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Worick wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This is all a misunderstanding! Elder Ju had no intention of causing harm."
Dai Pojun said nothing but looked over at Dai Weisi. Dai Weisi immediately understood—it was his turn to speak.
"Heh heh heh, Bishop, your words are almost laughable. You killed so many from my Star Luo Empire, and you expect to smooth things over by just calling it a misunderstanding? I don't think it'll be that easy.
If everyone were as shameless as you, Bishop, then tomorrow I could go to Spirit City, kill hundreds of your soul masters, and say it was all a misunderstanding as well.
Would you, Bishop, accept that? If you agreed, then we would release Douluo Ju immediately and station troops on the border to 'misunderstand' each other properly."
"This…"
Worick was at a loss. If it truly escalated into a war between the Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire, no matter how it ended, he would come to no good.
If the Star Luo Empire won, Dai Pojun would have long since looked down on him and surely would kill him with a single stroke; if the Spirit Hall won, then with Bibi Dong's temper, he would be made the scapegoat and sentenced to death.
Once war broke out, regardless of the outcome, his only path would be death.
Before he could respond, Dai Weisi continued, "Besides, under our interrogation last night, Douluo Ju confessed everything!"
"Ah? He… he confessed everything?"
Worick's eyes widened at these words, and his mind raced: Could Elder Ju have revealed the assassination attempt on Yang Wudi? No, that Elder Ju was too unreliable!
"That's right! Douluo Ju and Douluo Gui came to Star Luo City to drink and drown their sorrows. At first, this seemed a good thing—our Star Luo Empire even welcomed them.
But who would have thought that after drinking, the two of them went berserk, killing so many brave warriors of our empire, even daring to fight my father the emperor openly. Such behavior is intolerable! What I can tolerate, my wife cannot!
Douluo Ju's actions have crossed Star Luo Empire's bottom line. If we do not execute him publicly, the people's anger will never be appeased!"
"Ah? Drunken trouble? What happened…"
Worick paused for a moment. Having lived more than sixty years and being a cunning old fox, he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
Certainly, Elder Ju deliberately claimed he was drunk to cover his true purpose. After all, with the power of a titled Douluo, he could easily dissipate alcohol if he wished.
At that moment, Worick also marveled at Yue Guan's cunning, who had thought to use such a method to conceal his true intentions.
Although it was a crude lie, as long as Dai Pojun and the others couldn't discern their real plan, there was still room to ease tensions.
Seeing Worick's doubtful expression, Dai Weisi sneered coldly and shifted tone: "Oh? What, do you deny the facts? Or perhaps, Bishop, you know some hidden truth?
Could it be that Douluo Ju and Douluo Gui were not drunk by accident but deliberately acting to assassinate a minister of the Star Luo Empire and even attempt to assassinate the emperor himself?"
Swish!
All the civil and military officials immediately turned their gaze to Bishop Worick. If Douluo Ju and Douluo Gui had merely caused drunken trouble, there was still hope to salvage the situation.
But if they attempted assassination of a minister and the emperor, the crime was grave indeed. Douluo Ju's death would be inevitable, and the Star Luo Empire would surely demand accountability from the Spirit Hall!
"Hmph! If that is the case, Douluo Ju and Douluo Gui deserve the extermination of their nine clans! Bishop, please inform the Pope that they intended to assassinate the emperor, and according to law, their entire nine clans should be executed. I hope she will send all their clans to Star Luo City.
Speaking of the Pope, she is their direct superior. Could it be that the order for their assassination attempt came from her?"
"No, no, no! Absolutely not! Absolutely not! It truly was Elder Ju and Elder Gui's drunken misdeed! A drunken misdeed!"
Before Dai Weisi could finish, Bishop Worick hurriedly admitted it was indeed a drunken mistake by Douluo Ju and Douluo Gui. If Dai Weisi had continued, it would inevitably escalate into war—something no one wished to see.
"After I return, I will ensure the Pope severely reprimands them to prevent similar incidents. However, Elder Ju is still a senior elder of the Spirit Hall, and Elder Gui is his brother and partner, as well as the Pope's favored.
If he dies, the Spirit Hall's high command will be furious, which would likely lead to war between the Spirit Hall and Star Luo Empire. With the Three Great Sects and Tian Dou Empire eyeing us closely, war now would benefit no one.
For the fallen Star Luo warriors, the Spirit Hall is willing to offer compensation. I hope His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will show mercy and spare Elder Ju's life."
Upon hearing this, Dai Weisi nodded slightly. His objective was achieved. Since learning that Yue Guan could aid his cultivation, he no longer planned to kill Yue Guan—keeping him as a power source seemed far more advantageous.
"Bishop, your words do show some sincerity. Indeed, none of us desire war. Since you are willing to represent the Spirit Hall and offer compensation, I will state my conditions."
Seeing that there was still room to ease the tension, Worick quickly responded, "Please, Your Royal Highness, go ahead."
"I want three pieces of thousand-year spirit bones, and they must include skulls and torso bones—don't try to fool me with just limb bones.
In addition, I demand thirty million gold spirit coins, to be used for repairing the Alchemist Association and purchasing various rare medicinal materials.
Your Elder Ju's fire destroyed the Alchemist Association we painstakingly built, and this matter cannot simply be overlooked. That is my bottom line."
"Ah, this…" Worick's face turned pale at these demands, exclaiming, "Your Royal Highness, aren't you asking for too much?"
Thirty million gold spirit coins were not a big problem for the Spirit Hall, but those three spirit bones placed Worick in quite a bind.
Though the Spirit Hall was deeply established, it didn't have many thousand-year spirit bones. Didn't Yue Guan, as an elder, also have not a single one?
"What's wrong, Bishop? Feeling troubled?" Dai Weisi smiled. "Fine, then I'll raise the price—four thousand-year spirit bones and forty million gold spirit coins!"
"Your Royal Highness! You—"
Before Worick could finish, Dai Weisi waved his hand and cut him off.
"Bishop, if you say another useless word, I'll keep raising the stakes. I'm not like others whose bottom line keeps dropping—I'm different.
The more you resist me, the higher my bottom line will go. I hope you can reconsider your choice of words!"
"This… such a serious matter, forgive me, but I can't decide this alone. How about this: give me some time to discuss with the Pope, then we can talk again, alright?"
"No problem!" Dai Weisi agreed immediately, then added, "But I'll give you exactly one month. If after one month I don't see those spirit bones and gold spirit coins, I will make sure the entire world witnesses Douluo Ju's execution!"
In one month's time, Dai Pojun was likely to break through to level ninety, and Dai Tianxing had a chance to reach level ninety-two.
"Yes, yes! I understand!"
With that, Bishop Worick slunk out of the palace, then hurried without pause to Spirit City to relay Dai Weisi's demands to Bibi Dong.
(End of chapter)