Chapter 98

After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he issued an edict to rebuild Yangzhou, the city where he had once served as governor, renaming it Jiangdu. Not only did he expand the city walls and construct numerous palaces, but he also built gardens and, in the northern part of the city, constructed the "Shugang Ten Palaces" such as Guiyan, Hui Liu, and Songlin, nestled among the mountains and water.

However, the most magnificent was the Linjiang Palace built along the Yangtze River. Whenever Yang Guang felt the urge, regardless of the time, he would go there to admire the beautiful scenery of the Yangtze, completely ignoring the possibility that Du Fuwei and Li Zitong might attack at any moment!

In Xiao Ran's view, this was a complete abandonment and self-destructive behavior. Throughout his life, Yang Guang had faced few challenges except for the competition for the crown. Everything he did went smoothly until the failed expedition to Goguryeo!

He could not accept this failure, leading to his current state. It was like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, thinking that by closing his eyes, the world would have nothing to do with him!

Even when a palace maid came to inform him of a secret plot by the Xiangguo Army to escape, he had her beaten to death.

In fact, at this time, the Xiangguo Army had no intention of betraying him; they just wanted to return home. If Yang Guang had shown a bit of resolve, there was still a chance for a comeback!

At this moment, Yang Guang was filled with a violent temper, and even Empress Xiao did not dare to stay by his side, being ordered to leave. He was rarely alone like this!

Looking out the window at the beautiful landscape, Yang Guang felt a myriad of emotions. Suddenly, he sensed something and turned his head to see a black-clad youth standing behind him!

Yang Guang's martial arts were taught by his father, Yang Jian, but they had been neglected for a long time, and his will to fight had been eroded by wine and women, making him not much stronger than an ordinary person!

However, his eyes were still sharp, and he knew that this person, who could enter silently, had unfathomable martial arts skills, comparable to the three great masters. He trembled and said, "Are you here to kill me?"

This black-clad person was none other than Xiao Ran. He bowed to Yang Guang and said, "Xiao Ran greets the ruler of the Great Sui!"

If the guards had not been so negligent and everyone had not been so anxious, no one could have entered silently, as enough soldiers could have formed an impenetrable defense!

Hearing Xiao Ran's name, Yang Guang, for the first time, did not become agitated but instead remained unusually calm: "Are you the immortal who wrote 'When did the bright moon appear?' Dying by your hand would not be a disgrace!"

Yang Guang was a man of literary talent, arrogant and self-important, looking down on everyone. There was once a man named Xue Daoheng, who was killed by Yang Guang for writing good poetry. When he killed him, Yang Guang asked, "Can you still write 'The swallow's mud falls on the empty beam'?"

His jealousy was evident, and in short, he could not tolerate anyone being more talented than him!

But at this moment, he thought that dying by this person's hand would be better than dying at the hands of those peasants!

Xiao Ran shook his head and laughed, "You will definitely be killed by someone, but it won't be me! Your dream of being like the last emperor of Chen is impossible!

You will leave a legacy of infamy and die at the hands of your own generals!"

Yang Guang sneered disdainfully, "I have wronged the people of the world, but I have not wronged my subordinates!

How could they kill me!

Moreover, although I have made mistakes, I have also done things that benefit future generations. How could I leave a legacy of infamy?"

Xiao Ran sighed again, "You know why you lost, but you are still deluded!

Forget it, let's not talk about this!

You are doomed to die, but do you want your family to be extinguished?"

Yang Guang was startled and his eyes cleared, as if waking from a nightmare. He trembled and said, "What do you really want?"

Xiao Ran said, "If you agree to my request, I will ensure that your family's lineage continues!"

Yang Guang's whole body trembled. Although he had prepared for the worst, he had never dared to think deeply about his family's future!

Could his family really be extinguished in his hands? He looked at Xiao Ran, as if grasping the last straw, and said, "What are your demands!?"

"Give me an imperial edict to assist your son, and give me a copy of your family's martial arts techniques! Yang Jian's martial arts must have been excellent!"

Yang Guang was furious, "Do you want to usurp the throne? Absolutely not... This is treason..."

Xiao Ran sneered, "There are many who commit treason. Even if I don't usurp the throne, others will!

Li Yuan and Wang Shichong will do the same!"

Yang Guang's eyes welled with tears. Li Yuan was his cousin, and he had heard that Li Yuan had rebelled, but he had always chosen not to believe it. However, hearing Xiao Ran's words, he finally believed it!

