Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Council Hall.
The grand hall that once symbolized the empire's highest authority, always resplendent in gold and jade, was now as dim as a massive coffin that had just been nailed shut.
Heavy velvet curtains were drawn tightly closed, shutting out every trace of sunlight from outside.
A few eternal lamps struggled on in the corners, their sickly green flames flickering.
They cast long, twisted shadows from the pillars across the hall, like grinning, clawing Gui Mei.
Deep within the bedchamber, Xue Ye, a ruler of his generation, lay upon the dragon bed. His face was ashen, and the rise and fall of his chest was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Yet someone was sitting upon the dragon throne that represented the empire's supreme authority.
The Fourth Prince, Xue Beng.
He sat with one leg crossed over the other, even resting one foot atop the golden dragon-head carving on the throne's armrest, his posture lazy and unrestrained.
There was none of his usual timid, cowardly manner, none of the groveling and bowing whenever he saw someone.
He was playing with something in his hand.
It was a skull.
Bone-white, specially stripped and treated, smooth as jade, with deeply sunken eye sockets.
Deep within those hollow sockets, a faint ripple of cyan wind-attribute Soul Power seemed to remain. Under the sickly green lamplight, it looked especially desolate.
It was Feng Xiaotian's skull.
"Tut, tut. This is the so-called Innate Full Soul Power? This is the so-called genius?"
Xue Beng chuckled, gently stroking the crown of the skull with his fingertips as if caressing a lover's face. Yet his eyes held only cold mockery. "Looks like these bones aren't much harder than a beggar's by the roadside. They made the same crisp sound when they broke."
He