#164 - National Scholar

The Burning Blade Sect's True Disciple Elder was smashed to the ground, his back a bloody mess, a gaping hole almost piercing his entire body.

Fear gripped his heart, and all his previous confidence vanished, replaced by utter terror.

Death loomed, so close now, right before his eyes, ready to swallow him whole.

Enduring the excruciating pain, he continued his charge towards Ji Liufeng and the others.

At this moment, his only hope for survival lay in capturing the Emperor, Empress, and Prince of the Great Zhou!

By taking them hostage, Jun Wuxie might hesitate, considering his relationship with Ji Yinlan.

He moved swiftly, and despite his severe injuries, he shot forward like an arrow released from its bow.

"Courting death!"

How could Jun Wuxie possibly allow him to seize Ji Liufeng and the others?

This old dog, twice charging towards Ji Liufeng, his intentions were too obvious; it had happened twice already.

He would not give him a third chance.

He pointed a finger behind him and with a flick of his wrist.

The Primordial Sword Embryo, which had been pinning the Burning Blade Sect's Core Elder, flew over like a stream of light and with a *poof* sound, nailed the True Disciple Elder, who had almost reached Ji Liufeng and the others, to the ground.

The sword embryo pierced through his body, piercing his heart, half a foot of the sword's body plunged into the ground, and a large amount of blood gushed out.

The Burning Blade Sect's True Disciple Elder struggled, reaching out his hand towards Ji Liufeng with all his might. After a few struggles, his hand fell to the ground, blood constantly pouring from his mouth and nose.

"Old dog!"

Jun Wuxie stepped forward, squatted down, grabbed his hair, lifted his head, and said, "Now, do you still want the things I obtained in the Nanshan Secret Realm?"

The Burning Blade Sect's True Disciple Elder looked at Jun Wuxie with terror, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.

"Jun Wuxie, thanks to you today…"

Ji Liufeng finally recovered from his shock, dispelled his True Qi shield, released the Empress, and stepped forward.

"Brother-in-law, we didn't intentionally help the Burning Blade Sect harm you; this matter…"

"I know."

Jun Wuxie shook his head, interrupting the Eighth Prince.

He turned and walked to the corpse of the Burning Blade Sect's Core Elder, removed his Numinous Ring, and casually tossed it to the Eighth Prince, before saying to Ji Liufeng and the Empress, "Your Majesty, Empress, you have been frightened."

The Empress looked at him apologetically: "You don't blame us?"

"You had no reason to help the Burning Blade Sect to deal with me; this matter must not have been your wish."

Jun Wuxie had roughly guessed what was going on. Besides, these two were Ji Yinlan's biological parents.

"This incident was due to my carelessness…" Ji Liufeng's expression was a little unsightly, and he said: "The Burning Blade Sect, one Star River Realm and one Half-Step Star River Realm expert, threatened the safety of me and the Empress!"

"Your Majesty, the security protection in your palace needs to be strengthened."

Jun Wuxie was also very surprised that the inner courtyard of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace was actually infiltrated so easily.

Although the Imperial Family was far inferior to a mid-tier force like the Burning Blade Sect, lacking Grandmaster Realm experts, there were still many Star River Realm experts, and even some Star Ocean Realm experts.

"It was my oversight. The Commander of the Imperial Guards was bought off by the Burning Blade Sect and secretly brought the two of them into the palace!" Ji Liufeng shook his head and said: "It seems that in the future, I will have to have the Xuan Yuan Dragon Guards hidden nearby at all times to prevent similar incidents from happening again!"

Jun Wuxie nodded and said, "Your Majesty, how is Yinlan doing at the border recently?"

"Yinlan is fine, you don't have to worry."

"That's good. If there is nothing else, I will return to Zong Wang Mountain."

Jun Wuxie picked up the Burning Blade Sect's True Disciple Elder and prepared to leave.

"I have some things I want to discuss with you."

Ji Liufeng stopped him.

Jun Wuxie paused, killed the Burning Blade Sect's True Disciple Elder with a palm strike, removed his Numinous Ring, and threw the corpse on the ground.

Ji Liufeng immediately summoned the guards to clean up the place, replaced the old tables and chairs with new ones, and asked Jun Wuxie to sit down.

After the palace maids came in and served tea.

Ji Liufeng glanced at the Eighth Prince and said to Jun Wuxie, "Today, I have a request."

"Your Majesty is Yinlan's father, so he is my elder. The word 'request' is a bit too heavy. Your Majesty, please speak, if this junior can do it, I will certainly do my best."

Jun Wuxie's attitude was sincere, but he also left himself an out.

He made it clear that it had to be something he could do.

"Since that's the case, I'll be blunt. You should already know about the Mount擎 Sword Sect opening the Trial Land in my capital city in three days, right?"

Jun Wuxie was slightly startled: "What, Your Majesty also knows about this?"

"Of course, after all, the Sealed Land is being opened in the center of my Great Zhou's capital city. As the ruler of the Great Zhou, how could I not know?" Ji Liufeng said: "This time, the Mount擎 Sword Sect is opening the seal and opening the Trial Land. My Great Zhou Imperial Family has also obtained the qualification to participate. I plan to let the Eighth Prince, Bei Lan, participate in the trial."

