Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 530: The Change of Power

"Sharp sword, sheath it!"

Following a clear and sharp command, hundreds of warriors in black armor sheathed their swords. At the same time, a sword shadow as majestic as a mountain in the air slowly dissipated.

Not far away, on a gravel hill, a straight crack several thousand meters long was opening up. Countless tiny sword shadows flickered in the crack, and around the crack, a group of ferocious beasts left behind the incomplete corpses of their companions and retreated like a tide.

Chang Feiran's eyes glowed with a dim light as he stared at the backs of the wild beasts. He only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that they had completely retreated into the shadows of the dense forests on the hills.

"Team Nine, Return!"

He simply gave instructions to change the formation, ordering a hundred swordsmen to form a circle. After a short rest, Chang Feiran slowly descended from the air.

As soon as the steps touched the ground, there was a burst of applause and cheers.

"What a beautiful sword formation! What a decisive command!"

In the center of the circle, Nan Yingying sincerely praised the soldier king Zhu Wang and his comrades, which immediately attracted silent laughter from the pioneer soldiers. A few brave veterans even winked at Chang Feiran, their narrow-mindedness evident in their words.

Fortunately, Chang Feiran was also a veteran of many battles. He simply ignored it and lowered his head, sighing, "A mere hundred-man sword formation is really embarrassing in front of a great master... and my performance just now was far from perfect. I miscalculated the five elements here, and the sword shadow was only 90% solid, which just let the leader of the beast group escape with his life."

Nan Yingying shook her head and said with a smile, "A hundred Jindan can wield a combined sword. This is a technology that is simply unimaginable in Xinheng. The most radical professor over there can only deduce a sword formation that is barely half as effective as yours... Although we have been imitating the Immortal Alliance, we are still far from the real deal."

Chang Feiran was silent for a moment, not being hypocritical about the difference in strength between them. Instead, he smiled back, "It is also because of the effective guidance given by Duke Feng some time ago. Otherwise, I am afraid that today's sword shadow can only be condensed to 80% at most, and it is unknown whether it can defeat the enemy with one sword. By then, I am afraid that you will have to take action yourself to rescue me."

Nan Yingying said, "Why are you being polite? We are comrades-in-arms. The natural disasters in Mozhou and the migration of wild beasts are not only a threat to Tongming Road, but also a threat to my hometown. I just got the news this morning that the border of Lei County in the four southern counties has obviously felt the pressure... So, I will leave the battle for a while and kill the leader of the beast group who is about to ascend the throne in advance, so that it will not grow even more uncontrollably on its way west."

Speaking of the leader of the beast group, Chang Feiran, a veteran soldier, could not help but feel a little nervous: "That thing is growing really fast. When Captain Zheng Liming was attacked by it last month, it was just a small beast that could not face a team of more than ten people head-on... In just one month, it can already command thousands of wild beasts and attack a hundred-man sword formation head-on. This kind of wild beast was unheard of when I was studying at the Military Academy..."

Nan Yingying smiled and said, "Really? It seems that your Immortal Alliance's military academy doesn't teach history very much, otherwise you must have heard similar stories, because even I remember them."

Chang Feiran was stunned, then suddenly realized: "History? Ah, the Battle of Dinghuang!? But..."

Nan Yingying nodded again: "Yes, it was the Battle of Dinghuang. According to your orthodox historical records, a large number of incredible heroes of Dinghuang emerged in those short decades... Although the leader was a true immortal who defected and his strength declined after the war. But among mortals, there were many heroes who went from Qi Induction to Spiritualization and even Fusion within ten years, and then made breakthroughs in the battle of life and death, surpassing their level to defeat the enemy... In the eyes of the immortals, it must be a completely unreasonable and absurd tragedy."

Chang Feiran remained silent.

Nan Yingying said, "It is often said that heroes emerge in troubled times, and myths emerge in the end of the world. For the wild beasts in Mozhou, now is the end of the world... The Immortal Alliance broke the boundaries that had not been broken in the past thousand years, and stepped beyond the central axis of the pioneering pace. Rongcheng went all the way west, and also wiped out tens of millions of wild beasts in a decisive battle initiated by the immortal officials. For the survivors, you are the biggest calamity. And all they can do is to struggle with all their might before being destroyed by the calamity. That little beast king has grown to such a level in just over a month, and it should not live for a few months, so wait a moment, I will go and give it a quick death."

