The palace gates slowly opened.
Qian Renxue, Lin Yuan, Dugu Bo, and Ye Lingqiu walked out together.
Outside.
Ning Fengzhi, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, and Prince Xue Xing had already been waiting for a long time.
Seeing them emerge, Xue Xing was the first to approach.
"How is His Majesty?"
Ning Fengzhi also looked at Ye Lingqiu.
Ye Lingqiu's expression was calm.
"He is out of danger."
"But His Majesty's constitution has been damaged this time. He will need several more days of quiet rest."
Xue Xing breathed a sigh of relief.
Ning Fengzhi, however, gave Dugu Bo another look.
Dugu Bo stood with his arms folded, saying nothing.
Xue Qinghe spoke at the right moment.
"Father needs rest."
"No one is to disturb him over the next few days."
Since both Poison Douluo and the head of the Nine Heart Begonia family had said so, no one had any reason to force their way into the bedchamber.
They soon dispersed.
Several days later.
An imperial decree suddenly spread through the court.
Xue Ye had summoned all his ministers.
When the news broke.
Everyone was stunned.
Wasn't His Majesty still recuperating?
Why was he suddenly holding court?
Inside the grand hall.
The civil and military officials had all assembled.
Many nobles murmured among themselves.
Until a loud announcement rang out.
"His Majesty arrives-"
The grand hall instantly fell silent.
Supported by two maids, Xue Ye slowly approached.
His face was pale.
His steps were unsteady.
He clearly had not fully recovered.
But that face.
Was indeed Xue Ye's.
The ministers all bowed.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Xue Ye sat down on the throne.
There were no pleasantries.
Nor any wasted words.
"I summoned you here today for one matter alone."
The grand hall immediately fell quiet.
Xue Ye raised his hand.
"The Hall of Relief."
As those words fell.
Several people's expressions changed almost imperceptibly.
"Following an examination by Poison Douluo Dugu Bo and Ye Lingqiu, head of the Nine Heart Begonia family."
"The pills sold by the Hall of Relief carry grave hidden dangers."
"And behind it lies an evil organization that has remained hidden for years."
"The Medicine King Holy Church."
Boom!
The court instantly erupted.
"The Medicine King Holy Church?"
"What is that?"
"Isn't the Hall of Relief a place that treats illness and saves lives?"
"How is that possible!"
Some were shocked.
Some were puzzled.
And some had already turned utterly pale.
Xue Ye swept a cold gaze over them.
"The Medicine King Holy Church uses the Hall of Relief as a cover."
"To abduct people."
"And refine living people into medicine."
"Within Heaven Dou's borders, large numbers of officials and nobles have colluded with them."
At that moment.
The entire grand hall fell deathly silent.
Xue Xing's expression shifted slightly.
Before he could speak.
Xue Ye continued:
"Effective immediately."
"Conduct a comprehensive investigation of the Hall of Relief."
"Anyone involved in human trafficking, refining living people into medicine, or facilitating the Medicine King Holy Church-"
"Spare not a single one."
At last, someone could no longer hold back and stepped forward.
"Your Majesty!"
"This matter is of grave importance. How can we act solely on-"
Boom!
Terrifying Soul Power suddenly pressed down.
The minister's voice cut off abruptly.
Everyone whipped their heads around.
At the side of the grand hall.
A man slowly stepped out.
Two yellow, three purple, and four black.
Nine Soul Rings rose.
Snake Lance Douluo.
Xue Ye said calmly:
"To prevent the Medicine King Holy Church from leaping over the wall like a cornered dog."
"I have specially invited a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall to assist with this investigation."
"His Excellency Snake Lance will be stationed in Heaven Dou City for the time being."
At those words.
The court erupted outright.
"Spirit Hall?!"
"Your Majesty, you absolutely must not!"
"Allowing Spirit Hall to interfere in the empire's affairs, this-"
"Silence!"
Xue Ye slapped the armrest.
The sound was not loud.
Yet the grand hall instantly fell silent.
The next moment.
He flung out a list.
The sheet fell in the center of the grand hall.
"The people on that list."
"Arrest them all."
Many faces changed drastically.
"Your Majesty?!"
"I am innocent!"
"Your Majesty, I have been unswervingly loyal to the empire!"
"This is slander!"
Before they could finish.
Bang!
The doors of the grand hall burst open.
A large contingent of palace guards poured in.
But these so-called "palace guards" had long since been replaced with men from the crown prince's residence.
"Seize them!"
At the command.
The guards instantly lunged at the ministers and nobles on the list.
Someone tried to resist.
Snake Lance Douluo merely cast him a cold glance.
The man instantly froze.
