Chapter 239: Chapter 234: Strange Visitors

Mo Qing froze for a moment, then tears streamed down her cheeks once more. ’Finally... I’ve made my way into Mu Chen’s heart...’

Xuan Yin looked at the two in their tight embrace and gave Mu Bingling an apologetic glance. He had already learned all about Mu Bingling and Mu Chen while Mu Chen was unconscious. This woman, whose beauty was on par with Jiu’Er’s, was Mu Chen’s fiancée—his future wife. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Strictly speaking, his own daughter was the third party in this. However, in this world where martial prowess was revered, it was perfectly normal for a man to have many wives and concubines. Even he himself had a harem of three thousand beauties.

Wu Changqing sighed with emotion. "The children have all grown up. We old folks shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of the younger generation."

Xuan Yin smiled. "You’re right. Besides, things are about to come to a head. This standoff should be over soon."

Sure enough, just as Xuan Yin’s voice fell, some twenty-odd figures leaped up from outside the city walls. One of them, dressed in a Dragon Robe, was exceptionally burly. He had a square jaw and a grim expression—who else could it be but He Yunfeng? Standing beside him was a frail-looking middle-aged man, none other than Zhouhai, the Zhou Family’s Fourth Son, the only one to have escaped back to the Xuanling Empire. At the same time, Xuan Yin, Wu Changqing, Elder Yin, Elder Sun, Elder Li, Ye Hui, Qin Yuan, and Lingyun also soared into the air. In terms of numbers alone, the Xuanling Empire was already at a disadvantage.

He Yunfeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, murderous intent swirling in his eyes. He said flatly, "Everyone from the Xuanling Empire, I trust you already know the purpose of my visit. Now, I demand an explanation!"

Xuan Yin feigned ignorance. "An explanation? I wonder, what kind of explanation does the Celestial Eagle Emperor require? Please, enlighten me!"

CRACK...

He Yunfeng’s hands, clasped behind him, suddenly clenched into tight fists. An explosive burst of Primordial Power crackled out for several meters, causing the surrounding space to shatter with a CRACK. But he controlled himself. First etiquette, then war. If he attacked rashly without clearly stating his reasons, it would undoubtedly attract negative public opinion. Although he didn’t fear it, he couldn’t stand people talking behind his back. So, he endured.

"Enlighten you?" He Yunfeng laughed loudly. "I heard that Long’Er has been somewhat unhappy during his stay in the Xuanling Empire, so I’ve come to take him home. I wonder, where is Long’Er now? I wish to see him!"

As He Yunfeng said "I wish to see him," Xuan Yin saw a flash of blue Thunder Light in his eyes. He dropped the act and looked coldly at He Yunfeng. "He Long is already dead."

He Yunfeng had expected Xuan Yin to try and hide the truth, to spin some lie to cover things up. Then, he would have Zhouhai step forward and catch Xuan Yin completely off guard. At that point, he wouldn’t even need to ask why He Long was killed, because if the Xuanling Empire wasn’t at fault, why would Xuan Yin bother to lie? But now, Xuan Yin had admitted it directly. This would make others curious about the inside story. If he didn’t let Xuan Yin speak, his own side would clearly be in the wrong. But if he did let him speak, his side would be put on the defensive.

"What?! Long’Er is dead?" An old man’s voice suddenly came from among the twenty people from the Celestial Eagle Empire. He Yunfeng quickly turned his head and said respectfully, "Grand Elder, yes. The reason I have come to this Lower-class Empire with such fanfare today is because of Long’Er. Long’Er... has been murdered!"

Upon hearing He Yunfeng’s words, all twenty of them erupted with heaven-shaking fluctuations of Primordial Power. Among them were three Martial Venerables alone, and the Grand Elder’s Martial Artist Realm was as high as a Four-Ring Martial Venerable! The other two were both Two-Ring Martial Venerables.

"Then why are we still wasting words on them? Long’Er was a child we watched grow up, the future of the Empire, and now he’s been murdered in this pathetic Lower-class Empire! I’ll bury your empire with him!"

Many of the Elders began to clamor. Suppressed by the surrounding Primordial Power, Mu Chen’s breathing grew heavy. With no Primordial Power to protect his body, he was relying almost purely on his physical strength to remain standing under the pressure of three Martial Venerables and more than ten Martial Emperors.

