Tribulation of Myriad Races - Chapter 1230

"Xia Huyou, how can the Xia Family slaughter the people of your own prefecture? You have gone mad!"

Xia Huyou said, "We can't force any justice on outsiders, but we can at least do something about our people. You have been enjoying our protection and grace, yet you are completely useless in external conflicts yet incredibly good at internal conflicts. Since the Xia Family is risking destruction, you guys should go to the afterlife in advance to serve as offering for the souls of Xia."

Boom!

One elder after another was killed.

Xia Huyou watched on from the sky indifferently. Since no Skysoars had been called to battle, he intended to leave them alone as well. They only needed to stay out of his way and he wouldn't touch them. But upon noticing someone, he landed on the group.

His gaze settled on a group of individuals attempting to flee. With a sigh, he said, "Huang Qifeng, so you're not dead? How lucky of you. Su Yu must have forgotten about a small fry like you. In fact, I've forgotten about you up until now as well."

Huang Qifeng hurriedly spoke in fear, "Xia Huyou...no, Prince, I'm only an Infinite Strength student. I'm not even a Skysoar. My service was never requested for the battle in Nanyuan..."

"Yes."

Xia Huyou nodded with a smile. Huang Qifeng was slightly relieved to see that.

"Sky! Sunder!"

With a roar and a swing of blade, a severed head dropped to the ground.

The eyes on that head were similarly widened in disbelief.

Xia Huyou looked at the companions of Huang Qifeng and said, "Kill them all. Yes, those below the Skysoar Realm weren't called to battle. But what is this luggage you're carrying with you? Are you preparing to flee Great Xia? The civilians are allowed to do this. But every single one of you is a reserve soldier. You are essentially deserting. The Xia Family will naturally allow you to go free when we are sure of our destruction. We won't ask for all of you to die with us. But we are still around, so why are you fleeing?"

At Xia Huyou's command, a group of soldiers rushed forth and killed all the students attempting to flee the academy.

Slaughter.

And carnage.

Miserable wails sounded all over the academy.

Stepping on the blood-drenched ground, Xia Huyou walked around the academy indifferently. A rumble erupted above him as yet another Mountainsea was killed.

At this time, someone with disheveled hair rushed over and pleaded desperately, "Prince Huyou, I'm from the immortal race! The Immortal King Tian Yu is an ally of the Xia Family! Prince, please explain to these people that I'm different from the other immortals!"

Xia Huyou asked in surprise, "You're still here?"

He laughed, "I thought you were gone to Nanyuan as well. Why are you still here? Fairy Yu Xuan, there are quite a lot of immortals there."

Yu Xuan hurriedly said, "I...I couldn't bring myself to part with you..."

"Come here!" Xia Huyou beckoned at her. He flashed a friendly smile and said, "How touching. You couldn't bear to part with me?"

Yu Xuan flew over with horror on her face. She had not expected that the Xia Family would act against all these people who had refused to fight. These were the experts and geniuses produced by Great Xia.

Furthermore, the Xia Family was even killing the newly recruited students and the myriad race students. They had gone mad. As she approached Xia Huyou, she consoled herself that it would be fine. Xia Huyou adored her. He would protect her to gain the support of the immortals.

That thought had barely crossed her mind when she saw Xia Huyou raising his blade with a smile. Then, her head was severed from her body.

Xia Huyou said with disdain, "Immortal King Tian Yu? He's currently busy fighting our Invincibles."

With one swing of his blade, he had killed the fairy he had been fawning on recently. He even jested that this was a way to preserve her beauty for eternity.

He looked at the sky indifferently before turning to face the soldiers around him. He said, "Cleanse all the faculties. Apart from those commanded to stay behind, kill anyone at the Mountainsea Realm and above you see. As for the Skysoars and Cloudbreaches, arrest them for now. If they resist, kill. Nobody is an exception. Great Xia...has no need for such subjects."

"Yes!"

