Chapter 582: Death?
Wan Zhaoyi held the imperial decree in his hand, as if Empress Chi Yao herself had arrived, and walked into the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor. Wherever he passed, no one dared to block his path.
Whoever blocked his path was blocking Empress Chi Yao.
Unless they intended to rebel, even Saints had to make way for the imperial decree.
Before long, led by Wan Zhaoyi, a group of Golden Armored Soldiers entered the garden, surrounding Zhang Ruochen in the center.
Wan Zhaoyi looked somewhat surprised at Zhang Ruochen, who was standing by the lake. Zhang Ruochen appeared extremely calm, relaxed, and at ease, as if the vast imperial might had no effect on him.
How could a mere Fish-Dragon Realm cultivator withstand the Empress's imperial might?
Even the Golden Armored Soldiers present exchanged glances, finding it unbelievable.
The reason the Golden Armored Soldiers were unaffected by the imperial might was that their golden armor had been purified through a special ritual, allowing them to resist the suppression of imperial might.
So, what method had this young man used to withstand the imperial might?
They did not know that Zhang Ruochen had triggered the resonance of the gods four times and bore the marks of the gods. How could he be forced to kneel by a mere imperial decree?
Only Wan Zhaoyi roughly understood the reason. He carefully examined Zhang Ruochen for a moment, but Zhang Ruochen remained expressionless.
Few young cultivators could remain as calm as Zhang Ruochen in his presence.
Wan Zhaoyi smiled and said, "As expected of someone the Empress wishes to see, truly extraordinary. Lock him up and take him away."
Two Golden Armored Soldiers took out iron chains, drew their golden swords, and walked over, their expressions as cold as soul-reaping envoys from hell.
The white iron chains clashed, producing a "clanking" sound.
If Zhang Ruochen dared to resist, they would not hesitate to swing their golden swords and kill him.
However, Zhang Ruochen remained exceptionally calm, not even blinking from start to finish.
"Clank!"
His wrists and ankles were immediately locked with the iron chains.
The two chains seemed sentient, frantically absorbing the true qi from Zhang Ruochen's body. In an instant, the true qi in the meridians of his arms and legs was drained completely.
As the chains absorbed the true qi, strands of electric light emerged, emitting a "crackling" sound.
Even though Zhang Ruochen had cultivated to the "Skin Turned to Gold" realm, his wrists and ankles immediately became bloody and mangled, then were scorched black by the electric light.
Zhang Ruochen attempted to mobilize a trace of true qi to his right arm's meridians.
"Crack!"
The chains instantly absorbed the true qi, converting it into a strand of electric light that struck Zhang Ruochen's right wrist. Blood immediately gushed from the wound.
Wan Zhaoyi reminded him, "To prevent prisoners from escaping, the chains absorb the true qi from the cultivator's arms and legs, converting it into a backlash force. The higher the cultivator's cultivation, the stronger the backlash force released by the chains. I advise you not to mobilize true qi, lest you bring suffering upon yourself."
Just then, from deep within the Saint King Manor, the voice of the Eastern Domain King rang out: "Tomorrow is his wedding day. Can't you wait one more day?"
Wan Zhaoyi looked up toward the depths of the Saint King Manor, then bowed and said, "Heavenly King, the imperial decree cannot be defied."
Afterward, Wan Zhaoyi straightened up, waved his arm, and said, "Take him away."
After the Golden Armored Soldiers left, the imperial might gradually dissipated.
Wan Ke walked over to Qingxiao Saint, his expression grave, and said, "Senior Brother, I feel something is very wrong. The Empress is of such high status, yet she personally issued an imperial decree to arrest Junior Brother. Isn't that overkill?"
"Do you suspect Wan Zhaoyi is falsely transmitting the imperial decree?"
Qingxiao Saint shook his head and said, "Falsely transmitting an imperial decree is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations. No one would dare do that. Although Wan Zhaoyi is arrogant, I am certain he does not have the courage to challenge the Empress's authority."
Wan Ke said, "But even those rebellious Saints are not worthy of the Empress personally issuing an imperial decree for their arrest. Even if Junior Brother has high talent, in the Empress's eyes, he is probably just a speck of dust, unworthy of her attention."
"Could it be that his identity as the Heir of Time and Space has been exposed, and even the Empress feels threatened, wanting to eliminate him?" Zhu Hongtao said.
Wan Ke immediately shook his head and said, "Impossible. Junior Brother only exposed his identity as the Heir of Time and Space yesterday. In just one day, even using an insect tunnel, it's impossible to travel from the Central Domain to the Eastern Domain in such a short time. That means the Empress had already issued the imperial decree before that."
Qingxiao Saint frowned and said, "Indeed, this is very strange. The Martial Market Bank has thoroughly investigated and confirmed that Junior Brother is definitely not a member of the Demon Sect. Why would the court use this as a pretext to arrest him? To offend both the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor and the Martial Market Bank over a Fish-Dragon Realm genius, what kind of chess move is the Empress making?"
Wan Ke said, "I think we should report this immediately and let the higher-ups of the Martial Market Bank find a way. With their influence in the court, combined with the Chen Clan's power, they should be able to save Junior Brother's life."
Qingxiao Saint nodded and said, "For now, that's all we can do."
Then, Qingxiao Saint, Zhu Hongtao, and Wan Ke immediately left the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor and rushed back to the Holy Academy.
...
...
