CHAPTER 666: 666 ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THIS STANDARD?

"So, according to you, what would be the appropriate standards for compensation?"

Xuan Haoran’s eyes flashed with a glint of sharpness, yet he didn’t erupt immediately. In fact, he was indeed starting with an outrageously high demand—the compensation of a hundred thousand gold coins for each deceased was truly excessive.

In the past, for the soldiers of the Xuanyue Empire who died in service to their country, they would compensate at most twenty to thirty thousand gold coins, and at most forty to fifty thousand gold coins. That amount was already sufficient for the families of these soldiers to live comfortably for a lifetime.

As for the injured, there had never been a compensation exceeding twenty thousand gold coins. Only those who suffered severe disabilities would receive a higher amount. In Xuan Haoran’s view, as long as the final agreement was within this range, it was acceptable.

After all, the Xuanyue Empire originally didn’t even have the chance to negotiate such compensation. Now that there was such an opportunity, it was of course necessary to ask for more and see the bottom line of these fellows.

It must be said that having been the King of Xuanyue Country for so many years, Xuan Haoran’s thinking was a bit too narrow. He was only considering the retreating army of over a million, which could potentially launch a counterattack at any time, but he failed to realize that under Yun Xiao’s strong stance, the principal actors of these imperial allied forces had already been frightened out of their wits.

"The deceased, twenty thousand; the injured, five thousand - no more!"

Hearing Xuan Haoran’s question, the kings of the shocked countries glanced at each other, immediately slashing the compensation by several times. Although it was still a colossal sum, if the Eight Great Empires were to share the burden, it wouldn’t be too onerous.

Snap!

Suddenly hearing these two numbers, even someone with Xuan Haoran’s composure couldn’t help but slam his hand on the table and stand up furiously. These guys were way too greedy, demanding even less than the original consolation standards of the Xuanyue Empire.

"So there’s no room for discussion?"

Xuan Haoran’s eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness. The price-cutting was far too ruthless and was severely misaligned with his expectations. Thus, he let out a shout of anger, and a faint Meridian Qi began to rise around his body, as if he was about to explode at any moment.

This was rightfully a powerful Earth Rank Third Realm expert but faced with Xuan Haoran, the principal actors of the major empires showed no fear; instead, they revealed a trace of strange smiles.

"Brother Haoran, don’t be angry. To start negotiations with an outrageous demand and then settle for less is a perfectly justified strategy. Since you’re not satisfied, why don’t we continue our discussions?"

The Yufeng Empire king’s eyes swiveled, and his tone seemed to soften slightly, albeit he was playing the role of the good cop. On the other hand, Lu Dingtian, the bad-tempered king known for his volatile demeanor, readily stepped into the role of the tough negotiator.

"Brother Haoran, think about it. The Eight Great Empires still have over a million soldiers to support. If we give you all the gold coins, and our soldiers start causing trouble, even us kings wouldn’t be able to suppress the turmoil!"

Lu Dingtian did not completely break off the negotiation, but his seemingly reasonable words contained a clear threat, prompting Xuan Haoran to quickly retract his aura.

After all, nowadays in the Xuanyue Empire, there were only tens of thousands of Forbidden Army soldiers in the entire Imperial City. If the allied forces of the Eight Empires were to return and launch a forceful siege, the city would simply not hold.

"Just state your bottom line!"

Xuan Haoran took a deep breath. As the former king of the Xuanyue Empire, he had to consider the welfare of the entire empire; the Xuanyue Empire could no longer afford the cost of another grand war.

"Brother Haoran is indeed straightforward. Well then, the deceased, thirty thousand; the injured, eight thousand. This is the largest concession we can make!"

The Yufeng Empire king and Lu Dingtian exchanged glances and then spoke, their tones carrying a hint of triumph as if they were the ultimate victors in this negotiation over compensation.

"This..."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Haoran hesitated. This compensation standard was a bit lower than the highest relief standards of the Xuanyue Empire, but if it were under normal circumstances, it would still be acceptable, so he was a bit conflicted.

Having the negotiation for compensation turn out this way was a bit stifling for the Xuanyue Empire representatives in the hall. Still, like Yu Shu and Jia Yi, they could understand Xuan Haoran’s dilemma. Unlike Yun Xiao, who could do whatever he wanted, he was the King of a country, after all.

"Alright, then..."

After some indecision, Xuan Haoran seemed to have thought of something and eventually nodded, then spoke up in front of the surprised looks of Lu Dingtian and others.

"The deceased, two hundred thousand; the injured, one hundred thousand. Not a single gold coin less!"

However, just as Lu Dingtian and others were about to accept Xuan Haoran’s compromise as if they were victors, a clear and bright voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall. Then, a figure flashed, and at the entrance of the hall, another person appeared.

"Yun Xiao?!"

Upon seeing this silhouette, everyone in the hall sharply inhaled in unison, promptly no longer daring to sit upright in their chairs, and leaped up instead. However, compared to the people from the Xuanyue Empire, the likes of Lu Dingtian and the King of Yufeng Empire seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"Yun Xiao, shouldn’t you be resting instead of crowding around here for excitement?"

Sect Master Yu Shu of Jade Pot Sect revealed a look of tender affection in his eyes. He was well aware of how Yun Xiao had fought consecutive battles that day, becoming severely weakened to a grave extent. It was unlikely that he would have recovered to his peak within these two or three days.

