At those words, the Dongguo faction members turned pale with fear.
Even Chancellor Dongguo Wuji and his son, Dongguo Lie, felt their hearts lurch.
Such words could spell doom for the Dongguo faction!
“Enough, stop. Matters require evidence. Baseless claims should not be made,” Emperor Huoyun said, waving his hand.
Then he turned to Lin Yun. “Lin Yun, Dongyuan Prefecture is now engulfed in massive protests, nearly paralyzed. Shi Wen is incompetent, and I’ve ordered his dismissal. You must return to take charge as prefecture lord. What do you say?”
“Master, forgive your disciple, but I cannot accept. I have only a few decades left. Even if I resume the role of prefecture lord, a successor will still be needed eventually,” Lin Yun said.
After a pause, he continued, “I suggest that after Shi Wen’s dismissal, Huo Zhen and Liang Yuan be sent to Dongyuan Prefecture as Chief Commander and Administrative Commissioner. They can stabilize the situation.”
The Chief Commander and Administrative Commissioner were the highest positions under the prefecture lord, overseeing the city guards and military affairs, and civil administration, household registration, and taxes, respectively.
“Very well, as you suggest. Order Huo Zhen and Liang Yuan to head to Dongyuan Prefecture immediately. Huo Zhen will act as interim prefecture lord and Chief Commander!” Emperor Huoyun declared.
“Your Maj—”
Dongguo Lie tried to object, but his father, Dongguo Wuji, stopped him.
“Enough. Court is dismissed. Lin Yun, stay,” Emperor Huoyun said slowly.
“We take our leave,” the ministers saluted and exited the hall.
In the hall.
After the ministers left, only Lin Yun and Emperor Huoyun remained.
“My disciple, since you’ve returned to the divine capital, why didn’t you come see me?” Emperor Huoyun asked, looking at Lin Yun.
“Your disciple is now a useless cripple and lacked the face to see Master,” Lin Yun said calmly.
“Recalling you from Dongyuan Prefecture was my decision, considering your condition. Staying in the divine capital to rest is for the best, free from administrative burdens,” Emperor Huoyun said.
In essence, Emperor Huoyun was granting Lin Yun, afflicted with a “terminal illness,” an extended leave.
“Your disciple understands,” Lin Yun replied.
“For the decades you have left, come to the palace if you need anything. Now, go,” Emperor Huoyun waved.
“Your disciple takes his leave.”
Lin Yun saluted and exited the hall.
In the hall.
After Lin Yun left, a red-haired cat hopped out.
“Master, such a genius like Lin Yun, gone just like that. What a pity,” the cat said regretfully.
“Indeed, but that’s the reality we must accept,” Emperor Huoyun sighed.
Having lived so long and seen so much, Emperor Huoyun knew even royal geniuses had fallen before.
He knew that in a hundred years, Lin Yun would be history.
In a thousand or ten thousand years, the Huoyun Empire would still stand, but Lin Yun’s name would be forgotten in the annals of history.
No matter how dazzling one once was, without achieving immortality, they would be swept away by the river of time.
Such was reality!
…
At the palace gate.
As Lin Yun emerged, he encountered Dongguo Lie, who seemed to have been waiting for him, stepping forward to block his path.
“Dongguo Lie, a good dog doesn’t block the way!” Lin Yun said, expressionless.
“You…” Dongguo Lie’s eyes twitched at the insult.
As the Chancellor’s son, who dared speak to him like that?
“Lin Yun, you’re arrogant, but what’s the point? In a few decades, you’ll be history, while I and my Dongguo family will still be here. Only the living are winners!” Dongguo Lie sneered maliciously.
“So, you waited here just to say that?” Lin Yun looked at him calmly.
“Of course, I’m here to humiliate you, you short-lived cripple! Haha!” Dongguo Lie laughed loudly.
He continued, “Lin Yun, since you’re about to die, I’ll let you strut for a few more years. But when you’re gone, my Dongguo family will wipe out your family and friends one by one!”
“Oh, and your daughter—I’ll sell her to a brothel, haha!”
Lin Yun, who had been expressionless, suddenly radiated a chilling killing intent.
Boom!
Lin Yun lunged forward, grabbing Dongguo Lie’s throat.
Caught off guard mid-laugh, Dongguo Lie was easily seized.
“You… a cripple dares to attack me?” Dongguo Lie sneered, trying to break free with his internal energy.
But he found Lin Yun’s grip astonishingly strong!
“You… how can this be?”
Dongguo Lie’s sneer vanished, replaced by sheer horror.
A Tribulation Realm cultivator, he couldn’t break free from Lin Yun’s grasp?
Lin Yun, a cripple unable to use internal energy—how was this possible?
It was unthinkable!
And since Lin Yun had seized his throat first, Dongguo Lie couldn’t fight back effectively.
Pinned by the neck, he was like fish on a cutting board.
“Don’t move! One more move, and I’ll crush your neck!” Lin Yun’s arm surged with power, his dark eyes brimming with killing intent.
Dongguo Lie’s face turned red, veins bulging on his forehead, his neck feeling as if it would burst!
He didn’t dare move.
“Cough, cough!”
“You… you dare? If you kill me at the palace gate, you’re finished too!” Dongguo Lie glared, eyes wide.
“Dongguo Lie, you know I have only decades left. A dying cripple like me, already on a dead-end path, fears nothing! No matter your background or power, it means nothing! Since I’m doomed either way, dragging you down with me—wouldn’t that be splendid?” Lin Yun’s face twisted with madness, like a deranged lunatic.
“You… you madman!” Dongguo Lie roared, eyes bulging.
“That’s right, I’m a madman—a dying madman!” Lin Yun grinned ferociously, like a demon from hell.
Feeling Lin Yun’s grip tighten, Dongguo Lie was truly terrified!
The soft fear the hard, the hard fear the poor, the poor fear the reckless, the reckless fear the crazy, and the crazy fear those with nothing to lose—this holds true everywhere!
Who isn’t afraid of someone with nothing to lose?
“No, no, I don’t want to die!” Dongguo Lie, pale with fear, quickly begged for mercy.
He was terrified Lin Yun would drag him to death!
“If you don’t want to die, hand over your storage ring!” Lin Yun’s gaze was chilling.
“Your storage ring? You… you’re trying to extort me? No way!” Dongguo Lie gritted his teeth, refusing.
If he told his father he’d come to humiliate Lin Yun but ended up losing his storage ring, how humiliating would that be?
