Chapter 538: Plan Initiated: Diverting the Disaster Eastward

"This..." Xu Rong was speechless.

In the past, this Glory Shield martial soul was proof of his loyalty, but now, as the national strength of the Gu Lei Kingdom grew day by day, his own cultivation had not improved in the slightest; instead, it had become the key handle Nan Tianchen had caught on him.

He could not push everything onto his own lack of aptitude; after all, given the insufficient national strength of the Gu Lei Kingdom, he was the only one in his family to have cultivated to the Spirit Saint realm.

Now that everyone else had broken through one after another, only he remained at a standstill; as for cultivation resources, the state had not given them any less.

If he were to blame the outside world for the problem now, it would be no different from covering one's ears while stealing a bell—did he take Nan Tianchen for an idiot?

However, he could not truly admit that he had already betrayed him. "Your Majesty, this humble subject... this humble subject was merely negligent in cultivation and failed to live up to Your Majesty's great favor. Please, Your Majesty, forgive my sins; this humble subject is willing to atone for my crimes from now on."

Xu Rong knelt on the ground, covered in cold sweat. He naturally knew that his words were nine times out of ten unable to deceive Nan Tianchen; he only hoped that he could look at his many years of service and give him a way out.

In fact, after the rise of the Gu Lei Kingdom in recent years, his mindset had changed again; he had been thinking of re-pledging his loyalty to the Gu Lei Kingdom. As long as Nan Tianchen gave him a chance today, he would never betray him again.

But how could Nan Tianchen let him off so easily? He said contemptuously, "Negligent in cultivation? Was the time you spent being negligent in cultivation used to write letters to the Spirit Hall? I have intercepted at least seven letters you wrote to the Spirit Hall over these years, only to have them sent out for you again later."

"What?" Xu Rong was startled; Nan Tianchen had actually known his identity all along.

He just never exposed him, and even helped him send the letters out after intercepting them, letting him believe he had never been exposed.

"What, you don't believe it? Do you want me to recite the contents of a few of your letters?" Nan Tianchen asked coldly.

"No, no, no! This humble subject knows his wrong, please spare my life, Your Majesty!" Xu Rong kowtowed in a hurry. At this point, he finally understood that Nan Tianchen was not suspecting him, but had conclusive evidence.

If he continued to deny it, he would only look like a clown.

As for putting up a desperate struggle, that was even more impossible; he was only a Spirit Saint, and the King before him had already broken through to Title Douluo—if they fought, he could be killed in an instant.

He had originally defected to the Spirit Hall to become stronger, but he was a person who cherished his life very much, so the only way now was to beg for his life.

Nan Tianchen leaned back on his throne and asked indifferently, "Xu Rong, your family has been loyal to our country for many years and should be well-versed in our national laws. I ask you, how should the crime of treason be punished?"

"It should be the confiscation of property and the extermination of the clan!" How could Xu Rong not understand the laws of the country?

Even if it were not the Gu Lei Kingdom, in any country, treason was the primary capital crime; even being beheaded was considered a mercy.

Confiscation of property and extermination of the clan was the norm.

Thinking of this, Xu Rong immediately kowtowed three times. "Your Majesty, this humble subject knows I am guilty and dare not hope to live, but my clansmen did not know of my secret actions; they are innocent. I hope Your Majesty will show mercy."

"I know this. You and the Spirit Hall acted in secret; the more people who knew, the more dangerous it would be. I think you aren't stupid to that extent," Nan Tianchen said. "Moreover, as our national strength has grown, the strength of your clansmen has also improved; this is the best evidence that they remain loyal to our country. I am not a tyrant and will not kill subjects who are loyal to our country."

"Thank you for your great grace, Your Majesty." Xu Rong breathed a sigh of relief; this way, even if he died, at least he would not become a sinner to his family.

"However..." Nan Tianchen's tone shifted. "Xu Rong, the Xu family has produced a traitor in you after all. Once your affairs are announced to the world, your family will become sinners in the eyes of all the people in our Gu Lei Kingdom. Even if I do not kill them, they will be unable to take a single step. If you wish to avoid this outcome, I grant you a chance to atone for your crimes through service."

"Atone for crimes through service?" Xu Rong was startled; he still had a chance to atone for his crimes. "Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

"You will write a piece of intelligence and immediately convey it to Bibi Dong. Then, go to Gengxin City; I have left something for you there. If you go and retrieve it, then I will let bygones be bygones regarding all your past mistakes, and I can also ensure your family's glory for ten thousand years," Nan Tianchen ordered.

Xu Rong was overjoyed upon hearing this. "This humble subject obeys the decree and thanks Your Majesty for your great grace."

Nan Tianchen nodded. "Remember the content of the letter: Our Gu Lei Kingdom, in order to resist the Spirit Empire, has chosen to cooperate with the Two Great Empires. During the cooperation talks, the person sent by Star Luo to preside over the talks is Tang San. My son, Nan Feihuang, has chosen to use Tang San as the leading force of the alliance, because he has not only obtained the power of Slaughter City but has also shown that he is the successor of the Asura God, the person who can truly resist the Spirit Empire in the future."