"Teacher, I’m fine!"

Yun Xiao held great respect for this teacher who cared for him. Yet, after these softly spoken words, his tone turned icy cold as he continued: "Hmph, if I didn’t show up, some people might think that the Xuanyue Empire is a defeated nation!"

Yun Xiao did not conceal his disdainful snort; when his gaze turned towards them, individuals like Lu Dingtian were unable to look him directly in the eyes. In fact, their prior actions did resemble that of victors.

"I’d like to ask, King Haoran, having become the Supreme Emperor, have you truly forgotten all your old spirit? By agreeing to such terms, aren’t you afraid that the hundreds of thousands of restless spirits of the Imperial Soldiers will find no peace in their netherworld?"

After stunning Lu Dingtian and the others, Yun Xiao turned his head and walked straight to the head seat to sit down, his tone implying a touch of disappointed frustration.

Despite Yun Xiao being previously seen as nothing more than a mere youngster, his status and position had now clearly surpassed that of Xuan Haoran. This lesson, when heard by everyone present, did not sound the least bit improper.

"Yun Xiao, I..."

For a moment, Xuan Haoran found himself at a loss for words, and his concerns, which were inconvenient to voice directly, for fear of emboldening the enemy, remained unspoken.

"I’ve already stated my terms: twenty thousand Gold Coins for the deceased, ten thousand Gold Coins for the injured, not a coin less!"

Yun Xiao did not look at Xuan Haoran, repeating the compensation he had previously stated, then fixed his gaze onto the spokesperson of the Eight Great Empires with a slightly icy tone: "Do you have any objections?"

"Yun Xiao, we’d just reached an agreement with Brother Haoran..."

Lu Dingtian’s expression was extremely unsightly. The compensation amount proposed by Yun Xiao had doubled from the initial figures stated by Xuan Haoran. If they were to actually pay out this sum, it would undoubtedly cause severe damage to the vitality of the Eight Great Empires.

"King Haoran is King Haoran, and I, Yun Xiao, am Yun Xiao. You all are free to voice any objections you might have, but if they fail to satisfy me..."

As Yun Xiao spoke, a blood-red flame suddenly appeared on the tip of his right finger. He then calmly continued, "Actually, even if you all don’t agree, I could just kill you and bring in a more cooperative group to negotiate instead. How does that proposal sound to you?"

The faint heat from the flame encircled Yun Xiao’s fingertip, and although his following words were spoken calmly, they were laden with boundless pressure. It was not until then that the others finally recalled how, just three days before, this youngster had demonstrated ferocious power at the four gates of the Xuanyue Imperial City.

When dealing with Xuan Haoran, people like Lu Dingtian could still maintain a semblance of superiority since they knew that as a king, Xuan Haoran would naturally consider the entire Empire.

But what about the young man before them? His family had been annihilated long ago, and he was therefore without any reservations. Just as Yun Xiao had said, killing them and replacing them with others to negotiate was a truly simple matter.

"Rest assured, if you die, I will see to it that each of you is compensated with two hundred thousand Gold Coins, though I’m not sure if you would be satisfied with that amount."

Yun Xiao toyed with the blood-colored flame in his hand, and with these words, Lu Dingtian and the others finally grasped the reality—that their lives were indeed in someone else’s control.

With Yun Xiao’s display of strength in annihilating the Sect Master of Meridian Qi and the Flying Flower Empress, Lu Dingtian and the rest clearly understood that even if all eight of them joined forces, they would probably be no match for a mere flick of his finger. Not to mention, standing beside him was the King of the Xuanyue Country, someone of the Earth Rank Realm.

The army of over a million a thousand miles away was only meant to intimidate Xuan Haoran, but to Yun Xiao, it held no sway whatsoever.

Everyone cherishes their life; if one’s life is gone, even if they could ultimately destroy the Xuanyue Empire, what benefit would that bring to these eight individuals? It didn’t take long for them to comprehend this.

"Satisfied, utterly satisfied. Young Master Yun Xiao, your compensation standard is incredibly generous!"

The King of Yufeng Empire was the first to react. He certainly didn’t want to have just freed himself from the control of the Sect Master of Meridian Qi and to meet his demise at the hands of Yun Xiao before even beginning his ambitions.

While compensating with Gold Coins would greatly weaken the Yufeng Empire, he believed that under his rule, the Empire could swiftly recover its vitality, and a comeback was not out of the question.

With the lead of the King of Yufeng Empire, Lu Dingtian and the rest no longer dared to be obstinate, knowing that if they remained unappreciative, this seemingly harmless young man needed only a slight movement of his wrist to turn them into ashes.

This spectacle left several onlookers dumbfounded. Originally, Xuan Haoran was about to agree to the lowest compensation standard under the strong pressure from Lu Dingtian and his associates. Yet, upon Yun Xiao’s arrival, with just a few words, he managed to double the highest compensation standard.

The compensation of one hundred thousand for the deceased and fifty thousand for the injured was already the ideal outcome in Xuan Haoran’s mind, and he had never expected it to be successful. Now, with such a standard, not only could the families of the deceased Imperial Soldiers live well for a lifetime, but it would also take the Eight Great Empires decades to recover, truly killing two birds with one stone.