The Golden Armored Beast was a fifth-rank lower-level barbarian beast, standing nine meters tall, with scales as thick as five fingers. On its back grew a pair of large, scale-covered wings. When the golden wings were fully spread, they could reach thirty meters in length.
Only the Imperial Golden Armored Guard could ride the Golden Armored Beast as a mount.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was sitting on the back of a Golden Armored Beast, but he was enclosed by an iron cage that locked him in from all sides.
Originally, a prison cage could not trap Zhang Ruochen.
However, his wrists and ankles were bound with Saint-Locking Chains, preventing him from mobilizing even a trace of true qi, making escape impossible.
A Golden Armored man in his thirties sat cross-legged on the head of the Golden Armored Beast. He turned around, smiled, and said, "In this world, there are very few people worthy of the Empress personally issuing an imperial decree for their arrest. You can consider yourself quite honored."
"Oh? Is that so? Have you seen the Empress?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The Golden Armored man showed a reverent expression, shook his head, and said, "The Empress is a figure above the nine heavens. Although we are the Imperial Guard, we have never seen her sacred countenance."
Zhang Ruochen nodded and closed his eyes again.
The journey from the Eastern Domain to the Central Domain was extremely long. If they relied solely on flight, it would take countless years to arrive.
Therefore, to travel between the two domains, they had to pass through space insect tunnels.
After three days, having undergone three space jumps, the group finally reached the edge of the Eastern Domain Divine Soil.
Then, they continued toward the fourth space insect tunnel.
According to the Golden Armored Soldiers, the fourth space insect tunnel was only six thousand miles away. Passing through it would allow them to directly cross the barbarian secret realm between the Eastern Domain and the Central Domain, saving two years of travel time.
The barbarian secret realm was vast and boundless, separating the Eastern Domain from the Central Domain. Even at the marching speed of the Golden Armored Soldiers, if no accidents occurred, it would take two years to cross that region.
For an ordinary martial artist, even if they spent two hundred years, it would be nearly impossible to travel from the Eastern Domain to the Central Domain.
Because the space insect tunnel could connect the two domains, the court placed great importance on it, stationing a large number of troops at both ends of the tunnel to ensure it was not damaged by human hands.
Halfway through the journey, Wan Zhaoyi suddenly sensed something. He stopped the white flood dragon and looked up ahead.
Twenty miles away, a seventy-year-old man in plain clothes stood at the edge of a cliff.
The old man's aged eyes looked down, fixing on Zhang Ruochen on the back of the Golden Armored Beast, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and looked at the old man in the distance, immediately recognizing him: "He's here. It seems I won't make it to the Central Domain."
The old man in plain clothes was Jiuyou Sword Saint.
Jiuyou Sword Saint's appearance made Zhang Ruochen's situation even more dire, but Zhang Ruochen did not panic. Instead, he began to calmly think about how to use this opportunity to escape.
Although the true qi in his hands and feet was sealed, his spiritual power was not. Breaking out of the iron cage was not difficult.
The key was that, given his spiritual power level, even if he escaped the cage, how could he escape the grasp of Wan Zhaoyi and Jiuyou Sword Saint?
He could not act rashly; he could only wait for an opportunity.
"Roar!"
The white flood dragon beneath Wan Zhaoyi sensed the dangerous aura and became restless, continuously emitting white air columns from its nostrils and low dragon roars from its mouth.
It was no longer under Wan Zhaoyi's control and kept retreating.
Wan Zhaoyi remained calm in the face of change. While mobilizing the world's spiritual qi, he asked, "Junior Wan Zhaoyi, may I ask how to address you, Senior?"
Jiuyou Sword Saint stood at the cliff's edge, his voice reaching twenty miles away: "Leave Zhang Ruochen, and you may leave."
"Does Senior not know that Zhang Ruochen is someone the Empress wants?" Wan Zhaoyi said in a deep voice.
"No matter who wants him, I will take his life today."
"Whoosh!"
Jiuyou Sword Saint's figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
Wan Zhaoyi knew the opponent's cultivation was formidable and could not be matched by force. So, he quickly took out the imperial decree, intending to use its power to repel the enemy.
But just as Wan Zhaoyi had unrolled half of the imperial decree, a sword qi, like a pillar of fire, struck down from the sky above.
"Such fast swordplay."
Wan Zhaoyi's expression changed. He immediately activated his movement technique and rushed out, escaping ten miles away.
Within a ten-mile radius, chaotic sword qi crisscrossed, producing a "swishing" sound.
Wan Zhaoyi turned around and saw that at the center of the sword qi, the rocks and soil had melted, completely turning into a lake of magma, emitting waves of heat.
From this, one could imagine how terrifying that sword strike was.
If he had not dodged quickly enough, he would have been severely injured.
Wan Zhaoyi's expression was extremely ugly. Since his debut, he had rarely encountered such a powerful expert. Both the speed and power of the sword technique had reached the pinnacle.
"Whoosh!"
Wan Zhaoyi's figure moved, flying to the edge of the magma lake and landing on the ground.
That sword strike had reduced all the Golden Armored Soldiers and Zhang Ruochen to ashes, leaving no remains. Even his white flood dragon mount had died under the sword qi.
However, the white flood dragon's cultivation was strong, so it had not completely turned to dust. At least a tattered dragon skeleton remained, faintly visible in the magma lake.
"Three Sword Saints of the Eastern Domain, which one are you?" Wan Zhaoyi's eyes scanned the surroundings, and he roared in fury.