As Nan Tianchen spoke, Xu Rong wrote; the more he wrote, the more shocked he became, for the intelligence he spoke of was too astonishing and enough to overturn the pattern of this entire continent.

Soon, this letter fell into the hands of Bibi Dong.

"It is actually... that Tang San!" Bibi Dong knew of the Bloodthirsty Douluo, so she naturally had already guessed that Dai Mubai had received help from Slaughter City.

She had never been clear about the reason for Slaughter City, or rather, the Asura God doing this. This letter explained it completely. It turned out that it was that Tang San who had actually obtained the qualification for the Asura God's trials.

She had originally thought that Nan Feihuang was her greatest enemy; she had not expected that such a formidable enemy was secretly developing in the shadows.

She understood that now the Star Luo Empire posed a greater threat than the Gu Lei Kingdom. After all, no matter how powerful Nan Feihuang was, as long as he had not yet obtained a God Trial, he would always be an ordinary Title Douluo, and to a god, he was merely an ant.

Once she became the Rakshasa God, she could destroy him in minutes.

But the Asura God was different; that was a God King-level deity, one rank higher than her Rakshasa God.

Therefore, she absolutely could not give the Tang Family any more time, otherwise, the Spirit Hall would be in danger. After all, the deep hatred between the Tang Family and the Spirit Hall was, compared to Nan Feihuang, even worse.

She did not doubt the authenticity of the letter, because the intelligence on it could not have been fabricated without considerable understanding.

Moreover, Slaughter City was indeed the inheritance site of the Asura God; those who went there and successfully killed their way out all had a certain chance of obtaining the Asura God's inheritance.

She had let Hu Liena go there, besides for training, also hoping to see if she could try her luck. Unfortunately, Hu Liena only brought back the Killing God Domain.

Of course, she was not without any precautions; she tried to communicate with the Rakshasa God through her own Rakshasa God Seal to determine whether the Asura God had truly birthed a new successor.

The Rakshasa God also held half of the control over Slaughter City now; if she wanted to know the intelligence over there, it was not difficult.

Even if the Asura God had a successor, it might not necessarily be Tang San. After all, besides Tang San, didn't Nan Feihuang also kill his way out of Slaughter City? As long as one's eyes weren't blind, between these two, one would definitely choose Nan Feihuang.

As it turned out, the Rakshasa God gave her an affirmative answer.

Yes! The Asura God indeed had a new successor.

She tried to communicate again: did the new successor have the surname Tang, or the surname Nan? The answer given by the Rakshasa God was also very clear: the surname Tang!

At this, Bibi Dong had no more doubts. The content of the letter was true; Tang San was the successor of the Asura God and could not be left alive.

Thus, Xun Yu's scheme was complete. In fact, there was a very huge intelligence gap between Bibi Dong and him.

First, regarding the Gu Lei Kingdom's choice to cooperate with the Tang Family, she wanted to prevent it as much as possible, because she did not know that Tang Hao had already died at the hands of Nan Feihuang. In her perception, although there was friction between the Tang Family and Feihuang, there had not yet been any real casualties between them, so there was no irreconcilable blood feud. Under the threat of the Spirit Empire, it was reasonable to temporarily set aside hatred and cooperate; for the sake of survival, this was a very normal situation.

Second, Bibi Dong only knew that Feihuang had strong talent, but did not know that he had also obtained a God Trial. Therefore, she naturally thought that time was more important to the Tang Family now, and she could not give them that time.

Third, anyway, she currently did not have the ability to fight a two-front war against the Two Great Empires, so it was the same whichever side she attacked. The reason she chose Heaven Dou previously was simply because of the existence of the Balak Kingdom.

But now, compared to Nan Feihuang, who was a long way from becoming a god, Tang San, who was closer to the Asura God Position, was clearly her greatest threat.

Bibi Dong did not know that the Clear Sky Sect had already emerged from the mountains, nor did she know the news that the Slaughter King was Tang Chen.

In her perception, even if Tang San was the successor of the Asura God and could use the power of Slaughter City with the Asura God's permission, there were only two Title Douluo inside Slaughter City.

The Bloodthirsty Douluo was just at the level of an ordinary Spirit Hall Elder.

The Slaughter King was indeed very strong, but Bibi Dong did not consider him in the direction of a Limit Douluo, thinking at most he was a level 97 or 98 Super Douluo.

Compared to the Gu Lei Kingdom, this bone was much softer and easier to gnaw.

Xun Yu wanted to use this intelligence gap to let the Spirit Hall launch a surprise attack on Star Luo, while also letting Star Luo catch the Spirit Hall off guard.

Only in this way could both sides suffer heavy losses, thereby forging an even deeper hatred.

(End of chapter)