After Huang Xiaolong, the King of Grandmist, Jiang Hong, and the others had left, everyone finally snapped back to attention. The plaza welcomed unprecedented silence.
A cold gaze undetectable to the rest of the world flashed past Di Jun's eyes. He finally left the plaza with all the Heavenly Court experts after Huang Xiaolong's figure disappeared.
Before long, members of the Brightness Emperor Palace, Fiend God Emperor Palace, and the other superpowers left in succession.
In an instant, the plaza became void of presence.
A gust of cold air swept through the once crowded plaza.
The news of Huang Xiaolong possessing three king of supreme godheads, three Archdevil bloodlines, and him being the direct disciple of the King of Grandmist shook the world.
…
Several days later, in Manor 1.
The King of Grandmist, Jiang Hong, and Huang Xiaolong sat in the main hall as two people kneeled on the ground before them. One was ancestor Han Qing, and the other was a disciple from the Grandmist Emperor Palace, Zhao Tong.
The two of them kneeled on the ground as their bodies trembled unceasingly. A bleak desolation flashed across their eyes.
It was mostly the case for Zhao Tong. His back was drenched in a cold sweat.
Jiang Hong glared at the two of them with a frosty expression, and he ordered ancestor Zhou Dong, "Detain the both of them. Waste their cultivation and kick Zhao Tong from the palace. As for Han Qing, kill her."
Zhao Tong crumbled to the ground as he lost all energy.
However, Han Qing screamed in indignation, "I didn't do anything! How dare you cripple my cultivation?! You don't have the right to sentence me to death! You can't use this chance to punish me just because I offended your junior brother! Huang Xiaolong killed a disciple from my Grandmist Emperor Palace in the preliminary round, and I only wanted to take revenge for them!"
When the various ancestors from the Grandmist Emperor Palace heard how Han Qing called Jiang Hong's integrity into question, their expressions turned grave.
Zhou Dong and the others glared at her in rage, and just as they were about to yell at her for her disrespect, Jiang Hong waved his hand to stop them. He looked at Han Qing, and an expression of indifference hung on his face. "Han Qing, do you think I'm stupid? Do you really think that I have no idea you're a spy from the Fiend God Emperor Palace?"
Spy from the Fiend God Emperor Palace! Zhou Dong and the other ancestors sucked in a cold breath.
Han Qing widened her eyes in shock, and she screamed, "You have no evidence of that! As an ancestor of the Grandmist Emperor Palace, I have devoted myself to the palace! You can't accuse me of being a spy just because you feel like it!"
When Jiang Hong saw that Han Qing was still trying her luck to weasel her way out of punishment, a cold light flashed through his eyes. He turned to Wang Mengan, standing beside him, and said, "Bring them here."
Wang Mengan was the ancestor in charge of intelligence collection in the Grandmist Emperor Palace.
"Yes, Emperor." In an instant, six disciples were brought into the hall.
The moment Han Qing saw the six of them, she could no longer keep a straight face.
All six of them were spies planted by the Fiend God Emperor Palace, and all of them reported to her. She was also the one who had allowed them to enter through the backdoor.
Han Qing flipped her palm over and sent out a terrifying wave of energy towards the six disciples. Their expressions changed, and they widened their eyes in fear.
No one had expected her to make a sneak attack, especially right in front of Jiang Hong and the King of Grandmist.
A cold harrumph left Jiang Hong's lips, and a chilly light flashed through his eyes. He didn't move, but a mysterious rune broke through the constraints of space and time. The world seemed to come to a standstill as Han Qing's attack froze in mid-air. She stared at the power dissipating before her with her jaws agape.
Even though she felt as though an eternity had passed when he froze time and space, only a second passed.
The heavens and earth returned to normal, and Han Qing crumpled to the ground.
When Jiang Hong looked at her figure on the ground, he looked at her with a face full of disappointment. "Do you have any last words?"
A smile slowly formed on Han Qing's lips as she erupted with laughter. She looked at the three of them seated before her with a mocking gaze.
"Jiang Hong, King of Grandmist, Huang Xiaolong, don't think that it's over! Even if I die, you won't be able to live for too long! Our Fiend God Emperor Palace will sweep through the lands once again! All of you will die!" She screamed hysterically.
All the ancestors in the hall looked at each other and felt that Han Qing had gone crazy. She cursed the King of Grandmist and Jiang Hong right under their noses as though they were retards.
Huang Xiaolong simply shot a casual glance at her. "The Fiend God Emperor Palace will sweep through the world? Does the Fiend God Emperor Palace have the backing of your so-called Great Lord?"
When Han Qing heard the words 'Great Lord,' unbridled fear and panic flashed through her eyes. She had never expected for Huang Xiaolong to learn of his existence.
"Let me guess…" Huang Xiaolong rolled his eyes and continued, "Is he Shi Ming from the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe?"
Han Qing's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and her jaws dropped in shock.
Even Zhou Dong and the others swallowed a mouthful of saliva in shock.
The Fiend God Emperor Palace had the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe as their backing?!
If that was really the case, things were about to go south real fast.
Han Qing released a heaven-shaking cry before anyone could react and she detonated herself. The energy released during her self explosion contained the power of a detonating star.
Zhou Dong and the rest were shocked. They had never expected that she would sacrifice herself by detonating all the energy in her body.
Jiang Hong seemed to have thought of the possibility, and he reached out with his right hand. The energy that possessed the might of a thousand suns shrunk, and it turned into a tiny ball that flew towards Jiang Hong's hand. Closing his fist, the energy started to dissipate.
As for the King of Grandmist, he sat there from the start to the end with no intention of reacting.
"Leave." Jiang Hong waved his hand and dismissed everyone in the hall.
"Yes, Emperor." Zhou Dong and the others replied respectfully and bowed before they left.
There were only three people left in the hall.
"Junior Brother, are you sure that the Fiend God Emperor Palace is colluding with the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe?" Jiang Hong asked with a solemn expression.
Huang Xiaolong nodded his head. He also spoke about how Shi Ming was currently refining a peak-grade grandmist artifact, the Blade of Death.
" Is the Blade of Death a treasure that surpasses the Ancient Heavenly Court?!" Even the King of Grandmist took it seriously when he heard Huang Xiaolong's explanation.
He didn't care about Shi Ming at all. However, he felt that he had to take it seriously if they really had a treasure that could surpass the Ancient Heavenly Court.
Huang Xiaolong nodded and said, "According to my estimations, he would be able to succeed within a thousand years…"
Both the King of Grandmist and Jiang Hong frowned.
…
After staying for two days, the King of Grandmist and Jiang Hong left. The little cow didn't stay either, as her injuries weren't fully healed. Since they knew that the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe was eyeing them from the sidelines, she felt that recovering to her peak strength was the most important thing.
Zhao Lei, Fang Xuanxuan, and Bei Xiaomei also started to leave.
Huang Xiaolong was the only one who remained behind.
Of course, he stayed because he wanted to enter the Heavenly Court Lightning Pool.
On that very day, Huang Xiaolong headed for the lightning pool.
It was located deep in the heart of the Heavenly Court itself, and the troops that were stationed there to protect the place were the best of the best. They received Huang Xiaolong and allowed him to enter the core region of the Heavenly Court, and he arrived at the lightning pool with no mishaps.