Stellar Transformation-Chapter 81 - 11 The Ancestor Takes Action

Although Shangguan Hong was dead, there was no resentment on his face. After all, to a hero such as himself, ideals were valued over life. Having lost, he was prepared for his defeat. In the battle for supremacy, to lose meant death.

The man with green eyes still fixated on Zhuang Jun, his murderous intent locked solely on him. He knew Zhuang Jun was a formidable opponent and must be killed in one strike.

Suddenly—

"Assassins, assassins!"

Zhuang Jun suddenly shouted, simultaneously blocking his left arm with a palm. His whole body was sent flying backward, smashing the door. The guards outside, as if knowing everything that was to happen, shot two crossbow bolts directly at the green-eyed man.

These guards were arranged by Zhuang Jun, and they were part of Qin De’s forces.

Qin De could have killed Shangguan Hong at any time, but he waited until this moment. Qin De was well aware that Shangguan Hong and the Xiang Family had laid a trap for him. However, Qin De had turned their plan against them. With the Qin Family’s army entering the Northern Domain Two Prefectures, it was natural for Shangguan Hong to announce his support for the Qin Family to his troops.

While the public announcement declared this support, some high-ranking individuals still knew that the Shangguan Family sided with the Xiang Family. They dared not share this plan in advance with the mid-level officers or the ordinary soldiers.

Apart from a few high-ranking individuals, almost all the forces of the Northern Domain Two Prefectures believed that the Shangguan Family sided with the Qin Family. With this crucial Flying Eagle plan, the goal was to take control of the Northern Domain Two Prefectures in one fell swoop.

"Die!"

The green-eyed man moved with agility, wielding a weapon resembling a short knife, parrying the crossbow bolts. He surged towards Zhuang Jun like a falling meteor, intent on killing Zhuang Jun even if it meant his own death.

This green-eyed man was a Death Soldier of the Xiang Family, who had been in hiding with Shangguan Hong for a long time. He understood that Zhuang Jun was an important piece for the Qin Family to control the Northern Domain Two Prefectures and must be killed.

"Assassins, signal for help!"

There were guards around this secretive location, drawn by the earlier shouts of alarm. As they entered the courtyard and saw Shangguan Hong dead inside the room, they immediately released a signal, firing a Sound Arrow into the sky.

Zhuang Jun, seeing this, let out a cold smirk, then cried out in a tone of wrenching sorrow, "Gentlemen, the assassin has killed the Prince! Join me in avenging the Prince!" He then grabbed his war saber from his waist and charged forward.

The green-eyed man’s eyes flashed, and he too charged at Zhuang Jun.

"Kill, avenge the Prince!"

The guards rushed forward, skilled protectors of Shangguan Hong stationed around the estate. They kept outsiders away with their Restrictions. Seeing the green-eyed man appear out of nowhere, they naturally took him for the assassin.

With the Prince dead, these guards were each desperate to escape blame and resolved to kill the assassin.

"Clang!"

With blades flashing, Zhuang Jun and the green-eyed man moved with incredible speed, engaging in dozens of exchanges in an instant. The guards, also skilled, quietly shot cold arrows to affect the green-eyed man. More assistance arrived following the earlier signal.

"Hmph!" The green-eyed man snorted coldly as his back was pierced by a thrown knife, his Protective Body Qi failing to shield him, clearly thrown by another expert.

Zhuang Jun’s eyes brightened.

"Swoosh!"

A Flying Blade flew out from Zhuang Jun’s hand. The two were too close together, and the green-eyed man, slightly distracted by the injury, was swiftly stabbed through the abdomen. Then another knife struck from behind—

A middle-aged man stood behind the green-eyed man, his figure bursting forward almost simultaneously with Zhuang Jun.

The figure went by in a flash.

By the time the middle-aged man and Zhuang Jun came to a halt, the light in the green-eyed man’s eyes had already dimmed, his body weakly kneeling down, and his upper and lower halves startlingly separated.

"Hiss"

Upon tearing open the deceased green-eyed man’s sleeve, there was a dragon-shaped mark on his left arm. Zhuang Jun’s lips curled into a cold smile, then cried out frantically, "Ah, a Death Soldier of the Ba Long Army, from the Xiang Family!"

As time passed, some important figures also arrived and were stunned by the scene.

"The Prince just proclaimed his support for the Qin Family, the Xiang Family must hold a grudge, it has to be so," an elderly man exclaimed angrily.

Zhuang Jun then dashed to Shangguan Hong’s corpse and, with a loud "bang!," knelt down and swore, "Prince, I, Zhuang Jun, have followed you for so many years, and yet you died by the enemy’s stealthy assassination. I swear here and now that I will lead our Northern Two Counties to annihilate the Xiang Family and avenge you!"

