Chapter 329: Decision of the Seven Martial Star Families

Chapter 329: The Decision of the Seven Star Families

“A public vote?”

The Seventh Prince was taken aback, a flurry of thoughts racing through his mind, unable to grasp Qi Yuan’s words for a moment.

Seeing that the Seventh Prince and Gongyi Cai did not understand, Qi Yuan then explained.

“It means letting the people… vote on their fate.

When the time comes, I’ll have my robot Zero-One gather all the records of their lives.

Every evil deed they’ve done, every kindness they’ve shown, all laid out.

Then… present options, letting the people vote whether they die, face imprisonment, or… be acquitted.”

Qi Yuan explained patiently.

Those people—he had never met them, felt no aversion, nor any particular sentiment.

So… let the vote decide.

After all… it’s rather amusing, isn’t it?

“This…” The Seventh Prince hesitated, never expecting such a public vote.

He had thought it would be a vote among the Seven Star families themselves.

Such a vote was unheard of, unseen.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan couldn’t help but say, “Are you saying the citizens of Qinyuan Kingdom have no right to vote?

But I clearly remember that everyone has the right to vote.

Or is that just lip service?”

Qi Yuan’s tone rose involuntarily.

The Seventh Prince’s heart tightened, and he quickly replied, “They do—they absolutely have the right to vote!”

Although, as Qi Yuan had said, it was indeed just lip service.

But now that Mr. Qi had brought it up, how could it remain mere words?

They had to vote.

Still, the impact of this was far too great.

A nationwide vote, with everyone acting as judge—there were far too many unexpected uncertainties in this.

“If so, why are you hesitating? Could it be… you can’t find college students to build a voting website?

Or is the website, outsourced layer upon layer, so shoddy that too many voters would crash it?”

The Seventh Prince was bewildered, then immediately assured, “The royal family will fully promote this matter, serving Mr. Qi!”

“Don’t serve me—I don’t need servants. Serve the people.” Qi Yuan stretched lazily.

The Seventh Prince nodded hurriedly.

Though, given his authority, he couldn’t promise such a thing on behalf of the royal family.

Such a public vote also required the consent of all the Seven Star families.

But at this moment, how could the Seventh Prince dare to refuse? He simply agreed outright.

As for whether the Seven Star families would consent… no need to think.

How would they dare to disagree?

Otherwise, what awaited them… might also be a public vote.

Then, Qi Yuan turned his gaze to Gongyi Cai: “Long time no see, old fellow. Hmm, you’ve gotten younger.”

Gongyi Cai was stunned, then quickly lowered his head: “This old man pays respects to Mr. Qi?”

His posture was exceedingly humble.

Completely different from when they were at the Lost Mountain.

“Hmm, ten years later—well, not quite. My corpse met you.” Qi Yuan said casually. “Back then, you brought a few young ones from your family. I remember one called Gongyi Qing—his attitude was quite decent.

But there was one, drained by wine and women, named Gongyi Lang, who looked down his nose at everyone, unbearably arrogant, nearly committing the crime of insulting a corpse.”

Back then, when Qi Yuan had become a corpse, Gongyi Qing had shown him considerable respect.

That Gongyi Lang, on the other hand, had babbled nonsense, spewing filth.

Hearing this, Gongyi Cai’s face tightened abruptly, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

He understood: Qi Yuan was a Reboot.

This Reboot must have died, and ten years later, the Gongyi family had sent them to communicate with Qi Yuan’s corpse.

And now he heard that someone from the Gongyi family had been rude to Qi Yuan—his expression was worse than tears.

“Husband, shall your servant blow a breath toward the Gongyi family?” Ning Tao asked solicitously beside him.

Gongyi Cai fell to his knees, his expression tense: “Mr. Qi, spare my life!”

He had seen that the woman beside Mr. Qi could blow a single breath that nearly shattered the Sky Eye.

If she blew a breath toward the Gongyi family, would anyone in the Gongyi family survive?

Gongyi Cai was naturally terrified, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan said to Ning Tao, “Do I look like some demon, always killing and fighting? Such a small matter—hardly worth mentioning. If I hadn’t run into Gongyi Cai, I’d probably have forgotten it.”

Hearing this, Gongyi Cai finally breathed a sigh of relief, the stone in his heart falling.

As long as she didn’t blow a breath at the Gongyi family.

At that moment, he loathed that little brat Gongyi Lang to the core.

That fellow, a spoiled second-generation heir, had grown bold enough to dare mock Mr. Qi.

“Thank you, Mr. Qi, for sparing my life.”

At the same time, he felt a surge of goodwill toward Gongyi Qing.

This Gongyi Qing, though not of the main branch, was very ambitious.

