Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

A figure enveloped in brilliant flames streaked across the sky like a falling meteor, finally hovering above the imperial city, looking down upon Emperor Xueye and his entourage.

The Holy Son Yan of the Spirit Hall descended upon Heaven Dou City once again, yet no one inside or outside the imperial city received the news. He stood high above with the air of a god, gazing at the crowd below, and said as if implying something: "This Heaven Dou Imperial Palace is indeed too dark; it truly should be illuminated by light."

"The Spirit Hall".

On the city wall of the palace, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's eloquent speech was interrupted by Yan's sudden appearance. He looked up at the figure that seemed like a god and couldn't help but clench his fists. "Your Highness, have you forgotten the agreement we made back then when you came to my Tiandou City today?"

"What agreement? I don't understand what Your Highness is saying."

Yan spoke calmly, an attitude that infuriated the royal family members, including Emperor Xueye. They had even given him the Vast Ocean Universe Cover to get rid of this plague god, yet he had dared to deny it in front of everyone! Unacceptable…

"I came here today with no interest in getting involved in the dirty business of your royal family, but I never expected His Highness the Crown Prince to be so rude, unfilial, and heartless."

Yan's eyes instantly sharpened, and he stared at Xue Qinghe with a cold smile: "You just said that my Spirit Hall was involved in the avalanche to poison His Majesty Xue Ye. That's utter nonsense, utterly shameless."

Inside the imperial city, everyone was stunned by Yan's stern rebuke. No one expected that the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall would be so angry at Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. Was this a sign that the Spirit Hall was about to break ties with the Heaven Dou royal family?

"That's right, that's right, utter nonsense, Xue Qinghe is talking nonsense."

After a moment of silence, an excited voice rang out. The Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, seemed to have grasped at a lifeline and said urgently, "What His Highness the Holy Son said is true. Xue Qinghe is an utterly shameless villain. He was the one who poisoned my two elder brothers and His Majesty, and then framed me and the Spirit Hall."

Inside the imperial city, the sound of avalanches was so piercing that countless eyes were focused on him and Yan. Based on their current performance, it was indeed very suspicious that this fourth prince was colluding with the Spirit Hall.

Yan, who was in the sky, glanced at Xue Beng, who seemed to have grasped a lifeline, but shook his head and said coldly, "The medicine techniques that Prince Xue Beng has learned are indeed related to the pharmacists of my Spirit Hall. However, my Spirit Hall does not question the actions of its students when teaching medicine, so how can you talk about collusion?"

He may indeed be the true culprit who poisoned His Majesty Xueye, but what does all of this have to do with my Spirit Hall? Moreover, the idea that my Spirit Hall conspired with him to poison the Second and Third Princes is utterly baseless. Your Highness, in this forceful framing, are you perhaps trying to cover something up?”

Yan's few words, spoken casually, put immense pressure on the crowd below. He first confirmed that Xue Beng's medicinal techniques were related to the Spirit Hall, but then frankly stated that the Spirit Hall had nothing to do with Emperor Xue Ye's poisoning. As the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, it was hard for anyone not to believe him when he said this in public.

Chapter 414 Useless Son and Imprisoned Brother

"Your Highness, perhaps I was biased and failed to ascertain the truth. My apologies..."

In the Heavenly Dou Imperial City, following Yan's words, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe spoke again, this time with a hint of softening, "The evidence of Xue Beng poisoning Father Emperor is conclusive. Qinghe was too impulsive and spoke carelessly just now. I hope the Holy Son will forgive me."

"Your Highness, there's no need to apologize so soon. There's no rush."

Yan glanced at Xue Qinghe with a half-smile, then shook his head calmly. Now that he had made his appearance, how could this farce be so easily suppressed? He had been preparing for this plan for a very long time.

After replying to Xue Qinghe, Yan then looked at the avalanche on the ground and said, "Avalanche, you keep saying that the Second Prince and the Third Prince were poisoned by Xue Qinghe, but do you have any evidence?"

"This is the evidence that Xue Qinghe poisoned my two elder brothers. This scoundrel has been poisoning people in many places in the palace for more than ten years. Even I have suffered from his poisoning. I could only escape death by pretending to be a playboy..."

It seemed that Xue Beng had given up entirely. Even though Prince Xue Xing tried his best to signal him, the prince still presented the evidence he had found earlier to the public. It was a video of Xue Qinghe personally poisoning Xue Qinghe.

The broadcast of this video shocked countless people both inside and outside the capital.

The evidence of the avalanche that Xue Qinghe presented earlier was also video footage, but this prince has always had a bad reputation, so no one thought it was anything special. However, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who was praised by the entire empire as a virtuous crown prince, was unexpectedly turned out to be such a person.

