“What is this? Commoners causing a revolution? Robbing the rich and redistributing land?”

Following Xiang Ling's lead and trotting onto the street, Tiran looked a bit dumbfounded. The streets were filled with people dressed in ragged clothing waving various makeshift weapons, looting and causing havoc everywhere. Not a single shop along the street was spared. Unlucky individuals who were caught ended up with blood pouring from their heads, falling to the ground and unable to get back up. At first glance, it was a scene of commoners reveling, an alliance against the wealthy.

“They are people from the slums.”

Xiang Ling furrowed her brow, having grown up in the slums, she was very familiar with their attire. The most prominent feature of slum clothing was that most of them couldn't even be categorized as "clothes." They consisted of torn rags with holes or simply a piece of cloth.

“They… are all struggling to survive, for this country, they have always been a powder keg.” Xiang Ling sighed as if in resignation.

“So, this is all set off now? The handiwork of those two princes?” Tiran asked casually, as two vagrants, having just finished looting a grocery store, approached with wooden clubs in hand. In their eyes, the two young girls seemed like defenseless lambs, but in reality, they were there to deliver a surprise. Tiran deftly struck the one coming towards them with an unsheathed longsword in his left hand, hitting him in the chest, causing him to faint on the ground.

“It must be.” Xiang Ling glanced in the direction of the palace, her eyes somewhat clouded.

Her choice was not wrong. Anyone willing to drag almost all the residents of the city into their bid for the throne cannot possibly have the welfare of people like herself in mind once they become emperor.

“Now that things have started, you don’t plan on just watching, do you?”

Tiran followed Xiang Ling’s gaze, flexed his muscles after adjusting his sword sheath, and said.

...

“Retreat, shield up! Everyone spread out! We must not let them pass!”

At the end of the long street, the city guards were being overwhelmingly beaten by the rioters. Although there were about a hundred soldiers with decent armor and weapons, facing the endless rioters, the old tricks did not work. A few fire grenade pearls thrown casually by the old mage broke the wall of shields forming the front line.

These kinds of disposable artifacts that were only low-grade in the cultivation world had terrifying power in battles against ordinary people. At least thirty people fell, with the unfortunate souls at the center of the explosion being blown into pieces, a horrifying sight.

“Where did these guys get such weapons?”

The leading military officer was shocked. Weapons of this power were definitely not something ordinary thugs could get their hands on. Who was behind these people?

The other soldiers were pale-faced. They were already in over their heads, and now with this huge gap…

“Charge!”

At that moment, the sound of dense hoofbeats and even more concentrated footsteps came from behind, the clang of armor plates colliding filled the air.

“This is… the City Guard?!”

The military officer of the city defense forces was overjoyed and turned to look behind him.

Their defense position was at the end of this commercial street, with a crossroads behind them leading to other city gates. The street on the right was empty of civilians, and a well-equipped army was advancing toward this location.

At the forefront of the army were rows of fully armored cavalry, followed by a large contingent of heavily armed infantry. Unlike the city guards who were used for maintaining daily order, these soldiers were the elite forces meant for real combat.

The arrival of the City Guard put most of the officer's worries to rest. It seemed the commander of the city defenses had noticed the uprising within the city and dispatched the military to quell it.

Beside him, the soldier gestured and immediately ran towards the approaching city guard troops, waving his arms and shouting, "Brothers of the city guard! There is a large-scale riot here! The garrison forces are insufficient to suppress it! Help—"

Before he could finish his words, he realized something was wrong. Despite seeing someone approaching from a distance, the front-line cavalry showed no intention of stopping and continued charging forward without hesitation.

In the astonished gaze of the garrison officer, the soldier sent out stood frozen for a moment before being knocked down by the leading city guard cavalry, then disappeared among the countless hooves.

"What the hell are you guys trying to do! You are killing your comrades! Bastards!"

His anger exploded to the boiling point, and the garrison officer angrily rushed forward, but the city guard troop did not stop at all and simply rode past him. The cavalry passed by, followed closely by the infantry column, not a single soldier sparing him a glance, each one with a cold, hard expression, as if his anger was merely a buzzing fly.

As the footsteps gradually faded away, the garrison officer stood in place like a statue, staring blankly at the body in the middle of the street, trampled beyond recognition.

As the silence settled after the passage of the troops, the burning rage began to cool, replaced by a chilling sensation creeping up from the soles of his feet.

What's going on? The people in the slums, the city guard, are they all going insane?

"Hey, what are you daydreaming about over there, Officer?"

His own body broke out in a cold sweat when he saw the city guard just now. His men could bully this group of around a hundred garrison soldiers with their superior numbers, but if they faced off against the well-equipped and numerous city guard cavalry, infantry, and archers, it would be suicide. Fortunately, they had simply passed by, indicating that what the servant said was true.

A fierce grin gradually spread across his face.

Finally getting rid of this damn dog-like existence!

"Get them! Take them down!"

...

