Chapter 82: A Visit

“Since we’re all gathered here today, let me lay my cards on the table!” Ye Feng slowly took his seat. “Why did I, Ye Feng, make such a bloody display on my very first day in the capital? Who gave me the audacity to kill and intimidate, to strike down a prince with my blade right before the palace gates?” He paused, raised his cup, and downed the tea in a single gulp. “The Seventh and Ninth Princes, coveting the throne, conspired with the Holy Land to assassinate a princess! Without the royal family’s silent approval, do you really think I could have made it to the palace steps unscathed? I killed so many nobles—if they were upright men, what reason would I have to cut them down? Even if there were no Ye Feng in the Ye family, would any of your clans dare behave so rudely before my kin? Think carefully about the true reasons behind all this!”

With those words, Ye Feng ignored the others’ reactions and sat upright in his chair.

“Nonsense! Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother would never collude with the Holy Land! Why didn’t Father tell me this?” Princess Anran was the first to speak, pointing at Ye Feng in fury.

In truth, Ye Feng was indeed making things up; matters such as these were far beyond the understanding of the young heirs present. Still, the assassin who killed the Seventh Prince had indeed come from the west, so throwing the blame onto the Holy Land was hardly unjust.

“I’ll ask Father myself!” Princess Anran seemed to take the matter to heart and made to rise.

At that very moment, the imperial decree arrived: “By the Mandate of Heaven, His Majesty commands: The Seventh and Ninth Princes, in their disregard for their sovereign and their lust for the position of heir, have secretly conspired with the traitors of the Holy Land to attempt the assassination of a royal princess! Now, the truth has come to light. The Seventh and Ninth Princes are hereby expelled from the royal family. The remaining ten princes shall be temporarily stripped of their noble status, to be restored and rewarded only for future merit in defending the realm against the Holy Land. Thus is His Majesty’s will!”

Just as Princess Anran was about to press Emperor Tang Hen for answers, several eunuchs strode in and read the decree aloud, word for word.

This edict confirmed every word Ye Feng had uttered moments before. And not only were the Seventh and Ninth Princes cast out, but even the remaining ten princes were, for the time being, reduced to commoners.

Ye Feng knew the world outside must already be in turmoil. Such an imperial decree was unprecedented in the annals of history.

Compared to Ye Feng’s composure, the rest of those present were thunderstruck. Many had hoped to seize this occasion to give the outsider Ye Feng a harsh lesson, but the turn of events had left them utterly confounded.

In this strange and stifling atmosphere, the banquet ended in haste. Qingwu departed early—rumor had it she was already en route to the site of the upcoming contest.

The others also left, each lost in their own thoughts, returning to their respective homes.

Only Ye Feng wandered aimlessly through the palace, unhurried and without destination. Of the two great empires, he had heard a little about Bilister Empire. Its younger generation was not much different from that of the Tianwu Empire—nothing like the terrifying Holy Land. Thus, Ye Feng felt no particular unease.

Though he was only at the initial level of Spirit King, if he played all his cards right, he could exhaust even a mid-level Spirit Emperor.

Ye Feng had no fear of Bilister’s probes, but he was sure their visit was about more than a mere contest for places.

At present, in the eastern reaches of the Martial Soul Continent, the Tianwu Empire was the undisputed colossus. In sheer numbers and in the strength of its elite cultivators, it far outstripped Bilister. Moreover, Tianwu could boast two cultivators who had surpassed the Wandering Immortal realm, even if only by half a step. Should anyone provoke these two, they cared little for rank or station; they would descend from the heavens, slaying all in their path—Buddha or god alike—leaving disaster in their wake.

Even if Bilister were ten times bolder, they would not dare be so brazen. Clearly, the real hand behind this visit belonged to the Holy Land, with Bilister merely playing the vanguard.

This thought brought Ye Feng’s mind once more to those who stood behind the Seventh and Ninth Princes—a truly terrifying figure.

A few days later, the Bilister delegation finally arrived, fashionably late.

