Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: The Harder the Fist, the Greater the Reason

Chapter Thirteen: The Harder the Fist, the Greater the Righteousness

Beside them, the dog blinked its large eyes, which alternated between flashes of silver and gold, and even flickered with shades of purple and black, shifting endlessly. Its mouth muttered incantations: “Eye of Illusion... Eye of the Void... Unhindered Eye... Earth Eye, Fire Eye, Water Eye, Wind Eye, True Eye, all sorts of eyes—open for me...”

Suddenly, with a thunderous rumble, the great cloud dispersed. Huluzhina and his retinue of eight princes descended to the ground.

Huluzhina stowed the lightning blade from his gaze and clasped his hands behind his back, scrutinizing Tu Zhe.

All around, the lords and multitudes gathered to watch, offering their respects and praise to Huluzhina.

Huluzhina glanced at Morasha, who was sprawled on the ground, and said indifferently, “Get up.”

Morasha scrambled to his feet, pointing at Tu Zhe. “Young Lord, that’s him, this little—”

Huluzhina waved him off, signaling him to stop, then turned his gaze to Tu Zhe. “State your name.”

Tu Zhe replied lazily, “Will you state yours first, or shall I? Or... perhaps we could introduce ourselves together?”

Huluzhina’s eyes narrowed, fixing a sharp stare on Tu Zhe. “Are you ignorant of the etiquette due to a prince?”

Tu Zhe smiled. “According to the ‘Hammurabi Code,’ Section on Princes, Article 8, Clause 5: ‘When princes meet, full courtesies must be observed; inquiries must be made with joined palms and a nod. Offenders must copy this statute a thousand times and face the wall for three days.’”

With that, Tu Zhe pressed his palms together and bowed his head, his voice gentle. “I am Tu Zhe, son of the Lord of Perilous Shores. And you, Prince, forgive my poor eyesight, which prince might you be?”

His refined manners and courtesy drew approving nods from the crowd. Qin Lei, standing nearby, eyes glinting with strange light, seemed deep in thought.

Huluzhina did not return the courtesy, knowing full well that Tu Zhe’s politeness was meant to humiliate him. If he reciprocated, he would be conceding the upper hand. So, fixing his gaze on Tu Zhe, Huluzhina suddenly threw back his head and laughed: “Ha! Ha ha ha ha—”

Tu Zhe watched him with mockery. “The ‘Hammurabi Code,’ Section on Princes, Article 11, Clause 2: ‘If any prince behaves arrogantly or with contempt, he must copy this statute a thousand times and face the wall for three days.’ My friend, it seems you owe two thousand copies and six days of penance, ha ha...”

Lightning flashed like sword blades in Huluzhina’s eyes, nearly piercing Tu Zhe’s face.

Tu Zhe immediately called out in a loud voice, “The ‘Hammurabi Code,’ Section on Princes, Article 12, Clause 1, clearly states: ‘When princes meet, if any display anger or wrath, he must copy this statute three thousand times and face the wall for ten days.’ Prince, in just a few breaths, you’ve already violated three articles. Does the law of Renli Kingdom mean nothing to you?”

“Damn your father—” Huluzhina roared in fury.

Tu Zhe smiled, stepping back. Inwardly, he was delighted: Good, if you weren’t provoked, how could you make such a blunder?

Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, Tu Zhe raised his voice. “Everyone, can someone tell me, what is the prescribed punishment for ignoring the ‘Hammurabi Code’?”

The onlookers glanced at each other, none daring to meet Tu Zhe’s eyes. Hell, are you trying to get us into trouble? According to the code? Since when have the Eight Princes ever followed the code?

The Eight Princes’ might, ha! Tu Zhe sighed. “The ‘Hammurabi Code’ states: ‘If any lord, prince, princess, dragon, elephant, or member of the Eight Heavenly Dragon Divisions, or any celestial person or slave, disregards this code: for a lord, confinement and reflection for a hundred days; for princes and princesses, dragons, elephants, and the Eight Divisions, ten years of penance; for celestial persons, demotion to slave status; for slaves, one foot and one hand severed...’”

