join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters
Xue Beng sat in Moon Pavilion, protected by a group of Clear Sky Sect disciples, walking through the palace with anticipation and trepidation.
He headed towards Emperor Xue Ye's bedroom, preparing to carry out some unspeakable, unethical, and major conspiracy.
A thin young man in a black ancient robe appeared on the road ahead, causing Xue Beng's expression to change.
A pointed soft hat, a monocle, and various other iconic features revealed the identity of this young man: Duke Amon!
The one who traded with the Star Luo Empire and the Star Dou Great Forest, preparing to betray them soon.
"Good evening, Duke Amon," Xue Beng forced a smile.
"Good evening, Your Highness Xue Beng, where are you going?" Amon asked with a playful smile.
Xue Beng replied somewhat unnaturally, "I'm going to visit my father."
"This doesn't look like you're visiting Emperor Xue Ye, and it's not the time for a visit this late, is it?"
Xue Beng took a deep breath and explained, "These are disciples of the Clear Sky Sect, who are quite knowledgeable in the art of healing, so I eagerly brought them here after meeting them.
"I really can't bear to see my father paralyzed in bed so painfully, not even for a second… Every time I see him like that, it feels like needles are pricking my heart.
"Surely, Your Grace understands a child's desire to be filial to his father, right?"
Amon smiled, "Yes, I understand… but your brother, Xue Qinghe, is also very filial… I have no intention of interfering, but the waiting is a bit boring, how about giving me the 'Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud' to study to pass the time."
Xue Beng replied without hesitation, "Of course, I will have someone send it to Your Grace tomorrow."
"Oh, there's no need for that, I know Your Highness Xue Beng is always generous and will definitely agree, so I've already taken it in advance."
Amon took out a palm-sized, crystal-clear blue, three-dimensional triangular object that emitted strange energy fluctuations and played with it in his hand.
Xue Beng's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself that after he ascended the throne, he would definitely raise the defense level of the royal treasure vault by another level, so that people couldn't steal things from it so easily.
"Then I'll go first, not disturbing Your Highness Xue Beng from showing your filial piety to His Majesty," Amon said with a chuckle, raising his right hand and stroking his monocle.
Xue Beng passed by Amon and hurried to the room where Emperor Xue Ye was.
Xue Ye was lying ill in bed, only his eyes could move. He watched Xue Beng barging in rudely with a group of people, ignoring the obstruction of the palace servants who were serving him, and guessed what the other party was about to do. A trace of sadness flashed in his eyes, as well as a faint sense of relief.
"Father, Father… why did you leave?" As soon as Xue Beng approached the wooden bed where Emperor Xue Ye was lying, he rushed over and burst into tears.
"Your Majesty!" The Minister of Rites who came with Xue Beng also knelt on the ground with a look of grief.
The disciples of the Clear Sky Sect looked at the performance of the two with a hint of disdain in their eyes.
Xue Beng and the Minister of Rites cried for a while, and the Minister of Rites suddenly said, "Your Highness Xue Beng, please restrain your grief. This old minister has a will left by His Majesty…"
Before the Minister of Rites could finish speaking, his eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at the front in horror.
On the bed, Emperor Xue Ye, who was supposed to be seriously ill, suddenly sat up and looked at the two with a face full of anger.
It was Amon. Amon stole Xue Ye's "poisoned state." He watched this scene with interest from the perspective of a palace maid.
"Life always needs some fun," he murmured softly with a smirk.
Xue Beng also looked at his father in horror, retreated a few steps, and sat down on the ground with his butt.
Xue Ye's eyes seemed to be spitting fire, and he roared, "You rebellious son! I originally thought it was Qinghe, but I didn't expect it to be you!"
Xue Ye also blamed Xue Beng for poisoning him and causing him to be paralyzed.
"F… Father…" Xue Beng stammered.
"Finally revealing your wolfish ambitions? I really don't understand, why would you do this? What good will it do you to poison me when the Star Luo Empire is launching a large-scale attack?" Xue Ye left the bed and stood up.
An invisible aura emanated from him, making people feel heavy. This was not the soul pressure generated by a high-level Soul Master erupting soul power, but the aura unique to someone in a high position.
This really wasn't me… Xue Beng knew that any explanation would be in vain. After the initial panic, he calmed down and shouted to the people of the Clear Sky Sect, "Quick, kill him for me!"
"I am Tang Ye, a second-generation disciple of the Clear Sky Sect… I apologize, Your Majesty," the leader on the Clear Sky Sect side revealed his martial soul, and a dark hammer appeared in his hand.
"Clear Sky Sect? Hmph…" Xue Ye snorted coldly, "When you came to Heaven Dou and sealed your sect, I didn't hold you accountable for your past support of Star Luo. I didn't expect you to dare to interfere in my royal affairs. After this is over, I will definitely send a large army to uproot you."
The aura of a Soul Douluo emanating from Xue Ye made the people of the Clear Sky Sect shrink their pupils. They underestimated the strength of this emperor.
"Attack together," Tang Ye shouted and launched the attack first.
This was, after all, the palace. Emperor Xue Ye only needed to hold on for a moment, and countless guards would come.
Tang Ye directly used his Avatar, and the Clear Sky Hammer suddenly enlarged, making a whirring sound when swung.
