Sword Roaring in the Sky

Chapter 351 Feng Laozu's Junior Brother (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
There are only five Grandmasters in the court of Da Lang!

With the support of Grand Tutor Wen Xi, Marquis Huo Feihu, Dean of the Imperial Academy Shi Bi, Attendant Hei Guanghan, the youngest top scholar of the imperial examination in Langya, a fifth-rank scholar of the Guanglu Pavilion, a martial arts doctor of the Imperial Academy, the world-renowned poetry champion, and the contemporary Confucian scholar who annotated the Six Classics, Sun Yanwan, the youngest top scholar of the imperial examination in Langya, the best of the best in the world, and the contemporary Confucian scholar who annotated the Six Classics, the effect of their joint support for Zhang Qingxi was predictable!

Half a day later, Han Shi also publicly supported Zhang Qingxi.

With four veteran masters setting an example, the strong support of leaders from both the old and new generations of the literary world, and countless ministers submitting memorials, they requested Zhang Qingxi to ascend the throne, arguing that the country cannot be without a monarch for a single day.

After declining the offer three times, Zhang Qingxi finally accepted the advice of his ministers, honoring his mother, Consort Su, as Empress Dowager and Lady Han as Empress. He then led his ministers with the four Grand Masters and proclaimed this to Heaven and Earth. Almost without warning, he became the new emperor of the Da Lang Dynasty.

Upon ascending the throne, Zhang Qingxi submitted a memorial requesting the arrest of the murderers who killed the late Emperor Zhang Xianwei.

Zhang Qingxi stood in the main hall, his expression shifting between light and dark. After a long while, he finally spoke: "The demonic monk Alando of Longzang Temple killed my ancestor, my father, and my elder brother. This hatred is irreconcilable."

"However, this man is skilled in martial arts, cunning, and possesses a large local power. He is also protected by the bandits of Northern Yan, making it difficult for our army to subdue him."

“I wish to ask the Grand Tutor to act as an envoy to Shaochan Temple and Songyang Mountain, and to ask Zen Master Daku, Master Kongchan, and Celestial Master Zhang Yuanqiao to join forces to capture this murderer and bring him to justice.”

Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor Wenxi sighed and said, "This old minister obeys the decree!"

Wenxi, Huo Feihu, Shi Bi and others were abandoned by Zhang Xianwei. Although they were heartbroken, they still wanted to sacrifice themselves for the country and end their lives for the court. Some even had the thought of dying.

But Hei Guanghan stopped the three and immediately explained the situation, saying, "After the late emperor's death, there is no leader. If you join me in supporting the fourth prince's ascension to the throne, the world will still belong to the Zhang family. If the three of you seek death, I'm afraid that after you die, Zhang Qingxi will not be able to sit on the throne for long, and it will be hard to say who will rule the world."

"It's one thing for the emperor to change his surname, but if the world descends into chaos, how innocent will the people be? Won't there be even more suffering and death?"

"The Southern Xia and Northern Yan are eyeing us covetously. If our Great Lang is thrown into chaos, wouldn't that be tantamount to lighting the flames of their ambitions and inviting them to invade?"

With his silver tongue, Hei Guanghan actually managed to persuade the three men, especially Wenxi. After thinking it over, Wenxi realized that this was indeed the case. If they died, the Zhang family's rule would probably be over. Although Zhang Qingxi was Zhang Yuanqiao's disciple, he had no support in the court, and the martial arts world might not welcome the Songyang Sect's dominance. The emperor's throne would certainly be unstable.

Therefore, after careful consideration, the three agreed to Hei Guanghan's request and fully supported Zhang Qingxi's ascension to the throne. However, Wenxi was still uneasy, which is why he submitted this memorial.

Zhang Qingxi was naturally prepared. He pinned the blame on Longzang Temple and then returned the problem to Wenxi. In any case, Dalang and Beiyan were enemies for generations, so he wasn't afraid of Longzang Temple's explanation. Even if Longzang Temple cried out for innocence, no one in Dalang would believe it.