The soldiers moved out.

The chaos started spreading to the entirety of the city. An expert announced, "Everyone in the city is to remain indoors. The city is now in lockdown. This will remain for three days as we investigate the city for rebels."

Battles were erupting everywhere.

Some experts flew into the sky to flee, and some joined the battle against the soldiers. People were dying left and right.

Xia Huyou couldn't help but sigh. Great Xia had plenty of capable combatants. But with so many people in the prefecture, it was inevitable that they would produce some selfish cowards. It was fine for civilians to be afraid of fighting. But many of these experts had benefited and grown through Xia Family's patronage.

These people had been allowed to grow into powerful families and factions not to abuse their power in the prefecture. Rather, they had been allowed to grow so that they could lead by example in times of war. Alas, some had disobeyed and opted to stay behind.

In the sky, Zhou Mingren, who was riddled with wounds from his battle with the white dragon sighed. He said, "May I say a few words before I die?"

The white dragon looked at Xia Huyou. After giving it a thought, Xia Huyou nodded, "Yes, Faculty Head."

With his injured body, Zhou Mingren landed on the ground. He regarded Xia Huyou with a smile and said, "I understand why I must die. Strictly speaking, I am the culprit who has caused the many years of conflict between the single and multiple character factions."

Xia Huyou nodded, "I understand that you never intended to fully wipe them out. But why did you stay out of the battle in Nanyuan? Faculty Head Hong is there with the others. If you went, we might actually spare you..."

Some of the things the single character faction had done might not have been Zhou Mingren’s intention. The single character faction was large. Some might act independently. He couldn't control everyone.

Zhou Mingren said, "I will still die for disobeying the Knowledge Seeking Realm. But I also understand the terrible reputation of Knowledge Seeking Realm in Great Xia."

"In that case, why did you choose to stay?"

Xia Huyou looked at Zhou Mingren. This was the sole Sunmoon who had remained in the city, excluding the two assisting him with the purge.

Zhou Mingren smiled, "You might not believe me, but I believed that the Xia Family could win. I might be able to preserve my life if I went. But...I'm tired. I have committed too many mistakes in my life. I am too selfish, and I have been tricked one too many times..."

He shook his head and laughed, "I'm not interested in living at the mercy of others, and watching helplessly as Hong Tan and the others regain power. A life of humiliation is not for me. In any case, I'm not innocent. I have knowledge of some matters, but I have merely been feigning ignorance, including the attempt on Feng Ji's life. I was unaware of the matter prior to that, but I was informed after it was done. And I opted to keep silent about it."

He laughed, "I did what I did. It's pointless to regret it. But...I predict you will find yourself in a problem of considerable size soon."

"Me?" Xia Huyou said, "What manner of problem will I encounter?"

Zhou Mingren said, "I contacted some people. They will be here soon."

"Who are those people?"

"I informed them that Great Xia's defenses were on the brink of collapse. In the capital, Senior White is the only Sunmoon left. In the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, countless grottos, cultivation methods, and other resources can be found. The Xia Family also has countless secret arts and treasures waiting for plunder."

Zhou Mingren grinned, "Thus, you will feel quite troubled soon. The criminals and other unsavory elements of humanity, some single character faction experts, and some Knowledge Seeking Realm experts might all be upon the city soon. Some might already be here. Protected by a single eighth-stage Sunmoon, the city is as good as naked. What do you think?"

Xia Huyou sighed, "So you created more trouble for me."

Zhou Mingren nodded, "But...I'm confident you have a way of solving this problem. Am I right? However, I advise you to keep me alive for now. It's fine to kill Mountainseas. Killing me will create a dropping moon everyone can see. They know that apart from Senior White, I'm the only Sunmoon left in the city. With my death, they will know that their plan to plunder the city has been exposed."

Xia Huyou asked, "Are they even capable of handling Senior White?"

One ought to remember that the old dragon was an eighth-stage Sunmoon.

