Xu Tianran's voice was slightly hoarse, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the cold armrests of his wheelchair, making a soft, grating sound that was particularly jarring in the quiet room.
"Yes." Ye Xishui's voice was like two blocks of ice rubbing together. Her withered face showed no sorrow, only an unyielding fear and coldness. "Right before my eyes. Without warning, without warning, a single, fatal blow."
"It seems that the assassin who has given all of your Sun Moon Empire a headache has returned."
She deliberately emphasized the words "returned," her gaze piercing Xu Tianran with sharp intensity.
Xu Tianran's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes for a moment, as if he could see that figure standing in front of him again, threatening him.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, and said in a low voice:
"As expected, it was him. I should have realized it sooner... Who else could have done it so easily..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
The Sun Moon Empire suffered heavy losses in this war.
The annihilation of the Soul Engineer legions, the two Hand of National Protection, was a painful blow to them.
No, it's not exactly painful.
It's not an exaggeration to say that he lost both his left and right hands.
"Your Highness," Ye Xishui's dry lips curled into a cold, slightly mocking smile, "Your Sun Moon Empire, with the entire power of the nation, couldn't even defeat a single assassin?"
Xu Tianran suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with a mixture of malice and madness:
"Nothing we can do? No, it's because our previous intelligence severely underestimated him; it's the incompetence of those idiots!"
He gripped the wheelchair armrests tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white.
"But things are different now. As long as... as long as I, the Crown Prince, ascend the throne!" A fierce glint of ambition flashed in his eyes. "I, the Crown Prince, will devote all the resources of the empire to ordering the Illustrious Virtue Hall and all the top Soul Engineer corps to spare no expense in developing Soul Tool specifically designed to counter him!"
"Lock on, defend, counter, and even... kill him! No matter how strong he is, he's still just one person. I, the Crown Prince, refuse to believe that with the full power of the Empire's Soul Guidance Technology, we can't find a way to deal with him!"
Ye Xishui's lifeless eyes stared at Xu Tianran's face, which was contorted with excitement. After a moment of silence, the cold mockery seemed to fade slightly, replaced by scrutiny and weighing.
She spoke slowly, her voice still hoarse, yet carrying a strange undertone:
"Oh? His Highness's thoughts... are really easy to guess."
She paused meaningfully, her gaze seemingly piercing through Xu Tianran, seeing into his deepest desire for power.
"However... that is one way. It's a deal. You will ascend the throne and be responsible for dealing with that assassin. And the Holy Spirit Cult will help you clear away obstacles."
Long Xiaoyao stood behind Ye Xishui, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. He looked at the undisguised ambition and madness in Xu Tianran's eyes, then at Ye Xishui's indifferent profile. A trace of weariness and worry flashed across his deep eyes, but he ultimately remained silent.
Time slipped by silently amidst the apparent calm and the undercurrents. Then, an even more shocking message, like a thunderclap, reverberated Douluo Continent.
His Majesty the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire suddenly fell ill in his palace and died unexpectedly. The cause of death is unknown!
Following this, under the protection of the Holy Spirit Cult's strongmen and a group of Soul Engineer loyal to the Crown Prince, Crown Prince Xu Tianran swiftly suppressed all dissenting voices and potential competitors, seizing control of the empire. In the shortest possible time, he held a grand coronation ceremony in Mingdu, officially becoming the new emperor of the Sun Moon Empire!
Upon receiving the message, the celebratory atmosphere in the three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling cold and immense pressure as if a storm was brewing.
Xu Tianran's ruthlessness, ambition, and fervent advocacy for Soul Guidance Technology are no secret.
His ascension to the throne means that the war machine of the Sun Moon Empire will operate more efficiently and more frantically!
Inside the Imperial Study of the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial Palace.
His Majesty the Emperor, who had just been elated by the great victory, now had a livid face and paced anxiously in front of his desk.
The urgent intelligence announcing Xu Tianran's ascension to the throne lay on the desk before him like a red-hot branding iron.
"A madman! That Xu Tianran is a complete and utter madman!" Emperor Vikes ' voice was filled with barely suppressed panic. "He murdered his father, usurped the throne, and colluded with a cult. Now that he's on the throne, his next step will undoubtedly be to unleash the full power of the nation in revenge. My Heaven Dou Empire... is in grave danger!"
He abruptly stopped and turned to his trusted old minister, whose hair and beard were completely white, who stood to the side:
" Feng Xiang, what are you waiting for? Quickly! In my name, with the highest honors! No, with the most urgent honors! Immediately summon the Du Busi Sect Master and His Toji to the palace! Not a moment can be wasted!"
The veteran minister Feng Xiang, fully aware of the gravity of the situation, bowed and replied:
"Your humble servant obeys the imperial decree."
He hesitated for a moment, then added:
"Your Majesty, it seems that His Toji Shen'er... at the victory celebration banquet..."
"I know!" Vikes interrupted him impatiently, his face full of anxiety. "He is without desires and unfathomable! But now is not the time to consider these things! With Xu Tianran's ascension to the throne, the Holy Spirit Cult will surely launch a full-scale attack, and the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool will become even more deadly!"
"We need power, power to deter that madman and those demons! Go now! Tell them... tell them the fate of the empire rests on this moment! They must come to discuss this!"
Feng Xiang dared not say another word and hurriedly accepted the order and left.
The Body Sect's temporary residence in the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire was not as luxurious as the imperial palace, but it had its own solemn and imposing atmosphere.
The courtyard is deep and secluded, with ancient trees reaching for the sky, isolating it from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
Du Busi sat cross-legged on a huge blue stone, his dark green Bloodline Power flowing slowly around him like a living thing, each breath accompanied by a deep rumble like thunder.
He was consolidating his newly Limit Douluo realm, feeling the earth-shattering power within his body, a power that seemed capable of shattering mountains with a single punch.
The arrival of Feng Xiang, carrying the Emperor's urgent summons, shattered the solemn atmosphere of cultivation.
After listening to the intelligence relayed by Feng Xiang and the emperor's almost incoherent request, Du Busi slowly opened his eyes.
In those enormous, bell-like eyes, there was little surprise, only a sense of impending storm and a barely perceptible hint of... excitement?
In this situation, Du Busi already knew something was amiss.
After all, his disciples were accompanied by Auspicious Beast.
Emperor Auspicious Beast can see the corresponding future outcomes through the long river of fate.
" Xu Tianran, indeed ruthless and swift." Du Busi's voice rolled like muffled thunder, shaking the leaves in the courtyard. "To murder one's father and ascend the throne, what audacity! It seems these peaceful days are truly over."
He stood up, his tall figure seemingly obscuring a small patch of sky, and his gaze fell upon the window of a quiet room deep within the courtyard.
That was where Toji rested.
" Toji over there..." Du Busi hesitated for a moment, then said to Feng Xiang, " Feng Xiang, you go back and report to His Majesty first. I will arrive shortly. As for my disciple, he is of a quiet nature and dislikes these formalities. I will go and ask him what he thinks."