He then knocked his head on the ground three times in quick succession.

Suddenly—

"It’s terrible, Your Highness was just assassinated at Yanxun Building!" A person rushed in from outside to report to Zhuang Jun, as many affairs of the Northern Two Counties were ordered by Shangguan Hong and executed by Zhuang Jun.

Upon hearing this news, Zhuang Jun’s eyes turned blood-red: "Ahh, the Xiang Family! Damn the Xiang Family, they are now engaging in a mad revenge. I will take the Prince’s body back to the Prince Mansion. Some of you come with me, the rest of you go quickly to protect the Princely Heirs," Zhuang Jun ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

The kneeling guards immediately responded.

...

The Northern Two Counties descended into complete chaos. Assassinations occurred one after another, killing many important individuals of the Shangguan Family, with Zhuang Jun himself seriously injured. Despite his injuries, Zhuang Jun still led troops to eradicate the Ba Long Army’s hidden branches within the Northern Two Counties.

Bloodshed!

The entire Northern Two Counties were engulfed in madness, anyone related to the Xiang Family was being executed. Numerous important individuals were discovered to be spies for the Xiang Family. Although these figures denied it, the Secret Letters uncovered were conclusive proof.

Of the four generals of the Northern Two Counties, one was assassinated and another was replaced due to ill health. The remaining two generals stayed the same, with Zhuang Jun being one of them.

The Shangguan Family’s key members, such as several Princely Heirs, were killed, leaving the Shangguan Family with only one line of descent left—a three-year-old child. From then on, the Shangguan Family’s decline became irrevocable, with Zhuang Jun controlling everything.

Afterward, Zhuang Jun, claiming revenge, ordered the four hundred thousand troops from the Northern Two Counties, of which three hundred thousand would join forces with the Qin Family Army to prepare for a joint attack on the Xiang Family.

Xiang Guang slumped powerlessly into his chair, his mind in complete disarray.

"How could this happen? How could this happen? What exactly is going on, who can tell me, what exactly happened? It’s only been a few days, everything was fine before, but now..." Xiang Guang felt only a headache, an unbearable headache.

The original plan had been so perfect.

But no matter how perfect, it was just a plan after all. A plan is only real when it’s executed. Unrealized, it’s just castles in the air.

"Ba Long Army, haha... Yi Yan, do you think the Death Soldiers of Ba Long Army would kill Shangguan Hong? Would they?" Xiang Guang asked Yi Yan, who was bowing before him, with an almost neurotic tone.

Yi Yan affirmed, "They won’t. Green Eyes is the most successful and excellent Death Soldier of our Ba Long Army. He definitely won’t kill Shangguan Hong. Moreover, having been with Shangguan Hong for so many years, if he wanted to kill him, he would have done it long ago. Why would he wait until now?"

Xiang Guang looked at the crowd before him, no longer even in the mood to lose his temper.

"Get out, all of you get out!"

Xiang Guang waved his hand in a lackluster manner, his heart completely in turmoil. He only knew that his throne was in danger, his very life was in danger. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yi Yan and the others hastened out of the Imperial Study Room, and then the guard by the door closed the grand doors. There, Xiang Guang slumped in his chair, sitting silently, with no one knowing what he was really thinking, for a long, long time...

"Bang!"

The doors of the Imperial Study Room flung open on their own, and gusts of wind swept in, causing Xiang Guang to squint his eyes involuntarily.

"Close the doors, close the doors for..." He hadn’t finished speaking when he dared not say any more.

In stepped an imposing elderly man who walked straight in from outside the door. The man’s long black hair fluttered, and he was clad in a wide-sleeved robe that billowed like a cloak in the wind; his eyes were as cold and sharp as icy arrows.

Behind the elder, there were four individuals, two side by side, in two rows. These four had an extraordinarily peculiar demeanor, and among them was Mr. Lan, expressionless as they followed behind the elder. The five of them walked into the Imperial Study Room, one after the other, while the guards by the door stood as if petrified.

"Old... Old Ancestor!"

Xiang Guang was completely stunned by the sight of the elder before him. It had been so many years since the Old Ancestor had left Weiyang Palace. Even if he had left, Xiang Guang probably wouldn’t know, for at least the Old Ancestor had never left Weiyang Palace to see him even once.

Xiang Guang suddenly snapped to his senses, quickly standing up and kneeling down, "Your grandson greets the Old Ancestor!"

"Good, our Xiang Family has ruled for nearly a thousand years. Yet, within a matter of months, we have already lost half of our territory. What kind of Emperor are you being?" The elder glared at Xiang Guang, reprimanding him mercilessly.

