The Zhou Yuan trio exited the underground palace and met up with Wei Canglan and the rest outside the ruins.

Upon seeing that the trio were safe and sound, Wei Canglan, Lu Tieshan and the rest breathed a sigh of relief. Only the Black Venom King felt that it was rather unfortunate, but did not dare to show his true feelings.

“Black Venom King, you should have some influence in Blackwater, right?” Zhou Yuan was all smiles as he stared at the respectful face of the Black Venom King. Zhou Yuan was aware that the latter was a ruthless character and would not be submit to him willingly, but he did not mind. As long as the Spirit Locking Rune jade was in his hands, there was nothing that the Black Venom King could do.

The Black Venom King hastily responded, “Is there anything your highness needs me to do? There are few who dare to challenge my authority in Black Venom City.”

Zhou Yuan chuckled. “Since that is so, send some men to the valley from earlier and make sure no one enters.”

There were an enormous number of battle puppets in the underground palace. This was an extremely formidable force. Although the Genesis Rune boundary could stop intruders, Zhou Yuan still wanted to have some people around as insurance.

Moreover, in the chaotic Blackwater, the influence of Black Venom City was obviously greater than the Great Zhou Empire.

Zhou Yuan then looked towards Wei Canglan and said, “Great general, now that the Fire Spirit Grain has landed in the hands of the royal clan, Qi Manor will definitely not let this matter rest. I’m afraid that Qi Manor will begin their rebellion soon.”

Wei Canglan’s heart shivered when he heard these words. If Qi Manor were to rebel, the Great Zhou Empire would definitely descend into chaos.

However, he knew the situation Zhou Yuan spoke of would likely occur. After all, the Fire Spirit Grain was far too important, and the royal clan’s power would only grow stronger and stronger once they began to cultivate it until the day came where they would easily suppress Qi Manor.

Therefore, there was no way that Qi Yuan would just sit and wait for death.

Zhou Yuan stared at Wei Canglan and slowly said, “I hope that great general will be able to help us eliminate Qi Manor.”

Not only was Wei Canglan an Alpha-Origin expert, he also controlled the Canglan Army, a powerful and influential force in the Great Zhou Empire. His aid would make a great difference against Qi Manor.

Wei Canglan was silent for a while. Just some time back, he would have chosen to watch from the sidelines if the royal clan and Qi Manor were to go to war. However, the current situation was different from before.

The originally waning royal clan seemed to have suddenly become rather powerful.

For example, the girl in green and the seemingly cute little creature in her arms were equal to two Alpha-Origin experts.

What’s more, Zhou Yuan had forced the Black Venom King into submission.

As such, the royal clan now possessed the power of four Alpha-Origin stage experts.

Such power far surpassed Qi Manor and his own faction.

At this point, Wei Canglan suddenly felt a little frightened. The eyes that now looked towards the faintly smiling young man before him had now become somewhat different. It seemed that all of the odds had begun to fall in the royal clan’s favor ever since this youngster had arrived at Canglan County.

The current royal clan was nothing compared to before. The seemingly ever waning existence in everyone’s eyes had started to change after the appearance of this young prince…

Respect emerged on Wei Canglan’s solemn face as he looked at Zhou Yuan and declared in a solemn voice, “Don’t worry your highness, as the great general of the Great Zhou Empire, it is my duty to put down all rebels!”

Lu Tieshan and the rest were overjoyed when they heard Wei Canglan state his position. When they looked towards Zhou Yuan again, their eyes were filled with both admiration and reverence. His majesty had been unable to solve the Wei Canglan issue even after so many years, but who could have imagined that Zhou Yuan would earn the full support of the great general mere months after arriving at Canglan County.

Zhou Yuan cupped his fists together and smiled, “Then I’ll have to thank great general.”

Zhou Yuan was not surprised by Wei Canglan’s decision. The past royal clan had been in the decline and relied solely on Zhou Qing to uphold the situation. Unfortunately, he was kept in check by Qi Yuan at all times, allowing Wei Canglan to reign freely over Canglan County. Things however had now begun to change and Zhou Yuan clearly understood the power he currently possessed at his side, power that Wei Canglan also knew very well now.

Such power was enough to threaten the great general’s faction.

Dignity originated from power. Since the royal clan possessed power again, dignity would naturally follow suit. As long as Wei Canglan was not a fool, he should understand his status and what he should do.

The future Great Zhou Empire would likely no longer permit the great general to ignore royal decrees.

Wei Canglan said, “Your highness, I will follow you back to Great Zhou City and have an audience with his majesty, while Qingqing will reorganize the Canglan Army. If Qi Manor tries anything funny, the Canglan Army will move out immediately.”

“Nothing will be better.” Zhou Yuan smiled and nodded. The act of following him to Great Zhou City alone was in itself a display of Wei Canglan’s current stance.

“Then I will stay behind in Blackwater to help your highness keep an eye on the other factions here, so as to prevent them from causing additional trouble if the Great Zhou Empire falls into chaos.”

