Outside the city, a million soldiers obeyed General Divine Might’s command. They marched into the capital with iron discipline; every movement was precise, every formation uniform. The citizens of the Imperial City, seeing the army flood through the gates, no longer dared linger outside.
They hurried back to their homes, praying for the battle to end quickly. Some curious souls, unable to restrain themselves, poked through their paper windows to peer toward the Imperial Palace. Now, the palace had become the very center where winds and clouds met.
The heavens themselves boiled with change—light became thunder, shadow transformed into lightning, shifting between yin and yang. Clouds seethed and roiled; steam rose and turned into rain, rain poured down and formed rivers. In the midst of this great storm, a tiger clad in crimson feathers roared to the heavens.
The very bricks and tiles of the Imperial City trembled, and phantom figures of divine beings clashed arrogantly in the sky, as if they sought to strike down the stars themselves. Within the Hall of Harmony, six famed Union Stage cultivators surrounded Yu Yin, pressing her from all sides.
The force of their unleashed aura was enough to kill an ordinary mortal in an instant. The ministers qualified to attend court were all cultivators of respectable realms themselves. Though they could withstand the pressure, none wished to meddle in a battle of this caliber.
Do not be fooled by how all parties here were still at the Union Stage—for once the Empress received the blessing of her nation's fate, she could instantly ascend to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.
And Prince An, daring to lead such a revolt, must have means to resist her; sooner or later, this conflict would escalate into a battle between beings of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. When that happened, if they tried to leave, they would no longer be able to!
The crowd of officials quickly withdrew from the palace hall, though two remained behind. The Minister of War and the Minister of Justice—both Union Stage cultivators.
“Gentlemen, it’s about to rain. Why not find shelter somewhere else?”
Seeing the two stay behind, the Minister of Personnel decided to remain as well, planting himself before his two colleagues.
“Sun Yuan, do you really think you can stop the two of us?”
The Minister of Justice sneered. He and Sun Yuan had long been at odds within the imperial court, their duties often clashing. Everyone knew that, according to the custom of the Heavenly Origin Dynasty, the two would one day come to blows—but none expected it would happen today.
“Prince An’s plans are meticulous. The Empress’s power is waning. I advise Minister Sun not to struggle pointlessly.”
The Minister of War and the Minister of Justice attacked together, their combined force of two Union Stage experts pressing down upon the lone Minister of Personnel.
“You two are blind to such a degree? Then perhaps I should dig your eyes out and soak them in wine!”
Sun Yuan showed not a trace of fear. Alone, he fought against both! At the same time, Prince An and his allies launched the first strike to catch Yu Yin off guard.
The Supreme Elder of the Five Thunders True Law Sect unleashed his might like Heaven’s own executioner. His entire body burned with lightning; the qi of his five viscera gathered together, linking with the power of heaven and earth to summon down divine tribulation lightning, tearing through the roof of the Hall of Harmony!
“The Ruyi Gourd is no longer here! The Five Thunders True Law Sect itself is Heaven’s representative of tribulation!”
The Lake Lord of Cloud Dream Marsh and the Master of the Heavenly Sky Sect both attacked simultaneously. Facing Yu Yin, they dared not hold back, unleashing killing strikes from the start. Mists rose like dreams, pulling opponents into illusory realms to suffer the pains of mortal life.
Behind the Master of the Heavenly Sky Sect, a towering phantom appeared, its fists tearing through air with cracks like thunder. If not for Jiang Li’s existence, this woman before them—Yu Yin—would have been recognized as Human Emperor herself! None dared underestimate her, even though they had numbers on their side.
“Prince An, when this is done, don’t forget the territories you promised us.”
Both Cloud Dream Marsh and the Heavenly Sky Sect were major sects within the Heavenly Origin Dynasty, but they were not content. They wished to claim lands from Prince An, to stand as independent sects equal to the Six Great Sects of the world.
The King Qiongqi tore apart his garments and transformed into a winged tiger over a thousand zhang long. His multicolored fur glowed with vicious light, his voice like thunder as he spoke.
“Don’t forget me—marry your twin daughters to me when it’s over!”
