I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Seeing that Bai Zhenzhen was sincerely trying to receive the Iron Fan, Bai Jinghong, a grandmaster, suddenly launched an attack.

Many people present cursed him under their breath for being shameless. Even Han Zhen couldn't help but curse, even though Bai Jinghong was working for Emperor Xuan.

Does Bai Jinghong, with such a character, deserve to be called a grandmaster?

Today's defeat is not due to a lack of cultivation.

A person like him is not worthy of being a grandmaster, nor is he worthy of winning!

"You're still too green to defeat this grandmaster!"

Just as the iron fan was about to pierce Bai Zhenzhen's chest, Bai Jinghong, who was sitting on the ground, had a ferocious expression and laughed loudly.

He cannot lose; he is a grandmaster.

He must defeat Bai Zhenzhen, by any means necessary.

He is not afraid of what the world will say about him as long as he can win.

Let future generations judge who is right and who is wrong.

But reality did not turn out as he had hoped.

Bai Zhenzhen's speed once again exceeded his expectations. With a casual flick of her longsword, Bai Zhenzhen caused his iron fan to deflect in a different direction.

Bai Zhenzhen no longer held back and suddenly slashed her longsword upwards.

Everyone heard a scream, and Bai Jinghong's arm, which was gripping the iron fan, flew into the air.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Bai Jinghong screamed in pain as bright red blood flowed continuously from his severed arm, staining a large area of ​​the ground red.

"You, you, you actually severed my arm! I will avenge this day!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Bai Jinghong whistled.

A huge eagle swooped down from the sky at lightning speed.

Just as they were about to rescue Bai Jinghong, the man and the beast fled far away.

Once he has recovered from his injuries, he will seek revenge.

Just then, countless hissing sounds rang out, and many brightly colored venomous snakes suddenly rushed into the sky from all directions.

The eagle, plunging straight down, had no time to dodge and was instantly entangled by several venomous snakes. The snakes opened their blood-red mouths and bit the eagle.

The eagle flapped its wings and took flight, but it couldn't fly very high. After wobbling a few times, it crashed into a house not far away.

"Hahaha……"

A few hoarse laughs followed.

A disheveled figure appeared.

"It is said that the eagle is the nemesis of the snake, but in my opinion today, that is not entirely true."

The person who arrived was none other than the long-lost Snake Elder.

Bai Jinghong's pupils widened slightly upon seeing the suddenly appearing Snake Elder: "You, you, you old geezer, didn't you go to the countryside?"

The old snake dusted off his stained robes and stepped forward, saying, "How else would I lure you out? Bai Jinghong, today I'll spare your life!"

After saying that, Snake Elder ordered Sword Nine to go up and kill Bai Jinghong to avenge the grudge in Jiangnan.

Although Old Snake is quite old, he is very vengeful.

Seeing Jian Jiu charging towards them menacingly with his sword, Bai Jinghong panicked completely, frantically shuffling his feet on the ground in utter terror.

"You...you can't kill me! I am Bai Jinghong, one of the three great grandmasters of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"The Great Zhou Dynasty only has three Grandmasters; we cannot afford to lose any of them!"

"If you dare kill me, His Majesty will not let you get away with it!"

Jian Jiu was not intimidated and coldly said, holding his sword:

"That's right. The Great Zhou only has three Grandmasters, and we can't afford to lose any of them. But if we kill you, someone else will take your place as Grandmaster."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jinghong suddenly looked at Bai Zhenzhen and realized what was happening.

I understand! I understand!

Today's events were all orchestrated for him, to make Bai Zhenzhen replace him and become the new Grandmaster of the Great Zhou!

Qin Li has some impressive skills! Impressive indeed!

click!

With a single sword stroke, he severed Bai Jinghong's head.

Bai Jinghong, one of the three great masters of the Great Zhou Dynasty, known for his speed, met his end in this way, which is truly regrettable.

