Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Although the Qingyun Sect is located deep in the mountains, it is less than 300 miles away from the capital of the Dayuan Kingdom, Tianwan City.

At this moment, the flames shooting into the sky from the direction of Qingyun Sect quickly attracted the attention of the city defense army of Tianwan City.

Less than an hour later, in the Imperial Garden of the Dayuan Palace.

Emperor Yuwen Chan of Dayuan was lying lazily on a maid's lap, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open, enjoying the grapes fed to him by another maid.

Beside him, an old eunuch was kneeling on the ground, reading aloud memorials submitted from various parts of Dayuan.

As the emperor of Dayuan, one of the seven kingdoms in the Eastern Regions whose national strength was only slightly stronger than that of Daxia, Yuwen Chan lived a much more comfortable life than many of the emperors of neighboring countries, such as Xia Yu.

There was no other reason than that his maternal uncle was none other than the powerful Grand Elder of the Qingyun Sect!

With the behemoth that is Qingyun Sect as its backer, Dayuan is like having a pillar of stability.

As long as he doesn't actively provoke the truly top-tier forces in the Eastern Region, whether it's Dayuan's neighbor, Fenglin Kingdom, or Daxia; or the domestic resistance forces, none of them are worth fearing.

Therefore, Yuwen Chan's daily "political affairs" consisted of listening to memorials, tasting fine wine and delicacies, and flirting with and admiring beauties presented from all over the country in this imperial garden, living an extremely carefree and happy life.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

The Imperial Guard Commander rushed in and knelt down before Yuwen Chan with a thud.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

Yuwen Chan frowned, opened his eyes with displeasure, glanced at the anxious Imperial Guard commander, and scolded, "Commander Zhao, what kind of behavior is this! Is the sky going to fall? Speak slowly, what exactly happened?"

Commander Zhao raised his head, his expression a mixture of emotions. After taking a deep breath, he slowly said, "Your Majesty... the Qingyun Sect... the Qingyun Sect is gone!!"

"What?" Yuwen Chan didn't react for a moment, or rather, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He suspiciously picked at his ear, leaning forward slightly.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. Say it again."

Commander Zhao gritted his teeth and shouted, "Your Majesty! The Qingyun Sect is gone! The entire sect... is engulfed in flames! The scouts we sent out reported back... that the entire Qingyun Sect is now a complete ruin, and no one survived!"

"The Qingyun Sect... has been wiped out!"

"boom!"

Yuwen Chan felt his mind go blank, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He sprang up from the maid's lap, rushed to Zhao Chuang, his eyes bloodshot, and grabbed the man's collar.

"Say that again?! How could the Qingyun Sect be gone? Who has such power? Are they mistaken?"

Commander Zhao, struggling to breathe, could only swallow hard before continuing, "Your Majesty...it's absolutely true! How could we possibly dare to deceive Your Majesty about such a thing!"

Yuwen Chan released his grip, staggered back a few steps, and his face turned pale.

"Gone... really gone... the Qingyun Sect is gone just like that... how is this possible?"

He knew very well what the fall of the Qingyun Sect meant.

The neighboring kingdoms of Dayuan, Fenglin and Daxia, might take advantage of the situation! And what about those sects and aristocratic families within the country that he has always suppressed…

His throne and the kingdom of Dayuan became precarious with the fall of the Qingyun Sect!

"No! I can't panic! I can't panic!" Yuwen Chan bit his tongue hard, and a sharp pain brought him back to his senses.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. At this moment, protecting the capital and his throne was the most important thing.

Yuwen Chan turned to look at Commander Zhao beside him.

"Zhao Chuang, listen to my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Commander Zhao responded quickly, startled.

"Issue my decree, by urgent dispatch! Immediately order half of the elite troops from all border regions to return to the capital overnight to defend its safety! There must be no delay!" Yuwen Chan said, as he took the military tally from his waist and solemnly handed it to Commander Zhao.

"Go forth bearing my military tally and imperial edict. If any general hesitates or disobeys... you may execute them first and report later!"

"Your Majesty, this..." Commander Zhao frowned immediately.

Although he got this position through connections, it doesn't mean he's an idiot.

With half of the border troops being diverted, the border defenses will inevitably be weakened. If the two neighboring countries were to invade at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"It's up to you now, Commander Zhao!" Yuwen Chan patted Commander Zhao on the shoulder.

This single action immediately dispelled all of Commander Zhao's concerns.

"Your subordinate obeys! I swear to complete the mission to the death!" Commander Zhao gritted his teeth, snatched the military tally, and then, holding the imperial edict, rushed out of the Imperial Garden.

Looking in the direction where Zhao Chuang disappeared, Yuwen Chan clenched his fists tightly behind his back, his nails digging deep into his palms.

How could the situation in Dayuan have changed so drastically in just one day?

......

Commander Zhao temporarily appointed over a hundred Imperial Guards to accompany him. Shortly after the group left the palace, a white dove quietly flew out from a restaurant in Tianwan City.

At the speed of Commander Zhao and his entourage, their warhorses were already feeling tired after only three hours, and they were just about to find a place to rest for a while.

Commander Zhao suddenly frowned, tightened the reins, and waved to the Imperial Guards behind him.

"Commander, what's wrong?" A guard asked, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Commander Zhao did not answer, but his gaze remained fixed on the pavilion in front of him.

In the pavilion, a figure sat with his back to the official road, holding a sword and wearing a bamboo hat.

The man made no move, yet Commander Zhao, a Grandmaster at the third level, felt a chill inexplicably.

"At this hour, there are still people in this godforsaken place, in the middle of nowhere! Is it a coincidence or..." Commander Zhao looked up at the darkening sky, his right hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword.

"There's someone in the pavilion ahead! Go check it out!" After a moment of silence, Commander Zhao gave a wink to the guards beside him.

Several guards nodded and rode forward.

One of them jumped off his horse, walked into the pavilion, and looked the figure up and down.

Although he couldn't see the other person's true face clearly, from their figure and the faint floral fragrance emanating from them, he could roughly guess that the person wearing the bamboo hat in front of him was a woman.

This made him lower his guard.

"Hey! Take off your straw hat right now! Let me see who you really are!"

As he spoke, he reached out his hand towards the other person.

"I'm afraid... you won't live to see my true face."

A flash of sword light appeared, and the Imperial Guard's body froze instantly, a thin line appearing on his neck.

A gentle breeze lifted the black veil beneath the conical hat, revealing a cinnabar mole on the corner of the person's lips.