Chapter 839: Fend For Herself

Great Zhou Imperial City.

As expected of a capital city, the Imperial City was grand and magnificent. It was a million kilometers large, and its city walls were nearly ten thousand meters high. It was so high that it pierced the clouds, making the city resemble the city of immortals. A myriad streams of purple and red dragons were streaking across the air above the Imperial City. The city was both massive and towering. It was so towering that it seemed to be connected to the Heavens!

The Great Zhou Imperial City had tens of thousands of city gates. Among them, the most impressive was the main gate. The gate was ten thousand meters wide, and it seemed to be always closed, unlike the other gates.

It was also being protected by a group of Imperial guards.

The Triumphal Gate!

It was said that the gate was named by the Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou Imperial Family, and only those who had accumulated great merit could enter the city through this gate.

Since the founding of the Great Zhou, the Triumphal Gate had only been opened twice.

A large group of people with dignified demeanors approached the imperial city.

The individual at the helm was none other than Zhou Fan.

The Left Elder, the Right Elder, the black-robed middle-aged man, and the Imperial Guards were standing behind her.

The black-robed middle-aged man was utterly shocked to see the grandeur and magnificence of the Great Zhou Imperial City.

Zhou Fan was all smiles, but the two elders behind her looked extremely solemn, and their eyes were filled with worry.

Zhou Fan and her group didn't enter the city through the Triumphal Gate. They entered through a smaller gate nearby. The gate was massive, but it was nowhere near as grand as the Triumphal Gate.

A young man in a pale yellow robe exuding an air of nobility stood near the gate.

An old monk in a plain blue robe was standing behind him. The blue-robed old monk's eyes were closed, and there were prayer beads in his left hand. His mouth fluttered open, seemingly chanting an unknown scripture.

Before Zhou Fan could even reach the gate, the young man in the pale yellow robe waved from afar and smiled. "Ninth Sister!"

The faces of the Left Elder and the Right Elder darkened upon seeing the young man in the pale yellow robe.

The young man was none other than Zhou Di, the Fourth Prince of Great Zhou.

The Fourth Prince was a strong contender for the throne and was at odds with Zhou Fan.

Their maternal families had been mortal enemies for generations, so even though they were siblings, they had no familial affection for each other. In fact, they'd always seize every opportunity to kill each other.

The Imperial family actually welcomed such political struggles. After all, if one could not even win such fights, how could one be entrusted with the great responsibility of managing the empire?

Moreover, the path to the Great Dao was far crueler and more arduous than a mere succession war.

The Great Zhou Imperial Family was not afraid that such internal strife would weaken the foundation of the empire.

As long as the core figures were present, the younger generation couldn't harm the stability of the Great Zhou.

Zhou Fan smiled at Zhou Di and said, "Fourth Brother, I knew you'd be waiting for me here."

"Little sister, I did not come here to jeer at you," Zhou Fan said, "I was just really curious about the identity of the individual who forced you to use the Founding Ancestor's Protection..."

Zhou Di glanced at the black-robed middle-aged man behind her and burst into laughter. "It can't be him, can it? He's too weak."

The black-robed middle-aged man was furious, but he did not lash out. He wasn't dumb enough to do that, and he knew that he had to be low profile in a place like this.

Moreover, the blue-robed old monk next to Zhou Di seemed to have an unfathomable cultivation base.

"Fourth Brother, you and Second Brother are now free to do as you wish," Zhou Fan said before walking away.

Zhou Di chased after her with a smile. "Ninth Sister, don't try to play this trick of retreating to advance in front of me. You know I'm never going to believe that you'd withdraw from this succession war. Second Brother wouldn't believe it as well. Tell me, who is this young swordsman named Ye Guan that made you use the Founding Ancestor's Protection and represent the Great Zhou to go against the Evil Dao Alliance? Little sister, it's not that I'm trying to nag you, but what you did was inexcusable!"

Zhou Fan wasn't surprised that Zhou Di knew Ye Guan. If it were otherwise, Zhou Di wouldn't be fit to contend for the throne.

"Ninth Sister, don't tell me you've developed feelings for him?" Zhou Di chuckled, saying, "Don't scold me for intruding, but you can't just develop feelings for anyone. Your maternal clan and the forces supporting you would never allow you to marry a commoner."

Zhou Fan stared deeply at Zhou Di and said, "His family is very,

very

powerful. Much more powerful than our Great Zhou Imperial Family."

With that, Zhou Fan turned around and walked away.

Zhou Di froze.

Moments later, he burst out into laughter and muttered, "Ninth Sister, you even know how to crack a joke now..."

Then, he caught up with Zhou Fan and said, "Ninth Sister, the Council of Elders is furious about your declaration of war on the Evil Dao Alliance on behalf of the Great Zhou. You better do a good job at explaining your side, or you're going to have a very tough time."

Zhou Fan made a sidelong glance at him and smiled. "Thank you for the warning, Fourth Brother. If I really can't handle it, I might just join Second Brother and deal with you together with him."

Zhou Di's expression stiffened.

