The so-called Meeting of Kings was, in essence, a process of bringing the disputes among the various Kings out into the open, allowing the Three Emperors to step in and help resolve them—something akin to mediation.
Throughout the entire process, Jiuyou kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, her mind drifting elsewhere.
There was no helping it. During the period when she was absent from the Nine Nether Palace, the palace had barely been able to protect itself, let alone contend with the other Kings over interests.
By the time everything was settled, an entire hour had already passed.
Although he had stood there doing nothing for a full hour, Liu Bai found it rather fascinating. After all, being a spectator and watching several Kings argue until their faces turned red was a kind of entertainment in itself.
Well… to be honest, it was just pure gossip.
As the host of this Meeting of Kings, the Sky Vulture Emperor shifted the topic at this moment and said, "Since all matters have been concluded, let us next discuss the competition for the Greatlaw GoldPond that will take place two months from now."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the great hall instantly tightened, and the gazes of the various Kings became solemn. After all, this was the true centerpiece of today's Meeting of Kings.
Jiuyou no longer sat there like an unfeeling bodhisattva. She slowly opened her beautiful eyes, her icy gaze locking onto the Blood Hawk King as she said coldly, "For this session of the Greatlaw GoldPond competition, our Nine Nether Palace will also participate."
The moment she said this, the Kings who had little to do with the matter immediately straightened up and prepared to watch the show. It was obvious that Jiuyou was using this issue to challenge the Blood Hawk King. As for how it would ultimately turn out, that would depend on what the Three Emperors decided.
The Blood Hawk King smiled faintly and said, "Hehe, Jiuyou, you've been gone for a long time, so there are some things you're unaware of. The quota belonging to your Nine Nether Palace has already been sold to our Blood Hawk Hall."
"Sold?" Jiuyou shot him a cold glance and sneered. "Who agreed to that? Has the Nine Nether Palace changed owners at some point? How come I don't know about it?"
"As long as I didn't give my approval, it doesn't count! Otherwise, I'll pay two thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid—why don't you sell your Blood Hawk Palace's quota to my Nine Nether Palace instead?"
The Blood Hawk King's eyelids twitched, his expression turning noticeably darker.
Clearly, he hadn't expected that this little girl's trip out would not only raise her cultivation but also harden her temperament and sharpen her tongue to such a degree.
However, he soon let out a sinister smile and slowly said, "So, in that case, the Nine Nether Palace is planning to go back on its word?"
His hand slowly tightened around the armrest of the stone chair as a vast and oppressive spiritual energy pressure erupted from his body, his sharp gaze locking onto Jiuyou.
Seeing this, Jiuyou's rosy lips curved into a cold smile. She suddenly slammed her jade hand onto the massive stone table, and a crack instantly shot out from beneath her palm, streaking toward the Blood Hawk King like a sharp sword.
"Impudent!"
Seeing that Jiuyou actually dared to take the initiative and attack, the Blood Hawk King's eyes turned icy. He abruptly slapped his palm down as well, and a blood-red crack of light shot out from beneath his hand, colliding head-on with the incoming fissure.
Boom!
The enormous stone table trembled violently. However, before the resulting shockwave could erupt, a gentle force surged forth, dissolving both attacks completely.
"No fighting is allowed within the council hall," the Sky Vulture Emperor said calmly, waving his sleeve.
The Blood Hawk King's eyes darkened. The host of this Meeting of Kings was the Sky Vulture Emperor, and he had an unusual relationship with Jiuyou. It seemed that this time, he would inevitably suffer a slight loss.
Watching the brief clash between the two, Liu Bai suddenly thought of Lady Hua and the Life-Stealing Scholar. Unfortunately, the exchange had been interrupted after just the first move, making it impossible to discern the true depth of the Blood Hawk King's strength.
Having figured this out, the Blood Hawk King could only snort coldly. He stared gloomily at Jiuyou and mocked, "So what if you have a quota? Your Nine Nether Palace no longer has a commander. Even with a quota, you don't have the qualifications to participate in this Greatlaw GoldPond competition."
"Who said our Nine Nether Palace has no commander?"
Jiuyou lifted her beautiful eyes, her rosy lips curling into a mocking smile. Then she extended her jade finger toward Liu Bai beside her, her cold voice resounding throughout the hall.
"From this day forth, he is the new commander of our Nine Nether Palace!"
Following the direction of Jiuyou's finger, everyone turned their gaze toward Liu Bai.
At this moment, he wore a faint smile on his face, his expression calm as he accepted the scrutiny of countless differing gazes.
"A brat who's just broken through to the Sovereign realm… judging by his aura, has he even condensed his Sovereign Celestial Body yet? And someone like that wants to become a commander of my Great Heavenlaw Domain? Isn't the Nine Nether King being a bit too childish?" the Blood Hawk King, clearly prepared, immediately launched his attack with words.
