NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20: The Bigger Fish
At this moment, Zhang Bai and Lei Tianxiong were standing frozen in place, their legs trembling uncontrollably.
It wasn't that they didn't want to run, it was that they simply couldn't. The palace was surrounded inside and out, and escape was an impossibility.
Moreover, in front of them stood the two Heaven Leaders, Jiang King and Tie Poyun. Against such overwhelming power, they were utterly helpless and trapped in a dead end.
"Your Majesty Jiang HuanYu, this… this is all a misunderstanding," Zhang Bai stammered, forcing a smile.
"We… we came to apologize to you, Your Majesty!"
Zhang Bai shot a discreet glance at Lei Tianxiong, signaling him.
Lei Tianxiong understood instantly and immediately joined in with a forced laugh, "Yes, exactly, a huge misunderstanding! We're here tonight to offer our sincere apologies to Your Majesty Jiang HuanYu!"
Hearing their pitiful excuses, Jiang HuanYu found it so absurd that he almost laughed aloud.
He sat back down on his throne, the corners of his lips curling into a sly smirk. "Do you think I'm the fool, or are you two the fools?"
"You came to kill me, realized you couldn't, and now you want to leave unscathed?"
"Why not go to the street, grab a random girl, and ask her to marry you while you're at it?"
"There's no such thing as free lunch in this world. You made your choices; now it's time to pay the price."
"Tie Poyun, search their souls," Jiang HuanYu ordered calmly.
Both Zhang Bai and Lei Tianxiong were high-ranking members of Evil Moon Palace and the Sky Burning Peak. Their memories might hold valuable information. Extracting it before killing them would maximize their usefulness.
"Understood, Your Majesty!" Tie Poyun responded with firm resolve.
With a cold gaze, Tie Poyun released his Heaven aura, pressing down on Zhang Bai and Lei Tianxiong as he approached.
"Soul-searching!"
Hearing this, Zhang Bai and Lei Tianxiong's faces turned deathly pale.
Exchanging a desperate glance, they seemed to reach a grim decision. Their expressions turned resolute as they channeled all their remaining energy, preparing to self-destruct.
"Hmph! Do you think you can self-destruct in front of a Heaven leader?" Tie Poyun sneered.
In a flash, he appeared before them, his hands piercing their bodies like deadly spears, shattering their gathered energy.
Thud!
"Urgh…"
Both men spat out mouthfuls of blood, their faces twisted in agony.
In the next moment, Tie Poyun's bloody hands pressed against their foreheads. With a surge of power, he began the soul-searching process.
"AAAHHHH!!!"
The two let out blood-curdling screams, their anguish so intense that it could make anyone shudder.
Soul-searching was an excruciating process that inflicted unspeakable torment on the victim's soul. Even if they survived, they would be left with irreparable damage, potentially reduced to a vegetative state.
Jiang HuanYu watched with an expression of calm indifference, his face betraying no emotion.
Before long, the process was complete.
The two men collapsed lifelessly to the cold ground, their bodies trembling like worms in their death throes.
"Your Majesty," Tie Poyun reported, "they came as a group of three. The third, Bu Senyuan of the Burning Sky Peak, is waiting outside the palace walls as backup. Shall I go capture him?"
Jiang HuanYu pondered for a moment before replying, "No need to bring him back alive. Kill him outright, he's of no use anymore."
"Afterward, hang their heads on the city wall alongside Xiao Tianding's. Let him have some company."
"As you command, Your Majesty!" Tie Poyun bowed and departed.
Meanwhile, two Shadow Guards dragged away the limp bodies of Zhang Bai and Lei Tianxiong.
"Everyone else, you may leave," Jiang HuanYu instructed with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Jiang King, the Shadow Guards, and the Golden Armored Guards all exited the hall one by one.
When they had gone, Jiang HuanYu turned his gaze toward Xiao Qingli, who was standing at the entrance of the hall. He smiled warmly. "My dear consort, why are you still awake at this late hour?"
Xiao Qingli entered with a calm expression. "With all the commotion happening here, how could I possibly sleep?"
"What's this? Could it be that you were worried about me?" Jiang HuanYu teased.
Xiao Qingli rolled her eyes but didn't respond.
Jiang HuanYu chuckled and, with a flick of his wrist, brought Xiao Qingli to his side, seating her beside him on his throne.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he said, "Since you're here, stay with me to witness tonight's most interesting catch."
As his mood lightened, Jiang HuanYu's hand instinctively gave her a light pat.
Smack!
"Must you always do that?!" Xiao Qingli snapped, exasperated. "Can't you stop smacking me on the rear? Do you know how rough your hands are?!"
Jiang HuanYu grinned sheepishly, raising his hand as if in a vow. "I promise, never again."
Never again, until the next time, or the time after that…
Xiao Qingli snorted but didn't seem genuinely angry.
"General, bring him in," Jiang HuanYu ordered, his playful demeanor giving way to a serious tone.
In an instant, two figures entered the hall.
Xu Bai, the masked assassin, was pressed down by Feipeng's unrelenting hand. With a loud thud, Xu Bai was forced to his knees in the center of the hall.
The sound of his kneecaps shattering echoed loudly, but Xu Bai didn't cry out, though his body trembled from the excruciating pain.
Jiang HuanYu observed him calmly. "Thank you, General. Now then," he turned his attention to Xu Bai, "which esteemed member of the Bloodshadow Tower might you be?"
Xu Bai's eyes widened behind his mask. "How… how do you know I'm from the Bloodshadow Tower?"
"Your movements and stealth techniques are unmistakable. Only assassins from your organization possess such skills," Jiang HuanYu replied.
"Judging by your cultivation as a First Heaven, you must be a top-ranked operative. Besides your leader Guan Zhiyun and his deputy Nanmen Yu, only the 'Death Centipede,' the highest-ranked killer, holds this level of power."
"However, the 'Death Centipede' is known for using poison and operates from a distance. You're clearly not him," Jiang HuanYu analyzed, his tone steady and confident.
Standing to the side, Xiao Qingli silently agreed with his assessment. This assassin was most likely a recently advanced Heaven from the Bloodshadow Tower's elite ranks.
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