In the imperial city, on the square in front of the Yuhe Hall at the forefront of the three main halls of the palace, the Imperial Guards stood in formation, while the Wuding Gate beneath the main city tower rang out with a dull sound and closed tightly.

"Master Wu!"

Beside the Yuhe Hall, an old man with grey hair and beard, surrounded by several Imperial Guards, quickly made his way to the front of the Imperial Guard formation. The leader of the Imperial Guards seemed to gain confidence upon seeing him, drew his sword and approached him.

"Speak."

"Yes! For some reason, news of the morning's events in the hall reached the City Guard troops. General Li has used the excuse of having traitors within the Imperial Guards to raise the banner of guarding the emperor and has requested the City Guard to take over the defense of the imperial city. Now, a large City Guard force is nearing. Wu, how should we respond?"

The defense forces and responsibilities in Luojing have always been clearly defined—the City Guard defends the city walls, the garrison maintains peace and suppresses riots, and the Imperial Guards protect the imperial city. To allow the City Guard to enter the imperial city and take over the role of the Imperial Guard would be considered a rebellion, unless the emperor himself decreed it, which was impossible given the emperor's current unconscious state. However, due to the morning's assassination attempt in the hall and the emperor's inability to make decisions, coupled with the plausible reasons the City Guard had to doubt the Imperial Guard and their concern for the emperor's safety, they were taking over the defense of the imperial city.

Even though this action went against the law, in such times, the significance of the law was minimal. The royal prince who instructed the City Guard to act this way only needed a reasonable explanation for the people after the fact and a plausible reasoning for the history books. The so-called glory of a successful military expedition worked this way.

For him, storming the imperial city, capturing his royal brother, and then pressuring the emperor to abdicate was practically a done deal.

Clever move, Prince Xiangliang. Minister Wu chuckled inwardly.

Glancing at the assembled Imperial Guards in the square, it was evident that they constituted the main force. The Imperial Guards numbered around three thousand, with the advantage of the city walls against the City Defense Army making them formidable in battle. However, the Imperial City itself was only the location of the imperial palace and not designed for war; in the end, it was likely to be breached. It now depended on how the remaining two would react.

"I am utterly clueless when it comes to marching and fighting, so naturally I do not know how to respond. But... when facing an enemy, what should one do?" Wu Shengchen smirked as he glanced at the commander.

"Carry out your duties."

...

Xingjian's expression wasn't too good.

Aya always thought she was rather dull at sensing people's emotions, but even she could tell that Xingjian wasn't in a good mood.

"Um, is something happening outside?"

"...It has nothing to do with you."

"But I'm so bored here." Aya spread her hands innocently. "You've locked me up here and I can't do anything, not even die or have a last meal like a death row inmate."

"Have you completely given up?"

Upon hearing this metaphor, Xingjian couldn't help but show an exasperated expression.

"If there was even a slight possibility of granting your request, I wouldn't give up treatment." Aya sighed. "You can knock me down without even lifting a finger; how can I fight back like this? I might as well pray to the Dragon God and hope that Yuan's plan won't cost me my life."

"So, fulfill a request, won't you? With Lord Xingjian's abilities, it shouldn't be impossible, right? Right?"

"...I suddenly understand why Prince Tiran always scolds you." Xingjian sighed, turning around. With a slight tap of his right index finger, the floor, originally crystal-clear like obsidian and calm as a still lake, suddenly produced clusters of amorphous, jelly-like substances.

An illustrative comparison... the texture of a liquid crystal display?

Yet behind her, Aya, who had just been fawning a moment ago, now had a hint of sharpness in her eyes. Though maintaining a composed demeanor, her body beneath the clothes was tense like a taut bowstring.

Under the façade of calmness, the only thing she could rely on now was the compressed limit of Qi scales.

"You may refuse in words, but your body is very obedient... Prince Tiran probably would say something like this, right?" Xingjian lazily remarked with his back to Aya.

As the words left his mouth, Aya also moved, her movement almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, aiming directly at Xingjian's back.

Trapped in The Realm with no escape, the only way out was to defeat those maintaining The Realm. Although knowing the chances were close to zero, Aya still nervously decided to give it a try.

In the moment she struck, Aya even fleetingly thought she might succeed, with her sensory perception seemingly elongating and magnifying along with her increased speed, turning her swift assault into a slow-motion effect.

"...Huh?"

Wait, this didn't seem like a bullet-time slow-motion effect.

Was her speed genuinely slowing down?

"Aren't you forgetting that this is The Realm, where the rules of time can be manipulated at will?"

Xingjian sidestepped around Aya with a graceful step, lightly tapping her with his finger to dispel the momentum and power stored in her body, then releasing the time extension effect.

"Wow... *click*."

Aya, suddenly losing all her strength, stumbled a few steps before jumping twice to regain her balance. She awkwardly turned around and saw that Hoshimi had already opened a water curtain the size of a wall made of black crystal-like liquid.

"There, the outside view you wanted to see."