Ling Han swept his gaze over them. There were several Great Generals who he had ever seen before, yet he immediately frowned after looking over all of them. “Where’s Ding Li’an?” he asked.
There were only eight Heavenly Body Tier elites present.
The Left Minister wore a dark expression, and he replied, “Today was Ding Li’an’s turn to take control of the city protection formation!”
“So it was was him who purposefully shut down the formation to allow enemies in?” Ling Han immediately connected the dots. His heart jolted, and he hurriedly turned to Qu Qiuxue, asking, “Where is Her Majesty? Hurry up and take me to her!”
There was almost no doubt about the culprit. The formation hadn’t failed earlier, nor had it failed later. It had failed just when it was Ding Li’an’s turn to take control of it.
With a Heavenly Body Tier elite standing guard, who could hope to damage the city protection formation?
Thus, it was abundantly clear that it was Ding Li’an who had betrayed them and damaged the city protection formation. He had opened the city gates to invite their enemies in!
However, why had he done this?
So be it if it were someone else. However, Ding Li’an was mesmerized by the empress so much that he still hadn’t started a family yet, so how could he betray her?
It was because of this that the eight Heavenly Body Tier elites refused to believe that Ding Li’an was the traitor, even though every piece of evidence pointed toward it.
Qu Qiuxue’s expression became cold, and she asked, “What are you trying to do?” The location where the empress was cultivating in seclusion was a secret among secrets.
“Utter nonsense!” Ling Han chided. “Since Ding Li’an isn’t here, he’s definitely gone to look for Her Majesty!”
“Impossible! General Ding definitely doesn’t know where Her Majesty is cultivating!” Qu Qiuxue said resolutely.
“Stupid woman, there are no genuine secrets in this world!” Ling Han exclaimed angrily. “Moreover, Ding Li’an is a Heavenly Body Tier elite who’s lived in the Imperial Capital for millions of years. How do you know he doesn’t have spies in the palace?”
Qu Qiuxue shuddered upon hearing this. However, she was still suspicious of Ling Han’s words.
Compared to Ling Han, she was more willing to believe in someone with whom she had worked for millions of years. Meanwhile, Ling Han had ascended to this realm after opening the sky and had only been here for less than 20 years. How could she trust him?
Ling Han started to become impatient. Did they still have time to dilly-dally? He immediately reached over to grab Qu Qiuxue.
“Stop!” the Left Minister and the others shouted. They all stepped forward to obstruct Ling Han.
Ling Han humphed as he unleashed heaven’s might.
Pa, pa, pa, pa!
The Left Minister and the other Heavenly Body elites all crumpled to the ground. This was the domineering power of heaven’s might. ‘Your cultivation level is lower than mine, so you don’t even possess the right to resist my power!’
Only now did the Left Minister and the others understand just how powerful Ling Han was. Although he had killed Zhao Jianbai with a single slash before, that still hadn’t been his true strength.
This man was a freak who was far more powerful than they could imagine.
“If my wife loses even a strand of her hair, I’ll shatter every single bone of yours!” Ling Han said menacingly as he dragged Qu Qiuxue to her feet.
‘What?!’
Even at a time like this, everyone was still shocked by his words.
What was this man saying?
His wife?
Gasp!
No one here was an idiot. Ling Han had been incredibly worried about Empress Luan Xing just then, and he was even referring to her as his wife now. Everything had become clear now. However, was this a case of unrequited love?
Everyone was feeling a little confused and dizzy. Although their empress was breathtakingly beautiful, she had never been involved in any kind of relations.h.i.+p before. Thus, they were all unable to accept this.
“Oi!” Ling Han grabbed Qu Qiuxue by the collar and gave her a good smack, not having the slightest intention of treating her tenderly.
Qu Qiuxue was both angry and embarra.s.sed. However, the city protection formation had been shut, and the power of the nation had also waned into insignificance. So, how could she resist Ling Han’s power? She pondered for a moment before finally coming to a decision.
“I’ll lead you there,” she said.
“Point the way!” Ling Han said, not letting go of her. He felt that she would be too slow.
Qu Qiuxue could only point the way for Ling Han as he continued to drag her along. It wasn’t long before they entered the palace, and after making countless turns, they finally arrived in a garden that rested next to a small mountain. An air of Primal Chaos suffused this land, and it was much like a stretch of celestial land.
The Left Minister and the others naturally tagged along as well. As they glanced around the garden, they instantly flared up in rage, shouting, “Ding Li’an, what in the world are you doing?!”
