Chapter 167 Regicide

Zhou Tian had made a remarkable achievement this time.

The reason why the Church was currently being suppressed so fiercely by the Dungeon was that the majority of its main forces had been accidentally lost in the previous incident. Otherwise, given their background and heritage, there was no aspect in which the Dungeon could surpass the Church. Had it been otherwise, how could the Demonic forces, which had been so ruthlessly suppressed in the past, suddenly have the capability to bounce back and cause trouble?

Now, with Zhou Tian's maneuver, the Church's pressure was instantly alleviated to a large extent.

The Church had lost a massive number of personnel, which ultimately left them unable to timely suppress the Dungeon's movements in time. Yet this time, the Dungeon had lost an enormous number of people precisely because they tried to deal with Zhou Tian. While the loss of those demons would not cause the Dungeon to be instantly beaten back, the absence of those demons naturally lessened the pressure on the Church's side.

It could be said that Zhou Tian had not only achieved the Church's goal of rescuing the Yanhuang Empire, but had also gone a step further in helping the Holy Church weaken the Dungeon's strength. Such a great merit demanded recognition; if the Holy Church failed to show any appreciation under the current circumstances, it would be difficult to pacify the combat personnel who were fighting desperately on the front lines.

In the past, although Zhou Tian had accumulated many merits, firstly, his time in the Church was too short, yet he had been suddenly promoted to bishop. Secondly, while he contributed much, he also stirred up a lot of trouble. To protect Zhou Tian, the Church had suffered considerable losses. Coupled with the maneuvering of certain high-ranking figures, no matter how many contributions Zhou Tian had made previously, he had never received any formal rewards from the Holy Church in the end.

This time, however, the timing of Zhou Tian's achievements was impeccable, and the display of his martial prowess had also yielded certain results. Naturally, under such circumstances, the Holy Church had no way to withhold Zhou Tian's rewards any longer.

First of all, Zhou Tian, who had held the rank of bishop for quite some time, was finally promoted by a tier, officially becoming a cardinal of the Holy Church.

One could imagine how utterly frustrated the higher-ups of the Holy Church must have felt about this decision! After all, Zhou Tian was someone whom many senior officials had repeatedly wanted to drive out of the Church. Yet now, not only had he not been expelled, but his status had actually advanced another step. If things continued this way, there might come a day when Zhou Tian would stand on equal footing with them. Seeing such a situation, how could those high-ranking officials not feel aggrieved?

Aside from elevating his position by a rank, the Church was also generous with other rewards.

Regardless of whether Zhou Tian needed them or not, the Holy Church bestowed upon him a vast sum of money and a small batch of magic items. Although their value was not low, relative to Zhou Tian's current status, those things might not even hold as much weight in his eyes as the promotion in rank.

From beginning to end, Zhou Tian had never placed high importance on the rewards from the Holy Church. The primary reason he had sent the heads of those demons to the Holy City was simply the thought of utilizing waste. As for how the Holy Church would react, truly, for Zhou Tian—who currently lacked practically nothing—he honestly did not care very much.

In fact, when the Holy Church's envoy arrived in the capital, Zhou Tian was not even in the capital anymore.

Though the majority of the demons in the Yanhuang Empire had perished within the capital, there were still other matters requiring Zhou Tian's attention. While the demon problem was basically resolved, the civil war within the Yanhuang Empire had yet to be pacified. At the very least, Li Jiahao, who had defected to the Dungeon, was still there battling Wu Zhao.

Had it been anyone else, Zhou Tian could not be bothered to care whether they lived or died. The demons were already dealt with, and if they could not even handle their own internal issues, then they had no reason to continue existing.

However, Wu Zhao's relationship with Zhou Tian was far too intimate. Others could be ignored, but Wu Zhao was someone Zhou Tian needed to protect with utmost care. Knowing that Wu Zhao was still fighting against Li Jiahao at this moment, Zhou Tian naturally hurried over to help her as soon as he finished dealing with the demons.

Because Zhou Tian moved too swiftly—or perhaps because no one had anticipated such an outcome—no one had yet received intelligence from the capital when Zhou Tian rushed back. It was only when Zhou Tian reassembled his dispersed troops that Li Jiahao and Wu Zhao finally received the relevant reports from the Holy City.

