A Thriving Heaven Dou Empire

Outside Heaven Dou Imperial City, the three followed the flow of people and slowly entered this great city, which had long since been transformed.

Looking at the notices lining the streets, Jiang Mian smiled. "Qian Renxue truly acted with thunderous decisiveness."

This change of throne had not caused any great commotion or brought disaster upon the people. Basically, they only needed to gradually make adjustments according to the Heaven Dou Empire's original methods of operation.

Qian Renxue issued an imperial proclamation informing all officials and citizens that everything throughout the nation would remain unchanged. Furthermore, to celebrate the new monarch's ascension, land taxes across the realm would be exempted for one year.

The grain stored in the national treasury could still sustain them for three or four years, which was why Qian Renxue could afford such a move to win over the people.

Although this benefitted the common people of the realm, it was extremely disadvantageous to the military-official factions. In order to stabilize that force, Qian Renxue had also implemented a series of policies and regulations.

Qian Renxue had always wanted to purge those cowardly, life-clinging parasites, but her authority had not yet stabilized, so it was not the right time to act.

Quite a few members of the former Heaven Dou royal bloodline were scattered throughout the empire. Qian Renxue mainly used conciliatory measures, such as granting them high office, generous salaries, hereditary titles, and so on. She had barely managed to stabilize the situation.

Although Jiang Mian now held the army's supreme authority, many members of the former Heaven Dou royal family still possessed considerable prestige within the military. They had been restless all along.

Qian Renxue's method for dealing with those officers was simple: kill them. Those who refused to obey would be killed. After all, strength came first in the army. Using killing to stop chaos was a helpless but necessary measure.

If you wanted to reason with those burly martial men, you first had to let them see the strength of your fist.

The entire Heaven Dou Empire was now flourishing, showing the beginnings of a glorious age.

The reason Qian Renxue had been able to seize control of the empire so quickly had much to do with her more than ten years as crown prince. In cities across the land, as well as inside and outside the imperial city, many officials had been promoted by Qian Renxue herself and were utterly loyal to her.

Over those ten years, the old emperor's supporters had gradually been removed and replaced with Qian Renxue's own people. Yet Xue Ye had remained completely unaware. It was clear that the transfer of power had long been inevitable.

"Qian Renxue is truly talented at being an emperor," Jiang Mian praised. "Fortunately, I only accepted honorary posts. If I were really made to govern such a vast empire, people would be raising rebellion banners within three days."

Xie Yue asked curiously, "What official position do you actually hold in the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"I think I was granted a duke's title, along with Grand Pillar, Regent King, and a whole string of other positions," Jiang Mian said. "They're really just empty titles—high-sounding and prestigious."

Xie Yue said in surprise, "Then you must have your own ducal residence in Heaven Dou Imperial City."

"I probably do. I don't know whether Qian Renxue had one built for me, and I don't really care." Jiang Mian hummed a little tune, then suddenly looked at Xie Yue and grinned. "How about I get you an official post too?"

"Me?" Xie Yue laughed heartily and waved his hands again and again. "I'm not cut out to be an official. Jiang Mian, don't make things difficult for me."

"You could hang a nominal title like me. Wouldn't that be nice?" Jiang Mian teased. "Then you'd have a residence in the imperial city too, somewhere to take Miss Lingling for fun."

"Get lost." Xie Yue kicked Jiang Mian irritably, then laughed and cursed, "Do you think everyone is like you?"

"Deny it all you want." Jiang Mian rolled his eyes at Xie Yue. "You're thinking about it, but you don't dare admit it. You really disappoint me, Xie Yue."

"Get the hell out of here." Xie Yue raised his fist and swung it at Jiang Mian. The two roughhoused until they accidentally bumped into someone.

"Are you blind?" The man did not even look at Jiang Mian or Xie Yue as he rudely snapped, "What place do you think this is? Is it somewhere stray cats and dogs like you can mess around?"

Jiang Mian had been about to curse back, but after seeing the man's face clearly, he laughed in anger. "Yu Tianheng, it's only been a few days. You've gotten pretty bold, haven't you?"

Yu Tianheng looked at Jiang Mian in surprise. In his earlier panic, he had not seen clearly that it was Jiang Mian, which was why he had spoken so rudely and offended him.

"Brother Jiang, sorry." Yu Tianheng hurriedly apologized. "I didn't see that it was you. I got a bellyful of anger somewhere else just now, and I had nowhere to vent it."

"Where did you get so angry?" Jiang Mian patted the dust from his clothes and said disdainfully, "You had to take it out on someone else?"

