King Xuandi had no idea what was happening to him. His eyes refused to open, and he felt as if he was trapped in an abyss. There was endless darkness around him, and he could not get out of it even when he struggled with all his might.
Soon, the darkness dwindled, and a faint light filled it before he saw himself on the throne.
The court session was proceeding as usual. However, chaos erupted suddenly, and the imperial army rushed in. They were filled with cold killing intent, their hands coated with blood.
Their eyes were transfixed on him as if he were their only prey.
King Xuandi saw himself frozen on the throne. He remained seated as the imperial army butchered his people before they proceeded towards him.
Surrounding him until he was trapped, they glared down at him, making him shiver.
"How dare you revolt against me? You must be tired of living," he growled. He was livid, more than he had ever been.
A cold glint passed in his eyes as he glared at everyone. He raised his hand to send them to hell, only to stop suddenly when he saw the familiar faces sauntering towards him from behind the army.
Not just his Queen and his consorts, even the princes and princesses were among them as they looked at him with sinister intentions.
"What do you think you are doing?" he roared, glowering over them from where he was.
Considering that he was more powerful than they were, they should have knelt before him by now. Instead, they continued walking as if they were not affected by his oppression at all.
King Xuandi's eyes trembled in fright as he stared at the group of people who were slowly surrounding him. He was terrified, and he stood up, intending to escape from the place.
But before he could vanish, he was bound by the thin ropes made of Celestial Wood, the same ropes he had used to trap Jin Tianlong.
"Father, I think you have outlived your stay here," the Crown Prince said, closing in on him.
"What do you mean? What are you trying to do?" King Xuandi could not hide the tremor in his voice. He tried to increase the distance between them.
But he was surrounded. He had nowhere to go.
"Shen Zhaoyan, let go of me before I lose my temper. You do not want to irk me, do you?" he threatened, his voice slightly glacial.
"Father, there is no use threatening us. You will not be able to escape your plight," the Third Prince said, clicking his tongue.
"What... are you trying to do?" King Xuandi's face lost all color as he stood barely a few inches from his son.
"I am here to send you away. Farewell, Father. We will always remember you."
With that, the Crown Prince plunged his fingers inside his father's chest and pulled his heart out before squashing it into a pulp. King Xuandi fell dead immediately.
"No!" King Xuandi woke up with a shout. His robes were drenched and clung to his body while he looked around him vigilantly.
For a moment, he could not fathom whether it was all a dream or a reality. He was so scared out of his wits that he did not notice the pair of red eyes staring at him before vanishing from the room.
Arthur was waiting outside the kingdom. Although he was still infuriated, he was in control of his emotions as he stared at the host's dead family.
Suddenly, he felt something appear before him, and he lowered his head to find the Shadow Wolf wagging its tail as it looked at him keenly.
Arthur's lips twitched a few times.
'Why does it feel like I've got a pet dog now?' he wondered and squatted to pat the wolf's head.
"Did you do what I wanted you to?"
The Shadow Wolf nodded.
"Did he see you?"
The Shadow Wolf shook its head.
"Did anybody else see you?"
The Shadow Wolf shook its head again.
Arthur had been quite skeptical in the beginning. Although he had wanted to utilize the Shadow Wolf's abilities to frighten King Xuandi, the beast was after all a Third Grade Spirit Wolf while the King was just steps away from reaching Divine Ascension.
But the Heavenly Pavilion had assured him time and again that the Spirit Wolf fed on guilt and fear.
The more a person had fear and guilt in his heart, the more vulnerable he was to the Spirit Wolf's powers.
King Xuandi was guilty, of murdering the people who had once chosen to put all their faith in him. And this guilt had ignited a fear in his heart- the fear of retribution. After all, it was not one or two people he had killed.
Although the Shadow Wolf had to use a lot of power to break the barriers around his heart, it had managed to instill fear in his heart.
Satisfied, Arthur rewarded it with a blue spirit stone. At first, he wanted to reward it with a red spirit stone. But the Heavenly Pavilion convinced him against it.
The Shadow Wolf had just broken through to become a third-grade spirit beast. It had to first adjust and cultivate its new powers. Forcibly breaking through again might cause it more harm than good.
The Shadow Wolf raised its paw as if it were protesting.
Did he not say he would reward me with a red stone if I did a good job? I used all my energy to complete the task. Where is my red spirit stone?
As if understanding what the wolf was saying, Arthur chuckled softly.
"You are still weak, and you just broke through. You'll be harmed if I give you a red stone now," he explained patiently as if his knowledge in this aspect was immeasurable.
"I promise I will reward you with a red spirit when the time is right."
The wolf stared at him for a few seconds before nodding lightly.
"Good."
While the Shadow Wolf sniffed the blue spirit stone, Arthur brushed its fur, waiting for it to finish absorbing all the power.
"Master, what do you intend to do now?" the Heavenly Pavilion asked, curious to find out what its master wanted to do, now that he did not have a home anymore.
"Do you intend to continue staying in Kingdom Yulan?"
Arthur stared at the kingdom walls from afar and shook his head.
"There will be an internal conflict in the kingdom soon. Although I'd love to stay and watch, I have other plans."
"What is it, Master?" The Heavenly Pavilion was eager to know.
"What do you think is the best way to deal with a person like King Xuandi?"
"Master?" The Heavenly Pavilion had no idea.
"King Xuandi loves being in power. So, why don't I challenge his power?"
"But how, Master? Currently, you are not that powerful."
"I may not be powerful. But a lot of people in the world are." Arthur's lips stretched into an evil smile as he continued to pat the Shadow Wolf.
"And I intend to use them to deal with King Xuandi."