Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

……

At this point, Tang Yuehua could no longer control her emotions. She turned around and tightly grasped Xuanming's hand, her eyes filled with pleading.

“Xuanming, I know they’ve made a grave mistake. Tang San assassinated a high-ranking official of an allied nation, and Yu Xiaogang incited war—these are capital offenses. But… there are still many innocent people in the Haotian Sect! Those ordinary disciples, those women, children, and the elderly, and the people from the four single-attribute families… they did nothing; they just followed the sect’s lead.”

"Now, they have been escorted to Wuhun City and imprisoned in a dark and gloomy death cell. The elders of the Wuhun Empire advocate executing them all as a warning to others."

"Xuanming, I beg you... can you spare those innocent people? I don't ask for Tang San and Tang Hao, but for the others... can you give them a way out?"

Looking at the woman in front of him, her face streaked with tears, Xuanming sighed softly.

He reached out and gently wiped away the tears on her face.

"I thought it was something earth-shattering. Since you've asked, how could I refuse to give you this much face?"

"However..." Xuanming changed the subject, a hint of inquiry in his eyes, "These things happened in the Sun Moon Empire, and also in the death row of Martial Soul City. You've been staying at Moon Pavilion the whole time, how did you know so much about it?"

They even know the details of Tang San's engagement and assassination attempt perfectly; this is not something that can be obtained through ordinary information channels.

Tang Yuehua sniffed, calmed herself down, and said, "It's... Bai Chenxiang."

"Bai Chenxiang?" A blurry figure appeared in Xuanming's mind. "That little girl from the Min clan?"

"Yes." Tang Yuehua nodded. "It's her. She is the granddaughter of Bai He, the patriarch of the Min clan, which means she is my uncle's granddaughter. In terms of seniority, she should call me aunt."

"That child... has been by Tang San's side all these years. Perhaps it's because of their shared suffering, or perhaps it's for other reasons, but she has always been devoted to Tang San. This time, Tang San's assassination attempt failed, and although she didn't participate, she was still captured as a family member."

“Last year, I received the news and secretly went to the death row in Wuhun City,” Tang Yuehua said in a low voice. “I saw that child. She was so thin that she was skin and bones, and there was no light in her eyes. She cried and told me everything that had happened over the years.”

"She said she didn't hate anyone, only the cruel twist of fate. She begged me, if there was any way, to save those children who hadn't even grown up yet. They were born into a life of constant fleeing, never having experienced a single day of peace, not knowing what home was, not knowing what tomorrow was..."

At this point, Tang Yuehua's voice choked up again.

“That child is truly innocent. There are many innocent people like her in death row. Xuanming, now that the Martial Soul Empire has unified the continent, and you have even become a god. For you and the empire now, the remaining power of the Clear Sky Sect poses no threat whatsoever.”

"In that case, could you... perhaps not go to such extremes as you did with the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex Clan back then?"

Looking into Tang Yuehua's expectant eyes, Xuanming smiled.

He gently pinched her cheek: "Why are you crying? Didn't I already promise you?"

"Let's go."

Tang Yuehua was taken aback: "Where to?"

"Of course, we should go to Wuhun City, to the death row."

"Go and pull your unlucky relatives back from the brink of death. By the way... I also want to see what kind of wretched state Tang San is in now, the one who almost had a wife and kids and a warm bed, but ended up getting himself into a death row."

He didn't kill Tang San back then because of Xiao Wu. After all, Tang San had spent those years with her at Notting Academy and was one of her few good friends.

Anyway, Tang San can't cause any trouble, so there's no harm in sparing his life.

I just didn't expect things to develop so absurdly.

……

Space tore apart, and the stars shifted and the world changed.

When Tang Yuehua stepped back onto solid ground, the sight before her made her momentarily lost in thought.

That's Wuhun City.

But it was no longer the Wuhun City she remembered.

If viewed from above, one would discover that this city, which was once merely a sacred place for Soul Masters, has now expanded outwards several times over.

The original city walls have long been demolished, replaced by rings of brand-new, well-planned urban areas.