Upon learning that Zhou Tian had wiped out the vast majority of the demons within the Yanhuang Empire in a single stroke, everyone was utterly dumbfounded.

Even though Zhou Tian had frequently done earth-shattering things in the past, the disparity in strength between the two sides was obvious. People might believe that Zhou Tian wouldn't be killed by the Dungeon's demons, but to say that Zhou Tian had wiped out all those demons was simply too difficult for those in the know to believe.

Yet, whether they were willing to believe it or not, the facts were right there, and it was no longer up to them to deny it.

Upon learning that intelligence, the reactions of the two sides were naturally polar opposites.

As for Wu Zhao's side, it went without saying. With Zhou Tian having eliminated those demons, and without their assistance, Li Jiahao's meager forces were simply no match for the rest of the Yanhuang Empire's legions combined. Even if he were a military genius, defeat was now inevitable.

Conversely, the only reason Li Jiahao had been able to contend with the Yanhuang Empire was the support of the Dungeon. Now, learning that the Dungeon's entire force in the Yanhuang Empire had been completely destroyed at Zhou Tian's hands, terror was likely the only emotion left in their hearts.

Under such circumstances, Zhou Tian assembled the capital's army and appeared at the rear of Li Jiahao's forces. Consequently, Li Jiahao's interest group could no longer hold together.

Naturally, Li Jiahao could never surrender. Given everything he had done, others might surrender without issue; even if they faced some punishment, the Yanhuang Empire, wishing to avoid severe damage to its overall strength, probably wouldn't hunt them to the absolute end. Li Jiahao, however, was different. He was a rebel king who had raised the banner of revolt. Regardless of the impact his execution might have on the empire, as long as the Yanhuang Empire did not want other rebel kings popping up at will in the future, Li Jiahao had to die.

Therefore, no matter how grim the current situation was, Li Jiahao was forced to persevere.

As for the officials and generals under Li Jiahao, with very few exceptions, the vast majority were certainly unwilling to die alongside him.

Had Li Jiahao held the upper hand, his subordinates would have obediently followed him. Even in rebellion, those officials and generals would have lent a hand from the sidelines. But seeing that Li Jiahao was finished, they were guaranteed to be the very first to kick a man when he was down.

Almost the very moment Zhou Tian led the capital's army to the rear of Li Jiahao's forces, nearly thirty percent of Li Jiahao's troops, led by their respective generals, directly surrendered to Zhou Tian and Wu Zhao.

Following that, although Li Jiahao stubbornly attempted to suppress those of his subordinates with rebellious intentions, given his plight—which would have been difficult enough without Zhou Tian and Wu Zhao present—trying to maintain such a hardline attitude amidst a front-and-rear pincer movement meant he could never achieve a favorable outcome.

Pushed to the brink again and again, the group of people who were already deeply dissatisfied with Li Jiahao finally conspired in secret, driven by the threat to their lives, and directly rebelled against him.

Although soldiers loyal to Li Jiahao still existed, their strength was far inferior to that of the rebels. And while Li Jiahao possessed some personal combat power, he was ultimately no match for a powerhouse like Zhou Tian, completely lacking the ability to escape on his own. Therefore, once his subordinates revolted, there was no need for Zhou Tian or Wu Zhao to dispatch troops; Li Jiahao was bound hand and foot by his formerly trusted subordinates and delivered straight to Zhou Tian.

Seeing this outcome, Zhou Tian did not say much, nor did he even bother to deal with Li Jiahao himself. Instead, he had Li Jiahao and all the surrendered captives sent directly to Wu Zhao's military camp.

In the eyes of outsiders, perhaps Zhou Tian and Wu Zhao had long since become intimately entangled, and among the two of them, outsiders tended to place much more importance on Zhou Tian while treating Wu Zhao merely as his appendage.

While such perceptions were not entirely baseless, this was a situation Zhou Tian was unwilling to see.

Zhou Tian had always kept Wu Zhao's aspirations close to his heart. Now that such an opportunity had finally presented itself, Zhou Tian naturally refused to waste it because of himself.

