Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 245 - Killing the Emperor

Tears streamed down Chen Ruoyan’s face, while Chen Leyao was on the verge of tears. Even the Emperor was moved as he supported the eldest prince with both hands. In that moment, he was not the Emperor, but a father, repeatedly expressing his joy with the words, “Good! Good! Good!”

“Father, I remember everything. Despite the confusion over the years, I have never forgotten the knowledge I acquired,” the eldest prince declared, standing tall with a newfound sharpness in his eyes.

For many, awakening from a state of mental impairment would necessitate relearning everything. However, the two princes were an exception. Their meridians were clear, with only those in their brains having been blocked.

The soul sea of the two princes was like a lake. After being unclogged, the water would immediately gush out.

Clearing the clogged meridians was like water flowing back into the ocean, forming a cycle. They would also become normal in the future.

“Young Master Liu, please accept my gratitude!” The eldest prince suddenly fell on his knees because Liu Wuxie had given them a new life; he would remember this in his heart.

The second prince also gradually woke up. Upon regaining consciousness, he kneeled before the Emperor like the eldest prince before giving Liu Wuxie a kowtow.

“Rise. We’re running out of time. We’ve prepared this for you to memorize, so do your best to remember it!” Liu Wuxie said, pulling out a piece of paper. The two princes looked at it with a hint of reverence in their eyes.

Liu Wuxie didn’t treat the two princes because he was benevolent but because of the current situation. In this situation, protecting the royal clan was the same as protecting himself and the Xu Clan.

Everyone acted in their interest in this world, and there would be no conflict if their interests didn’t clash.

“Liu Wuxie, an hour is up. Shouldn’t the curtain be opened up now?” Xue Chunyu’s voice interrupted everyone as the two princes exchanged a look with murderous intent flashing in their eyes. They already knew that they were tampered with at birth.

When the curtain was slowly opened, everyone returned to their seats as though nothing had happened.

Chen Yusheng and everyone were nervous, wondering if there would be a miracle in an hour.

The officials from the Ministries of Justice, War, Revenue, and Personnel rose to their feet, recognizing the significance of this moment for Prince Yongxian.

“An hour has passed. If the two princes can demonstrate their understanding of state governance, they will be deemed fit to succeed the throne,” Xue Chunyu declared, determined not to afford Liu Wuxie any leeway. His tone was assertive and unyielding.

All eyes turned to the two princes, awaiting their response.

“Throughout this time, my brother and I have maintained a low profile, dedicating ourselves to learning the art of governance. It seems our humility has been misconstrued as mental impairment, leading to unwarranted insults. Today, I stand before you to assert that my brother and I are not only of sound mind but also well-versed in astronomy, geography, and governance,” proclaimed the Crown Prince, stepping forward with an aura of authority that left everyone in the hall taken aback.

This shocked everyone because the crown prince had changed. His gaze had become sharp, and he was giving off the pressure. The eldest prince’s change surprised everyone; even Chen Yusheng was shocked with his mouth wide open.

Xue Chunyu was also stumped with his mouth open. Did the eldest prince really just say those words?

“My brother and I have been studying throughout the years and paid no attention to everything else. We didn’t expect this would lead to everyone misunderstanding us, framing us as mentally challenged.” The second prince took a step forward, and his pressure wasn’t weaker than the eldest.

This incident had indeed brought the two princes closer as brothers. In royal families, it was not uncommon to see siblings vying for the throne, as exemplified by the current Emperor and Prince Yongxian.

Prince Yongxian’s hand trembled. What the two princes said was heard by everyone, and they all knew that the two princes were bullshitting. One could pretend to be mentally challenged for a day or a year, but how could someone pretend for close to thirty years?

Everyone turned to look at Liu Wuxie, wondering what kind of monster he was to treat retardedness.

“Since the two princes claim to be fine in intelligence, please articulate the way of governance.” Xue Chunyu took a deep breath. It had only been an hour, and it was too late even if the two princes started learning now.

Prince Yongxian’s faction had to make him the heir no matter what, or the consequences would be dire.

The two princes exchanged a look with a hint of disdain in their eyes.

The eldest prince stepped forward, his aura of authority intensifying. He began, “Let me enlighten you on the art of governance! Governance must commence with enriching the populace. It’s simpler to govern those who lead comfortable lives, and more challenging if they live in poverty. Affluent individuals, having more to lose, are more likely to respect the law. Conversely, those in poverty, with nothing to lose, are harder to govern. Therefore, the governance of a nation is often tied to its wealth and poverty. Hence, those who aspire to govern effectively must first ensure the prosperity of their people.”

Everyone in the hall fell silent upon hearing what the eldest prince said. Was this still the mentally challenged prince they knew?

But it hadn’t ended yet as the eldest prince came to the entrance of the Divine Martial Hall. Turning around, he continued, “When people are poor, they won’t pay much importance to their assets. As they have fewer things or nothing to lose, they wouldn’t mind violating the law, thus making it challenging to govern them. Peace is about enriching the people because those chaotic nations tend to have poorer citizens. Thus, enriching the people is the start of governing the nation...do you still need me to continue?”

