Chapter 16: Taking You Out for an Adventure

Ye Han Prefecture fixed his lifeless gaze on Ye Jiuyao; if looks could kill, the latter would have perished a million times over by now.

"Father, can we not be like this? Brothers fight tigers together, fathers and sons go to battle side by side. With you like this, how am I supposed to carry on as acting Imperial Sovereign?" Ye Jiuyao complained, casting a resentful look at Ye Han Prefecture. The intensity of his father's stare was simply too unnerving, like a lion ready to pounce on its prey.

"Fine, for Qingyu's sake, I'll let you off for now. But if this yields no results, you'll be the first I deal with! Remember, if your father could raise you with his own hands, he can just as easily put you under with them!"

"What? What did you say, Father? Raised me with your own hands—wait, when I was little... ugh..."

Suddenly, Ye Jiuyao doubled over, retching violently for several minutes, nearly vomiting his very stomach out. He looked at Ye Han Prefecture, utterly appalled.

"What on earth did I eat growing up?"

"Who raised me back then?"

"It was a figure of speech, not literal..."

For a moment, Ye Jiuyao felt that life was truly not worth living. His spirit seemed to float away, and everyone around erupted into thunderous laughter at the scene.

"Extra training tomorrow!"

With those words, Ye Jiuyao hurried off. He needed to verify just what he had been fed as a child—he couldn't let his stomach suffer in vain.

"Gentlemen, did I truly grow up drinking milk? There wasn't anything else mixed in? Are you certain?"

Ye Jiuyao interrogated everyone in the kitchens for a full hour before he was finally reassured that his childhood hadn't been as tragic as he feared. Only then did he return to eating with gusto.

"To soothe my wounded soul, I'll have to numb myself with food. Sorry for the trouble, everyone..."

The assembled men were left speechless. For the first time, they heard someone elevate the act of eating to such a lofty, elegant level—and yet it sounded perfectly natural coming from him.

As the primal beast meat slid down Ye Jiuyao's throat and reached his stomach, the cultivation technique he practiced, the Art of Slumber, began to operate automatically. But the energy within the beast meat was too meager to make any difference at his current level. The only reason Ye Jiuyao enjoyed eating so much was the sheer deliciousness of the taste.

"Meat is meat, however little. Every morsel counts, especially when it's so expensive these days," Ye Jiuyao grumbled inwardly, eating with even greater relish. Platter after platter was devoured at astonishing speed.

Yet no one said a word, for they noticed Ye Jiuyao's appetite had actually diminished. After all, when he was five, he'd carried an entire pig on his shoulders and gnawed it down to the bones all by himself. Now, platter after platter, he didn't eat nearly as much as he once did.

"Burp... I'm about sixty percent full. I'll go cultivate now..."

The others were left speechless. After a hearty meal, it was only natural to sleep—after all, they'd watched Ye Jiuyao grow up and knew his lazy habits all too well.

Returning to his room, Ye Jiuyao immediately fell into a deep slumber. Yet for one so lazy, his cultivation art operated on its own, drawing in the world's vital energy and steadily enhancing his power.

Most infuriating of all, this slothful fellow had surpassed the younger generation, earning the admiration of the entire realm.

"Ye Jiuyao, something terrible has happened, something terrible!" Suddenly, someone burst into the room, kicking the door open. It was Luo Yuanhuang.

"Ye Jiuyao, wake up!"

Snoring... cough...

Luo Yuanhuang was left speechless. He gave Ye Jiuyao a hefty kick—after all, it wouldn't kill him—so he went ahead and did it.

"Ouch! Who—who's the bastard?"

Ye Jiuyao roared in anger, and upon seeing who it was, immediately sprang up, pinning Luo Yuanhuang beneath him and unleashing a flurry of punches.

"Ah, that's satisfying! No wonder the ancients said exercise is good for your health—they weren't wrong," Ye Jiuyao exclaimed with a sigh of contentment once he'd vented his frustration.

"Ugh... Ye... Ye Jiuyao, I..."

"Spit it out if you've got something to say, and quickly—I've got to get back to sleep. No training tomorrow."

Luo Yuanhuang suddenly remembered he was here on official business, not to pick a fight. So he hurriedly explained the situation.

"Oh, so they're saying they don't want to train anymore? That it's not working? Fine, go back and tell them we'll go out for some fun tomorrow, let everyone relax a bit."

With that, Ye Jiuyao collapsed back onto his bed and was snoring within seconds. Luo Yuanhuang hesitated, but after his earlier experience, didn't dare kick him again.

Early the next morning, everyone was already waiting at the martial grounds. Ye Jiuyao, bleary-eyed and yawning, squinted at the assembled group.

"Today, we're going out for a bit of fun. First stop: the underworld palace's territory. I've heard their secret realm is open; it's time we made our move."

"Father, you and Luo Yuanhuang stay behind and guard Great Zhou—can't risk anyone taking advantage while we're gone. As for Bai Yijian, focus on your cultivation."

Ye Han Prefecture and the others nodded in understanding, but the rest were utterly baffled. They didn't understand what Ye Jiuyao meant by 'fun,' but they got the gist of 'making a move,' so they nodded eagerly.

Fifteen days later, a group of people appeared within the jurisdiction of the Southern Barbarians’ Netherworld Palace. Leading them were a youth and a child, making for a peculiar sight.

"Remember our creed?"

"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony; freedom, equality, justice, rule of law; patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship. We are messengers of peace, here to safeguard world harmony."

"That's right! We're here to maintain world peace and eliminate all who dare oppose it—making our humble contribution to the cause..."

Ye Jiuyao's words rang out with conviction. If the others hadn't known his true nature, they might have actually believed his nonsense.

Originally, Ye Jiuyao had planned to train his people further, but upon hearing Luo Yuanhuang's report, he abandoned the idea. After all, what was the point of his own strength if, when faced with an overwhelming enemy, he couldn't protect them? They would all die together.

So, after two seconds of thought, Ye Jiuyao decided to take them out for a big mission, to make Great Zhou's name known far and wide and attract more followers.

"Your Majesty, what is our objective?"

"This trip is to uphold justice and defend the righteous path by eliminating demons and evildoers. The mission location is the Underworld Secret Realm, under Netherworld Palace's jurisdiction. Our goal is to help the weak sects bullied by the Netherworld Palace and drive them out!"

"Drive out the Netherworld Palace!"

"Drive out the Netherworld Palace!!"

"Are you all pigs? It's not the godlike foes I fear, but pig-headed allies like you! This is a covert mission—if you shout it out and word gets around, we'll all be wiped out!"

Ye Jiuyao was speechless at his loyal followers from Great Zhou. It wasn't that they were clever, but rather they were a little too earnest—almost foolishly loyal.

Yet, it was this very foolish loyalty that would save them in the end, for better or worse. Ye Jiuyao couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Such a wretched fate, to be stuck as acting sovereign—what a pain."

With that, he led his group straight into the Underworld Secret Realm.

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