“Justice!”
“Justice!”
“Justice!”
The soldiers of the Northern Desert Army were also shouting at the top of their lungs. They had watched their commander being tortured in that way. If they could not see the culprit die horribly on the spot, they would never let the matter rest.
“Has His Majesty truly decided to spare Sikong Zun even now? Is His Majesty afraid to punish him because he fears the True Demon Empire?”
Ling Xiao stared coldly at Feng Ming Wu Liang.
Since the other side was shameless, he would simply resort to his final move if needed.
In the eyes of the Moon Goddess, this imperial capital was utterly insignificant.
If it were destroyed, so be it.
The only problem was that doing so might cause massive casualties, and many innocent people could die tragically.
That was the reason Ling Xiao had never been able to bring himself to give the order.
If Feng Ming Wu Liang was willing to execute Sikong Zun, everything would naturally be much simpler.
“Beg the Emperor to grant death to Sikong Zun! Give the heroes justice!”
Under the clear sky, the thunderous pleas rose once more above the imperial capital.
Feng Ming Wu Liang had thought that after Madam Jia’s interruption, many people would forget the matter. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
Who could forget something like this?
Who would dare forget?
Forgetting meant that one day they themselves might become the same kind of sacrifice.
Feng Ming Wu Liang suddenly clutched his head, sighed, and said, “Yin Shan, I suddenly feel unwell. The rest of today’s affairs are fully entrusted to you. You must handle them properly and not provoke a popular uprising.”
Since he could not make a decision, Feng Ming Wu Liang simply pretended to be ill and left, dumping the mess onto Feng Yin Shan.
Of course, to someone lacking courage and indecisive, this was indeed a mess.
But to Feng Yin Shan, it was an excellent opportunity.
Killing Sikong Zun would let him firmly grasp public sentiment and make Ling Xiao owe him a favour, which would be useful later.
Naturally, he was also perfectly aware that doing so was dangerous. If things went badly, the State Preceptor might come after him.
Yet he actually had no choice.
He had two competitors. One was the current Emperor, securely seated on the throne, able to act with great convenience and enjoying very good relations with both Changle Immortal Island and the Righteous Alliance.
The other was the heir apparent, Feng Ming Qishan. This man enjoyed immense prestige in the army. Apart from the Northern Desert Army and the Imperial Capital Army, he had trusted followers in almost every other force, and the soldiers were willing to obey him because he was brave and skilled in battle.
Feng Yin Shan was at an absolute disadvantage. Only by gambling everything could he gain any capital.
For example, right now. If he executed Sikong Zun in public, his prestige in the court would surely soar afterwards.
The Northern Desert Army would be grateful to him, the citizens of the capital would remember him, and, most importantly, Ling Xiao would feel indebted to him.
With that, he would finally have the means to compete with those two.
Feng Ming Wu Liang had left and given him full authority precisely because he did not want to offend either Sikong Zun and the State Preceptor or the True Demon Empire.
But Feng Yin Shan intended to seize this chance.
“Everyone heard it just now. His Majesty has placed today’s matters entirely in my hands. I now announce the restoration of official positions to Ji Ning and the others. Furthermore, I confer upon Ji Ning the title of King of the Northern Border, with command over Northern Desert, to forge a great shield for our Divine Phoenix Empire in the north and give the Black Crow Empire no opening to exploit!”
Feng Yin Shan’s understanding of “full authority” naturally included both rewards and punishments.
Even if Feng Ming Wu Liang refused to acknowledge it later, it would be useless.
He had said it in front of so many people. Unless Feng Ming Wu Liang no longer wished to remain Emperor, any reward that was not excessive would stand.
And Feng Yin Shan had judged the limits perfectly.
“Thank you, Prince Yin Shan!”
Ji Ning naturally knew Feng Yin Shan was helping him, so he gave the prince due respect.
“Furthermore, it has been confirmed that Ling Xiao achieved outstanding military merit in the recent campaign against the Black Crow Empire. Not only did he reverse the tide of battle and repel the invading army, he also killed Temür Moutu and captured Jiumo Zhiyan alive. Such astonishing feats deserve special recognition. I hereby promote him to Military Governor of Northern Desert City, to assist Great General Ji Ning.
I also confer upon him the title King of Tianlong, and grant him all territory east of East Commandery.”
East Commandery was a small city bordering the Eastern Sea.
It was smaller than Northern Desert City, far smaller, with a population of only a few tens of thousands.
Yet anyone with sharp eyes could hear the hidden meaning in Feng Yin Shan’s words.
What did “east of East Commandery” mean?
What did “King of Tianlong” imply?
East of East Commandery clearly referred to the Tianlong Continent.
And King of Tianlong pointed to the very same place.
In truth, Feng Yin Shan was fulfilling his earlier promise. By granting East Commandery to Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao could now begin his great undertaking of destroying the True Demon Empire.
And the Divine Phoenix Empire would not stand in his way.
Although there was a verbal alliance, the armies of the True Demon Empire frequently disguised themselves as pirates to raid the Divine Phoenix coastline.
Everyone present was stunned when they heard this.
In the Divine Phoenix Empire, the highest authority was the Righteous Alliance, followed by the imperial family.
Normally, only members of the imperial family were entitled to be made kings.
Yet today, both Ji Ning and Ling Xiao had been granted kingships as non-royal subjects by Feng Yin Shan. The significance was extraordinary.
Many non-royal kingships were empty titles with no real power.
But Ji Ning and Ling Xiao were different. Both received actual territories. That was extremely rare.
Everything east of East Commandery belonged to Ling Xiao. Within that domain, he held the power of life and death. He could deal with anyone as he saw fit, without even reporting to the court.
That was the privilege of a king.
Feng Yin Shan dared to do this because he was thinking of his own future.
He knew Ling Xiao was ambitious, but he also knew Ling Xiao had no designs on the Divine Phoenix Empire, so they were not direct rivals.
This was a man with true foresight.
Unlike certain short-sighted people who always feared Ling Xiao would seize their power and status. That was truly foolish beyond measure.
One could say Feng Yin Shan was extending goodwill to Ling Xiao.
It could hardly even be called winning him over.
With Feng Yin Shan’s vision, he naturally saw that Ling Xiao was no ordinary talent. Trying to make such a man his subordinate would only lead to trouble.
Far better to maintain friendly relations and become allies.
“Thank you, Prince Yin Shan.”
Ling Xiao replied calmly.
In truth, whether Feng Yin Shan conferred titles upon him or not made little difference. After today’s events, both Ji Ning and the Northern Desert Army were already willing to follow him.
In practice, these troops had effectively become his private army.
What Feng Yin Shan did merely accelerated the process.
Of course, Ling Xiao still appreciated the prince’s good intentions. When others showed him respect, he naturally returned it twofold.
That was simply his nature.
Moreover, deep in his heart he was perfectly aware that everything he had achieved today did not come from his own strength, but from the presence of the Moon Goddess at his side.
It was not his own ability.
He was merely basking in her reflected glory.
He could not allow himself to become arrogant. Without sufficient personal strength, no matter how powerful the people around him were, they could not protect him in every situation.
Only when he himself became strong would he possess true power.
Only then would he truly control his own destiny.
