Yan Ling was silent for a long time, before finally speaking. His voice was soft, yet filled with unprecedented certainty: “Then go to the highest position.”

Wen Yuesheng turned her head, her dark eyes cold as she looked at him.

But in his clear, calm eyes, there was only her, the clarity like a deep pool.

He looked at her and said, “Go to a place no one can reach, where no one can shake you.”

“Don’t be anyone’s tool. If the princess desires it, she can certainly become the ruler of this world.”

The wind blew, stirring Wen Yuesheng’s long black hair.

In the bright light of day, she stood quietly, looking at him.

After that day, the crown prince position was not finalized, but the emperor, once he regained consciousness, summoned Wen Yuesheng.

It was already late at night, and Gao Quan personally escorted Wen Yuesheng out of the palace.

After she left, he continued to frown deeply.

The reason was simple: it had to do with the imperial decree issued by the emperor that day.

After being poisoned, the emperor’s health had worsened.

Even after various treatments, his time of consciousness was still limited.

The state affairs were being handled by several high-ranking officials, and the emperor could only review simple memorials, with Gao Quan reading them aloud and the emperor briefly offering his opinion, then leaving the scholars of the Hanlin Academy to write them down.

In such a situation, the emperor had decided to leave the palace and visit the royal temple.

Gao Quan, knowing the emperor’s frail health, advised against it, but the emperor insisted, and he could not stop him.

Since the poison was cured, Gao Quan had been by the emperor’s side, seeing his pale and haggard face.

As the emperor’s trusted aide, Gao Quan was well aware of the emperor’s inner suffering.

Especially after he suspected that the poisoning was closely related to Prince Jing Kang.

The emperor had four sons, but the one most favored wasn’t the eldest prince or Xiao Jin.

Rationally, the eldest son should be favored, and the legitimate son should inherit, but in reality, this was not the case.

Gao Quan, who had been by the emperor’s side for years, knew the emperor’s true favorite son was Prince Jing Kang.

The second prince, who had been born with frail health and was terribly weak.

It was precisely because of this that when the Empress Dowager first made a mistake, the emperor almost wiped out the entire Liang family but spared Prince Jing Kang.

The eldest prince had been cruel and eventually harbored rebellious thoughts, and the rebellion was not surprising.

But it was shocking that Prince Jing Kang, the favored prince, would go so far as to harm the emperor.

Gao Quan, too, couldn’t remain calm upon hearing this.

The emperor’s sons weren’t exactly few, but now, with both Fu Rui and Xiao Rui dead, if Prince Jing Kang’s crimes were confirmed, he would inevitably face execution.

Moreover, with the emperor’s health deteriorating, his emotions had been difficult to express.

It was only natural that the emperor wished to visit the royal temple to calm his mind.

But this time, when heading to the national temple, the emperor did not bring many people, and he didn’t even summon Prince Weiyang or Prince Yong’an, only bringing Wen Yuesheng along.

Wen Yuesheng was known throughout the court for her exceptional martial arts skills.

With her accompanying him, Gao Quan didn’t worry too much.

However, on the day of departure, as Gao Quan prepared everything to leave with the emperor, he was suddenly called to stay in the palace by the emperor.

Gao Quan was puzzled but obeyed the emperor’s command and remained in the palace.

He watched as the royal carriage, with Wen Yue Sheng riding on horseback alongside it, disappeared from view.

The royal national temple had received the emperor’s news early and had been cleaned and prepared for his arrival to rest.

Wen Yuesheng had been away for several months, but the place looked the same as before.

The temple was filled with the fragrant scent of sandalwood, and the surroundings were quiet, with few people disturbing the peace.

The emperor’s health was still poor, and a few imperial doctors accompanied him.

As they entered the temple hall, the emperor, feeling exhausted, was taken to the back hall of the main temple to rest.

A few imperial doctors followed, while Wen Yuesheng stood in the main hall, looking up at the massive golden Buddha statue above.

But just as she stood there for a moment, a loud cry from outside interrupted her.

Outside, Gu Yu’s face changed dramatically as he rushed into the hall and shouted, “Princess! Something’s wrong!”

Wen Yuesheng paused for a moment, then stepped out of the hall.

Before she even exited the main hall, she could already hear a loud roar in the distance.

The main hall was situated high, so from here, she could see the entrance to the national temple.

What she saw shocked the little novices around her.

Around the temple, dozens of fierce, massive bugs surrounded it.

At the entrance, there was also a giant black bear, as tall as the temple gate itself.

The beasts, seemingly out of nowhere, had gone wild and rushed toward the temple.

The bear at the gate even stretched out its sharp claws and smashed the heavy gate, which would normally take two or three people to open, as though it were nothing.

Behind the bear…

The captain of the emperor’s personal guard turned pale upon seeing this.

He looked at the scene for only a moment before shouting, “Assassins! Someone, come!”

