Chapter 227: The Old Daoist

"Duke Fang!"

Xia Yuan suddenly stood up, his face incredibly excited. If it weren't for the person in front of him, he wouldn't be sitting on the dragon throne now, becoming the ruler of an empire, and instead might’ve been still being bullied by those eunuchs.

The civil and military officials stood up in greeting respectfully. "Duke Fang."

Fang Chen's status was transcendent, and he could no longer be treated with the most basic forms of courtesy. They knew very well that if Fang Chen were to choose to replace the emperor or the prime minister, no one would dare to oppose him.

"Huh?!” An official closer to the entrance of the hall suddenly frowned. “What's that smell?"

He scanned the hall with his eyes, and when he saw the odd-looking Liu Mu, shock crept up his face.

Liu Mu was following closely behind Fang Chen, keeping his head low, not daring to look around. He felt too inferior; whenever he saw those disdainful glances thrown his way, he felt like a knife was cutting into his heart.

Fang Chen smiled faintly. "Your Majesty, have you been well?"

Xia Yuan hurriedly responded, "I have, I have."

"As long as you are doing well, then it’s all good." Fang Chen nodded with a smile, then had Ji Lengxing lead a group of Nightmare Knights into the hall, with boxes in their hands.

All eyes fell on these Nightmare Knights.

Actually, it wasn’t exactly a surprise, as, from the moment the Nightmare Knights entered the capital, news had spread. The people couldn’t help but secretly speculate, racking their brains about what it could be that Fang Chen had done back at the Frost Water Empire to make the Nightmare Knights accompany him back here.

"Everyone, inside these boxes lie the martial arts heritage of the Frost Water Empire, gathered over hundreds of years," said Fang Chen with a faint smile.

Everyone drew a sharp breath as a look of extreme shock flashed through their eyes.

The fifth prince couldn’t hold himself back and he suddenly exclaimed, "Duke Fang, is that true?”

Jiang Yushu, the minister of justice, stepped out from his spot and slowly approached the boxes. He glanced at Fang Chen, who nodded in agreement, then opened one of the boxes.

One after another, martial arts scrolls came into view.

After a moment of inspection, Jiang Yushu nodded heavily. "These are indeed martial arts techniques."

The expressions of everyone became increasingly excited. Looking at the dozen or so boxes in front of them, it was evident that Duke Fang had looted all the martial arts of the Frost Water Empire!

"This is fantastic! With the martial arts heritage of the Frost Water Empire, the power of our Great Xia will surely soar to new heights!" exclaimed Tao Mingsheng.

Many people in the court also butted in into the conversation, voicing their excited agreement.

The civil and military officials could fully imagine the changes these martial arts would bring to Great Xia. Some were so excited that their faces turned red, while others couldn't help but shed tears.

Jiang Yushu glanced at Ji Lengxing, then at Fang Chen. "Duke Fang, did the Ji Family agree to this?"

"Please rest assured, this is a deal between my ancestor and Duke Fang. These martial arts scrolls won’t bring you any trouble. Oh, and... my ancestor is now the Emperor of the Frost Water Empire. The Han family has abdicated," said Ji Lengxing, clasping his fist.

"The Han family abdicated? The Ji family took control of the palace?!"

Everyone was utterly dumbfounded, and after they all exchanged a look, their gazes finally converged on Fang Chen in the next moment, their eyes burning with excitement. They could guess that, without a doubt, this was all Fang Chen’s doing! With his strength alone, he took the emperor of the Frost Water Empire off his throne! Such dominance!

"Here’s what we will do with these martial arts techniques. I will have Zhao Yan and the others copy and transcribe them here, then build a scripture pavilion in the palace to house these techniques," said Fang Chen. "Those loyal to Great Xia and those with outstanding aptitude can be allowed by the emperor to select techniques from the pavilion. After a few years, we can select a few techniques and allow them to circulate in the martial scene."

"Duke Fang, martial artists often break the law with their martial prowess. The actions of the former sect master of the Giant Sword Gate in the Southern Region served as a lesson. If we allow these techniques to circulate freely in the martial scene, I am afraid that..." Tao Mingsheng plucked up his courage to speak, "I'm afraid it won't benefit the court in any way."

Many officials nodded in agreement. Even though some military commanders hailed from the southern region, in their current positions, their mindsets had changed. They would only consider the interests of the court now.

