Douluo Jueshi, world modulation mode

"What is all this about!" An Zhen sat on the throne that represented power, looking at the intelligence compiled by the Prime Minister of Douling.

The civil and military officials stood below as they would have done in court on any other day.

An Zhen, of course, did not ascend the throne.

He was only temporarily assuming the throne.

After all, the lack of a leader is indeed one of the reasons why the Douling Empire is in chaos.

Those royal family members who did not attend this Douling royal family ancestral worship ceremony were far removed from the deceased Douling emperor by blood. Furthermore, they were deemed unreliable; in the eyes of the Douling prime minister, they were all rather mediocre, capable at best of managing their own small sphere of influence and utterly incapable of commanding respect.

“I remember,” Anzhen said, looking at the old prime minister. “Emperor Douling had a sister named Xue Lingxun.”

“Princess Lingxun.” The old prime minister thought of her, then shook his head slightly. “No, she is already married. Back then, she eloped with someone from the Xuanming family. The late emperor was furious and even wanted to strip her of her princess status and take back the royal tokens. However, the princess stayed, citing her longing for her. Later, as time passed, the princess never returned even once, and the late emperor declared that he would pretend he had no daughter.”

This is the official explanation.

That is indeed part of the reason.

More importantly, the old prime minister feared that the Xuanming family, under the identity of Xue Lingxun, would seize control of the Douling royal family. Not only might the royal family later bear the surname Xu, but these veteran officials would likely be swept out of court once the situation stabilized, their families' millennia-long accumulation of wealth and power wiped out. After all, there were only so many positions in the court; if those who wanted to rise to power, they would naturally have to step down.

But which of the civil and military officials would willingly leave like this?

Some of them represent the interests of various parties.

Even the local nobles.

But there is no doubt about it.

For them, Anzhen was a much better choice than Xue Lingxun.

Especially now that the empire is facing the threat of evil spirit masters.

Furthermore, Shrek Academy, which An Zhen is affiliated with, is not the same as the aristocratic families.

Regardless of what they do in private, at least they won't interfere in imperial affairs on the surface. So what if they become a retired emperor? They've held that position for so many years. It's much better than having someone else usurp their place.

Therefore, even though An Zhen stated she wouldn't change her surname, the Prime Minister of Douling still hoped An Zhen could truly ascend the throne. After all, An Zhen's bloodline was that of a genuine descendant of the Douling royal family. Her parents were both members of the Xue clan who had awakened the royal inherited martial soul, the Swan. Furthermore, with An Zhen's monstrous talent and such excellent bloodline, she would surely be able to change the long-standing problem of the Douling emperor's relatively weak strength.

"The rebels have captured two more major cities in succession." Anzhen looked at the latest intelligence report.

The Douling Empire, after all, is still an empire; it shouldn't be in such dire straits. The main reason is that the deaths of Tianyang Douluo and the Douling Emperor have demoralized the Douling royal family and weakened their power, causing the empire's most elite troops to remain stationed outside Lingdou City. This is primarily to stabilize the heart of the Douling Empire; if Lingdou City were destroyed, the Douling Empire would truly be completely fragmented.

On the other hand, the general, a titled Douluo-level figure, was directly subordinate to the Douling Emperor, and only the Emperor could issue orders. The general used this as a pretext to wait and see which member of the royal family would ascend the throne, and then pledge his allegiance to that person. After all, even Xue Kui and Xue Leng, who were nominally loyal to the emperor but were actually rebelling, were nominally members of the Douling royal family.

At this moment, a burly man clad in golden armor entered the hall. Despite the unusual circumstances, his presence in court wearing armor was enough to reveal his identity.

"Your subject, Song Guozhong, pays respects to Your Highness." The man knelt on one knee to greet him, showing no disrespect to Prince An Zhen, who had suddenly appeared. He had previously sensed a tremendous surge of power within the city while outside, and the terrifying strength led him to believe it was the work of a Super Douluo powerhouse from Shrek Academy who had come to provide support. However, he hadn't expected that what he heard from others was actually this seemingly very young prince.

"General Song, please rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

An Zhen and Song Guozhong looked at each other and sized each other up.

"Crystal Bear Martial Soul, level 92 almost 93, barely acceptable," An Zhen thought.

Song Guozhong was quite surprised.

Despite his title of Douluo, he couldn't sense any aura emanating from the other party.

“I heard from the Prime Minister that General Song has a Soul King flying unit of two hundred men, all of whom are equipped with flying soul tools from the Sun Moon Empire,” An Zhen said.

This is one of the measures taken by Emperor Douling to increase the strength of the royal family through soul-guided technology.

"Yes."

“Alright.” An Zhen nodded slightly. “Now, have them convey the message to all forces within the Douling Empire as quickly as possible that I will temporarily assume imperial authority.”

"This chaos in the empire was the work of the remnants of the Holy Spirit Cult." An Zhen's cold voice echoed in the hall. "The deaths of His Majesty and His Highness Tianyang were the work of the Holy Spirit Cult's leader and deputy leader, Zhong Liwu, level 98, and Feng Ling, level 97."

"The rebels led by Xue Leng Xue Kui are henchmen of the Holy Spirit Cult."

"Anyone who dares to cause trouble again will be considered a henchman of the Holy Spirit Cult and their entire family will be exterminated!"

This is a notification.

To appease the people.

Then comes demonstrating strength.

To deter those dishonest guys.