When the eldest prince was done, the Divine Martial Hall fell silent. Xue Chunyu staggered and nearly fell to the ground.

The Emperor was left agape, astounded by the eloquence of the eldest prince’s discourse on governance. He quickly connected this to the paper Liu Wuxie had handed to the princes and turned to regard Liu Wuxie with a puzzled look. He couldn’t comprehend how someone as young as Liu Wuxie could possess such profound understanding of statecraft.

The eldest prince, too, was deeply moved when he read Liu Wuxie’s paper. Leveraging his remarkable memory, he committed to memory all the content on the paper in mere minutes.

“Brilliant! This is the most brilliant art of governing the nation I’ve heard as a politician in the past few decades.” Minister Wen slapped his thigh when he came to his senses.

However, they were unaware that the source of this wisdom was Liu Wuxie. If they were to discover this, one can only wonder what their reactions would be.

“Xue Chunyu, why aren’t you all kneeling and admitting your crimes now?!” Chen Yusheng stood up and roared. A few hundred guards suddenly rushed into the hall, surrounding Xue Chunyu’s group.

It was made clear that if the two princes could articulate the way of governing the nation, these people would admit their crimes.

The guards were highly skilled, and Xue Chunyu’s group couldn’t escape.

“Prince Yongxian, save us!” Xue Chunyu panicked and sought help from Prince Yongxian.

All eyes turned to Prince Yongxian. These individuals had put their lives on the line to support him. If Prince Yongxian didn’t step forward now, it would dishearten everyone, and who would then pledge their loyalty to him in the future?

Prince Yongxian rose lazily, his sharp gaze sweeping over the Emperor before resting on the two princes. He remarked, “I am genuinely astounded by the performance of my two royal nephews today.” That day’s events had upended everyone’s understanding. What had initially seemed like a perfect scheme targeting the Emperor’s faction had been completely reversed.

“Thanks to our royal uncle’s blessing, we didn’t dare to slack off.” The two princes cupped their fists together as they stood unyielding, facing Prince Yongxian.

“Royal brother, could you do me the honor of sparing them today?” Xue Chunyu and the others had committed grave offenses against the Emperor, and Prince Yongxian felt compelled to intervene. He didn’t plead for mercy but instead exerted pressure on the Emperor. If the Emperor insisted on executing them, it could strain their relationship and potentially escalate into full-blown conflict.

“Spare them?” The Emperor scoffed. “Did you intervene when they were challenging my authority as the Emperor earlier?”

The Emperor’s tone lacked sympathy, as he was determined to regain his rightful power this time around.

“Royal brother, do you want to resort to violence?” A powerful aura swept out from Prince Yongxian, enveloping the entire hall in his True Core Realm’s aura. It felt as though a battle would break out the next moment.

“Hahah!” The Emperor laughed as two people walked out from the depths of the Divine Martial Hall.

“The Yin and Yang Elders!” Prince Yongxian exclaimed. He didn’t expect these two to pledge allegiance to the Emperor.

Seeing these two old men, Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes, as they were both in the True Core Realm.

“Royal brother, I advise you to back down!” If a battle breaks out, innocent people will be implicated. If they managed to force Prince Yongxian to back down, this would be their complete victory today.

“Great! This is great!” A cruel smile appeared on Prince Yongxian’s face.

Chen Yusheng drew his weapon and roared, “Prince Yongxian, His Majesty has ordered you to leave. What are you still doing here?!”

As long as they could force Prince Yongxian to back down, these people would pose no threat.

“Kill him!” Prince Yongxian ordered, and all the officials in his faction charged toward Liu Wuxie. This was Prince Yongxian’s actual goal. Since they had fallen out completely, he might as well take it even further.

Liu Wuxie had ruined his well-planned scheme, and Prince Yongxian wanted to kill him the most. He only wanted Liu Wuxie’s death at this moment.

Fifty-odd experts all charged towards Liu Wuxie while Prince Yongxian went after the Emperor, aiming for his life.

“Protect His Majesty!” All the guards came forward to stop Prince Yongxian.

“All of you, get lost!” Prince Yongxian pushed his palm forward, causing the ten-odd guards to vanish before they could even scream, and this was the power of a True Core Realm expert.

The Yin and Yang Elders appeared before Prince Yongxian, pushing their palms forward to form a gust of wind and push Prince Yongxian back.

On the other side, Xu Lingxue drew her weapon to face the incoming fifty-odd experts.

“All of you, back down!” Liu Wuxie embraced Xu Lingxue’s waist and gently sent her out before standing with the princes and princesses. They didn’t have a high cultivation, and there was no way they could fend off the incoming experts.

When Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade, his blade ray formed into a blade aura, filling the entire Divine Martial Hall. This was Liu Wuxie’s true power; the incoming people were slain under his blade. In the process, Liu Wuxie also extracted the energies in their bodies, converting them into liquid with the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

There were ten-odd droplets of liquid accumulated in the cauldron that Liu Wuxie was reluctant to use. However, at this moment, he didn’t hesitate to make a breakthrough in his cultivation, unleashing a powerful aura that sent the surrounding tables and chairs flying away along with the fifty-odd people charging at him.