Just then, a young man appeared in the distance. He was dressed elegantly and had a refined demeanor that made him appear scholarly.

The young man was none other than Second Prince Zhou Mu.

Zhou Mu nodded lightly at Zhou Fan. "You're back?"

Zhou Fan nodded.

"What you did was really serious," Zhou Mu said gently, "The officials are all trying to bring you down. I've been trying to protect you, but it's useless so far. Moreover, I just learned that the Evil Dao Alliance has already sent their representatives over here. They're not going to let us go, but don't worry, I can't promise you anything else, but I will definitely protect you."

"Hypocrite!" Zhou Di jumped in and sneered, "Second Brother, you're a hypocrite. Ninth Sister no longer has any chances of winning the succession war, so you're trying to win her over to your camp. I also noticed that you've started roping in the Li Clan and the Wang Clan that were once backing her up."

Zhou Mu didn't bother explaining as he smiled. "The elders are waiting for you. Go and head to the Taishi Hall."

Zhou Fan nodded slightly and walked away quietly. The others remained outside.

Zhou Di watched as Zhou Fan disappeared from his sight and asked, "What do you think? Can she make a comeback?"

Zhou Mu didn't respond. Instead, he stared into the distance and fell into deep contemplation.

Zhou Di glanced at Zhou Mu and laughed. "Her comeback depends on whether that young swordsman whom she decided to help is strong enough or not. Even if that swordsman is from a Tier Four civilization, it's still going to be useless unless he's the ruler of that civilization."

Zhou Mu said, "The Evil Dao Alliance won't let this go. We need to find a way to protect Ninth Sister."

Zhou Di sneered, "Hypocrite."

Zhou Mu merely shrugged in response.

***

As soon as Zhou Fan entered the Taishi Hall, a gaze as sharp as a sword shot toward her. The gaze was from Evil Granny.

Evil Granny was staring at her with unconcealed killing intent in her eyes. An old man in a wide, dark red robe was sitting next to her. The old man's eyes were slightly closed.

Ignoring Evil Granny, Zhou Fan walked calmly to the center of the hall.

The hall was spacious, and she was surrounded by dozens of Great Zhou elders.

The succession war was still ongoing, so the Council of Elders was managing the state's current affairs.

Xiao Shu was the leader of the Council of Elders.

Xiao Shu stared at Zhou Fan and said, "Zhou Fan, you activated the Founding Ancestor's Protection and declared war on behalf of the Great Zhou. Do you see the mistake that you've made?"

Before Zhou Fan could speak, a middle-aged man stepped forward with a smile. "Elder Shu, she simply used the Founding Ancestor's Protection to save herself. What's wrong with that? Should she not defend herself against bullies?"

The speaker was on Zhou Fan's side.

Zhou Fan looked at the middle-aged man and felt warm in her heart. She was truly surprised to see someone standing up for her at this point.

Xiao Shu glanced at the middle-aged man and replied, "Elder Mo, from what I heard, she didn't use the Founding Ancestor's Protection to save herself, but to rescue that—"

"Against outsiders, we must be united," Elder Mo interrupted, "Elder Shu, have you forgotten the principles of our Great Zhou?"

Xiao Shu frowned.

"Of course, if Elder Shu is afraid of outsiders, then go ahead and kill Little Fan. We have to assuage their anger, after all."

The elders frowned. They belonged to different factions, but they were all part of the Great Zhou.

If they killed Zhou Fan to assuage the Evil Dao Alliance's fury, they'd be scorned by the citizens of Great Zhou. It was an absolutely humiliating act as well.

The old man sitting next to Evil Granny opened his eyes and said, "It seems that declaring war on the Evil Dao Alliance is not just this young lady's decision but the entire Great Zhou's decision as well. If that's the case, then there's no need for us to waste any more time here."

RUMBLE!

A violent tremor ran across the entire Great Zhou. A myriad of evil intent swept across the Great Zhou from somewhere, and an inscrutable heavenly might descended upon the lands.

The entire Great Zhou was stunned.

A Universe Tribulation was here!

Everyone's expressions changed drastically. The Evil Dao Alliance was manipulating the Evil Dao to bring about a Universe Tribulation upon the Great Zhou.

They were going straight to war!

The strength of the Evil Dao Alliance caught everyone by surprise, leaving them at a loss for words.

The old man in the dark red robe looked around the hall before standing up and leaving with Evil Granny.

Just then, a dragon roar echoed throughout the Great Zhou. An invisible dragon aura swept across the lands, dispersing the heavenly might and the evil intent of the Evil Dao.

The old man in the dark robe paused and frowned slightly.

Evil Granny's face turned solemn as well.

The dragon roar had come from someone with a terrifying cultivation base. It seemed that the Great Zhou was a force to be reckoned with.

The elders in the hall bowed respectfully toward where the dragon roar had come from.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou had made his move.

Just then, a voice echoed throughout the hall. "Strip Zhou Fan of her titles, revoke her status as a princess, demote her to a commoner, and sentence her to stand guard at the Imperial Mausoleum for ten years. After ten years, she will be expelled from the Great Zhou and will have to fend for herself from then on."