Chapter 1199 Submission out of Fear
An Emperor battle was world-destroying at every turn.
There were already nobles in the palace beginning to walk toward the door furtively. Although the two Martial Emperors could only be heard and were not seen, even the aftershock of their actions through time-space was not something which these nobles could withstand.
Some people took slight pleasure in the others’ discomfort.
The new Emperor was of ignoble birth and had been lowly in status. Having gained power overnight, he clearly did not have much of a good opinion of the nobles in Royal City and thus acted perversely. Now that he finally encountered some actual resistance, the nobles hoped that the two Martial Emperors could suppress him and protect their interests in Royal City.
Conversely, Linghu Buxiu, Marquis Tingtao, and their companions vaguely felt that things were no good. The new Emperor did not have a stable foundation yet, while his actions today were indeed a little precipitate. To suppress this rotten bunch of nobles was actually something that could be done slowly. As the saying went, governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Given the intricate power among the nobles in Royal City, acting too forcefully would only incite backlash.
What should we do?
Exchanging glances, these people did not have a plan.
After all, the matter of the day had already escalated to the level of Martial Emperors, and thus was no longer suitable for them to participate in.
Nie Tiankong became terribly anxious.
However, sitting on the Emperor throne, Ye Qingyu remained as calm as before.
“I’m the sovereign in charge at present. The main palace will not accommodate a second sovereign. Your time is already over, and so you two no longer have the right to speak. Leave now and I’ll overlook what you did this time.”
His tone was incomparably powerful and intransigent.
“Hoho, how can I leave when you’re killing people of my race?” the sovereign of the Dark Feather clan spoke in a heavy tone and laughed grimly. As his voice resounded throughout the main palace, an Emperor aura began to spread in an extremely shocking manner.
The sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan spoke once more, “We would naturally not have any objections if you do your job as a sovereign well. However, you have crossed the line in touching my race. How can I allow you to step on the dignity of my race? We aren’t a small race like the Sky Fox race which you can crush and kill at will.”
The postures of the two Martial Emperors were very firm, and between their lines was a kind of contempt toward Ye Qingyu, as if they were seniors reproaching a junior.
The fear on the faces of the two races’ chief commanders also faded, gradually turning into delight. Now that their elders, both of whom were also Martial Emperors, had showed up, such a two-versus-one scenario was certainly disadvantageous to the new Emperor.
As long as the new Emperor’s first order since taking charge was refused, his dignity would definitely plummet and he would become no cause for concern thereafter. Hence, this was a very important point.
The atmosphere in the palace was so tense that it was nearly on fire, while the air seemed to have frozen. Although many of the nobles were martial experts, they dared not even exhale their heavy breaths at this time.
However, Ye Qingyu’s expression continued to remain very calm and relentless, “I’d told you on the Azure Cloud Plaza that if you don’t dare to take things to the extreme and have a battle with me, then you’d better get lost and hide. Talking so much crap is just wasting your time and mine.”
As soon as he spoke, the two snowflakes gave off a dazzling silver splendor once more and Emperor qi circulated, pressing on to the Emperor qi light shields on the Sky-reaching clan and Dark Feather clan commanders to the extent that they contorted and caved in, nearly collapsing…
Feeling that their bodies were splitting apart, the two commanders howled and revealed expressions of unprecedented horror. Their frantic struggles were of no avail.
“You… really want to turn things nasty, eh?” The voice of the sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan rang out once again with anger. The pressure of the Emperor qi in the main palace instantly multiplied.
Ye Qingyu sneered, “Don’t you remember saying on the Azure Cloud Plaza that you would kill me sooner or later? What face is there left between us?”
The sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan became silent.
He had indeed said this back then.
“If you insist on acting willfully, I shall have to crush you.” The sovereign of the Dark Feather clan spoke in a gloomy and threatful tone. Like strands of black hair, terrifying Emperor qi circulated indistinctly in the void.
Ye Qingyu rebutted sarcastically, “It’s still not decided who will crush who. I’ve said before that your time is already over, and since you’ve decided to live on for the sake of it, you had better hide and wait for the opportunity that you’ve been anticipating to appear. Don’t always be unresigned and recalcitrant, trying to agitate the situation of today. This is nothing but a way to die.”
“Young one, you weren’t even born when I gained Dao. How much of this world’s secrets do you even know, that you would dare to challenge us?” The sovereign of the Dark Feather clan nearly could not hold back any longer, and was on the verge of bursting into rage. The Emperor qi aura in the void also started to become unstable.
This was a form of deterrence.
Ye Qingyu guffawed with Emperor qi circulating all over his body. As the silver splendor burned like a silver flame and his hair fluttered, the strands of his black hair seemed to become plated in silver, giving him the appearance of a deity descended upon the world. “The order of gaining Dao does not matter. Anyone who attains it is a master. Don’t try to show off your seniority here. If you remain recalcitrant, feel free to take things to the extreme. Just one hand of mine will be able to crush you.”
This was an invitation to battle.
He had absolutely nothing to fear.
This was because his heart was never with the aristocratic system. Breaking the status quo was a principle which he had always believed in and upheld like no other. If he was not in a hurry to get to the Great Wall of the Western Regions, the first thing he would do was to conduct a purge in Royal City before gradually extending it to the entire Dark Realm, completely dismantling the aristocratic system and building a new order. This explained why he had no qualms about wrecking the army headquarters in Royal City.
“You…” The sovereign of the Dark Feather clan was feeling a mix of shock and anger, unable to believe that a new Emperor could be so arrogant and overbearing. He instantly had an impulse to escalate things and crush the latter, but his inner sense of reason made him choose to restrain himself.
This was because the losses outweighed the gains.
The time was still not ripe.
