Prince Xue Xing Reduced to a Commoner, Joining the Heaven Dou Royal Team Through Connections?

Although Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa were strong, they were nowhere near as overbearing and tyrannical as Du Busi.

Moreover, as one of the Upper Three Sects,

the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's conduct was bound by sect rules and the rules of the continent's Soul Master world.

When dealing with the Heaven Dou royal family, they had always favored gentler methods,

putting cooperation first. They would never disregard the royal family's dignity as completely as Fang Fan did.

But Fang Fan belonged to no sect and was bound by no rules.

He had no need to care about the royal family's dignity, which was why he could act so recklessly.

And Xue Ye could only swallow this humiliation.

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her eyes to look at Fang Fan, who was leaning against her shoulder and already letting out soft snores.

Then she looked up at Prince Xue Xing, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling.

After a moment of silence, she raised her head toward Xue Ye and said calmly,

"Then strip him of his title and reduce him to a commoner."

"How dare you!"

Prince Xue Xing abruptly raised his head, his face filled with disbelief.

Reduced to a commoner?

He was a dignified prince of Heaven Dou, Xue Ye's younger brother,

a man second only to the emperor and above countless others in the Heaven Dou Empire.

This girl wanted to reduce him to a commoner with a single sentence?

He glared furiously at Zhu Zhuqing and opened his mouth to roar,

Boom!

A terrifying pressure crashed down like an invisible sledgehammer.

It slammed Prince Xue Xing's entire face directly into the dirt.

The sounds of cracking stone slabs and his nose bridge snapping rang out at once.

Prince Xue Xing's face was buried in broken stone and mud. His limbs twitched a few times before falling still.

"Impudent."

Du Busi withdrew his finger, his voice as calm as if he were scolding a disobedient guard dog.

Xue Ye watched as someone smashed his own younger brother's face into the ground.

The smile at the corner of his lips froze for an instant before quickly returning to normal.

He adjusted his crooked Nine Dragon Crown and straightened his back.

With a stern expression, he looked at Prince Xue Xing, whose face had been pressed into the soil, and declared in a tone so impartial it was nearly cruel,

"Prince Xue Xing, Xue Beng was spoiled rotten by you.

Had you not indulged his every whim and granted his every request,

he would not have developed such lawless behavior, nor would he have committed such an absurd act today!

As his imperial uncle, you bear an inescapable responsibility for failing to discipline him.

Effective immediately, your princely title is revoked. You are reduced to a commoner!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, every word ringing with force.

It was as though this had been a decision he had reached after deep consideration,

rather than him being frightened into personally stripping his younger brother of his title by a single look from Du Busi.

Prince Xue Xing barely managed to raise half his face from the mud.

Upon hearing those words, his eyes rolled back. He fainted from rage on the spot and collapsed back into the mud.

"Fine."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and turned her gaze toward Dugu Bo, who was still kneeling nearby.

"Dugu Bo will also be removed from his position as an elder of Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

After saying that, she paused, turned to Fang Fan leaning against her shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and asked,

"Should we join the Royal Academy?"

Fang Fan slightly opened one eye against her shoulder, a lazy curve forming at the corner of his lips.

"Of course we should."

Heaven Dou Royal Academy had simulated cultivation grounds,

a royal library, and all kinds of resources. More importantly,

Qian Renxue was there.

There was no reason not to come.

"Mm. We'll also be joining Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Zhu Zhuqing turned toward Xue Ye and relayed Fang Fan's meaning word for word.

Then she thought for a moment and added two more words.

"That's all."

"Done!"

Without another word, Xue Ye immediately issued an order.

Xue Beng's corpse was to be brought back to the palace for burial. Prince Xue Xing was stripped of his title, reduced to a commoner, and expelled from the princely residence effective immediately.

Dugu Bo was removed from his post as a consecrated elder of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

He then announced on the spot that Fang Fan, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong had officially become core students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

They would receive the best treatment in all things.

After finishing all this, he clasped his hands toward Fang Fan. That stiff yet courteous smile remained on his face as he took his leave alongside the three chief education committee members.

The instant he turned around, the corner of his eye twitched.

Beneath that smiling mask, the pain of losing his son and the sense of humiliation were savagely gnawing at his insides.

Yet he never allowed that hatred to rise to his face.

When the three chief education committee members followed Xue Ye away, their steps were far lighter than when they had arrived.

