Gu Ya hurried into the great hall, only to be stopped by two guards.
"What is it? Don't you recognize me?" Gu Ya said coldly.
One of the royal guards bowed his head and said, "You misunderstand, sir. The coronation ceremony for the new king is about to begin. The new king specifically instructed us to help you change."
"Change?"
Gu Ya looked down at his worn-out mecha pilot suit. It was indeed inappropriate to attend the ceremony in it.
"Where should I change? I can do it myself."
A guard led Gu Ya around the hall and towards a side chamber.
After a short while, they arrived at a metal gate. The guard stopped motionlessly.
Gu Ya pushed the door open by himself and walked in.
The sleeping chamber was quite uniquely decorated. Though small and simple, it was fully equipped.
In the center of the main room was a clean, new ceremonial outfit for the Golden Power Kingdom. The adjoining room was a bathroom.
Gu Ya took off his dirty clothes and entered the bathroom naked.
As soon as he closed the bathroom door, a shadow suddenly leaped from a corner!
A dagger flashed, aiming straight for Gu Ya's neck!
Gu Ya quickly ducked to avoid the dagger and lunged forward with a sweeping kick.
However, the assassin was equally agile, jumping up instantly, and then thrusting the dagger downwards!
Gu Ya, seizing the opportunity, raised his shoulder to block the assassin's waist, grabbed the opponent's wrists firmly, executed a body slam, and followed up with two heavy punches, completely knocking the assassin unconscious.
He dragged the assassin to the main room, stripped off the assassin's clothes, and bound him tightly with the old clothes.
Feeling uneasy, he reached into the assassin's mouth and retrieved a suicide poison card.
Finally, he stuffed his own smelly sock into the assassin's mouth.
Gu Ya sat on the sofa and kicked the assassin awake.
He waved the dagger in front of the assassin's eyes and asked in a low, fierce voice, "Who sent you? Are there accomplices outside the door?"
The male assassin, seeing that the situation was hopeless and that suicide had failed, lowered his head and remained silent.
Angered, Gu Ya savagely plunged the dagger into the assassin's thigh nerve.
The assassin broke out in a cold sweat from the pain but did not utter a sound.
"Speak!" Gu Ya withdrew the dagger and aimed it at the assassin's left eye, preparing to blind him.
"Are you an assassin from the Chong Li Sect or the Black Star?"
The assassin's eyes showed hesitation, but he remained stubborn, refusing to speak!
Gu Ya pressed the tip of the dagger against the trifacial nerve endings to the left of his nostril and stabbed fiercely!
This time, the assassin cried out in pain, gasping for air.
Until the assassin's groans began to annoy Gu Ya, he remembered the sock stuffed in his mouth. Even if he wanted to speak, he couldn't.
Pulling out the sock, the assassin immediately cursed, "Damn it, I wanted to tell you, but you didn't give me a chance!!"
"Speak!!"
"Dissident, I'm a remnant of the Dissidents!" the assassin shouted.
The shout alerted the guards, who rushed into the room. Seeing the scene, they quickly raised their weapons and aimed at the assassin.
"Are you injured?" the guards asked urgently.
Gu Ya shook his head, indicating he was fine. He then thought that the headquarters of the Dissidents were indeed in the Golden Power Kingdom. Even though the headquarters had been destroyed, it was possible for a few stragglers to remain.
He hadn't expected this assassin to infiltrate the royal palace, find out about this room, and ambush him.
It seemed there were traitors within the royal palace, and ones who knew insider information at that.
With the coronation ceremony of Little Jin Quan about to begin, Gu Ya had no time to waste.
He stood up and said, "Take him away and keep him secured. I will interrogate him personally."
The guards nodded, grabbed the assassin by the collar, and walked out.
As the metal gate closed, Gu Ya immediately raised his wristband and made a communication.
After a few brief sentences, Gu Ya entered the bathroom.
Half an hour later,
In the great hall of the Golden Power Kingdom's royal palace, the coronation ceremony of Jin Quan Ao Tian officially began.
The coronation was arranged very hastily.
According to the state rituals of the Golden Power Kingdom, the coronation ceremony should be held three months after the burial of the old king.
However, during a time of war, the country could not be without a ruler for a single day.
Gu Ya, wearing the highest ceremonial attire, entered the main hall and looked up towards the distant throne, surrounded by people.
Little Jin Quan, who had once declared he didn't want to succeed to the throne, now sat on the throne with an impatient and arrogant expression, accepting the kowtows of the ministers.
Ye Ying and a few others stood in a corner of the royal hall, appearing to have nothing to do.
Gu Ya quickly walked to Ye Ying's side and asked in a low voice, "Did you tell Little Jin Quan what I said?"
Ye Ying nodded silently.
