240: Chapter 241 Take Off One of His Arms

"If the King of the South can wipe the slate clean regarding past events, I would naturally be happy to act as if nothing happened, borrow his territory to pass through, and merge with the various factions of the Great Han Nation.

But if he insists on not letting it go..."

Zhou Yun paused, "Then if I want to rendezvous with King Luo, I fear I will have no choice but to flatten him first."

Flatten!

The echo that these two words stirred up within the great hall was no less than a thunderclap on flat ground.

The faces of the several representatives of the Kings sitting in the front row immediately turned cold.

The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier also furrowed his brows, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "Duke Zhou, attacking cities and seizing land is no child's play. In the City Lord World, twenty cities are required to be promoted to Duke, and three hundred cities are required to be promoted to King. The King of the South governs four hundred and six cities; his foundation and strength are profound. Before making a decision, Duke Zhou, you must be cautious!"

Another representative also couldn't help but speak up: "Indeed, Duke Zhou. Even if the King of the South is held back by other arch-enemies, given his influence, it would not be difficult for him to casually pull out thirty or fifty thousand Bronze Rank troops. If it truly develops to that point... I fear Duke Zhou might not necessarily come out on top!"

"Enemies should be reconciled rather than knotted; in all things, one should prioritize the overall situation of the Great Han Nation!"

"As long as Duke Zhou shows an attitude of reconciliation, we can naturally mediate with the King of the South. We are all in the Xiaonan Region; internal strife benefits no one. Don't you agree that this is the logic?"

Facing the rising and falling voices of persuasion around the round table, Zhou Yun just listened quietly.

When the voices around him gradually died down, he slowly asked, "Do you all truly believe this matter can still be mediated?"

"What does Duke Zhou mean by this?" the representative of King Luo asked softly.

Zhou Yun clasped his hands on the edge of the round table, his gaze falling on the empty chair: "I do not know why the representative of the King of the South has lost contact. However, there is one thing that you all perhaps do not know yet."

Everyone present immediately perked up their attention.

"Wang Shuai is dead," Zhou Yun stated.

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

Wang Shuai—no one present was unfamiliar with this name.

He was the youngest son most beloved by the King of the South, and furthermore, the key protégé of the King of the South!

He... is dead?

That can't be true, right?!

We didn't receive any such news!

With the influence of the King of the South, I fear it would be difficult for Wang Shuai to even die if he wanted to, right?!

Before the crowd could detach themselves from the absurdity of this death news, Zhou Yun's voice rang out in the hall once again.

"I killed him."

"Clatter."

It was unknown whose fountain pen fell onto the mahogany tabletop, rolled half a circle, and finally hit the marble floor, emitting a crisp sound.

The entire Congress of Kings and Dukes hall seemed to have its air sucked out in that instant.

The expressions of all the representatives froze on their faces; they even forgot to breathe.

Wang Shuai, really dead?

Slaughtered by his own hands by this youth before them, who spoke gently and never even raised his voice?

"Duke... Duke Zhou, this kind of thing is not a joke!"

The Duke representative who had just been persuading Zhou Yun felt his throat go dry, his voice even trembling.

Until he asked this question, he still felt that Zhou Yun should, possibly, perhaps, probably, be joking.

However, Zhou Yun did not offer much explanation, simply looking back at him quietly.

In that pair of black and white eyes, there was not a trace of ripples, only a calmness that made one's heart turn cold.

No explanation, no seeking of credit, but this almost cold indifference was itself the most definitive answer.

Hiss!!

A few sounds of gasping for cold air could be faintly heard in the hall.

Some things, in this instant, connected together!

No wonder... no wonder the representative of the King of the South had completely cut off contact last night!

The hatred of killing a son; this was simply not some friction, this was a blood feud that would never end!

Given the tyrannical and protective nature of the King of the South, at this very moment, the military forces of the King of the South must have already been mobilized to the limit!

"Under such a relationship," Zhou Yun withdrew his gaze and looked gently at the representative of King Luo, "Do you all think you can still help me mediate?"

The representative of King Luo opened his mouth, but could not say a word.

In the face of the hatred of killing a son, any form of "persuasion for the big picture" seemed like a ridiculous joke. Once this question was asked, everyone present was at a loss for words.

You killed someone's son.

You ask us, how to mediate?

We also want to know, how to mediate!

However, with the conversation having reached this point, everyone also understood Zhou Yun's meaning.

That is, the path of merging with the forces of the King of the South was a dead end.

Since that is the case...

The representative of King Luo took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his churning emotions, and asked in a low voice: "Then according to Duke Zhou's intention, what is the next direction for the development of Flower City..."

