Chapter 517: A Riposte

The more Yun Yang spoke, the uglier Marquis Yun's expression grew. His gaze towards Yun Yang was full of surprise.

There were only this person's sudden appearance and the tiniest bit of information, but Yun Yang had actually connected so many dots! Based on Yun Yang's train of thought, he had practically exposed this person's entire background.

Such intelligence and the ability to make inferences was simply amazing!

However, Marquis Yun also thought to himself, "That's right. From the outside to inside, the connections are easily spotted. Now, only the source has been left a mystery. Why hadn't they thought about that? Where is the source of this from?"

It was not only Marquis Yun who had not thought about it, Fang Mofei and Bai Yixue had not come to the realization as well. Bai Yixue was ranked among the top ten of the world's swordsmen while Fang Mofei was from the Concourse of the Underworld; they were all astute characters. It was worth pondering!

Yun Yang reminded, "It's obvious that this person is here to find fault, he has made his stance very clear. However, the first question he asked was about royalty. This question is thought-provoking. After we answered him, he just left and almost forgot his question... Now though, where has he gone to?"

"I guess... if I am correct, this person must have gone to Tiantang City in search of His Majesty."

Yun Yang said, "This person's background must be related to a colossal force, a reclusive sect that we have yet to encounter. Perhaps His Majesty knows and can give us an answer. If Old Marshal Qiu wasn't comatose, he might know too..."

"Nonetheless, the flagrant stance of the other party gives us time to ponder their motives. Similarly, issues like this person's identity and the existence of the sect aren't much of an issue to us."

"Sooner or later, we will meet again. Worse to the worst, even if it's indeed a terribly impressive presence, it wouldn't be too difficult to tackle if this Immortal Dahuang is anything to go by." Yun Yang said smiling.

His smile turned relaxed. "Right, let us complete our plundering today. This is the last wave, and this wave is incredibly profitable..."

Marquis Yun and Bai Yixue were both utterly speechless.

...

On the other side of the fray, His Majesty was still waiting with his arms behind his back, looking forward to the return of his warriors.

Suddenly, ominous grey clouds rolled in from the sky, staining the entire sky with a layer of ink. Immediately, a black silhouette appeared under the clouds, hovering in midair.

This person exuded confidence as he stood tall and ethereal. With his arms on his back and his eyes looking into the distance, he asked in a soft voice, "Is the Empire of Yutang's emperor below?"

His Majesty could not help but frown at the sight of the person who had appeared out of nowhere and assumed a higher authority, saying, "May I ask who this is?"

The person smiled faintly and recited, "Who is to decide the rise and fall since the beginning of time, who is to rule the state and reign mountain and rivers; who is to gather the clouds into a brush, who is to pluck the stars and consume the mist... Does Your Majesty know who I am now?"

The emperor was bewildered and said, "It would be better that I ask for you to speak plainly."

The person scoffed, as if disappointed with the Emperor of Yutang's attitude; his head remained lifted as he walked down, step by step, in the air. There was nothing but a void under his feet but it was like he was walking down a staircase.

"Emperor of Yutang, do you know that your Empire of Yutang has gone against destiny and defied heaven's will?"

A realization seemed to occur to His Majesty but he still stood calmly and replied, "I don't understand what you are saying. Since I took the throne, I've made a lot of effort to govern this empire and bring peace to the world. I treated my hundreds of millions of people the same, I have tried my hardest to maintain the country's position among the dominating nations. I don't know what I could have done to violate heaven's will. I am beyond confused."

Immortal Dahuang's tone was still indifferent, his voice light and lithe, "Heaven's will cannot be seen by mortal eyes, but it is everywhere and at any time. What you think is right may not be and what you think is wrong might not be as well. Your unintentional struggles may be the realization of heaven's will!"

A vague flash of ridicule pooled in the deeper part of the emperor's eyes as he answered unhurriedly, "Oh? Could you give me an example?"

"For example, a person was intended to die today. If he lives until tomorrow, it is a violation of heaven's will and has obstructed the flow of the bigger picture. This is defiance, defying destiny with one's own power. This shouldn't be done and one will definitely bear the consequences!" Immortal Dahuang said.

His tone turned harsher as he said, "Similarly, the theory is the same when we speak of a country."

"I see. I wonder which of heaven's wills that the Empire of Yutang has violated then? How has it defied destiny and what consequences should it bear?" questioned His Majesty.

Immortal Dahuang replied, "Yutang should have been subjugated in this war of the century of a four-nation siege, while Dongxuan is where destiny points at to go with the flow and become the foundation to rule Tianxuan in the future. However, the Empire of Yutang has won, defying God and violating heaven's will. It is a big taboo and you should pay heftily for it."

His Majesty was not enraged, but he chortled, saying. "So this is heaven's will. I wonder how this expert knows about this heaven's will?"

"I am the executor of heaven's will, of course I know the wonders of it," said Immortal Dahuang, looking grim and proper for the first time since he had appeared.

"Executer of heaven's will... This is my first time hearing of such a vocation. I never knew that there was such an occupation in this world."

An amused grin hung on His Majesty's lips. "Does this mean that since this is heaven's will... you all will have the final say?"

Emperor of Yutang had always been a paragon, a bona fide specialist of a man.

He only had a short encounter with the Immortal Dahuang but he already had some insight from this person's words. It looked like this random expert who spoke about heaven's will and defying the grandeur of things was not terribly bright. He had not even stated who he was until now, merely emphasizing that he and Yutang had gone against heaven's will and won the four-nation siege that they should not, and should be punished!

This was terribly absurd and ridiculous.

Was it actually a sin to win a war?

Perhaps this point of view would be accepted in any other country aside from Yutang, but Yutang would never accept such nonsense! No matter how high the cultivation base and how mighty the speaker was, it was still nonsense!

At the same time, something crucial had occurred to His Majesty. This person before him had not just popped into existence; he must have a background. If what he said about heaven's will was true, then there must be a terrifying force behind him.

Yet if such a force existed, why would they send someone like this, to begin with? To offend people and expose their weakness?

Worse come to worst, even if there were indeed heaven's will, how could one talk to an emperor who held an entirely different opinion right in front of the public? Did he not see the tens of thousands of people around them! These were Yutang's people - say, was he that foolish?

"Of course we have the final say about heaven's will!" Immortal Dahuang blurted without hesitation.

Anyone who heard such a grandiose statement would think that it was nonsensical words uttered by an idiot!

The emperor wore a meaningful smile. "Let me see if I understand this - whoever you all say shall be the ruler of the world, whoever it is, shall be the ruler of the world. Is this what you are saying?"

"Certainly!" Immortal Dahuang raised his chin proudly.

The emperor continued, "If that is the case, can I take it a step further and say that whichever country you all claim has to conquer the world, that country will be conquering the world? Even if it can't, it has to?"