Chapter 614 – Blood Calls for Blood
The ones who accompanied Duke Huai into the great hall were all members of Duke Huai Palace, and even though there were only one hundred of them, if one counted merely the Sovereigns alone, there were already twenty of them. This extravagant display of power caused even the strong Guardian Families to tremble in fear. In the past few years, the power that Duke Huai Palace displayed was enough to shock anyone, but only in the recent months did everyone realize that the power Duke Huai Palace had displayed before was only the tip of the iceberg.
Moreover, in these recent months, even more powers and strong individuals had thrown their lot in with Duke Huai Palace, so no one could truly imagine just how great their power was this day.
Following Duke Huai’s ascension to Emperor Huai, Duke Huai Palace had naturally become to the “Emperor Palace”, and the aura of every single member of Duke Huai Palace underwent a massive change. Hui Ran and Hui Ye followed along as well; their gazes were as arrogant as those of lone eagles who considered themselves above all others. Because their current status was a world apart from what it had been before. From today onwards they would be royal princes of the Illusory Demon Realm! The entire Illusory Demon Realm would come under the subordination of their clan!
Duke Huai stood in front of the emperor’s throne, and under the gazes of the gathered Guardian Families, Duke Palaces, and heroes of the realm, he slowly sat down. Though he had already predicted that this day would eventually come a hundred years ago, at this moment, when he had finally ascended to the seat of the emperor, he received the attention of all who were gathered and witnessed the heroes of the realm crawling at his feet. He could decide the life and death of everyone gathered here and beyond this great hall, the fate of the entire Illusory Demon Realm was firmly within his grasp…. So he could not help but breath a little heavily as blood rushed through his entire body.
The time of the Demon Emperor’s clan had come to an end. From today onwards, this Illusory Demon Realm would be ruled by my Duke Huai Clan!!
By his side, four luxuriously dressed royal maids carried a set of golden clothes and a golden crown as they leisurely drew near, taking their place at his sides. The royal family’s supreme master of ceremonies slowly strode out, holding his head up high as he announced in a loud voice,
“The first Demon Emperor united all under heaven and led the Illusory Demon Realm to ten thousand years of peace and prosperity. However, a calamity descended from the heavens; the late Demon Emperor passed away and the Demon Emperor and Demon Empress met with calamity as well. So the line of the Demon Emperor will henceforth be consigned to the five elements, leaving behind no will, having no successor to take up the mantle, causing great sorrow throughout the realm. If the heroes of the realm remain leaderless, then chaos is sure to follow. But fortunately, Duke Huai had a heart for the people, displaying talent that is as high as the heavens and as broad as the earth, possessing the ability to pull out mountains and exceed the oceans, pacifying the chaos, settling the hearts of the people, causing the panic which covered the sky to vanish into thin air, convincing the people, and turning all their hearts to him. He has the disposition of a ruler, and he is unmatched under heaven. For him to be the new sovereign, the four seas bow in agreement!”
“All the dukes worked together with a singleness of purpose and unity, supporting the new sovereign together; thanks to support and protection of all the clans, he received the mandate of heaven; all the officials put their heart and soul into assisting the new ruler, supporting the Illusory Demon Realm….”
Boom….
The timely and drawn-out drumbeat rang out from outside the hall; the master of ceremonies abruptly broke off his speech, and as he leaned to one side, his voice rose by several octaves, “The time has come! For the coronation of our new sovereign!”
The time had come for the coronation which would be followed by a ceremony to honor the gods and the heavens. And after this process, Duke Huai would officially become the new ruler of the Illusory Demon Realm.
Duke Huai rose to his feet in a lofty manner and spread both his arms wide, taking in the sights and sounds. The maids beside him took off his embroidered clothes which signified his status as a duke, draping over his shoulders the pure golden royal robes which were embroidered with the images of the sacred and divine Golden Crow, clothes which were a token of the Illusory Demon Emperor. The time had come for the coronation, which would then be followed by a ceremony to honor the gods and the heavens. And after this process, Duke Huai would officially become the new ruler of the Illusory Demon Realm.
All the people gathered in the Demon Imperial Hall left their seats and knelt down. “We greet Emperor Huai! May Emperor Huai live as long as the heavens and the earth, shining as bright as the sun and moon!”
The ones who had the privilege to be present in the Demon Imperial Hall were all without a doubt members of the highest echelon of society in Illusory Demon Realm. Looking at them bowing their heads and pledging their allegiance was the same as having the entire Illusory Demon Realm at one’s feet. Duke Huai, who had waited for this day for a whole hundred years, faintly raised his head as he drank in the moment, enjoying his current status as emperor! As his gaze leisurely wandered, he saw the only place that was disharmonious with the rest of the great hall…. In the entire Demon Imperial Hall, only two groups of people did not kneel down. One was the Yun Family, and the other was the Mu Family.
