"He's right. If you spare us, we will definitely come back for revenge one day," the Crown Prince yelled haughtily. He was extremely frightened, but he only put on a tough act in the hopes that this reverse-psychology tactic would be able to save his life.

"Your Highness, please bow down. Sovereign Zhang Longcheng is a sovereign of this era, so he wouldn't hold this against you." A n.o.bleman who was still rather loyal to the King of Zhenyuan quickly nudged the Crown Prince and shot him a look.

"Pfft, me? Bow to him?" the Crown Prince said as he clenched his jaw, his face pale. He deliberately said with conviction, "Impossible. Hmph, if he's worried that I will seek revenge, then he should kill me today."

"That's right. We, the Yuan clan, will never be cowards who bow to the enemy." Poison Flower Princess was trembling all over but she still tried to put on a fearless act.

"Kill us all if you dare," Yuan Wenguo, the Second Prince, said fiercely.

Ye Qingyu smiled.

He obviously knew what kind of game these three were trying to play. Their amateurish attempt at tricking him was like teaching a fish how to swim. He knew exactly what these three people from the King of Zhenyuan's residence were like, especially after their recent clashes with each other.

"Very well. I shall kill all of you then." Ye Qingyu nodded.

At his mental command, Yuan Wenguo, the Second Prince, transformed into a beautiful b.l.o.o.d.y mist that dissipated and vanished from this world without leaving a trace.

"I shall grant your wish," Ye Qingyu said as he looked at Poison Flower Princess and the Crown Prince. "If the King of Zhenyuan had said those words, I might have spared him. After all, he had made significant contributions to the Guardians Royal City in the past and he was also a true expert. As for the rest of you, haha, you're merely a bunch of parasites. I'm sure you're well aware of what you've done over the years, and according to the laws of the camp, you should have already died many times over."

Then, there was a soft pop as Poison Flower Princess transformed into a b.l.o.o.d.y mist just as Yuan Wenguo had earlier and vanished from this world. There was nothing left of her spirit either.

Ye Qingyu turned back to look at the Crown Prince.

Thump!

The Crown Prince's legs immediately gave way and he slumped to the ground. There was a pungent odor from his b.u.t.tocks as he lost control of his bowels. He froze for a moment when he realized that urine and feces had spilled out of his body, then he crawled back up to kneel on the ground and frantically beg for mercy. "Military Judge Zhang Longcheng... no, Sovereign Zhang Longcheng, spare me. Please spare me... This was all my father Yuan Wenjun's fault. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted on making things difficult for you. Please spare me, I'm still very young and have no wish to die. Yuan Wenguo, that old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, was the one who made me say those words earlier... I'll do anything you ask as long as you spare me. I can eject myself from the King of Zhenyuan's residence and change my last name. I'll do anything..."

He immediately reacted like a spineless dog and his courage and authority had completely left him as he sniveled and begged for mercy.

Those in the crowd, including those who had once respected him, looked at him disdainfully. How could this man betray his ancestors and say such disrespectful words in order to survive? He was indeed worse than the beasts.

Ye Qingyu shook his head.

"A man like yourself will only sully this clear sky and white clouds by existing, so you're better off dead."

The Crown Prince looked at him in horror, then he transformed into a b.l.o.o.d.y mist at Ye Qingyu's mental command and vanished from this world. Thus, his life that had been filled with crime came to an end.

Ye Qingyu walked toward Marquis Tingtao Lin Xuan, Lin Nanzhu, and Linghu Buxiu and said with a smile, "Rise, there's no need to stand on ceremony with me. After all, I'm still the same person. Let's go."

The trio quickly rose to their feet at his words.

"Hehe, I knew that you wouldn't change..." Lin Nanzhu blurted out without thinking, but immediately stopped when Lin Xuan shot her a glare. Then, she stuck out her tongue playfully.

Relief washed over her and she was so elated that she wanted to dance in joy.

She was very kind, so she was thrilled for both Ye Qingyu and the Marquis Tingtao's residence. She was sure that all the danger that they faced had vanished. After all, what could stop a Martial Emperor? And was there anything a Martial Emperor couldn't stop?

