Firmament Sword

”Lao Liu, I never thought... you could be so ruthless. To commit such a treasonous act... all for the throne... You’ve killed me, your older brother... and I... I accept it! Even though... I am your brother, born of the same mother... they say the Royal Family is the most ruthless of all... Better to die at your hands... than at the hands of another. But why... why couldn’t you even spare Mother... Why!” Huangfu Chongxi stared deathly at his younger brother, whose face was contorted with a savage expression. He let out a hoarse roar, coughing up mouthfuls of blood that splattered across his bright yellow Crown Prince’s Attire.

”No, I didn’t kill them, I didn’t! I just... put them to sleep. Truly, you have to believe me. How could I kill my own father and mother? I didn’t!” Huangfu Chongxiao’s face was twisted in a savage grimace, and he ground his teeth, a gleaming Long Sword still clutched in his hand.

The Long Sword was dripping blood.

Huangfu Chongxi seemed to lack the strength to argue with his brother any longer. He could feel the life force draining from his body as he rapidly weakened. The world before him began to blur.

Imperial ambition? ’Let it all go.’

It was all just a dream, like smoke and clouds that scatter with a puff of wind.

It was a pity that he only saw it all clearly now, when it was a little too late.

”You... you fool!” Huangfu Chongxi looked at his younger brother with a strange pity. There wasn’t much hatred in his eyes. Instead, a hazy vision of the two of them as boys appeared before him.

He saw the little boy who always trailed behind him, calling him ”Big Brother Crown Prince.” He saw the youth who ran to him for comfort after getting his palms slapped by a teacher at the Royal Academy. He saw the young man with wide eyes, swearing to be his right-hand man, to become the greatest Prince in all of Cangqiong and expand the Empire for him... Gradually, these images coalesced into the terrifying, savage, and distorted face of the Sixth Prince before him now.

”You allied with... Huangfu Haoyue... Don’t... get yourself... entangled. That man... his ambition is immense. He can’t be trusted! And the Xu Family... don’t touch them. The National... Guardian General... he is... the Empire’s... cornerstone! Wei Feng... is treacherous and greedy. He cannot be... entrusted with power!” Huangfu Chongxi spat out another few mouthfuls of blood, then greedily gasped for fresh air.

”I really miss... our childhood. I don’t want to die... I miss Little Sister... Father... Mother... I’m... coming to join you...” Huangfu Chongxi murmured, slowly closing his eyes.

Tears trickled from the corners of Huangfu Chongxiao’s eyes, falling onto the hard, smooth stone floor of the grand hall. They splattered, bounced, and broke apart, just like the Sixth Prince’s heart, which had already been shattered to pieces after he personally killed his own brother.

”I’m sorry... Brother!” Huangfu Chongxiao closed his eyes, forcefully holding back his tears. He let out a long sigh, then opened them again. An icy, resolute look appeared on his face.

”Treasonous villains have caused chaos in the palace, colluding with the National Guardian General’s Mansion in a plot to rebel! They have assassinated the Crown Prince, the Emperor, and the Empress! Pass down my orders! Immediately seal the National Guardian General’s Mansion, the Xu Mansion of the Champion Marquis, the estate of Duke Jingyang, the Sui Mansion of the Mighty Grand General, and the Liu Mansion! Arrest them all! If any resist, kill them on the spot!”

”The royal descendant Huangfu Chongzhi participated in the rebellion, a heinous act of treason. Pass down my orders! Immediately expel Huangfu Chongzhi from the Royal Family and strip him of his title, demoting him to a commoner. Issue an immediate warrant for the arrest of Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Luo, Xu Jie, Liu Feng, and Sui Yan! If any of them resist, execute them on the spot!”

One by one, the orders were dispatched from the Imperial Palace in the Imperial City, carried on waves of blood and slaughter.

Only after all the commands had been sent out did the Sixth Prince, Huangfu Chongxiao, let out a long breath. Then, he turned and slowly walked out of the palace hall. ”Have my father, the Emperor, and my mother, the Empress, buried together. The tomb must be of the highest specifications. As for the Crown Prince, Huangfu Chongxi, bury him with the rites befitting a Prince...”

A few people were standing in the plaza outside the Imperial Palace Hall.

Huangfu Haoyue watched the Sixth Prince with a smile. When he saw him emerge, he bowed and said, ”Congratulations, Your Highness. You have finally achieved your wish.”

Wei Feng and Wei Ziting stood to one side. Wei Feng’s old face bore several clear handprints from a slap, and his gaze was unfocused, as if lost in thought.

Wei Ziting, however, was beaming, his eyes flashing with excitement. He had finally waited for this day. Finally, it was his, Wei Ziting’s, turn to hold his head high!

’Xu Luo... and that damn Martial Soul Squad... just you wait. It won’t be long before it’s your turn!’ Wei Ziting imagined with smug satisfaction what it would feel like to one day face a captive Xu Luo and the others.

Huangfu Chongxiao looked coldly at Huangfu Haoyue, a monstrous killing intent surging in his heart, but he had no choice but to forcibly suppress it.

He didn’t dare to act on it!

Because standing beside Huangfu Haoyue were four powerful Sword Kings of the Transformation Realm!

