The crowd patiently waited for Lucidity King and Sun Lengying’s response. They believed that this was the end of the story for these two since the daoist himself couldn’t escape. Their death was a matter of “how” now, not when. “Your Majesty, we can negotiate.” Sun Lengying broke the silence. “Negotiate?” Li Qiye smiled and said: “You think you have anything worthy to discuss with me?” Sun Lengying took a deep breath and respectfully bowed: “Your Majesty, we know Her Highness’ location and who took her. Moreover, I must defend myself and state that we had no ill-intent towards Her Highness. We only wanted to use her to bait you in and never wanted to hurt her.” “Is there a difference?” Li Qiye said. “I know that capturing Her Highness is crossing the line, a crime worthy of death and I do not wish to avoid responsibility. I want to redeem myself by providing information. With one condition.” The crowd became curious about this condition of his. Some started to think that he might sell out Lucidity King. After all, everyone would cling to life before death’s door regardless of the cost. It would be completely normal for Sun Lengying to betray the king right now by assigning blame. “Oh?” Li Qiye smiled: “If you’re asking to have a dignified death and an intact body, I can agree with that.” “Your Majesty, I only beg you to forgive Lucidity King.” Lengying bowed deeper: “I was the mastermind behind all of this from capturing Her Highness to luring you here, doing it all on my own initiative. I alone will accept all punishments.” The crowd was both surprised and impressed after hearing this. Some also felt envious. “Sun Lengying is really a loyal servant even after three generations. No wonder why Lucidity King views him so highly as a confidant.” One Eternal added. Another king reigning over a different system said: “Just give me one loyal follower like Sun Lengying. That’s all I ask for in this life.” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 Everyone knew that Sun Lengying had absolute loyalty towards the king and had carried out numerous meritorious deeds. Of course, the king didn’t mistreat him either and gave him plenty of power in Nine Secrets. More often than not, Sun Lengying represented the will and authority of the king. The latter never worried about Lengying overstepping his bounds. For three generations now, the duo had trust and loyalty between them. Their relationship was a great story in Imperial Lineage. Countless rulers and leaders desired a follower like this. Sun Lengying’s first thought in this crucial moment was bout Lucidity King, not himself. He would rather die to save the king. How could people not respect this level of devotion? “Lengying, how do you still not understand me after so long? I will never cower and beg before anyone.” Lucidity King shook his head and smiled. “Your Majesty!” Lengying blurted out. The king waved his hand dismissively: “It’s fine, we’re dying to thirteen palaces, that’s not disgraceful at all. It’s a shame that I am too weak to protect you.” “Your Majesty, an orphan like me is only standing here today thanks to you. I’m the one ashamed for being useless at this moment.” Lengying prostrated before Lucidity King. “I have no regrets in life because I have someone like you.” Lucidity King helped the guy up and laughed heartily. “A wise king will have loyal confidants.” Many became emotional at this sight. One could say that only a wise lord like Lucidity King would be worthy of having a follower like Sun Lengying. “Such a moving tale between a master and his servant, but I still have to send you two going.” Li Qiye chuckled. “I will tell you the location of the girl as my last good deed.” Lucidity King stood brave and proud before death, not bothering to beg Li Qiye. “No need, no one can hide from my eyes in this world. It’s not hard for me to find someone when everything is within my palm.” Li Qiye smiled. The king smiled wryly and nodded in agreement: “Indeed, I, Lucidity King, has truly messed up out of arrogance. My careful calculations couldn’t surpass your power, but that’s fine. The five powers of Nine Secrets are either destroyed or swore loyalty. The Mu is done for, same with Solar Daoist. That’s not a bad result for me at all.” People exchanged glances after hearing this and were slightly moved by this analysis of his. In the past, though Lucidity King was still in control, there existed a delicate state of balance between the various powers. But now, Lucidity King’s plan with Fiercest managed to disrupt this balance and brought total unity to Nine Secrets. As for Imperial as a whole, Lucidity King baited Fiercest to kill the Mu and Solar Daoist. How could people not be utterly impressed by this chess match of his? “You just didn’t know who the real players were.” Li Qiye casually chuckled. “Right.” The king shook his head: “Even if I’m to be considered a chess player, I would only be a second-rate one at best. The true masters can calculate and scheme the ages. But alas, even a perfect plan is useless before absolute power.” Lucidity King reflected on his actions. He felt that in order to truly grasp the universe, one needed absolute power as support. Wily schemes alone weren’t enough. “Okay, how do you two want to die?” Li Qiye brought this up again. “I have never begged for mercy before in my life.” The king took a deep breath and remained unyielding: “We won’t just sit idly by waiting for death! We will still fight regardless of the futility!” The crowd thought that Lucidity King was superior to Solar Daoist in this manner. Everyone knew that this wasn’t an even fight and the king would die for sure. However, an Everlasting like the daoist bowed his head against Fiercest in order to survive. On the other hand, Lucidity King still showed his fangs and won the heart of the crowd. “A king of three generations... he lives up to his fame, truly an amazing hero.” His friends and foes alike found his courage admirable.