Jun Wuxie was stunned when he heard this.

Ji Liufeng said: "To be honest, Bei Lan is the next ruler I have chosen in my heart. He is currently young and has no prestige in the court. Although he is talented, his realm is not very good. This trial is a good opportunity, and I want him to try it."

"Your Majesty, you shouldn't be telling me this."

Jun Wuxie frowned slightly. Ji Liufeng actually told him directly that the Eighth Prince was the next ruler he had chosen in his heart.

Such words, aside from the Empress and Ji Yinlan, probably no one else in the court knows, otherwise the Eighth Prince would inevitably be secretly targeted, or even persecuted.

Ji Liufeng actually said it in front of him so openly.

What did this mean?

His intention was too obvious, to pull him into the vortex of the Imperial Family's power struggle.

Now that he knew about this, it would probably be difficult to extricate himself.

After all, his relationship with Ji Yinlan was there. Now that he knew, there was no reason to pretend not to know.

"Wuxie, we know that we shouldn't have dragged you into the Imperial Family's power struggle without your consent, but we have no choice." The Empress said apologetically: "Currently, with Yinlan around, there are indeed many people in the court who are willing to support Bei Lan, but Yinlan will eventually leave…"

"Even if Yinlan leaves the Great Zhou and leaves the Southern Domain, she is still in the Eastern Wilderness. You can always have her rush back to support the Eighth Prince's ascension to the throne; it shouldn't be difficult."

"No." The Empress sighed and said: "You and Yinlan are in love, and we support it very much. However, your future may not be so smooth."

"Is the Empress referring to Yinlan's sect behind her?"

"Although her sect is strong, it shouldn't be anything to you in the future. I'm talking about the path Yinlan will take in the future, which may be very difficult. If you really love her, you have to be mentally prepared. She may leave this world in the near future."

Jun Wuxie was immediately shocked.

"Empress, are you saying Yinlan will leave this world?"

He couldn't help but stand up; this news was really caught him off guard.

"Yes, Yinlan's departure should be within these few years. At that time, Bei Lan will not have reached the time to ascend the throne, so we need you to help him."

Jun Wuxie was silent, his heart very uneasy.

Ji Yinlan would leave this world within these few years?

Where was she going?

After that departure, he probably wouldn't know when they would meet again…

After she left, she would leave behind her parents and younger brother.

Shouldn't he protect them in her place?

"I agree to this matter." He nodded and said: "However, my identity is neither a member of the Great Zhou Imperial Family nor a court official. If I interfere in the succession of the throne, I'm afraid it will cause controversy."

"We've already thought about this."

Ji Liufeng took out a golden jade token from his arms and placed it in front of Jun Wuxie himself.

The jade token had the Great Zhou Dragon pattern on it, with two words engraved on the front: National Pillar, and the word Jun engraved on the back.

"National Pillar?" Jun Wuxie was shocked and looked at Ji Liufeng and the Empress in astonishment: "What virtue or ability do I have? I haven't made any contributions to the Great Zhou, how can I dare to hold the position of National Pillar?"

"You haven't now, but you will in the future. This matter is decided, since you regard us as elders, don't refuse. Furthermore, if you become the National Pillar of my Great Zhou, it will be easier to help Bei Lan ascend to the throne in the future. As for announcing your identity as the National Pillar, I think we should wait until after the trial."

"This…"

Jun Wuxie felt a little embarrassed; the words National Pillar were too heavy.

He really didn't deserve it.

But Ji Liufeng and the Empress had obviously made a decision and didn't seem to be planning to change it.

"How about this, let's put the announcement of the National Pillar identity on hold for now and wait until the time is right in the future."

He felt a lot of pressure. If he had the chance in the future, he would have to do something for the Great Zhou, otherwise he would feel guilty.

"That's fine too, we'll do as you say. There's one more thing, I hope you can take care of Bei Lan during this trial and don't let him perish in the Trial Land."

"Okay, I promise to bring him back alive."

Jun Wuxie agreed. There was no way he couldn't agree, and even if Ji Liufeng didn't say it, he would take care of the Eighth Prince.

After all, this guy was Ji Yinlan's biological brother from the same mother.

"Brother-in-law, then I'll be following you. You have to take good care of me, otherwise I'll complain to my sister, hehe!"

The Eighth Prince spoke with a Jianghu tone, which made Ji Liufeng and the Empress shake their heads and glare at him fiercely.

"Yeah, taking care of you is no problem, but you have to be honest, otherwise I'll beat you up for your sister."

Ji Liufeng said upon hearing this: "If he doesn't listen to you and messes around in the Trial Land, you can just discipline him, just leave him with a breath."

"Father!" The Eighth Prince's face turned green and said: "Am I really your biological son?"

"Did you hear that?" Jun Wuxie looked at the Eighth Prince with a smile and said: "In the future, you have to have an attitude when you speak and act, and you have to stand straight when you get beaten!"

Eighth Prince: … …