# Chapter 595: The Chief Culprit
"You... say... what?!" Xiao Yaohou's tone was low and stiff, her aura violently turbulent.
"Oh?" Ming Wang raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at Yun Che with interest: "The words you speak, this king doesn't seem to understand very well."
"Heh heh!" Yun Che revealed a cold smile, his gaze even carrying obvious contempt and mockery: "You, Ming Wang, have the ambition to usurp the entire realm, possess invincible profound strength, unfathomably deep schemes, and a heart a million times more venomous than a viper's... I originally thought you were a perfectly qualified villain. What a pity... after meeting you today, it turns out you're nothing but a coward who dares to act but won't admit it. Truly disappointing."
"Courting death!" Huai Wang instantly flew into a rage, reaching out to grab Yun Che. In his entire life, this was the first time he had seen someone dare to insult his royal father.
Ming Wang, however, raised his hand to stop Huai Wang's action, then threw his head back and laughed: "Hahahahaha! As expected of the young man who made my son suffer such a crushing defeat. Your tongue and cunning are indeed as sharp as knives—you've even managed to scold this king to the point where he doesn't know how to retort."
Ming Wang narrowed his eyes again, the light radiating from those long, narrow slits even more chilling than a viper's: "This king knows you're trying every means to buy time. However, in this world, there are precious few things that can interest this king enough to want answers. I'll grant you some extra time to live. Come now, tell this king—what else do you know?"
These words from Ming Wang were undoubtedly an indirect confession. Xiao Yaohou's aura became completely chaotic, the flames on her body suddenly shooting up. What burned in her eyes was no longer merely the Golden Crow Flame, but rather a sky-high hatred seemingly born from the deepest abyss of the Nine Netherworlds.
Yun Che gave a faint, cold smile and said unhurriedly: "Back then, when Tian Xuan Continent suddenly invaded Huan Yao Realm, it was because of you! You used some method to inform the Four Sacred Grounds of Tian Xuan Continent about the existence of the Demon Emperor's supreme treasure—the 'Lunhui Jing'—within Huan Yao Realm. You fabricated that the 'Lunhui Jing' possessed some heaven-defying ability, stirred their greed, and thus caused the people of Tian Xuan Continent to invade Huan Yao Realm at any cost, wanting to seize the Lunhui Jing... And the reason they were able to invade successfully time and time again, and even retreat unscathed, was because you were acting as their inside agent!"
Yun Che pointed at Huai Wang and said coldly: "And the purpose of all this was to replace the Demon Emperor and become the master of Huan Yao Realm! The former Demon Emperor's personal pursuit to Tian Xuan Continent could never have been an impulse driven purely by rage... It must have been a scheme of yours! The death of the Little Demon Emperor... was not at all due to drunken impulse causing him to forcefully charge into Tian Xuan Continent, but rather... he died by your hand, Ming Wang!"
"Are you going to deny all of this?"
With almost every word Yun Che spoke, Huai Wang's expression changed, deep shock within his eyes. Because in his mind, these words represented a secret known only to him and his father in this entire world—there was absolutely no third person who could know... Even those people from Tian Xuan Continent didn't know who had conveyed the message to them back then.
Slap... slap... slap... slap...
"Hahahaha!" Ming Wang laughed loudly and clapped his hands, but his gaze was calm and unruffled: "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Yun Che, it seems my son, whom I've always been proud of, coming off looking utterly disgraced before you is truly not unjust at all. This king will generously admit it: You are not at all wrong. The reason those Sacred Lands of Tian Xuan Continent invaded Huan Yao Realm was indeed because of this king. Back then, I merely told them that the Demon Emperor's supreme treasure, the Lunhui Jing of Huan Yao Realm, contained the secret of the Divine Profound. If one could unravel the mystery of the Lunhui Jing, they could break through the limits of the Sovereign Xuan Realm, step into the Divine Profound Realm, and become the legendary 'Xuan God.'"
"Those fools were even greedier and stupider than I anticipated. Not only did they believe it, but a year later, they eagerly began preparing to set foot in Huan Yao Realm. Naturally, I was happy to help them construct a spatial passage and tell them what I wanted them to know... These people from Tian Xuan Continent truly did not disappoint me. They threw the Demon Emperor City into chaos, and caused the Demon Emperor and Little Demon Emperor to die even more smoothly than I had anticipated!"
Ming Wang laughed maniacally: "Hahahaha! What Sacred Lands of Tian Xuan? They are nothing but pawns manipulated and toyed with in the palm of my hand. As for that Demon Emperor and Little Demon Emperor, in my hands, they were merely two pitiful crawling insects. I used just a small trick to easily lure the Demon Emperor to the location of the spatial passage. Of course, even if he were stupid, he wouldn't be rash enough to chase into the spatial passage and go to Tian Xuan Continent's territory to deliver himself to death... It was I who appeared at just the right time to give him a 'helping hand.' Princess Caiyi, your pitiful father showed such pleasant surprise when I appeared at that moment. When I approached within two steps of him, he had not the slightest guard up. Then I gave him a gentle kick, sending him straight into the spatial passage..."
Xiao Yaohou: "!!!!"
Yun Che: "..."
