As dawn broke on the horizon, dark clouds already blanketed the sky above the imperial city.
The gilded glazed tiles were dull and lifeless under the gloomy sky, and bronze dragon-head ornaments sat on the eaves of the nine-tiered palace, emitting a low, mournful sound in the wind.
The crown prince was dressed in black armor, with a dragon-patterned sword at his waist, and behind him were three thousand iron cavalry led by his maternal grandfather, the General Who Guards the Nation.
These cavalrymen were all dressed in fine fish-scale armor, with blood-red tassels on their helmets, and their horses were draped with bronze veils. The white mist exhaled from their nostrils condensed into frost flowers in the cold wind.
The armor was gleaming coldly in the morning light, and the horses' hooves trampled the frost and snow on the palace road, causing the palace lanterns on both sides to shake violently.
A group of palace maids and eunuchs saw this and fled in panic.
"Who dares to trespass into the palace?" A dozen or so extraordinary people flew out from a nearby hall and shouted.
Their attire varied; some wore Taoist robes with Bagua symbols, others wore animal skin vests, and still others wore long robes adorned with copper bells from other ethnic groups, with talismans hanging from their waists jingling.
They were naturally talented people recruited by the emperor from various places. Half of them were sent out to complete tasks, while the other half were kept in the palace to prevent unforeseen circumstances.
These ten or so people were bored all day long and assumed that no one would dare to cause trouble in the palace, but they never expected that someone would actually dare to break in!
"You, you are absolutely audacious!"
"Don't you know this is the imperial palace? With extraordinary individuals like us here, you won't succeed. Watch out for my giant fireball!"
"Wait, isn't that the Crown Prince? Everyone be careful, don't harm the Crown Prince, wait for His Majesty's words!"
The leading eccentric exclaimed in astonishment.
It turns out this wasn't a rebellion, but an internal coup!
Regardless, the person in front of me is the Crown Prince. If I were to kill him, it would likely provoke his fury.
"Sigh, Your Highness, why bother? If you had just waited a little longer, what couldn't you have obtained? Why did you bring thieves here today?" the leading man hinted.
"I, the Crown Prince, have no intention of wasting my breath on you people! Imperial Advisor, please help me!" The Crown Prince raised his head arrogantly, the cloud patterns on his black armor neck guard reflecting a cold light with his movements, displaying an air of utter disdain.
Behind him, a white figure floated slowly.
Xia Yan held a magic staff, her white veil and hat fluttering in the strong wind.
“Your Highness, this man is indeed an extraordinary person, but you wouldn’t want to use this one person to deal with a dozen or so of us, would you?” A man wearing scale chainmail laughed, the peacock feather on his helmet trembling slightly in the wind.
"Since we have been allowed to remain in the palace, our abilities are naturally quite remarkable. How could you possibly handle us?"
However, just as those people finished laughing, a ghostly blue flame suddenly rose around Xia Yan.
These flames, like clusters of blooming flowers, suddenly vanished from their spots and then abruptly reappeared on the necks of all the extraordinary individuals.
The group was horrified. What kind of bizarre ability was this? Why was it so powerful?
No wonder the Crown Prince dared to storm the palace with only one man in white! He probably wouldn't even be able to get away with it, would he?
"You can't stop me!" the crown prince said coldly.
The group exchanged glances, and the leader leaned back instantly, a metal longsword covered in runes floating in his hand.
With a whoosh, the longsword flashed with a cold light and flew swiftly toward the man in white.
However, Xia Yan simply blocked it lightly, and the metal longsword in front of her exploded automatically, with pieces of metal falling to the ground.
A group of extraordinary people instinctively took a few steps back and held their breath.
The leader, upon discovering that the flames on his neck had transformed into a gleaming, sharp sword, broke out in a cold sweat.
How can this white-clad man be so powerful? Are there really extraordinary individuals capable of achieving this?
Or is it that the other party is not an extraordinary person?
While the group was still in shock and uncertainty, Xia Yan teleported over and used a magic circle to knock everyone unconscious. Then, she used the dark blue flames to transform into thin ropes and bind them tightly.
"Continue!" Xia Yan said calmly, her voice beneath the white veil as clear as ice striking stone.
The prince behind him was already terrified, but for the sake of today's plan, he desperately tried to convince himself and finally regained his normal expression.
"Let's go, to slay the evil spirits and purge the court of corrupt officials!"
A group of people rushed over quickly, their iron boots treading over the imperial stone steps carved with intertwined branches, and sped toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
On the other side, at the Prince Sui's residence.
The cold wind swirled snowflakes and pounded against the glazed tiles, causing the copper bells on the eaves to jingle.
Lin Anniang, dressed in an indigo-blue outfit with deerskin wristbands, lightly stepped past the Prince's mansion.
The group quickly searched the secluded courtyard without making a sound.
The paving stones at the tunnel entrance were lifted up, revealing densely packed talismans and faint candlelight used for warding off evil spirits.
"Liang Shu, you take Liang Yu and the others in to rescue them. I'll stay outside and keep watch," Lin Anniang said in a low voice.
The group nodded and quickly crawled inside, the passageway being swiftly closed.
At that very moment, a group of people rushed out from the dilapidated courtyard.
The silver masks reflected the moonlight, flickering in and out. This group of people, dressed in white robes, hid in the snow and ice, and were not discovered in time.
Lin Anniang simply jumped up and stood on the wall to attract the attention of those people.
She wore only a wooden hairpin in her hair, her brows and eyes were cold and stern, and she looked down at the strange and unusual people patrolling the courtyard, her expression as calm as a deep pool.
"Come on, all of you, let's see how strong you are."
The group of men in white were shocked.
How dare these thieves who invaded the Prince's mansion be so audacious? Do they think they can take on seven or eight extraordinary people all by themselves?
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