They had thought they were about to face a bloodbath, only to discover that as long as His Majesty the Emperor was willing to bow his head, nothing would happen.

Before leaving, Meng Shenji turned back and glanced at the white-clothed youth slumped against the girl's shoulder, drunk into unconsciousness. A complicated look flashed through his cloudy eyes.

This student had killed a prince on his first day of enrollment, demoted a prince, and removed a Titled Douluo from his position as a consecrated elder.

He had taught for his entire life, but this was the first time he had ever seen a student like this.

Prince Xue Xing was stripped of his purple robes and escorted out of the princely residence.

The vermilion gates slammed shut behind him. The gilded plaque still shone brilliantly, but it no longer had anything to do with him.

A former prince reduced to a commoner had neither power nor influence. He could stir up no trouble and seek no revenge.

He could only drag away legs that still trembled from the crushing pressure and vanish from everyone's sight.

Fang Fan did not spare him another glance.

A discarded chess piece was not worth wasting his gaze on.

Dugu Bo climbed out of the rubble and dusted off his dark green robe. His sallow face was filled with the dazed relief of having survived a disaster.

He had thought he would either die today or lose a layer of skin. Instead, he had merely lost the empty title of consecrated elder. His soul bones had not been touched, and his medicinal garden had not been seized.

He hastily clasped his hands, intending to slip away.

"I'll come find you again."

Fang Fan leaned against Zhu Zhuqing's fragrant shoulder, his eyelids half-lowered. He said it as casually as if arranging a meal.

Dugu Bo's lifted foot froze in midair. A chill shot up his spine from his tailbone to the back of his head.

What did this demon want now?

He quickly reviewed every bad deed he had committed in his life.

After confirming that, aside from standing up for Prince Xue Xing, he had not offended this fiend in any other way,

he decisively transformed into a streak of dark green light and shot into the sky, flying even faster than when Spirit Hall had hunted him down.

He hoped he would never see that face again for the rest of his life.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy completed enrollment for the three of them.

The academic affairs teacher's hands trembled throughout the entire process.

He had personally witnessed Xue Beng being stabbed through the heart, Prince Xue Xing being demoted, and Dugu Bo being removed from office.

Now, facing this white-clothed youth reeking of alcohol and leaning against a girl's shoulder, too lazy even to open his eyes, he barely dared to breathe.

Once the forms were completed and the seals stamped, three keys to luxurious suites were respectfully offered with both hands, as though he were receiving an emperor traveling incognito.

Zhu Zhuqing accepted the keys and supported Fang Fan as they headed toward the dormitories. Ning Rongrong followed behind, spinning her key.

Watching the two pressed close together from behind, she bit her lip and quickened her pace to catch up.

At dawn the next day, Heaven Dou Royal Team's training grounds.

Sunlight streamed through the glass dome onto the polished wooden floor, where tiny motes of dust drifted in the air.

The first team's members gathered in groups of two and three around the edge of the field, their discussions rising one after another.

"I heard three new people joined our first team!"

"A drunkard and two girls. Freshmen who entered the first team on their first day of enrollment."

"How can they parachute into the first team without any background?

Which one of us didn't fight our way up from the second team match by match?"

Captain Yu Tianheng stood at the front with his arms crossed and his brows slightly furrowed.

As a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he was steady and taciturn, and he had always disliked people who relied on connections.

Vice-Captain Dugu Yan stood at his side, her dark green hair tied in a high ponytail. Her emerald snake eyes swept coldly over the murmuring teammates.

"Captain, we absolutely cannot let them ruin the first team's reputation!

We earned our name through hard-fought battles.

Why should three people who have not even passed an assessment get to enjoy the rewards without earning them?"

One team member stepped forward, his tone indignant.

"Mm."

Dugu Yan nodded.

"If they lack the strength, then naturally they cannot stay."

She turned toward Yu Tianheng and added,

"I mean if they lack the strength."

Her meaning was clear. If they truly had the ability, that was another matter.

Though she had her reservations, she would not blindly deny the facts because of personal grievances.

Yu Tianheng fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding. His gaze swept across every team member present.

"The first team does not accept trash.

Whether they have the strength will be clear once they step onto the field.

If they truly have what it takes, they can stay.

If they got in through connections, I'll personally go to the education committee and have them sent elsewhere."