My Wife Turns Out to be an Empress of the Dynasty

Chapter 216 A Palm Strikes to Kill

Gu Lan had been observing the private army with a cautious mindset, but in the next moment, he recognized a familiar face among the mounted soldiers. He paused for a moment, a smile appearing on his face.

"Wu Fan... has changed his appearance?"

"This guy coming to the Spring Exam, it can't be for the sake of taking the exam, right?"

At this moment, Gu Lan was extremely certain that this Feather Guard unit was fake. It was probably similar to the incident at the Great Ming Enlightenment Temple... And their goal was not to catch cheaters, but to disrupt the Spring Exam.

As for why they chose his examination room... There was a playful expression in his smile. Could it be that General Wu Fan still harbored intentions against him?

In the empty hall, Wu Fan wore a crude human skin mask, his face stern and righteous, as if he were the embodiment of justice.

"I, as the Commander of the Imperial Guards, have received reports of cheating in the Spring Exam. Now, everyone must immediately rise from their seats and wait outside for further instructions!"

"We will inspect everyone's examination papers, and any cheating behavior cannot escape the surveillance of the Imperial Guards!"

Perhaps his imposing manner was too overwhelming, as many candidates were frightened and involuntarily stood up.

Wu Fan had already locked onto Gu Lan, who was sitting by the window, but he suppressed any outward signs of recognition. He didn't target Gu Lan right away; after all, doing so would be too deliberate. It wouldn't be conducive to killing more people early on. There would be no pleasure in seeking revenge that way!

A seemingly inconspicuous Ministry of Rites official stepped forward at this moment, his eyes flashing. "What are you all waiting for? Hurry up and leave! If you're innocent, what are you afraid of being checked for?!"

Although the other Ministry of Rites officials felt something was amiss, they remained silent. The candidates filed out, leaving only Gu Lan sitting alone.

The smile on Gu Lan's lips became even more pronounced. Under the coverage of his powerful divine sense, the expression of the Ministry of Rites official who spoke out naturally didn't escape his surveillance.

This little official also had a problem!

"Who are you? Why haven't you left yet?" Wu Fan walked up to Gu Lan, brandishing his sword.

All the candidates had left by now, leaving only Gu Lan seated.

The Ministry of Rites official who had spoken up for Gu Lan felt that something was wrong and hurriedly stepped forward. "General, this candidate has a special identity..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was glared at by Wu Fan. Under the oppressive aura of a transcendent realm expert, the Ministry of Rites official, being a mortal, flushed red and couldn't speak!

"Get up! I suspect you're the one cheating. Why else would you not leave? It's obvious you're feeling guilty." Wu Fan's face turned cold, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

He had originally planned to let everyone leave, then fabricate evidence of Gu Lan cheating, and finally capture or directly execute him. But he hadn't expected Gu Lan to be so audacious, refusing to leave. Now, he could just dispose of Gu Lan directly, leaving no room for objections from the Ministry of Rites officials who weren't bribed by him.

"Haha!" Gu Lan smiled instead. "General Wu, when did you become the Commander of the Imperial Guards? Does His Majesty know about this?"

Wu Fan's face stiffened. He suddenly reached up to his face, but at that moment, a strange wind blew, causing the human skin mask to fall off, revealing the weathered original face underneath!

Damn it! What kind of eerie wind was this?

Wu Fan was startled. He certainly didn't think the scholar in front of him had done it. After all, he couldn't sense any aura from the other party in terms of cultivation.

Wu Fan had originally planned to catch Gu Lan and then quickly kill him. After disrupting the Spring Exam, he would leave immediately. The black-robed woman he had met before had already arranged his way out. Once he completed this task, he could leave the Jing Nation and enjoy the boundless sea and sky.

Even when he left, killing Gu Lan would greatly impact Mu Yuyan, killing two birds with one stone. But he never expected that just after one meeting, such a mishap would occur... It was a bit embarrassing!

"General Wu?!"

"Could it be..." The other Ministry of Rites officials also reacted, and the chief examiner's rank was not low. His face changed drastically. "You are the former General Wu Fan?!"

