Chapter 1194 Be Wary of Your Own People
The results of the Battle on the Azure Cloud Platform spread within Royal City in a shocking fashion. No one expected to hear news of the deaths of the King of Zhenyuan and an old founding father of the Sky Foxes, even though many had deduced that there may be huge losses after the battle. How could Zhang Longcheng, [Military Judge of the Nine Swords], managed to slay a sovereign in present life?
Thinking back now on the decisive strategy of the Sun clan, one would realize how incredibly amazing and on point it was. Both the sovereign of the Sky Foxes and the sovereign of Sun clan were leaders of the current era, and the former, who had the gift of premonition, eventually lost all his powers and died, while the latter, who was on the decline and on the verge of death, ended up winning and gaining control of the current situation.
Without a doubt, the Sun clan was going to rise again.
As for the Sky Foxes and the Yuan clan of the King of Zhenyuan's residence, collapse and decline was inevitable.
The entire Royal City entered a state of boundless frenzy during the short span of half a day when Ye Qingyu returned to the residence of the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] and remained in self-isolation in a bid to solidify his foundation of his current realm. The commotion would not die down, and everyone, from royalty and nobles to hawkers and civilians were discussing about the news of the incident. News about the birth of a new Emperor would cause a huge shockwave anytime, much less during such a huge incident.
The king is dead, long live the king.
The Sky Fox residence was in a pitiful state. The deaths of their founding father, elder and multiple Quasi-emperor level experts had condemned the entire clan to decline, and the survivors were in no mood to hold a funeral to honor the dead. The remaining higher ranking Sky Foxes gathered and discussed their future in trepidation. Some of them suggested that they should make amends with the new Emperor, while others suggested they should dissolve the entire clan structure, flee to a secluded, faraway area and rebuild, while waiting for the right time to rise again.
The current situation was not looking bright for the Sky Foxes.
They used to be kin to an Emperor, and they behaved in an arrogant and overbearing fashion in their glory days. They did not bother to tone themselves down and offended countless nobles and factions. None of their opponents, including the bigger factions and powerful nobles, who hated them to the core, dared to do anything while the sovereign of the Sky Foxes was still alive. In fact, they even had to act hypocritically and curry favor with the Sky Foxes. Now, however, as the influence of their clan crumbled, it was not hard to imagine what sort of pressure they would face in the days to come. Without the protection of their sovereign, the entire clan, with its huge cache of resources built up over the years, was a huge pie that everyone wanted part of.
The same applied for the estate of the King of Zhenyuan.
They were in an even more terrible state than the Sky Foxes.
It was said that news of the incident caused a huge uproar when it reached the King's residence. A few slaves and sacrificial lambs who had long been suppressed rioted and killed a considerable amount of people from the Yuan clan. Many others chose to flee and left the residence. By the time night fell, less than two thousand people were left in the vast residence, which used to house tens of thousands of people... it was a desperate time for them, and each was fending for himself now.
News of the state of the Yuan clan spread like wildfire to each district owned by nobles in the Dark Realm.
No one could sleep that night.
All of the top ranked nobles and factions in the city began to hold all sorts of emergency meetings. The higher ups discussed about how to handle the upcoming situation. According to historical tradition, a new Emperor had to govern Royal City; it was the unshakeable rule.
After the last sovereign went into retirement, there has been no ruler of Royal City for many years. The major noble factions had already gotten used to restricting and sharing power among themselves, but now, there was no question at all that they had to give up the influence in their grasp.
They were extremely indignant about it, but they did not have a choice.
The Martial Emperor was at the apex of the warriors' hierarchy, and he had the ability to suppress all realms. Even if there weren't rules set by the forefathers of yesteryear and historical tradition in place, no one could stop a new Emperor if he wanted to climb to the peak of power and control everything.
On this night, a few families rejoiced, while a few others were in sorrow.
The night passed quickly.
Early next morning, Ye Qingyu brought Mo Weinan out of the residence of the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] to the ancestral manor of the Sun clan.
Many people were watching.
The Sun clan had received news of his impending visit and lit lamps and decorated their manor, intending to give their guest a huge reception.
In the past, a few clan members were unhappy about the fact that their founding father had passed on various training techniques of the Immortal Domain to an outsider, and they had many unfavorable opinions about Ye Qingyu. Now, the entire clan cast all thoughts aside and focused on giving the new Emperor their full support. None of them dared to show any sign of neglect toward that end.
The sovereign of the Sun clan, who had never showed himself in public, had a head full of white hair and was extremely old. It looked as though a breeze could cause his body to disintegrate into a pile of dirt, yet he personally appeared at the gates of their ancestral home to greet Ye Qingyu.
This shocked a countless number of people.
"Your humble junior pays his respect to you, my elder," Ye Qingyu said as he walked up to greet the sovereign of the Sun clan.
His manner and behavior was one of respect and admiration.
"You're already the new Emperor now and will rule over the world and govern Royal City soon. You don't have to show me such respect," the sovereign replied. He had lived for a long time and encountered far too many people and incidents, but he was looking at Ye Qingyu with a gaze of unconcealed admiration right now.
"Without your help, senior, I would just have been a pile of decayed bones. I'll never forget your great kindness," Ye Qingyu bowed again. Even though he had a bad temper and was murderous, he would always repay the kindness shown to him.
"Hahaha, you're too kind, new Emperor. Please," the sovereign of the Sun clan turned and invited Ye Qingyu inside.
Ye Qingyu followed closely behind.
Many people caught sight of this scene.
Countless envious looks fell on the Sun clan. It was not hard to imagine that it would receive a large number of opportunities to shine once the new Emperor took up his throne. They could literally count down to the day they could rise in glory again.
