Chapter 7: Chaos

The Emperor of Great Qian was dead.

Upon hearing this news, Chen Fan felt a jolt in his heart.

Naturally, he felt no sorrow.

Instead, he felt more of astonishment and worry.

What astonished him was that the old man, as the Emperor of Great Qian, possessed the power to suppress the entire realm and could hand the Son of Heaven Sword to his son to counter the ninth realm of martial arts. His strength had already reached the level of Heaven and Man, at the very least the tenth realm of martial arts, or perhaps even higher...

Such a figure possessed an unfathomable lifespan. It was said he was just over a hundred years old. To Chen Fan, he was an old man, yet he was still a very long way from reaching the end of his natural life.

What kind of illness could possibly strike down a figure of this caliber?

What worried him, however, was the future of the Great Qian realm...

Chen Fan had visited several commanderies and had deeply felt the twilight atmosphere hanging over Great Qian.

Though Great Qian's strength was indeed formidable, it was decaying day by day.

It was said that this dynasty managed to endure solely because the previous Emperor of Great Qian employed harsh methods and possessed terrifying strength.

Now that he was dead, what kind of situation would Great Qian fall into?

...

The heavens are high and the emperor is far away. Ninety percent of the people in Qingming Martial Academy had never even seen the Emperor of Great Qian, and in private, they might have even made disparaging remarks about this supreme ruler!

Yet now that he was dead, the martial academy still had to make an appropriate gesture.

Qingming Martial Academy held a fairly grand memorial ceremony.

Every disciple, instructor, and teacher was required to at least wear a white mourning band around their head to mourn the late emperor.

...

In fact, the mere fact that the news could reach the Qinghe Commandery on the western frontier meant that many matters had already been settled...

And indeed, the Emperor of Great Qian had actually been dead for several months!

Because of his special status and his overwhelming influence on Great Qian, his death alone involved too many complications... Therefore, the imperial court of Great Qian had deliberately suppressed the news!

Naturally, certain individuals capable of foreseeing heavenly secrets, or imperial confidants who had been bestowed the Son of Heaven Sword, had known about this much earlier, yet no one had leaked it.

It was only after these days had passed, once Empress Dowager Zhao had settled all related matters, that the news was finally announced.

The late emperor had passed away, the crown prince had ascended the throne, and the era name was changed to Chuyuan!

This Empress Dowager Zhao personally oversaw the state affairs.

In fact, the new emperor himself was already over seventy years old. However, he was also a powerful martial artist who had long since broken through to the Grandmaster realm, granting him a prolonged lifespan; thus, he still looked like he was just entering middle age!

Of course, it was not merely because he was the crown prince that he possessed his current cultivation level, but rather that his martial arts talent was strong enough and his background was solid enough for him to become the crown prince!

With his ascension to the supreme throne, blessed by the dragon Qi of the Son of Heaven, his cultivation would also usher in a stage of rapid advancement!

Before long, he might even reach the tenth realm...

Utilizing the dragon Qi of the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven Sword he condensed within the imperial capital would also see his strength advance further, which could be considered stabilizing the situation in the imperial capital...

Naturally, there was still a considerable gap compared to the late emperor!

Although that ruler had been gravely ill during his later years on the throne, his strength, boldness, and the pressure he exerted upon the realm were simply unmatched by the new emperor!

Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Zhao, who oversaw state affairs, was also a formidable figure.

During the days after the old emperor's death and before the new emperor's ascension, Empress Dowager Zhao purged the palace, executing hundreds of the old emperor's concubines and former attendants.

Every critical position within the palace was replaced with members of her own Zhao clan, and she bestowed a massive number of official and military posts upon the maternal relatives of the Zhao clan.

The Zhao clan was already immensely powerful, boasting numerous formidable martial artists. With this move, they were able to cover the sky with one hand!

While the powerful officials of the Zhao clan were gaining influence at court and the new emperor was ascending the throne, the military commanders guarding the borders of the northeastern commanderies of Great Qian raised troops under the pretext of executing the wicked empress and restoring peace to the state, thus "rebelling."

At the same time, seemingly prearranged, the southern state of Dachang also seized the opportunity to dispatch troops to invade the borders of Great Qian, sparking a new round of warfare!

Furthermore, various small neighboring states around Great Qian, as well as various large and small sects, were all restless, using this opportunity to test the bottom line of Great Qian.

Empress Dowager Zhao immediately promoted generals of the Zhao clan to suppress the rebellion and reinforce the southern border.

Great Qian could be said to have fallen into complete chaos!

