Chapter 269 – Rong Yuan’s Abilities

The Attack of the Wastrel

Everyone turned to where the sound was coming from, and they saw Feng Rao standing in the midst of the crowd, pointing at Pan Wen. He looked extremely dissatisfied with the North Qiu Kingdom.

“To think that the Minglan Kingdom once thought that the North Qiu Kingdom was sincere in wanting to assist us. All along, they had wanted to annex us! If it was not for the Third Prince’s help, the only Demigod that the Minglan Kingdom has would have died in your hands!”

Though he was not extremely clear with his words, those that knew about what happened in the Sacred Lands could feel their heart thumping.

How could they have forgotten something like that? If the North Qiu Kingdom truly had no ill intentions, why would they deploy so many Demigods to kill the other high-ranking Martial Artists from other Kingdoms?

What made everyone more shocked was the fact that the Minglan Kingdom had once pledged allegiance to the North Qiu Kingdom.

“Nonsense! When did we ever try to annex the Minglan Kingdom?” Pan Wen retorted, but the moment he finished his sentence, he regretted every word.

Feng Rao laughed coldly, “If it were up to me, I would not like to admit that both our Kingdoms had been allies before. Though my Kingdom is small, we are willing to own up for whatever actions that we have taken in the past. The North Qiu Kingdom is big and powerful, now that you have thought of annexing all the other Kingdoms, are you still afraid to admit your ambitions?”

“What evidence do you have?” Rong Yuan questioned Feng Rao, though they had already planned this conversation earlier on. Feng Rao then told the audience how the North Qiu Kingdom had approached the Minglan Kingdom and how they had promised the Minglan Kingdom benefits if they were to form an alliance together.

As he continued talking, the faces of the crowd slowly turned sour. It was implied that the North Qiu Kingdom had regarded the whole of the Tianyuan Continent as their money source. It was almost as if they could destroy any one who got in their way. They tempted Kingdoms that were either not doing well, or those that were hungry for power to work with them by telling them that they would rule the Tianyuan Continent together once the other Kingdoms that had refused them were extinguished.

The Minglan Kingdom had been unable to resist the offer previously and thus they had agreed. However, just two months ago, the only Demigod from the Minglan Kingdom had almost died in the Sacred Lands, which sparked suspicions against the North Qiu Kingdom. It was only until a few days before they realized that the North Qiu Kingdom were indeed conspiring to annex their Kingdom when they had gotten the secret spy information from Gu Lingzhi. A few of the senior advisors who had been encouraging the Minglan Kingdom to form an alliance with the North Qiu Kingdom had been spies. It was laughable that they had thought that these advisors were extremely talented people who were valuable. Who knew that it was a plan a thousand years in the making?

Now that they knew about this conspiracy, the Minglan Kingdom no longer dared to work with the North Qiu Kingdom. If they had really helped the North Qiu Kingdom to acquire the whole of the Tianyuan Continent, they might be the next ones to die at their hands.

As Feng Rao continued to share with the audience what the North Qiu Kingdom had been planning, the people who had followed Pan Wen wanted to stop him. However, the Glory Palace’s soldiers had surrounded them and prevented them from doing so.

It was only when Feng Rao had finished speaking that the soldiers finally backed off.

“That’s slander! The North Qiu Kingdom is already the most powerful country in the Tianyuan Continent, why would we covet over other lands?”

“Who knows? Some people’s ambitions…can never be quenched,” Rong Yuan replied blandly and definitively. He raised his head and looked at the envoy from the Yunlan Kingdom. The envoy’s face turned sour and looked away, afraid that Rong Yuan would say something about them.

“I’m sure that everyone knows what the North Qiu Kingdom’s true intentions are. First Prince, if there’s no one else that you wish to pull to your side, please leave. Despicable people like you are not welcome at my wedding.”

“You!” Pan Wen exclaimed in anger. Rong Yuan’s words had been short and sweet, not bothering to sugarcoat his words. It was obvious that he wanted to tarnish Pan Wen’s reputation.

“If none of you believe me yet, I can show you the signed document between the Minglan and the North Qiu Kingdom. It has the King’s signature, I’m sure the First Prince will not put the blame on the North Qiu Kingdom’s ruler.”

When Feng Rao had finished the sentence, the whole audience erupted in discussion.

If what Feng Rao said was true, then the ambition of the North Qiu Kingdom could be proven; and if he did not speak up at this moment, then Rong Yuan would have no choice but to cancel his wedding ceremony. The crowd felt slightly embarrassed for suspecting Rong Yuan from the very beginning. They had almost fallen for the North Qiu Kingdom’s trap again. As for pulling Gu Lingzhi over to their side…they did not wish to think about what the consequences would be if they had used her to gain access to the spiritual treasures in the main palace.

