"Ouch, it hurts! Father, it hurts so much..."
"Mother, you must severely punish that thug Qin Xiao for me!"
From deep within the inner palace, a woman's agonizing cries and venomous curses echoed.
"This little bastard has turned the world upside down! How dare he strike my daughter!"
An elegant and luxurious woman, draped in a phoenix robe, her face contorted with rage, fiercely smashed the jade cup in her hand to the ground. Shards of porcelain scattered everywhere.
Seeing Qin Ruyan on the bed, her face swollen like a pig's head and blood seeping from her forehead, her heart ached terribly. She hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to gently stroke her.
"Yan'er, my poor Yan'er. Mother will definitely punish that little beast Qin Xiao severely and give you justice!"
To the side, the Eldest Princess Qin Rushuang and the Second Princess Qin Rumeng both wore furious expressions. Stroking Qin Ruyan's head, they spoke up in her defense.
"Rest assured, Ruyan, we will absolutely not forgive Qin Xiao!"
"Qin Xiao has gone too far this time! Even if he kneels before us, we will never forgive him!"
Seeing their younger sister in such a miserable state, the anger in their hearts skyrocketed, and their eyes practically spewed flames.
In the past, Qin Xiao had always been deeply respectful to them. How would he dare to disobey them?
Now, not only had he rebelled, but he had also laid a hand on Qin Ruyan!
Hadn't they merely thrown Qin Xiao into the heavenly prison and ordered him to commit suicide by drinking poisoned wine?
How could he resist over such a trivial matter?
He was truly worse than a dog!
Qin Xiao's past kindness to them and his complete obedience had now become the sharp blades they thrust into his heart!
Their eyes shot forth resentment and murderous intent, as if only Qin Xiao's death could relieve the hatred in their hearts.
Hearing her sisters' words, Qin Ruyan's tears instantly surged down.
"Sob... The imperial physician said... my face... my face is ruined..."
Her face had been slapped dozens of times by Qin Xiao, followed by over a dozen frantic punches. It was beaten into a swollen pig's head. Even if it healed, it would be permanently affected for the rest of her life.
"Now that I've become like this, how will Yu'er look at me?"
At the thought of Qin Yu, her tears became even more torrential. She covered her face and wept bitterly.
The three of them suddenly became flustered and began to comfort Qin Ruyan incessantly.
Even late into the night, Qin Ruyan's shrill cries still drifted out from the deep palace from time to time, sounding like the weeping of evil spirits, making one's hair stand on end.
Just as the three women were exhausted from the ordeal.
"Ruyan! What happened to you!"
A tall and burly figure wearing a dragon robe appeared at the entrance of the grand hall.
He rushed in desperately and pulled Qin Ruyan into a tight embrace.
"Ruyan, who exactly bullied you?! Tell Father, and Father will definitely kill him!"
His voice was both domineering and gentle, his eyes full of tender affection for his daughter.
Qin Ruyan slowly raised her head, her gaze fragile, wearing a pitiful look that would make anyone's heart ache.
But in this very instant.
Emperor Qinwu's eyes suddenly widened.
"Pig demon! Eat my fist!"
Hearing this, Qin Ruyan didn't even have time to cry.
Boom!
A ferocious fist smashed right into her face!
Ah!
A shrill scream pierced the night sky!
Everyone froze in place.
They watched as Qin Ruyan's body flew high into the air, crashed heavily onto the ground, and bounced twice.
After a long while.
"Daughter!"
The three hurriedly rushed forward.
A good while later.
Emperor Qinwu sat on the bed with an awkward expression.
"Ruyan, Father really didn't mean it... I just saw a pig's head... Father was also trying to protect you all, it was a subconscious reaction..."
Qin Ruyan kept her head buried tightly under the gold-embroidered quilt, her body twitching as she cried. Upon hearing these words, she sobbed so hard she couldn't catch her breath and directly fainted.
She had originally wanted to seek comfort from her father, but she never expected that her father would mistake her for a pig demon and even send her flying with a single punch.
This dealt a massive blow to her fragile heart.
This punch had literally traumatized her.
Seeing Qin Ruyan pass out, Emperor Qinwu sighed and turned to look at Empress Dowager Wen.
"I already know what happened. This Qin Xiao is truly a piece of trash; he even beats his own sister! Does he really think he is the emperor?!"
