In the palace of the Sovereign, the atmosphere was tense, eerily silent.
Du Sang kept his head low, his hands clenched tightly, and beads of sweat dripped from his brow, as though he were bearing an immense pressure.
He was a lowly red-haired mutant of the Jiuquan Kingdom but had risen to the position of Grand General through extraordinary cultivation talent and an unparalleled cruelty that instilled fear in all.
In the Jiuquan Kingdom, his authority surpassed even that of the Sovereign.
After Ji Xia shot and killed the Jiuquan Sovereign with a single arrow, Du Sang installed one of the surviving royal offspring as a puppet ruler while taking full control of Jiuquan's power. Throughout the kingdom, no one dared to defy him.
At least within a radius of over a thousand miles, Du Sang considered himself a hegemon, dreaming of a day when Tai Cang, Zhou Qing, Crocodile Horn, and several smaller neighboring nations would all fall under his dominion.
The inhabitants of these realms would be enslaved, reared as livestock for food, and sold to the donkey-headed people in exchange for wealth and spirit crystals to further bolster his power.
Du Sang even harbored ambitions to reach the Spirit Master realm, gaining a three-hundred-year lifespan. With such time, he believed he could grow even stronger.
But what he never anticipated was Tai Cang's sudden rise from despair and ruin.
The trap he and the Jiuquan Sovereign had meticulously planned, sacrificing countless citizens, was brutally shattered by Tai Cang's soaring strength.
Even under the protection of the evil god Modor, the Jiuquan royal city fell. The Jiuquan Sovereign himself was slain with a single arrow by this young human upstart.
Still, Du Sang blamed it all on the incompetence of the Jiuquan Sovereign, whose weak power had led to his demise.
He believed that with his own intervention, along with the help of fellow spirit arts master Bi Hong, they would easily dispatch this inexperienced Tai Cang Sovereign—a mere youth less than a third their age.
What he hadn't imagined was the scene unfolding before him now.
The young human in his early twenties sat atop his throne, calmly reading a book. With a simple gesture, his sword-fingers unleashed an arc of sword energy that claimed the life of the Zhou Qing Sovereign—a man who had sacrificed his own life force through forbidden arts to gain extraordinary power.
This was simply unbelievable!
The current Tai Cang Sovereign, Ji Xia, was the son of Ji Shang, who had died indirectly because of Du Sang.
Even if Ji Xia had started cultivating from the womb, he would have barely had twenty years of training. How could he possibly possess such formidable power?
Moreover, Bi Hong's spirit wheel gem showed no signs of light. Yet when Ji Xia acted moments ago, Du Sang distinctly sensed the presence of a "Great Snow Mountain" within him.
A cultivator without a spirit wheel was still mortal, with a lifespan of merely seventy or eighty years and significantly weaker techniques.
But today, Du Sang witnessed Ji Xia's snow-mountain energy overpower spirit wheels and slay a spirit arts master with a casual sword arc.
This defied all reason.
Du Sang, the Jiuquan Grand General who had always considered himself a formidable figure, fearing no one, now felt fear for the first time.
He feared that Ji Xia might casually dispatch him with a single strike. He feared he wouldn't even have a chance to use his trump cards.
When Ji Xia invited him to sit, Du Sang could only drag his stiff body to the guest seat.
He didn't even dare to glance at the Tai Cang Sovereign.
"This human monster is unpredictable," Du Sang thought. "Just now, he was calmly persuading the Zhou Qing Sovereign, yet in the next moment, he erupted in rage and struck him down! I must remain vigilant to avoid being killed suddenly."
Du Sang's spirit energy within his spirit wheel was fully charged, ready to counter any attack from Ji Xia.
Yet Ji Xia continued flipping through his book, seemingly oblivious to Du Sang's presence.
After a short while, a young human in armor entered, bowed deeply, and reported loudly, "Sovereign, scouts have returned with news. General Ji and Master Shi Yang are on their way back. The remaining Zhou Qing forces have been completely wiped out."
