Heaven's mandate? What a joke!

"Hahaha! Come, bring Huang Yu. Let's go meet those petty scoundrels and see whether that ox-licking warrior has the guts to come along!"

Listening to the notifications and watching the data change in the background, Di Xin threw back his head and laughed. Then he swept his sleeve and strode toward the palace gates.

Between heaven and earth, he walked alone. His retreating figure looked so tall and imposing, so worthy of admiration, so worthy of worship!

Perhaps he really was the great emperor reincarnated!

Only a peerless prodigy like the great emperor could have such keen instincts, detecting the rebels' movements before they acted; only he could stride forward so fearlessly when rebellion came knocking!

And our Qingqiu Fox clan had always been descendants of the Demon Emperor's line!

[Affection and loyalty from Daji +20, cumulative total +60...]

In an instant, fresh ripples stirred in Daji's already shimmering, waterlike eyes, and a fiery light shone within them.

A passing grade!

Could full marks be far behind?!

Watching the data change in the background, Di Xin threw back his head and laughed heartily, his spirits soaring ever higher. A few strides later, he reached the palace gates!

"Boom!"

Almost the instant the party reached the gates, the two enormous doors finally shattered under the tremendous pounding and crashed to the ground, sending up endless clouds of dust.

"Soldiers, search thoroughly! Especially under beds and inside cupboards! We must capture the tyrant alive!"

Yang Ren raised his arm and shouted, leading the brothers Fang Xiang and Fang Bi, along with the soldiers, toward the palace. He intended to drag out Di Xin, who, he imagined, had learned of the coup and was now trembling beneath his bed, bitterly regretting his actions. He would teach the tyrant what it meant to have the people turn against him, and what true terror felt like.

"Yang Ren, open your eyes wide and look. Am I not standing right here?!"

But almost the instant he finished speaking, Di Xin flicked his sleeves, dispersing the dust before him, and spoke calmly with a mocking smile.

[Negative emotion points from Yang Ren +999...]

Huh?

You shouldn't be here. You should be under the bed, deep inside a cupboard!

Yang Ren stared at Di Xin in bewilderment, a melody rising unbidden in his mind.

Shouldn't a tyrant like him have been frightened out of his wits upon learning of a coup, panicked and helpless, hiding beneath a bed or inside a cupboard, trembling as he waited for me to lead the troops in, drag him out, and give him a vicious dressing-down?!

"Hmm? Why are there only you three petty scoundrels? Where are Bi Gan, whose seven-holed heart has six holes blocked, and that ox-licking warrior, the King of Wucheng?!"

Then Di Xin noticed that only Yang Ren, Fang Xiang, and Fang Bi had led the troops here.

Clearly, Bi Gan and Huang Feihu were using these three fools as their weapons. The three would bear the infamy of forcing the king's hand, while those two played the good men!

As for his main target-Jiang Ziya-his absence probably meant he had gone to deal with Zheng Lun.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The chancellor and the King of Wucheng know nothing of this!"

Sure enough, upon hearing Di Xin's words, Yang Ren immediately grew wary and replied gravely.

They had already settled everything with Bi Gan and Huang Feihu. The three of them would carry out the coup, and once they had Di Xin under control, they would go to the chancellor's residence and respectfully invite Bi Gan and Huang Feihu to take charge!

"You see your king before you, yet still refuse to kneel?! I know you were forced into this by orders from above and had no choice. Throw down your weapons and kneel now, and I will let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, do not blame me for showing you no mercy!"

Di Xin ignored Yang Ren. Instead, he swept his gaze over the soldiers behind him and spoke calmly.

At his words, panic immediately appeared on the soldiers' faces. They exchanged glances, beginning to waver.

After all, Di Xin was the ruler of Great Shang. Before seeing him, they had thought little of it, but now that he stood before them, fear welled up from the depths of their hearts.

"Di Xin, you tyrant! You are cruel by nature, brutal and heartless, disrespectful to the gods, arrogant, extravagant, and debauched! Today, we have come to force your hand and uphold the great way! Soldiers, do not listen to this tyrant's nonsense! If you lay down your weapons, that is when you will truly face certain death!"

Seeing the situation turn against him, Yang Ren frowned. After contributing another 199 negative emotion points to Di Xin, he raised his arm and shouted with impassioned indignation.

