These words of Mo Tian Yun were perfectly timed. Almost everyone at the scene had the exact same thought. If Ao Xie Yun would suggest something like that, he was bound to win for sure. Otherwise, why would he make such a suggestion?
Everyone was strongly against it.
"I don't think that's how things work!" Li Xiong Tu bellowed and rolled his eyes, "I don't think that there's a need for all the alliances to send a representative. Let the young masters of each clan go up and fight for themselves! The last one standing will get Sunlight Saber. What do you guys think?"
These were the eldest young masters of great clans; direct heirs! Everyone was so proud to think that they were extraordinarily powerful. Was there even anyone who would dare to admit that he was any less than the others?
The moment Li Xiong Tu provided this suggestion, there was an immediate response from everyone.
"Good idea!"
Ao Xie Yun smiled helplessly as he said, "Okay then. But… we have to make it quick, and no one can yield this saber for now. Since no one can guarantee that this saber will still be around after tonight… Why don't we just fight right now, right here!"
"Brother Ao is right." Tu Qian Hao agreed right away. Li Xiong Tu walked out and instructed the soldiers who had surrounded the perimeter, "You people, quickly clear up this place. Get your emperor and empress to leave. We need to make use of this place!"
Everyone's eyes widened upon hearing this.
Make use of this place? Motherf*cker, this is the royal palace of a nation…
However, the young masters had decided on this. So what if it was the royal palace? If they claimed that they would use it, then they would most certainly use it!
In all of history, was there ever anyone who had enough guts to use the royal palace? Haha, these young masters had essentially created a new legendary story that would be told for generations to come.
Immediately, the commanding general turned red; he was on the brink of exploding from anger. In all of history, it was the authority of the royal palace that had control over the commoners; since when was the royal palace used by others?
Infuriated, he was just about to order an attack without any care!
"General Xiao, do as this young master says!" A soft voice rang from behind. Diwu Qing Rou was approaching slowly on a horse, "Escort His Majesty and his people out of this place."
Next, he cupped his fist as he faced Ao Xie Yun and greeted with a smile, This time, our Great Zhao will give in! You can use the royal palace temporarily. However, next time you wish to use this place, you young masters will owe me an answer!"
Li Xiong Tu snorted coldly. His beard stood on ends as he retorted, "What would happen if we refuse to answer to you?"
Diwu Qing Rou's eyes narrowed as he replied, "Then… the great clans of Middle Three Heavens… will have to give me an answer!"
His calm voice had unexpectedly carried with it some sort of powerful aura.
Noticing that Li Xiong Tu seemed to wish to fight with Diwu Qing Rou lawlessly, Ao Xie Yun hastily attempted to make peace, "The Prime Minister is too serious. We had no choice but to borrow the royal palace this time. After this issue is resolved, we will answer to the Prime Minister no matter what."
Next, he glared at Li Xiong Tu and chided in a low voice, "You idiot! Once we make a big deal out of this, the saber will belong to Great Zhao!"
"Uh… oh… oh…" Li Xiong Tu nodded his head like a chicken that was pecking. Once he had thought about what Ao Xie Yun had said, he immediately cupped his fist and said, "The Prime Minister is truly far-sighted, heroic, majestic, ah… ah… handsome, talented, ah…" Ao Xie Yun was so embarrassed that he could only cover his ears and walk back in.
This punk was just cursing at the Prime Minister just moments ago, yet he was now praising him endlessly. There was clearly not a single hint of sincerity in his praises…
Diwu Qing Rou had been praised so well, but he could not dissolve his anger at this punk. His face twitched continuously. He waved his sleeve and said, "So be it."
Turning back, he yelled, "General Xiao, you're still not following the orders given. What are you waiting for?"
Immediately, he left the royal palace.
Diwu Qing Rou predicted that if he were to stay there, even if he was not teased to death by King of Hell Chu, he would eventually be teased to death by this punk, Li Xiong Tu…
On one side, Great Zhao was taking its hands off; on the other, the negotiation had officially begun. Besides, the entire royal palace had practically turned into a ruin since the fire broke out.
Even if they were to put out the fire at this point, there would only be broken walls and shattered tiles.
They might as well leave the fire alone to brighten the place up.
General Xiao waved his arm angrily and signaled for this army to retreat.
"As of now, the nineteen young masters must fight!" Ao Xie Yun held a bunch of papers in his hand and explained, "Everyone must pick their lot. At every other round, one person will be exempted from the fight. At a certain point in each fight, you must cease fighting and no one is allowed to kill his opponents. Additionally, after each round ends, another will begin 15 minutes later."
"In other words, there will be nine winners after the first round and these winners will be qualified to compete! After the second round, there will be five winners. Three will remain after the third round. As for the fourth round, it's the deciding battle to decide who the saber shall belong to." Mo Tian Yun explained the rules of the competition with a stern voice.
Upon finishing his explanation, a shy voice sounded, "May I ask, Brother Ao and Brother Mo, in this competition… are we allowed to use poison?"
When he heard this words, Mo Tian Yun's face appeared as if he had just been bitten by a poisonous snake. He turned to look at the direction of the voice ferociously. If a gaze could kill, Mo Tian Yun would have already ripped this person apart.
The person who had just spoken was none other than Poison Spirit!
"Little Poison… Ou Du Xiao!" Ao Xie Yun was about to have a headache, "Are there antidotes for your poisons?"
"Of course." Ou Du Xiao winked.
"Bastard!" Mo Tian Yun yelled, "You could have given him the antidote for that Bone Dissolving Spirit Dispersing Fragrance?!"
