You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Yue Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the garrison in Nantong numbers 30,000."

"Including the power of local powerful families, it's equivalent to 50,000 soldiers."

"If it's a battle on the plains, I only need 30,000 troops, but if it's a siege..."

He paused, then continued, "At least 100,000 troops are needed."

The Divine Martial Camp has only 60,000 men...

"Your Majesty, is Nantong plotting a rebellion in response to Dongyang?"

Lu Zuo nodded and gave a brief overview of Nantong.

"Yue Qing, you often fight in the army, so you should know that Nantong is the southern hub of our Great Chen Dynasty, and its strategic location is extremely important."

"If it falls into Shen Xun's hands, it will threaten the safety of the capital."

"The reorganization of the five major camps is not yet complete; only your Shenwu Camp remains."

"Therefore, I intend to start from within Nantong..."

The two discussed for a full hour before Yue Qing took his leave and returned to the Divine Martial Camp to prepare.

Lu Zuo changed into civilian clothes, left the palace, and headed straight for Shen An's residence with his guards.

……

At this moment, at the Shen residence.

"well……"

Ever since Lu Qingyuan was taken by Lu Zuo and imprisoned in the mansion, Shen An has been filled with sorrow and hatred.

Her once jet-black hair had turned a few shades of silver-white in the past few days.

He glanced at the Imperial Guards outside the door, sighed softly, and continued pacing back and forth in the room.

"You bastard!"

"The hatred for the insult to one's mother is irreconcilable!"

"If I ever get the chance, I'll tear you to pieces!"

Even though the Shen family of Wuxing suffered heavy losses, with 70% of its members killed, Shen An believed he still had a chance!

Because the Shen family's foundation still exists!

Dongyang is still here!

Moreover, the Southern Chen dynasty is already showing signs of collapse. As long as my grandfather makes contact with the Sui dynasty and works with the Sui army from within, he can kick this beast who insulted my mother off the throne!

Thinking of her mother, Shen An felt another pang of heartache.

She suffered so much injustice and humiliation for her sake...

Thinking of this, he pushed open the door and walked towards Lu Qingyuan's bedroom, intending to comfort his mother.

however……

As Shen Angang walked to the window of his mother's bedroom, he heard soft singing coming from inside.

He stopped and looked over, and saw Lu Qingyuan sitting in front of the dressing table, wearing a long red begonia dress, slowly and methodically drawing her willow eyebrows, her eyes sparkling with water, and she had a bit of the bright and charming demeanor of a young girl.

Shen An noticed that her mother was different...

The paleness and exhaustion of the past few days had vanished without a trace, replaced by a rosy blush on his face, and a smile that unconsciously appeared on his lips—a smile he had never seen since his father's death.

My mother...

Why is this so?

Just then, a series of noisy footsteps came from behind.

"His Majesty?"

Inside the room, Lu Qingyuan, who was doing her hair and makeup, looked up at the window, her gaze passing over her son and landing on Lu Zuo, who was leading the guards in.

Her face lit up with joy, and she hurriedly ran out of the room to Lu Zuoshen. She knelt down gracefully, her voice filled with delight and a touch of tenderness:

"This humble servant, Lu Qingyuan, greets Your Majesty."

Shen An was dumbfounded!

Mother……

They're actually cheering for this dog emperor?

Lu Zuo came to explain the matters concerning Shen An and Nantong, but after seeing Lu Qingyuan, he felt that a few hours wouldn't make a difference.

"Madam, please get up."

He took Lu Qingyuan's hand, ignored Shen An by the window, and walked into the bedroom, while the guards sensibly closed the doors and windows.

"My lady, I am very angry right now."

"Put your hair up in a bun."

Lu Zuo's voice came from inside, and Shen An naturally knew what was happening in the room.

He trembled all over, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingertips dug deep into his flesh, and he was so angry that he almost ground his back teeth to powder. He turned and left the place.

"Come back." Lu Zuo's voice came from inside.

Shen An immediately stopped and bowed, asking, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"Tomorrow, you and your mother will travel south by boat with the Divine Martial Camp."

"After arriving in Nantong, I did as Yue Qing instructed."

Lu Zuo's voice continued to come from inside the room, interspersed with indistinct female moans.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

Lu Zuo added, "This is your last chance. If you handle things in Nantong well, you can be pardoned."

Upon hearing this, Shen An immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "This sinful subject kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace."

Amidst a series of "mmm" sounds, Lu Zuo's gentle voice rang out again: "Alright, go down now."

The next day.

Shen An and Lu Qingyuan, escorted by Shangguan Jing, Gu Han and others, followed the Shenwu Camp army to Nantong.

……

A dozen days later, in the wilderness, in a dilapidated temple.

A campfire crackled and burned, its flames flickering and casting several shadows on the mottled wall.

