Chapter 59: Sword Dao Genius (9) |
This was outright demanding Imperial Sword Manor with a single sentence? Offering the entire manor as a bride price—how brazen could they get?
Su Chen finally understood why Shen Ping'an had fled the moment his feelings were exposed. The boy probably couldn't bear to face him.
"Ping'an still harbors genuine affection for that woman."
Beauty traps held no sway over an "old monster" who had lived through several lifetimes. But Shen Ping'an had always been the sharpest sword in his hand—untouched by the poison called love. Even the coldest heart, upon first encountering that toxin, could find no antidote.
The next day, Su Chen summoned Shen Ping'an to his side.
"Ping'an, do you truly want that princess of the Black Nether Dynasty?"
Shen Ping'an kept his head lowered. "Big Brother, I like her."
Su Chen nodded to show he understood.
"Since you like her, of course your big brother will help you."
Su Chen: "…"
"You really have some wild ideas, kid."
Shen Ping'an looked embarrassed and waited attentively for Su Chen's plan.
Su Chen spoke calmly. "Acquiring a lofty princess is very simple. Just destroy the Black Nether Dynasty. Once it falls and she loses her status and identity, what choice will she have left?"
Shen Ping'an felt a chill at how ruthless his brother sounded.
Su Chen paid it no mind. He knew the true nature of princesses from dynasties like this all too well. If treated as a plaything, fine—but if she married Shen Ping'an properly, the boy would eventually be toyed with to death.
That very day, Su Chen set out for the Great Jing Dynasty, longtime enemy of the Black Nether Dynasty. Both dynasties belonged to opposing major powers and had been locked in enmity for over two thousand years, each dreaming day and night of swallowing the other.
When the Jing Emperor learned that the manor lord of Imperial Sword Manor had come to pay his respects, he was overjoyed.
"I wonder what important business brings Manor Lord Shen to our Great Jing Dynasty?"
The Jing Emperor probed carefully.
Su Chen spoke plainly. "I wish to discuss grand plans together with Your Majesty."
The Jing Emperor's expression turned solemn at once. He immediately dismissed his attendants.
"I know Your Majesty's Great Jing Dynasty and the Black Nether Dynasty have nursed hatred for ages. Imperial Sword Manor is willing to lend a helping hand."
The Jing Emperor was delighted, though confusion quickly followed. How could such a heaven-sent opportunity fall into his lap?
Everyone knew Imperial Sword Manor stood under the protection of Heavenly Sword Sacred Land. Even setting that aside, under this legendary manor lord's leadership, Imperial Sword Manor ranked among the absolute top forces below Sovereign level.
The number of Profound Connection realm experts within its walls had long surpassed double digits. And the manor lord's own strength was unfathomable—becoming a Sovereign in the future was practically assured.
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Su Chen gave a soft sigh and recounted the matter of Shen Ping'an—mixing truth and half-truths.
The Jing Emperor flew into a rage and slammed the table. "Preposterous! The Black Nether Dynasty has gone too far! Our Great Jing Dynasty still has many unmarried princesses, each one a peerless beauty. If your brother fancies any of them—even as a concubine—it would be their honor!"
See—that was the proper attitude.
Su Chen politely declined on Shen Ping'an's behalf. He knew his brother's character well. With Imperial Sword Manor's current standing, Shen Ping'an could obtain any woman he desired if beauty and figure were all that mattered.
The Jing Emperor expressed regret, then changed the subject. "I feel an instant kinship with Manor Lord Shen. Why don't the two of us swear brotherhood here and now, supporting each other from this day forward?"
Su Chen considered it briefly. There seemed to be no downside. The two men swore an oath of brotherhood.
With that, Imperial Sword Manor and the Great Jing Dynasty formally forged an alliance.
Less than a month later, the Great Jing Dynasty launched a full-scale invasion of the Black Nether Dynasty, catching them completely off guard.
After returning to Imperial Sword Manor, Su Chen found Shen Ping'an waiting for him, clearly conflicted.
"Ping'an, you must understand—for the sake of Imperial Sword Manor, you cannot afford to be soft-hearted! Rest assured. Your big brother will deliver your beloved to you safe and sound."
Su Chen smiled faintly, his tone full of concern.
Shen Ping'an couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. But this was his own elder brother—someone who had always looked out for him.
Shen Ping'an chose to trust.
Su Chen summoned the Imperial Sword Guards. Over the past thirty to forty years, he had taught them the Blood-Burning Secret Art from the Spirit Communion Art. Every guard selected was a genius in their own right. By burning their lifespan to cultivate, their cultivation had soared. The weakest were at the high stage of Spirit Soul, while a significant number had already stepped into Profound Connection.
"It's time this 'sword' tasted blood."
Su Chen's gaze remained cold and indifferent. If this "sword" did not taste blood soon, it would grow dull with age. He had thought he would need to create an opportunity. He never expected the Black Nether Dynasty to deliver one right to his doorstep. Destroying the Black Nether Dynasty would open vast new territories—ripe with fresh "sword embryos."
Su Chen mobilized millions from the armies of the three allied kingdoms, leading the Imperial Sword Guards like a razor-sharp blade thrust straight into the heart of the Black Nether Dynasty.
Within the Black Nether Dynasty's capital.
The Black Nether Emperor's expression was ashen. The war had dragged on for twenty years. In those two decades, the Black Nether Dynasty had suffered catastrophic losses.
"Your Majesty… bad news. Marshal Wang was defeated at the decisive battle on the Black Nether River. His whereabouts are unknown."
The moment the Black Nether Emperor heard those words, rage surged through him. His qi grew chaotic, and he spat a mouthful of blood.
"Impossible! Wang Fang is the undefeated war god of our Black Nether Dynasty—how could he lose so easily?"
The ministers fell deathly silent. Had the matter not been so grave, they would never have dared report Marshal Wang's defeat to the emperor.
The Black Nether Emperor's face twisted with ferocity. Since they had pushed him this far… Then do not blame him for unleashing a Sovereign War!
Over those twenty years, Su Chen reaped enormous gains. The name of the Imperial Sword Guards struck terror into the Black Nether Dynasty. Even their legendary war god, the undefeated myth, had fallen at his hands. His own cultivation had advanced from the sixth layer of Profound Connection to the seventh. Many promising geniuses had been absorbed into the ranks of the Sword Guards.
Su Chen sat upon the throne, his eyes blazing with mad ambition. Thin threads of golden qi flowed across his body. The radiant illusory true dragon coiled tighter around him, gradually taking on solid form. After defeating Wang Fang, he had made no further moves. He was waiting for the perfect moment.
"The Sovereign War is about to begin!"
"Sovereign" was the title bestowed upon Void Refining realm powerhouses. The Black Nether Dynasty possessed only one ancestor who had reached that realm. Once a Sovereign War was declared, that ancestor would have no choice but to leave the imperial capital. The capital itself was the nexus of the dynasty's national fortune.
The Imperial Apex Shock-the-World Technique could refine and devour national fortune, turning an entire dynasty's destiny into personal power. Was he really going to go through all this trouble just to wipe out the Black Nether Dynasty in one breath?
Su Chen was no fool—not even for his own brother. What he truly wanted was an excuse. No matter how clumsy that excuse might be. Even the Great Jing Dynasty could not fathom what Su Chen was truly after.
Dragon veins—the entire national fortune of a dynasty!
Su Chen intended to use this surge of imperial destiny to cultivate the seventh layer of the Imperial Apex Shock-the-World Technique. And thereby… become a Sovereign!
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