My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

The Emperor knelt on the ground with his hands on the floor, his forehead slamming heavily against the wooden board with a dull thud, while he pleaded frantically in trembling, broken Japanese.

The imperial concubines, princes, and other high-ranking nobles behind him also knelt down in a great clatter, all kowtowing, their cries merging into a wave of despair.

The accompanying Tang Dynasty translator quickly jogged up the steps and came to Li Chengqian's side.

"Your Highness."

The translator's voice was still trembling.

"This barbarian chieftain said that as long as we put down our weapons, he is willing to immediately hand over all the national treasures and sign a surrender document."

"From now on, the entire Japanese nation will be our slaves for generations to come, paying tribute every year, and daring not to disobey in the slightest. We only ask that you spare the lives of their royal family."

Li Chengqian did not look at the emperor kneeling on the ground.

He turned around and slowly walked to the crevice in the stone where the spear had been stuck.

He stretched out his blood-soaked right hand, grasped the cold gun barrel, and pulled hard.

"Zheng—"

The lance emitted a low, metallic tremor.

Li Chengqian, carrying his long spear upside down and stepping on the steps with his boots, walked step by step to the Emperor.

The emperor heard footsteps and assumed that the Tang generals had accepted the surrender. The Tang Dynasty had always valued the magnanimity of a superior nation, and he believed that as long as he humbled himself enough, he could save his life.

He raised his head tremblingly, forcing a fawning smile that looked worse than a grimace.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and looked at that face.

"The sixteenth brother said this before he left."

Li Chengqian's voice was very soft, yet it carried an absolute stillness that could not be defied.

"Clean it out completely, without holding back."

The Emperor didn't understand what he meant, but he still tried his best to maintain that fawning smile.

Li Chengqian gripped the spear shaft tightly with both hands. Without any hesitation, he swung his arm in a wide arc, and the sharp spear blade drew a fierce crescent-shaped flash of light in mid-air, slicing through the Emperor's neck without any hindrance.

puff.

A head the size of a bucket shot skyward.

Hot blood gushed out of the headless cavity like a fountain, splattering the faces and heads of the royal family members behind him.

That ingratiating smile was forever frozen on the head of the person who was flying, until it rolled down the steps and was covered in dirt.

The screams instantly tore through the air above the palace.

The imperial concubines and nobles were so terrified that they wet themselves and frantically tried to get up and run away.

Li Chengqian shook off the bloodstains on his spear, turned around, and gave the final purge order to the fierce Xuanjia Army below the steps.

"set fire."

"The imperial palace, noble residences, and samurai dojos were all burned down."

Li Chengqian's gaze swept over the royal family members who were crying and fleeing for their lives, his tone devoid of any pity.

"Everyone here, regardless of gender or age, shall be beheaded. I have no prisoners, and the Tang Dynasty has no need for such two-faced slaves."

The Xuanjia Army surged up the steps like a tide.

As the long-handled sword was swung, the screams were quickly replaced by the dull thud of the blade cutting through flesh and bone.

Torches were thrown one after another into the wooden palaces covered with dry tatami mats.

Fueled by the wind, the fire spread rapidly.

Flames licked at the carved beams and painted rafters, and exquisite screens and calligraphy were reduced to ashes in the raging fire. In just half an hour, this imperial palace, representing the highest power of Japan, was completely reduced to a burning sea of ​​fire.

The billowing black smoke obscured the sky above Kyoto, as if tolling the final death knell for this sinful country.

Li Chengqian planted his spear in the ground and sat imposingly on the only piece of bluestone in front of the main hall that was untouched by the flames.

He looked at the palace collapsing in the flames, and at the black-armored soldiers running around in the firelight clearing out the remaining enemies, and let out a long breath.

Although my body was extremely exhausted, the pent-up anger in my chest finally subsided at that moment.

The days passed by.

A month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The five armies of the Tang Dynasty, like five enormous combs, meticulously combed through this long and narrow island from south to north and from east to west.

Those scattered strongholds, villages, and armed forces were completely wiped out without even making a ripple under the absolute dimensional reduction attack.

The last day of the January deadline.

In the wilderness outside the ruins of Kyoto.

The setting sun was like blood.

Li Chengqian was still sitting on that blue stone, but now in front of him were large carts loaded with gold, silver and precious minerals.

On the distant horizon, a cloud of dust rose into the sky.

Four long black dragons slowly converged on the ruins of Kyoto from four different directions.

Li Jing, Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin, four top dukes of the Tang Dynasty, each led five hundred elite Xuanjia soldiers exuding a fierce aura, and finally arrived at the rendezvous point before the deadline.

Thick, dark red scabs covered the armor of every soldier, and each of them had a chilling, murderous intent in their eyes.

This month of frenzied killing did not break them; instead, it forged these veterans into true killing machines.

The army halted in the open field.

The four generals dismounted and strode up to Li Chengqian.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" The four of them clasped their hands in unison.

"No need," Li Chengqian stood up and waved his hand.

Before everyone could exchange a few pleasantries, Cheng Yaojin couldn't wait to start shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Stop dawdling! Hurry up and report the head count! I haven't dared to close my eyes for a month, and I've worn out three axes in the process!"

As Cheng Yaojin spoke, he pulled out a blood-stained booklet from his robes and looked around at everyone triumphantly, as if the elixir that could extend one's life by five years was already his.

"Hurry up and check the accounts, I can't wait to see your sour, jealous faces!"

Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong exchanged a glance and then both let out a cold laugh.

Li Jing, expressionless, pulled an account book from his sleeve and looked past the crowd at the empty plain beyond the ruins.

The suspense was abruptly interrupted by a strange fluctuation just as the five killers were about to reveal their true colors.

The setting sun in the sky was forcibly erased by an invisible force.

The sky above the ruins of Kyoto suddenly darkened without warning.

An immense and terrifying pressure, so overwhelming that it suffocated the five generals, crashed down on everyone's heads like a mountain range.