Chapter 1127: Then Kneel, Pick It Up, Sign Your Name, and Wait Here!

"You were the perpetrators, you made the first move, and now you're spouting all this righteous nonsense, acting like you're the victim? There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world!!!!"

Lu Ding yanked the agreement straight out of the Ruler of Qi State's hands.

He pointed a finger at him: "You won't sign, right? Humiliating, is it? Then don't fucking sign!!!"

Rip!!!

Lu Ding tore the agreement to shreds, tossing it aside. The scattered paper fluttered everywhere in the air.

"Get out, get the hell out of here right now, and go back to your Great Qi. Gather your troops, muster your generals—we'll settle this on the battlefield!!!!"

"Either the martyrs' cemetery of Great Han buries me!"

"Or a shallow grave on the battlefield buries you!"

Facing Lu Ding's direct assault, the Ruler of Qi State instinctively stepped back.

Going to war with Great Han...

Great Qi couldn't beat Great Han in a one-on-one fight to begin with. Now that Great Han had powerful external reinforcements, and Great Qi had lost so many top-tier God Ascension cultivators, the other countries—cowed by the military might of Great Han's foreign allies—wouldn't dare help Great Qi either.

You could say favorable timing, geographical advantage, and popular support were all against Great Qi, all in Great Han's favor.

How could they win?

It was a losing battle.

If he were a wise sovereign, fighting this losing war would only cause his people immense suffering.

If he were a foolish sovereign, fighting this losing war would only get him killed on the battlefield, or captured and subjected to endless humiliation.

Either way, he couldn't fight.

Calming down, Lu Ding looked at the Ruler of Qi State, who had remained silent for a long time.

Putting himself in the other's shoes, he roughly understood what was going through that man's mind.

Lu Ding wasn't about to keep pushing either. Annexing a country naturally was certainly easier and more meaningful than annexing a shattered, war-torn nation after bloodshed.

The former could be used immediately after taking it; the latter required maintenance, repairs, and so on.

So Lu Ding offered a humiliating way out: "Don't dare to leave?"

The Ruler of Qi State looked up, said nothing, just stared at Lu Ding.

Watching Lu Ding continue: "Then kneel, pick it up, sign your name, and wait here. Shut your mouth until you receive notice and judgment."

After a long silence, under the gaze of the crowd, the Ruler of Qi State slowly crouched down.

Drop by drop, tears splashed onto the papers scattered all over the floor. He reached out to pick up the agreement Lu Ding had torn to shreds, his body trembling. After what seemed like countless internal struggles, he finally...

Thump...

Knelt down.

Helpless, terrified, lost.

Trapped in the present predicament, in this foreign land, no one could help him, no one dared to help him. He couldn't find a way out. He was mired in darkness. He wanted to stand his ground, but he couldn't see a future for Great Qi anymore...

He didn't want to surrender, even less did he want to kneel while bearing the title of a sovereign, but he had no choice.

What could he do????

The price of being stubborn was his people's suffering and his nation's ruin.

But now, standing in the very position Great Han had once occupied, he belatedly felt a shred of empathy for how desperate Great Han had been back then.

But the difference was, Great Qi didn't have a Third Circle stronghold to fall back to. Great Qi had vast territories, beautiful mountains and rivers.

Great Han had the unique fortune and backbone to start over from scratch. They had the mindset of "go big or go home"—they had nothing to lose anyway. If they lost, they lost; they'd retreat to the Third Circle and figure it out later. But if they won, it would be a huge gain.

But Great Qi didn't have that.

The Ruler of Qi State couldn't make the kind of "rather jade shattered than tile intact" decisions that Elder Shui's generation could.

Great Qi didn't have the strength to take on any single country either.

They could only... choose humiliation.

Lu Ding didn't linger on the sight. He turned and looked at the others.

With a wave of his hand, copies of documents landed on the tables of the other country's sovereigns and sacred land's sacred lords.

"Take a look, all of you. If you're not satisfied, speak up now. Great Han is giving you a chance!"

They flipped through the agreements in their hands.

What greeted their eyes were clauses that were far from equal.

This was the price and the retribution for the way they had treated Great Han in the past.

If back then everyone had just been wary of each other, with mutual conflicts, Great Han wouldn't have taken things this far.

But they had to band together to sanction Great Han.

They had to band together to target Great Han.

Well then, they should never have let Great Han have even a glimmer of hope to stand up. Now that Great Han was on its feet, everyone else was going to suffer.

If they wanted to blame anyone, they could only blame themselves for not being ruthless enough, not united enough back then. They didn't dare to jointly send troops and pay the price to completely crush Great Han. Instead, they used soft sanctions, giving Great Han a constant chance to catch its breath, until now, when it had completely turned the tables and reversed the situation!

BANG!!!

The leader of Jade Cauldron Mountain slammed the agreement onto the table. In this atmosphere where might made right, he tried his best to control his tone, but still ground his teeth as he said:

"Lu... Investigator Lu, some of the clauses in this agreement are far too vague. It's essentially 'whatever Great Han wants, we give.' It depends entirely on Great Han's mood and what Great Han lacks. This completely treats all our various factions and countries as blood packs that don't need management, grow on their own, and are there to be used and taken from at will!"

At this point, he really couldn't hold back anymore. This was too much!

On the surface, Great Han didn't interfere with any of their decisions or management. But Great Han's commands were the heavenly law itself—once issued, they had to be followed!

Anything, if Great Han wanted it, these countries and factions had to hand it over!

The problem was, Great Han didn't even share the cost, because they had the most effective military threat.

This was way too fucking bullying!

Even for a vassal state or a subordinate faction, after submitting, even if they had to give up a lot, at least they'd get a slap and a sweetener, right!?

But with this agreement, it was all slaps! Where was the sweetener!? Where was the candy!?

The leader of Jade Cauldron Mountain took another deep breath: "Is there... is there any room for easing, or negotiation?"

Lu Ding looked at him, smiled, and waved his hand dismissively: "The God Ascension cultivators of Jade Cauldron Mountain collided with Great Han's enforcement team. The nature of the offense is egregious. According to the law, they deserve death!!!"

"Guards, execute them!!!!"

The leader of Jade Cauldron Mountain raised his hand: "Wait a minute!!!!"

But with the lesson from just now, the investigators carrying out the execution weren't about to hesitate again.

Earlier, their hesitation—and their shock at Lu Ding's assertiveness—had led to Lu Ding personally carrying out the executions.

Sure, Lu Ding stepping in personally had more deterrent power.

But that was Lu Ding's quick save and on-the-spot reaction.

It wasn't part of the plan.

In other words, that was their operational error earlier.

After all, in such a large-scale situation, executing God Ascension cultivators—it was understandable that they needed some time to adapt.

Now, they were adapted.

The investigators carrying out the execution didn't hesitate for a second. Right in front of the leader of Jade Cauldron Mountain, they directly executed his disciples. They just killed.

Lu Ding walked over to the leader of Jade Cauldron Mountain and rapped on the table: "Are you not understanding the situation? Can't you see who's in control here? These treaties are a notice. They're a first draft, yes, but they've already been stamped with the national seal. There might be additions to fill in any gaps, but there will absolutely be no modifications!"

"You can also choose not to sign!!"

"Great Han won't keep you here right now either. We have that much grace. The door is right there. You can go back to Jade Cauldron Mountain right now, prepare yourself, give Great Han a face-to-face confrontation, and wait for Great Han to roll over you!"

...

Thank you to Elder Shui for the six Gift Kings. Thank you, Elder Shui. I'll take it slow. Once I finish writing this sensitive part, I'll properly add extra chapters.