"My sect sent a letter telling me to visit Aunt Liu Erlong and Uncle Yu Xiaogang." Yu Tianheng helplessly explained, "When I got there, I had barely said a few words before two effeminate-looking guys squeezed me out."

Two effeminate-looking guys? They had to be those two whose tools for committing crimes Nana had confiscated.

Jiang Mian glanced at Yu Tianheng without saying anything. Anyone who could call that disgusting Yu Xiaogang "uncle" was no good either.

"Watch yourself next time." Jiang Mian directly left with Xie Yue and Bear Lord, completely ignoring Yu Tianheng. He did not want to waste more words on him; the man was revolting.

Yu Tianheng was thick-skinned and did not care about their attitude. Looking at Xie Yue, he smiled. "You're Brother Xie Yue, right? Lingling has missed you lately."

"I know." Xie Yue replied indifferently, then followed Jiang Mian away without looking back.

Yu Tianheng scratched his head. Why did Jiang Mian and the others seem even angrier than he was?

"What are we doing next?" Xie Yue asked.

"Go to Spirit Hall's Spirit Temple in Heaven Dou Imperial City. Find Platinum Bishop Salas and have him come with us to handle something." Jiang Mian took out a Spirit Hall Elder token and handed it to Xie Yue.

Chrysanthemum Douluo had originally left this token with Xie Yue and the others to make traveling easier. After passing through several hands, Jiang Mian had kept it. He had not expected to use it again today.

"What is it?" Xie Yue asked.

"Do you remember when someone tried to assassinate us after our match at Suo Tuo Great Spirit Arena?" Jiang Mian said solemnly. "Those people are in Heaven Dou Imperial City. We're going to settle things with them."

"Interesting." Bear Lord draped an arm over Jiang Mian's shoulder and laughed. "You really never rest, kid."

"I never get tired of this sort of thing." Jiang Mian chuckled. He also wanted to see what new tricks Tang San had come up with for him. After raising a pig for so long, it was meant to be slaughtered for a feast during the New Year.

And that "Yu Xiaogang"—just thinking about him was nauseating. Yu Tianheng even tried to cozy up to them.

Xie Yue accepted the token and left. Jiang Mian and Bear Lord casually found seats and waited quietly for Platinum Bishop Salas to arrive with his people.

"Old bastard, I'm telling you, hand over the money right now, or my fists won't be so polite!"

A string of curses suddenly came from the distance. Jiang Mian and Bear Lord turned to look and saw a burly middle-aged man grappling with an old woman with white hair and a hunched back over something.

"Son, you can't gamble anymore. This is money to save your wife's life." The old woman desperately hugged the money wrapped in tattered cloth against her chest, tears streaming down her face.

"If I take this money to gamble, I can turn it into even more money! What do you know, old hag?" The young man tried to forcibly snatch the money from his mother's arms. The old woman clung to it desperately, but her beast of a son actually dragged her across the ground.

"What the hell is this?" Jiang Mian slammed his palm onto the table and cursed. "Bear Lord, come with me."

Jiang Mian had already been harboring anger. Seeing something so infuriating only made the flames in his heart burn fiercer.

"Stop!" Jiang Mian shouted. "Let go of that old woman!"

"What the hell are you?" The young man spoke rudely and casually released the cloth bundle. The old woman hit the ground with a thud, looking utterly bedraggled.

Jiang Mian hurried forward to help the old woman up. "Ma'am, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." The old woman was disheveled and filthy. Her gaze darted about, as though she found her appearance humiliating.

The man stared at Jiang Mian and prattled on. "What's this? Even a dog that eats shit has started catching mice?"

"What are you?" Jiang Mian handed the old woman over to Bear Lord before turning to face the man. "As someone's child, you treat the parents who gave birth to you and raised you like this? Where is your conscience? Where is your shame?"

"Get out of my way!" The man tried to shove Jiang Mian aside, only to find him as immovable as a mountain. Instead, the recoil from his own strength sent him staggering back several steps, nearly falling.

"I'm a level twenty-three Soul Master. If you don't want to die, get out of my way!" The man swung his arms, and the phantom of a werewolf suddenly appeared behind him.

"A Soul Master?" Jiang Mian slowly walked toward the man.

A crisp slap rang out. The man covered his face and stared at Jiang Mian in disbelief.

Then came another slap.

The man could no longer suppress his fury. He raised his arm high and brought it down, actually using his soul skill in the middle of the street—something expressly forbidden.

Yet Jiang Mian merely lifted his hand lightly, and the man's arm froze in midair, unable to come down. "A mere Great Soul Master? There are more turtles in the river than nobodies like you. Who the hell are you putting on airs for?"

