Starforce Warriors-Chapter 553: Great Change In Jiepeng

Li Xiaofei had possessed the Northern Darkness Divine Skill for some time. However, he had never used it because of its significant drawbacks. First, it required the target’s cultivation to be lower than his own; otherwise, it could result in a backlash akin to a tidal wave flooding back, causing inner demons and madness. Second, the absorbed inner qi needed to be refined. The chaotic energies were difficult to unify into a cohesive force.

Since he had the Secret Time Pavilion as his cheat-like advantage, Li Xiaofei’s cultivation speed was already astonishingly fast. There had been no need to take unnecessary risks. But everything that happened today once again proved one principle. Having many skills is never a burden. The Northern Darkness Divine Skill had proven its worth.

Li Xiaofei glanced at the time. There were about five hours left until dawn.

Forget it. Let’s focus on cultivation for now.

He immediately activated the Secret Time Pavilion and entered it, circulating his Innate Art to refine the foreign energies within his body. By this point, he had successfully nurtured the spiritual essences of all five organs and truly stepped into the Five Spirits Realm. His cultivation speed had increased even further.

Time flew by. Li Xiaofei first focused on refining the foreign inner qi originating from Emperor Akihito within his body. Once he was done, the concentration of spiritual essence in his five organs had doubled. After all, Emperor Akihito was a Saint-level powerhouse. The Saint-level inner qi from his body, though slightly reduced after passing through Tsukiha Yaiba, was still abundant.

Li Xiaofei had successfully reached the mid-stage of the Five Spirits Realm. Next, he turned his attention to refining the Golden Lizard King bloodline energy from Tsukiha Yaiba. The primary strength of this bloodline lay in its terrifying self-healing ability, which was a highly coveted trait for any martial artist. Additionally, the devouring ability Tsukiha Yaiba had demonstrated seemed to be a hidden attribute of this bloodline.

This bloodline energy was of a higher grade than Earth’s typical inner qi energies. Refining it was exceptionally challenging. Fortunately, some of Tsukiha Yaiba’s advanced energy had already been transferred to Li Xiaofei during their previous dual cultivation. This energy now belonged to him.

So he used it as a stone to grind down the Golden Lizard King bloodline energy bit by bit. Although the refining process was slower compared to the previous inner qi, it showed promise. Moreover, as the balance of the two energies shifted, the refinement process began to gradually accelerate.

In the blink of an eye, fifty hours passed. Li Xiaofei had managed to refine approximately a third of the Golden Lizard King bloodline energy.

At this time, it was around 7:30 in the morning outside. According to Jiepeng's royal customs, the Emperor and the new Empress were expected to leave the bedchamber and proceed to Kanzaki Palace. There, a formal Empress coronation ceremony was to be held in the presence of all the conglomerates and nobility

Li Xiaofei returned to the bedchamber. The bodies of the Emperor and Empress still lay on the ground. The outside remained eerily quiet. After some thought, he decided to reenter the Secret Time Pavilion and continue refining bloodline energy. In the blink of an eye, another fifty hours passed. It was now 12:30 in the afternoon in the outside world.

Outside the Sun and Moon Palace, the royal priestesses and Royal Iron Guards stood at a distance, exchanging uneasy glances.

Why hadn’t His Majesty and the Empress come out yet? Could it be...

The thought of the Empress’s unparalleled beauty crossed their minds. Suddenly, a hint of understanding dawned upon them. After all, His Majesty was a Saint-level powerhouse. It wasn’t unthinkable for him to endure an all-night battle.

The inner court officials discussed among themselves and decided to wait a little longer. But that little longer turned into another five hours. Winter days grew dark early, so the sun had already set by then. However, the doors to the bedchamber remained firmly shut. Several royal princes and dowagers came to knock on the door and inquire multiple times, but no new instructions came from within.

At this point, everyone began to think that perhaps His Majesty, the Emperor, was indulging a bit too much. Although the Empress was indeed as pure as ice and as beautiful as a celestial maiden from the divine realm, it still seemed excessive to lose oneself entirely in such pleasures.

The dignity and decorum of the Imperial Royal Family had to be upheld.

"Where is Shinzu Genshi, who was on duty?"

"Yes, where did he go?" freewebnσvel.cøm

"Perhaps His Majesty dismissed him."

"His Majesty does seem to hold Shinzu Genshi in high regard."

The crowd murmured in hushed tones. In truth, Shinzu Genshi had earned significant prestige in the Jiepeng Empire and had a solid reputation. Many members of the royal family held him in high esteem and felt a certain fondness for him.

The fact that Emperor Akihito had forced Shinzu Genshi to stand guard outside the bedchamber in such a humiliating manner had already sparked widespread sympathy for him. Many felt the Emperor’s treatment of Shinzu Genshi had been unnecessarily harsh.

Thus, when they noticed Shinzu Genshi's absence now, no one suspected anything. After all, Shinzu Genshi had already offered his most cherished woman to the Emperor. What more could anyone expect of him?

After some deliberation, the group decided to publicly announce that the Empress’s coronation ceremony would be postponed by a day. Only members of the royal family knew that Emperor Akihito occasionally acted willfully.

Everyone assumed that the Emperor and Empress’s absence was due to excessively indulging in their marital bliss.

Let’s just endure it.

No one worried about the safety of the Emperor and Empress. After all, the Sun and Moon Palace, their bedchamber, was the safest place in the entire Jiepeng Empire. Even Saints working together couldn’t breach its defenses. Moreover, the Emperor himself was the strongest member of the Jiepeng royal family, a Saint-level powerhouse.

