Cuiwei Residence, Main Hall.
Lin Mo lounged on the sofa, idly scrolling through the news on his phone.
The images on the screen were solemn. Headlines across every major news portal had turned black, and white flowers drifted across their homepages.
In the comments, angry denunciations surged like a tide:
"Western Continent! The Western Continent again! Are they trying to start a war with us?"
"Assassinating a head of state—if that isn't a declaration of war, what is?"
"The first thing the new emperor should do after taking the throne is declare war on the Western Continent!"
"Yes! War! Anything less won't calm the people's anger!"
"Calm down, guys. War isn't child's play."
"Then what are we supposed to do? Just let it go?"
"Let it go? The murder of one's father is an irreconcilable hatred! Did you think the Crown Prince said those words for fun?"
"Come to think of it, wasn't Count of Southern Suppression in the Hall of Supreme Harmony as well? Why didn't he stop it?"
"Are you stupid? The assassin used a psychic attack. It was silent and invisible—who could have stopped it?"
"I heard it was Count of Southern Suppression who stabilized His Majesty's soul. It's a pity he still couldn't be saved in the end..."
"Did they catch the assassin?"
"They did. He was apprehended on the spot—a mixed-race man, a hidden agent the Western Continent had planted in Great Xia."
"Someone like that deserves to be sliced into a thousand pieces! Exterminate his entire clan!"
"The sentence has already been handed down. The Empire's Supreme Court delivered its verdict this morning: Zhou Ziheng, guilty of treason, rebellion, and regicide. Punished for all three crimes—death by a thousand cuts, with his entire clan exterminated."
"Good! Excellent! What a satisfying outcome!"
"Brothers, all you