Prince Xue Xing's Swelling Ambition

The group followed the trail of blood, moving forward.

As they walked, a wave of immense, clamorous noise drifted toward them from afar.

Seeing this, the group exchanged glances and leaped lightly onto the rooftop.

In the square, a dense crowd of commoners stood packed together, shielding the towering statue in the center.

Opposite the commoners, a multitude of knights held long spears, their gazes cold as they pointed their weapons at the crowd.

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted in fury: "Don't you dare touch the statue of Lord Cen Yu!"

"Where were you people when we were suffering a while ago? Where was the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"Now that we have finally recovered our normal lives, you come here aggressively to hold us accountable."

"On what grounds?! How dare you have the face to destroy the statue of our benefactor?"

These damned lackeys of the Heaven Dou Empire; they were as good as dead when there was trouble, but now that they had been saved by the Martial Soul Hall, they turned around to accuse them of treason!

What shameless audacity!

Hearing this, the leading knight commander sneered.

Before anyone could react, he drew his long sword, slicing straight across the throat of the man who had spoken.

The man didn't even have time to say a word; his eyes widened, and his body collapsed stiffly to the ground.

The commoners were instantly shaken with terror, subconsciously retreating as deep fear welled up in their eyes.

Yet, after only a moment of panic, everyone looked up at the pristine statue of Cen Yu behind them, and the fear in their eyes transformed entirely into grief and indignation.

Damn it all, if not for Lord Cen Yu, their lives would have been forfeit long ago.

If they let these lackeys destroy the statue now, what face would they have left to go on living?

Thinking of this, even knowing they might die, the crowd refused to take another step back.

Seeing this, the knight commander grew even more enraged: "By order!"

"You have built a statue without authorization, gathered to worship, and ignored the laws; this is equivalent to forming a faction and constitutes the grave crime of treason!"

As he spoke, he pointed his sword at the crowd: "The Heaven Dou Empire is merciful; we shall only destroy the statue and spare your lives."

"If you dare to obstruct us again, we shall kill—"

"Bang—!"

Before he could finish, a massive long spear pierced straight through his chest, blasting him away.

Seeing this, everyone present was startled, and the remaining knights shouted nervously: "Who goes there?"

Just then, Cen Yu jumped down from the roof and walked slowly toward the crowd.

"Your masters are quite something, aren't they? Daring to define the person who had a statue built for me as a traitor."

"It seems you were the ones who wiped out the Martial Soul Branch Hall as well. Is this a declaration of war?"

As he spoke, Cen Yu raised a hand, and a new long spear materialized in his grasp.

Seeing the newcomer, the commoners' eyes turned red, and they shouted excitedly: "Lord Cen Yu!!!"

"Wuu wuu... Lord Cen Yu, those knights came and immediately attacked the Martial Soul Branch Hall..."

Listening to the crowd, the youth chuckled: "Alright, everyone quiet down~ I have already seen the blood, and now I am here to collect the debt."

It seems these people belong to the Heaven Dou Empire~ Since Qian Renxue is the Crown Prince, it is impossible for these men to have been sent by her or Emperor Xue Ye.

He wanted to see who was so tired of living that they dared to provoke him.

He raised a hand, and the nearest knight was seized by the throat.

"Tell me, who sent you? If you confess honestly, perhaps I can..."

Not wipe out your nine clans, but only exterminate your entire family.

Hearing this, the knight clawed desperately at Cen Yu's hand: "You... you... how dare you—"

Before he could finish, his neck let out a crisp snap, and he was tossed aside.

Cen Yu raised his hand again, seizing another knight by the throat.

"Come, you tell me?"

Finally, after sending all the Heaven Dou Empire knights in the area on their way, the group learned the origin of the matter.

Originally, the Heaven Dou Empire had no intention of managing this place; after all, they were just a few small cities.

But when Prince Xue Xing learned that the people here had begun to worship Cen Yu, he felt the majesty of the Heaven Dou Empire had been challenged.

He found an excuse and sent men to deal with the local Martial Soul Branch Hall and the statue.

He wouldn't have dared to do this before, but once he thought of Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Ning Rongrong, and even Tang San, all of whom had been severely wounded at the Spirit Master Tournament, he found his courage.

Yue Guan sneered: "This good-for-nothing, does he really think the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will stand in solidarity with him?"

The Heaven Dou Empire is governed by a bunch of corrupt nobles who only know how to indulge in pleasure; how can such an empire even exist?

Cen Yu smiled and slammed the long spear in his hand into the ground.

In an instant, a terrifying shockwave rippled out from his body.

"What is a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? What does it matter if you add the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Even the Clear Sky Sect is not qualified to act presumptuously before me!"

"We shall just grab Xue Xing and pay them a visit one by one to demand an explanation~"

"If they are sensible, that is fine, but if not... offering several thousand red sky lanterns for our fallen comrades of the Martial Soul Branch Hall is not out of the question."

As for whether they were the ones who ordered it... does that even matter?

He glanced at the commoners nearby and pointed at one who caught his eye.

"You, come here."

Hearing this, the man looked around, then ran over, flattered and surprised: "Lord Cen Yu! What are your orders?"

Cen Yu took out the Pope Token and handed it over: "Go to Martial Soul City and meet the Pope. Tell her it was I who sent you, and ask her to send people to take over this city."

"From today on, this city no longer belongs to the Heaven Dou Empire."

In an instant, the man and the commoners who heard this message were stunned, but upon realizing what it meant, they were ecstatic and knelt down to kowtow.

"Thank you, my Lord! Thank you, my Lord!"

"This humble one will surely get this done, please rest assured!"

Seeing this, Guang Ling and the others nearby were about to advise Cen Yu not to give away the Pope Token.

But before they could speak, they saw him place a mark on the man, and they immediately shut their mouths.

Fine, it seems he has already made arrangements, so there is no need for them to worry.

As for this city, that is a matter for the Grand Elder and the Pope, so there is even less need for them to interfere.

"What?" Bibi Dong looked at the Soul Grand Master holding the Pope Token below with a bewildered expression.

"You say Cen Yu gave you this token?"

The man nodded and kowtowed to Bibi Dong: "Reporting to Your Excellency the Pope, this humble one is named Zhang Tu, and Lord Cen Yu ordered me to come and seek an audience with you."

Then, Zhang Tu recounted everything that had happened in Broken Cloud Town.

"Lord Cen Yu said that from now on, our Broken Cloud Town will no longer belong to the Heaven Dou Empire, and he specifically sent me to ask you to send people to take over Broken Cloud Town."

"..."

Bibi Dong ignored him, instead sneering as she looked toward the direction of the Heaven Dou Empire.

At first, she was wondering what had gotten into Cen Yu, but she had not expected it to be those nobles acting out.

For a mere prince to dare to do such a thing, I fear that Tang Hao and Tang San must have been fanning the flames behind the scenes.

Thinking of this, the Pope Token held in Zhang Tu's hands flew into Bibi Dong's grasp.

"Understood, you may return. This Seat will send people to take over Broken Cloud Town."

Finally, she added: "You have done well."

To have defended Xiao Yu's statue to the death under those circumstances, it seems he did not waste those spirit bones in vain.