Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

The wind in Funing Palace was chilly.

The golden dragon pillar, which was teetering on the brink of collapse from the impact of the innate true energy, occasionally emitted a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound, as if reminding the kneeling officials that what had just happened was not an illusion.

The stench of blood hadn't dissipated; in fact, it was amplified by the draft from the broken walls.

Shi Miyuan knelt on the ground, his knees already numb. He secretly lifted his eyelids and glanced at the dragon throne.

The little girl named Zhao Ling was huddled in the corner of the large dragon throne, clutching the cloth tiger with a broken leg in her hand, her big eyes staring at them warily, like a frightened kitten.

Who would have thought that this is the current master of the Song Dynasty?

What's even more dangerous is that this young master has a ticking time bomb hidden inside him that could explode at any moment.

"Prime Minister..." Chen Gui, the Vice Minister of Rites, lowered his voice, his teeth still chattering, "How... how can we explain this to the people? His Majesty... the late Emperor's body is still lying there."

Shi Miyuan felt a shiver run through his body.

He turned his head and glanced at Zhao Kuo's headless corpse not far away, then looked at the bloodstains all over the ground.

Explain?

Tell the truth?

The story goes that a Taoist priest broke into the palace, slaughtered the emperor like a chicken, and then forced us to make a little girl the emperor.

What about the dignity of the Song Dynasty? What about the authority of the imperial court?!

Most importantly, if we label Shen Mo as a traitor, what if that evil star hears about it and launches a counterattack?

Shi Miyuan was a smart man.

To rise to the position of prime minister, one must not only be ruthless, but also thick-skinned and quick-witted.

He took a deep breath, and two hot tears suddenly welled up in his cloudy old eyes.

"The late emperor... the late emperor!"

Shi Miyuan suddenly burst into tears and began kowtowing to the broken pillar, crying, "How could you be so foolish! You insisted on defying the heavens, angering the gods and summoning heavenly lightning!"

The surrounding ministers were all dumbfounded.

Thunder?

Where did that heavenly lightning come from? That was clearly shattered by that evil Taoist priest with a single slap!

Chen Gui was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and immediately wailed, "Yes! That loud bang just now was clearly divine thunder from the heavens! The late emperor... the late emperor has been punished by heaven!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I saw it too!" another quick-witted censor chimed in, "A bolt of blue lightning cleaved the main hall, directly... alas, it was a horrific sight!"

This group of shrewd individuals, who usually scheme against each other, displayed an astonishing level of teamwork at this moment.

Since we can't beat that Taoist priest, we'll just worship him.

They worshipped him as a god, and the emperor's death at his hands was considered "divine will" and "divine punishment."

Since it's divine punishment, what can they, as subjects, do?

Shi Miyuan wiped away non-existent tears, turned around, and kowtowed heavily to Zhao Ling on the dragon throne.

"Yet, Heaven blesses the Great Song! Though the divine lightning was fierce, it did not harm the new emperor in the slightest! This is Heaven's favor, recognizing that Her Highness the Princess... no, His Majesty, is the true restorer of the Great Song!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The courtiers cheered loudly.

Zhao Ling shrank back in fright, almost dropping the cloth tiger in her hand. She didn't understand what a "restoration ruler" meant; she only remembered that the handsome Taoist uncle saying that if these people dared to bully her, she would cry.

She sniffed, her eyes reddening, but before she could even cry out, Shi Miyuan was already terrified.

"Your Majesty, please don't cry! Please don't cry!"

Shi Miyuan scrambled forward a few steps, his old face beaming with a smile brighter than a chrysanthemum. He pulled a jade pendant from his sleeve, barely warm from its handle. "Your Majesty, I'll have someone find you the best playmate and the most delicious sweets! As long as Your Majesty is happy, I'll even let you ride my old bones like a horse!"

joke.

If you cry like that, everyone will turn into fireworks.

Zhao Ling blinked her big eyes and watched as the usually imposing prime minister fawned over her like an old dog. Suddenly, the fear in her heart faded.

The Taoist priest wasn't lying.

These people have truly become slaves.

……

"Then...what about the Taoist priest?" Chen Gui asked cautiously. "What should we call him?"

Shi Miyuan got up from the ground, dusted off his knees, and his eyes gleamed.

He dared not make the decision on his own. Although that wicked star was gone, who knew if he might be watching from the shadows? If he made an inappropriate reward and angered that person, or displeased the young emperor, then everything would be over.

He turned around, looked at Zhao Ling on the dragon throne, and respectfully asked, "Your Majesty, that Taoist priest saved your life and... he acted in accordance with the will of Heaven, eliminating evil and bringing peace. In my opinion, he should be richly rewarded. However, the matter of reward still requires Your Majesty's wise decision."

