A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

Tai'an City.

The General's Mansion.

From the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period to the establishment of the new Li Yang Dynasty, General Gu Jiantang of Li Yang has always been present, never missing a single event that changed the political landscape of the court.

"The successor to Ye Bingsheng is indeed extraordinary."

Having served as an official for many years, Gu Jiantang was already used to the polite formalities of officialdom.

Ye Yun smiled slightly: "General Gu, there is no need for such meaningless flattery between us. No matter how strong my father was, it is all in the past."

No matter how powerful Xu Xiao was, he died at my hands, and his head is now hanging in my Ye family ancestral hall.

General Gu, would you like to advance further in both martial arts and power? Perhaps I can assist you.

Gu Jiantang revealed a look of joy; he now knew what Ye Yun's purpose was.

"Now that Cao Changqing has welcomed back the princess of Western Chu, I wonder if Western Chu will listen to you or to her."

Gu Jiantang is indeed well-informed; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to sit on the throne of the Grand General.

"I have my own plans. Why should I name myself after Western Chu? Can't I, Ye Yun, establish my own kingdom?"

Ye Yun snapped his fingers, and Jian Kui poured a cup of tea for the two of them.

Gu Jiantang glanced at the sword-wielding puppet and the Great Vajra Realm peak puppet (Xu Longxiang) standing at the door, then drank the cup of tea in one gulp: "Of course, but building a dynasty through war is not like a martial arts contest in the martial arts world, where whoever has the higher martial arts can possess the world."

Ye Yun poured some tea into his teacup and used his finger to draw a rough map of the entire world on the table:

"Liyang, with General Gu's assistance, this place will become General Gu's fiefdom. People in the martial world will naturally help me take it over. Soon, Western Chu will naturally be under my control."

A war between Liang and Mang is inevitable. Once war breaks out, that will be the day I raise my army.

Those fair fingers were pointing directly at the land of Beiliang.

This is Gu Jiantang's heartache.

He spent his life in battle and made great contributions to Liyang, but he could never compare to Xu Xiao.

King of Northern Liang.

That was his heartache.

"From now on, I don't want to be called the King of Beiliang. I prefer the name King Zhenbei."

Gu Jiantang had already thought of the title.

"Yes, but before that, I need Gu Jiantang to kill a few people for me."

Ye Yun made his first request.

"who!"

"Han Diaosi is the person she wants to kill. Yang Taisui and Zhang Julu are the people I want to kill, and I want to support Zhao Kai to take the throne."

Ye Yun tapped the table lightly, waiting for Gu Jiantang's reply.

This general, who had fought for many years, was naturally a wise man.

This can be considered their pledge of allegiance to each other.

If he doesn't agree, he might die at Ye Yun's hands, and someone else could become the "King of Zhenbei".

"Alright, now the old emperor probably won't live much longer. As for Zhao Kai, in my opinion, he's nothing but a daydreamer, of no real use."

"He's the perfect candidate to become a puppet emperor; Young Master Ye is quite the schemer."

Gu Jiantang knew that once this matter was started, there would be no turning back.

This time, he's willing to take another big gamble.

Ye Yun turned to look at Nangong Pushe, who was holding his sword with both hands: "Hey, you want to kill Han Diaosi? General Gu has agreed to help you."

"knew!"

Nangong Pushe nodded.

"Who is this woman, and why does she possess such formidable swordsmanship?"

Gu Jiantang asked in confusion.

Ye Yunyao shook her head: "For this kind of thing, you can help him kill Han Diaosi, then ask her and you'll know."

Gu Jiantang was speechless for a moment.

Ye Yun took out a sword manual and placed it on the table: "This is the essence of sword techniques that I obtained from two great battles with Qi Lianhua."

He followed the path of "proving the Dao through force," using the intent of his sword to gather immense energy and forcefully break through barriers. I hope this will be helpful to you.

"How does Qi Lianhua, with his sword and armor, compare to her?"

Gu Jiantang looked at Nangong Pu She beside him.

