“Don’t provoke me. I’m not in a good mood today,” Zu An said as he swept his gaze over those present, before finally focusing on King Jin.2

The soldiers who had been charging instantly shivered. They couldn't help but stop in their tracks.0

When he saw that gaze, King Jin shuddered. He instinctively felt fear. However, he quickly snapped out of his daze. He was the glorious King Jin, and he had been doted on by his father, the emperor. The current crown prince shared the same mother as him, so who did he have to fear? He even felt anger at his momentary cowardice. He exclaimed, “What a joke! Who do you think you are?! Not only is this king going to provoke you, I am going to arrest you and all these people at your side. What the hell can you even do about it?”0

You have successfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +351 +351 +351…0

“What are you all standing around stupidly for? Charge at him!” King Jin ordered.0

“Yes!” the guards replied as they all snapped out of their daze.0

With their king as a backer, what did they have to fear? As for Elder Chen’s injuries, that was most likely because of a moment of carelessness.0

Even if this Zu An really does have some skill, would he be able to win against so many people?1

Besides, they represented King Jin, his majesty’s most beloved prince. Meanwhile, Zu An was just a trifling marquis who probably couldn't even protect himself. Could it be that he really dared to hit them, to hit King Jin?4

“Just give up already and accept your punishment!” they yelled as they charged.0

“Get lost!” Zu An snapped, sending an invisible force rippling outward with a wave of his sleeve.0

The soldiers screamed bitterly as they were blown back by that invisible force. Those who were weaker fainted on the spot, while the others all suffered injuries of varying degrees and couldn't get back to their feet no matter how they struggled. They had already lost their ability to fight.1

Chu Youzhao clapped excitedly and exclaimed, “Brother-in-law is so awesome!”0

Murong Qinghe’s beautiful eyes sparkled. She had been about to die while fighting against all of these soldiers, but they were nothing against a single wave of big brother Zu’s sleeve.0

Just how high is his cultivation?6

Zu An didn’t even give the soldiers lying on the ground a look and walked directly toward King Jin. King Jin suddenly felt a lack of confidence and instinctively took a few steps back.0

Elder Chen stood in front of Zu An and said, “Sir Zu, I must ask you to please stop.” The bleeding on his hand had already stopped. When he saw Zu An closing in on King Jin, he could only move to block the way.0

“Out of the way!” Zu An barked gravely.0

When he saw Zu An's expression, Elder Chen trembled from an indescribable sensation. The feeling left him really puzzled. He was already a powerful master rank cultivator, so why did he feel this way in front of a junior? He clearly couldn't sense an ounce of ki from Zu An’s body. The other side seemed more like an ordinary person. However, the spear that had hit him and the power that had blown back all of the other soldiers clearly showed that Zu An's cultivation wasn't trivial. It seemed as if Zu An was using some kind of secret method to hide his aura.1

Even though he didn’t know Zu An’s exact cultivation, Elder Chen thought to himself that there was no way Zu An's cultivation could be higher than his own. There had to be a limit. According to the intelligence they had, this brat was only around twenty years old. Even if he cultivated from the moment he came out of his mother’s womb, just how much could he have cultivated?10

Besides, he had heard that Zu An only started cultivating recently. It was likely that he encountered some miraculous encounter that made his cultivation achieve new breakthroughs, but that would often leave one's foundation unstable. If they really fought against each other, he didn’t believe that there was any way this youngster could compare to himself, a master who had properly cultivated one step after another until now!4

“Young man, do not be too hot-blooded. You need to know that there are always people better than you, and there are heavens above heavens,” Elder Chen said while producing a flying sword in midair above his head.2

Zu An was a bit surprised. The elder was just a master, and yet he could actually control a flying sword? Usually, only grandmaster rank cultivators could attach a soul to an object, allowing them to behead an enemy thousands of miles away. On the master rank level, one would only be able to roughly approximate that result. However, judging from the appearance of Elder Chen’s sword, that didn’t seem to be the case.0

“There's always someone better than you?” Zu An repeated with a mocking expression. He said, “There's some truth to what you said. And yet, coming out of your mouth, it's a bit laughable.”1

“Junior, you dare?!” Elder Chen exclaimed. He had enjoyed respect from everyone around him for so long, and even King Jin treated him with respect. When had he ever been looked down on like this before?2

You have successfully trolled Chen Xingchao for +404 +404 +404…0

In his fury, the flying sword flew straight at Zu An. It was incredibly fast. Everyone around him could clearly see its trajectory; even Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe, who had tremendous confidence in Zu An, couldn't help but break out in cold sweat when they saw that.0

Zu An leaned slightly to the side to avoid the flying sword. He muttered to himself, “So that was what it was. It’s a flying sword talisman.” He had studied the Baopu Sutra, so he was already very proficient in the seven domains of cultivation. He immediately recognized the source of the flying sword.0

Chen Xingchao’s expression changed. This flying sword talisman’s secrets had already been lost to history. It was something he'd happened to stumble upon through a miraculous opportunity in his earlier years. No one was supposed to recognize it, as it was a trump card he had hidden all this time. He had never expected the other side to immediately recognize its origins with a single glance!1

His finger moved through the air. The flying sword turned into a trace of yellow light and stabbed toward the middle of Zu An’s back. As long as the attack landed, even if that youngster didn’t die, he would be crippled.0

Suddenly, however, that yellow light congealed. The flying sword disappeared and was replaced with a yellow talisman. Furthermore, that talisman was gently trapped between Zu An’s fingers. Chen Xingchao was horrified. He quickly tried to remove the talisman from Zu An's control, making it shake intensely.0

