The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 15 Cunning

In front of his eyes, purple clouds rose again, which looked splendid. A sun-like punch had almost touched his chest!

Xue Shaoli’s heart beat wildly, his pores opened wide and his hair stood up!

“Spiritual Qi Shield...” he roared madly.

With a “Peng”, the Cloud-gathering Punch’s had violently landed on his chest before Xue Shaoli’s Spiritual Qi Shield appeared.

Xue Shaoli felt as if he was being struck by lightning, all his viscera being displaced. He could no longer bear the Spiritual Qi disorder and spat out a big mouthful of blood before he was sent away.

“Very fast! What a powerful cultivation method... It’s unbelievable...” Xue Shaoli fell on the ground and desperately tried to pick himself up, but after having some tries, he tilted his head and passed out. The unwilling and confused look was revealed on his face.

Xue Shaoli was unwilling and confused indeed. Since he became a Practitioner of Qi techniques, he had not lost a fight so quickly and directly. He had never encountered a cultivator at the same level, who made him feel helpless and that there was no room to fight back.

It seemed a long story, but it all happened in a second. Li Ye knocked down two Level 2 Qi-refining cultivators, but he only used basic techniques: two Cloud-gathering Punches, two Spiritual Qi Shields, and Telekinesis.

After Xue Shaoli also fell down, the other two Level 1 Qi-refining practitioners froze on the spot.

Each of them had launched an attack. One cultivator displayed the Inferno Techniques and unleashed a fireball; the other cultivator used the Spiritual Wind Sword to activate two blasts of Sword Qi. However, the fireball and two blasts of Sword Qi both disappeared in the air after Li Ye flicked his sleeve.

The two cultivators stared at Li Ye like seeing a ghost.

Didn’t they say that Li Ye was so powerful and defeat Liu Renneng just because of the Small Mystery Formation in the Glazed Cyan Jade Gourd?

Where was the Glazed Cyan Jade Gourd? Where was the Small Mystery Formation? Why didn’t we see it?

Xue Shaoli had not taken out the Cloud-shaking Flag and had already lost consciousness.

The two cultivators looked at each other and could tell the shock and confusion in each other’s eyes. They soon figured out the situation.

When Li Ye knocked Xue Shaoli down and averted his eyes toward them, the two cultivators performed their skills and turned to escape. They were trying to leap over the wall.

The intelligence was wrong. They were unable to fight against the Heir Apparent of Prince An now.

They held the messaging jade note and shouted to Li Yao, “Xue Shaoli has lost and Li Ye is strong...”

“Stay here since you’ve come.” Li Ye knew the two cultivators wanted to run. He jeered as he flicked his long sleeve, displaying the Inferno Techniques. Two fireballs had already shot out.

Although there were only two fireballs, they were twice as big as Xue Shaoli’s fireballs. Even the speed of flight was much faster!

Flying in mid-air, the two Level 1 Qi-refining practitioners had a sense of crisis. They quickly turned to activate the Spiritual Qi Shield and tried to resist the attack.

However, the two fireballs directly shattered the Spiritual Qi Shield and hit them, like shooting two birds. The fire flashed and the two cultivators fell from the wall.

Li Ye withdrew his hand, looked at his palm, and shook his head. “My cultivation is too low. Although I’m still adept at it, the power of the technique is too weak. If I had not transmigrated to this world, my fireballs would have burned the two cultivators to ashes.”

In the Duke Xing’s Manor.

Li Yao was stunned for a good while as he held the messaging jade note.

He finally came to his senses and was boiling with rage.

He had learned about what had happened. With the messaging jade note, he heard every word they said as if he were watching a live broadcast of the fight.

Li Yao limply sat on his chair, staring into space.

Two Level 2 Qi-refining practitioners and two Level 1 Qi-refining practitioners could not defeat a practitioner who had just entered the Level 2 Qi-refining Stage!

“It’s not a big deal that he had reached the Qi-refining Stage within a day and that he made a breakthrough again after he came back to Chang’an. But now, he has just become a Level 2 Qi-refining practitioner for a few days and actually defeated two cultivators at the same level within two breaths of time without using any Magic Treasure. How is this possible in the world?” After his advisors came, Li Yao told him about the incident. At this point, Li Yao even felt a little aggrieved.

It was understandable that he had such a feeling. His opponent became stronger at an unbelievable speed, which was unreasonable. Everyone would feel they had been unfairly treated by the god and feel aggrieved.

The advisor thought for a good while. “No one can cultivate so quickly. No one can suddenly be so strong!” His face suddenly changed, and he said in a heavy voice, “Even Celestial Master Yuan, who was famous in the Tang Empire and other foreign countries in the past, could not make it happen.”

“But things had already happened!” Although Li Yao was unwilling to admit it, he could not ignore the facts.

“There is only one explanation.”

“You don’t tell me that Li Ye is the son of destiny!”

“... of course not.”

“Then what is that?”

“Li Ye had already reached the Qi-refining Stage!”

“How is that possible?!”

“Is there any other possibility besides this?”

“...”

Li Yao slumped back in his chair, pale and speechless. What the advisor said was indeed the only possibility.

