After listening to the history of the Hongxing Dynasty’s rise in the tavern, Zou Feng was about to get up and leave when a sudden commotion erupted downstairs.

"This is bad! The world is being turned upside down!"

"The governors of four provinces have rebelled! Under the pretext of ’cleansing the sovereign’s side,’ an army of a million strong is closing in on the Forbidden City..."

Hearing this uproar, Zou Feng naturally decided not to leave immediately.

’It’s only been a little over a decade since the dynasty was founded, and it’s already in chaos. Bian Yixia’s skills at governing aren’t very impressive, are they!’

’And what the hell is this "cleansing the sovereign’s side" business?’

After listening some more, Zou Feng finally understood. The so-called "cleansing the sovereign’s side" was just the four governors’ pretext for executing the State Preceptor.

The State Preceptor of the Hongxing Dynasty was, in name, Tian Yun.

In the mouths of many, Tian Yun was utterly depraved. She had supposedly bewitched the Empress into imposing exorbitant taxes, nearly emptying the national treasury just to satisfy her own selfish desires.

As for what these selfish desires were, however, the stories varied wildly.

Some said the State Preceptor was utterly debauched, living a life of extreme extravagance.

Others claimed it was for practicing alchemy to become an Immortal.

And, of course, there was no shortage of theories that the State Preceptor was secretly building something incredible.

To Zou Feng, the third theory sounded the most plausible.

’They must be building a spirit ship to cross the Fallen Immortal Sea with a higher degree of safety.’

As for the claims of her debauchery, Zou Feng didn’t believe them for a second.

He had spent a considerable amount of time with both Tian Yun and Bian Yixia in the past and had a fundamental understanding of their characters.

In any case, the possibility that he was being cheated on was absolutely zero.

Another piece of news also caught Zou Feng’s particular attention.

The Empress had not made a public appearance in nearly half a month.

Even with the four governors in open rebellion, there was no news of her making a public appearance to issue commands or manage the response...

’Could it be? Has the spirit ship already been built? Are Bian Yixia and Tian Yun preparing to leave for the Eastern Earth Immortal Realm, and that’s why they don’t care about these matters in the Mortal Realm?’

However, there was no use in making wild guesses. He would find out soon enough once he rushed to the Forbidden City.

The next moment, with a flicker of his body, Zou Feng vanished from the spot.

He traveled at top speed, arriving near the Forbidden City as evening approached.

Standing atop a hill, he gazed out and saw that the entire Forbidden City was indeed besieged by a massive army.

’The city is under siege already?’

’No, that’s not right. Judging by the looks of it, these rebel troops didn’t just arrive. They must have had the Forbidden City surrounded for several days.’

’The news I heard back in Su Jin City was clearly outdated.’

’That makes sense. Speed is paramount in warfare. By the time word reached other places, the siege of the Forbidden City was already complete.’

With his vision, Zou Feng could even see numerous Jianghu Martial Artists interspersed among the rebel army’s ranks.

He was not surprised by this in the slightest.

When Bian Yixia and Tian Yun had started their campaign, they first united the Evil Sects of the Southern Border before marching on the Central Plains.

The Righteous Sects of the Central Plains would certainly not be willing to let the Evil Sects from the Southern Border meddle in their affairs, making conflict inevitable.

And the end result, naturally, was that the so-called Righteous Sects of the Central Plains were sent scattering by the Five Poison Army.

Now, it seemed, they had finally found an opportunity to counterattack...

As he continued to watch, Zou Feng was surprised to spot a familiar face.

It was Yang Qianqian, the younger daughter of the Yang Family Patriarch from his time as a servant in the Yang Mansion—the one with exceptionally outstanding Talent for the Martial Dao.

Back then, despite the repeated blows to her pride he had dealt her, she hadn’t fallen into a slump and had eventually joined the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.

But as for how she had fared after joining the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, Zou Feng had no idea.

After all, the gap between their respective stations had become so vast that he couldn’t be bothered to pay her any mind.

However, judging by her current bearing, she had clearly done quite well for herself in the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.

Several men in the official garb of Military Generals surrounded her, all of them acting with the utmost deference, as if they followed her every command.

Clearly, even if she wasn’t the ultimate leader of this "loyalist" campaign, she was at least one of its key figures.

Finally seeing someone from his past, even one he hadn’t been on good terms with, Zou Feng couldn’t help but be filled with a myriad of emotions.

In truth, there was no real feud between him and Yang Qianqian. Her resentment toward him back then had simply been a product of her usual arrogance, which had sparked into jealousy.

To put it bluntly, she couldn’t stand to see someone who was once so far beneath her suddenly surpass her.

Since Yang Qianqian was one of the rebel leaders, things should be much simpler now...

In reality, Zou Feng couldn’t care less whether this land remained under the rule of the Hongxing Dynasty.

He had come here for one reason only: to retrieve Tian Yun and Bian Yixia.

Zou Feng had no interest in getting involved in the various feuds of this place.

But since he was already here, and this group was clamoring for the Empress to hand over the State Preceptor for execution...

It wouldn’t be right to ignore it completely.

With that thought, Zou Feng hesitated no longer. He leaped high into the air, gliding down toward Yang Qianqian in the midst of the vast army.

"Who dares trespass on a military camp!"

"Enemy attack!"

"Quick, fire the arrows!"

Zou Feng had no intention of concealing himself, descending brazenly from the sky with his sights set directly on Yang Qianqian.

As for the arrows flying toward him, none could even get within ten feet of his body.

In truth, Zou Feng hadn’t used any defensive ability at all; he had merely circulated his Spiritual Qi.

The invisible ripples formed around his body by its circulation were completely impenetrable.

Zou Feng ignored the shouts and cries around him, as well as the army’s experts who threw themselves at him one after another in an attempt to stop him. His speed never faltered as he landed directly in front of Yang Qianqian.

As for Yang Qianqian, she was naturally shocked speechless, completely unable to believe what she was seeing.