Xiang Guang was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He was all too aware that just one command from this elder would spell the end of his rule. In the Xiang Family, this elder was a deity in the hearts of all the Xiang Family members!

"Old Ancestor, it’s not my fault, as you know, the Qin Family is so powerful, and the Black Water Mountain Bandits affair has obviously been in preparation for hundreds of years. And this time, I don’t know if that Death Soldier lost his mind, actually attempting to assassinate Shangguan Hong..." Xiang Guang hurriedly explained, his mind entirely jumbled, only knowing to shirk the blame.

"Be quiet!" A glint of cold light flashed in the elder’s eyes, and the entire Imperial Study Room seemed to grow colder, making Xiang Guang’s heart tremble so violently that he could not utter another word.

"It’s not your fault. Do you think I am unaware of what you did at Prince Zhen Dong Mansion? If it weren’t for that incident, which led to the death of the Qin Family’s Princess, would things have escalated to this point?" the elder scolded with anger.

Xiang Guang felt fear in his heart, yet he retorted, "But hasn’t the Qin Family been preparing for hundreds of years?"

"Hundreds of years of preparation, if they had wanted to rebel, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? Humph, for so many years, the Qin Family has lived comfortably and, after centuries, has certainly lost the desire to rebel. If not for you, how could you have prompted them to rebel again?" the elder rebuked coldly.

Xiang Guang no longer dared to speak.

"That’s enough. The Qin Family’s disloyalty was inevitable; your actions were merely a catalyst. And yet, to choose you as Emperor, your father was really blind. Do you think that Death Soldier would have killed Shangguan Hong? Hmph, now the Northern Domain Two Prefectures are controlled by Zhuang Jun, and even their military forces comply with orders from the Qin Family. Clearly, all of this is the Qin Family’s plotting. That Zhuang Jun is also a man of the Qin Family! Such a simple scheme and you couldn’t see through it, you ruling as the Xiang Family’s Emperor is truly to the detriment of our Xiang family’s dynasty," the elder chastised bitterly.

Xiang Guang was silent as a cicada in winter.

"From today on, I will personally decide all matters concerning the war. You should reflect on your actions, get back to your sleeping quarters and think hard," the elder commanded, stripping Xiang Guang of his imperial authority in one fell swoop.

Shock filled Xiang Guang’s heart. This great ancestor had not personally managed royal affairs for many years, and obviously, given the present situation, even this respected ancestor could no longer remain idle.

Yet after that, Xiang Guang felt secretly thrilled. The mess was too big for him to handle anymore, and he felt relieved that this great ancestor was taking over. Immediately, he said, "I will go and reflect."

Having spoken, Xiang Guang left the Imperial Study Room at once, and from that day forward, he was only Emperor in name.

The elder turned around, staring into the distance, his gaze seemingly piercing through space.

"The Qin Family, I want to see what tricks you have up your sleeve. Do not force me to execute my final plan, for even if we emerged victorious, it would be meaningless," the elder murmured with a trace of cold smile on his lips, his long hair fluttering in the air, his robe billowing, exuding an aura that seemed to look down upon the world.

Mr. Lan and the other three masters stood by silently, not daring to disturb the great ancestor.

No matter how chaotic the Chu Dynasty was at the moment, Qin Yu and Little Black were devoted to their cultivation in the Primordial Wilderness. According to Qin Yu’s memory, there was still a year or two before the Qin Family would rise up in arms. He was not in a hurry and continued to journey back while diligently cultivating along the way.

Within the boundless jungle, Qin Yu and Little Black were making their way through.

Qin Yu was at this moment wearing long pants and a sleeveless undershirt, his upper body muscles fully on display. These clothes were from the bedroom wardrobe on the second floor of Thunder Mountain Residence. When Qin Yu first arrived at the residence, his clothes were in tatters. Later, he found many garments in the bedroom, and these pants and sleeveless undershirt were also available on the Hidden Dragon Continent.

The material of the clothes was quite peculiar, resembling a Spiritual Artifact capable of Blood Recognition, and their defense was extremely strong. After Qin Yu had claimed them with his blood, he found the clothes very comfortable to wear. He did not wish to be always naked or draped in beast skins.

Qin Yu was almost gliding without touching the ground, like a streak of light moving swiftly through the jungle, when suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, and Little Black did likewise.

"There’s a Demon Beast nearby, at the Golden Core Stage."

The man and the eagle stared intently in one direction, making no attempt to hide. Soon, a bewitching woman in purple appeared in their line of sight. She seemed quite surprised and covered her cherry lips with her hand.