"Aren't you still wanted by His Majesty? How dare you brazenly lead troops to disrupt the Spring Exam! Aren't you afraid of being executed along with your entire family?!"

Wu Fan's face became even more severe, silent and wordless. He directly swung his long knife towards Gu Lan.

Since he had been exposed, he no longer needed to conceal his intentions. He wanted to resolve this quickly. As long as he dealt with Gu Lan and escaped from the Jing Nation city, he still had a chance. Although his plan had deviated slightly, it was still mostly under his control. His face twisted into a fierce expression. With his cultivation base, a single strike would surely decapitate Gu Lan!

However, the next moment, the ferocity at the corner of Wu Fan's mouth froze!

Gu Lan casually flicked his finger, and an invisible sword qi burst out, directly snapping Wu Fan's long knife! The sword qi didn't lose momentum and pierced through Wu Fan's chest!

"Pfft!"

He spurted out a mouthful of blood, his face filled with disbelief. "You're just a weak scholar?"

"Who said scholars can't kill?"

Gu Lan looked innocent.

The chief examiner, who had been on tenterhooks when Wu Fan made his move, was now dumbfounded at the scene before him. This... Prince Jingyang was supposed to be a kept man by the Empress Dowager, right? A finger to kill a transcendent realm expert?! What's going on in this world? Scholars can kill...

Why do I struggle even to kill a chicken?

What he didn't know was that Gu Lan hadn't even exerted any force with that finger. Otherwise, it would have triggered a cosmic event, and Wu Fan would have been reduced to ashes instantly!

This guy suddenly making a move during the Spring Exam definitely had someone backing him. Now, it would be effortless to follow the clues and find out who that was...

On the other side, Wu Fan, with blood flowing on the ground, also realized that his life was in Gu Lan's hands!

At this moment, he keenly felt the despair and fear that Luo Chen had faced before.

However, he couldn't understand why Gu Lan was actually a master of swordsmanship... No wonder the Empress Dowager wanted to instruct him to probe Gu Lan, to act as cannon fodder. So that was the reason.

"This bastard must have been aware of it for a long time!"

Wu Fan gave a bitter smile, knowing that he was probably doomed today.

The chief examiner next to him reacted at this moment and looked at Gu Lan with incomparable awe in his eyes. He then approached with a serious face.

"Your injuries are not fatal yet. Speak! Who sent you? If you tell me, I might be able to plead for leniency for you and spare you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, suddenly, a fair arm grabbed Wu Fan from the shadows, trying to take him away directly.

The chief examiner was dumbfounded!

He completely didn't notice where this hand's owner came from.

However, his slow reaction didn't mean Gu Lan's reaction was slow. Before the fair arm could grab Wu Fan, another sharp sword qi shot out.

The person in the shadows frowned. Gu Lan's sword qi was too fierce, and they didn't dare to resist it with their flesh. The fair arm had to be withdrawn. After this delay, she couldn't continue to stand in the shadows and appeared next to Wu Fan.

"Meeting again?"

Gu Lan's lips curled slightly. The person who appeared before him was the black-robed woman who had appeared at the teleportation array in the stone forest, and also the "palace maid Yuyang" he had encountered in the palace a few days ago.

Wu Fan saw the black-robed woman and his eyes lit up.

He felt that he had a chance to survive now!

"I wonder if I should call you Yuyang? Or something else?"

Although this woman exuded a dangerous aura all over her body, Gu Lan didn't care at all, looking at her with curiosity.

After all, anyone who could hide their aura to the point where Gu Lan overlooked them must have a considerably high cultivation level. Moreover, judging from the incident at the teleportation array, this woman seemed to have been around for quite some time...

"I've spared this person. I hope the Jing Nation court will give me some face!" A cold voice, infused with cultivation, left everyone present stunned for a while!

"You're not a red-haired person, so what's the worth of your face?"

Gu Lan even had time to crack a joke, shaking his head with a light laugh.

