Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

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Night fell again, and the walls of Kyoto appeared particularly majestic and imposing under the moonlight.

Kyoto's defenses were so tight that it was outrageous. The guards at the thirteen city gates worked day and night, and even a fly had to go through three checkpoints to get into the city.

However, for those who truly stand at the pinnacle of martial arts in this world, even the tallest city wall is merely a slightly higher threshold.

In the west of the city, there is a dilapidated City God Temple that has been abandoned for many years.

A faint night breeze blew by, and before the already mottled and peeling statue in the temple, there was a person who had appeared out of nowhere.

He wore a tattered coarse linen robe, was thin, and his hair was haphazardly draped like a tangled mess. He carried no sword, his hands hung emptily at his sides, and he looked like a mentally challenged beggar wandering the streets.

However, as he stood there, the surrounding air seemed to sharpen. The dust-covered spiderwebs in the dilapidated temple suddenly and silently broke apart, turning into dust, without any wind.

Si Gu Jian.

His cloudy eyes, devoid of their former madness, now held only an extremely restrained, chilling calm. He raised his head, gazing at the dark night sky of Kyoto outside the dilapidated temple, and a cruel yet expectant smile slowly spread across his lips.

"Old monster, since you dare to bring up her name, I dare to overturn your stage." Si Gu Jian muttered to himself, his voice hoarse like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing together.

In the eastern part of Kyoto, there is a quiet bamboo forest.

A light rain began to fall, pattering on the bamboo leaves and making a rustling sound.

A bald, barefoot monk was walking slowly along a path in the bamboo forest, holding a tattered oil-paper umbrella. His pace was slow, each step seemingly calculated precisely, not a fraction more or less. His breathing blended perfectly with the sounds of the wind and rain in the bamboo grove, as if he himself were a part of nature, without the slightest incongruity.

Ku He, the Grand Master and National Preceptor of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Unlike Si Gu Jian, he didn't exude a murderous aura; there wasn't even a trace of true energy emanating from him. He was like an ordinary ascetic monk, silently walking through the bitter wind and rain.

"Taiping Villa..." Ku He stopped, tilted her head back slightly, and let the rain drip down the edge of her oil-paper umbrella. "Emperor Qing, oh Emperor Qing, you used the greed of the people to set up this scheme. Aren't you afraid that this scheme will be too big and eventually burst the sky of your Qing Kingdom?"

Ku He sighed, a sigh filled with compassion for all humanity, but his eyes were colder than the autumn rain.

The two grandmasters, one from the east and one from the west, were like two meteorites capable of destroying everything, silently crashing into the abyss of Kyoto, a place about to boil over.

They thought they were keeping their tracks secret and that they had become the most fatal variable in this game.

Little did they know, their every move was being watched by eyes in the shadows.

……

Second Prince's Residence

Li Chengze remained as languid as ever, reclining on a large couch covered with a white tiger skin, holding a scroll of "Zhuangzi" in his hand, seemingly engrossed in reading it.

Yuan Tiangang stood beside him like an iron tower, the mask of the Bad Commander appearing even more ferocious under the light of the luminous pearl.

Just then, a strange ripple suddenly appeared in the shadows of the study.

As if even the light had been swallowed up, six ghostly figures appeared before Li Chengze without warning.

They knelt on one knee, their movements perfectly synchronized, without making the slightest sound.

They were dressed in matching black outfits, wearing eerie masks, and each of them exuded a chilling aura of death.

The Net, the Six Sword Slaves.

True Steel, Water Cutting, Chaotic Gods, Demons, Soul Transformation, Soul Destroying.

"Reporting to Your Highness." Zhen Gang's voice was icy cold, devoid of any human emotion, as if it echoed from the depths of hell. "The prey has been caught in the net."

Li Chengze paused slightly as he turned the pages of the book. He didn't look up, but simply asked, "Oh? They've all arrived?"

"Yes." Zhen Gang reported, "The one from Dongyi City sneaked in through the west city wall an hour ago and is currently hiding in the abandoned City God Temple in the west of the city. The homeless people and beggars in the three streets around him are all our people."

"What about the one from Northern Qi?"

"Half an hour ago, he sneaked in from the eastern waterway. He cultivates a technique that unites heaven and man, making him extremely difficult to track. However, the Net has laid a 'Heavenly Net' formation in the bamboo forest of the eastern city. Although he avoided all the sentries, the dampness of the soil and the tracks of fallen leaves in the bamboo forest he walked through have already exposed his whereabouts. Currently, he is staying in a secluded inn in Chang Le Fang of the eastern city."

After listening to Zhengang's report, Li Chengze finally put down the book "Zhuangzi" in his hand.

"Okay, very good."

Li Chengze suddenly looked at Yuan Tiangang, his laziness vanishing and replaced by an aura of domineering authority: "General, it's time for everything to end."

"It's almost dawn..." he murmured to himself, "It's time for a new sun to rise over Daqing."

……

The day finally arrived when Emperor Qing left the palace.

This day in Kyoto is destined to be recorded in history.

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, the deafening sound of horns had already resounded throughout the entire city of Kyoto.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

The desolate and chilling sound of the horn seemed to be awakening a sleeping behemoth.

The Zhengyang Gate of the Imperial Palace swung open with a deafening roar, and squads of heavily armored imperial guards, wielding long halberds, surged out like a black tide. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, and the heavy boots pounded on the bluestone slabs with a chilling thud.

Five thousand fully armed imperial guards swiftly took control of the entire main road stretching from the palace to the Taiping Villa outside the city. All shops and residences along the way were forcibly closed, and no one was allowed to peek out; violators would be killed without exception.

Along both sides of the street, there was a guard every five steps and a sentry every ten steps. The gleaming swords and spears flashed with a blinding cold light in the rising sun, making the entire street look like a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​swords.

Surrounding the Imperial Guards were the elite cavalry of the Kyoto Garrison, riding tall horses and carrying bows and crossbows, vigilantly watching every high point and alleyway in their vicinity.

On the city walls further away, countless black figures could be vaguely seen moving about. These were the secret agents of the Censorate, like countless pairs of eyes hidden in the shadows, watching the city's every move closely.

This was an unprecedentedly grand ceremony, and also a blatant demonstration.