Douluo Continent: Copying Ya Li, the Carefree King of the Sun and Moon

Xu Jiawei slumped on the throne, his hands gripping the armrests tightly, his face ashen and haggard.

His lips moved as if he wanted to speak in defense, his throat bobbed repeatedly, but in the end he couldn't utter a single word.

He gazed at Xu Yanli's face, which was exactly the same as Xu Wangshu's, his eyes swirling with resentment and fear, as well as a sense of relief that he himself couldn't quite explain.

In the end, this day has come.

He recalled that rainy night more than twenty years ago, when he stood at the palace gate and watched Xu Wangshu being escorted out of the city by guards.

She glanced back at him, without resentment or anger, only utter exhaustion and complete disappointment.

"That's fine then."

Xu Jiawei finally spoke, his voice hoarse and dry, as if he had exhausted all his strength, "The abdication edict, I... I will write it."

A collective gasp filled the hall.

Some people looked up abruptly, their faces filled with disbelief; others hung their heads, their shoulders trembling.

Of course, some people secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had unloaded a burden that had been building up for many years, and were filled with excitement.

Xu Yanli nodded slightly, then turned and walked out of the hall.

As he reached the entrance of the main hall, he paused slightly, but still did not turn around.

"Uncle, I need to see the imperial edict by this time tomorrow."

As soon as he finished speaking, he strode out of the main hall.

Sunlight streamed in from outside the hall, casting a faint golden glow on the moon-white robes.

He stood on the steps, looking at the guards, eunuchs, and palace maids kneeling all over the square, and then at the hazy, milky-white pillars of light outside the city walls, and let out a soft sigh.

Behind them, from the main hall of the palace, suppressed sobs slowly drifted out, indistinguishable as to whether they were grief or relief.

Xu Yanli never looked back.

He raised his hand, a chaotic halo of light condensing at his fingertips, and flicked it casually. The light shot into the sky, transforming into a gentle rain of light that enveloped the entire Starry Sky.

Among the kneeling crowd in the square, some raised their hands to catch the falling rain of light, and tears instantly streamed down their faces.

Xu Yanli withdrew his hand, and his figure gradually disappeared in the morning light.

Only a whisper, carried away by the wind between heaven and earth.

"Mother, did you see that?"

Chapter 197 Duke White Tiger has taken care of it for me.

Everyone was so busy they barely had time to breathe.

The side hall was in complete chaos. Officials from the Ministry of Rites were shouting at the top of their lungs, while eunuchs and palace maids were rushing back and forth carrying trays of various colors, their steps so fast it was as if they were being chased by evil spirits.

The guards carried the brand-new dragon robe, the maids held the emperor's crown, and the eunuchs knelt on the ground to lay out a red carpet. After laying it out, they noticed that the patterns were crooked, so they simply lifted it up and laid it out again. They went back and forth like this several times.

The new emperor's coronation ceremony was scheduled for three days later, an absurdly tight schedule, yet no one dared to utter a single complaint.

Xu Yanli sat quietly in the corner of the side hall, slowly twirling a fan in his hand, his eyelids half-drooping, coldly watching the group of people bustling around, without the slightest ripple on his face.

Xu Jiawei sat next to him, his face growing uglier with each passing day.

His whole body was ashen and pale, with a bluish tinge, like moldy tofu that had been left out for too long, or like a dying zombie.

He was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, but it was all wrinkled and disheveled, with the collar crooked, and no one was willing to come forward to help him straighten it.

The eunuchs and palace maids who served him had already rushed to the main hall to help prepare for the ceremony. Who had the mind to care about an old emperor who was about to abdicate?

Xu Yanli glanced at him sideways but didn't say anything.

Xu Jiawei was restless, unsure of what to do with his hands and feet. One moment his hands were on his knees, the next he was gripping the armrests of the chair tightly, and then he would subconsciously reach for the jade pendant at his waist, only to quickly pull it back as soon as he touched it. He felt like he was sitting on a bed of nails, unable to settle down at all.

