A Bite of Douluo Continent

Chapter 228 A Long Talk in the Palace (A 5,000-word chapter, please vote!)

Faced with yet another Title Douluo suddenly joining the battle, a deep look of despair finally appeared on Qian Chenhai's face.

Just as he was about to dodge the terrifying attack, a wisp of starlight wrapped around him, freezing him in place.

Behind him, the Overlord Blade Douluo unleashed another slash, the terrifying and sharp blade light causing the hairs on Qian Chenhai's back to stand on end.

With one controlling and two attacking, Qian Chenhai had no room to maneuver. He could only hold out for a few breaths before the Overlord Blade Douluo seized the opportunity and severed his life with a single strike, killing him on the spot.

With Qian Chenhai falling silent, the palace returned to stillness.

"Senior Ba Dao, you should go back first," Xu Changling said softly.

The Overlord Blade Douluo glanced at the figure that had entered the palace, nodded silently, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

As the Overlord Blade Douluo disappeared, Xu Changling glanced at the familiar figure before him with a complicated expression. "Brother Youyuan... uh..."

As Dai Youyuan calmly walked towards him, rolling up his sleeves, Xu Changling suddenly felt that the scene before him was familiar.

"you…"

"Thump...thump thump..."

...

As the dishes were placed in front of Tang Qianqiu, Qi Han couldn't help but ask a question.

"Senior, what was that voice just now?"

After Tang Qianqiu left, Qi Han soon heard a roar coming from the sky in the kitchen. The next moment, Tang Qianqiu appeared in the store.

Holy Spirit Cult?

He had a vague impression that this force was supposed to be an evil soul master force that would only appear thousands of years later, but he didn't expect it to exist now.

It wasn't until the dishes were served that he couldn't contain his curiosity and asked a question.

Tang Qianqiu looked somewhat annoyed, as if he was still regretting not eliminating the threat completely. Hearing Qi Han's question, he sighed softly, "A level 97 evil soul master has appeared, and his decisiveness is beyond my imagination."

"As soon as I made my move, he used the method of a gecko shedding its tail to escape. Even I didn't expect him to react like that. Before I knew it, he got away."

After all, he was a level 97 evil soul master who had never appeared before. His strength was almost comparable to that of an ordinary level 98 super Douluo. Although his strength was still quite different from Tang Qianqiu's, he could still manage to escape if he really wanted to fight to the death.

Moreover, the other party's methods were truly bizarre; even Tang Qianqiu had never seen such a method of splitting into countless parts that was almost disintegrating.

The opponent was killed by me, and his blood was splattered everywhere. He must have been severely weakened. But if he secretly lay low and recovered, I don’t think I could do anything about him.

Although the Tang Sect disciples who had been lying in ambush had begun to hunt down the other evil soul masters as he made his move, this level 97 evil soul master was the most important character, and the others were not worth mentioning.

and…

A gloomy look returned to Tang Qianqiu's face.

Why have I never heard of that organization called the Holy Spirit Cult?

The biggest weakness of evil spirit masters is that due to their individual personality flaws, they are extremely difficult to unite, and are like a mob that can be easily scattered.

If they really band together and form a faction...

We need to go back to the Sea God Pavilion and talk to Qi Poxiao about how to counter him.

Before that Holy Spirit Cult leader recovers his strength, now is the time to act quickly.

Let's set off after we finish this meal.

Tang Qianqiu's attention returned to the delicious food in front of him, and he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily.

...

"Oh!"

Inside the palace, Dai Youyuan punched Xu Changling hard in the face again, then casually tossed him onto the steps in front of the throne like a sack.

"Phew." He let out a long breath, then stepped up the stairs and plopped down next to Xu Changling.

"Comfortable."

Xu Changling had long since lost his elegant prime ministerial image. At this moment, his magnificent prime ministerial robe was riddled with holes, and his bruised and swollen face made him look like he had gained a lot of weight compared to before.

When did you get back?

Even after being beaten up by Dai Youyuan, Xu Changling's voice was still full of energy, though it carried a hint of amusement and exasperation.

