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    Time unknowable passed, and the world fell into silence, as if but a moment and yet perhaps several hours had gone by.


    In the imperial pce, people opened their eyes and instinctively looked up at the sky.


    At this moment, the vault of heaven was bathed in bright sunlight, the sky was clear, as if all that had transpired was merely an illusion.


    "Where is Father... Where is the emperor?" the crown prince murmured softly, looking bewildered.


    King Huai''s face was expressionless, betraying no emotion.


    Mr. Gongsun, along with numerous ministers and nobles, were all scanning the surroundings, searching for the figure of the Emperor of Da Xia.


    At that time, King Huai slightly turned his head, looking toward Mr. Gongsun.


    His intent was to inquire whether Mr. Gongsun could sense the emperor''s qi.


    Having associated with King Huai for many years, Mr. Gongsun naturally understood his intent and slightly shook his head, indicating that he could not sense it.


    In fact, even Mr. Gongsun himself was extremely curious; did the emperor seed in his celestial breakthrough?


    Seeing this, King Huai, still expressionless, nodded slightly.


    At this moment, the crown prince''s eyes were frantic as he looked at King Huai and said, "Uncle, my father... "


    The rest of the ministers and nobles, as if they had found their support, shifted their gazes and turned to look toward King Huai.


    King Huai furrowed his brows slightly. After pondering for a while, he said, "We''ll know once we go see."


    Immediately after, everyone hastily nodded and rushed toward the back mountain of the imperial pce.


    At that moment, not only the citizens of Tiandu but also people from other ces, as well as the martial artists from jianghu, all looked confused. Just moments ago, thunder and lightning were rampant, so howe suddenly the sky had cleared? Was everything that just happened an illusion?


    Even some martial artists were not sure and even some great masters of martial arts felt the same way, finding the recent events iprehensible, their expressions tinged with oblivion.


    Only the great grandmasters of martial arts who had reached the Innate Realm and had attracted the qi of heaven and earth into their bodies could know that everything that had just happened was indeed real.


    The kind of qi that surged forth with the emperor''s birth, the sensation that the heavens and earth were moving in rhythm, left them profoundly shaken, a feeling hard to forget for a long time.


    It was only these grandmasters of the Innate Realm who could appreciate from the recent imposing manner just how fearsome the emperor''s strength was.


    The moment that had just passed would be engraved in their memories for a lifetime.


    In their lives, witnessing a supreme martial figure attempting to breach the celestial realm was already worth it.


    Indeed, many grandmasters, after witnessing the showdown between the emperor and the tribtion, were inspired by the qi of heaven and earth and chose to immediately enter seclusion.


    Meanwhile, the people of the imperial pce hurried toward the back mountain of the pce.


    None of them knew where the emperor had gone, whether he had seeded or failed.


    If he seeded, all was well, but if he failed... the consequences were unimaginable!


    After all, the scene of the emperor''s emergence from seclusion was witnessed by people all over the world. If the emperor truly met with any mishap while breaking through to the celestial realm, the whole of Da Xia would inevitably be plunged into turmoil.


    At the top of the Star Gazing tform atop the Bagua Building of Qintian Monitor within Tiandu''s inner city, the white-haired and bearded Tower Supervisor, one of the few who knew what had just happened, stared at the sky for several breaths after the emperor''s disappearance before closing his eyes once again.


    At this moment, the crown prince, King Huai, and the multitude of ministers had also arrived at the back mountain of the imperial pce. Witnessing the true scene before them, everyone''s pupils shrank, and deep within their eyes, a profound shock surged.


    The back mountain of the imperial pce spanned an infinite range of high mountains, intertwined and lofty. Twenty-three years ago, the Emperor had chosen this ce for his seclusion.


    Whenbating the tribtion lightning, the Emperor had ascended from the back mountain; now, one could see the aftermath, a vast wastnd created in its wake.


    At a nce, countless mountain peaks were ttened, and many entire mountains simply vanished, leaving behind scorched earth.


    After the event, Da Xia sent people to tally the damage and the conclusion was that the back mountain of the imperial pce, within a five-hundred-mile radius, had all turned to boundless scorched earth, a devastated sight to behold.


    Across the entirend, marks of singed earth were everywhere. Within a five-hundred-mile radius, there was not a single spot left intact. Under the terror of that tribtion lightning, everything turned to ashes, leaving a scene of utter ruin.


    No life or objects could survive or remain in this ce, and the ground itself had sunk countless fathoms due to the event, changing the terrain of the mountains forever.


    The residual force of the tribtion lightning had prated deep into the earth, and it would be many years before this ce could once again give birth to a hint of life.


    And this was only the aftermath of a fraction of the tribtion''s power; one could hardly imagine how much pressure the Emperor, at the center of the tribtion, had to endure.


    Even now, the area still emitted a terrifying heat, with ck smoke rising from the earth and arcs of electricity jumping intermittently.


    Luckily, amongst those in attendance was an Innate Realm grandmaster, Mr. Gongsun, who, under King Huai''smand, quietly protected everyone.


    Of course, he also led the group to avoid the worst-affected areas, for the residual power of the tribtion there was too intense; even an Innate Realm grandmaster wouldn''t dare to touch it lightly for a short period.


    Even for Mr. Gongsun, a grandmaster of the Innate Realm, facing such a catastrophic tribtion lightning that could end the world, he might not be able to withstand a single spark of it.


