Before Fuya.Ming could offer a defense, the man shrouded in chilling air continued, "A rebellion? The Daogen initiated a rebellion? The fact that you have only just grasped the royal authority implies your control over the Yafik Kingdom is tenuous, does it not? If that is the case, I doubt you can properly fulfill the trust of our ancestors."

Fuya.Ming’s face tightened, and she stated coldly, "I believe there is no issue with my control over the Yafik Kingdom."

The fiery-eyed man scoffed, "Is that what you say? Then what about our provisions? And the new blood we require! If you are so certain you can maintain the continuity of the Yafik Kingdom, then within three days, I want to see all supplies and the new members of the Exorcist Knights delivered."

After a long silence, Fuya.Ming said with a trace of weakness, "The provisions will be replenished within three days. But the new members of the Exorcist Knights... I need them now!"

"What?" The three middle-aged men stared at Fuya.Ming with the astonished look of people seeing a ghost in broad daylight. The fiery-eyed man roared with anger, "What did you say? You need them? You need them? Ha! That is a laughable statement! You need them? Do you have any idea what you are talking about? You... you... you."

The fiery-eyed man trembled with rage, as if Fuya.Ming had just insulted his mother with the rudest words imaginable.

The cold-aired man waited icily, then sneered at Fuya.Ming, "You intend to withhold the new members assigned to the Exorcist Knights? Who gave you the authority? Who granted you this power!"

Fuya.Ming suddenly looked up and commanded forcefully, "I am the King of the Yafik Kingdom! The Yafik Kingdom needs them now! I need them to help me control the army, to help me transform the degenerated military of Yafik into true soldiers! Do I not possess this authority?"

With a whoosh, the man wreathed in soft wind rushed in front of Fuya.Ming, his finger nearly touching the tip of her nose. "Little woman, I warn you! Your supposed throne requires the acknowledgment of all Elder Knights of our Exorcist Order for you to be recognized as the King of Yafik. If we do not acknowledge you, we can reclaim your power at any moment!"

The fiery-eyed man stated coldly, "Remember your place. The King of the Yafik Kingdom is merely a steward serving the Exorcist Knights. The Exorcist Knights are the true masters of the Yafik Kingdom."

The cold-aired man also slipped beside Fuya.Ming, leaning close to her ear with a hint of obscenity. He muttered in a voice that was indescribable yet felt like dozens of flies crawling over one's skin, "Of course, I understand the desire of a young woman like you to grasp power. It’s not that you have no opportunity... Don't say I didn't give you a chance! The Eldest Son of the Order’s Leader—the future leader of the Exorcist Knights—he is your uncle by royal lineage, though... a distant one."

Fuya.Ming’s face turned ashen as she stepped back, staring intently at the cold-aired man before commanding in a low voice, "What are you trying to say?"

The cold-aired man smiled, a deeply perverse smile, and said slowly, "The Leader holds the purest bloodline of the Yafik Royal Family, while your branch is merely a side lineage of the Ming family. After so many years of continuation, you have little connection left to the pure Ming line."

Fuya.Ming’s face darkened, and the veins on the back of her hand, clutching the scepter, bulged one by one. The nine Grand Ministers recoiled in horror, completely unable to comprehend what was happening. Who were these people from the Exorcist Knights? How dared they speak to the ruler of the Kingdom like this?

The cold-aired man continued smiling, "The Young Leader is only nominally your uncle; in reality, there is little blood relation. And three years ago, when the Young Leader was on vacation in the Divine Realm, he secretly met you once and took a strong liking to you. Marrying closer by blood is the best outcome possible."

The clear-winded man chuckled, "Indeed. This way, Your Majesty, you become our Leader's wife, and you can have some say in the affairs of the Knights. As for the Kingdom's power, you need not worry! With the Young Leader’s support, you will be the true Queen of Yafik!" Silence followed, a long silence, as the nine Grand Ministers seemed to catch the drift, exchanging furtive glances and making secret gestures.

Fuya.Ming gripped her scepter, saying coldly, "Is this what you came to tell me?"

The fiery-eyed man laughed loudly, "Actually... we were aware of the internal strife in the Kingdom. After all, we have a Knight Headquarters above as well. We just didn't expect you to be the one who ultimately won."

The cold-aired man spoke strangely, "Isn't this wonderful? The Young Master Lin is very satisfied with your methods and strength. If you join forces, the might of the Yafik Kingdom is sure to increase!"

With a peculiar smile, Fuya.Ming stated emotionlessly, "I see little use you offer Yafik."

