Qin Luo had no intention of continuing to argue with the Tai Xu Old Ancestor. He turned to Zheng Tuo instead. "Lord Po Jun, tell me—since I'm a prince of the Great Qin Dynasty, even if I never become Crown Prince, or even if I never rise any higher…"
"Flattening a small Tai Xu Holy Land should still be easy, right?"
Zheng Tuo's expression turned ferocious. He glanced at the Tai Xu Old Ancestor and the others, then said, "It's just a minor Tai Xu Holy Land. The Imperial Dynasty only has to send an army, and it can be wiped from the map."
"Then if I threaten them a bit, that's fine too?" Qin Luo asked.
"Your Highness's status is so exalted. What's wrong with threatening a mere Tai Xu Holy Land?" Zheng Tuo hefted his giant axe. With him and Fang Xing both here, so what if this was Tai Xu's home ground?
Was Tai Xu Holy Land really going to rebel against Great Qin?
Qin Luo turned back toward the crowd of Tai Xu elders and disciples, smiling faintly. "If even one person in Tai Xu Holy Land had spoken a word for me before, things might look different now."
He knew very well that without the System, his end today would have been tragic.
To him, Tai Xu held no kindness—only hatred.
He was a transmigrator, and a villain at that—the natural enemy of all so-called Children of Destiny.
"But life doesn't have a rewind button." Qin Luo's gaze swept over them, silently memorizing every face.
"From this day on, I sever all ties with Tai Xu Holy Land. If I ever meet someone from Tai Xu again, it will be a fight to the death."
"So starting today—be afraid."
Leaving those words behind, Qin Luo turned and left Tai Xu Holy Land with Fang Xing.
Behind them, the faces of the Tai Xu Old Ancestor and Liu Changhe were as black as ink.
"Ancestor, that wolf cub Qin Luo has forgotten his benefactors," Liu Changhe said grimly. "We may be in trouble in the future."
The Old Ancestor snorted. "He's just a prince. He's still a long way from being able to threaten my Tai Xu Holy Land."
"In the Great Qin Dynasty, he's only one of nine princes."
"You think Great Qin couldn't find him before? Maybe they simply didn't *want* to find him."
"That tells you all you need to know about his status."
"As for Great Qin itself—who knows when that dynasty will fall?" The Old Ancestor's snort was cold and furious.
This time, Tai Xu Holy Land had truly lost both its bride and its army.
Then his eyes turned to Liu Ruyan, and an idea formed instantly.
"Isn't the Young Master of Divine Weapon Valley very interested in Ruyan? Let Ruyan marry him."
Liu Changhe was stunned, his expression stiffening with resistance. Just as he opened his mouth, the Old Ancestor continued in a mild tone, "Divine Weapon Valley is offering a sacred artifact as the bride price. That shouldn't be too hard for them, should it?"
He gave Liu Changhe a meaningful look. "Changhe, remember—you are the Holy Lord of Tai Xu Holy Land first, and only then Liu Ruyan's father."
"That's settled."
With that, the Old Ancestor turned and left.
When Liu Ruyan learned she was to marry the Young Master of Divine Weapon Valley, she exploded. "No—I don't want to marry him!"
"There is no room for negotiation," Liu Changhe said in a heavy voice, having made up his mind.
"Besides, when you get down to it, this whole mess started because of you."
The words stunned Liu Ruyan. She was… the root cause? A femme fatale?
"Qin Luo, I hate you!" In the end, powerless to resist, she could only curse his name through gritted teeth.
Achoo.
Qin Luo sneezed. He was in the middle of talking with the System.
"So when is that so-called powerful backer of mine going to show up?"
[Don't worry. Everything is being arranged in an orderly fashion.]
Qin Luo's mouth twitched. He glanced at Zheng Tuo, then thought it over and decided to speak.
