Chapter 522 New Day
"Nonsense! I...I will kill you!" Xu Tianran's blood-red eyes stared at Xu He who was waiting for the battle in Qiangu Jingyin and Longge. His voice was hoarse, but when he tried to mobilize his soul power, the old injury caused by the golden dragon spear recurred again, causing his condensed soul power to dissipate instantly. His body staggered again, and he had to hold on to the guardrail of the rostrum again to avoid falling. His posture of holding on but looking embarrassed exposed his inner rage and his body's loss of control.
"They... what they said... is it true?" Kong Deming's eyes fell on Xu Tianran, as if every word was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and it took a lot of effort to utter it. His eyes were no longer cold and harsh, nor were they pure grief and anger. It was an extremely complex look, mixed with scrutiny and a hint of calculation that was not easy to detect.
With the support of Jing Hongchen, Kong De was obviously very "weak", but his eyes, which had accumulated a hundred years of wisdom, were as sharp as a hawk, as if he was evaluating a soul guide core that was about to be scrapped. He raised his finger tremblingly and pointed at Xu Tianran. His voice was old and hoarse, with a kind of sadness and disbelief as if he had been hit by the truth, and it clearly echoed in the dead silent arena.
"Mr. Kong, I... it's fake, all fake!" Xu Tianran tried his best to deny the accusations of Qiangu Jingyin and Xu He, but he could not even make a complete defense. His futile struggle and broken syllables, under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of eyes, became the most naked annotation of trying to cover up something.
If these were merely accusations from the powerful men in Dragon Pavilion and the remnants of the previous dynasty, he could still explain that all of this was the result of slander from the enemy. However, being questioned so "painfully" in public by this highly respected pillar of the empire was more weighty and lethal than the accusations made by the former crown prince Xu He, and it almost stamped the certification of the highest authority in the empire.
Kong Deming looked at him like this, and the barely perceptible coldness in his eyes deepened. This was exactly the effect he wanted. The more Xu Tianran denied it, the more he wanted to cut off the possibility of him inheriting the throne.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is really inhumane? Then why did you ask to marry my granddaughter?" Since Kong Deming had already started this, Jing Hongchen was no less capable and began his performance with a look of devastation on his face.
However, just when Xu Tianran was at a loss for words, a cold and calm female voice, yet with a determination to cut off all ties, added fuel to the fire of the situation.
"Master Kong, Master Hongchen, you don't need to ask His Highness anymore. He was indeed injured in the past..."
Xu Tianran looked in the direction of the voice. He regarded the man he regarded as his confidant, his think tank, and even... the only person who had ever shown any special feelings towards him in this cold power struggle...
"Juzi?!" Xu Tianran's voice changed instantly. It was no longer the furious roar from before. His pupils suddenly shrank due to the huge impact. He stared at Juzi's face, which was calm and even had a hint of cold mockery.
How dare she?! How could she?! Those gentle words of advice, those loyal acts of keeping secrets for him, those late night companionships...were they all fake? All acting?!
The extreme pain and humiliation of being stabbed in the back by the person he trusted the most and having his most unbearable secrets exposed in public was like billions of poisonous insects gnawing at his heart!
His most trusted and closest subordinates actually completely cut off his last possibility of denial and struggle in public when he needed support the most. Under the double destructive impact, his soul power, which was already full of hidden dangers due to old injuries, completely ran wild.
Everyone turned around in astonishment! They saw that the Regent Princess Juzi had quietly walked to Kong Deming's side. She was still wearing the luxurious palace dress that represented the identity of the Crown Princess, but her face was no longer gentle and submissive as before, only a kind of coldness like ice and snow.
The personal confirmation from the Crown Princess plunged the entire rostrum, and even the entire stadium, into a deadly and suffocating silence that was more dead than at any time before.
When Kong Deming heard this, his face showed a complex expression of shock, grief, and sudden enlightenment, which soon turned into deep sorrow and helplessness. He trembled with his hands, as if he couldn't bear to watch any more, and slowly closed his eyes.
"Bitch!!" Xu Tianran was like a wounded beast. The soul power in his body exploded recklessly and with destructive violence. He rushed straight towards Orange with the determination to die together.
"I treated you well! I gave you power! I gave you status! I treated you as my confidant! How dare you!!!" His roar was filled with the fury of being deceived and the hatred that bit his bones. He bent his fingers into claws, and the destructive spirit power that was enough to tear apart everything gathered in his fingertips. With a shrill sound of breaking through the air, he fiercely grabbed at Juzi's snow-white neck! He wanted to tear this woman who betrayed him into pieces with his own hands, at any cost!
