Tyrant Douluo

"Then may I ask what title Your Excellency has chosen...?"

"Tyrant."

When Xue Ye heard that a Titled Douluo had come to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace for an investiture, he was delighted. But after Crown Prince Xue Qinghe told him what that bastard Xue Beng had done, his face fell.

"Your Excellency the Tyrant, my wayward son was at fault. Rest assured, I'll see that brat properly punished. I heard you needed Gold Soul Coins. Please accept this small token of my sincerity." Xue Ye looked pained, as though bitterly disappointed in his son, then produced a Purple Gold Card.

Toji remained expressionless.

"This card holds ten million Gold Soul Coins. You may also use any services run by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family free of charge, and receive a fifty-percent discount on services offered by other nobles."

"Mm." Only then did the corners of Toji's mouth lift slightly.

"Meeting Your Excellency the Tyrant today feels like meeting an old friend. If you wouldn't mind, please stay in Heaven Dou City as the Imperial Preceptor of the Heaven Dou Empire." Xue Ye smiled expectantly, his eyes fixed on Toji. He even seemed somewhat sincere.

"I'll pass." Toji turned his head and saw Xue Beng approaching in a daze, with Xue Xing beside him looking grim.

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan followed behind them, their hair green.

Xue Ye's face darkened. Everyone needed an outlet for their frustrations. Government affairs had already put him in a foul mood these past few days, and now Xue Beng had landed him in this mess.

He roared, "Xue Beng, kneel!"

"Father." Xue Beng's legs went weak with fright, and he dropped to his knees.

"You unfilial son! I've indulged you at every turn, only for you to become arrogant and unreasonable—and now you've offended His Excellency the Tyrant. If I don't punish you according to family law today, how can I face the Heaven Dou People you've wronged?"

"Guards! Drag Xue Beng outside and give him twenty strikes with the board!"

Xue Beng: "!!!"

"No, no! Your Excellency the Tyrant, I was wrong! Imperial Brother, Uncle, please plead for me!"

Oh, so now he remembered Xue Qinghe.

Qian Renxue put on a sympathetic expression. "Father, although Fourth Brother offended His Excellency the Tyrant, who even has a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, and although he upset Miss Dugu Yan and displeased Dugu Bo as well, Fourth Brother can still mend his ways!"

Xue Beng: "..."

Xue Ye: "..."

Toji: "..."

Xue Ye had only intended to punish Xue Beng lightly. If the people present had pleaded for him, he would have reduced the sentence. But after hearing Xue Qinghe lay it all out, Xue Ye flew into a rage!

Since when did Qian Renxue get so devious? Toji's eyelid twitched. Or perhaps the pressure of posing as the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire had left her with a childish streak she had simply kept hidden all this time.

Dugu Yan also shot Xue Beng a look of disgust and hid behind her grandfather.

Dugu Bo didn't turn on him, either. Xue Xing was his benefactor, after all. Ruthless as Dugu Bo could be, he had always kept debts and grudges separate. He didn't even direct any killing intent at Xue Beng...

He merely decided in secret to slip Xue Beng some of Yang Wei's Medicine sometime soon.

He was doing it for Xue Xing's sake! That old fellow was always secretly helping Xue Beng, but the brat was hopeless. If Xue Beng angered Xue Qinghe, wouldn't Qinghe settle the score with Xue Xing once he took the throne?

"Qinghe! Enough!" Xue Ye was beside himself with fury. "Guards, give him fifty—no! A hundred strikes! If he can't take it, have a Healing-Type Soul Master treat him, then keep going!"

"Your Majesty, this..."

"Father, I think..."

"Silence! I am the emperor. Drag him out!"

Not long after Xue Beng was dragged away, his screams rang out.

If the occasion had been more suitable, Toji would have applauded.

After that, Xue Ye introduced Dugu Bo to him.

Toji and Dugu Bo said little, merely nodding to each other.

Toji had no desire to get close to Dugu Bo. Once he killed him, the land around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would be his.

As for recruiting Dugu Bo... forget it. Unless he had an organization like Spirit Hall behind him, Dugu Bo would never truly submit to someone who recruited him and then took the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Better to have him retire altogether.

From the world of the living, that was.

Still, the old fellow had played a fairly important role in the original story. He never made it to the Divine Realm, and Tang San had claimed his herb garden, which made him something of a joke. But anyone who reached Titled Douluo and stayed close to the protagonists couldn't have little luck on his side.

Before killing him, Toji could at least talk some trash and farm a few more Emotion Points.

Dugu Bo was no saint. In that respect, he was rather like Tang San: if he didn't consider you a friend, he thought nothing of harming you. But once he truly accepted you as a brother, he would treat you well.

Bai Ranmo shook his head and set the matter aside. It was too early to kill Dugu Bo, and his poison was nothing to dismiss. To make sure nothing went wrong, he would find a chance to ambush him.

Yes, even with a ten-thousand-gold lead over his opponent, Bai Ranmo still intended to ambush him. He had never claimed he could win a fair fight.

It suited Toji's style, too. He was a Limitless assassin.

Toji's Titled Douluo Investiture Ceremony began soon afterward.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family had wanted to wait a month and spread the news across the land so every major faction would hear of it. Toji had no interest in that.

The leaders of those factions were busy. At most, Spirit Hall might send a Titled Douluo to recruit him—and more likely, the offer would come from Platinum Bishop Salas. It wouldn't earn him many Emotion Points, and he would have to endure a crowd asking him to join them. He saw no point.

He would rather go mock Gangzi a few more times.

At Toji's insistence, the investiture was held inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. They still had to wait for Spirit Hall's representatives to arrive, though.

No matter where a Titled Douluo received his title, his name would ultimately be engraved in Douluo Hall.

Ninety steps appeared before Toji.

Every ten steps he climbed, a Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.

The final, blood-red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring made everyone present tremble. Soul Power approaching rank ninety-three... Well, he couldn't exert Soul Pressure, but that didn't stop everyone from looking at him with respect.

Toji sighed inwardly. After creating so many Clones, he finally had one that was fairly strong.

Xue Ye probably knew he couldn't stand before nine Soul Rings, so Salas, Heaven Dou City's Platinum Bishop, presided over the ceremony.

"May I ask Your Excellency's title?"

"Tyrant." Toji gave the same answer as before.

"Your Excellency the Tyrant, would you consider joining Spirit Hall? With your strength, Spirit Hall would gladly offer you an Elder Position!" Salas asked with utmost respect.

Below the platform, the faces of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect all darkened.

"Not interested." Toji's answer put them at ease.

P.S. Updates will be posted at 6 p.m. every day from now on.