If someone could assassinate Emperor Akihito within the royal palace, it would mean the royal family had already been destroyed long ago.

Let’s wait a little longer.

And so, they waited. Another night passed. The next morning, at 7:00 a.m., the Sun and Moon Palace was still completely silent.

"This isn’t right..." Prince Akihito Tama, one of the royal family members, finally sensed that something was off.

Even if His Majesty was utterly captivated by the Empress’s beauty, it was unthinkable for him to lose himself so thoroughly in passion as to engage for an entire day and night, and then another night.

While it was true that the Emperor had married this woman from the Tsukiha family partly to harness her bloodline for cultivation, it still seemed excessive to neglect everything else entirely.

As one of the Four Saints of the royal family, Akihito Tama stepped forward and knocked firmly on the doors of the Sun and Moon Palace.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Your Majesty, it is time for the Empress’ coronation ceremony," Akihito Tama called out loudly.

However, the doors to the Sun and Moon Palace remained tightly shut, and no response came from within. The chief priestess responsible for bedchamber communications was summoned.

She quickly reported that all the communication facilities inside the chamber were functioning, yet no one was answering. The bedchamber had been locked from the inside and couldn’t be opened from the outside. This was standard protocol, but now it presented a serious problem.

The other two members of the Four Saints, Akihito Rinjin and Akihito Kazehoko, were urgently summoned to the scene. The strange and ominous situation inside the bedchamber began to worry everyone present.

Everyone harbored different thoughts about the Emperor's fate. Some hoped for the best, others, perhaps, for the worst. Yet, despite their varied expectations, they came to a unanimous conclusion. The bedchamber must be opened as soon as possible.

They began trying various methods. It was only at this moment that the royal family realized a troubling irony; building the bedchamber to be so impregnable could sometimes backfire. The only option that remained was to force the doors open.

The three Saints of the royal family joined forces to unleash their full strength. They bombarded the bedchamber for half a day. Yet, the Sun and Moon Palace stood utterly unmoved. The commotion quickly drew attention from outside.

Somehow, the news leaked and the entire nation was in an uproar. All the factions were alarmed. The royal family had no choice but to accelerate their efforts to open the bedchamber. However, the design of the chamber proved to be absurdly impenetrable. Opening it from the inside was effortless, but trying to break in or force entry from the outside was nearly impossible.

The royal family tried every conceivable method. But half a month later, they were still locked out of the chamber. To protect the privacy of the royal family, they had refrained from seeking assistance from outside experts. As a result, progress was excruciatingly slow.

At this point, many people had already come to a grim realization. His Majesty, the Emperor, and the Empress must have encountered some sort of trouble. Otherwise, it was inconceivable that the bedchamber would remain sealed for twenty days without a response. Not even a Saint could plausibly engage in uninterrupted marital activities for over twenty days without rest.

Meanwhile, unrest began to stir within Tokyo Base City. Waves of Divine Followers had begun to emerge from the Nether God Fortress Prison. They were wreaking havoc and abducting civilians across the city. Initially, the disturbances went largely unnoticed. The police shifted the blame onto the Great Xia Dragon Group in their public statements, claiming that underground organizations from Great Xia were slaughtering and killing Jiepeng citizens.

But as the Divine Followers grew bolder, they started operating openly in broad daylight. They even launched an attack on the estate of the prominent Senjo Oil Foundation family, one of the top fifty conglomerate families in the Jiepeng Empire.

The entire estate was looted, and the events were caught on multiple surveillance recordings. The footage caused an immediate uproar in public opinion. Some fearless journalists followed the trail and uncovered key details. When their articles were published, the revelations were like a nuclear bomb exploding in the public sphere, sparking widespread fear and unrest among the freemen.

Many began pleading with the royal family to communicate with the Temple to resolve the crisis. But the royal family itself was in complete disarray. Not only had they failed to open the Sun and Moon Palace, but they also discovered a critical issue. Without the Emperor, their connection to the Temple had been severed.

More precisely, the Temple refused to communicate with anyone other than the Emperor. This sudden severance of support from the Temple, which the royal family had relied on for so long, plunged them into panic and uncertainty.

The situation worsened further as the royal family lost control over the Nether God Fortress Prison. They could no longer restrain Barush, the deity who had emerged from the Temple.

Envoys sent to the fortress never returned. The crisis spiraled out of control. Large numbers of civilians went missing daily in Tokyo Base City. Even the Empire’s stationed troops were not spared as they too suffered attacks from the Divine Followers.

These monstrous beings began operating brazenly in broad daylight. They looted resources and captured countless civilians, sending them to the Nether God Fortress Prison.

Order in the city disintegrated. Riots and acts of violence broke out as looters and killers rampaged through the streets. The police force was stretched thin and could barely maintain control.

Finally, on the thirtieth day, after relentless attacks from the Three Royal Saints and extensive use of advanced technological tools, a small gap was finally pried open in the doors of the Sun and Moon Palace.

A miniature reconnaissance robot was sent inside. The footage it transmitted was only accessible only to the three Saints. What they saw froze their hearts with dread. The bedchamber was completely empty. Neither the Emperor nor the Empress was inside.

What is going on? Where are they?

As the three Saints stood in stunned confusion, a figure suddenly appeared without warning. The figure was tall and imposing, with a faintly familiar presence.

Shinzu Genshi?! How is he there?