Huluzhina could no longer maintain his composure. He roared, “Damn it, you think you can confine me for ten years? Try it if you dare!”

He strode forward, intent on teaching Tu Zhe a lesson.

Before Jin Si could step up, Qin Lei flashed in front of Tu Zhe, lightning crackling dangerously in his eyes. With a single raised hand in salute, he said coldly, “Prince, halt. If you wish to harm my brother, you’ll have to step over my corpse first.”

Huluzhina stared, his rage bordering on madness. What was happening today? First this brat lectures me, now another blocks my way—if I don’t thrash you both, how will I keep my place on Mount Sumeru?

He turned to the princes and several hundred great Yakshas behind him, bellowing, “Seize those from the Roaring Celestial Treasure Pavilion who are disturbing the peace! Leave these two brats to me—I’ll show them what it means to cross someone they shouldn’t have!”

The princes and Yakshas roared in response, forming a formation like dragons playing in water, encircling Jin Mu, Jin Si, Shudra, and several Yakshas, closing them in a steel ring. Meanwhile, Tu Zhe and Qin Lei were isolated, left to Huluzhina.

The onlookers erupted—this was a major incident! Even two young celestial kings were to be seized. Some among the crowd of princes felt a sense of impending doom.

Those little celestial kings who had sent their spirits to the Marvelous Artisan Celestial Treasure Pavilion, except for those close to the Eight Princes, all were filled with anger. What was this? Even if they were outsiders, they were still celestial kings—could they be arrested at will? Labeled as disturbers of the peace at a whim? Would they one day find themselves seized for any reason?

These covert celestial kings watched intently, some meticulous ones even opening their Heavenly Eyes, recording the events into Celestial Shadow Crystals.

Murderous intent flashed in Huluzhina’s eyes as he approached Tu Zhe and Qin Lei, his gaze now blood-red. His left eye flashed with the fallen light of the west, his right with the thick thunder of the east; two bolts of lightning clashed, generating thunder that crackled and surged around him like furious dragons, ready to reduce Tu Zhe to dust at any moment.

Huluzhina roared, “Tu Zhe, is it? A prince, is it? Let me tell you—on Mount Sumeru, in the Kingdom of Renli, I am the law! If you want to argue with me, you’d better have the strength. Now, die—”

In an instant, a bolt of lightning, like a sky-spanning blade, shot toward Tu Zhe.

Seeing this, Qin Lei stepped forward, swept his hand, and conjured a flash of lightning from which a massive thunder beast emerged, armored and fierce, eyes blazing with blue lightning. With a roar, it swallowed Huluzhina’s lightning blade whole.

Huluzhina paused, then laughed fiendishly and shouted, “Explode—!”

The thunder beast in Qin Lei’s hand swelled violently. With a deafening boom, the beast’s shadow burst into scattered points of light, fading away.

At the same time, Qin Lei staggered back, spitting blood, his face pale, his spirit depleted—he was gravely injured.

Tu Zhe quickly caught him, sending a mental message to the dog: “Quick, are you ready?”

The dog withdrew its paw. “All done, brother! Why are you so anxious? With this guy’s little tricks, he’s not even enough to get stuck between my teeth, hee hee...”

A wicked gleam appeared in Huluzhina’s eyes. He struck a strange pose, left hand open and pointing to the sky, right hand open and aimed at Tu Zhe, shouting, “Bind—!”

Suddenly, the very air around Tu Zhe, Qin Lei, and the dog visibly solidified into a pearly cage, trapping the three within, unable to escape.

Huluzhina’s outstretched index fingers spun rapidly, conjuring two massive wind pestles, a thousand feet long, which howled as they crashed toward the imprisoned trio.

Among the spectators, some who recognized the technique cried out, “Ah! That’s the Indra Seal—”