Chapter 143: The Eve of Jin Chuhong’s Enthronement

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: The Eve of Jin Chuhong’s Enthronement

Chu Fan, disguised as Jin Chuhong and wearing a crimson Four-Clawed Python Dragon Robe, was hunched over his desk, writing furiously. Jing’an sat to the side, grinding ink for him.

Although they were waiting for assassins to come over the walls, Chu Fan was genuinely busy writing.

Two and a half years ago, he and Yun Xi had traveled through the counties of the Eastern Domain under many different identities. They had witnessed countless Cultivators bullying and swindling commoners and had killed many of them for it.

Thus, he understood firsthand the irreversible and immeasurable harm that Cultivators, left unchecked by rules, could inflict upon ordinary people.

What he was writing at his desk was the first draft of a code of law for Cultivators. The Shuoyue Kingdom’s unification of the Eastern Domain would not be a swift process, so this initial draft was merely something to be announced after tomorrow’s enthronement ceremony.

Later, the law would be fleshed out by gathering ideas from many minds, so that when the Eastern Domain was truly unified, there would be a proper legal framework to rely on.

Regardless, there had to be laws to regulate Cultivators announced at the enthronement ceremony. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

As for the laws of governance, Chu Fan was no expert. That was something he could leave to more qualified people in the future.

Chu Fan wasn’t being lazy; he just knew when to delegate. It was crucial to leave specialized tasks to the specialists.

An amateur leading an expert would only make a bigger mess.

The security of the Palace City tonight was a facade—tight on the outside but loose on the inside. Nearly ten thousand Imperial Guards patrolled with halberds in squads of a hundred, with a new wave passing every quarter-hour.

In addition to the Imperial Guard, there were Cultivator Guards hidden in the shadows, though any expert entering the Palace City would be able to spot them.

These Guards were mostly at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realms, drawn from the Mercenary Corps, Celestial Heart Hall, and Earth Universe Pavilion. Their purpose was to send a clear message to any would-be assassins: the Palace City was on high alert tonight, with danger lurking around every corner.

「1:45 AM」

All was silent. It was the hour when people were at their drowsiest.

Dozens of agile Cultivators dressed in night clothes infiltrated the inner palace, immediately clashing with the hidden Cultivator Guards.

Chu Fan, still at his desk, was of course aware of the commotion outside.

Chu Fan shot a meaningful glance at Jing’an, who was standing nearby.

Jing’an understood perfectly and declared in a loud voice, "You are Grandmasters, after all. Since you’re here, why bother being so sneaky? The ruckus outside is just your ruse to lure the tiger from the mountain. Did you really think it would fool anyone?"

As soon as Jing’an finished speaking, the hall doors were pushed open, and three figures walked in. They were dressed in night clothes, their faces masked with black cloth below the eyes.

The man in the center laughed, his voice raspy with age. "Jing’an, you went from a complete nobody to building the Celestial Heart Hall to its current prominence in just three years. That is truly extraordinary. You even managed to marry the Sovereign of the Shuoyue Kingdom. You should have been content to enjoy your life. I never thought your ambition would be so vast!"

Jing’an sneered. "Have you come all this way just to lecture me, senior?"

"Why are you wasting your breath on him?" the man in black on the left said with contempt. "Let’s just kill this shameless pair. An enthronement ceremony? They can dream about it on the Yellow Springs Road!"

Chu Fan, still in the guise of Jin Chuhong, set down his brush. He rose to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and sized up the three intruders.

"For the past few days, assassins have come for this Sovereign in an endless stream. The strongest among them had reached the Soul Emergence Realm Late Stage, but they all ended up as fertilizer for the plants in this Sovereign’s Royal Palace. What I did not expect, however, was that you would be the ones to come tonight."

"Wretched wench! A mere woman like you dares to dream of ascending the throne as Empress? And you want to enact laws to bind Cultivators? That is an act that defies the heavens, making an enemy of the entire Cultivation Realm in the Eastern Domain. So what’s wrong with us coming to kill you?"

