The Asura Great Emperor wore an indifferent expression, offering only a cold sneer: "Weathervanes, swaying whichever way the wind blows. The king makes the rules and the loser is the villain — say whatever you want now. This Emperor has no interest in wasting breath with the lot of you."
With that, the Asura Great Emperor swept his sleeve and swept straight off the arena, returning to the Asura Arena's camp.
"From this moment on, this Emperor withdraws from the Glazed Royal City. Those willing to follow me, come with me. Those who aren't… heh. Stay here in the Glazed Royal City if you like — but I doubt you'll enjoy what comes next."
The Asura Great Emperor was stoking the crowd's emotions.
The Asura Arena's core loyalists immediately declared themselves one after another: "We are willing to follow the Great Emperor!"
"We will follow the Great Emperor to the death!"
Those with the firmest attitudes were the Asura Arena's core loyalists, along with a handful of vassal lords who had deep ties to the Arena.
Some vassals whom the Asura Great Emperor had momentarily swayed now wished nothing more than to draw a clean line from him as quickly as possible. Following him out was entirely out of the question.
Watching the Asura Great Emperor fan the flames, the Nian Great Emperor couldn't help but frown. The Coiling Dragon Great Emperor turned to Jiang Chen, unable to contain himself: "Young Master Zhen, this bastard is stirring up trouble. If he pulls this off, our Glazed Royal City will be torn apart!"
Jiang Chen, however, was perfectly calm. He smiled at leisure: "Anyone who still follows him at a time like this is either his diehard crony or someone who can't think straight. People like that staying in the Glazed Royal City won't do us much good anyway. In fact, I'd prefer they leave as soon as possible."
The Extinction Great Emperor nodded thoughtfully: "Young Master Zhen speaks reason. If their hearts aren't in the Glazed Royal City, their departure is better for both sides. This incident gives us a perfect chance to reshuffle the deck."
The Nian Great Emperor had been about to say something, but seeing that Jiang Chen had the situation firmly in hand, he held his tongue.
After the Asura Great Emperor finished his tirade, a certain number of people did decide to leave with him. Roughly a dozen to twenty vassal lords declared their intention to follow.
A dozen or twenty might sound like a lot, but the Glazed Royal City counted nearly eight or nine hundred vassal lords in total. By that measure, the number wasn't particularly staggering.
These people, though resolved to leave with the Asura Great Emperor, were still terrified inside. They feared someone might prevent them from departing.
Once Jiang Chen saw that most had made up their minds, he spoke in a clear, carrying voice: "You have chosen to leave with the Asura Great Emperor, and this Young Master will not stand in your way. But remember — the moment you set foot outside the Glazed Royal City, you become traitors to it. You will have cut yourselves off entirely. From this day forward, you may not use the Glazed Royal City's banner to deceive anyone, and don't even think about coming back."
"One more thing — regarding the disappearance of the Peacock Great Emperor. The entire Glazed Royal City will pursue the matter to the very end. If it is found to be connected to any one of you, or if anyone had knowledge and failed to report it, that person becomes the mortal enemy of every soul in the Glazed Royal City. Every last one of us will have the right to cut them down!"
Jiang Chen's tone grew severe toward the end.
Aside from the Asura Great Emperor and the Blue Sea Great Emperor, no one else had been involved in the Peacock Great Emperor's disappearance — and everyone else clearly knew nothing about it.
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, a number of them felt a tremor of unease. But at this point, they couldn't afford to weigh all the consequences.
Given their close relationship with the Asura Great Emperor over the years, they could practically be counted among the Asura Arena's inner circle. If they didn't leave now and remained in the Glazed Royal City, they certainly wouldn't enjoy any pleasant days ahead.
Jiang Chen's gaze turned cold and sharp as he stared at the Asura Great Emperor: "Now — take your people and leave. And I'll say this one more time: if the Peacock Great Emperor's disappearance has anything to do with you, never mind withdrawing from the Glazed Royal City — even if you dig three thousand yards underground and hide there, I will drag you out!"
Jiang Chen's words carried tremendous force, and with the full backing of popular expectation behind him, his presence completely crushed the Asura Great Emperor's.
Though the Asura Great Emperor was defiant by nature, he didn't dare meet Jiang Chen head-on at this moment. He only let out a cold laugh and waved his hand: "Let's go!"
The people who had decided to leave with the Asura Great Emperor filed out after him, vanishing like a puff of smoke. In the blink of an eye, they were gone without a trace.
"Young Master Zhen — you're just letting them walk away like that?" The Coiling Dragon Great Emperor sounded vexed.
Jiang Chen smiled mildly: "It's fine. He wants to go, let him go. Sooner or later, I'll make him pay the price."
Of course Jiang Chen wasn't willing to let him go. But the Glazed Royal City simply couldn't afford another upheaval. If they ignited a civil war right now, the city would suffer irreparable damage.
The Asura Great Emperor and the Blue Sea Great Emperor fighting side by side — if they were pushed to the desperate point of a fight to the death, suppressing them would exact a terrible cost on their side as well.
The Nian Great Emperor, the Zhenyue Great Emperor, and the Zhankong Great Emperor had already acknowledged his status as Young Master Zhen, but in an actual battle, how much force they would truly commit was an unknown.
If they held back and merely let Jiang Chen's faction clash with the Asura Arena's forces, in the end it would be the Peacock Holy Mountain that bore the brunt.
So even though Jiang Chen was unwilling, for the greater good, he chose to endure and bide his time.