After saying that, Nan Yingying's figure turned into a streak of light, passed through the circle of nine teams of warriors, flew towards the direction of the hilly forests, and disappeared in a thick shadow.

It was a shadow that even the blazing sun of midsummer could not dispel, as if it was a block of ink with substance. And shadows like these blocks of ink were absolutely forbidden areas for the Immortal Alliance members who were pioneering the frontier and opening up a bright road. Just three days after Zheng Liming's team was attacked last month, an elite team from Zhou Guo - led by a Yuanying-level soldier king, equipped with a full set of forest combat magic weapons, and a group combat power comparable to that of a combined cultivator - boldly went deep into the shadows to pursue the remaining enemies, but in the end they were completely wiped out, and even their bodies could not be found.

Therefore, after that, the coalition forces issued a strict ban, and any frontline team was not allowed to enter the shadow again. If they had to cross the shadow, they would call for fire support from the rear, similar to the Star Destroyer Sword, to directly blow it up. If fire support was not available, they would rather take a detour than die in vain.

However, this set of rules that restrict the Immortal Alliance warriors is obviously ineffective against the Mahayana True Lord.

Not long after, a sharp and piercing roar of wild beasts erupted from the dense forests in front of them, and soon after, the nearly solidified shadow began to melt and flow, slowly fading deeper like a wounded beast, revealing a piece of land that had been eaten away and corroded by the shadow. All vegetation disappeared, the earth lost its moisture, and the ground cracked into thousands of gullies, and a faint stench emanated from the depths of each gully.

Nan Yingying's figure flew out from the shadows lightly, with a bright smile on her face, but with several more hideous and vicious wounds on her body... Although there was a bright fairy light on the wounds, it quickly purified the residual poison, healed the wounds, and even mended the torn white clothes. However, it was shocking enough that a great Mahayana master was actually injured while chasing the wild beast.

In response, Nan Yingying simply shrugged her shoulders and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Sorry, I'm the one who's being laughed at now. I thought it was a sure thing, but I didn't expect that there was a nest in the shadows, and in the nest was a newborn baby... The mother beast protecting her calf is much more troublesome than expected."

Chang Feiran didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Nan Yingying said, "Don't worry. I have already sent its entire family and collected some souls. I should be able to refine a good set of mother-and-child swords."

Seeing Chang Feiran's surprise again, Nan Yingying changed the subject: "After that, at least there should be no threat in this area. The mother beast integrated - or devoured several surrounding beast groups, so that it could grow rapidly to its current size. Once it dies, this land will be ownerless, and as long as the Immortal Alliance can build the third Dinghuang Fortress as soon as possible, the wild beasts will lose the soil for their growth and breeding." "...Well, thank you Duke Feng for your help."

"Haha, we are back to the old topic again. This is a mutually beneficial cooperation, no need to be so polite. It is also with the help of the Immortal Alliance that I can eliminate some hidden dangers for Xinheng so quickly and efficiently. However, this is all we can do here, and then..."

As she spoke, a not-so-bright smile appeared on Nan Yingying's face.

"After that, it will depend on the ability of our Prince Ling!"

-

At the same time, in the prosperous city of Xinhengdu, the Temple of Heaven was as busy as ever.

As the de facto center of a country with 200 million people, Gaodian naturally brings together the most powerful and prestigious decision-makers and managers of Xinheng.

At first, it was only the professors of the academy headed by Tuoba Tian who worked here in the name of the post-processing team and reported their results to Wang Luo. But soon, some court officials who were quick to wake up came uninvited. After that, in just a few months, the "Pingheng Hall", which had ruled Xinheng for 600 years and symbolized the dream place of countless bureaucrats, became deserted and deserted.

Emperor Gan Ai had long since stopped caring about state affairs, and the important officials who maintained the court's operation did not last long. After the first person woke up, the others seemed to be infected, and they all abandoned him completely and went to the Gaodian to serve a foreign envoy. This process was absurd but extremely fast, which ensured that the order in Xinheng was not in chaos. Of course, the migration of officials to the Gaodian also brought about complex political struggles. The disputes among officials, the disputes between officials and scholars, and the theoretical disputes among scholars made the once quiet Gaodian full of noise from time to time.

At this moment, the focus of the noise is on the word "etiquette".

