Son-in-law Heaven Emperor Xiao Yi

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The next day, at dawn.

The sky had just brightened, with the golden morning sun casting its glow upon the land.

Casting a long, long shadow of the entire Zhenxi City, the banners on the city walls fluttered against the blue sky, creating a rustling sound, but the wind brought with it a feeling of desolation.

The vast Zhenxi City was bleak, top to bottom.

The spirit of the soldiers, the hearts of the people, all were dim.

Boom!

Boom, boom!

Rumbling...

A series of earth-shattering sounds approached from afar, mighty and vast, it was the Tianqing Kingdom's hundred-thousand-strong army led by Xiao Yi, forming like a dark demonic cloud, marching towards Zhenxi City.

Their pace was not fast, but it exuded an extremely heavy and suffocating presence.

Like a colossal stone weighing down on everyone's chest.

It was stifling to the point of breathlessness.

Atop the city walls, the defending army of Zhenxi City gazed at the dense battle formation, feeling as if every step taken by the enemy forces were invisible hammers ruthlessly pounding against their chests.

So oppressive, they could hardly speak.

Cough, cough, cough!

A series of urgent and weak coughs were heard, as the esteemed Martial King of Tianlan Kingdom, Zhao Qiankun, known as the impregnable great general of the era, appeared to have aged decades in moments. His hair was white, his stature hunched, his face gaunt, as if a gust of wind could knock him over at any time, teetering on the edge.

A group of Zhenxi City's defending generals followed behind him, each with their heads bowed and eyes bloodshot.

Their hands clenched into fists, shoulders trembling slightly.

Opressiveness.

The atmosphere was oppressively terrifying!

Thud!

The sound of the war drum suddenly stopped.

Xiao Yi and his men had already arrived at the base of Zhenxi City.

The two armies faced each other.

Riding a Heavenly Blue Bull Python, Xiao Yi, adorned in white armor, his black hair billowing, cape fluttering, with the Fire Qilin Sword at his waist emitting a blinding light. Handsome and majestic, like a dragon among men, he rode atop the Heavenly Blue Bull Python, and alone he seemed like an entire army, exuding a powerful sense of oppression.

"What a Xiao Yi, what a Martial King of the Nation..."

Zhao Qiankun gazed at Xiao Yi with intense eyes, unblinking, and then with a sense of resignation and defeat, he sighed, "If Tianlan Kingdom had such a heroic figure, why would we lack a prospering era? Alas, it's a pity..."

"General..."

"My lord..."

A group of generals, tears in their eyes, stared at Zhao Qiankun, who just three days ago had been a majestic King of Zhenxi but now appeared as weak and frail as an elderly neighbor gravely ill, each of them struggling to say what they wanted.

Zhao Qiankun waved his hand with a smile and said, "Since it's been decided, then proceed as I've instructed!"

"Yes!"

The generals fought back tears, nodding compressedly.

Zhao Qiankun supported himself with both hands on the city walls, gazing down at Xiao Yi and at Zhang Baisheng who appeared by his side, basked in the warm, golden sunlight. He gently rubbed the bricks of the city wall in front of him, so familiar to him—he had guarded this place for decades: "Every era produces its own talents, and now, it's time this old bone stepped down!"

Whoosh!

Zhao Qiankun let out a long breath, circulated his Qi-Blood, and made his voice resonate, loud and clear, spreading throughout Zhenxi City, "Martial King Xiao Yi, would you care to talk with this old man?"

"Your Highness, be wary of deceit!" Zheng Le cautioned in a deep voice.

Zheng Baishang, however, shook his head. He fixed his gaze on Zhao Qiankun high upon the city walls, all too familiar with this old adversary, and said in a serious tone, "Zhao Qiankun is not that kind of man!"

Xiao Yi smiled faintly, stood tall and levitated in front of the city walls.

The old and the young, eyes locked on each other.

Xiao Yi gave a bow and said, "The younger generation, Xiao Yi, pays respect to the King of Zhenxi!"
Continue your journey on empire

"You're young, so very young! It's good to be young!"

Zhao Qiankun laughed warmly, his eyes on Xiao Yi held no resentment or hatred, only helplessness and envy for the youthfulness, "This old man will venture to call you Xiao Yi!"

"Hmm!"

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Xiao Yi nodded.

Zhao Qiankun said, "Xiao Yi, could you agree to one condition for me?"

"Speak," Xiao Yi replied.

Zhao Qiankun said in a deep voice, "Spare the soldiers and civilians within the city, can you do that?"

