"Halt!!"
Just as the group of guards were about to move against Ling Xiao, a stern shout suddenly came from within the ancient hall.
Xia Yong's figure stepped out from the distance, hopping and jumping his way to the front of Ling Xiao and the others.
Not gonna lie, it was quite adorable.
"Who are you? Why have you trespassed into the sacred palace of our Xia Clan?"
His eyes held some confusion at this moment. This young man before him didn't seem like someone sent by Xia Sheng to eliminate him, did he?
But... for some reason, he also felt a faint sense of oppression from this youth.
How was that possible?
"Insolence! How dare you not kneel before this Emperor!" Ling Xiao's face turned cold. Although he had a rough guess about the plot unfolding before him, some details still needed verification from this Xia Clan Emperor.
"Kneel? Outrageous!! How dare you insult our Emperor! Brat, I think you've grown tired of living!!" The Divine King guard shouted coldly, finally hesitating no longer. Spiritual light flickered around him as he furiously charged towards Ling Xiao.
Insulting the Emperor warranted the execution of one's entire clan!
Our Xia Clan may have fallen on hard times, but how could our dignity be trampled by a mere seventeen-year-old youth?
But!
Not only was there not a trace of tension on Ling Xiao's face, he instead revealed a look of disdain.
Then, with utter nonchalance, he stretched out a hand. Within it, a dragon talisman seemed to flash with a dazzling golden light.
"Wei Wu, stop!!!!!!"
Suddenly, a look of shock, terror, and disbelief flooded Xia Yong's face.
The Divine King expert instinctively retracted his momentum, but his attack still landed before Ling Xiao.
"Thwip!"
Without the slightest hesitation, and with no time to react, a black long blade suddenly appeared in the youth's other hand, brutally stabbing into Wei Wu's chest.
Wei Wu looked down blankly at the ancient blade that had pierced through his body, an equally incredulous expression on his face.
Dammit!!
Young man, you don't play by the...
"Bzzz."
A strange buzzing sound echoed as Wei Wu's body instantly withered.
At the same time, a blood-red light flashed in the youth's eyes. The former's soul silently left his body and vanished eerily.
"Gulp!"
The entire Xia Palace suddenly fell into dead silence.
Even Xia Yong stared fearfully at the tall, straight figure in white before him.
Such bizarre methods, such an evil demonic blade!
But for some reason, he also felt somewhat excited.
Because he recognized that dragon talisman!!!
That aura couldn't be wrong!!!
Could it be that my pleas have reached the ancestors' ears, protected by divine providence?!
"You... you are..."
"Grandson, how dare you not kneel before your ancestor!! You actually dared to offend my majesty!!" Ling Xiao shouted coldly, a faint look of disappointment on his face.
Seeing the expression on his face, Xia Yong finally didn't dare hesitate for a second longer, directly throwing himself to his knees with a thud.
It really was him!!!
"Xia Yong, the nineteenth generation unworthy descendant of the Xia Clan, pays respects to Ancestor Xia Chen!! I beg the ancestor... to avenge the Xia Clan's humiliation!"
Xia Yong kowtowed, his head filled with resentment and grievance, actually cracking the blue stone floor with the force.
It couldn't be wrong!
This young man's appearance was practically identical to the ancestor's statue enshrined in the ancestral hall!
The same handsome majesty, the same aloof arrogance.
This was the soul of our Xia Clan, the faith our Xia Clan believed in!
"Your death may be spared, but these mere ants actually dared to draw their blades against this Emperor. They deserve death!" Ling Xiao's gaze calmly swept over the dozen or so remaining guards around him.
Among them were two Marquises and seven Generals, clearly all the power this small Xia Palace possessed.
How fallen!
But no matter how fallen, they were still nourishment!
"Kneel and accept your deaths! To die by the ancestor's hand is your honor!!" Xia Yong shouted coldly, instantly causing the nine guards' faces to show a resolve to meet their end.
Those who could follow Xia Yong here were his most loyal guards.
They dared not disobey the Emperor's command.
Although... they still hadn't figured out how this seventeen-year-old Divine General youth had become the Xia Clan ancestor, but...
To disrespect the ancestor was indeed a crime punishable by death!
"We beg the ancestor to grant us death!"
Hearing this, Ling Xiao sneered, the black blade in his hand slashing out, instantly harvesting their lives.
"Bzzz."
The black Soul Palace rose several more zhang in height. From beginning to end, not a trace of hesitation flickered in Ling Xiao's eyes.
The path of immortality is vast and obscure, inherently a struggle against all living things between heaven and earth.
Moreover, as a villain, as long as he could strengthen himself, why would he worry about anything else?
If one must speak of sin, every soldier in the Western Frontier had blood on their hands.
Therefore, they were all sinners!
And what I must do is sweep away all the sin in this world, contribute my part to the peace of this world!
Rest in peace, soldiers!
Wait until I unify the Western Frontier, ensuring no more conflict between heaven and earth. You... are all guardians of the Dao!
Ling Xiao!
How righteous of you!
How you care for the world!
Unknowingly, Ling Xiao was nearly moved to tears by his own righteous actions!
"Ancestor!!"
Only when Xia Yong's voice came from before him did a cold glint flash across his face.
"Hmph! Get up."
"Ancestor! This grandson has sinned!!" Xia Yong's eyes revealed grief and indignation, his face filled with pain.
"Oh? What sin?" Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow. Here it comes!
Originally, he thought that relying solely on this dragon talisman might not be enough to make this Xia Emperor submit.
He never expected... he had underestimated the power of faith!
Especially the name Xia Chen, which had long become the mark of the Xia Clan. Even though he was only at the Divine General realm now, in the eyes of these Xia Clan descendants, he was a deity of the Nine Heavens, the root of the Xia Clan's strength.
How could a deity... tolerate offense?
Of course, even if this Xia Emperor refused to submit, he naturally had no fear.
With the strength of Xing Shen and Huo Heng, crushing a third-grade Divine Emperor would be effortless.
Moreover, he still had a soul avatar of the Tai Xuan Dao Master.
A villain must be cautious, cautious, and cautious again!
With heaven and earth as the chessboard, I must be the one... who controls the situation!
"Ancestor, Yong... has shamed you, destroyed the foundation of our Xia Clan! Even the other half of the divine talisman you left behind has now fallen into the hands of traitors!!" Xia Yong lay prostrate on the ground, weeping bitterly, unable to rise for a moment.
"Oh? Into whose hands has it fallen?" Originally, Ling Xiao thought that since the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty was so powerful, he just needed to smoothly make them believe he was a strand of Xia Chen's soul descended to the lower realm to experience the world, and this ancient dynasty would be his for the taking.
But he truly never expected this Xia Emperor to be so incompetent as to actually lose his rivers and mountains.
Dammit!
"Xia Sheng! It's in the hands of my second brother!!" Xia Yong gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Second brother? Your own younger brother?" A look of surprise flashed across Ling Xiao's face, quickly turning sinister.
"Correct! That scoundrel, with his wolfish ambition, actually covets his own family's rivers and mountains... I..."
"How can that be considered falling into the hands of traitors? Since he's also surnamed Xia, aren't you still one family!" Before Xia Yong could finish, Ling Xiao suddenly shook his head and laughed.
"Huh?" Xia Yong's expression stiffened, pondering for a long time.
Dammit!!
What the ancestor said... seemed to make sense!
The rivers and mountains are indeed still in the hands of our Xia Clan!