At his command, all the personal guards present drew their swords and surrounded the emperor and the imperial doctors.

The emperor’s expression turned grim, and he was helped by the imperial doctors to sit down on the steps by the flower pond.

Before them, besides the ferocious beasts, there was a group of nearly a thousand people.

They all wore the uniforms of the personal guards.

Among them were a few commanders the emperor recognized well.

Two or three of them were promoted by the emperor when he was under the control of the insects.

And among them was one man riding a tall horse, pale and sickly in appearance.

He wore black armor, and on his right arm, he wore an iron guard, with sharp claws like those of a black bear, holding a piece of bloody flesh.

He was the one who had broken through the temple gate earlier—the Duke of Jingkang, who had been detained in the Dali Temple for a long time and had not been seen until now!

When the emperor and everyone else recognized his face, their expressions changed drastically.

Many people, including the emperor, had lived in the capital for many years, but it was their first time seeing the Prince of Jingkang in this condition.

Riding the horse, he occasionally coughed weakly, and each cough made his face redden. However, the more he coughed, the more his eyes became cold and sinister.

He looked like a snake lurking in the bushes—dark, ominous, and chilling.

The captain of the personal guards looked grim and immediately gave an order, “Quickly, signal for help!”

The appearance of the Prince of Jingkang here meant only one thing…

They had left the palace hastily today with only three to four hundred guards, which might not be enough to face the dozens of massive beasts.

Thinking of this, the captain’s expression worsened even further.

Fighting people might offer a chance of victory, but facing these beasts… there was no hope.

Even the claws of the black bear alone could tear them into pieces effortlessly.

It wasn’t just him; even the personal guards were trembling at the sight of these terrifying beasts.

They dared not approach but continuously retreated, guarding the emperor, imperial doctors, and Wen Yue Sheng in the center.

They watched as the Prince of Jingkang led the beasts closer.

Under the sunlight, Prince Jingkang’s unusually pale face twisted into a strange smile as he looked down at the emperor, who was being protected by the guards, and said:

“Father, I’ve come to take you with me.”

The emperor’s face darkened, and his cold eyes fixed on him.

Gu Yu, standing behind Wen Yuesheng, was startled and suddenly remembered something. She turned to Wen Yuesheng and shouted, “Princess, these things…”

Wen Yue Sheng coldly replied, “Liang Can.”

Upon hearing this name, Prince of Jingkang paused for a moment.

His dark eyes fixed on Wen Yuesheng, and he sneered, “It’s impressive that you still remember someone like him.”

Liang Can was the man Wen Yuesheng had encountered in the royal national temple, who had raised the beasts and allowed them to devour Ye Qiuyun.

It turned out that he was also the Prince of Jingkang’s cousin.

Liang Can, an illegitimate son who was out of favor, was able to raise such ferocious beasts and send them to the royal hunting grounds because of the Prince of Jingkang.

Prince of Jingkang was the mastermind behind it all, the one who enjoyed watching beasts devour people and chase them down, seeing their limbs devoured to the point of nothingness.

“You killed Liang Can, and also An An, didn’t you?” Prince of Jingkang squinted at her.

An An was the giant insect that Liang Can kept by his side.

…To think such a ferocious beast was given such an auspicious name.

Gu Yu felt disgusted as she listened to him.

“Well, that’s just perfect,” Prince of Jingkang said with a slight pause, lifting his hand to pat the head of a tiger by his side.

The tiger, which had sharp iron claws, allowed him to pet it obediently.

When everyone thought the tiger had calmed down, Prince of Jingkang lightly tapped the tiger’s head and said, “Go, avenge An An.”

With his command, five giant tigers sprang to their feet, their massive mouths opening wide as they charged toward Wen Yuesheng.

“Princess, be careful!” The captain of the personal guards turned pale.

Wen Yuesheng had come to the temple to pay her respects and hadn’t brought any weapons with her.

As the giant tigers charged toward her, she stood her ground without retreating.

When the giant tiger opened its mouth, about to bite her head off, she raised her hand, pulled a branch from the nearby flower pool, and thrust it directly through the tiger’s throat.

The loud crack when the branch pierced through the tiger’s skull made everyone around her change their expressions.

Before anyone could react, Wen Yuesheng had already dropped her hand.

The giant tiger fell beside her.

At the same time, the many beasts charging toward her stopped, feeling fear as they saw the giant tiger fall.

Animals have a natural instinct to avoid danger, and the giant tiger was the most ferocious among them.

In the distance, the Duke of Jingkang’s expression darkened. He immediately raised his hand to command the bear, but before the bear could leap forward, he saw Wen Yuesheng draw a sword from the personal guards.

Alone, she wielded the sword with ease, and with each step forward, she easily pierced the throat of a beast.

As the Duke of Jingkang lifted his head, he saw one of the beasts’ heads directly severed by Wen Yuesheng’s sword, falling to the ground with a loud crash.