Lu Yin became annoyed. “I’ve answered all your questions, but you have barely answered any of mine. You’re too rude.”
White Knight arrogantly replied. “Did you? ‘Coincidence.’ That was your answer to my question. What’s the difference between saying that and saying nothing at all?”
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “Women should be cuter.”
A rock smashed into the mountain wall with a bang. Lu Yin got angry and glared at White Knight. “Woman, do you really think that I won’t dare to attack you!? What do you want?”
White Knight coldly answered, “Forget about today’s incident, and forget everything about me. Also, I must have told you not to call me that.”
Lu Yin snorted. “I’ll be smashed to death if i stay with you. See you later—no, goodbye forever!” He then turned around to leave.
“You can’t leave.”
“Why?”
“It’s an order.”
Lu Yin grew so angry that he burst out with laughter. “I’ve already said that nobody can order me about!”
“Anyone who belongs to the Council of the Ten Arbiters, whether they be a member of the Council of Astral Academy or the Outerverse Youth Council, must listen to my orders. You are included among those people,” White Knight coldly reminded him.
Lu Yin’s face twitched. Why does this sound so familiar? She must have said it before!
In the end, Lu Yin didn’t manage to escape.
According to White Knight, if a Realmling appeared, Lu Yin would be a good shield and could help her fight for a longer period of time.
Lu Yin wanted to retaliate, but he didn’t dare to do so as White Knight’s castle could defeat him in less than an instant. Even if he used both the Yu Secret Art and the Dream Finger, at best, he would be able to attack her once. He also didn’t want to use his full strength since they weren’t enemies and could actually be considered comrades; in the end, he didn’t try to provoke her anymore.
The crevice between the mountains where the two of them were hiding was quite well hidden, and Lu Yin was planning on staying in this place until his futon dimmed. He was also determined to never interact with this woman ever again since she was so unreasonable.
***
In Shenwu Continent, Ming Zhaoshu had been struggling ever since he had replaced Ming Zhaotian as emperor. He had to take care of political affairs all day long, each and every day, and he also had to find ways to groom his supporters to take over important positions. Finally, he also had to deal with Ming Zhaotian’s supporters. Furthermore, riots kept breaking out in various regions. The citizens of the Shenwu Empire had always had a bad impression of the outsiders, and forcing them to cooperate with the outsiders had caused Shenwu Continent to descend into chaos.
Ming Zhaoshu had expected this situation to occur, and thus, he had a very simple solution: the empire would completely integrate with the outside universe, and that would resolve the current situation.
During this period of chaos, there had already been 126 assassination attempts on Ming Zhaoshu’s life. Although these people had only been wasting their lives, the large amount of attempts showed that there were still many who wanted their new emperor dead. Over the past few days, various soldiers claiming to support the former crown prince, Ming Hao, had popped up in various areas. However, Ming Hao was already dead, which meant that these people were clearly just taking advantage of his name to attract supporters. Despite reality, only a few people were aware of the truth and that Ming Hao was dead. Thus, a large number of people rushed to join the soldiers.
The army of the Shenwu Empire was kept busy with having to constantly suppress the riots.
The Reverent King’s Residence had been rebuilt and had become the new core of the Shenwu Empire as the imperial palace was still undergoing repairs.
Within the study of the Reverent King’s Residence, Ming Zhaoshu set down the document that he had been reading and massaged his temples. There was a stack of documents on the table detailing the rebel armies’ movements and activities in the various regions of the empire. There were also some faraway islands that hadn’t recognized his rule and were also attempting to secede from the empire.
Ming Zhaoshu desperately needed some external help to quell the empire’s internal conflicts. The best method would be for him to rely on the Great Eastern Alliance. Ming Yan was already prepared to leave for the Great Yu Empire at any given moment.
As long as he could ally with the Great Yu Empire, he would be able to bring some high technology products from the universe into the empire, which would help him effectively defuse the riots. He believed that the cultural shock these high technology products would introduce would actually be more effective than political violence.
Suddenly, Ming Zhaoshu spat out a mouthful of blood that covered his table as well as the floor. Something had come over him very suddenly, and he didn’t know what was going on.
What’s happening? Ming Zhaoshu clutched at his chest. Nothing seemed to be wrong with his body, and he hadn’t been injured either. There were also no signs that he had been poisoned, so why had he just vomited blood?
“Send for the royal physician,” Ming Zhaoshu ordered.
An elderly man soon entered the study. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Check my pulse,” Ming Zhaoshu calmly ordered. The blood in the study had already been cleaned up, and there was nothing strange about the room except for the smell of blood that still lingered in the air.
The royal physician lifted his head up. His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw Ming Zhaoshu. “Your- your majesty, what happened?”
Ming Zhaoshu’s heart sank the moment he saw the royal physician’s expression of shock. He looked in the mirror, and instead of seeing the majestic and imposing Shenwu Emperor, he saw an old man with white hair and wrinkled skin. He could barely see himself in his own reflection.
Ming Zhaoshu was stunned. “What’s happening? What’s happening!”
The royal physician was trembling in fear, and he didn’t dare to move any closer to the emperor.
Ming Zhaoshu couldn’t believe his eyes. Why do I look like this? This is fake! It’s fake!
He shattered the mirror and took another one out, but he still saw the appearance of an old man staring back at him. He had turned into an old man within just a few minutes.
“Your majesty, let me take a look,” the royal physician requested fearfully.
Ming Zhaoshu sat down on a chair with clenched fists. He was still in disbelief at his condition.
The royal physician approached him slowly and placed his hand to check Ming Zhaoshu’s pulse. He frowned and muttered in confusion after a few moments. “Why would it be like this? This is strange, very strange.”
“What is happening?” Ming Zhaoshu asked.
“Your majesty, your body is fine, but your life energy is draining away extremely quickly. It’s as if something is stealing your life away,” the royal physician explained.
Ming Zhaoshu’s eyes narrowed. “So are you saying that I have been poisoned?”
The royal physician nodded. “That is most likely the case, yes, though I have never heard of a poison that is able to steal life energy while allowing the body to remain healthy. Why would such a poison exist?”
Ming Zhaoshu lowered his head to hide the madness in his eyes from the royal physician. “Is there a cure for this condition?”
The royal physician answered, “We can only use certain medicines that are able to replenish life energy in order to delay the depletion that you are currently suffering from. Your Majesty, please request the outsiders for help, as perhaps they have a means of curing this poison.”
Ming Zhaoshu nodded. “I understand. You may leave.”
The royal physician breathed a sigh of relief. “Then I will take my leave.”
He then walked towards the door.
Suddenly, a tremendous pressure descended and crushed the royal physician into a puddle of blood. Behind the remains of the man, Ming Zhaoshu’s gaze was frosty. He could not allow anyone to discover his current condition.
Depleting life energy… poison. Who poisoned me? It couldn’t be anyone from Shenwu Continent, as they wouldn’t have access to such a strong poison that can deplete the life energy of even a Martial Sovereign powerhouse. Shenwu Continent did not have any method to cure this poison, and Ming Zhaoshu suspected that the outside universe might not either.