By afternoon, the envoys of Bilister entered Tianwu City. Such a move infuriated the city’s nobility; it was a naked provocation—what proper delegation arrived in the afternoon?

Emperor Tang Hen, however, only smiled, treating it as the petty antics of a lesser rival.

Though the upper echelons seethed with anger, the commoners’ curiosity was undimmed. As the delegation entered the city, crowds packed the eastern avenue shoulder to shoulder, eager for spectacle.

Ye Feng sat cross-legged in his study, “watching” the Bilister delegation with his unique senses.

There were nearly a hundred in their party. The vanguard rows of cultivators rode fourth-rank demon beasts—Jade Wolves—each proud and upright, making for an impressive sight.

“Pah! All show and no substance. Don’t they know Tianwu borders the Falling Wild Goose Mountains? What manner of beast haven’t we seen here?” Ye Feng scoffed and, struck by a mischievous impulse, left his study in search of the Giant Ape.

His goal was simple: to give them a taste of their own medicine.

The main road before the Ye residence was the only way from the eastern city gate to the palace. And in the world of beasts, lower-ranked demon beasts instinctively feared those of higher rank.

A creature of the Giant Ape’s caliber sent waves of pressure that would leave the Jade Wolves trembling, if not unable to walk altogether.

So it proved. As the delegation passed the Ye residence, the Giant Ape quietly released a trace of its aura. At once, all the Jade Wolves collapsed, quaking and prostrate, unable to take another step—just short of soiling themselves.

This infuriated the higher-ranking cultivators in the envoy. From one of the carriages, a powerful aura surged abruptly toward the Ye residence.

Caught off guard, the Giant Ape suffered a minor setback.

Now the matter escalated. The Giant Ape, enraged, forgot Ye Feng’s instructions and unleashed its demonic power in full, sweeping over the delegation like a tidal wave.

In an instant, the convoy was thrown into chaos. The lesser demon beasts not only collapsed but also lost control of their bladders, shuddering and whimpering in terror.

From within the carriage, a muffled groan could be faintly heard, as threads of blood slowly trickled from the mouth of a middle-aged man.

Horrified, he lifted the curtain, and on seeing the plaque above the Ye residence, terror flashed in his eyes. The Ye family’s reputation had long since spread across the Martial Soul Continent.

This covert clash went unnoticed by all but those of Spirit King rank or higher. The commoners saw only that, as the delegation passed the Ye gates, all the demon beasts halted, then collapsed in a heap.

“You see? I told you the Ye family has a war god watching over them! The very will of the war god suppressed those beasts the moment they reached the Ye gates!”

“Nonsense! That was Bilister’s way of showing off to the Ye family!”

“Since when does a show of force end with beasts wetting themselves in terror?”

While the envoy hesitated, Ye Feng strolled leisurely from the Ye residence. “Well now, what’s the matter? The palace is still ahead—why stop at my gates?”

“What’s that smell? Hey, you there—why’d you let your demon beast relieve itself in front of my house? Xiao Zhu, Xiao Zhu! Bring the men and haul these creatures inside—we’ll stew them this afternoon… Damn, what a mess…”

At his command, a squad of golden-scaled guards rushed out, each pair hoisting another limp Jade Wolf into the Ye estate.

“Hmph! Is this how the Tianwu Empire treats foreign envoys?” came the angry voice of the middle-aged man from the carriage.

He was truly incensed; he had not expected the Ye family to be so brazen, to play such a trick on the delegation in broad daylight.

Entering the city in the afternoon had been a deliberate move on their part, but the Ye family’s response was still excessive.

“Pah! Have you ever seen a delegation arrive in the afternoon? Or beasts in the retinue defecate at someone’s front door? Bloody hell, what kind of place is Bilister, sending such animals as envoys? Have you run out of decent men?” Ye Feng stood at the gate, hands on hips, hurling insults with all the gusto of a fishwife, thoroughly enjoying himself.