In the blink of an eye, eight golden crossbow bolts were shattered by the Mad Emperor with his bare hands. This outcome terrified those controlling the formation-breaking crossbows. They had never encountered a powerhouse who was immune to such a weapon; such strength far surpassed their wildest imaginations.
"Ye Yunyi, come out! You cannot stop me."
The Mad Emperor remained suspended in the air. He did not go on a killing spree. After all, these soldiers were his empire's people, merely under the Empress's control.
Inside the Imperial Palace, the Empress was growing flustered. The several powerful guards protecting her urged her to escape through a secret passage and not confront the Mad Emperor.
"No, I won't leave. A man I once toyed with in my palm—I don't believe he would dare to kill me. He wouldn't be able to!"
The Empress remained supremely confident.
Even after so many years, she had maintained her youth, showing not a single wrinkle. This alone indicated she was far more complex than anyone imagined.
There was only one way to maintain eternal youth: to be a cultivator, and a very powerful one at that.
This was why Liu Yilin had wanted to cultivate in the past, not for martial prowess or combat, but for eternal youth. Agelessness was an irresistible allure for any woman.
"Is Yan Shisan still in the forbidden area? Go tell him to help me deal with Qin Shangren. I promise to let him observe the Imperial Palace's martial arts codex."
The Empress gave her command.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
An eunuch quickly received the order and departed.
Meanwhile, the Mad Emperor outside was losing patience. With a punch thrown from afar, he directly smashed a building of the Imperial Palace.
"Ye Yunyi, if you don't come out now, I'll tear down the Imperial Palace."
The Mad Emperor was not joking. He didn't care about the throne, so naturally, he didn't care about the Imperial Palace.
Just then, a man with disheveled hair, not wearing shoes, flew from the west side of the Imperial Palace.
"Who is Qin Shangren? Come out and die!"
The man soon spotted the Mad Emperor suspended in the sky and asked him.
"Are you Qin Shangren?"
"I am Qin Shangren. Who are you?"
The Mad Emperor didn't recognize Yan Shisan. When he was framed by Ye Yunyi, Yan Shisan was still an unknown nobody.
"You don't need to know who I am, because I've come to kill you."
Yan Shisan found Qin Shangren and, without a word, lunged at him.
If Qin Shangren was the Mad Emperor, then Yan Shisan was a madman, a martial arts fanatic who cared nothing for Qin Shangren's identity. Even if he learned Qin Shangren was a former emperor, he wouldn't bat an eye.
"Die!"
Yan Shisan appeared before the Mad Emperor and swung his saber down at him.
Since his debut, no one had ever dodged his saber; he was confident this man would be no exception.
But in the next second, a blood line appeared on Yan Shisan's neck, severed by his own saber.
Yan Shisan's strength was equivalent to that of a Venerable, making him almost invincible in this world. However, he had no idea that the Mad Emperor before him was a Celestial Venerable. Even a hundred of him couldn't even scratch the Mad Emperor.
"Is that all?"
The Mad Emperor looked at Yan Shisan, whose neck had been cut, with a contemptuous expression.
"Who… are you?"
At this moment, Yan Shisan's arrogance vanished.
"You don't need to know who I am, nor do you have the right to ask."
The Mad Emperor struck him with a punch, completely obliterating him.
The Mad Emperor's patience had run out. Picking up Yan Shisan's saber, he slashed at the Imperial Palace.
The saber light resembled moonlight. With a deafening roar, the Imperial Palace was cleaved open by his strike, revealing its inner structure in its entirety.
Inside the Imperial Palace, a woman in opulent robes sat on the throne, looking at the Mad Emperor with utter disbelief.
"Ye Yunyi, this is between you and me. There's no need to sacrifice others."
The Mad Emperor spoke to Ye Yunyi.
"Protect Her Majesty!"
The guards beside Ye Yunyi sprang forward like slingshots, charging at the Mad Emperor.
One of them unleashed sword light like lightning, his sword swing sending countless sword energies towards the Mad Emperor.
Another used his legs; leg shadows filled the air, making the entire space seem to be his legs.
"Flashy tricks!"
The Mad Emperor didn't even bother to look. A Celestial Venerable's pressure descended, stripping these men of their strength and forcibly suppressing them to the ground.
Then, the Mad Emperor swept his arm, and seven heads, accompanied by blood, flew through the air, rolling onto the ground with a clatter.
Following that, the Mad Emperor strode towards Ye Yunyi.
He looked at the woman, whose heart was as venomous as a scorpion's, yet whom he had once loved madly, and felt an overwhelming complexity in his heart.
In truth, if she had truly desired the throne back then, she wouldn't have needed to scheme against him. All she had to do was ask, and he would have willingly abdicated.
But why had she been so cruel? Controlling him wasn't enough; she had to ruin his reputation and then send him to the death zone to await his end.
"Qin… Qin Gege."
At this moment, Ye Yunyi put on a pitiful expression.
Her single address of "Qin Gege" instantly plunged the Mad Emperor back into the throes of past agony.
"Why?"
After a long silence, the Mad Emperor finally spoke.
"Qin Gege, I was wrong. Please forgive me."
Ye Yunyi maintained her pitiful expression as she spoke to the Mad Emperor.
Outside, Liu Yilin, Luo Yingying, Haitang, and Jin Yuehe, among others, spoke in unison.
"Green slut."
Even they, as women, couldn't stand it.
"Beichen, the Mad Emperor won't go soft, will he?"
The women asked with worry.
"How should I know? We're just spectators."
Ning Beichen shrugged helplessly.
This was the Mad Emperor's private matter. What he decided was his own choice. Ning Beichen had no desire to meddle in such affairs.
"Ye Yunyi, if only you had realized your mistake sooner. Do you know? I never cared about the throne."
"Qin Gege, I was wrong. I regret what I did in the past. I was blinded by them, which is why I did those things to you. In truth, I have regretted it ever since. You must believe me."
The Empress now resembled a sincerely repentant young woman. However, her words were not believed even by Ning Beichen and his companions.
But they were not the Mad Emperor; they didn't know if he would fall for it, so they all felt anxious for him, worried that he might truly believe this woman's web of lies.
"Ye Yunyi…"
The Mad Emperor looked at her, his face remarkably calm.
"Qin Gege."
Ye Yunyi's heart leaped with joy, thinking that, as always, if she did something wrong, a bit of pouting would earn her Qin Shangren's forgiveness.
So, she took a step towards Qin Shangren. Upon reaching his side, Ye Yunyi reached out and hugged him, tears even glistening in her eyes.