Zhao Ling tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said in her childish voice, "Uncle Daoist is a good person, he should be given the highest official position!"

Shi Miyuan felt relieved and quickly asked, "Your Majesty is wise! Then... if I may be so bold as to ask, what is the official position of Daoist Feng?"

"The highest-ranking official!" Zhao Ling nodded vigorously. "An official higher than all of you!"

Shi Miyuan's forehead was covered in cold sweat. This young master made it sound simple, but he still had to come up with the name of the reward.

He gritted his teeth, pondered for a moment, and tentatively said, "Your Majesty, since that Taoist priest is a true immortal descended from heaven, why not... bestow upon him the title of 'National Protector and Manifestation of Sage Grand Master,' a position above the Three Dukes, exempt from bowing before the emperor, and grant him a mansion in Lin'an and ten thousand taels of gold."

Add one more clause: the Quanzhen School is the state religion. From now on, anyone who dares to touch a single blade of grass or tree belonging to the Quanzhen School will be going against the imperial court. What does Your Majesty think?

Zhao Ling's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously: "Great! That's it! If Uncle Daoist becomes a high-ranking official, no one can bully him!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Shi Miyuan breathed a sigh of relief, only to find his back covered in cold sweat, sticky and uncomfortable.

The heavens of the Great Song Dynasty have finally changed.

He immediately ordered, "Send word to all local governments to post notices immediately, stating that the late emperor defied Heaven and was struck down by divine lightning, and the new emperor is the chosen one. Anyone who dares to speak out will be punished for treason!"

"Yes!" Chen Gui replied quickly.

……

Outside the palace walls, on a towering, upturned eave, a biting wind howled.

Four figures stood there, staring intently at the majestic palace.

From the moment Shen Mo stepped into the palace gates, they followed behind, standing on this high place overlooking most of the palace, witnessing firsthand the one-sided massacre.

"He really did it."

Huang Yaoshi pressed his hand to his jade flute, his blue robe fluttering in the wind. He watched the blue figure walk out of the Funing Palace and drift away, his eyes filled with a complex and indescribable light. "We were right. He not only broke into the palace, but he also... really ripped the sky apart."

"Kill the official." Hong Qigong took over the conversation, forgetting to put the wine gourd in his hand to his mouth. His wrinkled old face was filled with shock. "This old beggar has lived for so many years, and this is the first time he has seen such a thing... This kid is really daring."

Guo Jing's face was pale, and his hands gripped the rough tiles tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He was raised with a strong sense of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. Although he knew that Zhao Kuo was incompetent and had vaguely guessed Shen Mo's intentions, the shock of the "murder of the emperor" was so great that he almost lost his footing.

"Rong'er..." Guo Jing turned to look at Huang Rong beside him, his voice hoarse, his eyes filled with confusion and struggle, "Master Shen... he really killed the emperor? That's the emperor of the Song Dynasty..."

Huang Rong did not answer, but simply pointed to the square in front of the Funing Palace.

There, dozens of eunuchs were carrying buckets of water, frantically washing the ground. Blood flowed down the ditch, forming a dark red stream.

Hundreds of Imperial Guards were silently carrying away the corpses.

"Brother Jing, look at those white sheets," Huang Rong said softly. "Those are the corpses of the Imperial Guards, hundreds of them. And in that direction... those eunuchs carrying out, dressed in fine clothes but headless..."

She pointed to the entrance of Funing Palace, where several eunuchs were trembling as they carried a corpse dressed in a dragon robe toward a side hall.

Guo Jing swayed and nearly fell off the eaves.

"I really killed him..." he murmured to himself, and the mountain of "imperial power" in his heart collapsed at this moment.

"One man, one sword, he regards imperial power as nothing, and cuts down tyrants as easily as weeds."

Huang Yaoshi sighed deeply, his tone tinged with self-mockery, "The world calls me the Eastern Heretic, saying I'm arrogant, unruly, and unorthodox. But after meeting Master Shen today, I finally understand what true madness and true arrogance are."

He stared intently in the direction where Shen Mo had disappeared, his gaze burning with a kindred spirit, a respect that came from seeing a kindred spirit yet feeling ashamed of his own inferiority.

"Kill if you want, whether you're of noble birth or the emperor. This audacity, this method... I've always been proud of myself, but today I'm completely convinced."

Huang Yaoshi turned around and patted Guo Jing on the shoulder: "Young man, in this world, loyalty to the emperor is not necessarily patriotism. His sword strike may have been the real salvation of the Song Dynasty."

Guo Jing opened his mouth, staring blankly at the blood-soaked ground.

After a long silence, he whispered, "If Grandpa Yue Fei had met Master Shen back then... perhaps he wouldn't have died at Fengbo Pavilion."