Shen Ao's appearance was like a meteorite from outer space landing on a calm lake!
It instantly triggered a huge commotion!
"Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty, are you still alive?"
"Heavens, am I seeing things?"
The ministers were all shocked, unable to accept this fact!
Because they had watched Shen Ao being buried with their own eyes!
Who could have imagined he was still alive?
The most shocked of all was the King of Wu!
His face was filled with ferocity, and an aura of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator erupted from within him!
"King of Wu, you colluded with remnants of the previous dynasty and framed loyal subjects!"
"Not only that, but you also stole the imperial decree and the death-exempting token!"
"You even sent people to kill me and seize my empire!"
"The crimes you have committed are unforgivable. What do you have to say now?"
Shen Ao was an ordinary person, yet he possessed the aura of someone ruling the world!
The King of Wu looked grimly at Chen Nan: "You clearly poisoned Shen Ao, that good-for-nothing, yet why is he still alive?"
"Audacious!"
"Silence!"
"Shen Duantian, how dare you insult His Majesty?"
The officials in the court were furious!
Even though the King of Wu had ascended the throne, in their hearts, Shen Ao was still the lord of the realm!
Now that he had returned, this realm naturally belonged to him!
Moreover, everyone could see that this was a scheme set up against the King of Wu!
Even though he had completed all the procedures for the enthronement ceremony before, he was merely a clown!
"The corpses you saw earlier were merely puppets!" Chen Nan said calmly!
Making ordinary human puppets was not difficult!
Although he hadn't studied it, Jin Tong was proficient in this art!
Because of this, he had pulled off a deception of 'hiding the sky'.
"Brilliant, truly brilliant!"
The King of Wu laughed: "Chen Nan, Chen Nan, I truly admire you. You played me, Shen Ao, and everyone in the realm like puppets, all for the purpose of putting me in a position where I cannot dismount now, right?"
"If I kneel and submit now, you will eliminate me with ease!"
"If I openly resist, I will be a sinner in the eyes of the world!"
"Even if I become the ruler of this realm, the title of rebel cannot be washed away!"
Chen Nan: "Yes!"
"Those who achieve great things disregard minor details. As long as I can gain the empire, what does it matter if I become the enemy of the world?" The King of Wu sneered: "You think you've defeated me? Don't be so naive!"
"My methods are beyond your imagination!" With that, he snapped his fingers!
Wu Mei, dressed in a red long dress, appeared before the great hall!
The King of Wu smiled: "Do you recognize her? Do you know that your soul has been controlled by her? With just one command from me, you will be under my control!"
"Is that so?"
Chen Nan also snapped his fingers!
At the same time!
A dazzling light erupted from within Wu Mei!
Faint, crisp cracking sounds could be heard from within her body.
"No!"
"No!"
"No!"
The King of Wu let out a piercing scream: "How could you destroy my beast ring?"
Wu Mei was the sharpest blade in his hand!
He feared nothing, even if the whole world turned against him!
But now!
Wu Mei had broken free from his control!
"Thank you, Young Master Chen, for saving my life. From now on, you will be the benefactor of my fox tribe!" Wu Mei bowed to Chen Nan, then looked at the King of Wu: "Actually, when Young Master Chen went to the Myriad Demon Cave, he left a mark within me!"
"All of you deserve to die!"
The King of Wu was enraged!
Everything that had happened today had exceeded his imagination!
It made him incredibly furious!
"State Preceptor, break the formation! I want to eliminate all these people who are against me!" The King of Wu roared like thunder, his peak Nascent Soul aura unleashed without reservation, causing all the ministers to tremble in fear!
Even though the King of Wu was abandoned by everyone, he was still a super-expert at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage!
When such a person raged, there would be corpses everywhere and rivers of blood!
Wu Mei giggled: "It's useless. He went to the Myriad Demon Cave, and I already controlled him!"
*Pfft!*
The King of Wu almost spat out a mouthful of blood!
He truly hadn't expected that even Heng Ji, the expert he valued most, had been to the Myriad Demon Cave!
Was that place really that fun?
King Ning spoke: "Shen Duantian committed insubordination, attempted treason, and colluded with remnants of the previous dynasty. His crimes are unpardonable. Guards, kill him!"
"Kill!"
Shen Fei was the first to draw his sword!
As his sword pointed at the King of Wu, the Imperial Guards let out a deafening cry of slaughter!
"Kill him!"
Shen Cong also drew his sword!
Although he disliked Chen Nan impersonating his father, he knew that his father had been killed by the King of Wu!
Moreover, the King of Wu had killed too many of his clansmen over the years!
Today, no matter what, he had to kill the King of Wu!
"Kill!"
Although the King of Wu was abandoned by everyone, he had a group of loyal retainers around him!
These people followed the King of Wu's orders without question!
Although there were only eighteen of them, their strength was terrifying, and they were not at a disadvantage even against the Imperial Guards and the Azure Dragon Guards!
"Shen Ao, you shouldn't have come back!"
The King of Wu strode towards Shen Ao, his aura erupting like a volcano: "This empire is mine, and no one can take it from me, not even you!"
"Since you've returned to seek death, I will grant you your wish!"
Shen Cong angrily said: "We are all in the formation, and our cultivation levels are evenly matched. Who gave you the confidence to say such a thing?"
"Shen Duantian, pay with your life!"
Shen Fei pointed his sword at Shen Duantian and attacked him!
"Scram!"
Shen Duantian roared and, with a raise of his hand, sent him flying more than ten meters away, spitting blood!
"Shen Duantian, take this sword!"
Shen Cong gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and unleashed a sweeping strike at Shen Duantian!
"Your techniques were all taught by me. To kill me? Do you have that qualification?" Shen Duantian's eyes narrowed, and he drew out a palm from a distance, causing Shen Cong to bleed profusely!
"This is bad. Shen Duantian has cultivated body-refining techniques. Even though he's in the formation, his physical body is exceptionally terrifying. It will be difficult for us to kill him!" A cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage behind King Ning said with a grave expression!
Cultivators all practiced Daoist mind techniques and sorcery!
But very few people practiced body-refining techniques!
This was because duels between experts were often over in an instant!
There was no need for close combat at all!
And now, Shen Duantian held an absolute advantage!
"No matter what, we must protect His Majesty's safety!" King Ning stood in front of Shen Ao, while two Nascent Soul cultivators behind him attacked Shen Duantian!
Both of them were in the late Nascent Soul stage and wielded mid-grade spirit artifacts. They believed they could fight Shen Duantian to a standstill!
But no one expected that Shen Duantian would be like a god possessed!
With just his long sword in hand, he blocked the attacks of the two Nascent Soul cultivators!
Not only that, but he even seriously wounded both of them!
"I said, no one can stop me from inheriting the throne!"
"Not even the King of Heaven himself!"
Shen Duantian was full of pride!
At this moment!
Everyone panicked!
Whether it was the court officials!
King Ning!
Or Shen Ao, they were all filled with dread!
The King of Wu's power was beyond their imagination!
At this critical juncture!
Chen Nan appeared before King Ning and Shen Ao like a ghost!
He held a cigarette he was reluctant to smoke in his mouth, his calm face filled with indifference: "It seems you've overlooked my existence. I am the protagonist controlling the chessboard!"