Without lifting his eyes from the book, Ji Xia asked softly, "It took the thousand Tai Cang Silver Guards four days to clean up the remnants of Zhou Qing? Isn't their efficiency rather low?"
The young human lowered his head in silence.
Meanwhile, Du Sang couldn't help but twitch at the mention of such news.
The complete annihilation of Zhou Qing's forces in just four days?
How powerful were these Tai Cang Silver Guards?
"Jing Ye, you may leave for now. I still have matters to discuss with Grand General Du Sang."
Jing Ye bowed and was about to leave when Ji Xia suddenly added, "Take that corpse with you. Sever its head and hang it on the Palace Tower's Viewing Platform. Post a notice to inform the Tai Cang people that Zhou Qing's Sovereign attempted to assassinate me and was beheaded as punishment.
"Also, let it be known that Zhou Qing's remaining forces have been annihilated by the Tai Cang Silver Guards. From this day forth, Zhou Qing no longer exists."
Jing Ye bowed again, said nothing, and moved toward the corpse of the Zhou Qing Sovereign. Expressionless, he dragged the lifeless body toward the palace gates.
"Wait."
Ji Xia suddenly spoke, stroking his chin as he glanced at Du Sang before saying to Jing Ye, "Preserve Zhou Qing Sovereign's head with lime for now. Don't hang it on the Viewing Platform just yet. If we gain another head later, hang them together."
Du Sang caught the implication in Ji Xia's words, and his massive canine head trembled.
"Hahahaha…
"Grand General Du Sang, don't take my words seriously. I'm still young and enjoy making harmless jokes. Please don't mind me."
Ji Xia suddenly burst into laughter, addressing Du Sang.
Inwardly, Du Sang cursed, "Harmless jokes? This brat is utterly shameless!"
He forced a trembling smile, revealing sharp canine teeth still stained with flesh, and said, "Sovereign Ji Xia, you are truly exceptional and admirable. A rare hero among youths within a thousand miles."
Ji Xia finally set his book aside, replying earnestly, "Not just a thousand miles—there's no young hero within ten thousand miles who can compare to me."
Du Sang forced another awkward smile. "Indeed, even the heirs of the noble families in the Grand Fu Kingdom cannot match Sovereign Ji Xia."
Satisfied with the "sincere" flattery, Ji Xia nodded and said, "Since you show such respect, I'll extend the timeline for the Tai Cang-Jiuquan agreement by one day. Let's begin the day after tomorrow."
Du Sang froze and hesitated. "Agreement?"
Ji Xia nodded.
Du Sang clenched his teeth and asked, "May I ask Sovereign Ji Xia to remind me what agreement you're referring to?"
Ji Xia frowned, sending a chill down Du Sang's spine.
"This agreement concerns your Jiuquan Kingdom rearing livestock for Tai Cang. You'll supply us with 100 yellow cattle and 500 yellow sheep daily."
Hearing this, Du Sang's fury surged. He was about to berate this young ruler for his audacious delusions when he noticed Ji Xia casually rubbing two fingers together—the same fingers that had unleashed a devastating sword arc.
Du Sang's anger instantly cooled. After a brief moment of thought, he asked, "Since it's an agreement, what will Tai Cang offer Jiuquan in return?"
Ji Xia smiled. "What Tai Cang offers is far more precious than a few hundred livestock per day."
He leaned forward slightly, his silver robe shimmering as he bared a bright smile, revealing gleaming white teeth. "What we're offering is the heads of every Jiuquan tribesman!"
Fixing his gaze on Du Sang, his voice turned chillingly calm, like the whisper of a devil.
"If you refuse this agreement, the Tai Cang Silver Guards, Cang Defense Army, and our three spirit arts masters will descend upon Jiuquan. Every last one of your people will perish.
"The Jiuquan bloodline will end.
"The Jiuquan Kingdom will be no more.
"And your head will join the Zhou Qing Sovereign's atop the Viewing Platform."
Du Sang's body went cold, his limbs numb, as he stared blankly at Ji Xia.
Ji Xia met his gaze and asked softly, "Grand General Du Sang, what do you think of this agreement?"