Chapter 73

The new emperor ascended the throne.

All under heaven celebrated.

All thirty-five states of the Central Plains sent envoys to offer congratulations.

Lin Yuan responded to each one without showing the slightest unfamiliarity.

Although he had just ascended, for the past ten years,

Lin Yuan had been the crown prince serving as regent.

The military and political power of the state were in his hands.

Compared to a true emperor, he lacked nothing but the title.

…

Half a month later.

Inside Chengtian Hall.

Lin Yuan, dressed in a dragon robe, fell into deep thought.

After officially taking the throne, the true secrets of the Greater Yan Dynasty unfolded before him.

Mainly concerning the “Divine Weapons.”

The Nation-Protecting Divine Weapon of the Greater Yan Dynasty…

its true name was the “Sun and Moon Spear.”

In more than three thousand six hundred years of Greater Yan’s history, the Divine Weapon “Sun and Moon Spear” had revived three times.

Each time because of the disturbance caused by the “Evil Soldier,” leading to the suffering of the people,

and then the warriors would act, mobilizing the Divine Weapon to suppress everything.

“Evil Soldier?”

Lin Yuan stroked his chin.

To force a Divine Weapon into action…

The so-called “Evil Soldier” must possess strength far surpassing that of a Martial Saint.

“Defying Divine Society…”

Lin Yuan pondered internally.

According to the information possessed by the Greater Yan Dynasty, the Defying Divine Society always had an ambiguous connection with the Evil Soldier.

Every time the Evil Soldier caused chaos, the shadow of the Defying Divine Society was behind it.

Therefore…

The Greater Yan Dynasty… more accurately, the Central Plains Thirty-Six Kingdoms.

Whenever they encountered someone from the Defying Divine Society, it was always kill without mercy; there was no need even for capture.

This was also the will of each Nation-Protecting Divine Weapon, which no one dared to defy.

“Seems like this Defying Divine Society holds great secrets…”

Lin Yuan’s expression hinted at a deep thought.

His forces were now close to pinpointing the location of the headquarters of the Defying Divine Society within the Greater Yan Dynasty.

Whatever secrets the Defying Divine Society held would soon be unveiled before Lin Yuan.

….

Atop the royal court.

Lin Yuan sat on the Dragon Throne.

The Minister of Rites stepped out from the ranks and respectfully said, “Your Majesty, having succeeded to the great rule, should promptly visit the ‘Divine Weapon Ancestral Grounds’ to offer sacrifices to the Divine Weapon…”

The Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Central Plains shared many ‘traditions’.

One of these was the sacrificing to the Divine Weapon.

Every newly ascended emperor needed to quickly visit their respective Divine Weapon Ancestral Grounds to offer sacrifices to the Divine Weapon.

This tradition was quite normal.

After all, the Nation-Protecting Divine Weapons,

for each kingdom, represented an existence as supreme as the heavens themselves.

Sacrificing to the Divine Weapon was essentially no different from sacrificing to the heavens.

“Sacrificing to the Divine Weapon?”

Lin Yuan looked towards the Minister of Rites.

The Divine Weapon Ancestral Grounds was not located in the capital, but hundreds of miles away from it.

Lin Yuan had always been wary of the Divine Weapon Ancestral Grounds,

even though he was sure that most of the time, the Divine Weapon “Sun and Moon Spear” was in a dormant state.

He was reluctant to get close to the Divine Weapon Ancestral Grounds.

Not long ago, Lin Yuan had advanced to the Heaven-Man Realm and, to ensure nothing went wrong, purposely left the capital to breakthrough in a location far from the Divine Weapon Ancestral Grounds.

“I have been recently unwell. Let’s postpone the sacrifice to another day.”

Lin Yuan found a casual excuse to brush it off.

Sacrificing to the Divine Weapon was a tradition established by the ancestors, and even the emperor could not change it.

But being unable to change it didn’t mean it couldn’t be delayed.

Lin Yuan was not refusing to go, just that due to his ailment, he planned to go after some time had passed.

