Breaking the Deadlock

The State of Chen once relied upon three pillars. One was planted at the border, halting the eight hundred thousand armored troops of the Mo Kingdom. The second stood within the imperial court, maintaining perfect order throughout the government. The third was driven into the hearts of the officials, serving as a source of both desire and warning. These three pillars secured the peace of the nation. However, seventeen years ago, the border pillar snapped after repelling the final wave of iron-clad troops. Over those seventeen years, the pillar embedded in the hearts of men had gradually decayed—and yet, it had also grown sharper. Meanwhile, the pillar in the imperial court, seeing the imperial canopy on the verge of collapse, sought to shoulder the burden alone, deciding to excise the crumbling pillar before it could snap. Yet that pillar was far too heavy; he was not even certain he could retreat safely before the mountain crumbled. Of course, he had never intended to retreat, but in doing so, the State of Chen was plunged into peril.

In the eyes of the onlookers, two spheres were colliding again and again. The slightly larger one was bright silver, while the other was a dense, heavy black. Both were oppressive to behold.

Xiao Qinhe seized an opening and landed a punch on Wang Qianzhong’s brow. The black sphere instantly disintegrated, and Wang was sent flying backward. As Wang performed a mid-air somersault, he lashed out with both legs, slamming them into Xiao Qinhe’s chest. The two crashed simultaneously against the white walls on either side, causing them to collapse in a cloud of dust.

Xiao Qinhe slapped the ground and forced himself to his feet, looking somewhat disheveled. Yet, even such a ferocious blow could not quench the killing intent in his heart.

Opposite him, Wang Qianzhong drifted to his feet and brushed the dust from his blue-white robes. Despite the heavy blow to his brow, he appeared utterly unperturbed.

Was the gap of a single realm truly this vast?

Xiao Qinhe was filled with disdain. This bullshit realm—did they really think it could be used to determine superiority? Today, he was determined to break it for the world to see!

Xiao Qinhe’s momentum surged, his true energy flowing like a torrential flood. Even if it meant sacrificing his entire cultivation, he would ascend to the summit and shatter this world-renowned Realm of Heaven and Earth.

Seeing this, Wang Qianzhong understood that Xiao intended to stake everything on a single throw. The black shadows surrounding him converged, condensing before his golden mace. The once-glittering weapon turned pitch black in an instant.

The obsidian darkness of the mace formed a sharp contrast with the piercing white light of the long halberd, Tianqi. One was black to the extreme, the other white to the extreme; they were utterly incompatible.

Both men charged toward each other. Along their path, the lush greenery and bluestone were ravaged by the aura they exuded. The entire courtyard was laid to waste, with only the pavilion where Ren Pingsheng sat spared.

Xiao Qinhe soared into the air and brought his halberd down. Wang Qianzhong blocked with his mace, his legs shattering the stone floor as he sank a foot into the earth. The two conflicting auras collided and tore at one another in mid-air, eventually dissipating into a shockwave.

Wang Qianzhong struck the underside of his mace with his palm, the hidden force surging through the weapon into Xiao Qinhe’s feet. Xiao Qinhe’s stance faltered; he performed a backflip to land, then staggered back, slamming his right foot down and sliding another half-foot before coming to a halt.

Seeing his true energy rapidly depleting, Xiao Qinhe could no longer afford to hesitate; he had to stake his life on this one strike.

Xiao Qinhe crouched, leaning backward. The long halberd twisted visibly in his hands, like a green serpent struggling desperately, unbridled and fierce, straining to break free from his grasp.

Wang Qianzhong sighed inwardly, knowing it had finally come to this. He flicked each segment of his golden mace, from heavy to light, until his left hand hung limp and drained of strength.

One halberd to pierce a hundred armors!
One mace to break a mountain rock!

The two vanished from their spots in an instant, closing the distance. Apart from the old eunuch Zhao Weizhong, the commander of the Imperial Guard Yan Han, and Hou An—the only one of the three generals to have reached the first rank—the rest saw only a momentary blur as the two clashed.

Zhang Ling activated his profound vision, his golden pupils scanning the scene. Though he witnessed the truth, his mind could not keep pace. After a moment of silent reflection, he suddenly jerked his head up.