With the eradication of Li Jiahao, the Yanhuang Empire was about to undergo another major reshuffle of power. As the ultimate victors of this event, the faction led by Zhou Tian and Wu Zhao would naturally reap the greatest benefits.

If Zhou Tian were to simply call the shots here, he would undoubtedly gain immense prestige within the Yanhuang Empire. But what good would that do him?

Zhou Tian had never desired nor needed to claim the imperial throne, so no matter how much prestige he held in the Yanhuang Empire, it would be wasted. Moreover, if he became the primary beneficiary this time, the Yanhuang Empire would not undergo any fundamental changes; the imperial family would remain the royal family, and aside from shifts in the power of certain factions, everything would revert to its former state.

Therefore, Zhou Tian felt that rather than wasting such a prime opportunity on himself, it would be far better to hand it all over to Wu Zhao.

Didn't Wu Zhao want to become empress? Then this time, Zhou Tian would create the conditions for her to do so.

No matter how great Zhou Tian's contributions were, as long as he did not personally participate in the imperial succession, he would remain excluded from the power center of the Yanhuang Empire. Regardless of how massive the impact of his actions was, in the eyes of outsiders, Zhou Tian would always remain merely an external helper.

Thus, the vast majority of the credit for the eventual outcome would naturally fall upon Wu Zhao. Combined with her stellar performance in leading the various factions of the Yanhuang Empire to jointly resist Li Jiahao during this period, Wu Zhao's prestige would soar. Consequently, when Wu Zhao made her move to claim the throne, even if there were still some opposition, as long as she firmly grasped the reins of power in her hands and had Zhou Tian's backing, the likelihood of a successful ascension was quite high.

Zhou Tian had never spoken of his plans to Wu Zhao, but no reminder was needed. The moment Zhou Tian approached Wu Zhao and she saw the situation behind him, she instantly grasped his intentions.

Without hesitation, Wu Zhao seized the moment. For one, becoming empress had always been her lifelong aspiration; for another, she knew Zhou Tian cared little for such a throne. Therefore, upon seeing Zhou Tian deliver Li Jiahao and his captured faction right to her doorstep, after a brief moment of stunned silence, she promptly took action.

Inviting Zhou Tian to a seat of honor, Wu Zhao immediately ordered her guards to escort Li Jiahao and his cohorts away, throwing the others into prison while dragging Li Jiahao alone into the main tent to be put on trial before all the officials.

"Audacious Li Jiahao, do you know your crimes?" Slamming her hand on the table, Wu Zhao opened the interrogation with the most classic of lines.

"Hmph!" Clearly, Li Jiahao held no fondness for Wu Zhao. After a cold snort, he glared past her at Zhou Tian standing behind her and roared, "What crime have I committed? You, this seditious woman, disrupted the court and colluded with Zhou Tian. As a member of the imperial clan, I rose to set things right and revolted against you—what crime is that? I only hate that my strength was lacking. Since I have lost, I have nothing more to say. Slaughter me as you please! However, everything I did was my own personal doing and has nothing to do with my family. I beg you not to make things difficult for them."

"Hmph!" Stung by Li Jiahao's veiled insults, Wu Zhao felt extremely uncomfortable inside. Yet, given her current situation, while executing Li Jiahao was easy enough, she truly couldn't do much to his family. Hearing his words, although she longed to exterminate his entire clan, she still had to nod and reply, "What your true purpose was in starting this rebellion is clear to everyone; you don't need to dress it up as something noble! Your crime of igniting the flames of war across the empire is utterly unforgivable. However, you are a member of the imperial clan, and your family shares imperial blood; you needn't worry about being implicated. Aside from those who directly participated in the rebellion, I can make the executive decision to pardon the rest of your family. However, because of your actions, your branch of the imperial bloodline will be stripped of its noble status. Are you willing to accept this arrangement?"

"History is written by the victors; I have nothing more to say."

"Hmph!" Seeing Li Jiahao's reaction filled Wu Zhao with displeasure. Letting out an indignant cold snort, she immediately issued an order: "Guards, drag the rebel king Li Jiahao out and execute him on the spot!"

"Understood!" Acknowledging the command, several soldiers rushed into the tent, responded in unison, and hauled Li Jiahao out.

Just a minute or two later, when those same soldiers returned, they were carrying a tray upon which rested Li Jiahao's severed head.

