Silence.
Ding Mu had just declared his unparalleled authority within the kingdom when the decree of the envoy arrived the next instant. Everyone was dumbfounded.
The Myriad Kingdom Alliance was several hundred thousand kilometers away from Xuanyuan Kingdom, and even when riding on a Zhizun realm pinnacle savage beast, it would still take several dozen days of journey to travel here. This envoy… sure is efficient…
“This… Impossible! How can this be possible…”
While jaws were falling to the ground, Ding Mu’s final string of rationality finally snapped.
Are you playing with me?
I had just barely managed to become the emperor and force the other party to step down. Victory is right before me, and yet, such a twist just had to occur at this moment. With this, no matter what I do, I’ll just be regarded as an unofficial and unrecognized sovereign!
Conferred Kingdoms were vassal kingdoms to the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, and if the latter refused to recognize his position, nothing he said would be useful!
“Your Majesty, that… is an authentic decree from the envoy of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. I’ve seen it before…”
Seeing the doubt on Ding Mu’s face, an official walked over with a nervous look and reported.
The decree of the envoy couldn’t be forged. The words ‘Myriad Kingdom Alliance’ possessed a unique authority to it that no one else could imitate.
With just a single look, one could determine whether it was authentic or not.
“Men, the Left Minister is spouting nonsense and shaking the foundation of the country. Kill him!”
Ding Mu was already in a frenzied state, and the words of the official pushed him off the edge. He immediately bellowed a command.
“Your Majesty…”
The crowd stared at one another hesitantly, not knowing what to do.
“You all…”
Seeing that everyone was disregarding his orders, Ding Mu’s eyes reddened in rage. Just as he was about to roar furiously once more, an impassive voice sounded in the air.
“Since the Myriad Kingdom Alliance refuses to recognize you, that means that your position is unofficial. No one will listen to the commands of a fake emperor!”
Turning around, he saw Zhang Xuan gazing at him with cold eyes.
In truth, Zhang Xuan was also bewildered by the situation.
Before coming, he had already prepared himself for the worst situation. Regardless of whether the other party became the emperor or not, he would make his move.
Of all things, he didn’t expect the Myriad Kingdom Alliance’s involvement in this matter.
The appearance of the decree meant that Ding Mu’s ascension to the throne was unlawful, and the Myriad Kingdom Alliance wouldn’t pursue the affair even if he were killed.
“So what if these useless fools refuse to obey my commands? Do you think that I’ll fear you just because of that? You might be strong, but it won’t be that easy to kill me!”
Having lost the throne, the backing of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and being unable to mobilize his subordinates, Ding Mu knew that he had no choice but to resort to brute force.
His face warped as though a ravenous wolf as he glared fixedly at the young man before him. Then, he abruptly reached forward to grab the jade seal.
With the jade seal in his hands, his disposition changed all of the sudden. In an instant, he felt as if he were a towering mountain standing before everyone else.
Even a Half-Transcension expert would have to back off before the powerful aura he was emitting at this moment.
“The reason why our Ding Clan was able to build a massive kingdom that no other kingdoms dare to attack and maintain our lineage for more than a millennium isn’t just purely through brute force… It is because of a formation!
“The infrastructures in Xuanyuan Kingdom are positioned in a way that aligns with the sun, moon, and the stars, forming a grade-4 primary formation! You wish to kill me? Dream on! Even if I can’t become the emperor, I’ll pull you down along with me!”
Roaring furiously, the jade seal in his hands flew in the air, triggering the formation. In an instant, it seemed as though the entire capital had come to a life. An incredibly powerful pressure fell down from the skies.
All of the sudden, the crowd in the square suddenly felt something sealing their movements. At the same time, a powerful pressure overwhelmed them, threatening to kill them if they were to make an unwise move.
“It’s… the Great Xuanyuan Formation! He’s actually triggered the Great Xuanyuan Formation!”
Amidst the crowd, an official’s face suddenly paled. His body slackened, and he fell weakly to the ground.
“Great Xuanyuan Formation? What’s that?”
There were many people who were unaware of its existence, and a person asked anxiously amidst the crowd.
“It’s said that the founding ancestor of Xuanyuan Kingdom was a formidable formation master. After uniting the lands and building the kingdom, he chose this location to build the capital. Using the mountains, rivers, and the infrastructure as the formation flags, he built an immense formation. Even a Transcendent Mortal expert would die easily if he were to be caught in it!”
“This formation can only be triggered by the imperial seal, and it’s the final line of defense of the kingdom. No one here will be able to withstand its immense might…”
The official trembled uncontrollably as he spoke.
Previously, when Ding Mu ordered them to kill the other party, no one listened to him.
Now that he had activated the formation and trapped everyone within it, if he intended to take revenge, who could stand against him?
Hearing those words and feeling the violent might of a formation shrouding them, the crowd’s faces warped in fear.
They thought given the disparity in strength between the other master teacher and Crown Prince Ding Mu, even if no one were to obey his commands, there was nothing for them to worry about. No one could have expected for the latter to have such an ace up his sleeves.
A grade-4 formation could kill even a Transcendent Mortal expert, so how could mere Fighter realm cultivators like them withstand it?
And without sufficient strength, it was impossible for them to break out of it.
It looked like… they were doomed!
…
“You are… an envoy of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance?”
While a pandemonium had broken out below, in the air, on the back of a savage beast, Wei Yuqing looked at the young man with tightly-clenched fists.
From the attitude of the others toward this ‘gongzi’, he could tell that the other party’s standing was definitely extremely high. Otherwise, Gu Mu’s teacher, as a 4-star poison master, wouldn’t act so deferentially to him.
But even so… He didn’t expect the other party to be an envoy from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.
