This Martial Saint’s Health Bar is Too Thick!
Chapter 578 - 84 Monarch and Minister _2

Chapter 578 -84 Monarch and Minister _2

The Purple Gold Giant Dragon hovering over Lanling City disappeared, and a trace of fatigue showed on the Emperor’s face, but it soon vanished.

He walked to the edge of the Heavenly Altar and cast his gaze down upon the assassin’s corpse.

“Your Majesty, your servants deserve to die!”

Before the Emperor could speak, Yun Shu, the Pavilion Master of Zhi Ge Pavilion, was the first to kneel and confess his guilt.

Then the three deputy pavilion masters, numerous cabinet ministers, and sitting officials all knelt down!

The Da Lan Dynasty had always favored martial artists, allowing Tao Foundation Stage martial artists to meet the monarch without kneeling.

But now, Yun Shu, a Great Grandmaster, and the other three deputy pavilion masters all knelt down!

The Emperor stood on the high Heavenly Altar, coldly observing the scene.

He remained silent, so those powerful martial artists kept kneeling.

The atmosphere at the scene began to turn solemn.

“What crimes have you committed?”

After a long time, the Emperor finally spoke.

“Your servant failed to recognize people clearly and was negligent in surveillance, allowing the treacherous rebel to infiltrate the Zhi Ge Pavilion unnoticed, leading to a grave mistake!”

Yun Shu knelt on the ground and spoke, his head always bowed, not daring to lift it.

“You mention negligence in surveillance, isn’t the responsibility of monitoring the officials also a part of the Monitoring Pavilion?”

The Emperor continued to inquire.

“Your servant is guilty!”

As he finished speaking, the Pavilion Master of the Monitoring Pavilion quickly knelt down, not even daring to offer a word in his defense.

Hundreds of officials from the Monitoring Pavilion all knelt following him.

Already, a large group had knelt down below the Heavenly Altar.

The Emperor didn’t even spare these people a glance and continued to inquire:

“Zixu Hall oversees the Cabinet, do you have anything to say?”

“Your servant is guilty!”

Dozens of high-ranking and influential University Scholars of Zixu Hall also all knelt down.

The Emperor finally looked towards the Chief Minister at the very front.

This caused the already terrified ministers present to be even more frightened.

Could His Majesty be intending to interrogate even the Chief Minister?

Was he planning a major purge?

Indeed, the monarch’s authority was still supreme, but under the current system, if the Emperor really intended to do so, the court would first fall apart, and the consequent internal strife within the country was foreseeable!

Ministers were already struggling to hold themselves back from speaking up.

Even at the risk of inciting the Emperor’s fierce anger, they wanted to prevent this damaging action.

But the Emperor did not give them a chance to speak.

“Chief Minister.”

“Your servant is here.”

Ye Ze’an still maintained his calm and composed demeanor as he bowed.

A true testament of being unflustered even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him, today, the Chief Minister showed such a demeanor before the ministers.

“The Pavilion Master of Zhi Ge just admitted to a grave mistake, where do you think this mistake lies?”

The Emperor’s tone remained ice-cold, chilling to the core.

Ye Ze’an calmly responded:

“failing to recognize the person correctly, lack of effective surveillance, causing disturbance in the sacrificial ceremony, and damaging the Emperor’s majesty.”

“Oh? Was the assassination intended merely to damage my majesty?”

The Emperor looked at him.

Ye Ze’an said without hesitation:

“During the Five Kingdoms’ contention period, Zhou Country suffered a large drought for three years, where an assassin attempted to murder the King in the streets, and failed. King Zhou became enraged, vowed to find the assassin, ultimately leading to mutual suspicions among the ministers, internal chaos in the court, and two years later, the country was destroyed by Qi Country.”

He did not directly answer the Emperor’s question but instead recited a piece of history.

This response made many ministers present sweat.

By bringing up this history at this moment, Ye Ze’an’s meaning was very clear:

If the Emperor were also to take this assassination too seriously during this crucial period, pursuing it strictly, it could possibly lead the country into internal chaos, thus repeating the fate of Zhou Country!

However, if the Emperor was not planning to severely punish the ministers, then the assassination could at most damage some of the Emperor’s majesty.

Ye Ze’an daring to speak in such a manner, and having the stature to state this to the Emperor, was only achievable by him as the Chief Minister!

Everyone anxiously awaited the Emperor’s response.

The Emperor shook his head: “The Chief Minister is mistaken.”

This statement made everyone’s hearts leap to their throats.

But the Emperor, rather than being angry, smiled:

“My majesty rests in the lands across the four seas, in the hearts of countless people, in the abundance of martial virtue, in the unified will of the populace, how could it possibly be harmed by a mere rascal’s stab?”

