Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

In Su Qingshan's mind, although Su Mu had not yet reached the Grandmaster level, he was already a top expert below the Grandmaster level, and no one could rival him. If he knew that Su Mu's killing of Duanmu Ping was not a fluke, and that he had personally eliminated the Japanese Grandmaster Mori no Ryuta and the Tianwu Sect Grandmaster Lin Zhengying, he would not dare to break into the library tonight even if he had a hundred lives.

"What if you can't control him?" Su Mu asked again, his tone slightly playful.

"I admit that the Grandmaster of Tianwu Sect is indeed stronger than me, but he is ultimately not a member of the Xiao royal family, and he would never risk his life for the Xiao family!" Su Qingshan shook his head, his tone resolute. "Don't forget, there are nearly a million troops pressing in outside the city, including Grandmasters. The Xiao royal family is already at its end. Any Grandmaster wouldn't risk their life for a dying royal family, because even if they fought desperately, it wouldn't change the final outcome!"

"How many Grandmasters are in the army outside the city?" Su Mu pressed, needing to find out the other side's trump cards.

"Not many, only one," Su Qingshan answered truthfully. "That is a Grandmaster of the barbarian tribe, at the peak of his life, not a newly promoted Grandmaster. His strength is by no means inferior to that one from the Heavenly Martial Sect."

Su Mu curled his lip, his tone laced with sarcasm: "According to you, even if we do manage to destroy the Xiao family, we might end up like them, besieged by two armies outside the city, ultimately achieving nothing and benefiting others."

"That will absolutely not happen!" Su Qingshan said confidently. "I know the thoughts of the Japanese and barbarian tribes inside and out. All they want is territory. As long as we give them the land they want, they will naturally stop fighting. The same goes for the Northern Desert Kingdom. Besides, there are still hundreds of thousands of troops defending the city. If we really launch a direct attack, they will pay a heavy price!"

"Will the army defending the city obey our orders?" Su Mu asked rhetorically.

"If they won't listen to us, are they going to listen to a foreign race?" Su Qingshan said disdainfully. "No matter what, we and the defending army belong to the Great Qian clan. Once the Xiao royal family is destroyed, they will definitely be more willing to submit to us, their own kind. Moreover, the fact that we were able to personally destroy the Xiao clan is proof of our strength, enough to convince them!"

"I must say, you've got a pretty shrewd plan." Su Mu smiled, his tone even more sarcastic.

"I'm doing this not only for myself and the Divine Judgment Organization, but also for your sake!" Su Qingshan feigned concern for Su Mu. "I know you have a strong affinity for this palace, for the current emperor, and even for the entire Xiao royal family, and are willing to serve them, even at the cost of your life. But the Xiao family is already on its last legs, and I can't bear to see you perish with them. You have the blood of the Xichuan royal family flowing through your veins, and the Xiao family is your enemy. Even if you don't care about this hatred, the Xiao royal family will never tolerate a threat like you!"

"You're right, I truly don't care about this hatred." Su Mu said calmly. "As for whether the Xiao royal family cares or not, I don't care either."

"I've said everything I need to say. Now I'm just asking you, are you willing to act according to the plan I just mentioned?" Su Qingshan lost his patience and was no longer willing to deal with Su Mu.

"I'm not willing," Su Mu replied crisply.

"You're utterly stubborn!" Su Qingshan's gentle expression vanished completely, replaced by a stern rebuke. "It seems I was right to abandon your training back then. You're simply not worthy of being by my side, much less of the cultivation resources left behind by the Xichuan royal family!"

"What, you're planning to resort to violence if you can't reach an agreement?" Su Mu looked at him with disdain.

"You wretched child! You have never been willing to call me father, so how can we talk about turning against each other?" Su Qingshan retorted angrily.

"A coward who abandoned his wife and children, dares to talk to me about father-son affection?" Su Mu retorted sharply, showing no mercy.