Some time ago, someone in the clan had proposed supporting Gongyi Qing, but the proposal was rejected.

Now that Mr. Qi had mentioned Gongyi Qing, that rejection was naturally voided.

The Gongyi family would not only support Gongyi Qing but also make him the true leader of the younger generation!

“Clean this up yourselves. I can’t be bothered to bury them or arrange the funeral feast—you handle it.

Since I’m in the capital and it’s still early, I’m going to enjoy myself for a couple of days.”

Qi Yuan said casually, then, with Ning Tao in his arms, vanished from sight.

In the room, only the Seventh Prince and Gongyi Cai remained, along with the bodies strewn across the floor.

The Seventh Prince opened his palm, slick with sweat—a testament to how tense he had been.

But now, his heart was filled with excitement and exhilaration.

He looked at Gongyi Cai and said slowly, "This voting matter, shall I... and Gongyi Qing handle it together?"

Though he did not know who Gongyi Qing was, since Qi Yuan had mentioned him, he must be given importance.

"Good!" Gongyi Cai nodded hastily.

By the rules, these matters required the clan leader's approval.

But now, with circumstances so unusual, what was the clan leader worth?

Mr. Qi was the true king!

A king who reigned over all under heaven!

Meanwhile, the entire capital was in chaos.

Especially the Seven Martial Star families; their high-ranking members had all immediately detected the fall of the Mu family's thirteen Sky-Eye fortresses.

This event was utterly earth-shattering, chilling every Seven Martial Star family to the bone.

Those were Sky-Eyes, the very foundation of the Seven Martial Star families' existence.

The Sky-Eyes had been conquered?

This was more terrifying than a nuclear war breaking out in the world.

Thus, countless people, vehicles, and messages streamed toward the Mu family, desperate to understand what had happened.

But the conclusions they reached only made them more horrified and bewildered.

It was a single human who had destroyed thirteen Sky-Eyes with just a wave of her hand.

This... was simply unbelievable.

The Sky-Eyes were said to be capable of slaying gods.

And yet... a human woman had dispatched them with ease.

At that moment, in the hall three thousand meters underground, the clan heads of the Seven Martial Star families gathered, their expressions far from pleasant.

"Destroying the Guiran military camp and slaying three thousand soldiers with one sword strike was already enough to astonish the world.

And now... his partner... is a hundred times, ten thousand times more terrifying than him, crushing thirteen Sky-Eyes with a single palm!" the old clan head of the Gongyi family said, trembling.

The other clan heads present nodded solemnly. "Even the gods of myth and legend... are no more than this, are they?"

There were twenty-one Seven Martial Star families in total.

Now, these twenty elders had assembled to discuss the day's events.

"If that woman wished, I fear... our Sky-Eyes would also be destroyed in an instant," said the old clan head of the Fang family, his voice aged but impossible to ignore.

The Fang family was one of the top three among the Seven Martial Star families.

Their status was even higher than the Mu family's.

Yet even so, in the heart of the Fang family's old patriarch, he understood that their higher standing meant nothing to that Mr. Qi.

"This man... is too terrifying.

His partner... is also... utterly inhuman!"

"Alas, in the face of the unknown, we must remain reverent.

The Mu family, accustomed to arrogance and tyranny for a thousand years, never regarded anyone under heaven with respect. Now they have stumbled, and it has led to utter ruin. Alas, a thousand-year-old family... not even worthy of becoming another's servant... truly laughable."

After saying this, the old man seemed dispirited.

As if everything he had once taken pride in had vanished completely.

The power of this mortal world... in the eyes of those above, was indeed nothing.

"After testing, the energy level of the technique used by that woman is immeasurable," an elder spoke.

After Ning Tao destroyed the thirteen Sky-Eyes, thousands of warships immediately flew into space to investigate and study.

"Though immeasurable, the destruction of our Sky-Eyes... happened in a single breath.

We ran simulations and ultimately concluded that such a strike... would be enough to erase the nation of Guiran from the map.

Note: erase, not merely slaughter the humans upon it, but that the nation of Guiran would no longer exist in this world.

Most importantly, we do not know if this is her limit."

At these words, shock flickered in the eyes of everyone present.

Even with their power and composure, they were moved.

The Sky-Eyes were powerful, but to annihilate all humans in Guiran would require several Sky-Eyes to activate simultaneously.

And even then, it would only kill humans, not other living beings.

But that mysterious woman could, with a single strike, completely level Guiran, making it vanish from the map.

What did that mean?

An inconceivable concept.

"So... let none of you think of resistance, schemes, or alliances.

Beings of this level are utterly beyond our comprehension.

Perhaps our proud technological civilization and cultural heritage are less significant than the time it takes for her to take a nap," said the old patriarch of the Fang family, his voice tinged with deep helplessness, even stumbling over his words from tension.