Seeing that Bai Jinghong had really been beheaded, the Sixth Prince was both shocked and frightened.

He pointed a finger at Jian Jiu, his voice trembling as he said, "How dare you... how dare you really kill him!"

Jian Jiu coldly flicked the blood off his sword and said, "What's there to be afraid of? As a prince, you should celebrate the emergence of a new grandmaster in our Great Zhou, someone even more powerful than Bai Jinghong."

The Sixth Prince turned his gaze to Bai Zhenzhen, his eyes filled with hatred, not congratulations.

Everyone knows that Bai Zhenzhen is Qin Li's person, or Qin Li's woman.

If she replaces Bai Jinghong as the new Grandmaster of the Great Zhou, then all three Grandmasters of the Great Zhou will have a close relationship with Qin Li.

Sword Immortal Li Fuyao is Qin Li's father-in-law, Snake Elder is Qin Li's teacher, and Bai Zhenzhen is Qin Li's woman.

In the future, will there be anything Qin Li wouldn't dare to do in the Great Zhou?

The Sixth Prince couldn't imagine how Emperor Xuan could defeat Qin Li, let alone that he could seize the throne from Qin Li—that was simply impossible.

Left with no other option, the Sixth Prince looked at Huangfu Song:

"Minister Huangfu, Lu Shushu must enter the palace to become Empress. Don't forget why Father Emperor sent you here."

Huangfu Song has not yet expressed his opinion.

Han Zhen really wanted to slap him across the face.

What kind of person dares to speak to his idol like that?

If the sixth prince were to ascend the throne, would these meritorious officials have a good end?

"Sixth Prince, please calm down."

Huangfu Song shrugged and said, "As Your Highness has surely seen, Bai Jinghong is dead, and the other side has so many experts. Tell me, who can possibly snatch him away from them?"

"You are Lu Shushu's maternal grandfather."

The Sixth Prince didn't care about any of that. In any case, Huangfu Song had to bring Lu Shushu into the palace, otherwise the Sixth Prince wouldn't be able to explain himself when he returned.

Emperor Xuan will probably be furious about Bai Jinghong's death here, and he might suffer the same fate as the Fifth Prince, being knocked unconscious.

"Sixth Prince, please calm down. I have no other choice. Why don't you go up there yourself and see if they are willing to release the person?"

Huangfu Song couldn't wait to see this scene.

Huangfu Song was happy as long as Lu Shushu didn't enter the palace.

His granddaughter's marriage should be decided by her herself.

As things stand, Qin Li is doing somewhat better than Emperor Xuan.

The thought of marrying a decrepit old man made Huangfu Song feel incredibly disgusted; how could Emperor Xuan possibly agree to it?

"Okay, okay!"

The sixth prince laughed in exasperation, pointing at everyone present:

"You're all in cahoots! You're all in cahoots! You just wait, I'm going back to tell my father right now!"

After saying this, the Sixth Prince turned and strode away without the slightest hesitation.

"Are we just going to let him go like that?"

Jian Jiu had already wiped the blood off his sword, sheathed it, and asked.

Bai Zhenzhen didn't know how to answer, so she chose to remain silent.

Old Snake, however, stepped forward with his hands behind his back, squinted his eyes, and said:

"What, you think killing a grandmaster isn't enough? You want to kill a prince too?"

Jian Jiu bowed his head and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "This subordinate dares not!"

"Alright."

Old Snake waved his hand, "You guys go and take care of the body. She was a grandmaster after all, so give her a proper burial. Also, send someone to spread the word about today's competition, so that the world will know that our Great Zhou has produced a female grandmaster."

Jian Jiu clasped his hands in a fist salute, ready to go and carry out the task immediately.

But Bai Zhenzhen came before the Snake Elder, bowed, and said:

"Teacher, but I am not a grandmaster yet."

