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Although she had guessed, hearing the confirmation firsthand still caused Tang Yuehua to gasp sharply. She looked at Xuan Ming as if truly seeing him for the first time.
Xuan Ming looked toward the massive gap in the city wall outside the window, his tone indifferent: "I didn't come here to threaten anyone, only to give a warning. I am not interested in the affairs of the Spirit Empire, but there are some things I cannot stand, so I dealt with them easily."
He paused, turning his gaze back to Tang Yuehua, carrying a hint of coldness: "For example, the Heaven Dou Empire treating their citizens as tributes and sending them to a place like Slaughter City."
Hearing this, Tang Yuehua's face paled again. She had vaguely heard about this matter but was powerless to change it.
Xuan Ming's voice softened slightly, "Listen to me, do not get involved in these matters. Whether it is the grievances of the Spirit Master's world or the wars between Empires, stop concerning yourself with them."
Tang Yuehua looked at him, her eyes filled with complexity. She recalled the past, his stubborn personality, and the countless times she had tried to persuade him with etiquette and reason, only for it to be fruitless.
She knew that the Xuan Ming before her was no longer the youth who needed her guidance. He possessed the power to overturn everything and had embarked on a path she could neither understand nor obstruct.
She opened her mouth, but in the end, it only turned into a helpless sigh, and she nodded gently.
"I know what you are worried about," Xuan Ming looked at her, "but this is my choice, my path. I have the ability to handle everything, in my own way."
He stepped forward and lightly patted Tang Yuehua's shoulder. The gesture seemed a little unfamiliar but carried a rare hint of tenderness.
"Protect yourself. If... anyone troubles you because of me, tell me."
After speaking, Xuan Ming turned to leave.
Tang Yuehua suddenly hugged him from behind, "Can you... stay? Stay with me, just for tonight... please?"
Xuan Ming's footsteps halted.
He could feel the slight trembling of Tang Yuehua's body behind him. It was not just fear, but a deep, almost helpless reliance.
The Pavilion Master of the Moon Pavilion, who had always presented herself as elegant and strong, now resembled a child afraid of being left alone.
He was silent for a moment. He recalled his days in the Moon Pavilion years ago, and the rare care and guidance, untainted by too much self-interest, that this woman had given him. Although he hadn't paid much attention to those rules of etiquette, he remembered the sentiment.
"...Fine."
Tang Yuehua's tense body instantly relaxed, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. She still did not let go, but gently pressed her cheek against his broad back, drawing comfort from his reassuring, real presence and warmth.
Xuan Ming did not move, allowing her to hold him.
Outside the window lay the dead silence of Heaven Dou City and the massive gap in the city wall.
Inside the window, complex and unspoken emotions flowed silently between the two of them.
Early the next morning, the sky was faintly bright.
Xuan Ming silently left the Moon Pavilion, just as he had arrived, without alarming anyone.
Tang Yuehua stood by the window, gazing in the direction he had vanished. In her hand, she tightly clutched a black scale he had left behind, which contained a subtle energy fluctuation—it was his token. If danger arose, she only needed to call upon him in her heart.
She knew that the brief tranquility was over, and the storm would continue to sweep across the continent.
Xuan Ming's next target was the Star Luo Empire.
While everyone's attention was still drawn to the upheaval in Heaven Dou City, he intended to use the same method to deeply engrave the fear originating from absolute power into the soul of every person in the Star Luo Empire.
He wanted everyone to understand that this was not aimed at a specific Empire, but was an indiscriminate warning directed at all forces attempting to challenge order or those internally corrupt and rotten.
The effect was significant.
The news of Jialing Pass being destroyed spread like wildfire. Before people could digest this shock, the news that the Heaven Dou Imperial City wall was breached in a single strike was like another heavy hammer, smashing down hard on the hearts of everyone following the situation.
The continent shook, and all factions were in uproar!
However, what caught them even more off guard was that just when everyone thought the Spirit Empire would launch a major offensive, taking advantage of the Heaven Dou Empire's weakness, the most important military fortress on the Star Luo Empire's border, 'Hulao Pass,' was turned into ruins in a single strike by an identical bloody giant, using the exact same method, early one morning!
It was the same: a preemptive warning and precise control, without harming a single person!
Immediately following this, the imperial city of the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City, whose equally magnificent wall was silently sliced open with a gigantic gap by that dark purple Spear of Destruction, all under the gaze of countless despairing eyes!
Within just a few days, the most prized border defenses and imperial city defenses of the Two Great Empires were successively torn apart as if they were made of paper!
This time, it was no longer speculation, but an undeniable fact.
The Spirit Empire, or rather, the existence standing behind the Spirit Empire, possessed the terrifying power to simultaneously deter, and even crush, the Two Great Empires!
In stark contrast to the despairing and panicked silence gripping the Two Great Empires, the territory within the Spirit Empire erupted in a fervent cheer!
"Heaven protects our Spirit Empire! Heaven protects His Majesty!"
"Hahaha! What kind of damn Empire! What mighty pass! In the face of true power, they are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs!"
"His Majesty's divine might! His Majesty must have summoned a god to descend!"
"Unifying the continent! It is only a matter of time!"
Inside the Spirit Empire, from top to bottom, everyone fell into a state of extreme excitement. Although no one knew the exact origin of the bloody giant, everyone naturally assumed that this must be the power of the Spirit Empire, the power of the Supreme Pontiff! That a god was on their side!
In this fervent atmosphere, the inner desires of many Spirit Empire officials, generals, and Spirit Masters who had previously been cautious and restrained, completely spiraled out of control like wild horses breaking free from their reins!
In the past, although they were powerful, they still had to consider the reactions of the Two Great Empires and the public opinion of the Spirit Master's world, maintaining some semblance of a bottom line in their actions.
But now?
The imperial cities of the Two Great Empires had been pierced by "their own people" as easily as poking through paper windows! What was left to fear?
Power! Wealth! Status! Beauties!
All of it seemed within easy reach!
The fangs of greed no longer needed to be hidden!
This was especially true for the Spirit Master nobles who had always relied on their Spirit Hall background to abuse their power in local key positions, and those opportunists eager to seize more power and resources in the new Empire.
They began acting recklessly, imposing heavy taxes, oppressing commoners, eliminating dissidents, and even reaching into the Empire's treasury and strategic resources. Their behavior was more rampant and blatant than what Ning Fengzhi had previously worried about!
They believed this was a symbol of the Empire's strength, and the privilege deserved by them, the "founding heroes"!
The collapse of order reached its peak!
...Supreme Pontiff Palace, deep within the secret chamber.
Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes. She stroked the Asura Demon Sword in her hand, which was still heavy but whose resistance had lessened slightly. A sharp cold light shone in her purple eyes. After this period of refinement, she was already able to barely use it as a weapon and preliminarily guide the Asura God Power within it.
She had long since learned of the clamor and chaotic reports coming from outside the palace through her trusted aides.
The time had come.
Xuan Ming's deterrence acted like the fiercest catalyst, thoroughly provoking all the festering sores and tumors within the body of the Empire! It forced all the hidden parasites to eagerly jump out into the sunlight!
Now was the best time to wield the surgical knife and carry out the most thorough and bloody cleansing!
Only by delivering the coldest and most ruthless thunderous blow when they were most complacent, rampant, and unprepared could she achieve the most extreme deterrent effect! Only then could everyone understand what an unassailable iron law was!
She stood up, dark purple and dark red divine force fluctuating slightly around her. She reached out and grasped the hilt of the Asura Demon Sword on the ground, a movement that was difficult yet firm.
This time, she was not doing it for cultivation, but for... judgment!