Mutated Tao

Li Huowang's hair stood on end, feeling that he had seen something he was not supposed to see.

Will the imperial family kill me to protect this secret? Li Huowang thought about the worst-case scenario. He raised his guard, and the cogs in his mind churned rapidly, thinking of what could happen to him.

Fortunately, Zhuge Yuan spoke just in time, stopping him from doing anything rash by saying, “Junior Li, don’t worry. Everyone knows that the imperial family has a dragon vein, but I didn’t think that the Dragon Vein of the Liang Kingdom would look like this. Maybe this was why the fake Liang Kingdom was capable of destroying the Qi Kingdom.”

In the end, nothing happened to Li Huowang, and he was still in the chamber filled with a golden light.

The only change was the expression of the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom, and he even roared, “Are you all deaf? Save my father! I am the emperor, and you will not defy my orders!”

However, the old eunuchs merely trembled on the ground without heeding his words.

“Cough, cough. Lin’er …” A voice filled with fatigue and pain made the current emperor stare at the first body of the Dragon Vein. “Lin’er, don’t be too harsh on them. I was the one who told them to do this. Cough cough…”

Li Huowang finally knew the name of the current emperor. Since the imperial family of the Liang Kingdom went by the surname Ji, the current emperor's name had to be Ji Lin.

Li Huowang could still remember the name of the previous emperor, and he had heard it from the individual he had escorted to the execution grounds long ago. The previous emperor's name was Ji Song.

“But, Father, why?! You're still alive!” Ji Lin exclaimed. As the chains sunk deeper into his father’s flesh, Ji Lin felt as if he were experiencing the same pain as his father, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Ji Song’s voice became weak as if he didn’t want the others to listen to him talking, but Li Huowang heard it clearly with his keen ears.

“This is the only way to protect the Liang Kingdom's luck. You'll come to learn about this once you've become as old as me.”

“Father, but …” Ji Lin was in a daze. He didn’t know what to say.

“I died, but the Dragon Qi brought me back to life. It’s only when I’m dead that you can ascend to the throne. You should be happy about this.”

Ji Song pulled on one of the chains and moved to the side of the coffin. Then, he extended his hands covered in scales and had claws for nails to pull Ji Lin close to him. Ji Song’s voice was stern as he said, “Do you want to know why I handed over the throne to you rather than to the eldest prince?”

“I do not know.” Ji Lin sobbed.

“Because you're ruthless! To win my affection, you were actually ruthless enough to poison your own brother! The other princes can never be as ruthless as you! But you're not ruthless enough… if I were you, I would have used a stronger poison.” Ji Song’s voice became cold as he said, “Once you're out of here, you must kill all of your brothers.”

“What?!" Ji Lin’s face became pale. If it weren't for his father tugging at his robes, he would have slumped to the ground.

“Of course, you can choose to do nothing, but you should blame yourself when the others start making their moves to acquire the throne. After all, they have many loyal officers by their side.

"You're the emperor, but the official ceremony has yet to be conducted. Everything can still change. Remember—if you want to become the supreme ruler, then you must be ruthless enough to kill even your brothers!”

It sounds like the previous emperor is trying to raise a Gu. Li Huowang frowned. The most ruthless individual would become the next emperor. Would a ruthless emperor truly be able to lead their subjects to prosperity?

“I want you to remember this, Lin’er. The ruler is always alone. If you want to become a ruler, you must not trust anyone else, even your own mother.”

Ji Song let go of Ji Lin’s robes and sank slowly into the coffin. The golden coffin lid then closed with a deep rumble. The mausoleum became solemn and silent once again. Everyone could hear Ji Lin’s rapid breathing amidst the silence.

The chamber was cold, but he was sweating nonstop.

“We welcome the gods! And we shall give space!” one of the old eunuchs shouted, and the rest moved busily. They all faced the coffin being pulled by the nine golden dragons and started performing a complicated ritual.

Li Huowang stood at the side, staring at what was happening.

Soon the ritual was over, and the eunuchs left in a row. They didn’t even wait for the emperor to stand up.

Li Huowang watched as Ji Lin slowly stood back up before following the last of the eunuchs out.

He’s probably going to make many difficult decisions soon, and he probably won't have the time to bother with me. Once Li Huowang made it back to the warm temple filled with candles, he truly felt like he had just come back from the land of the dead.

Li Huowang was about to regroup with Lian Zhibei when a fierce voice echoed behind him. "Ji Zai!”

Ji Zai? Li Huowang froze and looked at Zhuge Yuan before remembering that "Ji Zai" was the name that Zhuge Yuan had bestowed upon him long ago. Someone’s calling me?

“Don’t worry, Junior Li. The Imperial Preceptor will never be able to peer over my spell, so there's no way he can peek at your past through divination.”

Li Huowang cast a thankful look at Zhuge Yuan before turning around. He walked towards the Imperial Preceptor with confidence.

“Ji Zai greets the Imperial Preceptor!” Li Huowang bowed seriously to the Imperial Preceptor.

“Since you're a Seventh Banner of the Surveillance Bureau, you should know that some things are left unsaid, right?” the Imperial Preceptor asked. Then, he gestured with his fingers, trying to divine Li Huowang’s past.

“Yes,” Li Huowang replied curtly. He stood ramrod straight, and he wasn’t surprised that the Imperial Preceptor was thinking of a way to make him not talk about what he had seen today. Li Huowang would have found it suspicious otherwise.

“Ji Zai, you're from the Ao Jing Sect, so why did you join the Surveillance Bureau? I thought you idiots had isolated yourself from society to pursue your dreams of becoming an Immortal?”

At the question, Li Huowang used the same excuse he had used last time. Of course, Li Huowang had no intentions of lying to the Imperial Preceptor, and he also believed wholeheartedly that his goal was to avenge the elders of the Ao Jing Sect by killing their killers from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.

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