Volume One, Chapter Three: The Imperial Palace Massacre Begins, Zhu Youjian Storms the Hall of Heavenly Obedience!
Wheels clattered, horse hooves echoed, and dust billowed into the air.
Zhu Youjian rode a remarkable snow-hoofed blue stallion, charging toward the Forbidden City with unstoppable momentum.
His gaze was resolute, his expression stern.
Sun Wukong followed behind him, hands clasped behind his back holding the golden-hooped staff, yawning yet unable to conceal the wild, unrestrained aura radiating from him.
Outside the Meridian Gate, the guard was exceptionally strict today, the oppressive atmosphere suffocating.
Commander Tian Ergeng of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, clad in his Flying Fish armor and wielding a Spring-Embroidered Blade, personally led over a hundred guards to defend the gate.
He regarded Zhu Youjian coldly, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt, as if already treating him as good as dead.
“Prince Xin, by the Emperor’s decree, we Embroidered Uniform Guards have been ordered to ‘escort’ you into the palace!”
Tian Ergeng’s voice was icy and harsh.
Zhu Youjian could clearly see that Tian Ergeng bore ill intent.
This so-called escort was plainly a form of imprisonment.
But he paid it no mind, for behind him stood the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, capable of handling any sudden threat.
“Let’s go. Lead the way,” Zhu Youjian said calmly.
Suddenly, a guard blocked Sun Wukong’s path.
Tian Ergeng sneered, “Prince Xin, your demon retainer will not be allowed inside the palace!”
Zhu Youjian’s eyes blazed like sharp blades as he looked at Tian Ergeng. “Commander Tian, come closer.”
Though puzzled, Tian Ergeng couldn’t help but step forward.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Youjian suddenly raised the imperial edict in his hand and slammed it down like a thunderclap on Tian Ergeng’s head.
Even as a fifth-rank master of the Void-Breaking and Essence-Condensing Realm and Embroidered Uniform Guard commander, Tian Ergeng was caught unprepared at such close range and suffered a grievous head wound.
“Prince Xin, y-you dare...” Tian Ergeng gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely.
But before he could finish, Zhu Youjian’s face grew even colder.
His gaze was like a blade; his voice, cutting and cold: “Tian Ergeng, you insolent servant, open your eyes and look carefully—does this edict forbid me from bringing my men into the palace?”
“I am the Emperor’s own brother. What kind of lowly servant are you to block my way?”
“Mark my words, this is the guard the Emperor assigned to me! If he cannot enter with me, then I will not enter this palace today!”
“If the Emperor grows impatient, then prepare yourself for his wrath!”
At these words, murderous intent flared in Tian Ergeng’s eyes.
He muttered to himself, “You Prince Xin! I will remember this day! Just wait for your reckoning! Hmph, if you want to bring a monkey, then bring a monkey—I’ll see what trouble you can stir up!”
Though furious, he knew better than to confront Zhu Youjian head-on now.
After all, the Emperor’s affairs were of utmost importance and could not be delayed.
Suppressing his rage, he bowed stiffly and gritted his teeth, “I dare not block your way, Prince Xin. Please proceed.”
Once inside the palace, the group headed straight for the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.
Dark currents surged beneath the surface.
Along the way, they passed countless eunuch henchmen.
Every ten steps, an imperial guard stood watch.
Zhu Youjian’s eyes flickered with unwavering determination; he knew that Wei Zhongxian’s grand display meant a palace coup was underway.
But as a time-traveling soul, how could he be so easily manipulated?
Today, he would ignite a bloody storm within the Forbidden City.
He would make the world know that he, Prince Xin Zhu Youjian, was no mere pawn!
Every step he took was taut as a drawn bowstring.
As they passed through the winding palace paths and neared the plaza before the Hall of Imperial Supremacy...
Zhu Youjian’s gaze suddenly sharpened like a razor’s edge.
He tilted his head slightly.
No words were needed.
Sun Wukong understood at once.
With a mere gesture, Sun Wukong pointed from a distance.
Before Tian Ergeng could react, an irresistible force lifted him up.
He clutched his throat tightly, coughing up blood.
Then came the unbearable pain and despair as his skull was crushed beyond its limits.
“Bang!”
