The two opponents indeed stopped their attacks, their faces filled with frustration. Hu Yanbei gasped for breath: “If you dare kill the monarch, you won’t survive either!”

Fu Lingchuan chuckled: “Why don’t we find out?” He loosened the spirit cord and locked the shackles onto Feng Miaojun’s wrists, then pulled her forward. Sure enough, with each step he advanced, the three had to retreat one step.

“The grounds are surrounded by imperial troops. If you take me hostage and walk out, thousands will witness the State Preceptor’s act of treason,” Feng Miaojun said softly. “Why persist in this futile resistance? From the moment you attacked upon entering, you had already lost this game.” She had provoked him countless times to attack her and finally succeeded.

Fu Lingchuan leaned close to her ear, his breath unsteady: “Just a thousand men or so—I’ll kill them all if needed!”

“Have you gone mad?” Feng Miaojun closed her eyes slightly, disappointment in her voice. “So Fu Lingchuan is nothing but a coward who can’t accept defeat.” She struggled forcefully, causing the silver shackles to clang twice.

It seemed the effect of the Thousand Silk Worm powder had worn off. No matter—these silver shackles could seal her cultivation, rendering her no different from an ordinary person. Fu Lingchuan gazed at her perfectly contoured profile and coldly said: “I haven’t lost yet!” Wu Se’er was his territory! Once they left this place, he would mobilize his troops and seize control of the aristocratic factions led by Hu Yanbei and Zhao Hongyin. As long as he had the Queen in his grasp, even if the capital experienced some turmoil, it would eventually calm down. “These shackles are an ancient relic, once used in Qingzhou slave camps to suppress powerful and beautiful female demons. Neither you nor I can break free from them.”

The ministers had already escaped, so there was no point in concealing his face anymore. When Fu Lingchuan led her outside, the thousand-strong army suddenly fell silent.

Wang Yuan, his robe splattered with blood, his usual pleasantness long gone, pointed at him in anguish: “State Preceptor, release the Queen! Don’t continue this foolishness!”

He was only lightly wounded, while the other two senior officials lay on the ground unable to stand, with military physicians urgently treating them. Needless to say, this was the blue tiger’s doing. Fortunately, Chen Dachang had rushed out to save them; otherwise, all three would have perished in the tiger’s jaws.

Luckily, Xu Linghai had arrived with troops, overwhelming the blue tiger with superior numbers.

At this point, Fu Lingchuan had no desire to waste words and coldly said: “Make way.” Blood seeped through multiple spots on his robe, giving him a fierce, tragic aura. As New Xia’s foremost expert, having occupied a high position for so long, he still exerted tremendous intimidation over the troops before him.

Zhao Hongyin also came out, shouting: “How will you ever show your face in the royal court again!”

Fu Lingchuan could still manage a smile: “The future will be no different from the past, as long as…”

“As long as what?”

Suddenly, a melodious, gentle female voice came from the crowd, instantly freezing Fu Lingchuan’s smile.

Then the troops parted, clearing a path as someone slowly walked out.

Holding a golden pestle, with beauty surpassing immortals.

Fu Lingchuan felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head.

Feng Miaojun—this was another Feng Miaojun!

Having been by her side for so long, her figure, movements, and even the most subtle expressions on her face could not escape his eyes.

The one before him looked remarkably similar—he couldn’t spot any flaws.

She slightly raised her chin, regarding him with the proud posture of a victor. Each word from her crimson lips seemed to echo endlessly in his ears: “State Preceptor Fu, you have lost.”

He had lost? “That’s not right!” Fu Lingchuan stared intently at her, suddenly tightening his grip on the “Feng Miaojun” beside him and shouted angrily, “Then who is she…”

Before the word “who” could fully escape his throat, the Feng Miaojun in front of him suddenly thrust her hands outward.

At that moment, her spiritual energy erupted violently. The dantian mark even “borrowed” a massive amount of spiritual power from Yun Ya, merging the two forces and concentrating them at her wrists.

The converging spiritual power was unprecedentedly vast like a great turbid wave filling the sky. Even her meridians, expanded through intensive training, were painfully flushed to the brink of bursting.

She had reached the absolute limit of what her meridians and body could contain.

With a light “ding” sound, the silver shackles were torn apart by the tremendous force, cleanly broken into two halves.

Her fingertips immediately concealed a cold glint, striking backward with lightning speed. At that moment, Fu Lingchuan was mentally shaken, his full attention on the figure across from him. By the time he sensed something was wrong, a sharp edge had already pierced his abdomen!

He couldn’t help but let out an angry roar, one hand grabbing the awl, the other choking her throat, blue light erupting around his body.

But she twisted her wrist to grasp his hand, forcefully pushing it away.

This became a contest of strength.

For Fu Lingchuan, it felt as if he was restraining a dragon in human form, with terrifyingly domineering strength. He was approaching his limit, able only to watch as his hand was pushed away inch by inch.

That sense of powerlessness penetrated to his very marrow.

Taking advantage of their deadlock, Hu Yanbei stepped forward and swung his sword at Fu Lingchuan’s neck!

This divine sword had drunk the blood of countless people. No matter how skilled Fu Lingchuan was, he couldn’t have trained his neck to withstand such an attack.

Just as Fu Lingchuan was about to be beheaded, Feng Miaojun suddenly released her left hand.

The cold gleam had already sliced off strands of hair from his forehead. With no time to think, Fu Lingchuan raised his arm to block the strike—his armguard was also a treasure that could barely withstand Hu Yanbei’s sword, though it developed some cracks.

At this moment, Feng Miaojun calmly drew out the Star Piercer with her left hand and unhurriedly placed the awl’s tip against his chin, while ordering Hu Yanbei: “Release him and stand down!”

Her voice came just in time. A fierce light flashed in Hu Yanbei’s eyes. This was a rare opportunity! If he missed today, would he ever have another chance to end Fu Lingchuan?

But Feng Miaojun had already spoken again, her tone becoming sharp: “General Hu Yan!”

With the momentum of great victory behind her, even her reprimand carried immense pressure, instilling fear in the hearts of even the ministers and generals present.

Hu Yanbei paused, slowly sheathing his sword and stepping back. Despite his extreme reluctance, he couldn’t openly defy royal orders in front of a thousand witnesses.

What a pity, what a pity indeed.

As his sword returned to its scabbard, his body swayed. Military physicians quickly stepped forward to support him for treatment. Hu Yanbei had been stabbed through the lung and covered in wounds large and small, already severely injured.

Chen Dachang, though afflicted with blood poison, still gritted his teeth and stepped forward, pointing his sword at Fu Lingchuan’s back. However, the latter’s gaze remained fixed on the crowd. The “Feng Miaojun” standing there was quietly disappearing, reverting to a blurry shadow.

Then, she vanished completely.

An illusion.

He let out a laugh, seemingly in self-mockery.

So the Princess Changle in the crowd was fake, and he had been deceived by her once again. She could change her appearance at will—he had already experienced this on Spiral Float Island. Therefore, when he saw Queen Changle appear in the crowd, his first thought was that the one in his grasp was the impostor.