No one knew better than Bai Zhenzhen what level her cultivation had reached. Currently, her cultivation was at the peak of the ninth rank, just one step away from becoming a grandmaster. She couldn't accept such an empty title.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Old Snake chuckled and said, "Disciple, you will be a grandmaster sooner or later. It doesn't matter if it's sooner or later. Just consider it a good deed. It doesn't matter that Bai Jinghong died, but it does matter that a grandmaster has died. Enemy countries will probably be eyeing us covetously."

"You taking his place will bring you nothing but benefits. Our Great Zhou has produced a female grandmaster. If word gets out, other countries will tremble with fear."

Since the old snake had said so, Bai Zhenzhen couldn't refuse any longer, so she could only nod in agreement.

At the same time, I made up my mind to work harder in my cultivation and strive to become a true master as soon as possible.

After the Sixth Prince left, it seemed that only their own people were left at the scene, but Lu Shushu refused to go back to the Crown Prince's residence with them no matter what.

Lu Shushu thought they would do nothing to her, just like they had done in the past few days, at most sending people to monitor her family from outside.

But Old Snake's words chilled Lu Shushu to the bone.

The old snake said, "Young lady, what they dare not do, I dare to do. For the sake of my disciple's happiness, I must bring you back to the manor."

Lu Shushu looked at Old Snake and shook her head vigorously: "I won't go back with you, I'd rather die than go back with you."

The old snake chuckled hoarsely, "Very well then, if my disciple can't have her, no one else can."

After saying that, the old snake stretched out an arm.

A brightly colored venomous snake snaked out from his sleeve, landed on the ground, and then moved with incredible speed to Lu Shushu's front.

Lu Shushu screamed in fright.

Before she could escape, the venomous snake climbed onto her body and opened its blood-red mouth to bite her neck.

Under the shocked gazes of everyone, Lu Shushu fell straight backward, her lips turning purple, clearly having died from poisoning.

Lu's father and mother were the first to rush forward, kneeling beside Lu Shushu's body and weeping uncontrollably.

Huangfu Song never expected that his granddaughter would be bitten to death by a poisonous snake right before his eyes.

He immediately flew into a rage, pointing at the old snake and saying, "You old bastard, how dare you kill my granddaughter!"

The old snake toyed with the venomous snake, still chuckling: "Killing your granddaughter is nothing. I will not only kill your granddaughter, but also your daughter and son-in-law."

As soon as he finished speaking, two more venomous snakes fell out of the old snake's sleeve and lunged at Mr. and Mrs. Lu.

Huangfu Song was shocked and reached out to draw the long sword from Han Zhen's waist, then hurled it at him.

But the venomous snake was incredibly agile and easily dodged the long knife, biting Lu's father and mother.

The two men collapsed to the ground at a visible speed, their lips turning purple.

Seeing his daughter and son-in-law die before his eyes, Huangfu Song was furious:

"You old bastard, you're asking for death! I'll fight you to the death!"

After saying that, Huangfu Song attacked Snake Elder, unafraid even though his opponent was a Grandmaster.

Throughout the entire process, no one had a chance to react, and even after they did, they didn't know what to do.

……

Late at night, in the Emperor Xuan's bedchamber!

Looking at Huangfu Song, who was standing not far in front of him with disheveled hair and red eyes, Emperor Xuan felt a pang of sadness.

He never expected that Old Snake would dare to kill Huangfu Song's son-in-law and his entire family.

Not long ago, when someone returned to report, Emperor Xuan did not believe it and gave the person a severe beating.

But judging from Huangfu Song's reaction now, he has no choice but to believe it.

Emperor Xuan opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. He fully understood Huangfu Song's current feelings.

When the Third Prince and Consort Hui died, he was just like now, numb and speechless with grief.

"Guards, escort Minister Huangfu back to his residence. Make sure to give Lu Heng and his family a proper burial."

In the end, Emperor Xuan could only issue such an edict.

After Huangfu Song was helped out, Emperor Xuan sighed repeatedly, wondering how things had turned out this way.