Her body trembled violently, and she gripped the scepter tightly, hissing, "For so many years, you have consumed over half of the Kingdom’s output, enjoying the offerings of its people, yet what have you done for the Kingdom? What have you done for the citizens of Yafik? Since you knew Prince Daogen was rebelling, you did nothing to stop it; instead, you stood by and watched. And you still have the audacity to say such things?"

The three middle-aged men exchanged glances. The fiery-eyed man said gently, "We... are always protecting the citizens of the Kingdom!"

The cold-aired man nodded and chuckled softly, "It is because of us that the citizens of the Kingdom have not suffered demonic invasion for ten thousand years."

The clear-winded man spoke earnestly, "Your Majesty, even though you are the current ruler, speaking to us this way is extremely disrespectful. We offer you a chance: apologize to us!"

"No!" Fuya.Ming refused flatly, "I refuse!"

"That is unwise!" The cold-aired man squinted, letting his greedy gaze sweep over Fuya.Ming's curvaceous body. "Heh heh, what is your greatest reliance? The Yafik planetary defense system? But do you not know that system was also manufactured by us? Before us, you are no different from a naked infant with no power to resist!"

The cold-aired man intentionally stressed the word 'naked,' gazing greedily at Fuya.Ming, wishing he could strip her right there and pin her to the floor.

Gu Xiechen shook his head; he could not listen any longer. Fuya.Ming’s face had cycled from blue to black, then to red, and a few more words from these indecent men might cause her heart to explode from sheer anger. With a sigh, Gu Xiechen quietly approached the three men, forming hand seals as he walked and silently reciting a technique from the Great Desolation Sutra, Body Technique Chapter.

Before Fuya.Ming could erupt, Gu Xiechen had already condensed a wisp of Taiyin Profound Energy onto his fingertips, following the secrets of a vicious body technique from the Great Desolation Sutra specifically designed to attack the nervous system. As the three fiery-eyed men prepared to mock Fuya.Ming further, Gu Xiechen’s fingers silently pressed against the center of their backs.

Three surges of powerful, fierce, and mature energy—like chilies baked in fierce fire for ten thousand years—penetrated their bodies, instantly flooding their nervous systems.

Initially, the three only felt a slight warmth spreading through them. Gradually, a slight itchiness began to creep up from the nerve endings of their fingers. Before long, this itchiness turned into a burning sensation. Suddenly, their hearts seized, and their entire bodies convulsed simultaneously, as if thousands of wasps had stung them all at once.

This agonizing pain arrived quickly and vanished just as fast, disappearing completely in less than a thousandth of a second. The three felt their vision darken, and their bodies swayed, stumbling back a few steps. The sudden pain seemed to vanish again. A fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on all three, and they looked at each other in astonishment.

In the very next instant, the nerves in the little finger of the right hand, the big toe of the left foot, and the corner of the eye of each of the three suddenly exploded, sending waves of intense pain rushing into their brains!

All three screamed simultaneously, leaping nearly ten meters high as if they had seen a ghost.

Fuya.Ming’s body shook with rage, and she shouted sharply, "What are you doing? Do you still intend to humiliate me? Exorcist Knights! Do you intend to humiliate every new King?" Throwing down the scepter, Fuya.Ming fiercely drew an ancient sword from her wide, imposing sleeves and activated the light sword, lunging toward the three middle-aged men who were weeping from the pain.

"The insult you have brought upon me shall be repaid with your blood! The capable? Does capability grant one the right to arbitrarily bully others?"

The light sword stabbed directly toward the fiery-eyed man’s heart. The fiery-eyed man roared in fury, and great plumes of fire erupted from his fists as he swung one punch toward Fuya.Ming’s head. The force of the punch was immense, carrying at least tens of thousands of pounds of power. Fuya.Ming, whose skills were only comparable to an ordinary special forces soldier, could not possibly block it.

Gu Xiechen, being considerate, stepped in for Fuya.Ming. Standing next to the fiery-eyed man, he lightly flicked a nerve point on the man’s elbow. The fiery-eyed man screamed in agony as the Taiyin Profound Qi froze the nerves in his arm, even freezing the flames on his fist.

With a sound like sizzling oil hitting a scalded rat, the fiery-eyed man let out a heart-rending shriek as the light sword pierced through his chest and emerged from his back. His heart instantly vaporized; he was dead beyond any doubt.

Fuya.Ming's pupils were now threaded with blood, and killing intent rushed to her head; she cared little for niceties.

Wielding the light sword, she attacked the cold-aired man and the clear-winded man next.