However, Zu An harrumphed, and with a light brush of his hand, the divine sense attached to the talisman was directly erased. With his knowledge of talismans, he naturally knew how to control such talismans that weren’t all that mysterious.0

“Since you want it so much, you can have it back,” Zu An said. As soon as he spoke, the yellow talisman turned into a flying sword again. It instantly flew behind Chen Xingchao and pierced through the middle of his back.0

“You… You…” Chen Xingchao gasped as he clutched the huge hole in his chest. His voice gurgled, and he couldn't even finish his sentence before passing away.4

In that instant, he was full of regret. He regretted how highly he had thought of himself, and how he had considered himself unequaled by relying on King Jin’s authority. Only now did he understand that in the end, this was a world that only cared about strength. And yet, how could he have known that this ordinary-looking pretty boy would have cultivation of such a terrifying level?0

All of the intelligence the capital has on him is wrong… Who knows just how many people are going to suffer at his hands?3

Even so, why did I have to be the one who was struck by lightning first?6

I regret it all…3

He collapsed heavily onto the ground. His eyes were wide open; he had clearly died with remaining grievances.0

Those present were stupefied. They had all been praising Elder Chen’s powerful-looking flying sword, wondering how it would destroy that pretty boy. However, the situation had been reversed in the blink of an eye! Just what happened? Why had Elder Chen been killed instead?1

With a wave of Zu An’s hand, the yellow talisman returned to him. There was a special rune drawn on the surface, with a small sword at the center. A trace of light flowed through it. He thought to himself, This thing is quite interesting. I can make a few more of them and gift them to my sweethearts to protect themselves.2

His mood was awful today. Even though he'd said that he didn’t want to become an imperial grandson, when he thought about how many of his family members had died because of the Zhao clan, and then about how arrogantly Zhao Ruiyong was acting in front of him, he had become angrier and angrier. That damned Chen bastard had even hurt Chu Youzhao and so many of the guards of the manor. The sword he'd attacked with was also too vicious. Thus, Elder Chen reaped what he'd sown.0

When King Jin saw that Elder Chen, whom he relied on the most, had died so easily, he couldn't help but exclaim in shock and anger, “You actually dared to kill this king’s Elder Chen? Where did you get the nerve to do that?!”0

You have successfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +444 +444 +444…0

Zu An said coldly, “We’ve already reached this situation, and yet you still dare to bark at me like a dog? I'm also curious. Just where did you get the nerve to do that?”1

King Jin was stunned at first, but then he erupted with fury. “Dog barking? A dog slave like you actually dares to treat this king with disrespect! You are nothing more than a dog my brother raised! Even if you have become a marquis, you are nothing more than a dog of slightly higher status!”1

You have successfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +499 +499 +499…0

As King Jin cursed, his voice suddenly stopped. He felt an invisible hand clamping around his throat. Then, his body rose into the air. He finally panicked, exclaiming, “What are you doing? Stop immediately! I am the glorious King Jin! You dare touch me?!”2

As he looked at the sickly pale youngster in front of him, Zu An’s expression was exceptionally calm. Zhao Han himself had already died, so why would he fear this child?0

No wonder Zhao Han disliked me from the very first glance, and I subconsciously loathed him too. So it turns out out there was a grudge from the previous dynasty. He was my fated enemy from the very start.9

When he saw that Zu An didn’t say anything, King Jin sneered, remarking, “Now you know fear, don’t you? Hurry and lower this king. There are so many people watching, and there are people from other clans out there. Don't tell me that you would dare kill me? If you tie up your hands and kowtow three times respectfully to this king, this king can consider not arguing over today’s events.”0

The other clans were already secretly discussing things among themselves.1

“This Zu An is now trapped in an impossible situation. Do you think he’ll kneel and admit his wrongs?”0

“No way! He's a popular person from the Eastern Palace and an honorable marquis. It's rumored that he's connected to the Fiend races too. How could he possibly kowtow here?”0

“That makes sense. I think he’ll probably let King Jin go, or at most kill his remaining guards to vent his anger. That way, both sides will still have some face.”1

“However, that way, won’t both sides be unable to coexist any longer? With King Jin’s nature, there's no way that he would leave the matter be. He'd gather forces from even more clans, and then Zu An would be in trouble.”0

“Zu An was harboring a criminal to begin with, and he even killed King Jin’s subordinate Elder Chen. He was already in big trouble from the very start.”0

…0

Just then, Zu An turned slightly to look at King Jin. He said quietly to himself, “I thought that guy Zhao Ruizhi was already dumb enough. I didn’t expect you to be even dumber than him. At least he knows to fear me.”0

“Brazen! You actually dare to spout such disgraceful words?!” King Jin exclaimed, glowering at him.0

You have successfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +288 +288 +288…0

For some reason, he felt a bit of unease inside.0

“Disgraceful?” Zu An replied. When he saw that King Jin was still acting arrogant and despotic even in such a situation, he recalled his family from the previous dynasty who had died tragically. He walked up to King Jin, then said quietly in his ear, “Didn’t you want to get revenge for your father all this time? I’ll at least tell you the truth so you can die with some understanding. I was the one who killed Zhao Han.”12

Zhao Ruiyong’s eyes instantly contracted when he heard that. He was about to shout when a powerful force entered his neck.0

Crack!3

His neck snapped, and his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. Even in death, he couldn't understand why the other side dared to kill him.7