Standing to the side, Mu Bingling and Lingyun simultaneously used their Primordial Power to shield Mu Chen, which made him feel slightly better.

He Yunfeng calmed everyone down. "Now is not the time to attack. It’s just the piddling Xuanling Empire; any two of us could raze it to the ground. But doing so would only make others think our empire is unreasonable. So, Xuan Yin, I want to hear your explanation. Why did you kill my only son?! Are you trying to provoke the Celestial Eagle Empire with this?!"

Xuan Yin secretly let out a breath. In that instant, he had felt the terror of death. The enemy lineup was simply too powerful, nearly approaching the strength of a High-class Empire. If they had launched an all-out assault just now, the Xuanling Empire would have been utterly crushed. Thankfully, his gamble had paid off—admitting directly that the Xuanling Empire was responsible for He Long’s death. ’Oh, great master, great master, when are you going to show up?’

Xuan Yin glanced at Mu Chen, who was being protected by the others, and sighed. "Prince He Long was indeed killed in our empire. And the one who killed him... I imagine you already know who it is. But..." Xuan Yin paused, then pointed at He Yunfeng with a dark expression. "The reason for it lies with your Celestial Eagle Empire!"

He Yunfeng was taken aback. He didn’t expect that asking for a reason would allow the other party to seize the initiative. Maintaining his sanity, which was on the verge of collapsing, He Yunfeng laughed. "The reason? The Celestial Eagle Empire? Utter nonsense! Then you tell me, what was the reason?"

Xuan Yin laughed as well. "I don’t believe the Celestial Eagle Emperor is unaware of the reason. But if you insist on feigning ignorance, then I’ll tell you the truth. If your Celestial Eagle Empire hadn’t tried to assassinate a genius student from our Xuanling Empire, why would He Long have been killed? If my daughter hadn’t blocked a strike from one of your Celestial Eagle Empire’s Elders, I’m afraid our genius student would have perished then and there!"

He Yunfeng sneered. "This is your reason? A genius from your Xuanling Empire? How talented could they possibly be? I bet any random person from my empire is stronger than this ’genius’ of yours. And for that, you killed He Long? How dare you claim you weren’t deliberately provoking us and trying to eliminate the sole heir of my Celestial Eagle Empire!"

Xuan Yin waved his hand dismissively. "So this is the so-called Celestial Eagle Emperor—an unreasonable brute. It seems I overestimated you; you’re nothing special after all. Since you can’t understand things on a higher level, let me put it this way: what if our academy’s student, Amoluo, went to your academy and tried to assassinate one of your genius students? I wonder, how would you, the Celestial Eagle Emperor, handle that?"

He Yunfeng sneered inwardly. ’Trying to play games with me? Not a chance.’

"How would I handle it?" He Yunfeng said with an air of great magnanimity. "That would be a violation against my empire, but I certainly wouldn’t execute him on the spot. I would gather witnesses and evidence and travel to your Xuanling Empire to discuss a resolution."

This time, Xuan Yin didn’t argue further. With a helpless expression, he said, "Your Celestial Eagle Empire is a great nation, and our Xuanling Empire is a small one. A war of words is useless. I am merely stating the facts. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. Just say it. What do you want?"

"What do I want? Hand over the killer, and the Xuanling Empire will become a vassal state of the Celestial Eagle Empire for all eternity. Xuan Yin will abdicate, and the Emperor’s throne will be handed over to my Celestial Eagle Empire. Otherwise... Hmph, I will make the rivers of the Xuanling Empire flow with blood, and I won’t leave a single person alive!"

Xuan Yin suddenly laughed. "Hand over the killer? The Xuanling Empire becomes a vassal state? The Emperor’s throne handed over to your Celestial Eagle Empire? What a joke. I can tell you this: even though the Xuanling Empire is a small nation, we are not so spineless! You want a war? Then you’ll get a war! What’s the point of all this nonsense?!"

"That’s right! You want a war? Then you’ll get a war!"

The soldiers below and Elder Wu and the others in the air roared in unison, their voices like thunder. The sudden turn of events was beyond He Yunfeng’s control.