There are also two old villains, Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen!
"How dare you!" A sharp shout suddenly sounded, and a red-gold light burst out from Jing Hongchen's body without any warning. Xu Tianran's attacks all fell on the red-gold light shield that suddenly appeared. A strange scene immediately appeared, and countless ripples appeared on the surface of the light shield, which actually unloaded all of Xu Tianran's attacks and failed to penetrate at all.
At the same time, Kong Deming seemed to have come back to his senses. Several energy chains condensed like silver moonlight instantly wrapped around Xu Tianran's arms and body, and at the same time cut off his soul-guided prosthesis. Without the support of the prosthesis, Xu Tianran instantly knelt in front of Kong Deming.
"Ahh! Let me go! I am the crown prince! The future emperor! I will kill her! Kill this bitch!!" Xu Tianran's eyes were filled with resentment and hatred.
Juzi stood still, not even the corners of her clothes were blown by the strong wind of Xu Tianran's soul power. Her beautiful face was still calm. No guilt, not even a trace of pity. Only a complete, cold indifference. It was as if the man in front of her who wanted to eat her alive was just an insignificant obstacle that was about to be removed.
That look seemed to tell him that you are no longer worthy of being my ally.
Kong Deming looked down at Xu Tianran, who looked like a lost dog, and said in a heavy voice: "The sun is clear, the laws of our ancestors cannot be violated. How can the prince inherit the throne and continue the ancestral temple with such a defect?"
Xu Tianran's eyes were red as he shouted at Kong Deming, "You old man, why are you standing on Xu He's side? His father is incompetent and stubborn! He insisted on those ridiculous agreements and refused to transform the research results of soul guides into real weapons. He didn't even dare to start a war to take back the territory that originally belonged to our Sun Moon Empire! Their lineage is not worthy of sitting on the throne of the emperor!"
His voice became more and more frantic, and his soul power surged violently around his body: "My father's overthrow of the deposed emperor was his greatest achievement in his life, and it also paved the way for me! The future Douluo Continent will definitely belong to me, Xu Tianran, and to the Sun-Moon Empire! When I conquer the entire continent, I will completely rename it the Sun-Moon Continent, and let the shameful name of Douluo Continent disappear from the world forever!"
The violent soul power made the silver chains clang, and Xu Tianran's face looked particularly hideous in the surging energy.
Kong Deming's eyes flashed with coldness, and he shouted sternly: "The prince is in a state of confusion, and his words and actions are mad! Come, take him away and keep him under strict guard! Wait for your majesty's judgment!"
Jing Hongchen waved his hand indifferently: "Come here, send His Highness back to the palace to 'rest'." Several soul masters who were obviously directly under the Sun Moon Empire's Worship Hall immediately stepped forward and unceremoniously lifted up Xu Tianran, who was kneeling and struggling, and put an end to this betrayal drama.
You dare to curse the master of soul masters of the Sun-Moon Empire like that, you’re lucky not to have been beaten up by the ninth-level soul masters!
Juzi quietly took half a step towards Kong Deming. Jing Hongchen's gaze lingered on her briefly, with a look of scrutiny and a hint of hidden appreciation.
The defection of the imperial officials was no longer a foregone conclusion given Kong Deming's attitude and Orange's irrefutable evidence.
"Confucius is wise! It is a blessing for the empire that he has restored order!"
"I second the proposal!"
"Please ask Master Kong to take charge of the situation! Thoroughly investigate the old case and clean up the government!"
Under the protection of Jing Hongchen and Juzi, Kong Deming slowly turned around. He took a last look in the direction of the Longge battle zone, and his eyes met Xu He's eyes, which were burning with the flames of revenge and ambition, for a very brief moment in the air.
A subtle understanding and tacit understanding that only they could understand flashed across their eyes.
Kong Deming withdrew his gaze and left with steady steps, surrounded by the crowd.
The Sun of the Sun and Moon Empire still seems to be hanging high, but the core power reactor inside has completely changed its owner. The old rules and the sun have collapsed, and new rules are about to be reshaped on the ruins.
Juzi's fingertips trembled slightly, and Xu Tianran's heart-wrenching wail seemed to still echo in her ears. She exhaled very lightly and slowly, and even the lines of her shoulders relaxed slightly.