"I really don't have that antidote…" Ou Du Xiao replied shyly, "Even if I could… Umm, he would have to get a treatment every ten days…"
"Your grandmother!" Li Xiong Tu and Tu Qian Hao cursed in unison. They had the same thought: Once they get hit with this poison, would they have to become Ou Du Xiao's slave to avoid turning into black liquid?
"You can join the competition if you neutralize the poisons used." Ao Xie Yun decided and said, "Everyone, please draw your lots. The last one will be mine."
With that, under Ao Xie Yun's leadership, the nineteen young masters of the great clans began drawing lots for the competition.
Perhaps Ao Xie Yun did not even expect that this lot drawing would ultimately determine the future ranking of the great clans of Middle Three Heavens. Of course, this was with the exception of some outlier clans…
Their rankings would end up the same as the result of the competition!
When the competition for Sunlight Saber was in full swing in the palace, Chu Yang had already returned to Heaven Reaching Tower, washed up, and changed his clothes. With a steaming cup of tea in front of him and a book in his hand, he sat down at the table. He was truly relaxed beyond words.
Shortly after, Gu Du Xing finally returned as well.
"How are things going on your side?" Chu Yang asked.
"Your side is already done? That quickly?" Gu Du Xing asked, astounded.
"They are still fighting for the precious saber. But… my side is practically done." Chu Yang continued casually, "The royal palace is done for. I'd seen it with my very own eyes. A few concubines and ministers might have been cremated there… Umm, after tonight, the number of dead people in the royal palace should reach 30,000. It's a little small…"
"Cough, cough... " Gu Du Xing choked, "A little small? Are you still not satisfied?"
"Yes, I'm slightly unsatisfied. This is because the Middle Three Heavens clans did not clash with the military." Chu Yang said in a dejected tone. It was clear that he was disappointed. He continued, "If they had fought with each other, that would have been perfect."
"If they really fought… then who would need King of Hell Chu?" Gu Du Xing sneered.
"It's uneventful on my side. Dong Wu Shang is still in the midst of making preparations." Gu Du Xing explained, "Dong Wu Shang intends to use Moonlight Sword to detonate Golden Horse Riders Department's headquarter."
"That's one way to do it." Chu Yang rubbed his chin and laughed, "Remember, we must make use of this opportunity to free everyone that Diwu Qing Rou has captured. Even if we're unable to free all of them, we must at least free most of them! Otherwise, our scheme would still be considered a failure."
"Rest assured." Gu Du Xing grinned widely and said excitedly, "I shall share with you piece of good news. When I was talking to Dong Wu Shang, I suddenly had an epiphany in the way of the blades. I will most likely become a third grade Revered Sword Artist soon!"
"That's a really good news." Chu Yang exclaimed excitedly, "I have a piece of good news for you too."
"What is it?" Gu Du Xing asked, curious. He still had not recovered from his excitement.
"Cough cough, Gu Yan Yang is dead." Chu Yang paused for a brief moment and continued, "I killed him!"
Gu Du Xing was absolutely stunned.
"Gu Yan Yang is dead? You killed him?" After a long pause, Gu Du Xing looked at Chu Yang with a confused look on his face. Deep within his eyes, there was a trace of frustration, as well as sadness. At the same time, there was also a hint of satisfaction. On the whole, his face displayed a conflicted look.
"I killed him!" Chu Yang nodded his head in affirmation, "What are you thinking of?"
"I'm thinking… about how my foster father would be able to deal with this." Gu Du Xing sat down with a completely absent mind, "There is nothing regrettable about Gu Yan Yang's death. I've already wanted to kill him since a long time ago because of the things he did, but I could not. Now… Ahh! I'm feeling extremely conflicted… If Sister Xiao Miao learns of this, she will be very sad…"
"Umm, there's one more thing." Chu Yang interrupted softly.
"What is it?" Gu Du Xing forced a laughter that was filled with pain.
"Gu Yan Yue is also dead…" Chu Yang looked up at him and said, "I killed him as well!"
"I… You… This…" Gu Du Xing stood up straight and hyperventilated for a brief moment, "You… you really… dared to do it!"
Gu Du Xing was like a horse on aphrodisiac; he ran around the room while muttering continually, "What should I do now? What should I do now? What should I do now…?"
Chu Yang asked out of concern, "What should you do now?"
Gu Du Xing collapsed onto his seat. His thoughts were becoming fuzzy. They've died? The two people who always looked down on me ever since I was a child. The two people who framed me countless times as I grew and constantly pushed me towards death… have died?
Just like that, they're dead?
"Now that the two of them are dead, I can truly be happy! However, I am worried about how my foster father will cope with this! Those two were his sons! While they might not have achieved much, they were still his flesh and blood…" Gu Du Xing held his head tightly as he sat. A look of pain surfaced on his face.
"Killing the two of them is a gift from me to you!" Chu Yang declared openly.
"A gift…" Gu Du Xing repeated these words in shock.
"It's also a gift from me to your foster father and the Gu clan…" Chu Yang smiled widely and continued, "You should be the leader of the clan. You are far better than those two useless punks. At the very least, the Gu clan's future will be guaranteed. Gu Miao Ling can also be freed earlier."
Gu Du Xing was at a loss for words, "I already know what you're trying to say, but the issue is…"
"What issue is there?" Chu Yang spread out his palm, "They're already dead… Can their heads grow back?"
This time around, Gu Du Xing was completely speechless. Speaking to a person like this, what else could he possibly say?