"This is a disaster. We should slip away quietly..."

The Three Great Demon Pets and the loyal ministers watched, their blood boiling with excitement. In contrast, the faces of the traitors, Mong Qimo and Mu Guanzhi, had turned green with fear.

’We thought His Majesty was just some kid who’d gotten lucky,’ they lamented internally. ’Maybe he could stir up some trouble in the Divine Wind Empire, but he was nothing compared to a behemoth like the Divine Holy Empire. We never imagined he could fight several masters on his own and not be at a disadvantage! His level of strength is simply terrifying!’

"Trying to run? Do you really think you can get away?"

The Wind Wolf King’s sharp eyes caught their intentions. With a sweep of its pristine white tail and a few loud CRACKS, it shattered both of their leg bones.

While it might not have been a match for the Prince’s Law Enforcement Team in a direct confrontation, dealing with mere Qi Sect cultivators was child’s play for the Wind Wolf King, no more difficult than crushing an ant.

"Break!"

The crowd below was shocked beyond belief, while in the sky, Nie Yun and his opponents were locked in a world-shaking battle.

Nie Yun shattered the Desolate Ancient Heaven-Reaching Array’s Condensed Sword Array and, without a moment’s pause, charged into their midst. His Longsword danced, creating a forest of Sword Qi. A potent wave of True Qi Power radiated from him in a brilliant shower, enveloping several members of the Prince’s Law Enforcement Team.

"Desolate Ancient Heaven-Reaching Array, Rising Sword Array!"

With a low cry, the Array shifted once more. An endless barrage of Sword Qi shot out from every conceivable blind spot, making it impossible for anyone trapped within to evade.

"Desolate Ancient Heaven-Reaching Array, Ghost Sword Array!"

"Desolate Ancient Heaven-Reaching Array, Qi Sword Array!"

Two more attack patterns followed in quick succession. The people in the Imperial City could only watch as the sky filled with a dense curtain of Sword Qi, completely blotting out the sun.

"Break, all of you!"

As terrifying as the combined Array of the Desolate Ancient Heaven-Reaching Array was, the young man was even more so. With a sudden, deep roar, a pillar of light shot toward the heavens. A figure then burst forth from the radiance, striking down from midair.

"Blood Pupil Master, Blood Pupil Light! Momentum of the Earth! Great Strength Dantian! 32-fold Dark Force! Attack!"

In that instant, the Ten Great Dantians inside Nie Yun’s body spun furiously. A torrent of True Qi surged down his arms as he unleashed all of his most powerful attacks at once.

BOOM!

The heavens and earth seemed to collapse, and the sun and moon vanished from sight. The shockwave of True Qi distorted the very space around them. After a violent explosion, several figures plummeted from the sky like cannonballs, crashing hard onto the ground below.

"So this is your great Array? It’s not so impressive after all!"

As the Sword Qi dissipated, a figure was revealed in the sky. It was Nie Yun. His expression remained impassive as he descended step by step from the air. He looked down at the figures lying on the ground, his voice calm and detached.

"I admit, I underestimated you. With your level of strength, you could probably rank in the top three of the Celestial List! We accept our defeat today. Here are silver notes worth 500,000 taels, redeemable at any major bank in the Divine Holy Empire. Please accept it as compensation for our recklessness!"

The young man leading the group pulled a stack of silver notes from his robes, his face a mask of humiliation.

They had been hailed as prodigies since birth, chosen to be members of the Prince’s Law Enforcement Team—the favored sons of heaven. They had never known defeat. Now, not only had they failed to win in single combat, but they had also been beaten while using a joint Array. The blow to their pride was immense.

"You think a little money is enough compensation?" Nie Yun chuckled coldly. "I don’t want your money. Give me an arm and a leg from each of you, and we can consider this matter settled."

Nie Yun said coolly, glancing dismissively at the silver notes.

’Now that I control an Empire, money is of little importance,’ he thought. ’If this could have been settled with money, I wouldn’t have needed to fight them at all.’

"Don’t push us too far! Your strength is impressive, but you’re only at the level of the top three on the Celestial List. The Divine Holy Empire has more than a dozen patriarchs on the Secret Realm Potential List who are far stronger! If you act too ruthlessly, even a genius like you will end up dead... ARGH!"

The leader clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth at the young man’s demand. But before he could finish, a flash of Sword Aura sliced through the air. He felt a sharp pain, and his own arm flew from his body, landing with a thud on the ground.

"I don’t like listening to useless talk," Nie Yun said coolly, having severed the man’s arm with a single strike.

"You..." The leader hadn’t expected the young man to be so vicious and completely unfazed by his threats. Veins bulged on his forehead in fury, and his whole body trembled, but he didn’t dare utter another word.

"Shall I do it, or will you do it yourselves?"

Nie Yun continued.

"Fifth Prince, we..."

Hearing the young man’s words ring out again, the faces of the remaining members of the Prince’s Law Enforcement Team flushed red, and they all turned to look at their leader.

This young leader was none other than the Fifth Prince of the Divine Holy Empire, a son of His Majesty the Emperor.

