Chapter 269: The Emperor’s Notice No matter how strong the spirit weapons he refined were, they could only attract Golden Cores. However, for the Great Zhou Dynasty that ruled over four regions, Golden Cores merely belonged in the middle of the forces. Their main pillars of support were still Nascent Souls, Void Reversions and even stronger existences! When he heard Perfected Lord Ming Ze’s remark, the Emperor of Great Zhou was indifferent and shook his head. “You’re wrong, Ming Ze. What I value is not his current ability, but his potential!” Perfected Lord Ming Ze nodded thoughtfully. The emperor’s eyes shone with wisdom as he continued, “He has already attained such achievements at such a young age. This proves that he’s an unprecedented talent in terms of weapon refinement. It’s hard to imagine just how strong his potential in weapon refinement is!” “I got it, Your Majesty,” Perfected Lord Ming Ze lowered his head and replied. “Fufu... ” The emperor chuckled softly and praised, “To be able to refine supreme-grade spirit weapons at Foundation Establishment realm, this Mo Ling is truly a geni-” Suddenly, the emperor’s expression changed and his voice stopped abruptly. The smile on his face was frozen. The bearded man raised his head while Perfected Lord Ming Ze looked sideways – both men sensed the abnormality in the emperor. Perfected Lord Ming Ze asked concernedly, “What’s wrong, Your Majesty?” The emperor narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table in deep thought. After a long while, he asked suddenly, “Dongqing, you mentioned that Mo Ling was only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?” “That’s right.” The bearded man was stunned for a moment and nodded vigorously, “Your Majesty, I definitely did not see wrong. He’s at late-stage Foundation Establishment.” The emperor took a deep breath of air and asked slowly, “Can anyone tell me how a Foundation Establishment Cultivator managed to last ten breaths against the combined assassination attempt of two Golden Cores?” All of a sudden, the hall fell silent. The bearded man was shocked and Perfected Lord Ming Ze was equally dumbfounded. If the emperor had not mentioned it, both of them would have missed out on this detail! The previous night, the bearded man was too focused on his supreme-grade spirit weapon that he did not give it much thought. Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable sense of fear as he gulped and continued, “Furthermore, by the time I arrived, one of the Golden Cores was already dead. The emperor leaned against his throne and smiled leisurely with a deep gaze, as though he had discovered something extremely interesting, “That’s right. Who can explain this? A late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, an early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator and a black dog at Foundation Establishment realm. A trio like that not only managed to last ten breaths against two Golden Cores, but they even managed to kill one of them?” The bearded man and Perfected Lord Ming Ze frowned and fell into deep thought. “I’m getting more and more curious about this person.” Rising, the emperor smiled. “There’s no need to wait any further. We’ll go this afternoon! Ming Ze, accompany for a trip to Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop. We’ll pay a visit to this Mr. Mo.” “Understood.” Perfected Lord Ming Ze bowed in reply. The emperor was about to turn and leave when he suddenly stopped his tracks. Glancing sideways, he asked, “Do you have any clues about the identity of the two dead Golden Cores?” “No,” The bearded man shook his head. The emperor scoffed coldly, “Even though there’s no evidence, there’s a high chance that it was done by True Fire Weapon Workshop, right?” “Your Majesty is wise,” The bearded man cupped his fists. The emperor’s hands were behind his back and he had a stern expression, radiating with a chilling intent from his eyes. “Make a notice and spread it out: If any rogues dare to plot in the capital again and try to assassinate virtuous talents, they’ll be killed without mercy! The masterminds will not be spared either!” If the Emperor was angered, millions of people had to die! A steely, murderous aura exuded from the emperor that made one’s heart palpitate! The bearded man acknowledged loudly. Perfected Lord Ming Ze felt his heart skip a beat. While the notice did not mention Mo Ling’s name, the fact that the notice was sent today after the previous night’s assassination attempt was clear enough to everyone that the virtuous talent mentioned was referring to Mo Ling. On the surface, this assassination attempt was a conflict between two weapon workshops. However, in reality, it was a conflict between Mo Ling and True Fire Sect. As one of the five major sects, True Fire Sect was powerful and had a deep foundation. Normally, the emperor would not interfere personally in something like this and would close a blind eye to let it pass. However, the notice was an indication of a stance. It was the emperor’s stance towards this matter! The Emperor of Great Zhou had chosen to stand on Mo Ling’s side! “Seems like Your Majesty truly thinks highly of this person,” Perfected Lord Ming Ze thought to himself. The bearded man thought for a moment and asked, “Where should I paste the notice?” The emperor replied indifferently, “Yongxing City, at the entrance of True Fire Weapon Workshop.” Psst! The bearded man sucked in a breath of cold air. The emperor was not merely expressing his stance, he was giving a warning! He was warning True Fire Weapon Workshop to not act recklessly! Even though the emperor gave True Fire Sect some face and did not pursue the matter, the fact that he chose to stick the notice in front of True Fire Weapon Workshop was a clear indication of his intentions. ... Yongxing City. Ever since Su Zimo started customizing supreme-grade spirit weapons, the weapon workshops around here regained their bustle and the crowds returned. After all, supreme-grade spirit weapons were out of reach for most cultivators. If one wanted to refine inferior, middle or superior-grade spirit weapons, they would still have to come here. “Actually, what True Fire Weapon Workshop did was a little inappropriate.” While nobody knew the identity of the two dead Golden Cores, most cultivators knew what was going on. In the capital, True Fire Weapon Workshop had the strongest conflict with Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop and had the power to command Golden Cores. “That’s right. Even though we also have a weapon workshop and are competitors with Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop, there’s nothing wrong about them being famous due to their own capabilities.” “Furthermore, Mr. Mo is now in the business of supreme-grade spirit weapons. There’s no conflict with us.” Some shopkeepers of several weapon workshops gathered in hushed discussions. “I’m guessing that this matter will likely go unresolved. Furthermore, there’s no evidence left behind.” “That’s right. True Fire Weapon Workshop is backed by True Fire Sect, one of the five major sects. There’s no reason for the Great Zhou Dynasty to go against a major sect just for a mere Weapon Refinement Master.” “I don’t think that this matter is over yet!” A shopkeeper said in a shocking manner. “Old Zhang, what do you mean?” Someone else asked. Old Zhang scoffed coldly, “Think about it. True Fire Weapon Workshop lost two Golden Cores and suffered a massive loss. Do you think they’re going to take it lying just like that?” “Even if they can’t take it lying down, what can they do? It’s not as if they’re going to send a Nascent Soul next, right?” Someone else was rattled. “Hehe, that’s hard to say.” The few of them were discussing when a figure appeared in the sky not far away. It was extremely fast and arrived in the blink of an eye. “Greetings, sir.” The few shopkeepers stood up hurriedly and greeted. The person who arrived was the commander of the Azure Falcon guards, the bearded man. Someone asked with a smile, “What are you here for, sir? Do you want to customize a spirit weapon?” The bearded man did not reply and waved his robes, erecting a tall notice stele that was enveloped in strong spirit energy. Expressionless, the bearded man carried the stone stele and walked forward silently, attracting countless gazes.