aircannonsinc Chapter 39: What I hate most is eunuchs like Xu Tianran!
Chapter 39: What I hate most is eunuchs like Xu Tianran!
Upon reaching the entrance to the main hall, Xu Tianran raised his hand. Ju Zi stopped and stepped aside, allowing her personal guard to take over and push Xu Tianran into the hall.
Upon entering the hall, Xu Tianran's gaze paused slightly.
The princes had all gathered here. This was completely contrary to his expectation of "delegating power to each prince individually," which surprised him.
But he was extremely shrewd and composed, his face remaining unchanged as he calmly cupped his hands and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
"Is everyone here?"
The voice coming from above was old but full of energy.
Xu Tianran's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't his father!
A figure stepped out from the depths of the main hall. Upon seeing who it was, the other princes looked puzzled, but Xu Tianran's heart sank instantly.
Kong Deming.
This head of the Hall of Offerings rarely interferes in politics, yet all the existing level nine Soul Masters in the empire are either his disciples or have received his guidance. Coupled with his profound royal lineage, he is practically the only one who can have his word in the Sun Moon Empire.
Although he did not covet power and only valued the future of the empire and the development of soul tools, no one in Mingdu dared to question his status.
Xu Tianran's mind raced. The fact that Elder Kong had intervened in the royal family's internal affairs today, which was unusual, meant that the assassination attempt by the evil spirit master had occurred. Considering the young man's royal status, Elder Kong clearly suspected them, the princes.
But amidst the shock, a secret gleam of delight flickered in Xu Tianran's eyes.
Since it has prompted Master Kong to personally intervene and demand an explanation, it means that the evil spirit master has already taken action.
He didn't believe the evil spirit master could possibly make a mistake. As long as the biggest threat was dead, he was willing to pay any price.
As for the Third Prince and the rest of the scoundrels, dealing with them is only a matter of time.
Just as Xu Tianran had expected, Kong Deming glanced at everyone and slowly said, "You should all have heard that I recently took on a disciple."
The princes in the hall nodded slightly. Kong Deming had already spread the word a few days ago, so they naturally knew about it. Although the child was of royal blood from the previous dynasty, apart from the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, the other princes didn't take him seriously at all.
Confucius didn't get involved in the palace coup back then, so why would he go to such lengths for a descendant of the previous dynasty? If the sky falls, it's the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Third Prince's problem to worry about, not theirs.
"Just yesterday, an ambush occurred in the Jingyang Mountains." Kong Deming's voice was icy, echoing in the hall. "Three Soul Douluos and one Title Douluo. All of them were evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult."
These words caused an uproar in the hall. The Third Prince and the others exchanged bewildered glances, clearly unaware of the situation.
really!
Xu Tianran was inwardly overjoyed, but his face instantly darkened. He slammed his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair and roared, "These evil soul masters are utterly outrageous! My father is magnanimous, allowing them to live in the empire, yet they dare to push their luck and plot against my royal bloodline!"
Having said that, Xu Tianran, still in his wheelchair, solemnly cupped his hands and said loudly to Elder Kong, "Elder Kong, please calm your anger. Your son will soon petition the Emperor to order an army to thoroughly investigate this matter and eradicate these lawless evil spirits!"
His acting was flawless; his righteous indignation was so convincing that no one could find fault with it. As long as he could legitimately seize the power to investigate, with no one left to testify, he could cleanly absolve himself of any wrongdoing.
However, Kong Deming's deep gaze lingered on Xu Tianran's face for a full three seconds.
Those three deadly seconds sent a strange unease creeping into Xu Tianran's heart.
"There's no need to trouble the Crown Prince with a thorough investigation." Kong Deming withdrew his gaze, his tone completely calm. "That child told me that he wants to settle this score himself."
personally?
Xu Tianran's expression froze, and a chill ran down his spine to the back of his head.
Taking revenge personally? Those remnants of the previous dynasty aren't dead?! Three Soul Douluos and one Title Douluo, and they failed?!
Just then, the screen behind the main hall was lifted, and a tall, slender figure slowly walked out.
He had short, snow-white hair, and eyes as clear yet deep as rubies. The boy walked with ease, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Xu Tianran's hands clenched tightly inside his sleeves, his nails almost digging into his flesh, his molars threatening to shatter. But he forcefully suppressed the horror in his eyes, his expression returning to normal in an instant, even managing a gentle smile:
"This must be Master Kong's newly accepted esteemed disciple? I've long admired your name. To escape unscathed from an evil spirit master at such a young age—truly a hero among youths!"
Ye Chenxing didn't reply. He stopped and stared at Xu Tianran with a half-smile. Those red eyes, which seemed beautiful to others, now felt to Xu Tianran like a sharp knife, slowly peeling away his mask of hypocrisy.
