A coronation ceremony, the most meager and joyless in history, was held in Binghai City. There was no thunderous cheering; the people disliked Xue Beng. Even when they shouted "Long live the Emperor," it was only out of coercion, not from the heart.
As for the officials, they saw no hope of resisting the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Their hearts were filled with despair. Under such an atmosphere, even Xue Beng's ascension to the throne brought no joy.
At this moment, news arrived: Yu Tianheng, the young clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, was leading an army and many powerful soul masters to attack Binghai City. Their advance was unstoppable—Heaven Dou Empire had no power to resist.
Seeing the panic among the people, Xue Beng returned to the palace alone, like a walking corpse. Though he had sworn to Emperor Xue Ye yesterday, he knew deep down he was no match for the combined might of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall. Even either of those factions could easily destroy the Heaven Dou Empire.
How much longer could the hidden weapon corps hold out?
"Damn it, what should I do? Am I to be a king who loses his country?" Xue Beng clutched his head, wailing in despair. At this moment, he suddenly resented Xue Ye; his death was an escape, leaving all infamy for Xue Beng to bear.
"It's been a while, Your Highness Xue Beng—or should I say Your Majesty now." At that moment, a familiar and chilling voice sounded in his ear. "My emperor, you look quite troubled."
"You! It's you again—what are you here for?" Xue Beng looked up to see a striking, almost devilishly handsome face, the very embodiment of wicked charm.
Xue Beng recognized him because, years ago, this was the man who had controlled him.
Yes, this was the real Evil Sword Immortal. The Evil Sword Immortal had three forms—the first two borrowed from Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, whose appearances and martial souls he could freely use. The last was his true form, a combination of the two.
The fusion of Qian Xunji's handsomeness and Bibi Dong's beauty produced a figure who could outshine anyone.
"Heh, of course, I'm here to solve your problems, Your Majesty. Don't worry—I won't control you this time. This is my sincerity, since we now share a common enemy: Jun Tianlin," said the Evil Sword Immortal, smiling.
"You think I'll believe you? Jun Tianlin may deserve to die, but you're no better," Xue Beng said, full of wariness. He even found this man more terrifying than Tianlin.
At least Tianlin had limits; this man was ruthless and did as he pleased.
"Heh, Your Majesty, do you really have a choice? If you don't trust me, you'll just end up a traitor and lose your country to Jun Tianlin, becoming a sinner for the ages. If you work with me, at least you have a chance for the Heaven Dou Empire to survive. If you still doubt me, I can swear on my martial soul: after defeating Jun Tianlin, I will not harm you or your empire in the slightest. Otherwise, may my martial soul shatter and I die."
Xue Beng saw the Evil Sword Immortal dare to make a martial soul oath and lowered his guard a little. Unfortunately, he did not know that such an oath meant nothing to the Evil Sword Immortal—for when he used the martial soul, it was in the form of Qian Xunji or Bibi Dong, not his true self, who had no martial soul and fought purely with the Evil Spirit Pearl, his true and strongest form. But this form was not yet fully developed, so he usually fought in his other forms.
"How do you plan to help me?" Xue Beng asked in a low voice.
"It's not about helping, but a trade. I'll give you a power strong enough to stand against the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for a while, in exchange for a few small favors. If you can hold out for a year, once I reach my peak, all of Douluo Continent will be yours," the Evil Sword Immortal tempted him.
Normally, Xue Beng would have hesitated, but now, pushed to the brink by Tianlin, and with the Evil Sword Immortal's influence still lingering from their past, Xue Beng found himself believing him.
"What do you want me to do?" Xue Beng softened. The temptation was too great, enough for him to forget the grudge of being controlled in the past.
"Heh, very simple, Your Majesty. First, I need you to give me some soul masters—those with strong soul power. I'll create a being strong enough to rival the top experts of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect." The Evil Sword Immortal produced seven wisps of dark energy. "These represent pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. Each can greatly increase power."
"Among them, I still need pride, wrath, lust, and envy. Gluttony and greed will be used for the monster I create for you. As for sloth, I'll give it to you—you can let any subordinate try it, but don't waste it on a weakling; the stronger they are, the more they'll gain."