A nine-ring Titled Douluo was standing right here.
Who dared move?
One.
Two.
Ten.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of ministers and nobles were pinned down on the spot.
Some roared in fury.
Some begged for mercy.
Some were deathly pale.
And Xue Ye said only one thing.
"Seal off Heaven Dou City."
"Allow entry."
"But no exit."
At the same time.
Across Heaven Dou City.
Teams of Soul Masters moved simultaneously.
Elites from the crown prince's residence.
Soul Masters from Spirit Hall.
Organized into mixed teams.
Each team had at least two Soul Kings overseeing it.
They had only one target.
The Hall of Relief.
Bang!
The doors of the first Hall of Relief branch were kicked to pieces.
"By His Majesty's decree!"
"The Hall of Relief is suspected of colluding with the Medicine King Holy Church!"
"Everyone, cease resisting!"
"Submit to investigation!"
Someone's expression changed drastically.
He turned and fled.
An arrow flashed.
Pfft!
The man was pinned straight to the wall.
"Anyone who resists."
"Kill without mercy."
Immediately afterward.
The second establishment.
The third.
The fifth.
One Hall of Relief after another was surrounded at the same time.
Medicinal herbs.
Pills.
Account books.
Underground chambers.
Lists of names.
Everything was sealed and seized.
All of Heaven Dou City.
The heavens changed in an instant.
And high above, where no one noticed.
Guang Ling sat atop a bell tower.
An ice bow resembling the Imperial Bow lay across his knees.
Qian Jun and Jiang Mo guarded two other tall buildings.
Pufferfish remained hidden in the direction of the imperial palace.
Several Titled Douluos.
Sealed off the entire city.
They were not responsible for arresting ordinary people.
They waited for just one thing.
For those truly big fish-
To lose patience and leap out.
Boom!
A tremendous crash suddenly erupted in the west of the city.
The entire street shook with it.
High above.
Guang Ling instantly turned his head.
Above a Hall of Relief branch, an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo was under siege by a Soul Douluo and two Soul Saints from Spirit Hall.
Eight Soul Rings flashed wildly.
But against the three working together, he had already reached his limit.
Bang!
Another blow.
The Soul Douluo was blasted through a wall, shattering it as blood sprayed from his mouth.
Seeing that he had nowhere left to retreat.
A trace of madness suddenly flashed in his eyes.
"The Medicine King is merciful!"
"The Sacred Tree bestows life!"
As his words fell.
He abruptly pulled out a pill and opened his mouth to swallow it.
In the distance.
Guang Ling's gaze turned cold.
The bowstring thrummed.
Whoosh!
An ice-blue streak of arrow light crossed several streets.
The next instant.
Pfft!
The arrow pierced straight through the man's arm, pinning his entire hand firmly to the wall.
The pill fell to the ground.
The Soul Douluo still tried to struggle.
"Seize him!"
The surrounding Spirit Hall Soul Masters swarmed him.
First, they crippled his Soul Power.
Then, they dislocated his jaw.
They searched his Storage Soul Tool.
They searched his clothes.
They did not even spare the gaps between his teeth.
Clearly.
No one wanted to give these people a second chance to swallow a pill.
Similar scenes.
Were playing out again and again throughout Heaven Dou City at that very moment.
There were Soul Saints.
And Soul Douluos as well.
Powerhouses who normally hid in the Hall of Relief, merchant associations, and noble estates were forced out in batches.
Some surrendered without a fight.
Some resisted to the death.
Others reacted by immediately swallowing those pills of unknown origin.
But high above.
Several Titled Douluos kept watch the whole time.
Anyone who dared swallow one.
Would be crippled first, with everything else left for later.
Qian Jun stood atop a tall tower, watching the fluctuations of Soul Power erupting throughout the city, his gaze growing increasingly grave.
Voice transmissions carried by Soul Power soon passed between them.
"To think that in just a few short years."
"This Medicine King Holy Church has already grown to this extent."
Jiang Mo stood on a rooftop on the other side.
"Quite a few Soul Saints."
"Several Soul Douluos have already shown themselves too."
"And this is only Heaven Dou City."
Qian Jun swept his gaze into the distance.
"The only question is..."
"Do they have any Titled Douluos?"
A brief silence.
No one answered.
Because if they truly did.
Then the Medicine King Holy Church's reach ran far deeper than what they could currently see.
Meanwhile.
On the other side of Heaven Dou City.
A party had already left the city.
The man leading them was none other than Dugu Bo.
Dozens of Soul Masters followed behind him.
Their destination-
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
This time.
They were not paying a visit.
They were making an arrest.
There was only one target.
The grand elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Qianshan.