"Remember, heroes rise from the martial scene. If these techniques are only allowed to be practiced by officials, circulated only within the military, I'm afraid it will take hundreds of years for us to catch up to the Frost Water Empire," Fang Chen said with a faint smile. "I’ve given you a headstart over the martial scene, a few years, that should be enough. When I deem the time is right, these techniques will be distributed to various sects."

The crowd nodded silently. Since Fang Chen had made his decision, they didn't dare to continue arguing.

"Zhao Yan, Xu Ge, Tie Ma, the three of you will transcribe the techniques here," Fang Chen ordered.

"I will," replied Tie Ma.

"Yes," said Zhao Yan.

Xu Ge looked astonished. "Lord, do I also need to be here for this? I don’t know how to write....”

Fang Chen glanced at him and saw the look of distress on his face. "You can learn," he said, then ignored Xu Ge.

He waved to Xia Yuan. "They'll need some time to transcribe. Come with me to the Imperial Garden."

Xia Yuan nodded eagerly. "Yes!"

***

In the Imperial Garden.

It was a truly peculiar sight; Fang Chen was accompanied by a group of Nightmare Knights behind him, and Xia Yuan was followed by a group of Valiant Saber Guards. Two seemingly unrelated factions were now walking together.

Huang Sihai glanced at Ji Lengxing and grinned. "You're in the Earth Profound Realm?"

"Um, yes." Ji Lengxing nodded.

"No wonder. To be able to achieve the Earth Profound Stage at such a young age, your empire’s heritage must truly be impressive," muttered Huang Sihai.

"You're one of Master Fang's Dragon Generals. Your future will surely be even greater than mine," Ji Lengxing replied. His voice didn’t carry any pride, only envy.

When Lengyue was captured, the Ji family investigated and sorted out information regarding Fang Chen as well as his allies. Naturally, they knew of Huang Sihai's background.

Ahead, Xia Yuan occasionally glanced at Liu Mu, his eyes devoid of disgust or disdain, only curiosity, but he dared not ask.

"You can ask directly if you have any questions. An emperor doesn’t need to be so cautious," said Fang Chen with a faint smile.

Xia Yuan smiled awkwardly and looked at Liu Mu. "Duke Fang, why did he end up like this?"

Liu Mu's body trembled slightly, burying his head even lower.

"Liu Mu is a citizen of our Great Xia, and in terms of age... he's similar to you. He was just harmed by evil cultivators," explained Fang Chen.

"So, he's around my age!" Xia Yuan looked shocked, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes. "His family must be heartbroken to see him like this..."

"His family has already been killed."

"Oh..." Xia Yuan was momentarily speechless, then quickly said, "Duke Fang, the palace contains many rare medicinal herbs. I wonder if they can cure the tumors on his body?"

Fang Chen shook his head slightly. "They can't. Those are just ordinary medicines."

Xia Yuan was taken aback and then looked at Liu Mu. "Liu Mu, don't worry. Duke Fang has extraordinary skills and will surely find a cure for you."

Liu Mu, seeing Xia Yuan speaking to him, slowly lifted his head and looked at Xia Yuan with uncertainty.

After a while, Liu Mu realized that Xia Yuan's eyes held no disgust, but were rather clear and sincere, so he pointed to his throat and made a few unintelligible sounds.

When the eunuchs, palace maids, and Valiant Saber Guards around saw this, they couldn't help but feel moved. A child of seven or eight, whose entire family had been killed, had been treated so horribly, and to top it all, he was even a mute!

"Your Highness, isn’t this the child that...." Huang Sihai's expression changed. After a moment of realization, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. "Why has he become like this? Wasn't he supposed to become a disciple of the Heavenly Southern Sect?”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I want to know what happened too. So, in a while, I'll go to the Heavenly Southern Sect to find out and look for a way to cure him," said Fang Chen.

The next moment, Fang Chen suddenly opened his eyes, and his spiritual energy flowed out, protecting those close to him. At the same time, four hundred-foot-long earth dragons rose from the ground, roaring and twisting their bodies around the other, farther away, palace maids, eunuchs, and guards, crushing them to death in the blink of an eye.

"Five Element Controlling Technique," muttered Fang Chen slowly as he looked in a certain direction.

He found that an elderly Daoist had appeared. He was gazing at Fang Chen with a profound gleam in his eyes.