Why Was the Crown Prince Plotting Rebellion?

Left with no choice, Dai Mobai could only follow the eunuch to the Star Luo Emperor's study.

The eunuch's footsteps were light yet hurried. Dai Mobai followed behind him and yawned boredly.

"Your Highness, this servant takes his leave."

At the study's entrance, the eunuch bowed, then hurried away.

Dai Mobai watched the eunuch's back vanish at the end of the corridor before reaching out and pushing open the study door.

The study was quiet. The light from the Soul Tool lamps fell across the Star Luo Emperor's expressionless face.

"Father Emperor."

Dai Mobai walked to the desk and cupped his fists in salute.

The Star Luo Emperor sat in his chair without much expression, his fingers tapping against the desktop again and again.

The taps were quiet, but in the silence, they sounded especially distinct. Every tap seemed to strike Dai Mobai directly in the chest.

The air in the study grew heavy, as if filled with lead.

After a long while, the tapping stopped.

"Why was the Crown Prince plotting rebellion?"

The Star Luo Emperor finally spoke, but his very first words left Dai Mobai stunned.

"Why would Father Emperor say that?"

Dai Mobai met the Star Luo Emperor's gaze.

"You merely took a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest..."

The Star Luo Emperor spoke again, his tone so calm that neither joy nor anger could be heard within it.

"In no more than a month, Chen Hu, commander of the White Tiger Guard, along with more than forty White Tiger Guards under his command, jointly submitted a petition to follow you, the Crown Prince."

He paused, picked up the petition from the desk, and tossed it directly at Dai Mobai.

"They were even willing to give up their positions as Imperial Guards and become lowly guards of your East Palace. You have truly given me quite a surprise."

Dai Mobai caught the petition steadily and opened it.

It was densely covered in signatures. Chen Hu's signature was at the very front, crooked and unmistakably in his own handwriting.

After scanning it twice, Dai Mobai closed the petition.

"Father Emperor, those who win the people's hearts win the world. You can't stop people from running toward someone better, can you?"

Not only was he not frightened by the Star Luo Emperor's words, he even sounded somewhat helpless.

The moment those words left his mouth, the Star Luo Emperor's expression darkened further.

"They are Imperial Guards!"

He stared at Dai Mobai and spoke one word at a time.

"My soldiers!"

What did Imperial Guards represent? They were troops directly commanded by the emperor.

They were also elites among elites, the final line of defense at the emperor's side.

If this group collectively requested reassignment to the East Palace, what would the ministers at court think when word got out?

Would they think the Crown Prince intended to rebel, and that his time as emperor was over?

Looking at the Star Luo Emperor's gloomy face, Dai Mobai suddenly smiled.

"Wouldn't they become my people sooner or later anyway?"

He shrugged, looking utterly relaxed.

"Enough, Father Emperor. Stop pretending. If you were truly angry, you wouldn't have said so much to me."

The gloom on the Star Luo Emperor's face froze for an instant.

Dai Mobai met his eyes, understanding amusement glimmering in his own.

After living with this father emperor for so many years, he had long since figured out his temperament.

If he were truly enraged, the Star Luo Emperor would never give anyone a chance to speak.

The fact that he could still sit here tapping the desk to frighten someone meant that this anger was three parts genuine and seven parts an act.

Having been exposed so directly, the Star Luo Emperor did not feel embarrassed.

The gloom on his face peeled away like a mask, replaced by an approving nod.

"As expected of my son. Unmoved by favor or disgrace, you possess the bearing I had in my youth."

Dai Mobai tilted his head and asked curiously.

"When Father Emperor faced Grandfather Emperor's threats back then, were you this composed as well?"

A nearly imperceptible stiffness flashed through the Star Luo Emperor's eyes, but he immediately nodded as if nothing had happened.

"Of course."

His tone was assured and composed, his expression unchanged.

Back then, when the late emperor summoned him to the Imperial Study, he had dropped to his knees before the old emperor could even finish a sentence. His knees had hit the floor with remarkable decisiveness.

But only he and the late emperor knew of that incident. The late emperor was now in secluded death meditation, declaring that he would not emerge unless the empire faced destruction. That meant there was no second person in the world who could prove whether he had knelt back then.

So couldn't he say whatever he wanted?

When one traveled abroad, one's identity was whatever one claimed it to be.

"Oh."

Dai Mobai nodded, but his eyes were plainly suspicious as they swept over the Star Luo Emperor's face twice, making him somewhat uncomfortable.

"I have approved this matter."

The Star Luo Emperor cleared his throat and decisively changed the subject.

"Tomorrow, Chen Hu and the White Tiger Guard will report to the East Palace. You should move in as well. These people will be your foundation from now on, and I will no longer interfere."

Dai Mobai withdrew the suspicion from his gaze and bowed seriously.

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

"There is something else."

The Star Luo Emperor leaned back in his chair, his tone changing.

"I am very curious. What kind of soul beast made you give up a Void-Splitting Magic Sound Tiger whose age and type were both an excellent match for you?"

Chen Hu had already reported every detail of what happened in the Star Dou Great Forest, including Dai Mobai giving up the Soul Ring of that five-thousand-year Void-Splitting Magic Sound Tiger.

"It was still a Void-Splitting Magic Sound Tiger, except its age was—ten thousand years."

As he spoke, Dai Mobai circulated his Soul Power.

Soul Power surged, and rings lit up one after another beneath his feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, black.

The Star Luo Emperor's gaze passed over the first three rings, his expression remaining calm.

But when he saw the black Soul Ring that swallowed more than half the lamplight, his pupils suddenly contracted.

His hands beneath his sleeves trembled uncontrollably.

Throughout all of history, he had never seen any record of a Soul Ancestor absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Forget ordinary Soul Master geniuses—even the ancestor who founded the Star Luo Empire had been unable to accomplish such a feat during the Soul Ancestor stage.

Yet now, someone had done it, and that person was his son.

"Mobai truly takes after me."

The Star Luo Emperor stared at Dai Mobai's face illuminated by the black Soul Ring, his lips moving as he murmured softly.

Father Emperor really knew how to flatter himself.

Dai Mobai curled his lip and mocked him inwardly.

After a moment, the Star Luo Emperor reined in his emotions and resumed his steady demeanor.

But his gaze had changed. He was no longer a father proud of his son, but a true emperor.

"Can it be replicated?"

He asked the question.

The moment the words left his mouth, he shook his head inwardly.

There was no point asking. If a Soul Ancestor absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring could be replicated, the continent's universally acknowledged optimal Soul Ring configuration would not be two yellow, two purple, and five black—it would be two yellow, one purple, and six black.

Yet to the Star Luo Emperor's surprise, Dai Mobai actually nodded.

"Yes."

He slowly uttered a single word.

The expression on the Star Luo Emperor's face froze, and his mind seemed to stop for a beat.

"What did you say?"

His voice was low, carrying a calmness he was desperately trying to maintain, but his clenched fists still betrayed his current emotions.

"Father Emperor needn't doubt your ears."

Dai Mobai smiled, then repeated himself.

"I said yes."

The study fell silent for three breaths.

The Star Luo Emperor abruptly rose from his chair, knocking into the desk before him and making it let out a mournful creak.

All imperial dignity, all that restraint that kept joy and anger from showing on his face, was cast beyond the clouds.

"How?"

An uncontrollable urgency filled his voice as his eyes locked tightly onto Dai Mobai.