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Chapter 537: Trampling Thistles On The Way To The Throne (part 2)

The war itself had taken a huge toll on the population. Then the lieutenant governor’s rebellion brought further calamity. Sea-Sealing County, which had only just begun to recover, experienced hail added atop snow.

Dead and wounded victims could be seen throughout all the prefectures. The survivors looked around blankly, many of them completely unaware of the reason for the catastrophe. The wails of the mourners filled heaven and earth. It was the same in the epicenter of the dramatic event, the county capital.

Grief filled the city. Although the blood rain was coming to an end, the casualties here were worse than anywhere else. Eventually, the night sky was revealed, and the moon looked down at everything below.

Two puppets that were experimental god bodies hovered in the air above the altar. Violent cracking sounds emanated from within them. As the sounds spread, the puppets’ aura faded. When the lieutenant governor died, and they lost their source, they opened their eyes, revealing that they had lost all of their energy.

When that happened, Seventh Prince looked out at the county capital and spoke in a voice that reached the ears of all the despairing mortals.

“The Lieutenant Governor’s Coup seriously harmed Sea-Sealing County. Heaven and earth are both furious. This is something that cannot be tolerated! Officers and soldiers, heed my command: crush all rebel elements from the Lieutenant Governor’s Mansion! Bring brightness and clarity back to the lands of Sea-Sealing County!”

In response, the commanders-in-chief rose into the air and shot in unison toward the two puppets.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of commanders-in-chief closed in, causing intense booms to shake heaven and earth.

Bursting with courage and determination, Seventh Prince seemed to erupt after having been forced to keep control for so long, and also attacked one of the puppets. Because he was going all out, a massive projected image appeared behind him, ensuring that all the mortals in the county capital could see clearly what was happening.

The commanders-in-chief attacked with lightning speed, and thus, the two puppets quickly lost their battle prowess and fell to the ground.

Next, Seventh Prince’s massive illusory body threw its arms up, thus preventing the blood rain from falling onto the city. The blood rain fell on him instead, leaving streaks of rot as it streamed down him. However, because Seventh Prince had blocked the rain with his own body, the golden dragon could unleash a roar that scattered the rain.

Meanwhile, the millions upon millions of troops outside the county capital flew up into the air and unleashed magical techniques and huge spell formations that drove away the mutagen.

Seventh Prince, who was widely regarded to be benevolent and generous by nature, issued orders for his troops to spread through the county capital to save the mortals. Because of his quick thinking, many mortals who had been just about to experience mutation, ended up saved. As a result, the scale of the mutation disaster was greatly reduced. Before long, excited cheering and songs of praise directed toward Seventh Prince could be heard in all directions....

That said, the people in the capital were not blind and deaf fools. The hearts of the people couldn’t be won so casually, and thus, there were many people who didn’t cheer and sing. That was especially true of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators from the three palaces who were present below the altar. All of them were looking coldly at Seventh Prince, their eyes filled with disappointment, anger, and derision. Also visible in their eyes was bitterness.

Many people were thinking about Palace Lord Kong. And many people were thinking about the words used to eulogize Palace Lord Kong after he fell in battle: he was the paragon of loyalty and responsibility. [1]

But now, all of the credit and glory for the current victory was being given to Seventh Prince. It was as if the performance that began when Palace Lord Kong died was still playing out. After all, only those people present knew the truth of what happened. And though there were hundreds of thousands of them, compared to the population of the county capital, or of humans in general, they were like a tiny ripple on the surface of a massive body of water.

Of course, the limitations of mortals meant that they were even more easily influenced. What was more, it was human nature to easily forget the past. Before long, their memories of the event would be hazy, and their attention would be focused on other matters.

And Seventh Prince could easily use the pallid bolus as a way to turn everything to his advantage. After all, when it came to the lieutenant governor’s crimes, the fact that the pallid boluses were actually poisonous was something that affected everyone in the city. As for people outside of the county capital who had no idea what happened, they would be even more easily swayed. They would only hear one version of events.

Seventh Prince, who had just expanded human territory and presided over the return of the Holytides, and who had just saved Sea-Sealing County from imminent crisis, had again accomplished the most amazing of deeds. Because of his glory, which already made him shine like gold, even more people would believe whatever he said.

The hearts of the people would be overwhelmed by the drama, and any doubts would fade into nothing, eventually becoming meaningless in a historical context.

That is... unless Xu Qing came back alive. Immediately!

If that happened, then everything would change. The hearts of the people would have something else to focus on, and when the destiny aura converged, everything would be different. That said, most people didn’t think that was very likely to happen.

High in the air, Marquis Yao watched everything happening. Closing his eyes, he sighed. He knew that his entire existence, and any future success, depended on Seventh Prince. After all, he had been saved by Seventh Prince, and had then revealed himself while disguised as one of the prince’s commanders-in-chief. The three deputy palace lords could only stand by silently. Qingqin released a despondent cry, as he was also powerless to do anything.

Master Seventh dropped to the ground to stand next to his senior apprentice. The Captain opened his mouth to speak, but Master Seventh shook his head.

“Just wait!” Master Seventh said in a loud voice that could be heard by everyone in the county capital. “Before Xu Qing made his stand today, he personally told me that he had a way to purge the pallid bolus effects from anyone who consumed them. He can ensure that no one in the capital city is harmed! If I ate a pallid bolus, and some random person told me they could purge its effects, I wouldn’t trust them. But you know who I would trust? The one person who stepped forward and exposed the truth!”

Master Seventh’s words stirred the thoughts of countless people, and caused Seventh Prince’s pupils to constrict.

