Mythical Three Kingdoms: Martial Arts Reach Divine Ranks, I Alone Rule the World

The main hall of the garrison commander's residence in Yanmen County.

By the time Zhang Mu finally understood from Empress He of the Han Dynasty what she wanted the imperial blood of the fallen Emperor Liu Zhao, it was already the morning of the next day.

As the isolation array, which was shrouded in purple light, dissipated, Empress He emerged from it, radiant with health and beauty.

"Your Highness!"

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yu, a middle-aged eunuch who had been waiting outside for a day and a night, hurriedly stepped forward to ask her why she had lingered inside for so long and whether Zhang Mu had done anything to her... Before he could finish speaking, Empress He's gaze swept over him.

"His Majesty, having just recovered from vomiting blood and fainting, cannot withstand any more hardship," Empress He said to the eunuch Zhao Yu.

Her tone carried an undisguised weariness and detachment, as if stating a fact unrelated to herself, "If His Majesty were to suffer any mishap..."

The words were left unsaid, but the chill and warning they conveyed were enough to send a shiver down Zhao Yu's spine.

Empress He fumbled in her sleeve for a moment, and finally took out the smaller jade bottle containing the blood of the emperor from the two jade bottles and handed it to Zhao Yu.

"Instead of worrying about me..."

"You might consider what the blood in this bottle means to His Majesty."

After giving Zhao Yu a warning, Empress He looked at the silent Imperial Tutor Wang Yue on the other side.

Wang Yue asked nothing and said nothing.

It was as if they already knew everything that happened last night, or perhaps they didn't care at all.

Feeling the gaze cast upon her by the Emperor and Empress He...

The simple and unadorned Zhenyi sword in Wang Yue's arms immediately emitted a clear, light sound, like a dragon's roar.

The sword itself did not move, yet an invisible sword aura was already stirring in the air.

The next moment, the sword was drawn from its sheath on its own and slashed straight at the ground in front of it.

How could space withstand the power of the Zhenyi Sword, which had almost transformed into an imperial weapon? It was immediately torn open by a spatial rift.

"Please, Your Highness!"

Imperial tutor Wang Yue didn't think as much as the middle-aged eunuch. Although he still maintained his loyalty to Emperor Liu Hong, this loyalty was far from enough to make him draw his sword against a powerful figure like Zhang Mu over trivial matters.

Besides, in this trivial matter...

Wang Yue glanced silently at the spatial rift she had entered through his sword blade; she might not have been doing it willingly.

His duty was simply to ensure the safety of Empress He, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and he had little interest in getting involved in the sordid affairs within the royal family.

As Emperor He and Empress He of the Han Dynasty entered the spatial rift and left one after another, the middle-aged eunuch Zhao Yu looked down at the small jade bottle containing the imperial blood in his hand, lost in thought for a long time, while a faint look of humiliation appeared on his face.

"His Majesty!"

Zhao Yu murmured, gripping the small jade bottle tightly in his hand.

His loyalty to Emperor Liu Hong was beyond question. Although Empress He did not explicitly state what she did in the hall, Zhao Yu was no fool.

The thought that the mighty Emperor and Empress of the Han Dynasty had been with Zhang Mu from yesterday daytime to tonight... caused the imperial aura and anger to erupt uncontrollably from the eunuch Zhao Yu.

A subject who has disgraced his lord dies. Zhao Yu had no idea how he would explain himself to His Majesty after returning to the capital city of Luo.

But at that moment...

A faint voice sounded not far from him.

"Zhao... never mind, I'll just call you Attendant Zhao for now!"

"If you don't want to leave and wish to die here, Mu can grant your wish."

"besides."

"Zhao Changshi might as well try telling your master the truth of your suspicions and see if His Majesty dares to be angry with me!"

Zhang Mu leaned against the lobby entrance and yawned, feeling a tingling sensation in his lower back.

As expected of the Empress of the Han Dynasty, she is truly terrifying.

Its endurance in battle was such that it could even fight against someone like Zhang Mu, who was at an unconventional imperial level.

As he was thinking this, Zhang Mu noticed the middle-aged eunuch Zhao Yu, who was still standing there stunned after hearing his threat, and he immediately felt a little displeased.

"Snapped!"

Zhang Mu gestured with his right hand toward the location of the spatial rift.

Before Zhao Yuren could even react, he was slapped into a spatial rift.

"It's just that Mu is in a good mood right now..."

Zhang Mu shook his head as he watched Zhao Yu's figure disappear, his tone casual.

"If it were right after we finished with Liu Zhao, we would have killed you, the eunuch, too."