"Brother Linghu Buxiu, you must have suffered greatly during this period." Ye Qingyu gently smacked Linghu Buxiu's shoulder and they slipped back into their easy camaraderie.

Linghu Buxiu suddenly felt tears p.r.i.c.k at the back of his eyes and he struggled to hold his tears back.

He suddenly felt as though all the disdain, hara.s.sment, and humiliation that he had suffered through recently, along with all the ridicule and suppression his own clan had to go through, were completely worth it. He had reaped a great reward that was many times greater than what he had put in, so all the pain from the suffering he went through immediately vanished.

If he had to put his feelings into words, it would be this—sweetness had finally come after hards.h.i.+p.

"Your Highness, please," Marquis Tingtao Lin Xuan still said deferentially.

He was a very strait-laced person who strictly observed decorum. Otherwise, he would have never become suspicious of everything in Royal City because of what he saw in the Expansion Way of the Universe. He firmly believed in the ancient sayings, and thus, even though Ye Qingyu treated him like a friend, he had already accorded Ye Qingyu the due respect of a lofty sovereign.

Ye Qingyu nodded.

The quartet made their way outside.

He suddenly stopped when he was pa.s.sing by Nie Tiankong and the others, then he looked at Nie Tiankong.

Nie Tiankong's heart dropped. He was so nervous that his heart almost burst out of his chest. He knew that there was no way to avoid Ye Qingyu, so he steeled himself and quickly bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Commander Nie Tiankong, there's no need to hide among the crowd. We're old acquaintances after all," Ye Qingyu said gently.

"I... I've made a mistake." Nie Tiankong's heart was filled with warmth, but this warmth quickly cooled away and he hurriedly said, "I shouldn't have switched my allegiance to the Sky Fox clan and lent the King of Zhenyuan my support. I..."

"It's all in the past," Ye Qingyu said as he shook his head. "Commander Nie Tiankong, I managed to enter Royal City thanks to your recommendation, you supported my appointment to be the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords], and you even personally rescued me that day at the east city gate. I owe you my grat.i.tude as well, so don't worry, I will not harm the Nie clan, nor will I suppress your residence. In the future, if the Nie clan faces any problems, I will help you once."

"I..." Nie Tiankong was thrilled but he was also overcome with remorse and threw himself at Ye Qingyu's feet as he said, "Your Highness, thank you for showing me mercy. I'm eternally grateful..."

Ye Qingyu and the others had left by the time he looked up.

A long while pa.s.sed before the gathered crowd at the Azure Cloud Square slowly rose to their feet.

Countless pairs of eyes turned toward Nie Tiankong and these people looked at him with envy. No one expected Nie Tiankong to receive a promise from the newly minted sovereign despite his betrayal. Although the new sovereign had only promised to help him once this would be enough to protect the Nie clan for a long time to come. At the very least, no one would dare to harm the Nie clan before this new sovereign died.

From this perspective, it seemed like this new sovereign was not as cruel and ruthless as they had presumed. Now that the King of Zhenyuan and the others had been killed and the sovereign of the Sky Fox clan was also dead, the Sky Fox clan was probably doomed as well. But based on how he had treated Nie Tiankong, this new sovereign did not seem bloodthirsty. At least he still remembered those who were once kind to him and knew how to express his grat.i.tude.

Outside the Azure Cloud Square—

"Hmm?" Ye Qingyu looked into the distance in surprise.

He spotted the round-faced and adorable servant girl, Xiao Yu, and Mo Weinan, a young man from the Fire Province who he had rescued at the Wanyi Bazaar, amongst the crowd in the distance. They looked on uneasily and seemed very nervous, so they clearly were unaware of what had transpired.

"Would His Grace and missy be already..." Xiao Yu said, seemingly extremely dejected. She held a small knife that was used to cut cooked meat in her hands and brought it up to her chubby, tender neck as she said, "I will kill myself if I hear news of His Grace's or my mistress's death... Hey kid, aren't you studying the martial way? Tell me, what's the fastest and most painless way of killing myself?"

