High Martial Arts: I Travel Through Heaven and Earth Through Dreams

After Lin Hanzhou suppressed the rebellion, Li Yuechan immediately sent men to capture all the princes involved in the rebellion, as well as their associates.

Inside the palace, Li Yuechan sat upright on the dragon throne, her face now devoid of all childishness and timidity.

Instead, it was replaced by the majesty and ruthlessness of an emperor.

"Issue my decree."

She parted her lips slightly, her voice soft, yet it resonated clearly in everyone's ears.

"The First Prince Li Xun, the Third Prince Li Tai, and others have committed treason and rebellion; their crimes are unforgivable and they should be beheaded as a warning to others!"

"The rest of the accomplices are equally guilty and should be beheaded on the spot."

A cold imperial decree instantly decided the fate of dozens of imperial relatives and high-ranking officials.

This was the first fire Li Yuechan lit after ascending the throne.

She used the blood of her brothers to wash away the majesty of imperial power and to declare to the world.

She, Li Yuechan, is no longer the Ninth Princess who was bullied by everyone, but the Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty who has the final say!

With the imperial decree issued, those princes and even high-ranking officials were beheaded on the spot.

Since the court was already stained with blood because of Lin Hanzhou's actions, they didn't mind having a little more.

After dealing with these traitors, Li Yuechan issued her second, and most important, decree.

"Lin Hanzhou is hereby appointed as the Grand Preceptor and Protector of the Great Qian Dynasty. From this day forward, when you see the Grand Preceptor, it shall be as if you were seeing the Emperor himself!"

This decree formally established Lin Hanzhou's transcendent status as second only to the emperor throughout the entire Great Qian Dynasty.

The situation in the capital has finally stabilized for the time being.

Li Yuechan knew perfectly well that all of this stemmed from that man.

That night, inside the palace.

Li Yuechan secretly summoned Lin Hanzhou.

"The Imperial Advisor."

She bowed deeply to Lin Hanzhou, showing no airs of an emperor whatsoever.

"Without the Imperial Preceptor, there would be no Yuechan today, nor would there be the Great Qian Dynasty today."

"Yuechan has no way to repay you except to offer you the treasures of the Great Qian Imperial Family. I hope the Imperial Preceptor will forgive me."

As she spoke, she took out the Imperial Seal, which represented the legitimacy of imperial power, from her bosom.

"Does the Imperial Preceptor know that this Imperial Seal, besides symbolizing imperial power, has another very important function?"

At this point, a hint of pride flashed in Li Yuechan's eyes.

"It is the only key to unlocking the greatest treasure trove of my Great Qian Imperial Family!"

"This jade seal was carved from a meteorite by the founding emperor of our Great Qian Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hanzhou nodded slightly, clearly not expecting the jade seal to have this function.

At the same time, he also began to look forward to the imperial treasury of the Great Qian Dynasty.

This treasure trove, passed down for hundreds of years, must have a lot of good stuff, right?

Soon, Li Yuechan led Lin Hanzhou to a secluded spot deep within the palace.

In front of what appeared to be an ordinary stone wall, Li Yuechan slowly pressed the Imperial Seal of the State into a groove on the wall.

"Boom—!"

With a dull, loud thud, the entire stone wall slowly slid to the sides.

A huge cave entrance, radiating rich spiritual energy, appeared before the two of them.

"Grand Preceptor, this way please."

Li Yuechan, carrying a palace lantern, went in first, followed by Lin Hanzhou.

When he saw the scene inside the treasure vault, even though he had been the emperor of the Sui Dynasty, he couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

This...this is so luxurious!

This is a huge underground space, the size of several football fields.

On one side of the space are rows of huge bookshelves made of thousand-year-old nanmu wood.

The bookshelves were densely packed with various martial arts manuals and classic texts.

From the most basic third-rate martial arts to grandmaster-level techniques that could drive the martial arts world crazy, everything is available.

A rough estimate suggests there are at least several thousand copies.

On the other side, there were mountains of rare and precious natural treasures.

There are century-old ginseng and he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum), as well as various rare minerals and medicinal herbs...

This is the entire foundation of the Great Qian Dynasty over the past hundreds of years.

"Grand Preceptor, this place is the treasure trove of our Great Qian Dynasty."

"From this day forward, you have the supreme authority to freely enter and leave this place."

"You may view all the cultivation techniques here, and you may use all the resources at will."

Li Yuechan's voice was filled with utmost sincerity.

Hearing her words and looking at the dazzling array of things around him, Lin Hanzhou smiled sincerely.

He was right about her; this Ninth Princess was truly intelligent from a young age, and his efforts to help her were worthwhile.

So, for the rest of the time, Lin Hanzhou became completely immersed in this enormous treasure trove.

He was like a dried-up sponge, frantically absorbing the knowledge and resources here.

He devoted himself to reading various martial arts manuals, drawing inferences from one instance to another, and refining his own martial arts theory.

At the same time, he also swallowed those century-old medicinal herbs without any hesitation, as if they were candy.

By refining the medicinal properties within, one can enhance and solidify their cultivation.

Meanwhile, outside, the loyal and unwavering Grand Commander of the Imperial Guards, the supreme master Wang Jian, was in charge.

The situation in the capital is unlikely to cause any major problems.

Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.

However, the good times did not last long.

It was the fifteenth day of Lin Hanzhou's seclusion.

A military report, delivered with utmost urgency, arrived in the capital like a bolt from the blue.

The Qing Dynasty in the north assembled an elite army of 100,000 men, known as the "Snow Wolf Iron Cavalry," and marched south.

For some unknown reason, these 100,000 iron cavalry bypassed the front line where they were facing off and went straight into the heart of Daqian.

Now, those 100,000 iron cavalry have already besieged the capital.

This news plunged Beijing, which had only been stable for half a month, into a huge panic.

One hundred thousand snow wolf cavalry!

The terror of this army had already spread throughout the entire Daqian Dynasty along with the border wars.

Each of their soldiers was a second-rate martial artist capable of taking on ten men, an elite force that had fought its way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Although the Imperial Guards garrisoning the capital numbered over 100,000, their combat strength was no match for the enemy's elite troops.

But that's not the most desperate situation.

The most desperate thing was that the enemy's 100,000 iron cavalry were led by two grandmasters.

It should be known that a Grandmaster is known as "a match for ten thousand men," capable of breaking through a massive army formation single-handedly!

The Grandmaster is a legendary figure who is said to be comparable to a million soldiers!

Before them, the number of ordinary troops had become meaningless.

Only a Grandmaster can deal with a Grandmaster.

However, in the entire Great Qian Dynasty, the number of Grandmasters on the surface could be counted on one hand.

Only two were loyal to the imperial court.

One of them is a Grand General who is currently on the front lines in the north, holding back another Grand Master of the Qing Dynasty.

The other is a royal retainer who is stationed near the three major sects year-round to monitor their movements.

These two grandmasters were both extremely far from the capital, and their efforts were futile in the face of the immediate crisis.

As the dark silhouettes of the Qing army's iron cavalry appeared on the horizon.

The entire capital city fell into a deathly silence.

The black snow wolf flag fluttered in the cold wind.

The fierce aura of iron and blood, formed by the gathering of 100,000 elite soldiers, enveloped the entire capital city.

On the city wall, Li Yuechan, the young empress who had just ascended the throne half a month ago, had a face as pale as paper.

The civil and military officials around her were even more panicked and made a complete fool of themselves.

Some were even plotting how to open the city gates and surrender to the enemy outside.

The Great Qian Dynasty is facing its most dangerous and desperate moment in hundreds of years of existence.