Chapter 599: Storm In Great Xia (3)
The Sunmoon said, "This is merely the start. The Xia Family has killed too many over the years, to the point the myriad races will tremble with fear at the mention of Great Xia. Thus, some enemy agents and traitors have been working in secret to sow chaos and weaken the Xia Family. They wish to destroy the warrior heart of Great Xia. They wish to collapse Great Xia while the prefect is in seclusion. But the Xia Family will restore order!
"The matter concerning Su Yu isn't a small matter. Marquis Xia has contacted Great Ming to thank Prefect Zhu for the help. Great Xia will give everyone an answer. Please be patient, everyone. The Xia Family founded Great Xia 350 years ago. Has the Xia Family ever disappointed the people of Great Xia all these while?"
With one Mountainsea dead, those words were able to greatly placate the populace. When had Great Xia ever been afraid of anyone? Even an ambassador from the Knowledge Seeking Realm had been killed without hesitation.
From this, one could clearly see the Xia Family's stand on this matter. They did not fear anyone. They would punish any troublemaker and betrayal. Killing a random person wouldn't be enough to demonstrate their resoluteness to solve this issue.
Thus, they had killed an ambassador of a holy land. The masses were convinced that if even a big shot like that had been killed, the Xia Family would definitely give them a satisfactory answer.
Main hall.
Everyone inside heard the announcement as well. The ambassador had been killed. The people inside trembled with fear. The ambassador of the Knowledge Seeking Realm had really been killed!
Marquis Xia calmly said, "Looks like that's quite effective. I wonder if it would work even better if we kill the War Shrine's ambassador as well."
The War Shrine's ambassador paled and hurriedly said, "Marquis, I did nothing! Ever since I arrived here, I have followed the rules of Great Xia! I have broken no rules!"
"I was joking. Am I that kind of person?" Marquis Xia looked at Great Zhou's ambassador and asked, "That Zhou Yun is someone from a branch of the Zhou Family, right?"
"Yes..."
"Does the Zhou Family disagree with this?"
"If you have evidence of what he did, we naturally won't disagree."
The ambassador's face turned solemn as he said, "But if you have no evidence, the whole world will disagree with this."
Marquis Xia smiled and said, "That makes a lot of sense."
"Show him the evidence."
At that order, someone walked in and took out a jade talisman. With the talisman, the scene of Zhou Yun talking with several individuals was shown.
"There is a stronger version of Su Yu's Acupoint Fusion Art. Try to get it as well..."
Those were Zhou Yun's words.
Marquis Xia waved his hand and ended the scene projection before asking, "Is this enough? If it's not, I have more recordings to show. But I think some people would be afraid of that. After all, there are things that some people don’t want exposed. What do you say? Do you want me to show you more recordings?"
"..."
"The marquis...made a wise decision."
The ambassador stepped back and said nothing else.
Marquis Xia smiled and said, "I have no choice but to kill a few Mountainseas. That's the only way to placate the populace. I don't want to do this. We have been very lenient before this. Unfortunately, some people never know how to appreciate our leniency. Heed my order. All of the people involved in the attack on Su Yu are to be subjected to the three familial exterminations. The executions are to be carried out immediately. The Xia Family's patience has finally run thin."
"Marquis!" Someone hurriedly said, "The family members of these people should not be implicated in the crimes of these people..."
Marquis Xia indifferently said, "They have been enjoying the resources of the Xia Family all these years. But instead of working for the betterment of humanity, they had colluded with the Myriad Race Cult to kill a genius student. Why keep their families around? So that they can betray us in the future? Are they not going to hate us for what happened to those traitors?"
He waved his hand and said, "Martial Dragon Guards, carry out the punishment. Broadcast everything to all twenty-eight cities of Great Xia. Show everyone how we treat traitors. Show everyone the consequences of treason."
"Yes."
A Sunmoon left the room. Shortly after, a large number of Martial Dragon Guards set off. Numerous Mountainseas in the room were sweating profusely.
Seeing that, Marquis Xia smiled and asked, "Wow, so you guys are actually capable of feeling fear? In that case, why choose betrayal in the first place? Has the Xia Family been too kind? I know, a lot of people are thinking that since Xia Longwu is on the verge of affirming his dao, we won't dare to offend too many people. Well, that's true. Even so, this is not something we can accept. Something like this can ruin the very foundation of Great Xia. You guys are trying to ruin the Xia Family itself!"
Marquis Xia slammed his palm onto the armrest and roared, "Do not see our tolerance as fear! How dare you! Be warned that there is a limit to our patience! At worst, Longwu can simply stop his advancement. After today, he shall challenge all the Sunmoons in the Human Realm to a fight to the death. Let's see if these Sunmoons are really not afraid of death.
"You guys are the ones forcing us to throw caution to the wind and ruin things for everyone, including your backers. So what if you're backed by Invincibles? If any Invincible wants to harm the Xia Family, our blade will not hesitate to meet him."
His words reverberated in the room.
