Death

The opera garden of the Lyu family troupe was made entirely of wood—excellent fuel.

Red and yellow flames burned ferociously, devouring everything inside the garden. With the sound of spitting and popping, acrid smoke drifted into Li Huowang's nostrils.

And the maddened Lyu Zhuangyuan, completely ignoring everything around him, still stood on the stage, loudly singing his opera lines, accompanying his son and daughter-in-law in their final performance.

The scene in the distance was deeply imprinted in Li Huowang's mind, leaving him with a turmoil of emotions.

"Hahaha!!! Died well, died well!!" Laughter came from Li Huowang's left. It was Qiu Chibao.

Clutching half a rotting infant corpse, she seemed stimulated by something, hopping and jumping excitedly as she looked at the burning bodies in the surrounding flames.

"Sob sob…" Crying came from Li Huowang's right. It was Jin Shanzhao. Missing his lower body, he lay on the ground, wiping his tears with heart-wrenching grief.

The moment the monk's chant of liberation began, Li Huowang walked over and pulled Lyu Zhuangyuan out.

The instant Li Huowang got him out, the entire opera garden collapsed completely.

Li Huowang looked at the raving Lyu Zhuangyuan in his arms, then at Lyu Juren who had vanished into the flames.

To be honest, he wasn't that close to the Lyu family. He knew they had been treating him as an escort all along, he just never called them out on it.

But when this scene unfolded before his eyes, his chest felt tight and heavy.

"Troupe Master Lyu! Hold on! Your granddaughter is still alive!! Don't give up!"

Li Huowang brought Lyu Zhuangyuan and Xiu'er to the foot of the city wall. He had no other choice; the entire Liang Dynasty was in chaos, and only here was safe.

By now, the imperial city had clearly reacted.

The date-red city walls were surrounded layer upon layer by a pack of hungry military families. And that was just outside the wall—who knew how many defenses lay within.

"Watch them for me!!" Suppressing the fury in his chest, Li Huowang shoved the old man and the child forward.

"If I come back and they're missing so much as a hair, I'll fucking kill you all!!"

The moment Li Huowang finished speaking, Peng Longteng's towering figure suddenly appeared behind him. With one hand, she grabbed the tentacles on his body and hurled him into the sky.

The wind howled. The entire Shangjing city spread out beneath him. He could see the greatest capital of the Great Liang Dynasty in utter chaos.

Outside the city gate, densely packed Fa Sect followers surged toward the walls like ants.

And inside the walls, it was just as bad—rebellious crowds raised by the Fa Sect were everywhere.

They shouted words they themselves didn't understand, unleashing the malice hidden in their hearts.

By now, all of Shangjing's constables and the Supervisory Heavenly Office had been mobilized. They clashed in a chaotic back-and-forth, and the entire capital had descended into a complete mess.

Li Huowang had always known the Fa Sect was a scourge. If left unchecked, it might topple the entire world.

In his heart, he had always treated fighting the Fa Sect as a form of self-preservation, a duty. He had no particular feeling about the Fa Sect itself.

But just now, his attitude toward the Fa Sect had changed. Anger and hatred had been mixed into it.

The Fa Sect wouldn't just destroy the Great Liang, or even the whole world—it would also bring pain and despair to countless people.

This thing wanted to share the torment he had once experienced with every single person in this world!

Li Huowang didn't want that. He knew how awful that feeling was. It was enough for one Li Huowang to suffer in this world.

"Ji Zai! Do something! The Fa Sect is attacking the city!! So many people have died, are you fucking blind?!"

Hovering in midair, Li Huowang tilted his head back and shouted at the sun in the sky. But still, there was no feedback whatsoever.

Seeing no response, Li Huowang clenched his teeth in hatred.

Lean on a mountain and it falls, lean on water and it flows. At this moment, he could only rely on himself.

Peng Longteng appeared beside Li Huowang again, grabbed him, and threw him straight into the most chaotic part of Shangjing.

When Li Huowang slammed heavily into the dirt from high above, his tentacles pushed hard against the water. His whole body sprang up from the soil.

Clutching various sharp weapons and a chest full of fury, he charged toward the Fa Sect believers who were burning, looting, and killing.

He had to vent the rage in his heart, or he would go completely mad.

Wherever Li Huowang went, a storm of blood and gore erupted.

Ordinary Fa Sect followers were no match for him, and neither were the sorcerers hidden among them.

Right now, Li Huowang was like a force of nature, cutting his way in and out of Shangjing.

There was nothing in his mind except killing every last one of these Fa Sect believers.

The more Fa Sect there was, the more tragedies like the Lyu family troupe would occur!

When Li Huowang was completely drenched in blood, the Purple-Tasseled Sword in his hand was wrapped in nearly solidified killing intent, emitting a constant dragon's roar.

The sword seemed alive, pulsing continuously, a surge of heat restoring Li Huowang's stamina.

With a powerful swing, a streak of red sword aura shot out, cleaving a distant man and his wooden shack clean in two.

Seeing this, Li Huowang suddenly understood. He had been burying the Purple-Tasseled Sword's potential all along. In the past, he simply hadn't killed enough people.

From morning till dusk, from dusk till night, Li Huowang gripped the sword and killed until a film of blood covered his eyes.

By the time Li Sui's tentacles were so exhausted they dragged on the ground, he could no longer see any Fa Sect followers.

The city gradually quieted down. Members of the Supervisory Heavenly Office, their tokens hanging from their waists, stood on rooftops like multi-colored vultures, scanning their surroundings.

Killing intent smoldered in every pair of eyes. Any Fa Sect follower who dared to show their face would be ruthlessly struck down.

Li Huowang stood frozen in place, looking down at his Daoist robe, which was caked in blood.

Surrounded by bodies lying in heaps all around him, Li Huowang felt like he might have won. But he felt no joy in his heart—only a profound exhaustion.

"Dad, I'm hungry. Can I eat some of your flesh?"

Li Huowang nodded. He pulled over a three-legged stool and sat down. "Yeah. Eat."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Ji Zai." Li Huowang called out to his shadow again, but there was still no reaction.

Li Huowang looked up toward the distant imperial palace. Xuanpin, Zheng Boqiao, and the Imperial Preceptor hadn't made a move. They were probably all protecting the emperor. That meant Gao Zhijian should be fine.

"Why did they do this?" Li Huowang stared at the corpse of a Fa Sect believer on the ground, pondering the question.

As brutal and tragic as it looked, the dead were all ordinary people. Neither the royal family, the military families, nor the Supervisory Heavenly Office had suffered much at all.

Looking back on it now, these Fa Sect believers almost seemed like they had come to throw their lives away.

Sorry, the next chapter will be late.