Reincarnated as the Death Spider Queen, sacrificing Bibi Dong at the start

Chapter 254 Ning Fengzhi: Qinghe performed too well, I have to go back and give him a bad review.

……

After listening, Ning Fengzhi could only manage a bitter smile. He shook his head helplessly: "Uncle Gu, you're thinking too simply. Politics is never that simple."

Gu Rong was taken aback. "What do you mean? Isn't your influence, Sect Master Ning, great enough?"

"It's not a matter of how much face you have."

Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath and patiently explained the pros and cons to his old friend: "Uncle Gu, think about it. I am the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, one of the three upper sects. In terms of wealth and prestige, I can be said to have a hundred followers in the Heaven Dou Empire. And Xue Qinghe? How old is he? His foundation in the court is shallow."

"The most crucial issue is that Xue Qinghe has remained unknown for so many years, presenting himself to the outside world as a kind-hearted person who is unassuming and even somewhat dull."

"But what happened when we went to Purple Pearl Island? The other two princes, who were usually pampered, messed things up one after another and caused big trouble; while Xue Qinghe, who was usually dull, suddenly made a name for himself. Not only did he remain calm in the face of trouble, but he also showed his face and won the favor of the titled Douluo of Seagod Island!"

"Think about it, if I go back this time and openly favor Xue Qinghe in court, even petitioning for him to be made crown prince... guess what the naturally suspicious old emperor will think?"

Gu Rong frowned and thought for a moment: "Would you think he was blind before and neglected his eldest son?"

“Wrong!” Ning Fengzhi’s eyes shone brightly as he firmly denied it. “The old emperor would never think that way! His first suspicion would definitely be that I’m behind this!”

"He'll wonder if all of this is a conspiracy orchestrated by me? Did I deliberately set a trap to make the two princes lose their composure and make a bad impression in front of Seagod Island? And why did my usually dull eldest son suddenly become so clever and shrewd when I was with him on Purple Pearl Island?"

Ning Fengzhi countered with a question: "Uncle Gu, is this reasonable in the eyes of a suspicious emperor?"

Gu Rong was stunned. "This..."

“So,” Ning Fengzhi concluded with a wry smile, “when I go back this time, not only will I not be able to show any support for Xue Qinghe in front of His Majesty, but I will also have to deliberately find fault with him during my report, saying that he is still too conservative in his actions and lacks the boldness of an emperor!”

"I absolutely cannot let the old emperor think that my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has any intention of secretly siding with or supporting a puppet prince. Otherwise, even if he really changes his opinion of Xue Qinghe because of the Purple Pearl Island incident, he may still develop deep fear and suspicion of Xue Qinghe because of my strong intervention!"

"The old emperor is afraid that Xue Qinghe has secretly sided with me and become a puppet for me, Ning Fengzhi, to control the Heaven Dou Empire! As an outsider, my premature and direct support for the princes' struggle for the throne and my deep involvement in the Heaven Dou Empire's court are absolutely a terrible thing to do to the ever-sensitive royal family!"

Ning Fengzhi gazed at the approaching Hanhai City dock in the distance.

"In this struggle for the crown prince position, I can only stand by as an objective observer and offer a few words of advice when necessary. I absolutely cannot openly stand behind any of the princes."

"I can only stand on the side of the Heavenly Emperor forever."

"The position of crown prince can only be decided by the old emperor himself. No one else is allowed to offer any biased advice."

After listening to Ning Fengzhi's insightful explanation, Gu Rong felt as if his mind was a jumbled mess. He couldn't help but rub his throbbing temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"You politicians, your convoluted ways are truly baffling. According to you, performing too well can actually be a bad thing?"

“Uncle Gu, this isn’t some random politics.” Ning Fengzhi shook his head helplessly, his gaze deep. “This is about people’s hearts, and even more so, naked self-interest.”

"The situation on the mainland is currently turbulent, and the Heavenly Dou Empire is already beset by internal and external troubles. In such a turbulent situation, the old emperor is extremely sensitive. Anything that may endanger the rule of the Heavenly Dou royal family or cause turmoil in the court will arouse his great vigilance, especially the selection of the crown prince, which concerns the foundation of the country."