After a while, Yang Guang spread out the imperial edict, wrote swiftly, and after a moment, handed it to Xiao Ran, trembling, "How can you guarantee it?"

Xiao Ran took the edict and said, "How the Sima family treated the Cao family, I will treat your son! By the gods, if I, Xiao Ran, lie, may I die a terrible death!"

Although the Sima family usurped the Cao family's throne, they did not exterminate the Cao family but provided them with good food and drink!

Only one person named Cao Mao died because of his own actions, being killed by someone!

People of this era placed great importance on oaths. Seeing Xiao Ran swear by the gods, as Westerners would swear by God, Yang Guang believed him!

So, he took out a small yellow book from a hidden compartment and said, "This is our family's true qi secret technique, I will give it to you!"

Xiao Ran took it and stored it in his storage space. Seeing Xiao Ran's abilities, Yang Guang's confidence increased. He also gave the imperial seal to Xiao Ran, saying, "I hope you will keep your promise..."

Xiao Ran, having obtained the martial arts techniques of the Tang Dynasty, had deepened his mental cultivation. The Phoenix Eye had the ability to exert mental pressure, and although he could not yet use the Phoenix Light, it had advanced his mind control to the realm of formlessness. Influencing Yang Guang, whose spirit was already broken, was quite easy!

Xiao Ran reached out, took the imperial seal, and played with it for a moment.

The imperial seal of the Sui Dynasty was called the Mandate Seal and was firmly controlled by the court.

The imperial seal was said to be carved from the He Shi Bi, but in this fictional martial arts world, the real He Shi Bi was in Yang Su's treasure vault and later fell into the hands of the Jingnian Chan Sect, finally benefiting Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling.

Regardless, this was the imperial seal of the Sui Dynasty. Obtaining this, Xiao Ran's path to unifying the world had a perfect beginning!

Suddenly, Xiao Ran put the seal into his storage space and said to Yang Guang, "The person who will kill you is here!"

In the darkness, the sound of armor clashing was heard, and a man rolled in, saying, "Your Majesty, it's bad, Yuwen Huaji has rebelled..."

This was Yang Guang's favored minister, Pei Yun. Behind Pei Yun, Xiao Ran unexpectedly saw the figures of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were also stunned to see Xiao Ran, unable to imagine how he could be here!

The two dragons had been wandering the江湖 (jianghu) and had hooked up with Xiang Yushan, who was aligned with the Dugu Clan. The Dugu Clan and the Yuwen Clan were fierce rivals, and the two dragons, who had deep enmity with the Yuwen Clan, had aligned with the Dugu Clan to bring down the Yuwen Clan!

The Yuwen Clan, sensing this threat, had rebelled!

Xiao Ran's prediction came true; it was indeed Yuwen Huaji who had come to kill him!

Yang Guang's confidence in Xiao Ran increased. Facing death, he finally regained his nature as a hero and said calmly, "Don't stop him, let him in!"

His voice carried far, showing his considerable martial arts skills!

The soldiers parted, and Yuwen Huaji, wearing armor, rushed in. Yuwen Huaji looked at the calm Yang Guang and sneered, "I didn't expect you to regain a bit of resolve at this moment!

If you had been like this earlier, how would you have ended up in this situation!"

Yang Guang looked at Yuwen Huaji and said, "Although I have wronged the people of the world, I have never wronged your Yuwen family!

I never thought the person who would come to kill me would be you!"

Dugu Feng, who followed Pei Yun, shouted, "Yuwen Huaji, you have received the emperor's grace, yet you rebel..."

Xiao Ran, impatient with the conflict between the Yuwen Clan, the Dugu Clan, and Yang Guang, gave the two dragons a nod. The three of them flashed and escaped through the window!

The soldiers, seeing someone escape, immediately drew their bows and shot arrows at Xiao Ran. But Xiao Ran's cloak fluttered, becoming as hard as iron under the influence of his true qi, and a strong wind carried him away!

He also used a current of true qi to push the two dragons, carrying them away and dodging the arrows, making them seem like flying immortals!

They flew very fast, and the soldiers only had time to shoot one arrow before losing sight of them. A few accurate shots were deflected by them!

They could only watch as they flew dozens of yards and disappeared into the darkness!

Seeing Xiao Ran's agility, Yuwen Huaji's face showed shock, and he did not pursue them. He immediately attacked Dugu Feng, unleashing a freezing Ice玄劲 (Xuanjing), causing chaos on the scene as everyone drew their weapons and fought!

Yang Guang's end had come!

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