If Wenxi could persuade Shaochan Temple and Songyang Sect, he would have no grounds for argument. But reality would certainly not be so. Wenxi had no chance of persuading the two great martial arts holy sites. The best and most respectable way was to drive things to a dead end.

Marquis Huo Feihu lowered his head slightly, tacitly agreeing with this statement. Although he knew who the murderers were, as long as he had a reason to appease the public, who cared about the truth?
Sun Yanwan now holds a position in the main hall, so he sent people to search the old residence of the Zhang family of Tianwu and obtained a list of prisoners in the Tianwu prison. After reading it, he could only think to himself, "Zhang Xianwei did not die unjustly."

Excluding those who died in Tianwu Prison, a total of 516 prisoners remained alive. 485 escaped, and the remaining 31 were all crippled by torture; their fates were either too notorious or they had no family, so they were completely ignored when the other prisoners escaped. These prisoners were all extremely famous figures in the martial arts world, including masters and elders from the ten major sword sects, and even six from the Songyang Sect. The highest-ranking among them was Zhou Shuyou, the junior brother of Elder Feng!
Sun Yanwan, a disciple of the Songyang Sect, had no idea that Old Ancestor Feng had such a junior brother.

He can now understand why Old Ancestor Feng wanted to break into the Heavenly Martial Prison back then.

He also learned why Old Ancestor Feng had failed repeatedly: tens of thousands of kilograms of gunpowder from the Bo Shi Kingdom were buried beneath the Tianwu Prison. If anything went wrong, someone would ignite it, and no matter how high Old Ancestor Feng's martial arts skills were, he would be helpless. If Emperor Zhang Xianwei of Da Lang had not personally released these people, even if a god came, he would not have been able to rescue them.

When Sun Yanwan learned the identities of these people, she felt extremely troubled. Even with the best prediction, it was impossible for these people, after being imprisoned by the Zhang family of Tianwu for many years, to be without resentment and willing to be obedient subjects of Dalang.

I'm afraid everyone wants to uproot the Zhang family of Tianwu, overthrow the Dalang Dynasty, and exterminate every member of the Zhang family.

If it were someone else who ascended the throne, it would be fine, but the eldest brother is still a member of the Tianwu Zhang family, a direct descendant of the Dalang Dynasty. No matter how you explain it, there is no way to justify it.

After seeing the list, Sun Yanwan had only one thought—destroy it! Hurry up.

He also considered whether to persuade his senior brother to give up the throne and wander the world with him.
But then he realized that this was even more impossible. Not to mention that if someone else became emperor, the Great Lang would inevitably descend into chaos and become unpredictable. Even if Zhang Qingxi gave up the throne, could he really give up the bloodline of the Zhang family of Tianwu?
Sun Yanwan was troubled when she heard her eldest brother say, "Let's adjourn the court today. I'll bury my father in the imperial mausoleum first, and then we can discuss important state affairs."

Sun Yanwan then heard her senior brother say, "Minister Sun, please stay here."

Countless court officials looked at Sun Yanwan with envy. Everyone knew that Sun Yanwan was unparalleled in both literary and martial arts, and was also Zhang Qingxi's junior brother. He was bound to have a smooth official career and be given important responsibilities. However, there was no way to compete in terms of status, so there was nothing to envy.

Zhang Qingxi led Sun Yanwan to the back garden, handed her two scrolls, and said, "One scroll is a fragment of the Divine Staff Technique collected by the Great Lang royal family, and the other scroll is the Heavenly Martial Divine Skill. You have already advanced to the Grandmaster level, so you can learn it."

Sun Yanwan took the two scrolls of secret manuals and said, "Senior Brother, what should we do with those who escaped from Tianwu Prison?"

"They have been imprisoned for decades and have suffered all kinds of torture. I'm afraid their hatred is hard to quell."

Zhang Qingxi said calmly, "This is Zhang's original sin. What can I do but accept it all?"

"I never expected that we would actually have a grandmaster uncle."

"This Master Zhou has been imprisoned for over fifty years. I wonder how much resentment he must have accumulated in his heart."

(End of this chapter)