“Then,” An Zhen stood up, his invisible aura exerting immense pressure on everyone in the hall—the “power” of a strongman. “At the same time, I will personally go to the front lines and crush those rebels who have become henchmen of the Holy Spirit Cult.”

At this moment, not a single civil or military official stood up to dissuade An Zhen from fighting the rebel army alone. His imposing presence, like the might of heaven, made them subconsciously feel that he was like a young deity. Even those who wanted to speak up for him kept their words shut when they met An Zhen's oppressive gaze.

Some people looked at Zhang Lexuan, who was standing next to An Zhen, hoping that she could persuade her.

At such a distance, with such a handsome man and a beautiful woman, it was obvious their relationship was quite special. Zhang Lexuan stood quietly.

If any other Title Douluo in the academy had this idea, she would definitely dissuade them. Aside from those at the Limit Break level, who are practically gods among mortals, Title Douluos are still human, and eventually their strength will be exhausted. Moreover, in the chaotic environment of a battlefield, such an obvious target would be far too easy to be ambushed by a powerful enemy.

However, these problems wouldn't occur with An Zhen at all. Back when An Zhen was still a low-level Soul Master, even a Title Douluo who concealed their aura couldn't "hide" near her.

“General Song,” An Zhen called out.

"Chen is here!"

"You will lead the Empire's elite troops, along with several court officials, carrying disaster relief supplies. Follow behind me and be responsible for pacifying the people, supervising prisoners, and handling all subsequent matters," Anzhen ordered. "You must ensure that the negative impact of this incident on the people of the Empire is minimized."

Having grasped the situation, An Zhen didn't want to waste any more time. The mastermind behind the rebels was the leader and deputy leader of the Holy Spirit Cult; if time was wasted, who knew what kind of disaster might occur.

"I accept your order!"

Anzhen looked at the old prime minister. "While I am away suppressing the rebellion, the prime minister will be in charge of affairs within the city."

"The minister obeys the order."

An Zhen grabbed Zhang Lexuan's wrist, who was standing next to him, "This is my wife, Zhang Lexuan, a level 96 Super Douluo of the Power Attack type, titled Yue."

"During this period, I will be stationed in Lingdou City on your behalf."

"Your subject greets Your Highness, the Princess." The civil and military officials bowed.

"Le Xuan, thank you for your hard work." An Zhen gently hugged his wife.

Zhang Lexuan's level-nine soul tool was made by Kong Deming based on his Silver Moon Divine Light Shield, and its function is considered top-notch among level-nine soul tools. Even when facing the Holy Spirit Cult's leader and deputy leader, escaping and protecting herself would not be a problem.

"Take this."

Anzhen took out a golden helmet, its metallic surface gleaming with extraordinary spiritual light.

It is the helmet of Poseidon.

"Give me my full potential." Anzhen used her soul to tap the "spirit" that the Sea God's Helmet had nurtured by absorbing the power of the world.

Although this doesn't match Zhang Lexuan's soul power, and there's no sea nearby, this thing is still quite good in terms of defense, especially in terms of mental defense.

A flash of inspiration struck. The Helmet of the Sea God responded to Anzhen's words.

"What is this?" Zhang Lexuan sensed the extraordinary nature of the object in her hand.

“It will protect you if you encounter danger,” Anzhen said.

The Trident of Poseidon is too distinctive, and its "spirit" is somewhat arrogant; without An Zhen, no one can use it. The Scepter of Destruction is even less relevant; An Zhen didn't infuse it with world power, after all, it belongs to Teacher Destruction. Currently, only he can barely use it. If it were placed in Spirit Fighting City without his control, the entire city would likely be destroyed by its indiscriminate destructive intent.

After saying that, An Zhen's figure disappeared into the main hall.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness." All the officials knelt in obeisance.

……

On the city wall of Lingdou City.

Shrek and his group were already waiting there.

"Did those two evil spirit masters find out anything?" An Zhen asked.

"There's no trace of those two Super Douluo-level evil soul masters," Elder Song shook his head, "but they did draw portraits of them."

“One of them is Feng Ling,” Yan Shaozhe said. “Although she has changed a lot, her facial features are still similar, so it’s definitely her.”

"Hmm." As soon as An Zhen learned that the person who made the move had the Martial Soul of an Evil Phoenix, she had already confirmed the identities of the two Evil Soul Masters.

“Let’s go then,” Anzhen said.

“My spiritual perception can cover a very large area; a city is now a piece of cake. Elder Song, please hide for now. If we don’t find any trace of those two people with the rebels, I will have someone spread the news of my senior brother’s arrival to see if we can lure Feng Ling into a trap.”

"Okay." Old Song nodded gently.

This mission, originally intended as a test for An Zhen, was led by him. However, given the unforeseen circumstances, since An Zhen has declared his ability, they should let them see the strength of this future Sea God Pavilion Master. Furthermore, Shrek Academy's Limit Douluo are currently tied up. Elder Mu must guard the academy to prevent any unforeseen events. Elder Xuan must be responsible for providing backup in case of emergencies outside the Sun Moon Empire.

The group hurried to a city that had recently fallen to rebel weapons, just as they had done on their way there.

The Douling Empire is mostly plains.

It is surrounded by mountains.

Easy to defend but difficult to attack.

But this is from the perspective of external enemies.

With internal strife and the royal family's delayed support, the rebels have made rapid progress.

(End of this chapter)