Gazing at the bloody head, even a woman like Wu Zhao felt a slight chill, but who asked her to be in this position now? Though she didn't want to look, she had to maintain a dignified facade. Confirming the authenticity of Li Jiahao's head, she waved her hand and ordered, "Take it away!"

At her command, the soldiers quickly removed the tray.

Only after the head was gone did the atmosphere in the tent grow lively once more.

"Congratulations to Her Majesty the Empress for finally ridding us of the rebel Li Jiahao! We shall memorialize this to His Majesty and request due rewards for you!" These were the words spoken by officials who remained genuinely loyal to the imperial house of the Yanhuang Empire.

"Now that Li Jiahao has been defeated, we will not linger any longer. Please forgive us, Your Majesty, but we have matters at home and must depart immediately." These were the words of various regional lords who still wished to tightly clutch the military power in their own hands.

"..."

With Li Jiahao's death, virtually every official and general in Wu Zhao's tent reacted in their own way.

Watching the performance of the people below, Zhou Tian couldn't help but flash a playful smile at Wu Zhao.

Catching Zhou Tian's expression, Wu Zhao's face flushed slightly.

Despite the power Wu Zhao currently held, which was already considerable within the Yanhuang Empire, uniting the entire strength of the empire to fight Li Jiahao on her own had been impossible. The reason Wu Zhao wielded such influence today was largely because the Holy Church had lent a hand in this matter.

Even if the Holy Church was unwilling to directly dispatch troops to deal with the Dungeon's forces, they certainly wouldn't allow Li Jiahao to easily conquer the Yanhuang Empire. Therefore, influenced and ultimately coerced by the Holy Church, the other factions within the Yanhuang Empire had finally banded together against Li Jiahao.

The reason Wu Zhao had been seated at the head was primarily to make it convenient for the Holy Church to utilize Zhou Tian. Now that Li Jiahao was dead, the pressure the Holy Church had applied to those various factions naturally dissipated. At this stage, even though Zhou Tian's prestige was at its peak and Wu Zhao's performance had been quite impressive, expecting those people to instantly change allegiance and acknowledge a woman as their supreme leader was a hurdle their pride simply could not overcome.

If the person harboring ambitions right then had been Zhou Tian, perhaps nearly ninety percent of the people in the tent would have chosen to submit in the very first instant! After all, the strength Zhou Tian had previously displayed was truly astonishing. Having such a powerful emperor would be a fine prospect for them as subjects.

Wu Zhao, however, was different. First, making a large group of men take orders from a woman was a hard pill to swallow for people accustomed to patriarchal thinking. Second, Zhou Tian had never explicitly stated his stance. Although his past actions suggested a special relationship existed between him and Wu Zhao, until Zhou Tian made a definitive declaration, those officials felt uneasy and dared not easily gamble their futures on Wu Zhao.

Seeing this situation, Wu Zhao felt a sense of helplessness.

She was well aware of how difficult it would be to realize her aspirations. Thus, she had long anticipated encountering such resistance. Originally, she hadn't planned to push things this far so quickly, but now that Zhou Tian had taken the initiative with these plans, backed by his support, Wu Zhao felt confident enough to give it a try.

Knowing she could never subdue the subordinates below by herself, Wu Zhao had no choice but to cast a pleading glance toward Zhou Tian after listening to the murmurs of the officials and generals.

Catching her plea, Zhou Tian first shot her a smug look before taking action.

Drawing upon a cultivation realm vastly superior to anyone present, Zhou Tian directly exerted his spiritual pressure upon them. Forcing those people to bow their heads against their will, Zhou Tian spoke in an unhurried, calm tone: "We've only just defeated Li Jiahao, and yet you all are in such a rush to leave. Isn't that rather inappropriate?"

Zhou Tian didn't spell it out explicitly, but those words alone were more than enough.

If Zhou Tian did not support Wu Zhao, or had no intention of letting her hold power, why would he speak up now? Since he had chosen to make them stay, he clearly had no intention of letting them slip away so easily. With them unable to leave, power would remain firmly in Wu Zhao's hands. Zhou Tian's behavior was a blatant display of backing her up.

