City of Slaughter

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

Late at night, the entire palace seemed to be asleep. Only the Imperial Study, the heart of the empire, remained lit.

The candles crackled, illuminating the mountain of memorials on the desk that seemed impossible to ever finish reviewing, as well as Xue Ye's face, filled with exhaustion and gravity.

They illuminated the towering pile of memorials that seemed impossible to ever finish handling, and Xue Ye's face, written over with fatigue and solemnity.

This level eighty-eight Soul Douluo powerhouse was now so crushed by days of relentless labor that he could barely breathe.

He vigorously rubbed his throbbing temples, brow tightly furrowed. The vermilion brush in his hand hovered above the memorials, unable to come down for a long while.

The empire's internal and external troubles—the undercurrents surging beneath the surface, Spirit Hall pressing closer step by step, and the Star Luo Empire eyeing it like a tiger eyeing prey—weighed on his heart like heavy stones.

"Your Majesty," a palace maid's cautious voice came from outside, breaking the oppressive silence.

"Consort Li feels for Your Majesty's hard work. She personally spent three hours simmering Snow Velvet Hundred Ginseng Soup in the small kitchen. It is especially nourishing and calming. Her Highness... is currently waiting outside the hall."

Xue Ye suddenly froze, intense surprise flashing through his eyes.

Consort Li?

That Consort Li, cold and aloof by nature, like an ice lotus atop a snowy mountain, who had rarely taken the initiative to seek favor or curry favor even after many years in the palace?

Today, she had actually stood watch over the small kitchen to make soup herself, then brought it over in the dead of night?

The emperor's thoughts raced. Had she finally come around? Or did the clan behind her have other motives?

He set down his vermilion brush. "Let her in."

The hall doors silently slid open, and a figure slowly stepped inside.

Xue Ye leaned back in his broad dragon throne, his gaze still fixed on the memorials. He did not look up.

He needed some time to observe this Consort Li who had "made an exception."

For a long time, the only sound in the hall was the crackling of burning candles and the nearly inaudible breathing of the two of them.

The air was so still it was suffocating, permeated by invisible pressure.

"My consort?" Xue Ye frowned slightly, sensing an unusual silence. He raised his eyes to question her with the innate authority of an emperor.

At the very instant he looked up.

The "Consort Li" in the hall slowly raised her head as well.

Their eyes met.

Xue Ye's gaze instantly froze.

"Trouble Your Majesty," a cold voice that did not belong to Consort Li at all rang out, "to tell me where the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is?"

Xue Ye's eyes became vacant, and he answered as if sleepwalking.

"C-Consort... the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud... the empire's supreme treasure... naturally... on... my finger..."

With stiff movements, he raised his left thumb.

The storage ring, forged entirely from deep-sea silver, glimmered with a cold, eerie light beneath the candlelight.

Duanmu Ci's gaze locked precisely onto that ring, and his cold voice sounded once more.

"Then trouble Your Majesty to hand the ring over to me for safekeeping."

Xue Ye's expression did not ripple in the slightest, his eyes still vacant.

His stiff right hand grasped the ring on his left thumb and tugged hard. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he extended it toward the "Consort Li" before him.

"Your Majesty! Don't!"

Just as the ring was about to leave his hand, an elderly figure appeared beside Xue Ye like a ghost.

He grabbed Xue Ye's wrist, the hand offering the ring. It was Xue Ye's personal shadow guard—Soul Sage Li Muhu.

Li Muhu looked at Duanmu Ci in shock and fury, then anxiously shook the vacant-eyed Xue Ye.

"Who are you? Your Majesty? What exactly is wrong with you?"

As a level seventy-eight assault-type beast spirit Soul Sage, Li Muhu knew full well what his duty was. Even against a stronger enemy, he had to buy time for His Majesty!

"Once I deal with you, there shouldn't be any other trouble, right?" Duanmu Ci's voice remained cold and calm.

"Guards! Protect—" Li Muhu shouted sharply as he instantly summoned his Soaring Tiger martial soul. The strongest, seventh soul ring on his body flared brightly as he prepared to fight to the death!

