Chapter 401: Chapter 402: Oh, Citizens of the Huaxia Empire

At the border between Wei Guo and Qiu Country, within a hidden mountain forest covered by Illusion Arrays, the whole area was enveloped.

Within this range of mountain forest, there was a simple building where many people were sitting.

All these people looked quite young, none of them old, and leading them were Leng Wuyi, the Hall Master of Life Palace, and Qiu Xian, the Vice Hall Master.

This place was the secret base of the Life Palace, and the more than twenty people present were all Vice Hall Masters from various branches of the Palace.

“The strength of the Huaxia Empire has completely exceeded our expectation,” Leng Wuyi looked at the people and sighed deeply, “the Emperor Qin’s Forbidden Army didn’t stand a chance against the Huaxia Army. What was even more unexpected were the three ancestors from Double Pole Palace, Carefree Sect, and Blood Spirit Valley, who suddenly became the most powerful trio in the Southern Domain!”

The faces of the people were also changing uncertainly. The collapse of Emperor Qin’s Dynasty happened faster than they had imagined. They had hoped that the Huaxia Empire and Emperor Qin’s Dynasty would both suffer, but reality slapped them hard.

Both suffering damage? The Huaxia Empire didn’t suffer a single scratch, and the Human Emperor of Emperor Qin’s Dynasty just ran away.

“With those three ancestors backing them, considering the strength displayed by the Huaxia Empire and the territories they now own, reaching up to fifty-eight states, it is perhaps exceeding Emperor Qin’s Dynasty to become the eleventh top force in the Southern Domain!” Beside Leng Wuyi, Qiu Xian rubbed her forehead and sighed, “Such a behemoth could squash us by mere stepping, and if Huaxia Empire acts like Wei Guo and Qiu Country, there really wouldn’t be hope for the common people.”

Qiu Xian’s words made many Vice Hall Masters nod in agreement. A man with six scars on his face worriedly said, “The members of Life Palace have already gone into hiding; there shouldn’t be any safety problems for now. But the future of the people in Wei Guo and Qiu Country is still uncertain.”

“This Huaxia Empire is so strong, it requires numerous resources; I’m afraid its citizens are also living days of hardship!” Another Vice Hall Master spoke harshly, feeling powerless in his eyes, “But this Empire is simply undefeatable now.”

“Now Huaxia Empire has started to dispatch Imperial Army guards into various cities of Wei Guo and Qiu Country. The War Beast Army has also entered the mountain forest, not sure what they are about to do, maybe looking for us,” Leng Wuyi suddenly said in a stern voice, “If we are found, it might be a fierce battle; everyone should be prepared.”

Beside him, Qiu Xian nodded and looked towards the door, “Vice Hall Master Qiu Ling has gone to gather information, I hope she can return safely.”

Upon mentioning this, Qiu Xian appeared tense, and everyone expressed understanding.

The War Beast Army entering the mountain forest could likely be searching for traces of them, their Life Palace, as the Huaxia Empire may intend to eradicate them.

And Qiu Ling, Vice Hall Master, being the daughter of Qiu Xian and Leng Wuyi, was undoubtedly in great danger navigating such a situation outside, and if any mishaps were to occur…

Bang!

Just then, the door was suddenly opened; a young woman, whose brows resembled Leng Wuyi, rushed in, frantically grabbed the Spiritual Tea in front of her father and drank it all at once and proceeded to drink her mother’s tea as well, and only then, with a satisfied cleaner of the tea around her mouth, did she stop.

“Linger… Vice Hall Master Qiu Ling, what is it that has you so flustered?” Leng Wuyi saw his daughter’s state, furrowed his brows, and asked with concern.

Not just him; everyone present was nervously watching Qiu Ling, uncertain about the news she might bring.

“Phew!” Qiu Ling let out a long breath, regained her composure, and then sat down to face everyone. With a serious and frightened expression, she said, “You would never guess what the Emperor of the Huaxia Empire ordered his subordinates to do after they stationed themselves in Wei Guo and Qiu Country.”

“What happened?” Seeing Qiu Ling’s frightened expression, everyone felt uneasy, anticipating something ominous.

Observing everyone’s curious yet solemn faces, Qiu Ling began to describe her experience, “While I was gathering information, I accidentally ran head-on into a giant wolf from the War Beast Army. Guess what happened?”

Hearing that Qiu Ling had actually encountered the terrifying giant wolf of the War Beast Army, Qiu Xian’s heart leapt into her throat, despite knowing her daughter was safe now.

“The giant wolf just looked at me and spoke in human tongue. It said ‘people from the Life Palace’ and then turned around and left.”

“Later on, out of curiosity, I followed this giant wolf from the War Beast Army for some time and found that it was not looking for traces of our Life Palace as we had speculated. Instead, it was seeking remnants of the official armies of Wei Guo and Qiu Country.”

“Moreover, I discovered that these giant wolves, when passing through towns and villages outside the city, would cleanly slaughter any Soul Beasts nearby, pack their carcasses into the storage bags on their bodies, and give them to the townspeople and villagers!”

“What?” Qiu Ling’s words shocked everyone. They could hardly believe their ears.

The fact that the War Beast Army was not searching for them relieved them slightly.

The wisdom of these Silvermoon giant wolves from the War Beast Army was something they had already witnessed. Although the Imperial Army and the War Beast Army were not truly living creatures, they were very much like artificial intelligence with intelligence but no souls.

However, the actions of these War Beast Army wolves in slaughtering Soul Beasts at the edges of towns and villages and giving their carcasses to the people were simply incredible.

By doing so, the people benefited greatly without any harm. With the Soul Beasts around them dead, they no longer had to worry about their ravages, and the gifted carcasses were a significant wealth.

The flesh of the Soul Beasts, when cooked and eaten, could strengthen and enhance the villagers’ health.

“At that time, I thought that the Huaxia Empire might not be hostile toward our Life Palace. To verify this, I made a bold decision to have members of my hall go directly to nearby Little Ling City.”

At this point, everyone at the scene held their breath, anxiously waiting for Qiu Ling to describe what happened next.

“The troops guarding the city from the Imperial Army recognized us as people from the Life Palace right away and let us pass without any trouble at all,” said Qiu Ling, her eyes wide with surprise. “At that moment, I was certain the Huaxia Empire didn’t view our Life Palace as we feared, with the intent to destroy us quickly.”

“However, I don’t understand why the Huaxia Empire has no defenses against our Life Palace, which inherently exists to resist the governments of Wei Guo and Qiu Country on behalf of the people. The Huaxia Empire should be wary of us.”

Noticing the puzzled look in everyone’s eyes, Qiu Ling paused, then her expression showed admiration, “After seeing everything the Huaxia Empire did in Little Ling City, I immediately understood. The Huaxia Empire is completely different from the Qin Dynasty, Wei Guo, and Qiu Country…”

“No… different from any other power I know of.” As she said this, Qiu Ling took out a jade token and waved it at everyone, “So, now I am a subject of the Huaxia Empire!”