Chapter 2294: Chapter 2294 Puppet State
Ye Liuyun ordered the Beastman to halt their assault, prompting King Zhongyuan to withdraw the palace’s formations as expected.
Both sides remained on high alert, wary of any sudden attack that could reignite the conflict.
The Beastman had their puppet beasts and war chariots forming a solid front, with shields raised, minimizing their exposure to danger.
Once confident in his side’s preparations, Ye Liuyun stepped forward from the battle lines.
Across from him, King Zhongyuan also emerged alone, formally surrendering.
"You’ve won, draft whatever Divine Soul contract you see fit." King Zhongyuan admitted defeat to Ye Liuyun, his voice devoid of resistance.
Ye Liuyun smiled faintly and asked, "Xue Rongtian, are you aware of the consequences of feigned surrender?"
King Zhongyuan remained composed. "With thousands of experts surrounding us, what purpose would deceit serve?"
"Fair enough."
However, his clone’s Golden Phantom Eyes had already discerned the powerful Divine Soul concealed within Xue Rongtian’s Ocean of Consciousness. He knew an ambush was coming.
Ye Liuyun shrugged. "Release your Divine Soul and send it into my Ocean of Consciousness!" Ye Liuyun commanded.
"Hm?" Xue Rongtian hesitated, wondering if his hidden trump card had been exposed.
"You want my Divine Soul to enter your Ocean of Consciousness? Aren’t you afraid I’ll attack you?"
"Just do as I say. This is how I accept surrender!" Ye Liuyun replied with a calm yet piercing gaze that sent a chill down Xue Rongtian’s spine.
"Fine, but don’t regret it!"
Xue Rongtian had no choice but to comply.
The moment his Divine Soul surged into Ye Liuyun’s Ocean of Consciousness, the concealed force within his own mind followed suit.
Simultaneously, three peak ninth-tier experts under Xue Rongtian’s command sprang into action, rushing toward Ye Liuyun.
Just as everyone assumed Ye Liuyun had fallen victim to a Divine Soul attack, the Divine Soul within his Ocean of Consciousness activated the Scarlet Phantom Eyes. A martial practitioner caught in its gaze froze for a brief moment before abruptly turning on his comrade, striking him with a sudden blow and sending him flying.
Another peak ninth-tier martial practitioner was poised to attack Ye Liuyun but was suddenly pierced by a beam of white light from his side, disintegrating his head instantly.
At that moment, the Beastman reacted swiftly, launching an all-out bombardment.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun imprinted a Slaving Seal onto Xue Rongtian’s Divine Soul before returning it to his Ocean of Consciousness.
Then, he issued a cold command, "Kill them all. Leave no one alive."
Xue Rongtian was overwhelmed with regret. He had never expected Ye Liuyun’s Ocean of Consciousness to contain such a treasure. The moment he and the other expert’s Divine Soul entered, they were instantly engulfed by the golden radiance of the Universal God Token.
His own Divine Soul had been enslaved by the Slaving Seal. Meanwhile, the other expert’s Divine Soul was completely absorbed, converted into pure Divine Soul energy for Ye Liuyun’s benefit.
Upon hearing Ye Liuyun’s ruthless order, Xue Rongtian trembled uncontrollably.
"Sir, this is all my fault! You may punish me, but please, spare my descendants and family!" he pleaded desperately.
"It’s too late. I warned you," Ye Liuyun said coldly.
Only now did Xue Rongtian truly understand what Ye Liuyun had meant by considering the consequences. Regret consumed him as he watched the Beastman mercilessly slaughter his subordinates and family.
Yet Ye Liuyun forced him to witness the massacre by using the Slaving Seal. He was made to kneel, unable to avert his gaze. It was like a punishment for his defiance.
To Ye Liuyun, Xue Rongtian was no longer a king, but a slave to be used as he pleased.
Inside the palace, the remaining martial practitioners had already fallen to the assault of the puppet beasts and war chariots. Energy cannons and coordinated attacks from the Beastmen swiftly wiped out the rest. One by one, they collapsed before Xue Rongtian’s eyes.