Xiao Qinhe’s halberd was embedded an inch into Wang Qianzhong’s shoulder, while Wang’s golden mace was driven diagonally into the ground. Both men stood motionless. After a long while, an incredible sight unfolded: Xiao Qinhe was sent flying back for no apparent reason, the halberd being wrenched from Wang’s shoulder in the process.

Blood dripped from Wang Qianzhong’s shoulder, instantly staining a large patch of his blue-white robes red. Xiao Qinhe fell to the ground, clutching his halberd, unable to rise.

The crowd was horrified, the courtyard falling into deathly silence. Ren Pingsheng stood up slowly, his brow furrowing deeper.

Zhang Ling and the others crowded around. The Emperor looked at Wang Qianzhong and asked, "Did you hold back?"

Wang Qianzhong nodded, only then remembering to retrieve his golden mace.

Xiao Qinhe slowly stood up, gripping Tianqi with all his might, refusing to let go. Ren Pingsheng’s brow instantly smoothed.

Only a few had seen the battle clearly, but the true situation was known only to the two participants. Both the halberd and the mace had been used with their strongest techniques, yet each had held back a portion of their strength for different reasons. Xiao Qinhe had saved energy to kill Chen Liuren, while Wang Qianzhong had been instructed by Chen Liuren to show mercy. Furthermore, his ten years of indifference toward the Censorate had left him feeling guilty toward the Prime Minister, leading him to hold back two parts of his strength. Had he gone all out with his Guiyuan-realm prowess, Xiao Qinhe would certainly have died.

Ultimately, they shared one common motivation: neither wished for a result where both were destroyed. The State of Chen could survive without Prime Minister Xiao Qinhe, and it could survive without the Imperial Tutor Wang Qianzhong, but it could not survive without both at once. If the house were to leak while rain poured, how long could the State of Chen hold out against the armored troops of the Mo Kingdom?

Xiao Qinhe braced himself and said with a calm face, "I have lost."

Chen Liuren shook his head. "You may be heartless, but I cannot be irresponsible toward the State of Chen and its people. Even so, my word stands: as long as you are willing, you remain the Prime Minister of Chen."

Xiao Qinhe smiled. "Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler. If the Great General were here, you could have finished your reign as peacefully as the late Emperor. But the current State of Chen requires a ruler with boldness."

Chen Liuren relented. "If you wish to govern, I can delegate the power. I trust that your actions are for the sake of the soldiers at the front and the people of the world."

Xiao Qinhe sighed. "It is too late. From the moment Your Majesty brought troops here, the outcome of our mutual destruction was sealed. With such a massive display today, if nothing were to come of it—if I, Xiao Qinhe, were to live and Your Majesty had mobilized the army for no reason—it would throw the entire court into turmoil and suspicion. It would be nothing short of a disaster. Therefore, I, Xiao Qinhe, must die."

The Prime Minister tilted his halberd, ready to sacrifice himself. Just as the spear-tip was about to pierce down, Ren Pingsheng hurriedly shouted, "My Lord, there is no need to die!"

Everyone turned to look at the young man. Ren Pingsheng smiled. During the fight, he had pondered all the causes and consequences, finally finding a reason for the Prime Minister to live.

Chen Liuren ordered Yan Han to dismiss the Imperial Guards. Ren Pingsheng said, "The Prime Minister must indeed die, but it need not be real. I know that your choice to die is merely to avoid causing unrest in the court. On the surface, you are accused of treason, discovered by His Majesty, who then led troops to the Prime Minister's residence to execute you on the spot. If a corpse is required, one could easily select a death-row prisoner from the dungeons who shares your stature. My Academy has someone skilled in crafting human-skin masks. If we have him make one in your likeness for the prisoner, it will be enough to deceive the heavens and convince the world. However, from this day forth, you can never appear in public again."

The Prime Minister laughed. "A clever method, indeed. But I, Xiao Qinhe, have lived a life of gallantry, only to end by bearing the infamy of a traitor in order to survive—how bitter that is!"

Chen Liuren bowed to Xiao Qinhe. "I implore the Prime Minister to lay down your halberd for the sake of the people."

The Prime Minister remained silent for a moment, then cast aside Tianqi, turned, and let out a resounding laugh.