May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

The trial was extremely oppressive. One piece of evidence after another was presented in court, each piece of evidence horrifying, bloody, and brutal.

Even the people of Yuncheng watching outside the government office were moved to tears, unable to bear looking at the bloody evidence of their crimes. Some with weaker mental fortitude burst into tears, while others went so far as to try to rush in and tear Chen Tianwang and his men apart.

The anger of everyone present was palpable, even the Third Prince, who was personally presiding over the trial, had a furious expression on his face, his knuckles clenched so tightly they made a cracking sound.

"Death penalty! He must be executed! This traitor Chen, who deserves to be torn to pieces, has caused my family's destruction and death. My wife, only twenty years old, and my son, only six years old, are both unarmed civilians, yet you won't even spare them! You're truly naive!"

A young man who had fled from another city to Yuncheng collapsed in front of the government office, weeping bitterly. He said that his heart had clearly broken down and that only revenge could sustain him until today.

The trial ended amidst angry shouts and curses from the onlookers.

Chen Tianwang and other high-ranking officials were sentenced to death by slow slicing due to conclusive evidence, while the family members of other high-ranking officials were sentenced to beheading, to be carried out immediately!

They were immediately put into prison carts by soldiers and sent to the execution ground.

The execution was personally overseen by the Third Prince!

……

At the execution ground, three or four hundred people, including Chen Tianwang and his high-ranking officials and their families, were handcuffed and knelt on the execution platform.

At this time, a large crowd of people had gathered around the execution ground, eager to witness the execution of Chen and his accomplices.

In order to verify the true identities of Chen Tianwang and the others, Li Heng also secretly hid in the crowd to watch them carry out the execution.

First, the families of high-ranking officials under the false Liang regime were executed.

At noon, the Third Prince immediately threw the execution warrant on the ground.

"Execute!" the Third Prince shouted sternly.

Upon receiving the execution order, all the executioners immediately sprayed wine onto their broadswords, and with a swift stroke, hundreds of heads fell instantly, blood flowing out, filling the entire execution ground with a pungent, fishy stench.

At this moment, the onlookers cheered!

"Well done! That's so satisfying! My family's great revenge has finally been achieved!"

"My parents, your revenge has finally been achieved! Your souls can rest in peace now!"

Li Heng watched all this indifferently, feeling neither happy nor sympathetic towards them.

Everything has a cause and an effect. Plant good seeds and you will reap good results; plant bad seeds and you will reap bad results.

Blame Chen Tianwang and his family. Since they enjoyed the benefits they brought, they should bear the punishment for their failure!

After the execution of the family members, the third prince ordered the bodies to be dragged out and buried together.

Then came the most important punishment: the death by a thousand cuts (lingchi) was inflicted on these high-ranking members of the fake Liang regime, led by Chen Tianwang!

With a "snap," the token was thrown out again.

"Execute him!"

The executioner, who was waiting on the side with his bare arms, immediately began to torture these people upon hearing the order.

Not long after, a series of screams and pleas for mercy came from the execution platform.

Only Chen Tianwang remained silent, never uttering a single shout.

This earned Li Heng's admiration from the audience.

"At least you're a man!"

Other high-ranking officials who were actually imposters made a complete fool of themselves.

Some suffered from urinary incontinence, some desperately cried out for mercy, and some fainted immediately upon seeing blood.

The Blood Lotus Sect leader fared slightly better. He remained silent at first, but as more and more flesh was scraped away, he broke down, losing control of his bladder and bowels. The sight of a dignified Grandmaster martial artist in such a state drew disdain from many of the onlookers.

Even King Chen was dissatisfied with the ugly behavior displayed by his national advisor.

"Grand Preceptor, a real man should be prepared to die. What is there to be afraid of? At worst, he'll be a hero again in eighteen years. Your performance has truly disgraced our Great Liang. I was blind to have chosen you as our Grand Preceptor! Bah!"

……

The execution by slow slicing lasted for three days.

Chen Tianwang was not a martial artist. On the second day, he was cut seven hundred times and died from excessive blood loss.

The longest-lasting were the grandmaster warriors under Chen Tianwang's command. They all persevered until the third day. The longest-lasting of them was the Blood Lotus Sect leader, who made a complete fool of himself on the first day. He was cut 2,100 times before he died.

The meat they cut off was eagerly bought by the onlookers, and some even went so far as to eat it raw in front of everyone.

In particular, the meat of King Chen was so popular that people rushed to buy it. Some people who didn't manage to get any spent a lot of money to buy it from those who managed to get a few pieces.

Li Heng watched all this silently. Only then did he realize how deep the people's hatred for Chen Tianwang was. It also made him understand a principle he had learned from history books in his previous life: it is better to be a dog in times of peace than a person in times of chaos!

After being executed by slow slicing, it wasn't over yet. The Third Prince ordered the heads of these high-ranking officials of the false Liang regime to be cut off and sent to eight prefectures!

……

On the fifth day after returning to Yuncheng, Li Heng had finished dealing with all matters and was preparing to go into seclusion for cultivation.

So he sent a letter to the Third Prince by archery, informing him that he would be leaving Yuncheng for a long time, perhaps five or six years, or perhaps more than ten years, and that he should take care of himself and govern the country well.

The next morning, Li Heng set off and left Yuncheng.

Three days later, Li Heng appeared in the Poison Dragon Pool cave.

He sat on the futon and began to cultivate the dispersing technique that came with the second level of the Nine Tribulations Nirvana Technique.

Soon, he dispersed his cultivation level to the peak of the first rank.

At this moment, Li Heng discovered that he himself had undergone new changes.

Since the last time he dispersed his internal energy eleven times, his foundation and the quality of his internal strength, which had remained unchanged, have improved somewhat.

Li Heng was overjoyed. He loved the feeling of being able to steadily improve without fighting and killing, simply by dispersing his internal energy and then cultivating.

Although the improvement is not very obvious after dispersing one's power once, it is only once. If one disperses one's power ten times in a row, there will definitely be a very obvious transformation.

"Keep practicing!"

After dispersing his internal energy, Li Heng began cultivating the first level of the Nine Tribulations Nirvana Technique, returning to the peak of the Grandmaster realm.

……

Yuncheng, the residence of the Third Prince.

Inside the study.

The Third Prince is handling state affairs.

"Your Highness, an urgent dispatch from the north, eight hundred li away."

Lu Maode, a trusted aide, respectfully presented a letter to the Third Prince.

The third prince put down the folded paper in his hand, took the envelope, and immediately opened it to read.

The more he read, the more his brows furrowed, and by the end, his expression had turned utterly terrified.

He didn't even notice the letter falling onto the table, muttering to himself, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could things have turned out like this? Father will be alright!"

Lu Maode, who was waiting, noticed that the Third Prince's expression was off and immediately stepped forward to ask, "Your Highness, what's wrong? What happened?"

The third prince held his forehead with both hands, his mood becoming extremely depressed. He did not respond to Lu Maode, but continued to mutter to himself, saying things like "impossible, absolutely impossible." Then, he finally could not hide his grief and burst into tears.

Lu Maode finally realized what big thing must have happened, and quickly picked up the letter on the table to read it.

After reading the letter, he wore an incredulous expression, then collapsed to the ground, crying out, "The garrison commander of Yulong Pass, Wu Gui, has betrayed us! The northern barbarians have easily entered the pass, the capital has fallen, Emperor Xiangqing has committed suicide, is the Chu Kingdom doomed?"