Chapter 280: Slave Dynasty

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Slave Dynasty

Yi Xiaoyao had his reasons for guessing that the crises facing the two dynasties were related to him or the Great Xia Empire.

Just as he suspected, the King of Chu nodded and said, "That’s right. The trouble the Great Shang Dynasty is currently facing comes directly from the Great Xia Empire. The main reason the Great Yuan and Great Jin are attacking my Great Chu is because Great Shang is too preoccupied to help. It’s also very likely this is all happening at Great Xia’s instigation."

"The Great Xia Empire again?"

Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes narrowed slightly. After muttering to himself, the corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile.

In the past, it would have been extremely difficult for him to confront Great Xia. But now, he possessed the Azure Heaven Order given to him by Cang Tianxing. Before long, he would be able to use the Azure Heaven Order to rally the entire Chaotic Alliance Domain and flatten Great Xia!

The King of Chu then shared some specific information about Great Shang.

It turned out that because Great Shang had taken a firm stance to protect Yi Xiaoyao, defying the Imperial Army Mansion, the mansion had recently sent people over. It was said they had even dispatched experts at the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm to force the King of Shang to abdicate.

The King of Chu wasn’t clear on the more specific details, however.

"Great Shang is in trouble, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the King of Shang. I must go back and help." After understanding the situation, Yi Xiaoyao took his leave of the King of Chu. "Since that is the case, I will be on my way."

Seeing that Yi Xiaoyao was about to leave, the King of Chu, still a little worried, asked one more time, "Is the crisis facing Great Chu truly over?"

"It was nothing but a hundred Nascent Soul Realm experts. I’ve already killed them all."

Yi Xiaoyao smiled and said, then immediately left King Chu’s Palace, heading toward the Great Shang Dynasty.

Watching Yi Xiaoyao’s departing figure, the King of Chu stood there in a daze.

’A hundred Nascent Soul Realm experts, all of them annihilated!’

For the Great Yuan and Great Jin dynasties, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

Yi Xiaoyao had said it so casually, but the words sent tumultuous waves crashing through the King of Chu’s heart.

’When I first met him, he was just a youth in the Golden Core Realm. How much time has passed? Now he’s already a supreme expert at the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm!’

The King of Chu muttered in amazement. He was also secretly glad. Making Yi Xiaoyao owe him a favor might have been the best decision he had ever made in his life.

...

「Great Shang Dynasty.」

In a tavern, Yi Xiaoyao sat quietly at a table by the window, a trace of worry in his eyes.

’I wonder how Little Hei is doing now.’

Yi Xiaoyao muttered to himself. This was what worried him the most right now.

Back in the Primordial Evil Alliance, Little Hei had been grievously wounded and knocked out of the sky by Yuan Lie. In his desperation, Yi Xiaoyao had fled into the Netherworld Cave and was teleported to Great Chu, separating him from Little Hei.

The fact that Yi Xiaoyao was still alive meant that Little Hei had to be safe for the time being, but he still couldn’t stop worrying.

’Once I’ve resolved Great Shang’s troubles, I’ll immediately head back to the Chaotic Alliance Domain to find Little Hei.’

With this thought, Yi Xiaoyao drained the wine from his bowl and stood up to leave.

Just then, a burly man at a nearby table suddenly slammed his fist on it.

"Have you heard? The King of Shang is going to abdicate, and the taxes are being raised to eighty percent!"

"What? Eighty percent taxes?! How are we supposed to live?"

"Yeah, wasn’t it ten percent before? Why the sudden jump to eighty?"

The tavern filled with indignant muttering. Compared to the King of Shang’s abdication, everyone was far more concerned about the ridiculously heavy taxes.

Hearing these discussions, Yi Xiaoyao more or less understood the reason. With such high taxes, the people of Great Shang would be plunged into misery. It was no wonder they couldn’t go and support Great Chu.

After leaving the tavern, Yi Xiaoyao headed directly for King Shang’s Palace.