Many people were looking at Mo Weinan, the young man who was standing beside Ye Qingyu, as well. They were not familiar with him, but they realized that it was a good idea to get to know him, if they wanted to get close to Ye Qingyu.
Everyone in the Sun clan was overjoyed.
In the ancestral hall of the Sun clan.
"My life force is nearly spent, and I'm afraid I can't hold on for much longer. Yesterday, I made a fortune telling for my people, but by accident I sensed that huge disaster will befall upon the Dark Realm. You've got to get ready before that happens, new Emperor," the sovereign of the Sun clan spoke up, looking worried.
Only Ye Qingyu and him remained in the ancestral hall.
"Huge disaster?" Ye Qingyu was slightly stunned. Any event that could be classified as such by the sovereign of the Sun clan was no simple matter. Come to think of it, it could be something to do with the Invaders. Is the Reincarnation Harvest going to begin again?
"I saw the Demonic Gate open and the cries and curses of living beings before they died..." the sovereign of the Sun clan said. "I have a premonition that something big is going to happen at our border with the Invaders. Dark clouds are gathering over Royal City as well. Take note that you shouldn't be too stubborn or careless during this time, new Emperor. Sometimes, we just don't have enough manpower to execute the plans we have in mind. When I became a new Emperor, I wanted to prove myself as well. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to realize my plans."
Ye Qingyu felt apprehensive.
There seemed to be some hidden meaning in the sovereign's words.
"Be careful of your own people," the sovereign began again, giving Ye Qingyu some meaningful advice.
Ye Qingyu nodded, deep in thought.
The meeting of the two Emperors lasted for a very long time.
It was already evening when Ye Qingyu walked out of the ancestral hall of the Sun clan.
Mo Weinan received a warm reception by the Sun clan members, causing the herb gathering youth to feel a little flustered. He could only shake them off when Ye Qingyu re-emerged.
Both of them took their leave.
That night, the emergent sovereign Ye Qingyu released a piece of news to the outside world. The arsenal of the Sky Foxes would be confiscated and sealed up, while the Sky Foxes had to leave Royal City within ten days and return to their homeland, the Green Mound Ridge, where they lived at the height of their powers. The estate of the King of Zhenyuan received the same treatment - its arsenal was sealed and confiscated, while its people were exiled.
This was the first royal decree Ye Qingyu gave out as the new Emperor to the outside world.
It was expected by many people.
In reality, a few of them thought that Ye Qingyu was already being compassionate toward the Sky Foxes and the people of the King of Zhenyuan's residence. If the new Emperor had been someone else, they might have already been completely wiped out.
However, just as many people were waiting for the new Emperor to enter the main military headquarters, at the moment when the newly coronated king was supposed to enter Royal City, they only saw Ye Qingyu hole himself up in the library of said headquarters, as well as a few ancient archives of Royal City.
Since he became a sovereign, Ye Qingyu's access privileges were greatly increased. This meant that he could read many secret texts and documents that he could not access previously as the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] anytime he wished.
This was the thing that Ye Qingyu was truly interested in.
He hoped to find the answers to many riddles in his mind in the various ancient documents and scrolls retained in the Dark Realm. He also wished to find out much information on the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient historical times, as well as the lives and actions of the various Martial Emperors, including the many sovereigns that were still hibernating.
For the next five to six days, Ye Qingyu immersed himself in the pile of ancient texts.
Mo Weinan was waiting outside as Ye Qingyu emerged from the library on the seventh day. He went up to report, "Your Majesty, late morning today, Commander Nie Tiankong of the Army sent someone to report that an emissary from the main body of the Sinner's army at the borderlands hurried into Royal City, claiming that he had big news to inform us."
"Oh?" Ye Qingyu felt his emotions stir.
He had gained some knowledge of the origin of the Sinners after browsing through the archive of the library over the past few days. Besides, he had always felt extremely curious about them after Marquis Tingtao explained about the Expansion Way of the Universe. After all, the blood of the Sinners flowed in him as well.
"Summon the emissary of the Sinners. I want to meet him," Ye Qingyu said.
In the Military Headquarters.
Within the heaven grade prison.
Nie Tiankong stood before the torture rack and roared, "Since this is news from the Western Great Wall Defense Line, why did you not inform the new Emperor? How could you people detain the emissary of the Sinners on your own accord and keep this news from us? You even want to kill the emissary. Are you trying to rebel?"
Three figures of different height stood opposite him. All of them wore the divine armor of a Commander, and they seemed to hold a rank not too far below Nie Tiankong's; they were also Commanders in the army. A terrifying aura emanated from each of them, and they possessed a frightening amount of power.
"Commander Nie Tiankong, give way. You can't control this matter," a burly and rotund foreign race Commander replied. He looked expressionless, and his tone was very cold. He did not seem to buy into Nie Tiankong's words.
Forty elite soldiers stood behind him. They were military experts of rare power, and two of them were holding onto a young martial arts expert who had restrictive formation cuffs on his limbs and neck. He carried a black longsword on his back and gave off the aura of an evil power. He was substantially wounded, and seemed to have his powers restricted.
The youth wore a worn expression on his face. He looked resolute and calm, and he seemed to be visibly disdainful of his captors. He sneered as he looked at the commotion unfold before him. He was about to be executed, but his expression made him seem as though he had nothing to do with the incident at all.
"I can't, but the new Emperor can. You people have committed a huge crime by not reporting that an emissary from the Sinners has entered Royal City," Nie Tiankong replied. He was shaking in anger from being looked down upon.