"Avalanche, you're framing me."

Xue Qinghe was stunned when he saw the video. He really didn't expect that the avalanche could find something so important. He was always extremely careful when he made his move, so how could he have left such a clue?

“My good brother, what is there to say now? I learned all this from you. My two imperial brothers were truly wronged in their deaths.”

The avalanche was practically insane, like a mad dog trying to drag the Xueqing River into the water. These two brothers were truly something else; one poisoned his brother, and the other drugged his father. This mind-blowing scene left nearly 100,000 people in the city completely dumbfounded.

Originally, no one dared to discuss royal secrets, but gossiping is human nature. Not to mention that because of the infighting among royal fathers, sons, and brothers, tens of thousands of corpses have fallen inside and outside the capital. Now, who cares about royal dignity?

"Your Highness, I failed to properly discipline my son this past snowy night. I wonder if you could show leniency in today's events? The Empire will surely repay you handsomely in the future..."

These two brothers are undermining each other, and being the emperor of Xueye is truly exhausting. However, the current situation has already greatly diminished the prestige of the royal family. If things continue to develop unchecked, the royal family will truly lose face.

With nearly 100,000 soldiers, officials, and nobles present, if this royal secret continues to escalate, he won't be able to protect either of his two sons. As the emperor, he naturally has to step in and salvage the situation.

Emperor Xueye seemed to be backing down, but Yan had no intention of letting it go. He simply said, "Your Majesty, since today's matter involves my Spirit Hall, it's not up to you to decide. Some things need to be clarified."

"Your Highness, this matter involves the privacy of the royal family. I hope you will not go too far. Prince Xuexing, Marshal Gelong..."

Emperor Xueye was truly annoyed by Yan's lack of respect. He called out several names, including Prince Xuexing, and several important officials of the empire were prepared to step forward and use their prestige to suppress this farce.

"Old friend, don't get involved. You can't cover this up."

Just as Prince Xuexing was about to speak, Dugu Bo came to his side and stopped him by pressing down on his horse. He glared angrily at his old friend, but Dugu Bo could only nod helplessly at him.

"Bastards, are you trying to rebel..."

Dugu Bo easily subdued Prince Xuexing, while chaos erupted in several other directions. In particular, Marshal Gelong, who was the second person named by Emperor Xueye, was a true Soul Douluo powerhouse. However, when faced with the siege of Title Douluo-level opponents, he could only let out an unwilling cry before collapsing to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

One after another, figures appeared in the sky above the imperial city. These dozen or so people who suddenly appeared each stood in mid-air, and the powerful aura they exuded made the 100,000 people below feel suffocated.

These dozen or so figures were all genuine Title Douluos. This discovery caused panic among countless nobles, officials, and even members of the royal family. Many intelligent people already understood that tonight's events were likely to unleash chaos that would sweep across the continent.

"Several traces of 100,000-year-old soul beasts have appeared in the far north. In order not to disturb the people, the Spirit Hall specially dispatched many elders to investigate. However, they did not expect to encounter such chaos, which involves the Spirit Hall. We have no choice but to step in to resolve it."

Yan casually offered a plausible explanation, but many people, including Emperor Xueye, didn't believe it at all.

Ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts are extremely rare throughout the entire Douluo Continent. Several have suddenly appeared in the north, while the Heaven Dou Empire has yet to hear of them. The Spirit Hall mobilized so many elders just to investigate, and they just happened to be resting in Heaven Dou City when this mess happened. What a coincidence!

"Your Majesty, the poisoning of you and the two princes may seem like a matter within the palace, but the safety of the emperor involves the lives of countless people."

Yan looked at Emperor Xueye again, and pointed to the countless corpses lying on the ground outside the imperial city, "Because of tonight's chaos, countless elites of the empire have lost their lives, including many Soul Masters."

The Spirit Hall must not tolerate this, and the people of the Empire cannot be blinded. The facts must be investigated thoroughly, and everyone must be given an explanation.

Yan's words were resolute and resonated with countless low-ranking soldiers. Because of the internal strife within the royal court today, with the palace guards and imperial guards fighting each other to the death, countless soldiers and officers had perished; this definitely needed to be addressed.

However, judging from Emperor Xueye's intentions, he clearly wanted to protect his son, which naturally made many people indignant. However, the emperor's power was immense, and ordinary people dared not disobey him. But now that the Spirit Hall had stepped forward to oppose him, many people, though they didn't say it, were secretly delighted.

