Laurel trees flourished across a hundred leagues; partridges cried through the cool midday shade.

As Sunday enveloped all of Heaven Dou City in the Dream of the Great Unity, everyone except Sword Douluo Chen Xin fell asleep and entered the dream.

Thud!

At the sound of bodies falling, Sunday turned to see Snake Lance and Pufferfish tumble out of their hiding place.

Ignoring the two of them, Sunday yawned and headed for his bedroom.

"Work's done. Time to sleep."

Naturally, the changes in Heaven Dou City could not escape Chen Xin, a Super Douluo. As he sensed what had happened, towering waves of shock surged through his heart.

"How could this be? Everyone in the city has fallen unconscious, without a single exception."

This was no small town, after all. It was one of the continent's three greatest cities, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Not only did it have a vast population, it also housed many powerful Soul Masters. Even Dugu Bo, reputed to be the best at attacking large groups, could not have rendered them all unconscious.

But then a smile appeared on Chen Xin's face.

"It seems... Fengzhi really has found an extraordinary ally."

Since Sunday had already gone this far to help him, he had no reason to let that goodwill go to waste.

Looking down at the Strength Clan's compound, Chen Xin radiated an incomparably keen aura, killing intent suffusing his entire body.

The Seven Kill Sword manifested in his hand. Chen Xin gripped it, and the Soul Rings beneath his feet began to pulse.

"Laurel trees flourish across a hundred leagues; partridges cry through the cool midday shade. Above Yanping Ford, peaks rise as though hewn by blades; the sword departs, the river lies empty, its waters flowing ever onward!"

Chen Xin slowly recited the verse. The Seven Kill Sword blazed with light, and a gigantic sword cleaved savagely down upon the Strength Clan below.

Everyone in the Strength Clan, including its patriarch, Tai Tan, was minced into pulp by the Seven Kill Sword in their sleep.

Only after razing the entire Strength Clan compound did Chen Xin put away the Seven Kill Sword and fly toward his rendezvous point with Ning Fengzhi.

After daybreak, when the Dream of the Great Unity was lifted, nearby residents and patrolling guards discovered the Strength Clan's extermination. The news swiftly spread throughout the Heaven Dou Empire.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Sir, are you awake? Sir?"

Hearing the urgent knocking and Xue Qinghe's anxious calls, Sunday reluctantly got out of bed.

"What is it, Your Highness?"

Sunday opened the door and asked with a peculiar expression when he saw Xue Qinghe standing there in his nightclothes, a distinct indentation and ink stains on his face.

Seeing Sunday emerge, Xue Qinghe hurriedly pulled him outside.

"Sir, yesterday... the Strength Clan was wiped out. Apart from Tai Long, who was boarding at Shrek Academy, no one survived."

As he spoke, Xue Qinghe looked at Sunday with a grave expression, shock and disbelief in his eyes.

"This incident..."

He truly had never imagined that Ning Fengzhi, who always appeared so gentle and refined, could be so ruthless, so crazed!

This was not the death of one or two people. It was an entire clan, nearly two hundred lives!

Even the Heaven Dou Empire had not seen such a tragedy in all these years.

His instincts told him-no, the facts told him-that Sunday was definitely involved.

At first, he had not understood what Sunday meant when he told him to rest early and not catch a chill.

Later, he understood.

Last night, after finishing his review of the memorials, he had been about to go to bed. Yet the moment he stood up, he lost consciousness.

As a result, he had spent the entire night slumped over his desk. The indentation and ink stains on his face had come from striking its surface.

Moreover, when he woke that morning, Pufferfish and Snake Lance reported that it had not been just him. Everyone in Heaven Dou City had fallen unconscious last night,

including the two of them, both Titled Douluos. They had slept in the courtyard all night.

Shortly afterward, he received a summons from Xue Ye, saying that a massacre had occurred in Heaven Dou City: the Strength Clan had been exterminated.

That was why he had rushed here to find Sunday. If Sunday really had done all of this, then his secret...

Hearing Xue Qinghe's question, Sunday nodded calmly.

"Chen Xin did indeed do it. What's wrong?"

Xue Qinghe sucked in a breath of cold air.

"It really was... Father has already summoned us. This incident has far too great an impact on the Heaven Dou Empire."

After his shock subsided, Xue Qinghe sighed helplessly.

The Strength Clan was the Clear Sky Sect's loyal hound. Naturally, he was happy to see such a trusted right arm cut off, especially when it involved dog-eat-dog fighting among the Upper Three Sects.

But after Ning Fengzhi's actions, he had left Xue Qinghe with a colossal mess, enough to give him headaches for a long time.

Sunday nodded.

"Understood. Let's go."

With that, Sunday picked up his coat from inside the room and followed Xue Qinghe toward the carriage.

On the way, Xue Qinghe ran back to his own room to change, then hurried to catch up.

Xue Ye had summoned him for no reason other than concern for his own safety and a desire to know what had happened.

After all, Sunday was publicly the only Titled Douluo in Heaven Dou City. If something happened and they did not ask him, no one else would know either.

The two arrived at court to find Xue Ye listening to a guard's report, his face frosty.

"What did you say? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was attacked?"

Xue Ye felt his temples throb. It had only been one night. How had things become like this?

Not only had Heaven Dou City suffered the worst massacre of his reign, but even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, with which he had always maintained friendly relations, had met with disaster.

"Father, your son is here."

"Your Majesty."

Only upon seeing Sunday and Xue Qinghe did Xue Ye's gloomy expression ease somewhat.

"Qinghe, Mr. Sunday, what do you make of the massacre in Heaven Dou?"

Xue Ye sighed, looking as though he had aged several years.

"Well..."

Hearing Xue Ye's question, Xue Qinghe was momentarily at a loss for words. Though he knew the inside story, would it not be inappropriate to state it so bluntly?

Besides, if Ning Fengzhi had not informed Xue Ye of this beforehand,

and it was instead his son who told him, there was no telling what suspicions he might entertain.

Sunday had no such concerns. He raised his eyes to Xue Ye.

"What does Your Majesty think? Or what would you like to think?"

"Me? Heh. I spent all of yesterday in the palace and know nothing. What could I possibly think?"

After considering Sunday's words briefly, Xue Ye shook his head with a self-deprecating smile and offered that explanation.

Having held the throne securely for so many years, he was naturally highly perceptive. Sunday's words immediately led him to suspect that there was something fishy behind these two incidents.

At Xue Ye's seemingly muddled answer, Sunday inwardly remarked, Astute. He figured it out from just a few words.

"Sometimes, knowing too much is not a good thing. I just heard the guard say that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was attacked,

but why be so anxious, Your Majesty? Wait a little while, and you may reap an unexpected reward."

Sunday did not believe that Ning Fengzhi could have planned for so long without preparing a response. With his crafty nature, he would probably emerge to smooth things over in less than half a day.

Although Sword Douluo's attacks were not as distinctive as Bone Douluo's, such keen traces of an attack,

combined with the power to destroy a clan headed by a Soul Douluo overnight, belonged to only a handful of people on the entire Douluo Continent. Identifying the culprit would be easy.

After hearing this, a calculating glint flashed through Xue Ye's aged eyes, and he gave a quiet hum of assent.

"Since Mr. Sunday has spoken, I shall wait a little while.

However, the Strength Clan was no trivial matter. We must still conduct an investigation."