When His Merits Threaten the Throne, the Empress Offers Herself in Marriage - Chapter 14:

Chapter 14: The Sound of Blades in the Wind Chimes

Some people, when at their most fragile, are fortunate enough to find a shoulder to lean on, temporarily escaping the storm of reality.

But others—like those who walk against the night carrying burdens—step into the most dangerous storms for their own gain.

While Jiang Mengxuan had already conceded this game, buried herself in Jiang Shangxian’s arms, and released her emotions, another man had already arrived at a concealed treetop outside the Jinling Secret Realm.

At this moment, Shen Lang had no idea that this operation had already been abandoned by the Empress.

Unaware, he reached the outer edge of the secret realm at noon using unparalleled movement techniques, hiding in the shadows as he observed the fifteen Qingyi Tower disciples.

“Third Senior Brother, this is the first time the Jinling Secret Realm is opening. We don’t know what dangers lie within. Isn’t this too risky?”

“Exactly because it’s the first opening, we must seize this opportunity. We were entrusted by Master to explore the secret realm—it’s a rare chance. If luck is on our side, we could all break through at least one minor stage after this trial.”

The one speaking was a man around thirty, the third senior brother of Qingyi Tower, Han Tang. He appeared to be the leader of the group, with cultivation at the Late Stage of the Postnatal Realm.

But from Shen Lang’s perspective, Han Tang had already died over a hundred times in his mind.

Instead, Shen Lang focused on a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy muttering to himself in the corner.

That youth was Yang Fan—the one Gui Yingzi had mentioned. The strongest among the fifteen.

“System, tell me if there’s anything valuable inside the Jinling Secret Realm.”

“Huh? The Golden Emperor Dao Fruit? Isn’t that only found in Grade-1 secret realms?”

“I see… if I get that fruit, I can break through to the Transformation Realm or even the Meridian Opening Realm? Alright, tell me how to get it.”

“Understood. Once I’m inside, I’ll shake them off. Thanks for the info…”

Shen Lang’s hearing was sharp—he heard Yang Fan’s muttering word for word.

“So this guy really has a system…”

With that thought, Shen Lang’s left hand instinctively reached toward the dagger at his waist, ready to strike at any moment.

But in the next second, he changed his mind, lying down on the treetop and completely concealing his presence…

By afternoon, all fifteen disciples of Qingyi Tower entered the secret realm under Han Tang’s lead.

Once they disappeared, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Shen Lang’s lips.

He sat cross-legged on the branch and began cultivating his internal energy.

The cultivation technique he practiced was called Yu Huang Chaotic Art, a scripture he had seized when escaping from a swarm of systems. It was now embedded deep within his Divine Soul.

The technique had thirty-three layers. It was said to be born from the very essence of the Dao and, when cultivated to the highest level, would yield unimaginable power.

It was created over ten thousand years ago by a man named Shen Zhao, who, before ascending with his wives and daughters, combined all his martial insights and cast it into chaos.

Shen Lang had learned from the River of Time and Space that this art was extremely unique—only traversers could cultivate it. That made it an absolute forbidden item within the system’s database.

His survival on the brutal edges of existence until now was entirely thanks to this technique.

Sadly, Yu Huang Chaotic Art was abnormally difficult to train. Since crossing over, Shen Lang had barely mastered the first layer.

But even that first layer had allowed him to reach the Mid Stage of the Innate Realm.

He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to reach the thirty-third layer.

As dusk fell and lights lit up in the distant city of Jinling, Shen Lang felt his energy flow had become more refined and his True Qi much denser after several cycles of cultivation.

Before he could savor the changes in his meridians, a light fluctuation stirred in the barrier of the Jinling Secret Realm.

Without hesitation, Shen Lang drew his dagger. His cold eyes stared unblinking at the barrier’s exit.

The moment of the hunt had come.

With a flash of light, the fifteen Qingyi Tower disciples, including Yang Fan and Han Tang, emerged from the secret realm, visibly exhausted.

Han Tang waved his hand, “That exploration yielded great results. No time to waste—we should return to Qingyi Tower immediately.”

Yang Fan quickly proposed, “Third Senior Brother, since we’re already in Jinling, I heard the brothels here are the best in the Great Chu Empire. We should enjoy ourselves before returning.”

