Returned the invitation to the peace summit?

What did that mean?

They weren’t coming to the summit at all?

Just recently the East Qin Empress had been begging for a seat at the table — now that they’d secured the Northern Highlands, they’d suddenly turned around and slapped Jun Beiyue in the face!

Whether for the sake of Xiong Bao’s constitution, or for the secrets of the lone island, or for rescuing Meng Wanyue, a trip to the Meng Clan was now unavoidable.

But before they left, the peace summit had to be dealt with first.

Jun Beiyue strode out the door, demanding coldly, “Who returned the letter?”

“The East Qin Crown Prince!” the attendant said, hardly believing his own words — no one had any idea how East Qin had suddenly produced a crown prince, but that was exactly what the envoy had reported.

Seeing Jun Beiyue’s expression darken like a gathering storm, the attendant grew frightened and hurried to add, “Your Highness, the messenger is still waiting in the study. The details, this servant doesn’t know.”

There was no need to ask further — Jun Beiyue knew at once it had to be Xuanyuan Lige. He simply hadn’t expected the man to move so quickly! Even less had he expected Xuanyuan Lige to return to East Qin and pit himself against him on matters of state.

He had truly underestimated this man. What he wanted to contest for wasn’t just Ziqing — from the looks of it, he wanted the entire realm as well!

His East Qin ambitions had been reborn, it seemed!

The peace summit was the one place where Great Zhou, as the sole true victor, could speak with authority — in plain terms, it was the gathering where Jun Beiyue would formally establish his dominance over the Longyuan continent.

For Xuanyuan Lige to return the invitation and refuse to attend the peace summit at this particular juncture was nothing less than an open provocation against Great Zhou, an outright refusal to acknowledge Great Zhou’s supremacy.

Even though more than two years had passed since the war’s end, the entire Longyuan continent, save for Great Zhou itself, remained in ruins, still trying to rebuild. East Qin had been the first nation, and the only one, to be utterly destroyed — if Jun Beiyue hadn’t agreed to return the Northern Highlands in exchange for the secret of the totem, the very name “East Qin” would already have been permanently erased from Longyuan’s history!

And now, Xuanyuan Lige, single-handedly, armed with nothing but the Northern Highlands alone, dared to challenge Great Zhou — where did he find the confidence, the resources, to do such a thing?

Great Zhou’s White Tiger Army alone could crush the Northern Highlands within three months!

Ziqing hadn’t followed him out, instead busying herself with preparations for the journey to the Meng Clan. She only assisted Jun Beiyue in matters of warfare — affairs of state weren’t her strength, and where East Qin was concerned, she deliberately chose to stay out of it.

Jun Beiyue made his way straight to the study, questioned the messenger briefly, and dismissed him. Sitting alone on the dragon throne, he leaned back against the chair, his long fingers tapping lightly against the armrest, his brow furrowed as he gazed up at the ornately carved beams above, lost in thought.

Where exactly had Xuanyuan Lige found the confidence for this move?

He pondered it over and over, and then his eyes suddenly turned cold.

On the entire Longyuan continent, there was only one nation that could rival Great Zhou now — Nanzhao!

Xuanyuan Lige was gambling on Nanzhao!

This was, quite plainly, a threat: the moment Great Zhou moved its troops against the Northern Highlands, the Nanzhao royal house would surely learn the full truth of everything.

The Nanzhao royal house, kept entirely in the dark by Qinji and the Second Young Master of the Beasts working in concert, was surely still waiting patiently for the second and third Meng elders to locate the Death Barrier’s seal within the Poison Beast World.

Once the Nanzhao royal house learned that the person immune to all poisons through negative polarity was Ziqing, learned that the Poison Beast World’s seal had already been broken and transformed into the Universe Poison Pouch — the consequences would be…

Faced with a provocation like this from Xuanyuan Lige, Jun Beiyue had two paths before him. One was to hand Ziqing over to the Nanzhao royal house himself, send troops against the East Qin highlands, utterly destroy East Qin once and for all, and only then convene the peace summit to formally establish Longyuan’s supremacy.