In an instant, Pan Wen and his men had become the public enemy. The crowd looked at them with a murderous aura, wanting to get rid of them there and then.

Terrified, Pan Wen retreated a few steps back until he was surrounded by his bodyguards. He stuttered, “What…what are all of you trying to do? I am the first Prince of the North Qiu Kingdom, aren’t you afraid that my father would punish all of you?”

“You are right. It is my son’s biggest day today and we do not wish to see blood being spilled on such an auspicious day. If the First Prince is not here to give your well wishes, then please leave. After you’ve left the palace, please take care of yourself,” Rong Han said, before gesturing for Pan Wen to leave the place. Rong Han’s bodyguards then did a curtsey that they would only normally do when a person of status was about to leave, their eyes filled with mockery.

The North Qiu Kingdom had a lack of talents. It was evident through the quality of men that they had sent on this voyage to the Xia Kingdom – they never knew what to say to prove the North Qiu Kingdom’s innocence. The Third Prince of the Xia Kingdom was the opposite. He had the qualities of a good ruler – staying calm under pressure and planning ahead for the future. It was a pity that it seemed as if Rong Han had no intentions of passing the throne to Rong Yuan yet.

As Pan Wen looked at Rong Han’s bodyguards, he clenched his jaw. After determining that things could not get any better for him and that staying any longer would pose a danger to his life, he huffed indignantly before leaving.

“Hold on,” Rong Yuan stopped him right before Pan Wen had turned around. “I’ve decided to be magnanimous and forgive you for slandering me earlier on, but I will not forgive what you had said about Lingzhi.”

With a slight wave of his hand, the Silver-Armored Troops surrounded the North Qiu Kingdom’s envoy.

“You… what are you doing?” Pan Wen shuddered as he saw the murderous look in Rong Yuan’s eyes. He looked nothing like before when he was speaking ill of Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi.

“What am I doing?” Rong Yuan laughed lightly, “I’m getting justice for Lingzhi.”

With every word, he treaded closer to Pan Wen, until he was right in front of him. Suddenly, multiple bodyguards rushed to the front to defend Pan Wen. A strong gust of wind suddenly blew towards Rong Yuan, distorting everything that it touched. It possessed the spiritual power of a peak grade Martial Sage.

With such a blow, if Rong Yuan did not die, he would at least have been skinned alive. At the same time, Pan Wen’s bodyguard retrieved something from his Storage Ring. It was a compass the size of a palm and once it was set on the ground, it shrouded a few of them in an intense golden light.

The light calmed Pan Wen’s emotions as he turned to look at Rong Yuan delightfully.

The compass was a spiritual treasure that was gifted to Pan Wen by his father so that he could defend himself whenever his life was at risk. It had been passed down from his ancestors who had begged Pan Luo for such a treasure. It was able to teleport him to another place. Every use of the compass required a large number of spirit stones to activate its powers. Though he was reluctant to use it at first, he had no choice since Rong Yuan had attacked him first.

Pan Wen’s delight did not last for very long, however, as he saw a gold-colored protective shield rise from beside Rong Yuan’s body. Suddenly, Pan Wen’s world shifted and he was transported to a world that was white in color. His bodyguards that were beside him had also disappeared.

“This is…your realm?” Pan Wen was shocked. He had forgotten that Rong Yuan had become a Martial Sage not long ago. This white space that enveloped him was Rong Yuan’s realm. Wasn’t it said that only Martial Sages who were above the middle grade could make use of their realm as a battleground? How was Rong Yuan able to use his realm even though he had broken through not long ago?

“You…what are you thinking of doing?” Pan Wen stuttered, as he looked petrified once again.

Facing someone who was many times stronger than him in terms of Martial Skills, Pan Wen had no chance of escaping at all. He could not help but blame his bodyguard who was a Martial Sage but had failed to prevent Rong Yuan from teleporting Pan Wen into his realm.

Instead of answering his question, Rong Yuan took a few steps towards Pan Wen confidently, not bothering to hide the evil glint in his eyes. As he held his sword in his hands, it looked as if he was debating what was the best way to give Pan Wen a slow death.

“You… I’m warning you. I am the next ruler of the North Qiu Kingdom. If anything happens to me here, my father will not let this slide!”

Rong Yuan bellowed in laughter but he did not say anything else. His sword inched closer and closer to Pan Wen, to the point where Pan Wen could feel the spiritual power emanating off the sword.

After Rong Yuan had his fill of watching Pan Wen cower in fear, he raised his sword and swung towards his lower body. What followed was an agonizing scream as Rong Yuan chopped off Pan Wen’s manhood.

“This is the price that you have to pay for speaking ill of Lingzhi,” Rong Yuan smirked. At once, the white space that enveloped Pan Wen disappeared and his body returned to where he had been before. However, some things could never be returned to the way it was before.

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