The imperial cavalry didn’t let Li Qiye down. They excavated all the desired items in just a short time and brought them to the base of his mountain.

Spectators were utterly confused by their actions because the excavated items included large boulders and stone hills. None of them looked special at all.

They felt that this was a waste of manpower. Why was the imperial cavalry sent to do something so menial?

“What is the new king doing?” One disciple murmured.

“He’s probably sensitive about the lack of qualifications and wants to abuse his authority.” Someone else harshly answered.

“Shut your mouth.” A senior nearby yelled with haste.

The new king was about to inherit the dynasty. Rudeness was unacceptable and punishable. This was especially true in Chaos. One little thing might result in decapitation.

Though most didn’t dare to voice their displeasure, they didn’t condone his first order or his status as the next king.

“Your Highness, may I ask what is the goal of this?” Firerage asked while following Li Qiye.

He, unlike many others, knew that these large pieces were special since he was there for the harmonization. Alas, he was staring straight at them and failed to spot anything peculiar.

Li Qiye circled once and saw that nothing was missing. He smiled and said: “Nothing much, just destroy this.”

“... What?” His mouth became agape as he stared in the direction of Li Qiye’s finger. This was because Li Qiye was pointing at the royal palace.

“Your Highness, yo-you want to destroy Eight-stallion Palace?” Firerage became confused.

“Yes, destroy it and leave the base of the mountain. Of course, you can’t destroy this anyway.” Li Qiye nodded.

“I-I don’t know about this.” Firerage stammered.

“Why? The palace was shoddily built, a dog’s tail used as a substitute for sable fur. It ruined this work of art.” Li Qiye said.

Firerage turned red - wasn’t this disrespectful toward Eight-stallion Dao Lord?

Moreover, the palace served as the central authority of the dynasty. The dao lord once lived here and gave orders to the realm. 

Therefore, its members viewed it as a pivotal symbol of the dynasty as well. As long as the palace was still around, so would the dynasty. Most importantly, the dao lord had just passed away recently.

Destroying the palace now would cause untold chaos and unrest, further souring everyone’s opinion of Li Qiye and creating a deeper rift in the dynasty.

“Your Highness, please reconsider, we can’t destroy this palace or the dynasty will fall into disarray, something very unfavorable for you.” Firerage regained his wits and tried to persuade Li Qiye.

“A single palace can guarantee peace and stability in Eight-stallion or cause its destruction alone? If that’s the case, this dynasty is as feeble as a piece of paper. Such a sect is not worth my time.” Li Qiye smilingly retorted.

Firerage couldn’t come up with a retort.

“Destroy it, I want to bring other things up there.” Li Qiye gave an order this time.

Though he still spoke casually and without any pressure, Firerage knew that there was no room for negotiation.

***

“What did you just say?!” Venerable Dragon God stood up in astonishment.

Destroying this palace was the same as destroying the dynasty’s morale. It would ruin the coronation process.

“Let me go take a look.” He immediately left.

***

“Why…?” Northern Monarch heard this news and became startled. That palace was perfectly fine.

Did Li Qiye want to establish his own authority by destroying the vestige of Eight-stallion Dao Lord?

“I don’t understand at all.” She murmured and also left her place to take a look.

***

One person was ecstatic to hear this news - Monochromatic Master. He grinned and said: “Perfect, keep on stirring the pot.”

“This dynasty will be in your pocket, Sir.” One of the two beauties flattered him.

“I don’t care about this shell of a dynasty. Its destruction is only a matter of time without the dao lord.” Monochromatic snorted.

“Then what is your goal?” The other beauty became curious.

Monochromatic answered with a mysterious smile.

***

Venerable Dragon God and Northern Monarch arrived at the scene to see the imperial guards looking awkward and helpless.

The palace was built by the previous king. Though he was no longer around, they could still reminisce about their time together while being here.

“What is going on?” The dragon god frowned and asked Firerage.

“Ask His Highness.” Firerage had a bitter expression.

“Your Highness, we can’t destroy Eight-stallion Palace.” The dragon god said: “This will crush the disciples’ morale.”

“If this tiny thing is enough to crush their morale, they don’t have the ability to protect Eight-stallion. When trouble actually comes, they’ll either tremble uncontrollably or scatter like bees from a fallen hive.”

“But the palace was personally built by the previous king. It has immense significance.” The dragon god argued. The timing was still too close to the king’s passing; this was out of line.

“Your Highness, please reconsider. If you’re unhappy, we can do something else instead.” Northern Monarch joined in.

“It’s necessary, things will be returning to their original place.” Li Qiye smiled.

The monarch and dragon god glanced at the rocks down at the base.

“I’ll kill you, bastard!” Suddenly, a childish roar erupted from a figure lunging at Li Qiye.

“Your Highness, don’t be disrespectful.” Firerage stopped her and said.

“Guard Commander, are you really going to watch this jerk destroy my father’s palace?” A’zhui angrily yelled, unable to accept this. She had many memories of spending time with her father here.

“I…” Firerage couldn’t respond because the dao lord had treated him so well.