Chapter 366: The Fall of the Rose

"Dominion of the Nine Heavens ()"

The dormant ice bees took quite a while to be forcibly awakened by Lao Wang’s relentless slapping, pinching, and prodding. They wobbled unsteadily on their legs, as if drunk. However, with Lao Wang's blood coursing through their veins, they felt a deeper kinship with him. They staggered over to nuzzle his fingers, and in their shared consciousness, there was now a warmth beyond mere obedience to the Insect God species—a sense of wholehearted trust.

If this guy were to approach the Nine-Headed Dragon now, it probably wouldn’t be so terrified that it’d rather self-destruct than go near it, right?

Lao Wang sensed the change in the ice bee’s consciousness while teasing it with his fingers, simultaneously soothing it mentally to help it regain alertness faster.

After about ten minutes, the ice bee finally shook off its drunken stupor, becoming lively and eager to take flight. Wang Feng commanded it to stay motionless on the table as he assembled the Demon War Armor piece by piece. When the final piece clicked into place—

*Vrrrm—*

A flash of silver light erupted from the Demon War Armor, the embedded soul crystal perfectly aligned with the ice bee’s forehead. An invisible aura suddenly radiated from the bee, carrying an intimidating pressure that warned others to keep their distance!

A lone ice bee separated from its swarm was usually weak, lacking any independent will. Without orders from the queen or Lao Wang, they reverted to their primal instincts—eating, sleeping, and digging—with no trace of spiritual energy pressure. But now, this ice bee seemed to possess its own will, harnessing the essence of a peak-tier wolf.

*Whoosh!*

At Lao Wang’s mental command, the ice bee shot upward, slamming into the ceiling with a loud *bang*, shaking dust loose from the impact. The force was impressive.

Wang Feng continued directing it. The ice bee darted around the room at blinding speed, streaks of green light trailing from its Demon War Armor. Despite its larger size and the added weight of the armor, its flight speed had more than doubled, moving so fast that Lao Wang could barely track its movements—only seeing white streaks forming circles in the air.

Holy shit…

Lao Wang exhaled deeply, his exhaustion from the all-night work vanishing as his eyes gleamed with excitement.

Enhanced ice bees. Enhanced Demon War Armor.

The destructive power was impressive. Against top-tier fighters, it might still fall short, but… he had *eighteen* of these. And this was just the first-generation prototype of his "Ultimate Ice Bee Project." He was already brainstorming how to add external mounts without sacrificing speed. If successful, these machine-gun bees would become bomber bees—each carrying two Skyburst Grenades. Who the hell could withstand that?

Money? He was loaded. Eighteen ice bees were just the beginning. He still had Er Tong (his trusted companion) and more tricks up his sleeve. He’d drown those bastards in gold if he had to!

Who was the strongest player in *Dominion of the Nine Heavens*? Not the Blade Saints or Spell Lords Lao Wang painstakingly trained, but the legendary beastmaster Jin Beibei—the ultimate RMB warrior. Who dared challenge her? Crush them with cash. That was the undisputed number one.

…………

The beastman incident had been simmering in Rose Academy and Aurora City for a week.

Everyone awaited the Holy City’s verdict, but it never came. The Holy Sanctuary remained silent, offering no response. Hawkland’s submitted materials sank like stones. While radicals publicly defended Karida, the Conservatives held their ground, biding their time for the real tribunal.

This eerie calm, like a predator lurking in the shadows, was far more unsettling than an outright storm.

Investigators had left Aurora City, and within Rose Holy Sanctuary, discussions quieted as students returned to their routines. The academy enjoyed a brief respite.

Old Hawk finally had a couple of peaceful days. Though he knew tensions would eventually erupt with greater force, at least it wasn’t now.

Stealing a moment of leisure in a busy life, Old Hawk sipped tea while reviewing documents—not too many, thanks to the student council easing administrative burdens. Wang Feng… what a good kid. How had he never noticed his virtues before?

Pleased, Old Hawk flipped open the morning’s *Holy Sanctuary’s Light*.

Lately, the news had been decent—no distressing reports, no fresh attacks on Rose. Even the beastman trade scandal had died down. Finally, some peace.

Sure enough, the front page had nothing to do with Rose.

