Emperor's Domination

“Second brother, this...” The marquis was lost by this sudden development. He was confused as to why his second brother, who was supposed to be his backing, was suddenly reprimanding him.

He weakly responded: “Brother, didn’t, didn’t you tell me—”

“Bastard!” Sheng Fei interrupted him and, with a murderous glare, cried out: “You dared to use my name to commit all sorts of evil trickeries?! Such heresy must be punished!”

“Second brother, it wasn’t my idea—” Sheng Fei’s sudden change in attitude left the marquis confused. He couldn’t react in time and was quivering in fear.

“Unrepenting animal! You still try to defend your actions?! What’s the point of keeping an animal like you?!” Sheng Fei shouted and reached his hand out towards the marquis.

“No, second brother, you, you can’t kill me...” The aghast marquis cried out, but it was too late. With a snapping sound, his neck was snapped by Sheng Fei’s grip.

His corpse dropped to the ground like a pile of mud. His eyes were still wide open since he didn’t even realize where he went wrong. Not even in his dreams would he have expected for his second brother to kill him.

None of the leaders here said anything. All of them were sly foxes and naturally understood why Sheng Fei suddenly killed the marquis. This turned their hearts cold; this Sheng Fei turned out to be a very cruel person!

Even Tie Lan was stunned. She wanted to say something but managed to hold it in. She was a general and was accustomed to seeing death, but she was quite displeased with such a method!

Li Qiye, on the other hand, only watched this scene with a cold glare. How could he not know what Sheng Fei was trying to do? After killing the marquis, Sheng Fei acted as if nothing had happened. He cupped his hands and bowed towards Li Qiye: “Brother Li, it is a shame that our ravine had such a traitor. He actually committed a crime by using my name, so I killed him in place of our sect. I do apologize, Brother Li.”

Li Qiye was too used to this sort of thing and he didn’t care about revealing this little play.

“It is best that you don’t have any ideas about the Tie Clan.” Li Qiye glanced at him first, then his gaze swept over the leaders present: “Seeing as how all the royal lords and sect masters in this region are here, I’ll be making an announcement. From today on, the Tie Clan will be under my protection. Anyone who touches the Tie Clan will be provoking me, Li Qiye!”

Tie Lan had no response to this declaration. She simply stood there emotionlessly.

“Of course not, of course not.” Sheng Fei immediately echoed: “Cultivators like us are heroes of justice, helpers of the weak. The current Tie Clan only consists of mortals, so who would make it difficult for them? If anyone dares, our ravine will be the first to disagree!”

“Yes, of course.” All the other sect masters voiced their agreement. Even the two leaders of the top two sects nodded their heads.

“That would be for the best.” Li Qiye naturally did not believe this type of rhetoric. Of course, he didn’t care either. His eyes narrowed as he said: “If anyone feels that they have the ability to provoke my authority, then do so! I am ready to wash the world with blood, but I’m not so sure if my enemies are as prepared!”

Having said that, Li Qiye was too lazy to give them a second look. He turned around and left. The turtle and the cold-as-ice Tie Lan quickly followed him.

The leaders could only watch Li Qiye leave. Although they were annoyed at him, it couldn’t be helped. They simply didn’t want to offend a brute that could fight against even the Alchemy Kingdom.

Eventually, the party ended with a negative atmosphere. Su Mingchen was powerless and couldn’t do anything. He could only pray for nothing else to happen and for Li Qiye to leave his country as soon as possible. This unlucky omen staying even a single day longer at his country meant another day of peril.

Of course, he wouldn’t dare to say that to Li Qiye’s face, so he could only silently pray.

“Return to the sect immediately and bring this letter to my master. Be sure to personally see him!” After returning to his residence, Sheng Fei immediately sent his most trusted confidant back to the ravine.

