"Qian Renxue, if you spare my only daughter, I am willing to personally write the edict of succession, helping you to ascend the throne legitimately!"
Just as Qian Renxue was about to order the killing of Xue Ke and the others, suddenly, a weak but majestic old voice rang out.
Those present looked in the direction of the sound and saw that beneath the ruins of the Swan Palace, rubble and beams were slowly pushed aside, and an old man dressed in a golden inner robe crawled out.
The old man had a bloody head wound, his whole body was covered in dust and sawdust, his gray hair and beard were messy, his face was full of wrinkles, and his complexion was dark.
Ke Xue Ke recognized the old man at a glance as her father, Xue Ye, who had ruled the Heaven Dou Empire for over thirty years!
"Father!"
Xue Ke cried out hoarsely, her knees buckling as she collapsed to the ground. Tears streamed down her face, her heart filled with a bittersweet mix of sorrow and joy.
She was happy that her father was still alive, neither poisoned nor crushed by the collapsing palace; she was saddened that Xue Ye had become so old.
It should be noted that since taking the Longevity Pill, Xue Ye has gained thirty years of lifespan, and his appearance has long since changed from that of an old man back to that of a young man in his thirties.
The father and daughter standing together looked like a brother and sister.
But now, when they met again, Xue Ye had white hair and beard, an aged face, a hunched back, and a weak voice, clearly on the verge of death!
It goes without saying that all of this is inextricably linked to Qian Renxue.
Sure enough, upon seeing the disheveled and exhausted Xue Ye crawling out of the ruins of the Swan Palace, Qian Renxue sneered, her tone filled with intense mockery. "Father, you're still alive! I thought the Seven-Colored Poison I gave you would be enough to make you die quietly while you were unconscious."
"Cough cough... I was almost dead, but your battle caused the palace to collapse, which woke me up."
With two violent coughs, Xue Ye straightened up with difficulty, stood with his hands behind his back, and stared directly at Qian Renxue with his dim, yellowed eyes, saying sarcastically, "I have to thank you for this, my good son!"
"Xue Ye, you are not qualified to be my father."
Despite being verbally taken advantage of, Qian Renxue was not annoyed at all. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Xue Ye as if she were looking at a dead man.
However, Xue Ye, whose body was already ravaged by the deadly poison and whose life was nearing its end, paid no heed. He simply looked calmly at Qian Renxue and said indifferently, "Oh, by the way, may I ask, when did my eldest son, Xue Qinghe, die at your hands?"
Nine years ago.
Qian Renxue didn't hide anything and answered straightforwardly.
Xue Ye nodded and then asked, "What about Beng'er? Is he dead too?"
"Yes."
Where is Xue Xing?
"I have already ordered 50,000 Royal Guards to besiege the Prince's Mansion. I reckon Prince Xue Xing is already torn to pieces."
"Oh."
Xue Ye nodded again, his expression a mix of laughter and tears, and said, "So it seems that the vast Heaven Dou Imperial Family is now reduced to just Ke'er. Qian Renxue, spare my daughter, and I will immediately write the edict of succession, allowing you to ascend the throne smoothly. Don't forget, only I know where the imperial seal used to issue the edict is!"
"Sorry, I'm not doing this deal."
Qian Renxue coldly replied, "I don't need your edict of succession, nor your imperial seal. I can still rightfully ascend the throne. After all, my current identity is Crown Prince Xue Qinghe."
"Qian Renxue, you are too naive. You've already stirred up this palace coup to such an extent, do you still think you can peacefully take over my empire?"
Xue Ye's face showed disdain, and he said in a deep voice, "I and all the other members of the royal family except you have died suddenly. Do you think the loyal subjects of the empire won't suspect you? Putting aside everything else, Marshal Ge Long, who commands 200,000 City Garrison and 50,000 Imperial Guards, will not submit to you!"
"Then I'll kill Ge Long."
Qian Renxue said coldly.
"Oh, you want to kill Ge Long? Do you think his title of Nine Lives Divine Dragon is just for show? Besides, even if you can deal with Ge Long, can you also deal with the hundreds of noble families in Heaven Dou City who are loyal to the royal family? Can you command the empire's million-strong army and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and other major sects?"
She countered with a question, Xue Ye continued calmly, "You cannot. Unless I die a natural death, and unless you possess a decree of succession bearing the imperial seal, you are a usurper!"
Changing the subject, Xue Ye continued, "If you spare Xue Ke's life, I can not only issue an edict, but also write personal secret letters to important imperial officials like Ge Long, instructing them to loyally assist you!"
"Furthermore, Ke'er is the wife of the Palace Mistress of the Purple Micro Palace. If you harm her, Purple Micro Palace will never let you off!"