He couldn't help but steal glances at Xu Yanli, then quickly look away in a panic, his heart pounding with guilt.

Feeling impatient from being scrutinized so frequently, Xu Yanli stopped turning the carving knife, stuck it on the table in front of him, and glanced at him indifferently.

Xu Jiawei froze under that gaze, instinctively shrinking back into his chair like an old cat whose tail had been stepped on, wanting to get angry but lacking the courage, so he could only shrink his neck and pretend to be obedient.

"Uncle," Xu Yanli said casually, as if they were just chatting about everyday things.

Xu Jiawei's Adam's apple bobbed heavily, but he didn't dare to respond.

Xu Yanli leaned back, casually crossed his legs, and slowly said, "There's something I want to discuss with you."

Xu Jiawei gripped the handrail tightly with all his might, not daring to move an inch.

He knew perfectly well that Xu Yanli's "discussion" was never a request for opinions, but simply an announcement, leaving him no room for rebuttal.

"Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger."

When Xu Yanli uttered the name, his tone remained calm, but a hint of unspoken meaning quietly crept into his eyes.

“He has been entrenched in Xingluo City for long enough. I plan to transfer him to the Tianhun Empire battlefield to lead the vanguard.”

Xu Jiawei's pupils suddenly contracted.

Everyone knows that the so-called battlefield of the Heavenly Soul Empire is just a facade.

The Heavenly Soul had already surrendered the entire country. All that remained was to clear out the remaining soldiers, appease the people, and take over the cities. There were no tough battles to fight.

For others, it would be a sinecure, but for Dai Hao, it would be a real exile or sending the other party to their death.

He was uprooted from Xingluo City, which he had cultivated for decades, and thrown into the unfamiliar territory of Tianhun. He had no trusted old subordinates, no powerful backers, and was surrounded by the troops of the Sun Moon Empire.

From now on, they will be like birds in a cage or turtles in a jar, unable to stir up any more trouble.

"If it can't be done..."

Xu Yanli paused, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He looked gentle and harmless, but his eyes were cold and devoid of warmth.

He leaned forward slightly, raised his right hand, and gently patted Xu Jiawei's cheek.

The movements were very light, as gentle as an elder comforting a younger person, but in the current situation, they were clearly a naked humiliation.

Xu Jiawei was frozen stiff, his face turned slightly to the side by the slap. He dared not dodge or utter a sound. Several eunuchs who were laying red carpets in the hall caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of their eyes. They were so frightened that they almost dropped their hands and quickly lowered their heads, pretending that they had not seen anything.

“If you can’t do it,” Xu Yanli withdrew his hand, pulled out a snow-white silk handkerchief from his sleeve, and slowly wiped the fingers that had just touched Xu Jiawei’s cheek, wiping each one with great care, “then the one who will appear on the Heavenly Soul Battlefield in the future will be you, along with your entire Xu family.”

Xu Jiawei's face drained of all color, his lips trembled uncontrollably, and he tried to plead for mercy, but his throat felt like it was being choked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

After wiping his hands, Xu Yanli casually tossed the silk handkerchief onto the ground. The snow-white handkerchief lay there alone on the polished, mirror-like gold-brick floor, particularly glaring.

He stood up, dusted off non-existent dust from his robes, and turned to walk towards the entrance of the side hall. He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped without looking back.

"Uncle, make good preparations for the coronation ceremony. I need to see the coronation edict and the White Tiger Duke's order to go to war on time in three days."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped out of the side hall.

The sunlight outside the hall was perfect, shining brightly on the white marble steps, almost blindingly so. Xu Yanli stood on the steps, taking a deep breath of the outside air. Behind him, from the side hall, came Xu Jiawei's suppressed coughing, one cough after another, as if he were coughing up his internal organs.

A faint, cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

Even the most cowardly emperor in the original novel wouldn't be this timid. With Xu Jiawei's temperament, he probably doesn't have many days left. To be so terrified by a single glance, not even daring to breathe, he's truly a useless piece of trash.

