In the castle hall, the warm flicker of candle flames gently sways, and a burly blond man sits at the massive dining table, enjoying a sumptuous feast.
A group of young and beautiful women surround him, serving him.
Among these women are locals from the icy plains as well as those captured from the Great Summer. In their eyes, there's an unmistakable fear, yet they can only force a smile in front of the man.
This blond man is the Lord of the Rock, Yan Yuzhu. Previously, Fang Yuan had made a wrong guess—those soldiers and bandits who snatched women in the streets were indeed arranged by Yan Yuzhu.
There's nothing to be done; even though he's a Grand Master, he's still a human and can't escape his base desires.
Ordinary women, no matter how beautiful, don't catch Yan Yuzhu's eye. In addition, he has cultivated three Earth-based Dao bodies, making his power immense and violent. A slight mistake could cause the women around him to perish.
To him, women are mere playthings to be taken at will and discarded once used.
This remote border town is already desolate, and beautiful women who can attract Yan Yuzhu's attention are few and far between.
Thus, he allows his subordinates to roam around and abduct women to satisfy his desires.
As the Grand Master guarding the icy plains' border, Yan Yuzhu doesn't feel at all nervous, indulging in luxury and pleasure every day.
In the past, when facing the masters of the Yan Kingdom at the border, they were always at a disadvantage. The Yan Kingdom's masters were all cowards, only daring to huddle in defense and never launching any attacks.
Moreover, with the current chaos in the Yan Kingdom, even the emperor was killed by rebels. These rebels even declared themselves emperors, preparing a grand coronation ceremony and even daring to invite them to attend, which seemed utterly ridiculous!
The Yan Kingdom had undergone a change of dynasty, and the internal situation must be chaotic. The new ruler was ambitious, supposedly touring the country and claiming to do a grand ceremony on Mount Tai!
It was as if one foolish emperor had been replaced by an even more foolish one!
In Yan Yuzhu's eyes, the Yan Kingdom now appeared to be a crumbling, unstable wreck, posing no threat to his icy plains.
After finishing his meal, Yan Yuzhu leaned back in his chair and casually picked up a stack of intelligence reports, which had been sent by spies lurking in the Yan Kingdom, containing information about the current emperor of the Great Summer.
He flipped through them nonchalantly, but as he read a few lines, his face suddenly darkened. His once calm expression twisted into something menacing and terrifying.
"Utter nonsense, all of it!" he cursed, kicking one of the women who had been serving him under the table.
The sudden noise startled the other women, making them tremble in fear and bow their heads, not daring to make a sound.
"When did our intelligence system become this useless?!" Yan Yuzhu continued to rant angrily.
It wasn't surprising that he was angry, because the intelligence his spies had gathered was utterly absurd!
One report claimed: "The story starts with a fool and ends with an empire."
Another claimed: "Half a year to conquer the Yan Kingdom..."
Listen to this! Who could possibly go from an ordinary person to a Grand Master in half a year?
He now seriously doubted that these reports were simply copied from stories overheard at storytelling booths!
Not even a single modification was made!
"After all this time, we only know his name, and we have no other key information. Who exactly is this emperor of the Summer Kingdom?!"
Whenever he thought about it, Yan Yuzhu's gaze turned cold with hatred.
According to later investigations from the icy plains, it was highly likely that Namo had been killed by this Summer Kingdom emperor.
At that time, Namo had probably infiltrated the capital, and a conflict had ensued with Emperor Yan Wen. The result of the battle was unclear, but both sides had suffered, and at that crucial moment, Fang Yuan appeared and took advantage of the situation, becoming emperor and founding the new Yan Kingdom.
Lord Black God had truly overthought it. If only they had struck when Namo was killed, they could have easily crushed the Yan Kingdom!
But now, they could only watch as that Fang Yuan acted like a clown, proclaiming himself emperor, touring the country, and showing off, which only fueled his anger.
"Fang Yuan..." Yan Yuzhu gritted his teeth as he muttered the name, "When Black God gives the order to march into the Yan Kingdom capital, I will tear you to pieces and avenge Namo!"
As he spoke, his eyes fell upon a scattered portrait: it was of a handsome young man with red lips and white teeth.
This portrait had been sent by the spies, claiming that it was of the Great Summer emperor.
Because the previous intelligence had been so absurd, Yan Yuzhu instinctively thought this portrait was fake. But when he looked at it again, something about the young man's face seemed strangely familiar.
Where had he seen this face before?
That's right!
Yan Yuzhu suddenly remembered. When he and the Blaze Sun Marquis had tried to infiltrate the Summer Kingdom, they had encountered this young man!
The young man had inexplicably appeared in the snow-covered mountains, threatening them that if they saw him again, they would be killed.
After saying this, the Blaze Sun Marquis had burned him to ashes.
At that time, Yan Yuzhu had dismissed it as a small incident and didn't think much of it. But who would have thought that today he would see the same man's portrait and be told that this was the emperor of the Summer Kingdom!
How could he still be alive?
No, what he should be thinking about now is... how could he be the emperor of the Summer Kingdom?!
Yan Yuzhu's brain buzzed, feeling this to be absurd, and just as he was unable to make sense of it, an overwhelming, powerful aura, like a tsunami, surged towards him!
Yan Yuzhu's pupils contracted sharply. Under this immense pressure, it felt as though an invisible hand was controlling him, and instinctively, he looked towards the door.
There, a young man dressed in white, as white as snow, stood casually leaning against the doorframe. A wild wind howled, causing his hair to whip in all directions!
Yan Yuzhu's mind went blank, his brain completely malfunctioning. What was going on? What was happening?!
Just a moment ago, he had been vowing to kill this person, and now the very person had come to his doorstep!
Wasn't it supposed to be me killing you? Why are you the one coming first?
"Yan Yuzhu, didn't I tell you that if I see you again, I'll kill you?"
In Yan Yuzhu's stunned gaze, Fang Yuan's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"You really don't listen, do you?"
Before his words had even finished, Fang Yuan raised his hand with a flick, and a cold, piercing white light shot out from his sleeve like a laser!
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed across the heavens and the earth. The white light was so fast that its trajectory couldn't even be seen, and Yan Yuzhu's massive frame, like a fragile piece of paper, was sliced neatly in half in an instant!