Chapter 96: The Lord of Azure Sky

“You wretched fools! Fan Liang led over three hundred of our household warriors, and had two tier-four demon beasts with him—how could they have vanished into thin air?! Even if they were suddenly attacked by a high-tier demon beast, there should at least be a survivor!” In a heavily guarded study of the Fan residence, the angry voice of the Left Chancellor, Fan De, resounded.

“My lord! According to our investigations, in the Twin Gorges where Fan Liang was lying in ambush, we found a large number of bones gnawed by demon beasts, along with fragments of equipment and clothing. Our analysis shows they were attacked by a fire-type demon beast of the same kind, and those bones bear no wounds from human weapons!” A black-clad man with a cold, handsome face knelt on the ground and answered respectfully.

“Oh?! So, there are two things we can be certain of: first, Fan Liang and his men were definitely not attacked by other humans; second, they were assaulted by at least a tier-five fire-type demon beast, and this creature, unusually, slaughtered everyone without leaving a single survivor?!” Fan De’s anger ebbed as he began to analyze the situation calmly.

“Exactly! What’s strangest is why that demon beast would exterminate all our people. Ordinarily, high-tier demon beasts wouldn’t go out of their way to massacre humans. This scenario is rather like the method we sometimes use in the Forest of Demon Beasts,” the black-clad man continued.

“Like our own method?” Fan De’s expression grew serious, and he pondered, “But according to our intelligence, the Du family absolutely does not have the ability to tame beasts above tier four!”

“My lord! The whole affair is exceedingly odd. From the scene, it appears only a demon beast of at least tier-five strength could have done this! But no force in the Haotian Empire could possibly tame such a beast. Moreover, these high-tier demon beasts are extremely proud—they would never act in concert with other beasts. If it were only one tier-five demon beast, it couldn’t possibly annihilate hundreds of skilled warriors as they scattered and fled!” The black-clad man’s face was full of confusion.

“If it wasn’t a tier-five beast, then only three to five tier-four beasts, working together with a pack of lesser beasts, could have wiped out over three hundred fleeing human experts in one fell swoop!”

“Could it be! Is this incident related to the Qin imperial clan? In the entire Haotian Empire, apart from us, not even the Yang family could muster such strength!” Fan De analyzed grimly. “If the Qin imperial clan was behind this, what does that mean? Could they have discovered our plans, and this event is just a veiled warning to us?!”

“My lord, your reasoning is sound. This is the only plausible explanation I can think of!” The black-clad man’s tone was grave. “If that’s the case, should we alter our future plans? Otherwise…”

“This is a matter of great importance! The patriarch must decide personally!” Fan De’s face was stern. “Black Eagle! Investigate the gold mines in Fengli County thoroughly and report back! The confiscation of the three mines has already affected our plans. Since Fan Liang has given his life for the clan, we won’t pursue blame for others for now. However, keep a close watch on that wretch from the Du family who ruined our operation. Find an opportunity to make him pay in blood!”

“Yes, my lord! If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.” The black-clad man, codenamed Black Eagle, bowed respectfully.

“Very well! You may go.” Fan De waved his hand dismissively.

After Black Eagle left, Fan De’s eyes sharpened with resolve. He rose from his seat and strode out of the study, heading straight for the forbidden garden of the Fan residence.

The many guards in the forbidden garden naturally did not stop Fan De, and he quickly arrived outside a tranquil side room. Before he could speak, a venerable voice came from within: “Come in.”

“Yes, Father!” Though Fan De was the Left Chancellor of the current court, he now bowed respectfully at the door before entering the chamber of the Fan clan’s spiritual leader.

“De’er, you’ve come because of what happened in Fengli County, haven’t you?” Inside, the white-haired and bearded Fan Kun gazed grimly at his son.

“Exactly, Father. The loss of the three gold mines is a small matter, but all three hundred of our Fan clan warriors, under Fan Liang’s command, are missing—including two tier-four demon beasts. I worry there’s a trace of the Qin imperial clan behind this. Apart from them, I cannot think of any power in our Haotian Empire with such capability!” Fan De, knowing his father disliked roundabout talk, laid his doubts out plainly.

“This matter is indeed riddled with mysteries. I too sent men to survey the scene carefully. However, according to intelligence, the Qin imperial clan, while capable, showed no sign of mobilizing their demon beast legion. Otherwise, my methods would certainly have detected them! In any case, something truly odd is afoot here.” For once, Fan Kun’s face was deeply grave.

In any world, the known is never as frightening as the unknown.

Du Long’s act of exacting tooth for tooth this time caught many completely off guard. No one could have imagined that a tier-five Blazing Flame Unihorn Lion would submit to a mere Cyclone-tier youth like him!

Moreover, the strongest member of the Du clan was Du Fengzhong, who had only just reached the peak of the Gangdan tier—equivalent to a tier-four demon beast—far from being able to tame anything stronger. How then could they command high-tier beasts to not only kill two tier-four demon beasts, but also wipe out over three hundred scattered, fleeing men?

