My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

Li Yishao had retreated to the deepest part of the protective shield, his whole body pressed against the back of the chair, his face as pale as paper.

He watched the black-robed man, covered in blood, approach step by step, his lips trembling violently, yet he still forced himself to remain calm.

"So what if you...so even if you can get here?!"

His voice was shrill, filled with barely concealed fear.

"This protective shield was created by He Yuan, an 89th-level alchemist! No one below the demigod level can break through it!!"

He had barely finished speaking—

laugh.

A soft sound.

The tip of the black sword had already pierced through the protective shield.

It pierced through so easily.

It was as if that protective shield, which was said to be "unbreakable by anyone below the level of demigod," was just a thin layer of paper.

Li Yishao lowered his head, looking at the sword piercing his chest.

His eyes were wide open, and his lips were parted, but no sound came out.

"This...how...?"

Outside the protective shield, an aged voice slowly rang out:

"Excuse me, Your Highness."

He Yuan walked over from the audience without anyone noticing.

His thin face was expressionless; he simply looked at Li Yishao indifferently.

"I am also one of the Second Prince's men."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire protective shield went hazy.

The golden light quickly dimmed, and the intricate runes extinguished one by one.

A few seconds later, the protective shield disappeared completely.

Li Yishao was still standing there.

"Ha...haha...hahahaha!"

He suddenly laughed, a maniacal laugh.

At that moment, he finally realized that he had lost.

And they lost completely.

In this struggle for the throne, he completely lost to his younger brother, Li Yiguang.

No wonder he dared to rebel; he had already planned to this extent.

While he was still focused on the Glory Trial Tournament, Li Yiguang had his sights set on the throne.

The gap between them...

What he wanted to say, what he wanted to shout, what he wanted to curse.

But nothing can be sent.

Lin Mo twisted his wrist.

The black sword was pulled horizontally.

puff--

Li Yishao's head flew up.

It tumbled in the air, its face frozen with the terror and bewilderment of its final moments.

It flipped over, traced an arc, and finally landed with a "thud" at Li Yan's feet.

It rolled twice and then stopped there.

Blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain, covering the entire stands.

Lin Mo stood in that rain of blood.

Blood splattered on him, on his face, and down his black cloak.

He was covered in blood, like a demon who had emerged from hell.

He lifted his foot, stepped over Li Yishao's headless corpse, and walked to Li Yan.

The old man sat in the imperial carriage, his whole body trembling violently.

It's not anger.

It is fear.

He was too old, too old to be angry, too old to have the courage to roar.

He just sat there, his hunched back curled up, his cloudy eyes filled with fear.

He stared at the blood-soaked man in black robes before him, at those eyes colder than blades, his lips trembling violently, yet he couldn't utter a single word.

Lin Mo raised his black sword.

The sword tip was aimed at his throat.

"Old man, it's time for Zhou Yue to pay his debts."

His voice was calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"Let's get ready to hit the road."

Li Yan trembled upon hearing Zhou Yue's name and looked at Lin Mo: "I...I have one last question."

Lin Mo nodded.

"Well, go die with your last question."

With that, the black sword plunged directly into his throat.

Blood spurted out.

Li Yan's body convulsed violently.

His cloudy eyes widened suddenly, and his lips opened, but only a hoarse, indistinct breath escaped his lips.

His hands gripped the armrests of the imperial carriage tightly.

His knuckles were as white as paper, and his whole body gradually lost strength amidst violent tremors.

Lin Mo drew his black sword.

Blood gushed from the wound, splashing onto the golden armrests of the imperial carriage.

It spilled onto Li Yan's most magnificent dragon robe.

It spilled onto the fallen crown.

Li Yan's body slid down softly.

He slid off the imperial carriage, his hunched back hitting the steps with a dull thud.

Then he continued sliding down.

Level by level...

Each step down left a shocking trail of blood.

Finally, he collapsed on the floor of the lowest level of the arena.

They fell at the feet of those nobles.

He fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

His eyes were still open, but his cloudy pupils had lost all their luster, and he was just staring blankly upwards.

That aged face, covered with age spots, still held the expression of its final moments.

Fear, resentment, and a lingering doubt that remained unspoken.

The emperor of the Holy Ancient Empire.

A monarch who reigned for more than sixty years.

Li Yan, who once held immense power and influence.

At this moment, there was only a corpse lying in a pool of blood and a crown that had rolled into a corner.

The entire arena was deathly silent.

The nobles slumped in their seats, their faces pale and trembling.

They stared at the corpse, at the black-robed figure standing beside it, their minds blank.

No one dared to move.

No one dared to speak.

Even breathing was forced into his throat.

Lin Mo looked at Li Yan.

The body had stopped trembling and was just lying there quietly, its hands outstretched limply.

Just then, he noticed Li Yan's right hand.

That withered hand, covered in age spots, seemed to be holding something in its palm.

Lin Mo casually swung his hand and severed the fingers of that hand.

He revealed a token in his palm.

It is about the size of a palm, completely black, and has intricate patterns engraved on its surface.

But at this moment, the token had already shattered into several pieces.

The cracks spread outwards from the center, and small fragments were falling off the edges.

At the last moment, Li Yan used her last bit of strength to crush it.

Lin Mo frowned.

"What is this?"

Yin Xue flew down from his shoulder and came closer to look.

Those blood-red eyes swept over the fragments, their pupils contracting slightly.

"This thing... contains a large number of fragments of laws, it was made by at least a demigod."

There was a hint of solemnity in her voice.

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

"Fragments of laws?"

"right."

Yin Xue stared at the fragments.

"This is no ordinary token. Li Yan crushed it at the last moment, and all the fragments of laws sealed inside spilled out. Judging from this aura... it's probably related to the God Realm."

Spirit world.

Lin Mo was silent for a moment.

Just then, an aged voice came from behind:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

Lin Mo turned his head.

He Yuan stood not far away, his hands tucked into his sleeves, bowing slightly.

His thin face was expressionless; he simply stared at Lin Mo.

"You can prepare to ascend the throne."

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes.

He stared at He Yuan for several seconds.

"You noticed?"

He Yuan straightened up, a very faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"I could tell from the day you stopped me from doing a divination."

His voice was calm, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

"With my abilities, what I can divine is entirely up to me."

He paused.

"If it really is His Highness Li Yiguang, he certainly wouldn't refuse. He trusts me, he's trusted me for over a decade. Only those with a guilty conscience are afraid of being seen through."

Lin Mo did not speak.

His hand rested on the hilt of the sword.

He Yuan watched his movements without showing any panic.

He simply shook his head, his smile deepening.

"Don't be nervous, Your Majesty, I have no intention of exposing you."

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow slightly.

"So what do you plan to do?"

He Yuan sighed.

"I am 137 years old this year. I have no hope of becoming a demigod. I won't live for many more years. I have spent my whole life struggling. Alchemy, power, struggle... I have seen it all. Now I just want to do something for the younger generation so that they can live a better life."

He looked at Lin Mo, a complex light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"I will keep this a secret for you. I only ask that you take care of the descendants of the He family in the future."

Lin Mo looked at the old man.

After a few seconds of silence, he released his hand from the hilt of the sword.

"Deal, but I have one more question for you."

He Yuan nodded: "Please go ahead."

How can the people imprisoned in the Imperial Iron Prison be released?