An envoy holding a decree was representative of the head of the alliance. If anyone dared to challenge his authority, he could kill them as he pleased!
In other words, he possessed unparalleled authority within the territories of the alliance.
Yet, to think that the person wielding such immense authority would just be a teenage child…
If he hadn’t seen the other party throwing out the token personally, he would have never believed it to be true.
“Un!”
‘Gongzi’ nodded silently. At this moment, his gaze was directed at the formation below, and a frown appeared on his face.
A moment later, he turned to the elder beside him.
“Is there any way for you to break this formation?”
“Gongzi, you should also know that I’m not adept at formations!”
Jin Conghai’s face flushed in embarrassment.
Even though he was a Transcendent Mortal expert, his occupation was a poison master. His knowledge of formations was severely limited. On top of that, the formation below was incredibly massive, and even if a 4-star primary formation master were to be here, it would be hard for him to stop the formation.
“This formation makes use of the mountains and rivers in the surroundings to augment its might. On top of that, it hasn’t been used before ever since it was set up, and over time, a massive amount of spiritual energy had accumulated within it. Not just me, I’m afraid that… even if Pavilion Master Kang were to be here, he would be helpless before it!”
After a moment of hesitation, Jin Conghai spoke his analysis.
Even though he wasn’t adept in formations, as a Transcendent Mortal expert of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, he still possessed a decent discernment ability. It wasn’t too difficult for him to determine how fearsome the formation below was.
Even the head of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion, Pavilion Master Kang, would be helpless before it.
And Pavilion Master Kang was the most capable formation master throughout the Myriad Kingdom Alliance!
Through this, the fearsomeness of the formation was apparent.
“I know that this formation is formidable, but… do you have any way to save him?” ‘Gongzi’ couldn’t help but ask.
Deciphering and stopping a formation was very much different from saving a person from a formation. In which case, the latter was much easier than the former.
Jin Conghai shook his head and said, “This formation has been nourished over a long period of time, granting it immense might. Life and death hinge on just a single thought of the one controlling the formation! To break it, it’ll require sixteen Transcendent Mortal experts standing at sixteen different locations… Even if it’s just saving someone from within, it would require at least five people at the same level as me to make a move simultaneously…”
On top of the grade, the scale also determined the strength of the formation.
The larger the formation set up, the more powerful it would be.
This was the reason why formation plates were lacking in might.
The formation below covered the entire Xuanyuan Royal City, extending for a length of several hundred kilometers. On top of that, it had accumulated a frightening quantity of energy over the course of a thousand years, making it a fearsome weapon.
It would already be a blessing if a Transcendent Mortal expert could survive a Slaughter Formation of such might. Saving someone within… was completely impossible!
“Then… what should we do? You also know that he’s Liu Cheng!”
Hearing that even his guard was helpless before this immense formation, ‘gongzi’ panicked.
“Don’t panic. If it comes down to it, I’ll just have to try barging into it…” Jin Conghai gritted his teeth.
He knew of the gratitude that ‘gongzi’ felt toward Physician ‘Liu Cheng’. The other party had specially traveled from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance here just to look for him. If the other party were to die before him, wouldn’t he die of regret?
“What do you mean by barging into it?”
At that moment, a doubtful voice sounded within the room. Turning around, the group saw that Sun Qiang was done with his cultivation and had stood up once more.
Under Zhang Xuan’s Impartation of Heaven’s Will, not only had Sun Qiang reinforced his Pixue realm cultivation, he had even opened up three acupoints. Thus, he was in good spirits.
Sun Qiang had been on the verge of breaking through Dingli realm for a while now, so Zhang Xuan’s Impartation of Heaven’s Will was exceptionally effective on him.
“Your young master is trapped in Ding Mu’s formation, and he’s in an extremely precarious situation now. If you can contact Yang shi, you should hurry up. I fear that… Zhang shi might be coming to his limits already!”
Seeing that Sun Qiang was done with his cultivation, ‘gongzi’ hurriedly advised.
In truth, he regretted not getting Jin Conghai to make a move on Ding Mu when he threw out of the envoy’s decree earlier on.
If he had done so, such a situation wouldn’t have occurred.
He was here to repay the favor, but not only did he fail to achieve anything, he even landed his benefactor into a precarious situation. How could he have the face to live on if the other party really died? In his view, if not for the decree he threw out, Ding Mu wouldn’t have been forced to activate the formation.
“Formation?”
Glancing out of the window to look at the sight below, Sun Qiang brushed the matter off impassively, “Seeing your grim faces, I thought that it would be some serious affair. Turns out that it’s just this. Don’t worry, the young master is fine!”
Hearing those words, Jin Conghai staggered and nearly fainted. “Do you know how powerful this formation is?”
The one below is your young master! He’s trapped in a formation which even a Transcendent Mortal expert would be unable to break out off! Yet, how can you remain so nonchalant? Are you truly that brave, or is there something wrong with your head?
“I have no idea!”
Sun Qiang waved his hands nonchalantly, “But that doesn’t make a difference. A small formation like this doesn’t mean anything at all!”
Tianxuan Kingdom had no formation masters at all, so how could Sun Qiang know anything about formations. Even if the most basic formation was laid out before him, he still wouldn’t be able to decipher it at all.
But even though he knew nothing at all, Zhao Ya and the others had recounted the events at the Lin Clan back then to him at least a few hundred times. On top of that, he had also personally witnessed the young master kicking the formation at the residence of Lu Chong’s ancestors to a stop.
He knew that no one could match up to the young master in the field of formations.
It might be something fearsome to the others, but to the young master… it was just a walk in the park.
“Doesn’t mean anything at all? A small formation? How can you call Zhang shi your young master and behave like that?!”
‘Gongzi’s’ face darkened and he nearly erupted on the spot.