「Meanwhile, inside King Shang’s Palace.」

The King of Shang sat in the center of the grand hall, his expression grim.

Just moments ago, two Nascent Soul Transformation Realm experts from the Imperial Army Mansion had paid another visit, ordering him to raise taxes and abdicate the throne by tomorrow.

At this moment, the King of Shang’s brows were tightly knitted, as if he was making a difficult decision.

After an unknown amount of time, a black figure blurred for an instant, then abruptly stepped into the grand hall.

The King of Shang, who had been sitting in the hall lost in thought, was startled by the figure’s appearance and abruptly looked up.

"Might I ask which senior from the Great Xia Empire you are?"

The King of Shang asked with some trepidation. From the moment this black-robed figure appeared, he could sense an aura of Spiritual Power that was not the least bit weaker than the two Nascent Soul Transformation Realm experts from the Imperial Army Mansion—in fact, it was even slightly stronger.

Clearly, this black-robed figure had a Nascent Soul Transformation Realm Cultivation and could only have come from the Great Xia Empire.

Hence, the King of Shang’s question.

But in the next moment, the black-robed figure spoke in a voice that the King of Shang found rather familiar.

"Senior, it’s me."

Yi Xiaoyao removed the cloak covering his face and smiled faintly. "I didn’t want to cause too much trouble, so I chose to visit this way. I hope you can forgive me, Senior."

"You’re... Yi Xiaoyao!" The King of Shang was stunned. He never would have imagined that the "Nascent Soul Transformation Realm senior" who had just alarmed him was actually Yi Xiaoyao.

"Xiaoyao, you... you’ve actually reached the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm!"

Just like the King of Chu, the King of Shang found Yi Xiaoyao’s current Cultivation to be incredible. After all, how much time had really passed?

Yi Xiaoyao simply smiled and got straight to the point. "Senior, I have heard about the troubles facing the Great Shang Dynasty. I came this time precisely to help you resolve this matter."

He then briefly recounted the events in Great Chu to the King of Shang.

The King of Shang was shocked as he listened, and he was utterly astounded when he heard that Yi Xiaoyao had slain over a hundred Nascent Soul Realm experts.

"Senior, there is one thing I don’t understand. Why are there rumors everywhere that the taxes will be raised to eighty percent?" Yi Xiaoyao asked, confused.

Hearing this, the King of Shang let out a helpless sigh.

"Just recently, the Imperial Army Mansion sent two Nascent Soul Transformation Realm experts. Using my past defiance of their order to capture you as a pretext, they are forcing me to abdicate."

"As for raising the taxes to eighty percent, those two want to transform my Great Shang Dynasty into their own personal slave state, collecting exorbitant taxes to use as their own source of revenue!"

Yi Xiaoyao finally understood. After all, the Great Shang Dynasty was smaller than even the most minor city in the Great Xia Empire. The only reason it had been allowed to exist was because the Great Xia Empire couldn’t be bothered with such a small, insignificant place.

But to two Nascent Soul Transformation Realm experts, while the Great Shang Dynasty might be small, it could still be squeezed for extremely high taxes, providing them with a substantial source of income.

"Hmph! What a fine scheme. In that case, the entire population of the Great Shang Dynasty would effectively become their slaves."

Yi Xiaoyao snorted heavily, then continued, "But now that I’m here, there is absolutely no way I will let them succeed!"

"If they dare to come, I’ll make sure they never leave!" Yi Xiaoyao’s voice turned chillingly cold.

His confidence in being able to kill the two Nascent Soul Transformation Realm experts sent by the Imperial Army Mansion was not unfounded.

After all, to deal with a minor dynasty, the Imperial Army Mansion would most likely only send cultivators in the initial stage of the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm. To do otherwise would be a waste of resources.

And who, among those in the initial stage of the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, could possibly pose a problem for Yi Xiaoyao?

Absolutely no one!

...