After a long while, Ye Chenxing finally put away his playful look and politely cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Highness is too kind. It was just a lucky break."
Xu Tianran's smile remained unchanged, but his back was already soaked with cold sweat. A titled Douluo was actually made to look so pathetic by the gaze of a mere Great Soul Master. This moment of humiliation made his hatred for Ye Chenxing reach its peak.
Kong Deming surveyed the hall, his gaze sweeping coldly across the room. "I don't care what you fight amongst yourselves, but no one can touch the interests of the Sun Moon Empire. My disciples are rooted in the empire and are the foundation of its future. Anyone who, for the sake of that chair, oversteps their bounds, or even conspires with outsiders to sever the empire's future..."
Kong Deming's voice suddenly turned stern, and the terrifying pressure of a level ten soul master instantly swept across the entire area, making the princes breathless:
"I wouldn't mind personally taking action and chopping off every single one of his outstretched claws!"
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"Crash—bang!"
Inside the Crown Prince's Palace, shards of porcelain littered the floor once more. Ever since Ye Chenxing appeared, Xu Tianran's treasured antiques had become the first victims to suffer.
"Useless! Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"
Xu Tianran's eyes were bloodshot. He grabbed the last jade cup beside him and smashed it to the ground, gritting his teeth and growling, "Father actually said he would rely on these evil soul masters to deal with Shrek Academy! Three Soul Douluos and one Title Douluo, and they can't even handle a mere two-ring Great Soul Master! With their meager abilities, if they really encounter Shrek Academy, they'll probably get their teeth knocked out!"
He had already dismissed all the maids and guards in the main hall. In the vast Eastern Palace, only Ju Zi stood quietly behind his wheelchair, watching him go mad.
Once Xu Tianran had run out of things to smash, Ju Zi stepped forward and gently comforted him, "Your Highness, please calm down. There's no need to harm yourself for the sake of a mere orphan of the previous dynasty. Even if Ye Chenxing's talent is extraordinary, he's still just a second-ring Great Soul Master at present. You, on the other hand, have already reached the Title Douluo realm, and your Martial Soul is the powerful Purple Emperor Annihilation Dragon. By the time he truly grows up, you will have already inherited the throne and reigned supreme over the world."
Ju Zi paused, her tone gentle yet revealing a rational analysis: "Moreover, he is now a disciple of Master Kong. Master Kong has devoted his life to the future of the empire. Under his tutelage, Ye Chenxing may very well become a sharp weapon in His Highness's hands for conquering new territories in the future."
Listening to Ju Zi's analysis, Xu Tianran's violently heaving chest finally calmed down a little.
Rationally, he knew that Ju Zi was right. A genius who hadn't even grown up yet was indeed nothing to fear.
But he just couldn't swallow his anger!
Ever since his assassination attempt and the loss of his core abilities and dignity as a man, his psyche has become extremely twisted and paranoid, fueled by daily resentment. He cannot tolerate any variable that is outside his absolute control, and he cannot bear the thought of a perfect, exceptionally talented potential rival for the throne, even favored by Confucius, living in this world.
That was a thorn stuck in the most sensitive part of his heart!
Furthermore, he believed that both his father's ascension to the throne and his own power were inseparable from the help of evil spirit masters, also known as the Holy Spirit Cult. In his view, although these people were despicable, they were still a useful weapon.
The conflict between the Sun Moon Empire and the Douluo Three Kingdoms is fundamental. They can coexist peacefully now only because the high-level combat power of the three kingdoms and Shrek Academy prevents the Sun Moon Empire from making any rash moves. Meanwhile, the Douluo Three Kingdoms are catching up with the Soul Guidance Technology. In a hundred or a thousand years, one day, they will make the Sun Moon Empire pay the price for the war caused by the continental collision a thousand years ago.
Therefore, he needs the power of evil spirit masters, but now, the royal family has produced a dual-extreme former dynasty bloodline who completely counters his evil spirit master helper. This is like dancing on his minefield.
Although no one in the country is willing to accept the Holy Spirit Church now, he is confident that once he takes power, he can launch a war and make the entire empire his "hostage." At that time, not only these ministers, but even Confucius will have no choice but to accept it. After all, compared to the threat of evil spirit masters, the defeat and destruction of the country is even more unacceptable to them.
When the war is won, he will eliminate the evil spirit masters and make an unparalleled contribution to the Sun Moon Empire! He will also have a good reputation for purging the evil spirit masters.
But all of this began to crumble with the appearance of Ye Chenxing!
Xu Tianran's chest heaved, and he finally leaned back slowly in his wheelchair. He lowered his eyes, concealing the cold, venomous ruthlessness in them, like that of a viper.
Since they can't openly kill Confucius's disciple...
It seems we'll have to take a long-term approach.