Ye Liuyun and his clone seized the opportunity, continuously devouring Divine Soul energy, refusing to waste this chance for power.
When the battle finally ended, the Beastmen began clearing the battlefield. Only then did Ye Liuyun proceed to soul-search Xue Rongtian.
After extracting every detail about the Elysium Dynasty, he commanded Xue Rongtian, "Inform your reinforcements that the crisis in Regalty has been resolved. Order them to proceed with the original plan by attacking the other two Royal Management."
Under Ye Liuyun’s control, Xue Rongtian had no choice but to obey.
With that done, Ye Liuyun stripped him of his Interspatial Ring, retrieving the talisman and the Grand Hall storing valuable treasures. Then, the remaining resources were handed over to Lan Xin and the others for management.
The Grand Hall itself was placed directly into his Spatial World, allowing Wu Qingcheng and the others free access to its contents. He then proceeded to the palace treasury, sweeping it clean of all its resources.
Afterward, he forced Xue Rongtian to transfer authority over the palace Formations to Jing Yong, who would lead the Black Armor Guards in securing the palace.
Once the battlefield had been cleared, Ye Liuyun withdrew the Beastman army into his Spatial World and stationed Xue Rongwu to replace the Blade Legion at the Formation’s perimeter.
Even Ye Tiandao’s Blade Legion was recalled into his Spatial World, ensuring complete control over the battlefield.
The surrendered city guards were handed over to Xue Rongwu, who was tasked with reorganizing them. Once restructured, they would replace the fallen Dark Legion in defending Regalty.
With that, Ye Liuyun recalled the Dark Legion into his Spatial World.
Before long, Qiong Qi successfully linked the Conveyor Formation to the God Realm, allowing the arrival of the hundred-thousand-strong army sent by Yu Xiaofeng. They would take over Regalty’s defenses.
Without delay, Ye Liuyun ordered Xue Rongwu to lead over a hundred martial practitioners and fifty thousand former guards in a sweeping purge of Regalty’s major factions. Those who refused to surrender were executed on the spot—particularly the local merchant families.
Following this, Xue Rongwu was instructed to bring all commercial guilds of the Elysium Dynasty under the control of the Royal Management. These enterprises were temporarily entrusted to Liang Xue and Wu Qingcheng.
Xue Rongtian had now become nothing more than Ye Liuyun’s puppet. Every major decision was dictated by Ye Liuyun himself.
Once the Conveyor Formation was fully operational, Ye Liuyun commanded Xue Rongtian to recall martial practitioners in batches. Any powerful experts among them were directly subdued and forced to join the Dark Legion, expanding its numbers to fifteen thousand.
As for the remaining martial practitioners, Ye Liuyun had no interest in training them himself and instead assigned them to Xue Rongwu.
Not long after, the Grandcrest Dynasty and the Euphoria Dynasty had both fallen, completely conquered by the Elysium Dynasty.
The fifty-thousand praetorian under Xue Rongtian’s command were not withdrawn. Instead, Ye Liuyun immediately had Xue Rongtian appoint Man Feng as the Grand Marshal. Man Feng was then tasked with leading these fifty thousand praetorian, along with an additional two hundred thousand troops, in a full-scale war against the foreign races.
Man Feng had already suspected something was amiss when Xue Rongtian sent out his plea for reinforcements. He deduced that the Royal Management was vulnerable and that someone had likely taken advantage of the situation. And in his mind, there was only one person capable of such a feat—Ye Liuyun.
However, without an official order, Man Feng had refrained from returning to investigate. He had only heard rumors and whispers that Xue Rongtian had fallen under another’s control.
Yet now, he had been appointed Grand Marshal and granted command over fifty thousand ninth-realm praetorians. This only deepened his suspicions that Ye Liuyun had indeed seized control of the Elysium Dynasty.
But after careful thought, he decided this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. With the three dynasties now unified, they could finally focus their efforts on eliminating the foreign races.
Moreover, Ye Liuyun had prioritized the eradication of the foreign race from the very beginning and had granted him such extensive authority. From both a personal standpoint and a broader perspective concerning the world, Man Feng saw no harm.
