Chapter 282: Thunder God, Aid Me!
After saying this, Xue Ye's expression suddenly turned serious, his anger vanishing in an instant.
"Rebellious child, you are not fit to take the throne."
"For three years, I have watched your every move—gathering officials, recruiting the Royal Knights…"
"Did you really think I knew nothing?"
"There was nothing wrong with what you did, except for one thing—you should never have allied with the Spirit Hall…"
At that moment, Xue Ye clapped his hands. The massive palace suddenly erupted with movement.
Armored soldiers emerged one after another, some wielding bows and arrows, others carrying large blades…
In just a few moments, the entire hall was completely surrounded.
At a glance, there were at least several hundred men.
Beyond that, who knew how many more soldiers were on their way, rushing toward the grand hall?
"Rebellious child, you didn't expect this, did you? Aside from the Royal Knights, I have a hidden army—a force of warriors who are loyal only to me!"
"This army consists of three thousand six hundred elite soldiers, all of them at least Soul Elders. Among them, there are many Soul Kings and even Soul Emperors."
"They may not match the Royal Knights in numbers, but in terms of strength, the Royal Knights are no match for them!"
"With them here, the palace is as secure as ever!"
Xue Ye chuckled as he spoke.
"The two Titled Douluo beside you, along with the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, are unlikely to leave here alive today!"
Why was imperial power so important?
Even the three great sects did not dare to offend it lightly.
No matter how strong a Titled Douluo was, they were still human. Against tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers, their only option would be to flee. If they truly tried to slaughter their way out, even a Titled Douluo would exhaust themselves to death.
And when faced with an army of soul masters, even a Titled Douluo would have no choice but to run.
Against ten or a hundred soul masters, they might not feel pressure.
But what about a thousand?
If each one unleashed a soul skill, even a Titled Douluo could be overwhelmed.
Qian Renxue had not expected Xue Ye to have this hidden force. No wonder the Royal Knights had been so easy to subdue.
There must have been many of Xue Ye's hidden warriors embedded within the Royal Knights.
She should have anticipated this!
Ci Xue and She Long had initially looked down on Xue Ye, but now their expressions changed drastically.
A three-thousand-six-hundred-strong soul master army, with Soul Elders as the weakest members, and several even at the Soul Douluo level!
Xue Ye had hidden this too well.
"Xue Ye, are you not afraid that we will just kill you?"
Ci Xue asked bluntly.
"I will not live much longer. Whether I die or not no longer matters. Taking you three along with my treasonous son as burial companions—what a fine way to die."
Xue Ye remained expressionless. Was he the kind of man to be easily frightened?
After decades on the throne, how could he be shaken by such a situation?
"It seems we have walked into a trap. The guards at the entrance must all be yours, right?"
The Spirit Hall's people—how could Qian Renxue and the others recognize every single one of them?
Those guards must have long been replaced by Xue Ye's men, just waiting for them to step into the snare.
Kong's eye twitched.
He had not expected Qian Renxue's rushed plan—especially the recruitment of the Royal Knights—to cause such a shift in the course of events.
If he hadn't come today, Qian Renxue and the others might not have died, but in their desperate escape, their plan would have completely failed.
"Rebellious child, I ask you again—why did you ally with the Spirit Hall?"
Xue Ye's tone was calm. He could understand the assassinations of the Crown Prince, Third Prince, and Fourth Prince.
After eliminating them, there was absolutely no reason for "Xue Qinghe" to continue working with the Spirit Hall.
If the throne was not passed to him, then who else? Snow Ke?
At this point, Qian Renxue saw no further need to keep up the facade.
"Xue Ye, have you considered the possibility that I was never truly yours to begin with?"
"Your second prince died over ten years ago."
As soon as those words were spoken, golden light erupted from Qian Renxue's body. In mere moments, she had shed her disguise, revealing her true appearance.
Xue Ye: "…"
"Pu—"
Xue Ye's eyes widened in shock, his face filled with disbelief.
In the past, Xue Xing had vaguely hinted that Xue Qinghe was no longer Xue Qinghe.
But Xue Ye had dismissed it, believing that Xue Qinghe was simply biding his time, playing one role in front of others while secretly executing his own plans behind the scenes.
That was completely acceptable—it was even fitting for an emperor.
Yet he never expected that Xue Xing's suspicions were actually correct.
Xue Qinghe had truly been replaced!
Did that mean that when Xue Beng died, his own lineage had already been cut off?
The empire had princesses, yes, but princesses had to be married off…
All four of his sons—gone?
"Pu—"
Xue Ye coughed up another mouthful of blood, this time darkened with black. The color alone was proof that his body had already reached the brink of collapse.
"Kill them all! Do not stop until they are dead!"
A commoner's wrath could spill blood within five steps.
An emperor's wrath could turn rivers into seas of blood.
Xue Ye, ever the calm and composed ruler, completely lost control upon realizing that all four of his sons were dead.
The imperial family was indeed ruthless, but no matter how ruthless he was, he had never intended for the Heaven Dou Royal bloodline to be severed.
Seeing that Kong remained completely unfazed, Xue Ye instantly understood—the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan must have been in league with this witch all along.
"Kill!"
The great hall of the imperial palace was instantly thrown into chaos.
Ci Xue, She Long, and Qian Renxue activated their martial souls in an instant, preparing for battle.
Kong glanced at the three thousand six hundred elite warriors around them.
"Step back. Leave this to me."
He gestured to the others, then looked around at the surrounding soldiers.
"The Heaven Dou Empire has long been corrupt and rotten. Countless citizens struggle in misery, while—"
His words were cut short by a volley of arrows.
These arrows were specially crafted, their power immense. Even an average soul master would struggle to withstand a single shot—let alone hundreds fired at once.
Kong's face darkened.
How foolish he had been to think he could reason with death soldiers.
"The heavens have perished! The yellow sky shall rise! This is the year of the Jiazi! The world shall see prosperity!"
"Thunder God, aid me!"
In an instant, dark clouds blanketed the sky, rolling with fury as countless bolts of blue lightning crackled and roared.
It wasn't just the palace that dimmed—the entire Heaven Dou City was engulfed in darkness.
This time, the summoned lightning was not purple.
That meant its source had little to do with Ei.
Kong raised his hand to summon his weapon, but Engulfing Lightning did not appear.
Instead, from the sky descended a massive warhammer, crackling with lightning.
It was the divine weapon of the Douluo Thunder God—Thunder God's Hammer.
A simple name, yet it was a quasi-super divine artifact.
The Thunder God of Douluo had once stood at the peak of first-tier deities.
His downfall had not been due to weakness, but because the opponent he faced had simply been even stronger.
If Kong fused with the Thunder God's divinity now, he could immediately elevate the position of the Thunder God to the level of a God King…
(End of Chapter)
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