Seeing everyone watching him, Yu Xiaogang felt that his words must have touched a nerve deep inside them.
He abruptly turned around to face Tang Yu on the high platform, lifting his chin like a judge issuing a sentence.
"Tang Yu, if you still want to make a place for yourself on the Douluo Continent, turn back before it's too late!"
"I demand that you disband this Black Horse Iron Cavalry that's bringing calamity upon the people!"
"Give up your fiefdom in the Northwest Three Provinces and return power to the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires!"
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back, his tone full of lofty, pitying arrogance.
"At the same time, you must publicly apologize to all the powers of the world and offer up resources to settle your feuds with them."
"Only then can you cleanse yourself of your sins and earn the world's forgiveness."
"That's the only way out you have left!"
Not even the wind stirred across the vast plaza.
No one echoed Yu Xiaogang's impassioned speech, and no one stood up to join him in waving the flag and shouting slogans.
All the guests sat quietly in their places.
Not even a whisper passed between them.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on Yu Xiaogang.
There was no admiration in those gazes, no rekindled passion.
They all looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Ning Fengzhi had given up half the sect's treasury, and even Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had knelt. What gave a good-for-nothing who wasn't even a Soul Elder the right to lecture everyone?
One nearby clan leader couldn't hold back. He covered his face with his sleeve and muttered under his breath,
"Did this guy get his head caught in a door?"
The person beside him hurriedly shot him a warning look, making him shrink back in fright.
"Don't engage. Stay away from him, or we'll get splattered with blood in a minute."
Seeing the way everyone around him avoided him, Yu Xiaogang was overcome with an intense sense of defeat.
How could these people all be so ignorant?
They were beyond saving!
Amid this crowd of anxious guests, no one noticed an inconspicuous corner at the very edge of the plaza.
A battered little wooden table stood there, reserved for the seats of minor affiliated powers.
A burly man in a wide, shabby cloak lounged brazenly against the back of his chair.
Tang Hao held a bowl of cheap wine, the rough pottery hiding most of his face.
In the shadow beneath his hood, Tang Hao's eyes watched the commotion on the high platform with keen interest.
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's righteous-sounding speech, Tang Hao's lips twitched into a mocking smile.
Interesting.
What a fine show.
Tang Hao drained the wine in his bowl, then casually grabbed a piece of roast meat from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing noisily.
He wasn't in the least bit anxious.
He had come to gather information today, after all. Getting to watch infighting within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan made the trip worthwhile just for the entertainment.
Tang Hao also wanted to see how that fellow who might be his biological son would deal with this jumping clown.
As Yu Xiaogang rattled off his demands, Tang Yu didn't so much as lift an eyelid from his seat at the center of the high platform.
Tang Yu merely leaned back in the wide chair, its back draped in soft beast fur, and tapped the armrest at an unhurried pace with his long fingers.
He acted as if the man below wasn't even alive.
Tang Yu didn't move, but Xue Qinghe, standing nearby, had had enough.
Xue Qinghe swept up the hem of her brocade robe and descended the greenstone steps, one step at a time.
With every step, her aura grew sharper.
The crowd parted without thinking, making a wide path for the Heaven Dou Crown Prince.
Xue Qinghe walked straight up to Yu Xiaogang and stopped.
They stood less than three feet apart. Xue Qinghe narrowed her eyes slightly and sized up the man who didn't know when to quit.
"The Number One Theory Master of the Continent?"
Xue Qinghe repeated the title softly, her voice dripping with undisguised mockery.
"You're nothing but a good-for-nothing who can't even break through level thirty."
"A loser who can't even beat an ordinary Soul Elder dares to run his mouth here?"
At those words, Yu Xiaogang reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. The color drained from his face in an instant.
His inability to break through level thirty was the greatest pain of his life, a wound he least wanted anyone to mention.
"You..."
Yu Xiaogang had just opened his mouth to retort.
Xue Qinghe gave him no chance to speak.
She suddenly raised her right hand and swung it in a full arc through the air.
Smack!
A crisp, ringing slap exploded across the plaza.
Xue Qinghe's palm landed squarely on Yu Xiaogang's left cheek.
How could Yu Xiaogang's pitiful cultivation withstand such force?
The blow spun him halfway around on the spot. He stumbled backward several steps before landing hard on his rear.
Yu Xiaogang's left cheek swelled before everyone's eyes, five clear red finger marks stamped across it.
His head rang, and a shrill whine filled his ears.
Bright red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Yu Xiaogang roughly wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, then looked up at Xue Qinghe.
His bloodshot eyes were filled with an almost frenzied, obsessive defiance.
He struggled to his feet, not even bothering to brush the dust off his clothes.
"So what if you hit me?"
Yu Xiaogang stuck out his neck and roared at Xue Qinghe, his voice hoarse.
"So what if you're strong?"
"Are you saying that only those with the biggest fists get to speak?"
"Does being strong mean you can bully people with your power and trample all over them?"
"My cultivation may be weak, but I'm learned and well-read. I've grasped the deepest truths of this world!"
"You use force to oppress others, but in the end, Heaven will punish you!"
Just as Yu Xiaogang was about to keep arguing pointlessly,
a faint sound suddenly came from the high platform.
It was the sound of fingers stopping their tap against the armrest.
Then a cold snort exploded beside every person's ear.
It wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a hammer.
Those who had been watching the show felt their blood surge in their chests. Some of the weaker ones even tasted sweetness in their throats and nearly spat out blood.
On the high platform, Tang Yu finally sat up straight.
He looked down at the people below, his gaze passing over Xue Qinghe and Yu Xiaogang before settling on Yu Yuanzhen, seated at the very back of the crowd.
Without any unnecessary words,
Tang Yu looked at Yu Yuanzhen and slowly spoke a few words.
"Does the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan mean to make an enemy of me?"
This question sounded casual, but it concealed a killing intent that made everyone's scalp prickle.
The Black Horse Iron Cavalry standing guard all around took a synchronized step forward the instant they heard it.
Their heavy boots struck the greenstone paving with a thunderous boom.
Thousands of long blades slid partway from their sheaths at once. Their dazzling, icy gleam joined into a single sheet, while their solemn killing intent sealed off the entire plaza like a tangible force.