Mo Weinan muttered, "It's impossible for it to be painless. It would hurt everywhere..."

"Ah?" Xiao Yu's face fell. A moment later, she clenched her jaw and said resolutely, "Why don't you do it then? Kill me and do it fast... Sob, I'm sure something bad has already befallen them..." Then she burst into loud sobs.

This young servant girl might be a little silly, but she was truly loyal and seemed like an angel compared to the terrible Crown Prince, who was worse than the beasts.

"You terrible girl, how dare you curse us behind our backs..." Lin Nanzhu did not know whether to laugh or cry as she jumped over and pinched Xiao Yu's cheeks hard. Xiao Yu's features immediately twisted comically, which made her look both cute and hilarious at the same time.

"Wah, miss..." Xiao Yu jumped in fright, then she immediately burst out laughing and shrieked in excitement.

Ye Qingyu's gaze fell on Mo Weinan.

For some reason, when this young man was clad in white, his aura and eyes reminded him of Bai Yuanxing, who had been missing for a while.

"I need some young blood to spice things up at the Military Judge's residence, so you should stick by my side in the future and help me manage my residence," he said. He had planted the seed of his own martial way in this young man, and he knew that this young man was both very righteous and of good moral character, so he could be groomed. Moreover, this young man was from the Fire Province and was also an Alien Dark One, and Ye Qingyu wanted to make an example of a Dark One who cultivated the martial way and who would be skilled enough to take his place amongst the higher-ups.

He had not kept Mo Weinan by his side because his life was in danger as well, but now that the situation had completely changed, he did not need to worry any longer.

Mo Weinan was completely stunned.

Lin Nanzhu standing beside him gave him a hard kick and said, "You fool, what are you standing there for? You should be expressing your grat.i.tude to His Highness for keeping you by his side. Your ancestral tombs must no longer be emitting smoke, they must be catching fire."

Linghu Buxiu was a little envious of Mo Weinan, who was now riding on the coattails of Ye Qingyu's success. Mo Weinan must have been blessed with great fortune and he was sure that many talented young n.o.blemen would faint from jealousy once news of this spread throughout the city.

"Yes, Your Highness," Mo Weinan finally said. He was extremely thrilled and quickly fell to his knees and kowtowed to Ye Qingyu.

At this point in time, this young man who would later be known as the [Great Emperor of Divine Farmers] did not know what this kowtow signified and how significantly this event would impact his life. He merely respected and admired Ye Qingyu's martial way and moral character, but this moment would forever be preserved in history by the historians and would appear in historical records. The [Immortal G.o.d Emperor] Ye Qingyu was a man of many talents, and even if he managed to impart just a tiny part of his knowledge to his disciples, his disciples would be able to make a name for themselves. As for Mo Weinan, this future [Great Emperor of Divine Farmers] would obtain the knowledge of medicinal pills and divine herbs.

Linghu Buxiu's laughter echoed behind them as they turned and left the Azure Cloud Square.

News of what had happened on the Azure Cloud Platform slowly started to spread and countless people were astounded by what they heard. A new Emperor had been born and this Emperor had even killed the sovereign of the Sky Fox clan. This was enough to shake the entire Dark Realm to its core and change the path of history.

This news spread like wildfire.

At the same time, thousands of meters away, a figure riding a black dragon rushed toward Royal City from the Western Region of the Dark Realm.

This was a dragon soldier from the Sinners' army.

He rode with an anxious expression. This soldier was injured and a black sword stuck out from his back as blood gushed out of his wound. The black sword contained an evil energy that did not exist in this world and kept spreading throughout his body, which made his injuries even more serious.

"Hmph, there's internal strife within the Unmoving City of Darkness and a crack has appeared in the Great Wall, so the Invaders are flooding in... An apocalyptic calamity is about to befall us, but those idiots in Royal City don't give a d.a.m.n about it. I wonder if their struggle for power and profit has reached its limits..." This soldier could not help but smirk disdainfully at the thought of those n.o.blemen who abused their power.