The coronation ceremony was extremely tedious, with civil officials mourning the former king's great reputation, extolling the new king's might, and leading the Golden Power Kingdom in resisting the Black Star Empire.
After the civil officials finished, it was the turn of the military officials.
The military officials spoke more directly, discussing matters of war during the coronation ceremony.
Little Jin Quan propped his chin with one hand, his expression growing increasingly despondent the more he listened.
Until someone appeared, Little Jin Quan's half-closed eyes suddenly widened, shining with light!
All civil and military officials fell silent, facing the throne and standing at attention, bowing slightly.
The great hall immediately fell quiet.
Four maids, accompanying a lavishly dressed woman, walked out from the room to the left of the throne.
The five of them reached the foot of the throne. The maids retreated behind the woman, knelt down, and buried their heads very low.
The woman then walked up to the throne alone.
Little Jin Quan had already stood up, unable to contain his excitement, his hands unsure where to rest. He looked at her with a beaming smile.
Gu Ya was somewhat surprised and asked Ye Ying in confusion, "Who is this? When did Little Jin Quan get a queen?"
Ye Ying said calmly, "Guess."
Gu Ya wasn't in the mood to guess about someone else's marriage. Besides, the woman was so heavily made up she looked like a ghost. How could he guess?
At this moment, Gu Ya noticed someone else was missing and asked, "Where is Tao Na?"
Ye Ying gently pinched Gu Ya and whispered, "You're such a dense straight man. Li Fang just died, how could she be in the mood to attend Wei Wei's coronation?"
"What?" Gu Ya was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the heavily made-up woman on the throne, exclaiming, "That's Qiao Weiwei? When did they get together?"
"And have they come of age?"
Ye Ying said softly, "They have a title first."
"No, this isn't right!" Gu Ya suddenly became displeased.
With the great war imminent, Little Jin Quan and Qiao Weiwei had actually gotten married!
The ministers and generals of the Golden Power Kingdom would surely not allow them to participate in the war anymore. This was equivalent to losing two of their strongest supports!
"Do you think Qiao Weiwei willingly married Little Jin Quan?" Ye Ying suddenly smiled faintly and said, "She was brought back by me."
Gu Ya, of all people, was the last to know about such explosive news.
The ceremony continued,
Gu Ya's wristband suddenly rang. It was Little Jin Quan?
Gu Ya was stunned for a moment and looked up at the throne.
On the throne, Little Jin Quan looked at Gu Ya from afar and spoke softly into his wristband, "Brother Gu, there's a response to your arrangement. It's in cell number 3628."
Gu Ya nodded at Little Jin Quan from afar, grabbed Ye Ying's hand, and said, "Let's go."
Ye Ying, holding Bai Ying who was nibbling on a snack, carried her in one arm. The three of them walked out of the main hall together.
"What's the rush?" Ye Ying asked curiously.
"I was just attacked by remnants of the Dissidents. I suspect there are accomplices of the assassin within the royal palace."
Ye Ying exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" and quickly asked, "You're not injured, are you?"
Gu Ya shook his head and continued, "I've asked Little Jin Quan to arrange for people to guard near the prison. If the assassin's accomplices go to eliminate loose ends, they'll be captured."
"The Dissident headquarters has already been destroyed by me. Even if there are remnants, they can't cause much trouble."
"But for them to dare to assassinate me so openly, it's quite interesting."
"Ying, think about it."
Bai Ying, held in Ye Ying's arms, looked down at their tightly clasped hands.
"The Dissidents knew I was a god-powered being, yet they still dared to assassinate me. Isn't that like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth?"
"The only plausible explanation is that the assassin knew I didn't have divine power, which is why they dared to attack me."
"The question is, how did they know I no longer had divine power?"
Ye Ying asked doubtfully, "Was it the Chace Instrument?"
Gu Ya shook his head and said softly, "No... I suspect more."
"From Ning Yu being assassinated by top-tier killers and the Black Star Empire having the Jar of Restraint, these incidents reveal a pattern."
"The Dissidents, the Chong Li Sect, the Black Star Empire, the Golden Power Kingdom, Xian Xia, and even the entire world – a current against me is surging."
"This assassination is just an appetizer, meant to test me."
"Once evil emerges, it will never be just one instance."
"Those lurking in the shadows must be planning a greater conspiracy."
After hearing Gu Ya's words, Ye Ying suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
When it came to mecha combat, she feared no one.
But when it came to treacherous human hearts, she was completely defenseless.
Some people, one moment they bid farewell with a friendly smile, and the next, as soon as you turn your back, they've already drawn a knife and stabbed you.
This is the human heart.
Gu Ya tightly grasped Ye Ying's cold hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I'm still here. I won't be defeated by them."
"Believe in yourself," Bai Ying suddenly said.
Gu Ya smiled and patted Bai Ying's little head, saying, "Yes, believe in yourself."