arts alliance. Seeing that he had good aptitude, Cao Qingyang took him in as a disciple. However, in recent years, he has been ridiculed by his fellow disciples for failing to break through to the Qi Refining Realm.

Xu Qi'an couldn't stand this injustice, so in a fit of anger, he began to cultivate relentlessly, determined to crush the other disciples.

And then... he actually got himself killed.

He overdid his training, went into a state of demonic possession, and was subsequently taken over by the soul of another world.

Xu Qi'an sighed inwardly, mourned for the original owner for three seconds, and then began to cheer up.

A story of a loser who annulls his engagement!

He knew this well; fortunes change every thirty years! The deceased was… ptooey! It's true, don't underestimate a young man's potential!
Xu Qi'an became more and more excited as he thought about it, as if he could already see a bright tomorrow beckoning to him. He quickly looked down at his palm and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was indeed wearing a black ring on his index finger.

"Hey! Grandpa! Are you there? Come out quickly, I know you're inside!"

With the thought that it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, Xu Qi'an called out to the ring, hoping that a wisp of green smoke would drift out of the ring and transform into the phantom of an old man with a white beard.

Well, it doesn't matter if he's not an old man, a 36D lady is fine too, he's not picky!
Unfortunately, after calling for several minutes, the ring did not respond at all.

Just as Xu Qi'an was about to give up, a helpless sigh echoed in his mind.

……

That night, at the Great Feng Imperial Palace.

As night deepened, it was already the latter half of the Xu hour, around 8 PM.

Normally, during this time of year, apart from the faint footsteps of the guards on night patrol changing shifts, the entire Da Feng Imperial Palace should have been completely silent.

But tonight's situation is a little different.

The camera zooms in to the main hall where ministers usually hold court and exchange verses with the emperor. But now it is brightly lit, as bright as day, with melodious music from the strings and flutes constantly emanating from it, interspersed with singing and dancing.

Meanwhile, on the dragon throne at the highest point of the main hall, Wu Xian, dressed in a black casual outfit, was looking down at the girls dancing, playing the zither, and singing with a look of rapture.

His lips curled slightly, his eyes were languid, and he occasionally tapped the table laden with delicacies in front of him with the tip of his right finger, as if he were keeping time for the music and dance. It gave one the illusion that he was the master of the Great Feng Palace, inviting his ministers to enjoy a banquet of song and dance.

However, at this moment, most of the guests below the main hall had stiff, ashen expressions, as if they were suffering from chronic constipation.

Especially at the very front, several cabinet ministers led by Grand Secretary Wang Zhenwen, along with some princes and members of the imperial family of Dafeng, clenched their fists, veins bulging on their foreheads, as if they were about to overturn the table in front of them at any moment and point at Wu Xian on the dragon throne, cursing him.

Rebellion, regicide.

These two things can often be equated, but generally speaking, the former must be accomplished first before the latter can be accomplished.

However, the man in front of them did not play by the rules at all. He killed the emperor with lightning speed, and then brazenly took all the members of the Great Feng royal family hostage. He somehow gained control of the Imperial Guards and the night watchmen, casting his shadow over the entire capital.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhenwen couldn't help but look at Wei Yuan, Zhao Shou, and Luo Yuheng sitting opposite him, as well as the great scholars from Yunlu Academy and the disciples of several supervisors from the Imperial Observatory who had also been invited. A flicker of anger flashed in his eyes. These cultivators, usually so aloof and indifferent to worldly affairs, proved utterly useless in this crucial moment. Is this how you protect the Great Feng?
Look at what you've been protecting!
Faced with Wang Zhenwen's righteous gaze, apart from Wei Yuan and Zhao Shou who remained calm, the rest of the group looked embarrassed and bewildered. They clearly didn't understand why things had turned out this way, as if they had skipped through a lot of plot developments.

And so, some time passed, and the singing and dancing in the main hall gradually ceased. Wu Xian seemed to finally remember everyone, and said with a smile:

"I apologize to everyone. We've been under pressure for too long and naturally wanted to relax. Please forgive any neglect in our duties!"

No one responded to him; everyone remained silent, and an awkward atmosphere filled the air.

After a long while, Zhao Shoucai coughed and said helplessly:
"Muzhi, stop keeping me in suspense. Just tell me the truth, and I think everyone here will understand what you're doing."

Wang Zhenwen gave a cold laugh.

understand?

What a joke! No matter the reason, the crime of regicide is unforgivable. This kid can't get away with this even if he spouts all sorts of nonsense today.

Regardless of what others think, even if Wang Zhenwen were to die by crashing into a pillar or be nailed to a coffin, he would never support such a traitorous scoundrel.

Wu Xian smiled slightly and clapped twice.

Immediately afterwards, a group of eunuchs entered the hall, carrying a pile of scrolls. They placed them on the table in front of everyone and then withdrew.

"Gentlemen, this is why I killed Emperor Yuanjing. Please take your time to read it. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask. I guarantee you will be convinced."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Wei Yuan sighed, picked up a book that looked like a memorial, looked at the contents, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

This kid probably already prepared all these things a long time ago.

Well, at least it proves that he has always been Wu Xian, and not anything else.

With Wei Yuan taking the lead, others also began to peruse the books in their hands with some skepticism. This included members of the imperial family of Da Feng, as well as the Crown Prince, Huaiqing, and Lin'an, who were children of Emperor Yuanjing.

Huaiqing was quick-witted and the most intelligent of all her brothers and sisters. She read most of the memorials and documents at a glance, and then gradually pieced them together based on the annotations. A strange emotion began to grow in her mind, making her feel breathless.

Just then, Wu Xian's voice came from above.

"In this world, those who possess great fortune cannot live forever, even those of the highest rank are no exception."

"Even a Confucian sage as powerful as him could not defy the rules of heaven and earth. He was clearly invincible, yet he only lived to be eighty-two. The same was true for the emperor who carried the fortune of a nation. So, after the founding emperor became a first-rank martial artist, he could only watch himself slowly grow old and die."

"According to historical records, the late Emperor Zhende feared death and longed for immortality in her later years. Some of you should know this, so I will not go into details here."

"But there is something you may not know: in the twenty-sixth year of Joan of Arc's reign, the leader of the Earth Sect went mad and developed evil thoughts, and in order to survive, these evil thoughts corrupted Joan of Arc."

"The leader of the Earth Sect tempted Emperor Zhende with the promise of immortality, which would allow him to live longer, at least longer than a normal monarch."

"That year, Empress Joan of Arc's health deteriorated, and coupled with the contamination, she agreed to the suggestion of the head of the Earth Sect."

"That same year, with the help of the Earth Sect's leader, Emperor Zhende began cultivating the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, assimilating the young Prince Huai and refining him into an avatar. She also planted a seed of demonic thought into Yuan Jing's soul, waiting for it to grow."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)