Deep within the main hall of the Western Patrol Envoy's official residence in Qingzhou, the current Duke Mi and Western Patrol Envoy, Xi Qiangu, stared fixedly at a jade slip before him. His index finger tapped the desk in a steady rhythm, each strike booming like muffled thunder.
With every tap, Xi Qiangu's expression grew increasingly sinister.
Wei Gang, Xi Qiangu's right-hand man standing at the left side of the desk, was drenched in sweat under that rhythmic tapping. Fear gradually crept onto his face.
"Have you figured it out?" Xi Qiangu, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Wei Gang nodded heavily. "In reply to my lord, I have."
"Then let me hear it." As he spoke, Xi Qiangu's tapping abruptly stopped.
"My lord, the crux of this matter is not that Ye Zhen has been granted the title of Duke of North Sea Commandery, nor is it that Ye Zhen is the Second Route Wind Patrol Office's Wind Patrol Envoy.
"The key is that Ye Zhen is both!
"While serving as the Western Patrol Envoy's Second Route Wind Patrol Office's Wind Patrol Envoy, Ye Zhen was granted the title of Duke of North Sea Commandery. To you, my lord, I fear this poses no small threat," Wei Gang said.
Xi Qiangu rose to his full height. "It is far more than no small threat."
"Whether Prophet Demon Master Qi Hong was truly killed by Ye Zhen, or whether he was slain with the old emperor's power backing him, given that old emperor's vision, my position..." At this point, Xi Qiangu let out a chilling, eerie cackle.
"My lord, according to what we know, every one of the Seven-Surname Prophet Demon Masters is a true master of great divine abilities. Unless one possesses great divine abilities at