She won the bet.
She knew that in this power reshuffle, she had temporarily saved a glimmer of hope, using Xu Tianran's dignity, secrets and final trust as a sacrifice. Although she didn't know Xu He well, it was enough. As long as she was alive, there was hope for revenge.
She raised her eyes and looked in the direction where Xu Tianran disappeared after being dragged away. The shadow of the passage was like the throat of a giant beast, swallowing up the once invincible figure. Ju Zi's fingertips trembled slightly again. This time, she pinched her palm hard until the pain dispelled all weak associations. When she raised her head again, her face had regained that perfect, cold calm. She took a step to keep up with Kong Deming's pace, her back straight as a sword, as if the momentary hesitation just now had never existed.
"Your Highness Xu He, are you ready to ascend the throne?" Even Qiangu Jingyin, an extremely powerful man who has lived for hundreds of years and seen many storms, has to admit that this scene is indeed very exciting. Every actor performed very well, and even the hidden easter egg of orange was revealed.
As a fellow avenger, Qiangu Jingyin sincerely admires Juzi's obsession with revenge and her determination to act decisively. How great it would be if her martial soul was that of an angel!
All these noisy background sounds became blurred in He Caitou's ears, as if there was a thick curtain of water between them.
……it's over?
This thought was like a curse, repeatedly colliding in his chaotic mind. His blood-broken enemy, Xu Tianran, whom he wanted to cut into pieces day and night, just... collapsed? In front of him, in front of hundreds of thousands of people, in the most humiliating and unbearable way, completely collapsed? Even symbolic resistance was easily suppressed?
It was too easy. A huge, weightless feeling of emptiness instantly seized him. He thought revenge should be a bloody fight, a narrow escape from death, beheading the enemy with one's own hands, and using the enemy's blood to commemorate the souls of his parents and sisters! It should be vigorous and heart-wrenching!
Instead of being like now, his enemy did not fall under his sword, and he could not even get close to Xu Tianran, and failed to settle this blood feud with his own hands!
"How do you feel?" Qiangu Jingyin's voice was very soft, and only He Caitou could hear it clearly.
He Caitou opened his mouth, his throat rolling, but only a hoarse gasp came out, and the words that came out of his mouth turned into a sentence with deep bitterness and confusion: "Is he... finished like this?"
"What else? Do you think palace fighting is difficult for soul masters of our level? A prince who is infertile has no right to compete for the throne. You should be very clear about this, right? Xu Tianran is just a rotten stumbling block. It is only a matter of time before he is kicked away. Kong Deming needs this opportunity, Longge needs a point to control the Sun Moon Empire, and you... need him to be ruined and lose everything."
"When you become the emperor, you can do whatever you want to him. Why do you care so much about the process?" Qiangu Jingyin seemed to have seen through the turbulent waves and great loss in his heart. "Isn't it the emperor who has the final say on how to punish the remnants of the previous dynasty?"
Yes, Xu Tianran has fallen, but the old emperor is not dead yet! Those murderers who are stained with the blood of the Xu family are still alive and kicking in the power field of the empire! If there is no Longge, he has no support for his forces in the Sun and Moon Empire. Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen, the two old foxes, can completely treat him as a new pawn!
"You'd better not think about doing anything rash. I know you resent Yin Yue and Jin Chan for not helping you during the palace coup that year. Think about it carefully, what Xu Tianran said is right. You can't expect your father to do the things like 'the emperor guards the country, the king dies for the country'. In the situation of national war, betraying the people will not end well no matter how you think about it, right?" Qiangu Jingyin's mouth twitched upwards very slightly, with an almost cold understanding, "But since we helped you regain the throne, and..."
"Real men never play with the inheritance system, right?" The familiar voice shocked He Caitou's heart, and the feeling of unwillingness that had just risen up in his heart instantly disappeared.
"That's really scary!" Qiangu Jingyin was obviously used to the Pavilion Master's elusiveness. "Any new instructions?"
"Maybe..." Mu Xing stood in the audience, his eyes passing over Kong Deming's back as he left surrounded by his ministers, and lingered on his cold and upright silhouette.
"I heard that she has military talent, so it would be a waste of her talent to be the Crown Princess. In that case, let's go to war with the Xing Luo Empire!"
"Hey, hey! Don't look at me like that," Mu Xing looked at He Cai Tou innocently, "You have to eliminate the dissatisfaction of the whole country towards your father!"