Mysterious Faction

A sliver of pale dawn appeared on the horizon.

Su Chen stood atop the steps, his blue robe stirring gently in the breeze.

Xue Qinghe stood at his side, his gaze fixed on the mansion gate.

The clatter of hooves rose from the street corner.

"Surround the place! Don't let a single fly escape!"

An order rang out from beyond the gate.

The corners of Xue Qinghe's mouth lifted, but his eyes were cold.

"His Highness Prince Xue Xing certainly arrived right on time—just in time to collect the bodies."

The gate was suddenly kicked open from outside.

Prince Xue Xing stood clad in gold-trimmed armor, one hand resting on his sword hilt, his face beaming with smug delight.

Hundreds of fully armed City Defense Army elites followed behind him, bristling with murderous intent.

"Qinghe! Don't be afraid! Your uncle has brought troops to rescue you!"

Prince Xue Xing swept his gaze over the scene, unable to hide his glee.

"Where are the rebels? Tonight, your uncle will tear those treacherous traitors limb from limb and keep the Crown Prince safe!"

His words died the moment he stepped into the courtyard.

Prince Xue Xing froze in place, his eyes fixed on the remains scattered across the ground.

Three thousand battle-hardened elite death warriors lay in pools of blood.

Even the several Soul Saints he had hired at great expense had become cold corpses.

Prince Xue Xing's legs trembled.

How was this possible?

Less than half an hour had passed since the attack began.

Even if every guard at the Crown Prince's Residence had joined in, they couldn't have killed all three thousand men.

And not a single sound of fighting had reached the outer city!

Xue Qinghe slowly descended the steps.

"Uncle, I'm grateful you brought your troops to my rescue."

"But these rebels were no match for us. The advisors in my residence have already wiped them all out."

"Why don't you take a closer look at the faces of these death warrior leaders? Do they seem familiar?"

Prince Xue Xing's face went pale, and he instinctively took half a step back.

Fear of his plot being exposed instantly overwhelmed his reason.

If the Emperor learned these death warriors had come from the Prince's Residence, he would surely face the death penalty.

He had to uproot the danger completely! Blame it all on the Crown Prince!

Prince Xue Xing's face twisted with malice as he suddenly drew the sword at his waist.

"Lies!"

"Crown Prince Xue Qinghe conspired with the rebels and plotted a coup. This prince has uncovered his treason!"

"Seize him! Dead or alive!"

The City Defense Army soldiers exchanged uncertain looks. Seeing the corpses covering the ground, not one dared step forward.

Prince Xue Xing clenched his teeth, pulled a black bone whistle from his robes, and blew hard.

A gale sprang up.

A gray-robed figure shot out from behind the crowd.

Moving on sheer physical speed, he left layer upon layer of afterimages in the air.

The gray-robed elder landed steadily in front of Prince Xue Xing.

His eyes were blood-red, and a revolting Blood Fiend aura radiated from him.

An eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo.

He was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Titled Douluo.

Xue Qinghe's gaze turned cold as he secretly circulated his Soul Power.

There was no trace of this man anywhere in the intelligence network.

"For the sake of the throne, you even dared to recruit an Evil Soul Master into Heaven Dou City?"

Prince Xue Xing burst into wild laughter.

"Winners become kings, losers become outlaws! The dead don't need to follow rules!"

"Senior Withered Bone, kill them both! Leave no survivors!"

Withered Bone stared at Su Chen atop the steps.

He licked his parched lips.

"You destroyed three thousand of my blood sacrifices. Today, I'll repay you with the lives of everyone in this residence!"

Eight Soul Rings rose around him.

Two yellow, two purple, and four black.

The eighth black Soul Ring erupted in a blinding, inky radiance.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Blood Fiend Devours Heaven!"

The three thousand corpses in the courtyard began to change.

The blood remaining in them rose as if drawn by an unseen force, becoming countless crimson threads.

They gathered overhead into a blood-red vortex that blotted out the sky.

Withered Bone floated at its center, like a vengeful ghost holding the power of life and death.

"Within my Blood Fiend Domain, every living thing is nourishment! Brat, your life is mine!"

A dense Blood Fiend aura engulfed the entire Crown Prince's Residence.

The crimson vortex slowly descended, its terrifying pressure capable of corroding everything in its path.

Hidden in the shadows, Gui Mei grunted as the Blood Fiend aura nearly scattered his black mist.

The City Defense Army soldiers fared even worse. Their legs gave way, and they collapsed in droves.

Soul Power flowed sluggishly through Xue Qinghe's meridians.

He was just about to charge forward and fight to the death.

A hand pressed against his shoulder, shielding him from the pressure.

Su Chen looked up at the crimson vortex bearing down on them.

His expression grew more serious.

His cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Fighting an Evil Soul Master Soul Douluo who had sacrificed three thousand lives was no easy feat.

The Purple Thunder Spirit Sword appeared in his palm.

Purple lightning patterns on the blade leaped wildly.

Su Chen gripped the sword in both hands and pushed his Icefire Chaos Sword Body beyond its limits.

"Break!"

A streak of Purple Thunder Sword Qi shot into the sky, cleaving toward the crimson vortex.

The two collided.

A violent shockwave exploded through the air.

The crimson vortex stalled for only an instant before swallowing the Purple Thunder Sword Qi.

Countless blood threads lashed back along the sword energy, clinging to Su Chen's wrist like a festering wound.

Bone-chilling cold drilled into his meridians.

Su Chen grunted.