"The general policy naturally remains unchanged; it is still to move towards the Lesser Central Heaven Region and rendezvous with King Luo."

Zhou Yun withdrew his hands and slowly stood up.

He looked at the circle of pale-faced representatives in front of him and said gently: "It is just that with the current relationship between me and the King of the South, if I want to pass through his territory smoothly, I fear I can only... borrow the path."

Hearing the words "borrow the path," everyone's expression management went a bit out of control for a moment.

You killed someone's son, and you are still thinking about borrowing the path?

Borrow?

You make it sound nice!

If you really want to pass, I fear you can only seize the path!

However, as a newly promoted Duke, directly starting a war with a King, and wanting to open up a path through it?

This kind of thing, no matter how one thinks about it, is impossible to achieve!

However, as they looked at Zhou Yun's expression, the expressions on their faces slowly froze.

Because Zhou Yun's expression was very serious, showing not a hint of testing.

He seemed to have already made up his mind to do so!

He is serious!

And, it is not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

It is a long-planned intention!

Realizing this point, their hearts were suddenly shocked!

Damn, this Duke Zhou, just became a Duke, and he wants to go against an established King?

This is too insane!

Retract the previous judgment!

This Duke Zhou is not steady at all!

He is completely and utterly crazy!

Meanwhile, in a secret room where no light could be seen.

Xu Zian slowly regained consciousness.

A thick black cloth bag was pulled over his head; there was not a trace of light before his eyes, and his hands were tied behind the back of the chair.

Rough hemp rope dug into his wrists; moving even slightly caused a burning pain in his flesh.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell.

Not far away, the sound of water droplets hitting the ground would occasionally ring out.

Drip.

Drip.

Xu Zian did not call for help.

The first moment he was conscious, he had already understood his situation.

He had been kidnapped.

This kind of thing happens all over the world every day.

For money, for revenge, for certain unspeakable interests... on Blue Star, there is never a shortage of people who take risks.

But for this kind of thing to happen to him, Xu Zian, it was simply absurd to the extreme.

He was the representative of the King of the South, Wang Dingshan, on Blue Star!

He usually frequented the highest-level occasions of the Great Han Nation, and those he associated with were all powerful figures from various places.

Looking across the globe, upon hearing the name of the King of the South, anyone wanting to touch him would have to weigh the consequences first!

Because touching him was equivalent to declaring war on the King of the South's Mansion!

Furthermore, this was the Great Han Nation.

Who would dare?

Yet, this very thing had actually happened!

Besides this, the fact that the other party was able to break through layers of protection and successfully bring him here made Xu Zian's heart turn cold even more.

In order to attend this Congress of Kings and Dukes, he had brought a full thirteen Black Iron Rank guards with him!

These thirteen people were all experts carefully selected by the King of the South's Mansion over these years on Blue Star.

Talent, loyalty, and actual combat experience were all top-notch!

Coupled with the fact that when the King of the South returned to Blue Star last time, he personally passed down a Cultivation Technique, allowing their strength to reach the Black Iron Rank!

With the thirteen of them joining forces, even ordinary Bronze Rank experts would not necessarily be able to break through their protection in a short period of time.

But last night...

Xu Zian still remembered that the outermost guard only had time to emit half a warning.

Immediately after, muffled banging sounds followed one after another outside the door.

He had just stood up from the sofa when the door to the inner room was kicked open.

The few Black Iron Rank guards guarding by his side didn't even manage to draw their weapons before they fell one after another.

From realizing something was wrong to his vision going black, the whole thing added up to less than ten seconds!

He didn't even clearly see the appearance of the kidnappers!

As for whether those thirteen guards were dead or alive now, he was equally ignorant!

So... when did such high-level experts appear on Blue Star?

And why did the other party want to capture him?

Money?

Power?

Enemies of the King of the South?

Thoughts flashed through Xu Zian's mind one after another.

Just as he was trying to find clues from the sounds left behind last night, a burst of footsteps suddenly rang out in the secret room.

Someone was coming!

His whole body immediately tensed up.

The person's footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, finally stopping in front of him.

The next second, the cloth bag over his head was ripped off.

The dim yellow light stabbed into his eyes, and Xu Zian subconsciously squinted.

When his vision gradually recovered, he was able to see his surroundings.

The secret room was not big.

The walls were mottled and black, there were no windows on the four sides, and the only exit was a heavy iron door.

More than a dozen men in black suits stood around, all wearing masks on their faces.

The middle-aged man standing at the very front also had his face covered, revealing only a pair of calm eyes.

Those eyes were looking at him.

"Speak," Zhou Tianhao's voice, filtered through the mask, sounded somewhat low.