With Zhou Tian supporting Wu Zhao, none of the people who had been clamoring to return dared to utter another word.

Those people didn't care much about Zhou Tian's actual titles; whether he was a city lord or a cardinal of the Church, those identities commanded their polite respect. However, based on titles alone, while they would respect Zhou Tian, they certainly wouldn't ignore their own interests simply because of a word from him.

What they feared was Zhou Tian's terrifying strength. Whether it was Li Jiahao or the Dungeon, those untouchable entities had all fallen at Zhou Tian's hands. One could only imagine how vast his power and the forces under his control must be. If such a figure truly decided to deal with them, they would have zero capability to resist.

They might not want to submit to Wu Zhao's banner, but no matter how reluctant they were, they wouldn't sacrifice their own lives for the sake of personal prejudice.

With all military and political authority currently resting in Wu Zhao's hands, taking it back would require brute force. And if it came to brute force, they couldn't beat Zhou Tian. Thus, choosing survival, those people could only remain silent.

Silence meant acquiescence, and what Wu Zhao chose to do next was no longer something they could control. Even if their assistance wasn't heartfelt, they found themselves unwillingly hitched to Wu Zhao's chariot.

Seeing the crowd fall silent, Wu Zhao finally wore a triumphant smile.

"If there is nothing else, we shall adjourn here!"

With Wu Zhao speaking and Zhou Tian watching from above, no matter how many misgivings those people held in their hearts, none dared to voice them. Helplessly, they could only acknowledge the order and respectfully retreat.

Once all the subordinates had cleared the room, Wu Zhao let out a long sigh of relief, rose from her seat, and walked straight over to sit on Zhou Tian's lap.

"You've worked hard." Once relaxed, the exhaustion on Wu Zhao's face could no longer be hidden. Seeing her state, Zhou Tian cast a few restorative spells on her to soothe her body before pulling her tightly into his arms.

"It's not hard at all; everything was my own choice." Feeling the soothing warmth spreading through her body, Wu Zhao smiled, leaned further into Zhou Tian's chest, and asked softly, "Are you really planning to let me pull off this rebellion just like that?"

"Isn't that enough?" Casually playing with a lock of Wu Zhao's hair, Zhou Tian replied with absolute confidence, "The continent is already in chaos because of the demonic forces. During this window, no matter what happens in the Yanhuang Empire, the other external factions have no spare energy to interfere. This allows you to act without worrying about external optics. Furthermore, you've absorbed Li Jiahao's troops, and combined with your own forces, you now control nearly half of the Yanhuang Empire's military power. Since the authority of this coalition army is entirely in your hands, if you truly strike now, the Yanhuang royal family stands no chance of resisting."

"But the emperor still holds a group of loyal retainers; the majority of the Yanhuang Empire's powerful martial artists are in that unit."

Patting Wu Zhao's hip, Zhou Tian chuckled and replied, "Do you take me for a dead man? I've met those retainers of your imperial family before. Though most of their strength is decent, if you really start your move, with their capabilities alone, I can knock them all flat by myself."

"Then I'll leave those people to you when the time comes."

"No problem." At a time like this, Zhou Tian would certainly not say otherwise. Without a second thought, he patted his chest and gave Wu Zhao his guarantee.

Thus, Zhou Tian openly spent a full day in the military camp with Wu Zhao, the empress of the Yanhuang Empire, before issuing the order to break camp and return triumphantly to the capital the next morning.

After more than a dozen days of marching, the grand army finally arrived outside the gates of Kirin City.

However, when Zhou Tian and his forces reached the city, what awaited them were four heavily bolted and tightly sealed city gates.

"Who goes there on the ramparts? Our victorious army has returned, open the gates at once!"

"By imperial decree of His Majesty, the army is forbidden to enter the city! The empress and all high officials are summoned for an audience!"

"It seems the emperor's reaction isn't slow at all." Hearing the words of the city guard above, Zhou Tian turned to Wu Zhao and asked, "What now?"

Undoubtedly, the emperor of the Yanhuang Empire had realized something was amiss. Having defeated Li Jiahao, Wu Zhao now wielded far too much power. If she truly intended to make a move, once the army entered the city, everything would unfold entirely according to her will.