There are less than two months left until the date set by Wang Luo, the special envoy of the Immortal Alliance, for the emperor's abdication ceremony, and Xinheng is far from ready.

Transferring the imperial power to govern the country away from the Gan family...It would be difficult for anyone who grew up under the old order to prepare in a short period of time.

Of course, strictly speaking, the imperial power had already been transferred from the Gan family to outsiders when the Empress Dowager Yang Shijun was ruling behind the scenes. But after all, the Empress Dowager was only ruling behind the scenes, and the nominal emperor was still surnamed Gan, and was her biological son. However, the Prince Naling, who was about to ascend the throne, was a complete outsider.

Of course, strictly speaking, Prince Ling, as the illegitimate son of the late Emperor Gan Yinghua, whose real name was Gan Fengxian, was not a person of another surname. But those who are qualified to enter the palace today - rather than those who are full of ambition and unwillingness to set up tents outside the palace and covet everything in the palace - will naturally know the truth.

To make matters worse, when the ministers were discussing and preparing for the abdication ceremony, both Emperor Gan Ai and Prince Ling Gan Fengxian found it difficult to cooperate.

Gan Ai has become stupid and foolish since his mother, Queen Yang Shijun, passed away. Although he is a big man about to enter middle age, his daily conversation is like that of a child of five or six years old. For such a child, even the most strict court officials would find it difficult to make him review the knowledge required for etiquette over and over again, and then completely take away the only remaining influence of his ancestors.

What's more, the emperor's current stupidity is a legacy left by his biological mother.

In fact, at the earliest time, when the late emperor had not yet contracted the disease, the child of him and Yang Shijun was just fat and ugly since childhood, but at least of above-average talent, well-educated and enterprising. But when the late emperor fell early and the empress dowager followed the will and took over the throne, Gan Ai quickly became mediocre and dull, and had no other thoughts except being submissive to her mother. How much of this was natural, how much was disguised, and how much was cruel is hard to verify.

But at least this thoroughly younger look is undoubtedly the work of Yang Shijun... Long before she prepared the ambush in Dongdu, and even before she launched a mutiny to imprison the imperial teacher, she had prepared a gift for Gan Ai, a pot of fairy flowers that would bloom on his birthday. It was an elegant etiquette passed down for hundreds of years within the royal family to express the love of parents for their children. However, when Yang Shijun's fairy flower bloomed, it exhaled a spiritual breath, which dissipated most of Gan Ai's spiritual intelligence.

It is difficult for people today to fully understand Yang Shijun's purpose in cultivating this flower of evil thoughts... Perhaps she was not satisfied with ruling the country from behind the scenes, and wanted to ascend the throne as a woman. Or perhaps she had already predicted that after she lost power, a helpless and mediocre emperor would be better off acting like a child so that he would have a better chance of living to the end of his life.

But no matter what, the emperor's experience made it difficult to force him with a tough attitude. Even if it was difficult to cooperate, the ministers could only rack their brains to cooperate on his behalf. The emperor's side was already a headache, and Prince Ling's side was even more worrying.

As a newly promoted prince and the future Emperor of Xinheng, he did not settle down in the Fancheng Palace. Instead, he immediately returned to the familiar Sang County and to the star army soldiers who were loyal and ambitious to him.

Next, as a prince, he would mobilize half of Xinheng’s resources to expand his own troops, and then build a defense line outside Liuyan City to meet the impending beast tide.

It was a terrifying beast tide with a scale of at least tens of millions, led by the Blood Lake Blood Crow... It seemed as if the surviving wild beasts in the two states of Ming and Mo were united under the drive of a superior and huge will, and attacked Xinheng.

In normal times, Xinheng would not be afraid of the wild beasts, because even if the Celestial Officials would not allow their test sites to be destroyed, the flawless colored glaze light that protected the entire Xinheng was enough to stop most of the wild beasts. Those beasts with inferior strength would be burned to ashes just by approaching the colored glaze light. As for the few that could resist the colored glaze light, it would be difficult for them to deal with the fully armed border guards.

But now, the Liuli Net is already shaky and may fall apart at any time.

Without the protection of the Glazed Net, no one is sure whether Xinheng can withstand this terrifying beast tide by himself.

Of course, this also includes Gan Fengxian himself.

(End of this chapter)