This matter seemed to have grown wings, rapidly spreading to every corner of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. It spread even faster than the Xue Beng incident. This came as no surprise; after all, the victim had been the son of an earl, brutally murdered by a commoner in a classroom at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, right before the eyes of numerous noble children.
More importantly, Lang Lei had not taken any measures to restrain or threaten those who witnessed the incident into keeping it secret. Amid the chaos and panic, the news spread like wildfire, swiftly sweeping through the entire academy. Through those students, it quickly reached Heaven Dou City and eventually made its way to Xue Ye.
As for Xue Beng's matter... Xue Xing himself found it deeply embarrassing, and coupled with his fear, he deliberately sent people to suppress the spread of the news. He hoped to buy some time before Emperor Xue Ye came to settle accounts with him.
The three academy committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy did not dare make a decision on their own in the face of such a situation. Knowing the gravity of the matter, they decided almost without hesitation to send Lang Lei directly to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace and leave this thorny issue to Emperor Xue Ye.
"Yo, Your Highness the Crown Prince, we meet again!"
Qian Renxue's lips twitched slightly as she inwardly lamented that in less than twenty-four hours, Lang Lei had already landed her in such enormous trouble.
Even so, Qian Renxue did not become the slightest bit distant toward Lang Lei. After all, he was the Divine Successor. His status was immensely important, so how could she distance herself from a Divine Successor over such a trivial matter?
What was more, the two powerful figures standing behind Lang Lei were both people Qian Renxue wanted to win over. Therefore, no matter what, she would not easily give up her relationship with him.
Under normal circumstances, Qian Renxue might have put on a slightly more neutral front, but at this moment, she made no effort whatsoever to conceal her intention to protect Lang Lei.
As the saying went, it was easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to offer charcoal in the snow. People often paid little attention to those who showed goodwill when they were prospering, but they would always remember those who helped them in times of hardship.
"Little Brother Lang Lei, you've really found me a huge problem this time," Qian Renxue said, deliberately putting on a troubled expression.
"Haha, rest assured, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I definitely won't put you in a difficult position!" Lang Lei hurriedly patted his chest and vowed, "I'll take full responsibility for this matter!"
He already had a rough plan for this matter. If luck was on his side, he might even make a little more profit from it.
"Why would you say that, Little Brother Lang Lei? Rest assured, I will always be your strongest support."
No, you won't.
Lang Lei very much wanted to say that, but this was not the time to spoil the mood, so he naturally held it back.
"Alright, then thank you for your support, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Amid this lively gathering, the surrounding princes and nobles stared at Crown Prince Xue Qinghe in shock. They could hardly believe their eyes. Xue Qinghe had actually done something so insane in public, and he was the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire!
Everyone's gaze fell on Xue Qinghe. Not only did he show no anger toward the murderer, but he was even defending the one who had committed the crime. Everyone present found this utterly incomprehensible, especially Fleke's father, Count Iskart.
Count Iskart's expression had turned exceptionally ugly. His face was so dark it looked as though he had changed race. Fleke, the one who had been killed, was his biological eldest legitimate son—and his only son! He had always placed great hopes on this child, who had been his pride and hope.
To that end, Count Iskart had previously arranged for Fleke to get close to Imperial Prince Xue Beng, hoping to use the opportunity to elevate his family to greater heights. Yet such a tragedy had now occurred. Fleke had met a cruel end, while Crown Prince Xue Qinghe was chatting and laughing with the murderer. How could that not infuriate him beyond measure?
Lang Lei naturally sensed the intense malice coming from not far away, but he did not care in the slightest. After all, too many people bore ill will toward him—so many that he could not even be bothered to pay attention. If he truly followed that long list and took revenge on every one of them, even as a Sea Ranger, he would probably be exhausted.
At last, after a long wait, a guard hurried over and informed Lang Lei that he could proceed to the imperial palace. Lang Lei curled his lips into a relaxed smile, then set off toward the palace with light steps.
He looked around at the decor with great interest, even blatantly treating Xue Ye on the throne and the surrounding ministers as though they were nothing more than insignificant background scenery.
To be honest, Lang Lei did not dislike the existence of leaders. On the contrary, he believed that most people needed someone to guide them forward and give them direction and goals. However, he deeply detested emperors, this particular kind of leader. In his eyes, emperors were not true leaders, but dictators.
A good leader should listen to the people's voices, care about their needs, and seek their welfare. But emperors often cared only about their own power and interests, treating the people as tools they could command at will. Lang Lei knew well the disastrous consequences such dictatorial rule could bring, especially when the emperor was incompetent. The harm such a ruler caused could never be resolved merely by killing a few people.
From the arrogant tyranny of the dandies at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the nobles' wanton oppression of commoners, Lang Lei could tell that Xue Ye was absolutely not a good emperor, much less an enlightened one. He could not help wondering how an existence like the Heaven Dou Empire had managed to endure until now in a world like Douluo Continent, where strength reigned supreme.
Lang Lei had also asked around. The emperor of the Star Luo Empire was a Titled Douluo, and when he used a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Empress Zhu, his combat power even approached that of a Super Douluo. But what about the Heaven Dou Empire? The entire royal family could not produce a single Titled Douluo, and even Soul Douluos were rare.
Had the Heaven Dou Empire's belief in imperial authority really penetrated people's hearts so deeply? Was there not even one person who would shout something like, "The blue heavens are dead; the yellow heavens shall rise"?
"How presumptuous! Why do you not kneel upon seeing His Majesty the Emperor?"
Seeing Lang Lei behave like this, how could Iskart let such an opportunity pass? He immediately shouted.
Lang Lei merely cast him a sidelong glance and ignored him.
"Lang Lei, do you know your crime?"
"Old Emperor, you certainly get straight to the point. But what crime have I committed?"
"How presumptuous!"
Hearing Lang Lei's disrespectful term, Xue Ye slammed his hand against the dragon throne. The two Soul Douluos guarding Xue Ye immediately rushed toward Lang Lei.
Yet before the two could even touch Lang Lei, their entire bodies were frozen into ice sculptures.
A wave of icy air spread through the hall as two women, one tall and one small, walked into the palace.
"You dare try touching him?"
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