After saying that, Zhang Mu casually brushed his hand across the spatial rift that was about to disappear completely. Points of clear light emanated from his fingertips, and the rift vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

"Brother!"

Not long after seeing off Emperor He and his entourage, Zhang Mu stood back in the main hall, rubbing his aching lower back, still wondering whether he should go and check on the resettlement of the Zhuge clan from Langya who had moved north...

A cheerful voice came from outside.

Zhang Liao, dressed in military uniform and exuding a heroic air, appeared not far away, his face showing concern and curiosity.

"Wen Yuan, you've come at the perfect time!"

When Zhang Mu saw Zhang Liao, a smile appeared on his face, and he temporarily put those other thoughts aside. "I happen to have something to give you!"

Having collected a considerable amount of imperial blood, how could Zhang Mu possibly forget his own younger brother?

With a thought, a ripple appeared in the space in front of Zhang Mu.

Suddenly, twenty-three jade bottles filled with imperial blood flew out from the chaotic world within his body, hovering in front of Zhang Liao as if they possessed sentience.

The imperial blood in these jade bottles is the same as the imperial blood he gave to Empress He.

He had already refined all the evil energy, malevolent intent, and residual imprints of will contained within them using the power of his inner world.

Only the purest, gentlest, and most easily absorbed source of blood and qi remains, no different from the finest nourishing elixirs.

"Brother, what are the things in these jade bottles...?"

Zhang Liao looked at the floating jade bottles in front of him with a puzzled expression. He could sense the amazing energy contained within them, but he could not accurately determine what they were.

Of course, Zhang Liao's hands were not idle either.

Out of absolute trust in his elder brother, Zhang Liao carefully put each of the jade bottles into his bosom, his movements natural and fluid.

"Just the remaining royal blood of the royal realm expert killed by my brother!"

"Wen Yuan, keep half of it and refine it to strengthen your blood and temper your body."

"The rest..."

"You may decide which ones to entrust to the deputy commander of the Black Riders, as well as those core members who are expected to break through to the Martial Phase Realm in the future."

Although Zhang Mu has reached his current level, the Black Riders are no longer of much help to him. In fact, it can be said that in battles at the Emperor level, they cannot even get close to the battlefield.

but.

Zhang Mu was ultimately a sentimental person and couldn't bear to give up this elite force that he had painstakingly built when he was at the Martial Aspect realm, a force to which he had poured countless efforts.

Moreover, he has now handed over command of the Black Cavalry to Zhang Liao, and this force is essentially his younger brother's foundation.

The increased overall strength of the Black Riders also indirectly ensured the safety of Zhang Liao's younger brother.

This will reduce his danger and increase his ability to protect himself.

Royal blood? Or just that?

Hearing his brother's nonchalant tone, Zhang Liao looked down at the jade bottles he had carefully put away in his arms, and was speechless for a moment.

This is royal blood!

It is the blood condensed from the essence of a powerful expert at the Emperor Realm!

Even a single drop is a supreme treasure that could ignite a frenzy of competition among those at or below the Martial Aspect Realm!

Zhang Liao opened his mouth, wanting to ask his brother why he didn't keep it for his own refinement and use. After all, the path to becoming an emperor is long, and it's always good to accumulate more knowledge.

But the words were not spoken yet.

Zhang Liao saw his elder brother Zhang Mu rubbing his lower back, his face showing obvious fatigue, his steps unsteady, and he staggered towards the back room.

Zhang Mu is too tired.

Two consecutive major battles: first, an earth-shattering life-or-death struggle with Emperor Liu Zhao of the Imperial Realm; and then, an invisible battle with Empress He of the Han Dynasty, a battle that was equally detrimental to the kidneys.

After two major battles.

Even with his incomparably powerful imperial physique, he was beginning to feel the strain.

Exhausted both mentally and physically, all he wanted to do was collapse onto the bed and get a good night's sleep.

"Speaking of which..."

"Did Maki forget something?"

As his head rested on the pillow, a question flashed through Zhang Mu's mind.

Before he could think it through, sleepiness washed over him like a tidal wave.

at the same time.

The main hall of the garrison commander's mansion after Zhang Mu left.

Zhang Liao stood there alone, watching his brother's departing figure, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Just as he was preparing to leave with these precious royal bloodstains, intending to dispose of them according to his elder brother's arrangements...

Suddenly, Zhang Liao noticed out of the corner of his eye a small patch of water on the ground below a thick beam in the corner of the hall, reflecting a faint light in the morning light.

"strangeness!"

Zhang Liao walked over with some doubt, squatted down to examine the water stains carefully, and then looked up at the beams and roof.

"There's no leak up there!"

"Why is the ground wet? Where did the water come from?"

