Chapter 98 - 88: Second Level of Qi Training (Extra 4400, asking for subscriptions and monthly tickets) 2
Zhou Ping and his son were even more cautious than Liang Sheng had imagined. From the very beginning, they fought fiercely like a lion fighting a rabbit. Both father and son were Innate Grandmasters, and their appearance on the battlefield ignited cheers from the rebel army.
Seeing this, Ye Chen couldn’t help but feel disheartened. He feared that they would be defeated today. However, Ye Family was a family of royalty, and even if he had to die, he would fight honorably until the end.
Ye Kai had already taken the best Ye Family disciples into hiding, so Ye Chen had no concerns at this moment. On the battlefield, Ye Chen faced the two Innate Grandmasters without the slightest fear, even going as far as to attack first.
Although Zhou Xing and his father practiced different Martial Arts Techniques, their strength was extraordinary as Innate Grandmasters. With every move they grew more powerful and fierce.
In a short while, the three of them clashed, kicking up dust and debris, each using their strongest techniques and not holding back in the slightest, for they would not underestimate their opponents.
Only the dead were the best enemies to have!
At the next moment, a loud noise erupted from the area where the three were fighting, causing the whole battlefield to go silent for a moment. However, the Southern Army’s morale soared in the next moment, while the Great Ming soldiers fled in fear.
Meanwhile, Ye Chen had fallen to the ground, his eyes lifeless as he stared into the sky, unsure of what he was thinking during his last moments.
Zhou Ping and Zhou Xing resisted the urge to spit out blood that was almost escaping their throats from the injuries they sustained from Ye Chen’s final blow. Their own injuries had shaken their foundations, but they couldn’t show their weakness at this moment.
“Bring someone! Give him a proper burial after the battle!”
For some reason, Zhou Xing felt a sudden urge in his heart. Ye Chen had been their enemy, but he was also an emperor. An emperor should not be humiliated, especially as the Zhou Family would soon become the co-rulers of the world.
Zhou Ping looked at his son without saying a word. As an opponent, Ye Chen indeed deserved their respect.
At the next moment, Zhou Ping tried to compose his complicated emotions, looked towards the north, and waved his hand passionately, “Cross the river!” “Cross the river!”
“Cross the river!”
At this moment, the Capital was almost within sight!
In the Capital, all the noble families were stunned. They hadn’t expected the decisive battle between the two armies to end so quickly, especially given who Ye Chen was – they couldn’t have known him better.
They had thought that they would have to wait for some time to see the outcome, but in just three short days, the Southern rebel army had advanced towards the Capital.
Upon receiving this news, countless ambitious individuals were disheartened. After all, the world was not theirs. It was rumored that those with virtue would strike together, but unfortunately, it was not them…
And on the eve of the Southern Army’s entrance into the Capital, the Great Ming Luo Royal Mansion was suddenly breached. Eight hundred people of the Luo Mansion were captured alive, which set an example for other families…
The new king was destined to enter the Capital, and the members of the Ye Family now served as their perfect letter of recommendation.
For a short while, chaos erupted in the East City, with various noble families and nobles taking action. Fights even broke out amongst those trying to capture Ye family members…
No matter how chaotic it was outside, the ordinary people locked themselves in their homes, not daring to step out. When they heard that the war was coming to an end, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It didn’t matter who occupied the throne, as long as there was no war.
A day later…
Zhou Ping led the Southern Army into the city. The Capital had already opened its gates, and there was no shortage of people celebrating with drums and gongs, as the streets were packed!
In the fifteenth year of the Great Ming’s Zhaowu Emperor, the Great Ming fell, and the Great Zhou was established. A month later, Zhou Ping ascended the throne and became Emperor Taizu.
On the first day of Emperor Taizu’s reign, he ordered the execution of the entire Ye family without mercy.
Afterward, he announced a general amnesty to the entire world, signifying peace under heaven. However, the Great Ming Mountain River Tripod was lost once again and couldn’t be found. Taizu then ordered the casting of the King of Zhou Tripod to suppress the rivers and mountains, and enshrined it in the Grand Temple.
Taizu later issued a decree to reduce taxation and redistribute land to the common people, encouraging them to have more children and bring vitality to the world.
In the thirty years of Taizu’s reign, the world was prosperous and thriving. It was known as the Taizu’s Prosperous Era. However, Taizu died at nearly a hundred years of age due to the injuries he sustained from his early battle with Ye Chen. When he passed, the whole world mourned and hung white banners in his honor.
After his death, Zhou Xing succeeded the throne as Emperor Xuanzong, continuing to implement policies of recuperation and rejuvenation, while also strengthening military recruitment and training. His policies focused on ensuring the well-being of the people, bringing more peace to the world.
During Xuanzong’s sixty-year reign, the world reached unprecedented levels of prosperity, surpassing even the peak of the Dayan Dynasty’s power. Xuanzong was referred to as the Sage Emperor by the people at that time.
However, when Xuanzong had been in power for sixty years, he suddenly abdicated the throne to his son Zhou Kun, shocking the world.
This led people to recall the events of the Dayan Dynasty’s previous centuries, as Emperor Taizu had decreed that no prince who did not reach the Innate realm could become emperor.
At that time, the Emperors of the Dayan Dynasty had all reached the Innate realm, but after hundreds of years of luxurious and extravagant living, their descendants were no longer willing to endure the hardships of Martial Arts training, and thus not every Dayan prince who ascended the throne was in the Innate realm.
Zhou Kun, the current crown prince, had reached the Innate realm at the age of seventy and was indeed qualified to inherit the throne. But why was Xuanzong so eager to pass on his position when he appeared to be in good health?
Nobody knew the reason behind it, but many years ago, when he and Zhou Ping fought Emperor Zhaowu, Ye Chen, both father and son had sustained injuries that damaged their foundations.
Zhou Ping had passed away at over a hundred years old, and Zhou Xing now had only a few years left. Abdicating in favor of Zhou Kun was the result of careful deliberation.
Later, Zhou Kun ascended the throne and was known as Emperor Wu. The title was intriguing, and his first imperial edict after taking the throne declared the following:
The Zhou Family Emperors should not rule beyond the age of 130 as a tribute to Emperor Taizu and Xuanzong!