The Captain’s eyes glittered, and he thought, Now this is what my Master’s like! Ginger gets spicier the older it is, as they say!

Nodding, he chose not to say anything.

Master Seventh’s words caused all of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators to look in his direction. Marquis Yao’s eyes glittered brightly. Qingqin’s expression became one of hope. The three deputy palace lords all looked at Master Seventh. If there was anyone who truly understood Xu Qing, it would naturally be his Master.

Thus, Master Seventh’s words struck the hundreds of thousands of cultivators deeply. That was especially true considering the hidden meaning in his words. Although some people might not have realized the truth of what Master Seventh said before, now, they did.

Up in the dome of heaven, Seventh Prince took a moment to calm himself inwardly. Then he spoke in a calm voice.

“You people are letting your imaginations run wild! From the way you’re looking at me, I can tell what you’re thinking. You believe that I didn’t do anything to help today. But is that true? No, it’s not. I did help!

“I’m the one who rescued Yao Tianyan. I didn’t stop him from interfering earlier, which means I approved of his actions. If Yao Tianyan hadn’t provided the final bit of evidence, would Xu Qing’s enthusiasm have been enough?

“I admit that I was slightly suspicious of the lieutenant governor’s true identity. But that’s why I saved Yao Tianyan to begin with. My plan was to oversee the return of the Holytides, and ensure that humankind was in a stable position. Then I would handle the situation here.

“Considering how many of us fellow human cultivators sacrificed their lives, considering the heavy price paid by our heroes, considering all the hard work the emperor put into unleashing the power of our Dawning Sun, I absolutely could not allow us to lose any momentum!

“At a time when our armies are on the move reclaiming our homeland, we can’t afford to have any chaos in the interior. Therefore, I forced myself to be patient.

“Though you have no way of knowing this, I can tell you that the puny Bai Xiaozhuo couldn’t possibly have done all of this by himself. He obviously has a huge network of allies, plus the lord and master he himself mentioned! After learning the truth of what was going on, I chose to wait and see if that lord of his would show up. What’s more, there’s another possibility to consider. It’s very likely that, as long as I didn’t step in, his lord and master wouldn’t step in. I... was a lurking threat keeping you safe!

“Perhaps you won’t be able to understand all of this. Perhaps you will still be suspicious of me. But you can’t deny the significance of my choices here.”

Below the altar, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators maintained silence. None were giving stock to anything the imperial prince was saying.

Seventh Prince sighed. Then his eyes hardened. “I can see why you’d like to stand there waiting. But we can’t wait for the reconstruction of Sea-Sealing County. We can’t wait for the humans in the county capital to recover. We can’t wait to save the tens of thousands of humans who need saving! At a critical moment like this, when nonhumans are definitely thinking of sowing chaos, our families, our sects, and our homes are all in critical danger.

“Marquis Yao, heed my command. Cultivators of the three palaces, heed my command. Officers and soldiers of Sea-Sealing County, heed my command! All of you cooperate with the imperial army to travel to all the prefectures in the county and crush any signs of rebellion. Save all of the afflicted humans. This is your responsibility!”

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators below the altar had mixed expressions on their faces. What Seventh Prince said all made sense, and there was no refutation any of them could provide. It was their responsibility to do as he’d ordered. But once they left the county capital, they would be truly scattered. It wasn’t that they would never be able to reunite. But while they were gone, it was entirely possible that everything could be flipped around. Black could become white. The strategy of ‘divide and conquer’ was a blade that could cut in any direction.

The three deputy palace lords looked disappointed. Marquis Yao sighed and was about to speak when, all of a sudden, he turned to look off into the distance. Master Seventh shivered and looked in the same direction. The Captain did the same, and already he was breathing heavily, his eyes shining with blue light and his expression one of delight. Even more delighted was Qingqin, who let loose an excited cry.

“CAW!”

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators all sensed that something was happening.

Seventh Prince frowned imperceptibly as he looked off into the distance.

A beam of light streaked through the air toward the county capital. It was not the speed of pseudo-Nascent Soul, but rather, that of Void Returning. Soon, it became possible to see a gigantic Wood Spirit moving at incredible speed. Standing on his shoulders was a figure in a blood-stained uniform. As his garment flapped in the wind, his eyes shone with unswerving determination. His good looks were unrivaled in all heaven and earth. He was none other than Xu Qing. Wrapped around his right wrist was a little white snake which looked curiously in the direction of the county capital.

Xu Qing’s arrival caused excitement to fill the hearts of the cultivators in the capital. Cheering broke out, creating a massive sound wave that spread out, resonating with heaven and earth.

In the canopy of heaven, the four-clawed golden dragon let loose a roar, and it pulsed with golden light that blessed Xu Qing. It also exhaled dazzling clouds that lit up all creation. As a result, all humans in the capital could clearly see what was happening. It was the first time this dragon had created auspicious clouds for someone other than an imperial prince.

The cheering in the county capital was so forceful the clouds trembled, and surpassed the cheering that had been directed toward Seventh Prince after Palace Lord Kong died and he returned having won a great victory over the Holytides. Back then, Xu Qing had been in the army outside the capital, and had looked up silently as Seventh Prince received the adoration of the crowds.

Today, Seventh Prince was in the capital city looking out at the crowds, and watching as Xu Qing returned to adoring cheering. This time, Seventh Prince was the one looking on silently. Even the statue of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity trembled.

What was more, immense streams of destiny aura swept toward Xu Qing and gathered above his head. As he neared, something became visible even to the naked eye of the mortals. It was....

A crown!

1. Seventh Prince himself said that Palace Lord Kong was the paragon of loyalty and responsibility in chapter 510. ?