Ning Fengzhi explained in detail, "If the position of Crown Prince cannot win the hearts of the people, it could easily trigger a violent upheaval in the court. Do you think any of those deeply entrenched noble families in Tiandou City, or those powerful members of the imperial clan, are easy to deal with?"

"Do you really think that His Majesty's favoritism towards the Second Prince and the Third Prince is merely due to personal preference and emotion?"

"As an emperor, he viewed this issue primarily from the perspective of maintaining stability in the court."

"These two princes have the support of the Empress's immense power, and naturally have a large number of supporters throughout the court and the country. If one of them eventually takes that position, the transition of power will be much more secure, and the succession to power will be smoother and more stable in the future."

At this point, Ning Fengzhi sighed: "On the other hand, Xue Qinghe, although he has the title of the eldest son, is in the end just an illegitimate eldest son without any support from his maternal clan."

Forcibly supporting someone with no foundation as crown prince would not only mean rebuilding all power from scratch, but would also directly trigger and even intensify conflicts with court officials who support the other two princes.

“If not handled properly, it could easily trigger an uncontrollable upheaval in the court, or even shake the foundations of the nation. Uncle Gu, politics in the court has never been decided by a single factor such as who is smarter or more capable.”

After hearing this extremely realistic and even somewhat cruel analysis of the pros and cons, Gu Rong shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Alright, alright, this is such a pain!" Gu Rong waved his hand, ending the heavy topic with a look of disgust. "I'd rather not bother with this. Let you, as the sect leader, deal with these complicated and brain-burning things."

The moment the topic of returning to the city came up, Gu Rong's tense and serious face instantly relaxed, replaced by a kind and even somewhat ingratiating smile.

"I've been away for so long, I wonder if that little girl Rongrong has missed me, her old grandpa, while she's in the sect."

As he spoke, Gu Rong pulled out bags and packages from his storage soul tool as if by magic.

All of them were deep-sea specialties he had scavenged on Purple Pearl Island: huge deep-sea pearls radiating a soft glow, rare blood-red coral, and various exquisite and unique underwater gemstones.

As he carefully handled these treasures, he muttered to himself, "I wonder if Rongrong will like these rare overseas items."

Seeing his old buddy's appearance, Ning Fengzhi's gloomy mood eased considerably, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Uncle Gu, don't worry. That girl is a real little money-grubber now, with a very sharp eye. These are all good things that you can't find inland, she'll definitely love them."

Chapter 255 Prince: Finally ashore! Death: No, you've just finally reached your destination.

……

"boom--"

With a dull thud, the royal flagship of the Heavenly Dou Empire finally came to a steady stop at the private dock in Hanhai City.

As soon as the ship came to a stop, several princes, who were used to being pampered, couldn't wait to stumble and fall onto the land using the gangplank.

For people like them, who had been pampered since childhood in the inland areas of Tiandou City, this sea voyage that lasted for several days was simply an unbearable ordeal.

If you get tired while riding in a horse-drawn carriage, at least you can ask the driver to stop you by the roadside so you can get out and rest.

But when you're on a boat, all you can see is the vast ocean. Even if you're so dizzy from all the rocking that you feel like you're about to vomit, you can only hold on to the edge of the bed and tough it out!

The kind of physical and mental exhaustion that comes from being tossed about in the waves is simply indescribable.

"Oh my..."

The moment they stepped onto solid ground, the Second Prince Xue Luochuan and the Third Prince Xue Haicang no longer cared about royal dignity. Their legs went weak, and they collapsed onto the stone slabs of the dock like two puddles of mud, panting heavily.

Although the eldest prince Xue Qinghe's face was also somewhat pale, in order to maintain his composed image in front of Ning Fengzhi, he endured his discomfort and walked to a stone bench not far away, where he sat down gracefully.

"I'm so tired..."

Xue Haizang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sighed with lingering fear, "This is the first time in my life that I've felt this feeling of being grounded is so pleasant..."

However, before the princes could catch their breath, a sudden change occurred!

"call--!"

The sea breeze, which had been just a little damp, suddenly turned violent without warning!

A gale carrying a large amount of gray-black sand and dust, like a roaring earth dragon, suddenly swept out from the dark alley of the port, instantly obscuring the view on the dock!

"wrong!"