“How dare you, Mu Feiyan and Yun Qinghong!” the master of ceremonies’ angry rebuke rang out at this time. “The new emperor is about to be crowned, what are you waiting for?! Kneel!”
Even though this master of ceremonies also belonged to the Illusory Demon Royal Family, under normal circumstances, even if you gave him one hundred times the guts he had, he still would not dare to raise his voice against Yun Qinghong or Mu Feiyan. But today, the circumstances were completely different from what it had been…. The Yun Family and Mu Family had always been at ends with Duke Huai Palace, and in the few months after the burial of the Little Demon Empress, the Yun Family and the Mu Family had “slandered” Duke Huai by claiming that he had killed the Little Demon Empress. And today, even a fool would understand that after the ascension of Duke Huai, he would definitely not continue to tolerate the two families. Moreover, given Duke Huai’s current power, how could the Yun Family and Mu Family hope to be his opponent. So this master of ceremonies yelled with one hundred percent confidence. In fact, he was extremely afraid that he had yelled too softly and had dissatisfied Duke Huai with his weak aura.
The atmosphere had quickly froze as all eyes were immediately directed towards the seats of the Yun Family and the Mu Family. The Under Heaven Family, Su Family, and Yan Family all became anxious as they gasped secretly in their hearts.
“Why must I kneel?!!” Yun Qinghong leaped off his seat, and his voice was like a thunderclap that exploded in everyone’s ears, causing them great fright. And how could a lowly master of ceremonies be able to withstand Yun Qinghong’s aura as he let it explode out of him. His entire body trembled, and he involuntarily took a step backwards. His lips trembled uncontrollably, but not a single word proceeded from his mouth.
“Yun Qinghong!” Helian Kuang roared in a loud voice as he pointed at Yun Qinghong, his expression filled with fury while his pupils were filled with mockery and cold laughter. “The new emperor is about to be crowned, yet you have performed such actions that clearly look down on our new emperor…. Does this mean you want to rebel?!”
“Rebel?” Yun Qinghong gave a cold laugh. “To think that you still have the face to say such a thing in this Imperial Demon Hall, before all the heroes of the realm! Rebel…. Just who is actually rebelling?!”
“Of course, you are the one who is rebelling!” Jiufang Kui roared as he rose from his seat and pointed accusingly at Yun Qinghong. After the burial of the Little Demon Empress and the ascension of Duke Huai, it would be Emperor Huai’s world from now on. The Yun Family had originally gained the upper hand at the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony four months ago, but today, they were nothing to worry about at all, and indeed, they had always been “courting their own destruction.” So right now, it was naturally the time to kick a man when he was down while at the same time expressing loyalty to Emperor Huai. “Yun Qinghong, as the Patriarch of the Guardian Families’ Yun Family, your sacred duty is to protect the Illusory Demon Emperor! But on the day that the new emperor is about to ascend to the throne, in this great hall, you are actually….”
“Shut up!” Before Jiufang Kui could finish what he was saying, he was furiously cut off by Yun Qinghong. “I, Yun Qinghong, am not yet someone a shameless traitor like you can lecture! My Yun Family followed the the first Demon Emperor from the very beginning and unified the Illusory Demon Realm together with him. If the first Demon Emperor did not exist, then there would be no Yun Family who has flourished for ten thousand years! My Yun Family, from the start to end, has treated the protection of the Demon Emperor’s clan as our duty, and we have treated it as our glory as well! And during these ten thousand years, we have never shown the slightest moment of infidelity! Hmph… what does this Duke Huai amount to?! What qualifications does he have to demand the loyal guardianship of my Yun Family?! All of you are fellow Guardian Families, yet you have elevated this bandit who has murdered the Little Demon Empress to the highest seat of power…. You have simply caused all your blessed ancestors and forefathers in the afterlife to be filled with the greatest shame!!”
“Yun Qinghong! What nerve you have!!” Duke Zhong leapt out of his seat, his face twisted in grief and indignation as his entire body trembled. “After the Little Demon Empress met with calamity, you have continuously slandered our new emperor by claiming that he was the one who murdered the Little Demon Empress! But the Little Demon Empress had clearly met with misfortune in Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, and when Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley’s seal opened, the new emperor was clearly in the Demon Imperial City. That was a fact witnessed by countless people! And all the people of the realm know that once you enter Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, there is definitely no method of getting out except for sealing and closing it once more! This slander of yours discredits itself, and it is laughable in the extreme!”
