Five days later.

At last, Xiao Bai carried Chen Hao and his party out of the Polar Ice Land and arrived at the grasslands bordering it.

Despite it being nearly winter and the grass no longer a vibrant green, it was still enough to make Chen Hao, who had grown tired of the ice and snow over the past two months, feel a surge of vitality.

"We've finally left the Polar Ice Land safely!" Chen Hao shouted across the grassland, looking very happy.

"Yes!" The most excited person in the group was Xie Xiaofeng, who was unaware of Tang Jing's sacrifice and thought she would soon see Tang Jing.

"In another three days, we'll be back in Netherworld City!" Ye Yuqiao told Xie Xiaofeng.

"Does that mean I can return to the mortal world once we reach Netherworld City?" Ou Yuanlin asked Chen Hao.

Chen Hao nodded and said, "Once we're in Netherworld City, we'll find Niu Tou and Ma Mian, and they can send you back to the mortal world."

After speaking, Chen Hao looked southward, his heart full of worry, "I just don't know what the situation is like at the Gate of the Nether King by now, I hope the 'Absolution of the Lunarcide Sword' can still hold!"

...

...

Night fell.

Inside Netherworld City, an atmosphere of deadly silence prevailed.

In the autumn wind, soldiers were clearing up the corpses and bloodstains outside the eastern courtyard and Nether King Palace.

These past two days witnessed the biggest riot in tens of thousands of years within Netherworld City. Agitated by others, the citizens had smashed the under-construction Nether King Palace and even stormed into the eastern courtyard and the residences of the Clan Leaders of the four major families.

Since the Nether King Yuqiao had not appeared for a long time, the citizens, who originally only wanted the Nether King and Yang King to explain themselves, began to chant slogans for the abolition of the Nether King and then started looting, vandalizing, and arson.

Apart from the Four Great Clans, other nobles and wealthy families in the city were also attacked and robbed by the mob. What was initially a demonstration and protest turned into a riot endangering the entire city.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Zhao Chong deployed eighty thousand soldiers and also sought the support of Niu Tou and Ma Mian.

Ultimately, although the riot had been quelled, it came at a great cost. Thousands died in the uprising, and the city was littered with bodies and blood.

Investigations revealed that the instigators of the incident were none other than the three Clan Leaders of Wu, Zheng, and Wang families, who had been excluded from the Eight Great Clans by Nether King Ye Yu only half a year ago.

While Zhao Chong was suppressing the riot with his troops, the three Clan Leaders took the opportunity to flee from Netherworld City, taking with them twenty thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of Yin Souls.

Inside the main hall of the eastern courtyard.

Zhao Chong was utterly exhausted. He lay back in his chair with closed eyes.

He regretted, regretted that because of his soft-heartedness, he had missed the optimal moment to dispatch troops to suppress the riot. If he had been more decisive and listened to his deputy's advice to send troops as soon as the people thronged into the eastern courtyard, he would have faced a completely different situation now.

Losing the people's hearts is easy, winning them back is hard. After this incident, there will inevitably be grievances among the citizens, affecting the reputation of him, Chen Hao, and Ye Yuqiao in their eyes.

He wanted to think of a strategy to appease the anger but found he couldn't calm his mind at all.

"Clan Leader Zhao!" Zhou Ke, sitting beside Zhao Chong, looked at him and asked with a somewhat strange expression.

After a long while, Zhao Chong finally opened his eyes and glared at Zhou Ke.

Zhou Ke's heart skipped a beat, then stammered, "Clan Leader Zhao, now that the three Clan Leaders of Wu, Zheng, and Wang have escaped the city, should we send troops to eradicate them?"

Zhao Chong stared at Zhou Ke, rolling his eyes, and said nothing for a long time.

With a "bang," suddenly, Zhao Chong's left hand slammed down on the table fiercely, causing the teacup on it to jump off the coaster, emitting a clear trembling sound.

"Ah!" Li Zuole, sitting opposite Zhou Ke, was so frightened that his body jerked suddenly.

"Zhao, Clan Leader Zhao, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Ke asked Zhao Chong, stuttering, looking very scared.

"Clan Leader Zhou, I asked you to investigate this case a few days ago, didn't I? What have you found out! You said it was a few storytellers in the tea houses spreading baseless rumors," Zhao Chong enunciated every word with great anger, his voice sounding like a roar.

This was unprecedented for him, who had always been the epitome of gentle and scholarly grace.

Zhou Ke just started to explain when Zhao Chong didn't give him the chance, "Now I need you to tell me the truth, have you ever investigated the Clan Leaders of the Wu, Zheng, and Wang families? If you dare to tell a single lie, I, Zhao Chong, will absolutely kill you today. Although you and I are both Clan Leaders, the Nether King, before he left, had bestowed upon me the authority to act first and report later in any matter. After all, there's no shortage of noble Zhous within the city!"

"Clan Leader Zhao!" Zhou Ke's face turned gloomy, and his whole body trembled in fright.

Clan Leader Zhao's eyes widened.

"Zhao Chong, we played together since we were little, like brothers; you wouldn't really want to..."

"Tell the truth!" Zhao Chong roared at Zhou Ke.

Zhou Ke swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva and said with sincere fear, "Yes, I indeed investigated Wang Yun and Zheng Yang. I was planning to report to you, but en route, they invited me to their residences as a guest. At that time, they begged me to spare them out of old friendship and promised me they would never again..."

Before Zhou Ke could finish, he was already kicked out of the hall by Zhao Chong.

At that moment, Zhao Chong was utterly enraged!

...

...

Three days later.

The usually bustling Netherworld City was still a picture of deadly calm, shrouded in an atmosphere that suffocated.

Sunlight fell on the city, teasing out a faint stench of blood that permeated through the streets and alleyways.

In the aftermath of the riot three days ago, Zhao Chong had ordered the city gates to be sealed.

It was then that Nether King Yuqiao and Yang King Chen Hao returned.

From a distance, they saw the locked city gates, and Ye Yuqiao immediately sensed something was wrong.

"There must be trouble inside the city!" Ye Yuqiao sent a silent message to Chen Hao.

Chen Hao frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy.

At this moment, they were only a few hundred meters from Netherworld City.

Then, using Nether Vision, he saw that the streets of Netherworld City were patrolled only by soldiers, with no civilians in sight, and even the tea houses and taverns had their doors shut and seals placed.

Just then, a figure dropped from the sky, blocking their path.

"Ao!" Xiao Bai let out a roar at Zhao Chong.

"Your Majesty, Yang King, you've finally returned!"

The speaker was Zhao Chong!

Feeling the strong Yang Energy from Chen Hao within the city, he immediately exited to greet them.

"Zhao Chong!" Ye Yuqiao said with a frown. In theory, with her three souls fused and resurrected, Zhao Chong should be happy to see her.

However, Zhao Chong didn't seem happy at all; instead, he looked weathered and wan.

"Zhao Chong," Chen Hao said in shock, "what happened to your right hand?"

Upon hearing Chen Hao, Ye Yuqiao noticed that Zhao Chong's right arm was missing.

She was stunned. With Zhao Chong's capabilities, regrowing his right arm shouldn't be difficult. Yet, what she saw contradicted this.

"Never mind my hand, there's something more urgent I need to tell you," Zhao Chong said somberly.

"What is it?"

"Tang Jing, she's dead!"

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