The array formation was filled with the strong smell of blood, the residue of slaughter clinging to the bodies of these soldiers.
It settled on their armor, their skin, within their flesh, and their souls, gathering together and spreading in all directions, shaking the heavens and the earth.
The sky changed color, winds surged, and clouds billowed. At this moment, even the heavens were tinged with their presence, growing dimmer, with bolts of lightning and thunder suddenly appearing out of nowhere, slashing across the sky.
They overlapped with the bell chime and echoed in everyone's hearts.
In this army, the weakest cultivator was at the Nascent Soul realm, and they were elites of their realm. They had experienced countless battles while guarding the human race's border all year round.
Their lives were different from most of the cultivators in the Imperial City. Among them, many hadn't left the battlefield for decades.
Hence, the years of battle and their indifference to death caused their faces to look numb.
However, the more it was like this, the more astonishing the killing intent became. It had become instinctive. Even when they stood in front of the Imperial City, they couldn't suppress it.
It was as though… even the imperial authority held less importance in their hearts. The only thing that could cause waves in their hearts was… the wavering banners ahead of the army.
There were two flags, one golden, embroidered with the characters 'Guyue'.
The other was pitch-black, as if painted with blood, inscribed with the characters 'Zhen Yan'.
The title of the First Heavenly King of the human race was Zhen Yan.
Beneath the banners, the Fifth Prince, clad in black armor, remained calm as he gazed towards the Imperial Capital. He had been away from here for seventeen years.
"The scenery remains, but the people have changed."
The Fifth Prince murmured softly to himself as the ninth toll of the bell sounded. Then, slowly, the eastern gate of the capital opened, and officials from the Lower Mystic Five Palaces emerged, most of them coming out to greet and bow to the Fifth Prince.
"Welcome, Fifth Prince!"
Furthermore, the Fourth Prince, dressed in a yellow robe embroidered with a four claws dragon, stepped forward.
By the decree of the Human Emperor, he was representing the imperial family in welcoming his fifth brother back to the capital. With a solemn expression on his face, he arrived 10,000 feet away from the Fifth Prince's army and spoke loudly.
"Guyue Qingji, listen to the decree."
As these words were spoken, the Fifth Prince, seated on the twin-headed black dragon, shifted his gaze away from the Imperial Capital and onto the Fourth Prince. With a slight movement, he dismounted from his steed and knelt down on one knee.
The army behind him knelt down in unison.
The Fourth Prince nodded slightly and raised his right hand, waving it to produce an imperial edict.
"The Fifth Prince, Qingji, has contributed to guarding the borders, possesses martial prowess and virtue, and embodies the Mystic lineage. a taboo and contributed to guarding the borders. He serves the country and the military with utmost respect, is filial to his parents, affectionate to his siblings, and commanding to his subordinates. He greatly resembles me."
"The Fifth Prince is granted the reward of opening an office in the imperial mansion, and can further add 10,000 men. Thus decreed."
The moment the decree was finished reciting, the Fifth Prince stood up. Behind him, the soldiers also stood up and stood silently.
"Congratulations, Fifth Brother." The Fourth Prince's face was no longer solemn but revealed a warm smile.
"Father is waiting for you. Why don't you go and express your gratitude?"
The Fifth Prince was expressionless and didn't respond at all as he walked forward. When he passed by the Fourth Prince, he didn't even glance at him as he entered the eastern gate and stepped onto the rainbow bridge.
As for the soldiers behind him, they set up camp on the array formation.
This scene caused the Fourth Prince to frown slightly. However, a smile soon appeared on his face again. He simply smiled and followed behind the Fifth Prince, heading toward the palace.
All the personal guards on the rainbow bridge lowered their heads slightly to show their respect when they saw the Fifth Prince.
Under the rainbow bridge, a large number of commoners from the Imperial City had gathered. All of them looked at the Fifth Prince walking on the bridge, and it was unclear who was the first to cheer. Soon, the cheers became numerous and loud, echoing in all directions.
Those who didn't know better would think that the army had returned victorious or that the eldest prince had appeared. The sentiment of the people was quite evident.
The Fifth Prince stopped in his tracks and looked at the crowd. After a few breaths of silence, he bowed to the commoners before continuing.
After walking all the way to the rainbow bridge and standing in front of the main gate of the palace, the Fifth Prince looked at the eleven huge incense sticks standing there, especially at the area in the center where one stick of incense was missing.
A hint of sadness appeared on his face.
"All of us were surprised by Old Seventh's death. At that time, he requested to prove himself with the Immortal Inquisition Bell, but…"
A gentle voice rang out from behind the Fifth Prince, its tone filled with regret.
It was the Fourth Prince. He shook his head and walked over, standing side by side with the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince fell silent. His gaze moved away from the absent incense stick, towards the inner gate and the vast palace at the end of the square, atop the steps.
"Go in. Father, along with all the ministers, the Heavenly Marquises, the Heavenly Kings, and the Region Lord, are all inside."
The Fourth Prince said softly.
"Put away your thoughts," the Fifth Prince spoke calmly.
This was the first time he had spoken to the Fourth Prince since he returned to the capital.
"Old Seventh's death is my business. I don't need you to fan the flames."
"As for arranging for the commoners to cheer, it's even more childish."
"I'm not returning victorious, and the Emperor is in his prime. I won't easily harbor suspicions as well. Whether it's you or others, these petty tricks are beneath your status."
