Desperate Heavenly Dou Nobles

The sound of worship, like a mountain collapsing and a sea roaring, rose and fell within the hall.

Yan Lingji leaned against the imperial throne, the corners of her lips curling upward, her peach-blossom eyes filled with mockery.

"Rise."

As the words fell, everyone finally regained control over their bodies.

The nobles struggled to stand, their faces ashen; some of their legs were still trembling.

They looked at the languid woman on the throne, their eyes filled with terror, resentment, and unwillingness—yet they dared not utter another word.

Aside from those who had fainted on the ground from the pain of the Demon Pill, there were others who possessed stronger endurance.

They had not passed out from the brutal mental assault, but their faces were hideously twisted, their legs knotted as they forced themselves to stand.

"You..."

Having regained a modicum of freedom, a white-haired marquis finally could not hold back, speaking in a trembling voice.

"You... you demonic woman, how can you, a mere female, claim the title of Emperor?!"

The moment the words left his mouth, his right hand jerked upward, and with a crisp "slap," he struck his own face viciously.

Teeth mixed with blood flew out.

"Ah—!"

The marquis let out a miserable shriek, his left hand rising as well to deliver another blow.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

One strike after another, his face swelled up like a pig's head.

"Stop! I... I didn't mean that..."

But he could not stop himself.

On the high platform, Yan Lingji raised her hand, and from her slender, elegant fingers, thin threads of energy condensed.

The other ends of these threads were controlling the marquis, forcing him to beat his own face mercilessly.

Clearly, this marquis had a poor memory.

With so many others already in such a state, he had still abruptly stepped forward to show off his supposed courage.

Tsk, tsk.

A hint of killing intent flickered in Yan Lingji's eyes.

But to simply kill these nobles would be letting them off too easily.

Death, to them, would be a reward.

They must live a life worse than death from now on, forever trapped in regret.

Otherwise, Yan Lingji would not have merely planted various compulsions in their minds and stuffed their heads with so many things.

She had not turned them into mindless puppets, because that would truly be too kind to them.

For the sake of the common people, their continued existence was the only way to atone for their sins.

"Who else?"

Yan Lingji swept her gaze across the hall.

The hall was deathly silent.

Several nobles who had originally intended to step forward were now pale as sheets, biting their lips so hard they bled, not daring to speak a word.

"Very good."

Yan Lingji leaned back against the throne, nine snow-white fox tails swaying gently behind her.

"From today on, the Heaven Dou Empire changes its name."

"You may refuse to submit, but you had best keep it buried in your hearts."

"Because—"

She smiled faintly.

"You have already seen the fate of those who do not obey."

The hall was terrifyingly quiet.

Those nobles, court officials, and even the guards all lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze.

At the same time, "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

From outside the hall came a series of sharp, murderous shouts once more.

Groups of imperial guards charged in from the outside.

A glimmer of hope rose within the hearts of the gathered nobles, ministers, and even the Heaven Dou Emperor himself.

That was the Imperial Forbidden Army, three thousand strong.

Although Yan Lingji's terrifying methods had filled them with dread and fear just moments ago, she had already expended a great deal of power dealing with them; perhaps she was at the end of her rope by now.

Just as hope surged in their hearts, the programming in their minds activated once more.

Their hands moved involuntarily, striking their own faces with brutal force.

The intense pain twisted their expressions, causing teeth to shatter and blood to spray from their mouths.

They realized instantly that no matter what, they were still under her control.

Survival was what mattered most.

"Yo... Your Majesty, spare... spare us! We have no intention of rebelling."

"Empress, have mercy!"

They wailed in agony; as nobles, they had never endured such immense pain before.

"Heh, you had better just accept your punishment."

Yan Lingji remained unmoved, letting out a cold scoff.

"Sisters, it is your turn to act."

At that moment, eight figures identical to Yan Lingji appeared at the palace entrance.

"Go and have some fun with those fellows."

"I hope they are durable enough to play with."

"Heh, they are nothing more than toys."

Just as the Forbidden Army struggled to form a military formation and charged into the palace, pitch-black whips lashed out from the palace gates.

Each lash struck the squad leaders at the front, binding them tight before hurling them against the pillars to be lashed fast.

"Defend! Defend!"

Someone shouted, organizing a shield wall.

The shields snapped together rapidly, forming a wall of iron.

But massive stone pillars from inside the palace were hurled outward.

BOOM—!

The shield wall was shattered in an instant.

Some men were crushed into pulp on the spot.

More were sent flying by the terrifying shockwave, soaring in all directions like falling stars.

The defensive formation of the Forbidden Army was scattered in a heartbeat.

Every member of the Forbidden Army was struck with terror.

At this moment, six slender figures stepped out from the palace gates, each gripping a long, pitch-black whip.

"Sisters, let's see who can take down the most."

"Naturally."

Yan Lingji's clones giggled daintily.

Their figures flickered as they charged into the ranks of the Forbidden Army.

In an instant, the Forbidden Army's formation was completely routed.

"Insolent!"

A sound like clashing metal rang out.

High in the sky, an arrow tore through the air.

One of Yan Lingji's clones flicked her whip casually.

The long whip coiled around the arrow, and with a violent jerk, she sent it flying in the opposite direction.

In the distance, Yang Hai, commander of the Forbidden Army, had just loosed the arrow and was preparing to draw his bow again.

