But in the past hundred years, whether through coercion and inducements, imperial rewards, or unsavory methods, their fiefdom had doubled in size!

Thirty years ago, beside the Yingchen Family, there was a clan named the Nandao Family. This clan held the fiefdom of three cities, and its Family Head was also a general of the Great Tang Empire.

However, because of a Spirit Stone mine vein, the Yingchen Family set their sights on one of the Nandao Family’s fief cities.

Thus, the Yingchen Family sent an Emissary to express their intent to purchase that fief city.

But the Nandao Family only had three fief cities to begin with, and that Spirit Stone mine vein was also their most crucial source of income. Naturally, they would never hand it over to the Yingchen Family that easily!

Who would have guessed, in just a few short months, the Yingchen Family concocted twelve charges against the Nandao Family? The Nandao Family Head was dismissed and investigated by order of the court. Yet, before the Ministry of Punishment could even act, the Yingchen Family seized two of the Nandao Family’s three fief cities outright. The last city was only then reclaimed by the Emperor of Great Tang!

In this process, the Yingchen Family slaughtered no fewer than 300,000 individuals who resisted them!

And incidents like this were not unique. This dossier contained several similar examples!

Fifteen years ago, in the Starwild Mountain Range, a unique treasure capable of prolonging life was discovered. It attracted countless experts from across the Great Tang Empire, all wanting to investigate. However, the Starwild Mountain Range lay within the Yingchen Family’s fiefdom!

To claim the treasure for themselves, the Yingchen Family accused nearly 2,000 people of unlawfully trespassing on their territory. Among them, hundreds were executed on the spot. Moreover, even their families were harshly dealt with by the Yingchen Family, forcing nearly a hundred smaller clans to submit to them before the matter was settled!

Through annexation and suppression, they continuously grew stronger. At this moment, Ye Luo seemed to understand why the Emperor of Great Tang, despite being fully aware of Ye Luo’s actions against the Yingchen Family, chose not to intervene, even allowing Ye Luo to act freely!

After all, this was merely the Yingchen Family’s record of annexations within the past century. If one accounted for the extensive history since their founding, then how many families had the Yingchen Family exterminated? How many lives had they claimed?

Furthermore, if the Yingchen Family were allowed to continue growing unchecked, there was a very real possibility they might become a nation within the nation!

Of course, in reality, many of the Great Clans already functioned as nations within the nation!

Perhaps the only reason the Great Tang Empire hadn’t collapsed entirely was the presence of the Border Guard, as well as the mutual checks and balances between the Great Clans!

Such charges, by conventional standards, were hardly worth mentioning. After all, this was simply the game of the Nobility!

But in Ye Luo’s eyes, it was already enough!

Enough to justify Ye Luo’s actions against the Yingchen Family!

"Keep investigating. I need more intelligence!"

Ye Luo instructed Yun Liancheng, who naturally nodded in agreement.

The games of noble power could only truly be understood by the nobles themselves.

At this moment, however, Ye Luo felt a growing urge to personally visit the Yingchen Family’s fiefdom and see for himself.

The Imperial Capital was endlessly prosperous, but at the same time, many happenings within the Empire were entirely concealed there. On the surface, the Imperial Capital of the Great Tang Empire appeared to be a picture of peace and harmony!

But was it truly the same in the territories controlled by these Great Clans?

If Ye Luo intended to deal with the Yingchen Family, it must be with finality, not just small, inconsequential skirmishes.

To achieve that, he needed enough charges—enough to justify the complete extermination of the Yingchen Family!

Perhaps at the beginning, Ye Luo had considered fabricating evidence against the Yingchen Family. But now, it seemed completely unnecessary. The actions of the Yingchen Family alone already provided everything Ye Luo needed to act!

Big fish eat small fish; small fish eat shrimp!

For countless years, the Great Tang Empire had been playing this very game!

It wasn’t just the Great Clans like the Yingchen Family. Even smaller families were no different: either they devoured others to grow stronger, or they waited to be devoured themselves. This was the true Martial Realm!

"Prepare for departure. We’re going to the Yingchen Family’s fiefdom!"

"Your Highness, no! Your Highness, you absolutely mustn’t take such a grave risk!"

When Yun Liancheng heard that Ye Luo intended to go to the Yingchen Family’s fiefdom, he was greatly alarmed. Wasn’t this just walking into a trap?

If Ye Luo wanted to deal with the Yingchen Family, he must never set foot on their territory. Otherwise, if anything went wrong, he could very well lose his life there under mysterious circumstances.

The Yingchen Family undoubtedly had the capability to eliminate Ye Luo without leaving behind any evidence!

But Ye Luo showed no concern. With his current strength, what harm was there in venturing into the Yingchen Family’s fiefdom?

At the very least, retreating safely was well within his abilities!

"Don’t worry, Brother Yun. I have my plans!"

Ye Luo didn’t bother explaining further to Yun Liancheng, for explanation would be futile!

Quickly, not long after the Yingchen Family’s Emissary left the Cloud Manor, Ye Luo, accompanied by several attendants, set off for the Yingchen Family’s fiefdom.

...

With the existence of the Transmission Array, even great distances took no more than the blink of an eye to traverse!

At this moment, a city built against the mountains appeared before Ye Luo. The city wasn’t large, but it was heavily fortified!

"Your Highness, this is Nandao City. Because it contains a Spirit Stone mine vein, the fortifications here are especially strict."

Nandao City?

Wasn’t this one of the cities the Yingchen Family had taken from the Nandao Family?

Suddenly, the ground trembled. Moments later, a squad of knights charged out.

The leaders were a few young aristocrats, followed by a large contingent of knights.

"Let’s follow and take a look!"

Ye Luo, sensing a potential opportunity, decided to trail them without hesitation.

From a distance, Ye Luo listened intently to the conversation of the figures ahead.

It was clear that these individuals, accustomed to arrogance, were entirely unguarded, thinking themselves untouchable on Yingchen Family territory!

"Don’t worry, Brother Gao. Today, I’ll make sure you have the time of your life. This time, I specifically captured over 3,000 condemned slaves for us to enjoy!"

"Over 3,000 people? Impressive! Don’t tell me you got them from the dungeon your father oversees again?"

"The dungeon? So what if I did? Let me tell you, just a few days ago, our Yingchen Family had a massive skirmish with that damn Wang Family of Minzhou. You wouldn’t believe it—tens of thousands fought in that battle. These 3,000 slaves were captured during that time!"

"A skirmish? Over what? Don’t tell me it was for that Spiritual Spring water again?"

Lost in their conversation, the two seemed unaware that their every word was being overheard by Ye Luo!

Tens of thousands in a skirmish?

Ye Luo couldn’t help but feel a twinge of shock. This could almost be classified as a small-scale war, yet in the eyes of these individuals, it was merely another game!