Zhou Yuan smiled thinly as he looked towards the Black Venom King. “Given your strength, it would be a waste of talent for you to stay behind in Blackwater. So you will also follow me to Great Zhou City.”

If Qi Manor started a rebellion, it would definitely be a world-shaking affair. Hence, Zhou Yuan would never allow an Alpha-Origin expert such as the Black Venom King to hide in Blackwater.

The Black Venom King had a pained look on his face. How could he not know that following Zhou Yuan to Great Zhou City most likely meant that he would surely be dispatched to the risky vanguard once the fighting started.

However, Zhou Yuan possessed the Spirit Locking jade, thus the Black Venom King could not object.

“Let’s go, there is no time to lose. Quickly return to Great Zhou City!”

Zhou Yuan raised his head and looked towards the direction of Great Zhou City as iciness surged in his eyes.

Qi Manor, you’ve acted so arrogantly for so many years. Now, it is time for me to properly punish you lot!

...

Several days later.

Great Zhou City, Qi Manor.

Crash!

A teacup smashed into the ground and shattered to pieces as Qi Yuan abruptly stood up. His expression was twisted in rage as he stared at the kneeling Qi Ling before him and howled in disbelief, “What did you say?! Qi Hao was killed by Zhou Yuan?! And the Fire Spirit Grain was taken by them?!”

By the side stood an one-arm Qi Yue who mumbled to himself, “How can this be possible?! Elder brother’s strength is at the advance Qi Nourishing stage. Won’t killing Zhou Yuan be as easy as a flip of his palm?!”

An ashen face Qi Ling trembled as he spoke, “Your servant does not know how Zhou Yuan did it, but first young master has indeed died at his hands.”

“Although we managed to get the Black Venom King on our side, Zhou Yuan managed to obtain Wei Canglan’s support.”

Qi Yuan’s face was twisted, no longer having any sign of the calmness he usually had as he roared, “Didn’t you have the spirit controlling flute? Wasn’t it able to control the giant python-type battle puppet?”

Qi Ling was almost crying as he responded, “But Zhou Yuan had a little beast at his side that had the strength of the Alpha-Origin stage, and even the giant battle puppet python was destroyed by it.”

“What?!” Qi Yuan’s pupils shrank. He had not heard this information before.

“Moreover, the girl in green at Zhou Yuan’s side is extremely proficient in the art of Genesis Runes and can draw grade 4 Genesis Runes!”

Qi Yuan’s five fingers tightly clenched into a fist as his complexion turned ashen. “Impossible! If the royal clan possessed such power, they would have taken action against Qi Manor long ago!”

Qi Ling hastily said, “Everything your servant has said is true!”

Qi Yuan’s expression fluctuated indeterminately. He knew that there was no need for Qi Ling to lie about such things, as such, they were likely true.

But this only confused Qi Yuan even more. After all, he had been closely monitoring the royal clan all this time, and clearly understood just how much power they had. How did an Alpha-Origin Genesis Beast and a master proficient in grade 4 Genesis Runes suddenly appear?

Qi Ling urgently said, “My lord, the royal clan’s power has risen dramatically and even Wei Canglan has sided with them. If we wait till they arrive at Great Zhou City, they will surely link up with Zhou Qing and attack you. We need to think of a countermeasure as soon as possible!”

Qi Yuan’s expression turned stormy. He slowly sat down as a vicious look flashed across his face.

“It seems that I have indeed underestimated Zhou Qing. I originally believed that the only route left for the royal clan was to slowly die off. Who could have imagined that he would actually be able to create such a reversal!”

Qi Yuan’s voice was chillingly cold. “However, such power might have been able to threaten me a year ago. But now, it won’t be so easy for them.”

“Fortunately for us, thanks to that little bastards deeds, his reputation has already spread to the ears of the Great Wu Empire’s crown prince. The noble prince dislikes such news to sully his ears and has increased the support given to us, clearly intending on using us to eliminate that little bastard.”

Cold light flashed in Qi Yuan’s eyes, his hand slamming onto the table as he decisively said, “We’ll leave Great Zhou City and head back to Qi County. I originally planned on allowing Zhou Qing to enjoy some peace for a few years, but since they are so intent on courting death, I will grant them their wish!”

He stood up, his eyes dripping with venom, his expression turning sinister as a demon as he turned towards the direction of the royal palace.

“Little brat Zhou Yuan, since you dare to kill my son, I will make sure your entire family is buried together with you!”

As his words faded, he had already walked out of the room, Qi Yue and Qi Ling following behind.

...

The next day. Zhou Yuan and his group finally arrived at Great Zhou City after travelling at full speed.

However, the moment they entered the city, a short message spread from Qi Manor.

“Qi Manor seeks independence to establish the Great Qi Empire. Hence, we announce our withdrawal from the Great Zhou Empire.”

“King Zhou’s mediocrity has caused the Great Zhou Empire to become fractured and broken, its citizens forced into suffering. The Great Qi Empire seeks to follow the will of heaven and replace the Great Zhou Empire.”

Thus, the entire Great Zhou Empire was shocked.