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nThere would also be a ceremony to confer the title of the Crown Princess. She would be granted amnesty and the entire country would celebrate.

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nHowever, the seven great clans all said that they would not participate in this ceremony, nor would they acknowledge her identity as the Crown Princess. This was very awkward. This was almost equivalent to the seven great clans going against the royal decree together.

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nHis Majesty Li Huanjun had originally intended to issue a decree to reprimand the seven great clans. However, the head of the seven great clans, the Zhao clan, announced at the same time that the Zhao clan’s Old Ancestor had broken through to the Martial Saint realm and would be celebrating for the Old Ancestor. He even sent an invitation to the Li clan.

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nLi Huanjun had yet to be furious when the remaining members of the seven great clans, namely the Wang clan, Han clan, Wei clan, Zhi clan, Fan clan, and Zhongxing clan, announced to the world one after another as if they had reached an agreement. They said that they will celebrate with the Zhao clan when their Old Ancestors break through to the Martial Saint realm.

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nA sudden appearance of seven Martial Saints, and they were the ancestors of the seven great clans became the most shocking topic in the past five years.

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nSince the founding of the Northern Kingdom, there have been very few Martial Saints. For seven of them to appear at the same time and directly challenge the royal family of the Northern Kingdom, their intentions could be seen as malicious. Furthermore, these seven great clans had chosen to announce this matter at this time.

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nIt was clear that their intentions were not pure. They wanted to control the royal family of the Northern Kingdom and gain more power. They might even overthrow the Northern Kingdom and replace it with any of their descendants.

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nPrincess Zhaoyang also heard the news, but she was also actively responding. She had seen the incident of the Wind Thunder Sect and knew that there were many types of Martial Saints. Hu Jiujiu could deal with a few Martial Saints by herself, while her elder brother could kill five or six Martial Saints with a single slash.

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nTherefore, she did not panic. Instead, she was thinking of a countermeasure that would be most beneficial to the Northern Kingdom.

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nWhen Li Yuanqing heard the news from Wang Shun, he was eating his favorite braised pork ball. He did not show any surprise nor did he stop, but continued eating with his head lowered.

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nThe Grotto-Heaven realm of Martial Saint was divided into nine grades. Each grade is of different strength. Who knew what realm those Old Ancestors were at?

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nHe had not been idling around in the past five years. He had already reached the peak of the Grotto-Heaven realm’s third grade. His cultivation speed was extremely fast.

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nThis was nothing. The key thing was that the Saint Extermination Stone he cultivated was already very powerful. He had always wanted to find an opportunity to practice, but he had never had the chance to do so.

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nHe hadn’t put the Manipulation Arts aside for the past five years either. After it was raised to level five, it became even more exquisite.

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nThe Sand Escape Technique had also reached Master level, and the Clear Sky Swords Art had also reached the Master level. Li Yuanqing felt that if he had the chance, he would be able to parry a strike that was even more powerful than the strike from the Wind Thunder Sect.

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nTherefore, Li Yuanqing was very calm. He even drank a cup of tea after the meal. When he drank the tea, he even saw the qilin beast slowly approaching him.

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nHe had seen this qilin beast several times over the years.

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nHe knew that this was Hu Jiujiu’s mount. Moreover, with this qilin beast around, there was no beast tide in the Wilderness anymore. Therefore, Li Yuanqing did not chase the qilin beast away but allowed it to enter and leave freely.

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nAfter all, when the beast tide came, whether it was the soldiers of the garrison or the commoners of the Wilderness, the casualties were still very heavy.

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nIt was a good opportunity for the Northern Kingdom to recuperate without the beast tide.

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nLi Yuanqing did not chase the qilin beast away, but the qilin beast still did not dare to approach him. It only came to check if its master was back. It was a pity that Hu Jiujiu had always been by Princess Zhaoyang’s side. In these five years, she rarely returned to the Wilderness Valley.

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nHowever, just as the qilin beast was about to leave, Li Yuanqing suddenly said, “Let’s wait for half a day. Zhaoyang should be here soon!”

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nAs a third grade Grotto-heaven realm Martial Saint, Li Yuanqing could already sense Princess Zhaoyang’s aura rushing towards the Wilderness.

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nHalf a day later, Princess Zhaoyang arrived with Hu Jiujiu.

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nWhen the Qilin Beast saw Hu Jiujiu, it quickly swayed its short tail and moved closer, rubbing its head against Hu Jiujiu’s clothes. Meanwhile, Princess Zhaoyang bowed to Li Yuanqing and called out dejectedly, “Big Brother!

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n“Father bestowed me the title of Crown Princess, but none of the aristocratic families agreed to it. There are seven Martial Saints among the seven aristocratic families. Moreover, they are not Martial Saints that have been upgraded with the Wind Thunder Great Art. I guess that some of them have already broken through to Martial Saints decades ago. However, they have been hiding it all this while. This time, the Northern Kingdom is in great danger. My father has discussed with me that if it really doesn’t work out, I shouldn’t be conferred the title…”

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nPrincess Zhaoyang bitterly smiled, her spirit withering. In truth, she had also thought of many methods. However, there seemed to be no solution. The Northern Kingdom’s royal family could only rely on Hu Jiujiu, a Martial Saint and her elder brother. But there were seven Martial Saints in the aritocastics families. If they were not careful, the Northern Kingdom would be in danger of being overthrown.

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nTherefore, Li Huanjun was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He had not slept for many days because of his anxiety.

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nIn the end, he discussed with Princess Zhaoyang for the sake of the empire. If it really didn’t work out, he wouldn’t confer the title of Crown Princess for the time being. If the aristocratic clans wanted to make use of this opportunity to cause trouble, it would be considered treason. He would gather all the martial artists in the world to resist.

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nAlthough he said that, Li Huanjun was not confident. The Northern Kingdom had too few Martial Saints and their foundation was too weak. The foundation of the Northern Kingdom, which had only been founded a hundred years ago, was too shallow.

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n“Father has no choice. Although I can’t stand him sacrificing us for the sake of the country, I hope that when I become the Great Empress one day, I won’t have to sacrifice my family for the sake of the country…”

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nZhaoyang was also in despair. Her thoughts were especially beautiful, but was it possible?

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nIt’s impossible because she was not strong enough.

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n“Sigh, Big Brother, we won’t be able to deal with the combined forces of the seven great clans. I won’t confer the title of Crown Princess first. Then, I’ll try to bribe one or two of them and break through them one by one. I’ll use Hu Jiujiu to break through them one by one. Perhaps I’ll have to bear the humiliation for the next few years, but as long as I follow the original plan, I’ll be able to resolve this crisis in the end…”

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nZhaoyang wasn’t a brainless woman. Right now, she was speaking her heartfelt thoughts.

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nIn her opinion, the seven great clans were too powerful, and even her elder brother might not be able to handle them. For the sake of her elder brother’s safety, for the sake of the citizens of the Northern Kingdom, she wanted to endure this humiliation for a few years and take down the seven great clans one by one.

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nHu Jiujiu could not deal with seven Martial Saints, but it would be much easier if she split them one by one or into groups of two.

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nIt was just that this way, the Li clan of the royal family would have to lower their heads temporarily to the seven great clans, allowing the seven great clans to be arrogant for a period of time before attacking them one by one. This was also the strategy that Li Huanjun and Princess Zhaoyang had discussed.

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nEspecially Princess Zhaoyang. She didn’t want her big brother to be in any danger. Even though she would suffer some humiliation, it was nothing compared to her brother’s life!

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