The Evil Sword Immortal had used up all the souls he'd collected to fight Tianlin, but the power of the original sins remained, along with the strength of three powerful Spirit Hall elders he'd absorbed.
"A monster strong enough to fight the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect!" Xue Beng was moved. With such power, he truly had hope of resisting the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Spirit Empire. Even if victory was unlikely, holding out for a year or two would be no issue.
"Heh, not bad, right? My second condition: I want all the rare treasures and herbs in your empire." The Evil Sword Immortal needed them to help Bibi Dong recover quickly, not knowing the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, so he could only demand from the other great powers.
Xue Beng nodded without hesitation. "No problem. Take whatever you want from the palace."
Without alchemists like Tianlin or Yang Wudi, he couldn't use those herbs anyway.
"The last point—it's more of a suggestion than a condition. Your Majesty, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect not only has more powerful soul masters, but also far more troops than your empire. So, I suggest you concentrate your forces on defending Binghai City, giving up all other territories to them. That way, like the Spirit Empire before, they'll be forced to split their forces to guard all those places, weakening their assault on your capital."
Xue Beng grew furious. "Impossible! I just promised my father I'd never give up an inch of our land. Besides, the situation is different now. Back then, the Spirit Empire had Star Luo Empire to worry about behind them, so they had to split their forces. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect doesn't have that problem, so giving up territory won't help much."
"And giving up land means giving up people—they can recruit more soldiers from our population."
The Evil Sword Immortal grinned wickedly. "Of course I know that. But if they won't split their forces, we can force them to. I'm only telling you to give up the land—what happens to that land, or whether there are any people left, is another story."
"You… You mean, massacre the cities, leave the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect with a wasteland?" Xue Beng's eyes widened. Even he hadn't thought of this.
The Evil Sword Immortal shook his head. "No, Your Majesty, don't think so lowly of me. Massacring entire cities isn't the way. If you kill everyone, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect can just ignore those areas and focus all their strength on your capital. Once the continent is unified, they can rebuild. I'm actually quite kind-hearted. We only need to kill the able-bodied men—leave the old, weak, women, and children. Then burn all the houses and fields."
Xue Beng understood. This was an open scheme. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, claiming to unify the continent with righteousness, couldn't ignore the survivors. They'd have to divert much of their strength to protect and care for them, and rebuild the cities—thus reducing the resources and manpower they could use in battle, buying Xue Beng more time.
"No, this will not only affect the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, but also the Clear Sky Sect," Xue Beng refused. "Though the three top sects now act independently, in their rise they always claimed the mantle of justice. If I do this, the Clear Sky Sect will turn against me to protect their reputation. Now that they have a way out, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect isn't as tyrannical as Spirit Hall, they'll just surrender to save themselves."
"Heh, don't worry, Your Majesty. The 'monster' I'll make for you is Tang Chen himself," the Evil Sword Immortal smiled.
When he captured the Slaughter City, he'd obtained a drop of the Bat King's blood. Though the Bat King was later killed by Tianlin, that drop, under the Evil Sword Immortal's cultivation, revived the Bat King.
It had all the powers of its soul bone, and more. The Bat King had devoured part of Tang Chen's soul, and retained his memories, as well as the ability to manifest the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul. The Evil Sword Immortal could fashion a new body with Tang Chen's face, infuse it with the power of three Spirit Hall elders and two original sins, and thus create a being even stronger than an Ultimate Douluo—a perfect fake Tang Chen to control the Clear Sky Sect.
"One of the twin peaks of the soul master world!" Xue Beng was instantly excited. Tang Chen was legendary, regarded as invincible, stronger even than Qian Daoliu.
"But if I do this, I'll be reviled for ten thousand generations." Xue Beng hesitated—but he cared not for the people's lives, only for his own reputation.
"My emperor, why care for such empty fame? If your country is destroyed, even if your name is praised forever, what use is it? The winner writes history. When you unify the continent, you can blame the massacre on the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and cast yourself as the righteous ruler who set things right," the Evil Sword Immortal coaxed.
Xue Beng's eyes filled with bloodlust. After inner struggle, he finally nodded in agreement. For the future of the Heaven Dou Empire, there was no other way.
As citizens of the empire, sacrificing for the nation was their duty.