"Kill me?" Chu Fan laughed heartily in Jin Chuhong’s voice. He walked slowly to a weapon rack on the side and drew the very sword he had once gifted to her.

Holding the drawn sword, he pointed it at the man in black on the left, the one who had insulted him.

"Your Celestial Sect has committed no small number of evil deeds in the mortal world these past two years, treating human lives as worthless. The same goes for you, Dark Moon Sect and Fiery Fire Sect. Did you really think that just by sending me congratulatory notices while coming here with your faces masked, I wouldn’t know who you are?"

Hearing this, the three men were visibly surprised.

The man from the Celestial Sect on the left snorted. "So what if you’ve recognized us? Do you think Jing’an alone can stop the three of us?"

"Jing’an? No, I never intended for him to make a move. However, I will spare your worthless lives. I’ll need you to attend the ceremony and present your formal greetings tomorrow!"

"Jing’an, stand down!"

Chu Fan said to Jing’an, then struck without another word.

"Strumming Sword and Singing, Riding Horses and Testing Swords!"

As far as anyone knew, Jin Chuhong was not a Cultivator. So when "she" executed this strike—a move devoid of any Sword Qi, Sword Gang, or Sword Momentum, so slow it couldn’t even swat a fly—it seemed perfectly normal to the assassins.

But Chu Fan’s Cultivation had already reached the Divine Separation Realm, and his Sword Dao had advanced to the Middle Stage of Sword Intent Follows the Heart.

His execution of the Yifeng Sword Technique was now far more subtle, and his control over Sword Qi and Sword Intent was completely effortless.

"Hahaha, Jin Chuhong, you plan to defeat us with a sword strike like that? Hahaha! I’m scared to death! Really, look! My hands and feet are trembling!"

The man in black on the left roared with mocking laughter.

But the instant he finished speaking, his hands and feet truly did begin to tremble—only now they were severed from his body, twitching and spasming on the floor.

"AHHH—"

All three men cried out in agony at the same time.

Chu Fan had already sheathed his Long Sword and was now looking at the three men, their masks shredded by his Sword Qi.

Aside from the man on the left, who had lost a hand and a foot, the other two men had had their Dantians destroyed.

They were all Divine Separation Realm Cultivators. Had they not been so arrogant, had they not dismissed "Jin Chuhong" as a mere mortal, they would not have been defeated so swiftly.

Chu Fan walked forward and tapped several points on their bodies, staunching the flow of blood and easing their pain.

"So? Was that last sword strike of mine adequate?"

The three men stared at "Jin Chuhong" with a mixture of hatred and terror.

That last strike felt vaguely familiar, yet they couldn’t recall where they might have seen it before.

The man in the middle demanded angrily, "Who in the hell are you?"

"I am Jin Chuhong, of course," Chu Fan taunted. "Could it be that old age has addled your mind? Weren’t you the ones who came here tonight to kill me?"

"So everyone was deceived by you. You’re actually a Divine Separation Realm Cultivator." The man seethed with bitter regret.

"Let me tell you another truth," ’she’ continued. "You thought the commotion outside was your ruse to lure the tiger from the mountain, but how could you know it wasn’t my trap to lure you in? As for your disciples back at the inn, they are already my prisoners. Did you really think you could come to my National Capital and say a single word without it reaching my ears?"

The look in the three men’s eyes was one of pure terror, as if they were seeing a ghost.

"Rest assured, I won’t make things difficult for them. After the enthronement ceremony tomorrow, I will let them go. Of course, in exchange, you know what you must do."

As Chu Fan spoke, he tossed a few booklets from the desk, letting them fall in front of the men.

"You’re all at the Divine Separation Realm. Given an entire night, you should be able to memorize these few lines of text, shouldn’t you?"

’Memorizing it was just a pretext. The real point was to give them one night to think very carefully about what they were going to do.’