Chapter 504 - 500: The Trial of the Elite Disciples

"Young Master!"

"The Crown Prince is dead!"

"The Prince has been killed!"

Outside the restaurant, chaos erupted. All sorts of shouts could be heard.

Because the Iron-blooded Hall had only recently overthrown the Dianchi Royal Family, they had only just selected the new Emperor and had not yet decided on the method of succession. As a result, different people addressed the young man in white by different titles.

Those who called him "Young Master" were naturally his personal attendants. Those who called him "Prince" were from the Iron-blooded Hall; even if he didn’t inherit the throne, his father was, at the very least, the Emperor of the Dianchi Kingdom, so addressing him as a prince was not an issue.

And those who called him "Crown Prince" were the soldiers of the Dianchi Kingdom who had surrendered to the new royal family.

But at this moment, all of them—whether they were the subservient soldiers of the Dianchi Kingdom or the typically arrogant disciples of the Iron-blooded Hall—felt their hands and feet turn to ice as a chill rose up their spines.

Because no matter what they called the young man in white, he was dead!

If they couldn’t find the killer, then... they could all just wait for death!

Even if the position of Emperor of the Dianchi Kingdom wasn’t a huge deal, it wasn’t a throne just anyone could sit on. The disciples of the Iron-blooded Hall, in particular, knew one thing very clearly: the man who was now the Emperor of the Dianchi Kingdom was a true powerhouse!

Because the current Emperor of Dianchi had the surname Hai!

That surname alone was enough!

Even more astonishing was the fact that this man, Hai Tiannan, was the Vice Sect Leader of the Iron-blooded Hall, a position of real power. His true identity, however, was the eighth illegitimate son of the current Hai Family Patriarch, Hai Shixiong!

Though he was not of the main lineage, Hai Tiannan was exceptionally capable. At not even six hundred years old, he had already cultivated to the Shattered Void Realm. Among his peers in the Hai Family, while he wasn’t as renowned as a rising star like Hai Jinzun, he was still considered a significant figure.

After he joined the Iron-blooded Hall, even the Sect Leader, Hai Feng, had to respectfully call him Granduncle. Both in public and in private, Hai Feng treated Hai Tiannan with the utmost respect.

This was because Hai Tiannan possessed immense personal strength and a limitless future. Moreover, he was the son of the ruling Patriarch. While great families valued bloodlines and proper social standing, for a clan of the Hai Family’s stature, the gap between legitimate and illegitimate children wasn’t actually that large. Everything depended on strength!

Otherwise, how could they have survived for over a hundred thousand years, from the Primordial Era to the present day?

Hai Tiannan had grown somewhat bored of being the Vice Sect Leader of the Iron-blooded Hall. It just so happened that the Hai Family had given them a secret mission: to plant large quantities of Blood Hemp!

The Hai Family couldn’t entrust such a matter to just anyone, so they gave the task to Hai Tiannan, allowing him to become the Emperor of this secular kingdom.

Hai Tiannan had proven to be incredibly dominant. He first tried to negotiate with the Dianchi Royal Family. When negotiations failed, he directly massacred the entire royal line and then used high-pressure tactics to suppress the loyalist uprisings across the land.

In less than a year, he had brought the entire Dianchi Kingdom firmly under his control. It had to be said that, aside from his immense cruelty, he was a formidable and ambitious man capable of great things.

And now, his only son had been murdered in public on his own territory, right under his nose... Who in his position would possibly let the matter rest?

"Quick, report to the Emperor! Go! Go!" someone commanded loudly, forcing himself to remain calm. Then his voice turned shrill as he screamed, "Surround this restaurant! Surround it completely! Don’t let a single fly escape! I’m telling you, if even one person escapes from this restaurant today, you can all prepare to be buried alive with the Prince!"

In truth, even without his orders, everyone understood what they had to do. A continuous stream of men poured in from the distance, encircling the restaurant so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.

The pedestrians outside the restaurant scattered, watching the scene from afar in terror, wondering who the unlucky ones were this time. However, the news that the handsome but wicked Young Prince had been cut in two with a single slash spread through the Imperial Capital of the Dianchi Kingdom as if it had grown wings.

Inside the restaurant, Qin Suo looked at Qin Li and asked, "What do we do now?"

Qin Li smiled faintly. "Kill our way out!"

"Kill them all?" Qin Suo asked again.

"Kill any who stand in our way!" Qin Li said softly, his eyes narrowing, sealing the fate of the wicked Iron-blooded Hall disciples outside.

She She bounced excitedly to Qin Li’s side and asked loudly, "What about me? What about me?"

"You’ll watch the show with me." A faint smile appeared on Qin Li’s face. "Are these ants even worthy of you making a move?"

"Aww..." She She sighed in disappointment. "But I want to kill people! What a great opportunity, what a shame!"

Shangguan Shiyu and Leng Yao exchanged a look. ’This homicidal maniac,’ they thought, ’can’t be allowed to become our husband’s woman. That would be too terrifying!’

