Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Will of Destruction

In a place far away, within the depths of a solemn and majestic palace, the golden-haired monarch gazed calmly at the items presented before him.

There were two things offered up. One was a uniquely shaped glass bottle containing a dark brown liquid. The other was a snow-white ceramic bowl holding a circular, dried cake of noodles.

"So this is what Little Seven has been tinkering with over there?" the golden-haired monarch said calmly, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, Your Majesty," someone kneeling before the monarch replied in a low voice. "The Yeye Academy continues to shield the traitor, so for the time being, there is no way to eliminate him."

"The fact that he could escape to the academy means this hunt is effectively over. However, he cannot stay in that academy forever; he will eventually come out. I know my nephew well." The monarch wore a calm smile as he looked at the two items. He walked down the long steps toward the attendant who was kneeling and holding the tray high.

"Is this meant to be drunk?" the monarch asked.

"Yes."

The monarch nodded, flicked the neck of the glass bottle open with his finger, gripped the body, and drained the dark brown liquid in one go.

"Interesting," he remarked with a smile.

He then turned his gaze to the noodle cake in the ceramic bowl.

"Am I to eat it directly?" he asked.

"It needs to be steeped in boiling water first."

The monarch remained expressionless. He stared at the noodle cake, slowly extending his finger. A sphere of water instantly condensed in the air before him, and in an instant, it began to boil. Once boiling, it dropped into the bowl, completely submerging the noodles.

"It only requires two minutes to be ready for consumption."

The monarch waited in silence for two minutes. He then picked up the golden chopsticks beside the bowl, reached in, and lifted a strand of noodles to sample.

"Truly interesting," the monarch said, setting the chopsticks down.

He turned and walked back to his throne, looking down at the steps below. "Why is he producing these things?"

"From what we can tell, the traitor seems to be using these to make money..." the subordinate replied hesitantly.

"Money?" The monarch frowned. "What money could he possibly need?"

Xi Che was already a powerhouse comparable to the Heavenly Realm; ordinary currency meant nothing to him. Furthermore, how much could these items possibly earn? While they were interesting, that was all they were.

"Your Majesty, the traitor Xi Che is mass-producing these two commodities in enormous quantities."

"Enormous?" The monarch was somewhat surprised. He could not fathom the scale.

"The former, in the glass bottle, is named 'Academy Happy Water.' It is produced primarily within the academy, but as of now, in just two months, over a million bottles have been manufactured."

"The latter is called 'instant noodles.' The traitor Xi Che chose to open a specialized factory on the shores of Star-Shatter Lake. According to reports, the factory utilizes strange machinery. A single set of machines can produce twenty tons of these noodle cakes in a day, and so far, there are already three such sets in operation."

"Twenty tons a day?" A look of slight astonishment crossed the monarch’s face. He was no fool sitting on a high throne; before ascending to the throne, he had served as the executive deputy emperor with his brother’s consent, well-versed in politics, military affairs, and public livelihood. Because of this, he realized exactly what a daily capacity of sixty tons meant. Moreover, the limit to this production was merely the number of those strange machines.

"Since Little Seven possessed such capability, why did he never attempt such things within the Empire?" the monarch mused to himself. "While these things might not have tipped the scales in the succession struggle, they were tangible advantages. And at that time, the resources at his disposal were vastly greater than what he has now."

At this point, the monarch’s voice trailed off. He began to laugh.

"I understand now. He likely didn't trust me."

If not for that lack of trust, Xi Che would not have chosen to leave this place of turmoil before his father died. Even if he had established these industries within the Ster Empire, even with more resources, more power, and the greatest backing in the world—if the foundation were to crumble, how could the structure remain standing?

"He is truly too clever—so clever that I almost regret he is still in this world," the monarch said, looking at the ornately decorated ceiling.

As he said this, he looked down, his golden eyes filled with a sinister glint. "Is there any way to kill him? Even if we use the power of the Elders?"

"There is no way," the voice from below the steps replied slowly. "The Academy inherits the legacy of that Saint, and Lord Lin Xi is arguably the strongest human alive today. Even if the Yeye Empire were to exhaust its entire national strength, it would be difficult to erase that city again, let alone from a thousand miles away."

"Sending powerhouses to assassinate him carries extreme risk. The traitor Xi Che himself possesses combat strength at the Heavenly Realm. The 'Blade of Illusory Destruction' he wields, whether real or fake, implies he once met the Saint whose name we cannot even utter."

"Furthermore, subordinates previously took it upon themselves to try and destroy his factory outside the city, but they were intercepted by someone suspected to be Calotus, the president of the Yeye Academy Student Union. Calotus displayed terrifying strength during this encounter; it is suspected he is no ordinary Heavenly Realm powerhouse."

"In summary, even at a devastating cost to the Empire, I fear it is impossible to kill the traitor Xi Che within the Academy."

The monarch listened quietly to the report, his expression cold and calm. He trusted his subordinate's judgment, and he was no incompetent man himself. It was simply that he could not root out the danger once and for all, and that left him deeply uneasy.

After a moment of thought, he smiled. "Nightwing."

"I am here."

"I command you to head to the Lanye Empire. I grant you all the authority and resources you require."

"There is only one mission."

"That is to use non-violent means to utterly destroy every venture Xi Che is attempting."

"Understood." The response echoed from below the steps.

Then, there was silence.

The monarch sat back, gazing up at the ceiling alone. He began to laugh.

"Brother," he whispered. "The task you asked of me before you died—I will do everything in my power to fulfill it. Only then can I prove that replacing you was the right thing to do."

He exhaled a long breath.

"There is more than one way to destroy a man than by destroying his flesh."