...

Deep within the vast, desolate mountains, several commanderies away from Qinghe Commandery in Great Qian.

A fine rain was falling.

A plain-looking young man wearing embroidered garments and a black hat was sprinting swiftly through the rain!

Behind him, two other embroidered-garment martial artists followed closely—one a handsome young man, the other a bearded middle-aged man.

A terrifying aura emanated from all three of them. As they traveled, the vital energy of heaven and earth turned into assistance; all three of these individuals were figures above the Grandmaster realm.

The plain-looking young man charged at the very forefront, moving the fastest and with the greatest ease...

At that moment, a streak of light cut across the gloomy sky!

The young man leading the way suddenly halted and raised his hand. The streak of light from the horizon arrived in an instant.

Swish!

Between his two fingers, a spiritual bird the size of a thumb appeared.

The spiritual bird instantly transformed into a streak of light and merged into the young man's hand.

"Senior Brother Yuan, what happened?"

The two embroidered-garment martial artists behind him stopped with a frown, their breathing slightly rapid, far less at ease than Senior Brother Yuan.

Senior Brother Yuan shook his head:

"The plan is terminated. The Tower Master issued an order personally, saying that the Netherworld Gate might make a major move in the near future, telling us to temporarily abandon all targets and mobilize our full strength to deal with the Netherworld Gate."

The handsome man's expression changed, and he said with reluctance:

"We've tracked that demonic cult wretch for so many years, and we finally managed to inflict heavy injuries on him, crippling his cultivation. We were just one step away from killing him—how can we give up now?"

Senior Brother Yuan said with a deadpan face:

"Things are not as simple as you think. That person has roamed freely for decades without being captured; who knows if he still has any 'Escaping Void Runes' left in his possession? Even if we actually catch up to him, we might not necessarily be able to kill him..."

"Besides, he is merely a remnant of the demonic cult. No matter what, he cannot stir up any massive waves. Dachang has already launched a war, and the Netherworld Gate is the true disaster for our Embroidered Uniform Tower. You... must distinguish between primary and secondary priorities, Junior Brother Yu."

Having finished speaking, he turned around directly and sped away.

He showed not the slightest hesitation in abandoning the target he had pursued for many days.

The handsome man, referred to as Junior Brother Yu, flashed a trace of reluctance on his face, glanced at the deep, dark forest, and then turned around as well.

"There will... definitely be a chance."

...

Although Great Qian was in chaos, it had little to do with Chen Fan, who resided within Qingming Martial Academy.

Qinghe Commandery had just been relieved of the calamity of the western demons and was currently recovering its strength. The northeastern and southern borders were worlds apart from Qinghe Commandery, and the two nations were not engaged in all-out war, so reinforcements were not going to be dispatched from disciples of Qingming Martial Academy!

It was simply too far!

Not to mention that Qinghe Commandery still shouldered the responsibility of fending off the beasts of the Western Wilderness.

Strangely enough, while the Western Wilderness had previously experienced turmoil caused beasts running amok, it had become exceptionally tranquil ever since the Emperor of Great Qian died, and even the occasional encroaching beasts had dwindled significantly.

Of course, regardless of the reason, it was all good news for Chen Fan.

His goal at present was singular: to break through to the Grandmaster realm!

As a half-disciple of the Radiant Sun Tower, the permissions Chen Fan could access had been vastly upgraded. During these days, he either immersed himself in the Pavilion of Scriptures or sought guidance from Ye Wuji.

He had gained a much deeper understanding of the crucial steps required to step into the seventh realm.

The three steps to enter the Grandmaster realm.

Reaching the limit of cultivation in the sixth realm was the simplest step, because as long as you could condense the circulation of Qi and blood, and then slowly circulate your true cultivation technique to elevate it to the limit without any bottlenecks, a certain amount of time was all that was needed.

The hardest of the three steps was the intermediate process of comprehending intent!

Once intent had been comprehended, the third step was to leverage the intent and one's own micro-circulation to manipulate the power of heaven and earth. Those with a Dharma-body could directly bypass this.

Ordinary talented disciples would at most be stuck for two or three years before experiencing a sudden epiphany at some point, instantly achieving perfect utilization of the power of heaven and earth to step directly into the Grandmaster realm!

Of course, there were ways to artificially shorten the time spent on this step.

Entering certain special states, such as a state of enlightenment, or absorbing a certain rare treasure...

There were quite a few methods, but most of them were unrealistic. The fastest and most suitable method was only one...

Taking a pill known as the Heavenly Origin Pill!