"I cannot stand by and watch my son serve my enemy, so... your despicable life should come to an end!" Before Su Qingshan finished speaking, he was enveloped in acquired essence fire, and a long, cold-looking blade appeared in his hand.

This was not a strategic location within the imperial palace; no powerful figures would come to Su Mu's aid. As a Grandmaster, Su Qingshan was absolutely confident that he could kill Su Mu in a short time. Even if Lin Zhengying, the Grandmaster of the Tianwu Sect, arrived, it would be too late to save him. He was unaware that Lin Zhengying was already dead, and even less aware that his actions at this moment were tantamount to courting death.

"It's not me who should end my life, it's you!" Just as Su Qingshan swung his sword, Su Mu's body was engulfed in flames.

"Hmm?" The acquired essence fire on Su Mu's body made Su Qingshan's heart jump, and his face was full of surprise.

What terrified him even more was that Su Mu showed no intention of dodging; instead, he reached out and grabbed the tip of his longsword!

"The last person who tried to take my life was also a Grandmaster. His name was Lin Zhengying." Su Mu gave Su Qingshan no chance to react or escape. As he spoke, the acquired essence fire around him spread along his arms and, through the long sword, instantly swept over Su Qingshan's body.

Compared to Su Mu's, Su Qingshan's acquired essence fire was utterly insignificant and was instantly suppressed. Immediately afterward, Su Qingshan was enveloped in golden flames, with dragon and roc shadows circling and hovering within them. Even though he was protected by his protective armor, he still felt unbearable burning pain all over his body, and the look of terror on his face deepened.

At this moment, Su Qingshan was filled with doubt and shock. He clearly hadn't sensed the slightest trace of primordial spirit energy from Su Mu, which was enough to prove that Su Mu hadn't yet entered the Grandmaster realm and was still at the Grandmaster level. Yet Su Mu had ignited his acquired essence fire ahead of time, and this acquired essence fire was exceptionally special, with power far exceeding that of ordinary fire.

With just this powerful acquired essence fire, Su Mu already held an absolute advantage. What shocked Su Qingshan even more was that Su Mu was able to catch his high-grade Xuan-level longsword with his bare hands, which was enough to show that Su Mu's physique had reached its peak.

All of this was beyond Su Qingshan's comprehension. He never imagined that a Grandmaster-level martial artist could be this powerful.

"You're rather unlucky. Lin Zhengying could at least exchange a few blows with me, but you didn't even get a chance to make a move," Su Mu said mockingly, snatching the long sword from Su Qingshan's hand.

Su Qingshan's strength was already inferior to Lin Zhengying's, and Su Mu was now much stronger than when he killed Lin Zhengying. Therefore, an ordinary early-stage Grandmaster like Su Qingshan was utterly helpless against Su Mu and could be killed with a flick of his wrist. Su Qingshan didn't even have a chance to use his martial arts techniques; the difference in strength between them was simply too great.

Su Qingshan tried his best to activate his inner spirit, but his inner spirit power couldn't be released at all. Unable to even project his power, let alone unleash powerful martial arts techniques, he could only sit and wait for his death.

"You're going to kill your father?!" Su Qingshan shouted in panic, "Stop! Father and son killing each other will only gloat to our enemies and break the hearts of our loved ones!"

"You didn't say these things when you were trying to kill me." Su Mu was too lazy to waste any more words with him. He swung his long sword and pierced straight through Su Qingshan's head.

Su Qingshan's primordial spirit burst out from his collapsing sea of ​​consciousness in an instant, but the next second, he fell into a daze—he had been hit by Su Mu's soul-capturing technique and had lost his own consciousness.

The gold on the shoulder was startled awake by the noise and began to chirp and chatter.

"Eunuch Su..." Just then, Xiao Anran rushed over. She had already noticed the unusual commotion inside the library and was worried that something had happened to Su Mu, so she came over immediately.