"Lord Po Jun, why do you want to pledge yourself to me? You should know I'm just a prince who's been left wandering outside. Just like the Tai Xu Old Ancestor said—I'm the weakest of all the princes."
"In the future struggle for the imperial heir, how could I compare to my older brothers?"
Here it came—the test.
Zheng Tuo had hesitated at first about throwing in with Qin Luo, but Qin Luo's blunt refusal earlier had also left him faintly disappointed.
There was a saying: what you can't get is always the most tempting.
He took a deep breath. "Your Highness, I, Zheng Tuo, have powerful enemies in the capital. Extremely powerful."
"No prince dares accept me. To them, taking me in is a guaranteed loss."
He gave a bitter, helpless laugh.
"Ninth Prince, you might be my last option. I can see you're no ordinary person. If I follow you, I might have a sliver of hope—hope to return to the capital and settle my debts."
Take a gamble, and maybe your broken-down bike turns into a motorcycle.
"If Your Highness is willing to accept me, Zheng Tuo is willing to be your vanguard—to carve out the world at your side." With that, he dropped to one knee.
Seeing that Zheng Tuo wasn't blindly rushing in, Qin Luo said, "If you follow me, you might die faster. A lot faster. You still willing?"
Why? Because Qin Luo was a villain—lawless, arrogant, and guaranteed to make enemies.
Zheng Tuo's lips twitched. He hadn't expected the Ninth Prince to be this honest.
"This humble general is willing to follow Your Highness, even in death."
"Good." Qin Luo's voice deepened. "From today on, you, Zheng Tuo, are my man."
"If you die fighting for me one day, I will avenge you—and kill every last one of your enemies."
Zheng Tuo's whole body trembled. "This humble general, Zheng Tuo, will fight for Your Highness unto death!"
[As a villain, you must command many henchmen. Congratulations, Host—your path grows ever broader.]
"How about a reward?" Qin Luo asked.
[Greed never ends. Host, have you forgotten who you are? Go hunt down the Children of Destiny and cut them down. Their destiny becomes your Villain Points.]
"Tch." Qin Luo silently gave the System a thumbs-up in his head.
Xi Huang sent back good news.
"You're saying you've found your cheap disciple?"
Xi Huang's voice echoed in his mind. "Yes. I've locked onto him. He's very far from here."
"That's good news."
The Child of Destiny had to die. No mercy.
Fang Xing would escort Qin Luo to the capital, but Zheng Tuo would not go with them. Qin Luo pulled Zheng Tuo aside alone.
"The one who slipped away from Tai Xu is over here." Qin Luo relayed what Xi Huang had told him.
"If you have time, go personally. If not, send one of your best men."
"Do we kill him?" Zheng Tuo asked.
Qin Luo shook his head. "You might not be able to kill him."
Don't be fooled by Zheng Tuo's Saint cultivation. In the end, he was still just a henchman. Killing a Child of Destiny… that was a villain's job.
"Just watch him. Figure out exactly who he is and what he's doing."
Once Qin Luo settled matters in the capital, he'd come for Ye Chen himself.
He couldn't afford to give Ye Chen too much time to grow. If not for how critical this trip to the capital was, he would've preferred to go kill that brat Ye Chen right now.
Far from Qin Luo's group, a desolate desert stretched across the land. In its depths, a region shrouded in dense mist radiated an ominous, dangerous aura.
Deep within the fog, amid broken ruins, a gaunt man stirred, slowly opening his confused eyes.
"I'm… not dead?"
"Heh. Not dead, huh…"
"Good. If I'm not dead—then you can all die instead."
Boom.
A terrifying power surged from his body. His weak frame filled with vitality as his aura climbed higher and higher. He broke into the Saint Realm in a single breath—and didn't stop.
Saint King?
Nothing much.
Boom. Another breakthrough.
A thousand-year dream. A sudden enlightenment of the Great Dao.
One misstep, and the path leads straight to Great Qin.
He had arrived in the capital of Qin.