98: The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit, you dog-foot idiot, I wish I could kill you!

“Lu Jiuyuan?!” His voice was sharp with disbelief. “You… weren’t you severely injured?!”

Lu Jiuyuan’s lips curved into a cold arc, his voice as calm as if stating the simplest of facts:

“I got a little tired waiting for you to come kill me, so I had to put on an act to lure the snake out of its hole.

It seems the effect was quite good. Young Master Gong Jiu, or rather… Prince Taiping’s heir?”

“Lure the snake out of its hole?”

Gong Jiu’s facial muscles twitched violently, a surge of extreme fury at being fooled and seen through, instantly igniting his already unstable nerves.

“Good! What a good 'lure the snake out of its hole'! You actually calculated that I would come here!”

“Zhu Yitan, how dare you break into the Imperial Palace at night to assassinate the emperor and usurp the throne! I truly underestimated you!” The Emperor roared, “You remember nothing of the ancestral laws, I…”

“What 'I'? You dog-footed emperor, shut up!” Gong Jiu interrupted directly.

“Regardless of success or failure this time, my objective has already been achieved. You dog-footed emperor, I haven’t lost, don’t speak to me in that tone!”

“Old dog Lu! Even Honest Monk with his magnetic sword couldn’t injure you? That truly surprised me.”

“He didn’t break your Yamas Summons?”

“He broke it!” Lu Jiuyuan nodded and said, “Any exposed method always has a way to counter it, and Yamas Summons is no exception. The magnetic sword indeed countered Yamas Summons.

Honest Monk died by my sword!”

“So that’s how it is!” Before his words even fell, the violent Internal Energy within Gong Jiu erupted without reservation!

He transformed into a black hurricane, ignoring everyone else in the hall, his target directly the Dragon Throne!

His speed was so fast that he left an afterimage in his original spot!

The weapon in his hand was no ordinary iron; it was a black precious sword, its blade dark, appearing without much sharpness, carrying not a trace of Killing Intent.

Its name: Zhanlu!

The moment the Zhanlu Sword was unsheathed, the air in the entire Imperial Study seemed to be sucked dry, and an invisible pressure descended like a mountain!

This legendary Sword of Benevolence, at this moment, in Gong Jiu’s hand, unleashed a completely opposite, violent Killing Intent!

“You dog-footed emperor! Die!”

Gong Jiu roared, and where his sword pointed, even the candlelight twisted!

However,

“Clang!”

A clear sword cry, like a Dragon’s roar, suddenly exploded!

Lu Jiuyuan’s figure arrived later but moved faster, his Guhong Sword transforming into a silver rainbow, precisely intercepting the momentum of the Zhanlu Sword!

The moment the two swords clashed, a visible wave of Qi burst open with the two men at its center!

All the candles in the Imperial Study extinguished simultaneously, with only the sparks from the collision of the two peerless divine swords carving brilliant trajectories in the darkness!

“Your opponent is me.”

Lu Jiuyuan’s voice was as cold as ice, and the Guhong Sword in his hand suddenly erupted with dazzling cold light!

Triple speed!

Under Gong Jiu’s horrified gaze, Lu Jiuyuan’s sword speed suddenly increased to an inconceivable Realm!

The sword edge that was blocking a moment ago, the next moment, like a venomous snake, stabbed towards his throat!

“Splat!”

Gong Jiu twisted his body with all his might, the sword edge grazing his neck, drawing a line of blood!

Before he could even catch his breath, Lu Jiuyuan’s sword moves unfolded like a furious storm!

Every sword strike was utterly fast, utterly ruthless!

The sword light wove a net of death in the darkness, completely enveloping Gong Jiu!

“Puff! Puff! Puff!”

Blood bloomed continuously on Gong Jiu’s body!

Shoulder, arm, thigh… in an instant, he had been hit by seven sword strikes!

“What fast swordplay! Attack together, kill!”

Gong Jiu let out a beast-like howl, and the Zhanlu Sword suddenly glowed with a great black light!

He disregarded his wounds and swept his sword horizontally in a suicidal stance!

“Clang!”

Lu Jiuyuan blocked with his sword, but the violent Internal Energy contained in that strike forced him back three steps!

His left hand scattered flying needles, and the approaching black-clad assassins instantly fell dead on the spot, unable to get within three zhang of the Emperor.

Eunuch Feng stood steadfastly in front of the Emperor, unmoving.

In just a few breaths, the ten first-rate assassins who had charged forward were all dead here.

Seizing this gap, Gong Jiu violently tore open his clothes; the original whip marks had long disappeared, and those wounds were now constantly wriggling, automatically tightening to stop the bleeding.

“Lu Jiuyuan! You forced my hand!”

He sneered, pulling out a small red bottle from his bosom, tilting his head back, and drinking its liquid contents!

“Boom!”

A visible surge of bloody Qi erupted from within Gong Jiu!

His muscles swelled at a terrifying rate, veins wriggled like earthworms beneath his skin, and his eyes turned completely blood-red!

“What kind of medicine is this?”

Eunuch Feng exclaimed in alarm, “He’s going all out!”

“Hahahahaha!”

“Die with me!”

He transformed into a blood shadow and lunged at Lu Jiuyuan, his speed several times faster than before!

Where his Sword Qi passed, the hard golden brick floor was plowed with deep furrows!

Lu Jiuyuan took a deep breath, and the True Qi within him circulated frantically according to a mysterious trajectory—

Triple speed + Heavenly Demon Disintegration Skill!

“Swish!”

In everyone’s eyes, Lu Jiuyuan’s figure suddenly blurred for an instant!

The next moment, Gong Jiu’s charging body suddenly stiffened in place!

He looked down in disbelief, seeing his sword-wielding right arm severed at the shoulder, and the Zhanlu Sword,

had somehow already arrived in Lu Jiuyuan’s hand!

“Thud!”

At the same time as the sound of the severed arm hitting the ground, Gong Jiu’s knees were also shattered by a Sword Qi, and he heavily knelt on the ground!

“Ah… ah…”

He opened his mouth, but could only emit hoarse gasps, the blood-red color in his eyes rapidly fading, revealing the grayish pallor of impending death.

Lu Jiuyuan tossed the Zhanlu Sword to Eunuch Feng and turned to cup his hands to the Emperor:

“Brother, the rebel has been captured.”

The Emperor slowly rose and walked in front of Gong Jiu, his eyes filled with both sorrow and relief:

“Zhu Yitan, do you know your crime?”

Gong Jiu struggled to lift his head, a twisted smile pulling at the corners of his mouth:

“The victor… becomes king… the vanquished… a bandit… why… say more… I only regret… not being able… to personally… kill you…”

“Stimulating potential in exchange for a short-term surge in strength, there’s no saving him!” Lu Jiuyuan stabbed him from behind with a sword, which emerged from his chest.

No waste! A good supplement!

Gong Jiu’s body convulsed violently a few times, finally solidifying into a bizarre kneeling posture, completely silent.

The Imperial Study fell into a deathly silence.

After a long while, the Emperor sighed deeply:

“Prepare! Prepare to deal with the nine border generals gathering in the capital.”