Douluo: Starting from the Nine-Curved Vine Dragon

Chapter 376 The New Emperor
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze fell upon the four people named by Lin Rong.

Of the four, the three hereditary dukes all turned their gazes toward Shi Xuan, the most esteemed hereditary duke and head of the Shi clan.

The ten hereditary nobles have already divided themselves into four or six groups, and only by joining forces can the four of them continue to compete for the throne of the Heavenly Dou Emperor.

Since they were joining forces, Shi Xuan, as a hereditary duke, could not possibly submit to anyone else. Therefore, the leader of their alliance could only be Shi Xuan alone.

They all looked at Shi Xuan, observing what decision he would make: whether he would choose to unite with the Os, Yu, and Lü families to continue vying for the Heavenly Dou Emperor's throne, or whether he would give up his right to compete for the Heavenly Dou Emperor's throne.

If they succeed in the contest, the Shi family will become the new royal family of Tiandou.

However, if the struggle fails, the Shi family will not face extermination, but they will certainly lose their hereditary dukedom. They may be demoted to marquis, earl, or even have their hereditary title revoked.

How to handle it all depends on the mood of the new emperor.

Shi Xuan noticed the lingering childishness on Lin Rong's face, but he did not feel any contempt for her because of it.

The fact that he was able to quietly win over so many hereditary noble families to his Lin clan shows that his character and methods are far from being as simple as they appear on the surface.

One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand; those who vie for the throne, which one doesn't possess an iron-fisted ruthlessness?

Perhaps influenced by the martial spirit Xuanwu Turtle, Shi Xuan and the entire Shi clan tend to be conservative in nature.

Competing with Lin Rong for the Heavenly Dou Emperor's throne would mean the entire Shi Clan would bear far too many risks, and Shi Xuan was unwilling to take that risk.

Under everyone's gaze, Shi Xuan stroked his beard and said in a low, slow voice:

"I am quite comfortable in my position as Duke, so I will not move."

The implication is that Shi Xuan will not compete for the throne.

With Shi's withdrawal, the 40/60 split became a 30/60 split.

There's still hope for a four-against-six situation, but there's absolutely no hope for a three-against-six situation.

Moreover, the three families of Aus, Yu, and Lü all held hereditary marquis titles and were of equal status, so none of them submitted to the others. This was unlike Shi Xuan, who was a hereditary duke and held a superior position. Under duress, they were willing to submit to him.

“Duke Shi is right. I’m quite comfortable with my marquisate, so I won’t move.”

With things having developed to this point, the remaining three heads of the families, seeing that everyone's attention was on them, had no choice but to go along with Shi Xuan's words.

With these four families giving up one after another, the throne of the Heavenly Dou Emperor fell to Lin Rong, the head of the Lin family.

The old emperor was buried, and the new emperor ascended the throne.

According to the established protocol, the funeral of Emperor Xueye will be held tomorrow, and the coronation ceremony of the new emperor will be held the day after tomorrow.

"The matter of the throne has been settled. I have other matters to attend to, so I will be leaving now."

Lin Rong turned to leave, but stopped beside Du Qianyuan and said:
"Grandpa, I'll leave all the remaining chores to you."

"You just need to assist my grandfather."

The last sentence was addressed to the remaining heads of the noble families.

As Lin Rong took her last step before leaving the palace, she turned back and looked meaningfully at a certain spot.

Tang San, sensing something, turned around and met Lin Rong's gaze.

Suddenly, memories from many years ago surfaced in his mind.

The Tang Clan's birthday banquet, a spilled cup of tea that can never be recovered...

"Damn it, we can't stay in Tiandou any longer. Where should we go?"

The three great empires of Douluo Continent are the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and the Sea God Empire. Among the three empires, the Sea God Empire has a grudge against the current emperor, the Heaven Dou Empire has a grudge against the incoming emperor, and it seems that only the Star Luo Empire is an option.

Thinking about it carefully, the Star Luo Empire's royal family is prosperous, and the Spirit Hall's influence is far lower than that of the Heaven Dou Empire, so it is indeed a good place to go.

Thanks to the extensive publicity by Dugu Bo, the former royal retainer, the fact that the young master of the Spirit Hall was killed was known to many present.

Therefore, the nobles and officials surrounding Tang San were quite enthusiastic. Before the throne was decided, Tang San still had the mood to deal with them one by one, but now that he was about to run away, he impatiently declined them all and quickly left the palace.

South of Tiandou City.

Tang Clan's headquarters.

Tang San found Tai Long and hurriedly gave him instructions:
"Go pack your belongings now, and then select a group of trustworthy elite clansmen. We will leave Tiandou City immediately and settle in the Star Luo Empire."

"Young Master, why are you in such a hurry? Shouldn't you eat something first?"

Tyrone lowered his head and, unusually, asked a question in return.

He had already added six of the seven ingredients to Tang San's food. Once the last ingredient was added and Tang San ingested it, the seven ingredients would undergo a series of complex reactions within Tang San's body, ultimately forming the forbidden and deadly poison, Seven-Colored Poison, which could continuously erode his life force.

Over the years, Tailong had waited far too long. If it weren't for the fact that his superiors had repeatedly forbidden him from adding the last ingredient to Tang San's food, he would have added the seventh ingredient long ago.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is eat! What time is it, and you're still eating!"

Tang San was a little angry, so he casually slapped Tang San across the face and said:

"Do as I say right away, the sooner the better, understand?"

"Yes, my lord."

Tyrone lowered his head even further, his squinting eyes seemingly contemplating something.

He was reckless just now. There will always be times when he needs to eat on the journey, so there's no need to rush. He can get Tang San to take the last medicinal ingredient sooner or later.

……

The Lin Family Manor.

A passage deep underground.

Luminous pearls are inlaid on both sides of the wall.

Bathed in soft light, Lin Rong cast a long shadow as she approached from afar, eventually entering a secret room at the end of the passage.

In the center of the secret room.

The old steward, dressed in a white robe, sat cross-legged on a round platform, while the nine-curved vine dragon, a manifestation of his dragon soul, coiled around a pillar beside him, silently protecting him.

At the pinnacle of level ninety-nine, the obstacle preventing one from breaking through to level one hundred is a divine position.

“Young Master, I have lived up to your expectations and completed the ninth test of the God of Light. Now, as long as I enter the Godhood Inheritance Space and successfully inherit the Godhood of Light, I will be able to become the new God of Light.”

“I know, but Grandpa Yu, the succession of a divine position is extremely risky. If the fusion with the divine position fails, one will perish. So please take this with you.”

Lin Rong removed the reverse scale from the neck of the Nine-Bend Vine Dragon, made it into a pendant from the vine, and personally put it on the old steward.

Before the old butler could say anything, Lin Rong continued:

"Grandpa Yu, you don't need to worry about the irreversible effects that breaking the reverse scale will have on me. The cooldown of the transplant technique has already been restored."

"If my reverse scale breaks, I will use suicide to trigger the transplant, and then the broken reverse scale will be restored."

(End of this chapter)