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The Empress Dowager had a grim expression as a figure cloaked in black reported everything that had transpired on the main streets of the imperial city.

“Feng Yu, that fool, is truly incapable. He can’t accomplish anything and only makes matters worse.”

“I instructed him to abduct Lu Tao’s daughter, but he couldn’t even manage that, and now he’s been imprisoned by the Royal Shadow Guards.”

The Empress Dowager’s face was filled with restrained fury, and her heart surged with overwhelming anger. She couldn’t help but curse.

She truly hadn’t expected it.

That idiot Feng Yu.

He had dared to act against Lu Tao’s daughter in broad daylight and had completely bungled the task.

If this matter reached Lu Tao’s ears, he would surely align himself with the Emperor and become my enemy.

“Your Majesty, please calm down.”

“We can only think of another way now to gain control of the military power of the City Defense Force.”

In the grand hall, Liu Wu, the Prime Minister on the right, furrowed his brows slightly and sighed.

Feng Yu, that man.

He had even managed to fail such a simple task; he was truly useless.

But of course, Liu Wu knew.

The Emperor must have been secretly paying attention to this matter.

Otherwise, the Royal Shadow Guards wouldn’t have appeared out of nowhere on the streets of the capital to stop Feng Yu.

“Hmph!”

“Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to eliminate Lu Tao and replace him with someone more suitable to command the City Defense Force.”

The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, her eyes flashing with killing intent as she spoke in an icy tone.

After this incident, Lu Tao would undoubtedly side with the Emperor.

To the Empress Dowager, the military power of the City Defense Force could not be allowed to be in Gu Changsheng’s hands.

Thus, she had no choice but to eliminate Lu Tao and appoint someone else as the commander of the City Defense Force.

“Your Majesty, eliminating Lu Tao won’t be that simple.”

At this moment, Prime Minister Liu Wu spoke indifferently.

He was well aware that if Lu Tao refused to be swayed by the Empress Dowager’s offers, there could only be one outcome.

Death!

But Lu Tao, as the deputy commander of the City Defense Force and a cultivator at the seventh level of the Great Realm, would not be easy to deal with.

Moreover, the Emperor was also trying to win over Lu Tao and would not stand idly by while the Empress Dowager made her move.

This would make it difficult to eliminate Lu Tao.

The Empress Dowager was shrewd, and she could guess Liu Wu’s cautious thoughts. Her expression remained indifferent as she sneered:

“The new Emperor may wish to protect Lu Tao, but he must first prove that he has the strength to do so.”

In terms of the number of powerful individuals.

She didn’t think much of the Royal Shadow Guards under Gu Changsheng’s command.

There was only that mysterious peak-level cultivator who caught her attention.

But a single peak-level cultivator wasn’t enough to pose a real threat.

“Haha, it seems the Empress Dowager is confident in her plans to eliminate Lu Tao. I shall wait for the good news!”

Liu Wu squinted, a smile on his face, though a hint of trepidation flickered in his eyes.

It appears that the Empress Dowager’s forces are even more formidable than I had imagined—truly unfathomable.

If Gu Changsheng, the new Emperor, wanted to oppose the Empress Dowager.

It would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—an act of self-destruction.

—

Late at night.

The moon hung high, its light sparse.

At the residence of Lu Tao, the deputy commander of the City Defense Force, within the Great Zhou Imperial City.

In the main hall.

Lu Tao sat at the head of the table, conversing with a mysterious figure in black robes, his face dark and grim.

“Commander Lu, as long as you’re willing to side with the Empress Dowager, you’ll be granted promotions, wealth, and endless glory.”

“But if you stubbornly refuse and fail to recognize this opportunity.”

“Both you and your daughter will die tonight.”

The black-robed figure’s face twisted into a sinister smile, his voice laced with threats.

At those words.

Lu Tao’s face turned furious, his gaze cold and deep as he glared at the figure before him, his tone filled with murderous intent:

“The Empress Dowager has gone too far! Does she truly think I, the deputy commander, am so easy to bully?”

As soon as he finished speaking.

A terrifying aura erupted from Lu Tao’s body, enveloping the entire hall as he decisively struck out at the black-robed figure before him.

Earlier, the Empress Dowager had sent men to abduct my daughter on the streets of the capital.

Now she dared send a powerful figure to threaten me.

Did she really think that as the deputy commander of the City Defense Force, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, I was easy prey?

“Commander Lu, since you refuse to cooperate, you leave me no choice but to kill you.”

The black-robed figure sneered, releasing a vast pressure akin to the might of the heavens as he prepared to strike.

Boom!

A violent collision resounded.

Lu Tao’s black armor shattered, and he was left in a pitiful state, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he was sent flying.

“A peak-level cultivator!”

Lu Tao’s face grew grave as he clutched his injured chest, struggling to stand, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at the black-robed figure.

He had never expected that the Empress Dowager would go so far as to send a peak great expert level cultivator to kill him.

Such powerhouses were few and far between in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, completely beyond his ability to resist.

“Unwise. Had you pledged loyalty to the Empress Dowager, you wouldn’t be facing death now.”

“Die!”

The black-robed figure’s gaze turned icy as he extended his hand, preparing to strike Lu Tao’s head.

But at that moment.

Suddenly, a figure—frail and clad in gray robes, with a sword at his waist—appeared silently in the courtyard, effortlessly neutralizing the black-robed figure’s power.

Seeing this,t he black-robed figure’s expression darkened, and he hesitated to strike further.

He recognized the gray-robed elder as the mysterious peak-level cultivator who stood by the new Emperor Gu Changsheng’s side.

With him here, killing Lu Tao was clearly out of the question.

With this realization, the black-robed figure exchanged a glance with the gray-robed elder, then vanished from the scene in an instant.

“Thank you, elder, for your help.”

Lu Tao, filled with gratitude, approached the gray-robed elder and bowed respectfully.

He knew that if this elder hadn’t appeared tonight.

He would undoubtedly be dead.

“Commander Lu, there’s no need to thank me. His Majesty was aware of your danger and sent me to protect you.”

The gray-robed elder waved his hand, suppressing the terrifying aura that had emanated from him. His expression remained cold as he spoke calmly.

At these words.

Lu Tao’s gratitude deepened. He hadn’t expected Gu Changsheng to send such a powerful figure to protect him. Overcome with emotion, he said:

“I will never forget His Majesty’s life-saving grace. I must go to the palace immediately to thank him in person.”

“Commander Lu, perhaps you should heal your wounds first before meeting with His Majesty.”

The gray-robed elder’s gaze was indifferent as he noted Lu Tao’s injuries.

“This is nothing but a scratch. It won’t hold me back.”

Lu Tao’s voice was booming as he patted his chest, seemingly unaffected by his earlier injuries.

Seeing this,t he gray-robed elder remained expressionless and said nothing more.

Soon after.

Led by the gray-robed elder.

Lu Tao arrived at the palace unimpeded. As he approached, he noticed that the palace was surrounded by soldiers clad in golden armor, exuding a terrifying presence. He was perplexed.

What’s going on?

Wasn’t the palace defense always handled by the Imperial Guards?

Where had these powerful soldiers come from?

Before Lu Tao had time to process this, he was ushered by the gray-robed elder to the entrance of the imperial study.

“Your Majesty, Commander Lu has arrived!”

The gray-robed elder’s tone was respectful as he stood outside the imperial study, his demeanor humble.

Seeing this, Lu Tao’s eyes widened in disbelief, astonished by what he was witnessing.

This gray-robed elder was a peak-great expert level cultivator, yet he was showing such deference to the Emperor—it was truly astounding.