The New Lord introduced a large-scale commercial project, aiming to build a brand-new, first-class super coastal market under the League of Blades!

This is a cooperation with an investment exceeding one billion in Leo currency, partnered with the *Prague Chamber of Commerce*. Its origins seem somewhat mysterious, but it is said to have the endorsement of a Holy City councilor, likely serving as a front for some major power.

Hawkland wore a faint smile. It's often said that new bosses make changes, and he had heard of this newly appointed New Lord. Previously responsible for various commercial projects in the Holy City, his network and professional skills were undoubtedly impeccable. Now, claiming to build a brand-new Aurora City coastal market was well within his expertise.

Honestly, this was good news for Aurora City—boosting the economy is beneficial no matter where or what the underlying motives might be. Even for Rose... well, Rose... Rose?!

Hawkland's eyes suddenly widened, and he spat tea on the representative from Holy Sanctuary’s Light.

At the end of the report, it read: 'At the conclusion of the press conference, the New Lord stated that Aurora City needs only one Holy Sanctuary—one that is untainted and purely honorable.'

A simple sentence, seemingly not naming names, but with Rose embroiled in the beastmen scandal and reputation crisis, the phrase 'untainted and purely honorable' was unmistakably referring to Rose Holy Sanctuary!

Wait... this page wasn’t the front-page headline. The assistant who delivered the newspaper had thoughtfully flipped the pages. Hawkland felt a sinking premonition and, suppressing his trembling hands, turned the paper over. On the opposite page’s headline, a glaring title stood out:

"Rose Holy Sanctuary, Burdened by Irredeemable Corruption, Must Be Purged to Uphold Holy Sanctuary’s Integrity and Restore Its Honor!"

Another lengthy article, starting with Karida of Rose Holy Sanctuary colluding with beastmen, tarnishing and betraying human dignity for personal gain—this was the moral high ground. Then it moved on to Wang Feng’s autocratic ways: after becoming the Student Council president, he appointed a beastman from the Martial Arts Academy as the head of the Firearms Academy, and the school administration actually approved it... What kind of nonsense was this?

The head of the Martial Arts Academy was Hei Wukai, and since that beastman couldn’t be ousted from there, they made him head of the Firearms Academy instead? A martial artist leading the Firearms Academy? This was brazenly servile, kowtowing to beastmen to the extreme, desperately trying to bestow a prestigious title upon their beastman masters!

This man was utterly despicable and shameless. For the sake of petty commercial gains, he had stooped to intolerable levels of servility toward beastmen. That Kela was clearly an already awakened beastman who suppressed her strength to enter Rose, falsely claiming to have broken through there. These were irrefutable evidence of Rose Holy Sanctuary’s deceitful collusion with beastmen!

Hawkland clutched his chest—this was enough to trigger a heart attack...

Honestly, appointing a student as a department head was a trivial matter, but the malicious intent behind it and the deliberately inflammatory angle made this statement venomous beyond measure.

Previously, accusing Karida of accepting personal benefits from beastmen was something most people could shrug off—power corrupts, and using one’s position for personal gain was something everyone in the League of Blades did. People might complain, but deep down, they knew such things were tacitly accepted. Making her the scapegoat was just part of the power struggle between conservatives and reformers, no different from ordinary corruption cases... But this was different. Rose had now kowtowed to beastmen to the core, utterly forsaking the dignity humans should uphold!

Public opinion is a sharp sword, and kicking someone when they’re down is human nature.

Moreover, beneath this vicious statement, the signatory was none other than the Ice Domain Holy Sanctuary...

Ice Domain Holy Sanctuary, ranked eleventh among the 108 Holy Sanctuaries, and Ice Spirit Holy Sanctuary had always been the training grounds for ice witches in the League of Blades. Precisely because only these two produced ice witches, their fierce rivalry had turned them into bitter rivals.

Ice Domain Holy Sanctuary’s involvement was no surprise. Rose’s close ties with Ice Spirit made it the perfect scapegoat for their grievances.

More critically, this attack was on an entirely different level from previous rumors. This declaration was designed to incite the League of Blades’ hostility toward Rose like never before.

Hawkland clutched his chest tightly, trembling all over, his breathing labored. A sudden realization struck him.

Rose was done for!