Upheaval on a Rainy Night

The Sun Moon Empire.

Night hung heavy, murky storm clouds pressing down relentlessly over Mingdu.

No moon, no stars.

Only raging winds and torrential rain.

They shrouded this city of steel in bone-piercing cold and suffocating oppression.

Thunder tore through the pitch-black night, and a flash of ghastly white lightning briefly illuminated the outlines of buildings rising through the rain.

This "sleepless city," hailed as the pinnacle of the continent's soul guidance technology.

Was now being brutally torn apart from within.

In the distance, flames soared into the sky from the imperial palace.

Even beneath the pounding rain, billowing smoke lingered without dispersing.

Along the city's main roads, the alarms of soul guidance patrol vehicles rose one after another.

Shrill and piercing.

Intermingled with the frequent thunder of soul cannons firing in the distance.

They utterly shredded the silence of the rainy night.

The towering metal buildings, illuminated by alternating flames and lightning.

Resembled cold, motionless steel behemoths.

Silently overlooking the bloody purge sweeping through the imperial family.

Deep within a narrow, secluded alley in eastern Mingdu.

Rain hammered down relentlessly, sending ripples of fine spray through the puddles.

Four bedraggled boys darted and dodged at high speed, using staggered eaves and shadowy alleys for cover.

The icy rain soaked their clothes, mingling with sweat, mud, and blood.

The fabric clung to their skin, cold enough to ache in their bones.

"This way, hurry!"

The boy leading them had neat, short black hair.

His skin was fair, his features handsome.

At only eight years old, he still bore the traces of childhood.

Yet his eyes held a composure and piercing intensity far beyond the ordinary.

Keeping his voice low, he swiftly gestured directions to the three behind him.

Then his figure swayed slightly.

He slipped ahead of them into a small courtyard whose gate stood ajar.

Even as he moved, he remembered to instruct in a low voice, "Juechen, erase our tracks!"

At the rear of the group, Ji Juechen nodded.

He did not enter the courtyard immediately.

Leaning out, he glanced back warily, his gaze sharp as lightning as it swept across the muddy, slippery alley behind them.

The scattered footprints and traces of splashing water on the ground.

Stood out glaringly beneath the lightning flashing overhead.

The distant alarms and their pursuers' footsteps drew closer, pressing in with every step.

Ji Juechen's eyes sharpened, and he swiftly drew his longsword with a backhand motion.

Brilliant green light shimmered along the blade.

Vast soul power surged from within him.

Yellow, yellow, purple.

Three soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet and circled his body.

"Third soul skill: Wind's Extremity!"

Ji Juechen called out inwardly, and his purple soul ring abruptly blazed with light.

His sword arm swung sharply.

With the sword tip leading, he traced several swift, intricate arcs before him.

The next instant.

Over a hundred invisible, condensed streams of sword energy erupted around him.

They did not strike outward.

Instead, they spun and intertwined rapidly about a foot above the ground.

In a heartbeat, they formed a pale cyan whirlwind roughly ten feet across.

It spread close to the ground, precisely covering the route the four had taken.

Wherever the whirlwind passed, footprints in the mud, drag marks, and earth churned up by their steps were all swept into its eye.

In just two or three breaths.

Every trace across the ground from the alley entrance to the courtyard gate had been erased.

Its cleaning finished, the whirlwind silently dissipated.

It became wisps of breeze that melted into the pouring rain.

Ji Juechen sheathed his sword and stood still.

After a swift glance confirmed nothing was amiss, he flashed silently into the courtyard.

He gently pulled the gate shut behind him and fastened the latch.

For the moment, it shut out the raging storm and the lingering smoke and flames of battle.

Barely a dozen breaths after the courtyard gate closed, six figures appeared at the alley entrance.

All six were Soul Kings, dressed in identical uniforms, their auras fierce.

Their leader casually glanced at the ground inside the alley.

Seeing nothing unusual, he withdrew his gaze and said coldly:

"That way. Keep pursuing!"

"His lordship has ordered that those two brats must not escape!

Dead or alive, whoever catches them will be richly rewarded!"

"Yes!"

They answered in unison, then flickered away, vanishing into the depths beyond the alley entrance.

Meanwhile, inside the courtyard.

The tension eased slightly, and all four let out long breaths of relief.

They leaned back beneath the eaves for a brief rest.

"Damn Xu Tianlong!

That bastard won't loosen his jaws! He's been chasing us for nearly four hours!"

The boy speaking was only eight, with a sturdy build and handsome features.

Yet a hint of unruly wickedness lingered in his expression.

He looked at Xu Yan and said through gritted teeth:

"Brother Yan, it looks like they're determined to kill you!

We can't keep running aimlessly like this. We have to come up with a plan!"

"Yan Feng is right."

Ji Juechen looked at Xu Yan, his expression grave and his voice steady:

"Running forever is no solution.

They may have been plotting today's coup for a long time.

They deliberately waited until you returned from hunting your soul ring, then used the palace banquet to launch their bloody purge.

By now, they've probably sealed off all of Mingdu with layer upon layer of blockades.

If we keep hiding passively like this, sooner or later they'll find us.

We must find a way to leave Mingdu as soon as possible, or even leave the Sun Moon Empire."

Xu Yan remained silent, his eyes dark.

Tonight's upheaval had caught him somewhat off guard.

According to the original story, Xu Tianran and his father had made their move on Xu He's ninth birthday.

They had seized the opportunity to launch a coup and usurp the throne.

Now, however, they had struck abruptly, half a year early, for no apparent reason.

Even knowing the original plot, he had never anticipated such a sudden change.

It seems the butterfly effect began quietly brewing the moment I was born into this world.

I can't rely entirely on the original plot.

Xu Yan gritted his teeth inwardly.

Today should have been a joyous occasion, marking his return after obtaining his second soul ring.

To celebrate, his imperial father had arranged an impromptu banquet in the palace.

Who could have imagined that the festivities would end in a bloody massacre?

His imperial father had died horribly, and overnight, he and Xu He had become homeless curs with nowhere to go.

Shaking his head, Xu Yan suppressed his tangled thoughts.

This was no time to dwell on the past.

Survival was their only priority now.

His gaze shifted to Xu He, who sat slumped in the mud nearby, his expression vacant.

Anger flared up inside Xu Yan once more.

He immediately kicked him, keeping his voice low as he snapped:

"Pull yourself together! This is no time to give up on yourself!"

Watching from nearby, Ji Juechen and Yan Feng were both speechless.

Xu He was clearly a year older than Xu Yan, yet their mental resilience was as far apart as heaven and earth.

He was every inch a pampered royal child.

Raised in luxury, he had never suffered the slightest setback or hardship.

The kick sent Xu He sprawling into the mud and water, yet he had no strength to struggle.

His eyes brimmed with despair and helplessness as he muttered to himself like a homeless cur:

"Why... why did this happen?

Father clearly said that even if Uncle had ambitions, he couldn't stir up any waves for the time being...

How could they dare to launch an outright military rebellion?!"

He slowly raised his head toward Xu Yan, tears streaming down his face.

An unmistakable hint of accusation lurked in his eyes:

"Xu Yan, Father and Mother are gone, and our sister is gone too. They're all gone...

Why? Why don't you look sad at all?

Are you really that heartless?"

By the end, his voice was almost a heart-rending scream.

He tried to vent his emotions to find an excuse for his own cowardice and collapse.

"Shut up! Do you want to bring the pursuers here?!"

His expression dark, Xu Yan stepped forward and seized Xu He by the collar.

He hauled him bodily out of the mud and slammed him hard against the wall.

His voice was icy. "Hold those tears back!

Will crying bring Father back to life?!

Will crying make Xu Tianlong and those traitors kill themselves?!

If it would, I'd cry better than you!"

"Remember, heaven shows mercy to no one!

The only ones who can save us are ourselves!

If you want revenge, if you want to live, stand straight like a man!

Instead of standing here making excuses for your pathetic weakness!"

He stared fiercely into Xu He's eyes, every word a blade:

"As long as we're alive, the legitimate line of the Sun Moon Empire hasn't been extinguished!

The more you give up like a useless wreck, the more you betray Father, who died for you!"

Xu He was utterly cowed by Xu Yan's ferocious eyes, which resembled those of a cornered beast.

His lips trembled violently as he forcibly swallowed his sobs and despair.

In his once hollow, unfocused eyes, a faint but resolute will to survive and a spark of hatred finally gathered again:

"Yes... revenge! I want revenge! I will kill Xu Tianlong!"

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