"Shut up, Xue Ye. Your excuses are useless. I'm not going to let Xue Ke get away with this."
Qian Renxue said coldly, "Let her go, let her go out and reveal the secret that I'm not Xue Qinghe? Do you think I'm stupid, you old fool?"
As for the Purple Micro Palace?
Qian Renxue sneered, "Our Spirit Hall has long been at war with the Purple Micro Palace. Even that charming and amorous heir of the Xuanyuan Family was lured away by my scheme."
"Right now, to save his little lovers, he should have already led most of the Title Douluo from the Purple Micro Palace to Spirit City!"
Upon hearing this, Xue Ye fell silent.
Sure enough, no matter how much they argued, they couldn't save their daughter's life in the end.
The Heaven Dou Imperial Family, which has lasted for thousands of years, is about to become a mere shell of its former self.
Shaking his head, Xue Ye gave a bitter smile, looking at his daughter Xue Ke, who was crying her eyes out not far away, and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, your father can't save you..."
Upon hearing this, Xue Ke slowly stood up, her voice trembling with tears as she resolutely declared, "Your daughter is willing to live and die with Father!"
"Alright, stop with the sentimentality, just go die already!"
Qian Renxue frowned, her killing intent surging, and golden light ignited all over her body once again, and a golden longsword once more materialized in her hand!
Fifth Soul Skill - Angel Holy Sword!
The next second, a golden tail of flame trailed behind her, and she flew towards Xue Ye like a shooting star!
"Laugh!"
A flash of golden light, accompanied by a soft sound, and Xue Ye's head broke off from his neck and fell to the ground.
One sword, and the head is severed!
The Xue Ye has passed away!
"Father!!"
Seeing her father's head chopped off right in front of her, Xue Ke couldn't help but let out a piercing scream before her vision went black and she fainted.
"Your Princess Hall! Your Highness!"
Zhi Xin quickly helped Xue Ke up as she collapsed, and said with concern.
"Stop shouting, you all go down and keep the Xue Ye."
High in the sky, Qian Renxue sneered, "The old man was, after all, an emperor. It's only right that he had some people buried with him."
Before she finished speaking, Qian Renxue, wielding the Angel Holy Sword, swooped down from mid-air!
However, at that moment, a long, powerful dragon tail covered in purple scales suddenly appeared and lashed out fiercely at Qian Renxue!
With a flick of its long, slender tail, which stretched for tens of meters, even the space in its path was shattered, and the intense sound of air being torn apart sent chills down Qian Renxue's spine!
Get out of the way!
Qian Renxue instinctively tried to dodge the dragon's tail strike, but she was still a step too slow!
"Boom!!"
A thunderous sound rang out, and Qian Renxue was sent flying hundreds of meters by the dragon's tail. At an extremely fast speed, she crashed into the ground, creating a deep crater and raising a cloud of dust tens of meters high!
Immediately afterwards, a giant purple dragon, hundreds of meters long, with a long neck and scales like rhomboid amethysts, swooped down from the sky!
Beside the purple dragon stood a beautiful Swan with a wingspan exceeding 100 meters, each feather as emerald as jade!
"Soul Beast?"
The Snake Spear Douluo and the Porcupinefish Douluo exchanged a glance, their expressions changing simultaneously. Such a gigantic Soul Beast must be Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
The next moment, their guesses were confirmed.
In a flash of green light, the giant Swan transformed into human form.
This was a stunningly beautiful woman with green hair and green eyes. She had a slender figure, and a light green dress perfectly outlined her curvaceous body, while her snow-white arms added to her beauty.
What's most striking is that behind her are a pair of emerald green wings. These wings are extremely dazzling, making her look noble and elegant, breathtakingly beautiful.
She was one of Zhou Chen's two maids, Emerald Swan, Bi Ji.
Beside Bi Ji, the purple dragon transformed into a girl clad in purple scale armor.
The girl had a perfect figure, extremely fair skin, straight and long thighs, and her shoulders were partially exposed. Her long, purplish-black hair was draped behind her and fluttered in the wind.
Her appearance was more wild and less gentle than Bi Ji's. On her forehead was a diamond-shaped dragon scale, with layers of purple light rippling across it, enveloping her delicate body.
She was Zhou Chen's other maid, and also the patriarch of the Hell Demon Dragon Clan, Zi JI.
Upon seeing the Soul Beast transform into human form, any Soul Master with a modicum of common sense would understand that these two Soul Beasts were definitely legendary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
But how did they end up in the human world?
At that moment, Qian Renxue shot out from the cave. She coughed lightly, covered her mouth, raised her head, and stared at the sky with wide golden eyes in shock!