“Father, within the Haotian Empire, only a handful of powers could oppose us. If it wasn’t the Qin imperial clan, who else could have done this?” Fan De mused for a long while before giving a helpless, bitter smile.

“Perhaps Fan Liang and the others offended a powerful demon beast without realizing it. Or perhaps there truly is a demon beast legion within the Qin imperial clan that even I have not discovered.” Fan Kun hesitated.

“Given the circumstances, the Qin imperial clan is still the likeliest suspect. We must now curb the plans we’ve pursued for over a decade. Father, I came today to seek your guidance and determine our course of action for the future.”

“Very well! Do as you suggest. Until the truth comes to light, it is wise to keep a low profile.” Fan Kun nodded, agreeing with his son.

“I’ll make the necessary arrangements, and have Tong’er keep an eye on Du Long and his companions at the Royal Academy. Perhaps we can glean some useful information indirectly.” Fan De stood to leave.

“Remember to instruct Tong’er to be discreet—take a roundabout approach, and don’t let that Du boy or Princess Fire Phoenix grow suspicious. After all, our role in the illicit gold mining has yet to be fully erased. Make sure to clean up anyone connected to the three Fengli County mines as quickly as possible.” Fan Kun gave a few more orders.

“Yes, Father, I’ll see to everything. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.” Fan De bowed again, then hurriedly departed to handle these matters.

At the Du residence, though Du Long had only been away for half a month, it felt to him as if he’d been gone a year. Travel-worn, he returned home to find his mother, Zhou Ruoxue, already waiting to welcome him.

“You rascal! You said you’d be gone a few days, but you were away more than half a month! The academy’s been open for days—if you’d stayed away much longer, you’d have been expelled!” She scolded her dusty, travel-worn son, feigning sternness.

“Heh heh! Mother, look—what’s this?” He presented a large box of jewels he’d prepared in advance, each piece carefully selected from treasures seized in the recent purges. Of course, Du Long hadn’t forgotten to bring back gifts for his mother.

“Wow! They’re beautiful! My goodness, a necklace crafted from fire-type demon cores the size of pigeon’s eggs! That must be at least a tier-three demon core. A necklace like this would fetch tens of thousands of gold coins at the Treasure Pavilion!”

“And look at this—an ornate hairpin encrusted with countless gems, and this cat’s eye gemstone ring! My son, in all my years with your father, the sum of all the jewelry he’s given me can’t compare to a single one of these pieces!”

A woman’s love for beauty is innate. Zhou Ruoxue’s delighted exclamations made her forget entirely that Du Zhentian was standing right there, leaving him red-faced on the spot.

Think about it—what man wouldn’t be embarrassed if his wife declared his gifts inferior to their son’s?

“Ahem, hmm!” Du Zhentian cleared his throat to cover his awkwardness, then fixed Du Long with a stern look. “You rascal! Even before you set foot in the capital, your name as the Iron-blooded Lord has spread throughout the Haotian Empire! You’d best start thinking about how you’ll weather the coming storm!”

Only now did Du Long realize that in the mere ten days he’d spent in Fengli County, word of his deeds had already reached the capital. If his father had heard, then surely his prospective father-in-law, His Majesty the Emperor, had as well!

“Tch! I only beheaded those damned, corrupt officials—clearing out the garbage and tumors for His Majesty! Even if I must bear the infamy of the Iron-blooded Lord, I have no regrets! As the saying goes, if I don’t descend into hell, who will?” Du Long replied grandly, striking a pose of righteous indignation.

“You brat! Do you realize whose heads you cut off? The former governor of Fengli County aside, everyone knows the Fan clan stood behind him. Of the dozen or so nobles you executed, most have kin or connections among the capital’s officials! One was even related by marriage to your seventh aunt’s cousin’s in-laws! And you just chopped them all down without a second thought?!” Du Zhentian roared, clearly furious that his son could kill so many people without batting an eye.

“What are you yelling at my precious son for?! Didn’t you hear what he just said? He only killed corrupt officials! Those men treated the common folk like dirt—how many lives have they ruined? Apart from the troublemakers who’ve branded our son the Iron-blooded Lord, have you not seen how the people of Fengli County speak of him?” Having just received these fine gifts, Zhou Ruoxue was not about to let her son be scolded.

The instant she flared up, Du Zhentian wilted.

Of all the Du family, only the old patriarch or this daughter-in-law from the Zhou clan could keep him in line.

Du Long couldn’t help but timidly ask, “Mother, what do the people of Fengli County call me?”

“You really don’t know?” Zhou Ruoxue blinked in surprise, then, seeing he wasn’t feigning ignorance, exclaimed in awe, “Son, the people of Fengli County revere you as the Blue Sky Lord who brings relief to the suffering! That vow you made on the plaza before the city lord’s mansion—‘Let Fengli County regain its clear and open skies’—was truly magnificent! Mother is so proud of you!”