"On the other side of the spatial passage, a 'Heavenly Might Soul-Suppressing Array' was waiting for him. Once he entered the 'Heavenly Might Soul-Suppressing Array,' no matter how heaven-defying his profound strength, he could not use it." Ming Wang smiled faintly, his expression supremely arrogant, as if everything in this world was under his control: "As for the Little Demon Emperor, who had just ascended the throne, it was even simpler. On the night of your wedding, just like you today, he generously gave me the perfect opportunity, going alone to pay respects to the former Demon Emperor... However, I did not kill him. I merely crippled him and threw him into the spatial passage leading to Tian Xuan Continent. That way, not a single trace of me would remain. I then conveniently left behind some 'final words' for him... The next day, the entire Huan Yao Realm knew that the newly ascended Little Demon Emperor and Little Demon Empress, on their wedding night, in a drunken fit of impulse, had single-handedly charged into Tian Xuan Continent... Rather than mourning the death of the Little Demon Emperor, many more people were surely cursing his foolishness. Hahahaha!"
"Ming... Wang!!!"
The flames on Xiao Yaohou's body raged wildly, her petite frame trembling violently. Yun Che, who was closest to her, could clearly feel that her fury, hatred, and killing intent were so intense and chaotic that they seemed ready to tear space itself apart. He turned to look at Xiao Yaohou and found that although she was shrouded in flames, under the reflection of the crimson-gold light, her face was still as pale as paper... And at the corner of her mouth, a line of crimson blood was slowly trickling down.
She had not been injured in her fight with Huai Wang. That trace of blood... was an internal injury caused by her overwhelmingly intense anger and hatred.
And at this moment, Yun Che felt a deep admiration rising in his heart for Xiao Yaohou...
It was only today that she had learned the culprit behind the deaths of her father and brother was not Tian Xuan Continent, but Ming Wang before her! He had killed her two closest kin, caused the Demon Emperor bloodline to be severed, plunged Demon Emperor City into chaos, and ruined the entire Huan Yao Realm. Yun Che could imagine just how intense that hatred and killing intent must be...
But even so, she still managed to maintain her rationality, refraining from recklessly attacking Ming Wang under the piercing pain of her hatred. Because doing so would not only fail to kill Ming Wang, whose strength was terrifying beyond measure, but it would also cause both her and Yun Che to die even faster... At this very moment, she had to seize every last breath of life for the slim chance of vengeance in the future!
Ming Wang turned his gaze, squinting as he admired Xiao Yaohou's expression at this moment... That's right, admiration. The hatred that wished to grind his bones to dust, the killing intent that wished to tear him to shreds—these actually brought him enjoyment and satisfaction: "Even after knowing this truth, you can still hold back from attacking me. Truly worthy of being Princess Caiyi. It's no wonder you made me spend over a hundred years without finding the perfect opportunity to kill you. You should thank me properly, for letting you know, just before your death, who destroyed your clan... Oh, by the way, do you know how wonderful the Little Demon Emperor's expression was when he saw my face back then? Tsk tsk, so wonderful that even thinking back on it now fills me with endless relish."
"Ming... Wang..."
Xiao Yaohou's voice was so hoarse and low that it no longer sounded human. Those two words were as cold and sinister as if they came from the deepest abyss of the Nine Netherworlds, yet they could not even reach one ten-thousandth of the hatred in her heart. Although Yun Che's face was calm, the hatred in his heart was no less than Xiao Yaohou's. Because the death of his grandfather, Yun Canghai, was also due to Ming Wang! The decline of the Yun family, the tragic fate of him and Xiao Yun... all traced back to Ming Wang standing before him!
He took a deep breath and said coldly: "Ming Wang, your entire clan was granted its royal status by the Demon Emperor clan! Not only did you fail to receive that grace with loyalty, you instead harbored such wolf-like ambition and venomous intent. Are you not afraid of being struck by heavenly lightning?"
"How childish." Ming Wang laughed lightly: "The ruler of the realm is naturally to be held by the one most capable. From the moment I was born, I was destined to be the one who dominates the world. Anyone who stands in my way, no matter who they are, I will eliminate by any means necessary. As for so-called loyalty, benevolence, and righteousness—those laughable things belong only to laughable weaklings!"
"Since you've asked me to admit things, I've already admitted them. Come now, tell me—how did you come to know all these things about me?" Ming Wang stared directly at Yun Che, his two blade-like gazes seemingly piercing into his very soul: "This king prides himself on never leaving any traces no matter what he does. For over a hundred years, not a soul in the entire Huan Yao Realm has ever suspected me. So you, Yun Che, how exactly did you find out? Could it be that this king left some kind of flaw after all?"
"Simple." Yun Che casually stepped back, positioning himself beside Xiao Yaohou: "You should already know that although I am the son of the Yun family, I came from Tian Xuan Continent. While I was in Tian Xuan Continent, I had contact with the Tian Wei Sword Domain of the Four Sacred Grounds... Naturally, I heard it from the Tian Wei Sword Domain!"
"Tian Wei Sword Domain? Hmph!" Ming Wang was clearly not satisfied with this answer, but he did not press further. Instead, he gave a faint laugh, his gaze, already dangerous, turning even more sinister: "This king will, for now, believe your answer. However, the purpose of your delaying tactics has been achieved perfectly enough. Unfortunately, the reinforcements you've been waiting for have not appeared. So now, how do you plan to protect yourself and Princess Caiyi's lives before this king? Hm?"
Yun Che also smiled coldly and said: "Then does Ming Wang think that I came here knowing full well you were here, just to throw my life away for nothing?"
"And so, this king is very curious. What could you possibly rely on to escape from the palm of my hand?" Ming Wang said with a smile, his dangerous yet composed expression seemingly telling Yun Che that no matter what heaven-defying methods he had, there was absolutely no way for him to escape: "Is it that Heavenly Absolute Cold Crystal you've been holding in your hand?"