Seeing the Sovereign Decree was like seeing the Sovereign in person, and Prefecture Lord Xiao, Wu Li, and Chou Dafu felt they had no choice.
Helplessly, they knelt. "Greetings, Sovereign."
Xiao Qing took one look and said, "This is impossible! How could she possibly have the Sovereign Decree? It has to be fake."
Gu Lin chimed in, "Right, that Sovereign Decree is definitely a fake! What kind of entity is the Sovereign? How could they ever hand the Sovereign Decree over to a woman who was cast out of the Gu Clan?"
Hearing this, and noticing that the Sovereign Decree lacked any flashing golden light, Prefecture Lord Xiao, Wu Li, and Chou Dafu decided Xiao Qing and Gu Lin made sense. They stood back up.
"Well, well, Gu Lingyu! How dare you try to fool us with a fake Sovereign Decree? You deserve to die! Guards, seize this woman!"
Wu Li waved a hand, and a group of soldiers from the Zhongzhou garrison marched forward.
These soldiers had the authority to kill on the spot if anyone resisted, and could even wipe out an offender's entire extended family.
Right then, another voice rang out. "Oh? Prefecture Lord Xiao, looks like you're really planning to rebel now—you don't even care about the Sovereign Decree."
"Who's that?"
While the three of them stood there in bewilderment, two figures flashed into the courtyard.
"Palace Master Hu? Branch Manager Ji? Why are you here?"
The newcomers were Hu Yong, Master of the Zhongzhou Branch of Tianlong Hall, and Ji Ling, Manager of the Zhongzhou Branch of the Tianyin Bank.
Ignoring him, Hu Yong and Ji Ling walked straight up to Tian Li, dropped to one knee, and said, "Hu Yong, Master of the Zhongzhou Branch, and Ji Ling, Manager of the Zhongzhou Branch, pay our respects to the Eldest Miss."
Seeing them arrive, Tian Li smiled and said, "Rise."
Hu Yong and Ji Ling stood up, and Hu Yong turned to Prefecture Lord Xiao. "Prefecture Lord Xiao, Wu Li, Chou Dafu! You've got some nerve, trying to arrest even the Eldest Miss of the Heavenly Realm Bank."
Hearing this, Prefecture Lord Xiao felt as though a thunderclap had exploded right beside his ear.
"Palace Master Hu, she is, she is..."
"Miss Tian Li is the daughter of Lord Tian Kui, Chairman of the Heavenly Realm Bank. What, you didn't know?"
"The Heavenly Realm Bank..."
Upon hearing this, Prefecture Lord Xiao, Wu Li, and Chou Dafu dropped instantly to their knees. They knew very well that the Heavenly Realm Bank was the largest financial institution in the entire Hong Realm, a force to which even sovereigns of various nations had to submit. Moreover, the bank maintained close ties with Tianlong Hall; anyone who dared to cross the Heavenly Realm Bank would never be spared by Tianlong Hall.
"Eldest Miss Tian Li, we didn't know you were Chairman Tian Kui's daughter! We've offended you today—please, Eldest Miss, spare us! We're willing to pay for all your losses."
"Eldest Miss Tian Li, I beg you to spare us! We were wrong, we'll never dare do it again."
Tian Li glared down at the three men kneeling before her. "Now you know how to be scared? I told you all along not to mess with us—we are not people you can afford to cross."
"Yes, yes, we were in the wrong! We're willing to take our punishment, so please spare us this once, Eldest Miss."
"Spare you? Wouldn't that make me lose all my face? You tried to humiliate me, Tian Li, right in front of the moguls of the Zhongzhou business world, and now you're begging me to let you go? If you do wrong, you have to take your punishment."
"Yes, yes, we're willing to be punished."
"Alright, Deputy Lin. Break Xiao Qing's legs and make sure he spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair."
"Understood."
With a flash, Lin Xiaotian appeared right in front of Xiao Qing, whose soul had already been scared out of his body. He knew death was too good for him.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Xiaotian strode up and stomped down twice on Xiao Qing's legs, shattering the bones beyond any hope of medical repair.
"Xiao Qing, you insulted Miss Tian Li time and time again. Out of her kindness, the Miss is leaving you with your miserable life, so you'd better watch your step from now on. Pull a stunt like this again, and I'll take your dog's life directly."
"Yes, yes, I'll never dare do it again." With that, Xiao Qing passed out from the pain.
"Chou Dafu, you're unprincipled and devoid of human kindness. Hand over your position as Chamber of Commerce President and let me sever one of your arms, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, your entire clan will be wiped out."
Hearing Tian Li say this, Chou Dafu collapsed limply to the ground. "Understood."
Tun Xiaotian stepped forward, grabbed one of Chou Dafu's arms, and gave it a hard wrench. *Crack!* His arm was snapped clean off.
"Just a petty Chamber of Commerce president—of all people to mess with, you had to mess with the Eldest Miss. You brought this entirely on yourself."
Tian Li shifted her gaze to Wu Li, whose face was already ashen with terror.
"Wu Li, as commander of the Zhongzhou garrison, instead of properly leading your troops, you actually meddled in the affairs of Zhongzhou Prefecture and the business community. Don't you think you've severely neglected your duty?"
"Eldest Miss, I was wrong! Please spare me, I will never meddle in the affairs of the prefecture and business world again!"
"Too late." Tian Li glanced at Wu Li, then at Hu Yong. "Palace Master Hu, take Wu Li into custody and hand him over to the military department and Commander Li to deal with."