Xu Zian stared at him for a few seconds.

The people who kidnapped him did not immediately demand money, nor did they state their identities, just throwing out this kind of head-and-tail-less sentence right away.

This made it difficult for him to judge the origin and purpose of the other party.

This made him feel somewhat insecure.

However, the status of the King of the South's representative still gave him considerable support.

He slowly straightened his back and said coldly: "No matter what your background is, I advise you to let me go immediately."

"I can act as if nothing happened."

"Otherwise, as long as I have any mishap, I guarantee that all of you will be buried with me!"

Zhou Tianhao did not answer.

He just turned his head and glanced at a man in a suit next to him.

That person was Old Ghost.

Receiving the signal, Old Ghost immediately stepped forward, swung his arm in a full circle, and slapped Xu Zian across the face.

Slap!

The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the secret room.

Xu Zian's head was hit and jerked violently to the side, and five bright red finger marks quickly appeared on half of his face.

He was completely stunned.

Since sitting in the position of the King of the South's representative, let alone being beaten, even people who dared to speak loudly to his face were few and far between!

This group of people before him actually dared to slap him?

He violently turned his head back, the anger in his eyes almost erupting.

"You..."

Slap!

Old Ghost backhanded him with another slap.

This slap was even heavier.

Xu Zian, along with his chair, swayed, his ears buzzing.

At the same time, the anger that had just welled up was forcibly scattered, and his eyes became much clearer.

Old Ghost scolded through his mask: "I'm asking you a question! Behave! Where did you get so much nonsense?"

Xu Zian's chest heaved violently, his cheeks burned like fire, but he was no longer tough.

Because at this moment, he finally recognized a fact.

That was that this group of people did not care about his identity at all.

Currently, the enemy is strong and I am weak; only by leaving here alive can I have the opportunity to mobilize the power of the King of the South's Mansion and find these people one by one.

While he was calculating in his heart, Zhou Tianhao dragged over a chair, sat down opposite him, and then took out a cigarette case and pulled out one,

"Can you speak now?"

Xu Zian raised his head, staring at the masked man in front of him, unable to react for a moment.

Old Ghost's eyebrows immediately lifted again.

Slap!

Another slap.

"What are you looking at? I'm asking you a question!"

Xu Zian covered his highly swollen right cheek, his voice changing pitch from grievance.

"What on earth do you want me to say?"

"Just ask!"

Zhou Tianhao's action of lighting the cigarette paused for a moment, then he continued to press the lighter as if nothing had happened.

The flame lit up.

The cigarette tip soon glowed a dark red.

Zhou Tianhao took a puff of smoke and asked calmly: "Tell me, what mission did you bring this time to attend the Congress of Kings and Dukes?"

Hearing this question, Xu Zian was first surprised—surprised that the other party actually cared about this?

Subsequently, the arrogance that had just been beaten down could not help but bubble up again.

"This concerns the Congress of Kings and Dukes; are you sure you want to know?"

"The things involved in this have far exceeded the scope of what you can bear. Once you know, the consequences..."

Old Ghost's eyes widened, and he raised his hand again.

Seeing this, Xu Zian immediately trembled all over, and the arrogance that had just risen immediately shrank back, "Don't hit me, don't hit me! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Zhou Tianhao glanced at Old Ghost.

Old Ghost then sullenly lowered his hand and retreated to the side.

Xu Zian licked his split corner of his mouth, carefully observing Zhou Tianhao's reaction.

"Actually, it's nothing much."

"It's just to have me use this Congress to make Zhou Yun pay a little price."

Zhou Tianhao's hand holding the cigarette paused in mid-air.

"What price?"

"It hasn't been decided specifically yet." Xu Zian hesitated for a moment, "In short, first, I must make Zhou Yun yield."

"The incident that City Lord Zhang Hao caused with his people in Jianghai City has already alarmed the high-level officials of the Great Han Nation. Zhou Yun has now been promoted to Duke, and the King is not in a good position to continue bickering openly."

"So the King's intention is to use the development plan of this Congress to exert some pressure on Zhou Yun. As long as he is willing to bow his head, admit that the previous matter was a misunderstanding, and give an explanation, this matter will be considered resolved."

"As for other matters, they can be settled later."

After he finished speaking, he shut his mouth.

And Zhou Tianhao, after listening, only nodded slightly, seemingly savoring it carefully.

After the secret room was quiet for a few seconds, Zhou Tianhao, through a wisp of slowly rising smoke, looked at him quietly.

"Just this?"

Xu Zian nodded immediately.

"Just this."

Zhou Tianhao looked at him for another moment, then waved his hand lightly.

"Dismantle one of his arms."