Ye Ze’an gracefully accepted his correction, bowing:

“It is your servant’s oversight, Your Majesty is wise.”

Where else would the ministers not understand?

Including Wenren Zheng and Prince Li, everyone bowed in unison and said,

“Your Majesty is wise!”

Clearly, the Emperor had never intended to severely punish the ministers from the start.

And Ye Ze’an was the first to understand His intentions, thus he tacitly cooperated.

This exchange between monarch and minister mitigated much of the negative impact brought about by the assassination.

The two had been at loggerheads in court, yet simultaneously cooperated, everyone knew that the reform was Ye Ze’an’s greatest achievement.

But it was also the greatest accomplishment of the current Emperor!

The two had cooperated for more than a decade to achieve this successful reform.

Today, without any communication, they again completed a cooperation.

“Ni Xuan, Zhong Lipeng.”

The Emperor personally called out the names of the Supervision Pavilion Master and the Monitoring Pavilion Master.

“At your service.”

The two remained kneeling.

“Continue the investigation, I want the truth,” said the Emperor, “but the investigation must be conducted carefully without implicating others unnecessarily.”

Ni Xuan and Zhong Lipeng, relieved, hastily acknowledged the decree and expressed their gratitude.

The rest of the ministers also breathed a sigh of relief.

Thus, this heart-pounding sacrificial ceremony finally came to an end.

…

Thousands of miles away at the Daluo Sect, the Sacrificial Ceremony had also ended.

Li Fei first thanked Yun Shu for giving him the opportunity for enlightenment.

“Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts has always been perilous; over a thousand years, only one person has succeeded, don’t be discouraged or belittle yourself.”

Yun Shu comforted Li Fei on his own initiative.

Li Fei was just a bit shy of ‘crossing the Dragon Gate’ and reaching the ‘God Communication Realm’ in terms of Mind Power, ultimately defeated by his Dual Cultivation.

Yun Shu worried that the ‘number one in history’ might have his heart clouded.

“Thank you, State Preceptor, for your concern. Having made this progress, I am already very content,” Li Fei responded calmly.

Yun Shu looked at him seriously, made sure his Heart Realm wasn’t affected, then nodded in satisfaction,

“Very well.”

Li Fei then went back to his room to sort out his gains.

His Mind Power had completely exceeded the limits of the Tao Foundation Stage, nearly stepping into the realm of the Martial Arts Master.

While ‘Dual Cultivation’ prevented his Breakthrough, it also allowed him great progress on another path:

Turning Mind Power into Void Thought, Li Fei immediately felt a difference.

He sensed the ‘breathing’ of the Dream Command in his arms!

It was a unique rhythm; if he could align his Void Thought with this pattern, he could resonate with the Dream Command.

Resonating with a Magic Artifact is key in the Possession Stage, not only making one’s Void Thought stronger but also enhancing the Magic Artifact’s power. Using the same Magic with the same artifact, the power in the Possession Stage could be several times greater!

Feeling the ‘breathing’ of the Dream Command meant that Li Fei could break into the Possession Stage at any moment!

Using an existing Magic Artifact to breakthrough was a ‘shortcut,’ and the difficulty of resonance would be high.

The more powerful the Magic Artifact, the higher the difficulty of resonance.

After hesitating to enter the ‘Dream Realm’ readily, it became even more difficult for Li Fei to resonate with the Dream Command.

Yet this breakthrough in Mind Power, combined with the benefits of ‘Dual Cultivation,’ allowed Li Fei’s Void Thought to achieve a breakthrough and successfully sense the ‘breathing’ of the Dream Command.

Li Fei touched his chest, suppressing the impulse to resonate with the Dream Command right now.

While the Dream Command was ‘asleep,’ it would not trigger others’ detection, even if True Monarchs were present.

However, it might not be the case in a resonant state.

Moreover, the people from the Nightmare Sect might still be secretly watching.

So, Li Fei held back.

Not now…

In Martial Arts Cultivation, even breaking from the Qi Change Stage to the Tao Foundation Stage and incorporating a second Implant before that, would not bring noticeable enhancements in Combat Power.

Moreover, the enhancement of Combat Power must proceed step by step; a sudden skyrocket was not possible.

But Magic Dao was different.

Once in the Possession Stage, just one powerful Magic Artifact could cause a drastic change in a Magician’s combat power!

A scenario often occurred where a Great Mage, who had been in the Possession Stage for years and had profound cultivation, was defeated by a Great Mage who had just entered the Possession Stage but had resonated with a powerful Magic Artifact.

And the artifact Li Fei held was a True One Magical Artifact left by a True Monarch, a treasure of the Nightmare Sect, ranking among the most powerful below Magic Treasures.

That meant once he entered the Possession Stage, he would immediately be among the top Great Mages!

PS: One chapter today, compensatory chapter tomorrow.