Although the emperor had long since ceased managing state affairs, he was by no means stupid. Realizing the danger, he naturally wouldn't foolishly place his life and safety entirely into Wu Zhao's hands.

Therefore, from any perspective, the emperor issuing such an order was entirely normal.

Right now, Zhou Tian was leaving it up to Wu Zhao to decide how to handle the situation. If Wu Zhao had no desire to play games with the old emperor, Zhou Tian could easily shatter the gates with his own martial might, allowing the army to flood in and let Wu Zhao do as she pleased.

Conversely, if Wu Zhao preferred not to use brute force, she would have to comply with the imperial edict. Though Zhou Tian didn't favor that approach, even if she chose it, he could guarantee her absolute safety.

With Zhou Tian's protection, under normal circumstances, most people would probably choose the safer route. But Wu Zhao was no ordinary person. Even with Zhou Tian's backing, having gained the absolute upper hand, she had no intention of taking unnecessary risks.

As for her reputation?

As an empress consort rumored to be having an affair with Zhou Tian, and one who intended to crown herself female emperor—with her reputation already on the line, did Wu Zhao really care about adding a bit more scolding to the mix?

Without a moment's hesitation, upon hearing Zhou Tian's question, Wu Zhao answered firmly, "Storm our way in!"

With Wu Zhao's command given, Zhou Tian no longer had any reservations. Drawing out the Heaven-Smashing Seal, he hurled it directly at the gates of Kirin City.

Given the terrifying might of the Heaven-Smashing Seal, Kirin City's gates were in no condition to withstand its blow. With a deafening roar, the massive gates—which hadn't been breached for countless years—were blasted violently open by Zhou Tian.

With the gates destroyed, and fueled by the anger of the soldiers who felt betrayed by the emperor's foolish decree, Wu Zhao gave the word, and the troops charged into Kirin City in a fervor.

The subsequent battles held no surprises. Although Kirin City still housed quite a few garrison troops, compared to the forces Wu Zhao commanded, the two sides were simply on entirely different tiers. Wielding an overwhelming superiority in numbers, Wu Zhao's forces broke into the city, met with token resistance from the garrison, and quickly crushed them—the defenders either perishing in battle or being rounded up as prisoners.

Only after Kirin City was entirely in Wu Zhao's hands did she exchange an excited glance with Zhou Tian, and with his encouraging nod, the two of them walked side-by-side into the imperial palace.

At that moment, although the majority of the palace guard had already perished in past conflicts, quite a few survivors remained. Unfortunately, their presence was entirely useless. Given their meager strength, how could they possibly protect the emperor's safety? They couldn't even get close to Zhou Tian; the moment they approached him, they were directly knocked unconscious by the spiritual pressure Zhou Tian intentionally emitted.

Step by step, under Wu Zhao's nervous yet expectant gaze, they finally caught sight of the emperor seated upon the dragon throne.

Though Zhou Tian had seen him before, seeing him again today, he couldn't help but be startled by the man's wretched state.

The previous blows had already devastated the emperor, and now, watching his empire slip through his fingers into Wu Zhao's grasp, the psychological toll was immense. Especially seeing Wu Zhao walking hand-in-hand with Zhou Tian, and recalling Zhou Tian's earlier promises, the emperor could easily guess what was coming. Having suffered such a crushing blow, his spirit had completely withered.

"You've come!"

"Yes." Acting like a victor, Wu Zhao glanced coldly at the man she had never once esteemed in her heart and stated flatly, "I believe you understand the situation by now! Cooperate with me quietly, and I can spare your life."

"Spare my life? Hehe..." Letting out a manic, hollow laugh, the emperor looked down at Zhou Tian and suddenly asked, "This woman can betray me today, and she can just as easily do the same to you tomorrow. You've won this time, but your fate in the future won't be any better than mine."

Glancing up at the unhinged emperor on the throne, Zhou Tian didn't grow angry. He merely replied with detached indifference, "I am different from you. To Wu Zhao, you were nothing more than a man she despised; but to her, I am her husband."

"You are her husband, then what am I to her? I am the emperor, and she is the empress. The whole world knows she is my woman! You're nothing more than someone wearing my discarded shoes. Don't use that tone of a victor with me. I've lost, but even in defeat, I won't let you two have it easy!"