"Understood."
Hu Yong waved his hand, and two Tianlong Hall guards dragged Wu Li away.
"Prefecture Lord Xiao."
"Subordinate is here," Prefecture Lord Xiao replied, cold sweat streaming down his face.
Tian Li reached her hand out toward Gu Lingyu. Understanding that Tian Li wanted the Sovereign Decree, Gu Lingyu handed it over.
"Prefecture Lord Xiao, do you still think this Sovereign Decree is a fake?"
"This, this, this..." Prefecture Lord Xiao stammered, unable to speak.
Tian Li channeled a trace of true Qi into the token. Instantly, the Sovereign Decree erupted with golden light, and a majestic, dragon-like character for "Sovereign" materialized right in front of Prefecture Lord Xiao.
Prefecture Lord Xiao hurriedly kowtowed. "Greetings, Sovereign."
Everyone else present scrambled to their knees as well. "Greetings, Sovereign."
The only person left standing was Gu Hao. Gu Yan glanced at him and tugged at his sleeve, but Gu Hao remained completely unmoved.
Feng Menglan whispered to Gu Hao, "Seeing the Sovereign Decree is like seeing the Sovereign in person. Haotian, hurry up and kneel."
"He doesn't deserve it," Gu Hao said softly.
Gu Hao's words stunned Gu Lingyu, Gu Yan, Xiaomei, Xiaogui, Xiaochun, Xiaoxia, Xiaoqiu, and Xiaodong alike. This fellow was truly, utterly arrogant.
Gu Lin noticed that Gu Hao hadn't knelt either, and he turned to Tian Li. "Eldest Miss, there's an asshole over there who sees the Sovereign Decree and not only refuses to kneel, but dares to talk back!"
Tian Li turned her head, saw that it was Gu Hao, and immediately slapped Gu Lin across the face. "He doesn't have to kneel."
"Why?!"
"You talk way too much." Tun Xiaotian sent Gu Lin flying with a single kick.
Tian Li turned to Prefecture Lord Xiao and said, "Prefecture Lord Xiao, today's incident and everything you've done over the years—I will report it all to the Sovereign, detail by detail. You'd better go turn yourself in to the Ministry of Justice. If you don't, I'll wipe out your entire clan on the Sovereign's behalf."
"Yes, I will definitely go turn myself in."
Tian Li turned to Tun Xiaotian and commanded, "Break one of Gu Lin's arms as a warning."
"Understood."
"No, please, spare me! I know I was wrong, please show mercy, Eldest Miss!"
Tun Xiaotian stepped right up and snapped Gu Lin's arm in one sharp motion. "Breaking one arm is getting off easy, yet here you are howling and yelling. One more sound out of you, and I'll take your life."
The pain made Gu Lin instantly clamp his mouth shut, too terrified to utter another peep.
Tian Li swept her gaze across the people kneeling on the floor. "You may all rise."
Everyone stood up. "Thank you, Eldest Miss."
"Do you regret it now?"
No one dared to make a sound.
"A wealth as boundless as the heavens was placed right before your eyes. What a pity that you shortsighted fools are truly unworthy of having my Haoyan Consortium cooperate with you."
"Eldest Miss, we were wrong! Please give us another chance."
"Very well. In three months, we will hold a second investment conference. We'll see how you perform then."
"Thank you, Eldest Miss."
"All right. This investment conference is concluded. Everyone back home—Tiangu Group, stay behind."
The crowd filed out of the grand hall.
Only Tian Li, Lin Xiaotian, Tun Xiaotian, and the personnel from Tiangu Group remained inside.
After witnessing everything that had just happened, Gu Hao found himself growing even more fond of Tian Li. This young woman was decisive in her killing and ruthless in her execution—truly worthy of being Tian Kui's daughter.
Tian Li handed the Sovereign Decree back to Gu Lingyu. "Chairman Gu, I don't know how you managed to win the recognition of the Kunlun Sovereign, but with this Sovereign Decree, no one in Zhongzhou will ever dare to mess with you again. Also, the next time you display the Sovereign Decree, remember to channel a thread of true Qi into it."
"Thank you, Miss Tian Li. When the Sovereign gave me this decree, she didn't tell me how to use it, so..."
"I don't know if I should ask this, but what is your relationship with the Sovereign, Chairman Gu?"
"I went to the Capital on business this time, and the Sovereign summoned me. She said she was my son Gu Hao's fiancée, and even produced a marriage contract."
"So that's how it is. Didn't you know about this match?"
"My son left home eighteen years ago and still hasn't returned; I have no idea where he is right now. Besides, I have no clue how he managed to arrange this marriage with the Sovereign. At the time, I didn't dare press for details, and I was terrified that the Gu Hao the Sovereign spoke of wasn't even my son."
Tian Li glanced over at Gu Hao. "Chairman Gu, regarding the cooperation between our Haoyan Consortium and your Tiangu Group, the original investment was set at one billion yuan. Now, I've decided to increase that investment to ten billion."
"What? Ten billion?! Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Eldest Miss."
"From now on, if Tiangu Group ever needs anything, just come to us. Your affairs are the affairs of our Haoyan Consortium."
"Understood. Thank you, Eldest Miss Tian Li, for your immense kindness toward Tiangu Group. We will ensure our cooperation never causes the Haoyan Consortium's investment to suffer any losses."
"Good. Then it's a deal."
"It's a deal."