The black-robed woman didn't care whether he agreed or not. Anyway, she was just buying time. Her fair hand still reached out towards Wu Fan, intending to take him away.

Gu Lan raised his eyebrows, then slapped his palm.

Unlike the casual flick earlier.

This palm of his, however, used fifty percent of his true qi!

The officials all changed their expressions. Even though they were ordinary people, they could feel the power under that palm in the turbulent space!

And Wu Fan's face showed astonishment. The next moment, he and the black-robed woman disappeared into dust under the enormous force of the palm!

The onlookers' faces were horrified. Gu Lan's casual blow made them admire and marvel at his power.

However, Gu Lan frowned slightly, lost in thought.

This is... an external incarnation?

I haven't even mastered it yet, but this woman actually can?!

"Prince Jingyang is wise and mighty, and any insignificant person can hardly escape the grasp of Prince Jingyang!"

The Ministry of Rites officials were fond of flattery, and as the leader, the chief examiner was the first to come forward and praise.

The corners of the other colleagues' mouths twitched slightly, lowering their heads, seemingly ashamed to be associated with him. Of course, they were also regretful that they didn't seize the opportunity... No wonder he could become the chief examiner!

Gu Lan shook his head and said, "The woman got away. Just now was only her illusion. She didn't come in person."

The officials' faces froze.

"Oh, that's all right... Prince's martial arts prowess is unparalleled, nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about..."

At this moment.

In the Meilin north of the city, the black-robed woman sitting cross-legged suddenly trembled!

"Pfft!"

The black-robed woman spat out blood, her eyes filled with resentment.

Although Gu Lan only shattered one of her illusionary incarnations, it also affected her main body. If she didn't rest properly, she might even leave behind sequelae, affecting her foundation.

Of course.

These weren't the main reasons for her emotional turmoil.

...The main reason was that Wu Fan was gone!

He was one of the few usable people she had in the capital. Although he was a fence-sitter, the news spread widely! It was so hard to find him, and now he was killed by Gu Lan with a single blow, leaving nothing behind... Damn, all her efforts over the past few days were wasted!

Mixed with confusion and resentment, her beautiful eyes were filled with a bewildered color as she thought of the scholarly appearance she had just seen.

Although Wu Fan was wanted by Mu Yuyan, he had already operated in the capital for many years and could be considered deeply rooted.

That was why he had been wanted for so long without being caught. Instead, he was able to gather a private army.

The black-robed woman wanted to find out who repaired the teleportation array in the stone forest, and she needed Wu Fan's help.

These local bigwigs were the most convenient sources of information.

Unfortunately, now he was gone...

The woman in black couldn't come up with a good solution for a while. She had previously visited the Jing Nation Palace but gained nothing. Even in the archives kept by the Empress Dowager, there was no record of who repaired the stone formation.

"Who exactly is this Prince Jingyang?" The scene just now involuntarily surfaced in her mind again. She was clear about her own cultivation. Even though it was just a clone, it wasn't something an ordinary cultivator could destroy with a single palm.

A thought sparked in the black-robed woman's mind. When she encountered him in the palace earlier, she was in a hurry and didn't have time to think it over carefully. But now... This person was able to plant a divine sense imprint on her, a technique that ordinary people couldn't master...

And it was the same during the Spring Exam...

A wave of doubt and unease lingered in the black-robed woman's mind.

"Could this person... be the one worshipped by the Tianji Pavilion?" Once this thought flashed through her mind, it took root like a weed, refusing to be dispelled!

Residing within Jing Nation, having a close relationship with the Jing Nation Empress, possessing formidable cultivation, and a mysterious identity... All these signs seemed to point to Gu Lan, this sudden powerful figure!

If the man in the green robes was indeed the worshipped figure of the Tianji Pavilion, whom she had heard rumors about and who had recently disappeared without a trace... Then everything would make sense!

"He has been to the Tian Shan secret realm, possesses extraordinary abilities, then it means the person I am looking for... is truly connected to him!"

Having figured all this out, the black-robed woman clenched her jade-like hands within her black robes. A strange excitement flickered in her cold eyes!