Half a month later.
The imperial palace of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Emperor Xue Ye looked at the haughty Cen Yu before him and the few terrifying figures at his side. His expression grew grave as he asked, "Lord Cen Yu, what do you mean by this?"
"You brought people into the palace and killed my guards. Are you declaring war on the Heaven Dou Empire?!"
At this, Cen Yu chuckled. "Your Majesty, Emperor Xue Ye, how can you put it that way?"
"On the contrary, it's precisely out of respect that I came here."
As he spoke, he raised a hand and tossed a corpse out of his storage space.
"Take a look. Does he look familiar? He's one of your Heaven Dou Empire's soldiers, isn't he?"
Emperor Xue Ye glanced at the body, then nodded in confusion. "This is?"
At Cen Yu's signal, Yue Guan gave a cold snort and recounted what had happened earlier in Broken Cloud Town.
"What?!" Emperor Xue Ye slammed his hand on the table, his face full of bewilderment.
At the same time, he quickly began thinking of a way out.
That fool Xue Xing! Those few remote cities were already close to Spirit Hall, and whenever trouble arose, their people went to Spirit Hall for help. So what if they believed in Cen Yu?
And yet he'd not only sent people to wipe out the Martial Soul Branch Hall, he'd even killed civilians.
Did Xue Xing really think those major sects were stupid enough to help him take on Spirit Hall?
Just then, Xue Qinghe—Qian Renxue in disguise—burst in with a group of people. The moment she saw the scene, she rushed to stand in front of Emperor Xue Ye.
"Please forgive me, Father! I'm late in coming to your aid!"
As she spoke, she exchanged a glance with Cen Yu.
At the sight of her, some of Emperor Xue Ye's anger subsided. He looked at his son with relief.
"It's fine. Let me introduce you."
He pointed to the young man in front of him. "This is Lord Cen Yu from Spirit Hall. You've met him before, I believe."
Xue Qinghe nodded and cupped her hands toward Cen Yu. "It's been a while. Since we last met in Spirit City, your cultivation has advanced again."
"But you came to visit the Heaven Dou Empire without even giving us a heads-up. This scene is rather inappropriate, don't you think?"
She'd been right after all. Deliberately letting Xue Xing stir up trouble had indeed led to disaster.
At that, Cen Yu gave Xue Qinghe a half-smile. "Then I suppose I was a little discourteous. I'll be sure to give you notice next time~"
He turned to Emperor Xue Ye. "Your Majesty, the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall have always been on good terms."
"This was merely Prince Xue Xing's personal doing. But the Heaven Dou Empire acknowledges its own responsibility, and is willing to hand over Xue Xing and offer some compensation."
"What do you think?"
At this, Emperor Xue Ye's expression immediately darkened.
Xue Qinghe hurriedly leaned close to his ear and said, "Father, this is already the best possible outcome."
"All four people at Cen Yu's side are Titled Douluo. If we fight now, we have no chance of winning."
"Besides, when the earthquake happened earlier, the empire didn't send anyone to help with disaster relief. Spirit Hall was the one that went."
"And now Uncle has destroyed the Martial Soul Branch Hall. If we don't punish him, we'll lose the people's support and undermine the empire's very foundations."
"..."
How could Emperor Xue Ye not understand what Xue Qinghe was saying? Xue Xing had made such a foolish move that there was no way to protect him, even if he wanted to.
Though the empire had a million soldiers, and on the surface had no reason to fear war with Spirit Hall, in truth, what could a million soldiers do against a Titled Douluo? If a Titled Douluo wanted to assassinate someone or leave, no one could stop him.
After all, no Titled Douluo would be foolish enough to stand still and fight a million soldiers, would he?
After thinking it over for a while, Emperor Xue Ye finally gave in.
Compared with the empire's foundations, Xue Xing was something he could only give up.
He slowly began, "Lord Cen Yu is right."
"Qinghe, issue my decree: Prince Xue Xing secretly mobilized troops out of personal resentment, leaving the people of an entire region in misery. Effective immediately, strip him of his title and reduce him to a commoner. Hand him over to Spirit Hall for judgment."
"As for the compensation to Spirit Hall, you may decide what to offer."
At his words, Xue Qinghe dropped to one knee. "Your son obeys!"
Afterward, Cen Yu and the others followed Xue Qinghe all the way to Prince Xue Xing's residence.
Seeing the tightly shut gates, Xue Qinghe gave a cold snort and turned to order her subordinate, "Kick the gates open!"
"Yes!"
Two Royal Knights stepped forward in response and smashed the heavy gates open with a thunderous kick.
Immediately afterward, squads of Royal Knights poured inside and surrounded the entire estate in the blink of an eye.
Hearing the commotion, Xue Xing's heart lurched. He hurriedly strode out.
When he saw Xue Qinghe at the head of the group, his expression immediately darkened. "Your Highness, Crown Prince, what's the meaning of bringing so many people here?"
At this, Xue Qinghe couldn't be bothered to answer his question. "By His Majesty's decree, Prince Xue Xing secretly mobilized troops and acted recklessly, bringing disaster upon the people of his territory."
"Effective immediately, your title as prince is stripped, and you are reduced to a commoner! Guards, seize him!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, two figures pinned Xue Xing firmly in place.
He was just about to struggle when his heart suddenly gave a jolt.
That feeling was... a Titled Douluo?!
A wave of overwhelming fear washed over him.
Before Xue Xing could shout, his mouth was stuffed.
"Mm!!! Mm!!!"
Cen Yu chuckled and said to Xue Qinghe, "Thank you, Your Highness~"
As he spoke, he leaned close to the person in front of him. "Senior Sister, I helped you take care of a problem this time. You owe me one~"
At this, Xue Qinghe chuckled. "We'll talk about it later."
"Fine~"
With that, the young man waved to Gui Mei and Yue Guan, who were holding Xue Xing down. "Take him along. We're going to collect interest."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Cen Yu looked at the magnificent sect in the distance, glittering from end to end and making no secret of how rich it was.
He asked thoughtfully, "Since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is so wealthy, it shouldn't be unreasonable to ask for a little more compensation, right?"
As he spoke, the young man drove the long spear in his hand into the ground.
"Ghost Domain!"
"Boom—!"
In an instant, the sky and earth changed color. Countless Fierce Ghosts, accompanied by a strange mist, surged toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
At the sight, Gui Mei's mouth twitched. "Xiaoyu, you look like you're planning to wipe them out."
Still, this ability really was powerful. If you set aside the Titled Douluo on both sides, Cen Yu alone could destroy the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
At this, Cen Yu chuckled. "Whether I wipe them out depends on their attitude~"
"If they don't know how to behave... then I'll just have to inherit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's entire estate~"
But Ning Rongrong and Oscar should both be in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect right now, shouldn't they?
If they wanted to avenge Xiao Wu, then a kind person like him~ would have no choice but to send them off to reunite with her~
Thinking of this, whether from excitement or something else, Cen Yu covered his face and laughed eerily.
At the sight, the others beside him couldn't help shivering.
Good heavens, what had this kid thought of now? How could he laugh like that?
Before you continue