Then, Zhang Liao stood up and scanned the entire hall. Suddenly, he noticed the same winding water stains on the large table next to him.

The water trickled down the edge of the table and had already pooled on the ground.

"Hmm? Why are there water stains on the long table?"

Zhang Liao's doubts deepened, and he became increasingly perplexed.

"What exactly did my brother do in this hall?"

"Could it be... that you've been training your physique in this hall, resulting in so much sweat?"

"But this amount of sweat is a bit too much..."

He muttered to himself as he carefully examined the area under the long table, trying to find the source of the water stains.

however.

Just as Zhang Liao, who was leaning over, inadvertently glanced at an inconspicuous corner under the long table, he suddenly noticed a bright yellow object in the shadows, which stood out conspicuously in the light.

Zhang Liao's heart stirred, and he reached out to pick it up, only to discover that it was a scroll made of the finest bright yellow silk.

It feels heavy in your hand and has an excellent texture.

After unfolding it with some doubt...

Zhang Liao stared wide-eyed at the inscription and the imperial seal on it.

"this……"

"Is this His Majesty's edict appointing my elder brother as the governor of Bingzhou?"

……

Luodu, within the imperial city.

Empress He, the Imperial Tutor Wang Yue, and the gloomy-looking eunuch Zhao Yu, who had just returned from Bingzhou, were currently in the palace where Emperor Liu Hong was staying.

On the dragon throne.

A middle-aged man, pale as paper and weak in breath, was lying on his side.

He was none other than the current emperor, Liu Hong.

At this moment, the Han emperor was coughing violently from time to time, as if he were coughing up his lungs.

Every cough of his sent shivers down the spines of the palace servants standing by.

On the ground beneath the dragon bed, piles of cloths stained with bright red blood were stacked up, a horrifying sight.

"Your Majesty, has the imperial blood been retrieved from Zhang Mu?"

When Emperor Liu Hong saw the figures of the Emperor and Empress He entering the palace, the Emperor, who had been lying on the dragon bed as if on the verge of death, suddenly trembled, and his eyes flashed with a burning and urgent light.

It's like a drowning person grabbing at the last straw...

As he struggled to sit up, he casually threw the cloth he had used to cover his mouth, now stained with coughed-up blood, onto the ground, where it mingled with the pile of blood-stained cloths.

Empress He quietly looked at her sickly husband on the dragon bed, who hadn't touched her for years and wasn't even willing to show her a shred of tenderness. She then recalled Zhang Mu's domineering and aggressive demeanor in Yanmen County not long ago...

She immediately felt even more disappointed in her nominal husband, and even felt a hint of indescribable contempt for him.

Therefore.

She did not respond immediately to Emperor Liu Hong's words, but instead cast a cold gaze at the eunuch Zhao Yu standing to the side.

"Your Majesty, the imperial blood... has been retrieved!"

The eunuch Zhao Yu hurriedly stepped forward and carefully handed the small jade bottle containing the blood of the emperor, which he had been holding tightly in his hand, to Emperor Liu Hong.

"Okay! Okay!"

When Emperor Liu Hong saw the jade bottle, he was overjoyed, as if he had seen a priceless treasure.

This moment.

This Han emperor had no other interests in him.

Without even asking how he obtained the imperial blood, Emperor Liu Hong directly took out the Imperial Seal of the State, which had been forcibly summoned and taken away by Emperor Liu Zhao of the Imperial Realm, but had flown back on its own, from the inside of the dragon bed, and placed it in his bosom.

the other side.

With his other hand, Emperor Liu Hong trembled slightly as he uncorked the jade bottle.

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Hong tilted his head back and poured all the imperial blood into his mouth.

next moment.

Emperor Liu Hong's originally weak body seemed to become a medium for communication between the imperial seal and the imperial blood, and began to undergo astonishing changes.

Wisps of imperial dragon energy, visible to the naked eye, slowly emerged from the Imperial Seal and entered Liu Hong's body, repairing his riddled body.

The imperial blood entering the entrance dissipated instantly upon contact with the imperial dragon energy.

Transforming into countless fine, warm wisps of energy, it silently seeped into every corner of Liu Hong's body, nourishing him like spring rain.

Not long after.

The dejected mood of Emperor Liu Hong, who was bedridden, had been completely swept away.

His originally pale face became extremely rosy, faintly glowing with a precious light.

As he glanced around, Emperor Liu Hong's eyes shone brightly, and the majestic aura of a monarch returned to him.

Emperor Liu Hong felt the vibrant life force and power surging within his body, and a smile of ecstatic joy and satisfaction appeared on his face.

"This feeling..."