After all, aside from Jiuyou herself, the only one in the entire Nine Nether Palace who possessed Sovereign cultivation was this unfamiliar face—Liu Bai.
Moreover, the fact that he had been brought to the Meeting of Kings by Jiuyou made her intention of promoting him obvious.
"And besides, Great Heavenlaw Domain isn't a place just anyone can join at will!"
Jiuyou glanced indifferently at the Blood Hawk King and said, "As the leader of the Nine Nether Palace, I naturally have the right to appoint the palace's commander. This is none of your business, Blood Hawk King."
There was nothing the Blood Hawk King could say in rebuttal, as this indeed fell within the rules of the Great Heavenlaw Domain.
"Be that as it may, the Nine Nether Palace is still under the Great Heavenlaw Domain. Every commander of our domain has fought their way up through countless bloody battles. If you can just casually appoint someone to such a position, then what does that make the other commanders?"
"And if the commander you appoint lacks sufficient strength, others may even ridicule Great Heavenlaw Domain for lacking capable people."
Realizing that he was at a disadvantage in this Meeting of Kings, the Blood Hawk King immediately changed tactics. He no longer tried to confront Jiuyou head-on, instead pulling everyone else onto the opposite side.
Even if the other Kings knew this was his scheme, with interests at stake, they wouldn't openly refute him.
And often, silence was no different from tacit support…
The Blood Hawk King's words were logical and well-founded, directly elevating the issue to the dignity of the Great Heavenlaw Domain. Even the Sky Vulture Emperor would find it difficult to continue speaking in Jiuyou's favor. At this moment, Liu Bai understood—it was time for him to step forward.
Before Jiuyou could speak again, Liu Bai took half a step forward. His movement instantly drew the attention of everyone present, including Jiuyou.
Liu Bai calmly met the Blood Hawk King's gaze and said lightly, "Then may I ask Lord Blood Hawk King—what do you think I must do to be qualified to become a commander?"
Unfortunately, the Blood Hawk King did not respond.
Just as with Jiuyou's attitude toward the other commanders, even if Liu Bai truly became the commander of the Nine Nether Palace, he still did not have the qualifications to speak directly to the Kings. If the Blood Hawk King replied now, it would be lowering his own status and inviting ridicule.
Liu Bai curled his lips inwardly but did not get angry. Instead, upon seeing this scene, the chill in Jiuyou's eyes intensified by several degrees.
Of course, since the Blood Hawk King remained silent, someone behind him naturally stepped forward.
One of the Four Great Commanders, Wu Tian, bared his teeth in a grin, revealing ghastly white teeth, and said, "As long as you can defeat one commander, that will be enough."
Though Wu Tian was smiling, the murderous intent in his eyes was not concealed in the slightest. He had long had his eye on the twin sisters of the Nine Nether Palace. With the palace on the verge of collapse, there would have been no way for them to escape his grasp. Who could have expected Jiuyou to return at such a critical moment?
Her return alone would have been fine but she even brought back some unknown man, who had just arrived and was already so intimate with those sisters. Wasn't that courting death?
"So it's really that simple?" Liu Bai said with a look of surprise. "Then I wonder if Commander Wu Tian would be willing to offer me some guidance?"
His words instantly caused Wu Tian's expression to change, and even the other commanders could not help but look over.
Beside Liu Bai, Tang Bing directly slapped her forehead, her face filled with speechless frustration. Tang Rou, on the other hand, wore an anxious expression, secretly reaching out to tug repeatedly at the corner of Liu Bai's robe.
Jiuyou merely smiled faintly. This kind of remark really did sound exactly like something the Liu Bai she knew would say.
Back during the battle on the Merchant Continent, Liu Bai had single-handedly slain the Young Sect Master of the Demon Emotion Sect. That battle alone had given Jiuyou immense confidence in his strength.
Of course, Liu Bai wasn't openly challenging Wu Tian merely to show off. Wu Tian had only just broken through to the Second-Grade Sovereign Realm, and killing him wouldn't be particularly difficult. Moreover, since Wu Tian's cultivation was higher than Liu Bai's, there would naturally be an "experience bonus" — wasn't that far better than killing those First-Grade Sovereign?
As for killing someone the moment he spoke…
To establish authority, one had to be ruthless. Otherwise, how could that "authority" ever truly be established?
In any case, with Jiuyou backing him, there was nothing to worry about.
Even if the Blood Hawk King wanted revenge, Jiuyou would be there to block him. As for those insignificant lackeys, Liu Bai would actually welcome them coming over to deliver experience points.
"Good, good. I truly didn't expect that I'd one day be challenged by a newcomer," Wu Tian said repeatedly, though the killing intent on his face was already impossible to suppress.