    At this thought, Mr. Gongsun felt all the more acutely that the gap between him and the Emperor was beyond measure. To say their difference was like that between heaven and earth would be an understatement; there was simply no basis forparison.


    "Split up and look around. Report back immediately if you find any clues," King Huai ordered.


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    "Yes!"


    Suddenly, a group of guards epted their orders and dispersed in all directions to look for clues. Under Mr. Gongsun''s guidance, of course, they also avoided those ces they were not supposed to go to.


    "Royal Uncle, Father, my father—," at this moment, even the palms of the Crown Prince''s hands were trembling. He forced himself to remain calm, looking at King Huai.


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    In that instant, the gaze of King Huai turned sharp. He locked eyes with the Crown Prince, speaking firmly, "Your Highness, you are Da Xia''s chosen heir. How can you be so unsettled? Even if the sky were to fall, the mountains to crumble before you, you must remainposed. Otherwise, if even you, destined to be the Emperor, be flustered, what would be of the subjects under yourmand?"


    The gaze of King Huai was so piercing that the Crown Prince almost didn''t dare to meet his eyes, subconsciously wanting to lower his head.


    But then, King Huai sharply rebuked him, "Your Highness, until when do you n to avoid the problem?!"


    At these words, the Crown Prince''s body jolted. Then, King Huai continued, "Remember, you are Da Xia''s chosen heir. In the future, you will be Da Xia''s human Emperor, ruling countless miles of Da Xia''s rivers and mountains, with innumerable subjects depending on you. If the Emperor is here, of course, all is well, but if not, then you must shoulder the entire Da Xia."


    Silently, the Crown Prince clenched his fists. After a long while, he raised his head, a look of determination on his face, and said to King Huai, "Thank you, Royal Uncle, I understand now!"


    Seeing that the Crown Prince truly took the words to heart, King Huai nodded slightly.


    Suddenly, a guard called out in rm, "Your Highness, my Lord, over here—this... this ce!"


    At those words, the Crown Prince''s expression changed, and he immediately rushed over with King Huai and the others.


    When the Crown Prince and King Huai, along with others, arrived, they saw at first nce, scattered on the ground, a clump of ck ashes. Apart from that, there was nothing else.


    In a low voice, a guard said, "Your Highness, my Lord, we only found these. We did not see the Emperor..."


    Boom!


    Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince almost staggered on the spot; hisplexion turned instantly pale,pletely devoid of any color.


    Those words, for him, were akin to a bolt from the blue, even more so!


    Many ministers and the nobility shook at these words, theirplexions turning deathly pale in an instant.


    Several elderly officials, loyal to the Emperor, went weak in the knees, nearly copsing on the spot; fortunately, they were quickly supported by the alert guards nearby.


    At this moment, King Huai cast a sharp gaze around the room. Gone was his usual gentleness, as he coldly stated, "Everyone here is a pir of Da Xia. You all understand what this signifies. I won''t say much else. If anyone leaks today''s events, it will warrant the extermination of their entire family, with no one spared!"


    Thest three words, even though King Huai had no martial prowess and was merely an ordinary man, struck a frigid chill into all the ministers, nobles, and guards present, as though a terrifying cold was emerging from the depths of their beings; their backs instantly covered in dense cold sweat.


    "Did everyone hear that?" King Huai scanned the crowd, asking in a deep voice.


    "Yes!" they all hurriedly responded, including the guards, without exception.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    At this, the Crown Prince also came to his senses, remembering King Huai''s earlier words to him. He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and addressed the crowd, "What the Royal Uncle just said is correct. Today''s matter must not be leaked by anyone. For the time being, my dear ministers will need to remain within the pce, and we will discuss state affairs together throughout the night."


    "As youmand."


    Though they spoke of discussing state affairs, in reality, this amounted to a veiled house arrest. But everyone present, being in high positions, clearly understood what the disappearance of the Emperor implied, and they could only agree to it.


    Moreover, they were well aware that anyone daring not toply might not live to see even tonight''s moon, risking implicating their entire families as well.


    Seeing that no one raised any objections, the Crown Prince nodded in agreement.


    Then, he looked towards King Huai, speaking softly, "Royal Uncle, you..."


    King Huai replied, "Don''t worry. I too will stay in the imperial pce during this time to discuss the subsequent actions with you."


    At this, the Crown Prince felt a great weight lifted from his heart. Somehow, with King Huai there, he felt much more at ease.


    After all, over the years, it seemed there was nothing King Huai couldn''t resolve for the Crown Prince.


    But the thought of the Emperor''s disappearance swiftly dispelled any sense of relief the Crown Prince had just felt, reced by a heavy sadness.


    "Father..." he mumbled, his expression downcast.


    ...


    Soon, several days passed, and the word of the Emperor''s supposed emergence had spread over several days. Common folk confirmed the news with each other, bing aware that what happened that day was not an illusion.


    Da Xia made no attempt to hide it; moreover, with so many eyewitnesses, they couldn''t have concealed it even if they tried.


    The entirend of Tiandu was immediately abuzz, as after all, this concerned the Emperor of Da Xia, and there was no one in the world who wasn''t paying attention.


    Especially the Six Union God Sect, as well as the barbarian tribes and the Great Yuan, their spies and intelligence agents paid even closer attention to these events.


    They were eager to know, after that horrific tribtion of thunder, was the human Emperor alive or dead?


    At this moment, people all over the world were anxiously anticipating, wanting to know the current whereabouts of Da Xia''s human Emperor.


    Countless individuals awaited the follow-up reaction from the imperial pce of Tiandu.