"Making the Empire more peaceful? How presumptuous of you to discuss something like that!" A minister was unable to control himself anymore, shouting in return, expressing his anger.
The Emperor didn't say anything against it, though, curious to see how Krune would handle it. After all, he did plan to make Krune the Emperor in the future. There was simply no other competitor. Not only was he of royal blood, but his achievements were also something none could ever hope to compete against.
Following the Emperor's death, Liu Heng would become the strongest in the Empire. So, the Emperor wished for Krune to become used to the politics of the Imperial Palace.
"Does that mean you want the Empire's current state of chaos to continue?" Krune retorted calmly, seeing the other party's face convulse in response.
The minister slammed his hand on the armrest, increasing the volume of his shout. "You're just a brat. As if you can understand the various complex things that happen in the Empire. You simply have neither the experience nor the qualifications to…"
The minister stopped talking all of a sudden, noticing that words failed to come out of his mouth. He opened his mouth, moving his lips and tongue, but his vocal cord failed to produce any sounds, even when he moved it frantically.
On top of that, he felt difficulty in breathing, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"I haven't seen you reproach the Nightmares for wreaking havoc in the Empire. They're even younger than me. They simply don't even have the experience or qualifications to cause chaos." Krune stated in mockery, his tone cold, causing all the ministers to shudder. "Why don't you talk about qualifications with them? I'm sure as an Imperial Meister, you can do that, right?"
"This… bastard…" Another minister gritted his teeth when he noticed he was unable to breathe any longer.
It was because of the killing intent Krune emanated, one akin to someone that had gone to hell, lived there, and destroyed it. It was of such an overbearing might that even they, Imperial Meisters were unable to endure it.
'Impressive!' The Emperor's eyes widened as he asked in his mind, 'How strong is Liu Heng compared to me?'
'Five days ago, his power spiked suddenly. When I asked him, he said he had attained an enlightenment of sorts. The area of his power in the map covers more than half your circle,' Daxia Ting responded immediately.
'At only sixteen years of age, to possess such fearsome power.' The Emperor was glad to hear that. 'He's definitely the child of heavens.'
"So, give me one valid reason as to why you're hindering my claims to make our Empire more peaceful?" Krune's voice resounded, causing the ministers to shudder once more. "After all, if you've seen what I have achieved, you'll know that I have no reason to lie."
He then chuckled as he continued, "Well, if we're considering just based on your statement, none of you have any qualifications to question me. After all, I sense the lot of you possessing the County Arms I created."
Seeing them grit their teeth, failing to offer any counter, Krune smiled, retracting his killing intent as he cupped his fists towards the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I ask for forgiveness for overstepping my bounds."
"It's of no concern." The Emperor smiled, asking, "How many Nightmare Cores do you need?"
"That'll depend on the Nightmare Cores themselves. If I find ones suitable for my purpose, I won't be needing a lot of them," Krune replied.
"Alright." The Emperor nodded as he waved his hand towards the ministers, "Let's adjourn the meeting here for now. I'll need to talk with Liu Heng more."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Bowing in response, the ministers exited the throne room, limping in the process as their legs were failing to move properly.
Once everyone had left, the Emperor told Krune, "Even though you countered them with logic, displayed your authority in the matter, and suppressed them with your show of power, they'll harbor resentment. After you become Emperor, they'll give you a lot of trouble."
"That's of no concern." Krune laughed once he heard that. "When I become Emperor, those that become ministers would be my students."
The Emperor was silent for a moment before roaring in laughter. "Of course, I hadn't considered that. So, even if you offend them, nothing would happen. Their children and grandchildren would look up to you and support you the most."
"Yes." Krune nodded. "Also, my stance on the matter is to bring peace to the Empire. So, they have no grounds to gain any advantage in this matter, even if they talk about it to the next generation in order to drive a wedge between me and my students."
"I'll take you to the Royal Treasury now." The Emperor smiled with content, bringing Krune to a discrete location of the throne room, leading into a small hallway that was heavily guarded by those from the Imperial Family.
They arrived before a large double-door as the Emperor pushed it open, allowing Krune to enter.
"Amazing!" Krune was surprised to see a row of books placed on one side. And upon seeing the topics, he noticed that they were all knowledge related to Imperial Arms, Imperial Meisters, Nightmares, Yin Beasts, and so on. There was also a section related to County Arms. However, based on the thin content, it was apparent that they were still in the process of collating data.
There were powerful weapons forged by the best of blacksmiths using various Yin Beast parts, scrolls with the most elaborate paintings, rare medicinal plants, precious minerals, and even the most priceless of treasures.
Eventually, they arrived at one section which housed Nightmare Cores. Placed behind each Nightmare Core was a scroll containing all the information related to the respective Nightmare.
Krune opened the first scroll, reading through the contents, "Starfish County, Lavender City. This Nightmare had the power of amplifying the negative emotions of the people, causing them to engage in fights with one another. It was killed by…"
'So, their powers are also displayed here.' Krune smiled, activating his Mental Energy, using it to scan through the Nightmare Core.
The moment his Mental Energy seeped into the Nightmare Core, Krune grunted as countless erratic thoughts flashed through his mind.
Despair! Anger! Hunger! Indignation!
They were the negative emotions contained within the Nightmare Core.
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