So, even though he knew he had been tricked by Huangfu Haoyue—that this man had directly poisoned his father and mother, making his own heart bleed with grief and branding him with the infamy of a patricide and matricide—he still didn’t dare say a word.

...

「One night, a month ago.」

Huangfu Haoyue had suddenly invited the Sixth Prince to a banquet.

After a few rounds of drinks, Huangfu Haoyue seemed a little drunk. With drowsy, intoxicated eyes, he looked at the Sixth Prince. ”Chongxiao, do you really want to sit on that throne?”

Such words were highly treasonous. If they were overheard, even someone as noble as Huangfu Haoyue, a descendant of the Royal Family, would lose his head!

But between the two of them, this was already commonplace. Rules were only for those who lacked the power to break them. People like them were the ones who made the rules.

The Sixth Prince didn’t think much of it at the time and replied casually, ”How could I not? If I didn’t want it, why would I have worked so hard? Why would I have let things with my Crown Prince brother get to this point?”

”Right now, there is an opportunity that guarantees you can achieve your desire!” Huangfu Haoyue said lightly, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

”Imperial Uncle... what did you say?” The Sixth Prince’s eyes suddenly widened. A cold light flashed in his previously drowsy eyes. Although he had always respected Huangfu Haoyue, deep down, he had never paid much mind to this Imperial Uncle who shared his royal blood.

This was because they walked two completely different paths. However, the Sixth Prince was also aware that this Imperial Uncle of his was quite ambitious and seemed very keen on power.

Therefore, he had always been very cautious in his dealings with Huangfu Haoyue. Letting the other man know he was ambitious was one thing, but forming an alliance with him to conspire for the throne was another matter entirely.

Having been educated in the ways of the Royal Family since childhood, the Sixth Prince understood all too well the threat posed by a powerful man with royal blood.

So, when Huangfu Haoyue said those words, the Sixth Prince was both tempted and filled with vigilance.

He wanted the throne, but he didn’t want uncontrollable people by his side. And Huangfu Haoyue was exactly that kind of uncontrollable person!

As if he didn’t see the vigilance and hostility hidden deep in the Sixth Prince’s eyes, Huangfu Haoyue looked at him calmly and said lightly, ”I said, if there is an opportunity that can help you achieve your wish, are you willing to try?”

”This is no joking matter. I can pretend my Imperial Uncle is drunk. Once we leave this room, it will be as if nothing happened,” the Sixth Prince said in a low voice.

”Heh, I originally... I thought... never mind.” Huangfu Haoyue smiled faintly and said no more. Instead, he raised his wine cup, took a gentle sip, and said, ”This wine... is actually better than the tribute wine in the palace. But everyone in this world, no matter how prominent or wealthy, probably wants a taste of that tribute wine. If they could drink it every day, I imagine they would fight to the death for it, even if it means spilling blood.”

After speaking, Huangfu Haoyue laughed heartily, then stood up and walked out.

That night, the Sixth Prince, Huangfu Chongxiao, who always kept a regular schedule... suffered from insomnia.

He thought about many things, starting from his childhood. His brother, born of the same mother, was older and the firstborn son, so he was named Crown Prince from a young age. When he was too young to understand, he thought it was great. The future Emperor was his brother, so who would dare to provoke him?

As he grew older, he was exposed to more and more things, and the number of people around him... also grew.

A person’s ambition and desires always grow stronger with each experience.

Huangfu Chongxiao increasingly felt that, aside from being older, his brother was inferior to him in every way. So... on what grounds... should he be the one to sit on that throne in the future? Why couldn’t it be him?

Later on, the once-close brothers both gathered large groups of people around them, each with their own demands and ambitions.

The two brothers drifted further and further apart. He didn’t know when it started, but whenever he saw his Crown Prince brother, he no longer felt the old warmth. Instead, he felt that his brother’s eyes were filled with wariness and caution.

The feeling was not a pleasant one. But he understood that as long as the Crown Prince had not ascended the throne, he would never let down his guard against him. And once he did ascend... that would be the day he was sent far away from the Imperial Capital, far from the inner circle of Cangqiong.

Having tasted power, how could he be willing to give it up?

However, no matter what, the idea of brothers turning on each other... he had never considered it.

But Huangfu Haoyue’s words were like a potent poison, echoing endlessly in his mind.

’If there is an opportunity that can help you achieve your wish, are you willing? Are you willing? Are you? Are you?’

This voice kept him awake all night.

The next morning, he sent someone to invite Huangfu Haoyue to his residence.

”I wonder why Your Highness has summoned me so early in the morning?” Huangfu Haoyue asked as soon as they met, as if he had completely forgotten what he had said the night before.

”What do you want, Imperial Uncle?” The Sixth Prince ignored Huangfu Haoyue’s pretense of confusion and asked seriously.

”Me? Heh, if I said I’m doing all this for nothing in return, would you believe me?” Huangfu Haoyue asked with a faint smile.

Huangfu Chongxiao shook his head and answered bluntly, ”Of course not.”

”Fine, then I’ll tell you what I want.” A glint flashed in Huangfu Haoyue’s eyes as he said in a low voice, ”I want a hereditary title as a Prince!”