At this moment, the commanders behind the other Kings all felt that there must be something wrong with Liu Bai's head. If this hadn't clearly been a clash between Nine Nether King and Blood Hawk King — a situation where they could not interfere
there would already be a group of commanders stepping forward to teach this arrogant brat a lesson.
"However, if you want to challenge me, you're still not qualified."
"Zhao Zhong, go and see whether he truly has the qualifications to become a commander," Wu Tian said with a slight tilt of his head, smiling toward a man behind him. Yet in his eyes lurked a ferocity akin to that of a savage beast.
The man called Zhao Zhong instantly understood the meaning in Wu Tian's gaze. He nodded slightly, then lifted his foot, preparing to step forward and accept the challenge.
"Hey, hey, wait a moment," Liu Bai suddenly said. "Since Commander Wu Tian isn't willing, then how about switching to Cao Feng instead? As a traitor of my Nine Nether Palace, this would be a perfect chance for me to clean house."
That single sentence instantly enraged three people!
"Brat, are you looking down on me?!" Zhao Zhong's hoarse voice rang out, as a thick, bloody aura surged forth from his body.
Zhao Zhong's reputation might not match Wu Tian's or Cao Feng's, but he had long since advanced to the First-Grade Sovereign Realm and had survived countless battles. The dense killing aura surrounding him was proof enough of his strength.
If earlier he had only intended to brutally teach Liu Bai a lesson for Wu Tian's sake, then now he genuinely wanted to kill Liu Bai.
As for Wu Tian and Cao Feng, the former was enraged by Liu Bai's repeated arrogance, while the latter had his raw nerve directly struck by Liu Bai's blunt words.
In Cao Feng's eyes, Liu Bai was clearly the replacement Jiuyou had brought back to supplant him. For a mere substitute to dare act so arrogantly in front of him — wasn't that outright seeking death?
Sensing the towering killing intent erupting from the three of them, Liu Bai instead revealed a faint, barely perceptible smile.
Good… being angry was good.
If they didn't fight with killing intent later, Liu Bai would actually find it inconvenient to kill anyone.
After all, even wars between nations had the notion of "self-defense and counterattack." If he was going to kill someone, he needed to stand on the moral high ground first — that way, even if certain people wanted to cause trouble afterward, they wouldn't be able to.
After all, this was still considered an internal conflict, with powerful figures watching from above. Rules still had to be followed.
The two figures stepped out of the great hall.
Zhao Zhong, who had already sentenced Liu Bai to death in his heart, said coldly, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance. Summon your Sovereign Celestial Body. Otherwise, once I make a move, you won't even have the opportunity."
He intended to crush this brat completely, to make him realize just how pathetically weak his strength truly was and to let Liu Bai die in agony and regret.
"Oh, that?" Liu Bai replied. "I haven't cultivated my Sovereign Celestial Body yet. Why don't you summon yours first and let me take a look?"
Zhao Zhong: "..."
Wu Tian: "..."
Cao Feng: "..."
For a moment, the entire great hall fell into dead silence.
The Tang Bing sisters behind Jiuyou nearly burst into tears.
Good heavens — you haven't even cultivated a Sovereign Celestial Body, and you still dare provoke these commanders?!
Are you truly not afraid of death?!
The two women hurriedly looked toward Jiuyou, only to see their Jiuyou Sister smiling calmly and shaking her head gently, signaling them to remain at ease.
Zhao Zhong took a deep breath, his expression gradually turning icy.
"Good. Very good. Since that's the case… then you can die."
"Absolute Ice Celestial Body!"
He stepped forward heavily, and in an instant, terrifying spiritual energy surged forth. A massive spiritual light-shadow emerged from around his body.
The moment the ice-blue, gigantic Sovereign Celestial Body appeared, freezing cold swept across heaven and earth. Even the air inside the great hall froze and solidified. Only after the Spiritual Pupil Emperor, seated above, gently exhaled did the frigid air instantly dissipate without a trace.
Outside the hall, Liu Bai raised his head and looked at the icy giant before him. Not only was there no panic on his face — he even began to comment casually:
"Absolute Ice Celestial Body? Never heard of it. Looks like another low-tier Celestial Body that doesn't even make it onto the Sovereign Celestial Body Rankings."
Hearing this, Zhao Zhong's fury surged even higher. Without waiting for his Celestial Body to fully stabilize, he raised the massive palm of ice and slammed it straight toward Liu Bai.
The corner of Liu Bai's mouth curved upward. He formed a hand seal, and a streak of black spiritual light shot out from above his head. It then transformed into a colossal black lotus, directly enveloping Zhao Zhong's thousand-zhang Celestial Body.
Bolts of lightning rapidly began to gather across the surface of the black lotus…
...
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