Dai Youyuan used brute force to beat him, without using any soul power. Xu Changling's injuries were all superficial and not serious.

"It's been almost half a month." Dai Youyuan looked into the distance with a somewhat unfocused gaze.

After a moment of silence, he spoke first.

"He wanted to kill you, so you fought back, and I don't blame you."

“But you are a subject, and he is the king. You have committed insubordination. I will give you a beating on behalf of the Dai family ancestors. You have no objection, do you?”

"I was wondering why you attacked me the moment we met... Ouch~" The words jolted him, and Xu Changling couldn't help but gasp before shaking his head. "No objection. You can beat me up again, I don't mind."

“You’re a ninth-ring now, tough as nails, I’m too lazy to beat you up.” Dai Youyuan couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he glanced at his slightly reddened fist.

"Did the evil spirit masters and remnants of the Spirit Hall leave any loose ends?"

"The remnants of the Spirit Hall have been completely wiped out. This is probably the last remaining force. As for the evil spirit master, that level 97 one escaped, and the rest should have been wiped out by our people and the disciples of the Tang Sect." Xu Changling couldn't help but smile bitterly. "I really didn't expect that even Senior Buddha Hand couldn't stop that one."

"Tell me about your side." Xu Changling turned his head and glanced at Dai Youyuan. "The turmoil on the border of the Heavenly Dou Empire a few days ago, is that true? What exactly happened, and has the Zhen Dong Army found out anything?"

"Don't underestimate the Zhen Dong Army's reconnaissance capabilities," Dai Youyuan chuckled. "Do you know about the Body Sect?"

"I know a little. It's a special sect in the Heaven Dou Empire that only accepts Soul Masters with Body Spirit Martial Souls. It's said to be quite powerful, but it lives in seclusion and rarely appears in public. I don't know any more detailed information." Xu Changling said with some doubt, "Is the turmoil related to the Body Spirit Sect?"

"Some time ago, the Heaven Dou Empire mobilized a large number of powerful individuals to capture a powerful figure from the Body Sect. That Body Sect expert was quite audacious, actually eloping with a princess from the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family. It is said that the princess is already six months pregnant, and that Body Sect expert seems to hold a high position within the Body Sect."

"The two were captured at the border between the two countries. It seems they were trying to hide in Xingluo, but they didn't succeed." Dai Youyuan shrugged. "That's what the so-called border unrest is all about."

That's...that's it?

Xu Changling's face fell.

He thought Tian Dou really had some kind of plan against Xing Luo, but it turned out it was just a misunderstanding caused by a princess eloping.

Shaking his head, Xu Changling put this irrelevant matter out of his mind, and then his expression became slightly serious.

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Arrange for a trustworthy person to take your place in the Zhen Dong Army, and hold the coronation ceremony for the new king in a few days."

"Huh?" Dai Youyuan looked at Xu Changling with a slightly strange expression. "Who told you that I was going to be the emperor?"

Xu Changling's expression froze, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

"You...you won't do it?"

"Yes, I won't do it."

"Then who should take the position? Should we let Dai Tonghua take it?"

"That's not necessarily true. I've looked into it recently, and that kid isn't any better. After not seeing him for over a decade, he's become just like his father. I think you'd be a better candidate than him as emperor."

“That’s true.” Xu Changling nodded in agreement at first, then her body stiffened, and she turned her head blankly to look at Dai Youyuan. “What…did you say?”

"I'll make you emperor." Dai Youyuan said calmly, nodding emphatically in response to Xu Changling's incredulous expression.

Lao Tzu was right.

I've decided on you!

Go for it, Xu Changling!

"Are you crazy! Dai Youyuan, are you insane?!" When Xu Changling realized that Dai Youyuan was really not joking, he suddenly stood up and roared hysterically, "My surname is Xu! I am not a member of the Dai family! Do you want to destroy the Dai family's 11,246-year-old foundation?"

"Oh, it's been so many years?" Dai Youyuan scratched his head, a strange expression on his face. "I remember it's only been a little over ten thousand years. You remember it much better!"

