Chapter 21: Ransacking the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!
As long as the Great Ming Kingdom and the current Heaven Dou Empire split apart, there'd be no need to sign this humiliating treaty that stripped the Star Luo Empire of its rights!
Truthfully, how could Xu Nian'an not know that declaring independence and establishing a third empire now could very well provoke retaliation from the Heaven Dou Empire?
They might join forces with Star Luo and destroy him, this rising new power.
But Xu Nian'an just couldn't swallow this insult.
Even if it provoked the other two empires into attacking him and joining forces to wipe him out, Xu Nian'an would still do it.
At worst, he'd go overseas and find an island nation where he could recuperate and build his strength for a few years.
Then, a few years later, he'd return with a million troops!
"Does it have to be now?"
"Can't you give me just a few days? Didn't I say I'd give you an answer you'd be satisfied with?"
"I'm your uncle. You can't make things difficult for me at a time like this..."
"I'm your uncle. Blood is thicker than water. Have you forgotten? Give me a little more time..."
Heh~
"Uncle?"
Xu Nian'an let out a derisive chuckle.
"Blood is thicker than water?"
"I haven't forgotten!!!"
"Have I?"
"I remember it all perfectly. When the late king was assassinated, there wasn't a single person by my side."
"When the officials of the Starry Sky Kingdom toyed with me, when the two hundred thousand troops of the Gulei Kingdom marched to my doorstep and threatened me, where were you, Uncle?"
"Or should I say, where were you, Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire?"
"I remember every bit of it!"
Xu Nian'an's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck home, piercing through the windows of everyone's hearts and resounding within them.
"I am now the king of Great Ming, and in the future, I will be...the king of...the world!!!"
Xu Nian'an was certainly no gentleman.
His mind was narrower than a needle's eye. He remembered exactly what the Heaven Dou Empire had done to him before he'd risen to power.
Without the Heaven Dou Empire's support, how would the Gulei Kingdom have dared to march two hundred thousand troops to his doorstep on the very day he was crowned?
Affection???
Cousins???
Heh. It was nothing but exploitation.
When they were in a good mood, they called him cousin. When they weren't, he was no better than a rootless nobody.
Here, Xu Nian'an's ambition was laid bare for all to see!
"You...are you sure you want to do this!!!"
"I can't guarantee that I'll be able to destroy your Great Ming Kingdom, but you definitely...won't leave the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace alive!"
Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!!!
The moment Xue Ye finished speaking, squads of guards clad in Bright Light Armor appeared.
"You can..."
Xu Nian'an didn't finish what he was saying. The air around him rippled, and space shuddered.
A moment later, an old man in a black robe with silver hair slowly emerged. He looked like an ordinary old man, without the slightest trace of Soul Power.
Yet the sight of him stepping out of space deeply shocked everyone present.
Step...!
Long Xiaoyao took a step forward. In the next instant, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red—two yellow, two purple, three black, and two red rings—appeared around him. Nine rings in all.
The overwhelming pressure of a Titled Douluo swept across the entire hall.
In Heaven Dou City.
A young man in pale blue finery, with a gentle and refined face, seemed to sense something. He frowned and turned toward the imperial palace.
"Uncle Bone."
Behind him, a tall man clad in bone armor nodded.
"The Sect Master sensed correctly. It's a Titled Douluo."
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the two vanished.
"If you think you can handle it, then go ahead and try."
Thud!!!
Long Xiaoyao's voice rang out calmly. In the next instant, everyone inside the palace—except Xu Nian'an—felt their knees buckle at the sound of it.
"If you want to fight, I'll fight you. If you want war, I'll see it through to the end!"
With that, Xu Nian'an turned and left.
Killing them would have swiftly brought down the Heaven Dou Empire, but that wasn't what Xu Nian'an wanted.
If he wiped out the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the northern continent would plunge into chaos. Countless wars would break out, and the order of the entire continent would collapse. Restoring it would take a great deal of effort.
That was why Xu Nian'an hadn't done it.
Wouldn't it be better to defeat them and take control of an intact society and continent?
Just after leaving the congress hall, Xu Nian'an came face-to-face with two men.
One was gentle and refined, clearly a nobleman from a scholarly family. The other was a middle-aged man, tall and clad head to toe in bone armor.
He was most likely the noble young man's bodyguard or something of the sort.
When Xu Nian'an saw the two of them, they saw him and Long Xiaoyao as well.
"This is...an assassin!"
The noble young man's expression changed. Seeing the long robe stained red with blood on Xu Nian'an, he blurted it out.
The moment the words left the noble young man's mouth, the man behind him moved.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—two yellow, two purple, and five black. He was unmistakably a Titled Douluo.
The instant his Soul Rings appeared, the Titled Douluo was already in front of Xu Nian'an. He raised a hand, about to attack.
"Hmph!"
"Some stray cat or dog from who knows where. You're asking for death!"
At a cold snort, the Titled Douluo's expression changed.
Behind him, a seven-colored light flashed in the noble young man's hand, revealing a small tower.
Pfft—
Before he could even release his Soul Rings, his throat turned hot. He spat out a mouthful of blood and his knees buckled.
A Titled Douluo...?
A Level 99 Limit Douluo and a Titled Douluo who had only recently reached that rank weren't even the same kind of creature.
Facing this Titled Douluo, Long Xiaoyao hadn't even released his Martial Soul or Soul Rings. He had crushed him completely with Soul Power alone.
"This is the first time, and also...the last!"
His calm voice rang out. The noble young man's body shuddered as he looked up in terror.
What met his eyes was the long robe stained a dark red. On closer inspection, its distinct patterns gradually came into view.
It was a...Python Robe!
"Wait, wait! Great Ming King, withdraw the Nation Annihilation Decree!"
Behind them, a minister from the Star Luo Empire stumbled forward.
"G-Great Ming King..."
At the sound of those three words, the noble young man kneeling on the ground went deathly pale and hurriedly lowered his head.
"I didn't know you and the Great Ming King were visiting, seniors. Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect begs your forgiveness!"
The Great Ming King had already made a fearsome name for himself across the continent... Though he'd only recently taken the throne, he'd accomplished one astonishing thing after another.
How could Ning Fengzhi not be afraid?
What did it matter how many Soul Masters the sect had? One wrong move in front of this man, and the entire sect could be wiped out.
Xu Nian'an didn't even turn his head.
"What I choose to do is none of the Star Luo Empire's business!"
With that, Xu Nian'an turned and left.
Sunset Forest.
He'd originally planned to return straight to the Great Ming Kingdom and prepare for his coronation.
But the Heaven Dou Empire had come all this way. Surely he couldn't leave empty-handed?
Led by one emissary after another from the Holy Spirit Cult, Xu Nian'an and his three thousand Imperial Guards and three hundred palace maids entered Sunset Forest.
They quickly found Dugu Bo's poison-mist formation. Long Xiaoyao casually stepped in and destroyed it.
Soon, after large numbers of people joined the search, Xu Nian'an found the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, along with the many Immortal Herbs growing there.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot were perfectly suited to his second and third Martial Souls.
They could be useful, and there were plenty of other things too. At his order, the whole place was stripped bare.
"Dig them up with their roots and soil, pack them up, and seal them in jade boxes! Make sure they stay alive—not a single blade of grass is to be left behind!"