Chapter 402: Calamities Come One After Another

In just the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, Grand Preceptor Ran had finished recounting the schemes laid out by the two princes after their return.

It turned out that from the very beginning, the Grand Preceptor had suspected the Fifth Prince of colluding with the demon race. This wasn’t just based on the prince’s temperament, but more importantly, on the many clues discovered by the people he had dispatched.

However, as the Grand Preceptor, he couldn’t select the future emperor based on a few clues alone—he needed concrete evidence to formally conclude such a matter.

As a result, he deliberately adopted a system of factional voting at every court session to conduct affairs of state.

The result was exceedingly clear. As someone who naturally had more supporters in the court, the Third Prince had, over the past half year, essentially steered the course of Great Wu.

The only time the Fifth Prince ever won was when a disaster relief issue arose, and the Third Prince didn’t want to handle it, so he let the Fifth Prince take charge.

While doing this, the Grand Preceptor also had Golden Guards secretly protect the civil and military officials in court—especially the two princes and Royal Prince Ye, each of whom had two top-tier Golden Guards by their side.

A month ago, the Fifth Prince decided to travel to Changyang Prefecture to requisition grain for disaster relief. Shortly after, this whole affair began.

It seemed that the opposing side had finally run out of patience and chose to strike against the court officials tonight.

“Still… the Fifth Prince has not treated me unfairly. By all rights, he should hate me…”

“Yet he didn’t send any demons to target me…”

“Could it be he thinks I’m too old, no longer useful, and worth sparing?”

With a self-deprecating chuckle, Grand Preceptor Ran looked at the wide-eyed officials before him, and at the Third Prince whose expression was difficult to read. He said calmly, “Now that the truth is settled, let’s proceed quickly with arranging for His Highness the Third Prince to ascend the throne…”

“Great Wu has gone without an emperor for far too long…”

“It’s time someone steps up to stabilize the fortune of this dynasty…”

Perhaps the good news had come too suddenly—so suddenly, in fact, that the Third Prince was stunned where he stood. He had imagined many ways to ascend to the throne.

But he had never imagined that his younger brother’s impatience and attempt to murder the court officials would be the very thing that propelled him into the position!

Just as he was about to say something, a sudden shout echoed from outside the hall. A dark figure flashed into the hall, cupped his fists toward the Grand Preceptor, and said:

“Grand Preceptor! A message from the Golden Guards: Northern Huangtian has fallen! An immortal has perished! The demon army has broken through!”

Boom!

These words struck like a thunderclap in broad daylight. Everyone present turned pale on the spot!

An immortal has fallen, and the demon race has emerged!

These six short words were no less devastating than a natural disaster sweeping through Great Wu—perhaps even worse!

“How could this happen?! How could an immortal die?! That’s someone who can move mountains and fill seas with a wave of the hand!”

“It’s over! It’s over! The immortals of the Hunling Immortal Sect were our last barrier against the demons. Now that the barrier is gone, how is Great Wu supposed to fight a demon race even immortals couldn’t defeat?”

“Golden Guards—can the Golden Guards resist the demons?”

No one knew who asked, but the reporting Golden Guard gave the speaker a long, meaningful look, then withdrew his gaze with helplessness.

Feeling that powerless look, the person who spoke gave a bitter laugh, slumped into his seat, and stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes losing their light.

Can the Golden Guards withstand the demons?

The answer was obvious. After all, the unit was established because of Princess Ye, the disciple of an immortal.

Now that even immortals couldn’t deal with the demons, how could a team led by a girl who’d only recently begun cultivating stand a chance?

For a time, the atmosphere in the hall grew unbearably heavy. The officials were as if in mourning, slumped in their seats, as though their souls had left their bodies.

“Report~~~”

Another urgent shout echoed from afar!

An elderly eunuch, stooped with age, staggered into the hall holding a yellow-hide scroll and presented it to the Grand Preceptor.

Looking at the scroll, the Grand Preceptor seemed to guess what it was. He took it with a casual hand and unrolled it to read.

After staring at it for a long while, the Grand Preceptor casually tossed aside the yellow scroll in his hand and gave a bitter smile.
“The Fifth Prince has proclaimed himself emperor in Changyang Prefecture…”

A disaster upon disaster!

Every official’s face turned deathly pale!

A yellow imperial edict—this meant the Fifth Prince had openly declared himself ruler. He had clearly rebelled!

And coupled with the fact that the demon race he had colluded with had broken through Northern Huangtian, it was as if the officials could already see the Fifth Prince leading a demon army straight toward the capital.

At the side, the Third Prince strode forward, picked up the scroll from the ground, and after barely reading a few lines, his face flushed with rage as he tore it apart.
“What audacity! That beast Ye Xuliu—he’s committing treason!”

“And he dares to brazenly issue a decree, summoning us to attend his enthronement?”

“This beast deserves death!”

“Sigh…” The Grand Preceptor stood up and continued,
“The Fifth Prince really has surpassed expectations… Betraying the ancestors, and even going as far as to change the dynasty’s name to Great Tong.”

“I had expected he might rebel, but never did I think he’d go this far…”

“To commit treason, rename the nation, and even proclaim a ‘Co-Emperor’…”

“That so-called Co-Emperor is the flood dragon demon that burst out of Northern Huangtian…”

At that moment, it felt as if the sky was falling.

The Fifth Prince had proclaimed himself emperor—and was sharing the throne with a demon emperor. Even in the wildest storybooks, such a bizarre twist was unheard of!

Humans and demons sharing the realm? That was clearly bargaining with a tiger for its skin—a doomed endeavor!

But now, even the most eloquent officials were speechless.

The Fifth Prince may have been weaker in power, but he still had his own forces—and with the terrifying demon army at his back, what chance did Great Wu have?

Thirty percent?

Perhaps not even ten percent.

“Cough cough—cough cough!”
The Grand Preceptor suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing. When he removed his hand from his mouth, bright red blood seeped through his fingers.

Just as the Third Prince moved forward, he gestured for him to stop and said,
“Stop looking like you’ve already accepted death. Great Wu hasn’t fallen yet—there’s still a sliver of hope.”

At those words, all eyes turned to the Grand Preceptor. But most were filled with doubt. No matter how capable he was, could he really come up with a way to deal with the demon army?

“First, the coronation ceremony for His Highness must proceed quickly. Ye Xuliu may have already crowned himself, but his rule is illegitimate—he is a traitor.”

“We must let the people of the realm know who the rightful ruler is. Stabilizing hearts and minds comes first!”

“Second, in fighting the demon race, we have not only the Golden Guard, but also the undying Monarch Yan!¹”

“That man possesses strange powers and slaughters demons like livestock. If we ally with him against the demons, we may stand a better chance.”

At this, the Third Prince frowned.
“Monarch Yan? That man has been hunted by my forces for years. Both sides have suffered heavy losses—there’s deep blood enmity between us.”

“Now that Great Wu is in crisis, we’d be lucky if he doesn’t kick us while we’re down. Why would he ever ally with us?”

The Grand Preceptor replied with a calm smile,
“Trust this old man. At first light tomorrow, I’ll personally travel to Heyun Prefecture to meet Monarch Yan…”