The towering Soul Guidance buildings and the ancient Douluo-style architecture complement each other, and the wide streets are bustling with traffic, making it even more prosperous than the Heaven Dou Imperial City of yesteryear. It is no longer just a symbol, but a real super capital city capable of accommodating millions of people, a dazzling pearl embedded in the center of the continent.

"Let's go to the council hall."

Xuanming didn't take her for a stroll around the city. With a thought, the two of them traversed space like phantoms and landed directly in front of a magnificent and solemn black palace.

This was once a side hall of the Papal Palace, and is now the highest power center of the Martial Soul Empire—the Imperial Parliament Hall.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was heavy and tense.

The long conference table was filled with high-ranking officials from the Martial Soul Empire.

Among them were former cardinals of the Spirit Hall, clan leaders of various sects who later submitted, and high-ranking military officials.

And sitting at the head of the table was none other than Ning Fengzhi, the current Regent of the Spirit Empire.

The passage of time seemed to have left few traces on the refined sect leader's face; instead, it made him appear even more composed and profound. However, at this moment, his brows were furrowed, clearly indicating he was facing a difficult situation.

"Speaker Ning, I don't understand what you're still hesitating about!"

An elderly man in a red robe slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with rage. "Those remnants of the Haotian Sect colluded with the Sun Moon Empire to assassinate Grand Preceptor Xu Hong, and even dared to borrow troops to launch a counterattack on the continent! What kind of treason is this? This is treason! If we don't execute them all to serve as a warning to others, where will the prestige of my Martial Soul Empire be? If other forces follow suit in the future, how will the empire rule the continent?"

The old man's words immediately resonated with many people.

"Yes! If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring! We shouldn't have let them escape to Seagod Island back then!"

"They must be killed! And those four single-attribute families too, leave no one alive! Let the world see the consequences of betraying the empire!"

A chorus of agreement rose and fell, filling the entire conference room with a strong, oppressive atmosphere.

In the eyes of these hardliners who have come through blood and fire, only bloodshed is the best tool to maintain their rule.

Ning Fengzhi sat in the main seat, quietly watching the scene until the noise subsided before he slowly spoke.

"Kill them? Kill them all, and then what?"

Ning Fengzhi's gaze swept over everyone present. "In the Douluo Continent now, who dares to rebel against the Spirit Empire?"

Everyone looked at each other in shock, but no one answered.

"No." Ning Fengzhi answered himself, his tone calm and firm. "From everyone here to the common people in the fields, and even the Sun Moon Empire across the ocean, who doesn't hold the Martial Soul Empire in deep awe? Who would dare to offend the empire's majesty?"

"If that's the case, why should we continue to squander violence?"

"Gentlemen, the empire's prestige is built on a combination of kindness and severity. The previous purges have already shed enough blood. The hatred of national annihilation and the resentment of the extermination of our races have now transformed into a deep fear that weighs on everyone's heart."

“In this situation, if we continue to kill without any limits, it will only backfire.”

"A near-death experience brings fear, because people believe that as long as they are obedient, they can survive."

"But if there's no chance of survival... then all that's left is madness!"

"When people realize that no matter what they do, they are doomed, they will become the most terrifying beasts. Even if they can't bite off a piece of the empire, they will still splatter the empire with blood!"

"While the Haotian Sect is certainly guilty, there are also a large number of ordinary disciples imprisoned in the death row who are unaware of the situation and are simply following the crowd, including women, children, and the elderly. Executing them all would only create more hatred and panic and would not provide any real help to the empire's rule."

Ning Fengzhi's words were a wake-up call, plunging the hall into a brief silence.

But he didn't convince everyone.

The red-robed elder sneered, "Speaker Ning, your words sound nice. But don't forget, that's the Haotian Sect! The former number one sect in the world! You know better than we do how tough they are. Keeping them alive is like raising a tiger to cause future trouble! If Her Majesty the Empress were still alive, she would never be so soft-hearted as you!"

Bringing out Bibi Dong would be a fatal blow in the current Martial Soul Empire.

Although Bibi Dong has been ascended to immortality for over a year, the accumulated prestige she left behind still weighs heavily on everyone's heads like a mountain. (End of Chapter)