"Emerald Swan? Abyssal Demon Dragon? You're from the Purple Micro Palace?"
Qian Renxue's words caused an uproar among the Spirit Hall Soul Master present.
What's going on?
The Purple Micro Palace actually has connections with Soul Beast? Don't they know that humans and Soul Beast Clan are mortal enemies?
Could it be that Qian Renxue, that scheming bastard, is just making this up?
However, the next second, the Soul Master of the Spirit Hall confirmed it: well, the Purple Micro Palace really did have ties to the Soul Beast Clan.
Led by Zhi Xin, the more than three hundred female Soul Master all knelt on one knee and respectfully said in unison, "Greetings, Commander!"
"No need for formalities, please rise."
With a gentle wave of her sleeve, the gentle Bi Ji unleashed a torrent of emerald light that enveloped all the female Soul Master of the Tian Xuan and Yao Guang Guard.
In an instant, the injuries of the more than three hundred female Soul Master were completely healed, their fatigue vanished, and they all became energetic.
Aside from their Soul Power still being relatively depleted, their bodies have recovered to their peak condition.
This is the power of the Emerald Swan, one of the strongest healing-type Soul Beast!
After treating her subordinates, Bi Ji's gentle gaze finally turned to Qian Renxue, and she softly asked with a smile, "You know us?"
"Natural cognition."
Qian Renxue said with a gloomy expression, "The commanders of the Purple Micro Palace's Tian Xuan Guard and Yao Guang Guard, Soul Beast over 100,000 years old, Bi Ji and Zi JI, you are all very famous!"
"Heh, it seems your Spirit Hall has excellent intelligence capabilities; you even know our identities!"
"I love you," said Zi JI in a lively tone.
Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue's face darkened, and she said in a deep voice, "Excellent intelligence capabilities? You should be the ones who've completely fooled me!"
"According to our Spirit Hall's intelligence, the two of you should have gone to the Far North Land with the Titan Giant Ape and other Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! How could you still be in Heaven Dou City?"
"Hehe, I was just teasing you guys!"
Zi JI proudly displayed her ample bosom, saying, "Our master knew all along that your Spirit Hall had spies, so when we were in the Star Dou Great Forest, he deliberately ordered us to go to the Far North Land. In reality, we've been staying in Heaven Dou City, just waiting for you to launch your coup!"
No wonder!
Qian Renxue's face darkened even more. She never expected that her supposedly unexpected palace coup would still be outmaneuvered by that brat!
"Etc!"
Qian Renxue suddenly recalled a terrifying thought and raised her head, shouting, "If you are here, then the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python are also in this Heaven Dou City?"
"Hehe, you guessed right!"
Zi JI chuckled and said, "Unfortunately, there's no reward."
"Grass!"
Qian Renxue couldn't help but curse aloud. Anyone who was schemed against like this would probably not be able to stand it!
"Young Master, what should we do?"
"The Snake Spear Douluo beside me said with a solemn expression."
"Of course, we should kill them all!"
Qian Renxue coldly stared at the Snake Spear Douluo and said, "Having come to this point, can you still back down?"
Before she finished speaking, Qian Renxue unfurled three pairs of wings on her back, like a golden meteor, and crashed into Bi Ji!
She knew very well that of these two super Soul Beast, only Zi JI was a combat-type, Emerald Swan Bi Ji, was a healing-type Soul Beast with no combat abilities!
Seeing Qian Renxue take the initiative, Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo also joined the attack. Although they were both injured, they were still Title Douluo!
"Want to hurt Sister Bi Ji? Dream on!"
Zi JI's eyes flashed sharply, and with a casual wave of her hand, she directly blocked Qian Renxue, the Snake Spear Douluo, and the Porcupinefish Douluo!
However, it was quite a stretch for her to deal with three enemies who were equivalent to Title Douluo on her own, and also to stop them from harming Bi Ji!
On the ground, more than 500 Spirit Hall Soul Master attacked from all directions, surrounding and besieging Zhi Xin and more than 300 female Soul Master!
As time went on, Zi JI's resistance became increasingly strained, and the female Soul Master of Tian Xuan and Yao Guang Guard, whose Soul Power was weakened, could not withstand the attack of the Spirit Hall's elite Soul Master even after forming the Big Dipper Formation!
Just as the situation was becoming increasingly critical, a loud shout suddenly came from the distance of the palace, "Are you City Garrison rebelling? How dare you trespass into the palace?"
"Rebellion? I'm here to quell a rebellion!"
Another deep, powerful voice rang out. "The Spirit Hall plotted to usurp the imperial throne, poisoning His Majesty and members of the royal family—a despicable and cruel act! Soldiers, for the sake of the empire, kill!!"
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