After the Fifth Prince finished speaking, he lifted his head and strode toward the palace.
At that moment, in the main hall of the palace, the Human Emperor was sitting upright. The 13 Heavenly Kings were also present and sat below him. All the Heavenly Marquises in the Imperial City attended as well.
Below, the Grand Chancellor and the officials of the Upper Mystic Five Palaces were arranged in an orderly manner, each of them solemn.
Xu Qing was also in the main hall. He sat in his seat with no expression on his face as his gaze landed on the main gate.
He had received the imperial edict last night. During the court meeting this morning, he had known about the Fifth Prince's return. Through Ning Yan, he had a better understanding of the relationship between the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince.
'Siblings.'
To a certain extent, such a relationship surpassed everything in the imperial family. In fact, at certain times, the affection between siblings even outweighed the bond between parents and children.
'The Fifth Prince became the disciple of the First Heavenly King and is the only disciple of the First Heavenly King who is still alive. He follows the Heavenly King to guard the border all year round. To the human race, he is the one who has made the most contributions among all the princes.'
'Among the princes, his combat strength is only inferior to the eldest prince, who has half of the Flame Moon Bloodline. He's also courageous and good at fighting…'
Some of this information came from Princess Anhai and some from Ning Yan. While Xu Qing was thinking, applause rang out from outside. This sound entered and landed in the ears of everyone in the hall.
However, no one's expression changed at all, as though they didn't hear it.
'Looks like he doesn't get along with the other princes.'
Xu Qing's eyes were serene as he looked over.
Not long later, a figure entered his vision and was also reflected in the gazes of everyone in the hall.
His tall and straight figure, handsome face, and black armor made him look extraordinarily heroic. In particular, the fluctuations of his cultivation were even more shocking.
That was the intent of the third stage of Nihility.
There were still faintly discernible threads of rules and laws in his surroundings, affecting the surroundings and transforming into the sound of wind and lightning. It was none other than the Fifth Prince.
Under the gazes of everyone, he walked past the ministers step by step and appeared in front of the steps. He knelt down and spoke in a deep voice to the Human Emperor.
"Greetings, Father."
The Human Emperor acknowledged slightly.
"You've worked hard."
The Fifth Prince stood up and his gaze landed on all the Heavenly Kings before looking at the Heavenly Marquises. He only swept his gaze past Xu Qing and didn't reveal any emotions. He continued to bow toward the Human Emperor.
"Father, in the past 17 years, the Flame Moon Border has been more or less stable."
"During this period, a total of 97 small-scale battles occurred. Flame Moon's members didn't appear and the ones who caused trouble were all their affiliated races."
"Under the protection of King Zhen Yan, it was all resolved properly."
"The Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race is currently busy with the Grand Hunt, so they are rarely preying on other races."
"As for the affiliated races that attacked, it was mainly for training their troops and probing. There's no major problem."
"In terms of casualties, over 379,000 of our people have died in battle over 17 years. The name list is here."
As the Fifth Prince spoke, he took out a jade slip and handed it to the personal guard, who then handed it to the Human Emperor.
"Compared to the past, regardless of the number of invasions or sacrifices, they have decreased by more than half. This is enough to show that the Sun of Dawn that Father has planned for many years has formed a certain level of deterrence."
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the surrounding ministers unveiled smiles.
"However… there's also bad news."
The Fifth Prince spoke in a deep voice.
"One of the bad news is that the Flame Moon's subsidiary races' overall combat strength has increased somehow. Moreover, it's not the increase of one race's combat strength, all of them are becoming stronger at an unbelievable speed."
"If we look at it in the long term, it will be very disadvantageous to our race. There is something fishy about this. We need the Special Command Palace to investigate it."
"The second bad news is that after every Grand Hunt, Flame Moon will choose a subsidiary race to increase its status. I'm afraid that there will be a subsidiary race who will start a war to attract attention."
"I returned this time to ask Father to increase our military strength. Among the three strongest affiliated races of the Flame Moon, the Si'e Race seems to be showing signs of unrest, aiming to gain attention from the Flame moon by provoking conflicts with our human race."
"Thirdly, the anomalous substances in the Flame Moon Region have increased by three times compared to the previous year. After King Zhen Yan paid attention to them, he said that it's suspected that… the Flame Moon is planning to welcome a fourth god!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent. The ministers' hearts were in turmoil. The news about the border was usually top secret and not many people knew about it.
To most people, they only had a rough understanding of the situation. This was the first time they had heard all the details.
Just as this group of ministers was pondering, the Fifth Prince finished his report and bowed to the Human Emperor again.
According to the normal process, he should have returned to his seat. However, after bowing, the Fifth Prince didn't leave. Instead, he spoke softly.
"Father, Old Seventh committed evil and was killed by the Emperor Sword. Because he made a mistake, his death is deserved!"
"However, I'm his biological brother!"
"If I remain silent, I'll be letting down my conscience. Us humans emphasize on bloodline inheritance and kinship. That's how we can remain united."
"In your imperial decree, Father, it said that I'm very close to my brothers. If I ignore kinship, I won't have any relatives. It doesn't match my philosophy."
"Therefore, Father, I wish to request to fight against Region Lord Xu. Regardless of victory or defeat, my conscience will be cleared!"
After saying that, the Fifth Prince's gaze swept over and landed on Xu Qing.
A cold glint appeared in his eyes.
"Region Lord Xu, please!"