Prince An agreed without hesitation. Land, daughters—all were external things. As long as he could seize the throne of Heavenly Origin, everything was worth it!
Yu Yin stood with the power of national fate behind her. The might of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage flattened the battlefield. The Lake Lord of Cloud Dream Marsh and the Master of the Heavenly Sky Sect’s great divine arts vanished before they even touched her—as though sucked out of existence.
All methods could not touch her! Yu Yin raised a slender hand. The heavenly lightning bent midair, curving back toward the sky before exploding, shattering the thunderclouds above.
“Brainless fools! Do you dare compare your forged tribulation thunder to the true lightning of the Ruyi Gourd?”
Her white skirt swayed as she stepped down from the throne. Beneath the hem, a glimpse of slim, sock-clad leg showed, each step supported by unseen force. Thirty-eight interwoven lines formed a chessboard floating midair, perfectly still.
Yu Yin flicked her jade finger, placing a white stone at the central star position—the sound of “click” echoed across the hall.
“The Chess of National Fate—when the Heavenly Origin stone is placed, all within this realm becomes her Domain. She’s not injured at all!”
Prince An’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He shouted in disbelief as everyone suddenly lost their ability to remain aloft, crashing down to the ground below. The national fate of the Heavenly Origin Dynasty was represented as a game of Go.
The dynasty itself was the board, and its cultivators were the pieces. The conflicts among them were the acts of stones devouring one another. The fiercer the devouring, the stronger the national fate grew!
Yet if the devouring went too far, chaos would arise—civil strife would fracture the nation till it ceased to exist. Without the dynasty’s stability, the imperial game board would no longer stand. The central star of Go—the Tianyuan point—was key.
When a stone fell there, the surrounding space became wholly under the control of the dynasty’s ruler. This was the Heavenly Origin Game!
“I’ve no patience for warm-ups,” the Heavenly Origin Empress said faintly.
Not only had she stripped everyone of their ability to fly, she also condensed all the surrounding spiritual qi into stillness. Apart from herself and the Minister of Personnel, no one could draw upon even a thread of spiritual energy. If the former imperial faction did not end it swiftly, they would face defeat through complete spiritual exhaustion!
Meanwhile, within the city, the soldiers formed ranks. Their qi resonated in unison, connected through the spiritual platforms of their minds—organized, steady, one will unbroken. Their morale burned high.
They treated Yu Yin within the palace as their enemy. From above their heads rose invisible vapors of pure energy that gathered upon General Divine Might, boosting his power to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage—and even surpassing Yu Yin’s!
“Though I know not who killed Che Wu, it’s fortunate we still have General Divine Might to take his place.”
Seeing the general’s strike, Prince An’s heart settled.
“She’s merely a woman who once feared to contest the throne of Human Emperor and withdrew from the struggle. What is there to fear!”
He laughed wildly. That Yu Yin had gone uninjured was beyond his expectation, but it didn’t alter the situation—the advantage was still theirs.
“Prince An, what are you laughing at? I’ve heard you and Her Majesty are of the same age, yet you were never even chosen as a candidate for Human Emperor. And now, when you recall Jiang the Human Butcher, your knees still tremble. Tell me, are you laughing at your own disgrace?”
Though the Minister of Personnel was gradually falling behind, he forced himself to speak through gritted teeth, mocking Prince An even as he bled. Prince An’s laughter cut off instantly. Back then, the place where the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons self-destructed had been right here, in the Heavenly Origin Dynasty.
From a distance, he had witnessed Jiang Li’s berserk slaughter, the madness beyond reason that made him tremble in fear and nearly shatter his Dao Heart. No one dared mention it before him. Yet now, this fool of a minister had shouted it aloud before all.
This insolent cur would die for certain! Prince An’s fury blazed like fire. The army was the backbone of the dynasty—its flesh and bones.
If it rebelled, an entire section of the game board would vanish, and the Heavenly Origin Game would collapse on its own! Yet even now, Yu Yin still stood firm at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. She softly uttered a single word—“Kill!”—and charged at General Divine Might and the five Union Stage cultivators whose aura together even outmatched hers.
(End of Chapter)