Who could say anything about that?

“Yes…”

The Minister of Rites helplessly retreated.

Unwell?

Nonsense!

Others might use this excuse, but the reigning emperor using it…

The Minister of Rites was an old official who had served through two dynasties.

He naturally knew that Lin Yuan was determined by imperial physicians at birth to possess the strongest constitution and physical strength ever seen in the history of the Greater Yan Dynasty.

Even if there was some exaggeration involved, it definitely had some basis.

The Retired Emperor had always disfavored flattering subordinates, so the imperial physician’s conclusion back then must have been based on some factual elements.

Under these conditions, when Lin Yuan said he was unwell, the Minister of Rites definitely didn’t believe it.

But not believing it did no good.

Continue to admonish?

If it were the normal ascendance of a new emperor,

he, the Minister of Rites, would dare to do so.

After all, a new emperor in the early periods of his reign definitely had to listen to the advice of his ministers to stabilize the court.

But Lin Yuan…

Over so many years,

The Minister of Rites had some understanding of this prince who had been crown prince for over twenty years before smoothly ascending to the throne.

If he truly insisted on continuing his admonishment, playing that old tune silly,

The emperor might just indulge him.

Not only that, the emperor would considerately include his family and even his nine clans.

To join him below.

“Forget it.”

“Let’s just delay it.”

The Minister of Rites opened his mind.

He was merely following protocol, and just needed to mention it periodically.

He didn’t believe the emperor could delay it for twenty or fifty years.

…

Wuyan City.

This was a city in the southern part of the Greater Yan Dynasty.

Backed by the vast mountains of Dashan, it was quite prosperous.

In the dense forest more than ten miles from Wuyan City,

Unbeknownst to anyone, over twenty figures had appeared.

These twenty-some figures, although standing there, vaguely exuded surging vital energy, all evidently at the level of ‘Blood-Refining’ Martial Saints.

‘Blood-Refining’ Martial Saint was the limit ordinary people could reach.

Further up were the various ‘Weapon Bearers’.

And the ‘Weapon Bearers’, considered messengers of the Divine Weapons, were no longer human.

The over twenty Blood-Refining Martial Saints were already comparable to the collective might of the Thirty-six States of the Central Plains, rivaling the number of Martial Saints in the slightly weaker dynasties.

Apart from the more than twenty Martial Saints, many other powerful figures were converging from a distance.

“That dense forest should be the headquarters of the Defying Divine Society. The master mentioned, capture all remnants of the Defying Divine Society, do not kill them, do you understand?”

The leading Martial Saint’s lips did not move, but his words carried along the fluctuations of vital energy and traveled through the air into each Martial Saint’s ears.

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

“Capture only, that’s right.”

Many Martial Saints nodded, showing no objections.

…

The battle ended smoothly.

Under the onslaught of more than twenty ‘Blood-Refining’ Martial Saints,

hundreds to thousands of ‘Organ Refinement’ Innate Martial Masters and ‘Marrow Refinement’ Grandmasters.

The headquarters of the Defying Divine Society was swiftly flattened.

Sikong Lun, the leader, hadn’t even had time to escape through the secret tunnels.

Before he was blocked by three Blood-Refining Martial Saints.

Then everything before his eyes went dark and he knew no more.

By the time Sikong Lun regained consciousness,

he shockingly found himself inside a luxurious carriage.

All the meridians in his body were sealed, incapable of mobilizing even a trace of vital energy.

To put it simply,

he, Sikong Lun, was now a cripple.

Even an ordinary person with a knife could kill him, that type of cripple.

“Who exactly is it?”

Tumultuous waves surged in Sikong Lun’s heart.

As the leader of the Defying Divine Society, viewed as a rat crossing the street by the Thirty-six States of the Central Plains.

Sikong Lun was very clear in his mind; he was certainly no match for the thirty-six states equipped with Nation-Protecting Divine Weapons.

That’s why he had placed great emphasis on concealment when establishing the headquarters of the Defying Divine Society.