He must bring the news of Li Qiye’s arrival at the Ox-Herder Country to the elders! The blood feud between them was irreconcilable! Due to this, he wanted to prolong Li Qiye’s stay in this country. He would wait until the army of the ravine arrives. Then, Li Qiye would simply be a fish on the chopping block!

After sending away his confidant, Sheng Fei gritted his teeth and declared with a cold expression: “Li Qiye! Today, I pretended to be pitiful in front of you. I will repay this humiliation doubly!”

He was a royal lord and the second brother of the ravine. Until now, others only dared to flatter him due to his untouchable status! But today, he had to act humble in front of Li Qiye. Of course, it was just an expedient measure despite being so shameful.

When Sheng Fei was seething in his hatred and wondering how to kill Li Qiye, another attendant came in and reported: “Your Majesty, the Stony Edge Kingdom’s Cloud Soaring Venerable is here to see you.”

“Cloud Soaring Venerable? Quick, invite him in.” Sheng Fei immediately gave the command.

The main descendant of the ravine, the Golden Crow Prince, had a good relationship with Ye Qingcheng. At the same time, the venerable was Ye Qingcheng’s number one strategist and was highly regarded by him, so Sheng Fei didn’t dare the slightest discourtesy in his reception.

“Brother Sheng Fei, I didn’t expect to see you here.” A while later, the Cloud Soaring Venerable walked in.

Sheng Fei personally greeted him and asked him to sit down before smiling: “What brings you here, Venerable?”

Despite his powerful position, he was far weaker than the Golden Crow Prince in both status and strength. A character like Cao Guoyao would dare to act arrogantly before the venerable, but not him.

After sitting down, the venerable cheerfully smiled and asked: “Is there something on your mind?”

Sheng Fei slightly shook his head in response: “Nothing, there is no need for you to worry. I only came to this place to relax a bit. No worries here.”

“Brother Sheng Fei, you must not consider me as a friend to say something like that.” The friendly venerable could call anyone brother: “Although I am weak, I can still do a decent job of strategizing. If some recent events are going awry, tell me and I shall try my best to assist you.”

Sheng Fei had been suppressing his anger, so he was a bit tempted after hearing this. Moreover, the venerable was a famous strategist that even Ye Qingcheng relied on.

“Who else but that bastard Li Qiye? He’s ruining all of my plans!” Sheng Fei gritted his teeth and explained the circumstances.

The venerable pondered for a moment before speaking with a serious tone: “Brother Sheng Fei, this is quite a grand matter.”

“What do you think about this?” Sheng Fei immediately asked.

The venerable responded: “Who is Li Qiye? A famous brute. And what about this tiny location, the Ox-Herder Country? I’m afraid he wouldn’t care for such a tiny place. Out of all the places he could go, he chose to come here and declared his intention to protect the Tie Clan. What is he trying to do?”

“What are you saying?” Sheng Fei was slightly startled after hearing this.

The venerable continued: “The Tie Clan must have treasures, great treasures at that. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to attract a brute like Li Qiye! Brother Sheng Fei, you love to explore and excavate, so you must have heard the legends. The Tie Progenitor was a brilliant goddess that had swept through the nine heavens. This lineage might have declined, but I believe that there are still incredible treasures buried underneath their clan.”

“Your thoughts are the same as mine.” Sheng Fei slapped his thigh in agreement and said: “I have tried to find many ancient scrolls about the Tie Clan.”

His mood became much better while talking about treasures: “Just as you have said, I do think that there are treasures there despite the decline of the clan.”

The venerable added: “The previous master of the Tie Clan was a wasteful fool and wrung the clan dry of everything. Later on, he swore that there was still an amazing treasury there! Although many people didn’t believe him, I still feel that this remark is not baseless.”

Sheng Fei became very eloquent and talkative regarding this topic: “I have heard of this late clan master too. Although this fool was a useless mortal, he was also a bookworm. He read all the writings of their clan, so he must have known many secrets! Despite his uselessness, his literacy is not without use. I do think that his adamant claim before death is plausible.”