In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 462 The Way of the Emperor: No Room for Parallelism
Looking at Gu Shaoan who walked up to him, Zhu Houzhao wanted to speak, but a sudden discomfort from his chest and throat made him cough violently.

As the discomfort subsided with the violent coughing, Zhu Houzhao finally spoke, "I thought you would spare me."

Gu Shaoan calmly said, "I already warned you back in the Emei Sect: once is acceptable, twice is acceptable, but not a third time."

Zhu Houzhao asked, "So, back in the Emei Sect, you already guessed that this was a trap set against you?"

Gu Shaoan didn't hide anything and said frankly, "We've made this preparation, but it's not confirmed yet. It's just a precaution!"

You can't see into someone's heart.

The most complex and unpredictable thing in this world is the human heart.

Gu Shaoan also couldn't fathom what everyone was thinking.

Therefore, Gu Shaoan never underestimated the wickedness of people's hearts.

Zhu Houzhao sighed: "Even now, I still can't understand why, with your age and experience, you are always able to consider things so thoroughly when faced with problems."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao coughed again.

Looking at Zhu Houzhao, who was barely managing to sit up, Gu Shaoan asked, "Aren't you tired of forcing yourself to sit up?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled nonchalantly and said truthfully, "I'm tired."

"No matter how tired I am, I must do this, because I am the emperor. Even if I am tired, I must maintain the dignity of being the emperor."

Gu Shaoan glanced at Zhu Houzhao, who was trying his best to straighten his back, and said nothing more.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao said to Gu Shaoan, "Can Mingyue Xin come over?"

Gu Shaoan turned to look at Shangguan Jin Hong and took a half step back.

Seeing Gu Shaoan's actions, Shangguan Jin Hong immediately understood his meaning. She used her lightness skill to leap to Zhu Houzhao's side, gently placed Mingyue Xin next to him, and then stepped aside.

With his head bowed, Zhu Houzhao looked at the unconscious Mingyue Xin, his eyes flickering with a complex expression.

Gu Shaoan asked, "Do you need me to help you wake her up?"

"forget it!"

Zhu Houzhao shook his head: "Given the current situation, waking up would not be a good thing. It would be better to just let it sleep in a daze like this."

Then, Zhu Houzhao glanced at Shangguan Jin Hong, and then looked up at Gu Shaoan.

"Given your style of doing things, letting Shangguan Jin Hong go by the exception seems like you're planning to let him clean up the mess."

Gu Shaoan knew that Zhu Houzhao could guess his purpose if he was able to keep Shangguan Jin Hong, so he did not refute what Zhu Houzhao said.

This incident involves not only several martial artists at the Celestial Realm, but also the Great Yuan Kingdom, the Great Wei Kingdom, and Zhu Houzhao, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

If not handled properly, not only Gu Shaoan, but also the reputation of the Emei Sect will inevitably be affected!

Therefore, eliminating Zhu Houzhao and his associates was only the first step; the subsequent cleanup was equally important.

Zhu Houzhao asked, "So what arrangements do you want? Have Shangguan Jin Hong come forward to recount today's events and inform the world?"

Gu Shaoan shook his head: "After all, Chief Shangguan is just a member of the martial arts world. If it's just about revealing the real reason for today's conflict to the world, why should I, Gu, need to rely on others?"

Then, under Zhu Houzhao's gaze, Gu Shaoan calmly said, "The best way is to package today's events in the name of the Great Wei Dynasty and make it an outcome that everyone in the world can accept."

"Your words of patriotism when you went to Emei before are a good reason."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's eyes narrowed, and he immediately realized what Gu Shaoan meant.

The words of the common people are never as powerful as the imperial seal; the doubts of the people are never as effective as the "great righteousness of the world".

Therefore, Gu Shaoan will have the imperial court announce today's events.

However, the reasons behind today's events will be kept secret.

The people of the Great Wei Kingdom will only know that the Great Yuan Dynasty secretly arranged for Ba Shiba and Si Hanfei, two experts at the Celestial Realm, along with a group of top experts from the Great Yuan Dynasty, to invade the Great Wei Kingdom.

The plan is to first eliminate all the martial arts masters and top-tier forces in the Great Wei Kingdom with overwhelming force, then infiltrate the Great Wei Kingdom's palace, kill the Celestial Realm experts within the court, and then secretly control the martial arts world and the court of the Great Wei Kingdom.

Until the Yuan Dynasty annexed the Wei Dynasty by slowly boiling the frog in water.

The imperial court had learned of this beforehand, so it invited Gu Shaoan to join forces with the Money Gang, Shaolin, and all the imperial experts to gather in this narrow space to intercept and kill Ba Shiba, Si Hanfei, and other experts from the Great Yuan Kingdom.

At Shaolin, after all the imperial court's masters were sacrificed, they successfully killed all the masters arranged by the Yuan Dynasty, thus thwarting the Yuan Dynasty's conspiracy.

Gu Shaoan and even the Emei Sect played the role of heroes in this incident, fighting bravely and killing their enemies in the narrow pass for the sake of national righteousness.

Afterwards, both the Emei Sect and Gu Shaoan will only be elevated to a higher status and reputation in the martial arts world, and they will not have to worry about their reputation being affected.

In the name of the "Great Wei Dynasty," today's events are repackaged to conceal the true reason why the two countries have gone to such great lengths to unite and gather at Yixiantian.

This also lets the people of the Great Wei Kingdom know why so many experts at the Celestial Realm suddenly gathered in this One Line Heaven, and why they all perished in this One Line Heaven.

After figuring out Gu Shaoan's method for handling the aftermath, even Zhu Houzhao, Gu Shaoan's enemy, had to applaud Gu Shaoan's brilliant way of cleaning up the mess.

At the same time, Zhu Houzhao also understood another reason why Gu Shaoan kept Shangguan Jin Hong.

After having Shangguan Jin Hong disguise himself as him, he entered the palace and took over the reins of the court.

Zhu Houzhao coughed a few times: "So, the reason you're keeping me here is because you want the imperial seal in my possession?"

Gu Shaoan nodded and said, "That's right!"

As he spoke, Gu Shaoan slowly turned around and turned his gaze to Shangguan Jin Hong beside him.

"I am merely a man of the martial world. I have no interest in court affairs or the position of the ruler of the world. However, I do not like to be hindered, nor do I wish for the Great Wei Kingdom to be thrown into chaos and for the people to be implicated because of me. Therefore, I had no intention of making enemies with you from the beginning. It is my original intention to live in peace and go our separate ways."

"The best way would be to put someone who is more docile on the throne."

"With Chief Shangguan by your side, he knows your habits quite well, so it won't be too difficult to switch places with you." Gu Shaoan had no interest in getting up earlier than the chickens and going to bed later than the dogs, devoting himself entirely to the so-called country.

Therefore, he wasn't very interested in that position in the palace.

Gu Shaoan had no ill feelings towards Zhu Houzhao, so his initial thought was that they should each keep their own peace and not interfere with each other.

This is why Gu Shaoan was still willing to help Zhu Houzhao treat his progeria even though he knew Zhu Houzhao's true identity.

But things backfired.

Zhu Houzhao's heart was ultimately not big enough to accommodate Gu Shaoan.

Furthermore, the intervention of Bai Xiaosheng has led the situation to its current state.

Just as Gu Shaoan had told Zhang Sanfeng before.

To prevent such problems from recurring, Gu Shaoan had no choice but to keep the person in that position firmly under his control.

Although Gu Shaoan and Zhu Houzhao's voices were not loud.

However, for Shangguan Jin Hong, whose internal energy cultivation had reached the level of Condensing Yuan into Gang, their conversation was no different from whispering in his ear.

Upon hearing their conversation and learning of Gu Shaoan's purpose in keeping him there, Shangguan Jin Hong was initially taken aback.

Immediately afterwards, Shangguan Jin Hong's face turned red at a visible speed.

Even his breathing became heavier.

In that instant, Shangguan Jin Hong's Adam's apple bobbed heavily, as if he were forcibly suppressing the breath that had suddenly exploded in his chest.

It can't be suppressed.

His face flushed red at a visible speed, as if he were drunk, and even his eyes shone with a burning light.

Even his breathing became a little rougher, not from fear or anger, but from a kind of excitement that had been suppressed for half a lifetime and suddenly saw an outlet.

Why is the Money Gang called the "Money Gang"?
Outsiders thought he was profit-driven.

But only Shangguan Jin Hong himself knew that he was never truly infatuated with gold and silver.

He was fascinated by things that gold and silver could buy: the submission of people's hearts, the humility of powerful figures, the compromise of sects, and the concession of the government.

Money can buy power.

But power is what he truly desires.

No matter how great one's power in the martial world is, it is still just the martial world. Even if one has countless followers and commands a region, one still has to avoid the word "imperial edict" and the imperial city.

Because in that city, there is a Celestial Realm expert in charge; because behind that chair are ancestral temples and state affairs, titles and destiny, and countless unseen rules and swords.

Shangguan Jin Hong didn't not want to, but rather dared not.

His ambition was like a wild beast chained up, only able to pace back and forth within the walls of the martial world. No matter how loudly he roared, he dared not crash into the high wall called "Imperial Power".

But now, that wall is cracked.

The rift was made by Gu Shaoan with his sword.

All the Heavenly Realm experts of the imperial court perished at the One Line Sky, and Zhu Houzhao himself had become a sick tiger coughing up blood and barely holding on. The very thing that Shangguan Jin Hong feared most was uprooted overnight.

More importantly, it was Gu Shaoan's attitude.

Shangguan Jin Hong knew that even if he were to sit in that chair, he would later have a sword called "Gu Shaoan" hanging around his neck.

But if I can sit in that chair, what does it matter if there's a sword hanging over my head?
Zhu Houzhao took in Shangguan Jin Hong's reaction from afar and fell silent.

As the head of the Azure Dragon Society, and the one who personally supported Shangguan Jin Hong in establishing the Money Gang, how could Zhu Houzhao not know Shangguan Jin Hong's character and ambition?

In fact, not only Shangguan Jin Hong, but also the several leaders of the Green Dragon Society recruited by Zhu Houzhao were all ambitious individuals.

If we were to truly discuss who was loyal to him, perhaps only Cao Zhengchun would be the only one.

But Cao Zhengchun's loyalty was less to himself and more to the imperial power.

Previously, Zhu Houzhao did not care about the ambitions of Shangguan Jin Hong and Cao Zheng Chun because Zhu Houzhao's status and the presence of Celestial Realm experts in the court made him confident that he could suppress Shangguan Jin Hong and others.

However, with today's battle, all the Celestial Realm experts in the court have perished, and even Zhu Houzhao could not escape death today. So how can they continue to suppress Shangguan Jin Hong and others?
Let alone Shangguan Jin Hong, even Cao Zheng Chun...

If Gu Shaoan and Shangguan Jin Hong could offer Cao Zhengchun something no less than what he has now, why would Cao Zhengchun choose a path with no chance of survival?
After a long pause, Zhu Houzhao spoke up: "How can you be so sure that after Shangguan Jin Hong impersonates me and takes that position, I will remain obedient? You must know just how tempting power is."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shaoan casually replied, "I know that much, but the biggest difference between you and Chief Shangguan is that Chief Shangguan did not grow up in the palace, and what he learned was not the way of the emperor who is above all others. Therefore, Chief Shangguan will have more than you."

As soon as Gu Shaoan finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao's voice rang out.

"trade off?".

Gu Shaoan looked at him with neither pity nor mockery in his eyes, but with a calmness as if he were watching a predetermined ebb and flow.

“That’s right, weighing the pros and cons.” Gu Shaoan said slowly, “Chief Shangguan is a man who has come from the Jianghu, living on the edge of a knife and surviving in dangerous situations. The first thing the Jianghu taught him was not to be ‘the only one who matters,’ but to seek advantage and avoid harm; not to be a man of absolute authority, but to leave room for maneuver.”

"He knows who he can mess with and who he can't, when to take a step forward and when to take a step back, and he knows how much backlash and how many people he might implicate if he goes too far."

But you are different.

At this point, Gu Shaoan turned around.

Zhu Houzhao continued in silence, "You grew up in the palace from a young age, and everything you saw and learned was the art of emperors. You learned to be autocratic and the principle instilled in you was that all power in the world must be under your control, and anything that is not under your control, even if it is useful for the time being, must eventually be eliminated."

"The way of the emperor has never been able to coexist with the way of the emperor, from ancient times to the present."

(End of this chapter)