If immortals still left traces to be studied,

Ning Tao's display was utterly unfathomable.

Could human strength sink an entire continent?

How many megatons of bombs would that require?

"Thus, I propose we stop discussing here.

Further discussion is useless.

Toward Mr. Qi and that mysterious woman, we need only maintain reverence for the unknown.

At the same time, strictly order our family members not to cause trouble outside anymore.

Anyone who stirs up trouble will be lightly expelled from the family, or heavily... sentenced to death!"

Old Master Fang's tone was firm and resolute.

"I second that. I don't want our family to be put to a public vote!"

"If Mr. Qi were to put us to a vote, I'm afraid we would have no means of resistance."

"Alas, sometimes... being remembered in history isn't so bad."

The old clan heads all seconded the motion.

Though Qi Yuan had said nothing, they understood what they should and should not do.

As for Qi Yuan, they no longer dared to investigate his privacy like the Marquis of Blue Sea had; instead, they only looked into his publicly available information.

These public records revealed a glimpse of Qi Yuan's personality.

Hmm... a mental illness certificate—somewhat difficult to fathom.

But overall... he could be considered one who repays kindness with kindness, repays enmity with enmity, and "respects the law."

Since he was like that, they would just "play out this act" with him.

"Tomorrow, I will go personally to pay respects to Mr. Qi. Who will accompany me?" Old Master Fang spoke, then, as if recalling something, added, "I will go in my original body."

For people of their level, having cloned avatars was the simplest thing.

Cloned avatars usually slept, only replacing them in special circumstances.

"I'll go in my original body too."

"I'll go in my original body too!"

These old fellows now understood that Qi Yuan must never be offended.

Sending a cloned avatar would be disrespectful to Mr. Qi.

...

On the streets of the capital, Qi Yuan had his arm around Ning Tao... oh, no, to be more precise, the canary walked along the street.

At that moment, Qi Yuan held a brick in his hand, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I've always heard that in the capital, if you toss a brick at random, you'll hit a bureau chief. I wonder if it's true or false?"

Rarely in the capital, he very much wanted to test it.

The canary tilted her head, a contemplative expression on her face: "Blood bead, I think that's hard. There's hardly anyone around us."

"Then let fate decide."

Qi Yuan took the brick and tossed it into the air.

This time he didn't use much force; he only threw it a few tens of thousands of meters high.

Moreover, he deliberately cast a spell, afraid of killing anyone.

Even if the brick fell and hit someone, it wouldn't harm them in the slightest.

"Come on, let's go see who it hit." Seeing the brick begin to fall rapidly, the canary grew excited, clutching Qi Yuan's arm, eager to see if it had struck a bureau chief.

"Let's go, let's take a look." Qi Yuan was in good spirits.

In this life, it was rare to have someone to join in such mischief.

The two quickly headed toward where the brick was falling.

At that moment, on the streets of the capital, the sun was somewhat dazzling.

Many people looked up at the two suns in the sky, taking photos and checking in.

Huang Weiming walked down the street, a black bag in hand, looking dazed and dejected.

He came from a rural background. When he went to university, the villagers gave him eggs and sweet potatoes to help him afford a prestigious university.

You see, in the Qin Yuan Kingdom, prestigious universities were extremely expensive.

He worked hard, studying while working part-time, and started a business right after graduation.

He invested in a project that, fortunately, developed very quickly.

In just five years, his company was worth a billion.

At that point, he began to give back to his hometown.

But who would have thought that his "small company" would catch the eye of a scion of the powerful.

That scion wanted to directly pluck the fruit. Without a strong background, Huang Weiming had no way to deal with it.

Various departments began to make things difficult for him, and partners started refusing to contact him.

All so that he would sign the contract.

Once he signed, the company would no longer be his; he would become an employee.

Though the salary was high, he was deeply resentful.

Because the projects he planned to invest in his hometown had to be shelved.

"How utterly shameless! How can they do this!" Huang Weiming felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

He wasn't some immature young man.

He understood the need to compromise.

After all, such things happened often—usually a small loss, then mutual benefit.

But... that scion of the Mu family... was too shameless. He really wanted to take everything, leaving nothing for him?

No martial ethics at all!

How could he not be angry? He even wanted to curse the heavens.

He looked up, his eyes burning with rage.

But in the next instant, the anger in his eyes turned to terror.

He saw something that looked like a brick falling from the sky, about to hit him on the head.

"Ah!"

Huang Weiming screamed in fright, unable to react.

At that moment, the brick landed on his head.

He froze.

Because... he wasn't hurt at all.

Just then, a voice came from not far away: "Hey... are you a bureau chief?"

(End of chapter)