The air was filled with the mixed smells of rotten wood, dust, and burning dry branches.

"call……"

Lu Zuo opened his eyes, exhaled a long breath, and stood up from the ground.

"My internal energy has recovered to about 70-80%, let's continue on our way."

Not long after Shen An and the others left the capital, he also set off alone, and it took him more than ten days to get close to Nantong.

The reason I went alone was to travel incognito and trigger my second talent.

Moreover, with his current cultivation level, it doesn't make much difference whether he brings the palace guards or not.

But there was no response at all along the way.

Lu Zuozhen wondered if his luck of being over eighty was real.

He raised his hand and waved, his true energy bursting forth to extinguish the bonfire in the temple. Then he walked to the temple gate, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his figure instantly became ethereal.

With a whoosh!

Lu Zuo vanished from his spot, landing several feet away. Then, he moved swiftly, as if teleporting, and sped off on his way.

He had only walked a dozen or so miles when he suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly: "The sound of fighting?"

From the southwest, the clanging of metal against metal echoed in the air, mixed with roars, curses, and screams.

There was another reason why Lu Zuo set off alone.

I want to take this opportunity to see if I can experience a few battles and gain more experience.

But the result...

The journey was peaceful and uneventful; we didn't even encounter a robber!

With a thought, he unleashed his ethereal footwork, his figure becoming illusory once more, and shot off in search of the sound.

……

At this moment, in the wilderness, near a dense forest, the sounds of fighting echoed incessantly.

"Chen Laosan!"

"My Ironclad Escort Agency has never shortchanged you by a single penny over the years, is that really the case?"

A burly man, with a rugged face and a sharp glint in his eyes, appeared to be in his forties. He stood in front of the wagon loaded with goods, holding a broadsword, and shouted in a deep voice.

"hey-hey……"

Standing before him was a gaunt middle-aged man with prominent cheekbones, his eyes narrowed to slits, gleaming with a sharp, aggressive light.

He grinned: "In this chaotic world, where is morality to be found?"

"All I want now is to make a fortune and leave Chen!"

"Jiang Che, you're just unlucky."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Laosan pushed off with his toes, sending the grass flying and his body shooting out close to the ground like a venomous snake pouncing on its prey.

Before even getting close to the burly man, he nimbly turned around and circled behind him at a strange angle.

at the same time!

With a swift upward thrust of both arms, two sharp thorns shot out from the sleeves!

Hiss!

The sharp spikes tore through the air, creating two whooshing sounds, heading straight for the burly man's nape!

Jiang Che bent forward to avoid Chen Laosan's sudden attack, then twisted his waist, swung his arm, and slashed horizontally with his blade!

"hey-hey……"

"Jiang Che, your cultivation has improved significantly recently."

Chen Laosan chuckled, lightly pushed off with his feet, and flew backwards, his back brushing against the grass, covering more than ten feet in an instant.

And just then!

A sword light plummeted straight down from the sky!

The person wielding the sword was a slender young woman in her early twenties, dressed in dark, close-fitting clothes, with fair skin and delicate features.

"Lin Yue?"

Old Chen's eyes darkened, and he grinned, "You're still not married, are you?"

"What's wrong? No scions of prominent families have taken a liking to you?"

As he spoke, he braced himself with his left hand on the ground, and his body spun and shifted in mid-air to avoid the sword blade that attacked from mid-air!

Tsk!

The longsword pierced the grass, all the way to the hilt!

The woman with the sword swung her body backward, flipping over and landing on her feet. As she did so, she drew her sword, kicking up a cloud of sand and mud, which shot towards Chen Laosan!

"Heh heh, you think you can interfere in my battle with Chief Escort Jiang with your measly Fourteen Styles of Soaring Clouds Sword Technique?"

"It's still not quite there yet!"

Chen Laosan let out a strange laugh, his figure swayed slightly, and he instantly disappeared from the spot.

When it reappeared, it was already behind the woman with the sword!

With a flick of his wrist, another sharp dagger appeared from his sleeve and stabbed straight at the woman's temple!

Its speed was so fast, like a thunderbolt, that the woman had no time to react!

Clang!

Just then!

A cold light shot from afar, striking precisely the dagger in Chen Laosan's hand.

An immense force swept over him, spreading along the sharp thorn throughout his body, causing his arm to go numb and his tiger's mouth to split open. The sharp thorn also flew off involuntarily and fell onto the grass several dozen feet away.

"Who is it?"

Chen Laosan's expression changed drastically, and he was terrified. He shouted in a low voice while looking around to search for the person who had made the move.

soon……

His gaze pierced through the chaotic battlefield where hundreds of people were fighting, landing on a tall, upright man holding a long sword.

Who are you?

Before he finished speaking, the man's figure immediately became illusory, constantly changing position, and each time he changed position, he would get several feet closer to me.

