Chapter 702

Great Martial God State, Iron Cauldron Mountain City.

A thousand zhang tall, square on all sides, each side a thousand li long, atop the mountain peak a mighty city stands.

Majestic in aura, crude and ancient in form, like a city hewn by a barbaric giant with a great axe, above it thirty-six Four-Spirit warships spew forth ten thousand zhang of spiritual light, silently hovering there.

Tens of thousands of standard warships arrayed in neat formations, casting vast shadows over the city.

Above the mountain city, the usually bustling myriad spatial gates are today silent, with not a single ship entering or leaving.

Inside Iron Cauldron Mountain City, on a high platform a hundred zhang tall with a top side several zhang long, a great throne stands; Wu Tie sits upon it, looking down from above upon the countless kneeling figures on the vast square below.

In the Great Martial God State, the Wu clan of the imperial family, aside from the main line holding the throne, the other branch lines total three hundred twenty-three houses; these branch lines share the state's power and resources, making them equivalent to the martial gates of the Qingqiu God State and the aristocratic clans of the Great Wei God State.

All the Divine Realm elders of the Great Martial God State, and all the elite half-step Divine Realm cultivators, have perished on the dueling battlefield.

Now including the Wu clan's main line, all the senior members of the Wu clan's three hundred twenty-four houses, bringing their direct blood relatives and the clan's elite young men, totaling over a million, have all gathered here, kneeling thick as grass.

Around the vast square, on the huge hall roofs, countless wood spirits hold longbows, their sharp gazes fixed upon these Wu clan direct descendants.

Furthermore, countless burly earth spirits wield great axes, forming neat ranks that encircle the entire square; the cold light flashes on their axes, awaiting Wu Tie's command to rush in and hack wildly.

The fate of the entire Wu clan lies in Wu Tie's hands.

Unlike Linghu Qingqing's usurpation, Linghu Qingqing, as a minister, seized the former dynasty's throne; even if done for show, he still granted a fief to the former Jin God State's imperial clan, guaranteeing their basic personal safety.

But Wu Tie is a conqueror.

A conqueror needs no talk of benevolence and righteousness.

A conqueror can act as he pleases.

The three hundred twenty-four houses' senior members stand in neat rows, kneeling reverently beneath the platform, cold sweat pouring from their foreheads like rain, continually dripping to the ground.

They want to rebel, they want to flee.

But look at the hundreds of Divine Realm elders from the dozens of Great Wei clans hovering near the platform—who dares to rebel, who dares to flee?

They dare not move a muscle, even their breathing slowed to the utmost, made as gentle as possible.

In the Divine Realm, only Divine Realm elders can oppose Divine Realm elders; this is nearly a truth.

A million Wu clan direct descendants could be easily wiped out by just a dozen Divine Realm elders taking action, let alone the massive fleet overhead and the countless elite five-element spirits surrounding them.

Wu Tie's fingers lightly tapped the throne's armrest.

He feels little for the Great Martial God State.

In truth, there is no grudge or gratitude between us; Wu Tie infiltrated the Jin God State and then became a minister of the Qingqiu God State, but frankly he harbors no complex feelings of national or familial hatred toward the Great Martial God State.

"All, reduced to commoners." Wu Tie announced the final disposition of the Wu clan: "You will no longer have privileges, no longer stand above others; from now on you are just ordinary, common folk among my hundreds of millions of subjects."

"Don't think of restoring the state, don't think of revenge; you cannot do it." Wu Tie gave a cold snort: "I will not give you a chance."

"Of course, you may try to cause trouble for me... but if any Wu clan member is found causing trouble for me, I will kill a thousand of your kin; if ten Wu clan members cause trouble, I will kill ten thousand of yours. Calculate how many kin your Wu clan has—can you withstand my slaughter several times over?"

"Well, those at the Chonglou Realm and below can just be left alone. Those at the Life Pond Realm and Embryo Storage Realm, all place soul-spirit seals on them and have them serve me in the army... To be frank, though I don't care if you jump out to cause trouble for me, it's better to save some hassle, save some hassle."

"All your real estate, land, all cultivation resources, all wealth, everything you once enjoyed, is mine." Wu Tie waved his hand: "Each adult male may take one ordinary spirit weapon; everything else—medicinal pills, talismans, puppets, warships... everything, all wealth, is mine."

"In short... from today on, you are ordinary commoners." Wu Tie said coldly: "Huang Lang, settle them, provide them with basic livelihood..."

He slightly turned his head, Wu Tie glanced at Huang Lang standing beside the throne, and gave a grin.

"I recall the Great Martial God State practices slavery? Hmm, investigate carefully, see what life the state's people lead. Settle them according to the average living standard of the Great Martial God State's populace."

The countless Wu clan descendants kneeling on the ground stared wide-eyed, unable to speak.

The Great Martial God State practices slavery; true commoners are extremely few, extremely few—over ninety percent of the populace are slaves. What life do those slaves lead? It is worse than that of dogs and pigs.

Averaging the living standards of ninety percent slaves and less than ten percent commoners... is that not essentially a slave's life?

Those slaves who toil daily in fields, forests, mines, and construction sites—what do they eat, what do they drink, where do they live?

Wu Tie had Huang Lang settle them according to that standard?

How can those accustomed to fine clothes and jade food endure this? Even many imperial clan youths, having left their servants, cannot even dress themselves—no exaggeration, truly many imperial princes have never put on clothes by themselves!

But facing Wu Tie, they have no strength or courage to resist.

They can only, according to Wu Tie's will, have those whose cultivation reaches the Life Pond Realm or above conscripted into the army to serve Wu Tie.

Those whose cultivation is below the Life Pond Realm will be relocated in all directions, becoming the most ordinary commoners. They will have a dwelling sturdy enough but certainly not spacious or luxurious, they will be allotted a small plot of land, and then their food, clothing, housing, and travel will all have to rely on themselves.

They must learn to labor, learn to dig for food from the fields, learn to sustain themselves and their kin with sweat.

Those who learn can live.

Those who cannot learn...

Wu Tie no longer looked at those dispirited former Great Martial God State imperial nobles; he glanced at his many retainers nearby and waved a hand casually: "From now on there is no Great Martial God State, only my Wu State."

"Well, all you ministers are my arms and shoulders; I trust you."

"Two matters."

All the Wu State ministers, including Li Xuan'gui and Yuan Qilin, etc., simultaneously bent over to listen to Wu Tie's command.

"First, the Great Martial will have no more slaves... take care of this matter for me."

"Second, regarding the establishment of all Wu State institutions, you also discuss and give me a proper method. Who will hold which office—give you three days to discuss and report back. Also, for those households that have surrendered to me, determine how much fief they should receive and where it is—give you three days to discuss and report back."

"Alright, go attend to business."