"Not good!" Sensing something amiss, Wu Zhao shrieked in alarm.

However, just as Zhou Tian moved to intervene, it was already too late.

Whether the emperor had made preparations beforehand, the moment Zhou Tian and Wu Zhao reacted, the emperor had already cut off his own breath.

Knowing that the emperor's final words implied he had left behind some troublesome mess, Zhou Tian hardened his heart and reached out to seize the man's departing soul, intending to interrogate him on his parting tricks.

Yet, when Zhou Tian attempted to do so, he discovered that the emperor had been ruthlessly thorough. Not only had he ended his own life, but he had wiped out his own soul entirely, rendering the soul-binding sphere in Zhou Tian's hand completely useless.

Still, although he knew the emperor had likely left behind a substantial headache, Zhou Tian didn't take the matter to heart. His horizons had broadened considerably by now. In the past, the factions of the Yanhuang Empire were something Zhou Tian had to treat with caution; but now, no matter what trouble the emperor had cooked up, Zhou Tian believed his own strength was more than enough to crush it. Deeming that the dead emperor could pose no genuine threat, Zhou Tian dismissed the affair entirely.

Glancing casually at the corpse of the emperor, Zhou Tian turned to Wu Zhao and asked, "What now? With the emperor dead, we will likely bear the infamous stigma of regicide."

"We've already done so much, does one more sin matter?" Wu Zhao had never cared about her reputation from the start. Since her name was destined to be vilified anyway, she didn't mind adding the crime of regicide to her resume. Instead, casting one final look at the dead emperor, Wu Zhao made a decisive choice: "Taking advantage of the timing while the Dungeon is still drawing the Church's attention, I must accelerate my coronation! Otherwise, once the Church has leisure to look around, given the rigid mindset of those old fogies, trying to claim the throne then will not be so easy."

Since Wu Zhao had made up her mind, Zhou Tian said no more. Nodding, he replied, "Since that's the case, everything will proceed as you wish."

Having said that, Zhou Tian cast an apparently casual glance toward a certain corner of the grand hall and suddenly called out, "What are your intentions? Will you pledge allegiance to the new empress, or prefer to die right here?"

As his voice fell, Zhou Tian flipped his hand, revealing the Heaven-Smashing Seal once more.

"Wait... please don't misunderstand! We harbor no hostility toward you! We are merely imperial retainers; whoever sits on the dragon throne is whom we serve!"

Before Zhou Tian's words had even faded, a group of high-level retainers belonging to the late emperor's faction stepped out from the shadows. Adopting completely non-defensive postures, they hurried forward and offered hurried explanations to Zhou Tian.

Scanning the group, a flicker of hesitation crossed Zhou Tian's eyes before he finally put the Heaven-Smashing Seal away.

With Zhou Tian's strength, killing those people posed no difficulty whatsoever. However, he didn't feel any pressing necessity to slaughter them.

While Zhou Tian could back Wu Zhao from behind the scenes, his identity dictated limits. Stepping in once or twice to handle crises was fine, but if he constantly managed everything for her, the Holy Church would eventually step in and put a stop to it.

Thus, while major catastrophes could be resolved with Zhou Tian's power, minor, everyday affairs had to be managed using Wu Zhao's own resources. Although Zhou Tian could help her cultivate capable subordinates of her own, that required time. Until those people were trained and ready, keeping these former imperial retainers alive to serve Wu Zhao's immediate needs was a pragmatic choice.

Watching Zhou Tian put away the seal, the group of retainers collectively breathed a massive sigh of relief.

Though they tried hard to maintain their composure, these retainers were utterly terrified. Several of their peers who had remained blindly loyal to the late emperor had attempted to assassinate Zhou Tian earlier, and most of them had witnessed the scene firsthand. Their peers—whose strength was comparable to their own—had been killed the instant they touched Zhou Tian, utterly powerless to resist.

Given the terrifying power Zhou Tian had demonstrated, had he truly resolved to kill them, they wouldn't have stood a chance. Fortunately, it seemed Zhou Tian had no intention of executing them. Having snatched their lives back from the brink of death, the retainers couldn't help but feel profoundly relieved.