Captured a Prince! Prince Xue Xing Explodes with Rage!

Xue Beng's pack of lackeys, who usually threw their weight around relying on the title of a prince, had never seen such a formation.

The standard-issue armor worn by the Martial Soul Hall guards gleamed with a cold metallic light. Their movements were crisp and efficient, and as they leveled their spears in unison, a murderous aura surged toward the crowd.

In just one encounter, these fair-weather friends were tackled to the ground by the rushing soldiers, their cries for their fathers and mothers ringing out in a chorus.

Xue Beng's face turned deathly pale in an instant as two guards grabbed his arms from either side and hoisted him off the ground.

The sensation of weightlessness as his feet left the earth made him panic completely.

"Let me go! Do you know who I am?"

Xue Beng struggled violently, his voice shrill and grating.

"I am the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire! If you dare to touch me, do you want to be executed along with your entire clan?"

Some of the citizens on the street who had poked their heads out to watch, upon seeing the luxurious princely attire on Xue Beng, were so frightened that they pulled their heads back in.

In Heaven Dou City, a prince was the law.

However, the soldiers holding him remained expressionless, their grip not loosening in the slightest.

Dugu Yan crossed her arms, watching the scene with leisure, a curve of anticipation playing on her lips.

She loved watching idiots who bullied others based on their status get taken down a peg.

Ye Lingling stood beside her; though her face was obscured by a black veil, the worry and fear in her clear eyes had dissipated, replaced by a sense of stability and reassurance.

She watched the back standing at the forefront—broad and upright, holding up the sky for her and her mother.

Ye Shutang stood behind her daughter. Having seen more of the world than her child, she maintained a gentle and quiet posture, though her hands, tightly clasped in front of her, betrayed her inner turmoil.

Could things really be resolved so simply?

After all, the other party was a prince.

"The Fourth Prince?"

Qin Yao finally turned around and walked slowly toward the suspended Xue Beng.

His voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"I am the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall, Qin Yao."

This simple sentence exploded in Xue Beng's mind.

The Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall?

Though he was a wastrel, he was not entirely ignorant.

He knew very well what the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall represented.

That was the person most likely to inherit the power of Martial Soul Hall in the future, a status far higher than even Platinum Bishop Salas of Heaven Dou City.

Xue Beng stopped struggling, staring in disbelief at the youth who was a few years younger than himself.

He was actually the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall!

Qin Yao ignored his shock and continued:

"Ye Shutang is now a Red-Clad Archbishop of my Martial Soul Hall. Ye Lingling is also a member of my Martial Soul Hall."

The second piece of information made Xue Beng's head buzz, nearly causing him to stop thinking altogether.

A Red-Clad Archbishop?

That medical clinic owner who usually looked so gentle and weak was actually a Red-Clad Archbishop of Martial Soul Hall?

He had always assumed that the Nine Heart Begonia Family was dwindling and had long since lost their backing, which was why he dared to pressure them so unscrupulously.

After all that, he had been aiming his schemes at the top brass of Martial Soul Hall?

Cold sweat trickled down Xue Beng's temples.

"Even if you are the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, today, the Heaven Dou Empire must give my Martial Soul Hall an explanation."

Qin Yao's voice remained calm, but the weight of his words left Xue Beng unable to catch his breath.

He had elevated a personal conflict directly into a confrontation between two major powers.

Xue Beng was truly terrified.

He knew that if this matter reached the ears of his father, Emperor Xueye, or his eldest brother "Xue Qinghe"—who had always looked down on him—he would be in deep trouble.

Provoking the Holy Son and a Red-Clad Archbishop of Martial Soul Hall for the sake of a woman?

His father would surely break his legs!

"You... you..."

Xue Beng's voice trembled. He looked at the guard who had been intentionally left behind to deliver messages and roared with all his might, "Quick! Go to Prince Xue Xing's Manor! Find my uncle! Go!"

This was his only straw to clutch at.

The guard, as if granted amnesty, scrambled out of the encirclement and sprinted toward Prince Xue Xing's Manor.

Qin Yao did not stop him, even signaling for the guards to clear a path.

He was waiting for Prince Xue Xing's Manor to come.

The majesty of his status as the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall also needed to be established within Heaven Dou City.

Besides, if he didn't make a scene, how could he force Great Emperor Xueye to hand over the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?

Heaven Dou City, Prince Xue Xing's Manor.

Prince Xue Xing was leisurely sipping newly arrived fragrant tea, listening to a servant report on the trivial matters occurring throughout the city.

As the younger brother of Great Emperor Xueye, his status in Heaven Dou City was transcendent; apart from the Emperor and the Crown Prince, he didn't have to give face to anyone.

Just then, a servant ran in, looking flustered.

"Your Highness! It's bad! The Fourth Prince... the Fourth Prince has been detained by someone!"

Prince Xue Xing's hand, holding the teacup, paused, and his brows furrowed.

"What are you panicking for! Speak clearly, what is going on?"

It was that troublesome Xue Beng again, likely causing trouble in the city.

"It... it is the Prince's guard. He is outside the manor right now, saying he has an extremely urgent matter to report!"

"Bring him in!"

Soon, the guard who had escaped from the Ye Family Medical Clinic was brought in. The moment he saw Prince Xue Xing, he fell to his knees with a thud and cried out:

"Your Highness! Please, save the Prince! The Prince... he has been captured by people from Martial Soul Hall!"

"Martial Soul Hall?"

Prince Xue Xing slammed his teacup onto the table, splashing tea everywhere.

"Has Salas gone mad? Daring to touch a prince?"

"No... it is not Archbishop Salas," the guard explained incoherently. "It... it is the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall! He said... he said that Ye Shutang of the Ye Family Medical Clinic is a Red-Clad Archbishop of their Martial Soul Hall. The Prince... the Prince was disrespectful to the young lady of the Ye family, and he was taken down on the spot!"

"What!" Prince Xue Xing stood up abruptly, his face full of shock.

The Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall?

Ye Shutang is a Red-Clad Archbishop?

The barrage of information left him somewhat dazed.

On one hand, he was furious at that idiot Xue Beng for provoking the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall—that was the precious treasure of the Worship Hall lineage!

On the other hand, a fire of rage ignited from the bottom of his heart.

What a Martial Soul Hall!

What a Holy Son!

Even if Xue Beng was in the wrong first, he was still a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire! Detaining a prince in the middle of the street was simply trampling the face of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family into the dirt!

"Preposterous!" Prince Xue Xing roared, his voice echoing through the hall. "This is going too far!"

He certainly knew that if this matter reached Great Emperor Xueye, Xue Beng would definitely be punished. But as Xue Beng's only backer, he could not sit idly by.

The dignity of the imperial family could not be challenged!

"Men!" Prince Xue Xing ordered in a deep voice. "Assemble the manor guards and come with me to see which ignorant fool dares to lay a hand on my imperial nephew in Heaven Dou City!"

But that wasn't enough to be safe, so Prince Xue Xing continued:

"Go to Dugu Manor and invite Poison Douluo Dugu Bo to come!"