The other was to let East Qin’s provocation stand unanswered, losing all face before the other defeated nations, but freeing himself to continue his search for the lone island’s secrets without worry!

At the thought, Jun Beiyue’s fists clenched tight involuntarily!

What a man, this Xuanyuan Lige — once he’d truly resolved himself, he spared no mercy at all!

What Xuanyuan Lige was doing here was, quite plainly, a warning: if Jun Beiyue wanted Ziqing, wanted to find the lone island’s secrets, then he could forget about ruling over Longyuan!

He couldn’t have both the realm and the woman!

Xuanyuan Lige understood perfectly well that Jun Beiyue would never give up Ziqing — so returning the invitation was, in effect, telling Jun Beiyue: East Qin does not recognize Great Zhou as its overlord. As for who would claim dominion over Longyuan — Xuanyuan Lige intended to contest that himself, all the way to the end!

Jun Beiyue rose to his feet, unrolled a map of Longyuan, and fixed his cold, stern gaze on the territory of the Northern Highlands. The Northern Highlands bordered the Xiongnu to the north, the Wicked Ravine to the west, Great Zhou’s current border to the south, and the sea to the east.

Once the peace summit concluded, Xuanyuan Lige would surely set about courting the Xiongnu’s favor.

Before he could secure the safety of Ziqing and their son and uncover the secrets of the lone island, this stretch of time would give Xuanyuan Lige every opportunity to prepare for war!

That man’s strategic mind, combined with the hidden army of sound-assassins he still kept concealed, meant that even with every advantage on his side, Jun Beiyue couldn’t afford the slightest carelessness.

Looking at the Northern Highlands — such a tiny, insignificant patch of land — Jun Beiyue suddenly smiled, and with a flick of his wrist sent an iron dart flying, striking precisely at the marker for the Northern Highlands on the map.

Xuanyuan Lige — if this life was fated to bring us to blows on the battlefield, then so long as you involve my wife and son, this prince will give you your chance. As for the contest for Longyuan, this prince will see it through to the very end!

You won’t come to the peace summit? This prince will hold it just the same!

Aside from Xuanyuan Lige, who held a card up his sleeve, the rulers of West Jing, West Liang, and the Xiongnu all arrived exactly as promised. As for West Chu, which hadn’t taken part in the war at all, Jun Beiyue sent them an invitation regardless.

Though West Chu hadn’t fought in the war, its national strength had long since declined. Between nations, only raw power spoke the final word — with Jun Beiyue personally extending the invitation, how could the West Chu emperor possibly refuse to come? Even Chu Tiange, who had once plotted against Jun Beiyue in the Northern Highlands, had no choice but to grit his teeth and accompany him.

A few days later, in the Xuanlong Hall of the Great Zhou imperial palace, a reception of a scale and formality never before seen in history took place. Jun Beiyue, dressed in a deep ink-black princely ceremonial robe, sat composed upon the Nine-Dragon Throne.

Though he had held no enthronement ceremony, even if he’d worn the imperial dragon robe outright, no one would have dared say a word against it. And yet he deliberately received the assembled monarchs and crown princes in the capacity of Prince Yao alone.

The prince sat in the seat of honor, while the monarchs and crown princes were seated below him — that arrangement alone delivered everyone present a thoroughly weighty show of force!

At that moment, the assembled guests, having just been led to their seats by palace maids, saw Jun Beiyue seated so high above them and froze, no one daring to take their seat for a long moment.

Several of the elderly monarchs wore visibly troubled expressions, while Chu Tiange, Mihan Mude’er, and several princes accompanying the West Jing emperor could barely conceal their indignation — Jun Beiyue’s posture here was simply too arrogant!

And yet Jun Beiyue’s arrogance needed no such gesture to prove itself at all!

The younger princes couldn’t see through it, but the older monarchs understood perfectly well, and knew exactly what Jun Beiyue intended. They exchanged glances with one another, as if silently communicating something.

“Father, we’re guests here after all — this brat is being far too arrogant. Victorious nation or not, by the proper rules, as a mere prince he should at most sit as an equal with you! If he wants a higher seat, let him bring out Emperor Tianhui to sit there instead!” Mihan Mude’er couldn’t help muttering under his breath.