The Rising Sun Shakes the Imperial Palace

A mere seven Spirit Rings—why court death?

"I'll have to keep a low profile for the next ten days. That damn Great Soul Arena—once my Sun God Needle is charged again, you can all go meet your great-grandmother too!"

How could a faction without a Titled Douluo holding the fort dare act so arrogantly?

Chen Yumo put away the used Sun God Needle, swiftly relocated using Spiritual Detection and his Simulation Spirit Skill, then switched to an identity he had prepared long ago and concealed himself once more.

The Sun God Needle, which had originally given off a faint scorching aura, now looked no different from an ordinary iron ring.

Only the sun patterns etched across its surface, like flowing lava, vaguely spoke of its extraordinary nature.

Facing one seven-ring Spirit Saint and four five-ring Spirit Kings, Chen Yumo did not hesitate in the slightest. He directly pulled out the Sun God Needle and gave them a shot.

The slanted golden beam shooting upward directly melted all five of them. It then blasted through countless buildings along its path, even tearing off the roof of Heaven Dou City's tallest structure.

As for what the tallest building in Heaven Dou City was?

That was right—the Imperial Palace...

A massive mushroom cloud rose from the Imperial Palace like a sun ascending into the sky.

Everyone who saw that sun in the night seemed to see that seven-ring Spirit Saint's great-grandmother within it.

Imperial Palace, inner palace.

Xue Ye, who had been enthusiastically writhing atop a consort, was startled by the enormous mushroom cloud created by the Sun God Needle. After his little bird twitched, he immediately cosplayed an Ice Silkworm.

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!!!" Xue Ye shouted in panic.

The consort beneath him also let out a piercing, high-pitched scream, far louder than the sounds Xue Ye had made while writhing just moments earlier.

"Protect His Majesty!!"

At that moment, the entire Imperial Palace had also been alarmed by the sudden attack. Countless palace guards poured out from every direction and gathered outside the gates of the palace where Xue Ye rested.

Spirit Masters with powerful auras stood atop rooftops throughout the Imperial Palace, their dazzling Spirit Rings shining brilliantly beneath the night sky.

Elsewhere.

Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had been bent over his desk writing when the sudden explosion startled him so badly that he flung the brush from his hand.

The instant the brush flew away, eighteen Spirit Rings lit up behind him. Two figures, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, appeared without a sound. The thinner figure reached out and caught the brush before it hit the ground, while the fatter one stood protectively beside him, his face filled with vigilance.

Snake Lance Douluo—She Long.

Puffer Douluo—Ci Xue.

"Uncles, what happened?" Xue Qinghe rose to his feet with a wary expression and looked toward the Imperial Palace through the window.

There, the enormous mushroom cloud still radiated intense light and heat.

"Your Highness... it was an attack from a Titled Douluo..."

"Investigate it. Investigate it immediately!"

Daybreak arrived.

Because the main hall of the Imperial Palace had been blasted away by a single strike from the Sun God Needle, Xue Ye and the Heaven Dou Empire's officials could only hold court in a side hall.

Xue Ye sat at the very top, listlessly propping up his head with one hand. His eye sockets were sunken, dark circles surrounded his eyes, and his complexion looked so awful that he seemed half-dead already.

How could it not look awful?

Anyone would look no better than Xue Ye if they were in the middle of the important business of creating Life, were suddenly frightened limp by an explosion, then spent the entire night worrying in fear before having to drag themselves up for court the next day.

Not to mention that the old bastard had probably been poisoned by Qian Renxue for years already. His bodily functions had long begun to collapse.

This night's disturbance had merely exposed a tiny fraction of the hidden dangers within his body.

Xue Ye's complexion looked awful, and few of the ministers below looked any better.

How many years had it been? Heaven Dou City had gone so many years without suffering an attack, much less one that struck directly at the Imperial Palace. Was this just a slap on their asses?

This was clearly a slap across Xue Ye's face!

Of course, they all knew that last night's attack had been anything but simple. That grand and scorching terrifying aura had made them tremble in fear even from far beyond the Imperial Palace. How could they dare investigate it?

They should count themselves lucky if the owner of that aura did not come investigate them thoroughly instead!

Faced with Xue Ye's grim expression, these loafers who occupied their posts without doing any real work immediately stared at their noses, their mouths, and their hearts, their faces all screaming, Don't look at me, don't look at me, don't look at me...

When Xue Ye saw that every minister below had taken on this attitude, his already poor mood sent his blood pressure soaring even higher.

"Who can tell Us what exactly happened last night?!" Xue Ye slammed the armrest of his dragon throne, his aged roar echoing through the hall.

Ning Fengzhi sighed and gave Xue Ye a slight bow. "Your Majesty, this attack was likely not specifically aimed at the Imperial Palace."

At those words, the anger and unease in Xue Ye's heart eased somewhat.

But not by much.

If it had not been specifically aimed at the Imperial Palace, then it meant no powerful expert had set their sights on him, and he could still sleep soundly tonight.

If there truly was an expert capable of causing such massive destruction secretly preparing to kill him, then Xue Ye really would not be able to sleep.

The Empire's experts could not protect him at all times, while that expert only needed to come by now and then to see whether an opportunity had appeared. The energy and resources each side had to invest were completely unequal.

If such an expert specifically targeted him, he would have almost no chance of surviving.

Hearing that no one was trying to kill him, the tightly wound string in Xue Ye's heart immediately loosened.

After glancing at Ning Fengzhi and the sinister-looking Gu Rong behind him, Xue Ye no longer held the same anger he had shown the ministers earlier. He asked amiably, "Oh? Has the Imperial Preceptor uncovered some information?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ning Fengzhi nodded and began to speak unhurriedly.

"After the explosion occurred last night, Uncle Jian and Uncle Gu immediately sensed the fluctuation in the aura and rushed to the scene. Although the explosion took place at the Imperial Palace, the location from which the attack was launched was near the Great Soul Arena in the East District."

"According to the traces at the scene, the expert who launched the attack had not been aiming at the Imperial Palace. Quite a few buildings were pierced through by the attack along the way. It was only because the Imperial Palace was built from such sturdy materials that it was not penetrated, causing the explosive power to remain within the palace."

Xue Ye's expression froze, and his face began shifting from green to white like a chameleon.

What did that mean?

Because the materials used to build the Imperial Palace were too good, the palace had ended up being blown apart?

If the Imperial Palace had been built with inferior materials, the attack would have pierced through it instead, and it would not have suffered such heavy damage?

"According to Uncle Jian's investigation, it should have been a Titled Douluo who was provoked after leaving the Great Soul Arena and attacked in anger. Their hostility was not directed at the Imperial Palace or the imperial family." Ning Fengzhi continued speaking, but Xue Ye's expression was already becoming difficult to maintain.

So... after all that, We had spent the entire night playing mind games with empty air?