The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Yes, he is the crown prince, the future emperor! Si Chen has been supported by the Chu family for four hundred years, so it is only right that he donate a drop of blood!

He turned and rushed into the inner room, emerging a moment later with his sword in hand.

The scabbard is ancient and simple, its fish-gut pattern gleaming coldly in the candlelight—this is the sword of Emperor Taizu, used to slay tyrannical rulers and punish treacherous officials.

Now, what he held in his hands had become a token to demand "offerings".

Mei Shiliu lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting cold smile on her lips.

idiot.

She said softly, "Your Majesty, let Yao'er accompany you. Going alone will show your sincerity, while bringing guards would seem like a coup."

"Okay!" Chu Xuanche couldn't hear anything else; his mind was filled with his heart's blood, healing, and the image of trampling Chu Qingyue under his feet.

"Once I ascend the throne, I will grant you the riches and honors you desire!"

Mei Shiliu smiled and nodded.

When the two stepped out of the East Palace, the night was as dark as ink.

He hadn't gone far when the drug took effect, and Chu Xuanche suddenly staggered and clutched his head.

excruciating pain.

A tearing, excruciating pain exploded from the depths of my mind, as if a million needles were piercing me at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, images—humiliating and unbearable images—came flooding in like a tide.

The faces, hands, and lewd smiles of the men in the Mulang Residence... and the gossip that filled the city, the pointing and whispering in the streets and alleys...

Si Chen, the one who could have saved him, simply stood on the cloud, watching coldly from the sidelines.

"He owes me..." Chu Xuanche hissed, the last vestige of reason in his eyes snapping away. "He owes me!"

He used his lightness skill to dash towards the Star-Picking Tower.

However, his martial arts skills were mediocre. Both times he leaped up, he only reached halfway before collapsing from exhaustion and falling awkwardly onto the palace path.

Mei Shiliu watched from behind, her eyes filled with cold disdain.

Finally, she sighed, leaped forward, and grabbed his belt.

He channeled his inner energy, his figure soaring like a night swallow, straight into the sky.

Chu Xuanche didn't even notice anything amiss—how could a princess who couldn't even kill a chicken possess such power?

His mind was filled with the humiliation of Mu Langju, and his heart was filled with murderous intent.

Blood was drawn.

Cure.

He ascended the throne.

Kill Si Chen.

Kill Chu Qingyue.

Kill everyone who looks down on him!

The Tower of Stars soars into the clouds, hidden among the countless stars.

The building is shrouded in a protective array, preventing ordinary people from approaching. Those who forcibly enter will either get lost or die.

Chu Xuanche had only been ten feet away from the building when he was repelled by an invisible wall of energy!

Mei Shiliu's eyes turned cold, and she took the opportunity to give him a light shove in the back.

The force of this palm strike was exquisite. Chu Xuanche felt a tremendous force strike him, and his whole body crashed into the building wall like a kite with a broken string. The killing intent in his heart also increased tenfold with this push!

The array outside the building sensed the overwhelming killing intent and suddenly activated!

"boom--!"

Chu Xuanche felt as if he had hit a copper wall, and was violently thrown back, plummeting straight down from a height of a hundred feet!

The wind howled in my ears like the wailing of ghosts.

The aura of death was palpable, cold and real.

Just as he was about to crash to the ground—

A purple figure floated down from the rooftop, like a banished immortal descending to earth.

Si Chen's silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall, fluttering slightly in the night breeze, his purple robe trailing on the ground, spotless.

He didn't look at Chu Xuanche, but simply raised his sleeve and gently flicked it. A gentle spiritual force supported the falling body, like supporting a fallen leaf, and slowly brought it to the ground.

Chu Xuanche steadied himself and looked up at the face that had never aged in the past four hundred years.

Under the moonlight, Si Chen's face was so perfect it seemed unreal. His silver eyes reflected the Milky Way, as well as his disheveled and distorted appearance at this moment.

This is the person.

Always high above.

Always have compassion for all living beings.

But they never... showed him any pity.