Marquis Xia coldly ordered, "Soldiers, drag Sun Xiang out and execute him."
"Marquis!" Elder Sun was alarmed. He dropped to his knees and pleaded, "Marquis, this has nothing to do with me! I did not participate in it! I confess that I was aware of the plan. I'm guilty of that. But I never colluded with the cult! I didn't do anything! I am guilty, but my crime does not deserve death!"
"Yes, your crime does not deserve death..." Marquis Xia nodded in agreement. He said, "But we need a few single character faction members to die so that the public can calm down. You have been chosen. As a seventh-stage Mountainsea, you're important enough to be killed. Zhou Mingren has been in seclusion so he is truly clueless about this. I can't even find an excuse to kill him. In that case, you shall be the one to die. We can't kill only outsiders, right? It's fine. Yu Hong and the others have just departed to the afterlife not long ago. You might be able to catch up with them if you go now..."
Sun Xiang hurriedly flew away.
Boom!
But he was instantly punched out of the sky by a Sunmoon waiting outside.
"Grab him and kill him." Marquis Xia indifferently said, "How can we calm the public without killing a few big shots? I really don't want to do this. But you guys forced my hand. If any of you is unhappy, step forth and make your dissatisfaction known."
Nobody said anything. A short while after Sun Xiang was dragged off, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd. The masses were greatly satisfied. Yet another Mountainsea had been killed.
Marquis Xia's gaze landed on Wan Tiansheng and said, "Principal Wan, you have failed. Your academy is in chaos, your elders have betrayed humanity, and your student has defected. You should retire. For now, you will remain as an acting principal until we find a replacement for you. You will also be forfeiting your salary for a hundred years. The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy's budget will also receive a seventy percent reduction. However, the academy is required to supply the military with the same number of Skysoars each year. If you need more resources, get them from the battlefield yourself."
"Yes."
Wan Tiansheng nodded and lowered his head without saying anything else.
"The principal and elders of the Nine Heavens Cultural Research Academy have betrayed humanity. The entire academy shall be investigated thoroughly. Your budget will be reduced by ninety percent. The number of Skysoars you're required to supply the military each year will remain. If you fail to meet that number, your academy will be abolished.
"Wang Ming of the Daoseeking Cultural Research Academy has betrayed humanity as well. Principal Liu needs to take responsibility for that. Your budget will receive a sixty percent reduction."
With each announcement Marquis Xia made, the expressions of several Mountainseas would change.
"If you need more resources, get it yourself. I don't care how you do it." Marquis Xia said, "The Xia Family has spent three hundred years nurturing talented individuals. This is not how we expect you to act. If you need resources, you can go to the Allheaven Battlefield. You can hunt some cultists. You can even hunt some beasts in the wilderness. I don't mind any of that. But I can't tolerate betrayal. Rather than supporting a bunch of traitors, I might as well raise some dogs. At the very least, those dogs will stay loyal.
"The sky horse and mountain antelope races have contributed greatly during this incident. Both races will be rewarded a million merit points each. The cloud tiger, fox, and barbaric bull races have betrayed us. The Martial Dragon Guards shall set out and exterminate them.
"As for the other races, if you wish to establish an alliance with us, do not try anything funny. The Xia Family does not mistreat friends. Nor do we tolerate enemies. The entire single character faction will have their funds allocation reduced by thirty percent. Blame Jin Yuhui, Yu Hong, and the others for this.
"Or you can blame me if you want. This is a disgrace you need to cleanse yourself. This limitation will be removed for a student after accumulating three hundred total earned merit. For a Skysoar, you need one thousand total earned merit. For a Cloudbreach, you need three thousand. For a Mountainsea, you need ten thousand."
"Hold a thorough investigation on the three academies and find a few more elders that are guilty. The elders involved in the battle at the Eighteenth Secondary School will be the main targets of the investigation. Most of the traitors were also the ones who were involved in that battle. You guys better not try anything stupid. If I find anything wrong, you won't be spared."
Marquis Xia said, "There is a limit to our tolerance. Do not provoke us again and again. Ambassador of Great Zhou, heed my order."
"Yes, Marquis..."
"Relay my message to Zhou Polong. I don't care if this is related to him or not. I need him to hand over a few Mountainseas for execution if he doesn't want things to turn ugly for everyone. I don't care if he sends those from the Zhou Family or some outsiders. I need some lives to placate the populace of Great Xia."
Everyone was stunned.
"Give me an answer in three days. If not, Longwu will challenge Zhou Polong to a fight to the death. If he's not afraid of death, he can meet Longwu in battle. If he's afraid of death, give me the people I want. I know that this won't be a difficult task for him."
He stood up and started walking away. While leaving, he said, "Su Yu's father, Su Long, will be promoted into a 1000-man commander. He will be rewarded ten drops of divine and devil blood essence. If Su Long dies, ten Mountainseas and three Sunmoons of the single character faction will be killed. That is all. Meeting adjourned."
He vanished, leaving only his laughter ringing in the air. The crowd remained in shock.
The entire world was shocked.