After Huangfu Song left, the Sixth Prince came in: "Father, even if the other party is a Grandmaster, killing someone in the street is still a serious crime. Your son begs that Your Majesty immediately send the Imperial Guards to arrest the criminal."

Emperor Xuan didn't speak, but glared at the Sixth Prince with annoyance.

The Great Zhou only has three Grandmasters, and one of them died today. If relations with Elder Snake are further strained, other countries will surely send troops to attack immediately.

Emperor Xuan could still distinguish between what was more important and what was less important.

All the Xuan Emperor can do now is pretend nothing happened, send someone to Qin Li to tell him to verbally teach Snake Elder a lesson, and that's all the Xuan Emperor can do.

"Father, Lu Shushu is dead, so what about the position of Empress...?"

The sixth prince asked tentatively.

Lu Shushu is already dead; we can't just bring her body into the palace and make her empress.

Emperor Xuan reached out and rubbed his forehead in annoyance, saying, "Let's choose an empress later."

At present, Emperor Xuan has no better candidate in mind and can only take his time to choose.

"Alright, you may leave now. I am tired." Emperor Xuan waved his hand at the Sixth Prince.

"Yes."

……

On his way out of the palace, Huangfu Song's expression remained numb.

Han Zhen accompanied him, slowly helping him out of the palace.

But as time went on, Han Zhen noticed something was wrong.

Others might not notice, but as a peak ninth-rank cultivator, he could clearly sense the changes in the aura of those around him.

He clearly noticed that Huangfu Song was no longer in pain as he had at the beginning, but had become relaxed and joyful.

Han Zhen frowned, utterly perplexed. Why had Huangfu Song become like this? Could it be…?

He considered a possibility, but it seemed too unbelievable.

For example, Lu Heng's family didn't die. Today, Snake Elder was just putting on an act, and Huangfu Song was also involved. It was all an act for them, the outsiders, to see, which is why Huangfu Song wasn't so heartbroken right now.

Just then, Huangfu Song spoke up: "Han Zhen, you are a smart man. You know what you should and shouldn't say in front of His Majesty, right?"

Upon hearing this, Han Zhen looked at Huangfu Song in shock.

It seems he guessed right; Lu Heng's family really didn't die. Today's performance was just a show for the world.

Han Zhen couldn't understand why Huangfu Song would side with Qin Li and cooperate in the charade.

Han Zhen clasped his hands and said, "This humble general does not understand. This humble general only knows that trouble comes from the mouth."

Han Zhen's actions were a way of providing Huangfu Song with a guarantee. It was just his guess, and he wouldn't tell Emperor Xuan. Telling him wouldn't do him any good.

Huangfu Song nodded, indicating that he did not need Han Zhen to help him up again.

Before leaving the palace, Han Zhen couldn't help but ask, "My lord, why did you do this?"

Huangfu Song turned around and said slowly, "When you, Han Zhen, have a daughter and a granddaughter, you will understand my good intentions."

After speaking, Huangfu Song's figure disappeared into the darkness outside the palace, quickly vanishing from sight...

When Huangfu Song returned to his residence, a servant reported that the guest had been waiting for a long time.

In a side hall of the inner courtyard, the murderer, Snake Old Man, who had killed his son-in-law's family, sat upright, slowly sipping his tea.

"Greetings, Elder Snake."

Huangfu Song quickly stepped forward and clasped his hands in a salute.

Old Snake chuckled and waved his hand, "No need for formalities, no need for formalities, we're about the same age."

"Well, we still have to show our respect. We are very grateful to Elder Snake for his help today. Otherwise, anyone else would have revealed their weakness."

Han Zhen guessed correctly. Today's events at the Imperial Academy were all a show put on by him and Snake Old Man for the world to see, so that they could save his son-in-law's family.

After sitting down, Huangfu Song asked, "Senior Snake, what about my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter...?"

Old Snake took a sip of tea and said calmly, "It's alright, it's alright. I knew my limits."