The moment he said that, all the other disciples cheered in agreement.

Most of them were young men full of vigor, brimming with fantasies about women. Having just survived a secret realm trial, they badly needed to unwind.

“Third Senior Brother, just let us enjoy this one time!”

“Yeah, Master gave us plenty of time. We won’t miss the deadline.”

“Come on, Third Senior Brother, just say yes!”

Faced with the eager pleas of his junior brothers, Han Tang hesitated.

Truthfully, he hadn’t had a woman in ages either, and he badly needed to relieve his inner desires.

After just three seconds of thought, he gave the final word, “Fine. Since everyone’s so insistent, tonight we’ll enjoy ourselves along the banks of Qinhuai River.”

“Third Senior Brother, you’re the best!”

The group erupted in cheers.

At that moment, a gentle breeze blew past.

Ding ling… ding ling…

Wind chimes rang melodiously.

“Who’s there?!”

Han Tang and Yang Fan reacted instantly, drawing their slender swords.

Though the rest of the disciples didn’t know what was happening, they all followed suit and drew their blades.

Just then, Shen Lang stepped out of the forest.

“Imperial Guard, Shen Lang, paying respects.”

With his left hand behind his back, Shen Lang bowed slightly to them.

Then—his ultimate movement technique activated.

Ding ling… ding ling… ding ling…

Before the leading three disciples even realized what was happening, all they heard was the crisp sound of wind chimes near their ears.

Pssh—pssh—pssh—

Three spurts of blood burst forth. Their throats were slit cleanly by Shen Lang’s dagger before they could even move.

“No, we—”

Pssh—pssh—

Two more disciples tried to shout but collapsed, their necks cut by an icy blade.

“Form up!” Han Tang finally came to his senses and shouted for the others to form a formation.

But Shen Lang gave them no chance.

Pssh—pssh—pssh—

With another flash of cold light, five more disciples fell, killed instantly by a single blow each.

They died without ever having the chance to make a move.

Shen Lang’s blade was unreasonably fast. His movement technique left no trace.

Han Tang and Yang Fan’s throats both tightened. This opponent was stronger than anyone they had ever faced.

With another flicker of cold light, Shen Lang reversed his grip on the spinning blade in his palm.

Now, only Yang Fan and Han Tang remained.

“Who are you, and why are you targeting Qingyi Tower?” Han Tang asked, his voice shaking from the terrifying bloodshed.

He couldn’t comprehend how anyone could move that fast—so fast it was beyond all reason.

“Are you deaf?”

Before his words even faded, Shen Lang was already in front of him.

“I said, Imperial Guard, Shen Lang, paying respects.”

“Urgh—”

Han Tang’s sword froze mid-air. His throat was already slit open by Shen Lang’s blade.

“Huh?”

Now left alone, Yang Fan wet himself in terror.

From the moment Shen Lang attacked until now, only a few dozen breaths had passed, and all his senior brothers were dead.

What kind of monstrous cultivation was this?

“It’s your turn.”

“No! Don’t kill me! I beg you!”

Fear of death overwhelmed Yang Fan. He knelt and begged.

“I’ll give you anything you want—”

Pssh!

Before he could finish, Shen Lang’s reply was a clean, silent slash.

“Urgh—”

Yang Fan collapsed, a faint wisp of energy dispersing from his body into the air.

“So even a guy with a system is this much of a coward. I guess all those so-called system protagonists are just a bunch of fake tyrants… Tch.”

With a casual flick of his dagger, Shen Lang smoothly slid it back into the sheath behind his waist.

“Mission complete. Commander, I’ll be waiting for my payment.”

After stripping the Qingyi Tower disciples of all valuables—including the treasures they acquired from the secret realm—Shen Lang stored everything in his spatial ring.

Except for the Golden Emperor Dao Fruit, which he kept for himself.

“This fruit… will be my interest for the job.”

Just then, a sharp glint of cold light shot out from Yang Fan’s corpse and entered Shen Lang’s mind.

“Hmm?”

Shen Lang narrowed his brows, his pupils flashing coldly.

“So it was an intelligence-type system… no wonder. Looks like if I kill the host of a system, I can absorb part of its function.”

Then, sweeping his cloak with a chilling grin on his face, he muttered, “Let’s bring an end to the era of systems on this continent.”