How could Xu Wangshu, such a beautiful and talented woman, have ended up with such a younger brother? Could it be that the rumors are true, that he was spoiled by his older sister since childhood? She treated him like a precious gem, afraid he would melt in her mouth or break in her hands, and in the end, she raised such a paper tiger who looks noble and dignified on the outside, but is actually fragile and easily broken?

Xu Yanli shook his head slightly, too lazy to dwell on these unimportant matters. With a light touch of his toes to the ground, his figure suddenly soared into the air, transforming into a beam of bright white light that shot straight into the sky.

He sat cross-legged in mid-air, surrounded by a halo of chaotic light, his moon-white robes fluttering gently in the high-altitude wind. Looking out, the entire Star Luo City lay before him, its imperial palaces, bustling streets, ordinary dwellings, city walls, and sentry posts all laid out before him.

Above thousands of homes, beams of milky white light still floated, the flame of faith he had lit for his mother yesterday, still burning quietly, even brighter than yesterday.

Inside the palace walls, eunuchs and maids bustled about like ants, busy preparing for the coronation ceremony three days later. In the streets and alleys, people gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves; some wore expressions of joy, some wept silently, and others knelt on the ground, kowtowing devoutly towards the palace.

On the city wall, the guards changed wave after wave. The new soldiers were not even fully dressed in their armor, and they stood crookedly at their posts, their faces full of confusion and helplessness.

Chapter 198 Instruments Nuwa

Xu Yanli quietly surveyed everything, remaining silent for a long time.

This is the essence of human life.

This is also the new world he has been planning and promoting step by step, and it is about to come.

He withdrew his gaze from the distance, took out a small communication device from his sleeve, and pressed the switch. The call connected quickly, and Yue Zhengling's steady, deep voice came through: "Your Highness?"

“Send a message to the Crown Prince,” Xu Yanli said calmly, “Xingluo has already submitted. The new emperor’s enthronement ceremony will be held in three days. Tell him to send someone to take over the aftermath.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication line. Yue Zhengling clearly had something to say, but in the end she swallowed it back and only respectfully replied, "Yes."

With communication cut off, Xu Yanli put away his soul tool and remained seated cross-legged high in the sky, gazing at the city lights below and the slowly setting sun on the horizon.

The setting sun cast a long shadow over him, projecting it above the layers of clouds, making him look like a god looking down upon all living beings in the mortal world.

Sun and Moon Empire, Ming Capital, Crown Prince's Study.

Xu Tianran stood by the window, clutching the message that had just been transmitted through the soul tool tightly in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.

Xingluo has submitted.

It wasn't won through a large army's conquest; it was that kid who single-handedly stormed into the Star Luo Imperial Palace, and with a sudden shower of light and a face exactly like Xu Wangshu's, he forced Xu Jiawei to step down from the dragon throne.

Without using a single soldier or firing a single cannonball, they conquered the entire Star Luo Empire without shedding a drop of blood.

The real reason is that Xu Yanli is a god.

Xu Tianran's fingers tightened their grip on the letter.

He suddenly remembered many years ago, when Xu Yanli was only six years old, huddled in the corner of the carriage, twirling a jade fan in his hand, and smiling as he said to him, "Brother, I want to become a god in the future."

At the time, he took it as just a young man's casual boastful words and let it go, never taking it to heart. But now, this young man has truly embarked on the path to godhood, not only ascending to godhood himself, but also firmly grasping the situation of the entire Douluo Continent in his palm.

Xu Tianran took a deep breath, carefully folded the letter and put it into his sleeve. He turned around, walked to the desk and sat down. He sent a message directly on the communicator, paused for a moment, and then added: "The Angel Legion will set off for Xingluo tomorrow."

He then leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes. The study was quiet, save for the occasional crackling of the candlelight.

After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes and called out in a deep voice, "Someone come here."

The guard outside immediately pushed the door open and knelt on one knee: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"Go and invite General Yue Zhengyang to come see me."

The guards acknowledged the order and withdrew. Not long after, Le Zhengyang strode into the study.

"Your Highness," Yue Zhengyang bowed respectfully.