Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 60: They Ought to Be Murdered on the Spot

Fang Chens words startled the officials. Tao Mingsheng and the crown princes faces darkened. Even the emperor frowned as well.

The truth was that they had already known what had happened, but how could they compromise their ties with Longdu over a few commoners?

Great Xia was at risk of being invaded by Greenpine, so they pursued closer ties with Longdu, Guhe, and Yizhou to serve as a buffer. This way, Greenpine would think twice before making a move on them.

If Great Xia fell on bad terms with any one of them, the buffer effect would vanish. The consequences would be disastrous as they didnt have the military might to protect themselves at the moment.

Such an offense warrants the capital punishment, War God Fang, Jiang Yushu stroked his beard and replied.

His Majesty, how do you think we should deal with Zhou Xiu? Fang Chen asked.

Zhou Xiu snorted in disbelief. He pointed his finger at Fang Chen and exclaimed, Youre going to use that kind of nonsense against me? You must be out of your mind! If our Longdu declares war on your Great Xia, youll be facing a two-pronged attack from us and Greenpine! Its likely that Guhe and Yizhou will join in as well to get a share of the pie. Are you sure you can bear the consequences?

Calm down, Viscount Zhou, Prime Minister Li Guozhu walked out and first appeased Zhou Xiu before turning to Fang Chen with a frown. War God Fang, its best not to blow up this matter.

Tao Mingsheng stepped forward and roared, Fang Chen, do you know what kind of position youd be putting our Great Xia in if we fell out with Longdu over this?

The crown prince turned to the emperor, clasped his fist, and bowed. Your Majesty, please reconsider this matter!

A handful of officials stood forward to express their stance, and most of them used to be from the Fang Faction.

Zhou Xiu looked at Fang Chen with a gleeful smile. This is Great Xias current state of affairs, but you still dared to provoke our Longdu. Before the greater scheme of things, it doesnt matter whether youre a Ki Manifestation martial artist or not!

I dont need you to apologize to me either. The heads of your two subordinates will suffice, Zhou Xiu said. Otherwise, our Longdu will wage a State War on your Great Xia. If so, your losses wont stop with just this.

A State War?!

The crowd was horrified.

State War was a way for two states to resolve their differences. They would gather their troops and have them directly clash against each other, thus deciding on the victor in the simplest way possible. Needless to say, the loser would have to pay a heavy price to the winner, depending on the stakes they had decided on beforehand.

Great Xia had less than four hundred thousand soldiers, whereas Longdu had more than a million soldiers. Longdu didnt have any Ki Manifestation martial artists, but they had far more pinnacle Ki Control experts than Great Xia.

Great Xias odds werent good if they engaged in a State War.

Fang Chen, the ones who massacred the cavalrymen were Huang Sihai and the Greenpine Wolf Armys Tie Ma, right? the emperor asked.

Tie Ma?!

The officials were taken aback.

Xiao Shence knew about this in advance and was unfazed, but the other officials were shocked. They couldnt wrap their heads around why an expert from the Greenpine Wolf Army would fall under Fang Chens command.

Your Majesty, how do you intend to deal with this matter? Fang Chen asked.

Well do as Viscount Zhou says. You dont need to apologize to him; you just have to hand those two over. You can uphold your dignity in this war, and Great Xia would be spared from a calamity, the emperor said with a sigh.

Itll encourage the other countries to go overboard if we give in here. Five years ago, even the Longdu dukes would have to put on their best behavior in our Great Xia. We would have never condoned something like that, Fang Chen said.

Youre talking about five years ago. Time has changed, Fang Chen. You were the one who led Great Xia to its downfall! Zhou Xiu chortled.

Great Xia is indeed different from before. Fang Chen sighed.

Just as everyone thought Fang Chen was about to give in, he suddenly turned to the emperor and clasped his fist. My apologies, His Majesty. Other countries will look down on our Great Xia if we dont deal with Zhou Xiu today. Our merchant convoys will face all sorts of trouble trading in other countries. Well see more of our civilians being hunted down like livestocks.

Fang Chen flitted forth, grabbed the dumbstruck Zhou Xiu, and left the Palace of Great Peace. A few people, including Xiao Shence, tried to stop Fang Chen, but they were too slow.

By the time the imperial court registered what was going on, Fang Chen had already stepped out of the Palace of Great Peace.

Stop him! the emperor roared.

Xiao Shence immediately charged out with Enforcement Envoy Liu and the imperial guards. Following behind them were the emperor and the officials. They had to see what in the world Fang Chen was up to.

How dare you hurt me? Your Great Xia will pay the price for this! Zhou Xiu screeched.

Fang Chen continued flitting forth with Zhou Xiu in his hand. A single stride from him easily covered over twenty meters, which created an illusion as if he was contracting the space around him like an immortal.

The pursuing guards were unable to catch up with him.

Soon, Fang Chen arrived at the imperial palaces most crowded gate with Zhou Xiu in hand.

Right outside the imperial palace were all kinds of teahouses, taverns, merchants, and vendors. The street was bustling with people. Guhe, Yizhou, and Longdu citizens were in the mix too.

Isnt that War God Fang? someone exclaimed in surprise.

War God Fang is holding someone in his hand. Who is that? another person asked.

The crowd didnt recognize Zhou Xiu, but the Longdu scholars did. Their faces warped in shock.

One of them immediately stepped forward and questioned, War God Fang, what do you intend to do with our Longdus viscount?!

Longdus viscount?

That stoked the crowds intrigue, as they wondered how this viscount had crossed Fang Chen. News swiftly spread, and more people gathered around to watch the commotion.

However, it soon became clear that something was amiss when the imperial guards and the Valiant Defenders arrived at the scene. Their shock deepened when a large group of officials came rushing over, and the one leading the pack was none other than Great Xias emperor!

Long live Your Majesty! The crowd kneeled down and exclaimed resoundingly

Rise. The emperor lividly waved his hand and nodded. He then turned to Fang Chen and grimly ordered, Fang Chen, release Viscount Zhou right now.

Fang Chen, youre disobeying imperial orders right now! the crown prince bellowed.

Whats going on? Why did Fang Chen capture Zhou Xiu?

Ye Qinghe, Tao Yu, and a few others appeared amidst the crowd. They werent qualified to participate in the affairs of the imperial court, but they had heard that Fang Chen was going to be questioned, so they came here to celebrate the event.

They hadnt expected to stumble upon such a sight.

They also found their respective fathers amidst the large group of officials. If not for the emperor being present too, they would have rushed forward to ask them what was going on.

War God Fang is disobeying the emperor? The crowd was confused.

Fang Chen burst into laughter. He channeled his spirit ki and amplified his voice such that it could be heard from kilometers away. The man in my hand is a Longdu viscount. He hunted our Great Xias merchant convoy for sport and showed no repent for his action afterward. Instead, he said that our people are mere livestock that can be killed as he pleased.

For his vile crimes, he shall be executed on the spot!