With the Heaven Dou Empire incorporating half of the Star Luo Empire's territory into its territory, the entire Heaven Dou Empire instantly became the largest empire on the Douluo Continent map, far surpassing the Spirit Hall Empire in scale. Empress Xue Ke's reputation reached its peak in the Heaven Dou Empire, while the greatest contributor, Regent Ning Fengzhi, seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing from everyone's sight.
It wasn't just Xue Ke's reputation that was elevated, but also her ever-expanding ambition. She wanted to complete the unfinished business of her brother Xue Qinghe, to destroy the Spirit Hall Empire, unify the continent, and become the first empress of the Douluo Continent.
Therefore, she couldn't help but drastically reform the system of the Heaven Dou Empire. She wanted to learn from the Spirit Hall Empire, abolish the privileges of the nobility, and declare that the royal family was the sole ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire.
However, she overlooked the gap between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall Empire. The Spirit Hall Empire was originally developed from the Spirit Hall, relying on the Spirit Hall's large number of Soul Master and its strength.
She ruled the entire empire. While the Heaven Dou Empire possessed vast territory, it was internally divided, formed by a coalition of various noble families. The Xue Family Xue Family was the largest noble family at the time, which is why they were able to ascend to the throne. Therefore, some nobles viewed Xue Ke's reforms as self-destructive, and thus they did not receive unanimous support. Some far-sighted nobles began to unite and resist Empress Xue Ke's reforms. However, Xue Ke's attitude was extremely firm.
She believed that these nobles wanted to rebel and overthrow her throne, so she decided to take measures to suppress these "rebellious" nobles.
What she didn't expect was that her decision would bring even greater trouble. The nobles she had already suppressed began to unite and resist her rule. And those nobles who had originally supported her also began to defect and stand against her.
In an instant, the entire Heaven Dou Empire was paralyzed. The noble class used their influence in the Heaven Dou Empire to launch a massive strike, paralyzing the empire's commerce, agriculture, military, and all other aspects. The nobles openly violated Xue Ke's reforms, and they began to unite to resist Empress Xue Ke's rule.
Meanwhile, Xue Ke was still unaware of her mistake. However, most of the empire had fallen into chaos, the nobles had seized control of the situation, and they began to openly oppose Empress Xue Ke, threatening to erupt into a civil war.
"I don't understand why those nobles would disobey my orders. I'm doing this for the future of the Heaven Dou Empire!" Xue Ke angrily threw down the memorial in her hand and shouted at the ministers below.
The ministers present had completely taken Xue Ke for a fool, because the empress had made far too many outrageous moves lately, acting on a whim.
Their actions were completely unconventional, and the ministers had become accustomed to it, regarding it as a joke.
"Your Majesty, they are ungrateful. Please calm down," the minister said, his tone as if coaxing a child.
Xue Ke sat on the dragon throne, the giant dragon on her chest seemingly mocking her foolishness. She coldly looked at the ministers below, who, in her eyes, were a bunch of good-for-nothings who did nothing for the empire and just sat there waiting to die.
"You should give me some advice on how to resolve this situation," Xue Ke demanded.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, about this matter..." a minister stammered, unable to articulate his thoughts clearly. The other ministers remained silent, heads bowed, avoiding Xue Ke's gaze. Xue Ke's expression darkened further. She felt deceived, sensing that these ministers had never supported her reforms from the beginning. Their silence was a prelude to her failure, a prelude to an opportunity to overthrow her.
Just then, a Soul Douluo dressed in white flew into the palace hall. He glanced at Xue Ke on the dragon throne, then turned to the Prime Minister of the Heaven Dou Empire and said, " Tang San's body is gone."
"What?"
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence. "What did you say? Tang San's body is gone?" The Prime Minister stared wide-eyed at the white-robed Soul Douluo, asking incredulously.
"Yes, his body vanished right before my eyes. I couldn't even sense who saved him, not even a trace of their presence," said the white-robed Soul Douluo. "Are you kidding me?"
The prime minister looked at the ministers around him, but when he saw that they also had a look of fear on their faces, his heart sank.
Empress Xue Ke rose from her dragon throne, her icy voice echoing throughout the hall, "What happened? Why did Tang San's body suddenly disappear?"
"I don't know, but what's certain is that Tang San's body was taken away." The white-robed Soul Douluo shook his head and said. Xue Ke's face was terribly gloomy. Her gaze swept over the ministers in the hall, and a strong sense of unease welled up in her heart. She had a feeling that this news was being targeted at her.
"Your Majesty, there might be something fishy about this," the prime minister suddenly said. "Perhaps it was done by those rebellious nobles."
"Why would they do that?" Xue Ke asked.
"Perhaps it's to provoke him. After all, Tang San is the murderer of His Majesty Qinghe, so..." Although the prime minister said this, a trace of worry still flashed through his heart. He gave the Soul Douluo a look.
The white-robed Soul Douluo understood and left immediately. He knew that the Prime Minister wanted him to pass on this message to the Spirit Hall Empire.
"Your Majesty, this matter is far too strange. I wish to go to the scene to investigate. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission," the Prime Minister pleaded, looking up at Xue Ke.
Empress Xue Ke remained silent, her unease growing stronger. She had a feeling that this prime minister, who looked to be only in his early twenties, must be an extraordinary person to have become the prime minister of Heaven Dou City. However, he rarely spoke in court, seemingly indifferent to state affairs. Yet today, he showed such anxiety about Tang San's corpse for the first time, which greatly intrigued Xue Ke.
"Granted." Xue Ke's icy voice echoed in the hall. "I hope you can find out exactly what happened. If it was those nobles who did it, then they will bear the wrath of the Heaven Dou Empire."
The prime minister was taken aback, then respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The Prime Minister then followed another Soul Douluo to the Heaven Dou Square. He immediately released his Soul Power, and nine Soul Ring —yellow, purple, black, black, black, black, black—emerged from his body. The immense Divine Power instantly enveloped the entire Heaven Dou Square, attempting to find the aura of Tang San's corpse.
"Lord Xie Yue, could it really be that people from the Divine Realm intervened and rescued Tang San?"
(End of this chapter)