Chapter 11: Murdering to Establish Authority

  The Xiyuan Army, a military force established by Emperor Ling of Han's decree, had only one achievement in history, which was to participate in the great chaos of the imperial palace known as the Ten Eunuchs' Rebellion.

  But the role played by this army in this chaos is not glorious.

  Although the goal was to eliminate the eunuchs who were bringing disaster to the world, but in actual operation, they were not much stronger than those riotous soldiers and traitors.

  Arson, massacre and other such things are countless, let alone the Western Garden Army's assault on the imperial palace is an act of treason in itself.

  "It's no wonder that this army has been buried in the dust of history, as if it had never existed. No matter who is in power, they probably can't tolerate such an army!"

  Liu Xuan stood calmly in front of the palace, and the dozens of soldiers rushing towards him seemed to be non-existent. Liu Xuan didn't even put this group of rioting soldiers in his eyes.

  "Even if I haven't become the emperor yet, I still can't tolerate such a military force. Since that's the case, keeping them is also useless, so I'll kill them to establish my reputation!" With his left hand stroking the scabbard, his right hand slowly drew out the long sword: "I must show off some ability, or else if I continue being this low-key, people will probably think I'm nothing!"

  As one mind, the long sword leaves its scabbard, slanting towards the ground.

  "This move was originally concocted to teach those generals who fought for me and expanded the territory, but today it can be put to great use!"

  As soon as the thought arose, the Heavenly Dragon Energy inside his body was no longer as calm as it usually was. The aura changed abruptly, like a fierce burning flame.

  A layer of golden, flame-like aura appeared outside Liu Xuan's body. The golden aura initially only floated on the surface, but as it rose more and more fiercely, it finally formed a spherical shape beside Liu Xuan.

  And all of this happened in an instant, the soldiers from the Western Garden Army thought they were just seeing things, a hallucination.

  Liu Xuan clearly knew that the previous move was not an illusion, nor was it a trick to deceive people's eyes, but one of the few moves he could currently use and was extremely practical: Overbearing Aura!

  This is a technique that mobilizes the body's true energy or true yuan, relying on intense exercise to rapidly increase strength in a short period of time. The actual origin of this move happens to be a special skill that only some monarch-level characters can use in a certain Three Kingdoms game.

  "It's quite fitting for me to say this now!"

  With the domineering aura, Liu Xuan's current strength, defense and speed abilities have all been comprehensively improved. Another reason he would use this move is that in this state, he can better utilize his other moves.

  Under normal circumstances, the Half Moon Slash was a difficult move to use, but for Liu Xuan at this moment, it could be used with ease. With his right hand holding the knife, he made a diagonal slash, as if casually slashing through the air.

  The two soldiers who came rushing forward, however, were shocked to see a crescent-shaped aura, and in the blink of an eye, it had arrived in front of them. They didn't even have time to raise their hands to defend themselves before they vanished without a trace.

  And in the eyes of the people around him, that crescent-shaped aura swept across the first soldier and then killed its way to the second person without diminishing.

  The second soldier, being slightly farther away, had enough time to react, but when he held his long spear horizontally in front of him, he found that the spear in his hand was almost useless. It couldn't even block the strange crescent moon for an instant, and it was cut into two pieces in an instant. Then... then he knew nothing else.

  "You... You're using demonic magic?"

  Although the Western Garden Army was touted as an elite force, in reality they had never been on a battlefield before. Only a handful of generals who had been transferred from other units had any experience with war, let alone fighting against the Yellow Turbans. The veteran soldiers, having gone through similar experiences, would not have reacted this way. As a result, when the soldiers saw this inexplicable scene, they all stood there in stunned silence, unsure of what to do.

  If Liu Xuan had charged forward from the start, swinging his long sword to chop everyone into minced meat like cutting vegetables, they would have thought that the enemy was too strong and couldn't be defeated.

  But now this method is completely beyond their understanding, that crescent-shaped aura looks more like the legendary immortal's technique... But at this time, rather than being an enemy, the subconscious mind will also avoid this idea, so as soon as they open their mouth, it becomes a demonic technique.

  Someone said, "Eunuchs disrupting the government rely on evil magic. We are acting on behalf of heaven to eliminate evil and don't need to fear that evil person!" He then looked at the situation and said, "There is only one evil person, let's form an array and kill him!"

  The mutinous soldiers were still mutinous, but after all, they were from the Western Garden Army, a regular army of the Han Dynasty, and in name, they were even the Emperor's personal bodyguards. Although at most they could be considered a group of new recruits, having undergone long training, they had some ability.

  As soon as this was said, Liu Xuan's eyebrows furrowed.

  "If they were to rush up recklessly, it would be one for one, two for two, but if we really want to form a battle array, that's going to be troublesome!"

  Before the thought in his mind had fallen, his hands had already made a move. The long knife was swung continuously, and several half-moon slashes were made in succession, with a clear and powerful force, rushing straight towards the person who had just shouted.

  A burst of miserable cries accompanied the flying limbs and broken arms, and the person who shouted was also beheaded by a half-moon cut, splitting his body in two. Liu Xuan took advantage of the soldiers' momentary stunned state to charge forward with large strides, raised his hand, and with a swift slash of his knife, directly cleaved the nearest soldier into two pieces.