Bai Zhongshan and Bai Zhonghuo, however, were both calm. They weren’t as lively as She She and had little interest in the crowd outside. Their job was to watch over the Qin Family disciples they had personally trained and ensure they weren’t killed. Even if the disciples were severely injured, as long as they didn’t lose any limbs, the two of them would not intervene!

Because only through this kind of tempering of iron and blood could one truly grow into a strong expert!

The thirty Qin Family disciples let out a unified roar. The shockwave shook the heavens, and the massive restaurant, finally unable to bear the strain, collapsed with a mighty CRASH, its debris flying outwards in all directions.

Just moments before, the restaurant’s Shopkeeper had taken the waiters and chefs to hide in the basement. It was better not to watch this kind of commotion. Even if they were killed afterward, it was better to live a moment longer!

The sudden collapse of the restaurant startled the surrounding crowd, and the encirclement involuntarily fell back.

At that exact moment, the thirty elite disciples of the Qin Family charged out, lunging straight for the strongest group of Iron-blooded Hall disciples blocking their path!

"Kill!"

There were only thirty of them, but the murderous intent and aura they exuded were more terrifying than that of three hundred, three thousand, or even thirty thousand men!

The very space around them seemed to destabilize as intense fluctuations rippled through the air. In the sky, the winds surged and dark clouds rolled in. The ground rumbled and trembled as massive cracks split the earth and spread in all directions.

The killing intent condensed by thirty Venerable Realm Martial Artists after a round of slaughter had reached a level that could drain the color from the heavens and the earth!

Faced with this group of Martial Artists who looked like demons emerging from the Abyssal Demon Realm, their bodies overflowing with killing intent, the members of the Iron-blooded Hall felt a deep, instinctive fear take root in their hearts!

But it was a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. Compared to being punished by the Iron-blooded Hall—a fate worse than death—fighting these people meant at worst, death. Kill one and they would break even; kill two and they would come out ahead.

Spurred on by this mentality, the disciples of the Iron-blooded Hall also unleashed their greatest courage and highest potential.

"Kill!"

They roared in unison, their equally cold eyes locked on the charging elite disciples of the Qin Family.

In an instant... they collided in a maelstrom of death!

It had to be said that the disciples of the Iron-blooded Hall, having summoned all their courage, were not so easily defeated. The Old Ape, Bai Zhongshan, and Bai Zhonghuo had to continuously shoot out streams of Power with their hands, deflecting attacks that could have grievously wounded the Qin Family disciples. For a time, it left them with their hands full.

Bai Zhongshan bared his teeth fiercely. ’If it weren’t for the Young Master’s orders, I’d really love to charge in there and tear these ant-like mongrels to shreds!’

She She looked at Qin Li with an expectant expression. "Young Master, Young Master, look! Our people are too slow. They haven’t even killed a third of the enemy yet. This won’t do, we’re on a tight schedule!"

Qin Li rolled his eyes and ignored She She. ’Actually,’ he thought, ’I don’t even want Bai Zhongshan and Bai Zhonghuo to help in secret.’ It wasn’t that he was cold-blooded and unconcerned for his clansmen, but he didn’t want these Qin Family disciples to develop a sense of dependency.

He knew that these thirty individuals were the future pillars of the Qin Family. Not only were they powerful, but they were also outstanding in all other aspects. Their character and integrity were of the highest caliber; they were talents worthy of great responsibility!

In the future, Qin Li planned to place these people in important positions!

If they couldn’t be properly tempered now, then their future achievements would certainly be limited.

However, Qin Li couldn’t say this out loud. Qin Suo probably already thought he was being too strict and overly harsh with these elite disciples, making them take on such a high-risk mission.

If Qin Li were to forbid Bai Zhongshan and Bai Zhonghuo from helping in secret, and casualties occurred, Qin Suo would surely resent him, even if he didn’t say anything.

Qin Li sighed softly. ’The entire battle is within my control. Under my powerful Divine Sense, how could any Qin Family disciple possibly die?’

But he couldn’t say this either. If he did, all his previous efforts would be for naught. ’Dependency is the most terrifying thing. Once a person forms a dependency on something, it will never change for a lifetime, unless a major catastrophe occurs!’

Qin Yunwen, a member of the Qin Family’s elite disciples, was a direct descendant from Old Ancestor Qin Haihe’s branch. He was fifty-five years old, and his strength had already reached the Human Venerable Realm!

Among his generation, he was considered a prodigy!

Qin Yunwen appeared to be in his twenties. Like all the other young members of the Qin Family, his initial disdain for Qin Li had slowly turned to respect, then to doubt, and now to extreme reverence! He saw Qin Li as a god. If Qin Li told them to go to their deaths, they would go without a moment’s hesitation!

This was a level of personal prestige that others could only envy. In this regard, Qin Li had already reached the pinnacle.