Xiao Yi slightly frowned.

He remembered the villagers who had been slaughtered, the babies ground into pulp beneath the millstones.

Seeming to sense Xiao Yi's hesitation, Zhao Qiankun said solemnly, "I can guarantee with my life that none of the people under my command have ever laid a finger on any innocent civilians outside the battlefield!"

Xiao Yi looked back at Zhang Baisheng.

Zhang Baisheng nodded slightly.

He had been Zhao Qiankun's opponent for many years and knew the other man's character very well.

Xiao Yi let out a breath and said solemnly, "Alright! As long as they don't stand against me, I won't kill them! As for the citizens within the city, they will henceforth be subjects of my Tianqing Kingdom, and I naturally won't harm them!"

"Whew!"

Zhao Qiankun let out a long, turbid breath and smiled, "No wonder even the old fellow Zhang Baisheng is willing to follow you. You truly are exceptional, losing to you is not unjust." After a pause, Zhao Qiankun took out a Commander's Seal and handed it to Xiao Yi, announcing loudly, "All people of Zhenxi City, from now on, you shall no longer be enemies with the Tianqing Kingdom. In seeing Xiao Yi, you are seeing me!"

Whirrrr!

All the soldiers and civilians of Zhenxi City knelt in unison, the atmosphere incredibly oppressive.

Some soldiers could not hold back their tears any longer.

Even more civilians wailed loudly.

But they understood...

Zhao Qiankun was doing this only to save their lives.

Xiao Yi held up the Commander's Seal and also spoke loudly, "Listen, everyone in Zhenxi City, I, Xiao Yi, hereby swear, as long as you do not resist my Tianqing Kingdom, I shall not harm you one bit! I will protect you just as I protect the citizens of the Tianqing Kingdom!"

"Open the gates!"

Zhao Qiankun shouted with all of his strength.

The guards already at the city gates immediately opened them—boom! The gates that had sealed off the western border of the Tianlan Kingdom for hundreds of years were finally opened.

This gateway to the west of the Tianlan Kingdom was completely opened!

But there were no cheers from the generals of the Tianqing Kingdom, only silent procession into the city, accepting the surrender of the soldiers of Zhenxi City.

Atop the city walls.

Xiao Yi looked at Zhao Qiankun, whose form was swaying before him, and said with gravity, "Senior King of Zhenxi, I have here some pills that nurture Qi-Blood..."

"No need!"

Zhao Qiankun smiled, propped himself up using the battlements, tilted his head back to greet the golden sunlight, and revealed a radiant smile, "Xiao Yi, do you know why I chose to surrender without a fight?"

Xiao Yi nodded, "You knew that if there was a battle, not even one in ten would survive, and Zhenxi City would be brought to ruin. Besides that... your heart has been thoroughly wounded!"

Whew!

Zhao Qiankun nodded, "Yes, wounded beyond repair. I have been defending Zhenxi City for decades, never allowing the army of the Tianqing Kingdom a single step across our borders, exerting all my effort without daring to relax in the slightest. But that Zheng Yu, he betrayed the million soldiers and civilians of Zhenxi City over a single dispute. And Zheng Yu is that foolish ruler's confidant. In the face of such a state of affairs, I am weary..."

Xiao Yi remained silent.

He knew very well that the most hated people on Zhenxi City now were not him, but Zheng Yu and the King of Tianlan Kingdom.

And for this reason...

The officers did not stop Zhao Qiankun's surrender!

"Senior King of Zhenxi..."

Just as Xiao Yi began to speak, Zhao Qiankun interrupted him with a wave of his hand. He shakily walked over to the flag that symbolized the Tianlan Kingdom, gently caressing it, and said wistfully, "My Tianlan Kingdom has paid countless lives to defend this city. So many young people, who should have been full of vigor, died early just to hold on to this place. Now, it has been breached by my hands..."

"Xiao Yi!"

Xiao Yi looked sharply at Zhao Qiankun.

"I've lost!"

Zhao Qiankun seemed to summon all his energy to say these three words, and his aura immediately became even more wilted. He suddenly yanked the flag from its place, waving it back and forth causing it to flutter fiercely. Suddenly, Zhao Qiankun threw the flag high into the air, and with a thunderous crash, it plummeted down, piercing through his cranial point, rooting firmly atop the city walls.

It fixed his body firmly to the battlements of Zhenxi City.

The aged voice, but still resonant and powerful, echoed through the heavens and earth, "With my body, I shall eternally guard... this city..."