The smooth, white-stone official road Xizhimen Gate of Heaven Dou City was utterly ruined by two donkeys.
Two bald donkeys, their long ears drooping, were pulling forward with their hooves clattering. Behind them, a large, peeling red-painted cart was being pulled, piled with a dozen tightly sealed earthenware jars of pickled vegetables, the jars emitting a pungent, sour smell.
Right in the middle of the cart, a long, dark, shiny iron rod was haphazardly tied together with several thick hemp ropes.
The long thing, with most of its pole sticking out from the rear of the vehicle, had its Golden Trident, weighing 108,000 jin (approximately 54,000 kg), pointing downwards, dragging itself on the granite Plate!
"Sizzle--!"
The commotion was like a thunderclap on flat ground. The immense weight of 100,000 jin pressed down relentlessly, and the tip of the trident scraped against the Plate, sending sparks flying over ten feet high. It plowed a three-foot-deep, smoking trench into the imperial road!
"Get out of the way! Open your eyes and get out of the way!!"
Tai Long, shirtless, stood at the front of the cart, cracking his donkey whip and yelling in a broken gong, "You think you can just knock me over and cause me to break something? Anyone with a high shop threshold should fill it with dirt themselves! If you smash the sauerkraut jars on my cart, you'll have to pay with the gravestones from your ancestors' tombs!!"
The two hundred Imperial Guards stationed at Xizhimen Pass were ordered by the Crown Prince to strictly inspect all people entering the city.
Just as the city guard leader and his hundred or so armored soldiers were about to draw their swords and advance to check the road, Dai Mubai, sitting on the carriage shaft, glanced sideways and snorted coldly.
Boom!
The chilling, murderous aura emanating from the Hell Road, mixed with the raw power of a body honed through muscular training, swept unimpeded along the official road!
The biting wind of the dead of winter lashed against the city gate tower like slabs of iron. The two hundred Imperial Guards, who usually looked down on others with their chins held high, suddenly felt as if they had been struck hard in the back of their knees. They all fell to their knees with a thud, their spears and sabers clattering to Plate ground. They were so frightened that they urinated down the seams of their iron trousers and armor.
Ning Rongrong peeked half her head out from behind the Carriage curtain, her little abacus clanging loudly against the iron helmet of the city gatekeeper.
"What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen relatives from the countryside coming to the city to buy local specialties? Hurry up and move all that rotten wood blocking the way. If you delay Brother Yun from eating mutton, I'll tell my dad to buy this city gate tower and tear it down for firewood!!"
The large flatbed cart, trailing that conspicuous Ember, swaggered into Xizhimen, billowing black smoke, and plunged straight into the dilapidated alley.
Everything had changed inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace; rumors were spreading throughout the city that the old emperor was about to pass away.
Prince Xue Xing and Dugu Bo, covered in sweat, scurried around the West District on rooftops, followed by dozens of frightened royal guards, who were as anxious as ants on a hot plate.
"Poison Douluo, how accurate are your eyeliners anyway?!"
Prince Xue Xing was so anxious that his beard bristled and his robes were soaked with cold sweat. "That rebellious son Xue Qinghe has sealed off the Imperial Palace! Marshal Ge Long has been transferred away from the capital, and he's replaced all Sanqian Imperial Guards with assassins. He's even given the old men muscle-relaxing drugs! If we can't find Captain Ling, this living devil, to enter the palace and keep order, the Heaven Dou Empire will have to change hands to the Spirit Hall tonight!!"
"Shut up and just follow along!"
Dugu Bo's pale, green face was also filled with surprise and uncertainty. He twitched his nose twice, then abruptly stopped in mid-air, his two green eyes staring intently at a dilapidated old alley deep inside Xizhimen:
"No doubt about it... that sauerkraut flavor, a blend of minced garlic and raw seafood, is unlike anything else in the world!"
The two men, leading a squad of assassins, jumped down the eaves into the muddy street. As soon as they turned the corner of the alley, the sight before them stunned the prince so much that his legs went weak.
The tattered cloth signboard of Old Huang's mutton restaurant swayed wildly in the cold wind.
On the Plate curb at the entrance of the restaurant, Tai Long was swinging a cast iron hammer and delivered a heavy blow, smashing the 108,000-pound, dark-glowing Sea God Trident into the Plate pavement with a loud bang, embedding it three feet deep into the ground!
The two bald donkeys pulling the cart had thick straw ropes tied around their necks, and the other end of the ropes was casually tied into a pig's hoof knot, tightly fastened to the large gold tooth on the left side of the Sea God Trident.
The two donkeys swished their tails, snorting at Old Huang's slop bucket while rubbing their faces against the divine artifact that the ancient Sea Soul Master worshipped, using it as a back scratcher.
Taking the Sea God's artifact... and using it as a donkey-tethering post in front of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant?!
Prince Xue Xing knelt down in the muddy puddle with a thud, his throat making gurgling noises, almost scared out of his wits.
"Old man Dugu, old man Xue Xing, don't kneel outside covered in chicken droppings."
From behind the tattered wooden curtain of the restaurant came Ling Yun's slow, greasy movements:
"Get in here and have Old Huang add two more sets of chopsticks and bowls. This pickled cabbage fished from the sea, paired with freshly cut lamb leg, will be perfectly crisp after a couple of dips in the broth—much better than the rotten meat in your palace."
Dugu Bo grabbed Prince Xue Xing from the mud, lifted the curtain, and crawled inside.
Ling Yun had one leg on a greasy bench, his faded blue shorts were open, and he was holding a rough porcelain bowl, clinking bowls with Dai Mubai and drinking sorghum liquor.
