Chapter 83: The Rules of the Star Luo Royal Family
Looking at Xiao Yu, who seemed completely unconcerned, Xue Qinghe felt a bit helpless. In the eyes of these sects, a city's rebellion was nothing significant.
After scouring through the history books of the Douluo Continent, no matter who was in power, there hasn't been an emperor who dared to strike against a sect. Even if one day the Heaven Dou Empire were to fall, the successor wouldn't dare purge the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which has close ties to the Heaven Dou Empire. At most, they would distance themselves and strip the sect of its privileges within the empire.
Of course, the Spirit Hall was founded as a soul master organization, so its methods would naturally differ from others.
Xue Qinghe gritted his teeth and said, "Young Lord Xiao, the purpose of my visit is to ask for your assistance!"
"Hmm?"
Xiao Yu was genuinely surprised. Could it be that the Heaven Dou Empire had fallen to such a state? "Your Highness must be joking with me. It's just a small-scale rebellion; once the imperial army arrives, it will be easily crushed!"
"If it were merely the Ferrera rebellion, it would indeed be a minor issue for the empire. However, Ferrera has the support of the Star Luo Empire."
Xue Qinghe sighed and continued, "To respond to Ferrera, the Star Luo Empire has stationed heavy troops at the border, firmly pinning down the main forces led by Grand Marshal Gè Lóng."
"In a conflict between two nations, what little strength my Jiuxing Hall has would likely be of no help."
Xiao Yu looked at Qian Renxue, who was standing in front of him, with suspicion. Although she could be somewhat eccentric at times, she was usually quite sensible. She shouldn't be so unrealistic as to expect the thousand or so soul masters of Jiuxing Hall to help suppress the rebellion.
Fortunately, Qian Renxue didn't disappoint him: "Although the border army is being held in check by the Star Luo Empire's forces, our Heaven Dou Empire has an army of millions. My father has already dispatched fifty thousand troops from the central imperial guards to follow me and suppress the rebellion!"
After pausing for a moment, Xue Qinghe added with a bit of frustration, "However, upon entering the kingdom of Sylvia, I received confidential information that the Star Luo Empire, in support of Ferrera's rebellion, had sent Emperor Star Luo's uncle, Dai Heng, a Soul Saint at the seventy-eighth rank, along with his wife Zhu Yun, who has a sixty-sixth rank soul power. Together, they can perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill that can temporarily contend with a Soul Douluo. The strong figures of our Heaven Dou Empire are either being held back or are too preoccupied to assist, so I hope Jiuxing Hall can send one or two strong soul masters to accompany me in quelling the rebellion!"
"An uncle? The Star Luo Emperor has an uncle?"
Compared to Qian Renxue's request for aid, Xiao Yu was more curious about the fact that the Star Luo Emperor could have an uncle. "If I remember correctly, isn't the inheritance of the Star Luo Empire's throne extremely bloody? On the prince's twenty-fifth birthday, all the princes must engage in a life-or-death battle, with only the strongest surviving to inherit the throne. How could the emperor still have a living uncle? Is he an illegitimate child?"
"Where did you hear such an absurd story?"
Xue Qinghe rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, "By your logic, all we, the Heaven Dou Empire, would need to do is gather a group of powerful soul masters and wait until the new generation of princes of the Star Luo Empire finishes their succession battle. Then we could just kill the final victor. With no heir, the Star Luo Empire would collapse on its own, and we could conquer it without shedding a drop of blood. Isn't that pure nonsense?"
"Could it be that what I heard was mistaken?"
Xiao Yu said, still somewhat doubtful, "But the bloodiness of the Star Luo Empire's royal inheritance is a widely recognized fact in the soul master world!"
"The succession of the Star Luo Empire's throne is indeed brutal and bloody, and fratricide is indeed common. However, it seems you've only heard half the story."
Xue Qinghe explained to Xiao Yu, "Not every prince participates in the succession battle. Generally speaking, only princes within ten years of the eldest prince's age are eligible to compete."
"Is that really the case?"
Xiao Yu still looked somewhat skeptical.
"Of course!"
Xue Qinghe confidently said, "Think about it carefully. How likely is it that a prince who has just awakened his martial soul with innate full soul power could compete against an older brother who has a soul power of seven or eight at birth and is already 25 years old, possibly having reached the Soul King level in cultivation?"
"That makes sense!"
Xiao Yu nodded in agreement. What Xue Qinghe said was very reasonable. Wouldn't it be a complete waste of a promising talent with innate full soul power?
Xue Qinghe continued, "Those princes who are disqualified by age but still possess decent talent are cultivated by the royal family as special guest envoys, much like Dai Heng, who was sent to Sylvia. Although he is the Star Luo Emperor's uncle, he is actually a few years younger than the emperor."
So, Dai Mubai's greatest misfortune was being born a few years too early. If he had been born four or five years later, with his innate level nine soul power, he might have been showered with resources by the Star Luo royal family and could have been nurtured into a Title Douluo.
"In addition, there is another condition besides age; the innate soul power must exceed level six to qualify for the competition. Those who don't meet the soul power requirement can only receive a low-ranking title, stay in the royal city as powerless nobles, and, as you might say, 'live off the royal family while waiting for the current heir to die unexpectedly,' ensuring that the bloodline does not become extinct!"
A backup plan, Xiao Yu instantly understood!
Having figured out the Star Luo royal family's succession rules, Xiao Yu finally remembered Qian Renxue's purpose for this visit. He glanced at the guards around her, who were at most Soul Sect level, and confidently used his soul power to transmit his voice, "You're telling me that for a Soul Saint and a Soul Emperor who need to use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill to match a Soul Douluo's strength, you, the dignified Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, couldn't just grab a Platinum Bishop from the Spirit Hall to handle it? Why did you come to me for reinforcements? And isn't Ning Fengzhi your master? Doesn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have any Soul Douluo?"
"You think I don't want to?"
Qian Renxue's resentful voice echoed in Xiao Yu's ear as she also used soul power to transmit her words. "If I bring reinforcements from the Spirit Hall, how do you expect me to explain that to the Heaven Dou royal family? That old fox, Prince Xue Xing, has always been suspicious of my identity. Wouldn't that be like giving myself away? As for Ning Fengzhi, he's the type who won't lift a finger until he sees the benefit. He used the excuse of the sect not interfering in state affairs to completely push this matter onto me."
Xiao Yu felt helpless. In the original story, there was no mention of this rebellion. Now, combining what Qian Renxue said, the final outcome would likely be one of two scenarios: either the Heaven Dou Empire failed to suppress the rebellion in time, leading to the situation spiraling out of control, with a large portion of the Sylvia Kingdom's land being seized by the Star Luo Empire.
The second scenario would be that Qian Renxue took the risk of mobilizing the Spirit Hall's forces and, by keeping it well-hidden, managed to avoid detection by Prince Xue Xing and others.
Xiao Yu secretly guessed that the second possibility was more likely. A crown prince who failed to quell a rebellion and lost territory probably wouldn't have such a high reputation.
(End of Chapter)
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