Having already guessed Wang Han's intentions and understanding the stakes involved, Emperor Chaoyang decided to prioritize peace and invited Wang Han, saying, "Mr. Wang Han, now that we have finally met, why don't you stay in the palace for a few days and we can have a chat?"
"I appreciate Your Majesty's kindness, but I still need to procure supplies, and time is of the essence," Wang Han said with a smile.
"It's alright. As for purchasing supplies, I can send someone to buy them in the surrounding cities for you. You just need to give me a list. You can come with me to the palace for a few days and have some peace and quiet." Emperor Chaoyang said with a smile. He didn't care about a few supplies. This way, Wang Han could stop purchasing, which would relieve the pressure on the city. He could also invite Wang Han to the palace.
"I'm afraid that won't work. Time is of the essence, and it's too late to buy from other cities," Wang Han said, shaking his head.
'It seems he might have infiltrated the caravan heading to Batu. This caravan is really unlucky.' Emperor Chaoyang judged Wang Han's current situation from his words and thought to himself. But he said aloud, 'It's alright, we can buy it in Chaoyang City. I've already ordered people to gather various supplies from other places. A few days' shortage of supplies shouldn't be a big problem.'
"Uh..." Wang Han was stunned for a moment. The Emperor Chaoyang was really giving him face.
"Sigh!" Knowing that Emperor Chaoyang had seen through his plans, Wang Han sighed. But since he was here to cause trouble, he wasn't about to give up easily. He said directly, "To be honest, I'm here to cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, everyone around Emperor Chaoyang changed color, and several people even couldn't help but want to speak, but Emperor Chaoyang glared at them and stopped them from saying anything.
"Looking for trouble?" Emperor Chaoyang said, feigning understanding. "That's great! I wonder what kind of trouble Mr. Wang Han is looking for? What kind of job does Mr. Wang Han want to find in the Chaoyang Empire? Please feel free to tell me."
"..." Wang Han. The shrewdness of an emperor of god-like status is indeed extraordinary.
"I'm here to fight, so let's make a move," Wang Han said, drawing his Bloodthirsty Blade and pointing it directly at Emperor Chaoyang.
"..." Emperor Chaoyang.
"Ahem..." Emperor Chaoyang still didn't make a move. He coughed twice to ease the atmosphere and continued with a smile, "Fighting and killing are not good. Let's talk about other things. It's better for everyone to make friends than to have more enemies."
He was feigning weakness. Emperor Chaoyang had made up his mind not to act. Although he had been bullied to the point of humiliation, his reason prevailed over his anger. Weighing the pros and cons, fighting Wang Han was simply not worthwhile. First, Wang Han's strength and influence were unclear, and a rash attack could damage the foundation of the empire, or even lead to its destruction. After all, the Chaoyang Empire had many enemies. Second, Wang Han had accepted two missions: to exterminate the Luo family and to wipe out the bandits of the Ten Thousand Mountains. The combined high-level combat power of these two forces was even stronger than that of the Chaoyang Empire. If Wang Han went, he would either die or complete the mission. If Wang Han died, they would be satisfied without even lifting a finger; if Wang Han completed the mission, then there would be no point in fighting. Emperor Chaoyang had calculated everything very carefully.
Although the others were already very unhappy with Wang Han, the Emperor was still pretending to be cowardly, so they couldn't be tough either.
"Are you afraid of accidentally harming the people of Chaoyang City in the battle? What a benevolent emperor you are!" Wang Han said.
“Yes, it would be bad if civilians and innocent people were harmed, so let’s not fight,” Emperor Chaoyang said, but he immediately realized he had fallen into Wang Han’s trap. He quickly added, “Besides, it wouldn’t be good if we hurt your friends and subordinates.”
He knew very well whether the lives of a city's people or the nation were more important, and as a god, would he really care about the lives of some people? Yes, but very few, and he, Emperor Chaoyang, was not among them.
“Since Your Majesty loves the people so much and is so considerate, I think we should find a secluded place to fight,” Wang Han said with a smile. “I think Your Majesty shouldn’t refuse. You all come together, and I’ll take it all on myself.”
"Alright then!" Upon hearing this, Emperor Chaoyang knew that this battle was unavoidable, but he still said, "Our exchange is just a friendly spar. Let's keep it peaceful and stop when we've reached our goal. Let's not ruin our harmony."
'It seems this guy isn't just feigning weakness; he has ulterior motives! He even invited me to the palace before, and might even be asking for a favor—whether it's about the Chaoyang Empire or Emperor Chaoyang himself.' Wang Han gave Emperor Chaoyang a deep look, quickly analyzed the situation, dispelled his shadow clone, and swiftly flew towards the distant sky. His goal had been achieved; the shopping spree was unnecessary. (In the exchange of words, every sentence reveals various information.)
"We'll follow them too. Remember, without my orders, you can only go as far as you can. Everyone, try your best to protect yourselves," Emperor Chaoyang said, then soared into the sky and quickly chased after Wang Han. Seeing this, the others also hurriedly followed.
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The next day.
The morning sun shone on Chaoyang City, bathing it in a beautiful golden light. The imperial palace, in particular, seemed to be basking in this golden glow. One has to admit, the choice of Chaoyang City was extremely strategic.
Under the warm sunshine of Chaoyang, Wang Han returned to Chaoyang City with great comfort. He took a deck chair in the camp rented by the Chamber of Commerce and took a nice nap while basking in the sun.
On the other side, at the city gate of Chaoyang City, a group of more than twenty people, dressed in rags, covered in dust and dirt, with disheveled hair and bruises all over their bodies, helped each other as they walked towards the city gate in the morning sun. Upon closer inspection, although these people were dressed in rags, their clothes were made of luxurious materials. They were the group of Emperor Chaoyang who had gone out to spar with Wang Han the night before.
They finally understood why Wang Han had the confidence to accept the missions of clearing out the bandits of the Ten Thousand Mountains and annihilating the Luo Lie family. Wang Han's strength was unfathomable, with a multitude of powerful and effective abilities, some even considered unbeatable. His heaven-defying abilities were simply too numerous to count. The four gods and twenty pseudo-gods hadn't even managed to injure him, yet Wang Han had easily defeated them single-handedly, leaving them utterly helpless. Wang Han hadn't even been out of breath, demonstrating that he was holding back a great deal of his power. Fortunately, Wang Han hadn't used his full strength; they had only suffered superficial injuries and were simply exhausted.
They were now incredibly relieved that the Emperor had feigned weakness yesterday, even forcing them to stop short of defeat and protect themselves outside the city; otherwise, things might not have been so simple. They had also missed the opportunity to reach an agreement with Wang Han. Now, in their eyes, this beating was not only life-saving, but also worthwhile.
Wang Han's initial goal was to spar with experts, and since they were cooperating, he naturally wanted to make the most of their abilities.
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