Chapter 23 — The Prophet Awakens: Shedding the Worthless Shell

"Who do you think you are, daring to raise your voice at me?" Liêm Phong roared, but his voice was shaking, no longer the original confidence. "Do you know what I sacrificed to get to today?"

"Tell me," Vọng Thần replied, his voice was cold but he still kept his distance, trying to prolong the time, his eyes not taking off Tang Vũ Tiêu's smallest movements.

"Three generations!" Liêm Phong shouted, his pent-up frustration suddenly overflowing and could no longer be contained. "Three generations of the Uo family have knelt down and begged other powers, sold every piece of land, every silver mine, every bit of honor left just to pay off their debts! I grew up watching my father die in disgrace, watching my ancestors' reputations being trampled on by those who had to kneel before the Uo family! I have no other choice but to reclaim what belongs to my family, at any cost!"

"So you chose to plunder Northern Cuong's resources, instead of rebuilding from scratch with your own hands?" Tuyết Doanh spoke up, her eyes full of contempt. "You didn't sacrifice for your family, Wish Liêm Phong. You were just trying to avoid responsibility by shedding someone else's blood."

"Shut up!" Liêm Phong screamed, his face distorted by a mixture of anger and despair. "You don't understand the feeling of watching everything your ancestors built disappear before your eyes! Bắcương is rich, prosperous, has everything that Nam Xuyên has lost! Why do you get to keep everything, while the Uoc family is left with only ashes?"

"Because resources don't come naturally, Liêm Phong," Vọng Thần replied, his voice was low but full of weight. "Bắcương is rich because many generations have sweated and bled to protect and nurture it, not because God gave it easily. You wanted to revive the Uoc family, but you chose the path of plundering instead of building it - that's why your family will decline even more, whether you take Bắcương or not."

***

Those words were like a knife cutting into Liêm Phong's last self-esteem. In the madness of a cornered man, he shouted loudly at Tang Vũ Tiêu. "Kill it! Kill it now!"

Tang Vũ Tiêu, although a little hesitant at the order to kill a child, still clenched his hands and prepared to strike with the instinct of a professional assassin.

But at that moment - the moment that Vọng Thần had been waiting for since the beginning of the confrontation, using all his ability to read destiny to accurately calculate every breath - he realized: Tang Vũ Tiêu's attention, as soon as he received the order, would focus entirely on Liêm Phong for a short moment to confirm the order, before returning to action.

That is the only gap, fragile but enough.

Right at the moment Tang Vũ Tiêu looked back at Liêm Phong, a figure rushed from behind the stands - Bạch Vũ, who had been silently weaving through the chaotic crowd since the coalition army appeared, hid and waited for this right opportunity according to the plan carefully discussed the night before. He appeared right behind Tang Vũ Tiêu, a precise sword slash cut off his wrist holding the knife.

At the same time, Vọng Thần released an invisible stream of energy, accurately hitting the acupuncture point on the back of Tang Vũ Tiêu's neck, causing his whole body to instantly paralyze, letting Tiểu Nguyệt fall out of his arms.

"Tiểu Nguyệt!" Bạch Vũ quickly caught the falling girl, hugged her tightly, and backed away from Tang Vũ Tiêu, who was screaming in pain, clutching her severed wrist.

"The baby is safe!" Bạch Vũ shouted loudly towards Tuyết Doanh and Vọng Thần.

Tuyết Doanh rushed over immediately, hugged her daughter, tears rolling down uncontrollably. "Tiểu Nguyệt, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Mom..." Tiểu Nguyệt sobbed, hugging her mother tightly, trembling but safe.

***

Ước Liêm Phong stood dumbfounded, watching his entire last card collapse in just a split second. No more hostages, no more troops, no more anything to bargain with.

"No... that's impossible..." He stepped back, his hand trembling as he pulled out the sword at his side, his eyes filled with the madness of someone with nothing left to lose. "If I can't have Northern Cuong, I will drag everyone down with me!"

He rushed forward, aiming straight at Tuyết Doanh and Tiểu Nguyệt who were hugging each other, a reckless sword strike of someone in extreme despair.

But Vọng Thần had stood right in front of them without anyone realizing it. His movements were so fast that only a faint streak of silver light remained in the eyes of the terrified crowd.

He did not use all the destructive power he could deploy. Instead, with absolute precision honed over more than twenty years of restraint and control, he just reached out with one hand, took the sword from Liêm Phong's hand, and at the same time lightly touched a pressure point, causing his whole body to completely paralyze and collapse to the arena ground.

"It's over, Wish Lien Phong." Vọng Thần stood looking down at the enemy lying motionless at his feet. His voice was no longer angry, only a deep fatigue mixed with a bit of pity remained. "You had the chance to rebuild your family with honor. You chose a different path, and now, you must pay the price for that choice."

The entire Đại Thí Trường fell into absolute silence, before resounding cheers exploded like a tsunami, not to celebrate a military victory, but to welcome the truth that had just been revealed - the "useless beggar" they had despised for six years, was the silent benefactor who protected them through many storms, and now, the one who saved the future of Bắcương.

Elder Bách Niên stepped out into the middle of the arena, his voice echoing with emotion. "O the entire Northern Cuong! Today, we have witnessed the truth about the Thousand Year Covenant, about the person who has silently protected this land for the past six years without a single request for recognition. Cố Vọng Thần, the descendant of Thien Co Pavilion, is the most vivid proof that a person's true value lies not in appearance, but in the heart and actions!"

The cheers once again echoed throughout the arena, those who once let out the harshest taunts now bowed their heads in shame, the children who had teased Tiểu Nguyệt at the market every year secretly looked at each other, not daring to raise their heads.

Bắcương's guards quickly tied up Liêm Phong and Tang Vũ Tiêu, who was groaning because their wrists were severed, and escorted them both to the place of detention to wait for the council of elders to impeach them according to ancient law. Ước Liêm Phong, while being dragged away, still looked back at Vọng Thần, his eyes no longer had the original arrogance, only extreme bitterness remained.

"You think you won?" He hissed. "The family may have collapsed today, but for my honor, at least I dared to stand up and fight for my ancestors, unlike those who only know how to hide in the dark for twenty years like you!"

Vọng Thần looked at him, without any anger, only a calmness mixed with pity. "Fighting for your ancestors does not mean trampling on the lives of innocent people, Liêm Phong. I hope, in your remaining years, you will have time to reflect on that difference."

The soldiers escorting Liêm Phong disappeared behind the arena gate, leaving an atmosphere of both relief and the shock of what had just happened.

In the middle of the arena, Tiểu Nguyệt, although still trembling, raised her face to look at her father with eyes full of pride and surprise.

"Dad... do you really know everything in the world?" She asked, her voice still choked but she was smiling a little through her tears.

Vọng Thần picked up his daughter, hugged her tightly, and smiled with relief for the first time after many stressful days. "Not everything, daughter. But I know one thing for sure — I love you and your mother more than anything in this world."

Tuyết Doanh stepped forward, wrapped her arms around both father and son, letting tears fall amid thousands of eyes watching. No longer the image of a cold, majestic queen that Bắcương has been familiar with for the past six years, but of a wife and mother, enjoying a rare moment of peace after the most intense storm of her life.