Chapter 14: Such Audacity—Daring to Scheme Against Even Me?
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“That little bastard—how did he suddenly become so much weaker?”
At that moment, as everyone turned their eyes toward Shen Lang, a chorus of startled cries erupted from the crowd.
He Xiufei waved his feather fan and sighed. “It seems we’ve been tricked by Shen Lang and Emperor Shenxiao yet again.”
“What do you mean?” Xing Wenlong immediately raised his brows and pressed him for an explanation.
“Shen Lang must have anticipated that he would be assassinated. So he decided to turn the tables, luring us out in order to wipe us all out in one stroke.”
“And to ensure Shen Lang’s safety, Emperor Shenxiao not only gave him the cultivation technique she practices herself—”
“She even left him a divine weapon as a trump card!”
“We’ve suffered a terrible loss in this struggle!”
After hearing this explanation, everyone present fell silent.
They carefully considered He Xiufei’s words and soon felt that his reasoning was flawless.
That useless Shen Lang had suddenly acquired such astonishing strength. It could only have been bestowed upon him by Emperor Shenxiao.
And that divine weapon—within all of Great Qin, no one besides Emperor Shenxiao could possibly have produced it.
At this thought, Xing Wenlong asked worriedly, “Old He, surely we won’t be dragged into this?”
The moment he spoke, every official in the restaurant turned toward He Xiufei with nervous expressions.
After all, they had enthusiastically supported the assassination of Shen Lang.
But now that the assassination had failed—and they had even been outmaneuvered—they were all beginning to panic.
He Xiufei, by contrast, merely waved his hand dismissively. “Relax. The assassins I hired this time operated entirely through anonymous channels.”
“Even if Emperor Shenxiao discovers that we were behind it, she won’t move against us before the Zhao clan is destroyed!”
“After all, Great Qin is beset by internal and external troubles. She still needs us.”
Hearing this, everyone unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
But before long, their greedy gazes fell upon the sword that had slaughtered so many.
After all, Shen Lang’s dazzling performance today had depended entirely upon that sword.
If such a weapon could be placed in their hands, how far would their strength rise?
Just as they were imagining it, an utterly terrifying pressure swept across the streets of the entire capital.
The icy words that followed sent a chill through the hearts of every cultivator in the city.
“How dare you commit murder and cause trouble beneath My very eyes? You shall all die!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The instant Shenxiao’s roar rang out, the four Nascent Soul cultivators battling Shen Canghai were transformed into clouds of blood.
When Shen Canghai saw that Shenxiao had arrived, he shouted in alarm, “Your Majesty, please hurry and save my grandson!”
“Grandfather, I’m fine!”
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The moment Shen Canghai finished speaking, Shen Lang strolled out of the alley.
But the sight of him, covered in blood from head to toe, made Shen Canghai’s eyes turn red with terror.
He hurried forward and asked in a trembling voice, “Lang’er, where are you hurt? Let Grandfather take a look!”
Seeing that Shen Canghai was so anxious he was nearly in tears, Shen Lang felt a warm current pass through his heart.
When he had first come to this world, to be honest, he had always regarded Shen Canghai as nothing more than an NPC.
But after today’s assassination attempt, Shen Lang truly began to regard him as family.
He smiled at once. “Grandfather, I’m not injured. This is all the enemy’s blood!”
“Nonsense! You’re only at the fourth level of Qi Refinement. How could you possibly have been their match?”
“Come, let Grandfather have a look!”
As he spoke, Shen Canghai reached out to pull open Shen Lang’s clothes and inspect his injuries.
But Shen Lang nimbly dodged away.
Shen Canghai froze.
Shenxiao, standing behind him, stared at Shen Lang in astonishment.
“You’ve reached the second stage of the Nine Revolutions Arcane Art?”
Faced with Shenxiao’s question, Shen Lang bowed to her with utmost respect.
“Your Majesty, would you say that my performance today qualifies as having passed your test?”
“What?”
Shenxiao was momentarily bewildered.
But when she saw Shen Lang repeatedly winking at her, she instantly understood that he was laying out a scheme.
She immediately gave a slight nod. “It was passable.”
“Then am I qualified to possess this divine sword and become a candidate?”
As Shen Lang presented her with a uniquely designed sword, Shenxiao raised her brows slightly.
She could tell that Shen Lang was setting a plan in motion.
But she was deeply displeased that he had included her in his scheme—especially when she had known nothing about it beforehand.
However, when she saw the level of his cultivation, she suddenly felt that taking Shen Lang as her disciple might not be such a bad deal after all.
After all, when Nanlan Yanran had first cultivated the Nine Revolutions Arcane Art, it had taken her three full years to break through to the second stage.
And Shen Lang had done it in the time it took to burn three sticks of incense?
Such talent was nothing short of monstrous.
With that thought, Shenxiao nodded indifferently. “Very well. I shall temporarily entrust this divine sword to you for safekeeping. As for whether you can become a candidate, I still need to continue assessing you.”
“Come back to the palace with Me.”
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With that, before Shen Canghai could say another word, Shenxiao simply grabbed Shen Lang and vanished from the street.
Shen Canghai was left staring blankly after them.
He had no idea what had just happened.
But the civil and military officials watching from inside the restaurant all wore grave expressions.
From the conversation between Shenxiao and Shen Lang, they had gleaned several crucial pieces of information.
First: the assassination plot they had launched against Shen Lang that day had indeed been turned against them.
Second: the divine weapon in Shen Lang’s hands had truly been a gift from Shenxiao when he became her disciple, and it had now become his weapon.
Third: Shenxiao was selecting talents as candidates for some unknown purpose.
Considering these three points, Xing Wenlong looked solemnly at He Xiufei.
“Old He, what do you think Emperor Shenxiao is preparing for by selecting candidates?”
At Xing Wenlong’s question, the calm and composed expression vanished from He Xiufei’s face.
In its place was an expression of extreme gravity.
“I don’t know. But whatever it is, it must be something major.”
“Then what should we do now?” Xing Wenlong continued.
He Xiufei thought for a moment. “First, report everything that happened here to Lord Zhao.”
“After that, we’ll deal with matters one step at a time.”
At that moment, He Xiufei and the others slunk out of the restaurant in disgrace.
Meanwhile, Emperor Shenxiao brought Shen Lang to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Her voice was cold. “Shen Lang, you have some nerve. You even dared to scheme against Me!”
“What qualifications do you have to become My disciple?”
Faced with Emperor Shenxiao’s interrogation, Shen Lang gave a sheepish grin.
“Your Majesty, please calm down. I nearly failed to see You again today.”
“You wouldn’t want Your grand undertaking to remain unfinished because I was assassinated, would You?”
“Hmph!”
Shenxiao snorted coldly. “If you were assassinated, you could only blame yourself for being careless. I could always find another strategist.”
Seeing that Shenxiao was merely trying to intimidate him, Shen Lang smiled with an innocent, honest air.
“Your Majesty, no one else possesses the means to destroy the Zhao clan without lifting a finger.”
“And no one else possesses talent as unparalleled as mine. Wouldn’t You agree?”
Seeing that Shen Lang was an old fox whom intimidation could not faze in the slightest, Emperor Shenxiao decided not to waste any more words on him.
She said calmly, “Enough. You want to borrow My name to deter those petty villains from laying a hand on you. I can agree to that.”
“But I must know every detail of your plans from this point onward.”