  From top to bottom, evenly symmetrical, for a moment the red and white splattered everywhere with a loud crash. Cao Jie and the eunuchs and palace maids standing slightly further behind saw this hellish scene of flying limbs and blood splattering, and were already frightened pale-faced. When Liu Xuan's knife came down, they immediately vomited profusely.

  Some of the palace maids fainted on the spot, while others were so frightened that their hands and feet turned ice-cold. No one paid attention to these maids, and several of them fell to the ground with a thud, but no one thought to help them up.

  Liu Xuan didn't even have time to think, charging into the midst of the soldiers, his long knife slashing left and right. He had never learned any proper sword techniques, so now this long knife was used in a completely unorthodox manner.

  At that time, when he was cultivating the immortal way, even if he fought with others, it was a contest of magical skills, comparison of cultivation, and competition of tactics. When did he ever use a knife to slash at people? Even if such a thing really existed, it wouldn't be his turn to take action.

  Fortunately, he had once cultivated to a high level, with sharp eyesight and extraordinary vision, and in his heart, he understood that all these combat techniques were nothing more than two points: killing the enemy and protecting himself.

  Relying on his painstakingly tempered physical body, surpassing human strength and excellent reaction, he was able to achieve these two points. With the remnants of his divine consciousness, although extremely weakened, it was enough for him to instantly judge who could pose a substantial threat to himself, and then kill them in the first moment.

  "Although it's a bit of a hassle, but still better than being poked in the hole!"

  Most of the soldiers were holding long spears, and a few were carrying wooden swords. If they were to work together, it was likely that some would be injured. As soon as Liu Xuan saw that they intended to form a battle array, he immediately launched a Half Moon Slash, causing them to become disorganized before charging forward in a flurry of chaotic slashing and chopping. After a bloody and windy storm, there were basically no one standing around Liu Xuan.

  Then turn around and continue with the next round, so after several cycles, these dozens of soldiers were killed with their livers and gallbladders torn apart, and they couldn't even hold their weapons in their hands. Some people turned around and ran away immediately.

  Liu Xuan couldn't let these guys who had charged at him escape. Seeing people escaping, he would rather not kill the people beside him first, but instead killed these people with several consecutive half-moon slashes, and then turned back to fight these soldiers again.

  At this time, the soldiers also saw that the killing god was not going to let one of them go, and they were all going to be killed on the spot. For a moment, the idea of fighting to the death arose, but unfortunately, this idea came too late, and there were only a few comrades left by his side. As for Liu Xuan, these few soldiers could be dismissed with just a wave of his hand.

  He naturally wouldn't be polite, nor would he pretend to give an impromptu speech like some guys do when they see the trend is already set. Not to mention Liu Xuan still had many things to do and didn't have time to waste on these little soldiers, at the same time, he also didn't have the heart to waste his breath on a group of people who were about to die.

  One sword, one person; either beheaded or cut in half at the waist. Liu Xuan didn't have a bit of mercy or softness in his heart.

  "This group of people actually dared to rush into the imperial city of the Han Dynasty. If I weren't a member of the Han royal family, it would be fine. But now that I'm preparing to inherit the throne of the Han Dynasty, I absolutely cannot let these people who have offended the dignity of the imperial family go unpunished. I must make the world once again aware of the majesty of the heavenly dynasty!"

  It was precisely because of this that Liu Xuan became so ruthless, and after killing everyone, he swung his hand, and the fresh blood on the long knife was flung off with a "whoosh" sound, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground, showing how much fresh blood had been stained on the knife just now.

  After the defeated soldiers were killed by Liu Xuan, Cao Geng walked up with reverence, suppressing the turmoil in his chest and abdomen. If he had only shown respect to Liu Xuan due to their difference in status before, today he added a few more points of fear, finally realizing that even without the identity of an imperial son, taking certain people's lives was also easy for Liu Xuan.

  "Your Highness has killed off the rioting soldiers, and in a short while, there won't be any more rioting soldiers causing trouble nearby. You can first return to the palace to rest, and then leave it to us ministers to clean up afterwards!"

  Liu Xuan smiled and didn't put away the long knife in his hand: "How can we go back to rest at this time? After keeping a low profile for so many years, it's time to show our face!"

  With a wave of his hand to Cao Guo, he signaled him to follow: "Let's go, first go and meet the officials of the imperial court, so that they can know that there is still someone like me in this imperial city!"

  This opportunity, which has been awaited for nineteen years, can't be missed. Killing these dozens of rebels is nothing. At present, in the imperial city, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Lu Zhi, Zhu Ling and other heroes are waiting to see you!

  However, Liu Xuan did not expect that after leaving his own palace, he had not walked a few steps before another cavalry rushed out from the opposite side. The first was a general wearing golden armor, with a majestic and extraordinary demeanor, who looked like no ordinary person at first glance.

  When he saw Liu Xuan holding a spear with blood all over his body, his face was pale and beardless, he immediately charged over with his long sword, shouting: "Eunuchs deserve to die!"