"An arrow loosed from the bow cannot turn back! We have already taken this step, and there is no road back! Lay down your weapons now, and you die. Continue the coup, and at worst, you still die. But dying for this coup means dying for the righteous path! The gods will feel it, and the Heavenly Dao will remember it! Besides, as long as we capture the tyrant alive and set things right, we may not have to die at all!"

At the same time, the brothers Fang Xiang and Fang Bi rode back and forth among the soldiers, shouting at the tops of their voices.

In an instant, the soldiers who had wavered and considered throwing down their weapons grew even more hesitant.

"Soldiers, there is no need to worry! Last night, divine thunder descended from heaven and struck outside this tyrant's gates. What does that mean? It means the Heavenly Dao and the gods have long been displeased with this tyrant's actions! We are merely acting in accordance with heaven's will!"

Seeing that the heat was still insufficient, Yang Ren poured another ladle of boiling oil onto the fire, loudly inciting them with shout after shout.

At those words, the wavering soldiers suddenly felt as though everything had become clear.

If they were acting in accordance with heaven's will, what wrong had they committed?!

It worked! Seeing their reaction, Yang Ren immediately broke into a satisfied smile, his face full of smug delight.

What he took the greatest pride in was his eloquence. Sure enough, it had once again worked wonders, turning back the raging tide!

Perhaps, once the coup succeeded, Chancellor Bi Gan would drag that old bastard Shang Rong from his position as right chancellor and take the seat himself. Then, thanks to today's achievements, Yang Ren might get a taste of what it was like to be left chancellor!

"Divine thunder descending from heaven?!"

Hearing Yang Ren's words, Di Xin could not help smiling. He raised his right hand, activated the Basic Thunder Technique, and said calmly, "Like this?"

"Crack... crack..."

As his words fell, peals of thunder suddenly rang out beneath the clear, sunlit sky. Then streaks of purple lightning sprang from the void and converged on his palm, finally forming a dazzling, fearsome sphere of purple lightning!

Magic!

How... how was this possible...

Yang Ren stared blankly at the lightning sphere resting in Di Xin's hand. He was utterly stunned, trembling all over. His eyes bulged like an ox's, filled with nothing but shock and panic.

The sight before him lay so far beyond his expectations that he could not understand why any of this was happening.

Di Xin, that tyrant, actually knew lightning magic? This defied science!

"Well, Physician Yang? Surprised? Astonished? If a lightning sphere like this struck you, could a physician like you heal himself?"

Seeing the smile on Yang Ren's face, Di Xin raised his brows and spoke calmly.

[Negative emotion points from Yang Ren +599...]

Yang Ren opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

"Since you aren't speaking, I'll take that as agreement. Let me give it a try!" Di Xin chuckled and flicked his hand. The lightning sphere flew toward Yang Ren with a shriek.

Yang Ren's first instinct was to dodge. But at this point, he was merely a civil official, not yet the military commander with chicken eyes growing in his palms. How could he possibly dismount and flee in time? Before he could move, the lightning sphere crashed into him.

"Boom..."

An explosion rang out. Before Yang Ren could even groan, he left Di Xin another 999 negative emotion points, his body turning to charcoal as he toppled to the ground.

"Huh? Why couldn't you? Oh, right, I forgot. Yang Ren, your title of 'physician' was earned with your mouth, not by treating patients!"

Looking at Yang Ren's charred remains, Di Xin raised his brows, his face full of mockery.

[Negative emotion points from Fang Xiang +199...]

[Negative emotion points from Fang Bi +199...]

[Negative emotion points from Ma Xiaoshuai +199...]

[Negative emotion points from Wang Xiaoer +199...]

A pungent stench of burning spread through the air, and the coal-black remains were a glaring sight. Every soldier present trembled, their limbs weak as they stared at Di Xin in terror. Even as fear gripped them, they silently offered him negative emotion points.

They were merely ordinary people. To them, lightning magic of this caliber was no different from the arts of immortals.

"This..." Just then, Di Xin looked at the soldiers behind Fang Xiang and Fang Bi. His face was wreathed in smiles, but his voice was cold as ice. "Is this what you call heaven's mandate?!"