Douluo: Divine Fire Xuanyuan

Chapter 528 Preparing to Take Action: Father and Son in Conflict
In the Heavenly Soul Empire's imperial palace, the emperor dealt with state affairs until nightfall, and Xue Mo patiently knelt there until the evening as well.

All the other civil and military officials had returned to their homes, but Ning Yun and Wu Yan remained with him, or rather, openly protected him.

Emperor Xuexin felt that the time was about right, so she ordered someone to summon Xuemo.

Xue Mo stood up and walked into the imperial study, then knelt down again, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Father."

Emperor Xuexin looked deeply at her son, her eyes filled with reluctance, anger, and finally regret.

"Mo'er, it's rare to see you so humble for something. Is Shrek Academy really worthy of your respect? You actually forced your father for Shrek's sake!" Emperor Xuexin questioned.

"It's not worth it, but I have no choice." Xue Mo knew he couldn't lie to his father, so he didn't bother to make up lies and spoke frankly. He was only flattering Shrek Academy because he had no other choice. Who else could help him ascend the throne besides Shrek Academy?

Emperor Xuexin shook her head. "I am very disappointed in you. Even if you become emperor in the future, what use will it be? You will always be just a puppet of Shrek Academy. Do you know why I value Vina? It is because she knows the dangers of Shrek Academy and dares to fight against them."

"That's because Vina has the Body Sect and Yuwen Tuo. What do I have? If my sister Vina is willing to give up the struggle for the throne and fully assist me, why should I flatter Shrek Academy? Father, please be fair, in terms of political ability, am I inferior to my sister? I am your eldest son. From the time our Heavenly Soul Empire was founded, to the time of the Heavenly Dou Empire, there has never been a case of a woman succeeding to the throne, which is contrary to the Heavenly Order. I am doing this to set things right," Xue Mo said solemnly.

Xue Xin sighed, "Indeed, I admit that you are no less capable than Vina in handling government affairs. But unfortunately, luck is also a part of strength. The difference between you two was already determined when you awakened your martial souls. She awakened her original martial soul and made contact with the Original Body Sect, bringing in an incomparably strong ally for our country. Later, she recruited a peerless genius like Yuwen Tuo, which made me make up my mind."

"Mo'er, you say that I favor Vina because she has the Body Sect and Yuwen Tuo behind her. Well, let me tell you, you're right. The Body Sect and Yuwen Tuo clearly only support Vina. They can also help Vina deal with Shrek Academy. What's wrong with me favoring her for the sake of the Heavenly Soul Empire's thousand-year foundation?"

"But Yuwen Tuo is already dead!" Xue Mo roared in resentment.

"Hahaha, Mo'er, some people are destined to reach the pinnacle of an era and become unparalleled figures. My Grand Tutor Yuwen is invincible, how could he possibly lose to a mere traitor like Long Xiaoyao?" Emperor Xuexin said with a smile.

"What?" Xue Mo was shocked. Yuwen Tuo wasn't dead? Then what was his purpose in faking his death and disappearing from the world?
Furthermore, since he faked his death, how did the Emperor know? Could it be that they had been in secret contact all along?

"Oh no!" Xue Mo was indeed not stupid; with just a little information, he guessed a lot.

Especially tonight, his father suddenly told him such an important secret; he probably didn't intend for him to have a good ending. *Swish swish swish*

Three figures suddenly appeared in the imperial study.

Xue Mo's pupils contracted. "Divine Brain Douluo, Mind Douluo, Divine Finger Douluo."

There were actually three Title Douluo from the Body Sect hidden here. He subconsciously took a few steps closer to his backer, Ning Yun of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, and looked at Emperor Xue Xin warily, saying, "Father, what are you planning to do? Are you going to deal with your son here? Do you know that even so, Shrek Academy will not accept Vina? They might even cause more trouble, until the whole country is in chaos. Moreover, with Sect Master Ning and His Majesty the Crimson Dragon here, once the war starts, the commotion will definitely not be small. I think Father would not do such a reckless thing."

"I understand, but I have no other choice. If the country is to be at peace, Shrek Academy must be destroyed. I cannot allow someone like you, who relies on Shrek Academy, to succeed me." Empress Xuexin's eyes revealed a murderous aura.

Xue Mo was so terrified by the murderous aura that her hair stood on end, and she cried out, "Sect Leader Ning, save me!"

"The Seven Treasures Transform into Glazed Glass, the Seven Treasures Have Names, the Third is the Soul!" Ning Yun immediately took out the Seven Treasures Glazed Glass Pagoda, and three beams of light shone out, but the target of the light was not Wu Yan beside him, but the three Title Douluo of the Body Sect.

Xue Mo felt a chill run down her spine and questioned, "Sect Leader Ning, what do you mean by this? Are you betraying me?"

“Your Highness is mistaken. I did not betray Your Highness; rather, from the very beginning, I was never one of Your Highness’s people,” Ning Yun said with a smile.

"Hehe, so Sect Master Ning was just pretending to surrender to me. I wonder when you got involved with the Body Sect and what benefits they gave you to make you choose to help them?" Xue Mo was surrounded by four Title Douluos and knew that the situation was hopeless, but even if he was going to die, he wanted to die knowing why.

"Your Highness is mistaken again. I have no connection whatsoever with the Body Sect." Ning Yun strode up to Emperor Xue Xin, bowed to him, and said, "From beginning to end, I have been loyal to His Majesty. My support for you on the surface is also on His Majesty's orders, because my daughter, uh, my son Ning Tian is studying at Shrek Academy and has already entered the inner academy. He once represented Shrek Academy in the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Competition, so he has some influence within Shrek Academy. At least communicating with the upper echelons of Shrek Academy is not difficult. By using this connection, I can make Shrek Academy take notice of you."

"So that's how it is. Father Emperor was using me to gather all the pro-Shrek factions in the court, intending to deal with them all at once. But doing so would still cause chaos in the world. Shrek's influence is not limited to the court." Xue Mo said. Besides the court, Shrek's influence can be seen in major cities, towns, and even villages of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

Killing just a few people won't solve the problem; on the contrary, it will only incite their immense hatred for the Heavenly Soul Empire.

"Father, Sect Leader Ning, you are doing something futile. I advise you to give up this foolish behavior as soon as possible. Sect Leader Ning, I can give you another chance. If you sincerely pledge your loyalty to me, I will forgive your past actions. Don't forget, your ancestor Ning Rongrong of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School was one of the original Shrek Seven Devils. What do you gain by betraying your ancestor and attacking her academy?" Xue Mo advised.

Although Ning Yun had lied to him, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School had indeed helped him a lot during his years of struggle with Vina, and the respect he showed to Ning Yun and Wu Yan at that time was not fake.

(End of this chapter)