"Who exactly are you?" The man jerked his arm back as if shocked by lightning and retreated several steps. Only after putting what he considered a safe distance between them did he say, "No matter who you are, you can't interfere in my family affairs. This is Heaven Dou Imperial City. If you dare lay a hand on me, someone will teach you a lesson."

"You're trying to scare me with the Heaven Dou Empire's patrol guards?" Jiang Mian looked as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. He advanced step by step, and the man kept retreating.

"What are you doing?"

At that moment, a voice brimming with righteousness suddenly rang out behind the man. A small squad of armored patrol soldiers appeared before them. At their head was a pot-bellied officer built like a tank, clearly the sort who was extremely fierce in battle.

"Sir, this guy attacked me in the street and even wanted to kill me." The man hurried over to the officer and said fawningly, "Sir, you must stand up for me."

"Don't you know the rules of Heaven Dou Imperial City?" The officer held a blade in one hand and planted the other on his hip. "Soul Masters are forbidden from engaging in private street fights."

"This man not only bullied his own mother, but also insulted me and struck first. I did not attack him," Jiang Mian said calmly.

"No matter what grievances you have, you absolutely cannot fight. Otherwise, I'll arrest you!" The officer was quite reasonable as he shouted, "These are the new emperor's rules. Do you want to break the law?"

"No, no, of course not." The man bent and scraped like a dog. Jiang Mian could not even be bothered to look at him, afraid the sight would dirty his eyes.

"General." Jiang Mian clasped his hands and said, "You don't recognize me, and I don't blame you. You enforced the law properly, so you deserve a reward. Come to my residence later to collect it."

"Who exactly are you?" The officer asked the same question as the man. He had a strong feeling that this young man was no minor figure.

"My name is Jiang Mian," Jiang Mian said.

The officer trembled all over. Without a moment's hesitation, he dropped to his knees with a thud and shouted, "Greetings, Duke Who Guards the Nation!"

"D-Duke!" The man's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground with a thump. How could he have imagined that this young man was the recently famous young duke?

"Rise." Jiang Mian patted the officer's shoulder and said calmly, "You don't need to concern yourself with this matter. I can handle it myself. Don't worry, I won't break the new emperor's rules."

"Of course." The officer repeatedly bowed and agreed. Wiping away his sweat, he hurriedly led his men out of Jiang Mian's sight.

"Now we can have a proper talk, right?" Jiang Mian slowly walked over to the man sprawled weakly on the ground. He stepped on the man's chest and said coldly, "Your mouth was pretty filthy just now, wasn't it?"

"This commoner did not know that Duke Who Guards the Nation had arrived. I truly deserve death." The man begged bitterly. "Please, Duke, be merciful and forgive me this once."

"Forgiving you is easy." Jiang Mian sneered. "Go kowtow to your mother. Keep kowtowing until I'm satisfied!"

"Yes." The man seemed to have grasped a lifeline. He desperately crawled over to his mother and immediately began kowtowing. The sound was loud and clear; he was obviously not faking it.

He did not dare fake it.

"What happened?" Xie Yue had already returned, followed by Platinum Bishop Salas and a group of Spirit Temple personnel.

"Greetings, Elder." Salas clasped his hands and respectfully bowed to Jiang Mian.

"E-Elder?" The man suddenly felt dizzy. Unable to catch his breath, he toppled straight to the ground.

"What happened to him?" Jiang Mian walked over to the fallen man and lightly checked his breathing. "Why did he suddenly stop breathing?"

"You scared him to death," Bear Lord said flatly as he supported the old woman.

"Bishop, there is no need to be so formal." Only then did Jiang Mian return Salas's bow. "Sorry for making you come all this way because of me."

"You are too polite, Elder." Salas hurriedly replied, "This is my duty."

"Have your people deal with this fellow." Jiang Mian sighed, then walked up to the old woman. "Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"He deserved to die!" The old woman's emotions were complicated. She bit her lip as tears kept falling. "I have made a fool of myself before you, my lord. This commoner will leave now."

"There's no need for that." Jiang Mian quickly supported her and asked quietly, "You mentioned money to save someone's life. What happened?"

"That beast sold my daughter-in-law to that kind of place. This money was meant to buy back her freedom." The old woman broke down into sobs as she spoke of her grief.

"There are still places like that in this day and age?" Jiang Mian's eyes widened. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Ma'am, take us there. We'll help you rescue your daughter-in-law."

"Bishop, please send someone to notify Her Majesty the new emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire and ask her to dispatch a guard unit to assist me." Jiang Mian ordered. "Everyone, set personal matters aside for now. Come with me to handle some serious business!"