The Eldest Prince, Fifth Prince, and Seventh Prince of the Divine Holy Empire were the Emperor’s biological sons and the heirs with the strongest claims to the throne.

"Do it," the Fifth Prince ordered. He was a ruthless man himself and knew that if they didn’t sever their own limbs today, there would be no peaceful resolution. He gritted his teeth as he gave the command.

"Yes, sir!"

Gritting their teeth, the men acted. In a flurry of flashing blades, each one severed one of their own arms and one of their own legs.

’Losing a few limbs is far better than losing our lives!’

"Now, get out," Nie Yun said with a dismissive wave of his hand, seeing that they had obeyed his command without daring to resist.

"The mountains will remain and the rivers will still flow, Your Majesty Nie Yun. I hope to see you in the Divine Holy Empire!"

The Fifth Prince gritted his teeth, then turned and flew away with his remaining men.

"Your Majesty, you should have cut the weeds and pulled the roots. Once the Divine Holy Empire learns of this, they will surely send an army to attack us..." Feng Xiao said urgently as he watched them fly away.

"In this world, strength reigns supreme. Even if they want to attack, they’ll have to gauge my true power before they dare to make a move."

Nie Yun waved his hand, unconcerned.

’Even if the Divine Holy Empire wants to retaliate out of anger, they’ll likely wait until they’ve met me in person. I trust the Divine Holy Empire Royal Family isn’t foolish enough to make a rash move without even knowing their opponent’s true strength.’

’All Ultimate Venerable Powerhouses can fly. Without a vast superiority in power, it’s impossible to guarantee a kill. If one were to escape, they could harass the Empire endlessly, giving them no peace and forcing them to live in constant fear.’

’After all, no matter how powerful the Divine Holy Empire Royal Family is, it’s not as if every single member has reached the Ultimate Venerable Level. If an enemy can’t kill your strongest, what’s to stop them from killing your weakest?’

"Master, what should be done with these two traitors?" the Wind Wolf King asked, pointing a pristine white paw at the ministers named Mong Qimo and Mu Guanzhi.

"Execute their entire clans. Leave no one alive," Nie Yun said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the remaining ministers. "If I find even one person from their households still living, then all of you can forget about living, too."

’To maintain a stable regime, one must be ruthless. Mong Qimo and Mu Guanzhi openly betrayed me. If I don’t make an example of them, I’ll never be able to intimidate the others.’

"Your Majesty, have mercy! Your Majesty, this subordinate was wrong! Please, just spare our families..." the two men pleaded, their faces pale with terror, not having expected the young Emperor to be so vicious.

SPLAT!

Before their cries could even fade, the Wind Wolf King swiped a paw, smashing one of their heads into a bloody pulp.

"I demand absolute obedience. I don’t want anyone having second thoughts. If anyone dares to betray me, their entire clan will be executed," Nie Yun stated calmly.

Hearing this, every minister trembled. Though the sunlight was as warm as a summer’s day, they felt a grim, bone-deep chill creep up their spines.

PS: Six Chapters today, 12,000 characters. You could call that an explosive release!

Lao Ya is planning to stockpile some Chapters for a bit, and we’ll make another sprint at the end of the month. The goal is still the top three on the new book monthly ticket leaderboard. Although the gap is huge and it seems like an impossible task, can we turn the impossible into the possible?

When this book first got featured, its performance was terrible. So bad, in fact, that it didn’t get a feature in the second week. After that, I struggled my way to a Strong Recommendation. The results from that weren’t great, but not too bad either, just not explosive. I originally thought that even if this book didn’t completely flop, it was close. But then, on the day it went premium, it suddenly blew up!

Of course, this is all thanks to the tireless promotion by my readers. But the sudden explosion when it went premium really took Lao Ya by surprise. It made me feel that hard work really does pay off!

Although the subscription numbers don’t quite match the "explosive" status—for that, the 24-hour subscriptions should be over two thousand, or even three thousand, and we’re only at eight hundred—Lao Ya is already very satisfied. It’s because I’m so grateful that I’m writing and updating like crazy!

Lao Ya is a reader too. The more Chapters an author releases for a book I’m following, the more I like it. That’s why I’m pushing myself so hard, to repay my friends for their kindness and support. You’ve treated me with the highest respect, and I will repay you in kind!

The new book leaderboard only lasts for one month, and we’re already seven days late. Lao Ya’s goal is the top three. The higher we set our sights, the farther we’ll go! Even if we fail, let’s fail beautifully!

So, Lao Ya is here begging everyone to give me their monthly tickets. If you’ve read this book, I implore you to save your monthly tickets for me. Give me one measure of warmth, and Lao Ya will give back ten measures of light. I will absolutely not let you down!

Sprint, sprint! It’s already the 17th. Check and see, you should all have your monthly tickets by now. We started from nothing, but let’s use that nothing to slay gods and destroy those super-powerful competitors! Brothers and sisters, do you dare to slay gods with me?

A "god" isn’t really a god; they just become one by doing things beyond human capability. What we need to do is slaughter them! Kill! Kill!! KILL!!!

What are you waiting for? Hand over those monthly tickets! With the loudest bugle call and the firmest Step Technique, let’s CHARGE!!! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)