"Is this the important point?" Xu Changling felt exhausted.

If you're going to hand over the throne to someone else, aren't you afraid that the ancestors of the Dai family for hundreds of generations will crawl out of their graves and strangle you?

Moreover, among the original Shrek Seven Devils who became gods back then, there was an ancestor of the Dai family!

“But…” Dai Youyuan’s expression became slightly more serious, “I’m serious.”

Xu Changling's expression became extremely interesting. He was about to speak when Dai Youyuan waved his hand to stop him.

"Don't speak yet, let me finish."

Dai Youyuan's gaze drifted to a certain spot, where the Xingluo royal family's mausoleum was located.

"The Dai family has been passed down for 242 generations. Logically speaking, with each generation of Xingluo emperor having many concubines in the harem, it is impossible for them to have only one offspring. With so many generations of branches and leaves, the Dai family should be a prosperous family."

"But do you know? When I was a child, I went with my father to the ancestral hall to worship our ancestors. There were less than four hundred memorial tablets there."

"All the princes who lost in the competition for the throne either died or became commoners, had their martial spirit and soul power stripped away, and were not even qualified to have a memorial tablet left in the ancestral hall."

"The Xingluo Dai family has been passed down for ten thousand years. How many princes like this have there been in these ten thousand years? The so-called prosperity and the so-called power are nothing more than the corpses of their own clansmen and blood relatives." A bitter smile appeared on Dai Youyuan's face. Just thinking about it made him feel a deep sense of desolation.

“From a young age, I have been constantly suggesting to my father that we abolish this damned ancestral rule that has bound the Dai family for ten thousand years, but to no avail. Instead, I have only gained my father’s growing estrangement and dislike. He thinks I am weak-hearted and not like the Dai family, and therefore prefers my unruly older brother.”

"But in the end, because of his own favoritism, to protect that scoundrel who killed his three younger brothers, and to prevent me from killing him, Father broke this so-called ancestral rule." With a cold laugh, Dai Youyuan shook his head. "How ironic?"

“But you acquiesced back then,” Xu Changling couldn’t help but say. “If you had insisted on disagreeing back then, all the ministers would have stood by your side.”

“Yes, I acquiesced.” With a sigh, Dai Youyuan’s face showed a hint of reminiscence. “I had to acquiesce. If I had opposed my father’s actions in breaking the ancestral rules, it would have only made those ancestral rules like a steel stamp, continuing to be imprinted in the hearts of the Dai family.”

"A stone that has been broken once cannot be mended, can it?"

“Moreover…” Dai Youyuan gave a bitter smile, “That night, my father said something to me. He said that if I really hated the act of killing my own blood relatives, then I shouldn’t have killed Dai Yuansheng, otherwise I would have become the second Dai Yuansheng.”

“This…” Even Xu Changling was unaware of this matter. At this moment, he suddenly raised his head and said, “This is nothing more than an excuse used by the late emperor to protect Dai Yuansheng!”

“Yes, I know.” Dai Youyuan nodded. “Of course I know it’s an excuse, but you have to admit he has a point.”

"If my hands are stained with the blood of my own brothers, what right do I have to uphold my principles?"

Xu Changling opened his mouth, but in the end he closed it helplessly.

There is no solution to this problem.

"I remember when we were little, my third and fourth brothers liked me a lot. My fifth brother was a bit withdrawn and preferred my eldest brother." Dai Youyuan looked up at the magnificent dome of the palace, as if he could see the familiar people and things from his memories through the dome.

"My third brother loved to sneak out of the palace to buy trinkets from the streets. Even if he got a beating from Father when he found out, he was still happy to do it. He also liked to share them with his brothers, so that everyone got a share. I still have those trinkets he gave me back then. I often look at them and think of him."

"My fourth brother loves reading and is a quiet child. He is always punished by Father for this, who thinks he is useless because he doesn't like cultivation. But every time he talks about the stories in the book, his eyes seem to light up. I couldn't bear to watch, so I secretly brought him all kinds of books back then."