Chapter 315: Xiao Gang's New Pursuit (Part 1)
Yu Xiao Gang entered the Papal Palace. He looked up at Bibi Dong, whose eyes were filled with rage and killing intent.
"In just a few days, many kingdoms and duchies that were once friendly with the Spirit Hall have been destroyed by the Heaven Dou Empire. Yu Xiao Gang, I doubt your motives for visiting the Spirit Hall this time."
Hearing Bibi Dong's emotionless words, Yu Xiao Gang's legs began to tremble. He forced a smile and said, "Not at all, Your Holiness the Pope. I came here with the purpose of peace, to establish peaceful relations between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall."
"As for the destruction of those kingdoms and duchies, our Heaven Dou Empire was merely invited by the Star Luo Empire to help them quell their internal rebellions," Yu Xiao Gang said with a forced smile.
"Rebellion within the country, Yu Xiaogang, do you still want to deceive me? Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?" Bibi Dong slammed her fist on the table in fury. The pressure of her Title Douluo aura almost materialized, and under the oppressive force of this soul power, Yu Xiaogang swayed like a leaf in the wind.
He was terrified and filled with regret. Bibi Dong was clearly going to kill him. He shouldn't have accepted the mission to the Spirit Hall. Wouldn't it have been better to be a good national advisor in the Heaven Dou Empire?
Yu Xiaogang's legs throbbed violently, and then his crotch became soaked. A foul odor made even the nearby guards frown.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's state, Bibi Dong's anger subsided. She glanced at him contemptuously and said, "These kingdoms and duchies have already separated from the Star Luo Empire. Your actions constitute an act of aggression. Yu Xiaogang, your Heaven Dou Empire talks about peace with the Spirit Hall while simultaneously invading these countries that have established friendly relations with the Spirit Hall. Do you really think the Spirit Hall wouldn't dare to attack your Heaven Dou Empire?"
"The Spirit Hall will not stand idly by while these countries are destroyed, nor will it tolerate your deception. We will take appropriate measures to deal with this," Bibi Dong said. "Killing you would dirty the Spirit Hall's hands; staying here would dirty the Spirit Hall's floor, and your breath would pollute the Spirit Hall's air. You can get out!"
Hearing Bibi Dong's humiliating words, Yu Xiaogang felt extremely ashamed, but upon hearing Bibi Dong's word "get out," he fled as if granted a pardon.
The Heaven Dou Empire delegation fled in disarray, escaping to a safe zone. Yu Xiaogang, gazing at the distant Spirit City, angrily declared, "Bibi Dong, you just wait! Fortune changes every thirty years. Don't underestimate the poor in middle age! When my disciple Tang San returns as a god, I, Yu Xiaogang, will repay you a thousandfold for the humiliation you inflicted upon me today!"
Upon returning to the Allied Forces, Yu Xiaogang received a grand welcome, a stark contrast to his humiliation at the Spirit Hall.
When it came time to reward merit, Xue Qinghe retrieved a medal from a servant's tray—the Heaven Dou Golden Sword Medal—and pinned it to Cao Cao's chest, saying, "The greatest merit in this battle belongs to His Excellency Cao Cao."
Dai Tianfeng then bestowed upon Cao Cao the Star Luo Empire's medal, the Star Glory Badge.
After Cao Cao finished awarding the medals, Yu Xiaogang was surprised to find himself the second greatest contributor to the war. He was awarded the Heavenly Dou Empire's Diplomatic Medal, Courage Medal, and Royal Medal by Xue Qinghe, while Dai Tianfeng also awarded him the Star Awakening Medal.
Looking at the five medals pinned to his chest, Yu Xiaogang was overjoyed. Since Luo Sanpao was replaced with a domestic pig spirit, Yu Xiaogang's path as a Soul Master had become utterly hopeless. His only pursuit had been fame and power.
Having become the Heavenly Dou Imperial Preceptor, Yu Xiaogang had gained power, but his reputation was utterly tarnished.
Now, these five medals represented honor and fame.
These five gleaming medals on his chest represented Yu Xiaogang's achievements. At this moment, a new ambition suddenly arose in Yu Xiaogang's heart: he wanted to adorn his chest with these medals to proclaim his great deeds to the world.
"Imperial Preceptor, you seem to like these medals quite a bit," Xue Qinghe said with a smile.
Yu Xiaogang said, "Your Majesty, you jest. This is a symbol of honor; who wouldn't like it?"
"Considering your contributions to the Heaven Dou Empire and even the Douluo Continent, Grand Preceptor, I feel these five medals are insufficient," Xue Qinghe said.
"Enough, enough. I, Yu Xiaogang, am not one to crave empty fame. I'm perfectly content with these five medals," Yu Xiaogang said politely, but his eyes were already blatantly telling Xue Qinghe:
Confer the medals upon me quickly, quickly, immediately!
"Alright, on behalf of the Star Luo Empire, I, Dai Tianfeng, thank your Heavenly Dou Empire for liberating our territory," Dai Tianfeng said. "As a reward for helping us liberate our territory, the Star Luo Empire can pay each soldier of the Heavenly Dou Empire ten gold soul coins."
"Liberate territory?" A Heavenly Dou officer suddenly stood up and nitpicked, "Star Luo Emperor, that's not quite right. These kingdoms and duchies have already become independent. We occupied their land, so how does that become helping you liberate your territory?" "Ten gold soul coins, and you think you can get rid of our Heavenly Dou Empire? What about the dead?" Another officer started nitpicking again.