As soon as Gu Rong stepped off the ship, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and the keen senses of a Title Douluo instantly kicked in. "This isn't a naturally blowing wind! There are extremely strong soul power fluctuations in this wind!"

"Someone's playing tricks! Protect His Highness!"

The commander of the royal guards responsible for escorting the group shouted and immediately drew his sword, directing his soldiers to form a defensive formation on the perimeter.

However, due to the long sea voyage and seasickness, these imperial guards were in extremely poor condition, their steps were unsteady and their reactions were sluggish.

The Imperial Guards who were left in Hanhai City to handle the reception numbered only about a hundred, which was far from enough to form an effective defensive perimeter.

Just then, Gu Rong's expression changed drastically again. He took a deep breath and roared:

"There's poison in the wind! Cover your mouth and nose! Retreat!"

Unfortunately, his warning came too late.

"Thump! Thump!"

Almost the instant Gu Rong finished speaking, the large number of Imperial Guards soldiers on the outermost edge who came into contact with the sandstorm, before they could even let out a scream, felt weak and powerless all over, and collapsed in swathes like wheat being harvested!

Qian Renxue, who was sitting on the stone bench, changed her expression slightly and was about to get up and call for help.

But the next instant, a thin, almost invisible, spiritual transmission reached her ears:

"Young Master, don't panic, this is an operation by our Spirit Hall."

Qian Renxue was startled, her brows furrowing deeply. She feigned fear and retreated, but secretly used her soul power to force a telepathic connection back: "The Spirit Hall's operation?! What operation?! Such a huge matter, why haven't I received any news?!"

Hidden in the shadows, the Serpent Spear Douluo helplessly explained via telepathy, "Young Master, please calm down. I only just heard about it myself. The Pope actually bypassed the Hall of Worship and issued a secret order! She sent Elders Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard with a large number of elite experts to ambush here."

"Their target is to intercept and kill the Heaven Dou Prince, as well as the group of Sea Soul Masters from Purple Pearl Island who came with you! The Pope is trying to use this tactic to undermine the cooperation between the Heaven Dou Empire and Sea God Island!"

"asshole!"

Qian Renxue cursed inwardly, trembling with rage, "Why didn't she discuss such a crucial matter with far-reaching consequences with me beforehand?! Is she trying to disrupt my entire plan?!"

"Young Master, now is not the time to dwell on this. They're about to make their move!" Serpent Spear Douluo instructed rapidly.

"You should quickly move closer to Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong. It's safest to stay by their side! When the fighting starts, Citun and I will secretly create chaos and find an opportunity to get rid of those two useless princes, paving the way for your ascension to the throne!"

Qian Renxue gritted her teeth, still trying to use telepathy to stop this absurd action.

But the next second, the killing began!

"Whoosh whoosh—!"

Nearly twenty figures, clad in gray robes and completely covered up, emerged from the shadows of the sandstorm like ghosts!

Although none of them summoned their martial souls in order to conceal their identities, their terrifying physical qualities and powerful soul power, all of them being above level 70, and even including several level 80 Soul Douluos, made it a one-sided bloody massacre against the already poisoned and weakened Imperial Guards!

Blood instantly stained the stone slabs of the dock!

"court death!"

Seeing the Imperial Guards being slaughtered like vegetables, Gu Rong was furious.

He roared, and his nine spirit rings erupted, as he prepared to transform into his true form as a bone dragon to rescue the second and third princes who were terrified.

"boom!"

Just as Gu Rong was about to move, two more terrifying figures in gray robes descended from the sky like two mountains, blocking his way!

"boom!"

The two did not use any soul skills, but only their physical strength clashed, which actually forced the unsuspecting Gu Rong back half a step!

Gu Rong steadied himself and looked at the two gray-robed men in front of him, who had suppressed their auras to the extreme. His pupils suddenly contracted.

"Two Title Douluo?!" Gu Rong gasped.

With just one glance, he accurately assessed his opponent's strength and foundation! Add to that the dozen or so experts around him, all at least at the Soul Saint level…

Looking across the entire continent, besides the Spirit Hall, what other force could casually field such a terrifying interception lineup?!

"The Spirit Hall?"

Gu Rong sneered, "I thought your Spirit Hall had really changed its ways in the past few years, but I didn't expect that you're still the same old bandit at heart!"