There had originally been a hidden room in the mountain, yet the camouflage to this hidden room had already been destroyed, revealing the stone door that sat behind it. Right now, Ding Li’an was standing before this door and attempting to open it.
At this moment, Qu Qiuxue and the others had no choice but to accept that Ding Li’an was the traitor.
“It was actually you!”
“Why?!”
“Ungrateful wretch! When has Her Majesty treated you unfairly? When has the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire treated you unfairly?”
Ding Li’an stopped what he was doing before turning around and gazing at the people behind him. “Summer insects can’t speak of ice!”
How could these bloodthirsty and power-hungry people understand his grand ambitions?
Ling Han casually tossed Qu Qiuxue aside. Killing intent oozed from his body, and he said, “Who would’ve thought? The person who tried to kill me in the galaxy… was actually you!”
Now that he could sense Ding Li’an’s aura, he could naturally tell that this was the person who had ambushed him and tried to kill him before.
Although Ling Han had indeed seen Ding Li’an once before, they had been too far apart at that time. Moreover, his cultivation had also been far too weak. As such, there was no way he could have challenged Ding Li’an.
Ding Li’an glanced at Ling Han, and flames immediately burst from his eyes. This definitely wasn’t because Ling Han was powerful. Rather, these were flames of jealousy that were fuelled by rivalry in love.
Ling Han was astonished. At the same time, he also came to a realization. “You hunted me down and tried to kill me because of my relations.h.i.+p with Her Majesty. However, how did you know about our relations.h.i.+p back them?”
“Heh, you think I’ve wasted my time all these years?” Ding Li’an said in scorn. There was a hint of dejection and loneliness in his voice. His body shuddered, and his aura suddenly burst into the surroundings unrestrainedly.
“What?!” Qu Qiuxue and the others all went numb with shock. This aura was far too powerful; it was far above what they could imagine.
“Medium extreme?!”
“It has to be!”
They all exclaimed in shock and envy. 1,000,000 years had pa.s.sed, and Ding Li’an had finally taken this step first.
Meanwhile, Ling Han shook his head, and said, “I’ve underestimated you. You actually reached the high extreme!” Ding Li’an’s aura was significantly more powerful than his own.
Qu Qiuxue and the others almost fainted in shock. This reserved and lovesick person had not only surpa.s.sed them, but he had actually surpa.s.sed them by this much?
“Otherwise, how could I have snuck into the palace and learned so many secrets?” Ding Li’an said proudly. “Now, you can all f*ck off!”
Qu Qiuxue’s face went as white as a sheet. Ding Li’an had actually snuck into the palace before? Moreover, it was clear that he had snuck in more than once, yet she had been completely oblivious to this. As the leader of the Imperial Guards, she had completely and utterly failed in her duties.
“Ding Li’an, you’re inviting disaster! Why?!” the Left Minister shouted.
Ding Li’an turned his back to them and continued to undo the restrictions on the stone door. “I obviously borrowed the power of the two Majestic Empires to obliterate the power of the nation,” he replied calmly. “Otherwise, with the power of the nation guarding this place, how could I damage the restrictions on this stone door?”
A gentle yet crazed smile stretched across his face, and he said, “From now on, no one can stop me from being with Her Majesty!”
It was evident that he wanted to open this stone door and then subdue Empress Luan Xing. He would then leave this place and live together with her forever after.
The rumors weren’t false. This person was indeed a lovesick man. However, it was clear that he didn’t want to give his silent blessings to another man! Thus, he had chosen to take this huge gamble while the empress was cultivating in seclusion.
“Are you also responsible for the invasion by the two Majestic Empires?” Ling Han asked.
“Of course! If I hadn’t informed them, how would they have known whether Her Majesty was genuinely cultivating in seclusion or not?” Ding Li’an replied calmly. Even so, the two Majestic Empires still hadn’t believed him readily. Instead, they had sent a Heavenly Body Tier elite to test the waters before launching an all-out a.s.sault.
Ling Han nodded, and said, “Since that’s the case, you can go and die now!”
Ling Han didn’t plan to ask any more questions. However, perhaps Ding Li’an even knew about the secret of the Nine Kings, and that they were the clones of Empress Luan Xing. Otherwise, how would he dare to take this gamble by himself? If just one of the Nine Kings was still awake, they would be able to respond and unleash power at the consummate level of the Heavenly Body Tier. An elite at the high extreme of the Heavenly Body Tier would be insta-killed by such overwhelming power.
It was best that the secret of the Nine Snake Tribe remained a secret forever.