"Fine, fine, fine! You’re the one who said it. You want a war, you’ll get a war! Zhouhai, show me. Where is the one who killed Long’Er? Did you think I’d be helpless if you didn’t tell me? You’ve severely underestimated me!" He Yunfeng burned with rage.

Zhouhai’s frail figure took a step forward. He immediately spotted Mu Chen being shielded by the two women within the Elemental Barrier and said coldly, "It’s that blue-haired boy. Hmph, I’d recognize him even if he were turned to ash. I didn’t expect him to dare show his face here. It seems the Xuanling Empire’s backbone is sturdier than I thought!"

Mu Chen looked up at Zhouhai. He saw a hint of madness and a trace of hatred in the man’s gaze, but Mu Chen felt no fear at all. Instead, he met Zhouhai’s stare with a resolute expression, not backing down an inch!

"That’s him? Hmph, a useless cripple with no Primordial Power fluctuations whatsoever. Zhouhai, are you sure you’re seeing things clearly?!" He Yunfeng shouted in disbelief.

Zhouhai said firmly, "Emperor, there is not a shred of falsehood in my words. He must have used some kind of transformation Secret Technique back then. The current disappearance of his Primordial Power is most likely a side effect of that Combat Skill! I beg the Emperor to believe me!"

He Yunfeng snorted, then suddenly pointed a finger at Mu Chen. A muffled peal of thunder echoed in the air as a tiny sliver of blue lightning shot from his fingertip, striking the Elemental Barrier in front of Mu Chen.

BANG! Mu Bingling and Mo Qing were both sent flying backward by the impact, and the Elemental Barrier in front of Mu Chen shattered completely. Before anyone could react, the wisp of Thunder Light released by He Yunfeng instantly transformed into a net of lightning, trapping Mu Chen tightly within it.

He Yunfeng clenched his hand. With a CRACKLE of thunder, the Thunder Ball appeared before him in an instant. The scene had unfolded too suddenly and too quickly for anyone from the Xuanling Empire to react. After all, He Yunfeng’s Martial Artist Realm was as high as a Three-Ring Martial Venerable; snatching a person from under the noses of a few Martial Emperors was a simple matter for him.

Xuan Yin’s expression changed, and he muttered under his breath, "This is bad! I told him Mu Chen shouldn’t have come. What do we do now?!"

But no one could answer Xuan Yin. The other twenty people were already eager for a fight. If the Xuanling side made a move, they would be met with an overwhelming, world-ending barrage of attacks.

"You are the one called Mu Chen?" He Yunfeng glared at Mu Chen, bolts of Thunder Light flashing in his eyes.

Standing calmly inside the net of lightning, Mu Chen looked at He Yunfeng and nodded. "I am Mu Chen. I am also the one who killed He Long and three of your Elders."

Seeing Mu Chen admit it so directly, He Yunfeng was so furious he burst out laughing. "Hahaha... A newborn calf truly doesn’t fear the tiger. Do you have any idea what the consequences of saying that are?"

"..." Mu Chen didn’t feel like talking.

"Playing the stoic hero when you’re at death’s door? Since you’re so eager to die, then die for me!!"

With a roar, He Yunfeng erupted with an immense amount of Primordial Power. Under the control of his will, the net of lightning enveloping Mu Chen shot into the sky with a WHOOSH. A Flash of Thunder crossed He Yunfeng’s eyes as he clenched his claw-like hands into fists and bellowed, "Explode for me!!"

As his voice fell, the net of lightning around Mu Chen began to surge violently, on the verge of exploding. But just then, an immense spatial fluctuation spread from the sky. A huge, black rift appeared out of thin air. In an instant, everyone’s gaze was drawn to it. From within the massive rift, two figures in extremely opulent clothing emerged—a man and a woman.

The man held a fan in one hand, the other clasped behind his back. His handsome face was enough to make any woman feel inadequate. The other figure, a woman, was shrouded in a layer of mist that obscured her features, making her seem like an otherworldly Fairy who did not partake of the mortal realm, stirring a desire in all to lift her veil. The man who had just stepped out of the Spatial Rift looked up at the net of lightning about to explode and smiled faintly. "Good, just in time. Elder Qin Yuan, save that young man..."