"Holy Son, when did it become your Spirit Hall's business to interfere in the affairs of my royal family? You clearly harbor wolfish ambitions, and your Spirit Hall is acting like this..."

"Snapped!"

Yan's words naturally angered the royal family, and the most agitated was Xue Qinghe, who was being targeted. However, before he could say a few words, a loud slap stunned everyone.

Everyone stared in shock at the city wall. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who was loudly rebuking the Spirit Hall, was slapped to the ground by the Spirit Hall's Holy Son Yan. This was more than just a slap in the face; it was a direct trampling of the royal family's dignity.

"How dare you, how dare you..."

Crown Prince Xue Qinghe was the most shocked of all. He was still standing there in a daze, pointing at the sky and muttering to himself. He was clearly still not back to his senses.

"Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of the Heaven Dou Kingdom not only poisoned two members of the Heaven Dou royal family, but also secretly concealed the subjugation of evil soul masters, harmed many powerful figures of the Spirit Hall, and plotted to assassinate the Spirit Hall's bishop and holy son... He committed countless crimes... His sins are unforgivable..."

Yan looked down at Xue Qinghe from his high vantage point and announced Xue Qinghe's crimes word by word, which naturally caused an uproar among the audience.

The low-ranking soldiers were naturally surprised that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe was such a heartless monster, while the officials and nobles looked grim, because they had done many of the things Yan mentioned. Was the Spirit Hall going to settle accounts with them today?

"Reporting to the Holy Son, all the crimes of this scoundrel Xue Qinghe are here."

Just as everyone was in an uproar, a loud voice rang out from the city wall. A majestic figure came forward and presented numerous pieces of evidence against Xue Qinghe.

"You, how could it be you..."

Xue Qinghe stared in disbelief at the imposing figure. He never imagined that this man, whom he considered a confidant, would betray him at such a crucial moment. It was simply unacceptable.

The one who stepped forward to testify against Xue Qinghe was none other than Xie Xiong Xuanling, who had previously desperately tried to stop Dugu Bo in the palace. Xue Qinghe never dreamed that this person, whom he regarded as a confidant, would betray him.

"Xue Qinghe, back then, in order to investigate the plot to assassinate me, Venerable Xiong infiltrated the assassination organization in Tiandou City. He went through countless hardships, but in the end, he found you, His Highness the Crown Prince. After collecting evidence over many years, what else do you have to say?"

Yan calmly looked at Xue Qinghe and Emperor Xue Ye on the city wall, and continued to smile, "If you feel that the evidence is not enough, I have another person here, whom you are probably familiar with. Deacon Yang Wushuang, please step forward and say something."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I can confirm that the evidence of Xue Qinghe poisoning the Second Prince and the Third Prince is conclusive. In addition, when I rescued His Majesty Xue Ye, I discovered that His Majesty's body contained several kinds of deadly poisons. One of them was a slow-acting poison administered by Xue Qinghe, while the other came from an avalanche."

Another figure stepped forward, and his appearance shocked even Emperor Xueye, for this person was the very same pharmacist who had just rescued him.

Yang Wushuang's words caused another uproar inside and outside the capital. It was now confirmed: Emperor Xueye's two sons had both poisoned their father, as if they wanted him to die quickly enough. Truly two extremely filial sons!

"Your Majesty, what else can you say about this matter? Xue Beng and Xue Qinghe are both unfilial and unkind, instigating tonight's chaos for their own selfish reasons. They are unfit to be emperors and should be stripped of their princely status and punished accordingly."

Yan spoke again, "Prince Xuexing led his troops to attack the imperial city, causing heavy casualties. He should also be imprisoned and tried, and dealt with separately."

Emperor Xueye closed his eyes in anguish, knowing that all was lost, and said in a deep voice, "What the Holy Son said is exactly what I think, and I have no objection."

Chapter 415 Divine Right of Kings

The night of the coup in Tiandou City was not a particularly special day in the Douluo Continent, but in later historical records, it is a day that cannot be ignored.

Night falls over Tiandou Palace, and the capital of Tiandou is thrown into chaos. The eldest prince, Xue Qinghe, leads a coup in the palace, while the fourth prince, Xue Beng, with the help of Prince Xue Xing, launches a coup in the imperial city. The two sides fight a great battle, leaving the imperial city littered with blood and corpses. Eventually, the temple intervenes to stop the coup, deposes the two princes, and then divinely ordained the emperor.

This is the official imperial historical record of the coup that year. Throughout the text, there is very little information about the Spirit Hall, only referring to it as the Temple. And there is no mention of the Spirit Hall's Holy Son Yan.