Gu Xiechen followed closely beside Fuya.Ming like a protective mother hen, smiling while secretly deploying maneuvers that easily shattered their counterattacks.

The killing power of the light sword was astonishing. Both men let out agonizing screams and died instantly.

Fuya.Ming, breathing heavily, dropped the light sword and screamed hysterically, "Parasites, leeches, malignant tumors! You ancient relics crawling out of the grave, die!"

Without even glancing at the stunned nine Grand Ministers, Fuya.Ming pulled out a specially made miniature communicator and rapidly dialed the only number stored on it.

A massive light screen unfolded from the small communicator. A youth with impossibly alluring purple hair and an equally enchanting, handsome face—whose gender was indistinguishable by looks alone—appeared on the screen. Gently swirling the blood-red liquid in a crystal goblet, the youth drawled lazily in a voice that was also utterly androgynous, "Oh, Sister Fuyue, congratulations..."

He took a sip of the wine. "I was actually preparing to offer assistance, but I didn't expect you to actually seize the throne all by yourself. Now why have you sought me out? Do you need my help dealing with the Duoke Federation? Oh, right, doesn't your fiancé have three thousand Tier One battleships? Is the mere Duoke Federation worthy of mobilizing our sisterly bond?"

Fuya.Ming shivered, roaring in anger, "Jin, shut up! He is not my fiancé."

"He is your fiancé!" Jin's beautiful deep purple eyes flickered. "This news has already been confirmed by over fifty percent of the citizens in the Star Alliance, you know?"

Fuya.Ming wrinkled her delicate face and snorted coldly, "Enough, I don't want to discuss that. You should understand, I only wished to ask for the help of Duolun and the others."

Jin shrugged, drinking his fine wine leisurely, and smiled faintly. "Alright, I admit I understand your intentions. However, initially, I was quite worried about you. The forces backing Duolun and the others are not to be trifled with, unless you plan to hide on Planet Yafik for the rest of your life, which is another matter entirely. But after seeing your fiancé..."

Fuya.Ming exclaimed in annoyance, "I said I don't want to talk about it!"

Jin poured himself another glass of wine and stated calmly, "A very dangerous person! Sister Fuya, you have chosen a very dangerous person as your shield! Be careful, I don't want you to be swallowed whole, bones and all. That fellow... is very dangerous! Trust my intuition; you know my abilities!"

"Dangerous?" Fuya.Ming considered this seriously for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Gu Xiechen watched the image of Jin on the screen with extreme exasperation, cursing inwardly, "Androgynous man, what nonsense are you spouting? Where am I, Gu Xiechen, dangerous? How many young people in this world adhere strictly to the principles of a merchant and uphold the rule of 'harmony brings wealth' like I do?"

Jin kept drinking cup after cup until he finished the entire bottle. Only then did he wipe his mouth with the sleeve of his magnificent robe and say slowly, "Alright, I was in a good mood just now, so I enjoyed this bottle of 'Aluoduo' quickly. Now, tell me, Sister Fuya, have you encountered trouble? Do you need my help?"

Fuya.Ming took a deep breath and spoke slowly, word by word, "I killed three members of the Exorcist Knights. I need you to mobilize all your power and help me eradicate the Exorcist Knights completely."

Jin straightened up in surprise, asking urgently, "Has it reached this stage?"

Fuya.Ming gritted her teeth and spat out, "You cannot imagine their shamelessness and depravity; you cannot imagine the harm they have inflicted upon Yafik! I cannot let this continue."

After a moment of silence, Jin suddenly burst into laughter, "Then, Sister Fuya, although we are good sisters, we must settle accounts! I want to take a look inside the Divine Realm!"

Fuya.Ming nodded firmly, "Deal!"

A sharp killing intent circled in the corner of Fuya.Ming’s eye; she harbored absolute murderous resolve against the Exorcist Knights.

Gu Xiechen looked helplessly at Fuya.Ming, then activated the Earth Evasion Technique and burrowed directly underground.

After tunneling about three hundred meters in the direction indicated by his spiritual sense, Gu Xiechen arrived in a large, square hall.

Thirty corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the floor, among them a desiccated mummy that was particularly conspicuous. Gu Xiechen, surprised, rummaged through the mummy for a moment, his fingers tracing two deep puncture wounds on its neck, and he muttered in astonishment, "There are vampire ghouls on other planets too? Aren't these the same kind as Kan Hua’s?"

After a brief silence, Gu Xiechen floated to the circular platform in the hall and struck the formation on the platform with his palm.

A brilliant light shot toward the sky, and Gu Xiechen was sucked into the black hole that opened above him.