“When did Li Ye reach the Qi-refining Stage?” After a good while, Li Yao murmured toward his advisor or himself.

“I don’t know.”

“Since Li Ye has reached Qi-refining Stage, why didn’t he tell Court of the Imperial Clan? If he had reported to Court of the Imperial Clan earlier, he might have inherited the title of Prince An when he was crowned.”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know anything?!”

“I only know one thing.”

“Say it!”

“Li Ye, this guy is very shrewd and has a great ambition!”

“... What do you mean?”

The advisor, who was sitting by the a small tea table, leaned forward and stared at Li Yao, with a flicker of wisdom and gloom in his eyes. He said slowly, “If he were not shrewd, he would have not tolerated others calling him a loser after he reached higher stage. If it weren’t for his great ambition, he wouldn’t have missed the chance to take over the prince’s title! ”

Outside the house, the night wind whistled, and the treetops rustled. The coolness went through the windowsill and swept into the room, sending some chills to Li Yao’s back. Candles flickered irregularly. The draperies hung low and its shadows trembled in the corner, as if there was a skeleton in the closet.

“What on earth did he do this for?” Li Yao said with a trembling voice.

His voice trembled, indicating his fear.

It was Li Ye who frightened him.

Li Yao originally thought that Li Ye was just a good-for-nothing who couldn’t cultivate and an idiot who lived in a humble abode and had little experience. Now, this boy suddenly became a deeply cunning cultivation genius. In Li Yao’s heart, Li Ye’s figure suddenly became tall, sending out a hint of chill, and his eyes were cold when he turned back.

“There must be some ulterior reason for all abnormal behaviors.” The advisor’s voice sounded deep as if it came from an untouchable abyss and had the magic of terrifying people. “Li Ye did this for only one reason.”

“What is the reason?”

“I’m afraid he has long been aware that you want to grab the title of Prince An from him.”

“It’s impossible!” Li Yao shouted. “I’ve done everything in secret. He is a good-for-nothing who never leaves his manor. How could he see through all of it?”

“If not, how do you explain his current behavior?”

“If so, you can explain everything now?”

“Sure!”

“Say it!”

“He had borne all the sarcasm because it was not the right time. Now he’s shown his real strength because he had the confidence to win this fight.”

“Why does he have the confidence? He has no power. Can’t he turn the tables with his Level 2 Qi-refining cultivation?”

“Don’t you forget that he made a fuss at the Court of the Imperial Clan today, but he did not suffer any punishment!”

“You mean, Li Ye has won the support of Emperor’s son-in-law Wu?”

“Prince An and Emperor’s son-in-law Wu are very close friends.”

“Stop it!”

Li Yao breathed heavily, and his face was flushed.

The sound of the wind became louder and louder like the howl of ghosts or the sound of underworld soldiers passing by. The candlelight looked anxious, flickering more violently. The draperies were fluttering in the night wind as if they were telling some crisis. Clouds of heavy shadows enveloped the two people in the room.

The atmosphere was extremely depressing.

The advisor did not stop the conversation and continued, “This is all we know because he has already revealed it. But there are how many things that we don’t know? In the past, Prince An was extremely powerful, his disciples, friends, and subordinates were all over the world. He had many trusted followers. Has Li Ye gained their support?”

“But Prince An is dead! If a leader fell from power, his subordinates would leave him.” Li Yao widened his eyes.

“How did Prince An die? Don’t you know about it?” the advisor said in an eerie tone.

“You mean... it’s impossible! It’s impossible that Li Ye has learned about it!”

“In the past, no one looked up to Li Ye, so it was almost impossible for him to learn about this matter. But judging from his current performance, what else is it impossible?”

“Shut up!”

Li Yao’s chest heaved violently. The room was silent that even the sound of a needle falling on the ground could be heard. His heavy breathing became clear. An invisible mountain weighed on his mind and his body, making his fingers tremble.

Eventually, Li Yao could not stand up such a kind of self-torture. He suddenly got up and tried to break the depressing atmosphere with a roar. “I’m going to kill him!”

“If we hesitate, we’ll get into trouble. Li Ye has posed a threat to us. If you don’t deal with him, he will, so it’s the wisest choice to kill him decisively before he really grows up!”

“Send my order, assemble all the Qi-refining cultivators!”

“Master, but what kind of name will you use to attack Prince An’s Manor?”

“Did Prince An put down the Rebellion of Pang Xun? Then let our cultivators masquerade as remnants of Pang Xun’s Rebellion and sneak into Chang’an City to assassinate the Heir Apparent. That makes sense, right?”

“Brilliant, Master! But the Chang’an Office...”

“As long as we act quickly, we can fix it before the cultivators of the Chang’an Office arrive. And we can also set a defensive cover to cut off the induction of Spiritual Qi so that people in other places can’t perceive it...”

The advisor gave no response.

Li Yao’s face became more ferocious, as if only in this way could he be confident that he was a bogeyman. “Li Ye, are you good at making accidents? This time I will go in person. I’d like to see what else he can do.”

The advisor nodded. “Master, if you go in person, it’ll be foolproof!”

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