“Ugh… Save me, elder.” The Dark Feather clan commander cried out, with the sparkling and beautiful snowflake already nearly pressing on his forehead and a bone-piercing sharp pain already spreading within his body.
“Nobody can save you.”
Snorting, Ye Qingyu formed a thought, causing the snowflake to vibrate abruptly before breaking the final defenses and pressing itself on the commander’s forehead. As a silver splendor circulated, the Dark Feather clan commander turned into an ice statue, losing all vitality.
On the other side, the Sky-reaching clan commander was also at the fringes of life and death.
“Zhang Longcheng, don’t think that you’re the only person who can commit murder without scruple. If you dare to kill the leader of my race, I’ll definitely kill everyone you know in Royal City, making you become an isolated star.” The angry howls of the sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan sounded like rolling thunder, causing the entire palace to tremor, an indication that his anger had reached its limits.
Unable to take things to the extreme, he was giving Ye Qingyu a taste of his own medicine by threatening to take the lives of the people whom the latter knew.
Hearing this, Ye Qingyu maintained his usual expression and laughed scornfully. “I only know about three to five people. You may indeed decide their lives and deaths with a thought, but what’s their lives worth compared to the prominence of your race and its ten thousand years of heritage? You’ll have to weigh their importance yourself.”
“You…” The sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan was flustered.
Indeed, it was not worth it to compromise and exchange the prominence of the Sky-reaching clan for the loner that was Ye Qingyu.
“Besides, if you dare to touch a single strand of hair of anyone by my side, I will kill my way to your sleeping place and force you into a life-and-death battle. At that time, everything that you’ve painstakingly planned will be for naught,” Ye Qingyu added.
The sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan became silent.
“How do you know?” he asked in an unprecedentedly low voice after a long while.
“There’s nothing that an Emperor doesn’t know. I’m naturally able to perceive anything that you all perceive,” Ye Qingyu said, looking haughty.
Silence again.
After another long while, the sovereign of the Sky-reaching clan snorted. “I’ve indeed underestimated you. I should’ve killed you earlier on. Unfortunately, my race has already grown so big that it’s no longer worth killing you.”
As he spoke, his Emperor qi aura instantly dissipated.
He was followed by the helplessly silenced sovereign of the Dark Feather clan.
The two Martial Emperors opted to withdraw at the final moment when a showdown had seemed imminent. This was not what everyone had expected. As powerful sovereigns, they had shown up and talked tough, but were ultimately unable to rescue the leaders of their respective races. This caused the eyeballs of every noble in the palace to fall on to the floor.
Linghu Buxiu and Lin Xuan were already so shocked that they could not speak.
The dozens of ice statues in the palace gave off a chill as they stood upright quietly. When these figures were alive, they had been powerful among their respective factions, yet they were not even able to preserve their lives at this time. In particular, the chief commanders of the Sky-reaching clan, the Dark Feather clan, and the Lofty Mountain clan had been influential in Royal City for nearly a century and were notorious figures, yet taking the wrong path on this day was all it took for them to die to the might of the new Emperor.
The fear, awe, and astonishment in the hearts of the surviving nobles could not be described in words.
At some unknown time, the palace had quietly become a scene of mass kneeling. Many major nobles were kneeling on all fours, daring not to raise their heads. They buried their heads deep between their arms, with their foreheads pressing tightly on the floor, afraid to even exhale their heavy breaths.
The figure standing before the Emperor throne in the depths of the palace was now like a killing god whom nobody dared to look straight at.
Ye Qingyu retracted his gaze from the far end of the void and cast it upon the many figures in the palace. “Does anyone still have an opinion regarding the expedition?”
“We obey your command.”
“I’ll uphold Your Highness’ decision fully.”
“I obey.”
“I won’t dare to go against your order.”
“I’m willing to offer an extra one hundred elites to defend the camp.”
Looking positive like never before, many nobles patted their chests and made promises, as if they were not the same people who had opposed Ye Qingyu together with the Sky-reaching clan commander earlier. There were even several marquises who had been under the charge of the three races’ commanders that now looked impassioned as they vowed to be willing to give their lives in serving Ye Qingyu.
“Good. The expedition shall be placed under the charge of Marquis Tingtao.” Ye Qingyu swept a glance across and paused before continuing, “Marquis Tingtao shall be promoted to King Tingtao, while Linghu Buxiu shall be the new King of Zhenyuan. Together, they will make checks on and command the army, with Nie Tiankong providing support. We can set off in three days, after all of you have sent in your soldiers. Anyone who dares to oppose the order covertly or delay things deliberately shall be killed without question.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for Your Highness’ kindness.”
Hearing this, Lin Xuan and Linghu Buxiu felt extremely excited and hurriedly knelt down to express their gratitude. They had stood on the right side at the critical time, enduring immense pressure, criticism, and trouble, and were finally rewarded on this day.
If Ye Qingyu’s will was fully implemented, the new army would, without a doubt, be of astonishing battle strength and immense scale, far surpassing those of other armies. The two men were already chief commanders in name.
Countless envious gazes fell upon the duo.
Nie Tiankong was also immensely jealous.
He had striven for many years before becoming a chief commander, yet Lin Xuan and Linghu Buxiu had taken just one large stride to become on par with him.
“I will rush to the Great Wall in advance. You are to set off as soon as the army has been formed, and must reach the Great Wall defense zone in fifteen days. If there are any delays, you shall be put to death, while the lower ranks will be punished according to military law.”
Ye Qingyu’s unmistakable voice resounded in the palace.
He then vanished in a flash of divine splendor.
Fifteen minutes or so later, Ye Qingyu made some arrangements in the city before traveling at lightning speed on his dragon mount toward the west together with Lingyun.
He could wait no longer.
He was going to find Song Xiaojun.