After coughing a mouthful of blood from his injuries, Zhou Mingren said, "They can. Perhaps a ninth-stage Sunmoon will arrive. Or maybe three eighth-stage Sunmoons will come. Those will probably be individuals of considerable status in the Human Realm. Will you find the courage to kill such important individuals?"

"Why must you overestimate me so?" Xia Huyou shook his head, "This trouble is too much for me to deal with. Are you trying to get Xia Family destroyed?"

"Not at all." Zhou Mingren smiled, "I did notice that all of you were trying to lure more people to Great Xia. Just look at all those children of influential families and experts gathered in Nanyuan. I reckon none of them will survive. Our prefecture is, after all, great at producing lunatics. And since our lunatics are out in full force, I'm certain a massacre will follow. I was worried that you wouldn't get enough people to kill so I did what I could to contribute more lives to your blade."

Xia Huyou asked in surprise, "So you were aware of our plan?"

Zhou Mingren laughed again, "Of course. How many years have I been a peer of Hong Tan? Even Ye Batian and Yun Chen were people I had spent many years around. It was only a matter of time before I found out. In fact, when I first laid eyes on Wan Tiansheng after Ye Batian's death, I understood one thing. He has gone mad. He would seek revenge. But then...he stayed idle for fifty years. He did not even speak of it. When he acted against Yuming, that was a warning to me. I understood his meaning..."

Xia Huyou regarded Zhou Mingren silently. If he knew, why did he continue working against them?

Zhou Mingren laughed, "You don't understand. The multiple character faction has a special trait. Or should I say they have a major weakness? All of them are hopelessly loyal. Their unwillingness to be decisive has proven to be fatal to them. People like Ye Batian, the first and third principals, and even Wan Tiansheng share this weakness.

"Unless you truly force them, they will always find a reason to spare those they should have killed. For example, some were their former comrades. Some were their colleagues. They extended too much mercy to these people. In the end, Ye Batian died. And these people they had spared all jumped at the opportunity to turn against them.

"Isn't that foolish? Because of their stupidity, their juniors suffered. In truth, I had a decent relationship with them back then. If I were to apologize, they might even spare me. But I doubt I will stay idle if I stay alive. One day, I will turn against them again."

Xia Huyou asked, "So you're sacrificing yourself for them?"

"Not at all. I'm not that great a man." Zhou Mingren said, "I am merely uninterested in relying on their mercy to stay alive. That is too lowly an existence for my liking. I am also tired of being a chess piece. That will only make me look stupid. Everyone might think that the Zhou Family is the culprit in the suppression of the multiple character faction, but they have never been too involved. The only thing they did was plant me in Great Xia. They knew what I would end up doing. They knew me too well. They were complicit in all I did even if they had kept their hands mostly clean."

Xia Huyou said nothing.

Zhou Mingren continued, "I have one more thing to inform you, but I haven't been able to verify anything. This is merely a speculation of mine. I have been silent about it since it might be misleading. Are you interested?"

Xia Huyou smiled, "Tell me about it."

After a short hesitation, Zhou Mingren switched to voice transmission, "The Zhou Family has been researching the growth of characters. Characters, not cultural researchers. For example, they can have someone in the Mental Tempering Stage form a character. When the cultivator reaches a point where manifesting the character is possible, the Zhou Family will harvest the character before cultivating it independently of any cultivator."

Xia Huyou frowned slightly and replied, "This is indeed important. But...what's the big deal about a research like this?"

Zhou Mingren replied, "You're wrong. It's very important. Do you know who was the first person to propose this idea?"

"Zhou Polong?"

"No. His father, the one known as the Junior Zhou King." Zhou Mingren said, "With his death, the Zhou Family was forced to start from scratch since his research data was lost in the Allheaven Battlefield alongside him. In fact, the research was only resumed when Zhou Polong discovered some leftover data of his deceased father."

Xia Huyou was confused. And what was the problem with that?