This figure, who played a subtle role in this coup, was deliberately omitted from the historical record by historians at the behest of the relevant authorities. He was left only in unofficial histories, where he is still talked about with great interest even ten thousand years later.

In the early hours of the morning, buckets of water were poured down throughout Tiandou City, with thousands of people working tirelessly.

The bloodstains inside and outside the palace have been largely washed away. Soldiers with serious faces maintain order throughout the city, their expressions stern, as if facing a formidable enemy.

On the night of chaos in Tiandou City, countless people were unable to sleep. The next morning, many people discovered that the city's four gates were open to entry but not exit, clearly indicating that the chaos was not yet over.

"We have utterly failed. The Heavenly Dou Royal Family is finished." In a corner deep within the imperial city, behind an iron window, the former Crown Prince Xue Qinghe looked at the closely patrolling guards outside, a bitter smile of despair on his lips.

"Xue Qinghe, is there any point in you putting on this act now?" In another corner behind the iron bars, the Fourth Prince Xue Beng sat on the bed as if in a daze, his face almost contorted with rage.

“That guy, the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, said he would spare our lives. Since he made such a solemn promise, he shouldn’t go back on his word.” Xue Qinghe glanced at Xue Beng and Xue Xing in the other corner, then looked out the window and said with a wry smile, “Uncle, Fourth Brother, you might not believe it, but I’m actually quite relaxed right now.”

"Xue Qinghe, what kind of talk is this? You are the Crown Prince of the Royal Family." Xue Qinghe's words not only caused Xue Beng to react strongly, but Prince Xue Xing was even more unable to accept that the royal family, which had fought against him for so long and had almost defeated him this time, had actually admitted defeat so easily.

"Uncle, over the years, you've watched that Holy Son of the Spirit Hall rise to where he is today. Honestly, do you think I'm his match?" Xue Qinghe turned to look at Xue Xing, and said with a wry smile, "No, I'm no match for him. Even Father lost to me more than once, otherwise he wouldn't have relinquished power to me so early. But I still didn't expect that guy to make his move so soon. But it's good this way. He made his move early, and a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. At least from now on, I don't have to worry about that guy having designs on me."

"Heh, Xue Qinghe, Your Highness, do you really think that the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall would keep his promise? If he were a man of his word, what did he promise after receiving our Vast Ocean Universe Cover back then? And why is he here tonight?" Xue Qinghe's attitude naturally provoked Xue Beng's strong dissatisfaction. Xue Qinghe had gained and lost, and knew he couldn't bear it anymore. He had never sat in that position, and his heart was always filled with jealousy. How could he possibly have any good words at this moment?

"Fourth brother, all we can do now is look on the bright side. Otherwise, what good will come of the three of us?" Xue Qinghe didn't react much to Xue Beng's words, simply stating a fact. The other two behind bars could only remain silent after hearing this.

...Inside the palace, the once fully armed palace guards had been replaced by the Templar Knights of the Spirit Hall. Numerous elite warriors, clad in armor, shields, longswords, axes, and spears, hurried back and forth in the palace in groups.

The palace servants were temporarily placed under control, and nobles and officials from various departments were summoned to the palace for meetings. The city defenses outside the palace, which originally belonged to the Imperial Guard, were also taken over by the Spirit Hall's own people.

Deep within the Heavenly Dou Palace, numerous golden-armored warriors guarded a towering palace. Countless nobles and officials waited anxiously inside, discussing amongst themselves. They had been summoned here to discuss the aftermath, but had yet to see Emperor Xueye.

"Your Majesty, is this a case of the Spirit Hall placing me under house arrest?"

"Don't talk nonsense. It is His Highness the Holy Son and the titled elders of the Spirit Hall who are discussing the matter of the crown prince with His Majesty."

"How can we discuss the matter of the crown prince? His Majesty doesn't have many children to begin with. His only surviving sons are the crown prince and the fourth prince, both of whom have been imprisoned by the Spirit Hall and are about to be dealt with."

"Are you saying that the Spirit Hall is planning to support a branch of the royal family? Now that Prince Xue Xing and the two princes have been imprisoned, where are the close relatives of the royal family left?"

"Stop talking and get to work. These matters are not for us to discuss."... Inside the chaotic palace, countless nobles and officials had different thoughts, yet their gazes all turned toward the rear hall.

There, a discussion concerning the fate of the Heaven Dou Empire is currently taking place. Inside the private room in the rear hall, many elders of the Spirit Hall, including Dugu Bo, sit upright, occasionally exchanging a few words about cultivation.

However, occasionally a few gazes fell on the side hall further back, where there were only two people: Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire and Yan, the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall.