After being exiled for eighteen years, the prince returned to the capital as a veritable immortal.

"Your Highness Prince Yi, His Majesty requests your attendance at the court assembly."

As soon as I entered the palace, eunuchs were already waiting inside the palace gate.

Zhou Yi was somewhat taken aback.

Normally, the morning assembly would have already ended by this time.

Could it be that Empress Wu knew she would come after him, so she dragged the entire court down with her?

Or, if they want to assign him another task, they should send him away again.

Zhou Yi didn't take it seriously and followed the eunuch toward the main hall.

……

Golden Throne Hall.

"Your Majesty, Sage Dong's words make sense."

Inside the main hall, Imperial Censor Xu Jie delivered a righteous and eloquent speech.

“The death fog descending from the sky and the Mahayana sect causing chaos are both warnings from Heaven.”

"Years of war have resulted in excessive bloodshed. Your Majesty should issue an edict of self-reproach and apologize to Heaven."

Below the high platform, a scholar in a gray robe stood proudly with his hands behind his back.

He is the Sage Dong, the Heavenly Book Dong, as Xu Jie mentioned.

As the foremost figure in Confucianism, he had countless students and disciples.

In the imperial court, most of the civil officials were his disciples.

Grand Censor Xu Jie, one of the Three Dukes, was also his prized student.

As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking, all the civil officials echoed in unison:

"I second the proposal!"

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict of self-reproach!"

The Emperor's face was grim, and he remained silent.

Dong Tianshu stroked his magnificent beard, smiled calmly, and said:

"Imperial power is bestowed by Heaven, and the Emperor is the Son of Heaven."

"If an emperor acts improperly, Heaven will issue a warning; if he acts perversely, he may even be punished by Heaven!"

"This is the unity of heaven and man."

"If Your Majesty prays sincerely to Heaven, Your Majesty will surely hear your prayers."

……

In the past year or two, ministers have been constantly urging Empress Wu to issue an edict of self-reproach.

The Empress was extremely resistant to this.

Unexpectedly, these ministers brought in Dong Tianshu to persuade them.

As the foremost figure in Confucianism, Dong Tianshu enjoyed immense prestige among scholars and ordinary people.

In fact, many scholars respected Dong Sheng more than the emperor.

Zhou Yi only wanted to discuss serious matters with the Martial Emperor and was too lazy to listen to his rambling nonsense.

He frowned slightly and said:

"Instead of teaching the classics at the academy, Mr. Dong has come to the court to disrupt politics."

“You…” The Confucian minister was furious.

Someone actually dared to criticize Dong Shengcong for disrupting the government.

They were about to retort angrily when they realized it was Zhou Yi, and immediately suppressed their arrogance.

No one dares to criticize this imperial grandson.

Although the Martial Emperor was terrifying, he would often exterminate entire families and confiscate their property.

However, they will still care about how the world will judge them, and at least they will find a "reasonable" one.

When the imperial grandson takes action, he often doesn't even bother to give a reason.

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yi."

Dong Tianshu bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "Your Highness has a full forehead and a square jaw; you are indeed a handsome man..."

Zhou Yi waved his hand, directly interrupting the flattery, and said:

"I would like to ask Mr. Dong a question."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"In your opinion, His Majesty's sacrifices to Heaven and Earth will surely reach the ears of Heaven!"

"Of course!"

Where is the sky?

"The sky is in the sky!"

"Mr. Dong, what is your life?"

"To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to..."

“Okay!” Zhou Yi interrupted the other party again.

Dong Tianshu was in high spirits, writing eloquently, but his pretentious act was only halfway through when he felt he hadn't had enough.

I'm very unhappy.

Zhou Yi's next words made him even more annoyed:

"Mr. Dong is dedicated to serving the people. He should go directly to Heaven and relay His Majesty's words. Wouldn't that be more efficient and effective?"

"you……"

Dong Tianshu's hand, which was stroking his magnificent beard, froze in mid-air. Slightly annoyed, he asked, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

"My intention is that you go back and teach your studies properly!"

Zhou Yi remained calm, even sporting a faint smile, yet his words were chillingly cold: "The affairs of the court are none of your business!"

"You... hum!"

Dong Tianshu finally broke down, his face grim as he cupped his hands in a fist salute to the Martial Emperor.

then.

He flicked his sleeves, turned around, and drifted away.

"Teacher..."

Xu Jie received a signal from the Empress and followed her to the outside of the palace.

Dong Tianshu paused, then flew out of the palace.

The Confucian minister felt as if he had swallowed a fly; he was disgusted, but dared not vent his anger on Zhou Yi.

The other ministers were extremely pleased.

They had long been fed up with the Confucian ministers' incessant chatter, but unfortunately, they were not as eloquent as the other side.

The Grandson of the Emperor is truly remarkable.

With just a few words, he rebuked the contemporary Confucian sage so much that he stormed off.

"Wow, Prince Yi is awesome!"

The fourth prince gave a thumbs-up in praise.

Although he was usually very eloquent and could easily outwit Confucian scholars when it came to literary discussions, he could only admit defeat.

"And another thing, the moment you made your move, you immediately stopped the approaching death fog." The Fourth Prince gave another thumbs up.

Zhou Yi made his move at the front, and the Sixth Prince had already informed everyone in the hall of the battle situation.

All the ministers praised it highly:

"With Prince Yi's intervention, the fog of death has been halted, and we can finally catch our breath."

"Yes, thank goodness for Prince Yi!"

……

"However, the problem has not been completely solved."

The second prince said worriedly, "It's always a major concern."

The ministers all echoed his sentiments.

"Yes, Your Highness Prince Yi, do you have a good plan?"

"Prince Yi, we must think of a way!"

"Yes, Your Highness has the highest cultivation level in the Great Qian Dynasty."

……

"You can all rest assured."

Zhou Yi smiled faintly, "In a few days, I will definitely wipe them out in one fell swoop."

The ministers' eyes lit up, and they immediately felt much more relaxed.

Zhou Yi is a man of his word, which puts him at ease.

They said they'd support the Martial Arts Alliance, but they just ended up actually supporting it.

"That's good. This old minister has faith in His Highness Prince Yi!"

"I also believe that when Prince Yi takes action, he will surely succeed!"

"We all believe in His Highness Prince Yi!" the ministers said in unison.

Even the Confucian minister who had just expressed his dissatisfaction with Zhou Yi temporarily put aside his grudges and joined in praising and flattering him.

The Martial Emperor's gaze drifted, occasionally glancing at Zhou Yi with a complex expression.

The compliments gradually subsided.

The hall returned to calm.

For a moment, the conversation ended, and the emperor and his ministers looked at each other in silence.

"Can we adjourn the court now?" Zhou Yi asked.

The ministers sensed a hint of impatience and no one dared to bring up the topic again.

"If you have something to report, present it; if not, the court is adjourned!"

The eunuch's high-pitched voice announced the end of the court session.

……

Royal study room.

The Empress stood with her hands at her sides, facing the bookshelf, her back to the door.

Zhou Yi stood in the center of the room, in front of the desk, and asked:

"Behind the bookshelf lies a secret passage leading to the dragon vein?"

"Indeed. Do you know why I often reside in the Imperial Study?"

"Why?"

"Because this is the seven inches of the dragon vein, the weakest point, and the most vulnerable to attack."

"Heh, it seems... it's about to break down."

"Therefore, we, the sons of the Zhou family, must unite as one..."

"stop!"

Zhou Yi interrupted the other party's impassioned speech and said coldly, "I just want to know what's going on with my parents and my whole family."

"..." The Martial Emperor remained silent.

The tall, imposing figure seemed to tremble involuntarily.

Sadness gradually filled the study.

The figure, in the prime of youth, was as desolate as a cicada in the autumn wind.

At this moment, the aloof and majestic emperor resembled an ordinary father who had lost his orphan.

After a long silence, he said in a low, sorrowful voice:

"Your parents and your whole family died from the enemy's conspiracy."

"An enemy plot?"

Zhou Yi sneered, "Zhu Anshi, Jiang Chong, and Yu Goufu Cong?"

"No," the Martial Emperor said, slightly agitated, his voice rising in pitch.

"Behind Zhu Anshi is the Overlord Emperor, and behind Lady Yu Gou is the Underworld Emperor."

"They are the real masterminds."

"Hehe." Zhou Yi shook his head and smiled.

They really know how to shift the blame.

Seeing the disbelieving look on her grandson's face, Empress Wu's sorrow was tinged with a hint of anger:

"You...you heard something from the Overlord Emperor, right?"

"He killed your father in order to incite the princes to fight for the throne and overthrow my Great Qian Dynasty."

"How can you believe his words!"

Zhou Yi didn't take it seriously and retorted:

"The imperial dynasty has always claimed that the Overlord Emperor and the Underworld Emperor were killed by the Ji Emperor."

"Can this be trusted?"

"The Overlord Emperor can only fool one person at most, namely me."

"And you, you have deceived the whole world!"

The "you" that Zhou Yi was referring to naturally referred to the emperors of the Great Qian Dynasty throughout history.

After all, except for each generation of emperors.

No one knew that two terrestrial deities were being suppressed beneath the dragon vein.

"Alas!" Emperor Wu sighed.

He knew in his heart that Zhou Yi could not be persuaded with just a few words.

"Since you say that the Crown Prince's wrongful conviction was a conspiracy by the Underworld Emperor and the Overlord Emperor."

Zhou Yi said, "Why don't we release the two of them and have you confront them?"

"Release the Underworld Emperor and the Overlord Emperor?"

The Martial Emperor's expression changed slightly, and he said:

Do you know how brutal the struggle for supremacy among the three emperors was back then?

His voice was deep and slow, as if he had traveled back three thousand years.

At that time, the world was under the rule of the tyrant King Ying.

Ji Tiandi slays the white dragon and starts a rebellion, joining forces with Ba Tiandi to fight the tyrant.

The Overlord Emperor possessed divine strength, making him invincible and unstoppable in battle.

Ji Tiandi's victory lies in his generals; he is invincible.

Under Emperor Ji Tian, ​​there was a great general named Prince Xin, who was skilled in military strategy and was known as the God of War.

The Overlord Emperor and the Ji Emperor made a pact: whoever first conquers the capital and kills the tyrant will become king.

Emperor Ji first conquered the capital and beheaded the tyrant.

The Overlord Emperor reneged on his promise and, together with the Soldier Immortal, forced the Emperor Ji to divide the world into three.

For the sake of peace and tranquility, and to spare the people from the ravages of war, Emperor Ji reluctantly agreed.

After the land was divided, Bingxian Sword took an unorthodox approach, cultivated the Netherworld Path, and became known as the Netherworld Emperor.

Moreover, they claimed to have found the method for ascension.

He joined forces with the Overlord Emperor, intending to refine their respective fiefdoms in order to ascend to the Heavenly Realm.

If the two successfully ascend, this world will rapidly decay and may even disappear.

Ji Tiandi made a move and defeated Ba Tiandi and Ming Tiandi.

To save the day from collapse.

……

Emperor Wu: "Do you still intend to release the Overlord Emperor and the Underworld Emperor?"