Chapter 678: Chapter 679: Escorting!
“`

This series of words frightened Chen Yu to the point of felt like his soul was about to leave his body.

How did it seem that the young man before him had suddenly become so clever?

Indeed, no matter what the ultimate goal of the Chen family was, this army of two hundred thousand was the backbone of their family’s power. If this army were gone, all their grandiose and bold statements would become empty talk.

He knew his own affairs all too well. In the eyes of others, his army under his command had been highly aggressive lately. But he was crystal clear that the nature of these soldiers was still one of cowardice, trying to scrape by and cling to life. If Li Xiaobai were to go all out and massacre left and right, it was naturally impossible to annihilate the entire army, but killing just a few thousand would be enough to cause a complete collapse.

The opponent had built up such immense power and prestige that the soldiers had absolutely no courage to resist.

If the army were gone, then the Chen family’s days were numbered!

Seeing Chen Yu’s eyes shifting around, panic-stricken but trying to maintain a façade of calm, Li Xiaobai felt his heart sink to the bottom. His threat had worked, which meant all his guesses were correct – Long Xue had encountered trouble!

“I’ll give you the time of one breath to think. If you don’t tell the truth after one breath, I will level every city and person in the borderlands to the ground!”

Li Xiaobai said, each word enunciated clearly.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

“All of this was the idea of that old undying fart of the Chen family; it has nothing to do with me or my siblings!”

As he spoke, Chen Yu laid out Chen Yuanyuan’s entire plan—including the existence of the Grand Emperor—without missing a single detail.

When Li Xiaobai heard that the Chen family actually intended to use Long Xue to ingratiate themselves with the Grand Emperor, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. No wonder Chen Yuanyuan was so kind as to invite Long Xue into their mansion to take care of her; it was all part of this scheme!

“How is Long Xue now?”

Li Xiaobai asked.

“According to the plan, she should have already been sent into the Imperial Palace by now.”

“Young Master Li, all of this was orchestrated by the old undying of the Chen family. We siblings were only forced into it, I beg you to show mercy and spare us!”

“As long as you spare my life, I am willing to kill that old undying for you and help you ascend to the throne!”

Chen Yu was in a panic now. Being caught red-handed threw him into disarray. The entire foundation of the Chen family was now laid bare before Li Xiaobai – how had he not anticipated this?

Actually, it wasn’t fair to blame him. Who could have imagined that Li Xiaobai’s Inner Strength was unfathomably deep? It was beyond the measure of any ordinary Martial Artist, he was practically a monster!

“If the little junior sister is unharmed, then I’ll exchange your life for hers. If she has been harmed, then your Chen family will join her in burial!”

“Pray for that ruthlessly cruel sister of yours!”

Li Xiaobai looked indifferent, patted Chen Yu on the shoulder, and before he could react, both of them disappeared without a trace, without making a sound. At the banquet, the laughter and chatter were uninterrupted, and no one noticed their commander had inexplicably vanished. Everyone was still busy toasting and drinking merrily.

After half an hour.

Li Xiaobai arrived at the foot of the Emperor’s throne with Chen Yu in tow.

The lightning-fast speed along the way scared Chen Yu silly, a horrifying experience he would never forget. To rush from the Capital to the Imperial Palace would take him a full day’s time on horseback, and that was without rest.

But Li Xiaobai’s speed shattered his understanding; carrying him using Qinggong at high speeds, they arrived in just half an hour. How terrifying was that speed?

“What… what level of power are you?”

“Even if your inner strength is profound, you’re still only in the Refinement Void Realm; how can you have such speed?”

“Is this also an effect of the Spirit Realm Technique, giving one an extraordinary speed beyond common sense?”

Chen Yu said, shivering. After landing, the world was spinning before his eyes, and he was still reeling from the frightening speed, filled with nothing but shock.

Looking at Li Xiaobai’s stern face, for the first time, he felt uncertain, sensing that things were not as simple as they seemed!

“To the Chen family!”

Li Xiaobai said, ignoring Chen Yu’s attempt to boast, and spoke directly.