In the center of the table, a large copper pot was bubbling with mutton broth. Ma Hongjun was sticking out his big buttocks, frantically scooping freshly chopped sauerkraut from a large vat with a large strainer and pouring it into the pot.
Xiao Wu sat peeling garlic cloves, Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and closed her eyes to rest, while Oscar and Ning Rongrong were using an abacus to check the rental fee for the cart they had just borrowed with their boss, Old Huang.
"Captain Ling! My little darling!!"
Prince Xue Xing crawled to the table, sobbing and snot streaming down his face, and tried to hug Ling Yun's lap. "It's a matter of life and death! Crown Prince Xue Qinghe has plotted rebellion and murdered the emperor! He poisoned His Majesty in the palace and, along with two Titled Douluo, sealed off the entire imperial city! His Majesty won't survive past midnight tonight! I beg you, for the sake of our past relationship, to enter the palace and save the emperor!!"
Ling Yun used long bamboo chopsticks to pick up a large piece of thoroughly cooked pickled cabbage and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it with a loud crunching sound.
He didn't even lift his eyelids, but simply tapped the tip of his chopsticks against the rim of the empty porcelain bowl, making a clanging sound.
"What's the rush? Whether the emperor lives or dies is none of my business."
Ling Yun chewed the pickled cabbage and swallowed it, glancing sideways at Prince Xue Xing, whose legs were trembling, and sneered:
"However, that little brat Xue Qinghe, when she ate garlic mutton at my table last time, patted her chest and promised—a scholarship for the entire Blue Tyrant Team, plus construction funds for the 300-acre mimicry field in the Royal Forest Garden, totaling 80,000 Gold Soul Coins."
Ling Yun picked up the wine bowl and smashed it, his eyes suddenly turning fierce and ruthless:
"If she kills the old emperor, ascends the throne herself, and then reneges on her promises, who am I supposed to collect the debt from?"
Ling Yun stood up, slammed the empty wine bowl down on the table, and wiped the mutton fat from his mouth:
"Boss Dai, Fatty, Tai Long."
"Have your fill, grab your weapons, and come with me to the palace to collect debts!"
Deep within the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, in the inner palace.
The entire inner palace was now filled with a strong smell of blood and bitter medicine.
On the dragon bed, the emaciated Xue Ye's face was as black as charcoal. His two cloudy old eyes stared intently at the figure standing at the head of the bed. A dry, hoarse sound came from his throat. He wanted to curse, but he couldn't even lift a finger.
Qian Renxue removed Xue Qinghe's wide, bright yellow robe and put on a suit of armor that gleamed with gold.
She placed her hands on the sword at her waist, looking down at the dying old emperor, a cold smile on her once fair face.
"Father, stop struggling. The entire inner palace has been completely sealed off, and two thousand elite Soul Masters from my Spirit Hall are stationed outside. After tonight, the Heaven Dou Empire will be entirely taken over by Qinghe... Rest in peace."
Behind Qian Renxue, Snake Lance Douluo She Long and Ci Xue Douluo Pufferfish stood on either side, their nine Soul Rings gleaming blindingly in the dark hall, sealing off all escape routes.
The outcome is decided.
Qian Renxue slightly raised her chin; more than a decade of forbearance and lurking would finally come to an end tonight.
However.
Before Qian Renxue could even draw her sword half an inch from her waist...
Boom--
The entire palace gate, towering three zhang high and crafted from deep-sea iron and heavy golden nanmu wood, along with the outer defensive array used to block people, looked as if a massive iron block weighing tens of thousands of tons had crashed down from the sky and struck it head-on!
With a deafening roar, the massive gate, weighing thousands of kilograms, shattered into pieces, turning into countless fragments of wood and iron that flew wildly into the hall!
"Who?" She Long and the Pufferfish's expressions changed drastically, and their Martial Soul erupted instantly, violently shaking away the flying wood fragments.
Amidst billowing white smoke and rotten wood chips.
There was no well-trained Royal Guard, nor were there any ministers ready to die to save the emperor.
A tall figure, hands in the pockets of faded shorts, half a wooden toothpick dangling from his mouth, soft-soled cloth shoes crunching on the broken threshold, slowly stepped into the solemn and majestic emperor's bedchamber.
Behind him, Ma Hongjun held a steaming small copper pot in one hand and a half-eaten bone in the other; Dai Mubai rubbed his cracking fist, Tai Long carried a large cast iron ladle that was still dripping with sauerkraut soup, and Ning Rongrong pulled a large abacus out of her bundle, her little face tense.
Qian Renxue stared intently at the deep blue figure who had broken through the threshold and entered, her eyes suddenly shrinking!
That usually expressionless face looked as if it had just received a solid slap in Sturdy face, a chill running down its spine from the top of its head to its heels!
"Ling... Ling Yun?" Qian Renxue's voice suddenly changed, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Ling Yun stopped ten steps away from her.
He spat the toothpick from his mouth onto the gold brick floor, wiped the mutton fat from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and his deep blue eyes glanced over Qian Renxue's armor before a wicked grin spreading across his lips.
"Oh, Your Highness, are you staging a coup d'état here in the middle of the night with the doors locked?"
Ling Yun, hands in his pockets, took half a step forward. His voice wasn't loud, but it shattered the deathly silence of the entire palace like a giant iron hammer.
"I heard you were planning to kill your old emperor at the Old Huang's Mutton Restaurant earlier?"
Ling Yun held up two fingers and waved them at Qian Renxue:
"According to the rules we made at that hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the old emperor owes our entire Blue Tyrant team 80,000 Gold Soul Coins in scholarships. Today, he's settling the debt with interest."
The boy's eyes flashed, and his bandit-like, devilish aura exploded in the hall:
"If you dare kill him tonight and try to renege on your debt... I'll make you pay for this with your body!"