Chapter 16

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Could His Majesty want to impart better Demon Dao cultivation techniques to me?

However, it needed to choose between healing its injuries and seeking advice.

It would be good if its old injuries could heal right away.

If it learned the supreme Demon Dao technique that His Majesty had performed just now, it could also heal its injuries soon.

Of course, it would be best if it could have both.

Once this thought appeared, the old bloody shadow demon rejected it.

Its momentary lapse of judgment previously had led to its rebellion.

His Majesty had been generous enough not to kill it on the spot.

Afterward, His Majesty ordered it to inspect the White Cloud Abyss, but it was wounded and defeated by Gao Qi and the others, which led to a botched task.

How can I seek His Majesty’s reward before I have even achieved any merits?

The old bloody shadow demon took a deep breath and could not bother competing with the old man in black. It quickly handed the captured Tang Dynasty troops to the old man before rushing back to the Great Ming Palace.

Zhang Dongyun, who had transformed into the Evil Emperor, sat on a high throne as he calmly looked at the old demon below.

“I am incompetent and have let Your Majesty down. I cannot shirk the blame even if I die. I hope for one last chance to atone for my sins, Your Majesty. I will strive with my utmost.”

Zhang Dongyun did not comment on the old demon’s oath. Instead, he brought up something irrelevant. “How much have you understood from just now?”

The old bloody shadow demon looked terrified and ashamed. “Your Majesty, I am slow-witted. I only have some vague understanding…”

When it saw that Zhang Dongyun did not utter a word and was looking at it, the old demon clenched its teeth and closed its eyes.

A blood mist surged around its body while an illusory shadow rose above its head.

That shadow presented an image of a blood phoenix that flapped its wings with the desire to fly.

Zhang Dongyun glanced at it. “This is nothing much.”

The old bloody shadow demon was ashamed. “I am slow-witted.”

“However, you have a brilliant start.”

The old bloody shadow demon was happy to hear this.

It knew that it had made the right choice.

Between healing its injuries and cultivation, one was in the present, while the other was long term.

Choosing to heal its injuries would have inevitably given His Majesty the impression that it was greedy for petty, short-term gains.

Choosing cultivation would make it seem that it was motivated, and His Majesty might give it another chance.

Besides, it was undoubtedly rare to be able to learn a superior demonic technique from His Majesty.

“This Phoenix Blood Book is suitable for you to cultivate, but…” On the throne, Zhang Dongyun placed his hands together in front of him with his ring and little fingers interlocked while the tips of his middle fingers, index fingers, and thumbs were facing each other. “I do not reward anyone without merits.”

The old bloody shadow demon’s emotions seemed as though they were on a roller coaster.

It laughed bitterly in its heart and said respectfully, “I understand. I will do my best for the task and will not let Your Majesty down.”

“You may leave.” Zhang Dongyun added, “Tidy up the scrap metal in the fortress.”

The old bloody shadow demon was startled before becoming happy. “I will obey Your Majesty’s order!”

He left the Great Ming Palace in joy.

The scrap metal that His Majesty was referring to was undoubtedly those arrows that the blood phoenix had absorbed earlier.

When the enemies had been subdued, Zhang Dongyun stopped, and the blood phoenix vanished. As a result, those arrows lost control and fell to the ground one by one, piling up at the fortress gate.

After being refined by the blood phoenix’s evil power, the arrows more or less had some evil energy left in them.

Although Zhang Dongyun did not impart the Phoenix Blood Book to the old bloody shadow demon right away, the old demon would ultimately gain some benefits after tidying up the arrows and analyzing them in detail.

This made the old bloody shadow demon spirited.

Even though the gate to heaven closed, His Majesty still left me a crack to reveal the light.

As long as I work hard and make a meritorious effort, the Phoenix Blood Book will surely be in my hands!

The old bloody shadow demon was happy. It even felt more pleasant than before when it saw the old man in black.

He watched the bloody shadow fly through the air to tidy up the pile of arrows at the fortress gate.

He turned around to the people on the other side.

“All of you are guilty of entering Chang’an Fortress and deserve to die.

“However, His Majesty is magnanimous and has spared your lives. But there must still be some punishment.

“The only way for all of you to be forgiven is to build Chang’an.”

Even though his voice was not loud, it steadily reached the ears of every Tang Dynasty soldier and general.

The crowd was silent as everyone looked at each other.

The old man in black was not anxious. He looked at the group of people before him calmly.

Noticing the cold smile on his lips, someone in the crowd stepped out.

Gao Qi’s face was pale, and his armor was tattered.

He went to the old man in black and said in a low voice, “We will do as we are told. I hope that Your Excellency will not make things difficult for my comrades.”

Zhang Dongyun nodded slightly. “Very well.”

With a wave of his hand, a drawing fell into Gao Qi’s hands.

“Your soldiers will still be under your command.” Zhang Dongyun did not disrupt the formation of the Tang Dynasty army, and he did not mind that Gao Qi was still the backbone of the army.

He simply handed over the Mountain Tiger Hall Sect Master and his men to Gao Qi all together.

“I only want to see results.”

Gao Qi answered with a bow, “Please rest assured, Senior. We will do our best.”

He paused for a moment and seemed to want to speak again.

Zhang Dongyun seemed to know what he wanted to say. “Do your job honestly. Your other soldiers will soon be accompanying you as well, including the great general, if he knows what he’s doing.”

Gao Qi and the other felt a chill in their hearts.

When the Great Xuanwu General Du Kun heard the news, he would certainly rush over.

They were actually worried that Chang’an Fortress would force them to defend the place and become enemies with their superior and comrades.

Based on the tone of the old man in black, he did not take Du Kun seriously at all…

Some people were worried about their family members, but they could not ask about it at the moment, so they swallowed back their words.

Everyone had no choice but to work for the Fortress Lord.

They went out of the fortress to cut down wood and dig up rocks, but they did not dare to run away and brought them back to the fortress honestly.

Thanks to the diligent efforts of thousands of people, residential buildings rose in Chang’an Fortress.

The fortress was finally no longer empty as far as the eye could see.

Chang’an Fortress was no longer an empty fortress and gained more population.

While the fortress was flourishing, the Fortress Lord himself was not in a great mood.

He blocked the vision that the others had on him and came to the fortress wall.

A few arrows appeared in front of him, suspended in midair.

Zhang Dongyun frowned as he looked outside the fortress.

The power he had given to the arrows sent outside the fortress was much greater than that of crossbows.

It was even more than ballistas.

In theory, they should have been able to fly farther.

However, the arrows still quickly lost their forward momentum and descended due to their weight once they were outside the fortress.

Fortress Lord Zhang had been so busy with his experiments at first that he had not even thought about using the arrows to return fire at the Tang Dynasty army outside the fortress.

As a result, the arrows rained out of the fortress and fell so fast and powerful that they wounded many Tang Dynasty troops.

The Tang Dynasty troops had thought Chang’an Fortress was also lined with crossbowmen, so they returned fire while charging into the city.

How could they have possibly known that Fortress Lord Zhang wished that the arrows that flew out of the fortress would have missed them and flew as far away as possible instead?

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dongyun waved his hand toward the ground.

A clump of earth separated from the land in Chang’an Fortress and rose into the air to his side.

Zhang Dongyun stuck the tip of an arrow through the clump of earth.

Then he shot this arrow with the clump of earth outside the fortress.