The Great Yan Imperial City is the core of the Great Yan Dynasty, where the Great Yan royal family resides. It is also the place with the strongest defenses and the most experts in the Great Yan Dynasty.
But at this moment, the entire Great Yan Dynasty was on high alert, and the impregnable city-protecting formation on the city walls was now operating at its maximum capacity.
Countless military commanders gathered in the city, standing ready and watching the outside world.
The royal family was shrouded in gloom and despair, and everyone had lost their former prestige.
The once tranquil and majestic imperial court was now a chaotic mess, with ministers arguing heatedly, their faces flushed.
"If you ask me, we should just surrender as soon as possible. There are eight major powers outside, and these are not all of the Zhou family's vassals. Resistance will only increase casualties."
"To hell with you! When has the Great Yan Dynasty ever surrendered? At worst, we'll all perish together, fight to the death!"
"I think it would be better to kneel down and become the Zhou family's dog. Not only would we be spared from harm, but we could also enjoy the Zhou family's protection in the future."
"Are you dreaming? If the Zhou family valued our Great Yan, they wouldn't have come to our gates."
The ministers, who usually acted respectable and proper, were now fighting like street thugs.
Residing atop the magnificent throne, radiating a terrifying aura and exuding imperial majesty, is none other than the current Flame Emperor, Huo Tianyan.
A few days ago, his Dharma Image lost face in Tianxuan Holy State and gave his son's fiancée to Zhou Xingdou as a condition.
This has already sparked gossip among the ministers.
Now that the Zhou family's affiliated forces are at the city gates, he feels like he's been played, and his once dignified face is now as dark as a black pot.
Moreover, before the battle even began, the ministers below had already started proposing surrender, and some even suggested that the Emperor Yan kneel down, confess his sins, kill his own crown prince, and become a dog for the Zhou family.
This caused the already furious Emperor Yan to lose all restraint, and he immediately roared:
"Shut up! You bunch of good-for-nothings!"
The deep shout shook the imperial court, and all the officials groaned, suffering serious internal injuries.
This immediately snapped them out of their fear, and they all knelt on the ground, not daring to utter another word.
Emperor Yan was furious. These ministers were all incredibly intelligent, their strategies were brilliant, and they were all skilled at governing the country.
But today they seem to have lost their minds, like a mob, commoners in the marketplace, spouting nonsense in the halls of power.
At this moment, the Empress, seated gracefully on the second phoenix throne to the left, wearing a phoenix crown, spoke in a languid yet noble voice, a quality ingrained from years of holding a high position, soothingly saying:
"Your Majesty, they were just panicking and lost their minds."
Your Majesty might consider personally negotiating with the forces outside the city. Perhaps it hasn't come to the point of mutual destruction; at worst, you could offer some compensation and cede territory to sue for peace.
At this moment, the courtiers also cast grateful glances at the Empress. If there was one person the officials of the Great Yan Dynasty feared the most, it was naturally the Yan Emperor sitting on the throne.
If we were to speak of the most respected, it would undoubtedly be Empress Yue Shuhua of the Great Yan Dynasty, a woman of unparalleled virtue and kindness.
Empress Da Yan was Emperor Yan's first wife, and she was the Crown Princess even before Emperor Yan ascended the throne.
There weren't many people in the entire Great Yan who could persuade the Emperor, but Yue Shuhua was one of them, and naturally she was quite favored.
She was also the eldest daughter of the Yue family, the most prestigious family in the Great Yan Dynasty.
The Empress of the Great Yan Dynasty looked to be in her thirties or forties. She was not as youthful and beautiful as a young woman, but she was in the most voluptuous and full-figured stage of a woman's life.
She wore a magnificent golden phoenix robe, her skin was as smooth and translucent as jade, her phoenix eyes were full of loving kindness and peace, and her figure did not lose its color with age like ordinary people.
As a cultivator herself, and who frequently consumes beauty-enhancing substances, she has not only avoided aging and losing her youthful beauty, but has also developed a mature and elegant charm.
Moreover, as the empress of a nation, she possessed a very contrasting aura—compassionate yet dignified.
Hearing his empress's words, Emperor Yan's expression softened slightly. He knew he should do something, and he felt his empress was right.
He also knew that with the current strength of the Great Yan Dynasty, it was impossible to withstand the attack of these eight forces, so he could only helplessly say:
"Then I will go there myself."
In the blink of an eye, the Flame Emperor descended upon the sky above the imperial city. Looking at the overwhelming aura of power opposite him, even someone who had long held a high position couldn't help but feel terrified.
But the Flame Emperor was no ordinary being. He steadied himself and bowed slightly to the dozens of beings radiating overwhelming aura before him, saying:
"Gentlemen, my Great Yan has no enmity with you, so why have you led your troops to my Great Yan Imperial City?"
When facing others, Emperor Yan dared to refer to himself as "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I" or "I"), but these people were all powerful beings, which made Emperor Yan dare not use the word "朕" again.
However, these powerful beings ignored the Yan Emperor's polite manner.
One of the Supreme Beings, who looked like an old Taoist priest, and another Supreme Being, whom the Flame Emperor found familiar, were being reprimanded by several other Supreme Beings.
One of them, a burly man with palms as large as palm fans and an incredibly heavy and unfathomable appearance, pointed at the old Taoist's nose and cursed:
"What have you Shenwu Sect done to yourselves in the Taichu Dao Domain all these years? You dare to disregard the might of the Zhou family with just this one dynasty that occupies three continents."
If this were within the territory of my Heavenly Stele Sect, would such a trashy force even need the Zhou family's Heavenly Decree? I would have wiped them out single-handedly long ago.
The others nodded in agreement without exception, and together they mocked the Divine Martial Sect, cursing the old Taoist until his face turned red and his neck thickened, completely erasing any semblance of Taoist immortality.
The Sage standing beside the old Taoist was none other than Yuan Tian, the Great Elder of the Divine Martial Sect. He was now cowering like a quail, his head bowed, not daring to utter a single word.
Among the dozen or so supreme beings, an old man carrying a sword box and radiating an aura of unparalleled sharpness that could pierce the heavens and earth spoke indifferently, his tone full of sarcasm:
"No wonder the other families didn't come. Enemies of this caliber, they dare to bring glory to the Zhou family? They'd rather be a disgrace!"
Beside the old man carrying the sword box, a figure in black robes, whose form was obscured like a ghost, also spoke coldly:
"I thought it was some newly emerging top power. There are only three or four low-level supreme beings in the entire imperial city. You, Tianhui, are really cautious. With such a small force, you still need to ask for help and let the young master be humiliated."
I advise your Divine Martial Sect to withdraw from the Zhou family's affiliated forces.
The old Taoist priest, enraged by the insults, grabbed Yuan Tian beside him and kicked him twice, glaring and berating him:
"Useless thing, didn't you say that the Great Yan should not be underestimated?"
Yuan Tiansheng took two kicks and said with a wronged expression:
"How could I, a mere Saint, possibly know the true depths of the Great Yan Dynasty?"
Yan Huang remained standing there, listening to the sarcasm and disregard in their words, his face ashen.
However, at that moment, Yuan Tian seemed to sense something. He touched his chest and felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly and respectfully addressed the peerless figures beside him:
"Seniors! The young master just sent word that he says he'll spare the life of the Great Yan Empress and send her to him; the rest are free to do as they please!"
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