Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

"Have you been waiting for me?"

The ghost saw the sorrowful man in mid-air, and upon hearing these four words, he felt his blood run cold.

We've fallen for their trap!

His prized experience in the underworld was frantically alarming him; his body instinctively twisted in mid-air, trying to use the momentum to retreat.

But it was too late.

The instant he landed.

"Swish—swish—swish—"

Hundreds of torches suddenly lit up the originally pitch-black palace walls, forming a continuous line like will-o'-the-wisps, illuminating the entire courtyard of Lizheng Hall as bright as day.

Under the firelight, rows of Imperial Guards dressed in flying fish robes and holding divine crossbows stood expressionless on the wall like ghosts emerging from hell, their cold arrows locked on every living person in the courtyard.

On the roof of the main hall, a man wearing a black cloak stood with his hands behind his back, his clothes fluttering in the night wind, his cold face devoid of any emotion.

Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Qinglong.

"close the door."

Qinglong uttered two words calmly.

"Boom—!"

The heavy vermilion doors of Lizheng Hall slammed shut, cutting off all the assassins' escape route.

Gui Jianchou and the hundreds of assassins who rushed in were now like rabbits caught in a trap, completely trapped.

"This...this is a trap!"

The leader of the Cui family's assassins was deathly pale, his voice trembling, "We're surrounded!"

"What's the panic!"

Gui Jianchou was, after all, a top-tier assassin with exceptional mental fortitude. He swiftly drew his twin swords from his waist, his eyes flashing with the ferocity of a cornered beast.

"Since we can't retreat, let's fight our way out!"

"There's only one objective! Kill that prince!"

"Even if we die, it'll be worth it if we kill him!"

He roared, and with a light tap of his toes, he advanced instead of retreating, like a black lightning bolt, rushing straight towards Shen Lian, who was standing in the center of the courtyard.

To catch the thief, first catch the king!

Once the leader is killed, the encirclement will naturally break!

"Good timing."

Shen Lian looked at the approaching Ghostly Sorrow, his face still bearing that chilling smile.

He didn't even draw his Embroidered Spring Blade; he simply extended his left hand and flicked it lightly at the lightning-fast twin blades.

"when!"

A crisp metallic clang rang out.

Gui Jianchou felt an irresistible force coming from the blade, instantly splitting his hand and drawing blood. His two prized hundred-refined steel swords were flicked away by a single finger, flying out of his grasp and striking a distant pillar with two clangs.

"You...you're a Grandmaster?!"

Ghost's Sorrow was filled with terror and despair.

He had roamed the martial world for over a decade, never failing, relying solely on his uncanny agility and ruthless swordsmanship. Yet, against this man, he couldn't even withstand a single move?

"Grandmaster?"

Shen Lian shook his head, as if looking at a pitiful fool, "You're overthinking it, I'm just a commander."

"Killing you bunch of chickens and dogs doesn't require the Commander to lift a finger."

After saying that, he slowly drew the Embroidered Spring Knife from his waist.

The glint of the blade was like water, reflecting the terrified and distorted face beneath the bronze mask of the Ghost-Seeing-Sorrow.

"Let's do it."

On the rooftop, the Azure Dragon uttered two more words.

"Leave no one alive."

"Swish swish swish——!!!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a barrage of arrows was unleashed.

That was the unique, tearing-through-the-air death shriek of the Divine Armbow.

The dense rain of arrows, like dark clouds, instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.

Screams, the sound of blades piercing flesh, and the cracking of bones intertwined to create a symphony of hell.

This is not a battle.

This was a one-sided massacre.

Those so-called martial arts masters and family assassins were as fragile as paper in front of the Divine Arm Crossbow, which was capable of piercing through heavy armor.

Shen Lian's figure moved like a ghost through the gaps in the rain of arrows.

Wherever the Embroidered Spring Blade passes, a head will inevitably roll to the ground.

He wasn't killing people, he was dancing, a waltz of death.

……

Inside the Lizheng Hall, it was warm and cozy, like springtime.

Compared to the bloody carnage outside, this place is simply paradise.

Li Chengqian was sitting leisurely on a soft couch, holding a bowl of steaming white fungus and lotus seed soup in his hands, occasionally feeding Li Tai, who was already terrified, with a spoon.

"Come on, Qingque, open your mouth and have a sweet bite to calm your nerves."

Li Tai trembled violently, his teeth chattering, and stammered, "B-Big Brother, is...is someone killing people outside?"

"It's not killing people, it's cleaning up trash."

李承

Qian blew on the soup in his spoon without looking up. "A bunch of ignorant vermin, thinking the Eastern Palace is their backyard, where they can come and go as they please?"

He glanced through the crack in the window at the bloody scene outside, his face remaining completely calm, and he even commented on it with great interest.

"Hmm, that guy in black has pretty good light footwork, but unfortunately he's not very bright; he insisted on charging into the pile of arrows."

"That guy with the broadsword has terrible swordsmanship, full of flaws. He needs to practice for another ten or eight years."

"Wow, that's impressive. To actually dodge three waves of arrows, that's quite something... *chuckle*."

Before he could finish speaking, the "expert" was beheaded by Shen Lian with a single blow.

"What a pity, we ran into Shen Lian, that overpowered guy."

Watching his older brother calmly "commenting on the spot" while eating a late-night snack, Li Tai felt that this world was too crazy.

That's murder!

Blood was flowing like a river!

In the older brother's eyes, it was like watching a play.

Half an incense stick later.

The shouts and screams outside gradually subsided.

The entire courtyard of Lichang Palace has been transformed into a veritable mountain of corpses.

Blood pooled into a small stream, slowly flowing along the cracks in the floor tiles, the thick, pungent smell of blood so strong it made people want to vomit.

Shen Lian emerged from the pile of corpses, carrying his still-dripping embroidered spring knife. His dark green flying fish robe had been stained a deep red.

He walked to the entrance of the hall, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a calm and even voice.

"Your Highness."

"The invading enemy, totaling 501 people, has been executed on the spot."

"Leave only one survivor to await Your Highness's judgment."

"Bring him in." Li Chengqian put down the bowl in his hand and wiped his mouth.

Two imperial guards dragged in a middle-aged man covered in blood, who was so frightened that he had lost control of his bladder and bowels, and threw him into the center of the main hall.

He was a steward of the Cui family and also the liaison for this assassination attempt.

"You...you mustn't kill me...please don't kill me..."

The steward knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically, his forehead covered in blood.

Li Cheng-

Qian stepped down from the soft couch, squatted down in front of him, and put on that harmless smile again.

"Want to live?"

"Yes! I want to!"

"Okay."

Li Chengqian took out a blank sheet of Xuan paper and a brush from his sleeve and handed them over.

"Write down the names of all the families involved in tonight's assassination attempt."

He leaned close to the steward's ear, his voice as soft as if he were whispering sweet nothings, but the contents sent the steward plummeting into an icy abyss.

"You wrote it correctly, you wrote it completely."

"I'll grant you a complete corpse."