Chapter 316: Xiao Gang's New Pursuit (Part 2)
Dai Tianfeng sat on the throne, looking at Yu Xiaogang with an ugly expression, and said coldly, "Grand Preceptor of the Heavenly Dou Empire, what are you doing here? Do you want me to give up these lands?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his feather fan, not answering Dai Tianfeng's question directly, but reminding him, "Your Majesty Dai Tianfeng, have you forgotten that I have another identity besides Grand Preceptor of the Heavenly Dou Empire?"
Dai Tianfeng looked at Yu Xiaogang with disdain. What identity could a level 34 guy with a domestic pig martial soul and a piece of trash from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan have?
At this moment, a subordinate whispered a few words in Dai Tianfeng's ear. Only then did Dai Tianfeng realize that Yu Xiaogang was Tang San's teacher.
Who was Tang San? The third generation of the Clear Sky Sect, a man with twin martial souls, and the potential to become the Asura God!
If Tang San ultimately ascended to the Asura God and returned, then Yu Xiaogang, even if he was just a level 34, a pig-like martial soul, a notorious good-for-nothing, would still be a teacher of a god!
Thinking of this, Dai Tianfeng immediately became much more respectful. He said, "Tang San's teacher, the future teacher of a god, please forgive my previous negligence."
Hearing Dai Tianfeng's change in attitude, Yu Xiaogang's lips curled slightly.
My disciple Tang San has the potential to become a god! Tang San hasn't even become a god yet, and Yu Xiaogang is already enjoying the benefits of Tang San's godhood.
Dai Tianfeng asked, "Then, Master, what is your stance on the territorial dispute between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire?"
"I believe this is a shortsighted act," Yu Xiaogang said. "The conflict between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire is not the primary conflict. We should concentrate all our efforts on fighting the Spirit Hall, rather than focusing our energy on this secondary conflict."
Dai Tianfeng nodded and said, "However, this territory belongs to my Star Luo Empire. His Majesty Xue Qinghe's attempt to forcibly occupy it is unacceptable to me. What do you suggest we do?"
"Your Majesty," Yu Xiaogang said, "let's set aside this dispute for now and wait until my disciple Tang San returns and leads our forces to defeat the Spirit
Hall before arbitrating the ownership of this territory. What do you think?" Dai Tianfeng pondered for a long time upon hearing this. Tang San, the future god, would undoubtedly be the most influential figure in the future allied forces. Yu Xiaogang's offer was very favorable to Dai Tianfeng, as his son Dai Mubai was Tang San's close friend, and Dai Mubai would absolutely not allow the territory of his motherland to be seized by the Heaven Dou Empire. However—
Dai Tianfeng looked at Yu Xiaogang and asked, "You are Tang San's master and the Heaven Dou Empire's national advisor. What will your stance be at that time?"
Yu Xiaogang replied, "Your Majesty, my lifelong wish is only to destroy the Spirit Hall. Once the Spirit Hall is destroyed, my mission will be complete!"
Dai Tianfeng nodded and said, "Very well, then I will set aside the territorial issue for now."
Yu Xiaogang's lips curled slightly, and he returned to the Heaven Dou Empire to tell Xue Qinghe about this matter.
Ultimately, an agreement was reached: the Heaven Dou Empire would effectively occupy these territories, while the Star Luo Empire would retain the right to reclaim them. Both sides would set aside their differences and unite against the Spirit Hall. For his meritorious mediation, Yu Xiaogang was awarded the Star Luo Empire Friendship Medal, the Heaven Dou Empire Friendship Star Medal, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School Unity Medal!
These three gleaming medals adorned Yu Xiaogang's chest, reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight.
Just as the allied forces averted an internal crisis, the Spirit Hall retaliated.
Numerous scandals involving officials of both the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires began appearing in the Spirit Hall's daily newspapers and live broadcasts.
During the Spirit Hall's live broadcast in Heaven Dou City, people stopped to look at the Spirit Hall's crystal screen, which was broadcasting a live story.
In a dimly lit room, a fat man was brutally whipping a young girl with a leather belt.
The man tortured the girl for an hour and a half.
This man was none other than Prince Xue Xing, a highly respected figure in the Heaven Dou Empire.
"My child, that's my child!" A middle-aged woman collapsed upon witnessing this scene.