With one hammer strike, Xue Ye's upper body was directly smashed into a pile of minced meat, and blood and flesh splattered all over the room.
"Ah, this?" Tang Ye looked at Xue Ye, who only had his lower body left, somewhat at a loss.
The soul power that Xue Ye had erupted earlier was very close to the level of a Titled Douluo. He treated him as a great enemy, so he didn't hold back at all. But what was going on?
Amon, hidden in the dark, had a mischievous smile on his face. At the last moment, he returned the "poisoned state."
Xue Beng was first delighted to see Tang Ye kill Xue Ye, then his face sank again. This room full of "fathers" gave him a headache.
Xue Ye only had half of his body left, which made it hard to believe that he died of natural causes!
But the Minister of Rites patted his chest and said it was okay, just leave it to him.
Then, without saying a word, he cut a palace servant in half at the waist, spliced his upper body with Xue Ye's lower body, and put a dragon robe on the corpse.
They cleaned up the palace and executed all the palace servants who were present.
At the court meeting the next day, the Minister of Rites read out Xue Ye's will, and Xue Beng put on the crown and sat on the throne.
Due to the Clear Sky Sect's slaughter, officials belonging to Xue Qinghe were purged, and fewer people attended the court meeting, making the entire hall appear unusually deserted.
No one dared to raise any objections. Xue Beng's ruthlessness suppressed them, making the enthronement ceremony exceptionally smooth.
Xue Beng hurriedly held a funeral for Xue Ye. The funeral was very simple, even inferior to that of ordinary small nobles.
At night, Xue Beng, who had hurriedly dealt with various matters, came to Shrek Academy.
"Master, what should I do next? Under what name should I issue an arrest warrant for Duke Amon?" Xue Beng asked.
Yu Xiaogang, who was shrouded in a black robe, smiled lightly:
"Nearly two years of war have made the people of the country miserable, and anti-war sentiment is extremely high. No matter what the reason, as long as you can end the war, the people will support you.
"As long as you can reduce taxes and end the current turmoil, allowing the people to return to their previous lives, then you will be a good emperor in their eyes and be able to win their support.
"They will only care about their jobs. As for the others, they are secondary. Even if you sacrifice some people and give up some people in order to stop the war, the remaining people will become your loyal supporters."
Xue Beng pondered with his chin in his hand. He was originally prepared to bear a lifetime of infamy, but after hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, it seemed that he could still become a good emperor?
Yu Xiaogang paused and continued, "Duke Amon is the culprit who caused this war. Not only ordinary people, but also many Soul Masters hate him. In fact, you can just find a reason and it won't cause too much opposition.
"But since you asked, then issue an arrest warrant for him on charges of 'theft' and 'fraud'…
"Amon stole the treasures of the Star Dou Great Forest, which led to the beast tide. He deceived Emperor Xue Ye and used shameless means to seize Blue Dragon Territory, which led to the Star Luo Empire declaring war on us…
"There will not be much resistance to negotiating peace with the Star Luo Empire, but when signing a peace treaty with the Star Dou Great Forest, you need to take into account the feelings of the Soul Masters.
"Therefore, you must first promote that those soul beasts with complete intelligence, that is, those over 100,000 years old, are emotionally the same as humans and can coexist peacefully with us.
"At the same time, it must also be emphasized that Amon was the first to violate the taboos of the ferocious beasts, which led to retaliation. This will reduce the Soul Masters' aversion to the ferocious beasts and alleviate their concerns about being retaliated against by the soul beasts when hunting for soul rings in the future."
"Xue Beng is grateful for your teachings," Xue Beng bowed respectfully and then asked, "Master, are you willing to be my royal enshrinement? I will grant you the position of Imperial Tutor and am willing to perform the etiquette of a disciple."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes flickered, he hesitated for a moment, and nodded, "Since you have invited me so warmly, then I will not decline."
Xue Beng's face showed joy, and he respectfully bowed again and called out, "Teacher."
He immediately said to the attendant beside him, "Pass on my order, confer Yu Xiaogang as the National Teacher, enjoy the title of Duke, and be exempt from bowing to the Emperor."
"Yes," the attendant immediately responded.
"Wait, it's too early to announce it now, wait for a while," Yu Xiaogang stopped him.
"Yes, Teacher, I will listen to you."
Xue Beng's apprenticeship to Yu Xiaogang was not only because he valued Yu Xiaogang's talent, but more importantly, he saw the vast power of Shrek Academy.
The son of the Clear Sky Douluo, the Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire, Yu Xiaogang who was connected to the ferocious beasts, and many outstanding graduates from Shrek Academy.
Such a powerful force, if not curbed, would probably be the next Spirit Hall. But now they still need to use their power and cannot offend them.
So Xue Beng embraced the idea of joining if he couldn't beat them, first put on a layer of Shrek's skin for himself, and then win over and divide its internal forces.
Turning Shrek, this future threat, into his own help for development and growth.
The two exchanged ideas for a long time, until late at night, before Xue Beng returned to the palace.
Yu Xiaogang looked at his departing back with deep eyes.
"Theft, huh, that fits his nickname 'Thief Duke'," Flender walked in and said with a smile.
"Isn't that because you kept mentioning something like 'Thief Duke' in my ear all day long, Old Flender," Yu Xiaogang's expression was a little stiff.
The corners of Flender's mouth slowly turned up, outlining a smile.
join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters