Toji tilted her head slightly, her gaze as if she were looking at a struggling insect, and declared clearly, word by word:
"I told you, I can kill you anytime."
The moment the words left his mouth, the last glimmer of hope in Xu Tianran's eyes vanished completely, leaving only boundless despair and maddening resentment.
"I am the Sun Moon Emperor! I am the Son of Heaven! I will not die! I..."
He let out a final, hysterical roar, attempting a last-ditch effort to assert his imperial status.
However, the only response he received was a dark red blade of light that ripped everything apart from above.
A soft, yet incredibly clear, cutting sound rang out.
The blade flashed and disappeared in an instant.
Xu Tianran's face, filled with resentment and distortion, along with his frantic roar, is frozen in time.
A thin line of blood appeared between his eyebrows, on the bridge of his nose, his lips, his chest, and his abdomen...
It spread straight down. The next moment, his body, along this line of blood, was neatly split into two symmetrical halves.
Internal organs and blood, like blooming flowers of death, were splashed across the glazed tile roof, staining it a dazzling crimson.
Xu Tianran, the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire and a powerful and ruthless ruler, thus perished completely.
Completely dead.
Toji coldly flicked away non-existent blood droplets from the Inverted Spear of Heaven Blade, not even glancing at the two pieces of mangled corpse at his feet.
His gaze swept over the chaotic and panicked Mingdu below, then glanced at Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, who were barely alive in the ruins in the distance.
Finally, the overwhelming ferocity slowly subsided, returning to a profound calm, as if the act of crushing an emperor was nothing more than casually swatting a fly.
His figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
It left behind a Sun Moon Empire whose power structure was completely overturned, mired in a huge power vacuum and panic.
As for Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, they are already close to death.
There is currently no medical treatment that can save them.
So Toji was too lazy to finish them off, and let them use their last bit of time to reunite.
Just as Xu Tianran was cut in two, his body still warm.
Deep within the palace, in a hidden soul-guided communication center unaffected by the explosion.
Empress Ju Zi, dressed in an elegant palace gown, showed no trace of sorrow on her face, only an almost cold calm.
Behind her stood an elderly man with white hair and beard and an ancient face; he was none other than Kong Deming, the father of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool.
His eyes gleamed with a complex light, showing indifference to Xu Tianran's demise, concern for the future of the empire, but more than anything, recognition of the astonishing courage that Ju Zi was displaying at this moment.
"Issue my imperial decree." Ju Zi's voice was clear and calm, instantly transmitted through the soul-guided loudspeaker to all the undisturbed core communication nodes of the empire, and also reached the ears of all the anxious ministers and generals.
"His Majesty the Emperor, in his quest to slay the evil and wicked Holy Spirit Cult Sect Toji wreaked havoc on the empire, tragically perished in the fierce battle at the palace... a heroic sacrifice for his country!" Her voice carried just the right amount of grief and strength. "However, the nation cannot be without a ruler for even a day! In this time of crisis, I, as Empress, will temporarily assume the reins of government!"
"All military and political affairs shall be decided jointly by me and Elder Kong. All ministers and military commanders shall immediately block information, stabilize the capital, and suppress all unrest! Anyone who dares to take this opportunity to cause trouble and disrupt the court—"
Ju Zi's voice suddenly turned stern, revealing a chilling killing intent:
"Exterminate their entire family!"
Her commands were filled with unquestionable authority.
More importantly, Kong Deming was standing next to her.
The public endorsement from this father of Soul Tool carries enough weight to quell any possible doubts and objections.
This is the strongest Soul Engineer in the Sun Moon Empire today, so who would oppose him?
The chaotic imperial machine, under the iron-fisted orders of Ju Zi and the prestige of Kong Deming, was as if a pause button had been forcibly pressed, and it began to be forcibly pulled back from extreme chaos to a certain order.
Ju Zi stared at Xu Tianran's gruesome corpse on the screen, a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of emotion crossed her eyes, quickly replaced by a deeper, colder intensity. She turned to Kong Deming and nodded slightly.
" Elder Kong, I'll have to trouble you now. Stabilizing the empire and eliminating the remaining influence of the Holy Spirit Cult are the most urgent tasks."
Kong Deming gave the Ju Zi a deep look and slowly nodded:
"Your Majesty is wise and understanding; this old minister will do his utmost."
Ju Zi turned around and looked out the window at the sky shrouded in blood and smoke, and at the two almost negligible dying figures in the ruins in the distance. A barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips.
Xu Tianran is dead.
Toji left.
The two pillars of the Holy Spirit Cult have been destroyed.
The biggest obstacle... has been cleared.
Now, it is her Ju Zi to take charge of this Sun Moon!
With Kong Deming's strong support, she will seize the power left by Xu Tianran and the strength of the entire empire in her own hands as quickly as possible!
A more centralized and powerful Sun Moon Empire, under her control, is about to be born.
The ambition to unify the continent was not extinguished by the fall of the emperor; on the contrary, it burned even more fiercely in the hearts of the new rulers!
after a while.
The news of the fall of Xu Tianran, the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, whose wolfish ambitions had been exposed, was like a Destruction star thrown into a calm lake, and the resulting shockwaves swept across the entire Douluo Continent at an incredible speed.
The Heaven Dou Empire, capital city, deep within the imperial palace.
A sense of euphoria and unbelievable exhilaration, as if they had survived a catastrophe, filled the air.
A grand celebratory banquet has been set out, the air filled with the aroma of fine wine and delicacies. The normally solemn and dignified hall is now filled with the boisterous clinking of glasses and passionate discussions.
Emperor Vikes of the Heaven Dou Empire, a usually composed monarch, now had a flush of excitement on his face, raising his jewel-encrusted wine glass high, his voice booming throughout the hall:
"Gentlemen! This is an unprecedented victory for the Empire! The villain Xu Tianran, the Tyrant of the Sun Moon Empire, harbors blatant ambitions and has repeatedly invaded our territory!"
"Today, you have finally been slain by the sharp blade of my Heaven Dou, Toji Excellency, atop the Mingdu Palace! How magnificent! This is Heaven's blessing upon my Heaven Dou, protecting my continent! I am deeply gratified! Let the whole world rejoice!"
"Your Majesty is wise! Heaven blesses the Heaven Dou!"
" Toji is mighty!!"
"Brilliant! Brilliant!!"
Below, powerful figures from the Body Sect, including Du Busi, along with important officials and generals of the empire, raised their glasses in response, their voices almost lifting the roof off the hall.
Du Busi's wrinkled old face beamed like a blooming chrysanthemum as he patted the shoulder of the disciple beside him, his gaze towards the figure in the corner of the hall filled with undisguised admiration and amazement.
He knew better than anyone how monstrous it was to assassinate Xu Tianran, especially to kill him inside the heavily guarded palace of the Sun Moon Empire, which was even riddled with traps designed to Destruction.
This achievement is enough to shake the ages.