As he spoke, his temper flared up. His eyes turned icy, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
"If Yu'er hadn't told me that Qin Xiao was colluding with the enemy and committing treason, I wouldn't even have known that he harbored such wild ambitions!"
Empress Dowager Wen wiped away her tears and spoke with a chest full of resentment.
"How did we not realize before that Qin Xiao was such an animal? He even dared to force you to abdicate so he could be emperor! Had I known he was this kind of person, I should have smothered him to death in his cradle!"
Her voice was filled with venom, not at all resembling how a mother should sound.
No one refuted this statement.
Everyone believed that Qin Xiao was a despicable and shameless traitor who forced his father to abdicate and usurped the throne.
However, they had forgotten who it was that had secured the Great Qin empire, and who had listened to slander to throw Qin Xiao into the death cell!
"This little beast Qin Xiao completely disregards us. Even if he commits suicide, we will not forgive him!"
Empress Dowager Wen's eyes were full of spite, her teeth tightly clenched.
Emperor Qinwu rolled his eyes at her and said crossly, "Isn't he the vile spawn you gave birth to? If anything, we shouldn't have let him return to his ancestors and acknowledge his roots back then!"
Empress Dowager Wen's momentum weakened slightly. "Letting Qin Xiao come back was all to shield Yu'er from disaster..."
"Besides, Yu'er has been with us day and night. We have long treated him as our biological child. How could we bear to see him suffer?"
The Eldest Princess Qin Rushuang also chimed in from the side, "Father, please do not be angry. Back then, the Divine Fortune Teller said that Qin Xiao is the disaster star of our Great Qin. Otherwise, we wouldn't have..."
"Enough!" Emperor Qinwu waved his hand, his voice chilling.
"I will resolve this matter concerning Qin Xiao myself. For these three days, none of you are to act rashly. Wait patiently for Yu'er to return to the court."
As if thinking of something, his expression turned from cloudy to clear.
"I heard that the little beast Qin Xiao ordered the families of the half-million strong Blazing Army to be brought to the capital. That little beast has ultimately chosen to surrender. I actually thought he had grown some guts."
Saying this, he shook his head mockingly.
Empress Dowager Wen's expression lit up with joy, but then she hesitated. "Could it be that Qin Xiao is playing some sort of trick again?"
Emperor Qinwu sneered, looking down his nose at Empress Dowager Wen.
"You think too highly of Qin Xiao. He chose to rebel this time just to get our attention, didn't he?"
"In the end, he will still obediently surrender and become a stepping stone for my son, Qin Yu."
Qin Rushuang and Qin Rumeng exchanged a glance and also began to laugh, feeling that this was indeed Qin Xiao's style.
"Alright, I'll be taking my leave first." Emperor Qinwu waved his sleeves and stood up to leave.
Just as he reached the palace gates, Qin Rushuang called out to him.
"Father, why did you pass the throne to Qin Xiao so easily?"
Her tone carried a sense of bewilderment.
This was a mystery she had pondered for a long time but could not unravel.
Her father was the Martial Emperor, whose martial arts were unparalleled in the world. How could he possibly abdicate the throne to Qin Xiao?
If Qin Xiao dared to harbor disloyal thoughts, her father could kill him as easily as flipping his hand.
Why did he abdicate?
Emperor Qinwu's body stiffened, and unpleasant memories flashed through his eyes.
"This is all part of my grand plan. Do not ask any more questions!"
His voice carried an unquestionable tone of command.
Then, he strode away quickly, almost as if he were fleeing.
That day was an immense humiliation for him!
He prided himself on being the foremost figure in the Great Qin, possessing the might of a Supreme Grandmaster.
Yet, as it turned out, he could not even last three rounds against Qin Xiao.
A trace of humiliation surfaced on the majestic face of Emperor Qinwu, and in that very instant, his eyes grew much clearer.
"Qin Xiao... he seems to have changed..."
But this thought vanished in a flash.
"No, it is impossible. He has been a coward since he was a child, always hovering around his family."
"This time, he was probably just emotionally agitated over the decree of his execution. By now, he is likely terrified and filled with regret."
A hint of mockery and disdain flashed through the depths of Emperor Qinwu's eyes.
"Yu'er is still the better one, far superior to Qin Xiao!"
.....
Watching Emperor Qinwu depart, the three of them exchanged glances.
"Mother, Qin Xiao has gone too far. I have decided to teach him a lesson!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