In just a few breaths, he had traversed more than twenty zhang and arrived near Chen Laosan. At the same time, he raised his knife to the sky and then brought it down suddenly, bringing with it a flash of cold light!

Whoosh!

With a single stroke, blood gushed forth!

The menacing blade cut diagonally downwards along Chen Laosan's neck, extending all the way to his waist.

"A one-hit kill?"

The woman wielding the sword stared blankly at the man who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, then exclaimed in shock, "Mastered Innate Realm?"

After dealing with this person, Lu Zuo flicked his wrist, and the Thousand Blade Fragments that had just blocked the sharp spikes were drawn back by his true energy, snapping back together with a crack.

The scene before us clearly showed that bandits and robbers were attacking the escort agency.

After all, there were more than a dozen carriages with flags of escort displayed there.

Lu Zuo's figure blurred as he charged towards the bandits with his sword!

In an instant, blades flashed, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the whistling wind and screams echoed endlessly.

He swept across the battlefield like a storm, leaving no one in his path unscathed!

"This person..."

Jiang Che stared in disbelief: "Just who is this person?"

The woman with the sword stared at Lu Zuo's figure: "To have such cultivation at such a young age, he must be a noble young master from a prestigious family."

suddenly!

Another streak of blue light rushed in from afar!

The opponent was extremely tall, like a solitary peak, wielding a broadsword, and charged at the enemy like a whirlwind!

As he approached the vicinity of the battlefield, he suddenly raised his blade, unleashing a fierce blade aura that instantly severed the heads of several bandits.

"Another one who has reached the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm?"

……

With Lu Zuo and this blue-robed swordsman on the team, the outcome of this battle was a foregone conclusion.

In less than 15 minutes, hundreds of bandits had been killed by the two men, and the scene was littered with corpses and flowing blood.

Clang!

The young swordsman sheathed his sword, glancing at Lu Zuo who was also sheathing his, and thought to himself, "This man's swordsmanship, and his sword..."

"Incredibly impressive, and incredibly strange!"

He was a brilliant young man with exceptional talent, and came from a wealthy and influential family, which made him naturally proud and arrogant.

In the world today, whether it is the State of Chen or the State of Sui.

There has never been a peer whom he takes seriously!

However, Lu Zuo's mastery of the Innate Realm and the peculiarity of the Demon Blade Thousand Blades aroused his curiosity.

"I am Song Que from Lingnan."

Thinking of this, he stepped forward, cupped his hands in a fist and palm salute, and asked, "May I ask your esteemed name, young master?"

Lu Zuo was not disguised, but Song Que had never seen the emperor before, otherwise he would have already stepped forward to kneel and pay his respects.

Song Que?

Who will be the Heavenly Blade Master in the future?

The number one expert in the Tang Dynasty whose strength surpasses even the three Grandmasters?

"Song Que?"

"Are you the eldest son of the Song family of Lingnan, the young master Song, known as the number one martial arts prodigy in Lingnan?"

Just as Lu Zuo was about to speak, he heard a woman's exclamation.

Looking up, I saw the woman with the sword running towards me, her eyes sparkling and her pretty face showing excitement.

"My name is Lin Yue, and I thank Young Master Song for saving my life."

Song Que waved his hand: "It was just an act of kindness, young lady, there's no need for that."

Lin Yue smiled faintly: "If it weren't for Young Master Song's intervention, we would have already perished at the hands of the mountain bandits."

"How can I not thank you for saving my life?"

"Oh, right..."

She turned to look at Lu Zuo: "This young master is composed and skilled; he must also come from a prestigious family, right?"

"My name is Lu Zuo, and I come from a commoner background."

Just an ordinary person?

Lin Yue's smile froze slightly, and she continued, "It is truly rare for a commoner to possess such cultivation and demeanor."

"With your abilities, young master, you will surely amount to something extraordinary in the future."

After saying that, she turned to look at Song Que: "Young Master Song is no longer in Lingnan, so why are you here?"

Song Que replied calmly, "I was traveling with a friend and just happened to pass by... Miss Fan?"

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes lit up, and he bypassed Lin Yue to greet a woman in white.

Upon reaching the woman, he said gently, "Miss Fan, your holy body should not be in such a blood-stained place."

Fan Qinghui smiled faintly: "I was a little worried, so I came to check on you."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Lu Zuo intentionally or unintentionally, then quickly returned to Song Que in front of her.

I came here to get close to this tyrant, so why are you smiling so brightly?

"A Tyrant Ruler Across the Heavens, You Don't Understand My Joy" is a free book available on the "Renren Bookstore" app. Search "Renren Bookstore" on Baidu to download and install the Android app. Read the latest chapters of "A Tyrant Ruler Across the Heavens, You Don't Understand My Joy" anytime!