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Ye Chenxing bid farewell to Kong Deming and returned by car to his residence near the Gongfeng Hall.
Sure enough it was him.
Ye Chenxing had already reached a conclusion regarding this attack. Based on the intelligence revealed by Elder Kong, the old emperor was now on his deathbed.
When a person is about to die, they will fear that the person they killed will come after them. Since he fell seriously ill, he has lived every day in fear of having failed his father and caused the death of his brother. He had no intention of secretly killing him, a descendant of the previous dynasty.
In the main hall today, when Xu Tianran heard that the last surviving member of the previous dynasty was still alive, the tense muscles and slightly constricted pupils that Xu Tianran displayed were completely exposed under Ye Chenxing's spiritual detection, which was at the Soul Saint level.
One hundred percent, the ambush was ordered by Xu Tianran.
Since he dared to make a move, then don't blame him for retaliating in kind. Besides, as a veteran online novel reader, Ye Chenxing's greatest hatred in his first life was for eunuchs like Xu Tianran.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to take revenge on Xu Tianran. Because it was too easy.
Xu Tianran's biggest weakness was in his hands. He only needed to wait until Xu Tianran had cleared away all his rivals and was happily preparing to ascend the throne, then he would reveal this "incomplete" secret to the public. A eunuch wanted to be emperor? Even if Ye Chenxing agreed, the entire court and the people of the world would never allow it.
After this incident, coupled with Master Kong's public reprimand, Xu Tianran will definitely not dare to make any further moves against him in the near future.
As Ye Chenxing pondered, he casually touched the storage ring Kong Deming had just given him. The moment his mental energy probed into it, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Inside the ring, defensive soul tools ranging from level one to level seven were piled up like a mountain. Invincible shields, tough walls, mental defense matrices, elemental isolation generators... one stack after another, completely filling the entire storage space.
Ye Chenxing shook his head helplessly. His teacher had originally hoped that he would gain more experience, but after yesterday's ambush, the old man was clearly traumatized and started giving him defensive soul tools in bulk.
Back at the villa, Ye Chenxing immediately summoned A Yin and instructed her to guard the main gate and refuse all visitors. Then, he led Qian Renxue quickly into the underground secret chamber.
Pushing open the heavy metal door, a complex summoning circle, already carved with special materials, was revealed on the floor in the center of the secret room.
Ye Chenxing stood at the front of the formation, took a deep breath, and even his palms were sweating. He was usually calm and composed, but at this moment he could not hide the tension and anticipation in his heart.
Nothing more than that, he had finally reached level 20, allowing him to activate his second Heroic Spirit Summon. This was his biggest advantage in this world.
While Qian Renxue is indeed a powerful top fighter, with his current soul power supply, he is like a top-of-the-line luxury car with a nearly empty fuel tank, unable to reach full speed.
What he lacks most right now is not a fighter, but a support, a heroic spirit that can achieve the strongest effect without consuming soul power.
Therefore, the catalyst for this summoning...
Ye Chenxing crouched down, his palm slowly touching the ground at the edge of the summoning circle. His gaze seemed to pierce through the earth, looking across the entire Mingdu, at this land where soul-guided technology was most prosperous.
The medium this time is the Sun and Moon Empire itself!
That's right, Ye Chenxing's target this time was a powerful Soul Master.
However, in his view, the soul guidance technology of the Sun Moon Empire has been constantly evolving. The brilliant soul guidance masters in history may not be inferior to their descendants in talent, but they are limited by the perspective of their times. If we only consider the existing soul guidance knowledge and technical reserves, even if we dug them up from the ground, they might not be able to beat Kong Deming in the current field of soul guidance.
Therefore, he took a different approach and chose to use the "entire Sun and Moon Empire" as an abstract medium.
What he wants to summon is not a specific historical figure, but the originator of the profession of "Soul Master", or rather, the collective of the concept of "Soul Master"!
Ye Chenxing had consulted many ancient books of the Sun Moon Empire the day before yesterday. The origin of Soul Guidance Technology was no longer known, and the fact that this person did not leave behind any specific legends was exactly what he wanted.
In his first life, during his magic class in the Einzbern family, he learned a similar theory: for example, when summoning "Jack the Ripper," since his true historical identity is unknown, the one who ultimately responds to the summons will be the collection of that legend.
In Ye Chenxing's current vision, this originator of the Soul Guidance system, with the blessing of legend, is likely to become the one who knows everything about the Soul Guidance system.
Moreover, his martial soul "Hall of Heroes" will respond to his subconscious to some extent when summoned.
Just like his first ring, it was precisely because he extremely rejected Tang San that he responded to the summons as an angel goddess from a parallel universe, Qian Renxue, instead of the love-struck girl who was manipulated by the Sea God in the original timeline.
With such a precedent, the feasibility of this "conceptual appeal" is extremely high.