A muffled crack echoed, and Tian Ergeng’s head shattered like fragile porcelain.
Blood splattered everywhere.
It stained Zhu Youjian’s robes red.
Everyone present was stunned.
A fifth-rank Void-Breaking and Essence-Condensing master, ruthless Embroidered Uniform Guard commander, had his head explode suddenly!
Dead in a baffling, grotesque manner!
Absolutely bizarre!
[Notification: Host has slain eunuch Tian Ergeng. Reward: 3,000 National Fortune Points!]
“Tian Commander is dead!”
“Prince Xin, how dare you openly kill within the Forbidden City!”
“Even as a prince, you cannot behave with such arrogance, defying the law!”
“Prince Xin, conspiring with demons and using sorcery is a heinous crime!”
The Embroidered Uniform Guards angrily closed in.
The palace’s imperial guards—the Feathered Forest Guards, Golden Guards, and others—also responded swiftly, converging on Zhu Youjian’s position.
Faced with an overwhelming tide of enemies, Sun Wukong wore a playful expression, utterly unmoved.
He stood like an unscalable mountain before Zhu Youjian.
His playful eyes scanned the surroundings; any foe daring to approach trembled beneath his pressure.
One monkey alone, no army could pass!
This was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!
This was the unparalleled majesty of Sun Wukong!
“Killing within the Forbidden City is indeed a grave crime,” Zhu Youjian said coldly, wiping blood from his face.
“But today, I will unleash a slaughter to cleanse these parasites from the court!”
When cornered, only by burning bridges could one find a chance to survive.
Against treacheries like Wei Zhongxian, playing by the rules would only preserve the corrupt.
How else could a wise ruler endure?
“How else could I endure?”
Zhu Youjian shouted loudly, “Great Sage, summon the monkeys!”
Sun Wukong grinned devilishly, plucking a single hair and blowing on it softly.
The sky above the Forbidden City darkened as if shrouded by storm clouds.
A deep, booming horn sounded.
Countless monkeys appeared out of thin air.
Laughing and playing, they instantly filled the entire imperial plaza!
“What? Monkeys?”
“Where did so many monkeys come from?”
“Could this be sorcery by the Southern Frontier demon Qing?”
“Full military alert!”
The palace guards were shocked.
But as trained palace soldiers, they quickly formed battle lines.
“Attack!”
Zhu Youjian’s command was brief but powerful, igniting the fuse of war.
The monkeys surged forward, clashing fiercely with the charging Embroidered Uniform Guards, Feathered Forest Guards, and other palace troops.
In the flash of blades and swords, blood splattered and cries of agony echoed endlessly.
The Forbidden City’s tranquility was shattered, replaced by unending carnage and chaos.
Zhu Youjian stood amidst the battle, his face splattered with blood, yet unshaken, his resolve only hardening.
His eyes pierced through the veil of bloodshed, fixed on the great doors of the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.
There lay the destination of this journey and the turning point of his enlightened fate.
With Sun Wukong clearing the path, Zhu Youjian advanced step by bloody step over enemies’ corpses.
At last, he crossed the vermillion stairs and pushed open the heavy doors of the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.
He opened the symbol of imperial power!
The creak of the door’s hinges echoed through the vast hall.
Candle flames flickered.
Zhu Youjian stepped into this sanctum of authority, his gaze sweeping the chamber before settling on the Dragon Throne.
There knelt Zhu Youxiao—the once-mighty emperor clad in the five-clawed golden dragon robe, sovereign of the realm—now dressed only in simple clothes, kneeling beneath the throne in utter humiliation.
His corpse was more than half-decayed, black worms writhing within.
No doubt, repeated dark rituals had been performed to “resurrect” him and issue imperial edicts.
Seeing this, Zhu Youjian understood why Wei Zhongxian had summoned him so urgently.
It was clear that Zhu Youxiao’s body could no longer be manipulated by sorcery to “live,” and a new puppet was desperately needed to transition imperial power.
As for Wei Zhongxian himself, the eunuch villain now sat on the Dragon Throne, draped in the dragon robe, crowned emperor, poised to ascend the throne.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man dressed as a Taoist, gaunt-faced and deep-eyed, exuding an otherworldly aura.
This man was undoubtedly the emissary of the Immortal faction among the Hundred Schools of Thought.