The Sudden Sun Moon Coup

Xu Tianming had not expected Meng Hongchen to open with such explosive news.

"Is that true? Meng'er, don't tell me you're talking nonsense first thing in the morning just to scare me?"

"Of course it's true! Why would I lie to you, Brother Tianming? I heard this from Grandpa..."

As he listened to Meng Hongchen's account, Xu Tianming learned what had happened the previous night.

The Sun Moon Coup, which had only been briefly mentioned in the original work, had still taken place.

He simply had not expected it to come so suddenly, nor had he heard even the slightest hint of it the night before.

According to Meng Hongchen, an assassin at the level of a Soul Douluo had attempted to kill Xu Tianran last night. Fortunately, the guard at Xu Tianran's side had reacted swiftly and pulled him aside in time, allowing him to evade the fatal blow. The guard then subdued the masked assassin with overwhelming strength and, through interrogation, learned that he had been sent by the First Prince.

After receiving this intelligence, Xu Tianran had not said much. Instead, he immediately entered the palace to meet the Emperor, only emerging a full hour later.

No one knew what he and His Majesty had discussed in private, but after leaving the palace, Xu Tianran decisively ordered the powerful experts under his command to surround Prince Duan's Residence, where the First Prince lived, and launched a fierce, ruthless counterattack.

Everyone in Prince Duan's Residence, including Prince Duan himself, the First Prince, was branded a rebel and executed without exception.

Xu Tianran, who had led this slaughter, gathered the ministers early this morning and summoned them into the palace once more for morning court.

By the time Meng Hongchen reached this point, Xu Tianming's brows had drawn tightly together.

He was, after all, a prince. By custom, he had always attended major occasions such as morning court.

Yet this time, no one had informed him that court was being held!

If Meng Hongchen had not come to tell him, he would not even have known about it by now.

Without dwelling on it further, Xu Tianming directly took out his soul tool communicator and contacted Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming.

After two chimes, the call connected, and Kong Deming's steady voice came through.

"Tianming? What do you need from me so early in the morning?"

There was no trace of anything unusual in Kong Deming's tone, but Xu Tianming had long grown accustomed to his composure in the face of disaster.

"Uncle, you knew about what happened last night, didn't you?"

At that, Kong Deming fell silent for a moment before giving a muted "Mm."

"Has the matter been settled?"

"Xu Tianran has been named Crown Prince. Prince Duan's faction has been eradicated root and branch. Everything else remains as usual."

"Something this major happened, yet everything can still remain as usual. My second brother is quite capable... But there's something I'm very curious about. Why did Prince Duan choose to make his move last night?"

"Wait a moment. I'll ask around..."

After he spoke, the other end of the communicator fell silent for roughly fifteen minutes. When Kong Deming spoke again, Xu Tianming could clearly hear the anger in his voice.

"I found out. That beast who couldn't see the bigger picture deserved to die... Did you encounter a group of evil soul masters in the Evil Demon Forest yesterday?"

When his uncle mentioned evil soul masters, Xu Tianming instinctively turned and glanced at Zhang Lexuan, who was lying on the bed in the room.

"I did encounter them. Could it be..."

"That's right. The reason you encountered those evil soul masters in the Evil Demon Forest yesterday was because people from Prince Duan's faction leaked some of your information. Their aim was to use another's hand to kill you, to snuff out the uncontrollable you before you could grow. But after seeing you return safely yesterday, Prince Duan, who had endured for years, could no longer hold himself back. He simply copied the method your imperial father used to ascend the throne..."

Hearing the rest of Kong Deming's explanation, Xu Tianming broke out in a cold sweat.

Was this what it meant to be the strongest soul engineer in the Sun Moon Empire?

He could even casually speak of such a royal scandal without the slightest concern.

If an ordinary person dared to speak so bluntly, their entire clan would likely be wiped out.

After learning the full details, Xu Tianming exchanged a few more casual words with Kong Deming before ending the call.

The matter was indeed enormous, but it had nothing to do with him.

It could barely be considered good news.

He only hoped Xu Tianran still had some conscience and would keep the promise he had made. Otherwise, if he truly pushed Xu Tianming too far, he would have to consider staging a Fengtian Pacification Rebellion.

Star Luo Empire, a small border city.

After returning to the inn and waiting all night without Zhang Lexuan's return, Xuanzi began to worry again.

"Why hasn't that girl Lexuan come back yet? Could something really have happened to her?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! That girl is blessed with good fortune. She probably just hasn't recovered from her injuries yet. Should I wait a little longer?"

Just as Xuanzi was wavering, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the window.

Only the carrier pigeons carefully trained by Shrek Academy could make such a sound. Xuanzi immediately cast aside his other thoughts, went to the window, and removed the top-secret letter the pigeon had brought.

The contents were very simple.

The annual routine meeting of the Sea God Pavilion was about to be held. Unless they had urgent matters to attend to, the elders of the Sea God Pavilion were required to be present.

Xuanzi thought it over carefully.

Although Zhang Lexuan's fate was still unknown, he believed that girl was blessed with good fortune. Rather than stay here and wait for a few more days, it would be better to return first and attend the annual Sea God Pavilion meeting.

After all, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the decisions made at Shrek's Sea God Pavilion meetings could determine the future landscape of the Douluo Continent.

Moreover, the inner court students he had brought this time had been ambushed by evil soul masters and nearly wiped out. This showed that evil soul masters had grown even more rampant than in previous years. It was time to organize a major purge against them and restore peace to all ordinary soul masters across the continent.

As for what if Zhang Lexuan returned to the temporary base during the time he was back at Shrek Academy and could not find him?

Xuanzi did not even bother considering that question.

Zhang Lexuan was, after all, a Rank 72 Soul Sage. If she could not find him here, was she incapable of returning to Shrek Academy herself to find him?

Still, to be safe, before leaving, he left behind a secret letter in the room that only core members of Shrek Academy could understand. It briefly explained the situation and instructed Zhang Lexuan to return to Shrek as soon as possible after reading it.

After that, Xuanzi returned directly to Shrek Academy without looking back.

He needed to first plead guilty before the elders of the Sea God Pavilion and take responsibility for the tragedy caused by his negligence.

At the same time, he had to offer condolences and compensation to the families of those students who had sacrificed themselves for justice.

Mingdu, Prince Yan's Palace.

After treating Meng Hongchen to breakfast, Xu Tianming took the opportunity to ask what had been troubling him.

"Meng'er, did your grandfather tell you about what happened last night on his own initiative, or did you overhear it by accident?"