His feet slid backward despite his efforts.

With each step, the stone tiles beneath him crumbled to dust.

He retreated five steps before barely managing to steady himself.

His wrist had already turned charred black.

Withered Bone hovered in the air, his hands rapidly forming seals.

"You ignorant brat! You dare withstand my Blood Fiend aura head-on?"

The crimson vortex swelled again, transforming into a blood-red hand that came crashing down.

Xue Qinghe's eyes were filled with anxiety.

"Su Chen! Don't push yourself!"

Pure Light Soul Power gathered in his palm as he prepared to reveal his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul and fight to the death.

Su Chen plunged his sword into the ground behind him.

The blade bent into an arc.

He braced himself against the crushing weight of the blood-red hand.

A trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"It's not your turn to fight yet."

Su Chen wiped the blood from his mouth.

He closed his eyes, sending his spiritual power straight into his sea of consciousness.

[You observed the method of gathering Blood Fiend energy and discerned the essence of evil aura.]

[Combining it with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, you achieved a breakthrough in comprehension!]

[You created a sword art: Purplecloud Demon-Suppressing Divine Thunder!]

His eyes snapped open.

Their depths brimmed with a sea of purple lightning.

Su Chen drew out his sword, abandoned his defense, and transformed into a bolt of thunder, charging straight at the blood-red hand in the air.

"Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity, Icefire Body Protection!"

Braving the corrosive Blood Fiend aura, Su Chen pierced through the blood-red hand and reached Withered Bone.

Withered Bone's face changed drastically.

"Madman!"

He tried to retreat.

Su Chen gave him no chance.

The Purple Thunder Spirit Sword, carrying an aura of pure Yang, came slashing down.

Purplecloud Demon-Suppressing Divine Thunder erupted along the blade.

The Blood Fiend shield surrounding Withered Bone melted in an instant, like snow beneath the warm sun.

The blade swept across Withered Bone's neck.

Lightning and fire intertwined.

His head shot into the sky, while the rest of his body turned into a wisp of smoke in midair.

Not a single trace remained.

Su Chen fell from the sky.

He dropped to one knee and used his sword to hold himself upright.

He gasped for breath.

A tearing pain ripped through his meridians.

The battle had drained every last bit of spiritual energy from his body.

Withered Bone's death caused the crimson vortex to vanish without a trace.

The front courtyard returned to calm.

Prince Xue Xing stood with his mouth agape, his sword falling from his hand.

His strongest trump card.

Dead?

An eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo had actually been killed by a brat!

Prince Xue Xing collapsed in despair, his knees trembling.

"Qinghe! I'm your own uncle!"

"It was all a misunderstanding! That Evil Soul Master bewitched me!"

"Give your uncle a chance to live! I'll never interfere in state affairs again!"

Xue Qinghe stepped forward and looked down at him.

"Bringing troops to the Crown Prince's Residence and conspiring with an Evil Soul Master—every one of those crimes is punishable by death."

"The tumor festering in the Heaven Dou Empire should have been cut out long ago."

Su Chen gripped his sword and slowly rose to his feet.

He was about to walk toward Prince Xue Xing.

Suddenly, space twisted without warning.

A suffocating, terrifying pressure descended upon the courtyard.

It was more than ten times stronger than Withered Bone's.

A pitch-black fissure split open in space.

From deep within it came a presence that was sacred, yet unfathomably sinister.

The two contradictory auras intertwined, making the souls of everyone present tremble.

A deathly pale hand reached through the fissure.

It seized Prince Xue Xing by the collar.

Xue Qinghe's face changed dramatically.

"Who is it?!"

A low, cold laugh came from the crack.

There was no answer.

The white hand gave a forceful tug.

Prince Xue Xing screamed as he was dragged into the spatial rift.

Su Chen's brow furrowed.

He endured the agonizing pain in his meridians and sent out a slash of sword energy.

The sword energy struck the edge of the rift, vanishing like a mud ox entering the sea without so much as a ripple.

The spatial rift quickly closed.

Prince Xue Xing and that ghastly pale hand disappeared into thin air.

Only the City Defense Army's elite remained in the courtyard, scared out of their wits.

Their weapons lay scattered across the ground as they fell to their knees in unison and kowtowed.

"Spare us, Your Highness!"

"We were only following orders! We didn't know the prince was plotting treason!"

Xue Qinghe looked away.

His expression shifted between light and shadow.

"The ignorant are not guilty."

"Prince Xue Xing colluded with an Evil Soul Master and raided the Crown Prince's Residence at night. He fled to escape punishment."

"Seal off the scene at once and report to the emperor."

The City Defense Army, granted a reprieve, scrambled away on hands and knees.

In the shadow of a corner,

Gui Mei appeared without a sound.

He looked at Su Chen's pale face.

"Your Highness, how badly are you hurt?"

"Your subordinate was locked in place by that spatial pressure just now, completely unable to move. That power was beyond anything the Heaven Dou Empire could possess."

Su Chen sheathed the Purple Thunder Spirit Sword.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I'll live."

"The force that took Xue Xing is no ordinary one. It seems the waters in Heaven Dou City run even deeper than we thought."

Xue Qinghe came to Su Chen's side.

He reached out to steady his swaying body.

His eyes were full of worry.

"Xue Xing got away. What about Father..."

"Let him go."

Su Chen leaned on him and steadied himself.

"The courtyard is full of hard evidence of treason. Even if the emperor has his doubts, Xue Xing won't dare show his face again."