“In… In a little while, it will be time for the morning court; we could go straight to the great hall of the Imperial Palace.”

“`

Chen Yu played a clever trick, trying to lure Li Xiaobai away from the Chen Family.

However, he didn’t tell a lie, although dawn hadn’t broken yet, it was indeed almost time for the morning court session.

The hour of the dawn court session is very early, because officials from different ranks come from varying distances away from their fiefs, and to ensure that the Imperial Court ministers could work normally during the day, the session would start one or two hours before daylight.

Originally, this schedule had been altered due to the young Emperor’s incompetence, but now with the invasion of the Southern Barbarians, the young Emperor was panicked, waiting in the palace early each day to receive war reports.

“Alright, no tricks. Your Chen Family took advantage of me and my little junior sister, and even if you fled to the ends of the earth, I would exterminate your entire clan.”

“Lead the way ahead!”

Knowing the other party was telling the truth, Li Xiaobai didn’t dawdle and headed straight for the court.

During the morning court session, all civil and military officials would gather together, making it a good time to ask questions. Directly capturing the young Emperor, pulling out the Grand Emperor behind the scenes, and rescuing his junior sister would save time and effort. The only thing he worried about was that his junior sister might have already been harmed.

According to what Chen Yu had said, Chen Yuanyuan was preparing early in the morning to send Long Xue into the Grand Emperor’s chamber, and he might be a step too late.

If that were the case, not just the Chen Family, but the entire royal family would have to die!

A cold glint flickered in Li Xiaobai’s eyes; now at the Transformative Realm, no one was his match anymore.

“Understood!”

“Young Master Li, this way please!”

Chen Yu felt a surge of joy in his heart, as long as Li Xiaobai was willing to deal with the royal family’s troubles first, all their problems would be resolved.

In the depths of the palace lived a top-level master at the Void Merging Realm, a deity-like figure. Although this Li Xiaobai was somewhat extraordinary, in the hands of that person, he was but a grasshopper that could be easily crushed.

At the same time.

Inside the Imperial Palace’s grand hall, all the civil and military officials had already arrived.

On the throne, the young Emperor yawned continuously, it had been a long time since he had held such a formal morning court session.

Being woken up before dawn for the court session today annoyed him.

Furthermore, the woman he was fond of had actually been sent to serve the Grand Emperor in his chambers, which made him even more irked.

An old man who had lived for who knows how many years, was actually competing with him for a woman, had it not been for his cultivation, which was crucial for affecting the transformation of nature, he would have had him killed long ago!

“How was the war report from yesterday?”

“Have you heard whether General Chen, after holding his ground and conserving his strength for several months, has led the two hundred thousand troops in a full-out counterattack, and whether he has crushed those Southern Barbarians?”

asked the young Emperor, this being his most pressing concern.

“Reporting to the Emperor, during the combat several days ago, our forces achieved a complete victory. All fifteen enemy generals perished on the battlefield, and the Southern Barbarians were scattered in defeat. General Chen is currently leading the troops in pursuit!”

Prime Minister Zhang Liang said with a faint smile, as he also felt relieved when he received this news. He understood that the border’s achievement in battle was all due to Li Xiaobai’s Spirit Realm Technique. Had it not been for this Cultivation Technique creating wonders time and time again, the border would have already been leveled.

Now that Chen Yu had crushed the enemy forces, the Southern Barbarians would no longer be a threat, and he could once again focus on seizing the Cultivation Technique.

“Good!”

“General Chen Yu has made a monumental contribution to the everlasting glory of our Central Plains, a true meritorious official. Once this matter is settled, have General Chen return to the Capital City, for I wish to bestow upon him a grand reward!”

exclaimed the young Emperor, looking delighted, after enduring months of anxiety, at last, he had received good news!

“Do any of my ministers have other matters to report?”

continued the young Emperor. But at that moment, sudden cries and wails carried in from outside the hall.

“Protect the Emperor, protect the Emperor!”

“There are rebels!”

“The Chen Family has turned traitor!”