Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

1083 Punishment & Next Steps

Wang Wei waited until all the representatives from the Myriad Emperor World arrived, and he teleported the remaining survivors from the Martial Hegemony World. Even Qian Heng was brought out to participate in this meeting, kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.

"It's all your fault," roared a representative from the Peaceful Life Palace. Due to their formation, they survived until the end of the war. Unfortunately, Reverend Tranquility was killed, so they sent Taoist Serenity for this meeting.

"If not for your betrayal, we might have a chance."

Taoist Serenity remained calm, not saying a single word. No one could tell his thoughts or emotions, but his silence agitated many people.

"Quiet," said Tie Gang. "Remember whose presence you're in." Everything immediately quieted down, so Wang Wei started the meeting.

"Believe it or not, I was prepared to be lenient on you guys. However, you made a blunder that will make my work harder - you killed too many mortals and almost wiped out the demon race. Your actions have directly affected my benefit, so you will be punished."

The martial artists' faces turned ugly after hearing this, especially Golden Fist since this was his plan. They turned their head to look at him; however, before anyone said or reacted, Qian Heng spoke: "There is no need for a blame game. We can still accept defeat gracefully and hold our heads high."

The people looked at him with mixed emotions: some sympathized, some blamed him, some cursed, and many still respected his spirit and will.

"For your first punishment, you will reimburse all the resources we used in this war twofold, including the loss of lives," said Wang Wei before pointing at someone from the Foreign Affairs Department. "He has a list of all your contributed resources; you can confirm with him."

Many people finally understood why resources were not counted as military exploits. However, they were more satisfied with this outcome.

"Second punishment: for the next 50 generations, all the Divine Positions in the Lower Realm will be under the jurisdiction of the Myriad Emperor World's court. You will still control the court in your homeworld, but the Lower Realm will not be in our control."

This was terrible news for the Martial Hegemony World. The Lower Realm was vast and could bring too many benefits. But for the next fifty generations, they could only watch as another world used its resources to nourish themselves.

"Isn't 50 generations a ⌜€“"

"This is non-negotiable," said Wang Wei calmly.

"How can you guarantee your successors will keep their word," asked Qian Heng.

"I have no problem having a written contract with severe punishment," said Wang Wei calmly. "I'll even be generous and add a clause that we cannot attack you for the next five generations after returning control of the Lower Realm."

"I would prefer that," said Qian Heng.

"Alright," nodded Wang Wei. "Now, for the final punishment, all Immortal Powerhouses must be executed, except for the Turtle King."

"What?"

"Please, no!"

"We have already lost so many powerhouses. We cannot resist any more losses."

"And humans and demons cannot co-exist together."

"Especially with their hatred for what...what we did."

"This is, again, not negotiable," said Wang Wei. "You guys will be a warning to any world that resists. They must be prepared to be weakened to the lowest level if they choose to resist us."

"If you leave us without any Immortals, it will be easier for foreign worlds - like the Celestial Harmony World - to return and conquer us," argued Qian Heng.

"We have invested interest in this world, meaning we will protect you from anyone trying to disturb our wealth," said Wang Wei. The martial artists wanted to curse, yell, and even revolt but did not dare. Some of these people were alive during the Taoist occupation of the world, and it was humiliating. They did not expect to live long enough to experience such a thing twice.

"Now, let's talk about what's going to happen to this world," continued Wang Wei. "If you had accepted our offers, we would have shared the merit for Mortal Civilization and Demon School with you, but now, that's off the table. The only exception is the Sea Race, who offered us their allegiance."

Turtle Kin's projection, a 2-meter-long giant turtle, bowed to accept. "The dragon promised me a share of the expansion in the Lower Realm. Will you honor your promise?"

"Yes, but you should understand that your contribution to this war is insufficient to cover a large territory."

"That's fine, but I would like a few worlds with a large demon population; I would like to migrate a few here."

"That is the plan," said Wang Wei before snapping his finger to send a talisman to all the representatives from home. "I've already divided the Lower Realm. This is not your first time, so you know what to do."

Everyone quickly checked their territory, and the response was mixed. Some people, like Huo Fenghuang, have received a large territory from the last time, while others have the same or smaller areas.

"The War Room predicted that the Lower Realm might resist based on this world's response," continued Wang Wei. "So, they've decided on a new approach. We will broadcast a recording of the war to the Lower Realm before publicly executing Qian Heng as a warning. This should make the process easier."

Qian Heng clenched his fists, but he did not say a word or beg for his life. Although he felt humiliated, he had long understood this was inevitable when he decided to resist no matter what.

"Your majesty, " said Golden Fist. "Will it just be death or..."

"True death," said Wang Wei calmly. "We want to send a message, and only in this way will people understand the consequences." Qian Heng still remained quiet; he expected this outcome and had already made peace. His only regret was he could not pursue martial arts beyond the Emperor Realm. But, he was satisfied that he proved the Dao and showed his master his Emperor Tier Ax Dao.

Wang Wei raised his hand to stop Golden Fist from speaking further.

"The Heavenly Emperor Position cannot remain without a leader, so Turtle King will take the position," announced Wang Wei, and his words once again almost caused a revolt. The Turtle King frowned before accepting the role. With such power, it will be easier to protect his kind and help the demon race recuperate.

"We will begin discussing the details. Any more questions?" asked Wang Wei, ignoring how these people were turning red. The negotiation process would not have been so harsh if they were not so stubborn and ruthless.

"I have a question, no, a request."

Wang Wei looked at the person who spoke; he did not recognize this man, nor did he care enough to use his power to know. "What is it?"

The man exhaled, most likely trying to brew his courage. "On behalf of all the survivors of this world, I would like to ask permission to eradicate the Peaceful Life Palace." The room was quiet as people mulled over his words. Then, someone immediately agreed, followed by more.

"Yes, let's eliminate these traitors."

"I agree."

"Better yet, let's ban Taoism in the world."

Taoist Serenity did not say a word, but anyone could detect the sad aura emanating from his body.

"No need for that," replied Wang Wei.

"Why? It's just this one request?" asked someone. "We don't want anything else; we just want to eliminate these traitors."

"I'm saying no because they are innocent," explained Wang Wei.

"W-what do you mean?"

"They had no connection with the Celestial Harmony World."

"B-b-but you said..."

"Your world was not harmonious, and I saw a weakness and exploited it," said Wang Wei with a shrug. These martial artists fell, and their minds were about to collapse. They did not trust the Peaceful Life Palace because of these words and killed many of them; they even removed their access to the formation, and now, they knew what they did was based on a lie and was useless.

Taoist Serenity closed his eyes while muttering mantras under his breath. Their sect has spent years proving to the world that they were not outsiders and loved this world as much as them. Unfortunately, it was all pointless.

"What about the Celestial Demon Cult?" asked Golden Fist, trying to control himself. He was a calm individual by nature and understood the brilliant strategic move of that lie, so he could not accept this news.

"Their ancestor was from another world community, and they have some connection there, but that's it."

The new Cult Leader was calm since he did not experience the same thing as the Peaceful Life Palace. These martial artists were smart and knew they needed their powers for the war, so they were not as aggressive. Of course, the fear factor from the Demon Star Eye Emperor also contributed to their reservations. Regardless, the Cult Leader was glad their names could be cleared to prevent problems in the aftermath of this war.