And beneath the headquarters, he had dug layers of tunnels, so that even if a trace of evidence was detected,

he could swiftly escape through the tunnels, preserving his strength.

But just now?

Sikong Lun couldn’t help feeling a chill.

More than twenty Blood-Refining Martial Saints, wantonly exerting their vital energy’s oppressive force.

Thousands of ‘Organ Refinement’ Innate Martial Masters and ‘Marrow Refinement’ Grandmasters taking action swiftly.

Under such suppression, not even he, the leader of the headquarters, got away, let alone the other members.

“Which power made the move?”

“The Greater Yan Dynasty, or one of the other thirty-five states?”

“No…”

Sikong Lun frowned deeply.

If he had fallen into the hands of the Thirty-six States of the Central Plains,

how could he possibly still be alive?

The Thirty-six States of the Central Plains always dealt with the likes of their Defying Divine Society remnants by killing them outright, leaving no troubles behind.

As for severe torture to extract information about other remnants’ whereabouts… The Defying Divine Society was very strict in its structure, and as such a leader, he had other means within his body.

If anyone dared disclose vital secrets, they would immediately die explosively.

And ordinary members wouldn’t know much, so there was no point in interrogating them.

Despite racking his brains, Sikong Lun couldn’t figure out which force had targeted him.

“This place… should still be Wuyan City…”

Sikong Lun barely lifted the curtain and glanced outside.

“Forget it.”

“Whether I live or die, I can’t decide.”

Sikong Lun had no thoughts of escaping.

What a joke.

A mysterious force that could mobilize over twenty Martial Saints.

Could he possibly escape from the carriage?

About half an hour later,

the carriage finally stopped.

Sikong Lun immediately perked up.

Then the carriage door opened, and a man invited him to step out.

Sikong Lun took one look at the man.

He seemed familiar, and he quickly recognized him.

This man was one of the more than twenty Blood-Refining Martial Saints who had acted earlier.

With the status of a Blood-Refining Martial Saint in the Thirty-six States of the Central Plains, he was now serving as his coachman?

Sikong Lun took a deep breath.

He gained a deeper understanding of the means of the person behind the scenes.

Stepping down from the carriage,

Sikong Lun followed the Martial Saint coachman into the residence before them.

To call it a residence was an understatement—it was more like an imperial palace.

Inside, the layout was intricate, filled with various palaces.

In the deepest part of one palace,

Sikong Lun met the person behind the moves against the Defying Divine Society.

This was a young man, radiating an unspeakably noble air.

Mere sitting there made Sikong Lun feel somewhat ashamed.

“You may leave now.”

Lin Yuan looked up, waved his hand, and dismissed the coachman Martial Saint.

“Yes, master.”

The coachman Martial Saint respectfully left the grand hall.

Master… Sikong Lun swallowed hard.

A mighty Blood-Refining Martial Saint acknowledging this young man as his master?

If it hadn’t been for witnessing it with his own eyes, Sikong Lun would never have believed it.

After a silence, Sikong Lun steadied his mind and took the initiative to speak, “May I ask, sir, for what reason you have captured me?”

At this moment, Sikong Lun also realized that he must be of some use to this young man,

otherwise he wouldn’t be standing before him.

“I want to know…”

“What exactly does your Defying Divine Society use to contend against the thirty-six nations’ Nation-Protecting Divine Weapons?”

“And what is this ‘Evil Soldier’?”

Lin Yuan asked.

Upon hearing this,

Sikong Lun displayed a look of astonishment.

He had thought that the other party wanted to learn about the other headquarters of the Defying Divine Society.

Sikong Lun had been prepared that should Lin Yuan inquire about these matters, he would immediately trigger the mechanism within his body, dying by his own hand.

But he hadn’t expected this question.

“Divine Weapons reign supreme; how could we mere mortals confront them?”

Sikong Lun paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts,

“Since ancient times, only a Divine Weapon can contend against another Divine Weapon.”

“That is an iron law.”