Mingdu, the Imperial Palace.
Inside the magnificent great hall.
Nearly a hundred officials stood in two rows, civil and military.
Most civil officials governed the country, with the Chancellor at their head. Most military officials were high-ranking soul engineers. Among them were Xu Jiangnian, commander of the Royal Soul Engineer Corps stationed in the Imperial City, a Level 9 Soul Engineer who took no part in court disputes and served only the emperor, and Qing Zhi, commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps, also a Level 9 Soul Engineer.
The other three beast soul engineer corps were stationed along the borders and could not assemble on short notice.
At the very front of the hall.
Two figures stood, one on either side.
Xu Jiran shot Xu Cheng a cold glare. Though annoyed, he felt no regret.
After all, for someone destined to accomplish great things, this little setback was nothing.
Beside him, the Chancellor also gave him a reassuring look. Surveying the court, Xu Jiran saw that at least a third of its members stood on his side. His confidence swelled, and a cold smile curled his lips.
What did it mean to have destiny on your side? This was it!
Xu Cheng, you only deserved to mingle with a bunch of rotten fish and putrid shrimp.
"His Majesty the Emperor arrives!"
A voice rang out from beyond the hall.
Instantly, the officials knelt in greeting. Naturally, veterans of distinguished standing such as Elder Kong, Elder Cheng, and Jing Hongchen, along with the princes, only needed to bow with clasped hands.
The emperor of the Sun Moon Empire entered through the doors.
He slowly ascended to the Imperial Throne at the front.
"My ministers, rise."
The emperor of the Sun Moon Empire spoke calmly.
"All right, tell me. What exactly happened today...?"
"Today, the Imperial Family Inspection Team under Fourth Brother suddenly took me to the Inspection Department and prepared to torture me. They intended to frame me and force a confession through beatings. Evidence still remains in the Communication Soul Tool and has not been destroyed. Xu Mochen, Captain of the Imperial Family Inspection Team, was the one responsible..."
"..."
Instantly, an uproar swept through the court.
Everyone knew that the princes' Succession Struggle was extraordinarily dangerous, with underhanded schemes and risky gambits emerging endlessly. But the winner took all.
For the Fourth Prince to have his gambit exposed, and then let his opponent seize upon the flaw, spelled trouble...
"Fourth Prince, what do you have to say...?"
The emperor's voice remained calm.
"I... accept punishment!"
Xu Jiran gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees.
The Chancellor belonged to his mother's family faction and had coached him on what to say on the way to the palace.
Though unwilling to accept it, he still had considerable faith in the Chancellor's political skill.
"Eleventh Prince, what do you think?"
The emperor continued.
"In that case, slaughter the entire Imperial Family Inspection Team. Whoever currently commands it must die as well..." Xu Cheng smiled, but his voice grew colder.
"Xu Cheng! Don't go too far!"
Hearing this, the Fourth Prince rose and glared furiously at Xu Cheng.
"Heh. Had my teacher arrived a little later today, I doubt a single part of my body would have remained intact. Whether I would have survived is another question entirely. Not demanding your death is already giving you plenty of face..." Xu Cheng said mildly. "Besides, the Imperial Family Inspection Team shouldn't become a tool for certain people to abuse their authority. Let me ask you: apart from me, has any other member of the Imperial Family ever been put in its cells? I suspect those parasites have simply been using it to arrest innocent people and extort money for their own profit."
"Whew..." Xu Jiran drew a deep breath and said coldly, "Its commander is a Prince! You have no right to kill him! As for anyone else, I don't care who dies."
"..."
On either side.
The Chancellor, Elder Cheng, and the others remained silent.
They let the two argue.
But even without speaking, their presence alone said everything.
Some of the commanders in court exchanged looks when they saw Elder Cheng standing silently behind Xu Cheng, a trace of astonishment entering their eyes.
They had never expected Xu Cheng to actually win him over.
Apart from the Fourth Prince's staunch supporters, many commanders would likely have another factor to consider when choosing sides in the future. Such was the weight of Elder Cheng's standing.
After all, a prince with neither power nor influence-most people currently knew nothing of Xu Cheng's ties to the Holy Spirit Cult-could, through Elder Cheng's backing alone, stand on equal footing with the Fourth Prince, who had spent over a decade building his faction, came with a maternal-family buff, and possessed numerous followers and considerable influence at court. That alone spoke volumes about Elder Cheng's stature.
"Hmph, Xu Cheng, don't forget that you colluded with evil soul masters and slaughtered innocent civilians of our Sun Moon Empire!"
Finally, Xu Jiran lost control and played his ultimate trump card.
Instantly, the entire court fell silent for a moment.
Everyone stared at Xu Cheng in horror.
What? Evil soul masters?!!
This, this, this...
Seeing the shock on every civil and military official's face, Xu Jiran curled his lips into a smile and looked smugly at Xu Cheng, as though victory were already in his grasp.
"What evil soul masters? Watch yourself, or I'll sue you for slander!"
Xu Cheng protested.
"What a joke! You're the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult, and you're claiming you aren't an evil soul master?" Xu Jiran raised his voice, seemingly determined to make everyone in the hall hear.
Behind him, however, the Chancellor shook his head inwardly.
He had warned the boy not to expose their opponent's trump card under any circumstances, yet the slightest provocation had made him...
Alas, if he weren't my own grandson, and if the Succession Struggle didn't implicate my family, I would truly throw down this burden and quit.
Did he really think everyone considered the Holy Spirit Cult evil?
What a joke! How childish!
Before strength, everything else was merely passing clouds!
Especially to these nobles-the ruling class. Evil soul masters slaughtering commoners? What the hell did that have to do with them? Only if those soul masters specifically targeted nobles to fleece would they provoke collective outrage!
Zhongli Wu was also exceptionally cunning. In recent years, the Holy Spirit Cult had kept a very low profile and forbidden its members from making enemies of the Sun Moon Empire's nobles. For the previous century, it had quietly built its strength without drawing attention, leaving most people with no concrete understanding of how enormous it had become.
For instance, before the Great Enshrined Long Xiaoyao revealed himself, no one had known that he had joined the Holy Spirit Cult.
Reality unfolded exactly as the Chancellor had feared.
At those words, every civil and military official's eyes widened.
The Holy Spirit Cult... its Holy Son!
This ordinarily obscure prince truly knew how to keep a low profile!
Of course, had Xu Cheng stepped forward himself and claimed ties to evil soul masters, most would probably have been skeptical. Were they supposed to believe it just because he said so?
But with Xu Cheng's opponent, Xu Jiran, making the declaration publicly, they had little choice but to believe it...
In an instant.
Everyone in court looked at Xu Cheng differently. Quite a few were already privately considering whether to take his side early.
"You're saying the Holy Spirit Cult consists of evil soul masters?"
Xu Cheng pressed his lips together lightly and smiled.
"Obviously! If the Holy Spirit Cult isn't made up of evil soul masters, what is it?!!" Xu Jiran's voice grew louder. Relishing the countless murmurs behind him, he became increasingly smug.
"Oh..."
Xu Cheng nodded, then said mildly, "Elder Long, someone says you're an evil soul master."
Xu Jiran: ???
The entire court fell silent, gazing at Xu Cheng with considerable curiosity.
What was he doing?
And... who was Elder Long?
Did the Sun Moon Empire have a powerful figure surnamed Long?
But in the next instant.
A terrifying pressure suddenly engulfed the entire hall.
Countless ministers turned pale at once, looking fearfully toward the sky outside. Only moments earlier, it had been clear for ten thousand miles. Now, dark clouds packed the heavens, like black clouds pressing down upon a city until its walls threatened to crumble.
The wind began to stir, like the herald of a torrential storm.
A man enveloped in black robes slowly descended from the sky, then stepped lightly into the great hall, one pace at a time.
A gentle breeze drifted past.
It slowly lifted the man's black hood, revealing the handsome face of a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties.
"Long Xiaoyao..."
Kong Deming's pupils contracted sharply as he spoke in disbelief.
"You... actually joined the Holy Spirit Cult!!!"
At the same time.
The whole court fell silent.
Countless ministers stared at Long Xiaoyao in astonishment. The legends surrounding this Level 99 Limit Douluo ran so deep and spread so widely across the continent that countless soul masters regarded him as a godlike being.
Now he had appeared amid the Imperial Family's Succession Struggle and openly taken a side. More terrifying still was the news that followed.
He, too, had actually joined the evil soul masters...
At the same time.
Five black-robed figures followed in his footsteps and entered the hall.
Their auras were laid bare. Every one of them was a powerhouse at the Super Douluo level or above.
At this sight, even the supreme ruler of the Sun Moon Empire, who had been lounging on the Imperial Throne as though nothing could interest him, showed a flicker of astonishment in his eyes...
"So, Xu Jiran, what connection is there between evil soul masters and the Holy Spirit Cult...?"
Xu Cheng smiled.
"N-none..."
The auras of the six supreme powerhouses bearing down on him left Xu Jiran pale-faced, his legs trembling.
Even the several Level 8 Soul Engineers belonging to his faction did not dare step forward.
"Everyone, does our Holy Spirit Cult have any connection to those evil soul masters?"
Xu Cheng turned toward the civil and military officials and called out loudly.
"None! How could it possibly?"
"How could the Holy Spirit Cult have anything to do with those, ahem... evil soul masters? It's pure nonsense!"
"Exactly! We have never heard of any connection whatsoever between the two."
For a moment, voices rose throughout the hall.
Xu Cheng looked at Xu Jiran and the Chancellor beside him, a smile playing on his lips.
The latter's face, however, flushed as red as pig's liver...
P.S. Picking up the pace; we'll enter the main storyline very soon.
Before you continue