"Incomparable. She is not like Qi Lianhua. Qi Lianhua could easily kill you in a head-on confrontation, because I was almost killed by him back then."

Ye Yun did not deny Qi Lianhua's strength.

In particular, his forced breakthrough before his death demonstrated his rich martial arts experience, which far surpassed Ye Yun's actual combat skills.

If Ye Yun hadn't had a special ability, his fate would probably be unknown.

Having experienced so many great battles, Ye Yun had reached the peak in both his mental state and cultivation.

Gu Jiantang upon hearing this.

For a moment, there was silence.

Is Qi Lianhua really that powerful?

His strongest strike was easily blocked by Ye Yun, which shows that Qi Lianhua is truly strong.

Unfortunately, I never had the chance to fight him.

"He's gone! Prince Zhenbei."

After Ye Yun finished speaking, he led Nangong Pu She and the two puppets away from the General's Mansion.

Watching Ye Yun leave, Gu Jiantang looked at the sword manual in his hand again.

"That's truly remarkable!"

Gu Jiantang felt that he had wasted the past twenty years.

The moon hangs high in the sky.

A figure quietly appeared in a courtyard.

The newcomer looked around, and suddenly a crimson longsword landed on his shoulder.

"Ye Jianxian, it's me! Zhao Kai."

Snapped!

A snap of fingers came from inside the room.

Jian Kui then sheathed her longsword.

Zhao Kai broke out in a cold sweat; he had almost been killed by this inhuman, ghostly thing.

"Zhao Kai, go through the main entrance again."

Ye Yun's voice came from inside the room.

"Yes, Ye Jianxian!"

Zhao Kai snapped out of his daze and respectfully bowed to Ye Yun inside the room.

But those eyes kept glancing towards the doorway, where a familiar person was standing.

His second brother-in-law, Xu Longxiang.

What's going on here?

Could it be that the Xu family has sided with Ye Yun?

That's possible.

The room door slowly opened.

This time, Ye Yun did not wear a red robe, but instead wore a white robe and held a folding fan in his hand. With his inherent righteousness, he looked more like a Confucian scholar.

"Zhao Kai, the old emperor of Liyang is probably not long for this world. Who is your biggest competitor?"

"This is to inform Ye Jianxian that it is the eldest prince Zhao Xun and Prince Jing'an Zhao Heng."

Zhao Kai answered truthfully.

Ye Yun remained silent for a moment. The original plot should have been that after Zhao Kai's death, there would be a turmoil among the three princes, and finally the fourth prince, Zhao Zhuan, would ascend to the throne.

Do you know why I helped you?

Ye Yun asked.

"Naturally, I want to completely destroy Northern Liang. If I can ascend the throne, I will do my best to help Ye Jianxian and wipe out the entire Xu family."

Zhao Kai naively thought that Ye Yun only wanted to destroy Bei Liang, and that he also wanted to destroy Bei Liang.

This was the wish of everyone in the Zhao royal family.

But they didn't know that once Northern Liang was destroyed...

The great ship that is leaving the sun will eventually sink.

"Very good, but if you want to be emperor, you need to be ruthless enough and give up some things, such as family and friendship."

Tomorrow you can go and find General Gu Jiantang. He will bless you, and you can follow his arrangements. Your throne will be guaranteed.

Ye Yun waved his hand, signaling Zhao Kai that he could leave.

"Thank you, Sword Immortal Ye."

Zhao Kai quickly expressed his gratitude.

Zhao Kai felt overwhelmed by the pressure of leaving the courtyard and staying with Ye Yun.

"He is Prince Liyang," Nangong Pushe's voice rang out.

"Yes, an illegitimate child who wants to be emperor."

Ye Yun said without any hesitation.

As his personal bodyguard, Nangong Pushe would inevitably come into contact with these matters.

Behind the Zhao family of Liyang.

There are also two true core figures.

They were a perfect match, one skilled in civil affairs and the other in military affairs, and they solved the problem.

Only Zhao Kai, this puppet emperor, can sit securely on the throne.