Silence blanketed the grand hall. Originally, this should have been a scene where Lang Lei stood under armed guard on the side to face judgment, but right now, only an ashen-faced Xue Ye and trembling ministers remained. As for Xue Xing and Xue Beng, they knelt in the center of the hall like two startled rabbits, their bodies shaking slightly.
Everyone's gazes converged on Xue Ye, whose expression was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it. Upon learning the cultivation realms of Snow Empress and Ice Empress, the princes and nobles present, including Xue Ye himself, could not help but turn pale with shock.
Xue Ye inwardly bewailed his bitter fate, unable to fathom how that fellow Xue Beng had managed to provoke such terrifying figures. One of those two women was simply the only peerless douluo on the entire continent besides the existing three! The other was no slouch either—a super douluo, and at level ninety-eight to boot! As for the princes and high officials currently in the hall, let alone putting Lang Lei on trial, he regretted coming here to target Lang Lei so much he wanted to die. He only wished he could fly home right this instant and give his own unfilial descendant a severe thrashing.
Which of the people present wasn't a seasoned veteran who had spent many years navigating officialdom? Most of them hadn't reached their current positions through genuine talent and learning, but rather through scheming, backstabbing, and forming cliques for personal gain. Naturally, they understood the implications of a being like a peerless douluo.
This was the absolute apex of strength on the continent, someone they would usually trip over themselves to suck up to! Or rather, even if they wanted to cozy up, they lacked the proper channels altogether. Yet now, because of their own junior, they were forced to face such a behemoth. What on earth were they supposed to do?
Yet, the person suffering the most at this very moment was undoubtedly Xue Ye himself. After all, everything started because of his son, Xue Beng. If he couldn't properly resolve this matter, his position would likely be compromised as well.
Xue Ye saw things crystal clear like a mirror. He knew full well that Xue Beng had started a conflict with someone else again today, and he was even well aware that Xue Xing had rushed over to shield the other party. Still, he simply hadn't cared. After all, this brat Xue Beng gave him a headache every single day, bickering with one person today and starting disputes with another tomorrow, even crossing paths with certain ministers. However, everyone was constrained by Xue Beng's special status and found it difficult to make an issue of it, while Xue Ye naturally couldn't be bothered to meddle in such trivial matters. Besides, he still had his good-for-nothing younger brother to clean up these messy situations.
Xue Ye could certainly tell that Xue Xing was intentionally using Xue Beng to challenge Xue Qinghe. He was actually quite happy to see this happen; even though Xue Beng was his own biological son, he didn't want to see any single faction grow overwhelmingly dominant, as that would be severely detrimental to his own authority. Therefore, when listening to the reports earlier today, he hadn't bothered to listen through to the end, knowing only that this brat Xue Beng had gone looking for trouble once more. Yet who could have predicted that this time, the brat had poked a peerless douluo! This was truly stirring up a hornet's nest! And what was even more life-threatening was that there wasn't just one! He had also dragged in and infuriated a top-tier super douluo as well!
The moment Lang Lei spoke those words just then, Xue Ye felt his vision suddenly go black, as though the entire world were collapsing in an instant. His body swayed involuntarily, and he nearly collapsed onto the floor unconscious.
Right now, Xue Ye's heart was filled with terror. He didn't dare let Lang Lei stay a moment longer in the grand hall, because there was no longer anyone here capable of keeping the two women behind Lang Lei in check. In other words, even if Lang Lei wanted to execute him on the spot and then swagger away, he would be completely powerless to resist.
Thinking up to this point, Xue Ye couldn't help but shiver all over, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. What on earth was he keeping him here for? Did he feel like he had too long to live?
Xue Ye naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Lang Lei's words. He knew the Heaven Dou Empire wasn't Lang Lei's only option, and that the Star Luo Empire was equally within his consideration. In fact, Xue Ye had always harbored concerns regarding his own strength; after all, he was not a titled douluo, which made him appear slightly weaker in his contests with the Emperor of Star Luo.
If not for the powerful Spirit Hall standing in the middle, coupled with the Heaven Dou Empire's massive population and close ties to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Heaven Dou Empire probably would have been annexed by the Star Luo Empire long ago. Even now, the Heaven Dou Empire often found itself in a position of weakness when facing the Star Luo Empire. As the saying went, "A weak nation has no diplomacy," something Xue Ye felt deeply in his bones.
The moment he thought of this, Xue Ye didn't dare let his mind wander further. Various terrifying scenarios kept flashing through his mind. If brawls between juniors like this were to cause a conflict between two mighty nations—the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire—then the Heaven Dou Empire would plunge into a massive crisis. Both empires possessed vast territories and formidable military might; once a war broke out, the consequences would be simply unthinkable.
Furthermore, when facing the Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire did not hold many advantages. Spirit Hall's Angel Douluo and Sea God Island's Sea God Douluo were both peerless douluo, but they had always lived in seclusion, held no interest in secular affairs, and were even less likely to intervene in such inter-state disputes. Although the previous generation's Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen possessed formidable strength, he had long since gone missing, and the Clear Sky Sect had always maintained close ties with the Star Luo Empire, making it hard to expect them to stand on the side of the Heaven Dou Empire.
To make matters worse, that freak who possessed level-twenty-nine soul power at age six, with his first two soul rings both being thousand-year spirit rings, was undoubtedly a terrifying existence. Such talent and strength were exceedingly rare across the entire Douluo Continent. Xue Ye couldn't help feeling a chill wash over him, feeling as though his imperial throne was already swaying precariously and might be toppled at any moment.
"When you guys came looking to me to get justice for yourselves just now, weren't you all articulate and full of words? Why are you all struck dumb now?!" The more Xue Ye thought about it, the angrier he grew. He slammed a heavy palm onto the dragon throne and roared. Yet the princes and nobles down below merely shivered like quails frightened out of their wits, lowering their heads one by one without daring to utter a single sound.
They did indeed wield a considerable amount of resources in their hands, and even possessed a certain degree of authority. Yet compared to a peerless douluo and a super douluo, these so-called resources and power were simply trivial and completely beyond comparison!
Authority? For a peerless douluo and a super douluo, their own personal strength was already a supreme form of authority! Not to mention that both empires had corresponding laws stating that if high-level spirit masters were willing to pledge allegiance, the empires would not hesitate to bestow peerages and corresponding authority upon them.
As for the existence of these two, what sort of noble rank could possibly match them? Direct conferment of a royal title? Or should Xue Ye simply yield the throne beneath his own backside?
Resources? As long as a peerless douluo or super douluo issued a single command, countless individuals would scramble to offer up all kinds of resources, terrified of being left behind.
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