"Zhou Ting, Young Master Zhou, achieving a Minor Mandate sure has changed you. Even the tone of your speech has become so arrogant!"
Just as Haoyang and Zhou Ting were locked in a standoff, Qiao Yu of the Nandou Sect stepped forward with a smile. "However, I advise you to rein it in a bit, keep a lower profile. One shouldn't be too overbearing. Within our Yanluo Kingdom, you, Zhou Ting, are not the only Minor Mandate bearer!"
"So what?"
"You're not convinced?"
Zhou Ting was truly domineering and unbridled. He didn't even place someone like Haoyang—who was both a grand-disciple of the Black Buddha Lord and the commander of the Yanluo Kingdom's Imperial Guard—in his eyes, so naturally, he wouldn't regard Qiao Yu highly either. He sneered arrogantly, "I heard you obtained some sinister creation, and even wiped out an Ancient Earth Immortal? So what? Do you think that qualifies you to contend with me, Zhou Ting? Let me tell you, you're not worthy yet."
"Whether I'm worthy or not is beside the point for now, and I've never had any intention of contending with you. I'm merely advising you to keep a low profile and not spout such big talk."
Qiao Yu stood ramrod straight. Facing the sharp-edged Zhou Ting, he appeared remarkably composed, though the smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to grow more pronounced. "As far as I know, a man claiming to be Monarch Chixiao recently emerged in Yanluo Kingdom. Not only did he cripple the Immortal Noble Peng Jia at the Linglong Mountain Manor, but he also scattered the minds of hundreds present with a single roar of his might."
He paused briefly before continuing, "I also heard that a few days ago at the Mountain-River Branch Hall, it was that same man claiming to be Monarch Chixiao who wiped out dozens of Earth Immortals with a wave of his hand. Among them were Pseudo-Earth Immortals of the Present Era and genuine Earth Immortals of the Ancient Era. It's said that several dozen Creation Prodigies from the Mingyu Branch Hall were also reduced to ashes by his roar, including Zhong Xing, Shang Gong, and even the so-called Fortune-Bearing Prodigy Lian Hao, who were obliterated on the spot."
"If I heard correctly, it seems the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant within the bodies of Tan Tong—the old Banner Master under the Blackhearted Lord back in the day—and over a dozen other Chixiao veterans from the Mingyu Branch Hall were all extracted. I heard those men are now half-dead."
As Qiao Yu recounted this, the expressions of the others present shifted slightly.
This incident had caused a huge stir in recent days. By now, from the four major sects and seven great schools down to the common folk of Yanluo Kingdom, it was probably known to everyone.
The streets and alleys were abuzz with discussions about it.
After all, an Immortal Dynasty Noble had been crippled. Moreover, it was said that the man claiming to be Monarch Chixiao had publicly toyed with the Great Sun Radiance Dharma Form, trampling on the dignity of the Immortal Dynasty. What was even more terrifying was that Tan Tong and the other old Chixiao veterans from the Mingyu Branch Hall, along with Lian Hao and the other Creation Prodigies, were all either dead or crippled.
Some said it might be another dubious monarch.
Such things weren't rare.
To this day, there were still over a dozen dubious monarchs in this world, each mysterious, bizarre, and possessing vast supernatural powers.
They had all killed people from the Immortal Dynasty before, and none had refrained from attacking Chixiao veterans.
Some speculated that this might be a helper invited by the Black Buddha Lord.
As everyone knew, the Black Buddha Lord had left Yanluo Kingdom for some time, and many guessed that his departure this time was likely to seek help against the Blackhearted Lord. This man claiming to be a monarch was very possibly someone the Black Buddha Lord had brought over, and perhaps was even one of those few Monarch Chixiao from the Southern Sea.
But others said it wasn't so.
Some even claimed that this newly emerged figure calling himself a monarch might very well be the real Monarch.
It was said that when Tan Tong and the other Chixiao veterans saw this monarch at the Mountain-River Branch Hall that day, their Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant was neither ferocious as usual nor violent as in the past. Instead, it became very docile and filled with reverence.
The world knew that if anyone could make the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant docile and reverent, that person must be Monarch Chixiao, Gu Tianlang.
Although each of the dozen or so self-proclaimed monarchs in the world possessed vast supernatural powers and might also be able to suppress the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant of Chixiao veterans, suppression was not the same as reverence. These were two different concepts—the former was forced, the latter came from the heart.
Of course,
this was merely speculation.
Because some said that while the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant might revere a true monarch, someone who could inspire reverence in the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant didn't necessarily have to be the monarch.
Many knew that nine years ago in the Great Northwest, there was a Young Master Chiyan named Gu Qingfeng, who claimed to be the monarch's heir. It was said he had fused with a remnant wisp of the monarch's consciousness, which was why the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant also revered him immensely.
Some had asked if this monarch could be that Young Master Chiyan Gu Qingfeng from the Great Northwest.
However, this notion was quickly dismissed. Everyone knew that nine years ago, that Young Master Chiyan had killed dozens of Immortal Dynasty Nobles in the Great Northwest. For this, the Immortal Dynasty was furious and dispatched hundreds of Immortal experts to the Great Northwest. But when they arrived, Fairy Suhua said Young Master Chiyan had turned to ashes while seizing the Heavenly Mandate.
If anyone else had said this, it might have been questionable.
But these words came from Fairy Suhua.
If Fairy Suhua said Young Master Chiyan was dead, then he was definitely dead.
As for who this newly emerged Monarch Chixiao within Yanluo Kingdom was, and what his identity might be, opinions varied widely. Like the other dozen or so Monarch Chixiao, truth and falsehood were interwoven, and no one could say for sure.
Especially since, after the incident spread, the Blackhearted Lord's side showed no reaction whatsoever. They neither searched for traces of that Monarch Chixiao everywhere like the Yanluo Immortal Estate, nor did they destroy the Mountain-River Branch Hall because of it. On the contrary, it was heard that the Blackhearted Lord personally ordered all his subordinates to refrain from investigating or pursuing this matter.
The true identity of this newly emerged Monarch Chixiao was already shrouded in mystery, and the Blackhearted Lord's actions only made the monarch's identity more perplexing.
It was unclear whether this newly emerged monarch was a helper found by the Black Buddha Lord.
If so, then his plan had succeeded.
Regardless of whether this newly emerged monarch was real or not, his act of wiping out Tan Tong, Lian Hao, and others from the Mingyu Branch Hall with a wave of his hand at the Mountain-River Branch Hall had already frightened the Blackhearted Lord.
As a leading figure among the young generation of Creation Prodigies in the Juexin Branch Hall, and a descendant of the Blackhearted Lord Zhou Taihe, Zhou Ting naturally also knew of this matter. Moreover, Zhou Taihe had indeed issued an order prohibiting anyone from the over fifty Branch Halls from investigating this affair.
Not only that, but Zhou Ting also knew that his grandfather not only forbade anyone from investigating but also sternly warned them not to stir up trouble outside recently, especially with the Branch Halls under the Black Buddha Lord, Dong Laohu. He had even shelved many long-prepared plans because of this.
Zhou Ting found this utterly incomprehensible. He couldn't figure out why his grandfather would issue such an order and felt his grandfather was being overly cautious.
In his view, even if that newly emerged monarch were real, so what? Let alone the fact that he was likely fake.
Things like making the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant cower in fear or wiping out a Fortune-Bearing Prodigy like Lian Hao were utterly insignificant before his Minor Mandate.