The arrow suddenly reversed course, streaking toward him.

"Sixth Spirit Skill: Shield Defense!"

Yang Hai was shocked, hastily deploying his sixth defensive spirit skill.

But the arrow carried terrifying power, piercing straight through his defense.

It slammed into his shoulder, pinning him and carrying him backward through the air.

"Bang!"

His entire body was pinned to the palace gate tower not far away.

"General! General!"

Everyone stared at the commander of the Imperial Guard in disbelief.

A level 76 Soul Saint, just like that, had been pinned to the high wall by a single arrow.

Yang Hai's expression turned ghastly; he reached out his right hand, attempting to pull the arrow from his shoulder.

At this moment, a long whip snaked in from the distance, coiling tightly around his neck.

With a violent yank.

"Puchi—"

He was forcibly ripped off the arrow, blood spraying everywhere.

Yang Hai let out a miserable shriek as he was flung through the air by the whip, crashing into the open ground before the Imperial Guards.

Head-first, he slammed heavily into the earth.

A foot stepped down onto his head.

He struggled frantically, trying to use his soul power to shake the foot away.

But that foot was like a mountain, unmoving.

A terrifying force surged forth, and his skull began to creak and groan, a sound that made one's skin crawl.

It felt as if it would be crushed to pieces the very next moment.

"Stop moving, or your head will be crushed by me."

The Yan Lingji clone giggled.

"General!"

Seeing their general treated in such a manner, the many Imperial Guards were consumed by rage.

Some, fearing no death, continued to charge toward Yan Lingji.

"General, your subordinates are quite brave."

"However, such loyalty is misplaced."

Yan Lingji raised her hand, and the long whip in her grasp lashed out fiercely.

"Pa—!"

Dozens, perhaps a hundred, Imperial Guards were sent flying by a single strike.

Their armor shattered, and they slammed into the surrounding city walls with a boom, embedded so deeply they could hardly be pried out.

Everyone stared at this scene in disbelief.

The surroundings were already filled with human-shaped craters.

Despair spread among the Imperial Guards.

"Stop!"

Yang Hai, the commander of the Imperial Guard pinned beneath her foot, stared at the ground, gritting his teeth.

"What... what exactly are you people trying to do?"

"What are we doing?"

The Yan Lingji clone looked down at him and chuckled softly.

"Naturally, we are changing the dynasty to ascend the throne as Empress."

"As the saying goes, the throne rotates; this year, it is our turn."

"You..."

Yang Hai was incredulous.

These women before him actually wanted to overthrow the dynasty and ascend the throne—and a woman at that, to become Empress.

What kind of joke was this?

There had never been an Empress in history.

"Very well, now you are a puppet as well."

Yang Hai wanted to say something more.

Suddenly, nine snow-white fox tails emerged from behind the Yan Lingji clone, and a pair of furry fox ears sprouted atop her head.

Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment.

The fox ears twitched slightly, and the fox tails swayed gently.

The eyes of the Yan Lingji clone suddenly flared with blue light.

Yang Hai felt his head grow heavy and dizzy, as countless foreign commands flooded into his sea of consciousness.

A long while passed.

The remaining thousand-odd Imperial Guards watched as their commander slowly stood up and knelt on one knee before the Yan Lingji clones.

"Imperial Guard Commander Yang Hai, pays respects to Her Majesty, the Empress!"

All the Imperial Guards were in disbelief.

"Imperial Guards, where are you? Drop your weapons!"

Yang Hai issued the order.

The Imperial Guards looked at one another in dismay.

"I repeat, all Imperial Guards, drop your weapons!"

Sparse, scattered sounds rang out.

Clang, clatter—

The sound of weapons hitting the ground was incessant.

The many Imperial Guards hung their heads in dejection and discarded their arms.

"Very good, that's settled."

The several Yan Lingji clones exchanged smiles and turned to walk toward the main hall.

Yang Hai also kept his head low, following behind them.

Upon entering the main hall, he saw numerous nobles and court officials all prostrate on the ground; some were even collapsed on the floor, which was covered in blood.

Even the Heaven Dou Emperor was prostrate on the ground.

Moreover, every single one of them was bruised and swollen, their faces covered in slap marks, looking like pig heads.

There were even some collapsed on the ground in pools of blood, and others standing while hunched over, clutching their groins.

He was bewildered, not knowing why things had turned out this way, but this only made him feel even more terrified of Yan Lingji.

On the throne atop the high platform sat a woman identical to the Yan Lingji clones.

The true Yan Lingji.

Beside her sat a graceful young girl with long brown hair, and next to her was a woman in an ink-wash dress, holding a long sword.

A terrifying pressure permeated the entire hall.

Clearly, the one sitting on the imperial throne, along with the eight identical women who had just attacked the Imperial Guards, was the true master.

Those eight from before were merely clones.

It sent shivers down his spine.

If the clones were this terrifying, what kind of Spirit Skill was this?

However, the conditioning in his mind triggered; upon entering, he couldn't help but kneel on the ground and shout toward Yan Lingji:

"Greetings, Your Majesty, the Empress!"

Every noble and minister present felt their hearts turn to ash.

The Imperial City Guards had been completely defeated.

This, the Heaven Dou Empire, was about to change masters.

Who could save the Heaven Dou Empire!?