"So, our Heavenly Dou Empire helped you eliminate these feudal lords, and you want to take back the land that our Heavenly Dou Empire's soldiers fought for with their lives for just a few words?"
These discordant voices made Ning Fengzhi, Dai Tianfeng, Yu Xiaogang, and the others sense that something was wrong.
Dai Tianfeng frowned, then looked at Xue Qinghe and said, "Your Majesty Xue Qinghe, I remember the agreement between our two countries. My Star Luo Empire invited your Heavenly Dou Empire to quell the rebellion of these kingdoms and duchies. Now that the rebellion has been quelled, my Star Luo Empire can reward you for your military contributions. What do you mean by this?"
Xue Qinghe looked at Dai Tianfeng, said nothing more, and revealed his true intentions, saying, "Your Majesty Dai Tianfeng, I'm sorry, but when the Heavenly Dou Empire sent troops, I promised to distribute the conquered lands to my capable generals. I cannot break my promise, and—"
"We only had one agreement: you invited my Heavenly Dou Empire to send troops to destroy these kingdoms and duchies, but you didn't say that after we occupied this place, we would return it to you." Xue Qinghe said.
Hearing this, Dai Tianfeng's eyes narrowed slightly, and the smile on his face disappeared.
"Your Majesty Xue Qinghe, do you intend to annex the territory of my Star Luo Empire?"
Dai Tianfeng's words carried a hint of oppressive power. As a level 92 Title Douluo, Dai Tianfeng had the ability to swiftly kill Xue Qinghe before anyone else could react.
Facing Dai Tianfeng's pressure, Xue Qinghe remained unyielding, insisting, "Your Majesty Dai Tianfeng, as a monarch, since I have promised territory to the imperial nobility, I will absolutely not break my word." The White Tiger Martial Soul faintly appeared behind Dai Tianfeng. On the Tian Dou side, the two Title Douluos, Dugu Bo and Cao Cao, were also wary of Dai Tianfeng's sudden attack.
Just as tensions were about to rise, Ning Fengzhi said, "Everyone, please calm down and don't start a fight. If you two fight, wouldn't that allow the Spirit Hall to reap the benefits?"
Seeing that the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires were about to clash, Ning Fengzhi panicked.
His strategy was for everyone to unite and fight against the Spirit Hall. They hadn't even organized a united front against the Spirit Hall yet, and the two empires within his organization were already sharpening their knives—this was unacceptable. "Ning Fengzhi, you judge this," Dai Tianfeng said angrily. "Those kingdoms and duchies are the homeland of my Star Luo Empire. The Heaven Dou Empire now wants to seize them. Is this reasonable?"
Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath and looked at Xue Qinghe, saying, "Qinghe, Dai Tianfeng is right. You can't seize the Star Luo Empire's territory."
"How about this," Ning Fengzhi suggested, relying on his position as Xue Qinghe's teacher, "you return the territory to Dai Tianfeng, and Dai Tianfeng increases the amount he owes as compensation for your military action. What do you think?" However, to his surprise, his usually obedient student had given him a sharp rebuke.
"Teacher, you are mistaken. First of all, these territories have been in the hands of the Star Luo Empire for thousands of years. Later, their ancestors enfeoffed them, making the lords of these places nominally submit to the empire, but in reality, they were independent. Later, the Star Luo Empire was in turmoil, and these countries declared independence one after another. Now, my Heaven Dou Empire occupies these lands, so they are my Heaven Dou Empire's lands. It is absolutely impossible for me to return these lands to the Star Luo Empire," Xue Qinghe said.
"Qinghe, are you not listening to your master?" Ning Fengzhi decided to suppress Xue Qinghe first, and then bridge the gap between the two sides, so that Heaven Dou and Star Luo could unite and fight against the Spirit Hall together.
"I am your disciple, but I am also the emperor of the millions of people of the Heaven Dou Empire. I cannot betray their interests. If the Star Luo Empire wants to take back the territories we have conquered, then we shall meet on the battlefield," Xue Qinghe said.
"Xue Qinghe, you junior, listen to me! When my million-strong Star Luo army arrives at Heaven Dou City, remember these words!" Dai Tianfeng said angrily.
Seeing that mediation was failing, Ning Fengzhi approached Grandmaster Ning and asked, "Grandmaster, the Star Luo Empire is the cornerstone of our opposition to the Spirit Hall. If we let them fight like this, it will only benefit the Spirit Hall in the end."
Grandmaster Ning calmly replied while sipping his tea, "Don't worry, Sect Master Ning, I have a plan."
Grandmaster Ning first went to Xue Qinghe and said, "Your Majesty, why didn't you discuss those annexed territories with me beforehand?"
Xue Qinghe replied, "Grand Preceptor, after all, morale is very important for soldiers fighting in foreign lands. I used other people's lands to motivate them. Are you also advising me to give up these territories, Grandmaster?" Grandmaster Ning shook his feather fan and said, "Not really, but I feel that if this action angers the Star Luo Empire and leads to war between the two countries, it will only benefit the Spirit Hall in the end, which would be a net loss."
"But I have already made my intentions clear," Xue Qinghe said.
"That's simple, Your Majesty. You only need to send me to the Star Luo Empire to negotiate with Dai Tianfeng. I only need a few clever words to persuade Dai Tianfeng to accept our occupation of those areas," Yu Xiaogang said confidently.
"Oh." Xue Qinghe's eyes lit up, and he said, "Then I'll have to trouble the Grand Preceptor."
So, the next day, Yu Xiaogang went to the Star Luo Empire's headquarters to meet Dai Tianfeng again.
(End of this chapter)