Chapter 1784: Chapter 77: Imperial Decree and Entrustment

Jiang Wanxiang’s words were uttered as if an unspeakable betrayal had crushed the dignity and order of the Red Emperor’s eight-hundred-year reign, shattering them completely. In an instant, the atmosphere between heaven and earth became somber and grim, reaching its extreme.

Among the masses of officials and dignitaries, no one dared to speak for a moment.

The elder seemed to be bearing an enormous force that was visible to the naked eye.

Rather than feeling a great sense of oppression, it was more accurate to say they sensed an indescribable terror, a fear transcending life and death.

It was a terror stemming from the imminent dismantling of an eight-hundred-year-old order, something they had long been accustomed to.

This fear gripped their hearts, rendering them speechless.

Except for Ji Zichang.

Ji Zichang looked at Jiang Wanxiang before him.

Even though he had long anticipated such an outcome, when Jiang Wanxiang spoke those words, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, feeling the calm flow of blood within his body.

Had it been ten years ago, he would probably have been exceedingly furious, outwardly cold and angry, but inwardly panicked and lost.

But Ji Zichang found that when this day truly arrived.

There were no ripples in his heart.

Was it preconceived expectation, or was he, in fact, long awaiting this day?

He appeared unusually calm and indifferent, and today Ji Zichang was not wearing the imperial robe; his strong hand gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, maintaining at least the bare minimum of royal dignity.

This sword was not the Chi Xiao Sword, which the ancestors used to wield their three-foot sword, conquering all rivals to gain the empire’s supremacy, but merely an ordinary ceremonial sword, the only thing Ji Zichang could rely on.

He looked at the aging Azure Dragon with protruding cheekbones and said blandly:

"Minister, do you intend to commit treason?"

Jiang Wanxiang replied, "I only wish to bring relief to Your Majesty."

"And, to bring peace to this old man."

Within these words, there was no sense of a treacherous minister plotting to corner and kill the monarch; it was merely the straightforwardness of one wearied by age.

At this moment, a member of the Red Emperor’s lineage finally reacted, realizing instantly that this was truly a time of changing heavens, of the old order being inverted and shattered.

Some realized this was a chance to change the world, to alter their own status.

And the chance to change their lives was right in front of them in this scene destined to be immortalized in history.

Someone gave a signal.

A valiant general from Central State suddenly shouted: "The Ying Country’s Your Majesty should be deemed orthodox; the Red Emperor listens to deceitful ministers and continually slaughters loyal subjects, winning no hearts, and is fated to be executed by all!"

Having spoken, he drew his weapon and lunged towards Ji Zichang’s heart.

He was of the Sixth Layer Heaven, having reached this level through tremendous effort, and being suddenly so close and unforeseeable, none were prepared; Ji Zichang, not particularly high in cultivation, realized the terrifying force was already upon him.

His heart turned cold.

Yet he recognized this as a Voucher for Jiang Wanxiang, and that previously, with Prince Qin’s influence, he had purged many civil and martial officials, these officials’ confidants, and even enemies, who harbored grudges against him but were suppressed by Prince Qin’s power.

Prince Qin’s longevity lock was not solely for the little princess.

They were also their Short Life Lock.

At this moment, with Jiang Wanxiang’s presence dispelling the threat and pressure of Prince Qin, their hostility and accumulated resentment of these years erupted suddenly; Jiang Wanxiang also drew his sword simultaneously, a sword whose blade, intertwined with nine dragons, pierced forward fiercely.

Blood splattered.

Ji Zichang’s hair flew in the wind.

Jiang Wanxiang’s sword pierced through his shoulder, the sword’s blade gleaming with a cold light as it went through the swaggering general’s face, killing him.

Ji Zichang froze, watching as Jiang Wanxiang slowly withdrew his sword.

The valiant general from Central State, clutching his face, fell backwards to the ground, his weapon clattering down, blood flowing across the floor, dripping from the White Jade steps of the Red Emperor’s lineage, making the whole atmosphere ever more deathly still.

Jiang Wanxiang, holding his sword, sheathed the bloodstained blade.

Ji Zichang softly said, "Minister does not seek my life."

Jiang Wanxiang shook his head, saying, "To this old man, Your Majesty is not someone who must be killed, and this old man is not one who slaughters innocents."

"The old man only requires Your Majesty to abdicate."

Jiang Wanxiang said blandly, "Then, leave here, go anywhere you wish, find Li Guanyi, go to any place of peace and serenity, set down this burden, and do what you wish to do."

Ji Zichang was stunned, looking at Jiang Wanxiang, seemingly surprised.

Jiang Wanxiang chuckled lightly, saying:

"The peace of the realm is for us to struggle for; Your Majesty can also go do what you wish personally. In the end, in these turbulent times, you, I, and so many others are bound."

"Unable to do what we wish to do, unable to be whom we wish to be."

"Let me bear the dirt Your Majesty bears, and then Your Majesty can do as you please."

"After today, you will be free."

Ji Zichang looked at Jiang Wanxiang before him.

Suddenly realizing just how old this Azure Dragon had become.

In Ji Zichang’s memory, Jiang Wanxiang was forever ambitious, though with white hair, that kind of grandeur was more remarkable than that of ordinary young men.