"Imperial Preceptor..." Chu Xuanche gripped the Fish Gut Sword tightly, then suddenly grinned, his smile twisted like a demon's, "You owe me."

Before he finished speaking, he lunged forward!

The Fish Intestine Sword flashed with a cold, dark blue light—

"Pfft."

The sword pierced Si Chen's chest at its root.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Si Chen grunted, but did not take a step back.

He looked down at the sword in front of his chest, then looked up at Chu Xuanche with an expression that seemed to be looking at an ignorant child.

Chu Xuanche looked at the sword tip protruding from Si Chen's chest, a drop of golden blood slowly seeping out, gleaming with a sacred luster under the moonlight.

His heart erupted with ecstatic joy: "Give me your heart's blood—!"

He suddenly drew his sword.

The instant the sword separated from the body, an unbelievable scene unfolded—

Si Chen's chest wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his skin returned to its original state without leaving a trace.

That drop of golden blood from the heart vanished the instant the sword tip left, as if it had never existed.

The holes in the robe were restored to their original condition.

Not a single drop of blood was shed.

Si Chen stood three feet before him, his purple robes as still as the night, his silver hair moving without wind. His eyes held the compassion born of four hundred years of witnessing the mortal world, his voice as calm as an ancient well:

"You...shouldn't have come."

Chu Xuanche froze, his lips trembling: "You...how could you..."

Before the words were finished—

"boom--!!!"

A bolt of crimson-purple lightning tore through the night sky without warning!

The lightning bolt, as thick as a giant python, twisted and ferocious, carrying the power of heaven and earth, struck Chu Xuanche's head with perfect accuracy!

Even Si Chen, who was moving so fast, couldn't stop it.

"ah--!!!"

A piercing scream echoed throughout the imperial city, startling countless birds into flight.

Chu Xuanche was engulfed by lightning, his skin and flesh were charred and cracked, and his hair was instantly burned to ashes.

His eyes widened, and the last thing he saw was Si Chen's expressionless face.

He spat out black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs and fell straight backward.

"Bang."

The corpse was smashed on the ground, and the stench of burning flesh filled the air, mixed with the sweet, pungent smell of burnt blood and flesh.

Si Chen stood still, his purple robes like mist, spotless.

He slowly raised his eyes and looked towards a certain spot in the night sky, where a river of stars seemed to flow deep within his silver eyes.

At the same time, the emperor's entourage hurriedly arrived.

The Chu Emperor lifted the curtain and stepped down from his carriage, just in time to witness the final scene: his eldest son, wielding a sword, stabbed the Grand Preceptor, and then lightning struck, turning his body to ashes.

Si Chen turned around, his purple robe brushing against the blood-stained floor tiles, and nodded slightly to the Chu Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince harbored murderous intent towards me, violating the oath of the founding emperor that 'to kill an army is to betray Heaven,' and will be punished by Heaven—"

He paused, his voice calm and even, yet it froze the blood of the Chu Emperor.

"He's dead."

The Chu Emperor stood frozen in place, looking at the charred, curled-up corpse on the ground, and then at Si Chen's face, which had not aged an inch in four hundred years and remained expressionless at this moment.

A chill ran up from the soles of my feet and straight up to the top of my head.

He suddenly remembered that when Si Chen was treating the eldest prince that night, Chu Qingyue had whispered something he hadn't paid much attention to at the time:

"Forced relationships are karmic hindrances. Forced blessings... are calamities."

Emperor Chu staggered, only to be hastily supported by the eunuchs behind him. He stared intently at the charred corpse on the ground—his eldest son, the crown prince who, just an hour ago, had been full of pride and had moved into the Eastern Palace. Now, however, he resembled a piece of rotten flesh carelessly discarded.

A chill crept up from the soles of my feet, instantly freezing my internal organs.

He recalled Chu Qingyue's words, those words she uttered as she stood on the steps, gazing up at the moon, at the end of the banquet—words he hadn't paid much attention to at the time:

"Forced relationships are karmic hindrances. Forced blessings... are calamities."

It turns out that wasn't a sentiment, but a prophecy.