“The new emperor has been extremely magnanimous; he has chosen not to enter into a dispute with you and even wanted to cover up the matter of how the shameless slander of your Yun Family took root in Demon Imperial City! Yet you, Yun Qinghong, fail to recognize this great kindness that has been shown to you and still remain recalcitrant and obstinate, not knowing what is good for you! And during this sacred and solemn Divine Imperial Ascension Ceremony, not only did you hurl abuse at the new emperor, you actually dared to say spit out such laughable and unbelievable slander in front of all those present! This is not only the great crime of rebelling against your ruler, but it also clear that you are making light of the rest of us!”
As Duke Zhong continued to speak, he had become so furious that his face turned deathly pale. He cupped his hands towards Duke Huai and said, “Emperor Huai, you have been extremely lenient towards the Yun Family, but to no avail, as there are still those who would take advantage of your kindness! As your subject, this humble duke cannot bear to witness this any longer! Emperor Huai, please give the order so we can swiftly arrest this plotter!”
Instead, Duke Huai slowly raised his hand and shook his head. He gave a brief sigh and displayed a rather helpless look on his face. “Patriarch Yun, you have many prejudices against and misunderstandings with this emperor, and this emperor is well aware of it. You have also slandered this emperor with the crime of murdering the Little Demon Empress, and that is the world’s biggest joke in and of itself. I didn’t mind. But today is the day of this emperor’s ascension, and normally, I should be granting a general amnesty to all under heaven, not being so easily angered. I of course still did not want to quarrel with you. But after this emperor has finished honoring the heavens and the gods and is officially declared emperor, if you dare to say such offensive things again…. Even if you are the Yun Family Patriarch, covered in achievements and glory, and the son of Demon King Yun Canghai, this emperor will still definitely not let you off lightly!!”
Yun Qinghong refused to kneel, hurled vituperation at the new emperor, and even “slandered” him as the person who murdered the Little Demon Empress…. Every offense was one that was enough to get the person executed. Yet Duke Huai handled it with extreme magnanimity and generosity. This was of course not because he was really this magnanimous, nor was it because he did not wish to put Yun Qinghong and the entire Yun Family to death. But the Yun Family had just restored their reputation four months ago due to Yun Che while also winning the hearts of the people. Not only that, but the Yun Family’s reputation was now flourishing in the Illusory Demon Realm like never before, and it far exceeded any other period during the ten thousand year history of the Yun Family. He had just risen to the seat of the throne, so before he had completely stabilized his power, it would be extremely unwise to take any overt actions against the Yun Family —— Even if the Yun Family took the initiative to be offensive.
Moreover, his current actions would prominently display his magnanimous bearing while also “exposing” the Yun Family as disgraceful and unfilial rebels.
But how could Yun Qinghong pay on his account. He gave a long laugh and suddenly leaped into the air, landing in the middle of the great hall. A purple light flashed in his hand and a seven foot longsword appeared in his grasp as he pointed it directly at Duke Huai,.“We do not need to wait until that day. The purpose for I, Yun Qinghong, to come here today is to baptize this Demon Imperial Hall in blood!”
Yun Qinghong’s actions caused the color to drain from everyone’s face as the entire Demon Imperial Hall immediately broke out into a state of panic. With Duke Huai among them, no one have even dreamt that the always calm, extremely wise, and farsighted Yun Qinghong would actually do such a thing. Helian Kuang and his flunkies roared in unison, “Yun Qinghong! You…. What do you plan on doing?!!”
“Patriarch Yun, do not be impulsive!!” Su Xiangnan and Yan Zijing yelled out in a fluster. Su Xiangnan quickly sent a profound energy sound conversion to Yun Qinghong as he persistently advised him, “Patriarch Yun! Sheath your sword! Even if the Little Demon Empress and your son were truly harmed by Duke Huai… you must preserve your life in order to witness the day of your vengeance! This kind of unwise action… is not something that you, Yun Qinghong, should do!!”
Yun Qinghong turned a deaf ear to Su Xiangnan’s sound transmission and did not display any reaction. By his side, Mu Yurou already stood shoulder to shoulder with him as cold air surged along her entire body. The coldness of her gaze was even more chilling and bone-piercing, her voice filled with the deepest, soul-boring hatred she had ever experienced in her lifetime, “Duke Huai! It is you who murdered my son…. Even if my husband and I lay down our lives today, we will still take your blood to repay his!!”