However, he did not even have time to finish shouting.

His vision suddenly blurred, as if space itself had twisted.

The next moment, he felt an indescribable pain and burning heat in his chest.

Looking down, he saw a blinding bolt of lightning had silently pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.

Duanmu Ci gently withdrew the hand that had pierced through his opponent's chest, flicking the blood from his fingertips. His tone was indifferent.

"If you hadn't come out, you could have kept your life. What a pity..."

Then, he looked once more at Xue Ye, who was like a puppet. "Your Majesty, give me the ring."

"Alright... if my consort likes it... take it... take it all..."

Xue Ye had worn a dazed expression from beginning to end, as though the assassination had never happened and all he could see was his beloved "Consort Li."

Duanmu Ci extended his fair, slender fingers and accepted the ring that symbolized the Heaven Dou Empire's supreme authority and foundation.

Success! A cold smile he could not suppress curled at the corner of his lips.

What imperial guards? Before these eyes of his, before absolute power and Illusion Techniques, they were no better than decorations.

Obtaining the key to opening the Sea God Inheritance—the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud—was just that simple!

"Thank you for Your Majesty's reward." Duanmu Ci's voice remained calm and even, yet to anyone clear-minded, it was filled with the utmost sarcasm and mockery.

The moment he finished speaking, spatial ripples like waves spread across his body, and his figure instantly faded away.

The next moment.

Xue Ye's entire body jolted violently!

The emptiness in his eyes was instantly replaced by immense terror and confusion.

"Uh... ah?" He let out a short, startled gasp and sprang up from the dragon throne.

First, he stared fixedly at his bare left thumb. Then he saw Li Muhu lying in a pool of blood, his eyes still open in death!

"Assassin! My ring!" A desperate roar, like that of a wounded beast, erupted from his throat!

The ring!

The ring that carried the empire's thousand-year wealth and concealed the empire's ultimate treasure, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.

It was gone! And his shadow guard was dead too!

The sky had fallen!

"Guards! Guards, now!" Xue Ye roared hysterically, his eyes split wide with rage, all imperial dignity utterly gone.

He staggered out of the imperial study and broke into a mad sprint toward Consort Li's quarters.

"Seal the palace! Seal the imperial palace tight! Not even a fly is allowed to leave! Arrest Consort Li! Arrest her!"

The entire Heaven Dou imperial palace was instantly jolted awake from its slumber by that earth-shaking roar and the emperor's unprecedented loss of composure, plunging into immense chaos and panic!

Countless imperial guards surged frantically through the palace walls and alleyways like a disturbed swarm of ants. The clang of swords being drawn, hurried footsteps, and terrified cries relaying orders intertwined.

Meanwhile, the culprit behind it all had long since vanished at the end of the spatial ripples, carrying that heavy ring with him.

Elsewhere, at the entrance to the City of Slaughter, in an unnamed town.

The town was deathly silent, the air seemingly congealed with the stench of blood.

The scattered residents nearby cast cold, sticky gazes at every stranger who entered this place.

Duanmu Ci wore a magnificent white robe, its collar and sides adorned with magatama. His temperament, so utterly out of place here, was like a bright lamp in the night, drawing even more malicious stares.

After taking away the Vast Sea Divine Might Barrier, he had left only a Shadow Clone in Heaven Dou while his true body immediately came to the City of Slaughter.

His target was clear—the black tavern deep within the town, reeking of intense blood and the foul stench of cheap alcohol.

As he pushed open the creaking wooden door, which looked as though it might fall apart at any moment, a nauseatingly fishy stench rushed into his face.

Under the dim lighting, the murky air was almost tangible. Dark-red stains covered the filthy floor and walls, silently recounting tales of violence.

Duanmu Ci frowned almost imperceptibly. This place smelled worse than a pile of rotting corpses.

He walked straight toward the bar.

A greasy waiter was mechanically wiping several chipped wine cups with an equally filthy rag.