In the Star Luo Empire, scandals involving military nobles, orchestrated by the Spirit Hall, were rampant. Aside from the scandalous affairs among the nobles, some officers, fond of watching gladiatorial combat, seized groups of civilians, handed them swords, and told them only one would survive.
Cruel and ruthless lords forced their subjects to walk barefoot across a red-hot bronze pillar!
Originally, the people were numbly oppressed by these feudal lords, but after seeing the Spirit Hall's live broadcast, public resentment boiled over.
As if organized, protests erupted throughout the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.
Angry citizens stormed lords' mansions, killing their local lords. However, some brutal lords also killed the protesters. In some places, protesters even took out repeating crossbows and waged guerrilla warfare against the lords' guards.
The provocation of the populace was only one aspect. In recent years, the Spirit Hall's deep financial control over the two empires had allowed it to cultivate a large number of interest groups within both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. While protecting their interests, these groups also engaged in intelligence gathering, personnel subversion, and other activities for the Spirit Hall.
Faced with the Spirit Hall's counterattack, both the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires were deeply troubled.
On one hand, neither empire wanted to go to war with the Spirit Hall; on the other hand, they were also concerned about the rising tide of subversive forces within their territories.
The problems were more severe in the Star Luo Empire. Hua Qiang's establishment of a republic without a king in the Asdeka region had a significant influence on the common people within Star Luo. The Republic of Asdeka also received a large number of Star Luo Empire civilian students each year for training before returning to Star Luo.
Over time, the idea of abolishing feudalism and establishing a republic spread within Star Luo.
In response, the Star Luo Empire adopted a simple and brutal approach. Dai Tianfeng employed a reign of terror, first using his direct legion, the White Tiger Battalion, to investigate the financial dealings between Star Luo officials and the Spirit Hall. After obtaining this list, Dai Tianfeng used a pretext to hold a palace banquet for all officials. On that bloody night, anyone with financial dealings with the Spirit Hall was executed by Dai Tianfeng beforehand.
Blood stained the entire palace; this night became known as the Bloody Night.
Having eliminated a large number of forces with financial ties to the Spirit Hall, the Star Luo Empire's bureaucracy was severely weakened. Dai Tianfeng then directly adopted military control, using his loyal army to rule and impose martial law.
Faced with those who dared to oppose him, the territory, and the Star Luo Empire's rule, Dai Tianfeng issued a direct order:
"Anyone who criticizes the Star Luo Empire's royal family or officials will be executed without mercy. The land of Star Luo belongs to me, to the Star Luo royal family, not to these commoners. In my empire, their only option is to obey me. If they want a republic, then let them seek one from death."
With this order, the White Tiger Legion immediately went into action, committing numerous bloody massacres throughout the Star Luo Empire.
The Spirit Hall exposed the Star Luo Empire's ugliness, and the Star Luo Empire, in turn, stopped hiding and ruled the empire with terror!
Asdeka became a center for spreading rebellious sentiments. The more terrifying Dai Tianfeng's rule, the more it provoked resistance within the Star Luo Empire. Soon, the Star Luo Empire was once again plunged into internal crisis.
The situation in the Heaven Dou Empire was much better than in the Star Luo Empire, but it also faced many troubles.
Prince Xue Xing was furious that the Spirit Hall had exposed his reclusive life and secrets, and directly became a staunch anti-Spirit Hall figure.
Within the Heaven Dou Empire, there was a strong call for war against the Spirit Hall, with zero tolerance and no compromise!
However, as if mocking Prince Xue Xing, the Spirit Hall broadcast his hysterical outburst in the Heaven Dou court live the very next day.
This made Yu Xiaogang and Xue Qinghe deeply aware that the Heaven Dou Empire had been thoroughly infiltrated by the Spirit Hall, and the common people at the lower levels were even more affected, their discontent with the feudal nobility of the Heaven Dou Empire reaching its peak.
"Grand Preceptor, I never imagined that the Spirit Hall's infiltration of our two empires had become so strong. What do you suggest we do next?" Xue Qinghe said, "Are we forced to follow the will of the people and compromise with the Spirit Hall?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately became anxious. His face hardened, and he said, "Your Majesty, we absolutely cannot do that. The people of Heaven Dou are ignorant and foolish; they have been misled by the Spirit Hall. But we, as the elite of this nation, cannot allow the irresponsibility of the common people to allow the Heaven Dou Empire to fall under the dirty rule of the Spirit Hall. We must fight to the end!"
(End of Chapter)